Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Nov 18 - 03:10 PM

Four of nine panels that need to come down now are cut up and stacked ready to be hauled to the curb for bulky waste. I'll wait till after payday to buy the next cross-members and pickets for the final panel that needs to be changed out, and that one will also head down to the curb. I came in for a little cool-down and a bit of chocolate as a reward.

There's no graceful way to do this when I had to take out so many of the brackets to reuse them in the new part of the fence. Another part of the old fence I'm going to reuse are the hefty cedar boards that were hammered along the bottom of the fence to keep the bottom from rotting. A couple of them can be reused in short stretches of my new fence, but most of them will go out front and be used to hold up one side of the raised beds where those planks are about completely rotted. Reuse, reduce, recycle! I'm able to pry them off the bottom of the panels before I cut them up to take them down (and I can carry a panel by myself when it's in 3 or 4 sections).

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Nov 18 - 01:07 PM

I got all of it but a small section where I need to do more work and add a picket to keep there from being a gap across a space where a concrete wall was put up for flood control. It extended to the old fence and included a drainage hole. I suppose I could put a piece of hardware cloth over that, but nothing in my yard is small enough to fit through that 3" hole.

The new fence is a bright light cedar color so not only is the yard looking larger, that bright fence gives it an entirely different look. A friend recommended using a "farm jack" to take out the old posts. Here's a YouTube video of one in use. He offered to help and has a farm jack, so I may do that one of these days, maybe after the next soaking rain to loosen the soil some. I think this will add up to a morning of yanking out concrete-footed fence posts and I'll take him out to lunch.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Nov 18 - 11:47 AM

I tossed a 5' section of the bottom boards that I'm planning to reuse over the fence and on the other side I screwed it into place at the base of the new part of my corner fence. This deals with the gap between the bottom of the wood fence and the ground (I built my fence extension so the top was level with the rest of the fence along that line).

Turkey stock is made and today I'm going to be busy in the kitchen, making a turkey pot pie stew then freezing the extra stock, and beginning to bake holiday breads (banana nut now, and some pumpkin and sweet potato later on).

There were quite a few small pieces of wood that broke or fell off of the fence as I took it apart, and they're all in the trash at the curb today since they don't take up much space. There are a lot of nails in those things so I don't want them in the yard where the dogs or people can tangle with them.

Time to dig through the closet to see if I have enough working strings of lights to put up on the juniper at the corner of the yard. Today is clear and sunny but cool, the next couple of days will be as warm as in the 70s, so I'll find the lights and prepare to put them up. I don't usually turn them on till Dec. 1, but it's a great idea to put them up on a warm day versus a really cold day. :) The nice thing about retirement is that I don't have to do it in the dark after work or on a cold weekend day.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 26 Nov 18 - 02:15 PM

OH:

As I plan out the next few weeks, which are prep to return for the final weeks at the parish, I'm thinking how to be sure to hold my space/schedule when a 2nd person is added here 24/7. It went well during vacay and I'm looking forward to building on thar base.

It's a struggle for me to keep my own wellbeing central, and this is a great time to fall in love all over again-- without the constant demand to put 300+ other people first which defines ministry. Greg's skills in that department outshine mine (he had much longer practice). I think I have a better shot now at keeping my own balance in this simpler house surrounded by actual fun things to do.

So one thing I did was adding into my personal schedule those evening things that I've been doing, and looking forward to doing as a couple. It will help keep my rhythm focused outside the house.

We never dated when we met-- instead we worked together in each other's spheres of leadership. It was only after the kids moved out 4 years later that we started date nights and for a long time we both sucked at date planning! Neither of us are spontaneous Funmeisters, but eventually we learned how to find fun and of course how to make our own fun. This area we're retiring to is LOADED with cheap date options. So I plugged in time for those, and we won't just end up couch-potatoing.

It's structure, not rules. It allows for a lot of flexing.

I'm also getting set for these next 2 last week's of agency help before I go. It may change considerably in 2019, and so I'm thinking ahead on using the time and help well, including closing the house for a month and loading the car.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 26 Nov 18 - 11:23 PM

Montreal:

R did an incredible job of de-cluttering the house! Such a great job there is very little essential stuff in the K! But the open house was Sunday and now he is finding and returning some essentials - so I can cook meals! The house looks SO nice.

