BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Jun 08 - 08:15 PM

Oh, and I decluttered about 160 GB of hard drives in the last 24 hours.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: LilyFestre
Date: 23 Jun 08 - 07:51 PM

I decluttered my wallet and purse today. It's amazing how much stuff ends up in my bags and even MORE amazing how much they can HOLD!!!


:) Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jun 08 - 07:06 PM

People sell lead type on eBay, arranged by the font. I have a printers tray with a whole set and have been meaning to arrange some and list it. For that, you pack it up and ship it in the one-price priority mail box--you get a bargain when you're shipping lead.

Some of them sell it for folks who want the font, and the little pieces are bundled as loose lead, to be melted for fishing lures, etc.

I'm looking for jobs for a bored 16-year-old. I think we'll work on a brick patio out back. I got started a while ago, but it grew over with lemon balm that escaped from a pot. I have done some research and will pay more attention this time, and have him help me. Another thing I can have him do is research some of the eBay items I have. I'd like him to find a job, he'd like to find a job, but we can't afford him to have a driver's license and don't have a vehicle for him to drive, so it has to be fairly close by. I have several ideas, but meanwhile, I'll let him see how a few of these things around the house work. (He left a note on the bathroom door with his observation that the toilet was running because the rubber flapper was old and crusty. He shut the door so he didn't have to listen to it. I found the replacement I'd bought a few weeks ago and changed it, but we'll head over to Home Depot for another and I'll let him do that repair in the other bathroom.)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 23 Jun 08 - 06:48 PM

I just moved the piles in the living room so I could pull out some other stuff for my friend's yardsale. Found some stuff, too, that I forgot I had. Put back and consolidated the stuff that will be sold (eBay, Craig's List and a guy who buys old magazines). I still have to inventory the lead type (which I may sell separately) and the vulcanizer and rubberstamp-making tackle. That includes the Rubbersmith plates and matrices. Probably Craig's List for that -- not something that can be shipped economically.

The living room, despite being a holding area, looks a LOT better! Even some more floor space.

Most of the ephemera is still in the guest room -- prints, movie posters, etc. Would love to find someone who wants the lot on the movie (some video) posters. I've had some luck with books on eBay -- modern firsts with dust jacket, etc. (Made a killing on Auntie Mame.)

Washed almost all my long sleeved shirts yesterday. Now I should go upstairs, put them on hangers and get them into the guest room closet for the summer. (Definitely no room left in the bedroom!)

Will take an armload of recent magazines to the hospital ER & Express Care on Thursday on my way between physical therapy and work.

Posted some stuff on Freecycle today, too.

I'm feeling pretty accomplished. (Can even SEE a little of what I've done.)

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jun 08 - 04:56 PM

Speaking of stinky stuff--I bought a pound and a half of peeled garlic at the Asian market last week, and over the weekend I made my organic gardening teas. The rest of the garlic I put in the blender with a little water and I chopped it up and poured the paste into a lined pie pan in the freezer. I figure I can break off a chunk next time I need more garlic pepper tea to spray aphids in the garden.

As it is getting hotter (all week we're expected to have high temperatures and stagnant air) I'll do more eBay stuff. I'll plan to kick start it with several items, in several categories. In July there will begin to be a lot of serious back-to-school clothes traffic, so I'll hold onto the jeans until then. I haven't done books for a while, I'll revisit them.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Jun 08 - 04:47 PM

Craigs List, here, hasn't really caught on, yet. It seems to have on the eastern slope, denver, Boulder, etc. I tried the classifieds with no calls.

I cannot figure out ebay; the books and autographed LPs I think will go, don't or go for a pittance. I'm thinking yard sale might be easier and more gratifying, but maybe I am too much of an optimist!:-)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Jun 08 - 04:09 PM

Consolidated a number of areas-worth of clutter to one spot where they can be sorted. Went through/sorted/stored several boxes of VHS tapes (now that we have a new wide-screen TV to see them on). These two categories cleared significant LR real estate, which I dusted (for all the good it will do).

Banished a really un-comfy chair from the DR and replaced it with a really-comfy one from a storage area.

De-cluttered freezer space. Sorted and stored giant mayo and other condiment containers in the spare fridge, revealing a giant jar of olives waiting to be broken down to smaller jars (done).

