Santa's Recycle Program

Have you heard of Elf on the Shelf?  (If no, go here.)

We have one named Percy.  This year, I wanted my kids to take a bigger part of cleaning out their room for the new stuff.  I came up with Santa's Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Program.  Santa sent an email to my kids about this program.  This email basically said that our Elf, Percy, will be bringing toys bags for broken and unwanted toys.  The Elf will take them back to the North Pole when he 'flies' back to give Santa the daily behavior report.  The unwanted toys will be passed on to other well behaved children.  The broken ones will be fixed and returned, if wanted, or passed on.

I have also decided that on Christmas Eve, Santa will also leave his presents in their bags, instead of wrapping them or putting them under a blanket.

I made a simple pull string bag.  What do you think?

No Hot Water

What do you do if you wake up and your husband tells you there is no hot water?  Did I mention that it is Saturday and many companies double their service rate just to come out to see what is wrong?  Don't even ask about the cost of the pieces to replace what is broken.  Oh, and your husband can't help because he has to go to Annual Training.  So what is a girl to do?  She calls her Dad and does some 'research' via the internet and a friend.

First thing, Electric tester.  I didn't have one so I borrowed one from my neighbor.  (similiar to this )  He explained how to use it.  No problem.  I knew where the elements are located on my water heater so I checked both of them.  The bottom one gave me a reading, but the top element did not.  So, next I called Lowe's to see if they would have replacement elements for my water heater.  Also, mentioned that I might need additional info on how to change them.  :)  

So I loaded up my kids and headed to Lowe's.  The gentleman that helped me was very helpful by finding me the correct elements and the tool.  He was a little surprised to learn that I knew to turn off the electricity  and water to the tank, drain the tank, and most importantly to not turn the electricity back on without water in the tank.  I did replace both elements since I had to drain the tank anyway.  

Armed with the tool and new element piece, I came home and turned off water and electricity to the water heater.  Then I hooked up a hose to drain the tank.  While waiting for the tank to drain, I disconnected the wires to the elements.  I then had to use a mini sledge to help loosen the old elements.  This is what one of the old elements looked like that I pulled out.  

Before putting in the new element, be sure to remove the old o-ring piece.

Place new o-ring on new element and place it into heater.  Tighten.  Do this for both elements. Turn on water, to refill tank. When tank if full, you may turn on electricity.  It may take a few minutes before you have hot water.  So don't worry, if it takes a while to warm up.  

Talk about savings?

Cost of pieces at Lowe's $25...

Cost of just service call (parts not included) from local Company $130

I SAVED over $105 by doing it myself.

Mission: Turn Basement into More Usable Space

Again, with the temperature outside in the 100s, we have been playing in our basement a lot.  I am tired of walking through the stuff.  I decided to again work on cleaning out the basement and turn it into a room for our homeschool.  (I did some things last year found here and here.)


Where to start?  Let's play what is in boxes?  I came across one box with 2 different labels...

What is really in it?  I knew that it wasn't anything corrosive or liquid, but it could be really light and easy to move if it had empty binders and folders....  Wrong again!

It was really filled with heavy hardback books.

Ever notice when you clean, you actually make a bigger mess to start?  

Notice all the stuff behind the kids...

Even the dog comes to hang out with us and to watch us play.   Really the dog is just another obstacle for me to work around when moving/sorting boxes.  

 I did most of the work when I had just my youngest little helper. 

My two older children went to Nana's house for a few days. Let's see what I can get done while they are gone.  Better yet, let's see what I can move out :)

Snow White

It seems like a lot of people are going to Disney.  

(We are not going to Disney any time soon...still working on paying off our debt. )

 Some friends have been asking me if I can make Disney dresses.  You may remember the Disney pillowcase dress/outfit that I made.  Another friend asked about a Snow White Dress.  

I was putting off making this dress for one reason...elastic thread.  There I said it.  I was afraid.  Turns out it was nothing to be afraid of.  :)  Now my 2 girls also want a Snow White Dress.    

If you would like to learn to use elastic thread, here is a tutorial.  

Hanging Organizer

I found a picture on  Pinterest  (find me here)  of this organizer being used in the car for books.   I thought it would work great when we travel.  A friend of mine also wanted one for her car and asked if I would make one for her.  

 There was not a 'how-to' for this one, but I thought how hard could it be?  It wasn't hard at all.  In fact, I'll be making a few more ...one for my car and some for our homeschool folders.  

Here is my little helper.  Isn't she cute? 

Improved Money Holder System

Do you remember my previous fabric money holder?  Well, I wanted to improve it.  Plus, the one I made for myself sold.  My new one is less bulky and has a area to hold my driver's license and other cards like museum passes.  I have written my labels on the fabric but I need to redo it as the white is to light.

We are so close to being Debt Free!  Want to read our story?  Go here.

Our Debt Story

The following story is not for the faint of heart. It is a story of bondage; and of freedom. It is a story of despair; and of hope. It is a story of normalcy; and true, unadulterated weirdness. It is a story of one family’s journey through the dark forests of MasterCard while battling the Vikings of Capitol One. It is a story of how that family Discovered a new way to Chase the American Dream, and how they built a new future for their family and left FICO way, way behind.

The story began with the first car loan, acquired 15 years ago, and the student loans for college. It continues with more car loans, credit cards the family “just had to have for emergencies” that became, “we can make the payments!” Always asking, “How much down? How much a month.” Instead of asking simply, “How much.” This family wandered into $160,891 of debt, not counting their house! We played the “credit card shell game” for a while and transferred balances from one card to another and looked for new, low rates. We locked in a few rates and called ourselves smart; but the debt remained. 

On a warm, sunny day in June, 2008, we decided that we had had enough. We were sick of making good money, but always being broke. We were sick of the mental gymnastics that were required to keep shuffling the debt. We were sick of random fees charged by banks and credit cards just to see if we were paying attention. That June, we decided to take action. We set our sights on the card with the lowest balance; a First National Bank of Omaha Visa card with $3,072 on it and pulled the trigger. By September it was gone. We took aim next at one of our vehicles. In January 2009, both of us had stumbled across the same book on same day; one from the local library, the other an audio download. We began to read/listen to the book on the same day and began discussing it when we were just halfway through, shocked that the other had been reading/listening to the book at the same time. The book: Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover. All of the information in the book was common sense. None of it was new. However, it was presented in such a way that it motivated us to step up to the next level. We followed the book for about a year and then decided to take the full plunge and attend “Financial Peace University.” Convinced that “Dave” wasn’t going to teach me anything I didn’t already know, I was shocked to find out how off base I really was!

We are now 48 months into our “Total Money Makeover.” We are budgeting every month before the month begins. In the past, we never really talked about money. We didn’t fight, but we didn’t talk either. Now we are talking about money and planning the month ahead because WE are now in control. In the past 48 months, we have paid off $141,601. At the rate we are going, we expect to be debt free (not counting the house) by before the end of this year! 

In a country of 609.8 million credit cards, and 3.5 cards per cardholder, and a credit card revolving debt of $852.6 Billion, we are a family striving for total weirdness! Less than 25% of the American population does not have a credit card, and we intend to join them. The average FICO score in America is 769, and yet our goal is FICO = ZERO. The bottom line is, who gets the money? Our family or the bank? Embrace weirdness! Live for your family and your future!


Written by my Husband <3