Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 Feb 18 - 10:21 PM

Son and DIL kicked ASS on things I'd prepped late last night or got back from mtg in time to physically help with:

LIBRARY:
Removed tan rocker-recliner to garage, near scooter. Iron chair now there in garage added to stacked iron chairs.

Removed all cot coverings except metal/wood base and foam mattress. Misc ofc items on cot went to desk chair. Bag of role-playing dolls went to top shelf of closet. Pillows went to middle BR closet. Thick cot covers went to master bedroom for mattress adjustment.

(Tmrw: Secure cot for standing upright-- fold legs, tie mattress to frame w cord. Stand it up. )

Items under cot (big bag) went to middle BR closet. White shelf full of fragile items unloaded, moved into library where cot was,,l reloaded.

HALL LIGHT: Bulb on hand changed.

GARAGE DOOR REMOTE: Reprogrammed.

SEWING ROOM (middle BR):
Stripped mattress pad and washed. Mattress covered for storage. Mattress, box spring, folded frame to garage. Bar clamps under bed stored. Headboard shelves unloaded and headboard to garage.

Tomorrow: Pull white rug closer to door (all the way!), and cut rug neatly around closet base behind door, after seeing that it's reasonably parallel along wall.

LR:
Brown bookshelf unloaded, contents moved to hallway shelf. Brown shelves went to garage.

Unloaded antique 30' x 6' kitchen pantry, moved pantry to side of fridge, reloaded pantry.

Restuffed my mattress and remade bed. (I REFUSE to buy new innerspring mattress here! Will never buy FOAM mattress again!) Small BR table taken out to garage.

After GF pizza, hashed put the May 1 truck dates. Son and DIL will meet me halfway, so 3 drivers for 2 vehicles. (Can hire local unloading crew now.)

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Feb 18 - 11:48 AM

I think the day has come for the messy job of decluttering the buildup inside the fan over my stove. I clean the filters periodically, but this is on the moving parts themselves. It makes a clunking noise in low, probably due to the uneven collection of hard grease. If the thing is too far gone, I'll have to replace it. I think it's about 16 years old, so the time may be approaching for upgraded technology.

Lovely gentle rain overnight, so it's time to start removing weeds from the garden. Still no buds on the daffodils, but the leaves are growing taller fast. The A/C repair guy who was here this week tends to keep a good eye on the weather, and the tells me the blooming right around the first of February we saw for a few years was very early, that this winter is more typical.

Before the kitchen hood I think I'll procrastinate by picking up and filing or recycling some of the paper around here.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 16 Feb 18 - 08:51 PM

Ohio:

Master BR cleanup in progress; area on my side of bed DONE-- spilled meds, errant q-tips, empty meds bottles that didnt land in thecrecuvle bin, stray receipts and biz cards.... uck! Amazing how they find hiding places!

A little sude table ive really loved was unpacked and is now ready to go to the friend who has taken most of the passed-aling furniture. (An even smaller spare table was found to hold that corner's lamp untol Hardi's tall dresser lives there.)

But clearing out that table unblocked a window, and we can put up its honeymoon-fabric window panel this weekend! Can't wait to see!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 16 Feb 18 - 03:29 PM

Charmion, housemending, sleepmending, bodymending. (Keep it up!) Stealing: "zero dark stupid".

Ohio:

SO relieved that son and DIL heard my request for her to come on an overnighter to help-- and translated that into BOTH of them coming for TWO days to catch up and help move stuff out! Tomorrow!

This means that if BIL w two kids has a family flu outbreak precluding NEXT weekend's work day, we'll have gotten a lot done. And if he CAN come as planned, there are tool-oriented jobs galore. But this wknd we'll focus on clearing SPACE.

WinWin!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Feb 18 - 09:59 AM

I just signed the contract for the last phase of the kitchen renovation: repairing the divots in the ceramic tile floor, and installing the tile backsplash. Work begins on 1 March and is expected to take three days. I can hardly wait.

For the first time since I got sick, I actually slept all night --
nine whole hours! -- without propping myself up, and without waking for a coughing fit at zero dark stupid. With the new (ridiculously expensive) custom-made double curtains now hanging in the bedroom's huge windows, the crack of dawn failed to jar us awake and even the cat did not succeed in getting our feet on the floor until almost 0730. I count this a major improvement.

As well as two weeks out of my life, this bout of pneumonia cost me about ten pounds that I *so* don't want back. Today I'm going to the gym to stretch and walk on the treadmill. I will stop before my knees start to wobble.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Feb 18 - 11:06 PM

Ohio:

I came up with a fabulous storage solution for the white wicker set I've collected, a few used pieces at a time. The garage here is framed in 2x4's, while the vintage modular house was originally framed in skinny lumber. I tend to forget this.

But the empty space left by the departure of the weight rack/bench spoke to my eye. It said, "Get a few of those heavy bike hooks you have on the other wall-- and put your wicker up on this wall!" And I could immediately see lifting pieces up and down as needed for warm weather use, to be left out a few dry days at a time.

Across from this newly-opened spot are the wrought-iron summer yard chairs I use for song circles and gardening breaks. It only makes sense that those live right in the front of the garage, where they can be used on a whim... and then easily set back after use!

The wicker loveseat actually rode home from Goodwill, the day we bought it, on the van's bike rack-- so I know it'll survive being hung up! MUCH better than anybody trying to get it up into the rafters! ;-)

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Feb 18 - 08:25 PM

Ohio:

Newbie is napping on the guest bed about to be stored, on a mat with her smell, for Overnighting Service Dog training. ('Up' only when invited, as she already knows for chairs/laps.)

