BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3

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

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

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: maeve
Date: 06 Jun 08 - 06:58 AM

Huzzah Liz! Good for you!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Catherine Jayne
Date: 06 Jun 08 - 07:15 AM

Fantastic Liz!

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

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!!!

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.

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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!

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

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

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Jun 08 - 04:44 PM

To borrow from Linn:

At least half of de-cluttering is finding a real home for the stuff you're keeping.

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

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.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Jun 08 - 12:43 AM

How about:

A Spot for Every Treasure - A Treasure for Every Spot?

Should be even more succinct, though, I think.:-)

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

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

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

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 drawing thinking cap!:-)

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

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

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!

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)

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 11 Jun 08 - 02:00 PM

The peaches I've been eating (over vanilla icecream) the past few days are from a friend's trees -- but they've been frozen since last season.

Looks as if I'll have a bit less time to de-accession things -- I just came down with a job. And, though I told them I couldn't start until Monday, I'll be starting Friday after my check-up with my surgeon and registering my car.

Geez, first I can't get a job to save my life, then someone wants me and they want me RIGHT NOW!!!

(It'll be nice to be gainfully employed again.)

More details on my birthday thread -- looks like it's a birthday present!

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jun 08 - 06:26 PM

I was poking around closet shelves in my office and have found about three reams of paper that have to do with finishing my thesis. I had dumped some already but more is turning up. The shelves in the office are much clearer, this is stuff that needs careful sorting. I usually have a brown paper bag in the kitchen to put my daily newspaper and junk mail in for recycling, but I've brought one in my office, dedicated to getting printer paper reduced.

You'd think after all of this time of pulling out extra that the house would be airy and clear. Instead, the clutter is less densely packed. I'm not ready to phone a friend to come on over for dinner; I'd still have to move a lot of stuff that is in the way so we could all sit down and eat. But that is a short term goal--before June is over, I want to have the kitchen, dining, and front rooms clear enough to comfortably ask friends over.

Maybe I'll put on the Mazeltones and dance as I clear those rooms. Anyone else have a short-term goal that will help with the work?

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Jun 08 - 07:52 PM

I just brought in the blue recycling box from the kerb -- another load o' stuff gone from my life. Biscuit tins, this time; I offered them on Freecycle and got no nibbles so out they went. Next is the growing pile of clothes on the guest-room bed, to be packed up in anticipation of the next pick-up call from the Canadian Diabetes Association.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 11 Jun 08 - 09:44 PM

I shifted some stuff in my office, today, to make it easier to get to the books I want to list somewhere, all of them old and deserving more than just to be discarded.:-) I also put away some packing materials which have been laying around. Picked up everyday clutter in the kitchen, living room, our bedroom.

Short term: get the kitchen painted and the new floor laid before Micca comes. Not sure IF it will get done or not, but that is what I'd like to get done!:-)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Jun 08 - 11:06 PM

I pulled out a spiral notebook that my son used a few pages of in the third grade, removed the used part, and will use it to transcribe notes that are clustered around my computer. Once transcribed, the scraps go IN THE TRASH.

Charmion, I have the same difficulty of discarding pretty or clever containers, but one can have only so many sewing kits or bead boxes or twist-tie bins. I've also recycled some, though exceptional ones turn up at the thrift store so you might get away with a donation to Goodwill.

I cleared a little credenza area (four vertical shelving units that add up to a dozen foot-square cubbies when pushed side-by-side) and put the small television on top. It had been on a box on the floor, the box I built to raise up my last computer (the one that was stolen three years ago). This box can be a step stool somewhere, but it isn't in the office any more.

I met a new neighbor today, and her children needed to use the bathroom. I'm still embarrassed to have people come into the house, so I know I'm not "there" yet. Having Micca come is going to light a fire under you, Kat, I know it! When does he arrive?

Good news Linn, but don't be a stranger over here at the de-clutter thread! Those of us who have naturalist tendencies have some unusual things to give away, and it adds up to interesting stories. (BTW, we did a tarantula flashlight tour with the new neighbors this evening! This after the girl asked to play with a life-size rubber cobra that someone gave me years ago. It lives under a library table, and occasionally gets used in practical jokes.)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 12 Jun 08 - 12:49 PM

I know what you mean, Maggie. I wonder sometimes, though I could just ask him, if my son doesn't bring his girlfriend over because our house just isn't nice and a showplace like the one they are renting. I don't think I raised a kid to be that shallow and her mom has already been over...I hope I am being a bit paranoid rather than it be true.:-)

I took five packages to be mailed off this morning and cleared some more small piles of stuff around the house. I was getting discouraged thinking it should show more, but I think it's just spread out more as you say, Maggie.

When I look at the general cleaning that has not been done and I think of that AND decluttering I feel a bit overwhelmed. Part of it is because Rog has been MIA when it comes to helping out inside. He's either had to work during the weekend or had to mow the yards and other outdoor stuff to keep ahead of the weeds, etc. He promises to take time off, but I've heard that for several years now.:-)

Micca will be here around the 23rd of July, so maybe I will get the painting done, at least.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 12 Jun 08 - 03:26 PM

Cool! A rubber cobra!

I've just got a very realistic rubber snake curled around the beam in the bedroom. I used to have a bigger one curled around the beam in the guest room -- I'll have to see where that one slinked off to so it can greet ClaireBear when she gets here.

Also have a rubber gecko climbing a post downstairs -- I just like to see if anyone notices...

A friend once described our house as looking like the storage wing of the Smithsonian -- I chose to take that as a compliment.

