BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3

Subject: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 May 08 - 02:20 PM

I'm getting a jump on this. I've spent time this morning working in a front flower bed, thinning the vegetation clutter and thinking about how the garden ties in so tightly with the clearing out going on in the house. I want a comfortable and attractive space indoors and out, as does everyone on this list. So how do we fine-tune our work to get there?

When I was an undergraduate majoring in Parks and Recreation, a newly-minted professor came along with a novel assignment: we each had to figure out what was our Philosophy of Recreation. Why was this activity as a career important to us? What were the goals, what should it achieve?

So I'd like to start this part of the thread, now that people have begun bailing out paper and books and bottles and kid stuff, to take a moment to visualize what their house would look like if they were to start setting it up right now. What is the philosophy behind the way you want to have your house set up? Imagine if it were completely empty and in good repair and you decided to take back into the house only the stuff that really belongs there. The pieces that would look really good, the books you really think you'll actually ever read, the comfortable chairs and the good lamps, the beautiful art and collections, the work areas. What would you put back, and why? What would you get rid of and replace?

---

My house is a one-story structure with brick and rock and a half-timber look on top. I have a smallish front porch and a 60/40 cloth covered back patio. The front yard looks better because the plantings have been in for a few years, the back yard is at least mowed and fenced. I have woods and a creek at the back, and woods across the street and neighbors on both sides and across the street on well-spaced lots (about 25 feet between houses).

You can walk up to my front door and look through the hall and big living area and out the back to the yard. I want that view to be of quiet elegance, not fussy, kind of the Hemingway look in the keys, or the adobe look of the desert southwest. A few big comfortable pieces, with colorful regional art on the walls (I have a lot of Indian rugs and family quilts along with various things I've collected for years from around the country). It would have to be a revolving collection.

I want the bedrooms to be roomy and inviting, every one of them has a ceiling fan but I'd like the windows to be covered in such a way that they can be open at night with the fans on. I want to end the struggle of cats vs mini-blinds.

We have tile floors and in general the house has very good bones, good woodwork, and a great location. I want to look out each window to a beautiful, restful view with birds, butterflies, flowers, or in winter, to have some greenery in the yard so it isn't the washed-out gray one can get in the prairie.

On my bookshelves I'd like to stagger the books with collectible items (I seem to collect old radios). My kitchen needs to have a few good pieces and a place for each of the counter appliances that I actually use. I also want to set up informal outdoor spaces from the back and side doors so I can cook outside in the summer.

Later I'll post a page of before and during (who knows when I'll ever get to "after") photos on the Mudcat Gardeners Google group I started. Here. If you're a gardener or enjoy talking about gardens, please join! Bird and critter talk is also welcome there, since it all goes on in gardens (this is for you Liz, with your impressive tits).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 31 May 08 - 03:34 PM

Wow! What a neat idea. I had a kind of BIG emotional event the other day. When I sat in my living room and looked around, I felt as though I didn't really care about ANY of it and wanted to start packing it all up NOW, even my heirloom books. I definitely want a neater, less cluttered look (and, shall have it!) Part of what is bugging me is lack of space and a kitchen floor still needing to be replaced, plus painting that has yet to be done.

I shall have to think on this assignment and see what I really *feel*. Thanks, Maggie!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 31 May 08 - 04:54 PM

I'd like to get rid of a dresser we have in the sitting room, and replace it with bookshelves. Trouble is, I'd then have to find a place for all the glasses that are in the dresser... it's a never-ending circle!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 May 08 - 11:32 PM

Do you need the glasses? If you were gone tomorrow, who would want the glasses? That's the kind of question I'm been asking myself all over the house.

I labored over the front flower bed today, removing all of the dusky yellow irises, and I just realized that I also tossed my few blue ones into the transplanting mix. (There are always extra to give away, but I wanted to split and grow more blue ones, I only have about three of them). I wonder if I can find the twist ties I put on them back when they bloomed? Anyway, I transplanted some daylilies that had been lost under the irises and moved a few things and am getting ready for my little porch extension and to redo a couple of beds. My neck and shoulders are feeling it right now and I got a bit sunburned.

