BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Sep 08 - 09:08 PM

_its_ disposition. Oh, well.

I'm going to clear out the toys and the sun room floor this evening, and haul the toys to Goodwill tomorrow (they man those drop-off trailers seven days a week now--how handy!)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Sep 08 - 10:36 PM

The 1888 Encyclopaedia Britannica -- all 25 leather-shedding volumes of it -- has gone to a new home at last. Hooray!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: katlaughing
Date: 06 Sep 08 - 11:30 PM

Oh, Charmion! What a treasure! But, I know what you mean. I have a four volume dictionary set that was my granddad's from the late 1800s. Not sure what I will do with it...probably go to one of the kids.

We had a leisurely morning. Rog went for a haircut and to get a few things at the health food store. I decided I needed to start on this in my office!. When he got home, I decided we should get out of the valley...de-clutter our senses with some good old nature, so we did. Spent six hours wandering up the road to Paonia, Cedaredge, and up top on the Grand Mesa (10,000 feet), coming back down by way of Land's End road, which is a one-lane dirt switchback. You can see some so-so pix taken on the fly starting here.

"Tomorrow, tomorrow," she says, "I'll finish the office shelves!"

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: MAG
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 11:28 AM

I discovered the homemade pesto in the 'frig was all moldy. tragic!

I really should clean the 'frig.

I am sore sore from the hours of yard work Thursday but am glad I'm getti g my money's worth out of garbage pickup.

I'll see if I can get some help this afternoon to get sapling stumps out of the yard. Am collecti g various seeds. Will take dug up lily-of-the -valley to RoseClub Monday evening.We are supposed to bring roses, naturally but mine are all chewed by the aphids.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 11:39 AM

We as de-clutterers have a fairly sophisticated level of understanding about how we have been our own worst enemies in accumulating stuff. The good news is that we have kept useful things in circulation, and are moving it along, but we each have too much of it. As we all have suspected, there is a lot more to the story.

This link is to a simple discussion of the problem. It doesn't asterisk the industries that are working to do better, but overall, it is accurate. It takes about 20 minutes to watch and will make each of you want to redouble your declutter efforts, and to be vigilant about what comes back into the house and how you use your time.

www.storyofstuff.com
Watch This carefully and please send the link to thinking people you know, and don't be shy--talk about it to people who need more guidance.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: katlaughing
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 11:46 AM

I remember when we first saw that one, Maggie. I'd lost the link. Thank you for posting it. It is very important, imo!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 11:55 AM

Beautiful countryside, Kat, thanks for posting the photos!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 01:27 PM

The lady who got my old encyclopaedia sent me a really nice e-mail of thanks. She and her partner have been sitting around reading it ever since they took it home yesterday. Cool!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: katlaughing
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 02:32 PM

That's neat, Charmion. I sent a lot of old books to Night Owl after her house burnt down. It was, well still is as I still do it, so much fun to hear her reaction when she'd open a package. We have similar tastes in old books, so quite often I was able to replace near to what she'd had and treasured.

You're welcome, Maggie. Thanks!

And, to see what I did this morning, check out the AFTER picture of that part of my office. Still cluttered, but it's organised and all stuff that is useful or special, i.e. family portraits and the toys my granddad made. At least now I can get to the library table and work on jewellery, again!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 02:42 PM

What about that top shelf? Is it out of reach? Is there something you can display there that you don't have to take down, or will you adjust the shelves so you can reach all of them?

I'm working on the dulcimer listing this afternoon. Once it is up I'll run errands.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 03:55 PM

Small stumps gone out of the yard. 3 loads of laundry done. One bag of dated food in the trash from 'frig. Dishes done. I am feeling quite virtuous.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 05:02 PM

Whoever you are. . . maeve? Linn?

I've listed the dulcimer on eBay. Lots of work to list a big thing. I'm not taking chances with this one, that it comes in too low. No reserve, but a starting point $40 below the Buy-It-Now price.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: maeve
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 05:27 PM

That must be MAG working on the stumps and feeling rightfully virtuous!

You've accomplished a lot today, MAG.

