Downsizing to a U-Haul

Roberto at Lakeland's U-Haul

Roberto thought I was a spry senior citizen and not an old fogie because I used an iPhone and had a blog. Little did he know. The U-Haul office was not busy and so I showed him just how spry this senior citizen is--I rapped for him while I reserved a U-Haul.

Now Roberto promised that I would receive a confirmation earlier in the week--found out later it was supposed to be on Wednesday.

Lots on my plate--downsizing and moving to live by family. Months before I cling to Romans 12:12:

• Hope
• Patience and endurance with downsizing
• Constant prayer

Two weeks before I realize I have to focus on one day at a time (and not everything I had to do) and Matthew 6:34 from New Living Translation helps:

So don’t worry about tomorrow, 

for tomorrow will bring its own worries.

Today’s trouble is enough for today.

The house is sold and not longer do I have to maintain it to show. The boxes multiply as I use many days to substitute teach and free time at home to pack.

June 1, my last day substituting, is very special at Tomlin Middle and of course I rap at the end of every class and tell the students who didn't know all about my YouTube legacy of raps. See HERE.

Tuesday through Friday at least four hours per day my friends Sally and Jake come over and help me pack.  Sally would call Jake over to help her seal each box and he would bring those heavy boxes to the proper place. Sally packs breakables with newspapers into my recycled boxes. Sectioned liquor boxes from Walmart and The Winery in Plant City are so helpful with those breakable items. Gradually clothes get packed into large tubs for "seasonal clothes". Summer clothes go in huge boxes to make wrinkles I will deal with at the other end of the move. My winter coats, two mirrors and other items are already in Huntsville at my brother's house.

Friday Panic.  Friday is the day before the volunteers are coming to pack the van. I call Kerry from my church and tell her of my panic and also health news on Kenny. She puts out an email prayer request for the church. She also mentions the virtues of a 24 foot U-Haul instead of a 20 foot one I am supposed to get. I asked "Surrey" on my iPhone to call U-Haul on Florida Avenue in Lakeland, thinking I would get Roberto. I have not received a confirmation call! Where in Plant City do I pick up the U-Haul?

Instead I get Greg at another U-Haul at another Florida Avenue U-Haul location. Greg who sees my reservation on line, is able to switch my reservation to a 24 foot U-Haul. It wouldn't be delivered to Plant City as Roberto had promised, but I could get it that very night for the same price instead of the Saturday morning 20 foot U-Haul. I call Kerry with the good news and she enlists her husband Dave to go with me to get the van at 6:30 pm. Their son, Sam, always my buddy, comes along for the ride. Dave skillfully puts the van by my garage.  I am so glad he figures out where to put that van. I wasn't sure if it should be by the front door or not.

Back to earlier on Friday.  After those important phone calls Friday morning, I go to Bank of America to see Lisa, "my personal banker" I wrote about HERE. I had arranged my 10 am appointment on line and we close my checking account. (Huntsville doesn't have a Bank of America.) Then I go to my dentist for a gum treatment to save me from false teeth. The hygienist reminds me about water picks and flossing--two items I had neglected during the last two hectic caregiving years. On my way home I stop at Staples to turn in printer and copier cartridges to recycle. I happen to see seven small plastic containers on sale for $7 and I purchase them to replace my wicker baskets in the bathroom. See HERE. Those containers are efficient for first aid, etc., and can easily go into a box ready for my new bathroom and take less space than my baskets take were I to pack them.

Sure enough, when I start to pack up the bathroom, I find that water pick and plan to use it in Huntsville. Friday afternoon Sally picks up Jake at the senior center. Then Sally helps me sort through my fabric,  while Jake helps box things up again. I can donate maybe 40% of the fabric for the quilting group at Sally's church where I also went to Grief & Share.  See HERE.

Saturday morning. Kenny gets out of the hospital Friday night and Saturday morning he stops by to see his friends from church. He is too weak to help. He has lost blood and will undergo tests to discover why next week. See HERE. Newly installed Deacons JP and Kevin pray very special prayers for him. Pray for Kenny, folks. 

From 10:30 to 3:00 pm four strong men (Jason, Dave, JP, Kevin), resourceful Amanda, and six energetic youth packed the van. They start with the upright freezer, take a utility room door off, and move it with  a rented U-Haul appliance dolly; this freezer will fit in my eat-in-kitchen in my Huntsville apartment. Next comes my antique couch, reupholstered in the late '70s with the leg that keeps coming off when you move it. In the van they put pillows between four machines on the seats of that couch: small TV, microwave, printer, and copier. Boxes of books are interspersed among numbered furniture items. Those numbers will help placement of furniture at the other end. China and other items marked FRAGILE were put on top of boxes and furniture. All boxes have the name of the room where they should land in the new apartment.