Huge laundry backlog sorted out during (radio) hockey game intermission, resulting in much cleared space in the master BR. Most items hung or folded/stowed. A few items added to Goodwill bag. One needing repair set aside. Linens folded and ready to stow in closet. Laundry in progress.

Lovely to see closet space available due to using a bigger dresser!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 Feb 18 - 06:51 PM

Ohio:

This house's sellers had left a weight rack with lat pull bar, and coordinating weight bench, in the garage. The set has been moved twice in that garage while Hardi decided he liked his PA set better, and said it could go.

I offered it to neighbors, with no takers, and I need the space for furniture coming May 1. One neighbor said he wanted it, then hung me up for a wk waiting on him to get it, then changed his mind. During that week I'd had a helper here who could have dragged it out.... won't be offering them anything else!

So I spent the warm rainy AM clearing items blocking its removal... I thought an afterschool helper would move it out later.... who I never heard back from. "I'll only do as much as I can...." and by the afternoon, I started to see an empty corner...

It turned out, after several breaks, that I was able to drag out both pieces and set it them in the driveway. More offers... incl seller who has wanted other items back..... more non-responses... took pix,,listed it on a local FB sales group, specifying pickup TODAY. Free!

Gone in an hour, picked up by a person interested in the weekly antiracism mtgs I've been doing. With a pickup truck I suspect he'd help me out with, sometime.

Now I'm sore, but it's OUT. And better yet-- GONE!

Next.... PantpantpantSit....

The foam guest twin bed is being replaced with my old boondocking cot, which has its own narrower linens. Fam crew coming 2/25 to put foam and frame in the garage. So... the guest bed linens except mattress cover and box spring cover-- some heavy/bulky/unwieldy/big (down comforter)-- were stripped, folded, and put away.

A mystery black trash bag I'd come across in the linen closet was opened, and most of its contents left in it to create a Goodwill bag I will fill later with closet/dresser purges. I put away the kept items.

So far, all guest linens except pillowcases are accumulating in the guest/sewing room closet pending another round-- the guest bedding and inflatable mattress may go into furniture arriving May 1, or into zippered garage storage that formerly held camping linens with no attrition.... or stay in this room on high sewing room shelves, over the murphied cot. Hardi decisions.

All this was supposed to have had Cameryn's paid help (and more)-- still no response. :-(

In prep for the first of several planned fam crew visits, a huge load of laundry including curtains was folded. Linens were put away. Stuff for my closet/dresser, not yet. I have another huge clean load awaiting purging/hanging up, so I'm hoping to get to all that tmrw-- purged some of what I just folded (and will keep purging during weekly laundry as well).

Forgot to drink water much today, so sitting for muscle recovery and rehydration. May have energy to do a round of evening closet purge with news on via fone stream. That black trash bag is calling-- once full, it can leave... and a Friday appt could include drop-off.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Feb 18 - 04:24 PM

Dodged a bullet on a home repair today when the outside unit of the small heat pump was worked on. It came out a lot less than I feared but I ended up spending the whole day here so I've been listing eBay items. The only order I'm listing in is by what's the most in the way right now.

I understand about your favorite picture hangers, Charmion. When I moved into this house I decided to put up xmas lights and went looking for the metal clips we used on the house I grew up in. They were like a barrette - the backing had spikes and the whole thing was pounded onto the eve, then the heavy-duty wire loop was lifted up, the lighting wire run under it, then you pressed it back down over the raised bit. It snapped easily into place and they were durable and sturdy. Can't find them anywhere, no how.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 14 Feb 18 - 10:54 AM

Yesterday I put up pictures.

I'm really, really fussy about pictures: they have to be at exactly the right height, centred precisely in their space, and straight. So the picture-hanging kit includes a tape measure, a ruler and a spirit level as well as my dear little hand drill and a ratchet screwdriver. The hangers I use are oblong plastic things that screw to the wall and hold the picture wire in a groove across the top, steady and straight. I bought a bunch of them years ago at a Home Depot in Ottawa, and they work so well that of course I can't find any more; they seem to have vanished even from Amazon.

It took me all afternoon to hang three paintings, two etchings and one Japanese wood-block print. The sitting room finally looks finished, complete with curtains, carpet and art, and I did not fall off the ladder.

My lungs are slowly recovering, but the cough is still a definite presence -- I have to sleep propped up on two pillows. I'll know everything is back to normal when I can lie flat on my back without wheezing.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Feb 18 - 10:51 PM

My sunroom was looking good but now it has empty boxes sitting in it - for a little while, anyway. They're meant for some of the bulky things that need to be listed (and sent away once they sell.)

This evening laundry is put away and I have a bag full of old wash cloths that get used for cleaning that need a place to live. A basket or box in the laundry room, I think. I have new wash cloths for use at the table (in lieu of napkins) that have a sliding basket in a cupboard in the kitchen. The old ones (that used to live in that basket) aren't ready for the trash or compost, they're perfect for cleaning the stovetop, windows, etc. But like I say, I need a place to keep them separate from the new nice ones. A problem to solve next weekend.

The garden seems to be waiting for something - the daffodils don't have blooms yet (they're about 2 weeks late) and the asparagus hasn't sprouted. The days are longer but the temperatures are much cooler than usual. I'm going to be putting in a new piece of concrete walkway out front once it warms up - like everything else, I need warmer weather. Everything is charging, waiting for the moment to burst forth.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 13 Feb 18 - 06:26 PM

Beaver:
Michelle! Ever since a friend told me of breaking a wrist when going to get in car, I have considered VERY carefully any move near the car - getting in or out, I hold on to whatever is available!