Got rid of an accumulation of egg cartons today (I truly hate to throw out potentially useful things), and a couple magazines. Meant to drop off some yardsale stuff with a retired friend who has a yardsale every weekend, but she wasn't home. It's in the car, so it will get there soon. Hmmm... I wonder if Tami remembers that I'll be bringing her the tape deck this weekend that she "forgot" on the way home from Connecticut over Mother's Day. She may have spaced it, but I haven't. (I was asleep when she got here to pick up her truck.)

This afternoon's project is to extricate the box (on the bottom of the pile, of course) that has the Spinning Wheel magazines in it. Then I can call the guy who is going to PAY me for my accumulations of Wired and Horticulture. Anybody have any ideas as to who might be interested in film magazines from the '80s? I'll have to check out film schools between Boston and NH, I think. And I need to ask the printing museum in Andover, MA if they want a donation of typesetting manuals and other ephemera. Also have to call the guy who buys LPs an see how many I can unload.

And today I Freecycled a bargello kit I'll never get around to doing -- for a pillow I don't need.

While digging around in the cellar the other day I found a bunch more stuff to be eBayed.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 12 Jun 08 - 04:08 PM

Wow, Linn! You've been busy and congrats on your arm!!!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jun 08 - 12:31 AM


I cleaned off the dining room table, then pulled a box of odd little speciality cookbooks out from under a stack of clothes and left it on the table to sort tomorrow. These were books my mom collected, a lot of them appear to have been ordered from box tops or came inside the laundry detergent box (not really, but you know the era of free stuff that came with special packaging). I haven't heard a peep from mg about the Women's War Memorial stuff, or the old uniforms, but I saw some uniforms on eBay. Time to box these up, methinks.

I drove over to the office today (I telecommute most of the time now) and took in items I'd been meaning to take back because I don't need them here but didn't want to throw them out. And I picked up some stuff I do need here, so the trip is kind of a wash.

Linn, I hate to tell you how many real and faux critters are in this house and yard. There is a realistic-looking rubber big lizard, looks like a skink, in the window near where the cats lie (here behind the fat calico, for example) and lots of fake bugs. Fossils, feathers, interesting rocks and minerals, skulls, beaver-chewed sticks, you name it, they're around here.

I'm going to have to take some time off this summer, I finally have "use or lose" time, but I'll wait until next week and take Friday. My neighbor was going to do his garage sale this week but it had to be postponed one week. Darn! It's going to be hot out there!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: GUEST,Logged Out
Date: 13 Jun 08 - 10:09 AM

I de-cluttered something really big today: most of my summer and, in the process, our vacation. I cleared out the planned but very unrealistic mixed-family get-together in favor of a very un-directed, wandering, go-where-we-will, real vacation instead.

I shed some lovely, cleansing tears yesterday as well. A long-awaited passage for someone we care deeply about came to pass, and was marked in a special way yesterday. Big boo-hoo opportunity, the kind where you happy-weep at weddings, only not at a wedding. One result was the image of a couple of places in my life where I know that certain people definitely "have my back," and the idea to look for one or two more folks like that in the places where, as Paul Simon sings, the wind blows. Or-- I could just go to Graceland.

I've reduced expectations in a number of other areas, as well, so I can let my poor brain work itself out in its own time.

LO

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jun 08 - 11:21 AM


Gardening this morning, watering and enjoying the effects of decluttering plants. The cannas that I disliked next to my front porch (they always looked so ragged and they took over more and more space) are thriving at the side of the house, now beginning to bloom. A hummingbird and I were over there admiring them this morning.

I emptied out the box of sponsored cookbooks. Pillsbury, Bisquick, Schilling (McCormick to you Easterners), etc. Some have that truly classic 1960's look, like glistening copper fondue pots on the cover. Looks like kitchens designed a la Frank Lloyd Wright. A few I'll keep, but I'll poke around the advertising ephemera section at eBay for most of these.

I had two rolling three-bin plastic storage things from my Dad's house--an attractive kind of marbled looking plastic, but I didn't need two side by side, so I took the wheels off the second and stacked it on the first. I used the one in the kitchen for my boxes and bins of tea, and it was packed full to overflowing. It might look a little odd for now, it might compel me to rethink how I store tea and spices. Maybe I need a taller shallow shelf (like the one I built in the front room that now holds VCR tapes and DVD movies).

Friday--and the possibility of making enough progress around the house this weekend that it won't be embarrassing to have the neighbors in! Perhaps I will reach that short-term June goal!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Jun 08 - 04:44 PM

Contemplating starting work on the cellar -- the bins, the dreaded bins ..

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: GUEST,Logged Out
Date: 13 Jun 08 - 06:03 PM

My thanks to a couple of you; you know why.

LO

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Jun 08 - 08:27 PM

I don't have a cellar, I'm on a slab. But I still have managed to store a heckuva lot of stuff around here.

I decided this afternoon to give myself the VIEW of a serene clear kitchen, so I'm slowly but surely, once again, clearing off the kitchen counter in the middle of the room. The staging area for everything, the spot that ends up sticky or covered with crumbs, where meals are prepared and sometimes eaten, where fruit ripens, the bread box sits, where the mail sometimes is set, where drink glasses pile up (there are two of us in the house--I have to remind my son that he doesn't need to use 8 different glasses in a day. Last year I marked spaces on the counter with painters tape, for each of us to keep the one glass we use that day. I'll have to do it again.)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 Jun 08 - 10:56 PM

I opened up my front door to come inside this evening and I *saw* my whole living room, dining room as if I was newcome or a stranger and I saw clutter and no sense of order/decor. It made me even more determined to change things. I like the idea of taking everything out and then putting back in ONLY what I like and want...what brings a serene feel to the place.

No calls on the chair I am trying to sell. I may have to give it away.:-)