DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 24 - 12:59 PM

Today I nailed a picture hook in my dressing room and put up a little German porcelain-face clock that my aunt gave me when I was probably 10 years old. It was on my room wall forever but when I moved out to go to college a younger brother moved into the room and unfortunately didn't know what he was doing and over-wound the clock.

If I bump the pendulum any time I walk past, will that movement eventually untighten the spring enough to let it work again? Or once they're broken, is that it?

The porcelain sink in the kitchen is looking better today after I put a few folded layers of paper towel down and poured on a little chlorine bleach and moved it from one section to the next until I'd completely removed the brownish tea stain that cleanser never seemed to get. At one time cleanser alone did the job, but it seems to be formulated differently? Anyway, progress in the kitchen advances with more clear counter and table space. The fridge is also more clear as I try to avoid overstuffing it (as I change my diet I'm not eating all of the same things so I'm shopping for fewer items now.)

Poking around in other people's rooms comes to mind as I remember that brother mocking some of the things he found in dresser drawers when he moved in (why didn't Mom tell me this was going to happen and I'd have put my things away?) I also remember occasionally going into my Mom's room trying to find something that she said she'd "keep for you so it doesn't get lost" then promptly buried and lost herself. Two lessons here: deal with the things you don't want other people poking through yourself, and be more organized in trying to save things that you really do want to keep for later. Both parts of what I work on now. Back to the glasses on eBay . . .

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Sep 24 - 04:52 PM

Stilly, you could do something radical and take your little German clock to a professional watch and clock technician. Such people still exist, and perfectly normal citizens patronize them. Me, for example.

Among my father's endless accumulation of doohickeys was a little traveller's alarm clock in a leather case that folds to make a stand. It's emerald green, with a "gold-tone" face. He bought it for my mother in 1975, indicated by the manufacturer's guarantee still tucked into the back of the case. It had not run for years, possibly decades. Last month, I took it to the watch and clock guy on York Street near the river -- funky little shop full of ticking. The repair cost $150, and the little green clock now ticks gently on my chest of drawers. It has a truly hair-raising alarm, far more effective than the burbling noise my phone makes, and -- of course -- I have to get out of bed to turn it off. Yes, a battery-powered clock would keep better time. Yes, I could use my phone. But I still think I didn't waste my money getting the little green clock repaired.

A pair of corduroy trousers that I bought from Land's End, through their website, arrived yesterday. Woo-hoo, winter trousers! But no, at size 12, they're miles too big. (Size 12 at Land's End is considerably bigger than size 12 at LL Bean.) But now I have to figure out how to exchange them for the same thing in size 10 -- not an easy thing to accomplish from Canada. The Land's End website awaits: I must plumb its depths to find the elusive Customer Service page. I may take some time ... Don't wait up.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Sep 24 - 09:33 PM

I have an acquaintance I've been meaning to contact about jewelry repair; she works for a company that manages estate sales and deals with upkeep of old objects. She might also have a clock repair person to recommend. Good idea. And as it happens, I have a clock very much like the one you describe that came from my great aunt's house, a folding green leather alarm clock. It still works, but it hasn't been used in years.

This afternoon I used my DSW Shoe Warehouse $5 birthday coupon to pick up a good gym bag (from the clearance section) - my gym stuff was in a canvas bag from the 2016 election (it has "Hillary" in text on the front.) The canvas bag is in the laundry and my shoes and clothes are packed in the Adidas bag ready to shoved into my favorite locker at the gym. Now to motivate myself to go to the gym; I have an audiobook in the queue ready to listen to while I ride the recumbent bike or walk the treadmill.

I just checked via https://www.lwv.org/elections/vote411 to be sure I'm still registered, not purged from the local voter rolls. I'm good, and should be getting that absentee mail-in ballot any day now. I can hardly wait!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Sep 24 - 05:49 PM

An afternoon of shopping, making the rounds and amazingly got everything on my shopping list - that I left behind on the kitchen counter. "Slow carb" vegetables and organic strawberries, good Czech sausage links from the restaurant supply near me and in between those a couple of other stops. Dropped off groceries for my ex who was complaining of a sinus headache today. Anyway, tonight and tomorrow will be for food prep (washing, coring, and freezing seven pounds of strawberries and making a batch of marinara sauce. I bought a case of 8 pounds and one was for my ex. The rest for my freezer.)

