[spezzy]

Alright, I mentioned last challenge that things are going to be tough for a bit, so really what I'm focusing on is consistency, and that hasn't changed this challenge.

 

It very much has felt like this:

 

 

Long story short: We're looking for senior housing for my Mom while also moving in to her place while we renovate. This is pretty far off the original plan, so it's been a lot mentally for everyone too. We're excited, and things are still fairly chaotic at the moment, but we are finally at the point in this major life upheaval where we have figured out the major plan, and now just have to make the plan happen. As of right now we don't really have any major roadblocks, just inconveniences, so things are looking up.

 

 

 

The things I've been able to keep up the last few months:

--> gallon of water a day

--> veggie with every meal

--> daily walking

 

And I'm going to keep those up, but not make them specific goals. 

 

Things I've struggled with:

--> Making it to the gym (but I have gotten a gym membership, and will be getting a second that's closer now that I know we'll be here longer than a month)

--> Yoga/Mobility (and I'm feeling it)

--> Making time for myself/to relax 

--> Finding a routine/schedule

 

So going to change things up a bit:

 

1) Spellbooks, Spellbooks, Spellbooks - weekly and daily planning, every single night/morning. This is the only way I can make sure I get in the things I'm struggling with, so it needs to be number one.   

 

2) An hour of movement every day - This sounds like a lot, but the following count here:

• my morning walks (currently at around 32 minutes, so really I could go for 2 walks and this would count)
• the gym or a home strength workout
• painting a room or a renovation project
• yard work
• yoga
• etc.

 

Since the gym is a good 20 minutes away, it's hard to get there right now because for a 20 minute workout that means I'm gone for an hour, minimum.  Because of that, I don't want to stress too majorly about making it to the gym quite yet - especially since there are a ton of super physically demanding projects here that need to be done. (And one of those projects is build a roof on the garage so we can have a gym at home.)

 

3) Stretching every single night - My body hurts. This is a necessity, and we finally cleared the space so I have room for a yoga mat on the floor. 

 

4) Get outside every afternoon. 

 

It can be for a walk, movement, the gym, or to run an errand. I just have to spend some time outside every day and take a break away from things. 

 

I know this seems like a weird one, but it makes a huge impact. 

 

5) One night off a week to focus on relaxing and me things

 

This is going to be the hardest goal, tbh.

 

On a side note, I'd like to lean in to the forums a bit more this challenge, so I'm going to add daily forum time into my spellbooks. 

 

 

 

Alright, that's it! good luck y'all

 

 

 

 

 

[Rurik Harrgath]

1 hour ago, spezzy said:

It very much has felt like this:

 

 

 

1 hour ago, spezzy said:

 

 

I'll get you your first hard hat!  🤣

[WolfDreamer]

I love your challenge. I look forward to seeing what you "build" as you achieve these goals.

 

Side note: actual unofficial footage of how I "build" included below:

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following along. I hope everything gets settled.

[RES]

My planner is my lifeline! Hope the inconveniences continue to be minor

[spezzy]

22 hours ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

 

 

 

I'll get you your first hard hat!  🤣

 

That will be our new house theme song 😂 

 

And I will need one for this porch!

 

22 hours ago, WolfDreamer said:

I love your challenge. I look forward to seeing what you "build" as you achieve these goals.

 

Side note: actual unofficial footage of how I "build" included below:

 

 

Thank you!!  This pretty much feels like ground zero on a lot of aspects all around, so I figured it was appropriate!

 

Also that's a pretty accurate description on how I build too 😂 

 

21 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Following along. I hope everything gets settled.

 

Thanks, Tank!

 

20 hours ago, RES said:

My planner is my lifeline! Hope the inconveniences continue to be minor

 

It makes SUCH a difference to have everything sorted! And thank you!

[MaeradCase]

Good luck to you. Sounds like you have a lot going on, but that you've got flexible goals to meet your needs.