I'm not as industrious as I'd like to be. My feet and ankles keep swelling and then hurt and my hands hurt. I suspect it's being on my feet too much during the day and into the night, and all the digging, cleaning, lifting, critter patrol, and food prep.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 05:53 PM

You're right--I didn't skim up very far.

Off to Home Depot to get a chunk of replacement carpet foam for under my now clean rug, then to the grocery to get lots of bread crumbs. Time to freeze more eggplant for parmesian. I have a dozen or so in the fridge from the last couple of days. Laundry is drying in the back yard, and I discovered that the inexpensive clothespin holder thing is deteriorating--why would they have made it from a paper-line substance? Gotta find something to hang on the line to hold pins that will let them drain in the rain. I'm thinking it's time to do some adaptive reuse of a milk jug, cut a big hole in the top, saw a little pass-through on the bottom of the handle to slip over a line, and poke holes in the bottom for drainiage.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 06:39 PM

I now have eight rather large boxes of books -- mostly paperback novels but a few more respectable volumes -- bound for the Rockcliffe School Book Fair. The book fair people actually come to the house and pick up, if you can believe it, and the sale supports the school library. We can now resume stuffing the shelves, while upholding the House Rules of *no more bookcases* and *no books on the floor*.

It's odd how the new thrillers head right out the door again, but the old Rafael Sabatini novels and collections of Kipling get to stay.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: maeve
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 07:13 PM

Eight boxes? That's wonderful progress, Charmion.

I've just learned that the library our village thought they'd be building won't happen any time soon. Thus, I'll declutter most of the picture books I've been saving for that purpose. They're all part of my professional collection and include some really beautiful books. I'll try to find a good home for all but the ones I'll need to refer to when I take up my illustration studies again.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: mouldy
Date: 08 Sep 08 - 05:26 AM

Thanks for the link. I'm downloading it now!
I have just got in from putting my recycling bins out. (Paper cardboard, glass bottles and metal cans). I have found that the local tip collects plastic bottles too, so I'm going to sort a container out for those, although I don't use all that many.

Hopefully I will be able to make a start on stripping out the next bedroom today. It's all a slow process, but I think I quite enjoy it now. The stuff has to be moved about like one of those little puzzles with the moveable squares. I could never do them! Whatever doesn't fit at the end will be ditched! In a week's time, Ruth will be back at uni, and I will be able to concentrate more.

I have a load of random books that I need to sort through, but at the moment the (albeit small-ish) piles I have moved from the living room to the office are stopping me from getting the stool that I need, in order to reach them, close enough!

Andrea

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Sep 08 - 10:21 AM

I picked up a piece of carpet pad and a can of kilz primer yesterday. The paint was a good suggestion by the carpet guy--it will lock any smell that might have seeped into the concrete behind the paint. I can also slap it on the wooden carpet strip that probably has the smell also.

Yesterday I unpacked a printer-paper big box of files packed up years ago. I recycled most of this research for something I don't need now. A 5-inch stack of the papers need consideration. They're on the dining room table, so my short-term goal for today is to determine where those will live if they are keepers. Also, boxes and baskets of stuff have ended up on the floor in my office again; I need to re-shelve or toss the stuff.

Dulcimer has one watcher and several views. Fingers crossed this goes to a good home first time round!

It was nice going to the garage this morning and not being crowded by those cabinets. I hope Moonglow is truly able to put them to good use (the bookshelves are great--those alone are keepers even free-standing, but the table-top, that's the question mark.)

Note to self: tonight teach 16-year-old son to iron pants. This morning he got out of the house in pants a raisin would envy. They dried on the line yesterday.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: katlaughing
Date: 08 Sep 08 - 10:44 AM

Ahem...excuse me...didn't I mention Kilz before the paint guy!?

...you may have to get some Kilz and coat the floor to block the scent.

**bg** Glad you got that under control, Maggie and good luck on the dulcimer!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Sep 08 - 11:19 AM

I missed that one. What I'm tempted to do is paint the cat. . .

It won't hurt the floor to put paint down now if I'm considering tile in the future, so it isn't a problem. But this corner is making tile look better all the time.