With sugar and flour out of my diet the sodium in foods doesn't push my blood pressure up much. I'm not going crazy with salt, but am glad to have sausages back on my plate. I picked up sauerkraut to go with them.

This is the weekend that Autumn dictates a shift in bedding. I didn't sleep well last night and think it had to do with my feet being a bit cold. The thermal blanket will go on today and the antique cotton summer cover is going through the laundry (on delicate - one of these days it will completely turn to shreds, it's so old and thin, but I love it.) It's also a good time to once-over with the vacuum in there on my good Persian carpet and my exercise carpet.

Before heading out today I washed the outside upper half of the window in the front room and put one of my Harris/Walz signs in it for now. Until Oct. 5 I can't put them in the yard, but they will go out exactly on that day, set so neighbors coming and going can see them clearly. I've seen more Harris signs than Trump signs so far around Fort Worth proper (where they can put out signs earlier). I wore my KAM47A shirt out shopping today and got a couple of smiling nods of approval. :)

It looks like an outer band of tropical storm Helene is passing over the US/Canada border around Toronto and give Detroit a good soak. We haven't heard from Maryanne Dunmire in ages, but she's probably getting wet about now. Is any of it going to shift further and hit Charmion or Linn?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: keberoxu
Date: 29 Sep 24 - 11:37 AM

Just sold my extra bed to a nice lady
whose father was moving to a retirement community
and she thought it was a good occasion to get him a better bed.
That's a major declutter in one of my two bedrooms,
and a big move toward downsizing for my next home.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Sep 24 - 06:25 PM

Congratulations, Keb. Off-loading major furniture is important. Kudos!

I have a potential major declutter to report: my Ottawa-based nephew and his wife have decided that they would like my Wedgwood china — all eight place settings, plus demitasses, two teapots (large and small), and the full range of serving dishes. Back in the day, it was highly prized and worth thousands; now it’s not safe in the microwave. It sure looks nice on the table, though — and their kids are old enough not to smash it. We will probably effect the handover at Christmas.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Sep 24 - 07:18 PM

Wonderful news from both of you - that's major recovered square footage on both. Is the china already packed or is that going to be your fall project? My report is puny in comparison; I took a few shirts, some small ceramics and a couple of working vintage electrical devices to Goodwill after dropping off my recycling at the village bins. This was some of mine and the last of the stuff that was in the garage from my friend's declutter this summer.

This afternoon I spooled string onto all of the extra empty reels for my electric trimmer and spent time in the front trimming tall seed heads and edging in preparation for mowing tomorrow. I won't mow the whole thing, just a few spots, the groundcover is coming along nicely in about 70% of the area directly in front of the house. The sides still need mowing so needed edging close to the house that the mower won't reach. I scalped grass and weeds on the paver and gravel porch patio and tossed one old crumbling pot (the soil distributed in a separate flower bed first). I stopped when my arms were getting tired; there's plenty to do every day this week for an hour at a time.

I'll be making a round trip drive later this week to pick up a friend to bring back to town for a couple of weeks. I haven't been to her town in ages so am looking forward to seeing how it looks now. It was a sleepy little town with a historic fort and lots of bed and breakfast Victorian houses last time I was there. Staring tomorrow I'll clean house and make the bed in the guest room. I'll make a batch of my dinner rolls to have here for her and visitors, though I am still trying to stay off of wheat altogether. My diet won't seem so odd to them if they can get one of their favorite foodstuffs here.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 30 Sep 24 - 07:54 AM

yesterday I took 3 books to one of "my" charity shops, the books are about local history/archival pics & the bloke accepting them said I always bring such interesting stuff! I'll go back.

We have 4 Op (opportunity) shops in our suburb & I have 2 other bigger shops in nearby suburbs + the Craft op shop, so am able to fins homes for lotsa' stuff - all I need to do is start!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 24 - 08:44 PM

I tackled the front part of my driveway with the string trimmer, mowing down the grass growing through the cracks. I swept trimmings that I hit so far, and I'll finish this job tomorrow (it's a long driveway). My nextdoor neighbor came over while I was working to ask about the neighbors across the street; his sister moved in a few doors up at the same time I did and we've all been friends with that across-the-street family. The brother moved in about 4 years ago. He knew she'd want to know how that couple was doing so came to ask before walking up to visit with her. On this level, you wouldn't be able to tell who are the Democrats or Republicans. It's what I want to preserve here, the kind caring for neighbors.

