Last winter, we had some problems with out heating system, and while they were changing the unit, our pipes in the basement froze and split. While we weren't financially liable, the disruption it caused was large and there was a fair amount of stress to reorganize our lives, while the weather was -30C (-22F).
We don't know if the unit is going to cope this winter either, but to try and improve the situation slightly, I have blocked up some of the external ventilation conduits to the basement to stop the majority of airflow. This will hopefully keep the ambient temperate a few degrees higher in the depths of winter, and I will remove the stoppers when the weather warms again. I have also used some window seal tape and aluminium-backed insulation board to cover a couple of the windows up down there also, to hopefully add some support to help.
One task down.
It feels good to finally start getting onto my unemployment tasks, because up until now, not working has been pretty busy! Other things have been done of course, but this one has been "pending" for far too long, and I am glad I have got it done before the weather has dropped too far. Today though, it is above freezing again anyway. But one thing in Finland is certain for a while longer at least - winter will be cold.
There are quite a few things on my to-do list, but I feel at times like I am just making up work for myself to stay busy. However, perhaps as long as it is useful tasks, it is better to be busy doing something, than waste the time doing nothing. This week I reckon I am going to start on "operation cupboard clean" to reorganise all of our storage spaces, and remove anything that doesn't fit, isn't worn, hasn't been used in over a year or will never be used again. There is no point storing it, and perhaps it will be possible to either donate or even sell some of it on to people who will use it.
For someone who likes to have a minimalistic surround, our place has a lot of crap stuffed into corners, and it is time to get back to my roots. I have never been a fan of little knickknacks and random things on shelves that make dusting difficult, nor of a lot of junk piled in corners and storage areas. I think it is because that is the kind of house I grew up in and my response as an adult is to move as far away from that as possible.
Be better than our parents?
And I guess, that in order to help Smallsteps reach her potential, I am going to have to be a decent role model and not set the bar very low. The benefit of this approach is of course, I have to up my game too, which means realising a little more of my own potential than I do. Potential is nothing until it is realised and becomes something, and I have wasted the majority of mine over the years, spending the time doing not much of consequence, and not even really that much I enjoyed. I feel I am definitely one of the people who has "passed the time" on not much.
While I can't go back and change history, if I change my habits going forward, I might be able to extract a little more from myself than I would have otherwise. An organised house might not seem like much, but when things are in their place, less thought and energy has to go into the normal daily, mundane tasks of life. For instance, I spent about an hour looking for something that that I "knew" where I had put it originally, thinking I would remember.
I didn't.
When things have a place, and that place is consistently used for what belongs there, so many of the random time-waster events are skipped, so time can be better spent elsewhere. Not only is it saving time, but also a lot of frustration also, which tends to have a knock-on effect on other activities, as well as moods. And I hope that I am not the only one who benefits from a clean house, nor the only one who maintains the organized approach - though I feel that last one is going to be left to me.
And now that I am home most days, looking at the clock, it is time for Smallsteps to get home and we can make some dinner together so we can eat as a family. There are some benefits to being unemployed I guess. Well, while we can still afford food that is.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