Used a spot prepared earlier for dog-medicating to medicate a dog's ears-- it worked! (One of the dogs has really droopy ears that collect goo.) Comfy chair to sit in front of dog, shelf for items next to it, good light to see what I'm doing, no problem with stinky meds smell getting into main house. Same spot makes a good place to stash the laundry hamper for sorting onto the washer, which I am on my way now to load up.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jun 08 - 11:57 AM

It does take research, and strategy and learning that some outcomes just aren't going to get any better. There are some things I don't try to sell any more either. People keep telling me to try Craig's List. Have you looked at that one?

Still moving around leftover garage sale items. I've kicked a path into the area where my table and scale and packing materials are for eBay, so I will go ahead with that this week. eBay is a good backup in the garage sale world--there were some folks out early on Saturday who clearly hit garage sales and hope to cow people into practically giving away their items. In particular, there were couple of women were pawing through the jeans (in mint condition--of course they were interested) but acted insulted when I told them $5 a pair. "Vamanos!" was pronounced as they trounced down the driveway. They didn't want the jeans for themselves, they most certainly sell them again so of course they will act that way hoping you'll ask less. Marking them a little higher means the person who buys them actually wants them and is getting a bargain compared to the new price of $40 or higher (on my son's out-grown jeans). If not, eBay. I've sold a lot of my kids' clothes there.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Jun 08 - 01:08 AM

Ah, our house is, ah, compact and so something on in the living room is easily heard anywhere, plus we have a good speaker system which, theoretically, could be spread out.:-)

I think I am giving up on ebay. Nothing ever seems to sell for much for me.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jun 08 - 01:05 AM

Prolific weekend, all around! I have been moving donation and eBay stuff between various surfaces in the dining area and finally decided to redo some shelves in the corner and evict this extra stuff. There is a large quarter-round table top on top of an L-shaped set of shelves (something my Dad designed and had built for his house. It wasn't built in, the buyers didn't want it, so I loaded it up with everything else when I emptied his house). I think it's about time to unload it, but for now I took the stuff off of the quarter-round and then took just that top away, and moved shelves in the L-shaped cabinets. I've put appliances in there. I'm getting rid of about 2/3 of my place mats; the ones I don't use because though they were cute they're a pain to have to run through the washer and they show food easily. I'll hold onto the vinyl ones.

Moved some boxes and an antique trunk in the sun room and got the rest of the garage sale stuff out of the truck. Cleaned up the new blender, ordered online a couple of extra rubber gaskets (this one looks like it is the original and the blender is at least 15 years old). I made batches of garlic pepper tea and garlic tea, both for organic gardening. Also made a batch of peanut butter for my son. A bag of roasted salted peanuts is a little too salty, but we'll live with it this time. The point was to see how it is made. We can use it to make peanut butter cookies and not add any extra salt.

Kat, I did notice when you mentioned that CD changer. I've liked the idea of them, but I have CD players all over the house, and I think I'd end up taking stuff out of it all of the time. I have two players that have 5-CD changers and I fill them with different types of albums then set it on "scramble." It's always an interesting mix and no commercials. :) This helps when I'm working on something I when I don't want distractions.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 22 Jun 08 - 07:23 PM

Interesting, Maggie. That's one reason I have the 500 CD changer. It is an easy and compact way to store them AND I never have to take them out and they are free of dust.:-) It's like a juke box in that when I enter their title, etc. I can categorise and number them, so I can play all of one category, mix them up, etc. I really like it. Then Rog tells me I could put ALL of those (not 500 yet!) on an Ipod! I like my player and I got rid of all of the cases. I alphabetised the inserts in an index card box.

We took Morgan for a professional photo-shoot this morning which was a lot of fun. When we got home, I picked up some more leftovers from yesterday's do in the living room. About noon, we went out to my caravan and started mucking it out! It has been like an albatross hanging round our necks. Stuff was tossed in there when we redid our bedroom and whenever I asked Rog to "put this in storage." "Where is this and such?" "I don't know! Probably in that mess in the trailer!" have been frequent bouts of "conversation" about it. :-)

I am really proud of what we did today. It was hot and we were both tired, but we took out a bunch of empty boxes (saved for "just in case"), two tvs, various other bits and pieces AND made a good sized yard sale pile on the bed. We only brought two bins inside for me to go through. There are two more, half-full out there for me to go through later, plus our holiday decorations and that's it. More than half of it, up front where there is clear floor space, is empty and ready for my sisters' stuff.:-)

My dishes are still soaking and there's dust all over, but it feels good to have done a major mucking and not worry about the day to day chores!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jun 08 - 01:00 PM

Ooooh, Liz! Good girl! And Lin, sideboards being cleared are true progress. Hold JunK's feet to the fire and get that living room moved around. Kat, I have been reconfiguring some of my media also. Last night I stopped by the Container store and picked up an $18 expanding shoe rack (see if this works) that I've tested out. I put it together and fitted it into a long shelf where I want to put my CDs. It's a little to tall/wide at the top to fit into the upper shelf (the supports won't quite let me straighten it out) and on the bottom it looks funny--the smaller Cd cases need to be above. So I'm going to measure this and take a coping saw and cut off the bottom inch of each leg. Happily, these come with rubber feet that slip over the legs, so once it is shortened I'll slide on the rubber tips and won't scratch the shelf.

