BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember

Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Dec 08 - 06:25 PM

My Random House Speller/Divider lists "vise" as a clamp (see vice)" and "vice (immorality)" and "vice (in place of)" (like vice president, etc.).

I've read enough British and American literature that with a word like that it all comes from context and neither looks like incorrect usage as the clamp.

Dropped off Women's Memorial items at the American Legion. Thought I'd gag from the smoke in there. Cigars. Acck! The guys there said they do have a few women members who were WACs and WAVEs. I hope they kept their military issue gas masks, if they have them. (Anyone remember the line in Body Heat when everyone in the room lights up, and when offered a cigarette, Ted Danson refuses, winces, and responds "I'll just breathe the air.")

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember
From: Penny S.
Date: 01 Dec 08 - 06:01 PM

Can't stand people who move in somewhere where the neighbour has trees and then complains about them.

Took some stuff to Oxfam today and went into the estate agents next door, coming out with loads of particulars of places with more space and storage.

Why do so many have the only access to the garden via the carpeted living room's patio doors? Where do the wellies go?

The place I looked at had a bush growing right up to the front window and a deeply gloomy pergola over the back, facing north east. If I were to move in there, I would confound my own opinions - but I won't because of the garden access.

They have downstairs loos by the front door, not the garden access. Not logical.

Vise/vice - vice is the correct UK spelling of the device for gripping work while sawing, drilling etc. According to British spelling rules, vise would be pronounced with a z sound - is that the US pronounciation?

Loaded the car with boxes and a bag of packaging stuff to take to Dad's for decluttering there.

Defeated part of the object by buying two nice blouses at Oxfam, and then spending a voucher they gave me for taking stuff in on a pair of trousers and a gilet at M&S.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 01 Dec 08 - 04:06 PM

We have a strange law in the UK whereby if a branch overhangs your property boundary, you are perfectly entitled to lop it off, but only as far as the boundary. Lop it off 6" over their side and you're causing willful damage! However... the branches and any fruit on it remain the property of the person in whose garden the main trunk of the tree/shrub is and you have to ask permission before you do any cutting at all or disposing of the branches.

I'd love to be able to report my neighbour for cutting the branches off my small Viburna. I know it wasn't me because I haven't been out there lopping for over a year. But he's cut them off level with the top of the fence, thus killing the whole tree. Grrr. Can't prove it was him, even though he's got the only garden with access. He doesn't like the leaves on his lawn.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Dec 08 - 03:29 PM

The used book store here that I go to has a recycling dumpster out back. If something is truly unusable, it gets recycled. They have a warehouse where marginal items are sent to be redistributed or donated. Maybe you could look into something like that.

I have several things to take around for recycling or donation, maybe later this afternoon. I'll take some Women in the Military souvenirs over to a local veteran's organization. Mom picked these items up to support the Women in the Military Memorial that opened in 1997.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember
From: MAG
Date: 01 Dec 08 - 01:33 PM

Leaves shredded to the point that all my big yard buckets (5) are full. Got half of them dumped around the roses. (I've neglected my roses terribly the last couple years; vow to do better this year.)

I realize that a lot of the unmanaged clutter is books I have saved from the ladnfill. (My boss forbids us telling anyone that is where unsold discards and gifts go, but it is true all the same.) Especially any folktale books, I just can't stand to see them get trashed. (I used to take gift books about to go to landfill over to the humane soc. thrift shop, but got my fingers slapped for that so I dasn't do it anymore. That thrift is closing anyway, unfortunately -- is where I have alwats taken stuff.)

Anyway, I need to sort and stack the books better. That will actually make a big difference.

A neighbot has been whacking limbs off my tree which hangs over his property. It is not illegal unfortunately, but then he tosses the limbs over the fence, which is. A while back I had to get a tree surgeon ($300) out to fix the damage he did. Now I learned from the inspector guy that if he does that, he is liable if the tree gets sick. I need to get a lawyer to inform him of that fact.

One damn thing after another.

Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Dec 08 - 01:05 PM

You're probably right. The pronunciation is no doubt regional, leading to the mis-spelling. I'm not working on getting a grip on any new vices this year. :)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember
From: CamiSu
Date: 01 Dec 08 - 11:13 AM

She decluttered her family?!?! :~)

I wouldn't call it that. Well...at least not where my kids are concerned. I could deal with them closer all the time. Mom...well I can manage 3 days of constantly together. Don't see enough of the brothers that were there, but they had things to do. BUt my youngest DID leave his room in pretty much the same condition he got it in! Amazing!

"I'm going to decorate her tree for her to discover."

That is SO cool. What a wonderful surprise that will be.
BTW The tool that goes on the workbench I have always spelled vise, and a vise grip in my barn is a locking pliers. Very portable. TOO portable. They always walk off when I need them. Vices, now, them i am trying to get rid of. Not always successful...

CamiSu

Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember
From: wysiwyg
Date: 01 Dec 08 - 09:40 AM

HOLIDAY TIP

Start planning now for all that wrapping paper, bits of cut-off ribbon, and those little paper thingies on the ends of new rolls of scotch tape-- you know these will tend to pile up as the month goes on. Even if you are a totally non-Crimmissy person-- while you may be Scroogey enough not to buy and give, pesky friends WILL insist on gifting YOU.

So set up the kitteh play space now, where you can toss ALL the trimmings. Lay out a dirty flat-sheet to catch all the paper and cat fur. When the holiday mess-making is over, use the sheet as a funnel and pour the debris into trash bags (paper! go green!), wash the sheet, and bingo!

