BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: freda underhill
Date: 24 Jan 09 - 04:56 PM

this is long after the posts, but it was good to read the comments about ex's.

when I moved back in here after the renovations, I went through all the accumulated letters, cards, and documents, threw a lot out and kept the important ones in a large box under my bed. there were school reports for the kids (now adults) Christmas cards, documents from jobs etc. And a couple of toxic letters from my ex. Like you kat he'd tried to get custody, and kidnapped one of them in the process. he was one of those ones that became controlling, cruel and abusive after the wedding. when I got out after that marriage it took some years to regain my confidence.

I saw him at my youngest daughter's wedding in Austria in 2004, and made a point of being kind and courteous on the day.

He commented to friends afterwards that I had completely changed and was a different person.         I was just myself, a self he never saw or allowed me to be during the marriage.

I decided I only wanted good memories in that box under the bed, mostly because I know that one day my kids might be looking at them, clearing up when I've gone to the big de-clutter in the sky. so I threw out those two letters and now can't even remember what was in them.

I had some women friends over last night and we talked and laughed until late. One brought some fortune cookies for Chinese New year (it's now the Year of the Ox). It is a symbol of my life and where it's at now - all the things i want in my life are here. I have walked a long and curving path and brought the good with me, leaving some things (and people) behind here and there. And it's a very happy, creative, peaceful space.

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jan 09 - 05:52 PM

That's some good reasoning there all around, Freda. Congratulations on clearing out and slaying a couple of beasts while you were at it.

MAG, the computers that olddude had were cycled out from a company that had them set up for company use. He removed all of the data and they were bare, no monitors, keyboards, not even power cords. They still have a lot of life left in them, but to make them practical for home use, I imagine each one needed various modifications. It was a great starting point with a fast chip and a great heat sink, etc., and the friend who I got one for has enough computer savvy that with the donations from friends an a couple of hundred of his own dollars he got it going (thankfully, he was returned to full salary in December, but has a lot of bills to pay off now--he still treated himself to bits for this computer to make life easier and more pleasant). The 20 gig hard drive was tiny (that's what his 2001 Gateway had), but memory is cheap, so you can get a 500 gig hard drive for about $75. 128M of RAM was increased to 2 gig of RAM for another $80 or so, and it went like that. I gave him a new DVD burner for christmas and a few software programs (sometimes the older programs are better, like Nero 6, without all of the indexing nonsense), and another friend gave him the XP Pro OS and Windows Office 2003. It took a village and a couple of weeks. He does a lot of work on it, but I was so pleased to go in the other day and see that he finally has room so he can PLAY on his computer--he was building a SIMS zoo! :)

Maire-aine, there are several good online places for selling books. Amazon, Half.com (you don't necessarily have to sell them for half, see what others are charging and go from there), eBay, etc. And dust on bookshelves, I think that is standard for bookshelves. When I'm doing that kind of work that keeps me in one place for a while I like to put on an old movie (usually one I've seen a few times so I don't need to watch it all, I can treat it like radio) or a recorded book, something to keep me company and make the time pass all the more pleasantly. I kind of look forward to those types of jobs.

I made a bread pudding this afternoon and am planning a pot of chicken soup tonight. I'll get out some of my pint jars and freeze the rest of the beans I made earlier in the week. This batch is fabulous--I used a hot venison sausage to season them. Since it is cold and dreary today I also lit candles in the fireplace. I have a reflective mirror behind the grate, and I close the glass doors. I tossed a couple of candles that had burned down so far I was going to have to struggle to light them. I have a cupboard full of big clunky candles I buy at ridiculously low prices at craft stores and Home Depot, etc. when they clear out seasonal candles. Then I light several at a time in my fireplace (where I don't burn wood because it doesn't draw well). The look of flames is beautiful, and they keep cold air from blowing in down the chimney.

Now this is long, Freda!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 24 Jan 09 - 06:15 PM

Well, the crud in the front garden has gone. I spent this morning loading it into the car and after lunch I drove it to the tip where you'll be pleased to know that it went into the 'garden' section of the recycling centre (or 'the tip') where it will be mulched down and turned into the compost which they try to sell you on your way out!

The front garden was fairly cluttered with old plant pots that were full of litter, the remains of a rotten old wooden box that had been a raised flower bed and a lot of dead leaves. On top of that I'd put the cuttings and dead leaves from the back garden where I put up the new fence... in all there were 3 car loads of garden crap that went to be recycled.

