BS: De-cluttering - part two

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 May 08 - 09:24 AM

A-Round-Tuit, a popular business name for independent repair guys here in the U.S.

I found with my son's room that I simply had to wade in when he wasn't home and start by evicting the dirty laundry on the floor and then use a large plastic trash bag for the true trash. Do that when she isn't home. It also helped that I rearranged his furniture, and the new look was pleasing so he wasn't upset. I let him take a look through all of the stuff I was evicting, so it wasn't like he had no choice, but he had to have a place to put what he kept (he didn't choose to keep any of the stuff I got rid of, telling me that it was just on the floor and furniture from habit, not from use or need.)

Off to walk dogs then head to the annual shot clinic, followed by a busy day of decluttering the world. (I'm taking my pickup over to help a friend who has a small car but a large mattress to get rid of.)

Another good thing about this decluttering is finding things you do truly want that you couldn't find. Last night I came across a couple of binders filled with pages of photos I needed last summer after an old friend (only 50) died of a sudden, massive heart attack. I should have had these available to scan and share with our mutual friends at that time.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 17 May 08 - 03:19 AM

Don't hold your breath on that one Stilly - she still has to move a whole heap of crap from her room and she's worse than me at tidying up!

I am considering buying her a new book case though... that might help with the clutter a bit... if I can get around to it.


LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 May 08 - 02:35 AM

Late to bed, after sorting and shredding most of one box of family estate stuff. I found some interesting family information and vital statistics documents to file and label clearly.

Busy day tomorrow that includes a lot of recycling projects. Good luck to the rest of you. Liz, I hope you'll post a photo of the shelf once you have it up on Limpit's wall.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 May 08 - 08:49 PM

I took several bags of clothing, rags, rugs, and oddball homemade things that no one uses any more over to the thrift store. It filled a shopping cart when I emptied it all from the truck.

I've had a brainstorm about that computer monitor I need to get rid of. It is a flat panel LCD that still works, it simply doesn't have the contrast I need for using Photoshop. I have a friend with a huge monster of an old CRT monitor (along with a 7-year-old Dell) and I told him I'd let him have this. I'm going go call later and ask if he'd like to come to lunch and pick it up. I'll see if I still have the disk with the drivers, otherwise I'll get them online. Great way to recycle this and when I told him I'd save it for him he was really grateful to get this big CRT off of the desk where he works.

Lin, is JunK still clearing out boxes and books? I had Half-Price books dispose of my computer books. What they tell you is that if it might be useful someplace else they send it to their warehouse to be sent out or donated. They also have a recycle bin dedicated to paper. Have JunK box those computer books and take them over (do you have Half Price Books near you? I see by their web site that they have them in Lawrence, Olathe, and Overland Park, also in Kansas City (MO, I think.) Here's the list.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 16 May 08 - 08:08 PM

Liz, no such thing--move ONE THING and you're successful; don't have to do any major projects to win! Right, ladies?

SRS, what did you do with the old computer books and dictionaries you couldn't sell to Half Price Books? I've got a 6-ft-tall stack of that sort of thing I haven't a clue what to do with!

Flowers are in process of sorting, wrapping, etc. I'm stacking magazines in the craft room to recycle, too. Anybody want a perfectly good cat bed? My bratlings won't sleep in any of the three we've gotten for them, so out the beds go...

Lin

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: LilyFestre
Date: 16 May 08 - 07:27 PM

We are installing a new vanity in the bathroom this week (YAHOO!!!) and that means I will have the perfect opportunity to go through stuff and get rid of things that are long past their prime or are no longer used and just taking up space.

    Also for this weekend, I have plans to hoe out 2 corners of my kitchen (both closet areas that are currently open and we will be installing doors next weekend). Again, lots of stuff that has been unused for quite some time. It is all going to go buh-bye. I don't even know what half the stuff is in there. One of these closests will be transformed into a wine closet (built in wine racks to free up space that current wine racks take up in the kitchen). :)

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 16 May 08 - 07:06 PM

Shelf still on sewing table. Dining room table still buried under hats and music books.

