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BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember
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Subject: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Dec 08 - 12:02 AM Yup, Kat, here it is. And what a month to try to de-clutter, but I am so proud that over the Thanksgiving weekend I made more progress on the kitchen and living room than I have in all of the other months I've been working on this. I didn't empty the room, but I moved a lot out and only a little back in after the big get-together. I can see the chair rails and wainscoting around the room and can actually hear that faint echo one gets when there is enough space in a room even if there is furniture. The counters are clear, appliances have been moved to what I hope are more logical locations. Because there is less stuff in both rooms they both also look a lot bigger. I don't know if we'll get a tree this year. I didn't get one last year, but the couple of years before that I had magnificent trees. I don't get the tree until christmas eve, and then I go down to the nursery at the corner and offer them $10 for a tree that they'll put at the curb in a day's time. I fought too many fires with the Forest Service to be happy with a dead tree in the house for long. It's usually down before New Year's. I have a lot of holiday ornamental stuff and I have been weeding it out somewhat, but maybe this year I can make two sets--the stuff I really like, and the rest, and see if I don't use the less-loved set in the next year or two, maybe donate that somewhere. Also, I have a bunch of plastic ornaments that I picked up at the curb last year. I'm going to go put them up on a tree that a friend has decorated for years, but she skipped for the last two. She used to decorate this juniper deep in the woods across the road from me, but her dog got older and couldn't walk that far so she stopped. Now the old dog is gone and she has a new young one, so I'm going to decorate her tree for her to discover. Ssshhhh! Don't say anything! :) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Liz the Squeak Date: 01 Dec 08 - 03:29 AM I excavated the mantlepiece yesterday... I had to to find the speaker wire that runs along it, because we bought a new TV (32 inches... who says size doesn't matter?!) and had to move the stereo. Sorted that out and realised just how much crud there was on the mantlepiece so that went into the sorting crate.... now there's just my Napoleon clock, a German carved Silver Birch nativity scene (which got covered in crud last Christmas and forgotten.. ain't I a slob?!) and a beautiful carved wooden sycamore leaf which holds various semi-precious stones, polished wood and other natural talismen. The stereo had to move to another shelf so that got decluttered too... it's a slow process but it's working! I've decided that February or March is going to be the 'Big Push' as far as the rest of the house is concerned... I'm hiring a skip and all the accumulated crap from the loft is being sorted, along with the garden which is going to be significantly pruned... I reckon that by then the birds will have eaten all the seeds but not yet started to nest. For the last 3 years, I've been unable to prune a certain bush because my little feathered friends keep nesting in it. Consequently, it's nearly 15' tall and getting out of hand. On the other hand... December means finding somewhere to put the tree so another significant de-clut is in store. I just wish December were longer so I could get everything done! LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: mouldy Date: 01 Dec 08 - 04:19 AM I am going to do a similar thing to Liz. I too have always left the garden tidying until after winter so that the birds have a bit of shelter and maybe a little extra food too. The skip will probably be January or February, as I will be down under for most of March. After Christmas I am going to rip off the kitchen floor covering and have a look at exactly what and where the damp is. Some may be condensation, so I am going to give it a good clean, and air it off. Then I am going to get a structural surveyor in to try and find out exactly what's going on, and what I can do about it. I am also considering ripping out the old kitchen units from the garage/workshop, as I don't need it like that - stuff just gets dumped there. Also I am not likely to use the big vice in the near future, and most of what I need could be stored in a purpose-made store, which could then move with me. I am also getting a big delivery of logs soon, and they will need to go somewhere, as will the sofa (see next para). Hopefully, if I can get that sorted, most of what's left to do will be refurb and decorating, although I do have to get rid of the sofa (via the front window, frame out and all) so that it can all be replastered and set back in before