July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 05 Jul 10 - 08:40 AM

Oh don't... I have a pile of stuff I should be doing instead of being up here but I'm up here to print off flyers about a missing kitty... trouble is, the printer is playing up and even though it's a new cartridge, it's coming out striped so it looks like I've lost a zebra. Even the colour (which the machine swears is full) is only coming out yellow so it looks like hazard tape... can't get a decent flyer sorted to put up round the neighbourhood to help find lost kitty.

LTS

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: ragdall
Date: 05 Jul 10 - 02:15 AM

Stilly River Sage,

What a fantastic find those playbills were and a bonus getting history to go with them.

I'm glad that you mentioned the film canisters (which, since digital cameras took over, are no longer common). I have two boxes of them that I was going to throw in the trash. Now I'll have an excuse to hang on to them until September in case an art teacher might want them.   

Do you ever wonder if the neatly stacked, colour co-ordinated dishes in cupboards ever get used? Maybe those are the show pieces, the dishes they really use are hidden out of sight, possibly waiting in the sink to be washed?

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jul 10 - 11:34 PM

The dogs are clean and are tucked away in the hall bathroom while the fireworks noise carries on outside. They bark at birds and coyotes and people and cars and it's just a bark, but the fireworks make them nervous. They need their heartworm stuff today, and so had to have baths. I am switching back to Revolution after this. Much easier, and they each get the same sized dose, so I buy less at a time.

I hope you all had a nice fourth of July!

SRS

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: Eiseley
Date: 04 Jul 10 - 10:49 PM

Finally I'm back on a computer. My beloved sons downloaded some terrible viruses that corrupted the system. Thankfully I had just backed everything up, but the computer is still at the doctor getting its stomach pumped. I was complaining about it to a friend and he suggested I borrow a laptop from work. What a good idea! But the past weeks of diligent decluttering showed me how much time I spend on the electronic "toy" when it's available.

Hors d'oeuvres with the neighbors tonight, and now some fresh potato salad before I watch the beloved sons light their hoarded fireworks.

Eiseley

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: LilyFestre
Date: 04 Jul 10 - 10:09 PM

Went to the annual church picnic today and think I did fairly well with the food....it was a bring a dish to pass kind of thing with the church providing hamburgers and hotdogs. I filled my plate with watermelon, beans, two jello salads I KNOW were sugar free because I know who made them and a paper cup full of an amazing fresh fruit salad. In the end, I ate only about 3/4's of it because Jeremiah was a little fussy and needed his lunch too.

It was too darn hot to do much else. :p Wish my pool was ready...would have loved to go for a swim this afternoon!

I didn't do one chore today. Not one. HAPPY 4th of July to ME! LOL

Michelle

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jul 10 - 01:49 PM

Kat, do you find yourself drawn to the photos of nice kitchens in publications like Martha Stewart Living? All of those matching pieces, efficiently stacked, hung, nested, whatever? I haven't the courage (yet) to take the cupboards down from my cabinets here, and it does make the room look busier that way, but it is interesting when the everyday objects almost display like art.

Having a staging area is such an efficient way to work on stuff. We all know that the trick is to finish the work and take the little table back down (and then don't you feel like you've really accomplished something!)

I'll using my dining room table as staging for those playbills, they're pretty heavy for a card table (though I have one of those - an antique from my great aunt's house, one of the old ones with a leather top). The trick will be to get rid of these boxes and get some better ones to store them in.

I'm going to defrost a bird and barbecue a chicken this evening. I expect to be here by myself, but if anyone comes by, I'll have the start to a nice festive holiday meal.

SRS

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Jul 10 - 01:16 PM

We took several small packages to the post office, yesterday, reducing the clutter on my desk and the little table by the front door. We also went out to the storage shed, looking for a specific VHS tape, which we didn't find, but reorganized things a bit and started a take-to-the-dump pile which includes two large trunks which are rusted out and of no use to anyone.

This morning, I had Rog set up a card table in the living room, to act as a "staging" area for loading up boxes of stuff to go. Right now, it has a large box on it in which I've put our oldest daughter's artwork from high school; some really beautiful works, along with other prints etc. which we will send out to her next payday. I will probably finish filling it, today, tape it up and have it ready to go, then I can start in on boxing books as we go through them.

I also filled a box and had Rog put it in the car, yesterday, along with a smaller one, to go to Goodwill. We culled our kitchen cupboards. Rog never closes them and they've really looked a mess, lately. Now, I won't mind so much if he leaves them open and someone comes over...the dishes one esp. looks much neater, now.

Happy 4th!

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Jul 10 - 12:56 PM

I hate it when these posts don't stick! I was able to go through the history and find this for a second try:

ragdall: one word. eBay. Amazing what people out there still want that is working. And because I share the same idea, I go to the trouble to describe and pack things that will often not sell for much just because someone else has bothered to look for it and can use it. This is a slow way to outsource the clutter, though.