I cannot help being annoyed that I lived in a mess for 8 years. My ultimatum is that I will not abide excess stuff coming into the new house; I will go to Beaver. Period. End of story. I cannot live like that again. Powerless, and my need for an uncluttered house totally disregarded. He admitted, today, to being a hoarder.

Six couples viewed it and another viewing on Weds; waiting with almost bated breath for an offer. I have recovered from the drive and the busy weekend and now we are in for a couple snow days. I can probably drive back to Beaver on Thursday or Saturday.

I rather envy SRS the fence project! Such a terrific sense of accomplishment. And the 70F weather!!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 27 Nov 18 - 09:34 AM

Dorothy, what are the early warning signs that will be your line not to cross? For example, my "oops I've backslid" has been laundry: I know all my habits are out of rational living when all my dirty laundry hampers are full and overflowing into walkspace. Hubby know if he sees that happening that it's time to talk; by now I self-monitor.

So since hoarding is a slippery slope, how will you know your lin has been crossed?

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Nov 18 - 01:51 PM

There are really schlocky "Hallmark-style" movies that come on a few channels every year between Thanksgiving and xmas, and there are channels that play the old holiday classics, and I always go for the latter. I made a batch of turkey pot pie filling last night and then made a 2.5x batch of banana nut bread (baked it in seven small loaf pans) while watching The Bishop's Wife (the Cary Grant version) and Hans Christian Anderson. Not exactly a holiday film, but I'd forgotten how totally delightful it is. Not particularly autobiographical, but lots of good songs and wonderful dancing.

I can happily eat that turkey pie with broken up gluten free crackers on top. Yes, there is a little flour in the sauce to make the gravy, but it doesn't add up to very much per serving. My family was so relieved when I made regular yeast rolls for Thanksgiving they gobbled them up - they're tired of my gluten free experiments (though these crackers I used are very good and I've eaten these over the years without the gluten-free incentive at work.)

Fitness rarely gets mentioned here these days, but I have to start walking more. I have a number of gym options to look into and I'll ask around (again) and see who in my circle of local friends goes - I'd like to have the company if possible, with a chance to visit. This morning I spent a few minutes walking the length of the back yard - it's good sized and a few circuits adds up to the distance I used to walk from the parking lot at work. At least that was far enough to show up on the fitness tracker, as did this morning's experiment. While I was at it the two younger dogs convinced me they needed to fetch their bumpers for a while. They love that game and now we've figured it out so they don't compete with each other.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Nov 18 - 05:46 PM

I was going to make wall paper out of 60 years of famous front pages of newspapers, like MAN LANDS ON MOON ect.

Its another thing I'm not going to do. Maybe they would look good on an old van or coffee tables. naw
Anyone want them?

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Nov 18 - 06:41 PM

Sell them on eBay. Offer them on Freecycle.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 27 Nov 18 - 07:51 PM

Au contraire, SRS, I mentioned my return to aquatics in my  19 Nov 18 - 07:41 PM post.

I've upped that restart to an hour of pool work 3x/week and hope to continue that in PA for the month I'll be there (negotiating pool passes). The new Y here will open a week or two after my return, 2 blocks away.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Nov 18 - 12:06 PM

Ah, yes. And Dorothy is always moving and lifting stuff as she works on her houses. I haven't mentioned it much (though there was a good workout on the fence last Saturday).

As is usually the case when a resource sits in view for a while, I've been thinking about these fence pickets stacked against the garage. They will go to the trash in two weeks - or? I looked through Pinterest and found a number of useful applications if I got around to them. The most practical is to build raised beds in the garden with the slats as the sides. Then there are the rustic shelves . . . wheels will turn until I get tired of looking at these or take them to the trash.*

*This is how hoarding can happen.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 28 Nov 18 - 02:52 PM

(* Just my thought)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 28 Nov 18 - 04:32 PM

OH:

Greg had added some shelf supports per my request and today I let Lowe's cut what I'd normally have saber-sawed. I added the new shelves in my reachest, hoping yesterday's tall Yano come back next week to complete the closet re-organization.

As I always do when I reorganize, I set aside a small Goodwill-bag of mismatched/no longer needed items.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Nov 18 - 09:23 PM

Every year I put holiday lights up in a couple of places in the front of the house; the juniper at the corner near the driveway is now complete and lit with a dusk-to-dawn plug, and in the process I identified a string that probably needs to go in the trash. I need to weed out the non-LED lights, some of them are pretty old. I'll put another set up on the front porch tomorrow. I'm doing this now because it's warm out - too often in the past I waited until the weather was cold and suffered through the process. Next door has their lights up also, so our end out the block is making an early holiday statement. :)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Nov 18 - 05:56 PM

I have given up pretending that I will walk enough around town to make a dent in my fitness needs, so now I just glumly go to the gym and rack up five miles' worth of treadmill time, five days per week. Now that winter is here and getting around on foot is less safe than I like, it's by far the best way to get the job done. I just feel kinda silly, driving to the gym and then walking on a treadmill for an hour and a half.