I was in the yard so long I didn't get to the house stuff this evening, but maybe I can find some more paper to shred before I knock off for the evening. There are several areas now that I walk into and I'm pleased with the sense of space. One of them is the closet in my office. I can use the copier on a shelf easily and though I have more to clear in there, it doesn't have a claustrophobic feel any more. It is truly amazing how much larger any room can seem when it isn't crammed full of stuff.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 01 Jun 08 - 05:26 AM

I don't care about anything today. My cold and I are being taken out for lunch where I shall hopefully tidy up half a bottle of sherry, at least one bottle of wine and some damned good food!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Jun 08 - 11:00 AM

I'll work around the house this morning, but then I have to drive to Dallas to pick up my son and a friend has invited us over to swim and have lunch. I think a break is called for--all work and no play, as they say! Will report in later.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 01 Jun 08 - 11:33 AM

I think decluttering could be a full time job at my house!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Jun 08 - 04:50 PM

What do I want in the house? Stuff we use -- not stuff we think she should use, but stuff we actually do use. And I want the stuff we don't use to leave.

The guest bedroom should have closet and drawer space for visitors. The sitting room should have comfortable chairs placed where people can read in good light and chat conveniently while drinking beer. The kitchen must -- repeat must -- function well as the workshop of the house, with tools, equipment and food stowed safely and conveniently, while accommodating movie-watching and people eating informal meals.

There should be nothing on the floors but carpets, furniture, the tray with the cats' dinner service, and human and feline feet. No stacks of books, no higgledy piggledy boxes, no heaps of boots. I must be able to see the baseboards in every room, and sweep under the beds.

And when moving day comes (next year, probably), I want to be able to summon the packers in confidence that nothing is going with us that don't want and won't use in the new place.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 01 Jun 08 - 06:33 PM

I don't think looking at what we have and thinking how I would want it is going to work for me. Too much of our stuff is old, shabby chic antiques which need work of some sort, but are serviceable. Barring getting them all refurbished or buying all new stuff, I have to have them or we'd have nothing. Maybe I am just rambling as it gets to me and I'll feel better after I've done some more.

We did get some stuff done. I finished boxing up bottles to go to two friends and told my son the rest are his to come get them. We moved a chest of drawers, a tv, some Christmas plates, and a suitcase to the curb with a FREE sign on them and they were gone very quickly. So that's that out of the driveway.

I also went through Morgan's art bin and cleaned it out. Went through a big bin out of the office which had all kinds of precious keepsakes...oh lordy where do I put them!. for now, the papers and some pix are in a three ring binder and the photos will be put in the album. I want to keep out the three baskets of seashells but have no surface space for them.

So...how do you organise stuff too meaningful to dump, but doesn't need to be out? By type, by subject, i.e. all of one kid's stuff in its own bin or all knicknacks in one, paper in another, pix in another, etc.?

Did find my grandparents monogrammed linen tablecloth to match the cloth napkins I have! I need to open a museum, then I'd have somewhere to display all of these things!

Oh, well, at least I got some things done in between laundry, today.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Jun 08 - 10:46 PM

Kat, I have a lot of old armchairs from the family homes and they need refinishing or an arm is loose or the dowels need to be re-glued--and it is our everyday furniture. I don't have the option of getting rid of the old and bringing in new, but I have too much of the old, so should figure out something. I wouldn't want to replace them all, but I think I need a plan to gradually refurbish them (that was my plan when I originally chose them from the estates) and reupholster in a way that suits the piece (meaning they don't need to match). We eat at an antique dining room table set with the original leather chair seat covers.

My yard was completely mowed today and I did more de-cluttering out there. I had a firewood cradle thing, made of welded iron L-bracket pieces, next to the side door into my garage. It was actually upside down, the little feet at the top and the long supports dug into the ground. This way I had 24" of space where I could put things and also stack garden stuff on top of it. As I pulled it away from the door and moved a couple of pots and bricks I realized that this would be perfect for an outdoor table. Leave it upside down and get some redwood 2x4s and cut them into lengths to fit into the L-brackets on the bottom. Since I relocated the circular saw I'll be able to cut through those boards in no time. I'll post photos when I finish it, but this would be a great weather proof table for either the back yard or the side where I am wanting to set up to bake in the summer. Anyway, now that that thing has been cleared away, the spot is easy to mow.

BTW: we were creative with the stuff that was discarded when I remodeled this house. I had a new heat pump put in and they had new supports for it, so the concrete slab from the old air conditioner was going to just lie on the ground or be trashed. I asked the guys to lug it around to the back and put it beside the new garage side door and it is a perfect little landing.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 02 Jun 08 - 01:10 AM

That's a neat solution, Maggie.

