Shopping for a car

 I have driven the same car for 20 years, a 2000 Toyota Corolla.  I got it the year I graduated college.  I haven't driven any other car since because my Corolla is adapted for me with AAE (auto adaptive equipment).  I drive with a left foot accelerator and a steering cuff (pictured).  I've loved my car, but it won't last forever and my children have outgrown the back seat.  It was time to start shopping around.  I wanted either a Nissan Rogue or a Honda CRV.   It needed to have an automatic back hatch that would just open with a push of a button and the very back needed to be deep enough for my walker to fit in.  I ended up purchasing a 2017 Honda CRV.  I found a company in Honolulu, Soderholm Mobility that carries and installs AAE.  They were very helpful and thankfully they had a shop here on Maui that is certified to install adaptive equipment.  I also learned through them that if I had chosen to purchase a brand new vehicle that there is a National Mobility Rebate Program through the car makers (Honda, Ford, Toyota, etc.) for up to $1000 rebate towards adaptations. Also, if I was employed and was using my new vehicle to drive to and from my place of work Department of Vocational Rehabilitation may have been able to help with the cost.  I think DVR covered the cost when I purchased my first set of adaptations back when I was a teenager.  

Soderholm Mobility required proof that I was legally able to drive with these adaptations.  It required a doctor's note and a copy of the notation on the back of my driver's license.  I was originally evaluated for these driving adaptations when I was 16 years old by a rehab center.  They had a car with different adaptations for me to test.  

After driving my Corolla for 20 years it's going to take a little time to get used to the feel of driving a CRV.  I am holding on to my beloved Corolla until I am comfortable driving my CRV.   I'm back to practicing in empty church parking lots.  

picture from old vehicle

Laundry

 I was having a conversation today with a friend about how overwhelmed she feels about folding and putting away laundry.  When I told her that I don't ever fold laundry, except for sheets and towels, that all clothes get just shoved into drawers or on shelves she was mind blown .  She couldn't believe that her OCD, organized, Enneagram One friend didn't fold her laundry.  Yep, that's my secret.  Laundry is my worst chore but I hate seeing it sitting around in baskets so I decided a long time ago that folding laundry was a waste of time and as long as it was in a drawer or closed closet where I couldn't see it it didn't matter to me how it was put away, unfolded and inside out.  (I do hang all of my shirts.)  There was a season, when Marie Kondo was popular, that I Kondo folded all the laundry and taught the kids to do the same, but that lasted maybe a year.  My kids have been doing their own laundry since they were little and as long as it's not on their floors or sitting in baskets then I don't care how it looks in their drawers because I don't have to see it.  Sure I may be doing my children's future spouses a disservice but whatever.  

Visible clutter gives me anxiety, but don't look in my closets, drawers, cupboards, or decorative baskets.  I will declutter and organize those spaces once a year or whenever I'm feeling there's something in my life that's out of my control.   Decluttering and reorganizing gives me a sense of control.  Those spaces will stay tidy for a while but it also doesn't bother me when it turns to chaos after a while.    I also have no qualms about throwing things away.

I also don't like sweeping or vacuuming, but having a dirty floor gives me anxiety so I invested in a Roomba.  Problem solved.  I've been applying The Lazy Genius's (@thelazygenius) principles to my life before I even knew about Kendra Adachi  I'm being a genius about what matters to me and lazy about the things that don't.  And having folded laundry doesn't matter to me. 

(related post transparent-hand-prints-led-to...)