Dog Ziggy. Yes, that is dog Ziggy on my lap in the picture above. You wonder what the canine has been thinking, but he has been staying by my side. Saturday night and Sunday night we get to sleep together in that single bed I got to sleep by the hospital bed. Pharis will get that bed and other items left behind.

Tomorrow morning (Monday) I will pick up my Huntsville brother in Orlando and bring him to that van. We will take Monday and Tuesday to drive to Huntsville with Ziggy and I following in my car. Ziggy has already seen his bed and cage in the back seat of the car. The third seat area and trunk area has miscellaneous items.

Follow trip to Huntsville on my 

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by clicking on the above link at the right. 

Moving, Part Five

The last big piece of furniture is gone.

My friend Cheryl and her sister Lori and their kids fell in love with this 1948 Gulbansen piano. They came back several times, researched the make, loved the feel of the piano, and then rented a small U-Haul and away it went. The girls will get piano lessons like their mothers.

But they did leave me my needlepoint bench and I hung my sunflower crewel picture above it. They need a longer bench for the girls to play duets on, or a mother to supervise piano playing. In my new place in Huntsville, Alabama,  with less square footage, that needlepoint bench will be used for mittens, hats and Ziggy's harness and leash.  Who knows, I may come back to this area to hear the girls' recital one day. 

Now the rugs can be cleaned on Friday, and I have to finish taking care of clutter. I have that big trash can to keep putting things in and I am reminded of this quote. 

Clutter is anything that gets between

you and the life you want. 

--Peter Walsh

The new life I want includes writing that dissertation on being a caregiver. The new life I want means renting, so a landlord can take care of the repairs that I have had to do here: new water softener, new garage door, painting. I am so happy I am downsizing and moving to live by family. 

Pharis continues on projects to make the house ready for the market. 

Ziggy watches and Pharis and neighbor Mr. White discuss getting the house ready. In the second backyard, Pharis' daughter is loading dry branches to hall away. Mr. White was also willing to help with the piano moving. Instead two neighbors lent a hand with the piano. 

Moving, Part Four

I took this picture in June of 3013 so I could write about Shingles. I knew I wanted to write about Shingles, but I didn't know I would do it from personal experience.  Oh I did have a prescription to get my shingles vaccine, but didn't want to spend the money and my husband was going downhill and that was my priority. So this is the first thing that has come back to haunt me. You see I have had Shingles recently with its physical pain and with the realization this might have been avoided. 

The next thing that has come back to haunt me is plumbing. I have well water and  have not maintained the water softener and consequently have rust in the water.  I should have been on top of this in the past. Actually the plumber was called almost a year ago about the rust problem and he didn't show. See HERE.  I didn't keep on the problem, perhaps because I was attending to my husband. 

When the sink clogged up and the wash machine over flowed, I did get a new plumber. He solved that and was to bring someone else in to give an estimate for helping with the rust. Before that could happen, however, Sally gave me another plumber who has put in a new water softener and saving me maybe $700.

How can I substitute  teach all January and have plumbers come to the house? My retired brother from Huntsville recognized the problem and came to Plant City. Together we strategized on what would be needed for the house to sell. 

We went through all my books and had three stacks:

1. Books I need to keep.
2. Books for my Huntsville nephew to sell on Amazon.
3. Books for a yard sale or eventually to donate. 

My brother was honest about what should not be moved. My realtor also is honest about the house. Less furniture will mean an easier move and will allow us to have the rug cleaned. The rooms will look larger. Pharis and my brother both cleaned out the workshop and the garage. When I went through the series on this blog, The House That Cleans Itself, the workshop and the garage were the last two areas that I didn't get to because of my caregiving duties.



The garage is now the designated spot for garage sales. One was held last Saturday and later in February more yard sales will happen.

Saturday, January 24,  we (my brother and I) had another yard sale for my stuff and only signs at the end of the street publicized the event. Even so I made $335.50. Large items included that corner cabinet I featured December 25 on this blog HERE. That corner cabinet would be problematic to move. A large chest was also sold. More yard sales will follow at the end of February. and someone is coming tonight to look at the piano tonight.

The workshop is now the designated place for boxes to be moved and boxes to be packed and put in the workshop. Where have I gotten these boxes? From the cafeteria at the high school where I have been substituting.

The house will be sold "as is" and has yet to be put on the market. The carpet will be cleaned on February 6th rather than taken up.

So much has been done and I have my marching orders. I have this table of stuff to go through before the carpet cleaner comes on February 6th.

Where the pool table used to be

I am so grateful for my brother from Huntsville, Alabama, who was able to come for a week when I just had thrown my hands up in despair at getting ready to move. Logically this retired rocket scientist took me through rooms and we made decisions. He met with the plumbers, and the carpet cleaners. I am so grateful for Pharis who has been fixing things around here so the house will be ready to sell and who is even coming today while my brother is driving back to Huntsville, Alabama.