A side note: when we were at the Container Store we went looking for one of their display areas where they have books, CDs, etc. to borrow to test on the shoe rack. The clerk who asked if we needed help tagged along, because they're always interested in new ways customers find to use their products. This was a new one! I didn't want to buy a bunch of expensive risers or individual compartment things for this shelf, I wanted something to display the disks that has a variable size and a simple plan. I think this will work well.

Before I do this, though, I must reorganize and sort the stuff that didn't sell at the garage sale. I'll either put it in eBay or put it in the back of the pickup to take to Goodwill this afternoon.

It's getting hot but the June bugs aren't out now. The heat really is preferable to pesky June bugs in your hair and down your neck.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 22 Jun 08 - 10:20 AM

I excavated the dining room table yesterday. Vast tracts of open tabletop available for doing 1000 piece jigsaws on. I love jigsaw puzzles.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Jun 08 - 12:44 AM

I've been busy the rest of the day, away from the computer, and mostly away from decluttering. Spent the amount of the proceeds in a necessary trip to the Victoria's Secret store in the local mall (Semi-Annual clearance this week, anyone who is interested). Moonglow (36DD) needed some architectural support, so to speak, and VS has brought talented engineers and craftsmen to the task.

The clothes left from the garage sale are in the back of my pickup, forgot to get them out this afternoon, and this evening the June bugs were so thick around the side door that I didn't want to go back and forth through such a dense collection of iodiotic bouncing and swooping bugs. The toads can't keep up right now.

Tomorrow, tomorrow . . .

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 22 Jun 08 - 12:41 AM

Yay all, for the good work! Maeve, I'm hopeful the space will get easier to work with as you go through it. I also have a difficult room to clear...been sort of working on it for about 5 years.

Went through a sideboard in the so-called "living" room last night, rearranged the games and puzzles stored in it and pitched a few we never use. Discovered that someone must have been angry the last time we put the Monopoly game away, as the pieces were simply dumped in the box and the lid slammed down! So I straightened that up, and fixed the bottom shelf so Monopoly can lay flat instead of leaking parts all over the bottom of the sideboard. Discovered a 1000 piece puzzle we haven't even put together yet--it's still unopened. So I think I'll lay it out on the dining table for people to put together. We tend to leave them out and put a few pieces in place as we wander by doing other things. Not sure how that will work this time with all the cats--Vinnie in particular loves to play with stuff like this...we'll see.

Need to go through the old trunk I use for a coffee table, too. I've completely forgotten what's stored in there, but it's obviously been there too long. Then if I can get JiK to help, I may rearrange the furniture in the front room and see if I can make it more welcoming...

Lin

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 Jun 08 - 06:52 PM

How kewl about the chair, SRS. We did a major thing in the living room. We had a haphazard, horizontal array of video equipment: tv, dvd recorder and player, dvd player, and VHS player, as well as surround sound system, all sprawled out on a narrow table, in front of the front windows with a cat basket on top for the darlings to sun themselves. And a 500 CD changer sitting off to the side; wires everywhere! I hated the whole thing.

Today, we took down a few books on another wall, put the tv on one of the shelves, the dvd recorder/player beside it, with the sound system next to those. The CD changer went below on a smaller table. The unused DVD player and VHS player went to storage. I had had the CD changer on an old-fashioned phonograph stand with LPs in the slots below. For ages I have wanted to use it for its intended purpose. Today we moved it over the the new "media wall" under the books and put an old suitcase phonograph on top. So, now when Morgan wants to listen to my old 45s and dance, we have the room and have the phonograph already set up and ready to go. It feels great!

The only thing we haven't solved is where to put his plastic bin of toys along with his smaller bin of crafts supplies, and one other bin of his. There's a corner it could all go in, but then I don't think he'd use it as much, though he hasn't much lately anyway because it's been buried under...I don't want him to feel we've kicked him out of the living room, but we've got to do something with it! For now, it is also under the books, under the new media stuff.

