I did laundry today

And I didn’t leave home to do it. Last Sunday a former co-worker and her husband brought over a washer & dryer. They just bought a house and it came with a better washer and dryer than the one they had. She called me up and said I could have the old ones so I said yes and they brought them over and hooked them up and everything. It is so different being able to do laundry and not have to go to the laundromat. I decided I had better wash my clothes today just in case either machine did not work and then I would have some time to go to the laundromat should I need to. The only fly in the ointment is it only does hot water. The spigot on the cold has been removed so I need to get a new one and put it on and then turn on the cold water. I don’t want to use hot water for laundry. I want to save energy (gas hot water heater). So now of course the electric bill will go up. On the other hand, I don’t have to save quarters to do laundry 🙂

I did not buy a newspaper today I went to craigslist.org to find who was having a garage sale. Today I started earlier in the day to go garage saleing because I didn’t have to do laundry, but it still was not early enough. I did get some more things though. Now my list is shorter. Only one person so far has looked at me funny for asking them to fill out a receipt from the receipt book I carry with me. Everybody else has been very nice. Now I carry coupons so that the next person that asks what business and where and is interested I can give them a coupon. I have two coupons, one is free and one is for 60% off.

I have been waiting and waiting for a fax with some paperwork from the IRS but it has not come. One place on the irs.gov/ website says four business days and one place says about a week. It has been four days and Monday it will be a week. Perhaps I should try to fill out other paperwork that I need to without this orginal paperwork.

Before Friday I had entered vendors and employees into QuickBooks. Friday I started entering checks and then started on credit card transactions. Then I will do the bank statements. As soon as I get the paperwork that I talked about above I will be able to to payroll. I now have the boss’s Accountant’s contact info so next time I have a question I can ask her. I figured out one problem so far.

Monday the cash register comes back. Somehow i think the circuit was fried on it so they had to take it and reprogram it. Now we have an outlet to plug it into that we didn’t have before, we were using an extension cord and the whole electric issue in the office was a mess. We had an electrician come in and do some stuff, he finishes on Monday. I am not so sure about the cash register I have been using a computer one so this will be an adjustment. The boss is counting on me to be able to ring up people so tomorrow I study the book and Monday I will take notes. I have been taking pictures of all the things we have been getting, to use as inventory.

Thursday I hooked up the camera to my computer and transferred the pics and saved them. Then I went to craigslist.org and posted a free ad. I uploaded the pics of an oil drum we wanted to get rid of. I got one call on the business phone Friday and two emails. The phone call was the first contact I had and he wanted it bad. I promised him I would reserve it for him. Well 11 am Friday came and went and he didn’t show up so I got worried because he said he would be there by then. I figured that I would either contact the other two people that were interested or re-post the ad. The guys came in and and said the oil drum was gone. I breathed a sigh of relief. Just think! I made it happen by just a few clicks of the mouse.

And yes I have been looking at the free ads on craigslist.org to try to find some of the stuff on my list. We needed a refrigerator and one ad had three but you had to take all three :(.

I started by just crossing the street in front of my house

I was on a mission. I had finished the laundry and rearranged the living and kitchen areas. Now I was after bigger fish. I was going garage saleing. Yes, moi who NEVER goes garage saleing unless I am with someone else that wants to and then I just tag along. When I did the laundry earlier I saw some signs posted at the edge of the street on my way back home.

I had a (hit) list and some items had measurements. Just across the street kitty corner was the first of many stops to make. I looked around and saw a ceiling fan brand new still in the box. They wanted 30$. Too much and I didn’t know if my new boss needed one, so I finished looking and said I hoped they would have a good (selling) day.

I had purchased and perused the Saturday morning paper and circled likely prospects. So when I got in the car, I looked at my circled items and then decided to………follow the signs. So then the adventure began. The first sign had the address but I couldn’t find it so I followed the next sign I saw. I bought a rug and a rack that the shop can use for magazines.

I had purchased a receipt book and I had my pen with me. I bought a receipt book because my plan was to have the people selling me the item to fill it out, that way each one would have a different handwriting and that would be enough proof so that my new boss would not think I was trying to stiff him. Then back in the car after stuffing those items in the trunk. More signs to follow.

Next place there was a picture in a large frame. Someone there gasped that ‘you have a list, how organized’. I asked for a measuring tape and the dude asked what for so I said I needed the frame but I didn’t bring my tape so I could measure. Then as an aside while he was looking for a tape, I said to the gal ‘not so organized after all, I didn’t bring a tape’ and smiled. I measured the frame and it was the exact size I needed so I bought it.

Next place advertised that it was a ‘back yard sale’. I followed the stuff to the back yard and found a tablecloth. It had a stain but hey I could put something on the stain. Then I noticed YARN and more yarn and more yarn. A partially knitted Scandinavian Afghan was under a table in a bag with the rest of the yarn. I slowly made my way back to the front of the yard and there were boxes and boxes of yarn and craft stuff and needles and then…..I said to myself ‘snap out of it you aren’t buying stuff for yourself’. I bought the tablecloth and got in the car and drove to the next signs and followed them.

The next place I bought a picture of a Porsche for 50 cents. The next place after that, I bought a coffee table for the customer’s lounge for TEN dollars but I couldn’t put it in my trunk because I already had stuffed my trunk full. So I got his address and he gave me his card so I could call to make arrangements to pick it up. The next and final place I bought some material for the sink curtain to hide the bathroom plumbing fixtures and the toilet plunger.

I drove home after I called and left a message with my boss about the coffee table and how I couldn’t pick it up and could he. I relaxed at home for a bit and I got to thinking that if I emptied the trunk I could go back and get the coffee table. So I drove to the shop and proceeded to empty the trunk. Then it was that tragedy struck. I couldn’t find my phone.

I pulled over to a parking lot and searched my entire car and no phone. I continued to drive and thinking about where could I have lost my phone. I remembered charging my phone while I was taking a break so it was either at home or I dropped it at the shop. I continued on my way back to the address with the coffee table. Oh no! I couldn’t find it right away. I drove past my very last stop and tried to think. Then at the next major intersection I turned and ended up going south and there was a sign that I remembered and I hoped that this was the one. Success!!!!

Had a little trouble getting the coffee table in the car but the dude that sold me the coffee table helped me out and found something to tie the trunk down with. All the way to the shop I had the flashers on and drove slowly and continued to look in the rear view mirror to see if all was well. I made it back to the shop and put the coffee table inside. I was hoping to find my phone. I looked in every room that I had been in and lo and behold there it was on the floor in the supply room. I checked it immediately to see if anyone had called because I was expecting two calls but how about that I did not miss any calls.

It was so easy to go garage saleing, all I had to do was follow the signs like Hansel and Gretel followed the crumbs. Next week I am going to start much earlier. I still have some items remaining on my list but I won’t need a measuring tape next week.