A Little Part Makes all the Difference

English: Wooden File Cabinet with drawer open. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I got through a whole box of old files this week. Why did I still have bills from 2001?  Well, because I filed them away and never had a need to look at them again - until now, when I don't want to take them with us when we move.  From now on, when the file cabinet drawer gets full, it's time to get rid of all those paid bills.  No more boxing them up and putting them in the back room.

It was interesting looking through some of them, though and comparing what we used to pay for things like the cell phone bill and the water bill to what we pay today.  Of course, back then we were only paying for one cell phone, and there was no such thing as a data plan (was there?), so of course the cell phone bill was much less then.  But the water bill?  We live in the same house.  We use the same water, right?  So why has the water bill gone from about $40 every 3 months to about $150?  Yeah, rate hikes to pay for new wells, or something like that, and the hydrant fee that used to be part of our tax bill all show up on there, so it probably isn't all that bad.  I wouldn't even have remembered how low it used to be if I hadn't still had the old bills.

There was one water bill not too long ago that was exceptionally high, and along with our water bill, we also got a letter letting us know that our water usage was exceptionally high, and if we hadn't been doing a lot of watering or other things that would explain the extra usage, we ought to check for running toilets or leaking faucets.  Yes, we did have a toilet that was running more than it should have been.  Thankfully, we didn't have to call a plumber to get it fixed.  If I didn't have my very handy husband, I probably would have, but he fixed whatever it was that needed fixed.  I think there was just a part that needed replaced.

Diagram the various parts of a toilet tank. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Either way, plumbing service toronto or handy husband, getting it fixed was a necessary step, because our next water bill was in the 'normal' (for now) range, and we haven't gotten another one of those letters.  That was even about the time Beth, Tim and Jason moved in with us, and we had more showers being taken and more laundry being done, and still our water bill was pretty normal.  Amazing what a difference a little part makes!