Ah, well, it was a major change, involving Rog doing all of the moving and wiring up. He even had to drill a hole through to our bedroom to split the cable for the tv so we wouldn't have a cable snaking across the front room. Once I get it swept and the books put up which we took down, I will be much happier with it all.

Tomorrow we tackle my caravan. It has had stuff pitched in it, will-he, nill-he, for storage, for the past year or two. We are probably going to need it for some of my other sisters' stuff which may be coming for a storage/visit, so we're going to organise our own stuff, finally. That is going to feel good, too!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Jun 08 - 05:28 PM

I didn't make a lot at this garage sale, maybe $100, but I did get rid of quite a few things that were occupying space. I only bought one thing, something I've thought about repurchasing for years after the divorce ($4 from the other neighbor at the sale). A used blender will do just fine for the few frozen drinks, but mostly for hummus and peanut butter. And I have a place to store it.

Interesting stories came up this time. I had picked up an attractive rocking chair at the curb in someone's trash last year. It cosmetically was messed up, needed a good finish and it looked like someone scraped their putty knife on the edge of the seat, and some of the spools/spindles needed glue. I sold it for two whole dollars at a garage sale last fall. Today a guy came by and reminded me "I bought that rocker from you," and proceeded to tell me how over the winter he worked on it now and then, sanding, clearing off the putty, filling in a few places that needed it, sanding, regluing the spindles. His girlfriend had bugged him that he was nuts to pick up that ugly chair, but after he painted the repaired chair with an attractive pastel green enamel and put it on his porch, she wants him to give it to her. "It's going to be out there on the porch for a long time!" This time he bought a box of dominoes, because he has an elderly neighbor who comes over to visit, and he thinks this might be a game he used to play. Sounds like a really nice guy.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 06:50 PM

We all have spaces that are special challenges. Good luck!

Garage sale Day One is over; turns out they didn't put an ad it the paper, so we're getting strictly local traffic. Nevertheless, I moved a couple of televisions, a folding kennel, and lots of small things today. I'll poke around and take over new things for tomorrow's conclusion. My daughter is helping a friend run a different garage sale, so she stopped by and picked up things from her bedroom to take over. We discussed what makes for good garage sale things--there are some toys of hers that probably mean more to me than to her (because of who gave them to her though she may not remember them) but most of those can go with no problem. She also took some clothes she outgrew. I would like to make it clear to the kids why I'm doing this so maybe they won't feel obligated to hold onto all of my stuff if they don't need it. It is also my hope that I will have cleared out a lot of the clutter before it reaches that point!

A neighbor died this week and the visitation is tonight, with the funeral tomorrow. I'll be in the yard keeping an eye on their house (across the street and up a couple) and there are neighbors who will actually sit on the porch while the family is away. It's such a sad time, and then you have to worry about predators hoping the home is empty while everyone is at the funeral home. I'm seeing a lot of the neighbors this weekend!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: maeve
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 12:23 PM

Stilly and all: We have a nursery stocked with the basics and many special books, clothes, handmade toys, linens, etc. selected for newborns through age ten or so. For private and painful reasons it must now be emptied and turned into a guest room/work room. Everything in there was carefully chosen over a period of twenty years and more.

A few special things can be kept; most must go. I can hardly make myself go in never mind handle everything and decide about it. That is the battle of which Susan speaks. I hoped that my naming the task here I could better carry it out. This should be the last public mention of it. Thanks ;)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 12:02 AM

Well, I did a kind of virtual de-cluttering the past two days. I have had a note on my desk for weeks that said to get my website redone and do another, separate one. I cheated and used startlogic's prefab sitebuilder thingie, but so far I am pleased with the look. I still have work to do on my main site, katlafrance.com, but I feel better about what I have up now than what I did and I was able to combine the other one, so I needn't do it right this moment. Anyway, it's a work in progress, but I've done enough I feel I can mark it off my list and make a new one!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 11:37 PM

Is there more to this nursery battle than has been spoken of here? (I'll take my answer off the air, as they say on public radio)

I didn't get any decluttering done today because I was out running around and over at my office. This evening I've been thinking my way through what I'll take over to Pearlie's for her garage sale early tomorrow. I have a table to use and a bunch of possible items. I won't fool with taking clothes over, but I have a couple of old televisions that work fine but will need a cable soon. A file cabinet, some toys (lots of toys, if I find some that are completely assembled so I know I'm selling the whole thing. It bugs me to find a bit later that should be gone with it.) Mugs, cups, kitchen gadgets, I can take a steady stream of stuff over. I'll set up my tea stuff this evening so I can brew a pot and head out the door early. It goes for two days, so what I don't get out there tomorrow, I can round up tomorrow evening and start again Saturday.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: wysiwyg
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 04:29 PM

((((maeve))))
nursery battle

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: LilyFestre
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 12:36 PM

Cleaned out one corner of the kitchen today that has been neglected for some time and got rid of a huge amount of stuff!!! I also started hoeing out the mudroom which has turned into a catch all kind of place. I won't get it all done today, in fact, I've done as much as I'm going to (with that) today...but it feels good to get it started! Yeah!

