I was very glad to see March go. It was one of the worst months I have had in a very long time. I had four, what I like to call “stress events” going on simultaneously. I would have been fine with one or two, but the foursome gave me days where I literally felt like just getting down on the floor and crawling around on my hands and knees because it was too much to stand up.
Although none of the four have been resolved at this point, it is looking like there might be some light at the end of the tunnels. The bright side is I will have plenty of new experiences to share in the upcoming weeks!
The whole stressfest actually started the end of February. I went to bed on a Sunday at 1000pm, trying to get some sleep for the long work week ahead of me. I was awakened at exactly midnight by a loud crashing sound. I walked into my kitchen to see an entire wall of cabinets had pulled off the wall and were now in pieces. (See a few before and after pictures on the Home Ideas page). The cabinets had been filled with glassware, plates, bowls, decorative serving dishes and the microwave. Some of the items had been my mother’s, many of the items were gifts and almost everything was destroyed. My first thought was to close the door and go back to bed, but with Kato and Samantha possibly wandering through the melee of broken glass, I knew I had to clean it up.
Two hours later, around 230am, I stumbled back to bed. The alarm went off at 500am and I headed off to work. I was a deer in headlights. No budget for brand new cabinets. No budget to replace any of the items. I posted on Facebook only because I didn’t know where else to turn.
My FB friends did not let me down! They gave suggestions I never even thought of and as I near the end of this first verse of my new country song, “Take This Month and Shove It”, I have some revelations to share.
CABINETS HAVE A WARRANTY
It was quite obvious to anyone who looked at the cabinets that they were not put up correctly. They had been professionally installed by a company that Lowe’s found for me nine years ago when I renovated my kitchen. A company who I am sure are long out of business. However, the cabinets, made by KraftMaid, had a ten year warranty. After many phone calls, they agreed to send out replacements at no charge. Now of course, my cabinet line had been discontinued. As you know, my stuff is never easy! But I found something that is pretty close. I will be using some of my design skills to pull everything together, but free cabinets are free cabinets! And KraftMaid now has a customer for life.
CABINETS ARE COVERED BY HOME INSURANCE
Cabinets are considered structural and are covered by home insurance. I had recently dropped the Evil Empire insurance company I had at the time of my fire and changed over to AAA. ( AAA stands for Assisting Angel Agents.) They sent someone out and he also noted the cabinets had not been put up correctly. I had a very fair settlement in about a week. They originally told me the contents were not covered and I totally understood. But guess what? A week later AAA called me back and said after a little more investigation, contents WERE covered! I had another check within a week. Just a note, AAA is a non-profit company. They also have a customer for life, since I had always had my truck insurance with them, even at the time of the fire. They have replaced two totaled trucks for me and both times- fair settlement in rapid time.
I DIDN’T REALLY NEED 30 PLATES
I remember one thought I had after my fire was, “Well, that’s one way to clean out the garage!” Although I lost some things I really loved, there was a bit of excess and there is a part of me that feels a little cleansed. I am not running out and buying everything at once. I will slowly replace with things I find that I really love. So far, I have found a nice set of martinis glasses at Ross for under $5.00. More bargains and cool finds will be on the horizon. More pictures to follow when I finally get everything done!
Sometimes it is fun to start over.
Although none of the four have been resolved at this point, it is looking like there might be some light at the end of the tunnels. The bright side is I will have plenty of new experiences to share in the upcoming weeks!
The whole stressfest actually started the end of February. I went to bed on a Sunday at 1000pm, trying to get some sleep for the long work week ahead of me. I was awakened at exactly midnight by a loud crashing sound. I walked into my kitchen to see an entire wall of cabinets had pulled off the wall and were now in pieces. (See a few before and after pictures on the Home Ideas page). The cabinets had been filled with glassware, plates, bowls, decorative serving dishes and the microwave. Some of the items had been my mother’s, many of the items were gifts and almost everything was destroyed. My first thought was to close the door and go back to bed, but with Kato and Samantha possibly wandering through the melee of broken glass, I knew I had to clean it up.
Two hours later, around 230am, I stumbled back to bed. The alarm went off at 500am and I headed off to work. I was a deer in headlights. No budget for brand new cabinets. No budget to replace any of the items. I posted on Facebook only because I didn’t know where else to turn.
My FB friends did not let me down! They gave suggestions I never even thought of and as I near the end of this first verse of my new country song, “Take This Month and Shove It”, I have some revelations to share.
CABINETS HAVE A WARRANTY
It was quite obvious to anyone who looked at the cabinets that they were not put up correctly. They had been professionally installed by a company that Lowe’s found for me nine years ago when I renovated my kitchen. A company who I am sure are long out of business. However, the cabinets, made by KraftMaid, had a ten year warranty. After many phone calls, they agreed to send out replacements at no charge. Now of course, my cabinet line had been discontinued. As you know, my stuff is never easy! But I found something that is pretty close. I will be using some of my design skills to pull everything together, but free cabinets are free cabinets! And KraftMaid now has a customer for life.
CABINETS ARE COVERED BY HOME INSURANCE
Cabinets are considered structural and are covered by home insurance. I had recently dropped the Evil Empire insurance company I had at the time of my fire and changed over to AAA. ( AAA stands for Assisting Angel Agents.) They sent someone out and he also noted the cabinets had not been put up correctly. I had a very fair settlement in about a week. They originally told me the contents were not covered and I totally understood. But guess what? A week later AAA called me back and said after a little more investigation, contents WERE covered! I had another check within a week. Just a note, AAA is a non-profit company. They also have a customer for life, since I had always had my truck insurance with them, even at the time of the fire. They have replaced two totaled trucks for me and both times- fair settlement in rapid time.
I DIDN’T REALLY NEED 30 PLATES
I remember one thought I had after my fire was, “Well, that’s one way to clean out the garage!” Although I lost some things I really loved, there was a bit of excess and there is a part of me that feels a little cleansed. I am not running out and buying everything at once. I will slowly replace with things I find that I really love. So far, I have found a nice set of martinis glasses at Ross for under $5.00. More bargains and cool finds will be on the horizon. More pictures to follow when I finally get everything done!
Sometimes it is fun to start over.
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