I'm a dismal failure at this de-cluttering lark!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 May 08 - 03:33 PM

I have a lot of garden decluttering this weekend. Looks like good weather for it. I have quite a few shrubs to move, one way or the other. If I can transplant, I will. Over the years I've taken the old black plastic pots back to the neighborhood garden center, and I'm hoping they'll help me out by letting me get some back. That would make it easier to transport and place this stuff.

I moved that one cabinet into the kitchen to see how it looks. It doesn't match, but it would be a better use of the space than the table the microwave sits on now. I am leaving it there for a day or two to see if I get any ideas about what to do with various kitchen gadgets (the ones I use and want to keep but that don't have a good place to live right now.)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: maire-aine
Date: 16 May 08 - 09:04 AM

Thanks. Laundry is on the list, but washing dishes isn't. Neither is cleaning the litter box, but that's a given. If it doesn't rain this weekend, I'll get some of the outdoor items done. I kept a flowerbox of herbs growing on the front porch thru the winter, so I want to plant them outside. But before I do that, I'll have to pull some weeds in what's laughingly called the "herb garden".

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 May 08 - 11:43 PM

Good work, Maryanne! To make the list look even more realistic be sure to add the "second shift" items also. Not just "hang picture" and "clean table" but "make dinner" and "wash and dry and fold laundry." It makes the list a lot fatter when you really see what all you're doing.

i.e., this evening I put in laundry and washed dishes, then made burritos for my son, shredded a leftover chicken for fajitas for myself, and made guacamole from some ripe avocados for the fajitas. The extra guac was scooped into an ice cube tray and the leftover fajita mix was packaged for later. The chicken carcass was boiled long enough to get the meat flavor for stock.

That usually doesn't wind up on the list.

But no one else here knows about that second shift, right? So I guess I shouldn't mention it. . .

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: maire-aine
Date: 15 May 08 - 11:23 PM

I made a list this afternoon (while I was waiting for jobs to run), so I started on it this evening. I went through the buffet drawers, and got the diningroom table cleaned off. I also hung a picture and started on the upstairs hallway. Got about a third of the list crossed off. There is something very satisfying about crossing things off. I should be able to get the rest done tomorrow and Sat.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 May 08 - 07:24 PM

Old feelings, or feeling old? ;-D

I got smart, after I got over the shock of how vivid the new monitor is, and I lowered the contrast and brightness so it is a closer match to the old one. I think I would have lowered it anyway--these things can cause eye strain when they're too bright. And while I was tinkering moving the monitors I found an address I'd been meaning to send to a friend and a whole bunch of little things I piled here to address--then they were buried under the next thing I needed to address.

My office still has piles and boxes, but there is a lot more air and floor space in the middle. My halls now have a kitchen cabinet, a four-drawer file, and a couple of stacking plastic organisers on casters. Looks like this weekend I'll be moving things out to the garage, but I have to clear the garage some before I do that. From there it is garage sale or Goodwill.

Does anyone else remember those plastic slide puzzle party favors where you have to move everything to finally get it into number order?

My house is up to about three of those numbers in line now.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 May 08 - 06:15 PM

Is our aqua-maid in a slump or catching a bug? What's the next big thing to clear out in the parsonage?

Old feelings.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 May 08 - 04:27 PM

Progress on the office today. The new monitor arrived, and yes, it is a lot brighter than the one that wasn't replaced, so now I decide to live with it or replace both. ARggggggh!

Filed more papers at lunch. Moved a cabinet out of the office to the hall for now. I had some stacking units in the closet that I've lined along the wall near the computer and will see how those work to hold was remained in the cabinet.

Is our aqua-maid in a slump or catching a bug? What's the next big thing to clear out in the parsonage?

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: katlaughing
Date: 15 May 08 - 12:36 PM

Thanks for asking, Maggie. I love the hair! I still like to have it long, so will grow it out, but we took off four inches, all that was left of the perm, and it is swinging very healthily! I can still, barely, put it back in a ponytail, though it looks more like a pigtail now.:-)

I also got some more done on the editing. I don't think I'll have it done by the end of the week, but for sure by mid-week next week. Now I have to figure out how to get some paying editing jobs. The magazine is coming up again in June, maybe, but until then...no bites on craigslist, yet.