I also work out with weights twice a week. I am particularly pleased with my squat skills, and the gym has plenty of push-me-pull-you equipment, but arthritis in my hands limits what I can do with free weights. Stratford has lots of aging gym rats, so I don't feel weird or out of place; at mid-morning, when I go, everybody has grey hair but me and the staff.

On the household front, I find I've become a bit fierce about not accumulating stuff we won't use. I just gave Himself a hard time for visiting our local kitchen-porn shop in search of a little metal ring doohickey for making crumpets at home -- as if the bakeries don't have to make a living! I'm pretty sure we should not be eating crumpets on a regular basis anyway. But I also remember the messy chaos that ensued when I tried to make pita bread at home, despite the fact that Lebanese bakeries were to be found all over the place, each offering professionally perfect pita for a couple of bucks.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Nov 18 - 08:38 PM

Charmion, I will join you at the gym in spirit - I think taking the phone with earbuds and an audio book to the treadmill will augment yard work and dog walking. I've tried to catch a friend's eye online about going together to the gym she frequents, but I haven't heard back so far. Even if we went only a couple of times a month it would be a chance to catch up and then run errands over there (near campus).

Also agree about the bread or crumpets. I make very good bread and rolls, and I know how to make tortillas and flatbread, but there is a Middle Eastern bakery near campus where I can get pita or tandoori bread warm out of the ovens and up the street near my house is a tortilla bakery with them still hot when you pick them up. Last time I had friends over for lunch with cut a large tandoori bread into quarters and everyone assembled their own pizzas. Once baked, they cut in half again and became a perfect personal serving and the crust was so crispy. I've made pizza crust all my life, but that is just so easy and is excellent quality flatbread.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Nov 18 - 11:16 AM

Ah, yes; I remember gym time before audiobooks, and it was boring. Things are better now.

I have three new history books to work through, beginning with "White Trash: The Untold 400-Year History of Class in America". I'm well into it now, and I have to confess I'm not learning anything new; exposure to the US Army in Germany gave me a chance to see the American class system in action, and it wasn't pretty.

I like pita pizza, too. In fact, I like it so much I have to be careful not to think about it too often!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 01 Dec 18 - 10:37 AM

Tyler is on the loose again.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Dec 18 - 11:45 AM

You have your locks in place and no possessions of his remain in the house, hopefully he'll have a kernel of sense and stay away. Will the dog bark at him?

Lovely rain overnight cleared out today leaving blue skies and it smells wonderful. I have running around to do, and have been here long enough I know the routes that avoid the traffic headed toward the area malls.

Virginia Tam doesn't drop in these days, but I've been watching progress on a house remodel she has going on and it's finally advancing. I'm hoping Dorothy will Facebook a photo or three of the new house and yard once she's to that point.

After I finish my current cuppa tea I'm going to take some photos for eBay sales, things that go best this time of year, before heading out to run a few errands. I dropped a bunch of stuff at the village recycle bin and have cleared space in the sunroom for the eBay work. There's even room (at least for a few minutes) to sit on the bench next to the door.

I need to head to the gym to start a routine there. I suppose I ought to have a bag of dance clothes packed and ready to use. Yoga pants and a t-shirt.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 01 Dec 18 - 12:14 PM

SRS, the house will be empty for a month. Alarms and neighbors set. Will also set police patrols. One tweak needed-- ask emerg contact Judy to send Brandon if needed. Brandon can board up windows if one is broken-- it's the garage that's most vulnerable that way. (The house windows are break-proof.)

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 01 Dec 18 - 07:42 PM

OH:

Departure setup is tweaked. Also since mail can only be held for 30 days, I've arranged with our supersweet neighbor Jessica to grab mail if we're delayed past the 30 days.

I spent some very relaxing time today going back thru the FB album where I photo-inventoried the artwork for the house, with measurements. Among the best things I ever did.

I had to let all that go in May when I came home to the nightmare, and I've been feeling SO GUILTY-- doing that was part of why I was here! I have only unpacked a very few boxes of art/decor.