[spezzy]

A little zero week update!

 

First, these two goals: 

An hour of movement every day / Get outside every afternoon. 

 

Been focusing mostly this week on getting my Mom's stuff out of the house and into a storage unit, as well as starting to clear some space around the house because everything is insanely overgrown, including the house:

 

We need to get an inspector out here in the next week or two in order for us to take the next steps, so getting as much of this presentable will be my number one goal. 

 

Still going to try to make it to the gym this weekend, but the last few days my workouts have been moving boxes and clearing land.

 

 

@Rurik Harrgathhas been doing the real hard work, and has taken something like 7 full loads of furniture and boxes by himself to the storage unit while I've been at work, and my body is sore, so I can't imagine how he's feeling!

 

But, definitely getting in movement, even if it isn't a real workout. 

 

Spellbooks, Spellbooks, Spellbooks - weekly and daily planning, every single night/morning. 

 

I haven't been doing this well, but I'm hoping that now that I'm in an office that's 100% my stuff, this will get easier and I'll settle in a bit more.

 

Stretching every single night - We finally have space to do some yoga, and thanks to Rurik we started two nights ago. We did 10 min 2 nights ago, 12 last night. 

 

 

And here's a bonus pic into the chaos that is our life right now - introducing our cats to the crazy dog. She's reactive towards dogs, so can't be around Felix, but loves cats - and is just a little too much energy for them, so we're letting them get used to each other on their own time and with the cats having their own space. Thankfully, Madi is very respectful of the classic "hiss"  and her biggest interaction has been constantly play bowing and dancing in front of Meatball trying to get Meatball to play with her while Meatball just stared at her wondering what on earth she is on, so we are doing pretty well all things considered  

 

 

 

 

 

[Rurik Harrgath]

5 hours ago, spezzy said:

 

@Rurik Harrgathhas been doing the real hard work, and has taken something like 7 full loads of furniture and boxes by himself to the storage unit while I've been at work, and my body is sore, so I can't imagine how he's feeling!

 

 

5 hours ago, spezzy said:

We finally have space to do some yoga, and thanks to Rurik we started two nights ago. We did 10 min 2 nights ago, 12 last night. 

 

 

I feel that face after last night's sesh 😆

[bigm141414]

I am here to lurk on your house progress. 

 

 

[spezzy]

On 7/28/2022 at 6:09 PM, Rurik Harrgath said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I feel that face after last night's sesh 😆

 

We just gotta keep it up! And then maybe we can stop hobbling around 😂 

 

14 hours ago, bigm141414 said:

I am here to lurk on your house progress. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rurik Harrgath]

1 hour ago, spezzy said:

 

my tool belt brings all the boys to the yard

they’re like, it’s better than yours 

damn right, it’s better than yours 
I could teach you (how to renovate) but I’d have to charge 

[spezzy]

Week One, Day One:

 

So in the interest in leaning into the forums a bit more this challenge, i'm going to aim to update consistently instead of "waiting until I have an update".

 

I haven't been great about planning -  I tried to do a better job this weekend but things still got away from me all around. But, we did have an insanely productive weekend and did a ton of things we needed to do that will set us up for success in the future - like we ordered a new fridge, range, and microwave! 

 

We've been living out of a very small fridge and our range the oven doesn't work and only one burner works... and we have no microwave... so this will be a huge level up when they all come in later this week!

 

I'm specifically super excited about the stove as it has wifi which means I can check to see if I left it on after I've already left the house, and instead of panicking because I think I may have forgotten and turning around, I can just look at my phone and turn it off remotely. This is the best ADHD gift I have ever bought myself  I've also never owned new appliances before, so this is weirdly exciting. 

 

We also packed up a bunch more of my Mom's stuff and set up the kitchen and bathroom so they're a bit more usable while we get everything sorted here. 

 

And I started to work through cleaning the basement, which is terrifying and there are so many spiders (like, it's full of things like this:

 

with the hope that I can get it to a point where we can pressure wash it all and then mold treat it. 