Michelle

PS. Lin, I need more walls for more bookcases too!!!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 07:58 AM

Managed to enlist JiK to help declutter three (count 'em!) kitchen cabinets, throw out old spices, and get rid of unnecessary jars, bottles and miscellaneous containers. I got his "permission" to limit the number of coffee cans (only the metal ones) and jars we're required to keep. Dumped a BUNCH of old coffee cups (no way do we need 40 coffee cups for the two of us, and I certainly don't foresee that many people coming to visit all at once!). Cleared a good portion of the kitchen counters by consolidating and moving things to storage elsewhere. Cleaned the outside of the microwave, inside to be done tomorrow.

Still have the tops of the cupboards to clear off. There's a little railed shelf up there that goes clear across all the counters, and of course it's full of cups and miscellaneous. Some of them are keepsakes, but most are just "stuff." Out with them!

John put the 48 cans of cat food away and did a load of dishes.

I'd almost forgotten that the kitchen was one of the things I really really liked about this house when we bought it. It's looking better all the time, although I've now got to get into the bottom cupboards and get some more "stuff" off the counters. And YAY for John in turning loose of some of the "stuff"--it's a lot harder for him than it is for me, I think, since I really enjoy tossing things out and making flat surfaces look new.

In between the kitchen cupboards, I think I'll try to clear off my computer desk--one more time--so things will be findable on it for at least a week or two.

And yes, Liz, I can relate to needing more bookcases. But I also need more walls to put them on, as all the ones we have are full (walls AND bookcases, I mean). Now those may be a bit harder for me to turn loose of; I do like my books.

But you know, this is really kinda fun when you can see the progress...

Lin

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 01:59 AM

Used cotton bed sheet sets sell remarkably well at thrift stores, and go for some respectable prices.

I have a lot of extra towels from my Dad's house. He lived at the beach so had so many extras for when he had company and low tide. :) They're folded neatly in the backs of several cupboards, and it seems like you can always use towels for something (I wonder if I have "42"?). A little Hitchhiker (BBC, not Showtime) moment there. . .

Finished some virtual decluttering this evening, and worked late enough that I can take time off tomorrow afternoon. I'll take a vacation day on Friday and help with a garage sale across the street, so those Thursday afternoon hours will be spent identifying garage sale stuff.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: maire-aine
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 09:27 PM

The linen closet is done! Towels & sheets are my weakness. I don't buy a lot of clothes for myself, but I have the best-dressed bed in town. Last fall I bought a new mattress for myself, and most of the bedclothes don't fit because it's too thick. I've got 6 sets going to charity. The towels are all sorted by patterns and colors and there is space for the extra tissue rolls & kleenex boxes. And the guest-room linens have a little area all their own.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 09:21 PM

I'm doing the bank, the bills and the filing. I bloody hate filing.

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 01:30 PM

We plan to buy a dehydrator this year to dry peaches, apricots, and cherries, maybe even a few apples. I hope to also freeze some corn. Did that one year with my daughter. I found it and dehydrating easier than canning.:-)

My pot tomatoes are doing nicely.

I think I will do some cyber-decluttering, too. My bookmarks need to be categorised!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: maire-aine
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 12:40 PM

All great ideas, SRS. My only gardening efforts are herbs and tomatoes, but we have a great local farm market only a mile away-- almost all of the produce grown within the county, and several organic vendors. I sent off an email to a friend who's connected with a bunch of folks that do "urban farming", to find out of there are any other markets around the area. I'd rather buy from local farmers, than try to grow it myself. I just don't have enough time to do it right, and without a helper, it's just too much.

I've pretty much cut bread out of my diet, because I'm trying to limit carbs. I'll only buy a few whole-grain dinner rolls occasionally, so my portion size is limited. But I do can, esp. peaches. Last summer I made corn relish. And this fall (I even blocked out time on my calendar), I plan to make Apple-Ginger Chutney. I'm on my last jar from my 2004 batch.