Went out with my masking tape to check the garden and captured more clusters of lace bugs. I see eggs for lacewing flies and they're staying put. Knocked off a couple of grasshoppers.

It's Monday morning, back at work, and I've taken time to bring my work email back down below 100. I am finding this is a useful way to get more things done sooner; when you let it ride thinking "I'll get to it this afternoon," the message can slide off the screen and out of mind. This is a useful declutter trick.

As a side note: Do you realize that here in the U.S. the biggest sign that the advertisers and marketplace are winning the make-more-clutter war is the SallyMae FreddieMac bailout? China must be celebrating big-time.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: MAG
Date: 08 Sep 08 - 02:15 PM

Yes, that was me -- feeling virtuous today too 'cause I went to the Y and did the nautilus circuit. Now, day off, I can do (more) laundry and beloved weeds. Oh, and spin my big cylindrical composter. I have to cut my way past those #$%^&* berry brambles todo it. and wash more bird poop off my car. and maybe start on decluttering the den. and venture further into that 'frig ...

MAG

oh yes, and go find out what happened to my cookie.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Sep 08 - 03:10 PM

I wish some more of you would join the Mudcat Gardeners (http://groups.google.com/group/mudcat-gardeners) and post photos of some of these great places you're talking about!

MAG, I was listening to my Dirt Doctor organic guru yesterday and he described his home system that is just like my two-step compost system. I'm glad to know my instincts were correct. If I put kitchen waste directly in the compost pile then it is visited by critters, so I have a black plastic tub with a snug lid, and I drop it in there for a few weeks, then I lug it to the front, dig a hole in the top of the compost, and dump it in. By that point it is so wet and gushy it is of no interest to critters, and the breakdown switches from anerobic to aerobic. But I'd still love to get or make one of those tumblers.

Well, today at lunch I did it. I de-cluttered my bank account. Over the past few weeks I have moved debt to one credit card, and today I paid it off from a CD. There is a penalty on the CD, but the benefit is to have all of this out of the way, and the resolve to not let a balance go unpaid at the end of the month. With this out of the way, I can make bigger payments on the mortgage.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: maeve
Date: 08 Sep 08 - 06:09 PM

I would love to join the Mudcat Gardeners' group, but my computer is unable to post photos now. Even Flickr has upgraded to the point that I've lost full access to the photos I already put there, and I can no longer send or, in many cases, receive emailed photos.

Sorry. I wish I could.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: maire-aine
Date: 08 Sep 08 - 09:05 PM

I'll join the gardeners group. I just got a call that my new laptop has arrived at Best Buy and they'll set it up tomorrow. 95% of the computing I do (even my personal computing) is done on my office laptop. And since I'll have to give it back next month, I figured I'd better upgrade my personal technology. I was planning to take pictures all around the yard, so I could plan what I want/need to do. But I'm not sure I want to share the before pix until I have an after to go with it.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Sep 08 - 11:45 PM

That's fine--before and after photos are so inspiring! maeve, I hope you join the faster computing world one of these days soon! Otherwise, maybe set up photo accounts to use when you're in town at the public library? I had a membership at one photo site that kept kicking me off because my system was too slow, and even though it is somewhat faster now, I haven't gone back. Photobucket is the one I use the most now.

I've been doing extra cooking the last couple of nights, putting two more pans of single-layers of eggplant Parmesan in the freezer. And the freezer is beginning to look pleasantly full. I need to reorganize shelves to be sure I don't have orphaned pork chops buried under the salsa or pot pies, etc.

Even though the dining room table is kind of messy with papers I haven't finished sorting, in general the kitchen and dining room are holding their own as far as having more usable counter space and tabletop room.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 12:14 AM

Morgan was impressed at what "Mama" did in her office, esp. as it involved "his" computer table, i.e. my jewellery table which has the old computer at one end, which he is allowed to use.

maeve, we may have an old tower around that has WIN2000 on it. You'd be welcome to it, if it would help? We get a discount on shipping so that wouldn't be a problem. I'll have to make sure we still have it...it would be out in the *cluttered* travel trailer-turned-storage-shed.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: maeve
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 07:33 AM

Thanks SRS and katlaughing. I am not at all certain how long we'll be online, have telephone service, etc. I thought I had that figured out, but I guess not. The library idea is a good one, if we had a library, if I had a way to get to it, and if they'd allow downloads. At the moment I'm just going to focus on getting through the winter and accept that I'm going to be isolated for a while. Could be worse. :)

Thanks anyway. I appreciate the ideas.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 08:11 AM

maeve, sounds like you need to PM a few folks your postal address--hopefully the post office still visits you every day? Or are you so far out in the boonies that you need to travel to a post office?