So... now I have 2 neat rows of plant pots, all tidied and aireated nicely, a clear path (that just needs hosing down) and a litter free garden. Wonder how long that will last?

There is a little bit of rubble left in the back garden but I thought the poor old car deserved a rest - the rubble will fit nicely in the garden bag (an old Ikea bag) and I'll take it in a week or two, but otherwise, it's all done!

It looks a lot better - so much so I may even indulge myself tomorrow and buy a few more primrose plants to brighten up the pots in the front. I'm like that.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: katlaughing
Date: 24 Jan 09 - 08:17 PM

Wow, you've all done some good work!

Rog and I put away all of the clean clothes, except for one load in the dryer. While we were doing that, I went through three canvas box-type things in which I keep my underwear, socks, pjs and tee-shirts and emptied out a lot from them to giveaway. Rog took a full kitchen trash bag out to the car for me to drop off at sally army.

we then stopped, got the grandkid and sat down to watch the latest Indiana Jones.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: MAG
Date: 24 Jan 09 - 09:22 PM

Well, I spent all afternoon on the den and almost made it as far as the books; One side of the daybed is now clear; you can actually walk along it to the bookshelves at the other end. There were 2 boxes full of unsorted papers to go through to get to the shelves, plus other stuff. So basically one side of the room is in some kind of order.

Also soaked some laundry I discovered had cat pee on it in some enzyme cleaner (I like odormute).

Leftovers into a potato casserole that ought to feed me for 3 days.

Listening to PHC which is sort of OK most of the time.

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jan 09 - 11:23 PM

Been there, done that on the cat pee problem. These days I'm nursing the younger cat through what we think is fatty liver disease--the symptoms are classic. A fat cat that loses weight is susceptible to forming this problem because as the fat is broken down it isn't processed well and messes up the liver. The answer is to run calories through the cat to clean out the liver, but the condition itself causes a sort of anorexia, and death if it isn't treated. You have to force the food into the cat, sometimes for as long as three months. No fun for anyone.

MAG, do you plan to use old software and equipment with your computer? Do you have a good monitor and printer now? Would you like to travel with a computer? I'll send a few suggestions via email, but those answers would help me make those suggestions.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: maire-aine
Date: 24 Jan 09 - 11:54 PM

Went to the Sherlock Holmes group meeting this evening, and took two bags of "Holmes" books with me. I asked folks for a nominal amount, with the money going to Alzheimer's Association. All the books found new homes (people were really excited about some of the books), and Alz. is getting a $40 donation. Everybody came out a winner.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jan 09 - 12:15 PM

I've exchanged emails this weekend with a friend who moved out to a high elevation property in West Texas and is working on building a garden inside a cyclone fenced enclosure to keep the critters from eating all of his crops. He commented that back in the 70s there was a popular movement where apartment dwellers were stacking tires, filling them with dirt, and planting potatoes on their balconies and patios.

Aha! I live across the road from woods where tires have been dumped far too often. And it is still winter so I can see them when I go walking. This might be a way to de-clutter the woods a little and augment my garden. I'm putting in raised beds this year--why not also stack some tires around the garden and see if potatoes would grow happily there? I do need to research this--to find out of the old tires are decaying in a manner that would leech hydrocarbons into the beds. For some folks in higher, dryer climates, I would think this is a great trick to practice or to examine and modify to fit your particular space.

Meanwhile, I've pulled out my files for taxes and banking this morning and have sorted them to figure out where I have gaps. It's time to track down the missing pieces.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jan 09 - 03:48 PM

Tax papers assembled. Online forms printed. Blank notepad, sharpened pencil, calculator in place.

I need a nap first.

MAG, I've been looking at computer companies. If you plan to install older programs you already own onto the new computer, or to use older devices with it, and you want one that is less flawed and pushy, XP-Pro is still the better operating system. HP doesn't seem to offer XP at all (for best security they suggest VISTA Ulitimate). Dell offers some of their desktop computers with VISTA Business or Ultimate with a bonus to downgrade to XP Pro. It looks like they've set it up this way so "when you're ready" you can move the computer back into the VISTA environment. Dell's XP for Your PC page.

A few Dells to consider.