Acme: not passive aggressive, just purely flaky! Hope she does better as a Mom! It really is hard to package so the shippers can drop things off a tall building or use as a football. And we are told never put "fragile" on the package. This one had it written all over! It did not have a chance. There are lengthy discussions on "clayart" about how-to.

Meanwhile, I am de-cluttering LR of boxes of lovely fresh clay - turning bags of clay into plates at the rate of 6/day, since Friday... With days of rest in between! When I have the energy: 12 thrown, nine trimmed and me worn out today after shoveling too much snow yesterday. Then backed the car into a snowbank, went and trimmed 9 plates and tired! - realized I can either pot or shovel - not both. So I phoned a neighbour who contacted another neighbour who came and dug out my car! Car actually started this am - was about minus 30C last night - and I did a couple errands, act everything in sight and was too tired... Took a nap and now this, then will read until I fall asleep. It is only 5:30 pm and I am ready to sleep. Next box must await tomorrow.

Lotta snow out there!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 07:28 PM

Ohio:

I mocked up another small wall's art plan today, and started a FB album of before/after pix.

FB can be helpful to share planning when parts of the team are in distant locations! Hardi is measuring frames on an Art Hunt through our crumbling PA house, and as soon as my eye tells me where main pieces should go, I cut out a paper placeholder, label it, and stick it up w mortite putty. If I don't like it, I can adjust it before hammering nails.

Today I found a perfect corner for the mounted jackalope head to lurk, where no one will mistake his antlers for coat hooks. He promptly became the centerpiece for a critter collection-- deer antlers, jackalope, Groot, plus animal knick-knacks/pix.

:-) I USED to do my art/picture layouts in the usual ways.... but I have frames from a 4000'+ house (blended families and goods) to Merge into 1000'. (Oy! I don't have Lisa Rinna's body-age or pro designer/crew, unfortunately!)

In that album, I'm also putting in the relevant worklist for each area or item; not Honey-Do tasks awaiting Hardi, but things I can do myself or that family, friends, and my paid helpers will assist with.

For example, say X is coming to help and wants to know what tools may be helpful to bring: tag them to that picture/info. Or say I decide which mutually special item goes to which display shelf-- a note to self, right in the album. (Then as I unpack it won't be quite so overwhelming, I'm hoping!)

At this stage of life I'm enjoying the planning, sharing/showing the process to hubby in PA, and the prospect of orienting helpers when the truckload of stuff arrives May 1. Then, I'll be able to hand a helping friend this or that corner's pile of frames, and let THEM eyeball and go for it working from that album, while I work on the more handicap-accessible spots and wash knick-knacks.

I also moved a bookshelf today, to clear space when bigger items arrive. It's fun living in a working puzzle if you get to move the pieces yourself!

From everything else I swapped around this last week, I have a small pile of expired 'important papers' to go thru-- plus the 'lost' garage door opener to reprogram so Hardi can have his own.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 01:37 PM

A microscopic layer of ice has turned bridges into Disney E-rides here this morning so it's just as well I had no plans to do anything but stay put and putter, starting with bringing four large boxes in from the SUV. I helped a friend pick up some boxes of tiles at a local store - they were shipped across the US to go into his tub-surround next week, packed one case per very large box, and I put dibs on the boxes and cornstarch packing materials. I brought four home because I have some items to list that need those large boxes. I'll keep the cornstarch peanuts until I decide I don't need them, at which time they can be dissolved with a little water. Sometimes decluttering requires packing materials.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Feb 18 - 10:52 PM

Michelle - I'm so glad you saved that coffee! ;-) Take care, rest up. We have a winter weather advisory for tomorrow - slip and fall is not a good way for any of us to get our gymnastics exercise. (The mental image of that maneuver is astonishing! Pardon a chuckle, but you described it beautifully.)

I thought I'd lost a backup of work photos on a hard drive that seems to have failed, but I found today that I had a preserved backup on a good drive that I was using also for general computer backups. Those full backups are on a different drive now, so the photos are in a place where there is lots of room for more.

Charmion, life with steroids is complicated - it makes a world of difference in clearing up illness, but it does have side effects. Good luck sorting out your side effects. My dose is much lower but it is every day, for months, possibly years. Tapering isn't always easy.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 10 Feb 18 - 05:52 PM

Yes, Acme, the doc really did tell me to halt the Prednisone abruptly. It's a regimen developed for asthmatics; five daily doses of 40 mg in pill form, then go to the low-dose steroid from the inhaler. It's far less hassle, it gets great results, and the side-effects are over in a week. And if the Prednisone won't get the job done, you find out much faster so you can try something else.

Today I did almost nothing. I have all the initiative and follow-through of a dead haddock.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: LilyFestre
Date: 10 Feb 18 - 04:42 PM

Happy Weekend!

I am here to report that I am doing lots of NOTHING.

I walked up the hill to my car on Thursday morning, opened the door and promptly fell. I twisted my ankle, thumped my head and landed...I thought...on my tailbone. Apparently I arched my body and landed on the side of my tailbone. I am SO sore.....I feel like I ripped a bunch of muscles from my navel, up the right side of my body, wrapping around my back to about my armpit. Yep. I'm sore. I've had a hot shower, did some dishes and general picking up and have been told to plant myself with the heating pad...so here I sit. I'm good as long as I'm not moving around much. Crap. But.....believe it or not, I did NOT spill my cuppa coffee while flying through the air...LOL.

So....all kidding aside, I'm taking it easy today. Weekend coffee, popcorn and a movie...and maybe some uke playing a bit later.

Charmion, I'm glad to feel that you are starting to feel better. I hope Himself is feeling better and stays safe in his travels.

I liked Susan's idea of linking updates to YouTube...that could be motivating and fun!

Have a great week everybody!

