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BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 11 Jun 08 - 12:23 AM My neighbor is supposed to have his garage sale this weekend, so I'll stack my items near the door ready to go. The eBay collection hasn't grown lately, but there is a lot there to be described, photographed and listed. As usual, I can use the extra income! The pantry shelving isn't in its final form, but it is looking better. My daughter's bedroom/guest room will be in transition for a while. In the same ol' same ol' category, I have toys and clothes and books stacked by the back door (on the same ol' love seat, stacked to capacity again). And unrealted to all of that, we had fresh Texas peaches for dessert tonight! First of the season. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: katlaughing Date: 10 Jun 08 - 08:00 PM One that really gets me going, if I am in the right mood, is Aqua...Happy boy and happy girls...! I joined www.paperbackswap.com today and listed my first ten books, then ordered my first two. It was really fast and painless. They've made it very easy and quick to do. My two books on ebay sold, so I will be packaging them and sending them out the door. And, I have several other items I am going to put on ebay either tonight or in the morning. I like seeing the packages pile up at the front door to go to the post office. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Bat Goddess Date: 10 Jun 08 - 07:14 PM I find the best music to listen to while cleaning the house is Louis Prima -- talk about energy! Maybe I should listen to Louis Prima more often. ;-) Linn |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 10 Jun 08 - 06:21 PM I can't say I have a musical preference. Sometimes just silence and my own thoughts. But there are some disks that get me moving, were I to put them in. I have a CD my dad sent years ago by the Mazeltones called "Dancing With the Children" that is quite energetic. I love Zydeco for this also. I worked on my pantry shelves today. They're going to look so good! It's nice to pull all of the sauces and seasonings out of the mix and give them their own space, and sort the veggies and fruit cans. Canisters for bulk are down below, and under the shelves I have buckets and a step stool and watering cans. Paper plates and picnic supplies on top, and a space at waist high for the water jugs and canned drink cases. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: maire-aine Date: 10 Jun 08 - 12:59 PM I work best with Cajun and Zydeco music on the CD player. Except if I start dancing to it, and then I stop working. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Liz the Squeak Date: 10 Jun 08 - 12:43 PM Heavy rock, thrash metal and '70s prog stuff.. usually gets me going into manic clean up mode. Put the Irish stuff on if I need to vacuum.. the cleaner drowns it out nicely. I don't do show tunes. Or hairy plugholes. Maybe there's a connection there? LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: katlaughing Date: 10 Jun 08 - 11:06 AM I gave away a vintage fur coat a few years ago, to a theatre group, also. I made a pact with myself this morning. I would not sit down, again, at the computer, to work OR play, until I de-cluttered the top of my dresser. (Well, it's really an old buffet which works better then my high boy which is in the office!) I did that, folded some laundry, and straightened up our bedroom. IN the process I found the toenail clippers.:-) I am curious, do any of you use music to help you with cleaning, de-cluttering? I grew up with music on when we cleaned house. Sometimes I forget to put it on when I get ready to do something around here. This morning, just by chance, I turned on our local community radio station. They were playing some hard rock from "psychedelic" days which reminded me of some fun times (sans drugs!) AND got me energised to really get going on my work. Made the work go faster and easier. Other days I prefer Irish music, folk, some show tunes, and/or classical. What do you like/use, if anything? |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Jun 08 - 11:53 PM Each of you is inspiring me to look around at all of the stuff I have ignored so far. I pulled several garments out of my closet today, I'm sure I'll make several more passes through that small room before I'm finished. Today was cherry-picking the obvious stuff I won't wear any more. I probably have more shoes than I need, but I purged the old and ill-fitting pairs last year, so I'm not too worried about them. In my office I exchanged the simple throw rug for a small antique Persian carpet that has been rolled up at the side of the den forever. It looks lovely! I'd forgotten I had it. I've made several trips in and out of Moonglow's bedroom this afternoon. I figured the only way to know for sure that what I hang up is clean is to wash it. I'm on about the fifth load of laundry, one more to go, hanging everything as it comes out of the dryer. I took the sheets off of the