There are some lovely little mini laptops out there, but I don't know what all they can do--I think most data goes in and out of them through plug-in devices like external DVD burners, flash drives, etc. You'd want to decide what size monitor you can live with or if you want to plug a larger monitor and your printer into the back of the laptop. HP, Dell, Acer, lots of computers have these ultra small laptops, so you need to keep in mind how you'll use it. I wouldn't want to listen to my CDs through one and I think the player is external on a lot of them. I suppose if you're going to use it with headphones it can act like an mp3 player.

Little Dell computers. These also include XP Home and VISTA downgraded to XP.

Little HP computers. They offer HP and a Presario. No XP options here either.

Lenovo is the name of the of the company that produces the computers now that IBM is out of the PC business. They also use VISTA, and they tend to be more expensive.

Let us know what you're thinking about and we can come up with something you can order or go buy and keep up with the declutterers.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: maire-aine
Date: 25 Jan 09 - 03:55 PM

I found 2 more boxes in the garage, so I was able to keep going. All of the books are off of the 2nd bookcase. There is one shelf full of magazines, but they're all in slipcases, so they'll be easy to move when the time comes. And there are still a lot of knick-knacks (candleholders, mugs, little teapots, etc) that need to be wrapped up and boxed. All of the gardening books are now together upstairs, and I've picked several books that I want to move to the front of the "read now" list.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: SINSULL
Date: 25 Jan 09 - 04:18 PM

I have emptied several boxes - mostly old papers I don't need any more.
But now I have piles of stuff I do need. What a mess!

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: katlaughing
Date: 25 Jan 09 - 04:39 PM

Rog and I went for a drive and talked about decluttering. Does that count?:-)

When we got backed, I called Rue to offer her two old prints which are of a contemporary of Maxfield Parrish's and I rehung a couple of small bird pix in the kitchen from the hall wall which we will paint this spring. We also identified a couple of other prints which will be given to family and/or sold.

I took down a leaded/stained glass hanging art piece from the front window to sell on ebay but can't get decent pix of it today. It's too cloudy and late in the day. At least it is down and cleaned up. Oof! The dust! Speaking of, Rog dusted the three ceiling fans we have. Ugh!

What would you all think of a permathread for a Mudcat Book Exchange? I was telling him, today, that I'd rather give my books away to friends whom I know will treasure them than sell them to complete strangers, plus book-selling hasn't worked very well for me on ebay. I know it might seem counter-productive to the decluttering, but if all of Mudcat were in on it, maybe not? (Thing of all the ones who have not been in this thread, who could take them off our hands!

I am off to see what else I can do. Oh, Rog also hung a windchime outside for me and moved a couple of others which were inside. I have a lot of them and bells hanging here and there.

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jan 09 - 04:49 PM

Maybe there is one of those existing book exchange places that you could use, and if you stick Mudcat in the text it would come up in a search by other Mudcatters? Then you'd attract Mudcatters but would have other takers as well.

With your glass you have a couple of options. If the glass is translucent, then prop it up with a lamp behind it. Place the light far enough back that it is diffuse in lighting the window. Or, clear or translucent, lay the window down on a white piece of paper and see if you can photograph it from an angle so your camera flash doesn't it it. The other thing you could do is make a screen backdrop (don't ask me how--maybe drape a white sheet between a couple of chairs?) then put a light behind it and the window in front of it. Again, don't be perpendicular to the glass or you'll have your flash show up in the photo.

I've cleaned up the cat. She's very ill and isn't likely to survive, but we're treating her, thinking she has fatty liver disease, so I have to shovel or syringe about a half can of the veterinary cat food down her. We did a little sponge bath this afternoon, to groom her coat a little and pick off food from around her face. Poor little kiddo. She also has clean towels and bedding in her favorite cubbies in the room where I have her stay much of the day. This way I can monitor her litter box output to be sure she's drinking enough water, etc.

BTW: I have a piece of leaded glass that I want to hang up somewhere in the house. It's getting some light behind it that is the trick. Maybe hang it in front of a mirror, but that gets quite complicated. I have windows, but they're not easy to hang things in front of.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: katlaughing
Date: 25 Jan 09 - 05:55 PM

Oh, Maggie, that's so sad about your kitty. Good for you for making her as comfortable as possible. Puir little thing.

Thanks for the pointers on takign decent pix of the glass thing; it is translucent. You can see a close up of about 2/3rds of it HERE at the bottom. I like the idea of draping something between two chairs, setting a light behind, etc. I can do that, thanks!