;~)

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember
From: maire-aine
Date: 01 Dec 08 - 08:59 AM

I had some success de-cluttering my mind yesterday. I started going thru another pile of old magazines. They're too dated to be useful, so they'll go to the recycling bags. I also made a new to-do list for the new month. I find lists very helpful. Sunday night the band did a black-tie benefit/fundraiser-- they support a hospital in Haiti. It was about 15 miles north of here, and there was a lot of snow by the time we finished. It was mostly rain by the time we got back, but still a slippery ride home.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Dec 08 - 08:57 AM

Andrea,

The big vice--is that a vice grip? You may not need it now, but they are a very handy item to have in a house. If you're thinking about selling, it might be a good thing to leave. When I built the new garage (7 years ago) I wanted it to look like it had been here for a while so I took apart a weathered (and dog-chewed) redwood picnic table and framed it out then used a remainder from house remodeling as the top. And a few months later at an area garage sale I found an old vice for $10 and I brought it home, used WD-40 to get all of the parts moving again, and I fastened it onto my workbench. It doesn't get used often, but when I need it for a task there is simply no other tool that would work as well for stability sake.

My mantle has been evolving. Right now I have a leaded window with some colored panes in it propped up there and some flotsam my mother picked up over the years. It will be the central area for holiday decor soon. Good job in clearing your mantles. I don't do a fire in my fireplace often, mine is filled with a mirror and a bunch of candles sitting on a board across the top of the fire grate. It doesn't draw well but the candles look very cheerful without causing the smokey effect of a dying fire puffing into the house.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember
From: mouldy
Date: 01 Dec 08 - 04:19 AM

I am going to do a similar thing to Liz. I too have always left the garden tidying until after winter so that the birds have a bit of shelter and maybe a little extra food too.

The skip will probably be January or February, as I will be down under for most of March. After Christmas I am going to rip off the kitchen floor covering and have a look at exactly what and where the damp is. Some may be condensation, so I am going to give it a good clean, and air it off. Then I am going to get a structural surveyor in to try and find out exactly what's going on, and what I can do about it. I am also considering ripping out the old kitchen units from the garage/workshop, as I don't need it like that - stuff just gets dumped there. Also I am not likely to use the big vice in the near future, and most of what I need could be stored in a purpose-made store, which could then move with me. I am also getting a big delivery of logs soon, and they will need to go somewhere, as will the sofa (see next para).

Hopefully, if I can get that sorted, most of what's left to do will be refurb and decorating, although I do have to get rid of the sofa (via the front window, frame out and all) so that it can all be replastered and set back in before the finishing off is done!

Today I intend getting the decorations out of the loft and having a good sort out. I never use them all, so a good chuck-out will help there. I think a shovel would clear a lot of the general sh*te lying around the place at the moment!

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 01 Dec 08 - 03:29 AM

I excavated the mantlepiece yesterday... I had to to find the speaker wire that runs along it, because we bought a new TV (32 inches... who says size doesn't matter?!) and had to move the stereo. Sorted that out and realised just how much crud there was on the mantlepiece so that went into the sorting crate.... now there's just my Napoleon clock, a German carved Silver Birch nativity scene (which got covered in crud last Christmas and forgotten.. ain't I a slob?!) and a beautiful carved wooden sycamore leaf which holds various semi-precious stones, polished wood and other natural talismen.

The stereo had to move to another shelf so that got decluttered too... it's a slow process but it's working!

I've decided that February or March is going to be the 'Big Push' as far as the rest of the house is concerned... I'm hiring a skip and all the accumulated crap from the loft is being sorted, along with the garden which is going to be significantly pruned... I reckon that by then the birds will have eaten all the seeds but not yet started to nest. For the last 3 years, I've been unable to prune a certain bush because my little feathered friends keep nesting in it. Consequently, it's nearly 15' tall and getting out of hand.

On the other hand... December means finding somewhere to put the tree so another significant de-clut is in store. I just wish December were longer so I could get everything done!

LTS

Subject: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Dec 08 - 12:02 AM

Yup, Kat, here it is. And what a month to try to de-clutter, but I am so proud that over the Thanksgiving weekend I made more progress on the kitchen and living room than I have in all of the other months I've been working on this.

I didn't empty the room, but I moved a lot out and only a little back in after the big get-together. I can see the chair rails and wainscoting around the room and can actually hear that faint echo one gets when there is enough space in a room even if there is furniture. The counters are clear, appliances have been moved to what I hope are more logical locations. Because there is less stuff in both rooms they both also look a lot bigger.

I don't know if we'll get a tree this year. I didn't get one last year, but the couple of years before that I had magnificent trees. I don't get the tree until christmas eve, and then I go down to the nursery at the corner and offer them $10 for a tree that they'll put at the curb in a day's time. I fought too many fires with the Forest Service to be happy with a dead tree in the house for long. It's usually down before New Year's.

I have a lot of holiday ornamental stuff and I have been weeding it out somewhat, but maybe this year I can make two sets--the stuff I really like, and the rest, and see if I don't use the less-loved set in the next year or two, maybe donate that somewhere. Also, I have a bunch of plastic ornaments that I picked up at the curb last year. I'm going to go put them up on a tree that a friend has decorated for years, but she skipped for the last two. She used to decorate this juniper deep in the woods across the road from me, but her dog got older and couldn't walk that far so she stopped. Now the old dog is gone and she has a new young one, so I'm going to decorate her tree for her to discover.

Ssshhhh! Don't say anything! :)

SRS