I also have a bunch of old chairs, arm, rocking, and otherwise. I have one rocker I have for sale on craigslist, but have had no bites. I think mostly because the Western Slope of CO doesn't use craigslist much, yet. I would give that chair to the right person. The person I wanted it to go to lives in MA, so that's a no go. I also have another old chair which is going to my daughter's. That leave two which have to be reupholstered, but I don't think Rog will ever have the time to help me, so I'll have to see how much and if I can budget for them to be done. OH, and I don't care if they match, either. I've never had matching why start now?**bg**

That will leave only one chair in storage, a rocker kind of like JFK favoured, but mine needs a new cane seat and can wait.

I also finally hauled all of the recycling out! That feels good. It was such a clutter.

I told Rog I either need lots of shelves or drawers to store stuff in that matters, but doesn't need to be out. I am seriously thinking of letting go of a lot of my most favoured books. We never look at them and the ltd. space could be put to use in other ways. I cannot believe I am saying that!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Jun 08 - 06:34 AM

Three huge boxes of clutter from the kitchen and basement are now in the car: destination Sally Ann. The stack of biscuit tins that no one on Freecycle wanted are in the recycle box. Two garbage bags are full of items that ended up in the basement because a part got broken and the rest seemed too good to throw away -- I mean, what are you supposed to do with a Melitta coffee-maker when the jug is broken and they don't make those glass jugs any more?

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 02 Jun 08 - 12:41 PM

LOL..good for you, Charmion!

I forgot to say we got the tomato plants out of the kitchen and into their pots outside as well as I got some flowers put in their pots, yesterday.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: maire-aine
Date: 02 Jun 08 - 02:13 PM

Well, now, this is going to take some thought. I was staring at my over-full bookshelves this weekend, asking myself the same sort of question. I just glance at the posts so far ('cause I'm at work right now), but I'll read everything, and post tonight.

First & foremost, I'm turning off the TV. That will save me a whole lot of wasted time.

L8r,
Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jun 08 - 03:36 PM

I turned off the DishNetwork a couple of months ago, and really don't miss much, except the movies on Turner Classic Movies. I wish my local reception looked better.

I'd really save time if I turned off the computer.

I shredded some files at lunch, tossed old owner's manuals from a long-gone computer and other equipment. Cleared out a couple of inches of file space. But this reminds me that there is a cardboard file box around here somewhere that is full of photocopies and ILL copies of articles that I requested during graduate school. To be true to this decluttering process, I ought to find that and merge the 2/3 drawer of articles with the full box of articles (I could probably purge some to make it fit). Keep the cardboard file as an academic resource and clear this cabinet file drawer for other things I could still stand to file.

Like Linn, I have a lot of maps that I've collected over the years. I find it very difficult to discard maps, so I should organize and file them if I'm going to keep them.

I'm sunburned today and still have a mild case of prickly heat from working so much in the yard this weekend. I am amazed by the transformation once the outdoor junk is organized or discarded. The space went from looking like just a mowed lawn to now looking positively park-like. I have a couple of antique wheelbarrows that need need handles, and I think I'm going to hunt up some new ones to restore these and whether they're put to use or serve as attractive yard sculptures, that's something to add to my list. (I looked at Home Depot, they no longer seem to have replacement wood for wheelbarrows).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 02 Jun 08 - 04:48 PM

I'm taking tomorrow as my day off, so hopefully I'll get something done.... if the weather is nice, I may even tidy the garden.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: maeve
Date: 02 Jun 08 - 08:04 PM

We moved over a cord of firewood and stacked it behind one of the greenhouses. We raked over the new septic field, removing stones, then using the many buckets of stones to stabilize and raise the lower driveway bordering our neighbor's lot. Planted more eggplant, tomatoes These make 50 in the two veggie gardens, hehehe), lettuce, dill, and cucumber seedlings, as well as shell peas and snap peas in the big veggie garden. Garlic chives are up. We added squash and sage to the farm stand, and planted a new crested iris in the peony bed.

Three bathtubs of laundry are clean and rinsed, and most of it is dry. I have to hang the last load while supper is cooking. My chook with the hurt eye has been dosed, and the gunk cleaned away, ointment applied, and rewarded with a little corn (maize).

In preparing for my Truelove to mow lawn that had been covered with greenhouse parts, we moved a plant display stand behind the house so I can have some order in the plants waiting their turn at division and repotting.