Do you have a room where the sunshine comes in and you could hang your glass piece from the ceiling where the sun might strike it? We have a half-wall between the living room and dining room which would work for such. I also saw a neat thing you might want to think about doing with it. Someone has built a wooden privacy bower with stained, leaded glass rectangles framed and set in the walls of it. It is really neat and what I thought I would someday do with this, but I don't have the skill, materials, nor wall, so there it goes. I also do not have much attachment to this piece, which helps. If you want em to take a picture of what they've done, let me know. It's only a couple of miles from our house.

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Jan 09 - 06:32 PM

I have a couple of "pony walls" (what my contractor calls the half-walls that I think you have in mind) but they have spindles from the wall to the ceiling too close together for the glass. But I could suspend it in front of the spindles, I suppose. I have some decorative bars in the dining room, and that is the area I've most seriously thought about hanging it. Or I could suspend it from the top of the doorway by the stationary side of the sliding glass door to the back yard, but I have blinds that would block it most of the time. I may just hang it against a wall and let it look interesting there.

I can tell by the clapboards more or less the size of that piece, but be sure to put something like a yard stick in the photo for scale. That's a pretty piece--you definitely need something like a sheet to difuse the light before you try to take a photo.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jan 09 - 12:27 AM

Funeral to attend tomorrow afternoon, so I may not get much extra done because of that. But taxes are set up and ready to go.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: katlaughing
Date: 26 Jan 09 - 12:41 AM

I hope tomorrow is not too sad for you.

I've never heard them called "pony walls." Ours doesn't have the spindles, which I am glad of; I don't esp. like them and I like the openness of the space, plus I have a lot of light which comes in there from the DR southerly window.

Thanks for the ruler suggestion. It is just about 36" by probably 12-14." I'll have to measure it. I have no idea what it is worth nor who made it. It was a leftover from a Girl Scout tag sale and the owner did not want it back, so she gave it to me, along with some other stuff. I like the colour of the house behind it in that picture.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 26 Jan 09 - 09:26 AM

Decluttering the corner next to the door now.. perhaps this means I'll be able to close it now.

It required the purchase of another set of Really Useful Boxes - in a handy drawer arrangement. There went the family history!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: katlaughing
Date: 26 Jan 09 - 03:49 PM

Kewl, LtS!

I have declutterd some of the paper notes on my desk, PLUS have loaded two stacks of CDs onto my HD. It's not taking nearly as long as I thought it would. When I get them done, I can then load and program in each actual CD into my CD changer and have them in the LR or on the PC in the office, easy-peasy. well, sort of. It does take more time to load them into the changer, but at least I've started!

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jan 09 - 10:05 PM

Ice storm due over the next couple of days, so rather than emptying out my pickup, I went by Home Depot and bought about 300 pounds of bagged manure, humus, and top soil (it all cost less than $10) to put in the pickup bed in the back by the tailgate.

You mentioned a few posts back about "talking about de-cluttering," but sometimes that is just what it takes. Or making a point of thinking about it when you're doing something like dishwashing that doesn't require a great deal of concentration. I've sorted a couple of projects that way lately.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: katlaughing
Date: 27 Jan 09 - 12:34 AM

Yes, I can see that these threads have been a great avenue for discussing what we'd like to do as well as what we have done. It has really been a sustained kind of motivation for me.

I called the docs and the pharmacy, today, and got the year end spending reports (shocking... I knew we spent a lot on copays, but almost $2,000 for meds seems horrible!) so I can do our taxes. I don't think it will be by the end of the month, but close to it. For the past two years I have itemised and we've gotten more back. I should go back, sometime and file an amended return for the year of my surgery. We spent a lot that year.

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jan 09 - 01:02 AM

The year my daughter had surgery and dental work (wisdom teeth) I had enough copays and insurance payments to give me a bigger return. Good luck in finding all of those payments the first time through the stack of papers!

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jan 09 - 08:47 AM

I have the day off, the university is closed in anticipation of ice. But my son still has to go to school. I may have to go pick him up at mid-day. Grrrrr.

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: maire-aine
Date: 27 Jan 09 - 02:25 PM

All of the books are off of all 3 bookcases, and a painter is coming this afternoon to give me an estimate. And I just noticed that my Christmas cactus is blooming like crazy; it has buds all over it. I had moved it to a different window, where it gets better light.

M

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: GUEST,MAG
Date: 27 Jan 09 - 02:56 PM

well after getting a nice big whack on Sunday I vegged out yesterday and finished *Callahan's Crosstime Saloon.*

I wish I could say it was a lift, but the truth is, I want to find the saloon, just like hundreds of other fans.