bed after excavating through stacks of costume patterns and material and school papers and gadgets and toys and lots of clothes and dust. Her closet is much better and I've been able to hang a fur coat in there, a family antique that I need to donate somewhere. The last batch (this family was from New England and had lots of fur coats) I donated to a theater group in town, I'll probably do the same with this, though I might give it to the theater folks on campus where I work. (My great aunt who owned this was rotund, and this could double as a mink pup tent if need be.) Since the paint cans vacated my shelving unit to go live in a kitchen cupboard I'll be rearranging the shelving contents later this week. Maintaining already de-cluttered areas is so much easier than how things got done before. My carbon footprint might in theory be looking a little better, but I'm contributing to the airborne dust particulate now so I'm probably not ahead of anything yet. :) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Jun 08 - 06:37 PM An echo? Now that is extreme de-cluttering! Rain is predicted today, though so far it has only drizzled. Good time to put out fertilizer, so I took a 5 pound bag of dry molasses (fertilizer for organic gardeners) that has been on the shelf by the door for too long and sprinkled it around a few of the beds and gardens I've been working turning over and planting. It may drive the fire ants crazy, or it may push them away, like my organic guru Howard Garrett claims. The yard smells like molasses now. The room my daughter used (my future guest room) has a closet that has long been plagued by eau-de-cat-pee, and I finally found the source, a rolling backpack set to the side that one of my annoying cats hit some time back. I had to move it away from everything else and go back later to see if that was it, because those of you with cats know that after a little while everything smells like cat pee when you're looking for it. I decided to wash all of the lower closet rack of clothes (proximity to the pack being one reason). She has been away at school for two years and hasn't worn any of this in ages, but needs a few sets of clothes here when visiting. I'll encourage her to donate a lot next time she visits, and we'll compress this down to a narrow part of the rack so I can put some seasonal things in here. My office floor has a pretty little throw rug in the middle now, no longer the boxes of paper and books. Nice! (No echo, though.) SRS (who smells kind of like maple syrup after the molasses episode) |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Alice Date: 09 Jun 08 - 02:04 PM Straightened out the tool table and potting supplies in the laundry room. The room now has an ECHO! |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: maire-aine Date: 09 Jun 08 - 01:30 PM I guess I'd better get back to work tonight. I must admit, I've been slacking off this weekend. Tonight, I'll start with my bedroom. It needs some remedial tidying. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: katlaughing Date: 09 Jun 08 - 10:26 AM Okay, okay, I knew there was something off a bit about it. Back to the Maggie, yes! I went through a box of grandparents' books last night and was able to cull eight which I do not want. Of the rest, I think my kids might want several. A few seem to be fairly valuable, besides sentimentally.:-) kat |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Jun 08 - 09:24 AM Though it hasn't been mentioned by name, the whole concept of "carbon footprint" has a role in deciding how much stuff is realistic for me to keep or maintain. Those online calculators always seem to get Americans on the the size of our houses. I don't think mine is very large, and on the various house design and remodel programs, this would be considered small. Yes, I bought this much house to be able to spread out and enjoy this much stuff, but I bought it more for the large yard and proximity to a creek and woods. I'm not proposing offloading our houses! But they can run more efficiently and take less of an environmental toll if we do recycle stuff that doesn't need to be in them. And once we've finished decluttering the house we have more opportunity to plant gardens to sustain our diets, eliminate food miles, and satisfy our souls. :) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Liz the Squeak Date: 09 Jun 08 - 03:08 AM That's a lovely sentiment Kat, but I have a lot of spots on my wallpaper.... and the walls are rapidly filling up with shelves of stuff! Another day of sorting papers today, it's too hot to play in the garden and the bin is full of stuff already. LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Lin in Kansas Date: 09 Jun 08 - 02:15 AM Kat-- Having "treasures for every spot" is how I got into this mess! Don't think that one will work for me... :>) Lin |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: katlaughing Date: 09 Jun 08 - 12:43 AM How about: Should be even more succinct, though, I think.:-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Jun 08 - 12:22 AM I'm ready to crash after a long day in the garden, but a couple of times when I came in to get more water and cool off a little I went through files and pulled out stuff I don't need. I had at least a ream of paper from a textbook chapter I wrote a few years ago. I printed it out frequently in case the power died and I lost my electronic files (as you get near the end of a large project like that paranoia sets in). That all went in the bag of paper recycling that was dropped off at the bin behind city hall on a run to the store. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Jun 08 - 04:44 PM To borrow from Linn: We need to find a succinct statement to describe the philosophy behind this process and make it a virtual etching, such as a crawling screen saver on the computer monitor, so it serves as a reminder without occupying any space. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Bat Goddess Date: 08 Jun 08 - 04:24 PM At least half of de-cluttering is finding a real home for the stuff you're keeping. It's not enough just to edit and redistribute what is excess and in the way, but to organize the stuff you've got so you actually can FIND it when it's needed. For too long I've been hanging on to stuff because it's too good to throw away, or I might need it "sometime" (now if I haven't found a use for it in 20 years, it's GONE), or worse yet, somebody ELSE might need it sometime. I desperately want to dispose of the stuff that's not important so I can FIND the stuff that is. And the stuff I'm keeping needs to have a proper and logical place. Linn |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Jun 08 - 11:47 AM Isn't it wonderful to walk into a room that has improved so much? My office has a lot of empty floor space now, and looks much better. Someone dissed Martha Stewart on that "Rod McKuen is to Poetry" thread, but she has a lot of good stuff in her magazine, including some useful storage ideas. And if you look at the article photos, they are uncluttered. She is onto the idea that anything can look good if there isn't too much of it. :) I tidied my laundry room this morning. And before I go out to mow and garden I'm going to move some of those good paint cans into that lowest cupboard in the kitchen. Might as well use it to store the long-term need-to-keep items since it doesn't work for kitchen stuff. I used to keep a basket of emergency food in that cupboard, but there really isn't a need to keep it there. I can simply put that basket on a less-used shelf of my six-shelf chrome wire rack in my sun room. http://tinyurl.com/4dchuo. And this was a wonderful Martha Stewart idea. I think they used the photo to show the trick with the bungee cord, but I saw these shelves and knew there was an answer to having no pantry. I had a shelf like this for craft stuff, but when I saw this article I moved crafts to the closet and started my movable pantry. If you can't get this link to work, visit www.marthastewart.com then search on "Supply-Securing cord." It was an idea in her August 2006 magazine. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: katlaughing Date: 08 Jun 08 - 10:57 AM I have been thinking of that "place to reside" for the stuff which might be useful, but is not needed just now, too, Maggie. I think that is where the see-through smaller bins on shelves may come in. For now, I am happy to whittle it down the way I did yesterday. Last night, I got my second wind and did more in the office. It's starting to show! |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Jun 08 - 12:52 AM Interesting juxtaposition between Kat getting some "real de-cluttering done" and Linn who found an excellent use for the clutter around the house. This is a line I am trying to be aware of as I work. There are useful things that may be in the way now and what they need is a place to reside, not to be summarily tossed in the Goodwill box. And there are things that I simply will never use, and if for some strange reason I should need, I can probably find one just like it at the thrift store. Before completing this post and hitting "submit message," I took a few minutes and weeded out several hundred pages of stuff off of the second work surface in my office (it's two file cabinets about 16" apart with a plank of sanded plywood on top). It still has stuff needing sorting, but this was some printouts and newspaper clippings I don't need that are now about 3" of cellulose in the recycling bag. I compressed the stuff that remained on that work area and picked up all of the remaining stacks of paper from the floor and put them on it. There are still a few objects on the floor, but all paper is up. (Wow! Look at all of the dust kittens!) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Bat Goddess Date: 07 Jun 08 - 08:01 PM Alas, sometimes you get reinforcement that a certain amount of clutter is good. Today we put together an interesting booth for the Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival at the Seacoast Local Festival in Portsmouth, NH out of stuff we've got lying around the house. I found a blue tablecloth that I had forgotten I owned. Covered the top of the table and table cloth with place mats of maritime charts. Used a fountain base (rectangular metal "box") to hold the flyers (next time I'll cover the bottom of the box with shells, just for interest) and displayed a repro harpoon (made by Tom's former students), a deck light prism, repro scrimshawed whale's tooth and belaying pin. Guest BB brought a cardboard concertina suitable (safe!) for children to handle, some books and a festival scrapbook. We also contributed nautical flags (signalling "Splice the Main Brace") that we acquired about 20 years ago. We had two banners from previous years that we duct taped no longer current info out of sight on and hung them and the signal flags from the tent and on the front of the table. We were winging it (once again) but, damn, it looked good! Effective, too -- picked up some contributions for the festival as well as more local interest. Oh! And at one point when I was duct taping the nautical flags to the top of the tent I realized I had my arm extended straight up and I hadn't even thought about it!!! (Means all m my hard work and the physical therapy is working!) AND, before I left for the Seacoast Local Festival, I Freecycled some clutter that I DON'T want to have around any longer. Accomplished day. (Plus I came home to a phone call from a friend about a possible job opportunity. Yeehah!) Linn |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: katlaughing Date: 07 Jun 08 - 07:51 PM Let your light shine...glad you have them back on, Maryanne! I finally was able to do some real de-cluttering today. Not the usual stuff, but some really deep stuff. Got three BIG bins out of the office, went through them. Got them whittled down to just one, with a bunch of recycles, giveaways, and other stuff to be filed. AND, I shredded 2-3 years of bank statements. That was great!!! More to go and the living room and office look disaster areas, but there is an end to the chaos coming, I can see it.:-) Also, now have the boxes to put the books in AND my two books on eBay have garnered interest. There are six people watching one and two people watching the other one I put up. I also have more stuff to put on ebay now that I feel will sell successfully. I intend to use the money to get our kitchen floor done, finally! |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: maire-aine Date: 07 Jun 08 - 02:09 PM My plans for the weekend got side-tracked just a bit, because my power went out last night. Actually the whole block went out. On the hottest, most humid day of the year so far, with everyone running their air-conditioners, a power line broke behind the house. It sparked and crackled all night, but the fire dept said all we could do is wait for Edison. Oooh. I just heard beeping. The power just came back on. Things are looking up. Good job, Edison folks. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Jun 08 - 10:51 AM That is the height of luxury, Lin, having a bona fide guest room! I have a room that I'll fix up one of these days. It's full of my daughter's stuff now, but I don't expect she'll move back. We'll set her things in a corner (a big corner--it needs weeding!) and go from there. I have a front room with a comfortable futon that is the guest room now, but it doesn't have a door. I had my son sort through all of the stray papers around his computer and in his backpack. The school year ended on Thursday, he won't use most of these again, but I wanted him to go through, not just accept my edict that the papers must go and throw them. He needs to learn to fight his own paper battles. I've figured out a loop I can make to get rid of stuff and stop at the feed and seed store to pick up some gardening items. I may also swing by the Scottish Festival (but I need to take a cooler so my tricogramma wasps don't deploy inside the pickup in the warmth while I'm listening to the music!) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Lin in Kansas Date: 07 Jun 08 - 05:17 AM Took about 50 old cassette tapes to my sister-in-law. She has a device she can play them on, which I don't, and I'm tired of waiting for JIK or son John to rig the stereo so we can transfer the music to CD. I know I'm going to regret getting rid of some of them, as they are not findable on CD, but it cleared a big spot on the living room floor where the tapes and their containers were. Also took a big box of books down to her. In retaliation, of course, she sent two sacks of "stuff" back with me, but I think I'm ahead this time, at least temporarily... Liz, yay for getting some decluttering done in the garden! I refuse to even look at the back yard, or I'd be running in circles trying to figure out what to do with that. JIK scanned and "stitched" my family scrapbook for me so I can send it to a relative in Iowa, and is putting another file through OCR to send to the museum