We can sit in the swing together and look out over our young apple orchard once again, Ahhhhhhhhhh!

I don't often post my progress because I'm usually too tired and hurting too much. I do read about everyone's progress and frustrations, and so I want y'all to know I'm continuing the battle here in Maine.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: LilyFestre
Date: 02 Jun 08 - 08:44 PM

Cleaned out kitchen of old house and removed several bags of unwanted stuff. Also brought home 3 large garbage bags of clothes that haven't fit in 10 years....most was too big. The Salvation Army is my friend...may those clothes find great new homes! More to come soon!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Jun 08 - 09:38 PM

I brought four 2-cubic-foot boxes home from the office -- cast-offs from the dreaded office move of two weeks ago -- for the clothes, shoes and accoutrements piling up on the guestroom bed. The drawers where Edmund keeps his gym gear and sweaters have been turned out and tidied. I can now get at all the bookcases in the study -- hooray for me!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 02 Jun 08 - 10:45 PM

maeve, that sounds lovely...sitting together and looking over the orchard.

I packed another box of bottles to go to one more friend, along with an old apron my grandma made and a book. I guess every little bit helps, right?:-)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jun 08 - 11:18 PM

Sounds like you cornered the market on old bottles, Kat!

As I was washing dishes I turned on PBS and have been listening to Pete Seeger on American Masters tonight--and clearly there is so much more you can do that is really important when you're not bogged down in stuff. The simple life his children had up in Fishkill, NY, reminds me of my summers at a cabin at Lake Whatcom in Washington, near the Canadian border. Very simple, the only running water was in the kitchen sink, via a pump; we had an outhouse, a dock, big trees, swings, lots of hikes, we were outside all of the time. My kids have been indoors so much of their lives, and it is centered around stuff. (I should note, I've actually been to Pete's house with a friend--we hiked past and said hello to Toshi who was outside. After we passed, my friend Michelle said "I don't know if you know who Pete Seeger is, but that's his cabin." (!)

Last week when my ex brought our son home after the weekend we were looking at the vegetable garden and I commented "there's a big fat toad over there," and he answered "there are always toads around here!" I realized that his little observation, expressing a "so, what's new?" attitude, was a validation that my desire to live lightly on my little parcel of land was working. There ARE lots of toads and lizards and snakes and tarantulas (and other big fancy night-time web slinging spiders) plus those creatures that more easily come and go, birds, squirrels, possums, tons of butterflies, etc.

This post has a bifurcated message--I've managed to live lightly on the land, but not lightly in the house. I have all of the appliances, but I think some of the list members are doing some of these chores with less machinery at their beck and call. Those chores take less time for me--so why am I not doing something more with my time that is free?

Gotta keep bailing out this house. Simplify simplify simplify.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: maeve
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 06:28 AM

I met up with a fat toad last night while hilling potatoes. Beautiful and very welcome critter he is!

Such a lot of clearing folks are doing. The weight is lifting for all of us!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 10:30 AM

Indeed! I've lost a few pounds with all of this work also. :)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 10:33 AM

I failed miserably. Even failed to get a whole day off work. Ho hum.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 11:03 AM

Liz. Snap out of it!

What is one little thing that you can get done to establish a toehold in the house? Clear of the kitchen counter? Clean the bathroom?

Find the smallest room in the house and clean it, and work out from there. Or find a comparable spot in the garden and bring it completely up to speed.

You can do it. We're pulling for you!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 11:25 AM

How do you organise the things which really matter to you, but don't need to be out all of the time? Any one have any suggestions? I don't want it all left in bins we never get to, but I also don't want the clutter of it all out. I envision clear boxes on shelves with very specific labels, but then who knows if any one would look in them, etc.? I am really trying to figure this out as so much of what I need to go through is keepsakes. The paper stuff I can file as I have a four-drawer brand-new filing cabinet that isn't even half full, but what about the other stuff?

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: maire-aine
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 11:50 AM

While we're sharing, my biggest problem is newspaper/magazing clippings and online articles that I printed out because I thought they were important. Or about a place I might visit someday. Or about some health topic. Or just a pile of little post-it notes that have something that I may need to know someday-- like where I can take #7 plastic containers for recycling.

I am pretty organized about important stuff, like taxes/receipts and legal papers (like will, etc). And all my genealogy stuff is neatly arranged in 3-ring binders in acid-free page-protecters.