It sounds like you have a good solution for your stuff, giving them to your son. For everyone else, this might be useful:

I was listening to a local call-in show on Friday and someone had called about where to give away fabric scraps, and an elementary school art teacher called in and said she loved it when people donated things like that for her. Because it was summer break, she and the program host discussed it a bit an decided the best option was to call your area school, leave a message for the art teacher(s) and when they call you back, tell them what you have. I am sure there are teachers in your area who would want the stuff you want to get rid of.

I had some oddball things I used to collect for a friend who was a middle school art teacher. She sent home art projects if they needed more time to finish them to turn them in on time, and would use the little Kodak film canisters to put in paint or other wet materials they would need, just enough to finish. I also included the pharmacy pill bottles with the labels peeled off and rinsed so they were free of crumbs of whatever had been in it.

Been picking stuff in the garden, puttering a bit. I took a page of eBay research and a nice large eggplant to the neighbors across the street.

I've made progress on the dining room table, it's looking better. Not ready to unload the playbills yet, though.

SRS

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: ragdall
Date: 04 Jul 10 - 02:13 AM

After teaching on call for over 35 years I decided to hang up my chalk at the end of June. I'll no longer be able to procrastinate using the excuse that I can't start something because I may get called in to work.

I'm trying to convince myself that I can get rid of a lot of things that are crowding us out of our home, including teaching materials that I'll never use again, and my first Macintosh computer which still works well but is not compatible with anything made in the last decade.

I have no trouble giving away things, if someone else will use them, but I haven't been able to make myself toss something that is "still working" into the rubbish bin. Can anyone share a philosophy with me that might make it easier for me to do that? My son's suggestion that I smash my computer with a sledge hammer appalled me. I could probably achieve the same result by giving it to his two older children, "Seek" and "Destroy" for their use.

I have a plan to box up all usable teaching materials and make a gift of them to our youngest son who will be starting his first full time teaching contract in September. My suggestion will be that he offer any that he doesn't want to the the teachers at his school and anything that's left over, allow the students to take home if they want it.

I'm hoping to start sorting things Monday into piles for recycle, thrift shop, teaching materials for son, and utter rubbish. (Unless I can find an excuse to continue procrastinating. ☺ )

rags

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: LilyFestre
Date: 04 Jul 10 - 12:49 AM

12:4am

Had a nice picnic with my family today, went to WW and then pretty much just hung out and played with Jeremiah. It is now quite late. For the last 2 hours Jeremiah and I have been snuggling and playing quietly. He's had a bottle and has clean britches on but is wide awake. I have put him in his swing in hopes of it rocking him to sleep. He is fussing with alternate spans of quiet and then he wakes himself up and fusses a little more. I'll bet he's totally asleep in 10 minutes. Apparently sitting with Mommy tonight is just too much fun...he just grins and grins at me...cooing, playing with my fingers, more smiles.....no sleep, at least not tonight.

   Tomorrow I am takng him to a church picnic and am excited for him to meet some dear friends. :) I'm hoping to go early so we can go for a walk around the park before the picnic.

He's almost asleep....I love that swing. ;)

Michelle

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jul 10 - 08:07 PM

I did some eBay research for my neighbor across the street, and will report to him what his little antique overnight case might price at, and I did some eBay research for me. Without the maps, the Stanley books have relatively little value. But there are book sellers out there with just one or the other volume to sell, and some of them have the maps. I found one completed sale with the maps on one book and someone got it for $10! I've set up a search, and I'll watch, and if I can snag the maps then I'll see about selling this set complete. The maps will have to be from the same edition.

Looks like now is my opportunity to mow. It's overcast right now, but last night's rain finally dried on the lawn, so I'll be able to push the mower without too much difficulty. My neighbors on both sides have mowed, so mine looks unruly.

Catch you all later!

SRS

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: wysiwyg
Date: 03 Jul 10 - 09:17 AM

Thanks, Joe.

Re: PMs-- Oh, I'm not that hard to find. That little PM thingie next to my membername works fine for me. :~)

~Susan

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: LilyFestre
Date: 03 Jul 10 - 01:24 AM

After months of chemo and now settled into a routine with the baby, it's time for Mommy to go back to Weight Watchers and get back in the groove of getting smaller! YAY. WW is at 8am. I had better get to sleep!

Goodnight friends!