Decluttering, I am going to list a Victorian rocking chair for sale and get it out. We had a sentimental attachment to it as it was my mom's but none of us use it; it is not comfortable and it's taking up too much space, plus none of my kids or sibs want it!

kat

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 May 08 - 11:10 AM

This feels like death. I can come and go and get the housechores done too, but it doesn't FEEL that way. It FEELS like I should sit in the chair all day instead of going to stretch those happliy sore muslces at the warm pool.

Going,

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 May 08 - 10:22 AM

I need to rearrange some furniture in my office this morning. One of my monitors has been failing (so gradually I could hardly see it until I realized an embarrassing lack of resolution on a photo I had to Photoshop someone out of--only to see on the other screen later that you could still see his legs!) The UPS tracking screen says that it is out for delivery today. Yesss!

The old monitor works for normal stuff like browsing and word processing, so I will donate it.

Catching up:

freda, how is the book?

kat, how is the hair (doesn't it feel good to get a radically new look?) and the editing?

liz, how is the shelf and the dining room table?

andrea, how is the hall and the spare room? Has Ruth helped tidy the house?

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 14 May 08 - 09:37 PM

My desk is actually functional and I have a fairly large trash can overflowing with the stuff I've thrown away that used to be in the desk drawers. I haven't tackled the most disorganized draawer yet, but hey! no rush, right? There were catalogs I'd saved from (ye Gods!) 1995 in one of the cleared drawers!

Only downside to that is I now have a shoebox full of pictures and other things to scan and store on computer... but I can do those as time and inclination permit. Old checks shredded; LOTS of paper dumped, now on to the sewing projects I've been ignoring!

Progress, it's wonderful. AND JunK is in the other room cutting up boxes for the trash--YAY!

Lin

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 May 08 - 06:50 PM

More shredding, and a couple of pickle barrels later a stack of legal papers is lighter (free of duplicates) and now tucked away in a file drawer, and while I was at it I weeded paper from the floor of the office closet, mostly graduate school stuff. Several inches of paper went out, but about 1/2 of it remains in an "sort and file" stack. It was too much to organize as well as thin; this first pass was to get rid of the stuff I positively know I don't need to keep.

On my errand run this evening I'll drop paper off at the recycle bin. Shall I swing by Goodwill while I'm at it? The 4-drawer file cabinet is empty--can I really let go of it? Why not!

SRS Who does actually still have a life and who is getting a bit tired of all of this, but knows it's her own damn fault it got so cluttered.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 May 08 - 02:42 PM

You've illustrated the reason for all of this--it makes things easier to do and take less time. Those areas around the house that are now finished (or on their way) are much more functional. The shelves by the door that hold my gardening stuff are wonderful, and the laundry room cabinets are simple to navigate. And the file box that I use most often is much easier to use when there is air in it. Papers aren't shoved in (you know the move--slip the edge of the paper at the back of the folder then push the document in with the wedge of your flattened hand and spread fingers).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 May 08 - 10:01 AM

The landing pad in the AquaZone is working great. Knowing that I will have a smooth takekoff from there in a bit, I was able to get some meatloaf sliced that was overdue and, from there, set up a supper plate for poor Hardi so he can have what he ikes later while I'm taking a friend to the doctor's office post-workout.

I think it's important to remember that no matter how gratifying it is to organize for its own sake, ultimately the best reason to do it is so we can spend more time doing the things we want and/or have commmitted to do.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: GUEST,freda
Date: 14 May 08 - 04:45 AM

no, Giok. That's the last step (second last step is connecting my sound system). just visiting! :-)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 14 May 08 - 04:08 AM

Are you at home on your own PC now Freda?