Last night, I did 2 loads of laundry & put that away. Also tidied up my bedroom. Tonight's goal is the linen closet!

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 11:21 AM

Do you need the stuff in the dresser? That's the question to ask yourself first. Is the dresser the most efficient place to store it?

I've been moving virtual clutter off of my work desk this morning. It doesn't make it any less troublesome just because it's in cyberspace.

I'm not tossing my newspapers in the recycle bin for now, I'm preparing to put it down under mulch in a modified-no-till approach to weed control in a new garden. If I need more paper I'll do a reverse recycle move and go pull some papers out of the bin behind City Hall.

I was looking through a magazine with ideas for painting houses and landscaping. I picked it up last fall before making the big move to put the new roof on the house then paint. I found some lovely photos of a patio that I'd like to mimic in my back yard, so I've pulled those pages out of the magazine and recycled the rest. Finding the photos is the easiest part of the job. This week I simply have to get back to eBay. Gas and food are getting high, meaning I have less cash for those discretionary things like gardening or crafts. I bought a bulk bag of bread flour at Sam's Club yesterday (25 pounds will last a couple of months here) to save a few dollars; I filled a bin and the rest went in the freezer (I also keep bulk cat food in there). As the garden progresses, if we get some produce along with the foliage, I'll freeze a lot of it also. I'm also planning to do some canning this year, a friend has the setup and I'll go over and have him walk me through it. My mom used to can all of the time when I was a kid. Belt tightening seems to go with decluttering. My cleared off pantry shelves are where the canned goods will go.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 02:40 AM

It's bookshelves I'm lacking, not china cabinets.. .in fact, it looks very much as if the pine dresser in the dining room is going to have to be de-cluttered and have books put in part of it, just to get rid of the accumulated piles where there is no more room...

Of course, if I could swap the sitting room dresser for a bookshelf, that would solve the problem, but then, where do we put a) the stuff from the dresser and b) the dresser?

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 11:27 PM

They are replacement pieces, not reproductions. I suspect they buy every speck of china they can find, then stock it according to type. I wonder if they have professional estate shoppers or garage sale folks?

Re compost, my last word on it in this thread, but at the Dirt Doctor site their most experience composter says:

You will always get conflicting information on this one. The question is easily misinterpreted by our common use of English.

"Can" you put dog poop in the pile? Yes you "can." It is physically possible to put poop in a pile.

"May" you put dog poop in the pile? Actually, yes you "may" but most people will give the other answer. I will go on to caution you that if you are not getting heat from your pile, then I would not compost the poop. If you can get a hot pile and keep it hot for a couple weeks at a time, then you are an expert enough composter to handle a little dog poop. OR, if you have tons of leaves and you keep the pile relatively moist, then you can probably bury the poop deep in the pile and it will decompose nicely before the leaves do.

Personally I leave my dog's poop on the grass and the flies, pill bugs, and microbes take care of it in 4 days, max (summer time). In the winter the poop lasts about a week but then disappears. With my new dog she's trained to poop back by the compost pile, so no problem on my grass anymore. One nice thing about a Chow-chow is they don't poop anywhere close to where they play or live. They get as far away as they can. In my case that's back by the compost pile.

You will continue to get conflicting info on this question. 99.99% of all the articles written on composting say not to compost meat or the droppings from meat eating animals. Well, don't say anything to Mother Nature but she's been composting meat and meat eater droppings for several billion years. Apparently these article writers missed the event. So everyone who takes these beginner-level articles to be gospel will tell you that you cannot compost meat or carnivore droppings. I have composted several squirrels, several rats, and my golden retriever. Our commercial composters out at Garden-Ville composted over 100 head of cattle, horses, or deer last year. It can be done no matter what anyone else tells you. But again, this is not something beginner composters should be doing.
_________________
David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum

If there weren't a better way to recycle it, you could "declutter" by putting all of your shredded paper on your compost pile. Also your kitchen scraps. I have a very large yard and I start a new compost pile each year. My compost fits the "high volume and enough water" category, but I often times will torque it up to generate some heat. It takes me probably two years to get back to an earlier pile to spread around, so by then even the slowest compost pile has broken down to a fine dirt look and a forest floor smell (the desirable characteristics in compost).

This all dovetails with the decluttering and recycling that are important. I don't change out flowers every season like you see at the commercial property around town. I tend to save seeds, winter over plants (mulching is a great way to keep things alive from one year to the next) and when I do discard a plant, it goes in the compost. I spend a lot of time digging up stuff in the yard every year so I create some very large compost piles, filled with weeds and dirt on the roots. My mix doesn't strain the recommended formula of 80 percent organic matter and 20 percent animal manure.