So I looked thru the album for a winter scene I thought would go well with the holiday decor I'd just finished putting up. As I went, my brain got excited about where each item should go, so I put those notes into the album. And as I went, I had a GREAT and totally simple idea that solves another problem worrying me!

So now I'm excited to have a great and easy project to do with my honey! My goal had been to complete wall decor before we jam in more furniture blocking wall access. And that will still be possible, because more furniture isn't coming till March!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Dec 18 - 03:02 AM

I finished a late night getting things listed on eBay for holiday sales. There's plenty more work to do, things to list, but making the big push and organizing myself (eBay keeps changing screens, rules, etc. so returning is always a bit of a shock).

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 02 Dec 18 - 06:13 AM

OH:

Departure week has landed a bit differently this time. Hard to describe, but must have to do with my more orhanized/busier schedule. Three full days and a morning, for the best day/time of travel. It's also different in that I have a set deadline I can't flex-- Greg's retirement dinner. There is one flex day if something precludes departure Weds. by noon. Later than that would involve rush hours so wearing that early Thursday would be safer.

Btw, why don't dogs or cats ever have insomnia?

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Dec 18 - 12:04 PM

Heading out to several appointments and meetings later this week, and soon I'm heading to the gym to get started there. Meanwhile, I have a week until bulky waste to decide if there is a use for any of these fence pickets.

The fridge contents have been drawn down after the holiday and the compost bins beside the driveway door are filling so need transport to the back of the backyard heap. It's also time to finish mowing down the garden and think about putting in a few raised beds with the extra fence boards.

I printed out a "12 days of xmas cleaning" sheet that LilyFestre put up on Facebook. In order for that plan to be effective I need to start around Dec. 12, and then wrap up the last day or two of it after the actual event. Except I'm not sure when we'll get together because the most distant child works through the holidays and will fly down sometime around New Year's Day or later. At least I'll be ready by the 23rd and try to maintain some order until our family cooking and gift-giving.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Dec 18 - 06:42 PM

OH:

Tall Yano Dasia has been assigned until her school sked changes and I'm excited that she's returning tmrw, because a small amp we want to leave for the parish is up higher than I can safely reach, here.

It's also the first time I've been able to look forward to help loading the car. I've HAD limited help, but never knew far enough in advance to plan ahead. I usually find myself scrambling in departure day, plus having several heavy, last-minute bags to load alone. This time, I've done all the parts I can do on my own, today-- and am prepped for her to help with the rest. This time, I will actually be able to walk out the back door with JUST one purse. Even the dog will load herself, due to the number of small changes I've been making here.

So I hope to hit the road before noon Wednesday. I'll load Newbie and purse, drive from the garage to the front door, set the locks and alarm, and painlessly GO.

Since I'm fighting off a bug, I've packed an outfit for that retirement dinner in case necessary stops delay me, AND have arranged with a friend to fetch me-- from a PA motel I'm sure I can get to-- if I'm too sick/medicated to drive.

I also picked out a different motel instead of our usual, with a pool to stretch out in after the crampy drive. I'll skip that entirely in favor of getting to PA by Thursday afternoon if I can safely, but with so many variables in play, I built in more options than usual.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Dec 18 - 07:30 PM

Our current weather front (dry and cold) is lingering, inspiring preparation this afternoon of a batch of turkey soup with the stock and some of the leftover bird (from the freezer). That turkey and rice soup is wonderful.

eBay listings are moving forward, and for now each item listed leads with an image adorned with a wrapping-style bow included in the shot. If they don't sell in the next few weeks the sales will be revised to remove the holiday gift suggestion. There were extra boxes and packing material in here that are now back in the garage so I can move around and arrange the prepared sale items. I photograph, describe (use an html editor instead of a Word document), and pack items before listing them, so all I have to do is print the label and hand them over to my mail carrier or at the post office once they're purchased.

When I put up the outdoor lights this year I found some new boxed holiday lights that I'd forgotten I purchased last year. I just realized I probably bought them to replace the string that used to run up and down the lines of macrame on a basket I use every year. The old string of lights died last year. I have a bunch of stuff to take to the e-waste recycle bin next time I'm on campus, including old holiday lights, a dead monitor, and a printer cartridge. I'll look like a bag lady toting all of that into the library, but that bin is still the easiest place to deposit this stuff if I don't want to send it to the dump.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 04 Dec 18 - 07:35 AM

OH:

I've mislaid my credit card pouch, as I discovered at wakies when I reached for it, to add my Visa gas card to my fone case. My license is already safely in my fone case, but my Visa is still in the pouch. I'm betting it's under the bed where its color makes it invisible, but I can do cash for gas if need be. It is definitely in the house. Dasia will be able to look under that area where I'm sure it was left. Nothing else in there is urgent. (The AAA card number is in my fone and I have the Visa number in a safe place.)

