Update to work

I was certain the recycling company rescheduled for February 1st, but when I called to confirm, they said it was the 4th.  I suppose I could have misheard.  So, hopefully, we're on for tomorrow to pick up all the junk from the downstairs rooms.

Meanwhile, the contractor is busy and can't schedule us to start until the following Monday.  That's ok; gives us a little more time to pick up more carpet and move what we're keeping into the garage temporarily.

On the RV front: we did make a final decision as to the rig (or should I say "home"?) we want.  Of course, it depends on how much we can sell the house for, but for  now we have our sights on a custom built DRV Mobile Suites, 43' unit, using the Atlanta floorplan as a base, changing out one sofa for 2 recyliners or theater seating, having a peninsula counter rather than an island, and changing out the rear bunk area with the Phoenix office.  Still have to do much research in finding a good but cheap used truck to pull it with.

Did I really expect it to happen?

Even something as simple as a company coming to pick up junk managed to delay everything by a week!  Why?  Because they didn't show up on Friday like they were supposed to, and as such, the contractor couldn't start the work on Monday because there's too much stuff in the way.  They are now scheduled to come this Friday (Feb. 1st) so the work might begin that following Monday.

Do the obstacles ever end???

Took another big step!

We just put down a 1/3 deposit for work on the downstairs.  All recycleable junk and giveaway items will be removed on Friday and Saturday and the work starts on Monday.  By the end of next week (Jan 31, 2013), our downstairs landing, den, bedroom and bathroom will be freshly painted (with holes patched and smoothed), and new floors put down. 

I am trying to look at this as the glass half full - that we're making progress and this is a big step.  If it's half empty, then I have to look at the many other projects upstairs and outside that still need to be done before we can put the place on the market.  And since we're cleaning out the savings account with this work, it could be months before we can tackle the next project.

I know.. steady and slow wins the race.  But I really want to start the next chapter NOW!!!!

I think I toyed with the Universe

Well, none of those folks showed up.  The first person was sick and when I followed up 2 weeks later, she hasn't responded.  The others just fell off the face of the earth as well.

For those who may not be as faith-driven as I am, this may sound like a load of (fill in the word you'd like), but I'm beginning to believe that I tested fate when I questioned whether the Universe was toying with me.  I should have believed that my prayers were being answered and I should not have verbalized any question or doubt.  All along, I have believed that when the time is right things will happen.  I did believe that these people responding to my ad were meant to happen, and I wonder if I hadn't expressed a doubt, if it would have worked.

I can only pray that I will be forgiven for my doubts and be given another chance very, very soon!

Meanwhile, I found a company that will pick up not only my junk scrap metal but all my recycleables as well.  Ok, I won't get paid anything for it, but at least I don't have to pay someone else to remove it, nor do I have to take time off of work to get to the recycle center or worry about making several trips to Staples or some other office supply place that accepts recycleable computers and parts.  This is the next step to the cleaning process.  Once all this stuff is cleared out, I can then have the new floors installed downstairs and the rooms painted.  Goal by the end of February.

Making great progress

(NOTE: this post should be before the Universe one.  For some reason it didn't get published when I wrote it; it was in my draft folder).

Having 2 weeks off for vacation, I'm in "operation clean up" mode again.  With M not being home to watch all the things I'm putting into garbage bags (or into the give away or recycle piles), it's amazing how productive I am!  I admit that many things I've touched brought back memories (like all the supplies I used in my balloon decorating / event planning business), but on the very top of my mind is "will this fit in the RV?" and "will I ever use this again?"  Of course, the answer  is no, so out it goes.

M has been working extremely long hours the past few weeks.  Unfortunately, those contractors are on 30 day net pay, so we won't see the $ until Jan or Feb, but  the plan is that once the downstairs rooms are cleaned out, I can have the downstairs completely renovated.  Then again, man plans and God laughs.  But that's the plan of action anyway.

Is the Universe playing games with me again?

Well, the clean up project went pretty well.  I have a charity truck coming to pick up donations on Jan. 26th and hope to get all the electronic junk to the recycle center before then.  I was hoping to have the contractor come by the end of the month but no later than the end of Feb. to complete the downstairs (new floors and painting) but.... M went and totalled the car (thank Goodness he wasn't hurt and I wasn't with him.  He was side swiped (by a driving instructor!!) and the passenger door was totally smashed in.  Insurance co. deemed it totalled.  The $ we're getting back, since it was a 2000 with 200K miles, isn't worth very much, so we had to dig into the house money to replace the vehicle.

But that's not the reason for my title question.  The goal is to fix up the little repairs and cosmetic stuff and put the house on the market.  However, just for the fun of it, I put a For Sale By Owner note on Craigslist, basically saying that I would love to retire sooner and will dramatically reduce the selling price for someone else to putter.  And absolutely no investors or realtors need reply.  Well... I actually got 2 very serious families who want to come over this week to take a look, despite my giving them a full disclosure of all the work that needs to be done.  Honestly, I really didn't expect any serious inquiries.

So, is the Universe toying with me -- putting these folks in my path only to squash my hopes?  Or is this our prayers being answered?  I guess we'll know in a few days.

Next part of the plan

Will 2013 be the year???

Things continue to move along at a snail's pace; as always due to either lack of money or lack of time.  We are still at the point of needing to make a lot of cosmetic repairs to the house in order to get it on the market (if we sell "as is" we won't make enough to pay off the mortgage, let alone have enough left over to buy the RV.  So it has to be marketable.  We're not planning to use top of the line materials, but to do just enough that prospective buyers won't walk in and think "what a dump."   The biggest "repairs" is replacing the 30 year old carpet with laminate wood flooring (we already did 2 rooms and the hallway;  now we have 5 bedrooms left), painting, replacing the garage doors and broken fence and front steps.

The next part of the plan is the downstairs floor and painting.  Hopefully we'll have enough money to get the work done in Jan or Feb.  In the meantime, there's major cleanup work - throwing away years and years of M's computer components, wires, cables, and other junk.  It's been an office and storage area and morphed into a huge mess.  The plan is once it's cleaned out and the flooring put down, we will turn it into a bedroom (which is what it really is!).  In the den, we will just get rid of the old, dilapidated entertainment center and perhaps just keep a couch facing the fireplace.  My company closes its offices between Xmas and New Year's, and I'm taking the week before that for vacation, so the plan is that I can get most, if not all, of the cleaning done during that time, the rooms'll be prepped by the time the money comes in.

Then again, it's almost always been our experience that when the money comes in, the car or house needs a major repair!  So who knows.  I won't give up on the plan anyway.