First Yard Sale

On Labor Day my guests decided they would help a widow [me] with yard sales--their idea. I dared not take them up on this generous offer. Three Saturdays in October seemed the perfect plan. 

My neighbor Cindy down the road loaned me tables Thursday,  and even after her errands came by and helped me set them up in our second backyard where there is some concrete.  

Cindy's tables loaded in my GMC

Friday night, after much afternoon rain, I called Sally and she commandeered her husband Jake to help me put out tools from my husband's workshop on those tables for today's yard sale. Jake always likes to feel useful. Soon my teenager neighbor Esteban came over to help.

You can't see much of the tools, but you can barely see two port-a-potties and a shower chair.  Jake, Esteban and myself then put tarps over the covered tables as it got dark Friday night. It did rain some during the night, but I was ready as I could be. 

I set my alarm for 5 am for Saturday morning. By 6:30 am when their doors opened I was at Weight Watchers. I lost another 6/10 of a pound. I did not stay for the Weight Watcher meeting, but started out for home, fearing that someone would be there in the dark to buy. Just before I got home, in the dark, I put out two yellow signs to direct people to my house. Returning home at 7 am no one was at the house and it was still dark. 

At 8 am I had my first customer. At 9 am Marilyn and her husband George were here. Marilyn even brought lunch to prepare for all of us later. Soon Marianne and Greg were here. Marilyn and Marianne were part of my summer writer's group, and Marianne was the gal I interviewed HERE about her Early Onset Alzheimer's. She is doing great and knows so much about dementia that she was even helping Jake who has a later stage of Alzheimer's after Sally dropped him off. Jake was great at keeping dog Ziggy from running off. 

The day turned out to be pleasant--no rain. Soon this skilled group moved the yard sale down the driveway and closer to the street. People have to be able to see the stuff you are selling if they are going to stop, I was advised. "Many hands make light work" and soon the tables were closer to the street. 

We interacted with all my country neighbors. One, Lee, is a caregiver and he bought those two port-a-potty chairs, the shower chair and the elevated toilet seat from Lowes' that I had written about HERE. I sold all four items for a dollar a piece to this caregiver whose wife has Parkinson's disease. It warmed my heart that I could do this and I prayed with him about his caregiving journey and told him about this blog. Just love your wife, I advised him, even when she is difficult--it's her disease that makes her that way. 

It was curious to me that my late husband had so many cabinets with drawers for his carpentry supplies--maybe a dozen! It was equally amusing to me that men would buy this stuff! Everything went cheaply, and even so I made $409 after Cindy and her crew came back about 5:30. She was pleased that we would be storing her tables in my garage now, ready for the sales the next two Saturdays, instead of in the second back yard as had been the plan. 

Safe and ready for next yard sale

Dog Ziggy and I are tired and ready for bed now. 

Discombobulated With Caregiver Stress

Maybe I was a scatterbrain before becoming a caregiver. An Alzheimer's counselor even told me   blogging helps my stress. Here is my confession about my weaknesses and my often befuddled state. LORD HELP ME!

When you are a caregiver, you have stress. Could that explain why I cut my finger with Chef's Magic, went through the garage ceiling and accidentally swallowed my husband's pills and ended up in the hospital--all reported for the world to see on this blog!! Then there was the lost wallet on Good Friday in April--never found it to this day.

And clutter? Apparently you have to keep at this clutter problem. The thing is we have a great den with a pool table. Things get put on that pool table.  Put your supplies where your work is, according to organizational experts such as Mindy whose book I reviewed here. So cloth scrap material is by the sewing machine in that den. Now I am trying to sew a gift to be thoughtful and to save money and I need that pool table with its paper clutter cleaned off so I can cut out the gift. Shame on me! Too much clutter! Well I can't substitute teach this summer, so the opportunity to clean it off is here.  

Stress Indicators Recently?         

My digital camera went missing.  I didn't panic because I can take pictures with the iPhone. What is important is my husband. My digital camera was found in a box in the car.

My iPod went missing. I like my old iPod because I can get a phone call on my iPhone and turn it off and take the phone call or have them both on at the same time. I didn't panic about the iPod loss because I can listen to my podcasts, especially my Daily Audio Bible, on the iTunes on the computer. What is important is my husband and my being there for him. Sure enough that iPod showed up. It was right by the den's copy machine--camouflaged dark on the dark surface.

My keys to the DUI office went missing last Saturday. After several calls during the DUI break to get someone to the rescue, they were in the bottom of my purse! Does everyone just think I am flakey or what! Could it be that--

You work on organization all your life?! 