G

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: freda underhill
Date: 14 May 08 - 04:05 AM

great news.. I have found a home for the mini-fridge that's in my living room. My major post-renovation clear-out is ALMOST finished - I have new, workable chairs and spaaace in the living room.

tonight i have a clutter-free evening, in that nothing's on the agenda - except that new henning Mankell book. yes, another 2nd hand one acquired this week - that's five in the last fortnight.

yes, clutter free room - now, for the clutter-free brain. I invented a type of clearing meditation for my head a few months ago - it seems to work as a sort of mental garbage disposal process. will do some tonight b4 a date with Henning.

freda

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 May 08 - 12:31 AM

100!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 May 08 - 12:29 AM

I have a friend who has used his old LP covers for various things. He nailed them up (like tiles) on the walls in the bathroom of a gay bar he frequents in Greenwich Village. And he is cutting them into notebook sizes and binding them with blank paper inside to use for gift books. Use the most interesting part of the cover art on the journal. Does that help?

I made progress in the file drawers that will stay. Probably tossed about 4" of paper. I'm not ready to put more files in there yet, but I did want some closure on the closet file, so I emptied that last drawer into a milk crate box. The cabinet has been evicted and is now standing in the hall (it's dark out, there are thunderstorms, this isn't going to cross the dark driveway to the garage tonight). The stuff I dropped in the crate is old federal forms and maps. Shredder and eBay materials to be dispatched this week.

Okay, so I cheated a little, moving from the drawer to the crate. But the footprint of the crate is smaller and it looks good to have the cabinet out. This evening I did some honest decluttering with the paper eviction, but the cabinet shell game is a little psychological boost. :)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 May 08 - 10:45 PM

I went through all of the LPs from my sister this evening. I am only keeping a few. Can't decide if it's worth selling them at a yard sale, on ebay, or just give them away. Anyone have any idea? I still have the 78's to go through and the bottles. That will be fun!

I also made some progress on a gratis editing job that's been bugging me. It's prestigious in a smallish circle, but I wanted to do it regardless. Was feeling badly about not getting it done by now. Maybe by the end of the week, I hope!

I am decluttering my bod, next...getting most of my perm cut off tomorrow!:-)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 May 08 - 08:14 PM

I'm going in for that fourth drawer in the file cabinet tonight. I started thinning and moving the contents of the other cabinets so I can actually move stuff, not just stack it around the office. I'm going to take this out of my office closet. And maybe also take out the spare kitchen cabinet that is in the corner of my office (built for a small space a my Dad's old house, but not fastened down and the buyers didn't want it so I brought it along).

I have to feed the kiddo first. Will report back. I everybody having fun yet? Not exactly fun, but there is a great deal of pleasure in getting ahead in this job!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 May 08 - 05:50 PM

Is everybody having fun yet?

Oh my YES! I never can do it otherwise! Some days I just play the game of "How much trash can I create?" That's a real fun game. When I'm on my game I can fill sacksfull. (That's called "purging.") The first 4-5 items can feel kinda hard and then it gets easier and easier and more fun.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 13 May 08 - 05:32 PM

I would put her shelf up if she would clear her floor enough for me to walk round her bed without it going crunch, crack or squeak.

Apple didn't fall far from this tree!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 May 08 - 04:55 PM

Good for you, Lin!!

Not one of the old treadle ones, I wish! Mom bought her Elna in the 50's. I barely remember when she got it. I think they bought the cabinet at the same time. It's worn, wooden, but still sturdy and it would be so nice to have somewhere for my sewing machine. I don't use it nearly as much as I might if it were more handy. It's going to be a case of can I get Rog motivated enough to figure it out!:-)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 13 May 08 - 03:43 PM

OK, panic is dying down a bit. I decided my desk drawers were the "practical" thing to work on, since the laundry room is (literally) all the daughter-in-law's stuff and I don't know what to move where. So I now have two desk drawers with a lot less paper junk in them! Yay, only four more to go.

I'm not going to my home town until the 22nd, so can leave the flowers to be done later. Sacks are on the floor in the crafting room so I've got my embroidery unit attached to the sewing machine and can get those projects done fairly easily. Whew, onward and upward....

