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BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: LilyFestre Date: 09 Jun 09 - 03:31 PM Enjoy your week off Kat!!!! Michelle |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 09 Jun 09 - 10:09 PM Sounds like a good idea. The Internet has gotten a little busier for me lately. I've been tired, I think it's because I'm trying a new antihistamine. An OTC one (Zyrtec) that used to be Rx. Anyone have any reports on this? I've been using Allegra, and it isn't that expensive these days at the mail-order pharmacy, but I thought I'd see how the others behaved. (Actually, at this point, the knock-off brand of Zyrtec and Allegra cost about the same, so it is a matter of choosing which works better for me). Shifting gears into summer. I think I'll have something to report on the shifting of chores by the weekend. I might have a little more time for other stuff if I'm not the only one washing the dishes. :) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: maire-aine Date: 09 Jun 09 - 11:58 PM I've been suffering from de-cluttering inertia lately, but I'm better now. I had a small desk with a hutch that was in the upstairs hallway, along with an antique trunk and several boxes of magazines. I decided to move the desk into the guest-room, and it fits in there just fine. The storage boxes fit under the desk, so it doesn't take up any more room. I'm still collecting books to go to the library; the bag is about half full. A week from Thursday, our local Irish Cultural Forum is staging a Bloomsday celebration, and they're going to have an Irish used book sale, so I've got some books set aside for that too. Cleaned the bathroom from top to bottom, and made some improvement in the kitchen as well. The plants are recovering nicely, but I haven't taken the "after" pictures yet. I may wait for some of them to bloom. Have a good week off, Kat. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: wysiwyg Date: 10 Jun 09 - 09:16 AM That reminds me-- altho it took me until this spring to learn the particulars, I've decluttered my online life quite a bit by letting my email notify people when I am less-than-usually-available. I had not realized that an auto-away-reply does not stop the messages from landing in my inbox, so that I can still watch for anything really important and, if I have a moment, briefly respond to it. I had always assumed that the auto-reply blocked the messages from arriving. I learned how to use it well by watching the flurry of these I get from other people with similar professional lives to ours-- the way they shade the auto-reply text to be clear about how "away" they really will be. NOW I understand how I would use email-by-cell-phone, if we had it. NOW it is a tool that I could use to support what I do instead of distracting me from what I do. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 10 Jun 09 - 02:38 PM This morning I took a quick swipe at the master bath. It's dusted, arranged, everything put away. A small step forward again. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 11 Jun 09 - 12:47 PM Heavy storms last night and again today. I may have no choice but to stay inside to work on the house this evening (I need to mow). And then, when it dries up for the weekend, guess what! It's supposed to get up to 100. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: maire-aine Date: 11 Jun 09 - 01:13 PM We're getting rain this morning, too. Not bad storms, just light rain. But enough to prevent mowing. Here it is, the 11th of June, and I'm still wearing sweatshirts; it's still only in the 60's-- maybe it'll make it to 72F (22C) over the weekend. Got my teeth cleaned at the dentist this morning-- a de-cluttering of sorts. I finally hooked up the digital/analog converter box to the TV in my bedroom, altho I'm not watching much TV at night any more. Mostly use it in the early morning, so I get the weather forecast. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Liz the Squeak Date: 11 Jun 09 - 06:38 PM Quilt is finished, more or less, thus removing several pieces of fabric and an old blanket and giving them a new lease of life. Just the actual quilting bit to do now, the hardest bit in a small space... I may just move it outside tomorrow if the weather is nice. Then I suppose I'd better get on and empty a few more cupboards... LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: maire-aine Date: 11 Jun 09 - 11:36 PM It rained all day today, but the good news is the grass-seed (to fill in the bare spots) has started to sprout. It's up about an inch in some places. And all the laundry is done, too. M |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 12 Jun 09 - 08:14 PM I have several times considered de-cluttering a 3-tined spade fork, I have two others that aren't missing a tine. But it saved the day today, I was able to weave the handle up through a tomato cage and past branches and then push it into the ground to support a plant that had slid sideways onto a smallish patch of carrots. And several beautiful green tomatoes were resting on the ground. It's ready to storm--again. I hope the fork holds it up! I may have to get out there with some of those bird feeder shepherd's crook things I'm not using and suspend them from above, otherwise. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Slag Date: 13 Jun 09 - 01:16 AM I'm sorry. I have to admit up front that I have only read the first six or seven posts so if someone else has already covered this, please forgive me. MID-summer is not until about August 5th or 6th. So let's not rush this thing. In fact I want to opt out! I love my clutter. It's arranged the way my mind is a- (not "de-") rranged. I know where everything is and I can put my fingers on it within seconds, well, minutes or a few hours at most, BUT I know ABOUT where it is! Sometimes days or weeks, but that is stuff I don't use much. OK, but I can still find my way to this here keyboard. And the stuff I can't find I either didn't need it or it's just waiting for me to rediscover it.... like a time capsule. That alone is worth the mess. It's like an archaeological dig, if you know what I mean. Some day my kids are going to have a blast going through all this stuff. Historical, some of it is. There's always 2010, ya know... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Liz the Squeak Date: 13 Jun 09 - 10:20 AM Well Slag, it depends entirely which calendar you use, and where you are in the world. I'm in the UK and the calendar says that midsummer is 21st June, at the solstice. You might be happier calling it Midyear day, because it's all downhill from there to Christmas! I have the 'time capsule' in mind too, but I really don't know why I should burden my only child with the legacy of 9 ice cube trays (I know I said 8, but I found another one), of which only 4 are any use. Not so much historical as hysterical. LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 13 Jun 09 - 12:15 PM Slag, you're a clutter-enabler, I can see it from here. Get professional help. I suggest starting with a book by Don Aslett, Clutters Last Stand. He covers a lot of philosophy to help you see the error of your ways. (We've all been there!) I filed and shredded paper in the office last night. Years ago I had some experimental email accounts and I just found the file with all of those old passwords. I'm sure they're defunct, I don't plan to revive any, so into the trash they go. I'll clear my computer work surface then head into the yard, which is hot and muggy and soggy after thunder storms last night. Can't do much out there, but maybe I'll restring the string trimmer and clear the garage. The ex needs to load a bunch of brush in the pickup to take to the dump, so I'll empty out the back of the pickup in preparation for that. And the neighbor wants a load of mulch, so maybe I can swing by and pickup that for her after the dump. Have the ex help me shovel it. Good exchange, eh? I wonder how Kat's week has gone? Made any progress on whatever took you away? SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 13 Jun 09 - 05:47 PM De-cluttered the ex's back yard of a pickup full of brush and an old broken down compost thing that I had hoped to rescue one of these days and reuse. Took them to the bulky waste station near here. My compost bin was too far gone from being left in one spot in his yard for years. Oh, well. Hot as hell out there. I finished those chores by picking up some free compost for the neighbor and myself, but now I think I'll shower, then it'll be a little shopping and an evening in. I'd like to mow, but the weather says rain again this evening. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Liz the Squeak Date: 13 Jun 09 - 06:40 PM Oh, and of those 9 ice cube trays, guess how many were actually in the freezer full of ice?... go on... guess! Yup.. nary a one. LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 14 Jun 09 - 11:22 AM I have to defrost my freezer again, and one of these days get the drain system from the defroster repaired. I am using ice cube trays because I disconnected my ice maker from the wall water for the time being. Kitchen is looking good, and I moved a couple of rolling storage things out to see if I can use them somewhere else since they aren't needed in the kitchen any more. I am looking for a way to store produce, so I may set them up in some coolish place for the onions that will soon be coming in from the garden. I wish I had a root cellar, or any kind of cellar, but all of the houses around here are built on slabs. Best I can do is find a interior closet and roll these in. I do have one, but the vacuum cleaners live there right now. Out to the yard, to finish mowing before noon. I'll take the dogs over into the woods for a little stroll also, but it's too hot out in the open for anyone nowadays. Afternoon work in the house. I have a hose clamp to put on a nice stand fan I found for $3 at a garage sale, but the collar that attaches to the stand is cracked. I have rubber bands, but realized I could hold it with a hose clamp over a rubber band and it will hold great and look kind of interesting. I'm kicking myself--I let the dog pool fill and forgot about it for several hours. I could hear water running when I was going to bed hours later and realized the hose was still running hard in the yard. Damn damn damn. That's more than a week's worth of showers for my son right there (at an hour a pop)--the bill will be high this month if I don't get him to cut them down by half for the rest of the month. I'll see what I can do. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: maire-aine Date: 14 Jun 09 - 01:11 PM I boxed up all of the programming & other work-related books that I brought home when I retired. I'm not sure where I'll put them (maybe I'll just throw a table cloth over them) but they're in the hallway for now. Then I unpacked all of my Irish language books and tapes, and put them on the bookcase where the work books had been. I even hooked up a radio/cassette-player, but discovered that the radio plays, but it won't play cassettes any more. Bummer, but I found a small cassette player to serve in the meantime. Now I have to quit de-cluttering and concentrate on my Irish studies. I also cleaned out 2 dresser drawers in the guest-room. At least now a guest could have a little space to unpack. Still have 2 more drawers to go thru-- mostly papers of my mother's. Yesterday I started going thru drawers in a dresser in the "music" room. I emptied one drawer and reloaded it with all of my Christmas music cassettes, which just fit, so they're all in one place-- what a radical idea. The other drawers contain old tax returns and bills/receipts, so I'll need to pull all of that out and box up what I need to keep & recycle the rest. It's quiet & peaceful on the street this afternoon, so I'll wait until tomorrow to run the lawnmower. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 14 Jun 09 - 09:49 PM My de-cluttering was outside today in a space beside the garage that is a catch-all for gardening stuff. Extra trash bins, buckets, planting containers, stakes and cages for the garden, etc. And I had two 18-gallon bins over there since last fall for my compost experiment. I started with one bin, but by the time I had filled it there was still too much stuff that wasn't broken down so I got another and set it on top. Kitchen waste (I don't put in meat or grease, the veggie stuff is enough) goes out at least once a day. Today I decided I would empty the lower bin. It weighed a ton, and when I opened it, it was a liquid stinky sea of wiggling stuff. Maggots, I guess. Yeeecchh! Into the house for orange oil and a watering can, and I poured a powerful dose in to knock out those critters. I then got a bucket and slowly poured it off out of one corner and carried a couple of buckets full into the back where I had excavated a large hole in the compost pile and I poured it in. When the bin was light enough so I could heft it into the wheelbarrow I lugged it back and the contents went into the compost, to be covered over. Bin was washed out and is airing. The second bin was also emptied--in this heat, and with that reaction, there is no way I'm going to continue that experiment. For now I'll dump kitchen waste into a 5-gallon covered bucket and every few days I'll bury it in the compost where the dogs can't reach it. But after those were gone and I moved an iron wood storage rack with grass and vines around it I mowed and trimmed and it looks quite tidy. I poured a bucket of mulch/compost (from a different source than the compost pile) over the spot where the bins used to stand. Swept up (I mowed this morning) and put everything back and it looks really good. I've finally cleared the extra bags of mulch and manure away from the veggie garden edge and it is an interesting looking space now. I'll get a photo in the morning when the light is mellow on that side of the house. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: maire-aine Date: 14 Jun 09 - 11:56 PM Went through a bunch of work-related material--mostly 401(k) statements and assorted bulletins from the HR department. Since I've rolled over my retirement account, I can get rid of most of this stuff. Will shred the stuff with SS#/birthdates, and send the rest to the recycling center. Found tax returns that go back to 1984, so most of that will be shredded, too. M |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 15 Jun 09 - 01:11 AM I forgot to mention earlier--that area beside the garage had a lot of things in storage--including the kitchen sink! I took it out when I remodeled, and I'll use it for a potting bench one of these days. In the last couple of years I've been shredding lots of old documents also. I sometimes stumbled on memories as I worked, but none of it is anything that is archival, just personal, and problematic if the numbers to walkabout. Best to shred all of that stuff. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Liz the Squeak Date: 15 Jun 09 - 03:19 AM STilly - did you add any soil to your compost? Sometimes, dropping a couple of shovels of garden soil (not compost or peat) in on top of a pile of freshly added refuse or grass clippings will help it to rot down... enzymes in the soil or something. Maggots tend to prefer rotting meat or faeces so either your compost wasn't as vegetarian as you thought or else you got another larvae altogether... my favourite would be hover fly larvae, otherwise known as rat tailed maggots. They're harmless and do a lot of good with pollination in the garden, but the maggots/larvae do look a bit icky. They like wet/soggy soil so I'd work on improving the drainage in your compost bin before you start to fill it again. I am at home for a week or so, for various reasons so I really should be doing some sorting of my own... trouble is, I just don't have the energy! LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Liz the Squeak Date: 15 Jun 09 - 09:04 AM Er.. is this the decluttering or gardening thread? Prerhaps someone should declutter the gardening thread... LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 15 Jun 09 - 01:11 PM I was de-cluttering beside the garage when I moved these plastic bins, and that's when I discovered these