Donations today, I think. Gotta clear some more space.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: MAG
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 10:13 AM

I lost the cord to connect my digital camera to my computer, otherwise I'd post garden pics.

Back to work today (sigh).

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 10:17 AM

Monumental achievements/milestones/new baselines yesterday. Sad for you lot that my descriptive post detailing it all.... got lost.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 10:18 AM

Wrong thread....

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 11:06 AM

MAG, do you have a card reader? Plug the camera card into that instead.

Wonderful day, overcast, not hot. Nice temperature, makes me want to cook up a storm! It has been too hot to cook for months. Good day to tote stuff around for donation.

Susan, have you stowed all of your camping gear yet?

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 11:49 AM

SRS, no, because only a very small amount gets stowed in the house-- anything that can;t stand freezing over the winter. The rest lives permanently IN the camper. All of it stays in the camper till the freeze is impending because we still take it out the odd night or two till then-- with electric blankets.

What IS going on at this time of year is fabricating improvements that came to mind, during vacation, that needed more tools/purchases than could be handled in camp during the vacay or short camps. And cleaning the outside.

Yet to complete is the canopy-extending tarp's additional grommets.

One improvement this year was the remanufacturing of several 2-drawer Sterilite dressers into 2-drawer units, and the addition of pairs of 1-drawer units. These will stack back up into 3-drawer-high units, in use, but pack more easily into the lower half of the camper (it's a pop-up and thus all storage has to fit under the pushed-in bunks). The removed third drawers will be remade into 2-drawer units for van stuff.

I did go through several of the camper's kitchen drawers last week as I set up the new drawer units. These particular drawers hold spatulas and other food prep gadgets used both in the camper's propane kitchen and Hardi's outdoor cookery. There were no unused items, and the better drawers made favorite items easier to find and grab. We did pitch a dead electric frying pan during vacation; the electric control mechanism turned up a few days ago and is slated to go to the parish kitchen, where I understand they are missing a few bits for their frypans.

We also jettisoned some unused messkit-style cookpots during vacay, regretfully bequeathing them to neighboring site occupants. It was an extended family with younger members just starting to form up their camping supply kits. The nesting pots had been Hardi's when he camped alone with his kids-- much used and much loved, but lidless. He chose to go with the lidded, heavy-bottomed pots I'd added to our gear with this larger camper... the jettisoned pots lasted less than a minute on the campsite's picnic table: "Excuse me, we're leaving these if you can use them." The experienced camper in their group took a few for herself and passed along some of her less-desirable pots to the younger ones, etc.-- like Native American gifting where everyone rotates something around the hoop.

A well-used addition this year was a heavy-duty plastic toolbox, to stay in the van at all times for our frequent, impromptu roadside cookouts. The portable tabletop gas grill lives in the van as well. The toolbox has knives, spoons, flatware, paper plates, and a basic-for-us spice set. Hardi set it up so that one hand carries box, one carries grill, and wife carts camp chairs and mini patio-style umbrella.

Another addition this year was our very own version of tacky canopy lights. Goodwill was very good to us this year, with a set of red hearts just small enough not to be too tacky (for us) or too bright. (I had the choice of Valentine's red or Easter-egg pastel lights.) They're strung on a long bungee cord that goes up in seconds. I set up a string pulley to hike up the extension cord that powers them, since it needs to loop up over a canopy pole that gets way taller than me before I can dig out the cord. The string pulley is there, waiting, till after the more essential camping setup is done. Hardi would wait for me to get it, but we also do our setups in the rain; that cord is one of several items not urgently needed till "later."