I want a hundred close friends all in the same party, helping each other over the rough spots.

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: katlaughing
Date: 27 Jan 09 - 05:42 PM

Wouldn't that be a great time, MAG!

I have done two more stacks of CDs onto my HD. Now, the big job, I have to take the hundred or so that are already in my CD changer. Put them all on the HD, then put them back, only this time in alphabetical order! As I don't have their cases any more, I will have to get a file drawer thing and put them in it so it will be easier to get to them and to keep them from dust.

On Sunday, besides identifying some things we will give away or sell, I also asked Rog to move around a few windchimes and I moved a couple of prints. I am amazed at how much of a difference even those little things made. Morgan had not been over since Sat. and he noticed, today. Wanted to know "why" we moved stuff, of course.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Jan 09 - 05:49 PM

I don't know that story at all. What is it?

Icky day has mostly passed, the worst of the ice hasn't arrived, but we're due sleet overnight. So we'd have been okay at work today, meaning we'll go tomorrow and then we'll get clobbered. Weather prediction gets another black eye.

Nursing a cat and a stiff neck. The neck has been coming on slowly, I think it has to do with how I've positioned my monitors. I'll adjust my chair and desk and see if that helps. Cat is getting stronger, protests being fed, but I need to keep this up because she won't eat for herself yet.

I've been re-associating old email files with newer versions and other stuff on my computer this afternoon, and am getting closer to my original eBay setup. I need to install a couple more programs and I'm set. I think. I need to get back to that. I also need to donate some stuff (piled up here) and do the taxes. Maybe tonight. I have a movie I'd like to watch, so maybe I can set up on a small table in front of the TV and do some of the simple adding up of things before I sit without interruption and actually do the taxes themselves.

Good work on those bookshelves, Mary Ann! It will feel like a new room to have fresh paint and neatly arranged volumes.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jan 09 - 11:51 AM

Our thread is slipping toward the bottom here near the end of the month, but it's mid-week of a weird week, so I guess we're lucky it didn't completely vanish.

A day and a half off from work for bad weather always seems to go this way--it's not like a pastoral winter cottage scene, it's about compensating for the cold and the mess and having an extra ache or pain in the process. (I have a stiff neck because I repositioned my computer monitors in relation to the television in the room. I'm pretty sure I need to move things again so to avoid the ache.)

Kat, I made a comment on your necklace auction about sharing beads for a Mudcat auction some day. I have plans for several things but I know there will be leftover beads when they're finished. How many of us are (or are potentially) jewelry makers?

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: maeve
Date: 28 Jan 09 - 12:01 PM

A small community of women here have joined efforts to form a Frugality group. One of our goals is to help one another get rid of what we don't need. To that end, I bagged up some children's clothing and delivered it to a woman who will take it to a consignment shop and open an account for me. Another woman brought the few things she managed to weed out of her extensive collection (a major accomplishment for her), and a neighbor and I will take it to the village swap shop.

I make jewelry also, SRS. I even know where most of my supplies are!


maeve

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 Jan 09 - 12:30 PM

There are a few of us, Maggie. I know Jeri does some beading. Can't remember who else besides her and maeve:-). Maybe a look through the Crafters' thread? I do remember sending some leftovers to Jeri a few years ago. So how would it work. Put some in the auction or just do a bead exchange? Thanks to Michelle Obama, vintage is now the hot thing, like that one I did with the clear crystals and art deco brooch (bottom of page) This according to Kovell's latest email newsletter. Anyway, I'd definitely be open to doing either one, auction or trade.

I forgot about a small basket in in which I put some CDs, so I've a bit more to save today then on to the changer.:-< BUT, first I am going to see what's what with our taxes...get to adding up totals, etc.

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: maire-aine
Date: 28 Jan 09 - 01:50 PM

The painter & I came to an agreement, so he's going to start on 9-Feb. I've got that much time to box up the loose knick-knacks & fragile stuff in the china cabinet.

We got more snow overnight, about 1.5 inches this time. Everybody around here is getting tired of it. We've already reached our average snow amount for the entire winter season, and we're still in January. Yuck.

