For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been getting ready to move from a shared apartment to my own house. I hadn’t realized just how much there was to do or how much stuff I didn’t have. The result is an effort to find ways to keep the costs and time spent working on the house and move down.

For me, this means thinking creatively and using resources that I haven’t used before. You see, work is about 45 minutes northwest of the apartment. The house is about 15 minutes north of that. So I can’t really make quick trips up to the house and I have to be careful about the number of roundtrips I make, because its takes a little over a quarter tank of gas for each one - with gas prices what they are, I can’t afford to make a lot of trips. I’ve spent several weekday mornings, before work, loading the trunk of the car with boxes and clothes and all those little odd shaped and/or fragile things that need to go. That way, I can make a quick trip up to the house and drop them off.

I have movers that are going to move most of the stuff - including the furniture - from my storage unit. That’s probably one of the most expensive parts of the move. In an attempt to try to manage the costs, I’ve tried to take a good portion of my books and craft supplies up to the house during the various trips I’ve made to clean and do minor repairs.

I’ve discovered that most insects don’t like vinegar - even diluted. There were a few places where ants were coming into the house - a couple of spritzes with a half-and-half solution of vinegar and water has taken care of that. Add a little ammonia to the mix and you have a cleaner that works as well as most of the stuff you buy in the cleaning aisle. Its cheap, effective and better for you and the environment.? Be careful about using vinegar around plants though.? Its too acidic for most.

I’ve learned how to change out doorknobs (both locking and non-locking), put in doorstops so that the doorknobs don’t put holes in the walls, take the acoustic texture off the ceiling? (What a mess that made!), remove and replace towel racks, clean ceiling fans and lots of other things.

Since I’m doing this by myself for the most part, I’ve had to learn by doing.? Each time I complete one of the projects, I feel more confident in my ability to do the next.? I have to admit that there are some that I’ll probably hire someone to do the next time around - but at least I now know how to tell if they’re doing a good job of it!

Thinking about the move and the projects involved in it in a creative manner has given me many more options for accomplishing it while keeping my costs down.? A life-long curiosity and interest in learning how to do new things has stood me in good stead during this transition.? I’m sure that as I start thinking about renovating and remodeling, it will open up even more possibilities.

Why strive to be creative? Because in the long run, creative thinking and living gives you access to more options and possibilities. ? It helps you do more with less and opens up the range of things that you can choose from.? And perhaps the most satisfactory result is that you put your own personal stamp on everything you do.