the finishing off is done! Today I intend getting the decorations out of the loft and having a good sort out. I never use them all, so a good chuck-out will help there. I think a shovel would clear a lot of the general sh*te lying around the place at the moment! Andrea |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Dec 08 - 08:57 AM Andrea, The big vice--is that a vice grip? You may not need it now, but they are a very handy item to have in a house. If you're thinking about selling, it might be a good thing to leave. When I built the new garage (7 years ago) I wanted it to look like it had been here for a while so I took apart a weathered (and dog-chewed) redwood picnic table and framed it out then used a remainder from house remodeling as the top. And a few months later at an area garage sale I found an old vice for $10 and I brought it home, used WD-40 to get all of the parts moving again, and I fastened it onto my workbench. It doesn't get used often, but when I need it for a task there is simply no other tool that would work as well for stability sake. My mantle has been evolving. Right now I have a leaded window with some colored panes in it propped up there and some flotsam my mother picked up over the years. It will be the central area for holiday decor soon. Good job in clearing your mantles. I don't do a fire in my fireplace often, mine is filled with a mirror and a bunch of candles sitting on a board across the top of the fire grate. It doesn't draw well but the candles look very cheerful without causing the smokey effect of a dying fire puffing into the house. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: maire-aine Date: 01 Dec 08 - 08:59 AM I had some success de-cluttering my mind yesterday. I started going thru another pile of old magazines. They're too dated to be useful, so they'll go to the recycling bags. I also made a new to-do list for the new month. I find lists very helpful. Sunday night the band did a black-tie benefit/fundraiser-- they support a hospital in Haiti. It was about 15 miles north of here, and there was a lot of snow by the time we finished. It was mostly rain by the time we got back, but still a slippery ride home. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: wysiwyg Date: 01 Dec 08 - 09:40 AM HOLIDAY TIP Start planning now for all that wrapping paper, bits of cut-off ribbon, and those little paper thingies on the ends of new rolls of scotch tape-- you know these will tend to pile up as the month goes on. Even if you are a totally non-Crimmissy person-- while you may be Scroogey enough not to buy and give, pesky friends WILL insist on gifting YOU. So set up the kitteh play space now, where you can toss ALL the trimmings. Lay out a dirty flat-sheet to catch all the paper and cat fur. When the holiday mess-making is over, use the sheet as a funnel and pour the debris into trash bags (paper! go green!), wash the sheet, and bingo! ;~) ~Susan |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: CamiSu Date: 01 Dec 08 - 11:13 AM She decluttered her family?!?! :~) I wouldn't call it that. Well...at least not where my kids are concerned. I could deal with them closer all the time. Mom...well I can manage 3 days of constantly together. Don't see enough of the brothers that were there, but they had things to do. BUt my youngest DID leave his room in pretty much the same condition he got it in! Amazing! "I'm going to decorate her tree for her to discover." That is SO cool. What a wonderful surprise that will be. BTW The tool that goes on the workbench I have always spelled vise, and a vise grip in my barn is a locking pliers. Very portable. TOO portable. They always walk off when I need them. Vices, now, them i am trying to get rid of. Not always successful... CamiSu |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Dec 08 - 01:05 PM You're probably right. The pronunciation is no doubt regional, leading to the mis-spelling. I'm not working on getting a grip on any new vices this year. :) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: MAG Date: 01 Dec 08 - 01:33 PM Leaves shredded to the point that all my big yard buckets (5) are full. Got half of them dumped around the roses. (I've neglected my roses terribly the last couple years; vow to do better this year.) I realize that a lot of the unmanaged clutter is books I have saved from the ladnfill. (My boss forbids us telling anyone that is where unsold discards and gifts go, but it is true all the same.) Especially any folktale books, I just can't stand to see them get trashed. (I used to take gift books about to go to landfill over to the humane soc. thrift shop, but got my fingers slapped for that so I dasn't do it anymore. That thrift is closing anyway, unfortunately -- is where I have alwats taken stuff.) Anyway, I need to sort and stack the books better. That will actually make a big difference. A neighbot has been whacking limbs off my tree which hangs over his property. It is not illegal unfortunately, but then he tosses the limbs over the fence, which is. A while back I had to get a tree surgeon ($300) out to fix the damage he did. Now I learned from the inspector guy that if he does that, he is liable if the tree gets sick. I need to get a lawyer to inform him of that fact. One damn thing after another. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Dec 08 - 03:29 PM The used book store here that I go to has a recycling dumpster out back. If something is truly unusable, it gets recycled. They have a warehouse where marginal items are sent to be redistributed or donated. Maybe you could look into something like that. I have several things to take around for recycling or donation, maybe later this afternoon. I'll take some Women in the Military souvenirs over to a local veteran's organization. Mom picked these items up to support the Women in the Military Memorial that opened in 1997. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Liz the Squeak Date: 01 Dec 08 - 04:06 PM We have a strange law in the UK whereby if a branch overhangs your property boundary, you are perfectly entitled to lop it off, but only as far as the boundary. Lop it off 6" over their side and you're causing willful damage! However... the branches and any fruit on it remain the property of the person in whose garden the main trunk of the tree/shrub is and you have to ask permission before you do any cutting at all or disposing of the branches. I'd love to be able to report my neighbour for cutting the branches off my small Viburna. I know it wasn't me because I haven't been out there lopping for over a year. But he's cut them off level with the top of the fence, thus killing the whole tree. Grrr. Can't prove it was him, even though he's got the only garden with access. He doesn't like the leaves on his lawn. LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Penny S. Date: 01 Dec 08 - 06:01 PM Can't stand people who move in somewhere where the neighbour has trees and then complains about them. Took some stuff to Oxfam today and went into the estate agents next door, coming out with loads of particulars of places with more space and storage. Why do so many have the only access to the garden via the carpeted living room's patio doors? Where do the wellies go? The place I looked at had a bush growing right up to the front window and a deeply gloomy pergola over the back, facing north east. If I were to move in there, I would confound my own opinions - but I won't because of the garden access. They have downstairs loos by the front door, not the garden access. Not logical. Vise/vice - vice is the correct UK spelling of the device for gripping work while sawing, drilling etc. According to British spelling rules, vise would be pronounced with a z sound - is that the US pronounciation? Loaded the car with boxes and a bag of packaging stuff to take to Dad's for decluttering there. Defeated part of the object by buying two nice blouses at Oxfam, and then spending a voucher they gave me for taking stuff in on a pair of trousers and a gilet at M&S. Penny |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Dec 08 - 06:25 PM My Random House Speller/Divider lists "vise" as a clamp (see vice)" and "vice (immorality)" and "vice (in place of)" (like vice president, etc.). I've read enough British and American literature that with a word like that it all comes from context and neither looks like incorrect usage as the clamp. Dropped off Women's Memorial items at the American Legion. Thought I'd gag from the smoke in there. Cigars. Acck! The guys there said they do have a few women members who were WACs and WAVEs. I hope they kept their military issue gas masks, if they have them. (Anyone remember the line in Body Heat when everyone in the room lights up, and when offered a cigarette, Ted Danson refuses, winces, and responds "I'll just breathe the air.") SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Bat Goddess Date: 01 Dec 08 - 06:54 PM Ya know how things, if they sit in one place long enough, become invisible? Somehow, though, the other day I actually SAW the books on the side of the built in hutch...and wondered, what the heck have they been doing here for the past, oh, fifteen, twenty years?!! They were sort of food additive, vitamin, ginseng-ish mostly paperbacks -- some VERY outdated and the others (after I ascertain which are keepers) should go with the health, vitamin, herb, gardening books in the bookcase in the upstairs hall. Okay, that's one small batch dealt with. The next library sale is in May, but I intend to have more for them then the two boxes I had a month ago. While I'm at it, I really should pull more stuff out of the hutch and rearrange things. Probably Freecycle the covered cake stand...and the covered cheese dish. Good ideas at the time, but I have never