things in the bottom one. Inch long, whitish, not segmented but with the lines across like the pupa stage of some bugs, wiggling/swimming in the primordial soup. There is no meat or grease in those, only plant trimmings, peels, fruit cores, skins, etc. I think as it broke down and maybe rain got it became so soupy. I have a regular compost pile in back but the dogs get into it if I throw the food scraps out, even if it is banana peels and onion skins. That's why I had this bin going, to let it break down to something that they wouldn't be interested in. It worked during the winter months, but this time of it my plan exceeded my wildest dreams. . . Really hot here now, so I'll be doing more indoor work. I have ceiling fans in all of the house except the bathrooms and kitchen. They'll be going quite a bit now and I'll try to achieve the cool interior with interesting views out of the various windows. Think Hemingway's house or a desert adobe thick-walled house with wide verandas or brush arbors to shade windows and doors. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: MAG Date: 15 Jun 09 - 02:54 PM SRS, they sound a bit like the larvae of root weevils -- a pic should be on the net somewhere. They're pretty noxious, especially if you have strawberries. Good luck. I am fighting a cold/sore throat; didn't do a thing yesterday, but had in my helper guy, who deadheaded the roses, did some weeding, threw a couple loads of laundry in the wash, warmed up some hot soup for me, vacuumed, and changed the bed. I love beinf waited on, not that it happens that often. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: MAG Date: 15 Jun 09 - 03:01 PM Oh; P.S.: the answer to this week's weekend Sunday puzzle is: tempest storm if I'm right anyway. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 15 Jun 09 - 04:38 PM 98 out, the dogs are moving from shady spot to shady spot outside. They do okay when they are acclimated. I try to not have the AC down so low in here that there is a huge difference between indoors and outdoors. 10 or 15 degrees can make it a lot more comfortable but not break the bank (I have friends who keep it cranked down to 68 and sleep with a blanket in summer--how silly.) Better a sheet and a ceiling fan with the AC set so the room is just comfortable. My son emptied his closet of all of the clothes he can't or won't wear any more, and that amounts to quite a stack of t-shirts and pants. I'll see if any of them are eBay material, but I think I'm better off leaving these in the local economy and taking the donation to Goodwill on my taxes. These are, of course, piled on that love seat by the door, and there are other clothes over there as well. Something to do over the weekend, I think. I have been rearranging my closet, pulling out shorts and putting up sweaters. Those plastic boxes of mine help a lot. Now I need to lose a few pounds so I can wear the shorts comfortably. :-/ SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: maire-aine Date: 15 Jun 09 - 06:37 PM I decided to take the little bit of tax material up to the recycling center, so I could use their diamond-cut shredder. There are only 2 machines, and there were 2 guys, one at each machine, each shredding a boxful of stuff. I waited for 30 minutes (I thought they were both pretty rude to monopolize the machines that way), and they were still at it, and then the one guy BROKE the diamond-cut shredder. I was so disgusted, that I just walked away. I went and ran the rest of my errands, and then came back to see if there was still a line. The two guys were gone, and this nice young woman let me use the one working shredder (while she dumped a bag), since I only needed less than 5 minutes. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 15 Jun 09 - 06:58 PM Isn't there a rule that suggests 10 minutes at a time? Heck, the thrift store I go to has a sign "three items/not more than 10 minutes." We interpret this loosely to mean we can try on as many things as we can in 10 minutes, but try not to be too conspicuous about taking in a dozen garments. :) My son has a job interview on Wednesday! His first one (he's 17). SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: maire-aine Date: 15 Jun 09 - 10:57 PM We shouldn't really need a time limit, but I guess "common courtesy" isn't as common as it used to be. m |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: katlaughing Date: 16 Jun 09 - 02:33 PM I am back. Haven't done much and probably won't for awhile, but I didn't want you all worrying or anything. I am okay, just needed a break. Too many threads which seemed negative/sad/political infighting/newsy and I think I was on overload.:-) I am taking it in small doses now. So will see you round. Thanks for your notes.:-) kat |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: maire-aine Date: 16 Jun 09 - 02:52 PM Thanks for the update, Kat, and good to know you're back. I can certainly understand the need to clear one's head once in a while. I had lunch with some folks I used to work with. They're still there, and I'm so happy that I'm not. I'd much rather see them socially than occupationally (is that a word?). After lunch, they went back to work and I went off to the garden center-- bought a few (okay, 8) small perennials that were on sale cheap. Hope to plant them tomorrow, before the rain starts. Got another dresser draw emptied out (temporarily); I think I'll fill it back up with genealogy stuff, then that milkcrate will be off of the floor. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 17 Jun 09 - 12:34 AM I've been quite busy with work stuff this week; I don't see much let-up for anything else before tomorrow afternoon, after the interview. I'll probably have to take my son shopping if he gets the job--he has a favorite pair of Vans suede shoes that will not hold up under the assault of dropped and spilled dairy and pop and other food items. So, he'll have work shoes and everyday shoes. First time I'll have been able to convince this kid that having more than one pair of shoes at a time is a good thing. . . SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 17 Jun 09 - 10:42 PM This week just doesn't look like it's going to slow down, so I'm taking Friday off. I have use or loose time to finish up this summer (our fiscal year starts Sept. 1). It's the only way I'm going to get anything done around here. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: katlaughing Date: 18 Jun 09 - 12:21 AM I finally put an ad in the paper for the treadmill and another one for the antique glass bottles...the ones I had decided to keep. They are just collecting dust. I've had two calls on them. The ads just came out today and it is a week-long shopper. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 18 Jun 09 - 12:27 AM That's good news! I have a few things I might list on Craig's List soon. I spoke with a neighbor about it one day--she said her technique is to post the listings when she has some time to hover at the computer, because generally the sales she makes come very soon after an item is listed. Makes sense--listings drop lower as new ones appear; even when posted to a category, it still drops out of sight quickly. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: MAG Date: 18 Jun 09 - 10:59 AM Good decision, SRS, to take time rather than lose it. Imagine! Takingtime and not feeling like you are playing hookey. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: GUEST,Bizibod Date: 18 Jun 09 - 03:50 PM I'm liking the idea of loose time SRS .........sounds like it could be really useful! Inspired by all of youse efforts, I'm having a yard sale myself this weekend- I am d-row-n-i-ng in STUFF !!! The more I look around the more I think I see stuff I really don't want/need/care about anymore- and what's more I AM NOT going to take in any more unloved/unwanted stuff of anybody else's just because I feel sorry for it- what was I thinking of ?! This weekend could be the making of me! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: MAG Date: 18 Jun 09 - 10:31 PM I can sure relate to that; stuff that looks forlorn is so pity inducing. That is unfortunately how I ended up with 5 rescue cats. They drive me nuts and I actively encourage them to spend time outside. Then I find myself outside shooing away the birds so I don't induce more guilt in myself. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: katlaughing Date: 19 Jun 09 - 10:16 AM Sold the treadmill with the first call on it! It is gone, outta here! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: maire-aine Date: 19 Jun 09 - 04:28 PM Took a dozen books (for the used book sale) to the Bloomsday event yesterday, and all of them were sold. I only bought a 50-cent Irish cookbook. Big, loud thunderstorms woke me up before dawn this morning. Pulled the covers over my head, snuggled up with the cat and went back to sleep. It cleared up long enough for me to take the trash out, and do some grocery shopping, but it just now started raining again. Catching up on laundry today. M. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: katlaughing Date: 19 Jun 09 - 09:15 PM Had Morgan today. I sat in my chair and *directed* him in cleaning out the corner of the LR where he had toys piled near to the ceiling. (Well, it seemed like that high!) I'd been threatening to throw them all out if we didn't go through them, soon. He did a GRAND job! Brought it all over by me with the trash can. We went through everything and filled a garbage bag and a half with broken toys, parts, etc. He took out an old trunk, insisted he could do it alone and pulled it right out the front door, down the three steps to the grass where I told him to leave it. He looked like a mighty hunter or a stevedore dragging it out. His corner is now all nice and neat. Hope we can keep it that way for a while.:-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 20 Jun 09 - 02:02 PM I'm in the house to cool down after finishing mowing the front yard in this very hot and sunny Texas day. Is it summer yet? I'll be taking days off a lot this summer, because I have nearly 3 weeks of days to use up. Loose/lose, great what spell check doesn't catch, isn't it? My day off was productive and busy, though it was not without expense. One savings--I bought a push mower for Moonglow on Wednesday, that was in the box in my back seat until she picked it up. Yesterday morning I swung by a couple of garage sales and spent $12 on her behalf. Found a nice little Mouli cheese grater ($2) and a Craftsman push lawnmower ($10). I literally snatched that from under my neighbor's nose--this after we visited and I pointed out that she had the habit bad, because I was at her garage sale last month and saw how much stuff she had stuffed in her garage (she used to run booths in antique malls). She had just asked if the mower worked and I literally handed my $10 over to the seller and said "I need to buy that mower." Neighbor was kind of startled, but I told her this was for a daughter in college with a neighborhood association breathing down her neck for tall grass. We pitched the last mower that died after it couldn't be repaired. No oil or gas or spark plugs to fool with on this one. The new one went back to Sears last night. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 20 Jun 09 - 07:58 PM Nearly 4.5 hours later and another cool-down. I've been out de-cluttering last year's compost pile. I usually have a new pile each year and they go back for at least three years, then no matter how slow they're working, by the third year it is usable. I'm working on this year's a little more intently, it hasn't been steaming (too hot to see any steam!) but to let it cook a little better. The first part of fixing that heap was to pull out all of the wood. Over the last couple of weeks I've moved all of those branches down to the curb to go out in the trash. I wish I had a chipper. I picked up the rest of this entry and stuck it over on the gardening thread. You get the drift. The back yard looks better. Once I get a shower I won't be out working there more tonight, so maybe I'll get a little more eBay listed. Kat, that sounds like you got a lot of work done with Morgan. How is all of this straightening showing up at his room at home? Does he keep it neat? SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: MAG Date: 21 Jun 09 - 03:59 PM It's raining here today; I got a few weeds pulled before it started, now inside. Actually just now bagging up sweaters for next winter. Cat knocked over everything in sight and I just can't whomp up the energy to deal with it just yet. (He needed to be dusted for fleas; not a happy cat. Thought he will feel a whole lot better.) Did get the glass from a glass I dropped cleaned up. One pile of clothes in the dryer to de-cat hair them. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 Jun 09 - 04:11 PM I swung by Academy to buy myself a few inexpensive pairs of shorts to wear out in the yard. I have to lose weight--those dressing room mirrors don't lie. I'm moving things around, trying to figure a good place to store my onions while they dry. I harvested maybe 15 - 20%, the ones that are absolutely finished growing. This is the time of year when one goes in the yard with a bucket and snippers. And shorts that don't have ripped out seats. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: maire-aine Date: 21 Jun 09 - 07:29 PM I look at the books all around me, and I know that half (at least) will never be read. Many were bought at the used book store, where you buy it when you see it, because it'll be gone by the time you visit again. Some of them relate to topics I've since lost interest in, and I'll never read them, so I'll try to pass them on. I filled up a second bag for the library, and I'm going for a third. I cleared off enough space to move the gardening books together on another shelf, and now I've put the VHS tapes on the bookcase with the TV/videoplayer. Even though I can't get a TV signal, I can still play the VHS tapes. I just need to find a comfy chair that doesn't take up too much room. M |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 Jun 09 - 07:32 PM Pulled out more onions so I could work on a couple of zones for replanting (more onions and carrots). And I put some squash seeds in a mound that wasn't working out for something else. I hadn't planned to plant zucchini this year, but heard a great answer to the squash beetle killing the plants. Use a syringe and insert a dose of BT into the hollow stem once it gets big enough. That kills off the caterpillar that reams it out (usually after you've gotten one squash--then seemingly overnight it goes from being a healthy plant to being a wilted mess in the garden). Indoor stuff tonight, after I pick up my son and walk the dogs. Gotta remember this is Sunday, so tomorrow is a work day. With school out, there are fewer day of the week markers around. ;) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 Jun 09 - 09:34 PM Supposed to reach and stay at 100 degrees this week. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: katlaughing Date: 22 Jun 09 - 01:41 PM SRS, I don't know how Morgan is with his room; I hardly ever go over and inside to visit. I think he probably does a pretty good job as they have regular clean the house days.:-) Yesterday, Rog and I did laundry, including all of our bedding, swept, mopped, shopped, put away clean clothes, and generally cleaned house. This morning, I did the week's dishes, more laundry, and cleaned the kitchen. More activity than I have been able to do in a long time, it feels. I also washed my hair which I usually do every morning, but the effort, lately, has been too much, so that feels good, too! My ad for the bottles ends this Wednesday. If I don't sell them, I have decided I will box them and some books up and donate them to a local benefit pets thrift store and/or hospice. It's just not worth having them sitting around. This past week, I sent three really pretty sun catchers, leaded glass with dried flowers, to a friend. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Midsummer De-Clutterbugs are here! 2009 From: MAG Date: 22 Jun 09 - 03:03 PM Half a boxful of clothes to a city co-worker who got burned out. Waiting to hear what else they need. |