in my little home town, so computer/favor backlogs are being decluttered also. And why am I not doing both the above? Because he's the only one with the programs on his machine to do them... in other words, it's his own darned fault! (Of course, he did a beautiful job, so I certainly am not going to complain in his presence--LOL). Son and soon-to-be-ex daughter-in-law have been moving things out of the back bedroom; the two dogs are now gone (one with DIL, one tonight with son); the laundry room is cleared out to where you can actually see the floor--Whew! I'm getting giddy just thinking about it. It's possible I may soon actually have a guest room for the first time in five years! Lin |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 Jun 08 - 11:25 PM Good work Liz--I followed your lead by digging weeds and thinning out more irises this evening. I progressed a few more feet as I work my way along the foundation on the front. In my house de-cluttering operation, I cleared a bunch of cut tile pieces off of a picnic bench on my back patio. It has been there for several years because it didn't really need to go anywhere and I haven't finished all of the tile work in the house. The porch looks better without all of that and the pieces are now parked in the garage in a box. I have to finish tiling areas in the house so I kept this for now. I should finish the flooring this summer to get that job out of the way. During the week I finished shredding paper in front of a desk in my office and now I need to work on removing the stuff on top. And the eBay stuff awaits. . . SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Alice Date: 06 Jun 08 - 10:59 PM Just spent the last hours cleaning out kitchen cupboards of old spices, stale products, etc. Cleaned down shelves and refaced all packages forward, more organized. What a relief to have that done! Now there is open space and I can see everything that is in there at a glance. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: katlaughing Date: 06 Jun 08 - 04:41 PM Well, I supervised four hours of de-cluttering for my sister, today!**bg** I watched as the movers carefully re-boxed everything in her storage space and loaded it on the truck to go to Alaska. Hahahaha! Actually, I will be doing some de-cluttering of my own thanks to her empty boxes they left behind. I will use them to move out books. Ah, Maggie, I know what the heat and dryness can do to a nice green yard. It's the same here, but we do have rights to irrigation water, so it helps a bit, except that we only use it to drip as we don't have a pump. Yeah, LtS!!! |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 Jun 08 - 02:57 PM There is a Scottish Festival in Arlington this week, but my pocketbook and internal thermometer will limit my participation to probably an afternoon and evening, or morning and afternoon. Looks like it's time to get some more eBay items listed, and sort garage sale stuff for next week. And the garden is gradually coming along, a couple of square feet at a time (summer water restrictions are in place now so I'm having to discretely water small sections before I pull out grass by the roots). SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Catherine Jayne Date: 06 Jun 08 - 07:15 AM Fantastic Liz! |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: maeve Date: 06 Jun 08 - 06:58 AM Huzzah Liz! Good for you! |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: GUEST,LTS pretending to work Date: 06 Jun 08 - 02:30 AM Another hour in the garden, another two bags of garbage to go.... it's getting there! LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Jun 08 - 05:46 PM I have a lot to list on eBay, and I think that will happen more as the hot weather forces me indoors. I can't resist gardening while it's possible. Kat, the yard looks great now because we had good rain this spring. It's a struggle to keep some green area for the dogs once it gets really hot here. I usually have one of the circular pulsing sprinklers that I put in the center of that area so it hits the grass and those trees and shrubs you see. The back end of the yard turns brown. We've had high temperatures and high steady winds for the last two days so I think we're shifting into that dry period quickly. It's nice when the stuff you don't need can go to someone you know who can use it. It goes from being clutter to a gift--what a great transformation! SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: katlaughing Date: 05 Jun 08 - 04:40 PM Well, I started in my office. I packaged up two books to be sent to two different friends and got another listed on ebay. Moved some give-aways to the living room where they wait for boxes. My goal is to free up the shelves in the office for the containers I will get and for the resurrection the ring binders I used to use like Linn was talking about. I think I would use ebay more if it just didn't take so darn long. I had a problem with it not taking my International shipping option. Finally gave up after they reported it to their tech dept. I have one more book to list, today, then maybe I will get more done, tonight. I also got a few things filed and put away. Your table is going to really look nice, Maggie. Your backyard looks really pretty! |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Jun 08 - 03:12 PM Light shredding at lunchtime has removed another expanding file (used to be in a box in my closet). Gives me about 1 square foot more of clear office floor. Last day of school for my son. My time utilization curve may vary wildly for a while. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Jun 08 - 11:07 AM I agree. Celebrate the thing being done right now. Progress in the yard. This is the cast iron form I plan to turn into a primitive outdoor table. I don't like to use chemically imbedded pressure treated wood so I picked up cedar planks. A few cuts puts me to this point in the job. It is roughed in, enough for today. My next step is to get out the sander and smooth the ends and round the edges for drainage. After that I'll put a board underneath each side and use carriage bolts to fasten them in place. These board surfaces will be removable. I'll consider if there is any modification that can be done with the upstanding former feet. Maybe a low wind screen or tool or implement rack? I was able to do this little job very quickly (four cuts in four boards) because I've cleared out the garage junk that was an impediment to reaching the workbench and the tools. Success breeds success. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: maeve Date: 05 Jun 08 - 06:53 AM " But it is disheartening when you've spent ages doing one thing to have that ignored and the one thing you didn't do picked up on." Perhaps that's the one decluttering of the mind and spirit that needs immediate attention then. Sometimes family and friends can do harm without meaning to. This is an important point to clear up. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Catherine Jayne Date: 05 Jun 08 - 04:20 AM My dining room is pretty much packed up into boxes, just need to pack up the books and there's lots of them. Sheet music and music/song books have been packed up ready too. Over the weekend I decluttered my wardrobe and it felt fantastic! I had SO many clothes that even pregnant are far too big for me. I've passed on a number of good quality suits to a friend who will get use out of them, there were 2 big bags of clothing that went to the charity shop and there was one bag of newish prepregnacy clothes which I will get back into by Yule. My once very full wardrobe is now very empty, but I suppose it won't take me long to fill it again! All harry's small clothes have been vaccuum packed and we've started packing toys up too...without him noticing too much! The child has far too many toys! I've got the day to myself, supposedly for rest and relaxation but there is a pile of material and wool that needs sorting out that I should really get done before the boys get home! |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: GUEST,LTS pretending to work Date: 05 Jun 08 - 04:06 AM To be fair, Manitas does do a great deal around the house, without being asked, told or nagged... he's a compulsive tidier and I'm not. But it is disheartening when you've spent ages doing one thing to have that ignored and the one thing you didn't do picked up on. LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Jun 08 - 12:23 AM I cut one of the cedar boards to see how it will work on my new old table. Four pieces and a couple of inches left over out of a 2x4x8. I'll use a sander to smooth the surfaces and round the corners, then space them and stabilize with backer underneath held on by carriage bolts. This is clearly an important component of the de-cluttering process--if you kept something because you're going to use it or fix it, then use it or fix it now so that's done and over with. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: maire-aine Date: 04 Jun 08 - 07:16 PM Thanks, SRS. I think that since I've gotten older, the highs aren't quite as high, but the lows aren't quite so low anymore, either. Starting on another box tonight, but it won't have my full attention. There's a hockey game on tonight. But I'll do my cheer-leading in the Stanley Cup thread. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Jun 08 - 04:58 PM Negative observations about the work you are or aren't doing are not only not helpful, they are destructive. Politely request that Manitas help with these tasks, and that he not say a word. Those are the choices. Positive feedback is required with this work. BTW, Liz, I thought I'd rescue a few plants my neighbor gave me some weeks ago in a plastic bucket. The lambs ears have expired but the daylilies still were viable. I picked up the bucket and tipped the whole ball of dirt into my hand, to be met by a toad that lives in the bucket! Peep! was the protest, so I tipped the whole wad back into the bucket, careful not to squash or trap him. I pulled the lilies out carefully and they're in the ground. I'm doing a major eye-strain editing task today, so every two hours I go outside and dig for about five minutes. It helps refocus my eyes, gives me a break, and is slowly helping clear out the corner by the porch. Do you know the feeling you get when you have been outside on a hot day, when you walk in the door of the darkened house? You're met by cool air, and there is a look that needs to go with that cool sensation. Part of that solid yet simple Hemingway/Mission southwest feel (the simple act of getting into heavy shade, whether in a house or under a porch or ramada can bring a wonderful sense of comfort). This week I seem to be working on that intersection, from the garden and porch through the doorway and the room immediately inside. Maryanne, it takes some perspective to be able to see progress like you report. When you're doing work on your own behalf I think you help with the forward momentum. Good work! (And remember, depression is normal, it is often part of a healthy adjustment to things going on in your life.) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: katlaughing Date: 04 Jun 08 - 03:56 PM Since Manitas just had a b-day, one assumes he is all grown up and can do those bits himself, eh?!**bg** |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: maire-aine Date: 04 Jun 08 - 03:46 PM While I was going thru a box of articles last night, I found a 2005 article from the NY Times, which had a depression screening quiz. I also found the completed forms that I filled out in April & September of 2005. I went from "moderate depression" to "mild depression" then. I took the quiz again this morning, and now I'm at "minimal depression". Now there's nothing scientific about it, but it does reflect how much better I'm doing now, than I was a few years ago. It may take a few more tries, but I've made a start. I'll get it together eventually. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Liz the Squeak Date: 04 Jun 08 - 03:44 PM Good day today. The answer is obviously to have a pub lunch and snooze on the train coming home. I got home at about 4 and then spent an hour or more in the garden, so we now have a de weeded path! I also cut some of the low branches of the buddliea bush down too, so the cats can sit in the garden and the birds in the bush above them can see them coming. Replenished the bird feeder and hope to see some tits back out there soon. Trouble is, just as I start feeling good and thinking 'Yay, I can do this', Manitas comes in and makes comments about the bits I didn't do yet. Humphf... just can't win, can you. LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Jun 08 - 11:30 AM Thinking about Liz's difficulties in getting going: Adaptive reuse is a part of decluttering. Finding a use for something that has gone unused or underutilized, or getting really creative with the stuff in the space you have. This isn't necessarily about getting rid of, but about compressing or reorganizing stuff. Rather than focusing on all of the stuff you haven't been able to get to, is there some task or organizational job you need done that you can accomplish with something that is sitting around the house? When I lived in an apartment before this house I was forced to put storage shelves in the living room. I didn't like looking at the random boxes, so I got some pretty wrapping paper and I wrapped the outside of the boxes (these were like printer paper boxes, and sometimes I did the lid in a contrasting color). I was stuck with the contents, though I think by handling it was able to thin some out, but at least it didn't look so bad, it was a rather festive corner of the room. Also, if it didn't work to start with the smallest room, how about a component? Start with a drawer. Organize it and work outward from there. One drawer. Then two. Okay? SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Jun 08 - 11:27 PM Oh--and I cleared out a few more file folders in the cabinet today and set up a container for the maps. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Jun 08 - 10:49 PM The stuff we are discarding, redistributing, recycling, trashing, selling, etc., is baggage on various levels. I for one know that some of what is going out the door lifts weight from my spirits not just because of the space it clears but because of the associations that can go away as well. Perhaps as you sort through mental clutter you'll also sort and file and discard objects in your surroundings that will help you visualize the brain de-cluttering and moving on. Or maybe this is the kind of clearing that needs a nice hot burn, a bonfire or something smaller, a chiminea or barbecue ceremony. Even a flame as tiny as a candle, lit at the proper time, can clear the air. Good luck! I picked up lumber, 2x4 cedar boards, for my outside table. Tomorrow I'll do some measuring and see what I come up with. I would love to have my outdoor cooking table ready to go as the summer heat arrives, and this could do it! SRS |