But I'm beginning to think that if I ever succeed in getting it all "organized", someone will think I'm borderline obsessive-compulsive.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 11:59 AM

I have craft stuff that I don't want out but I want to be able to see when I need it. I went by Big Lots and bought a bunch of the clear plastic boxes with opaque lids and plastic hinged closures on two sides and a handle on top. For lightweight items. When I remodeled this house I put in a shallow cupboard along one wall that has 10" or so deep shelves. The "doors" are the pass-by mirrored closet doors you see in bedrooms. I sorted out a lot of stuff a couple of years ago to fit most of my craft stuff in there. I need to make another sweep through because I know there is more stuff in there I won't use that I can stand to clear out. But I can see into all of the containers. There are also little three drawer cabinets (plastic) that work for small parts and they all fit on those shelves as well.

Do you have a hallway or the back of a deep closet where you could put in a set of the bracket and board supports, either up high, or even an entire wall of shelves, for those kinds of things?

I've turned a rolling set of shelves into my pantry so I have some deep cupboards in the kitchen that I should use now for some of the things I don't need to see or use often. Maybe that's where I should put the paint cans I rarely need. The bottom couple of shelves are almost impossible to reach without getting on your hands and knees.

Does that help?

Not this Friday but next, that's when the neighbor's garage sale will be. So I'll identify and have all of my stuff priced to go.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 12:23 PM

Yes, Maggie, that does help. I have a few of the see-thru plastic things and a deep closet I need to clear out then repack with those, maybe. Maybe it's time to take the old trunks out, repack them in plastic and say goodbye to them. Shelves would help a bunch, too. Thanks! Now I just have to figure out categories as they are myriad!

I laughed when I read what you said about putting your paint cans away. That's exactly where I relegated our cans of paint, in the deep, corner lower kitchen cupboard no one wants to dig through for anything!:-)

Maryanne, one thing I did with all of those little notes was to get a large-sized recipe box or index card box with alphabetised separators. I took the lid off, then filed all of those notes under headings such as "CDs to buy," "books I want," etc. It works pretty well as long as I remember what I would classify something as.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 04:24 PM

Don Aslett to the rescue here: in Clutter's Last Stand he has a chapter on filing paper and what to do with those little scraps of paper. I actually used to do this at one time and still have a couple of the old books around with a few numbers still useful.

Under "I Know I Kept That. . . "

1. We see or hear something interesting. It's so great we want to save it, savor it, share it: a good joke/cartoon, an excellent article, a great idea, an exciting job, an important address or date, an intelligent quote, a tempting recipe, a solution.

2. We start to record it. Because of the unpredictability of the moment, we often end up with our valuable bit of information written on the back of a used envelope, a napkin, the corner of a program, a candy wrapper, a hanky or shirt cuff, a piece of board, a boxtop, the back of a business card (or if we're lucky, a notebook or phone pad or calendar square).

3. We search in despair. "I know I kept that. . . it would be just perfect for what I need if I could find it . . . Where did I put it?" If we do find it, we can't decipher it—too much time has passed!

4. Or use and share. . . This valuable material enhances our lives and others'. (If you are here you can skip the next page). [None of us here, that's why I'm continuing to the next page.]

Losing track of something we liked and saved is almost as sad as losing a cherished memory of a loved one: snatching gems of thought out of the torrent of life is one of our great pleasures. Develop your own system to be sure you save and use them. Your method will have to fit you, but it can help to get with someone who's a good "saver" and ask them to share their secrets (99 percent will be flattered to do so).

My system isn't sophisticated, but it works, and here is all I do: I save everything that impresses me (five to fifty tidbits a day). I carry a leather notebook shaped like an outhouse (you can be sure that no one wants to steal it). I has a pouch and a pad—everything I collect or job down goes in one of these.

My notes I write out on the spot in my notebook on a sheet titled "Write & Record." I write each separate thought out in complete sentences under a key word or topic heading. I don't go into full detail or describe it completely, just enough that if I do want to go back to expand on it I'll know clearly what I meant. Writing down the notes only takes a minute, if done right at the moment the thought strikes.