On a separate note, it will be interesting if this decluttering we're all working on ends leads one or more of us to finally go ahead and get that fine china cabinet to display the good stuff. With a "less is more" approach, we will have winnowed our collections down to the few really high quality pieces that merit the Mission oak look. ;-)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 09:40 PM

Maire Aine and Katlaughing--you are cruel! The Carnival glass is gorgeous! And the depression glass site is such fun to look at I could spend all evening in there. It's almost as good as being at the show. I even spotted some of my favorite pottery: Hull, Hall, and a Watt mixing bowl hidden on one of the shelves. I really like the ruby glass, and the indigo. NO! BAD GIRL! you will NOT collect glass!!

SRS, thank you for the link to Reproductions, I finally found a photo of an old plate John inherited from his mom. I've been looking in the shops for several years and was beginning to think it was a Fig Newton of my imagination--but nope, there it was. Cool!

Now, back to the blasted kitchen counters. Sure wish I had some of those vaseline glass cannisters...

Lin

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 08:29 PM

Maggie, that is a beautiful pattern and looks SO familiar to me!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 08:14 PM

The primary reason why you don't want manure from carnivores is parasites, which are a BIG problem in Third World countries that have been using night soil on their crops for thousands of years. And then of course there's the stink ...

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 07:29 PM

Re: compost. In theory you don't want manure from carnivores.

But then again, look at all the Third World countries that have been using "night soil" on their crops for thousands of years.

I use our (very mixed) compost on flower beds. I buy composted cow manure for my deck pots with veggies. (Nope, don't have a large vegetable garden.)

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 07:21 PM

I am no expert but I would absolutely never have dog or cat poop in compost to be used for vegetable growing. I would dig holes under a fir tree or somewhere that there weren't vegetables..roses maybe? I remain unconvinced it is totally inert and there wouldn't be worms etc. that survived. Plus I personally find it disgusting, but that is my personal preference. mg

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 03:10 PM

Oh, what the heck--this is the place I've been researching some platters I have from my mother's second hand buffet. The pattern is simple, but if you look around this site you'll see that they have a LOT of patterns to choose from.

Now we need to get our noses out of the "what I'd put in my new old china cupboard" wish list discussion and find more clutter to offload! (I found a box of beanie babies that still have the tags. They were bought as part of a gag that was never sent. They're in a bag to go in the weekend garage sale across the street.)

;-D

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: maire-aine
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 02:29 PM

Wow! Just what I need-- another distraction. But it's beautiful. I could spend all afternoon in there.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 01:52 PM

One more distraction....Carnival Glass with over 1100 patterns identified!:-)

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 11:48 AM

Oh, you wicked woman! Placing such a tempting site link in a decluttering thread!

Thanks! :)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: maire-aine
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 11:15 AM

Some time when you have nothing better to do (ha-ha), check out Great Lakes Depression Glass Club

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 09:37 AM

This morning I took the handful of little notes by the phone and stuck to the fridge and entered the information in the spiral notebook I'm keeping for this stuff. Tossed the little scraps of paper. Yesss!

Liz, my organic guy insists that its an old wives' tale to think that dog or cat poop is different than any other kind. In the compost, it all breaks down. I've been dropping the poo in there for years, with no harmful effects. There is a lot of other stuff going in as well, leaves, dirt, weeds, grass. It gets thoroughly mixed and broken down.

I have lots of fancy crystal glasses and depression glass, inherited from a great aunt's home--about which I know very little. Much of it is still packed away, but I've gradually pulled some out to put on display on shelves in the living room and some on top of the kitchen cabinets, tipped up against the wall so it can be seen from below. A friend flew back to Connecticut to help me pack up some of the family stuff, and we actually decided to pack a trunk of depression glass as an investment--I didn't really care for it but I could sell it. I guess I should poke around to see where it got to. (And who knows, I'll probably like it now.)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 08:24 AM

Let's see --

Found out yesterday that a friend will take my Time-Life photography books and a few other photography books -- but I can't transfer them until Saturday. (Last fall he took some miscellaneous camera culch off my hands -- and gave me a Weston Master II light meter.

Also got rid of several videotapes and two full tubes of toothpaste that I discovered I have an allergy to some ingredient hidden in them.