Got my flu shot today; it has a blooming kind of zing a minute or two after injection, but is just the normal kind of achy arm now, several hours later. I did this so any side effects will be finished by the time I need to go pick up my friend.

I want to brag a little; my friend downtown is working her way through almost being evicted (the management has a terrible accounting system in place for residents - she needs her account audited; I think she is a month ahead on her payments.) She is at least caught up. I had recommended getting a credit union savings/checking account because they play nicer than banks (she wasn't able to get accounts at the banks she tried, having been homeless messes up your credit), and she did that. And now she's set up to sell on eBay many of the perfectly good things she finds tossed in the trash rooms at her apartment - this is bin diving in a pretty good setting. On her Facebook account she has a page of photos of some of these finds - it is astonishing what people throw away. Anyway, this week we'll be talking about the finer aspects of eBay as an 800-pound gorilla, and getting her labels, envelopes and packing materials so they're on hand when needed.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 30 Sep 24 - 09:40 PM

Wonderful that you could be that true 'friend in need', SRS. Hope the worst of her hassles are behind her now!

I thought I was making progress, cut and bagged 4 large hefty bags of weeds (can't compost the goatheads, they have to be gotten off site). Neighbor finished carpentering in the new back door. We walked out past the ant highway, where I showed him the large yet very low hill. And lo and behold, their commute to work leads to the stupid gnarly logs the prior owners stuck in the front door cactus garden, where apparently termites are pasting on their weird sawdust crusts.

Meanwhile, I had already tried 4 stores for diatomaceous earth, no luck. Will try the feed store tomorrow. But, maybe not, neighbor says the black ants eat the termites, so they are not the real enemy.?

Regrettably, when property transfers in NM, water and sewer have to be rigorously tested but termites do not. On the upside it's not a woodframe house, so I'm probably not in danger of property loss, but, do I need to let the ants keep knockng down the termites til I track down a local termite guy or some do-it-yourself poison?

And the computer died today. The stupid cheapo new internal batteries that swell up and bow your trackpad area. Can be replaced by tearing off the whole back, but I'm so disgusted with the machine I'd rather retire it.   

I did backup everything yesterday, except I forgot the bookmarks list. I know that can and should have been synced, it just always struck me as creepy to do that.

2 steps forward, 2 steps back!

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Sep 24 - 10:03 PM

You don't need to poison the property. You do need to know what kind of termites they are (they often follow water lines into houses). And get those logs out of the garden! If nothing else, move them to the opposite side of the yard where there is no building nearby and let the ants clobber them over there. About DE.

There is a company called Soil Mender that used to put out a can with DE that comes with a slim straw - the thing about DE is that it should go out in a really fine layer and the puffer (the bottle with the straw) is perfect. The straw goes in the top of the bottle and you puff it around on the ground. I'm not sure if they're out of production now, but DE never goes bad. This place sells them. All you need is one of these cans and then refill it with food grade DE as needed. I see lots of varieties of DE for sale on Amazon, most of them will be way over priced. It's a lightweight material so you don't need to buy 10 pounds of it. I'll look at my local nursery and read a few labels - if nothing else, I can mail you a box with some. Housewarming gift?

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 08:50 AM

I spent a good part of yesterday marshalling all the Wedgwood china promised to Nephew 1 on the basement work table. A couple of pieces are too beat-up to pass on, such as a coffee cup with an immovable brown stain and a covered dish that shed its lid knob (fortunately the knob itself is not lost). But Lord, what a lot of crockery! Unless Nephew 1’s car is far larger than I think it is, I think I’ll end up hauling at least half of it to Ottawa myself.

With the Wedgwood bound elsewhere, my crockery accumulation is sufficiently reduced that I can stop fretting about it. Everything that remains has a place to be that isn’t a cardboard box on a basement shelf, and I understand why I’m keeping it. My granny's ancient teacups aren’t what I’d call exactly “useful”, but they evoke such powerful memories that I can’t let them go. Yet. Ask me again in 20 years.

Summer may be waning, but in Perth County it’s still verging on hot at mid-day and not what I’d call properly cool at night. Rain is expected today, the first in a week, in a season that’s supposed to be bone-achingly damp. The trees are only just beginning to turn colour. I’m not eager for winter, but I wish autumn would get a wiggle on.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: pattyClink
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 09:47 AM

Thanks so much for the info! From the tube/tunnels I've seen around here, even way out on the road, and the sawdust coatings, it looks like they are Subterranean. Good idea, I can at least drag the logs out to the fenceline for now. (neighboring land is vacant scrub).