M

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 28 Jan 09 - 06:34 PM

I could spend a week just sorting out this room here, the smallest one - even the bathroom is bigger - but it won't happen.... just too damned tired all the time.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 Jan 09 - 07:24 PM

LtS, you've been doing a lot of extra duty stuff in the past week or two, (It happens to the best of us:-), so give yerself a break and just let it sit for a bit. OH, and think of how Micca's going to repay for mog-minding!**bg**

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jan 09 - 12:36 AM

Moonglow came down to cuddle the ailing kitty and say her goodbyes, should that be what is called for. We also managed to load the kids (her boyfriend came also) with some food (!) and magazines to be cut up for a class project, plus a sleeping bag to leave in the car during the cold weather. I always have a blanket in my truck, and when it gets cold I also put a down sleeping bag out there. No one plans to get stranded or have to help out at an accident, but it is good to be prepared in case.

I helped de-clutter the next-door-neighbor's computer. She was having problems with the browser window "hanging" and I think it was Spybot Search and Destroy having problems. I had to uninstall then reinstall it myself last week. We cleared out the cache, the temporary files, etc., and updated a couple of programs. Hopefully this will work. She said she hates to bother me and had her brother help, and it is good she has her brother to help the last time she had problems (he's in Missouri, so they did it via long distance), but I don't mind at all. It's nice to be able to help neighbors. I try to explain what I'm doing so she'll understand how these things work. I'm not so sure that that part sinks in.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: GUEST,LTS pretending to work
Date: 29 Jan 09 - 07:33 AM

Oh Kat, he is going to pay... and pay and pay and pay!!!

LTS (more cheerful now the drugs have kicked in... almost floaty you could say!)

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: katlaughing
Date: 29 Jan 09 - 03:50 PM

Somebody tie an anchor on that woman lest she float away!**bg**

Finally got the art glass hanging listed on ebay. Took me most of the morning, making sure I'd got all of the info listed AND getting decent pix. Even so, they are not the greatest, but I needed to get it on there, so there 'tis.

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: MAG
Date: 29 Jan 09 - 08:43 PM

Got through a few more papers, plus some laundry.

At work I have some dont's on decluttering if anybody wants to see them.

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: maeve
Date: 30 Jan 09 - 07:04 AM

Sure, MAG; let's see the Shalt Nots of Decluttering.

maeve

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: maeve
Date: 30 Jan 09 - 07:11 AM

Have y'all seen this worthy project? It fits in well with what we've been doing here.

Heifer Project

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: GUEST,MAG at work (on my own time tho')
Date: 30 Jan 09 - 11:35 AM

OK, here they are. Cluttering is not as bad as hoarding, and these days I'm realizing I am a clutterer, not a hoarder. Still these thoughts I have found helpful. These are paraphrased from a webpage; I can't remember now which one.

Simplified Hoarding is about the fear of throwing something away that you might need someday, of not being able to remember it perfectly or that if thrown away it will cause a problem or that something bad may happen.
MISCONCEPTION: The moment I discard this item I discard a part of myself.
MISCONCEPTION: The moment I decide to throw something away I may be making the wrong choice.
MISCONCEPTION: The moment I am unable to know how to categorize an item, I will place it in sight so I will know where it is.
MISCONCEPTION: The moment my object has a use, I have to keep/use it so it doesn't get wasted.
MISCONCEPTION: The moment you decide to throw something away, you no longer are the person in control and what happens to this item will be in the hands of others.
MISCONCEPTION: The moment you throw something away, you may forget its content or the way it looked and it will be gone forever.

(fear of letting go, of moving on.)
Letting go of things in life is so needed if we want to experience some sense of freedom.

MISCONCEPTION: The moment you throw something away, you let go of that specific part of your life, however insignificant it may be.

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jan 09 - 12:18 PM

If you grew up with Depression-era parents, you saw this kind of behavior in action, learned during years when you didn't throw stuff out automatically, you adapted it for reuse or you repaired it. I think some of that thinking came through without the context of rationing and shortage being in place and resulted in people not being able to discard those useful objects. I know I recognize many of those statements. It's why I try to recycle and not just fill up a landfill. I know there are consequences of filling up landfills, and if we reuse things we discourage the production of new, the mining of resources, the growing of materials that all may not be necessary.

It's sorting out all of these impulses and finding sound information that is so useful in learning to de-clutter.

I checked the post office mail today and the last of the tax forms arrived. I hadn't managed to track down all of this information online, but there is no excuse, I need to do the taxes tomorrow and get them into the mail. I wanted to do them in January, and I have that one day left.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: maire-aine
Date: 30 Jan 09 - 06:16 PM

I've decided that I want to move the 3 bookcases upstairs to the music/computer room. That's were I'm most likely to use the books anyway. I'll have one of the painter's crew help me move them. I'm old enough/smart enough to realize not to try and bring them up myself. I brought them downstairs years ago, but then I had gravity helping me.

