Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The New Establishment





Catchy title, right?  The place is new, and we are getting it all established, so I guess that makes it the new establishment.

Things are taking shape.   Almost everything is in it's place.  There are a few things I brought thinking I would need them and it turns out they are just not necessary.  I over stocked some things especially in the kitchen.  I don't have a dishwasher here.  I hand wash the dishes after meals.  As a result, I don't have any accumulation of dirty dishes, so I don't need to have as many on hand as I had at the old place.  I will probably pack some of them away for storage.

I am surprised how much room there actually is in my kitchen!  Counter top space is at a premium, but I have plenty of room for dishes, pans, even a really spacious pantry area.  I may figure out a way to combine some things and free up a shelf or two in there and call it my office.  I have way too many school/office supplies, and I don't really know what to do with it all.  Between home school and my personal study and writing materials I have accumulated quite a bit.  We are learning to do more of our studying and writing on computer, but hard copy and paper work are still big requirements around here.  I stored probably half of what I had, and I still have a lot.  I stored the stuff that I didn't think the heat would hurt: paper, folders, binders, etc...  I brought all the pens and pencils here so the heat wouldn't destroy them. Staplers and hole punches and the like; I use them every day.  I need to keep them here, so I'll have to figure something out.

I have too many books, as well.  I'm not sure what to do about that except to get rid of some more clothes or something.  I love having my books around and I don't think I'm willing to part with the few I have already it whittled down to.

There are a few other items that I need to keep on hand that I still haven't found a home for yet, but in the shuffling and reshuffling I'm sure they will settle into a spot soon.  It's mostly paperwork, mail, receipts and statements and the like.  I may box 'em up and stuff 'em in the storage.  I also have a bunch of seeds.  I'm afraid to put them in storage.  It's still so hot!  I don't know if heat will damage them or not, but I don't want to take the risk.

All in all, the radical downsizing is going pretty well.  It certainly causes one to prioritize.  I can plainly see what is needful and what is not now.  That's not to say I don't want to keep some of the less necessary items, but when we go to sort out the storage unit and narrow things down for the move, I should have no trouble thinning it out even further.

As far as the 'sardine' situation goes, I hate to dissappoint all of the folks that were so sure we'd be ready to strangle each other by now, but we're handling the proximity problems very well and we're adjusting quickly to the privacy problems.  We spent almost all of our time together before we moved anyway.  We homeschool, so we were always home together. We did most of our work at the kitchen table, and when we were playing on computers we were sitting within feet of one another. This is the same ol' same ol', as far as that goes, just a different place. The big difference is that now we can't go any place inside the house for privacy.  It's a little tough on my oldest boy, but he's adjusting.  We're making it work.

As for me...  I'm happy as a clam.  I love it all.  Well, except for the toilet.  I don't like it a bit, but we're looking for remedies.  I'll post about it as we solve problems so that anyone else going through something like this will have our experience to draw from.  More on that as it plays out.  If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

Meanwhile, we're continuing to prepare for the move.  I'll be posting periodically about the progress there.   It's all so very exciting!!!   I'll be so glad when we're ready to go!!

See you soon.  Be blessed!

I review for BookSneeze®

6 comments:

Retta said...

So ... I'll state the obvious first. I LOVE the song choice playing on the page!!! You just have a knack at picking the perfect song to accompany what you are saying!!!
I am so excited for all y'all that life is settling and you are seeing how you are using space & things versus which ones you don't need etc. That will help, I'm sure.
As for the bathroom ... I may be able to help but I don't know the problem in order to come up with solutions. Is it space for things like toothbrushes, pastes, etc? Or is it just that it feels too small?

Representative said...

Ugh... I wish.......
It;s the bad smell from an R.V. drop tank. Smells like crap. LOL So we add the chemicals, and now it just smells like chemically altered crap. GAG!!

Other people do it. I'll ask them. We live in a KOA, for crying out loud! Probably a few folks here that could help. LOL!

Retta said...

Ohhhhh, ok. Here's a possible solution. Get to a place that cuts their lumber on site. Ask if they'd be willing to part with some sawdust. Keep a vase of it in the bathroom somewhere!

Representative said...

Can't use sawdust.... has to be (gulp) digested... reduced to soup, so that it can pass from the tank when we drain it. It is only drained every week or 5 days or whatever. Meanwhile, it's not too pleasant. :( Other people live in theirs, and I'm sure they've dealt with this, too. Just gotta find out. Live and learn. :/

Retta said...

No, not for the toilet. Just sit it in a vase and leave it as a decoration. They use sawdust in sawdust toilets because the smell of the sawdust overpowers any scent left behind. I believe it would work to cover the smell of chemicals as well. If it doesn't, try baking soda in there.

Representative said...

Ah, ok, gotcha. :) I'll give it a try. There are a few places here I can check. I'll let you know. :) Thx!