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 11:54 AM

Charmion, it seems that unless you yourself are going to throw away the less than perfect Wedgwood, then your nephew should be given that opportunity. They may have alternative uses for the incompletely-covered dish in the background around the rest of the collection (sitting on the counter holding pencils, pad of paper, scissors, glasses cases with spare readers, etc.) I sold the lion's share of my great grandmother's semi-vitreous Mercer Waldorf antique china because as semi-vitreous it was badly crazed and would let food stains through the tiny cracks. Not a good material for food, it's the same as subway tile, and I didn't want to soak them in bleach after every use. But there was one platter that remarkably had no crazing at all. So I kept that and it is displayed much as this one is. It's enough for me to tell my kids or other family members the story of working through the huge house that was my great aunt's when she left the contents to me and two of my father's first cousins. What a lot of work that was (and it turns out that antiques these days aren't the goldmine that we thought they would be 40 years ago.)

Patty, our conversation reminds me that there are termites in the pine stump in the front yard and I should check around to see if any of the roots reached the house. There is a water spigot in the front wall straight back that could be attractive to termites if they follow the root. Ugg. If I dig a small trench a few feet out in front of that part of the house I should be able to see if there are roots there.

I'm about 20% of the way through Chip Colwell's So Much Stuff and I can see the outcome is going to be stuff-gluttony for the human race. Here is a small section in the early part of the book bridging his description of human ancestors learning to make stone tools and Ötzi the iceman, who died more than 5,000 years ago with a cargo of stuff in his backpack:

With him, Ötzi carried a longbow and 14 arrows in a quiver, two birchbark containers (with one carrying fire), tinder fungus, a scraper, a boring tool, a bone awl, a retouching tool to make stone flakes, a stone flake, a stone dagger with an ash-wood handle and sheath made of leather, and a copper ax. He carried all this—and likely more that was lost to time—in a backpack made with an upside-down U-shaped frame with slats and netting. All told, Ötzi carried 400 things, made from stones, minerals, 21 plant species, and the remains of a variety of wild and domesticated animals. "It's a lot of things," Aldegani said. He estimates that all of it would have weighed more than half of Ötzi's own weight.

Because so much organic material typically degrades at an archaeological site, Ötzi offers a stunning view into the material world more than 5,000 years ago. He shows how far our ancestors had traveled from those first few stone tools Lucy's species had invented millions of years ago. Everything Ötzi possessed are things recognizable to us today—things not very different from what you likely are wearing right now (underwear, shoes) or have at home (matches, knives).

At some point between the rough stone tools Lucy's kind used and the iceman's overflowing backpack came the foundation for every thing in our modern world. [63-64]

Ötzi was about 5'2" and weighed 110. Keep sorting and selling. The more used things people adopt, the fewer new things manufactured (in theory.)

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 04:40 PM

The covered dish with the un-knobbed lid can be repaired, and I will know better than to put it in the dish-washer; I'm not sure Nephew 1's wife will. The set has two, and with cats in the house, I can use a nice-looking covered dish. As for the worn and stained coffee cup -- dunno. It's not the only such item in the china cabinet, but I admit the walking wounded items total fewer than five.

There's a business in Toronto that mends broken porcelain and bone china. A few years ago, they fixed a teapot lid for me; I just mailed the lid and its detached knob to them, and a few weeks later it came back looking as if nothing had ever happened to it. That job was too fiddly for me to do myself -- very small parts -- and this one involves traces of old glue that must be removed before anything new is applied, and I have no idea how to do that. Besides, they will do a good job and I wouldn't.

I have an ancient willow-pattern platter that dates from probably the 1880s. It's huge, so large that it was probably used only a few times a year its entire life (e.g., Christmas turkey), and it would seem that none of its previous owners was in the habit of warming it in the oven, so the glaze is still in surprisingly good condition. Edmund loved it; all his most dearly held notions of hospitality could be expressed with it.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Oct 24 - 09:28 PM

Happy Birthday, Keberoxu! Only 67? You're a young'un around here. :)

Roma and a few other tomatoes are blanched, peeled, and in a bowl so I can chop them up tomorrow then make a batch of marinara sauce. The kitchen is looking better but there is more to move as I prepare for company late this week. I have a pound of ground lamb thawing in the fridge for tomorrow (not for the sauce), and finished up the rotisserie chicken at breakfast today before putting the bones into a pan with water and making a small batch of broth.