Today I have my husband at home and that is what is important. I am very pleased about what IS important. I am there for my husband who trusts me--a relationship we have built over our 14 years of marriage. The heart of her husband safely trust her it says Proverbs 31. Rather than my asking him,  he tells me if he is wet and I can change his adult diaper now in the bed--I am a skilled albeit stressed and befuddled caregiver. 

Chalk my scatterbrain up to caregiver stress or a character flaw, perhaps.  One day I want to get organized, but that day is yet to come.

Carol

Author of "The House That Cleans" Itself on TV

Excuse the flash on the TV, but this morning I enjoyed the 30 minute interview of Mindy Starns Clark  I had videotaped. You may recall that I have been blogging about her book for sometime and Mindy had sent me 15 books to distribute to people who read this blog. 

Mindy quipped that some people wipe their feet when they come in the house, but she used to wipe her feet when she left! Also, when she was first married she called for help because there was a raccoon in their bedroom after the window had been left open in their third story apartment. The help that came remarked, 

"Boy that raccoon did a lot of damage!" 

We do have critters in our neighborhood. A possum died in the backyard and Kenny said leave it alone and a vulture would get it. Sure enough--the the corpse disappeared leaving a backbone.  Won't leave a window open for a critter to come in! I have enough evidence of paper clutter still to deal with!  

Mindy said simply that she was housekeeping impaired. She writes detective stories, so, determined to change, she looked at the messes as a detective. She examined the evidence--those messes always seemed to happen the same way. Her house changed.  Her popular book, The House That Cleans Itself,  is now in its second printing. You can order it from my widget at the right. 

When my family from Alabama came for the Thanksgiving week, I was pleased that my sister-in-law noted some changes in the house because I had been implementing a house that would clean itself. (They also saw paper clutter of course in the den.) 

Mindy wasn't going to change, but the house would have to change, she said in this interview.  

I am not done applying her book. I still have changes to the house to make things simpler. The workshop is next. Hate to even show you the "before" picture of the workshop. Trying to be very careful what comes into the house now this season. This especially important because I never got around to the yard sale. 

Clutter at the Source

For almost a year I have been going through the book, The House That Cleans Itself by Mindy Starns Clark, one room at a time. This has been a humbling experience, because, Mindy sent me 15 copies of the first edition that I mailed to 15 of you who requested them. Some of you are in a Facebook group, The House That Cleans Itself, where we share our messes and successes. After a year you would think that I have it altogether. NO. I DO NOT, BUT AM KEEPING ON IT, FOLKS.

Although I am on the front and back yard officially, I have backed up to work on other areas in the house. Recently I wrote about the rug, and getting help to clean it. Such a relief!

It occurred to me that rooms in my home reflect "clutter at the source". I collect too many magazines, too much material and craft supplies and have too many clothes. There is too much mail in the house that maybe I can eliminate receiving. I need to deal with clutter at the source before it keeps invading our home.

From covers of magazines

Last week I have been tackling the magazines. I laugh as I saw all the magazine covers that promise you YOU CAN DE-CLUTTER or YOU CAN ORGANIZE. We think that we will read these magazines and so they pile up. Some of those subscriptions were "deals" when I bought something and keep coming because they are charged to a credit card. What a bummer! It is no great "deal" to bring magazines in my home that I will rarely read, even if they deal with clutter!

I was so proud of the recycled magazines I put out by the curb on Saturday.

I go through the whole Bible each year with a podcast called The Daily Audio Bible.
This morning I listened to and read along about Nehemiah's depression in Nehemiah 2:4. Like my concerns about our house, Nehemiah was depressed about the walls of Jerusalem. He went back to rebuilt and Scripture takes time to record each section of that famous wall being rebuilt.

I cannot control my husband's dementia, but I can take care of our home, one step at a time. Monday I am mailing letters to some of these magazines to stop them when the subscription runs out IF NOT BEFORE!  

YOU TOO? DO YOU BRING 

TOO MANY MAGAZINES 

INTO THE HOUSE?

Finishing Area #7 of The House That Cleans Itself



From Pinterest

Discipline is part of life. A friend said to me recently that she cannot be disciplined. I corrected her that she really is disciplined in some areas of her life. Habits carry her and new habits can bring new discipline.

I cannot get my way in this house because I cannot hire a lot of help and I cannot redecorate. It just won't happen like it does on a DIY TV program. The rugs will not be replaced and maybe I can clean them better. But I can be disciplined myself.

I chose to start the process in The House That Cleans Itself to be disciplined and certainly the house would be worse had I not started. I can say that I am not a slob anymore. I chose to do something. I can pretend to be a perfectionist, but I am so not a perfectionist and the areas that I went through will need work again. I do think, however, that this calls for Flylady's concept of the 15 minute timer. I spend time on the "hot spots". De-cluttering is a process while life is happening. There is so much freedom now in admitting this.