Michelle

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Feb 18 - 10:33 AM

Darn. Yesterday was warm and bright but I had a series of events and work that kept me not only indoors all day but I didn't get home till late. So today now that I have free time it's cold and not expected to get above about 40^o. The forecast for the week shows lovely weather on Wednesday and rain predicted for next weekend. Grrrr.

This morning was one of those times when I got up, looked around me, and decided I needed to start picking up right there and move outwards. Hung up or put sweaters to air before they're put away, hung up jackets (two of them on the cedar chest in my bedroom), dusted and picked up in the bathroom, got rid of hand lotion and products I never use, finally tossed those orphaned inexpensive earrings whose partners are long gone, dusted some more, put shoes away, the usual drill I've ignored for a few days. Piled all sorts of stuff into the laundry basket and changed out all of the hand towels and such. As cold as it is, this feels like a response to the longer days - more daylight means the Spring Cleaning impulse has me in it's grip.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Feb 18 - 12:24 AM

Charmion, I hope they don't have you stop the Prednisone cold-turkey; even a short dose of it usually requires some kind of tapering off of it.

Dorothy, that irresponsible shipping of ceramics sounds rather passive-aggressive. What a shame so many pieces were demolished.

Hard fought week but I finished a big project at work; the proof now goes back for final examination and next week my third of three print projects begins. All of this design and editing means I have less interest in doing similar projects on my own behalf on the weekend.

Last week I took a co-worker/friend to a "First Friday" party so he could meet the hosts - passionate gardeners, as he is. Turns out they had met in passing and knew each others yards from walks around the neighborhood (they're a few blocks apart.) It's fun to see now they are planning their gardens and consulting and planning visits. I enjoy this kind of networking. I get to do some networking with new next-door neighbors this weekend; my other next-door sent a text today saying the new neighbor wants to get together to talk fences. I hope our conversations are as forward looking as those last week.

Subject: Honeymoon linens
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 Feb 18 - 02:47 PM

Ohio:

A few years ago, I discovered how helpful were the recycle bins the city had issued-- for sledging a whole carload of groceries across the snow from driveway to door, by adding a rope pull. I kept the bins when the city later went with the huge curbside (ugly) bins, which   now live out of sight by the outer garage door.

So, trash and recycling now go thru the patio and garage to those bins. Usually I just carry the paper grocery sacks I now use to catch recyclables, but an injured shoulder led me to use that trick again today, to get rid of a bin full of recyclables.

As I dragged it, thru the narrowly-shoveled patio path, I widened the path with the bigger shovel that lives out there (with two brief sitting breaks). And after dumping and refolding the sacks, I spied the big broken box still in the garage awaiting unpacking, full of fabrics. So a big load from that came IN, via sledge (with two more brief sitting breaks).

The patio path to garage is now 2x wider to facilitate dealing with more snow/ice and/or ice from mini thaw. Hard to know which way Saturday night's ice forecast will go, but have better foundation forrit now.

Among items brought in-- honeymoon fabric to continue the master BR design-- how it plays with the existing green paint, and what color may be needed to bridge the two palettes as sheers, art, etc. Goal: not painting!!! This is a beautiful coverlet and pair of drapes from our wedding gifts 25 years ago, that I've envisioned here since we bought the house. (As we blended our families and household goods amidst ministry chaos, this set was the first thing we ever picked out TOGETHER.)

We're finally old enough to appreciate how the brocaded coverlet reflects heat back to the body; Hardi is in the habit of making the bed daily; there are no longer cats to wreck it; the windows here are the right size for the drapes; the king headboard is the width of the valance for hanging coodinating faux bed curtains at the head (one side of which will run into a draped window). The bed is biger now, but the coverlet is large enough to form the top for coordinating, gathered sides which hobby-sewing Hardi will add.

I was concerned that the colors might not go as well as I'd hoped, and.... the prettiness of this fabric against this existing green paint couldn't be photographed faithfully, unless I set up bright photog lights... but it's just.... so gorgeous! I can't wait to show Hardi the mockup when he's here with me for summer vacay!

I think the pattern of the fabric worked w/the paint mostly because:
. Any brown works w/any green
. The green in the fabric is minimal but any green goes with any green
. The blue in the fabric has a lot of green in it
. Both the green paint tone, and the fabric's ground color, are creamy/warm-- not bright white/cold (or one warm and the other cold)
. A white ceiling

This also means that Hardi's room-sized heirloom oriental rug will work, because it's why we chose this coverlet, and our first bedroom together had that rug.

These weekly forays into making our dreams come true (and adjusting where needed) is SO.MUCH.FUN.

!!!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 09 Feb 18 - 01:23 PM

Better now, thanks to Prednisone and the world's ugliest antibiotic. I still have next to no appetite, and I have yet to regain the capacity for horizontal sleep, but I'm definitely on the mend. Tonight I take the last 40-mg whack of Prednisone, so I hope this is my last night of sweating and fitful dozing interrupted with coughing fits.

Patrick the Painter has finished the sitting room, and it's just beautiful. I put the furniture back where it belongs last night, and this morning I tottered up and down the basement stairs with trays of china out of the one cabinet affected by this late phase of The Project. Hanging pictures will have to wait; I've had it for today.

It's snowing in Stratford, too, probably part of the same system that's hitting Dorothy's place, and it's expected to continue for
days. Himself wants to go to Sarnia in the morning to watch the Six Nations rugby tournament (not available in Perth County), but he's still sniffling and sneezing. He promised that he would not go if the road conditions are bad, but I am firmly convinced that he will go whatever the roads are like. He can be such a blockhead sometimes.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 08 Feb 18 - 09:18 PM

Beaver:

Big oops. Grand daughter called Monday night and told me she had mailed pottery to dad. I hoped she had re-packed it because it was certainly not packed for USPS. Son phoned Tuesday am. One piece survived and, boy, was he upset. He waited almost two years for those.

