Painting Day

Today, we had the inside of Granny's house painted.  Wow!  What a coat of white paint can do for a house!  Mom and I painted it around the summer of 1990, and I'm not sure if it has been painted since then.

Since Mom and I are exhausted from all the moving and cleaning, we hired a company to paint.  While they painted, Mom and I worked in the shed, taking more trash to the curb and sorting more things for Goodwill.

A little more work and we should be finished.  Thank goodness!

Remodeling a House is Expensive and Exhausting

Granny passed away a year ago February, and we have still not gotten the house, garage, and backyard sheds cleared out.  We decided to focus this week on finishing all we can inside the actual house.  Up to this point, we have cleaned out, trashed, and donated tons and tons and tons of stuff.  We have moved the major furniture and heavier items all we can.  Now, we are down to the last of the furniture.  We have made space at our house for those items, which meant rearranging furniture and moving some things from one room to another.  We've cleaned and vacuumed as well.  Our house is ready, and the furniture and big items at Granny's are ready.

I am so grateful to our family and friends who have helped us get to this point.  We surely couldn't have done it without them.

Yesterday, the electrician came out.  Since her passing, the master bathroom lights quit working, then the master bedroom lights/fan, then the hallway.  It is all quite strange.  The electrician fixed several light switches and checked outlets.  We now need to change out the light fixtures in the master bedroom and hallway.  Do you know how much electricians make?  I need to leave education to go into electrical work.  They made in 2 hours what I make in 2 to 2.5 days. Wow!

The plumber will be out tomorrow afternoon to change out the kitchen faucet, replace the disposal, and make the guest bathroom sink quit dripping.

Thursday, the movers will be there at 8:00 am to move the furniture.  We are praying they are finished in 2 hours or less.  Do you know how much movers make???

Saturday, the painters will come paint the entire house, ceiling, walls, and trim, white, so it will brighten it and make it look so much cleaner.

Now, we have to decide about flooring. All of what we have done has cost a lot, money we don't really have, so we have to decide if we replace the flooring throughout the whole house now or just get a serious steam cleaning for now and replace flooring in about a year. We are thinking . . .

Now . . . what do we do with all the little items in the garage and backyard shed?  We are out of space at my house.

For those of you who have had to clean out a loved one's home, what did you do with everything?

Spring Break--Friday

I am so sad that today is the last day of Spring Break.  I am certain I could come up with much more to do around my house and Granny's.

Today, we focused on our house.  We swept, mopped, washed sheets/comforters, hung pictures/paintings, and moved a desk.  I wish a nap had been added to that, but I haven't napped all week--not that I haven't been tired enough.

We are planning a "bad" dinner for our last night.  We will be enjoying cheeseburgers, fried mushrooms, and ranch dressing.  Can't wait!  (I'll get back to being healthy next week.)

What did you do for Spring Break?  Do you think schools should have Spring Break?

Spring Break--Thursday

Today brought about more moving, cleaning, and organizing.  We moved tools and Christmas stuff to our house and then began organizing the sewing items in our playroom.  While we were going through some boxes, we found these pictures.  I love older pictures. (I wish I had a way of scanning pictures.)

My uncle and mom when they were in high school, I believe.

Mom in her Senior Prom dress

Mom for High School Graduation

Spring Break--Tuesday

Today, we got up and moving early again despite our sore muscles.  We finished Granny's little shed and worked on the bottom part of her big shed.  My Great Aunt helped us during the afternoon.  We filled up her parkway across the majority of the front of her house.  People came all day to rummage through it.

I don't mind people going through the trash.  We have done it ourselves, but people should clean-up their mess and reorganize the stuff when they finish.  I am too tired from taking it to the curb the first time to keep cleaning up all day long b/c people are making a mess.

We finally quit working about 4:00 PM.  Because we were too tired to cook, we went to Souper! Salad for dinner to make good choices, and we did.

When we finished, we went back to Granny's to load up all the donation stuff.  Our plan is to take stuff to the donations place first thing tomorrow morning.