Though I thought I was making an improvement as far as plastic consumption in the world, it seems that the laundry sheets I've been using have their own form of dissolving plastic that are harmful as they go through the water system. Same with the dishwasher pods covers. Polyvinyl alcohol is the thing that holds the detergent sheets together and is the exterior of the pods. Once the current supply is finished I'll go back to buying cardboard boxes of regular detergent for both machines. I'll use the bin the current dishwasher pods are in to store powder and put in a scoop (easier than pouring powder out of the heavy box), and find a similar way to manage the laundry detergent. What's old is new again. I have a recipe for making a dry laundry detergent with washing soda so can consider making some of that. Trouble is it uses a grated bar of Fels Naptha and that is made with coconut oil (I'm allergic to coconut.) I'll look around for other comparable soaps to use.

I didn't sleep well last night, it might have been a result of the flu shot I got earlier in the day. Hoping for a more typical night tonight.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Oct 24 - 10:59 AM

There is the classic kitchen "junk drawer" that holds everything from screwdrivers, measuring tapes and extra lanyards to the box cutter and a cup of all of the old dog rabies and name tags, and then there is the "small kitchen tools" drawer. Skewers, knife sharpener, cheese slicer, a few spatulas, and I keep a few clothes pins to serve as bag clips and extra jar lids. Except today I realized that the clothespins and the jar lids were having family reunions in that drawer.

The spare rings for canning jars and a few used lids are there to top jars that are going in the fridge or freezer, and there are some solid plastic and metal jar lids also (the classic "spaghetti sauce lid" type). But the canning rings had gotten out of control along with enough clothespins to hang an entire row on the outside clothesline. I've reallocated most of them back to their original canning and clothes management positions and the drawer opens without having to rearrange the contents.

In the "no good deed goes unpunished" online chat this morning, my young friend who is selling on eBay encountered her first setback - a return request. The item sold looked in good shape but in fact she didn't test it so didn't know it didn't work. She can do a refund and learn from this (I'll send her a file of the boilerplate conditions I put in all of my eBay sales.) We were going to have that conversation soon, I just didn't realize it would be this soon.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Oct 24 - 10:26 AM

While rummaging in the box room today, I came up with my undergraduate jacket. Designed and made 45 years ago for a teenage boy with hips like a trout, it's a bit stiff now and makes creaky noises when I move around, but by George it fits! Well, better to say that it fits as well as it did in 1979: I can zip it up and close all the snap fasteners. The sleeves are a tad long and there's room inside it for a heavy sweater -- but, in this climate, that's a feature, not a bug.

I'm told that Queen's University makes these in women's sizes now. In my day (class of 1983), it was somewhat transgressive for women to wear them. So of course I acquired one and wore it, and might as well wear it again!

The ketogenic diet has had me running low on calcium for six months, so it's time to adjust to a less restrictive low-carbohydrate regimen that allows me to eat yogurt more often, and drink milk at all. I felt positively gleeful yeterday as I nipped out for a two-litre carton of what we in Ontario call "homo" -- i.e., homogenized milk with 3.5% butterfat. A mug of cocoa has never been such a luxury.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Oct 24 - 11:17 AM

I have always kept track of my calcium through My Fitness Pal (since about 2016) - and use supplements to bring my daily intake to 100%. Now is not the time to be light on calcium! I aim at 1200mg per day (and am doing bone density stuff as a member of the osteopenia club.)

Guest arrives tomorrow, so I have to finish picking up and dusting around here. The flu shot arm ache disappeared after a day and there were no side effects other than that first sleepless night. One family member doesn't have a spleen (which filters out a lot of stuff that could otherwise make you sick) and a 90-year-old house guest, plus generally an older pool of friends makes it all the more important for me to get it every year.

Busy day today, including baking some regular bread to have here for my guest (and give some to neighbors across the street). For now that is a skill set that mostly goes unused.

Subject: RE: DECLUTTER *hoards *bad habits *toxic stuff - 2024
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 03 Oct 24 - 12:05 PM

Congratulations, Charmion. My University of Ottawa jacket still fits, but Deb bought it for me in my 40s so no real achievement there on my part.