Nothing compared to me, faced with re-doing 8 pasta bowls and 8 dinner plates. Clay froze while I was away - door blew open... Thawed clay has to be laboriously reworked before using. I started out on it yesterday. Shoulder said, "Forget it. I can throw or I can wedge..." The ankle did not protest its time on the wheel pedal!

Major clutter is a 6 hour round trip to Toronto for fresh clay so I can, hopefully, produce this order by early March. Son and wife will come east to visit daughter and brand new (third) g-daughter and visit Montreal to pick up pottery --- and visit me??? They will get an airbnb. I shall brave the dreaded house.

Snowed today but tomorrow I am Toronto bound. Weather predicts about freezing point on weekend, and more snow! But I can make the studio comfortable (it is well insulated and small). I am highly motivated to get this done. Just hope the shoulder holds out: lots of MSM, Glucosamine Sulfate, magnesium and the heating pad.

Meanwhile, snow and wood have provided exercise, and some sorting of archives. Watching snow fall is nice entertainment - from warm indoors!

Maybe this will get me out of the "doing nothing" phase.

oops again. Wrote that yesterday and went to Toronto to day - a long day starting with a car not starting and finally Larry pressing really hard on the clutch and it did start - not the battery but something in the clutch - maybe ice. It was minus 29 C this morning!

Nice visit to Richter;s Herbs and only bought two small plants: an aloe vera and a Golden Rain Rosemary to form into a Christmas tree. There was a beautiful one there the staff person had formed in only two years so she showed me and told me how. Bought clay, conversed with a potter whom I had not seen in about 25 years. We remembered each other! Then long trip home. Exhausted - decluttered of ALL energy!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Feb 18 - 08:25 PM

robo, you may be ripe for the new form of note-taking called Bullet Journaling. I have one in a book I was given at work, bound and with an elastic loop from top to bottom on the back to keep a marker at the current set of pages. It's not the neatest method (the way I do it), but I use it to keep track of various things, not just the declutter project. Actually, when you ask this, I could add notes about my eBay sales that I haven't documented anywhere. If I were to be more businesslike instead of a hobbiest this would be a good starting point. I'd go for the bound book.

Look at places like Tuesday Morning, Big Lots, used bookstores (in several states you'll find Half-Price Books) - I've been seeing these with a couple hundred bound pages for about $5. They're durable enough to use and carry around every day.

I use this as a calendar, an appointment book, to keep short lists, to make quick notes that I want to keep and not have to hunt around later for the piece of paper I scribbled it on. It usually ends up with the left page for the calendar, the right page for the task list, the next page for more general outcome notes, and the second right page for other stuff, I just label it "notes." So four pages per month.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: robomatic
Date: 08 Feb 18 - 04:12 PM

I am creating an organizing book to have something physical and not on the hard drive. Better with a solid book with no ability to simply remove pages or a loose leaf? I'm staring with a looseleaf but I'm feeling that it's better to have a solid tome and leave the mistakes and things undone in it. But it won't organize as well....then, do I need to organize well?

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 08 Feb 18 - 03:54 PM

You know, Acme, we COULD be shooting short YouTube videos of our projects and posting links to them here.... ;-)

I have used those to show Harding some ideas in progress....

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Feb 18 - 11:27 PM

I love the eBay phone app - any time anything sells you hear the "ca-ching" sound like was made by an old-fashioned cash registers. I need to keep adding new items - a number of them have watchers, but it may simply be other people selling similar items watching mine. Another item sold this afternoon.

A co-worker has been making much of ordering flower and vegetable seeds for this year's garden. I need to get some tomatoes started and possibly a couple of other crops, as well as buy seed potatoes and get those in the ground. It's cold and unpleasant for yard work now, but it's a good time to plan. I organized the potting bench that's in the sunroom and I think this weekend is when I need to get that grow light rigged, probably over the potting bench.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Feb 18 - 11:27 AM

Charmion!?!

Ohio:

As I dropped off to sleep last night, an epiphany started that's continuing this AM. A closet epiphany of all things.

There's a double closet in our master BR here that, so far, we've divided into a L and R pair of tall, 36" apiece closets. It came with high rods on each side that I can't reach, and a low rod on the L side. Being short, I chose the L side. Both sides have easy-out shelves resting on 2x4's. There are many 2x4 supports at various heights, from previous owners' preferred closet configuration.

I've been assuming those 2x4's will be replaced with supports stealing less hanging space.

In another part of my brain I've been considering the best spot for an 18" wide x 15" deep x 55" tall metal cabinet. I thought about the guest room closet..... then, last night, dropped off thinking about putting it in Hardi's closet.

But DUH! Divide our closet horizontally, not vertically! I'll take both lower halves, and Hardi's can take the top halves!

A shelf on top of that cabinet (and a tension rod between cabinet and wall) will just suit me for accessories and hanging dresses. Hardi's an excellent framer to configure the top halves just like he wants them, but I bet he'll keep the sturdy shelf I put in last year.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Feb 18 - 11:03 AM

I now have pneumonia, so climbing ladders is off my agenda for a while.

On the other hand, it really is amazing what one can do when one must. Patrick the Painter is at work in the sitting room, and yesterday I rolled up the rugs, emptied the cabinet and moved all the furniture into the middle of the room. I did not tackle the curtain rod, or spread out the drop cloth; by the time I had finished, I was ready to face reality at the ER.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Feb 18 - 09:12 PM

Winter has returned so the hats, scarves, and jackets I keep on a rack in the hall are back in use. They used to live in a closet where they were out of sight and forgotten. I suppose in the summer I can hang my various ball caps on it. This is a new system for me.