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Dec 18 - 10:56 AM

Major declutter this morning, of the visual sort: I did the one-two task of mopping and scrub-brushing along the dog footprint path across my living room from the dog door to the front room. The porcelain tile is imprinted with a pattern that collects tracked in soil so after going over the spot with the sponge mop I have to scour it with the stiff scrub brush. I waited until we were clear of the cycle of several very rainy weeks; no point in having to repeat it daily or weekly. I didn't do the entire room, just that set of tiles across the room, as a start to holiday cleaning. I will mop the entire floor (have to move furniture first to do the job properly) and the rug under the dining table is like a huge unwashed dog bed. Yeah. I vacuum and it gives off dog dust; I'll use the steam cleaner on it before guests are here for the holidays, but I should really consider getting rid of it. The thing is, the antique table sits on a bunch of little metal castors and rocks when in use if it isn't on the rug. I should probably take off all of those castors to solve that problem, but there are times when they're handy. They're meant for the occasional use, to move for cleaning, not for transporting the table all over the place.

Years ago when we moved to North Texas our moving truck was at the curb and the distance of 100 feet or more seemed a challenge to the casual labor hired to unload (and cherry pick boxes they must have set aside and didn't deliver - note to self - never actually say what is in boxes if it is valuable). I had a toddler on my hands and couldn't adequately supervise but every so often I'd see some piece of antique furniture being pushed up the concrete on it's castors. "Pick it up and carry it, those wheels aren't meant for concrete!" They must have thought I was a real bitch, but they were lazy bums. In the end lots of furniture was damaged a few steps from the front door by those galoots. The moving company had some furniture restorers come fix things and they confirmed my view - those wheels aren't meant for travel, they're on there so the (most likely) woman of the house could shift furniture while sweeping, vacuuming, mopping, etc. That was the design.

rant off/ (I still get pissed about that move, and how unresponsive the company was about it.)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 04 Dec 18 - 01:09 PM

OH:

Card pouch found. House organized for a soft landing on our return. Car so loaded that I might leave at 4am if I can't sleep. Garage ready to park the van inside. Heading out in a bit for gas and oil.

Dasia is a miracle.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Dec 18 - 04:41 PM

Have a safely interesting and healthy drive, S.

Small yard tasks accomplished today: though the soil in the front is like un-worked clay (or whatever Dorothy would call the state of the stuff that has to be kneaded before it's usable), I used a small mattock and dug up several bucket's full of the misplaced soil (from last year's sewer work) and dumped it into the most recent excavation area next to the faucet after the water leak repair. There is a lot more to do but that one spot particularly bugged me. I had dead plants out there that never go into the backyard compost (datura and dogs don't mix) so I cut the dry limbs into a grocery bag for the trash. And while I was at it I cut down the now-dead asparagus in the corner. That can go to the compost. And the thing on my list that I forgot last month, two large spineless prickly pear cactus segments are going to my hairdresser tomorrow. Good thing cactus keeps. It was sitting on the side of the driveway catching dry leaves as they drift through the yard.

Is everyone else snowed in at this point? I'm not asking to gloat - I enjoy occasional snow and get it rarely.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 04 Dec 18 - 05:19 PM

Thx, SRS.

OH, no snow and PA snow melted, I believe.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 04 Dec 18 - 06:30 PM

Perth County, Ontario, has endured two weeks of rain that washed away the snow and filled the air with mold again (*sneeze*). Today we had bright sunshine and deceptive warmth, but the forecast calls for snow.

Himself was gazing out at the dead leaves lying on our exposed lawn and mused that maybe he should get busy and rake them up. "Why?" said I, "do you lack boring work?" I suggested that he sit down and read until the feeling went away. It did not take long.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 05 Dec 18 - 08:19 AM

Beaver:

Montreal also had that rain and there was very little snow when I left this morning. Bancroft, however...!! The house was 38F. Outdoor temp -10C at 5 pm today. A foot or more of snow on the deck that I was not up to moving so I could get to the studio - which was 58F! as the house is now, at 9 pm. Guess I need to put more logs in the stove. The plants in the bathroom are happy and some are back to their regular spots. I suspect those in the studio will be desperately thirsty.

