Misti, I know from where you speak!! I have ADD, so getting focused is a daily struggle at our business and at home. I make lists, even if it's not something that will be accomplished for weeks. If you see things as one task at a time and not the whole picture I find it easier not to get overwhelmed. If you'd like to learn to sew I can certainly help you out even long distance. My first suggestion is to pickup a sewing book Readers Digest has one that's my all time fav! or Simplicity has a great one I don't recall it's name but it's spiral bound, that's the one I used when I was teaching beginner's. If there is a Joann Fabrics (their patterns ate always 50% off) in your area check out the pattern books for patterns for nifty pillows. Kate's right you two have been working hard. Kick back for a bit. Remember Rome wasn't built in a day! I've still got boxes that need to be unpacked and I moved here 4 years ago. Don't sweat the small stuff. If I can help further with sewing advice email me @ marion@chromehorseperformance.com. I'd love to help! Marion

I think cardboard and or newspaper, then peastraw, then bark mulch like pine it naturally suppresses weeds, also this mainly suppresses the old weeds, some will naturally pop up in the mulch as it breaks down from any seeds or new running weeds from lawns or fence lines etc. I'm creating a brand new cutting flower bed in our orchard, trying to spray the woody weeds (different ones here in our country) and then a general spray possibly a few times a few weeks apart, then layering cardboard on the stubborn areas, thick newspaper on the others, then using some cut up branches from tree pruning, then peastraw, then compost, then rinsed off fresh kelp seaweed from our local beach, then bark mulch, leave it to break down over our mostly wet winter here. Then come spring after the last frost I'll begin planting out seedling started in trays. I'll have to maintain the weeding as we get a lot of wind, may try spot treatment dab on weed killers but see how we go. Because of our compacted clay soil the lasagne gardening style seems to work well. One think I found was running weeds tried to creep into the mulch so wil try to cut out large gutters and weed spray these. Then mostly I just dig blood and bone into the planting holes. Using leaf mulch around plant bases can work too. Lots of different methods I think it can depend on what you need. I found the weed suppressant mat wasn't permeable enough for water, in a heavy rain the mulch washed off areas since the water wasn't absorbed fast enough into the soil, and then weeds actually grew on top of it anyway from seed so a waste of money in my opinion. Try libraries for newspaper, and maybe a big white ware or electronics store for cardboard.

I'm inundated with those stupid moths too. Usually, every time I bring ANYTHING grain related home, I immediately put it in the freezer for 24 hrs to make sure any and all critters eggs are dead. (used to be just weevils, now it's those stupid moths) Most of those critters come in the food from the manufacturer. I too was on the austerity program and had to purchase food from the food bank. Usually, if I DO see any critters in a bag, I put it in the freezer before putting it in the trash. I went to open a box/inner bag of cereal and it was loaded with those nasty moths. I just threw the bag in the trash and I have regretted not putting it in the freezer ever since. They are an infestation now. I took everything out of my pantry and put it in the freezer THEN I threw them out. I put borax,which does kill them, all around my pantry left it closed for a few days then vacuumed the dead moths out & now the pantry is free of moths. I thought AWESOME!!! the fight is over or so I thought. Then I went into my coat closet and just happened to look up & there were about 20 of the cocoons in there. I took my broom and squashed & swept them all away. (BTW: I have one of those broom & dustpan kits where the broom fits into the dustpan & clips onto the handle. I put borax in the dustpan, so if the moths or cocoons are still alive after sweeping & squishing them, it will kill them, which it does). I was seeing baby moths flying all over. Since I saw the cocoons in the 1 closet, I decided to look in the ceiling of the rest of my closets. There were some in the linen closet. Then I went into the spare bedroom, to check the closet in there (which we keep the a/c vent partially closed and the lights off.) I almost had a heart attack. There must have been 100 of those cocoons hanging all around the edges of the ceiling and in the closet. There was no way I was going to be able to get all of them without dragging the ladder in & sweeping/squishing all of them. Well, I said all this to say: Is there anything I can just spray up there & kill all the moth cocoons before they hatch? I was thinking about using wasp spray, the stuff that shoots 20 feet. It says on the can that it also kills caterpillars. Which turn into butterflies. Moths are the devils version of butterflies. Butterflies are harmless and beautiful. Moths are ugly and very harmful. "Don't store up treasures here on earth where MOTHS and rust corrupts... Any comments?

Keep going Talley. Stuff like the hot rollers? Yes, donate if they still work. Full puzzles. yes, yes. I buy puzzles to use the pieces for crafts for my kids. Doesn't matter if they are all there or not. Needed curlers one year for a Halloween costume. I can see someone buying the rollers to paint and create some fun garden art. You have to stop thinking that people buy the stuff for the original purpose. They don't. I'm always looking for wool skirts that someone put in the wash and shrunk. I make braided wool rugs and those skirts are perfect. If clothing is really too worn out, I always cut the buttons off. A jar of buttons is great stuff for crafts. Then I cut the clothing up and use it for rags. Much better than throwing it out and then grabbing a paper towel. We keep a stash in the garge for things like wiping up oil and other things where I won't want to wash the rag. Just throw it away then. To me, books are consumables. I buy them at the thrift store, read and re-donate. Our library takes donations and then has a huge sale twice a year. I'm a long time quilter and I do some sewing (but more of a wanna be with that one). I got rid of my fabric stash several years ago. I think this fabric hoarding is awful. I've been a quilt appraiser for several years and am amazed at how much money people spend for stuff to just sit on the selves for years. Let's live our lives, not store them. I know you are in the city, so it's different than me just putting a bag in the van for the next time I'm out, but just fill a grocery bag every day and drop it off. Don't wait for a big load to go. Gloria