I'm clearing more space in my office by slowly moving cassette tapes into a box for eBay. I have a lot of them that I no longer need the contents or they've been transferred. Surprisingly, cassette tapes sell on eBay. I pop a tape into the office console, hit record with nothing playing on the radio or turntable or CD changer and it erases the contents. After a few days I have enough to list. I have a lifetime supply of cassettes around here, these are the ones I used for recording class lectures, phone calls to the cable company when the diddled the bill, radio programs that I thought I might want to keep.

On the way home I stopped at a small but well-stocked Goodwill store and found two items for eBay and one for me. I love the large acrylic food storage containers that have the silicone ring seals. I find if I don't have beans, grains, pasta and such in clear containers I forget what I have here. I've also incorporated my Food Saver for storing some things in vacuum sealable jars.

The rest of the week looks pretty yucky weather-wise, but I have none of the challenges of declutterers in Montana, Michigan, New Hampshire, Maine, etc. Except Jeri, who's gadding about the Caribbean somewhere right now. :-)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 05 Feb 18 - 10:35 AM

Ohio:

Work began yesterday on removing some drywall to widen the nook where my antique dresser will go. We resume Tuesday.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Feb 18 - 05:28 PM

Day two in the sunroom: I've rearranged some things, flattened more boxes, and stumbled across some wiring items I was looking for a while ago, including some I don't need any more (I'll put them on eBay). I no longer need to install phone jacks, but I bought a few extra data port jacks to wire around here and I can't find that bag now. I did find the wall plates that work with either phone or data jacks, so everything I need is somewhere in the house.

I've managed to stir up some dust around here but after a sweep and vacuum that room will be a pleasure to work in. I'm thinking about putting up a shelf above my packing materials to place the TV in that room (I have them on in a couple of rooms as I work back and forth, watchinglistening to the same program). The shelf location happens to sit above the jack with the data port. This little smart TV has WiFi but would stream a better picture through my wired network.

This work has also contributed to a bag of discarded e-waste - it's filling up enough that tomorrow I'll take it to work to the bin put in place by the company the university contracts with to recycle, reuse, or destroy e-waste. Better than to the landfill and it saves the Goodwill the bother of recycling it. (In the US they handle a lot of the electronics recycling collection in large cities).

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Feb 18 - 04:17 PM

Despite the continuing Cold From Hell, I moved Himself's office clag out of the study and the guest room, where it had been moved so Patrick the Painter could work his magic, and back where it belongs. This activity did not require any task more demanding than toddling gently up and down the corridor with armloads of books about murder, rape, robbery, fraud, and what to do when your client has been accused of some of all of the above.

I will not deal with the curtain rod today; that can wait until next week.

Much against my will, I have concluded that we cannot re-use the pleasantly bland unbleached cotton curtains that we brought from Ottawa; they are just about four inches too short to cover the patio doors while hanging high enough so the rod finial will not break the glass in the door of the china cabinet. Fuck. It.

I have to go to Kitchener next Thursday for my monthly needle at the allergy doc's office. While I'm at it, I'll hit the big-box mall for a pair of 96-inch panels as much as possible like the ones I recently bought for the sitting room. I can hardly wait to find out that they're about one inch too long ...

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 03 Feb 18 - 02:35 PM

Charmion and our occasional visitor Ranger1 are both recovering from viruses or worse, so trying to do anything more than resting and getting better means you'll likely have to re-do anything you attempt now. Might as well save it to do correctly when you're feeling better. Now is the time to look to the list of NetFlix videos you wanted to watch or to read a book you've been meaning to get to.

It's cold here today also, a day when I think the best use of my time is to tackle the sunroom, allowing me to move things back in there that have strayed to other parts of the house.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 02 Feb 18 - 05:22 PM

Beaver:
Two good chuckles from today's posts! Thank you! Charmion does have a way of expressing things. And - just leave that rod until a more propitious time! The bit about "owning things" is good. Own them or disown/dump them! And tackling a little bit at a time! Just what I continue doing and eventually... The studio is ready for work but I am not ready to do it in this cold weather even though the inside is warm enough, the trip (25 feet!) in the bitter cold is off putting. But today, with the sun on full, I could have done a couple hours so I took note of that to encourage another day. Brought in a LOT of wood in lieu of making pots.

Wrote son an email of my delight in his taking charge of his life. And a neighbour to see if he can use some of my excess wood ash.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Feb 18 - 02:25 PM

A six-foot curtain rod lies on the floor in front of the patio door in the dining room, and I'm too damned sick to get on a stepladder and put the damnable thing up. Dizzy and shaking from this damnable cold, I just don't dare. Besides, I'd probably get it crooked.

Patrick the painter is finishing the first coat on the stairwell, and the improvement is dramatic. No more baby-shit brown, but a pale shade of duck-egg green that brightens up the whole going downstairs experience. This is important, because the light fixture in the upstairs hallway was located so as to ensure that no light from it would fall more than five steps down.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Vashta Nerada
Date: 02 Feb 18 - 12:46 PM

Michelle, I inherited my father's CDs and it took me a while to realize that I needed commingle them with my own CDs to start using them much. When there were my CDs and Dad's CDs the separation was a reminder of the sad loss. Once I "owned" them, I used them more. I did the same with a windfall of classical CDs some years back, I had them on a separate shelf, but I finally filed them in amongst my "regular" CDs and then began using them regularly.

And we all know that your Nana was extremely proud of you (as are we!)