Michelle

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Jul 10 - 12:06 AM

No curtain tonight. I'm tired. Had a nice glass of wine with dinner, am now sleepy. No alarm set tomorrow! :)

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 07:40 PM

It's really amazing, everyone who has been through Fort Worth for those programs. I've looked at some more of them, and I did a simple eBay search on "1958 playbill." They run from $1.99 to $50 (I didn't specify where). I think I'll be able to take a really wonderful collection to a place where it will get used, and supplement what they have already. I'll talk to the person who oversees these first to be sure this is a good fit. There are museums and other universities in town that may also have this stuff also, but I'll give my university first crack.

I'm clearing off the dining room table to get these boxes off the floor. And that means finishing filing the college stuff on the table, so this really is a good transition. I still need to have less furniture in that room. I'll see what next can go on Craig's List (as loony as that place is).

I also want a curtain over the lower sash on my office window. Maybe I'll do that tonight. Won't take long, once I choose the fabric. Just rod pockets on top and hems all around.

SRS

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: katlaughing
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 07:29 PM

What a wonderful thing to do, SRS. Good for you!

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 05:40 PM

Aw, my smiley face is gone? It's the first time I've ever made anything other than letters and characters appear in a title, so I was really proud of myself! :)

Today I have taken care of the question of charitable donations for tax purposes. I was driving home from shopping and saw an estate sale sign. I pulled in, and because the front room was crowded, I turned a corner into the first quiet room to look and found a table stacked with old playbills going back to the mid-1950s. I called work and described this collection. I was going to have to wait for someone to call me back, so executive decision and I bought them all (about 100 pounds of paper) for $35.

I can't just dump paper on Special Collections, so what I'll do is sort these playbills by size and year, and count them. I'll do a few searches on playbills on eBay to establish a general value (to list them at $1 each for X number of specific types). I have to write a letter saying I'm donating them and listing the categories at least, and I'll provide information about where I found them.

I went next door and spoke to the woman who had been her neighbor for 32 years and she had the son's business card. I just got off the phone with him. It turns out this woman's second husband (she was widowed twice) was a founding member of this popular theater in town.

I have the obituary and information for the family, and while I was clear that there are never any promises about things being processed at all, let alone promptly, I thought this tied in with things already going in the collection and that they will be glad to have these in our special collections, and if they have more of the same stuff they'd like to donate, they can do it in their mother's name, because I'm going to make sure her name is on the collection.

It's so hard to sell this stuff, but $35 was a pittance, yet I couldn't buy it to donate if it wasn't going for that pittance.

I also picked up a clump of the old heavier gauge wire tomato cages (you can never have too many of those!) and a kitchen scale for use here.

I'll start on these programs this weekend. It's a good time of year to do this - by the time it gets into the system at my university and they send an acknolwedgement, it will be near the end of the year. I can't take a deduction for a donation until I have the dated acknowledgement.

SRS

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: LilyFestre
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 05:33 PM

Got in some walking today as Jeremiah and I went to Toys R Us with Nana! He got a new jumpy seat activity center...looks like FUN...now if Mommy would just go put it together! Also, I'm working on various salads for picnics on the 3rd and 4th!

Michelle

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 03:54 PM

I've cut the ☺ character from the thread title and deleted messages regarding trace problems. In general, we don't allow anything but ordinary characters in thread titles - they may be cute, but they cause us lots of problems. Let me know if this doesn't solve the trace problem, but it seems to work OK for me. Wizzy, your user name is problematic, too - I'd suggest (but not require) that you change it to only normal characters, no spaces. People tell me they have trouble trying to send personal messages to you.
Thanks.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability ☺
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 11:07 AM

Got chased out of the garden (great weeding after several days of rain) by the cicada-killer wasps. They've finished digging their holes (and leaving big fluffy piles of dirt in the process) and now they're courting. This is the time of year when gardeners must go into the garden with sissors and a bucket for picking and cutting to take into the house. Mostly peppers today, one eggplant is ready but I'll give it one more day then give it to the neighbors. She's feeding three these days since her grown son is at home, so one more day's growth will add that extra serving. :)

I must de-paper my office. I am tired of shuffling through as I look for stuff. Time to punch some sheets and add them to the notebook and shred a lot more. I brought a couple of books in to my computer desk describe and list on eBay - I find that they each have a slot in the back cover for a large folded map, but neither one has the map, so the value just went way down (unless I found the maps somewhere, but those are the most fragile and scarce part of the whole thing). I'll still list them and see what happens.

These days I'm realizing just how large all of my recipes are. And so often it is just me here for days and days. So I'm going to be making some very small lasagna casseroles to freeze. I have to go through the freezer and discard some really old frozen stuff that will only taste like the freezer now. It's also time to start slicing and freezing peppers again.

SRS

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability ☺
From: maire-aine
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 08:56 AM

Started cleaning out the garage. Swept half and moved some stuff to the clean side, so I can sweep the other half.