Kat, what kind of sewing machine cabinet are you trying to fit your machine into? Is it one of the old treadle cabinets? (Those are so cool, but yes, they would take some re-fitting.) SRS, definitely keep the kid's artwork. I wish I had some of the ones my son did when he was little.

Liz, you really CAN get that shelf put up for Limpit. My vote is do that first, THEN clear the dining room table for the cats!

Is everybody having fun yet?

Lin

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 May 08 - 02:33 PM

I spent some of my lunch hour wading through the file drawer with graduate school notes and papers and a fair number of commingled subjects of InterLibrary Loan articles. Going down this memory lane at lunch I managed to evict quite a few inches of paper. Some will get filed, most recycled.

Hmmm. There is a little toadstool of a pile of papers on the floor next to my desk. I wonder how that got there? I'd better do something about it before it becomes a full-blown paper bunker. You know how those things can experience explosive growth!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: mouldy
Date: 13 May 08 - 11:52 AM

We have landed back from emptying Ruth's uni room into the car.
Ruth - 'It won't all go in. I'll have to pick the rest up next week when I bob back to uni to meet up with my boyfriend'. (They are then driving up here).
Me - 'It's a bloody Volvo. Watch me get it in'.
And I did, with room to spare. Even her 4 drawer plastic crap holder/chest of drawers.
Once home she walked in, looked at the dining room and kitchen tables, and the folding single bed which is stacked in the kitchen doorway until I have a room to put it in, and announced that 'this needs tidying'. She then proceeded to dump all her stuff on and around the dining table! She says she doesn't want her boyfriend of 6 months (who we haven't even met yet) to be put off by my mess.

I have suddenly got very protective of my mess, even though I don't like it! Trouble is, I still won't get to meet him as he's very conveniently arriving while I am out of the country.

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 May 08 - 11:27 AM

I agree with SRS: Do the DO-able, first. From there do the pinball and soon it will ALL seem do-able.

Moving contradicts the inner feeling of "can't." Just get up and move one thing, and THEN see what you are able to do next. Maybe nothing. That's OK-- ONE thing moved. Next time it will be better. Just keep moving.

When it's overwhelming to the point of frozen, keep moving, but away from it-- I'm going to my workout, for example, and on the way back in I'll move one more thing to where it goes. But the AquaZone will greet me and my dripping bag of gear, this time, as I turn to toss the wet stuff into the dryer.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 May 08 - 11:20 AM

Oh! Thanks, Maggie...glad my file didn't cause any major problems...I hope?! No rush, anyway.:-)

We moved some boxes around, closer to the door for yard sale. Also went through the books. Determined that my sewing machine will not fit my mom's cabinet without some creative drilling of holes and do I have the room for it, anyway, yes, I hope! And, I hope I cna get Rog to figure it out and drill.

Off to exercise then make jewellery, I hope!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 May 08 - 09:49 AM

Liz, I vote for your dining room table. Not only humans but also cat-like-creatures will benefit from this transformation.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 13 May 08 - 05:07 AM

The 'Quandry' is the biggest step to get over... once you've made the decision to clear one spot, you need to get on and do that one spot... not faff around like a fart in a colander, not knowing which hole to get out of!

Having said that... my own quandry is unsolved.

Here we go again!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 May 08 - 12:37 AM

I knocked out about four inches (at least) of school papers out of the files in a half hour this evening. This is just the sh*t they send home with the report cards, with the reports, with everything. Get rid of the school district nonsense and there is a lot less paper to deal with. Those little bitty kid drawings are so cute--I'll hold onto those.

So, I have stuff I removed from that third drawer (that is now also empty) that will go in a different file (that isn't full, but hasn't been organized yet to receive the new stuff). That leaves one drawer left to empty, then I can move this large file out of my closet. Yes!!!