One of my BFFs told me about My Fitness Pal App.  I documented my food and exercise for Monday and Tuesday.  It is very neat!  I'm not really sure about the calories part.  I gained so many calories from all the work I have been doing, but I still haven't eaten anywhere near all my calories.  Am I supposed to eat them all?  Eat most of them?  Leave a bunch each day?

Spring Break--Monday

Today, despite getting in at 1 AM, Mom and I got up early and got busy.  We went to Granny's and cleaned off the patio and cleaned out a small shed.  We worked some in the garage too.  Everything went to the curb that wasn't going to our house.  I got tons of exercise loading, moving, hauling, carrying, dragging, and pushing all kinds of things--most were heavy.  We worked and worked moving things from the backyard to the front curb. We barely ate lunch and snacks for all the work.

We then worked on the two sheds at our house.  We needed to make room for things to come from Granny's to our house.  Again, I loaded, moved, hauled, carried, drug, and pushed all kinds of things--most were heavy.  I moved things from the back acre (we have 2) to the front curb. Granny kept all kinds of craft magazines.  For years, we had tried to get rid of those she had in our back shed b/c they were just ruining.  She wouldn't let us.  Well, those magazines dating from 1964-1991 are now on our curb waiting for the recycling truck.  There were boxes and boxes of them.  She had reused Girl Scout cookie boxes (those holding a case) to store her magazines.  Our front shed is organized, now contains 4 cabinets and 2 tool organizers from her garage.

We finally quit around 3:00 PM.  We rested for a bit and then went to my cousins' for dinner with my Great Aunt.  We had a nice dinner and visit.

I wish I was able to spend more time with my niece and nephew, but we have to get all this work done while I am off work.

Unexpected Day Off

With the crazy freezing temps and weather yesterday and overnight, most school districts closed today. It is funny to see pics of homes across town with yards covered in white when we have very little of anything here.  My road is clear, but the highway, which is about a mile away, was horrible this morning and overnight.  It was in the mid to low teens with wind chills from -6 to 2 degrees this morning.

After a 32 minute workout this morning, I got busy reorganizing the back bedroom, recycling a lot of unneeded documents on a bookshelf in the front room/office/library, and clearing out some things in 2 two drawer filing cabinets.  Now, I want to scan some things in the filing cabinets so I can recycle those documents. I cleaned out a lot of Girl Scout documents and forms we don't need any more too.

We are waiting on the plumber.  Last night, disgusting, smelly gunk backed up in the kitchen sink, front bathroom sinks, and washing machine.  We also had a river of water leaving the back of the washing machine and flowing through the laundry room and kitchen.  The plumber called us this morning, but he said no one is working today due to the weather.  However, he said he would see about possibly getting someone out here this afternoon.  Haven't seen or heard from anyone, but we are hoping.

I hate wasting a day off, so I am glad we got things done, but I wish we could do more.  The back room isn't how I want it, but it is better.  I wish we could move some more stuff from Granny's over, but it is so cold, and I don't have anyone to help me except Mom.

We'll see what else I can find to do in just a bit.

How do you spend an unexpected day off when it is very cold?

Christmas in September

Today, I spent the morning with my BFF and her kids purchasing items for our Girl Scout Awards, Bridging, and Investiture Ceremonies.  We even splurged and got Sprinkles cupcakes.  Yummy!

When I returned home, I met Mom at Granny's.  She had begun setting out Christmas decorations that we plan to sell in our Christmas in October sale.  I helped bring in heavy boxes and set things up.  When we finished for the day, we had emptied around 25 tubs and boxes, emptied a portion of the shed, and emptied a hall closet. We still have at least 13 more boxes and tubs to unload.

I found pictures of my great, great grandparents and other relatives. We found the box of ornaments Granny had bought/collected for me.  Each one with my name and year. I haven't taken the time to go through the box yet, but I will at some point this Fall. I found some other items I want my brother and sister-in-law to have.