Dorothy, I'm glad R got the message - you'll both be much comfortable in a house that doesn't have regular theatrical breakdowns and rats nibbling at your toes.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: LilyFestre
Date: 02 Feb 18 - 11:15 AM

A rare day at home alone for me. Much needed on many levels. I'm spending the day between puttering/decluttering and resting.

Just the short time I spent in the kitchen has made a HUGE difference. My nana always said that when things look overwhelming, start in one corner and work your way around. Such a smart woman! She would be proud of me I think. :)

Weekend plans here include soccer for my little man, playing with a group of local violinists, some quilting time and relaxation, maybe some cards or a movie at home and popcorn.

One construction size garbage bag filled with things we no longer need went with Pete this morning to be dropped off at Sally's on his way to work.

I also have some plans for this weekend to go through a big cupboard that is full of CDs that belonged to my Nana. I've had them for over a year now and haven't played one of them. I will keep a few that I remember listening to with her but the rest have already found a home. There's lots of big band music and other music from the WWII era. It's funny how sometimes I feel like I need to hang on to some items because they had belonged to someone I love. I really do struggle with that which is why my house is so overloaded. I'm getting better at it but there are just some items I can't part with, it's the connection, I'm sure.

Have a great weekend everybody!

Michelle

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 01 Feb 18 - 11:44 PM

Beaver:

cleared about 4 inches of snow - light and fluffy - off the back deck. Larry stopped in for a visit and cleared the pile left by the plow. I was just going to leave it.

Getting a good signal from this east window; no hills in that direction. Also, remembered there was something else in the box of the new modem: ah yes, a short cord so I can actually but the modem up on the window sill! This is such a relief, so much better than sitting in the library or grocery store!

Sent R an email explaining my feelings about the Montreal housing. He actually "heard" me and is making an effort toward being able to buy the small house we looked at -- or something! I feel like there is hope! It would mean spending more time in Quebec but in a real home, out of the city, without the worry of finding a place to park, with a nature preserve in the back yard. I love being here but miss him and am concerned for health care if either of us needs it and we need to be able to dare for each other. We would still be able to come here and I will spend time here in the gardening season. Hope...

Second son phoned this eve and decluttered some of my concern for him as well as my questioning my car situation. I was confronted, however, with the fact that my son(s) are now "old" as he talked about working with people "in the 20s and 30s! It just never occurred to me before; he is still "the kid" - 55 this year and having trouble getting the younger co-workers to understand him.

Communication: like Charmion not getting across that they don't want those hand me downs!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Feb 18 - 06:16 PM

Your list pretty much amounts to what I was saying, without spelling out how to do it. I think we're on the same wavelength there.

It took only one day of experimenting with items from the purse in the front compartments of the new pack to remind me of one issue--while I want this to replace lugging several bags and items to work, I don't want to carry the entire thing around when I go into the grocery store, etc. So I've pulled a small handbag (too small to use everyday) and put the essentials in it, put the rest in the front compartment of the pack, and the large compartment is where papers, books, and the handbag will go. When I need just the handbag out it comes and the rest can stay at home. My hands will be free when I walk with the backpack on my back or with just one handbag over my shoulder. It's not rocket science, but in this first day I think I'm getting a more accurate reading on my fitness tracker.

This morning I set up the next batch of pages in the Bullet Journal. It's nice to look back and see most of the things on my task list checked off. The rest get moved forward to try to get to this month, with a few new ones added in.

Subject: GOING HIGH WITH DECOR
From: wysiwyg
Date: 01 Feb 18 - 05:18 PM

Ohio:

So I got WIFI installed tdy and had a little search time. Results:


GOING HIGH WITH DECOR


What I noticed in the ones I liked in the 14 pix I saved is:

. The balance between densely decorated space and sparsely decorated space
. The use of linear visual pathways to organize the eye's tour of the space
. The mix of textures
. The leading of the eye to look UP
. The balance of proportion: frame sz or groupings/scale of furniture/doors/carpets
. Setting an upper boundary all the way around the room-- same space of paint-only at the top, to define where the wall actually ends and prevent chaos effect.


What I'm DIDN'T see-- that I think will be important-- is circles and ovals. Too many rectangles, and not enough curves.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 01 Feb 18 - 04:24 PM

Thx Acme but what I'm looking for specifically is about going up high on the wall.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 31 Jan 18 - 11:09 PM

I think it might have been the Nate Berkus show that always had some excellent design tips - don't keep things at the same level around the room, or keep all of the furniture against the wall (the furniture is "under arrest" - "up against the wall!) Tall things interspersed among shorter objects. I have a couple of things hanging from the picture rail around my living room and I have some pieces of furniture that are tall alternated with shorter pieces. It is visually more interesting.

This evening I finally made it into my dance studio for an exercise class. I have to learn how to avoid flare-ups of the bursitis in my hips before I go back to the dance classes. After class I headed back to REI to exchange the too-small pack for a larger one. I thought I was going to have to pay more but it was 30% off, nice surprise! North Face with lots of pockets and compartments in the front zip pouch. I need to walk without having to hold straps across my shoulder if I want to get the most out of my fitness tracker, so I'm substituting this pack for my shoulder bag, my messenger bag, and frequently, my lunch bag. The principle behind these trackers is that we move our arms during exercise, primarily swinging them back and forth when we walk. I want a more accurate reading when I'm walking around at work or elsewhere. I have a small long-strapped bag in the pack to use for those times during the day when all I need is my phone and wallet.

I tossed a few more items into the donation bin this week and other unneeded items have been listed on eBay. Wouldn't it be interesting to reach a point when I could live in a small portable house like this.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 31 Jan 18 - 05:16 PM

That "Tidy People" thing about clear floors kerps coming back to me as I plan decor, which involves using higher sections of the walls than my 1950's upbringing led me in the past.