SRS: that fence project seems like major exercise - stretching and bending, and more!

My exercise in Montreal consisted mainly of going up and down the stairs many times a day - unaccustomed! But the new house has stairs so it is good to know I can do it. I spent 3 hours walking around a mall yesterday. When I finally found a blouse I almost liked, it was so poorly made, I just quit. Realized that in 3 hours I could make one out of good fabric in a style I like - if I can just find the pattern!

The trip to mall was mainly something to do rather than sit in the house reading or watching TV. It was too wet to go outside much.   

So goals for this week: choose some fabrics from my collection and pack up machine and necessary sewing stuffs, try to find box of patterns, failing that -take the blouse I fancy to Montreal and try the pattern books again. The "new" K table there is suitable for cutting. I have no such space here.

Here, I have a few pots to make and firings to do. And a decision to make re taking clay to mill, or not.   

I left R much good cooked food in frig and some nice cheeses. Planning to go back, with plants next Weds or Thurs when the weather is only just below freezing. I will box them and warm car before putting them in, then take them to the mill and put heat on in sunroom for them. This musical house business sure makes life complicated. I hope it is soon over. The "new" house will enable us to stop using the mill as an overnight, a nice de-clutter! I will continue to use the studio down there but it is only about 45 minutes away rather than 90.

As for knowing when the hoarding is starting to take over: when there is ANYTHING entering that does not have a designated spot! No boxes taking root in Kitchen, no bags of books that cannot be immediately shelved, no tools in the K or any place other than the tool room/cellar/garage... NO excuses. I literally cannot cope with it and I believe R has finally heard me. The "new" house is much too lovely to be treated like that.

As for pics: I'll work on it.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Dec 18 - 10:06 AM

I have house rules for keeping down clutter. Here they are:

1. No stacks of books on the floor. If we don't have shelf space for it, we can't keep it.

2. One filing cabinet. If a document cannot find a place in the four-drawer legal-size filing cabinet in the study, dispose of it appropriately (burn, shred or recycle), or dispose of old papers until it does.

3. Acquire no household item, whether it is furniture, clothing, china, glassware, tools, or cooking equipment, that increases the contents of the house. Anything that comes in the door must be something we have an immediate use for and space to store.

4. Dispose of all unwanted items quickly: to the church bazaar (annual, for good stuff), or the Goodwill, if serviceable; or to the trash if not. Harden the heart and make it go away.

5. Don't have "collections" -- stuff accumulated just because it's an example of a certain kind of stuff. The house is a home, not a museum.

These are iron rules that give rise to angst and argument, but on the whole even Himself the merry shopper accepts that we have to live by them. We both have enough experience with packrat friends and relatives to know that the slippery slope to household chaos begins with stepping over or around that thing we can't quite deal with right now and somehow never get around to.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Dec 18 - 11:15 AM

"The house is not a museum" is the mantra I've used for years as I research and sell things on eBay. I let the experience with the item be educational but rarely do I decide I need to keep it after the research. The one recent exception to not bringing in new furniture is that tall table in the kitchen. It landed there and seems to be a perfect fit and it gets used daily, mostly as a staging area for projects.

I've avoided stairs for a while since my knee was pronounced arthritic, but this just isn't going to fly. There are too many things I want to do that the knee will just have to accommodate. The next visit to the knee guy is next week and I will initiate the three shot sequence to see if I can't resume more of my activities, including dance. The single steroid shot isn't up to the task.

I have running around to do today but find that some businesses might be closed due to the Bush 41 funeral and national day of mourning.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 05 Dec 18 - 06:26 PM

Beaver:

LOVE your list, Charmion! I shall share it with R. However, he seems to strongly believe in having his home be a museum. The problem from the time we moved to the M house has been: no room for real furniture because of the butter churn, coal stove, water pump - now topped by a colourful parrot, antique sewing machine cabinet without machine...... All in the not very large LR. Still! My useful antique desk has been moved to another building to make room! I am promised space for it in "new" house.

Today has been a recovery day: car to mechanic; will return tomorrow for muffler; visit with friends, attempts to de-clutter deck of ice and snow, managed to get into studio and water plants, picked two tomatoes and a small pepper!, only managed to extricate two chunks of wood from under tarp which is frozen to deck. Tomorrow: buckets of hot water will be necessary! The temp only got up to 0C/32F. Did a load of laundry, drying in house- humidity! Did banking on line and cleared emails. Still need to find calendar and enter important info.