 

This week continues the "animals get used to living together experiment" but I fear we've reached that point where things get a little harder before they get easier - a few power struggles here and there being seen as they start to figure out the ranks. 

 

Anyway, here we are: it is day one! 

 

We've been getting up a bit later lately, as we've just been totally exhausted - but got up when the alarm went off at 6:45 this morning. So that was a great start. 

 

Went for morning walk ✅ 

 

Dumpster arrived, which is fantastic because a lot of this place needs to just be emptied and demo'ed. So that will be the big push this week.

 

 

Unsure if I'm going to make it to the gym or not because of that, but that's okay - clearing this place and filling the dumpster will be enough movement and strength work!

 

In the meantime, I'm also going to bring my adjustable dumbbells into my office and just do some short workouts here and there, I think. 

 

@Rurik Harrgath got my Mom's old couch out of the living room, so we should be able to start doing yoga in there tonight, which will be a huge win - the space we made in the bedroom is now just full of stuff (that's our only room right now). 

 

For myself this last week I bought myself some plants for my office, and then last night I repotted them after they arrived (first time ordering plants on etsy, was super nervous, but they arrived perfect in the mail!)

 

Here are two of them:

 

 

Anyway, getting outside should be easy. Getting movement should be easy. 

 

Just need to stay on track.

 

Wheeeeee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

With old spiders and webs, I found a good first step is to use an extension hose on the vaccuum cleaner with a sold extender to reach up high and get the stuff, and most importantly, NOT HAVE TO TOUCH SPIDERS OR THEIR CURSED CORPSES!

[MaeradCase]

I realize the reasons I've never had a giant dumpster are listable (raised to hold onto things in case one needs them later, storing things if there's not room, never discarding much in comparison to the street-side trash bin, and/or living in an apt. with a dumpster), but I honestly can't imagine filling a dumpster, and the concept seems terrifying to my crow brain.

[spezzy]

On 8/1/2022 at 1:14 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

With old spiders and webs, I found a good first step is to use an extension hose on the vaccuum cleaner with a sold extender to reach up high and get the stuff, and most importantly, NOT HAVE TO TOUCH SPIDERS OR THEIR CURSED CORPSES!

 

Okay but then what do you do with all of the spiders that are now alive inside of the vacuum cleaner? 

 

 

On 8/1/2022 at 8:39 PM, MaeradCase said:

I realize the reasons I've never had a giant dumpster are listable (raised to hold onto things in case one needs them later, storing things if there's not room, never discarding much in comparison to the street-side trash bin, and/or living in an apt. with a dumpster), but I honestly can't imagine filling a dumpster, and the concept seems terrifying to my crow brain.

 

And we'll need many more, probably! 

 

Part of the problem is we're doing a lot of renovations, and with that comes a lot of garbage, but the bigger problem is really that there's just a lot of stuff here. My Mom was also raised to hold on to things in case one needs them later, and we have 73 years of stuff here. She still has her Mother's old mangle iron and sewing machine, the bed she slept in as a child, etc. She also doesn't throw much of anything away (she's a hoarder), and we have a basement full of things that had been stored that then got flooded and are now moldy, a garage full of who knows what that has been rained on after the roof gave in, and then everything in the rabbitry, so it's just a lot of stuff that has to go. We've been able to move almost all of the items up into storage except one bedroom, which is still completely full, but anything moldy or broken is just going. 

 

I'm personally a minimalist - not to the extreme but everything I have has function and purpose and is used- and I think I am this way because I grew up around so much stuff. Being back here around it has caused just a tiiiiny bit of anxiety  

 

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

35 minutes ago, spezzy said:

Okay but then what do you do with all of the spiders that are now alive inside of the vacuum cleaner? 

 

Run the vaccum long enough and they will not be alive.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

1 minute ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Run the vaccum long enough and they will not be alive.