Visual balance without packing the floor.
Resting points for eyes, in spaces between interesting textures. Oy! I need to see some examples!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 31 Jan 18 - 09:23 AM

Dorothy: Yes, they will go to the Sally Ann as soon as I can open a brown paper bag. What drives me nuts is my dear sister-in-law's refusal to stop buying clothes for her husband who doesn't want them, or to give them to the perfectly good Sally Ann in her own neighbourhood. Why foist them onto us?

Painting continues. Himself's horrible pink office is now the same gentle shade of duck-egg greenish blue (or bluish green) that graces the dining room, and the change reduces the clamour of "God, but I hate that!" rattling around in the sub-basement of my mind. Next is the stairwell, which requires a special ladder. I'm so glad I'm not doing it.

The new curtains are up in the bedroom, and boy do they look great. Thick, cream-coloured inner drapes with sheers made of a soft voile with a herringbone weave, they improve privacy (not that anybody is really looking) and eliminate most of the draught from the windows. Good thing, 'cause they cost the earth.

I have the local cold, and am therefore officially hors de combat. The headache has passed and I'm a little less shaky than I was yesterday, but the cough is reaching for full resonance. It's gonna be no fun for anyone.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 30 Jan 18 - 09:35 PM

Ohio:

The dispersal of furniture, etc. continues. One minute I love something so much I never want to let it go, and 5 minutes later I can't wait to say goodbye and bring this little house to our vision for us in it.

Friend Trish is gettin most of those hard-to-let-go pieces-- I've decided I'll ask her for photos of them in their new home, so I can remind myself that they've gone on into somenone else's story. Also departing this weekend is likely to be the weight rack and bench the sellers left in the gaage here; scrap iron prices here are pretty low right now, and I do not have the trailer here. I had thought Hardi would incorporate then into his garage gym, but he says no-- so more gardening equipt room for me, I'll take it! It's fun surprising people with these offers, abd it's good neighboring, plus easier than FreeCycle.

I registered myself today for home services in Ohio with the reputedly stellar local Area Agency on Aging. The thyroid brain fog rollercoaster has me taking a social wokerer friend's advice to et on their list now before it gets too full. Odd feeling, reporting my own need when, as a clergy spouse, I've usually been on the other end of getting someone else onto services. Six weeks till a care manager visits to discuss.

And I filed the paperwork today for Medicare. Who knew I'd BE here?!?!?

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 30 Jan 18 - 07:51 PM

Beaver: Catching a signal by the front window!

Charmion! what could stop you from giving those excess clothes to a thrift shop!

Grow lights: trying to determine how soon to start plants or if i shall. Have a nice shelf unit with attached lights in the bathroom! Perfect spot for the job. Too bad I did not use it for the geraniums while I was away after Christmas. Door to the studio blew open and everything froze. One plant in Bath survived and is doing well. Today I bought a $5 orchid (pot broken) and it graces the table in the east window. I needed something flowering as the A. violet is done for now.

I continue to get small things done. Trying really had to eat carefully. The cookie binging was a call to action! Time for a salad!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 30 Jan 18 - 12:11 PM

Acme, I'll be watching your "where the grow light" goes progress-- space is tight in Ohio. One option I'm considering is a re-purposed full-spectrum fluoro fixture I wired onto a mic stand for vertical sunshine. It will mean a lot of manual rotating of trays of pots, but I like to visit the babies and see the details of what's developing!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jan 18 - 12:10 AM

I have a few sheetrock repairs to make around here, with or without a paint job coming up. Most are dings, one is an intentional hole because the carpenter didn't install the cable the way I wanted in the wall between two rooms (a cable to each room, not one that would get a weird loop and somehow be used in both). I had to make room for my hand to fit in to redo the cable. And I know how to fix it, if I ever get around to doing it.

I recently visited the village recycle bins and picked up a sturdy box that was 1/2 full of styrofoam peanuts. I'm using that this evening to list an item I found at the Goodwill that I think will bring in considerably more than I paid for it on eBay. The trick to selling on eBay isn't having the items to sell, it's having the proper packaging to ship the items you're selling. It's always good when the box doesn't cost anything.

The tomato seeds I ordered arrived, now I'm thinking about where I can rig a homemade grow light for them. The greenhouse isn't reliable enough, not very insulated for starting plants this early. It means I'll have to declutter a space to rig up the light and put the pots. And think about weeding the garden in preparation.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Jan 18 - 01:02 PM

We have painters in the house again, this time tackling the Pepto-Bismol pink of Himself's horrid office. The walls were so badly damaged by the previous occupants' inept installation of a television and a shelving unit that the first day of work is nothing but plaster repair.

Himself's sister is minding her grandchildren down the road in Waterloo, so we had supper with her last night. Alas, it appears that she intends to maintain a well-established tradition that drives me nuts: she turns out her husband's wardrobe and gives the clothes he doesn't wear to Himself, whose own wardrobe abounds in items he does not wear! I said, several times, that she should donate these unneeded garments to the Sally Ann or the church rummage sale, but both of them literally ignored me; it was as if I had not spoken.

Aaaaagh!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 28 Jan 18 - 08:48 PM

Ohio:

Bad news: my mom's antique dresser won't quite fit where I want it (but Plan B is already working).

Great news: BIL and his Boy Scout son are down with helping with a little prep here, before the May 1 truckload lands on the house, so that their brother/uncle (Hardi) can arrive for his August vacation without a Honey Do list waiting for him.

I'm very relieved! Since I re-manufactured 3 squashed pillows today, I expect to sleep well!

~S~