Thinking of son on 59th b-day - on Whidbey with his daughters and 3 grands visiting for his, and his wife's on 10th! Maybe I will phone.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 Dec 18 - 08:57 PM

For for knowing when the hoarding is starting to take over: when there is ANYTHING entering that does not have a designated spot!

Yay! You know where your line is!!!
.

PA:

NEVER DOING THIS DRIVE ALONE AGAIN.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Dec 18 - 02:04 AM

Staggering around with a sinus headache today, but this evening I finished another eBay listing. A pretty leather handbag that I just never use any more.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Dec 18 - 09:52 AM

Those sinus afflictions are very debilitating, aren't they, Stilly? When I'm hit with one, I feel as if I have taken leave of the top twenty percent of my IQ and the best part of my personality.

Susan, I know what you mean about those long drives. The last time I did the Ottawa-Stratford haul -- all day on the autoroute, doing top speed in the circus parade of 18-wheelers -- I came home safe but exhausted, rattled, and determined never to do it on my own again. It was the effort of keeping my attention focussed all day, not missing the slightest thing for fear of my life, with no one to talk to, hand me peppermints, and take the lid off the water bottle.

On the fitness front, I have been using my new fat-detecting FitBit scale for two weeks now, and in that time I have apparently lost exactly one pound but knocked two points off my body-fat percentage. I'm not sure I believe it, but any motivation will do as long as it keeps me going forward.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 07 Dec 18 - 06:56 PM

Beaver:

Crisis of frozen tarp on wood pile is solved by dear Michael stopping by and applying brute force to the ice. My right arm would have quit, or been very painful and useless, had I used it that way. Now I can access wood and have filled the indoor spots for now. Will be careful to place tarp in such a way that this does not happen again! I was hoping for a thaw but not going to happen; going as low as minus 22C at night soon. It was already minus 10C at 4:15 as the sun had sunk behind the hill. BUT, we did have sun All day!!!

Other than that, I have accomplished very little as the wood problem caused me to feel old and useless and rather discouraged. Tomorrow will be better. We do need to get propane heat into this house before next winter. Major de-clutter of work, but also wallet!!

No word on progress in Montreal.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 04:59 AM

Charmion! You DO understand!!! Right down to the peppermints!!!

PA:

My body swears it's still in PA but the upside of that is that it's insisting delightfully that I keep my routine and schedule! That is HUGE.

AFAIK MMario is attending the Retirement Shindig (his term) tonight, and possibly staying over with us. It's been years, but the Ohio house is 20 minutes from a RenFaire.... so maybe now that our weekends will be our own....

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 11:00 AM

A Mudcat Secret Santa story: Years ago MMario was who I was sending to, and my children collaborated with me on a gift, a homemade lap comforter and they decided the back side of it should be corduroy, with the top side flannel. I think they decided the much-washed corduroy is as soft as flannel. So we went with it, and since he does all of those fairs, it was supposed to travel. I wonder if it has worked out that way?

We've had rain for several days now, and the house is generally chilly. Time to distribute the lap comforters around to various seating and work areas. [done]

Sinuses still revolting at the weather change. Time for the neti pot.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 11:33 AM

SRS, I'll try to remember to inquire. I can easily do it quite casually from an update on flannel travel towels and Greg's flannel liturgical stole. Because.... flannel is yummy anywhere!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 12:50 PM

From Remembrance Day to Easter, I live in flannel shirts from LL Bean, and flannel-lined jeans. I often wonder what my mother would say if she could see me now, as my wardrobe looks very like what my brothers wore when we were children. Flannel keeps my fragile skin from going completely nuts in the sere cold of winter.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 10:03 PM

Several more boxes ready and listed on eBay, and a batch of holiday cookies stored in a decorative can. There will be more, after I buy a new bottle of vanilla. I managed to save the spritz by adding almond to the mix, but the vanilla seems to have lost potency (it was a brand I've never seen before) and I tossed the rest.

It's a moist cold day and the insulating curtains are drawn for now. They really do help. The sun room doesn't have them, but the north side of the house does, and that's where they're most needed. Towels on the floor again in front of the dog door to slow the spread of mud.