Also, you are out in the country. Get a fire going, then if it's a bagged vaccuum, through the bag on the fire, if it's bagless, dump the container onto the fire.

 

Then through more wood on the fire, just to be sure.

[Aquarii]

57 minutes ago, spezzy said:

On 8/1/2022 at 1:14 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

 

 

Okay but then what do you do with all of the spiders that are now alive inside of the vacuum cleaner? 

Put poison in the vacuum beforehand?

[MaeradCase]

2 hours ago, spezzy said:

Part of the problem is we're doing a lot of renovations, and with that comes a lot of garbage, but the bigger problem is really that there's just a lot of stuff here. My Mom was also raised to hold on to things in case one needs them later, and we have 73 years of stuff here. She still has her Mother's old mangle iron and sewing machine, the bed she slept in as a child, etc. She also doesn't throw much of anything away (she's a hoarder), and we have a basement full of things that had been stored that then got flooded and are now moldy, a garage full of who knows what that has been rained on after the roof gave in, and then everything in the rabbitry, so it's just a lot of stuff that has to go. We've been able to move almost all of the items up into storage except one bedroom, which is still completely full, but anything moldy or broken is just going. 

Ah! I see! I can say that my history of changing homes has limited my ability to accumulate drifts of possessions, but I'll also say that moving my reasonable hoard of things (on a wide range of necessary versus sentimental) into an occupied house with my husband left a lot of things in boxes because there wasn't room. Going through stuff now to discard low necessity & low enough sentimentality from both our collections is a little exhausting for me, but I've been contributing a tithe to the discard pile. 😅

 

I can imagine how all that time allows for accumulation. Sorry it's giving you anxiety. Good on you, though, for tackling it.

1 hour ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Also, you are out in the country. Get a fire going, then if it's a bagged vaccuum, through the bag on the fire, if it's bagless, dump the container onto the fire.

 

Then through more wood on the fire, just to be sure.

Oh my gosh, but then they can escape and run around on fire. 😳😰

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

2 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

Oh my gosh, but then they can escape and run around on fire.

Not if the fire is hot enough.

[bigm141414]

On 8/5/2022 at 2:18 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Not if the fire is hot enough.

 

[bigm141414]

On 8/5/2022 at 9:29 AM, spezzy said:

We've been able to move almost all of the items up into storage except one bedroom, which is still completely full, but anything moldy or broken is just going. 

 

Are you contemplating selling anything instead of throwing it out? I know that is a decision for you and your mom to work through, but there are estate sale companies that will come in, catalog everything, set up the online listing site and handle the transactions. My family used one when we cleans out and finally cleaned out and sold the family ranch a few years ago (which while not 73 years of junk it did have 40 years of accumulated stuff from various points in my family's life). It was a lifesaver to not have to worry about running it ourselves. Plus I felt better knowing that we weren't leaving good stuff to be wasted. 

[Rurik Harrgath]

On 8/5/2022 at 11:29 AM, spezzy said:

Okay but then what do you do with all of the spiders that are now alive inside of the vacuum cleaner? 

 

My solution to most problems:

 

 

On 8/5/2022 at 12:05 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Run the vaccum long enough and they will not be alive.

 

Coming soon to theaters near you...

 

SPIDER NADO

 

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/36900000/-Sharknado-gif-whiteclaw-36979487-600-425.gif

 

On 8/5/2022 at 1:44 PM, MaeradCase said:

Oh my gosh, but then they can escape and run around on fire. 😳😰

 

Then you need MOAR FIRE

 

 

14 hours ago, bigm141414 said:

Are you contemplating selling anything instead of throwing it out? 

 

Can confirm we have not come across a gol-danged thing of value yet 🤣 although we've sequestered some home goods and tools away, even those are of dubious quality at best!

