BS: De-cluttering - part two

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Charmion
Date: 26 May 08 - 05:00 PM

I hate clutter in the car, and make a real fuss when Edmund drops receipts and Tim Horton's doughnut wrappers on the floor and the unoccupied seats. Almost as soon as he was on the plane, I emptied the glove box of all the things I don't approve of, and now I can actually put the map book in there! Not to speak of some gloves.

On the home front, I have packed up the crockery and gadgets purged from the kitchen cabinets and the limbo shelves in the cellar (where potentially useful things go to await re-homing). The crockery, baking pans and kitchen gadgets are going to the Salvation Army. The biscuit tins, large Mason jars and never-used George Foreman grill have all been offered on Freecycle, and the Mason jars and electric grill are already on their way to new homes. So far, no nibbles on the biscuit tins.

I have also established a Craigslist account and offered my battered but quite usable copy of the 9th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (the "scholar's edition", if you please) for the princely sum of $100, about right for 25 volumes in crumbling leather bindings. Only the dedicated Victorianist need apply ...

Next: the bins under the stairs! (No, not the bins!)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: katlaughing
Date: 26 May 08 - 07:11 PM

You are clipping right along there, Charmion!

SRS, I am glad I am not the only who does drop stuff on the floor of my car! With Morgan in the car, it got so bad, I finally bought a regular, 18" tall trash can and put it behind the passenger's seat. I can just reach across and behind and now all of the stuff goes in it and it is easy to dump. Morgan used to be really bad about dropping stuff, but he likes using the bin now.:-)

We have had a productive day, finally! Rog carted all of the giveaway stuff from my sister, out to the car. He brought in a few things from the car which found immediate homes on shelves, in drawers, etc. He mowed the huge backyard, while I washed the dishes and a few more of my mom's bottles. He also decluttered some more in the kitchen so now, in his area, there is NOTHING on the floor and the pile of STUFF on top of the 2-drawer file cabinet is GONE!! (I saw him summarily dump an old footstool I kept thinking he'd fix and I was OKAY with that!**bg**) Yes!!

He helped me plant the catnip and flax, in between letting my daughter's dogs out, twice, AND setting the water on her lawn. We also went to the garden centre and bought three heirloom tomato plants and got the pots ready for them. I have to buy more soil to mix up for them, tomorrow, or we would have them planted already. I also gave the dog a bath - he really, really needed it - and washed the towels and bath mat used for him, as well as our sheets, today. And, we have already made the bed, instead of waiting until late at night when we can't go to bed unless we do!

And, I had a nice long talk with a friend on the phone, and an almost long one with my daughter and grandsons who live back East as today is their 10th birthday. I cannot believe they are that old, already!

Phew! Time to relax a bit, I think. I love this thread; you all are so helpful!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 May 08 - 09:37 PM

Sounds like a good day all around!

I've continued to rearrange the garage and placed two more boxes in the pickup for Goodwill. I've swept as I work, and when I could put in sturdier containers or rearrange shelves I've done so. I can actually SEE my bags of organic fertilizer and soil amendments, and see my extra little pots. The scrap lumber had been jammed in an old cardboard box under my work bench, but has been thinned and the culled scraps are at the curb while the usable pieces are stored in the retired green plastic recycle bin, again under the work bench. Meanwhile, as a measure of success, I think we are close to being able to open the pickup truck doors wide, simultaneously, on both sides and not hit stuff! Yesss!

I barbecued some pork country style ribs and did a dozen extra burgers so we have leftovers for during the week. (Got a new recipe from a friend--they're tender and juicy and full of flavor.) Moonglow is coming by in a few minutes with a costume for her brother to try on (Anime convention coming up next weekend) and I'll ply her with fresh barbecue and send a loaf of frozen banana bread back home with her.

I could use a three day weekend every week!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 27 May 08 - 08:47 AM

Another productive day yesterday. Jeri came over and photographed a whole bunch o' stuff that Tom intends to eBay. (She should really put "photo stylist" on her resume -- some things like a small crystal souvenir "vase" or something was very, very tricky to shoot without reflections or glare.)

After she left I cut more brush -- up behind the rock garden and then down to the back of the back flower bed. Then, when I thought I was too zonked to do anything more, I raked four huge piles of leaves up from around my hammock "room" under the hemlocks. Later today, if it doesn't rain, I'll transfer each pile to a tarp and drag the leaves to some place more convenient for them to decompose.

The hammock just got put up this weekend. It was a birthday present from Tom two or three years ago to replace the one that finally rotted away after 15 years of use. But I didn't really have any time to use this one until this spring!

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 May 08 - 10:02 AM

I'd say we're closing in on a pretty successful month.