Maryanne

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: GUEST,MAG at work
Date: 30 Jan 09 - 08:42 PM

Really sorry about your cat, Sage. It's a wrench, I know, even though it sounds like you did the right thing.

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 02:05 AM

There's an empty feeling in the house without that extra set of feet and her bell ringing to announce her arrival, but she had been quiet and lethargic for a while. I don't know if the other cat has even quite figured out that she's not here, though he may be way ahead of us and have known she was sick a long time ago. She was in a separate room for several weeks, but came out every day and he hung out with her sometimes. Her cage was on the floor inside the door for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon, so he may have stopped and sniffed and realized she wasn't with us any more. She was such a sweetheart. I always kind of figured the old grouchy cat would go first, and then we'd have a few years with just a really nice little cat. The old one isn't bad, he's just incredibly bossy. Right now he's up in my lap making sympathetic and happy purring noises.

Good plan on the bookshelves. If you pull a muscle or otherwise hurt your back doing this, it will make the rest difficult or impossible. The thing I have mastered, as someone who does a lot of projects by herself, is how to take many pieces of furniture apart. Moving it in small pieces is one way to compensate if you don't have a strong painterly back to help you.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 04:15 PM

Time soon for a new thread. Despite the expected slow down after the holidays, with the process of picking up after ourselves (ornaments, trees, cooking, etc.) we've all made progress.

This morning I'm taking a close survey of the rooms I've worked on. I decided that some spaces are small enough to give a through once-over that I can finish today. I'll completely scrub everything in the master bathroom--sweep and wash the floor, scrub the tub, the Mexican tile walls, the toilet and sink and counter tops. I'll put the shower curtain and liner in the wash with some rough towels to scrape off the soap scum that has built up. I may empty all of the shelves in my closet and organize the blouses and sweaters. They do need that. I also need to get rid of some of the extra jeans and pants I never wear.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, this morning I started at the stove and put away pans, cleaned the stove top and adjacent counter, and polished the copper kettle I always keep on the stove top. I emptied a couple of ceramic decorative containers of chopsticks, bamboo tongs, wooden spoons and various spatulas then the jars were washed and put back. I'll work my way around the kitchen that way, giving it a late-winter/early-spring cleaning.

I see that my paycheck was deposited today so I can do some shopping. Top of the list is kleenex--we used a lot this week. I'm also thinking of picking up a couple of shelves for the corner in the kitchen, to display some of my antique cookbooks. I found myself digging through several shelves and cabinets to find all of them earlier this week when searching for a recipe for a friend. It's time to admit that I have a sizable collection and put them all in one place where they can be used and admired.

This evening, it's income taxes.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 06:54 PM

Decluttered 2 more videos into the charity bin today... replaced them with DVDs from the bargain bin!

I started February's thread...

Keep the faith sisters (and brothers if there are any, although I don't see much evidence... sort of speaks volumes doesn't it?!)!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Tinker
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 07:07 PM

This month has found unexpected burst of cleaning. And as I sit and look at a cleared diningroom table and organized desk -- perhaps by this time next month the rest of the dining room will catch up.

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: katlaughing
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 07:28 PM

I had a week's worth of dishes done by 9a this morning, then we hit the road to run errands.

Started in on the taxes, again, about 1p and have just now given up until Monday when I will work on getting more figures and paperwork to do them online at turbotax. Discouraging as I can't get access to some other info I need until Monday and so far it says we will only get back 58 dollars! That's with over $1900 in med copays and about $2300 in other medical expenses. I thought we'd be able to deduct the home improvement of $1800 for dead tree removal and tree trimming, but I guess not. Maybe I'll look at another tax service. My dau. just paid $200 for H&R Block to do hers! (Not something I will do!) Anyway, I have made a valiant effort to have them done by the end of Jan.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: maeve
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 08:16 PM

There are indeed brothers following this thread, whether thay post or not. It's worth remembering that not all who are following and decluttering care to post, but all can use encouragement.

Onward and upward, everybody! See you around in February 2009.

maeve

Subject: RE: BS: January 2009 De-Clutter off & running
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 06:02 AM

Apologies forwarded then, to any brothers participating in the declutter...


Oh, and 250!

LTS