Your life seems excessively without margin right now. My main tool is to (try to) only have one day a week with outside commitments. We just ruthlessly say no to 90% of outside activities. Not a popular response, I realize!

Bumping this. My dh bought a spray can of this a few weeks ago, which is supposed to work for 4 sets of clothes. He hasn't used it yet, but I'll report back when he does. He gets ticks all the time while doing yardwork.

Agreeing that you can do what you need to get out in 2 weeks. Possibly ask friends/family for help, babysitting, meals, etc. Having a cash buyer is fantastic.

Day One of Engineering School, our son asked his two parents (who took Calculus 30+ years ago) for help on his Calculus homework. We both looked at it & said, "We forgot it all. We cannot re-learn Calculus to help you." So he went to the tutoring center, & then studied with classmates. (Suffering thru Calc is what made me want to major in Accounting in College!) Best wishes---you're a supportive parent! (It was just beyond what we could offer our son.)

Third Time's a Charm! We had several kids take more than once to pass---it's quite common. But more importantly, there are OTHER achievements in life that will take more than two attempts to overcome. It's really a good life skill to learn to shake off the dust, get back up on the horse (or whatever metaphor works for her). The tester has BTDT with lots of other kids failing the test, so she is just part of a GROUP . . . who eventually pass their drivers test! It all just takes awhile to adjust to the challenge. P.S. I think that ACTUAL driving can be an extremely nerve-wracking experience. 80% of our kids have had minor accidents in the past 6 weeks. Taking the test, learning to steel the nerves, have courage . . . is actually a skill that helps with ACTUAL driving.

Five Daughters?!? Pride and Prejudice! 😉 And then a Marathon Movie Week, watching all the film adaptions.

I do a lot of Armchair Traveling via Youtube. It could be a fun way for you to narrow down your choice.

IMO, this happens frequently in churches. Sometimes volunteers need to quit! I would act obtuse and not succumb to the pastor's pressure. It's just a statement of fact---your dh cannot volunteer anymore. Then Pass The Bean Dip! 😉 Our long-time church secretary handles the church finances, with 2 Elders double-checking her work.

A bit of a Rabbit Trail, but our Library director & co-worker did a "Hot Reads" kickoff with hot sauces.

I've practiced hand-lettering, & make postcards for friends' birthdays, Bible verses for encouragement, etc. It's really inexpensive (Hobby Lobby card stock and Tombow markers) . . . and lots of Youtube instruction!

Zombie Thread!

Yes. My dmil gifted me some fabric to sew 1980s Laura Ashley style dresses from. All cotton, finely woven, floral print. Yes, it wrinkles, but it's just very, very comfortable to wear. I found this on Etsy, as an example (for the uninformed).

May be overstepping, but you could buy a Walmart + membership, which would deliver groceries to her house for a year. Maybe your dd could create Meal Train (there's a website) for her friends/church to sign up for meals.

Adding that I found an annotated version of "Pioneer Girl" at a recent book sale. This is the pre-cursor to the Little House books. And "Libertarians on the Prairie" (which I thought was mis-titled) at the library. This is a more detailed biography of Rose & Laura's later adult life. I've also enjoyed Rose's pioneer books "Let the Hurricane Roar" and "Free Land". They are a bit more intense than Little House. The movie "Young Pioneers" (1976) is based on these books. Of course, I loved making my "The Office"-loving children guess who the female lead was!

The yellow set . . . much loved!

My dh is about to retire in America at age 62. We plan to utilize ACA, and hope to qualify for subsidies. They greatly increased the level of subsidies during Covid, & continue to renew them. My understanding is that my dh's COBRA plan would be very expensive. Another option is the Christian health-sharing companies. I know several friends who have had success as members.

FYI = The final (10th) podcast is an hour long interview with Melissa Gilbert. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-wilder-112847598/

Adding to the wealth of encouragement----I use this type of time to clean out a closet or the attic! Lots of euphoria in the Sense of Accomplishment!

The misspelled word jumped out at me.....

We do cash for married kids, gifts for single kids & modest gifts for grandkids. We have a large extended family, & I oversee the Cousins Name Draw, using Elfster.com. We reassess each year, & encourage each person to choose their level of involvement. If the married kids are visiting, I do something creative with the cash. Agreeing with the focus being on Being Together, not a pile of gifts.

You said it much better than I did! Our 2 oldest were voracious readers. Our other 3 loved to sketch. It was really All Fine, in the end. Your son will thrive with your creative approach.

Love the advice so far. This topic is near & dear to my heart. We had 800 kids books that I whittled down to 400, over 2 big batches of decluttering these past 2 years. I kept the best, and kept most of the decent ones. I kept what fit into our 2 large bookcases. I let the discards sit in stacks for a week, then I took photos for our kids to claim (on a Google Photo Album). Our 4 boys all claimed the same 4 books. They didn't care about the other 396. Our dd who homeschools took lots. What they didn't want, I offered to 2 younger beloved homeschool moms, & the rest went to our Library Book Sale (I'm on the Board). Honestly, donating to the Library is a Win-Win-Win, and you know they'll go to many good homes. I sell my dh's more valuable books ($20+) on Amazon or Ebay. Half-Price Bookstores will give you some $$. Honestly, do it in phases, & you'll gradually do the emotional process needed to declutter your surplus. Yes, it included grieving over my homeschool failures!

100% agree with all this advice. I'm 59, switched to eating a bowl of broccoli every supper. And exercising, not for weight loss, but to maintain agility & flexibility. I'm committed to do this for the rest of my life?!? Regardless of results.... This is a great group for these kinds of issues!

Great advice so far. And yes, be selective about what you pay for to get the house ready to sell. The realtor can connect you with all kinds of professionals who will help make the process easier. For us, it was a very stressful process 6 years ago, but the sale price exceeded our expectations . . . so it was worth the work in hindsight. You can hire someone to take/remove the excess stuff in the house (a liquidator). We did an Estate Sale, & then had 6 potential buyers for the house as a result of the Estate Sale. It's just hard to do it all as a Newbie.....