As life happens, there are other priorities than my clutter. Life is about bringing glory to God as I ask His help to be the best wife/caregiver and friend to others I can be. The book by Staci Eastin that I reviewed here, The Organized Heart, is all about priorities that are correctly placed. You can order it from the Amazon site on this blog as well as order The House That Cleans Itself. These two books have changed my life, folks.

Area #7 used to be so bad as you see  a month ago here. As I "finish" Area #7 I reflect on the impact of discipline and lack of discipline in my life. The guest bedroom is full of lack of discipline, but it is neater now. Things to solve later are there--some projects for "one day" and at the age of 68 I am not sure when that "one day" will be.

I have to laugh at myself. Once upon a time I saved shoulder pads thinking I could make a quilt with them! Who ever does such a thing? Finally I threw them away and then came a project idea. You can make angels with shoulder pads! I might make one, but saving shoulder pads does not meet the criteria in the graphic of this post.


Bed cleared and more to do

At last I can have overnight company again with less embarrassment. It feels good! I moved a little closet into this room that was stored in the workshop. It used to be in our popup camper that we gave away last year and we never went camping with it. The new owners have not expressed interest in this closet and so here it is in the corner with right now a clock and a box on top. There is a cable cord in this corner and we can put a TV on top when we have company. My rocket scientist brother will like having a TV here when he comes my sister-in-law says. I need to find a good container for gift wrapping as you see, but that will come. Also, have stuff on the wall side of the bed to do something with.

What are your thoughts about rooms that have too many unfinished projects and too much stuff in them? I really have clothes closets to go through. I have a quilt to make for my husband's oldest granddaughter and photo albums to finish for my husband. Projects bring joy to my life and I love making gifts for others. I do have a place to store projects now--the guest bedroom.

One day my husband may refer to area #7 as the guest bedroom rather than as the craft room. One day it may be ready for a professional caregiver such as blogging friend Laurie has staying in her home. I better finish projects so it will be ready. I will need a chest of drawers where I have the project table, will need to go through the closet and the shelves, but it will work. The carpet is already new here as we had repairs to a moldy wall once and insurance covered the new carpet.

Without being totally "finished" with area #7, I need to move on to area #8 in our house, which is the front yard. Spring is coming and every year I never seem to get a handle on weeds because I am so overwhelmed with the inside of the house and now my responsibilities as a lovegiver/caregiver for my husband who has Alzheimer's.

Weeds you will not have dominion over my front yard any more!

Repairs for The House That Cleans Itself

Except for mowing the lawn, hubby can bark orders to get someone out to fix things at the house with his Alzheimer's impatience. And so it was we had our garage door fixed twice recently, and we are still not happy with the expensive repair that didn't fix the problem. I now push the button to bring the garage door down, and then have to push it again quickly so it will not open immediately. I have to do this when I come home in the garage and when I leave with the garage door remote control. One feels that the garage door people just want our money for a whole new door.

In 2000  when we first married our tastes in shopping were so different. This was before the Alzheimer's entered our home, Home Depot and Lowe's used to be my husband's favorite stores. He was always buying tools and using tools. We both had more income then and could buy more. I went along with all the fine things he did for the house those first years because we were fixing our retirement home. He put up fences, installed a doggy door in the workshop, made a compost pile, made a wonderful mail box stand on our property for four homes here in the country, put up shelves for me, painted rooms, and made a workshop for himself that carpenters who have worked here since envy. But Home Depot or Lowe's was never my favorite place to shop. I liked places like second hand shops, antique shops and at times the Mall.

Home Depot purchases
for repairs

Hubby no longer really shops. He will stay in the car or sit in the store while I shop. But if I was to be serious about The House That Cleans Itself and the suggestions in the book, I needed  repairs and would have to go to those places he used to love. We hadn't been charging at Home Depot, but one can spend $300 for supplies and pay $50 for them over six months without being charged interest. So I actually stepped out of my comfort zone and shopped at Home Depot and racked up $300 in supplies. And then I had to take back items because I am not an experienced Home Depot or Lowe's customer or handiperson for that matter. The sink faucet was wrong. New lights didn't need to be replaced over the vanity, but our clever carpenter just went into my husband's workshop for a quick fix and was able to put in two sockets for my electric curlers and hair dryer. I took back the other light fixture with only one plug to Lowe's and got a refund. 

Hidden now behind existing light

I didn't realize this solution was possible, but our carpenter saved us money. Now I can plug in both the hair curlers and hair dryer and fix my hair at the vanity in the bedroom. Actually all I have to do is turn the light switch on and light, hair dryer can be turned on and curlers are all on. I use hair spray at this station rather than in the bathroom where I put in my new hearing aids. (I do not need hair spray on the hearing aids.)  I love this vanity for makeup and hair now! Guests do not see all of my hair and makeup stuff in the second bathroom they use. My station in the master bedroom is now complete.