This morning's trash collection included a large plastic bag of stuff I've held onto for way too long. Over the years as a park naturalist I picked up road kill to use for study skins. After skinning I salted or put borax on them, so they were green, never tanned. And years in the garage dried them out so much that they couldn't be tanned now even if I wanted to. I have a box of those chemicals that will go to the hazardous waste folks at the end of the week. I did keep a few interesting skulls, but one (an alligator gar) still had some dried meat on it so is sitting on an ant pile to see if they can clean it more. I'm not giving up my interest in being a naturalist, whether by employment or writing, but I am giving up hauling along samples. :)

Kat, I've been chuckling about your trash can. Maybe when he gets older Morgan will graduate down to a waste basket behind the seat.

A hammock sounds wonderful--but the flies and mosquitoes would make using one out-of-doors a misery down here by the creek.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: wysiwyg
Date: 27 May 08 - 10:14 AM

I think I'm the slow coach here, but I'm fine with that. I have no problem leaving the clutter behind to get out and get stuff done. This is because in the past year I have been learning so much about seasonality in my life, and it works for me.

The LR clutter has been annoying, but I forgot that in just a few short days or weeks, hockey season will be over. At the end of hockey season, warm weather coincides (for our northern area).

That means it will very shortly be time to unglue the glued drafty windows, put the comfy chairs back in front of them and away from the winter heating register. (The heat register and avoiding the drafts prompts the fall cleanup when we put the recliners closer to the TV for the all-important hockey games.) At this time, a pair of other chairs and a large couch also will be moved back to their non-winter positions.

It will take about 30 minutes to circulate these items back to their summer position, and I can do it on my own without Hardi--

BUT

As the clutter falls off the horizontal surfaces....

This annual event also always, always, always reveals not only dust bunny colonies that are then easily removed, but the amount of clutter that truly exists-- just when the increased sunlight and fresh air flowing through the summer-oriented household make it a heckuva lot more fun to clean and sort and tidy. Hardi will take care of the vacuuming and dusting; the stacks of stuff will be mine to deal with-- fair trade IMO!

I'm just wishing for it a tad early, is all! :~)

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 27 May 08 - 01:17 PM

My month wasn't that successful, but I am going to declutter the camping box this evening... if only to see if I can find the S hook to hang the lamp up with... got sick of bending tent pegs over.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: maire-aine
Date: 27 May 08 - 04:51 PM

Hello, all.

It occurred to me that I've never exactly introduced myself to the group. I live just north of Detroit MI. I finally found a photo, taken by one of the guys in our session, that's not too unflattering.
So here's me. I hope this link works.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: katlaughing
Date: 27 May 08 - 06:04 PM

Looks like a fun session, MaryAnne! Thanks for the link. It's fun to see everyone and also each other's projects.

I took a carload of stuff to the local, indie, alternative radio station for their upcoming yardsale. They unloaded it and were quite grateful, it seemed. I told them I have more to bring them this week as Friday is their deadline for donations.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 May 08 - 10:54 PM

I have stuff in the back of the pickup but haven't driven by the Goodwill when it was convenient to stop. Maybe in the morning. These items weren't photographed yet, they went in straight from garage to truck. This afternoon I took my digital camera with me and stood in a parking lot and got a few shots inside the pickup bed while my son was at his guitar lesson. The IRS doesn't care what the background looks like!

I've hit a lull after the busy weekend. My allergies are acting up and I'll skip the shredding to get to bed early. Maybe I brought up too much dust yesterday.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 28 May 08 - 03:06 AM

I failed again.

Didn't do the box last night... guess I better do it this morning. But I'm supposed to go to work later... ho hum.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 May 08 - 10:40 AM

Liz! Pull yourself up by your bootstraps! Kick a path through! You can make it, this is just like the point in Rocky where he's winded, he gets back up and goes into battle and is victorious. Someone wave some dark chocolate with cranberries under her nose. That'll help revive her.

Dropped off stuff at Goodwill this morning. I have to go to work today, maybe I can work up another load of stuff for that thrift store near the university.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: maire-aine
Date: 28 May 08 - 12:57 PM

LTS, please don't be so hard on yourself. "Failed" sounds so permanent. You just POSTPONED it for a while. You'll get to it. In the meantime, chocolate sounds good.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 28 May 08 - 02:57 PM

Don't know how much de-cluttering I've gotten done today -- threw some papers away, filed some others, just schlepped two tarps full of dried leaves off to decompose in a better spot than under the hammock or in a flower bed.

But I've also just applied for two jobs plus landed an interview tomorrow for what is probably not the world's best job -- doesn't pay a lot, either, but it's 10 minutes away, has decent hours, and I don't have to take it home with me in any way shape or form. And according to web sources, the company is professional and reputable. Any kind of income at this point is good.

Think I'll do a bit of de-cluttering in the cellar and then take a break and read a book out on the deck or...what a concept!...in my hammock!

Oh, better check the mail too (and count the ladyslippers coming and going) and probably throw most of THAT out.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 May 08 - 03:18 PM

Good going on the job hunting, Linn! That interview one sounds dandy for the short term. Good luck with it.