M

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability ☺
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 01:13 AM

Looks like the only way to get a long holiday weekend is to take a couple of days off. I may work a few hours tomorrow then take the afternoon off. And probably Monday also, since probably no one else is going to be working at work anyway.

SRS

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability ☺
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 11:59 AM

I'm reading Enchanted April, the novel from which the film was made. Mrs Fisher, in contemplation of her house and how she lives, is (as Melersh speculates in the film) a woman of means, but she lives in an older less prosperous looking neighborhood (solid, yes, but not overtly wealthy) to avoid spending money, even though she could. And she reflects that her home was "furninshed by the dead" or similar words. That she inherited everything. That's certainly the case with much of what is here. Interesting observation. And I need to keep sorting and culling and selling.

More rain in the forecast today. I'm going to have to arrange my day based upon a shopping list and getting set for when it dries out and I can mow and transplant (time for fall planting already).

Down to just one paycheck now. That is a no-frills shopping list!

SRS

Subject: RE: July-2010-DeClutter & Exercise Accountability ☺
From: LilyFestre
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 10:50 AM

Allison, if you can figure out a fence that keeps out the woodchucks, can you send me a photo of it? We have a groundhog problem this year too....he gets under the fence and burrows under the electric fence...Pete has taken to shooting at him. First with his pistol (too far to do that really) and now the shotgun is out and sitting by the door...shells are close by and if Pete gets his way, the groundhog is going to be worm food soon!

Wow...July already! My goals for this month are to get a decent amount of stuff ready for the yard sale mid month, to go to yoga once a week (Have a sitter for one day, may ask a neighbor to sit for a second day). In all the cancer news I see lately they are highly recommending that people who have or had cancer get as much exercise in as they can.....kind of a no brainer if you ask me because cancer cannot live in oxygenated blood. God bless those people who can still manage exercise while going through treatment! I'm also walking more just around the house or when shopping....no walking up the road here....too many gas drilling truck traffic (they speed and kick up so much dust that body would choke to death if they were out walking) plus we had bear tracks...mama and baby ones...not too long ago and I'm not going to tempt fate with that! I went grocery shopping yesterday and the only processed foods I purchased were peanut butter (I don't like the natural kind), salad dressing and sugar free pistachio pudding for a salad I'm taking to a picnic this weekend...everything else is fresh food...whole food....good for us food. Aside from me wanting to lose weight and be more healthy, Pete woke up with heartburn the other night and scared me half to death as he was holding his chest. Yep. Time to get back on track. I did NOT go through chemo so he could have a heart attack and die on me and I told him so!!! :p
    For today, I am going to clean out my living room of anything that we don't use or want anymore and set it aside to be tagged for the yard sale. This, of course, depends entirely on Jeremiah and how much he lets me get done. He was up at 2:30am until 4:00am. God bless Daddy for getting up with the baby as I didn't hear a thing.
    Laundry is in the dryer, other loads that have been stacked in our room have been put away. Dishes are done. Table cleared. Bottles made. Just about ready to make salad for later tonight.

    Have a great day everybody!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: July-2010-DeClutter & Accountability ☺
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 08:04 AM

Meanwhile, here in northern New England... the heat went on on last night. So I fired up the wood stove! It's been in the 40s (F) overnight! In June!! Now that it's July, it's supposed to get warmer, slowly, gradually.

Today I'm determined to dig the post holes for my anti-woodchuck fence, but I suspect that the babies have been eaten, as there have been no signs of them for over a week, and the lettuce is growing back. We have some very clever predators out there- I lost 2 cats last summer!

And I made another small dent in the office last night.

Subject: RE: BS: July-2010-DeClutter & Accountability ☺
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 02:58 AM

pant pant pant....

sitting on the sofa 7:30 am and the heat is taking it out of me..

too hot to think much less work. even typing this is too much.

Subject: RE: BS: July-2010-DeClutter & Accountability ☺
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 02:38 AM

Already? Oy vey!

The space I made in the computer room has been filled with the latest project but it's slow going on the transposing because my hands are very swollen - it's like trying to type with sausages and it's all half the speed it normally is.

Haven't stepped on the scales for a month so don't know how that is going....

Dining room is still fairly clear but there's a quilting project being laid out there for next week. Could be interesting, because the choir committee has to meet there on Wednesday!

LTS

Subject: BS: July-2010-DeClutter & Accountability ☺
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 12:56 AM

It's hot, some of us are moving pretty slowly (and one of us just got clobbered by hail today - or is Alice doing any of this de-clutter stuff?) Anyway, it's silly weather, heat, hail, floods, hurricanes, impacting our outdoor lives, and we're all trying to keep up the good work of cleaning out the extra stuff in our houses, as well as de-clutter our bodies of some excess calories we've accumulated.

Let's make this a July to remember!

Here's the last thread.

SRS