The carpenter then installed new mini-blinds in the living room. The old ones were essentially broken.

You can hardly see them, but they are there.

The carpenter put up a new shelf in den to get that power strip off of the desk. One of the women in the Facebook private group for The House That Cleans Itself had a yard sale and ended up giving me this shelf for my devotional area. Before this shelf, chords competed with my Bible study area.

Power strip up and away

I love how my Nook and Kindle just look like books, but are getting charged in the meanwhile. It was essential that I have a separate area for my devotions, or I would get distracted by the computer or the TV. Now Mrs. Clark, esteemed author of The House That Cleans Itself, would camouflage those chords, but I can't do it all, folks, and this shelf works for me in our den.

Finally, the deck in the back yard was stained. Who was the carpenter for repairs that my husband used to do? Jake's son who learned from his dad and he did a great job! Jake helped his son while hubby just watched TV and I was gone. How nice to come home to a finished vanity area in the master bedroom and a finished devotional area and the other repairs!

Not afraid of Home Depot any more, I got plants and soil for the front yard at Home Depot. Yard work is coming my way for Area # 8 and perhaps before the guest bedroom Area # 7 is fully finished. Our climate is beautiful this winter. Who wouldn't want to garden in pleasant weather and catch the weeds before the April showers come!

Sigh! My tastes in shopping are now changing!

Beginning Area # 7 of The House That Cleans Itself

Once there was a couple who loved having company including overnight company. They had bought their dream home in 2001, during the first year of their marriage, and it would eventually be their retirement home, they hoped--not too big, but big enough. Now she also needed room for sewing and a few other projects, so he calls this room the "craft room". She wants to call it the "guest room" and had her husband install shelves on the wall for her stuff.

It is the junk room and we are that couple. It is in our house-- Area #7 of my blogging about applying The House That Cleans Itself, by Mindy Starns Clark.


Can you make out a bed there?

Once there was a plan above.

My sister-in-law said on July 5, 2008, "Life is not long enough to organize everything." I found her great quote going through clutter. And I found other stuff misplaced as well! Do not, and I repeat, do not expect a report on Area #7 anytime soon. I will either get busy on this "ginormous"* mess, or get discouraged along the way.

It was a pleasure to have company recently and Areas #1-6 were finished.

Above you can see the dining table set for company and the chandelier that my husband put up before Alzheimer's.

Area #6 Small Garbage Can and Carol's Station by Hubby

Our dog would always invade an open small garbage by my husband's DVD coffee table, but now it is not accessible to him. Hubby calls me to sit by his side and I don't have a coffee table for my things, but a side table, what author Mindy Starns Clark calls a "station". I do not share my husband's interests in movies most often, but I have made myself a station here for things I read, magazines, newspapers, and have a lap desk for my notebook computer that I can put on my lap while I sit by his side. He is just happy to have me there and I m happy to have my station by my side to entertain me.

Monday night I spoke at Toastmasters. The title of my talk and Power Point was "The House That Cleans Itself" and I so went over my time limit. The talk was videotaped  for all the world to view my "ginormous" messes and modest successes. I brought extra junk bunkers to give away and got some takers at Toastmasters! This talk is on YouTube at: http://youtu.be/tlM_DbNkOwc

Hubby of course went with me to Toastmasters and then we went to the Olive Garden for a late supper. Both of us take half of our meal home now. Over dinner he forgot about my long-winded presentation because of his short-term memory. This is why he sees the same video from his collection over and over again. Maybe if I show him that YouTube, he will remember. Have to get photo albums together for him soon, and there are photos in Area # 7 that will help me.

Do you have a room like our guest bedroom?

Carol

*"Ginormous" is a word from Marianne's blog here.

Master Bedroom Finished for Now

Ziggy's Stuff

November 20th I showed more of the mess in the fourth area to be organized--the master bedroom.  This room is finished for now. It is not perfect, but so much improved. I will be moving on to the living room next week.

While I was working here one day, dog Ziggy seemed to work with me. He found dog food on the floor to clean up (he ate it) and took out and organized some of his toys by his bed. I think this dog is bright. Hubby's stuff was left "as is" to capitalize on his abilities to function in stage one of Alzheimer's. He never was really messy anyway and in our wonderful walk-in closet he hangs up his clothes on his side and knows where to get them. It's me and my area of the room that had to change as you might see if you click on that red November 20 above.

Before



After





You can see at the above left that I have closets stuffed with clothes and it was hard to see what I had to wear and so I would keep wearing the same things often. (At first I had that clothes rack pictured at the very bottom left!) Instead at the right I have a top shelf for accessories, a middle shelf for tops I am currently wearing and the bottom self for slacks I am currently wearing. In back of the desk are two stacked bins for clothes I am not currently wearing. You can't see these bins, but they are located right where I would put them up in the closet or in the drawers. Until The House That Cleans Itself I never considered putting clothes away in bins because we live in such a mild climate here in Florida. Clothes to donate were put in the car. Some material from clothes that are too big will be used in quilts planned if it fits that project.