even once used either one. I should cull trays, too. I can't seem to pass them up at yardsales but have way more than I need even if I spend the rest of my life entertaining. But in the immediate future, I think I'll leave stuff in the hutch til after the holidays. I really need to move the boxes of stuff to be de-accessioned off the couch and out of the living room so we'll have a place to put a TREE! One step forward, two steps back... (but the books got moved) Linn |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: CamiSu Date: 01 Dec 08 - 10:19 PM Penny-- I am often fascinated by how we are divided by a common language. And I have heard it pronounced same as vice, and with a tiny bit of a z--but only a little. However I have not been everywhere and so, who knows how they say it in Cincinnati? I do know that they say zink for sink there. Cami |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: wysiwyg Date: 02 Dec 08 - 09:45 AM Finally have both guest beds "dressed" and their spare linens sorted and stowed. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: MAG Date: 02 Dec 08 - 10:31 AM I don't have to be at work until 9:30 today so I think I'll go out and whack away at the brambles some more. Goal: get rid of all the brambles down to the root. I used to like having the fruit, but the brambles just take over and my yard isn't that big. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: LilyFestre Date: 02 Dec 08 - 12:07 PM Got rid of some brambles this morning myself, long overdue, I might add! Then I picked up the back yard and side yard, swept the deck, hung laundry on the line, did some dishes, have more laundry going and I'm sure I'll find something to putter about with. I am loving being home and wish I could do it more often. Ah but yes...what's that I hear blowing in the treetops? Hmmmmm...... Michelle |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: mouldy Date: 02 Dec 08 - 03:39 PM The vice is attached to the workbench (aka old kitchen units) that are down one side of the single size pre-fab garage. I would be tempted to take it with me, however. Rapidly de-cluttering the log pile into my burner at the moment! Andrea |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Dec 08 - 04:06 PM My wallet took a big hit--the cat went to the vet. Her problem seems to be treatable, but why is it pets have $400 vet bills at the holidays? This same cat had an expensive problem about three years ago that really ate into the budget. I have a lot of things almost ready to shove out the door or online or wherever. I better get moving, to keep up with the pet bills. . . SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: wysiwyg Date: 02 Dec 08 - 04:57 PM You know how it is-- every time new linens come into the house, all the existing linens shuffle around. Today two queen-size down comforters got tied into duvet covers that coordinate with the rooms where they live. A third (twin) was already in one and was small enough not to shift in its cov er too much so I left it the heck alone, because I'd already broken one needle and bent the only other good one for the job-- but Hardi was getting nervous sleeping with safety pins in his corners! :~) Also a non-working microwave left the building tonight. The second guest room is looking more guesty and less like a storage locker. I just have to clear up the autoharp felt bits (Hardi re-felts in that room for me), and suck out the dead little friends we country folk refer to as "cluster flies." ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Dec 08 - 12:04 AM The kitchen looks great but the couch is heaped with laundry needing folding. It's always something (but at least the laundry is clean!) |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: wysiwyg Date: 03 Dec 08 - 01:28 PM ohgogohgodohgodddd...... I cannnnn'tttt...... Sigh. I'm just back from upstairs "guest prep." I am at that AWFUL stage of long-term re-re-re-organizing where I have declutted enough, in the past, that the rooms LOOK like they aren't TOO cluttered.... but where every single item that really doesn't belong there stands out like a sore thumb, BEGGING to be put "away" but where I have NO IDEA where to put them or if I should pitch them, etc...... So I came back downstairs! :~) The guests arriving are fam. I'll beg their help up there! :~) (They're YOUNG!) I'm low on calories with metabolism raging-- I bet I'll feel less overwhelmed after a mini-meal. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: vectis Date: 03 Dec 08 - 06:09 PM Father in law died at the end of last month and have taken oodles of his stuff down to the charity shops whilst clearing his house. Made us look at our over stuffed home and realise that if we are going to emigrate as planned we really must get rid of everything we won't need "over there" in NZ. We have reduced the two spare bedrooms to basics and only one change of bedding. Sorted the linen cupboard to only that worth shipping. Good Grief! the thing is half empty and all the drawers no longer need a sledgehammer to close them. The other spare room is full of stuff and we'll be emptying it as fast as we can. we may even be able to walk to the window by Christmas... At last! I can join the de-cluttering club. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Dec 08 - 07:04 PM You've discovered one of the best de-clutter motivators there is--having to clear out someone else's stuff. The trouble with that method is that it is too easy to wait till the impulse passes. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: MAG Date: 03 Dec 08 - 10:54 PM I have to catch yet another goddam possum. I went out to get something from my car and there it was sitting in the middle of my street sassy as you please. Fortunately I have the live trap from '07 summer. (caught two then). Unfortunately my Scampy cat took off after it and chased it into the neighbor's backyard. Now I'm sitting here on pins and needles until he is back homesafely. I baited the trap with half a banana. I hope they like fruit. I can't use cat food or the strays will get into the trap. I have been REAL careful not to put out enough food to be there after dark. The damn things just are all over twon. Some say it is all the wineries here; they supposedly like grapes. goddam! They are mean and ugly. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: wysiwyg Date: 03 Dec 08 - 11:17 PM Of course once I headed back upstairs to test-fit the remade curtains I'd been hand-sewing all afternoon, I noticed that I had organized it ALL. Except for the stuff I put in our BR for another day's linen culling. It's all ready to vacuum now! And it's pretty, too. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Dec 08 - 11:21 PM We live on the creek at the edge of a wood. No point in trapping all of the critters that pass through our front yard, and if anything is imprudent enough to get into the back yard, the dogs dispatch them. They've killed several possums, squirrels, snakes, birds, little things (rats, mice, lizards, alas. . . and tarantulas.) Got a skunk a couple of months ago. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: MAG Date: 04 Dec 08 - 12:27 AM I hear ya, SRS; I'm glad you live with a pretty crik and woods. I am in a town, and critters wandering around are not fun. They carry rabies. Cats, as opposed to dogs, can be killed by possums as well as raccoons. The little stinker (cat) is outside now and won't come in. At least he is making friends with the kittens, finally. Another sleepless night, drat it. grrr! |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: katlaughing Date: 04 Dec 08 - 10:29 AM My friend used to work at the zoo in Providence, RI. She became known as the lady who takes care of animal waifs. She had many baby possums brought to her whose mothers had been killed by drivers at night as they liked to get on the roads then for some reason. Anyway, the babies were cute, liked to ride around nestled in her hair and loved boiled eggs. My daughter took care of one one weekend and we enjoyed it. Wasn't mean at all, of course it was a baby and was used to being handled, plus she had lots of other pets. If my cats were outside at all I wouldn't want them around, though. I will declutter more as soon as I finish up the xmas gifts, wrap then, put them in boxes and take them to the post office!:-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: maire-aine Date: 04 Dec 08 - 01:43 PM I see a possum out behind the garage now and then, usually when I pull up the driveway at night. My cat never goes outside, so I don't need to worry about contact. I don't bother the possum, and s/he doesn't bother me. I got the ornaments on the tree, and the last of the cards into the mail. Still must polish the candlesticks for the buffet. Got my teeth cleaned at the dentist this morning-- does that count as de-cluttering? Laundry is done, but needs to be hung up/put away. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Liz the Squeak Date: 04 Dec 08 - 05:40 PM Vectis - if your dragons need a home not in NZ, I'm sure I could find a little corner here.... :D I decluttered some Christmas presents into their respective wrappings and boxes this week. 3 out of 4 overseas are on their way. I just can't find where I decluttered that last small box to in the summer, which would be ideal to put this slightly less than robust package that was entrusted to me... Hmmm.. that's the downside to decluttering. LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: vectis Date: 04 Dec 08 - 07:37 PM WHAT ABANDON MY DRAGONS??????? Never! But thanks for the offer it is comforting to know they would have had a good home if I were to leave them behind. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: maire-aine Date: 04 Dec 08 - 11:56 PM I boxed up some glassware that I wasn't using, and that made room on the bookshelf for about 20 or so books that were occupying a chair in the LR. I also tidied up a small corner of the spare bedroom, and put the ornament boxes back upstairs. Tomorrow morning I plan to make muffins (to take to a breakfast potluck/meeting), so that will clear off a trayful of ingredients on the diningroom table. And tomorrow is trash day, so I'll have to get up early. I even started toying with the idea of having a small holiday "open house", since the decorations are up and the diningroom table will be cleared off soon. I still have time to pull something together, since I won't be working. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Dec 08 - 11:56 PM I was going to list some stuff this evening, but got a phone call and was sided tracked. Maybe tomorrow. I'll have the morning off. It would be a good time to list some items on eBay, I think. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: GUEST,MAG at work Date: 05 Dec 08 - 12:21 PM I put a bunch of T-shirts in a large plastic tub. Now I need a place to put the tub. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Dec 08 - 04:16 PM A little more posted online, but we're so close to the end of the semester that I don't think I'll have much free time until late next week. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Liz the Squeak Date: 05 Dec 08 - 04:42 PM Big push tomorrow... I want to get rid of a computer monitor and a TV that are presently cluttering the sitting room. Unable to freecycle them to anyone (it's a really old, really big monitor and the TV was on its way out which is why I replaced it last week when I found an LCD DigiTV on offer). The trip to the tip might also remove a couple of other items that are in the way, but it's a case of 'if I trash them, will I want them later'... so I may hang fire on that. LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Dec 08 - 05:37 PM "hang fire"? Is there someplace you can take old electronics that is set up specially to receive them? Here in Texas the Goodwill folks have truck trailers set up at the local recycle dropoff lot (also for household trash and bulky waste--a one-stop place). Goodwill tests each thing and if it works they sell it, if not, they have contracted to dispose of it safely. I will do de-clutter and eBay tomorrow, after all. But I also need to do Secret Santa santee SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 Dec 08 - 11:11 AM Today is a big push. De-clutterers, START YOUR ENGINES! Let's make room now for the mess that will come later this month. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: maeve Date: 07 Dec 08 - 09:58 AM Gave away two oak children's chairs yesterday, along with a bin of clothing, signage, kitchen tools, and whatever else I could fit into the car. Hauled a farm truck load of recycling and rubbish. Brought home good used fencing and posts, as well as a metal bed that will be repurposed for fencing and gates. Picked up another 4 big bags of white pine cones for kindling. Today we're cutting and hauling more firewood, and cycling mushrooms, carrots, and turnips through the dehydrator. I need to start the week's bread. I'm also clearing another load of things we don't need to make room for a...... WASHING MACHINE! *BG* We still have to install the plumbing for it, but at least I know it will soon be here. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: mouldy Date: 07 Dec 08 - 10:04 AM I'm contemplating getting the tree up earlier than ever - mainly because I got help last week to get decs etc out of the loft, and it's all just lowering at me in its boxes and such from the corner of the living room! Also, Eleanor's baby is due in 4 days, so things could get a bit chaotic shortly! Not having got the last bedroom sorted for Christmas, the stuff that's lying around downstairs (mainly crafty bits) can go up there till the new year, when I intend a full-on cull! Well I want to lose a work table to make more room for bedroom usage, and so some will have to go. I have to ice a big Christmas cake for my son in law, and that will clear up some space in the kitchen too. I've nearly finished the card writing, so they will be out of the way soon too. Andrea |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: wysiwyg Date: 07 Dec 08 - 10:54 AM WASHING MACHINE!--- !!!!!!!!!!! ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: maeve Date: 07 Dec 08 - 11:11 AM Yes, Susan. It's new and super-efficient in both water and energy use, and is a very generous Christmas gift from family. We are so grateful! We still have to do the plumbing for it and I have more kids' things to clear from the room, but it's a-coming. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Dec 08 - 11:26 AM Having gone for long spells without a washing machine myself, I know what a luxury these machines really are. And I was mostly just using laundromats, not washing in the tub (though I have done that on occasion). Lovely day today, so I'll winterise around the house. Pulling out some soaker hoses and repositioning a couple of others. The dogs have their heater set up--it only raises the temp in their space a few degrees. I was going to put a screen door up and put a pet door in that, but it is a special order. I may just go ahead and put the pet door in the solid wood side door, and make sure it's the kind that I can block shut if I need to. That would keep my girls a lot warmer. More eBay today. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Penny S. Date: 07 Dec 08 - 03:52 PM My sister and I boxed up Dad's books for family members who said they wanted them. I do not have room for those aimed for me, but they were important to my parents - books about Sussex - and i don't think they ought to go. Took a lot of the waste fabrics to Oxfam for recycling as flock or shoddy or something. I've started looking at houses. It may seema little contrary, but if I can declutter A and B into C, larger than A, a lot of problems with books, and guest with stuff, can be averted. Because of devious practices by the broadcasters switching digital TV on, my set top decoder ceased to operate in a sensible way. So I've bought a new one with a built in hard drive recorder. So new3 recordings will be on that, and as I watch through the stacked up videos I made during the period of Dad's death and the friend's mother's illness, I can get rid of them. More mounds reduced, bit by bit. I got rid of a stack of manuscript paper I rescued from the skip at school decades ago at Minchinhampton folk club, where it was welcomed. I think maybe should have kept one quire. Never mind. |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Liz the Squeak Date: 07 Dec 08 - 08:06 PM Didn't make it to the tip so there is still a lot of general crud around, but the monitor, old TV and a partially working CD/Radio/Cassette player got put in the front garden Saturday morning and were gone by Saturday evening... I taped the remote to the TV so whoever took it could still use it. I object to people taking things out of my garden on principle - it's my property and technically it's theft but it is a good way to get rid of stuff. Trouble is, I now no longer have a large enough load of crud to make the 4 mile round trip to the tip (sorry, Household Waste Disposal Site) viable. Ho hum. Still, at least I can walk around the front room without falling over a screen of some sort. LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Dec 08 - 11:07 AM There are people in town who do nothing but drive up and down streets looking for things left at the curb, either for the trash, or to be picked up by them. I often stick in a note if I know something about why it doesn't work or why I don't need it (and am not donating it to Goodwill, etc.). I've picked up items at the curb myself when I knew I could put them to use. I have a lovely little bench out on my front porch. It was a small table, made of redwood, that was missing one slat in it's solid surface. I think I posted a photo of it here before--I painted it and spaced the boards out to give it a different but still good look, and a new life. Before and After. I use that to sit on (it's a lovely seat in the morning in the sunshine. I take out my morning cup of tea and look at the garden) and I put potted plants on it and hide my sprinklers and nozzles under it to avoid tripping hazards on the porch. It really is quite obscene all of the materials we waste without attempting to reuse or recycle. I picked up three bags of ripe bananas (they sell for $1 a bag at Albertson's, and they each hold about 8 pounds of fruit). We'll eat a few, they're actually not quite as ripe as I like for eating, but most of them are destined for my annual baking to take to my co-workers. I have a few loaves frozen already. Consumable gifts are great--no trouble figuring out where to store it, eh? SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: Stilly River Sage Date: 08 Dec 08 - 11:45 PM I found a couple of more things to auction that will help with the closet clutter here. There is a Goddess-sized mink coat from my great aunt that is simply too heavy and too large to wear. They seem to be selling, albeit for a fraction of the original price, on eBay. It can be worn as a coat or used as a tent by small children. Needs sturdy tent poles, though, or they would be crushed by the weight of it. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: De-Cluttering De-Cember From: GUEST,Maire-Aine's SS's elves Date: 09 Dec 08 - 12:40 AM rustle...rustle... Maire-Aine, we're scratching about for clever ideas that don't add to clutter too badly... if only we could find that catalog... it must be in the other pile... Check the "Tease" thread for more! Hee! Hee! |