We ended the evening having dinner with my great aunt, her three kids, and two of the three spouses.  It was a great meal with wonderful conversation and laughter.

Cleaning Out a House

When a loved one passes away, what have you done with their belongings?

Mom and I have been cleaning out my grandmother's house along with my Great Aunt and cousin.  We only spend a few hours a day when we do work b/c it is a little overwhelming. We began in one room and have worked our way through the house.  We have been through almost everything at this point with just a few spots/cabinets left.  We have found all kinds of things--some we remember, some that brought back memories, some that brought about stories new to me, some that were flat out trash, and some are items that someone else will have better use.  Now that we have been through everything, we have begun sorting and setting up for a garage or estate sale. We have donated many items. We've put a few other non-sellable or non-giveaway items on the curb. We've had tons of trash and items to recycle.

We have kept personal items that we want ourselves or to pass to the great grandchildren, but there is so much more.

Tips:
1. When you take pictures, be sure you label each one with a name and date.  Location would be nice too.  Granny always did that, and now we know who all the people are back to great, great grandparents.
2. Start cleaning now.  Don't leave a house of stuff for your loved ones to sort through and about which to make decisions.
3. Make sure there is a Will and that it is exactly what the deceased wanted and someone knows the wishes and carry them out.
4. Record family members telling stories.  Granny used to tell stories all the time, and now I wish we had recorded them.
5. Give yourself plenty of time to go through things and make decisions.

And It Is Done . . .

As of 12:45 today, I am finished with the 2012-2013 school year.  Everything had been moved to my new office space, and my officemate and I set-up our new office best we could.  We will finish in August when we return.  Other items were placed in a new area in a storage area that we created. 

Teachers were still working to clean and move.  I know many were not very happy, but with everyone moving, rooms will be cleaned, items will be sorted through, and the new year will start fresher.

Happy Summer, everyone!

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day/Weekend

How did you spend Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend? 
Did you watch the Inauguration? I absolutely love hearing The Battle Hymn of the Republic!
Did you go somewhere fun with the family?
Did you try a new recipe?

Yesterday, I decluttered the corner hutch in the kitchen along with the microwave stand and a built in cabinet/hutch. I gave it a once over with the dust rag too.  I attempted to straighten the desk area in the office/library/front room.  I didn't get very far with that. I did a few other things no one will ever notice too.

Today, after my morning workout and taking care of a few errands, I decided to do a little more cleaning. While doing a little laundry, I decided to throw in the bathroom shower curtain and liner.  I took the rod down to give it a good bleaching.  It has rusted and left a yucky reddish, orangeish, black stripe down one side and a reddish, orangeish stripe down another. I got some of it off, but it is still noticeable.  I'm not sure what else to do.  Maybe paint it? I also cleaned the sink and fronts of the bottom kitchen cabinets and dishwasher.  Microwave is fairly clean. I dusted my bedroom ceiling fan too.  After throwing the last load in the dryer, I decided to take out the middle spinner thing from the washer.  It was so gross underneath.  I went to the following websites to see how to clean my top loading washing machine--
Ask Anna: How to Clean the Washing Machine and One Good Thing by Jillee: How to Clean Your {Top-Leader} Washing Machine. I wiped down the washer and dryer while waiting.

Well, after an hour and a half of water and vinegar, it ran through the whole cycle.  It looked clean as I looked inside.  However, I took the middle spinner off again, and it hadn't changed.  I poured a little bleach directly on that gross, grey stuff.  I decided to make sure it was all covered and soaking.  I left it for about an hour. I filled it with hot water just to cover the gross area and then ran the rest of the cycle without the spinner thing on it. Well, when looking into the washer, it looks very clean.  However, the process did nothing for the yucky grey stuff under the spinner.

Now . . . if someone would come sweep, vacuum, and clean the bathrooms.  :-)

While we are in the midst of Girl Scout Cookies initial sales going door-to-door or selling at parents' work places, we are also getting organized for booth sales.  I learned how to use the "Sign Up" tab on our Shutterfly site.  What a great tool!