We are truly blessed with this large master bedroom, but the house does not have some storage. Below left  you see a player box and CD music that used to be in the den. Music is so important for the Alzheimer's patient. A TV is also pictured. However, there are suitcases at the left that do not need to be out in our bedroom. Instead. they have been tucked into the corner below right behind that rocker on my husband's side of the bed.



Before



After



What needs to be done since I began here November 3rd? There is a nice mirrored vanity between matching cabinets and it needs an electrical plug for curlers and a hair dryer instead of the extension cord I use; maybe when the house was built in the early 1960s women didn't use these. That will call for an electrician. The curtains need to be washed and the rugs cleaned. I mentioned sorting through my clothes after I finish losing weight. There are too many books in the house and a book collection from the bedroom and the den is now temporarily in the living room. The book case below still needs work, and a "blanket stand" hides books below. I am giving you the before and after in this corner and ready to move on to the living room.  Hubby says he likes how I have cleaned my side of the bedroom and I know that one day down the road when I take care of him in this room because he is in a later stage of Alzheimer's it will work for both of us.

Before with much behind



After



No longer am I embarrassed

about the master bedroom. 

Reflections on Blogging for Four Years

My first post was 12/31/08. Somehow after four years Plant City Lady and Friends seems to have taken off--over 37,000 hits in four years according to Goggle and over 800 comments in four years.  Now some comments were by me (or NewKidontheBlogg the name I first used), There are 269 published posts and over a dozen waiting to be posted. When we were out-of-town last week, I blogged three times from my overflow of thoughts. Today I have added a new blog feature--a chronology at the top of this blog that I will add to from time to time. At times medical people find this blog and they may be interested in the progression of the disease.

Thank you, LORD, for all you have taken me through as I have reflected and written here and for the friends I have met on the computer who comment here or write books I love:

1. Barb started following this blog in maybe September of 2010. She writes "Cleaning Up the Clutter", a constant theme on this blog. This young mother is maybe 30 years younger than I am and she always tracks what I write. I think of her like a niece, but I can’t for the life of me remember how we met. We both love to write and she has patiently taught me Pinterest and invited me to some of her favorite blogs. One day Barb will be a published author and a syndicated columnist like Marianne Walsh is who also has joined this bog.

2. Marianne does "We Band of Mothers" blog and writes a parenting column for The Chicago Tribune. She always makes me laugh and often with her comments here lately. Her coauthored book, Epic Mom, is fresh off the press.  Recently Marianne asked me if I ever sleep. Yes, Marianne, I do sleep between 6-7 hours each night, and often blog after four hours of sleep. I have drafts I haven't even posted yet, written in the middle of the night. Maybe I should get back to organizing our master bedroom instead of writing, however.

3. Ruby just turned 50. Why am I at age 68 so lucky to have young friends? Ruby also cracks me up with her waiting with "bated breath” to see my housekeeping. Yes, Ruby, it has been two months since I have reported on area #4--the master bedroom. Ruby and I met on a Christian blog and have been following each other ever since. In fact, in 2009 she even wrote the Foreword to my book, Getting Off the Niceness Treadmill. She read every chapter before it went to press. She spells funny (honour) because she lives in Australia. We also play Wordscraper and now Words With Friends on Facebook and she is soooo good at these games, despite her funny spelling. I think we both cheat with sites like http://www.becomeawordgameexpert.com/.

4. I have interviewed caregivers Dolores, LaTane, Laurie. There are several others I also hope to interview--perhaps Dana and Karen who write here. Dana's husband is in his last days (pray). Karen was her late mother's cheerful and wise caregiver and  is now in the caregiving field I believe.

5. Then there are the authors: Joseph Potocny (who has Alzheimer's), and Christian authors Staci Eastin and Mindy Starns Clark who influence my de-cluttering journey. Linda Born wrote My Mom Has Alzheimer’s and is now about to come out with a novel The Children Are Tender.

6. Living on Less Money is so loyal to this blog and  always challenges me with questions to keep this blog going. I do so want to follow her example of wise frugal living.

Thanks to all of you and there are many others who have posted here including friends from church and even my Alzheimer's Association facilitator. When I know of your needs, I pray for them. When I don't know, I also pray for you. I pray every Friday for social media friends--much stronger bond than many Facebook friends we all have.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Beginning Master Bedroom, Area #4

Even my husband notices the clutter on my side of the room. But wait until you see what's behind this desk and "temporary" rack of clothes. This is shameful because we have enough drawers and a walk-in closet. It has to change!