 

Even things like yard tools, the lawnmower and snowblower, all need refinishing and tune-ups to even function.  She was ready to throw out of the weed whacker but all it needed was a carb tune-up and to properly prime it before firing up haha

[spezzy]

On 8/5/2022 at 2:44 PM, MaeradCase said:

Ah! I see! I can say that my history of changing homes has limited my ability to accumulate drifts of possessions, but I'll also say that moving my reasonable hoard of things (on a wide range of necessary versus sentimental) into an occupied house with my husband left a lot of things in boxes because there wasn't room. Going through stuff now to discard low necessity & low enough sentimentality from both our collections is a little exhausting for me, but I've been contributing a tithe to the discard pile. 😅

 

I can imagine how all that time allows for accumulation. Sorry it's giving you anxiety. Good on you, though, for tackling it.

 

 

Going through stuff and getting rid of stuff, especially stuff with any sentimental value can be really difficult.  It's funny what can be in those boxes, too, sometimes, isn't it? Before I moved away, I left some things in her attic, and everything I've looked through so far doesn't even make sense on why I would want to keep it (like an ex-boyfriend's band's CD broken in half????), but who knows, that was Spezzy of 10 years ago.  So it's been pretty easy to just throw everything that I thought was super valuable at the time away. 

 

One of my favorite tips for those sentimental value enough that we want to keep it but not so much that it gets a prime display spot, is to take a picture of it and keep a photo album of sentimental things.  (Can even be digital - mine all are ). 

 

That way you can achieve the goal of keeping the sentimental thing (hit of happiness when you see it and a jolt of the happiness from the memory), without actually keeping the sentimental thing. This works especially well for sentimental things previously not out on display - I'm about as likely to open up that photo album as I am to go through that box of stuff, so it works well. 

 

With situations like it is here, though, there are a lot of things caused by mental health - and it's something she's working on with a mental health professional, and I'm super proud of her for doing that, especially in her 70's. So it is causing anxiety, but it's actually good that we can deal with it now, while she's still alive, and it's great to see her start to move past it on her terms. This is a much better situation all around for everyone - even if there have been some really emotionally charged days here!

 

 

17 hours ago, bigm141414 said:

 

Are you contemplating selling anything instead of throwing it out? I know that is a decision for you and your mom to work through, but there are estate sale companies that will come in, catalog everything, set up the online listing site and handle the transactions. My family used one when we cleans out and finally cleaned out and sold the family ranch a few years ago (which while not 73 years of junk it did have 40 years of accumulated stuff from various points in my family's life). It was a lifesaver to not have to worry about running it ourselves. Plus I felt better knowing that we weren't leaving good stuff to be wasted. 

 

4 hours ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

 

Can confirm we have not come across a gol-danged thing of value yet 🤣 although we've sequestered some home goods and tools away, even those are of dubious quality at best!

 

Even things like yard tools, the lawnmower and snowblower, all need refinishing and tune-ups to even function.  She was ready to throw out of the weed whacker but all it needed was a carb tune-up and to properly prime it before firing up haha

 

Yeah - it's mostly books and personal items that aren't really worth much. A few things might be if we actually put the time and effort and money into refinishing them, but probably would cost more to refinish than they'd be worth after. A few books, but she's not ready to get rid of her books yet anyway. (And by a few books, I mean we've moved probably over 50 boxes of books already and there are still more to go). We got her a storage unit so everything will go there and she can go through everything in her own time on her own terms, which is really important as this whole situation has been really hard on her. She's doing amazing and really trying and is willing to work towards change, but it's a process and we're hoping the storage unit will allow the time to process on her own timelines

 

We've made a deal with her to buy the basement, rabbitry, yard, and garage from her as is including all of the "stuff" because a lot of it is stuff we can either fix and use or fix and sell (like the lawn mowers, snow blower, rabbit cages, etc) or are tools that she won't need anymore (ladders, hammers, etc). 

 

The only stuff we're throwing away is actual trash - like everything that was in/is in this room 🙃