Progress continues

I believe the electrical work is mostly done until it's time to install actual outlets, switches and fixtures.  The plumbing is done or nearly so.  New windows are in.  (It's amazing how much more light the house is now that the windows are not covered with soot.)  There's a bathtub sitting in the right spot in the bathroom.  Doors have been ordered for everything except the front door.

The weekend before last, my mom, the little girl, and I went on a shopping weekend to Ikea, The Container Store, and World Market.  I got closet systems for all of the bedroom closets.  Yay!!!  It's basically like built in dressers in the closet so we don't have to use that room out in the bedrooms.  I got a kitchen faucet I really liked at Ikea and found a sink I like but I'll have to go back and get it since they were on back order.  I found some couches I like at Ikea and World Market.  Many couches make me feel like a little kid because when I sit on them, my feet don't touch the ground.  Ikea couches tend to be lower to the ground so I can sit on them and feel like a grown up.  I also found a dining table I plan to order at World Market.  We came back from that trip with the car loaded down with stuff.  Thank goodness the big girl had lots going on and couldn't come that weekend because we couldn't have fit everything in the car on the way home.  We're planning another shopping expedition at the end of March or beginning of April.

Tomorrow, I have a meeting with the contractor to go over remaining timeline, dollar allowances for some things, cabinet finishes, etc.

The progress isn't as fast as I'd like it to be...you know, since it's not done...but it's moving along.

Walkthrough

Yesterday, my mom and I met the contractor and construction supervisor at the house for a walk through.  The framing is mostly done (except for where we were going to put a pocket door but now we're not.  They were in the process of spraying the smell-killing stuff on the studs so the smoke smell doesn't leach out of the walls.  Yay!  (It's been a little delayed this week because of the temp.)

We talked about outlets, lights, doors, cabinets, where to put the sink in the kitchen, how to build out the pantry, etc.  The back porch is now a sun room and smaller than before but big enough.  I think it's going to be so much more useful with windows that can be closed to keep out the dust but opened when we want to.  I'm really excited about the change!

I felt really good about the walk through.  They gave us some good ideas and get what I want.  Electric work measurements for cabinets will start to happen next week, pending weather.  Today, my mom and I are going to look at doors at Lowes.

I wish we could just snap our fingers and be home but at least it's coming along.

Windows and more

I spoke with the construction supervisor today.  He ordered my new windows.  Yay!  They were spraying the stuff that kills the smoke smell today.  We have a meeting over there on Friday to talk about doors, electrical outlets, light switches and fixtures, tv placement, etc.  Yay again!

Another visit

We went over to the house again on Saturday.  As I've mentioned, the little girl is pretty scared of the house right now.  It came out that one of her big concerns is that she is going to fall through the floor into a great abyss.  I tried to explain to her that, while a crawl space is not somewhere I want to be, it's not deep and her head would still be above the floor even if she was standing on the floor of the crawl space.

Anyway, Saturday was a nice day so we went over there after the big girl's basket ball game.  The little girl did amazingly well.  We looked around and talked about the changes.  In the bathroom where the tub was, you can actually see through the floor to the crawl space.  I shined a flash light in there so the little girl could see just how not deep it was.  That made her feel slightly better.

After holding it together to tour the inside, we went out back.  The girls decided to put the trampoline to use for the first time since the day of the fire.  It was great to hear the little girl laugh so heartily in a place that brings up so much fear right now.

After we left the house, we rewarded ourselves with a trip to starbucks for coffee and chai lattes.  Yum!

Moving along

I have a busy week this week so my mom met with the contractor yesterday at the house to go over some things.  So glad my mom and I think a lot alike on this stuff and she has some great ideas on design stuff.  She's so handy to have as a mom. :-)

Anyway, the contractor told her that they should be done framing this week and sometime next week, I'll need to do a walk-through with them to talk about placement of light switches, electrical outlet, and light fixtures.  Wow! Wow! Wow!  I know there will be times that it will feel like it's dragging but I'm so glad that that time is not right now.

The contractor also told me that by the end of this week or the beginning of next week I should have a better schedule of when I'll need certain things for the house and what the financial allowances will be on different things.