Banquet table for junk on top and under

More by the book case 

It is going to take some time to get organized in this room. Usually you can just shut the door to the master bedroom when you have company, but this will not do for The House That Cleans Itself and the whole house process I am employing here.

Some changes have been made in the last several months. First of all I have a built-in vanity in the master bedroom for putting on makeup: I decided to use it instead of having makeup out on the bathroom counter in Area #1 and I do love sitting down to do my makeup. Second, we have moved a cabinet from the den into this large bedroom. On it is the bomb box and an iPod player on my husband's side of the bed. Music is so good for Alzheimer's patients and down the road when TV doesn't work so well, music will.

What will not change is all the places where my husband keeps his things. He plugs in his cell phone a certain place and puts his glasses a certain place at night. I am the one who has to change my side of the room and my habits.

What is my strategy for this change?

• Dispose of my clothes and sort through my shoes.  Because I have lost 30 pounds slowly through Weight Watchers, I am now fitting into some clothes I haven't worn in several years and have others that are too big.  Since I sew, some clothes may be taken in. I will put clothes to be altered on the shelf in the guest bedroom.
• Put summer clothes into bins for storage. Bins are now available that are under the pool table in the den.
• Repair any shoes or clothes of my husband that need it.
• Sort through books and paper clutter that you see above. Put the extra books in the holding shelves by the piano in the living room. Process the paper clutter quickly so I do not have to bring it into the den.
• Get that six foot banquet table and clothes rack out of there. Both the clothes rack from IKEA and the banquet table from SAMS were used in a garage sale several years ago. Never were they intended for use in our master bedroom!
• Put a small side table in the guest bedroom into the master bedroom for keeping jewelry.
• Go through drawers and ask those hard questions about each item.
• Use the notebook computer on that wicker desk for writing and study by the window.

Now the extra hour of daylight saving time isn't even enough to address these issues. It will take time to organize this room, but one day when I am my husband's full-time later stage Alzheimer's caregiver, I will be so glad that this room has been sorted through and organized as I spend more time there.

Fifteen people received free copies of the book The House That Cleans Itself,  from the author, Mindy Starns Clark, that I distributed to you.  Many of you have let me know that book has come in the mail and that you are excited about transforming your home to a house that will clean itself. Be sure that you also write to thank Mrs. Clark, whose address and e-mail is in back of that book.

Kitchen Reflections--As Perfect As Can Be Now



Ready to be mopped, enjoyed and kept clean





Camoflauge

 Mrs. Clark, in The House That Cleans Itself, believes in camoflauge. Regularly I make coconut fudge in ice cube trays so my husband gets coconut oil, probably a factor in his stability in stage one. While we have been using coconut oil for quite some time, a year ago I started the fudge. (See recipe here.) So I needed a camoflauge strategy for the ice cube trays and tub of Tropical Traditions or Lou Ana coconut oil that I am regularly using. Those trays come right out of the dishwasher and go here as pictured at the left. This is the HTCI system. This little corner production is out of the line of sight that Clark advocates. You look at my kitchen now and it works for us and makes me happy. But, it is not perfect. After all, FlyLady says:

Perfectionism is Shelved in 2012!

Speaking of FlyLady, why didn't her system take for me? (FlyLady is Marla, the author of Kitchen Sink Reflections.) She seems to have  whole industry now from calendars to special brushes for your toilets to water containers.  Probably my cargiving situation and the rah, rah of the FlyLady business didn't mesh at this time--too overwhelming.  HTCI seems to work best for me, but I still get FlyLady email and look at it from time to time.

Not perfection, but major changes. Now I want to cook and can easily clean the counter tops. Major kitchen and laundry room changes include:

1. Finding things and storing them where they are used.


Didn't work



What works












2. Getting everything off of the floor in the laundry room so that tile can be mopped easily.

3. Pantry closet tweeked so that it continues to work (see below).

4. Using cloth bags when I grocery shop so I don't collect those plastic bags.

5. Giving equipment away. Hope to have a party for young people and newlyweds to acquire some of those items as prizes.


Pantry closet opposite the washer and dryer



I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. Psalm 101:2 TLT

Monday was DH's turn to go to the chiropractor who got him to stand up straight. Can you teach dementia loved ones new ideas? I think so. I have been telling him to strand up straight because he can and because it helps his back pain. He does that more now.

Then Monday we went to vote early. I got in a booth next to my husband and assisted him the with process, thinking that maybe I would be thrown out. Not so. He was pleased that we voted early and also shows interest in news of Hurricane Sandy now.


Hubby asked when is the next time we see "Jake and Sally" and I told him that will be Saturday during the Alzheimer's walk. Sally and I will walk the 5K and he and Jake will wait for us. Who would have thought of two Alzheimer's loved ones babysitting each other! Please contribute if you can by clicking on the above link. I have not raised all my funds yet.