I've listed things today that would be good gifts. Tomorrow, other stuff, mostly because it's now in the way of my work space.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Dec 18 - 11:37 AM

I have decided that today I need to (once again) clear off the second workspace in my office. And possibly rearrange some of the books I leave there. Instead of pulling out a notebook I use almost daily from a shelf with some things in front of it, give it it's own place in the clear. But not blocking other stuff.

Rain is over, weather is warming. Hurrah!

I hope the party went well, Susan.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 09 Dec 18 - 02:27 PM

Beaver:

Snowed a couple inches yesterday but light and easy to remove. Afternoon sun seemed to loosen some of the frozen snow and I was able to clear a good amount of the tarp to get to the next row of wood. this makes me feel less concerned as I brought in a good amount of wood. Today I cleared a bit more ice on walkway to make trip to studio less challenging.

Two potted tomato plants are doing better in the bow window of the studio than they did all summer outside! They are being well watered and fertilized.

R has delayed house purchase to mid January. Conundrum: stay here and keep plants watered; or go back and forth again? Renew books due in Montreal on 18th? Hope R can come here for a few days at Christmas? He needs to be showing house...

Material goods are not the only clutter in our lives! failing to do things in a timely manner, having far too many things to do may be more serious clutter. I have been looking forward to being settled in the "new" house and was hoping to have the plants into their new home before hard winter. Not being able to do so feels like a major clutter; need to change mindset. Hans Selye said, It is not the stress that hurts us; it is how we handle it/respond to it.

OK: I am tired of driving back and forth (that makes three of us!)so I shall stay here. It is less complicated and more energy efficient. And when there is an above freezing day (14th) I may be able to de-clutter the back deck so I can get pottery safely to the kiln room and, hence, de-clutter the studio.

Threw four large bowls this morning in hopes of one for Joanne/pies; I do have a serious problem about not producing as promised. Hope one will be perfect! My first really good day since arrival. It took a toll on shoulder so resting and hoping to go out later to throw promised mugs for Mary. Ah! but she will not get them until January! Oh well. She can sell them in the new year.

R has agreed (today) to try to get here for Christmas as I told him I don't want to make another trip before then; I want to be here for the community Christmas Dinner (24th) to see "Everybody". And a potluck with special folks on 22nd. He just left a voice mail that he made it up a hill in the Laurentians - the scariest hill - in winter - that I have ever experienced; I refuse to go there ever again, in winter! Now, to hear that he made it down safely!!

In the meantime, he is still trying to sell the house in M. And misting the wee orchid I left there for TLC. He will have to bring it here when he comes - our pet orchid! Talk about clutter! I suggested he think of it as a baby raccoon. At least it doesn't climb the bookshelves! Maybe some day it will bloom for us!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Dec 18 - 07:01 PM

Makes me tired just reading all of that, Dorothy!

I started carrying limbs from last summer's tree trimming out to the curb. I missed the last bulky waste, I don't remember why (probably weather). They won't pick it up tomorrow but they'll note that there is stuff to be picked up, so I can drag more limbs out tomorrow. Today I started on the small stuff, tomorrow I'll take the bow saw out and cut the too-long pieces into the appropriate size they want at the curb.

I'll also take out some of the old fence pieces, but in the process I'll cut some to the right size and set them at the side of the garden where the existing planks supporting the raised bed are about rotted, and they can go to the curb. Looks like tomorrow will be busy out-of-doors.

A couple of more of my eBay parcels are listed, and my fitness tracker actually noticed a dog walk today. Meals were gluten-free and gut healthy, and the dogs were pleased to have broccoli on top of their dog food. It was a productive and healthy day. When I do the walking activity with my hands full (like carrying branches, or holding the dog leashes) I have started wrapping the tracker around my ankle far enough down my sock so it stays put. That picks up the movement that the device is meant to get when I swing my arms walking.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 Dec 18 - 07:45 PM

SRS, it was delightful! I was not able to collect that information though-- sorry.

link

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: mg
Date: 09 Dec 18 - 09:12 PM

I am retiring..not by choice..they are closing my office..on the 31st. planning a trip to france and spain, pyranees...in march. plan to live in flannel and fake crocs. I am missing my passport. I shall not distress over it. I will calmly tomorrow fill out paperwork to get a replacement. and probably pay one hundred fifty dollars. but i have resolved not to beat myself up over it. i know exactly where it should be..in this hanging clear pocket thing. not there. looked in all pockets, purses etc. i have promised fifty dollars to charity if i find it.