I'm so frustrated with the dryer situation right now (I paid extra to have the company I bought it from hook it up but then they couldn't and it's been a mess but I adore the plumber that's been working on it and part of the issue now is the way the vent was put in the house.  Ugh!) that I need some good news.

Minimalism and money

Since we had the fire, I've had to buy some things...new underwear and socks, a new washer and drier, etc.  Still, I haven't bought a lot.  We were lucky enough to have enough kitchen supplies and furniture donated or loaned to us that we haven't needed to buy much for the rental.  Other than the new underwear and socks the night of the fire, I also haven't bought the girls any clothes or shoes related to the fire (that doesn't count the new riding boots I got the little girl...that was not because her old ones were fire damaged.  They were just too small.)  I have bought myself a few new clothing items but not many.

Anyway, since I started contributing to the retirement plan at work and funding a separate Roth, saving extra money has been hard with all the other necesities of daily life.

My motivation for not shopping now is that I really want to get by with the bare necessities until we move back home.  I want the girls to learn how to live with less stuff.  I want to have less stuff to clean and organize.  Plus, we don't have storage pieces of furniture...at least not much...nothing like we were used to having.

The amount of time spent cleaning and organizing while still having a neat house is tremendously decreased from our prefire life.  There are some things laying around because we don't have book shelves to put them on but our house doesn't look like a tornado hit.

Another benefit of not buying...extra money.  I get paid every two weeks.  Two weeks ago, I had $400 left over from my previous paycheck.  Yesterday was payday again and I had $300 left over.  That was after some extra eating out, a trip to the Ethiopian restaurant an hour and a half away, and buying myself a new fitbit for $140.  Had I been better about the food, I would have had lots more left over.

There are a lot of easier ways to achieve a more minimalist lifestyle.  However, since this one has been forced upon us, I'm going to enjoy the side benefits.

Framing has begun

I need to get some pics of the progress on here but until I do, here are some words.

Demo is done.  (Well, there may be some to finish in the garage.  I didn't get to check that out today.)  Framing started inside on Tuesday!!!

The girls and I stopped by tonight after work/school.  We didn't get to stay long because the little girl panicked.  (Anxiety sucks and house fires make anxiety explode!!)  Still, they'd started framing the new walls in the kitchen and utility room area.  They'd framed the new closet in the little girl's room and closed of her old closet and opened it up into the big girl's room.  There's more work to be done on the big girl's new closet and her old closet hasn't been reframed yet.  Oh, and they'd also framed over the fireplace since that's going to be closed off with sheet rock.

I wish I could have looked around more but the panic attack forced a speedy exit.  Maybe tomorrow I can get by there without the little girl.

I was amazed at how fast the demo went.  It started on Monday and I went over Wednesday at noon and they were almost done inside.  It was crazy fast!

As far as the rebuild goes, the supervisor told me his guess is 90 to 120 days but don't quote him on that.  That would be mid April to mid May.  I am sooooo hoping he's right.  When we got back to the rental, the little girl said, "I hate this house!"  I have to agree with here, not because anything is wrong with this house.  It's just not our house.  I'm ready to be home again and so are the girls.  The big girl doesn't show it as much as the little girl does but they're both feeling lots of stress over this life change.

While on break, the little girl's anxiety wasn't so bad.  Since they've been back in school, it's been out of control.  I'm getting lots of what-if questions related to fires that I can never give satisfactory answers too because the situations she presents will lead only to death.  If were trapped by fire in a room and every exit is blocked, I can't give her an acceptable answer that will save us. :-(

Getting back home will bring it's own set of worries...after all it caught fire once, right?  However, it will also bring peace in settling back in with our own stuff, having the dogs back with us, etc.

Oh, and the really good news with the rebuild...the changes I'm making, many of which I'd planned to do in about 5 years, will cost about $6,000 over the insurance payment.  Basically, I'm getting my remodel for $6,000.  Now, I would have rather waited 5 years and paid for it myself than lose everything and suffer the trauma that is a house fire but since we did, we might as well celebrate the silver linings.

Now, I'm off to peruse pinterest for ideas.