Kat, I meant to tell you, I didn't forget to look at that Word file of yours again. But it did take me several hours to get my computer back up to speed after I tried to open it the first time. My system said that your file was more advanced and I had to download some stuff so I could open it. That led to tinkering with XP's new Service Pack 3 while I was at it. My computer is apparently also now in tidier shape than it was when I started (or closer to disaster, if this means it is more like VISTA than it was before).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: katlaughing
Date: 12 May 08 - 10:25 PM

Isis! Isis! Ra! Ra! Ra!

Go, Lin, Go!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 08 - 10:12 PM

Lin,

Which one of those tasks can you start and finish in one "unit" of time, meaning, if you have an hour, or two, or an afternoon, what can you complete? Cleaning a drawer? Clearing the laundry room? Do one of those things that you can physically SEE THE CHANGE every time you walk past, so you have a feeling of accomplishment. I vote you hold off on the flowers and work on the laundry room. Everything seems to center on the laundry and the kitchen, so take on the smallest room and make it shine, then move outward from there.

Does that help? Go, Lin, Go! Rah rah rah!

(BTW: Glad to see you're online and didn't blow away with the recent heavy weather.)

I've made inroads into another file drawer, but I must say, it will be a tough one. Now that I've gotten rid of stuff of mine I stored in there, I need to go through the various envelopes of Kid Art. All keepers, of course. :) I have some in frames, and more that needs to go. As they grew, they each had a distinctive style from when they even first picked up a pencil or crayon, so I can tell the 2-year-old Caroline from the 2-year-old Dylan. Amazing, isn't it? Like knowing your child's smell or your child's cry, knowing your child's mark.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 12 May 08 - 09:55 PM

WYSIWYG, I can definitely relate to the "what do I do next? No, this, no that, no..." feeling. I got my proofing job shipped off today, and had planned to do some embroidery work while my sewing table was relatively clear. Instead, visited Wally-World and wound up with several sacks of plastic flowers to decorate with on Memorial Day. Some of them I need to wrap and tie ribbon bows on, and figure out what specifically goes to which grave (I have seven to put them on). So...do I do that first, and THEN clear the table again for the embroidery projects, or do I do the other projects first as I have time before Memorial Day? Or do I skip both of those and clear out my desk drawers like I've been intending to do for a couple of weeks now? Or do I go help my (soon to be ex-) daughter-in-law clear out the laundry room so we can move in there?

Help! My brain is spinning!

Lin in Panic

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 08 - 05:40 PM

freda, it keeps feeling better the emptier it gets (within reason, of course! It isn't like you're moving out).

I dropped off shredded paper this morning--it finally dawned on me that if I take the shredded paper in my cardboard box to the bin that only takes paper and cardboard that it doesn't matter if it is in a bag or not. Chances are these contents won't go on a conveyor belt. At the dump it is a different story because that bin is commingled paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum and everything is dumped and sorted off of the belt.

A LCD monitor (I use two) is failing to operate crisply enough to continue to use for photo work, so I had to go shop around for a new one today. I hadn't planned to use the rest of my tax incentive this way, but I can't risk more of the kinds of problems I discovered when I viewed a photo adjusted on the old monitor (left) on the newer one on the right. I know, I could just do work on the right, but then why have the left one? And I'd forget. And since I'm now so accustomed to working on the considerably expanded "desktop" monitor workspace, I can't easily drop down to just one.

I'll probably donate the old monitor. It works fine for stuff like word processing and casual browsing. It just doesn't have the brightness for the fine photo work. It will go on my list of donatable stuff.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 12 May 08 - 12:31 PM

I'm sure there was a dining room table downstairs last month.... now it's a pile of hats and instruments again. Even Raven cat's live in lover has taken to sleeping in the cupboard because there's more room in there.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: freda underhill
Date: 12 May 08 - 04:31 AM

yes, SRS & andrea, ploughing through the debris....

on the weekend I sorted and gave away 6 Indian shawls, one eggshell blue silk one, and numerous scarves (of course I still have many left!!).

put out the front of the house four wooden chairs in various states of disrepair - they all went walkabout and i replaced them with four new dark wooden chairs, strong and sturdy.