Another fabrication yet to complete is the headboard we decided we really need. A headboard, in a canvas bunk-end? Sure, why not. The numerous pillows are stretching out the canvas, and we want to hold them back. Many excellent alternatives were discussed, and the winner was the one that Goodwill supplied.

The most-appreciated addition this year has been the porta-potti and a 4x4-foot throne room tent for it. That thing really WORKS!!!

It's lovely to camp with someone who can and does rough it, but see them gladly taking on additional conveniences with age and new interests. It means we both can make do under less than ideal circumstances, but that we also let ourselves enjoy the easier way when we want to. Yes we each can boil coffee over a fire. It's also nice, though-- when you wake up creaky-- to find the espresso machine waiting on the folding aluminum table, steaming away as you stumble down the camper steps toward your camp-chair recliner. :~) And as the morning advances, we head off for sporty activities instead of spending all our energy all day building fires. :~)

This vacay I took along a bulky music setup and then never used a lick of it. The week we left, I had just achieved a great new portability in the whole kit-- it used to take up half the van and, miniaturized, now resides in a handy cart-- but I am sure my laminated autoharp did not really enjoy the long days locked up in the hot van when I got tired of stowing it in shade day after day. To take its place next year, I just tossed in a used mini-keyboard so I can scope out a few new offertories as I sit in the shade.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 08:52 PM

As I was ready to head out the door this evening I grabbed and photographed two boxes of toys (spread the fabric cutting board on the floor, spread the toys around, take a group photo, count them later, calculate the value). They're now at the Goodwill. Those two boxes were just what it took to make the sun room go from being crowded and disorganized to just disorganized. I can see the floor again and will work from there.

I also grabbed an eggplant off the plant (literally!) beside the driveway and took it with me for my son's vegetarian guitar teacher. He loves them, and this one could hardly be fresher unless he grew it himself.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 10:46 PM

I got one book listed at eBay, today. It took most of the morning as something was wrong with either Firefox or eBay; pages kept loading wrong or dropping info I'd already ticked, etc. Very frustrating and maybe not worth it, but at least I got it done. There are only eleven copies of it listed at www.addall and none of them for less than $50, so I know it's rare and I hope it's likely t get some bids. I have more ephemera I will scan and list tomorrow, as well as some linen.

I've got some work to do before that..re-edit the last 20 pages of my new book and decide whether to self-publish through Amazon or not. THAT will de-clutter my head some.:-) Hope to have it out by early 2009.

Rog gleefully told me he'd brought home two really nice shipping boxes for my eBay sales.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 12:32 AM

Good boxes make the world of difference in shipping things as affordably as possible--I regularly bring home boxes from the library recycle bins. It's also a great way to re-use/recycle.

Sun room is looking better, more floor space. Dining table is almost clear again. But I've put an LED candle on top of the Victrola sitting in the middle of the front hall so no one trips or stubs a toe on it in the night while we await the verdict on the front room carpet.

Tomorrow I'm going to pull up the last of the roma tomatoes out front. They're so full of mealy bugs I don't think there will be any leaves by the time the few tomatoes get ripe. I'll see if they can ripen on the counter.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 09:58 AM

Oh and I deleted several shirts from the camper dresser because I added several newer (Goodwill) ones. It's wonderful how a camper, even a largish one, only has so much space. The old shirts became rags for the van-- Hardi likes to use them when he checks the oil. I didn't try making the last bits into buttons or laces. :~) Too bad I don't quilt-- nice memories in those fabrics-- but by the time I pitch things the fabric's no good to hold stitches anyhow.


Me, to old shirt before it gets pitchable: "No one could ever love you the way I do! You'll be mine forever!"

Me, at dresser, when I try to pack in the newer shirt: "My backdoor shirt! Hide here!"

Me, to old shirt, as I pitch it a few days later-- just can't stuff another one into the dresser: "Love ya, gotta go! Oh well! Fickle I guess! Got a new shirt I love more!