Physical therapy was painful yesterday -- not so much the exercises on the machines, but the therapist stretching the arm. Not just me -- the weather was changing so my shoulder felt as if it were encased in a very tight elastic girdle and that layers of muscle would "stick" as they pulled away from each other. Barometric pressure settled down for awhile later, so the discomfort went away. Nowhere near the weather-related pain of this past winter.

Came home and started rearranging the tape/CD player and the tapes (and some CDs) in my office. Got rid of the old self-destructing tape holder, too. De-accessioned the old tape player and it made its way to the car, but that stuff won't go away until probably Saturday morning.

Discovered (in the guest room closet) some clothes that will be more appropriate for my new job than at previous ones. Sometimes it's good to hang on to things for a few years and not be totally ruthless.

With my new schedule, I think I'll be able to work on some of the paper pollution here around the computer before I head in to work. At least, that's my plan!

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 07:36 AM

I have a lot of glassware to dispose of, but I don't think my head could take all thoat highpitched chinking rihgt now.

Remind me later....

TLS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 07:26 AM

Wow, all of you have been so busy! Way to go, everyone. The Fostoria glass is gorgeous, Mary Ann. That sort of glassware is one of the few things I don't collect, although I think a lot of it is really pretty. John and I have a few pieces of "depression glass" and Carnival glass that we each inherited, but there is so much to learn about glassware, and so many different patterns, etc., that I am chicken to get into it. Doesn't keep me from wanting to, though!

Kitchen counters and the back bathroom are next...I'll have to enlist John to help straighten the pantry, so he'll know where everything is and won't be complaining that he can't find anything if I rearrange it!

SRS, that's a beautiful Mission china cabinet. That sort of furniture is what I would love to furnish the whole house with, if we could only afford it. There's a place I stayed once in Kansas City that was Arts and Crafts period and furnished appropriately--it was simply breath-taking.

Lin

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 05:24 AM

Dog poo on compost for gardening is not really a good diiea. The bacteria are different and it's mostly animal products involved. Although blood and bone is good for gardens, fermented dog or cat poop is not. Stick to horse or cow.

:TS typing witha amiograine

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jun 08 - 12:48 AM

It's funny--tonight I had the pit bull in to check out her summer skin allergy and drop an antihistamine pill down her throat. She managed to spit it out the first try. I wonder why she bothers? This is the same dog that will race around to the front yard to see if the pesky neighbor's cat has used the garden like a litter box so she can scarf down cat poop. The poop tastes better than the pill?

I've kept my kitchen counter clear for a couple of days, that is progress in itself, but I decided I needed a token (at least) bit of work on the storage spaces.

I took the beaucoups cloth shopping bags and backpacks down from the top shelf in the hall coat closet (not a good place to keep them because they all fall down on you when you pull one out). I also rearranged two other closets--I took a box of holiday stuff from the lowest (waist-high) shelf in the hall closet (jackets only in there, on a low rack) and moved it to the top shelf in my office closet. The resulting space at waist level in the hall is where the bags and packs are, easy to reach. And what is on the top shelf in the hall?

Games. We don't use them often but you can see two neatly stack rows of games, all ready to get out without dumping the others. We may forget they're there, but we tend to forget them anyway. I got rid of a lot of them a couple of months ago, keeping just those we play.

The games had been on a sturdy Mexican pine shelf in the living room. This bookcase is strong enough to hold a four-foot long row of LPs with no sagging. The upper row had the games, but now it will hold my CDs. I need to make a riser for the back row so I can see all of the names when I go looking for something and so they use the height of the shelf better. This means I can move out the little six-shelf CD cabinet that didn't really look very good and was kind of small. It might be sold at the garage sale, it might be re-used. Hard to say right now.

It probably didn't take as long to do all of this as it took to describe it. :-/

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: katlaughing
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 10:10 PM

Oh, I was just teasing a little..sticking up for cats everywhere.:-) The dog doo does the same thing here, esp. when it gets up to 95 like today!

One box emptied and another gone through to consolidate with one more from the closet tonight!

Subject: RE: BS: De-cluttering - June - part 3
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jun 08 - 09:47 PM

Some of those china cupboards are works of art in themselves. Though the eye is caught by the big Victorian types, I think I'd be happiest with the simple straight lines of a nice Mission oak china cabinet. (My great aunts had three lawyer's glass front bookshelves, and I got one of them, that I have used like a china cupboard. Right now it is in my bedroom with a variety of collectible items in it.)

Kat, the yard is large and this time of year the dog doo dries up so fast that it isn't a smell problem. I go around the yard about once a week with a bucket and a trowel to collect it and toss it in the compost heap at the back of the yard.

SRS