March 1, 2015 - Garbage Pickers

                                                               By Joan Whetzel
 

I love our garbage pickers. My respect and gratitude for them increases with every cleaning project we’ve undertaken. They have scavenged our garbage for items I was pretty certain the regular garbage collectors would not take. Everything from rusty bikes and metal shelving units, to old desks and rickety garden tools, and even blocks of wood. The latest encounter with our neighborhood garbage pickers occurred 2 weeks ago.

We had just demolished the tool shed out back. We were able to tear down everything but the floor using a chain saw, power drill (with screwdriver bits), hammers and a crowbar. The people from Bagster.com hauled off the tool shed remains for a total cost of $170 – including the bag. The only thing waiting for demolition is the floor. We have opted for propping the floor against the back wall of the garage (out of site for the most part). We will leave it that way for a month, or 2, or 5…until the weathering makes it easier to wield our chain saw.

In the meantime, we were still faced with the sheer number of cinder blocks placed under the barn floor. A little more than 3 dozen in all. There’s no way we were keeping that many cinder blocks. We have no use for them. They’ll just take up space wherever we put them.

So we grabbed our dolly and took the first 10 cinder bricks to the curb, where we left them as a test. If the garbage pickers took them, we’d do the same with the remaining cinder blocks. We didn’t have long to wait. About 45 minutes later, one of the lawn care crews working in our neighborhood came knocking at our door.

“Are you getting rid of those cinder blocks? Can I have them?”

Uh, let me think, “Yes. Absolutely. Please take them off my hands. In fact, I have some more out back. Would you like those too?”

Faster than you can say “Yea! Free Stuff!” those 3 guys had pulled the wheelbarrow off their work trailer, rolled it to the back yard, and cleared out the remaining 2 dozen plus cinder blocks. In less than an hour, those cinder blocks were history. The garbage pickers have picked up (literally) the heaviest part of our demolition job, free of charge. The completion date for the flooring demolition is still up in the air (or lolly-gagging behind the garage, to be more precise), but it, too, will be taken care of in good time by the Dames of Demolition because we have power tools – and garbage pickers – and we know how to use them.

Week of February 22, 2015 - Tax Time

By Joan Whetzel

Yeah, it’s tax time again. I was dreading it, but not as much as last year. Last year, I had a lot more to contend with – Mark’s estate, my inheritance, unreimbursed medical bills, the mortgage and mortgage insurance, etc. - so it was necessary to hire a CPA which was worth every cent.

I think part of my dread had to do with memories of my dad sitting at the kitchen table, with all the IRS booklets, an adding machine, a half dozen pencils all sharpened and lined up like a row of soldiers - and a bottle of aspirin.

I also had memories of my husband pouring over the same tax forms and books for the first couple of decades of our marriage. When Turbo Tax came into the picture, it sped up his process, more or less. He was still so disorganized it took him forever to find all the bits and pieces of information he’d put away for safe keeping. At any rate, he never let me forget how hard it was to do the taxes (hinting that I was too stupid to figure it out for myself). Actually, it wasn’t stupidity that kept me from doing the taxes; I just didn’t want to do them, plain and simple. Why should I go through all that paperwork when I had someone else to have all that fun for me?

This year, I had so few things to deal with, that I decided to forego the CPA do my own taxes, with help from Turbo Tax. Mostly because it is the next step toward standing up on my own two feet. I had a backup plan in case I ran into any problems I couldn’t figure out with Turbo Tax. The local library, in a joint effort with AARP, provides tax assistance for seniors and low income families, twice a week between February 1^st and mid-April. I could always go talk to them if I needed anything.

As it turns out, I didn’t need the library and the AARP. I had collected all the necessary receipts and proof of income in one place which made it quick, easy, and quite painless to finish. I only needed to call the IRS once to clear up one tiny piece of information. I submitted my taxes on Friday the 13^th and my Tax Return will be direct-deposited into my savings in short order. I’ve already gotten word from my bank that the deposit is pending for this Monday, a mere 10 days after filing. I will continue to do my own taxes from now on, just because I can.

Week of Feb. 15, 2015 - Dames of Demolition

By Joan Whetzel

 

We’re coming up on 2 years since my husband died. In almost 3 years to be semi-exact. Of all the things my daughter and I have learned in that short time, the biggest thing is how much we can do for ourselves.

True there are some jobs that required hiring some help – fixing the soffits under the upstairs roof, cutting down a huge growing tree too close to the garage trimming dead branches way high up in the pine tries. This was mainly because we lacked the tools and the skills to accomplish the task.

Bur we have discovered that, for most tasks, it’s cheaper to get the tools we need and do it ourselves. Last summer, for example, we rented a chain saw from Home depot to cut down another tree behind the garage. It taught us that we could wield a chain saw if need be. Last month, when it came time to trim back 2 badly overgrown crepe myrtle trees, we bit the bullet and bought our own chain saw for $90 and spent 2 weekends trimming the 2 trees. (We have a handful of small logs to use for firewood next winter.)

Last weekend we finished cleaning out the rotting, falling-apart tool shed out back. This weekend, my daughter, granddaughter, and I began the demolition of the monstrosity. All it took was our new chainsaw, a crowbar, 2 hammers, and hand drill with screwdriver bits.

Next weekend, we’re going to try and complete the demolition by destroying the floor to the barn. Unfortunately, like a couple other projects the previous owner built, the floor and the barn itself were put together with about 10 times more screws and nails than were necessary. Worse, the particle board has a couple rotted spots, so it has to be torn down. We’ll go after it again with the chain saw, crow bar, and hand drill/screw driver again. Of course, if anyone volunteered to lend a hand, the Dames of Demolition wouldn’t turn them down.