LtS, it's okay for the stuff to sit there a bit longer, esp. when you are living with others who contribute to the clutter! Have some chocolate and put away the stick.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 28 May 08 - 05:13 PM

I would de-clutter the cellar, but in the course of sorting out the camping box and gas bottles, I discovered the cellar was flooded.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Charmion
Date: 28 May 08 - 07:22 PM

Oh, shit!

But this might be God's way of telling you to hire a skip and heave the lot. It happened to me once, and that's what I had to do.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 May 08 - 11:09 PM

I boxed up the leftover bottles, today, and folded away the table they were on, which cleared up space for the mini-trampoline to be moved out of the living room. Also, Morgan and I took his cardboard dulcimer kit out of its box, which we chucked, and started putting it together. That involved buying paint in his chosen colours - green on the inside, blue on the outside, and staining the fretboard. I glued in the string-separator, set the end nails for the strings, and set in the bridge. Tomorrow, he will decorate it and we will glue the fretboard on and string 'er up! That will be THAT clutter out of the way and the kid and I will be able to play our dulcimers together! The gal who cleans my floors is coming tomorrow, so I'll try to do more before she gets here, but I have a dental appt. in the morning.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 29 May 08 - 03:00 AM

When I say flooded - it's about 2-4 inches of water and as the house is on a gravel bed, it will disperse pretty soon, but if memory serves, it will be smelly. Luckily, we tend not to put stuff down there that doesn't like the damp.

Although hiring a skip does sound like fun, I can guarantee that in this area, if we did that, it would be filled before we could pay off the delivery guy.

I had a scrape around in the child's room... found a multitude of horrible things including 7 old drink bottles, oat bar wrappers, Dorito packets and 15 dirty socks. This now means there is more space for her to fill with other stuff so that I can reach the wall to put the shelf up.   Trouble is, Raven kitty has manoeuvered his bean bag onto the shelf as it sits on the table and he looks so cute, curled up in the sun.....

Ho hum. Back to the ironing!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 May 08 - 10:38 AM

This is your last chance, Liz, before she's too big, to remind her that you're the parent and at least one of you needs a clean room. :) (This is the "do as I say, not as I do" phenomena.) Actually, I think you'll find that if you move everything out of the room, clean the floors and windows, then move the furniture back and rearrange it and put the shiny baubles where they can be seen and used that she won't miss the 65% of the outgrown childhood crap that was on the floor and tucked away filling useful drawer and shelf space.

That worked for my son. I also moved a set of sturdy wire shelves from my front room into his and put a television (garage sale, $40) on it so he could play his video games in there on a TV dedicated to games. He was so blown away by finally getting the exact room he requested (with a bed and the sofa couch for friends to sleep on and the TV so he could play games) that he didn't even notice how much I moved out. He walks past his old toys in the garage as I'm sorting and clearing and rarely even blinks at them. When I gave a Fisher Price castle with cannon balls and knights and draw bridges and such to my next door neighbor so her age 2-6 grandchildren could play with it, and told him what pleasure they got from this toy, he was okay with it. He's 16, he looks at it fondly but won't play with it, and it gives the kids at Jackie's house an opportunity to play together, side by side, which is a good thing with siblings!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 May 08 - 06:37 PM

I was all set to post earlier when I received an email from work urgently requesting images of a co-worker who has a retirement breakfast tomorrow. I missed his lunch today or I'd have had current photos, so I had to dig through my files. At least they're all in one place and it didn't take to long. Some of my life is a little bit organized!

I shredded some more papers today, and filed others. May not have cleared up too much office floor real estate, but the stack sitting in front of the shredder is a little shorter. ;-D

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 May 08 - 01:04 PM

Finished a costume piece for my son who will meet his sister in Dallas for their annual Anime convention. The laundry is drying--clean jeans and shirts to go in his luggage before we head to the train. This morning I got in a token declutter when I dropped off the newspapers at a recycle bin. That may be all I accomplish.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 May 08 - 11:58 AM

Okay! It's the last day of the month, we have to make a big push to get out of May lighter than we entered it. I'm going to work in the yard today but this evening I'll work in the house.

In the front by the porch I'm going to bite the bullet and "de-clutter" my bed with the day lilies and daffodils and such. I planted salvia out there and at one time even some lantana, and it is a thatch of plants with a few flowers poking through. This is a favorite color of salvia, so I'll dig a hole somewhere, prune this way back, dig it up and move it and see if it will come back.

I want to put a little porch extension (a deck) a couple of feet out over where I took out cannas (a post a few weeks ago) at the back of this bed, and the front of it I want filled with interesting looking lilies and other perennial Old World looking flowers. Before that I must move these shrubs.

In the house, I think it's time to aim at the eBay table again. It's a little full.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - part two
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 May 08 - 02:23 PM

I've started a new thread and given each of us an assignment for June, to help us make the most of our summer clearing and rearranging.

Here is the new thread and here is the older (first) de-clutter accountability thread.

This was a great idea, Kat. I've gotten so much done this way! Sharing makes it go so much easier.

SRS