BTW, anybody have some nice hankies they want to pass along my way? I find I'm using them these days and the idea of buying them doesn't sit right, not to mention how scratchy new ones are.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: MAG
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 10:09 AM

The kittens (they showed up again) park by the patio door but still run away when I appear. They come back for the food tho' -- hope I can get them tamed before they reproduce.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: katlaughing
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 10:15 AM

MAG, your local humane society might have a Hav-A-Heart trap you could borrow to catch them before they start to reproduce.:-)

I have one bid and four watchers on my book, already! I am off to edit and post more to eBay this morning.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 10:55 AM

Are you watching my dulcimer, or have I picked up another watcher?

I got an ad from eBay today about "Kijiji" that I've never paid attention to but that is affiliated with eBay. http://www.kijiji.com/. I see Colorado Springs and Denver in CO, so it might not be any help to you. The closest branch to me is Dallas (45 miles east). Maine has Portland, Michigan has several communities, as does Pennsylvania. It might be another good place to at least take a look. It seems to be a civilized answer to Craig's List.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: maire-aine
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 12:00 PM

Hankies? By golly, I do. PM me with an address.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 12:39 PM

:~) There's Freecycle, and then there's MudCycle.

In a box next to me are the envelopes various Catters (and other similar types) have sent me, originally containing various much-appreciated items. Of course I use 'em to send on stuff to keep the cycle going. Some of these have been hither and quite yon. There was a time when these anticipated packages were the motivation to get me out of the chair, down the painful steps, and out to the mailbox-- into the sunshine. Nowadays I bop in and out quite easily and often, but I do love exchanging "stuff."


I just came in from patching a sheet for the camper. The bunk-slides used to snag the feets-ends of sheets when we pushed them in, and after a botched repair doen inside the camper during the vacay I decided the easiest way to reconstruct the maze of rips properly would be to do it ON the bunk. Sheet on the bunk, and me on a stool outside, beneath the bunk, to get at it. Basted up quick and easy, and then I brought it in to add the over-patch left over from some matching pillowcases I'd cut down from king to standard. Why today? The patch showed up in the wash, and it's a sunny but cool, breezy day. Much cooler now than on the southern Ohio vacay!

(Bob's my uncle.)

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 01:16 PM

I guess it's a sewing sort of day. Mended several t-shirts and pillows cases to put back into circulation. One shirt needs a little more attention, hand-mending over pinhole spots probably from a couple of cat claws. Ouch!

There are some built-in problems with the free-cycle and Craig's list places that I haven't completely articulated but that register in the "ethics of stuff" part of my brain.

A lot of what I see for sale on Craig's List is stuff people in their right minds should never have bought. Now they have to sell it and they are trying to get a high price for it. There are also people trying to sell junk on Craig's list and want a high price for it. Both seem to be waiting for either the sucker or the savvy shopper, hard to say which they are unless you see the use they make of the items. The medium is overseen by a self-appointed group of users who delete messages they deem "inappropriate," not because they say anything wrong, but because they don't fit a narrow format, much of which is not published anywhere for people to learn from. As gatekeepers they probably overall try to protect their venue, but for some it looks like a power game. Big fish, small pond.

Free-cycle has a lot of people throwing out the used because they got the shiny new version of the thing they are discarding, and I guess it's good because at least they're giving someone else a chance to use the old one. But on the "wanted" side, the complex and expensive laundry lists of things people are looking for, seem to feel entitled to receive free, are staggering. It's a juggernaut of spending and discarding and entitlement that is very unattractive to view.

I realize that I'm the fish in the water, I can't remove myself from my environment to truly view my role in it objectively, but when I watch what is going on around me and sample these services, I find them off-putting and I can't sustain a steady diet of reading these ads and offers.

eBay the corporation has a thumb on the scale of every transaction that goes down, and is tightening it's control more by limiting outside payments for sellers and buyers. There are sellers and buyers who try to take advantage of others, though I would say that out of all of my transactions I've only had trouble with maybe 1 or 2 percent. In the general scheme of things, though, it tends to reveal more closely a true market value of things via a larger audience than the local lists and cycles notices do. It does help people become local consumers if the cost of shipping is too high--look around and see what is in the neighborhood, that's a good way to shop when you can, and eBay will facilitate that as well as enable the exotic purchases from half-way around the world. It's all there in black and white in the shipping charges.

