sheets my bed - 2 cotton matching, 1 modal, 1 flannel, 3-4 cotton mis-matches mac - 2 t-shirt, 1.5 cotton

guest bed just gets anything I am not using.

I culled 4 full sets earlier this year, they were old cotton family hand me downs and actually felt the crispest of all the cotton I had. The mis- matched I still have are also old and crisp.

This is where I long for a 4 sided clothes line [link] my ultimate one has amny lines, like pictured and cranks up and down.

OMG, I can't believe how much money I'm spending. And I'm not talking about the staggering amount of money I just borrowed. Or even the crazy ass luxury purchase I may or may not have made on Saturday. But just the regular moving stuff - $70 to replace the lightbulbs (recessed lighting - the bulbs were giving off so much heat I had to switch them out for the new kind right away, even aside from the energy issues. $100 on paint - just so far, that'll go up. And if I include the paint peripherals - brushes, rollers, etc. - there's another hundred. So much more I can't even detail. And then all the quasi-necessary stuff, new sheets and dishes, replacements for all kinds of crap that I didn't want to move. And then the furniture and electronic stuff I will need...jesus. The mortgage is the least of it.

brenda, you don't have to buy everything at once, do you?

Crap! There are barstools I need on Overstock. Thanks so much for reminding me. Not.

Sheets. About four sets, though I bought two more recently that went straight into packing boxes (see above). One of the new ones was the same as some I already have.

I love cotton, but I have to go either way high thread count or else sateen. I also have a few sheets that were my grandmother's that don't remotely match anything I own, but so amazingly soft. That's what got me hooked on the expensive stuff, really - new has to be really high quality to match old sheets for smoothness.

Can't stand the t-shirt/knit sheets. Even in winter, I want my sheets to feel cool.

Well, I don't have to. I'm just not doing very well at not doing it.

The quasi stuff, really no. I don't. I just really wasn't prepared (mentally) for how much I'd be spending on the pre-move stuff. Painting, sealing the grout, etc.... But I know me. And I know if I move into a place with white walls and unsealed grout, for example, in two years time I will be living in a place with pretty much all white walls and unsealed grout.

Plus, more seriously? I'm having more of a freak out about this all than I expected, and I think I'm trying to make this place "mine" as much and as quickly as possible to barrel past that.

Yeah, if someone could do me up a chart of what extra expenses I'll have as a homeowner, that would be helpful. I know it's been said, money pit, but I don't have a category for that in my budget.

I have two complete sets of a block print of leaves in a sage green with pale grey stems on ivory 500 ct Egyptian cotton percale. Which I mix with a set of grey percale and a set of sage sateen solid, with a few extra print and solid pillowcases. They're all probably six to eight years old, and were discounted new. No flannels or t-shirt stuff, we like the Egyptian cotton, me for the smooth, H for the weight. I actually like a little crispness in the linens when they're first changed.

if someone could do me up a chart of what extra expenses I'll have as a homeowner, that would be helpful.

A year later, I'm still hoping for this. I know it doesn't really help much, but we've run into stuff that looked small that turned out to be big (rearranging the whole HVAC system plus springing the dog from the pound when the heating guys let him out! on valentines day! when the original problem we called in with was a $75 fan!), and counterbalancing that, stuff that looked really big but turned out small (Dead AC in a 105 deg. heat wave -- all the cow-orkers were sharing horror stories of needing a new unit but it turned out to be a loose wire. And the priceless knowledge that we are now notorious with the HVAC guys.) IMverylimitedE, it's never easy when something goes wrong, but it balances out. And it helps to have friends you can buy off for the cost of a pizza.

how much does stuff cost?

My new dinning room/possible kitchen floor is 600.00 dollars. plus so far a new saw blade. We are making this floor from raw lumber ( think sliced up tree) . so add a millionbillion hours of labor. thank goodness for neighbors with some of the tools we need. and for the neighbor that has been jackhammering out his backyard . ( every time we thought today's labor was hard, K would start the jackhammer , and suddenly, are work felt easier) Our floor will be black acacia - there is a picture here

[link]

I'll have better ones later.

We have a second savings account( i put in like 1% of our paychecks , gift dollars, and 1/2 of other unexpected money) , not a lot of money in it, but it is where we save money for the next project. That's how I keep from charging things like paint,lawn mowers, sofas , etc.

better picture of what the wood looks like when finished

[link]

beth, that's a good idea. Those floors sound like they'll be gorgeous.

My dad tore out the concrete patio and grill at our first house with a sledgehammer. It took forever. Built great arms, but holy hell that was a nightmare. It really had to go, though. It was cracking up and settling all wrong, diverting water towards the house.

Someone is putting on a helluva fireworks show somewhere northwest of me. Given the other night when I heard pops, they were accompanied by a police helicopter, it was a bit of a relief when the booms started and I saw the reflections in a neighbor's windows.