When I get home I drop all of Write & Record notes (snipped into their separate topics) into a box labeled "Write and Record," and drop all the printed materials, programs, photos, documents, forms, booklets, etc., I've picked up into the "Important Paper" basket on my desk. This way I have all my notes and gleanings in one of two places—not in pockets, bags, boxes, books. . .
I don't use prime/highly productive/all cylinders time—such as morning hours—this can be done in time fragments, on semi-sick days, while watching TV or tending kids, while waiting for someone, right before and after meals, on sleepless nights, etc.

My files are arranged so that I have a drawer for each of my important interests and one alphabetized "general" file drawer. My immediate-interest projects/current enthusiasms I keep in ring binders—such topics, for me, for example, as The Life Story I Will Write Some Day, Salable Article Ideas (I've accumulated over 8,000 without any effort to do so), Janitorial Humor, etc.

Ring-binder notebooks are cheap (most of my binders are scrounged "recycles") and simple to use, and you can assemble a useful library of your very own in just your spare time and odd moments.

I use an inexpensive rubber stamp to stamp my name on all my file materials—and I don't loan files! In seconds I can find anything I have and use it.

Every chapter in this book has lots of useful information, but I think this is one we all would benefit from. I had to dig trough notes on my desktop yesterday to find my daughter's address to mail something she left here over the weekend. Too much paper!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 05:14 PM

I started about 6 or 7 years ago collecting all those newspaper clippings about us or events we've participated in (etc.), pub schedules, gig posters, Bob Nilson caricatures, souvenirs, etcet, etcet into page protectors and collecting those into 3-ring binders. Called it "Life's Melody" and started out with 3 binders. I now have 24 and everything is not in them. Some of the earlier ones have several years per binder, but the more recent ones have several binders per year. And I started adding photos. And I have a "calendar" in front of what happened during that year (culled from the notes on my calendars which I've compulsively kept). There are still some accumulations (like the Stone Church calendars from the '80s) which have not been added -- but only because I can't FIND them!

I've got a whole ROOM (it seems) full of scraps of scribbled paper which needs to have SOMETHING done with it -- archived in an electronic file, transferred to a list, calendar, archive. Mostly for the past 40-ish years I've just kept everything on 3x5 file cards -- addresses, notes for speeches I've given, interesting things heard or seen, quotations from books or articles And I've got many file drawers filled with the cards. (Hmmm...Tom and I spent hours reading them on one of our first dates.) Alas, they aren't actually organized so I can FIND anything. I've started any number of times, but...

There used to be a great computer program -- very simple and elegant -- whose interface was a 3x5 filecard -- and everything was completely searchable. By the time I found out about it, the company that owned it made it more complicated, then more expensive, then stopped supporting it and I think it reverted to the developer. But now I can't remember what it was called. Sigh. I know I still have a demo around on one of my archive discs (probably a Zip disc). But it was best (to my mind) when it was in its simplest form -- because then it acted like that collection of scribbles ... but searchable!

Linn, who evidently has left her brain in her sock drawer

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 05:23 PM

I'm sitting in the smallest room and it's the most cluttered! There simply is no room to put anything out of the way whilst tidying other surfaces.

But, most of the shelves are labelled so I know where everything should go... even the cat got a label one day.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 07:34 PM

How'd the cat get a label stuck to it?!? My two wouldn't hold still for that. (Well, maybe Sabine, but she'd give me one of her superior looks.)

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: GUEST,Logged Out
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 08:55 PM

I logged out because I need a safe place to talk anonymously, from time to time, about a particular type of de-cluttering; I'll probably send Joe a PM at some point so he's not confused about who is posting.

I need to de-clutter my mind. Apparently some strange events I'd been wondering about were three fairly small strokes a few years ago (according to CAT scan and the doctor I trust). It sure explains a lot. I know how I got the strokes, and I do not expect to have any more of them; my doctor agrees.

Now I need to find a good safe place to dump the fears and frustrations that have clustered around the change in how I think. Oh, I'm still way too brilliant-- no worries about that--but it's not all wired in series anymore and I know if I let the blockages (clutter) drain away in tears, etc., the miraculous brain will take care of its own re-wiring and I'll be a new woman. I'm looking forward to getting to know her, in fact.

Wish me well and I'll keep you posted.

LO

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: maeve
Date: 03 Jun 08 - 09:34 PM

Welcome LO. I have similar decluttering to do regarding the chronic migraines from which I've begun to recover. I do wish you well, and encourage you to move forward, a step at a time. Send me pm if I can help in some way.

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

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.

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

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

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

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**

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

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

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

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

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!

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.

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

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

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!