I also sorted, packed and delivered to a friend books, articles and photos from a shared interest - magazines on yoga, feminism and vegetarianism, some clothes, coat hangars, a back pack, shoulderbag and ... more scarves. she helps women coming out of jail and can pass these things on.

went through letters, bills and numerous items that have been gathering time on my kitchen shelf and chucked out many of them.

'phew! house feels emptier, my bookshelves are lighter (tho still overflowing) and i rewarded myself by reading Sidetracked by henning mankell. Now collecting henning mankell from every second-hand bookshop I can find... aaahh, no wonder i accumulate to voraciously.

but this weekend's de-cluttering felt GOOD - the tsunami has abated a bit, and I hope it ebbs off somewhere else...
freda

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 May 08 - 11:37 PM

I didn't get all of my mowing done today but by way of compensation the house has had more de-clutter work. I convinced Moonglow to clear off the desk in her room, not dump the contents on the floor or bed, but actually keep or toss or take to school or store neatly. This was a major undertaking but resulted in a lot of trash, a lot of recycling and donation, and a good-sized bag of costume stuff going back to school with her ("I get unlimited free dry cleaning. Might as well take them in!") Good girl! She'll hang them in her rather large (but probably cramped by now) walk-in closet in the house she shares with four other students.

So... it was a nice Mother's Day. The ex stopped by a local Chinese take-out and brought Moonglow's brother over and we all had a late lunch on a completely cleared off dining room table.

There was a little other progress: the file cabinet in the office closet now has two empty drawers, two to go. The truck has several bags of stuff to go to the thrift store next time I'm near one.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 May 08 - 10:50 AM

Nothing 'lives' in my vehicle in the summer here--you must have a milder climate!

It's Mother's Day! So when the kids come for a visit, take them aside and ask if they'd mind spending a little time decluttering their old bedroom or closet. ;-D That's what I'm going to do with Moonglow, if I am not finished with the mowing by the time she arrives.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 May 08 - 09:18 AM

Got started on the AquaZone countertop yesterday. First pass resulted in one small box to sort, a large sack of curtains headed up to the linen closet, a heavy terry bathrobe to return to the upstairs loo (its always FREEZING up there), the finding of two small packets of extra-huge musicians' paperclips (to hold songbook pages open in the wind), a peck of last year's catflea eggs, and a start on the landing pad which I covered with a piece of aqua-blue fabric so the swimsuits don't snag on the wodden countertop.

Things from the main house that belong out there are already finding their way out to that counter top. Today I will dust out the upper shelves and begin storing the aquatic video's and books there. I have my eyes open for more fabric (already on hand) to aqua-up the area.

There are two or three large items needing corraling and I already have a box of XXL ziplocs on hand (fake spacebags) in which I can package and hang them. Some will live in the car over the summer and some in the AquaZone cabinets.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 May 08 - 12:40 AM

More files. Estate stuff. There are boxes of it. The sting hasn't gone out of all of it, but it is time to move on. Actually, there are forms from several estates. I'll keep probate lists so I can identify for my kids where things I own came from. De-cluttering these will clear out a couple of small sized U-Haul moving boxes and may take a while. Perhaps I should burn the boxes--faster than shredding the contents.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 May 08 - 08:33 PM

Heck, I dropped most of that "incentive" at the dentist this week. I told him that's what I planned, I knew it would hit the bank on Friday, so they made the appointment for my crown on Thursday. I paid the (big!) co-pay with a credit card, then on Friday I turned around and paid the credit card. I also spent some on new garage door rollers since I had one fail this afternoon. I'll replace them all. It's amazing how things breaking can always happen to match the cash you have available.

I dropped a big box of toys at Goodwill, and have a lot to sort still, but a more manageable amount. Last night I did some more shredding and today I picked up a couple of organizers to replace a lot of the loose file folders I don't need (that have had mulitple scribbles and lables attached--time for the recycle bin for those!)

Kat, your kitchen will feel luxurious from getting a source of bulky clutter out. The few times I manage to empty my counter tops it feels like an entirely new room. I don't achieve it often, but it is a nice feeling.

SRS