Enough of my Wednesday morning philosophy pondering, but I wanted to get it off my chest.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: katlaughing
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 01:22 PM

Those are exactly the reasons I am wary of using freecylce and Craigslist, even though I was quote successful with the one thing I've sold on craisglist.

Got some more stuff on ebay today.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 01:35 PM

Here's several pictures of a camper a lot like ours. Ours is a little older, but same model/floorplan more or less.

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/1069443702045653997uUbezC

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: katlaughing
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 04:01 PM

My sister used to have one like that. All the kids on one side, adults on the other. It worked out well for them when the kids were little.:-)

I have spent the morning getting a few more things on ebay. It seems to take too much time for each item, so I am going to streamline, start taking all scans/photos at once, then do all write-ups ahead of time, then it's all set and ready to go, typos fixed, etc.!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 04:07 PM

I like that optimism: "floor plan!"

I took the vacuum back to the shop and explained that the hose wasn't working. I asked if there is a gate that switches when it is plugged into the base, and he said no, and I offhand remarked "I don't think it could be the hose, but I didn't run anything through it," then pulled the top out of it's storage housing, poked my finger in--and hit a solid wad of hair. Blush!

Geez. At least I didn't pay them to clean out my vacuum hose. I told him to tear up the ticket and I brought it back home. I used a pliers and then took a couple of broom handles and pushed one through the hose with the other--and removed about 4" of solidly packed dog and cat hair. [sigh]

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 05:34 PM

What? It really does have a floor plan. Plus we take no kids. The whole back bunk becomes the closet(s). It's quite roomy.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 09:02 PM

Floorplan comparison with hard-sided trailer: http://www.fleetwoodcampingtrailers.com/foldingvstravel.aspx

Top Ten Reasons Why Camping With A Folding Trailer Is Better Than Camping With A Tent:

10 Stay close to nature without sleeping on the ground where the creepy things crawl around.
9 Put your stuff in the trailer and keep it there, ready for the great outdoors, or when your spouse kicks you out of the house.
8 Respect nature, respect yourself- the Tree Hugger in you won't disown you.
7 Many have hot water, shower, toilet, refrigerator, and can even be air-conditioned. Try that with a tent!
6 Makes camping with the young'ns easier and more enjoyable- for them and for you. Especially you.
5 No busting a lung to inflate the air mattress, only to have the blasted thing go flat at 4 a.m.
4 Easier to set up- fewer poles, no moat to dig, no stakes to pound, and it even works on sloping ground.
3 Packing the camper, not the car, means more people room and fewer "Are we there yets?" from the back seat.
2 Way easier to find- won't get lost in the attic or buried in the trunk.
1 Admit it…you've always wanted your own string of tacky lights and a camper awning to hang them on!


Top Ten Reasons Why Camping With A Folding Trailer Is Better Than Camping With A Travel Trailer:

10 Fits in most garages- no need to pay big bucks just to park it when you're not camping in it.
9 Large clear windows and 360 degree viewseven when indoors, it feels like being outdoors- not in a box.
8 Enjoy a chorus of crickets at dusk and birds at dawn – not your neighbor's gazillion watt generator turning on.
7 Fits in most garages- the home owners association won't hate you.
6 Easier to tow and back up than a travel trailer, letting you get into better, more natural campsites.
5 Expands to offer more sleeping and living space than most comparable towing length travel trailers.
4 Fits in most garages- and using a drive-thru window won't result in a call to your insurance agent.
3 Enjoy all the comforts and amenities of home, without feeling like you're towing your home.
2 No need for a hulking SUV just because you own an RV- "crank up the fun without paying at the pump".
1 Makes you look smarter than the average RVer. Even impresses neighbors and kids. How cool is that.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering in earnest - September
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 10:44 PM

Had a call from an old friend tonight. We talked about de-cluttering. He built a new room on his house for all of the stuff. His mother died last week, they had celebrated her 100th birthday last summer--she had a good life, a wonderful eclectic and creative outlook, and a great family. And they collected everything.

100