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Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Vashta Nerada Date: 08 Nov 17 - 01:53 PM Well, shoot, if I'd known you were reduced to such spartan food preparation circumstances I'd have picked up that nice bright orange 1970s electric saucepan I saw at the Goodwill this morning. Mailing it might have gotten to you just before the work is finished. :) I have one I inherited from a friend and it comes out on special occasions - when all of the burners are in use on the stove or when we have something that needs cooking and a rectangle is easier to prepare it in than a circular skillet. (I make meat pies called "empanadillas" every year around xmas, and it's perfect for cooking a bunch of those rectangular pies in shallow oil.) What was the plumber's verdict on the ancient leak? Is it a simple repair and the replacement of some lath and plaster, or is a bathroom remodel suddenly part of the project? |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Charmion Date: 08 Nov 17 - 08:27 AM Full-blown mayhem is under way in the kitchen, where Tony the carpenter is tearing out a doorframe and its associated section of wall in preparation for the removal of the shower stall that currently occupies the space that will soon become a pantry. Cat 1, Watson, was last seen on the futon in the basement; he is now almost certainly under it. Cat 2, Isobel, is probably behind the dryer and won't be seen again until Tony has packed up and gone for the day. I wish there was room back there for me, too. If there's one noise I hate in this world, it's power tools, closely followed by the shriek of hardware being pulled out of wood. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Charmion Date: 07 Nov 17 - 04:39 PM The carpenter started work in our kitchen today, and immediately found an unanticipated problem: something in the bulkhead over the fridge (and under the second-best bathroom) is leaking now, and -- judging from the damage to the plasterboard and the newly exposed pipes -- has been leaking for a long, long time. Cue the plumber, who will visit us tomorrow morning bright and early. Kitchen, dining room and sitting room operations have been transferred to the basement TV room, where the toaster oven, microwave and "kitchen dishes" are jammed in among the books and storage shelving, and the entire contents of the pantry is stashed under a six-foot folding table in wine boxes and plastic milk crates. The refrigerator is now in the garage, and the sitting room is a jumble of furniture shoved out of the dining room. For the next three weeks, we will be eating off our knees in front of the TV and washing dishes in the laundry room. Menus will tend toward cereal, sandwiches, and anything nukable that looks half-way nourishing. We bought an electric kettle at Canadian Tire to ensure a steady supply of tea, and the espresso machine now sits on top of a low bookcase. The cats are not happy. Come to think of it, neither am I, but I have high hopes for neatness and efficiency in December. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 07 Nov 17 - 02:57 PM PA Book purge continued. Partially packed box filled and taped. Second small box filled/taped. A third of the Maybe's allocated to Gift and that recipient-labeled box more than half full. A few more items for other Giftee allocated to her box. All this aggravated an injured shoulder, damn! |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 06 Nov 17 - 06:33 PM PA Well, the book purge is underway. I'm just whipping thru decisions at this point, with three receiving boxes: Donate, Gift to a known individual, Maybe. My back can only take a few minutes at a time so I did just a tad past comfort today, to build stamina; put on NPR and took Newbie upstairs for company, and netted one boxful to donate, another 2/3 filled to donate, and one box started for a ministry colleague. I found 3 items that go to the Liberation Library in Ohio and added them to the open Ohio box. I freed up 3 small boxes for the next Donate boxes and knocked off. Because it came at the end of a very active chore morning, when I sat to let my back settle I promptly fell asleep. Good thing the dog woke me up to let her out! My present goal is one small box each day M - Th, and to send them all to the most handicap (walker) accessible branch library as Hardi is able to load them up. The Maybe box-- I'll have to go thru w Hardi as he's available. Eventually I'll be down to all Maybe's, and then I'll compare Ohio shelf space to books-- and make the remaining hard decisions. I'm just trusting it will make sense then, what to keep. The 40' of shelf space presently occupied by songbooks will be a separate purge, later. Whatever we keep will probably be shelved in the Ohio garage because our garage band of neighborhood kids will want to use them. A nearby folkie group with a monthly song circle/jam will be offered the rest. I have one of value, which is also signed by Kytrad, that I'll probably donate to Mudcat for auction. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Charmion Date: 06 Nov 17 - 09:51 AM The only wildlife I've seen in this house belongs to the insect kingdom, thank God. I'm not sure how the cats would react to a western rat snake, but my money's on violence with associated mayhem. Our kitchen renovation begins tomorrow, so this afternoon will be dedicated to setting up a tactical operations centre in the basement TV room-cum-library. The six-foot folding table from the garage will go in front of British Empire history, and I guess we just stack it with everything that will fit or can be made to fit on it or under it. To accommodate dishes, one of the dining room cabinets will migrate downstairs; I'm not yet sure how, but we're getting really quite good at moving furniture around this house. Finally, the espresso machine, the microwave and the toaster oven must also find space, as must the dish-drainer. Dishwashing will be done in the laundry room, with a hospital basin for a dishpan and the dish-drainer on top of the dryer. The refrigerator is moving to the garage, where it will stay. A new fridge will move into the kitchen, and the old one, with its damaged bins that fall out on your toes, will become a beer fridge that also grudgingly accommodates such items as mineral water and foods in the process of marinating. Himself has always wanted a beer fridge. The outlook for November is messy. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Nov 17 - 08:02 PM I love the plans you describe making to the house. Those windows and the view in particular. Covered porches are always inviting - I hope you'll post before and after photos on your facebook page. Am I accurate in guessing that Pete will do a lot of the construction? I just got a call from my next door neighbor, and I headed over with a straight-sided plastic trash can and my longest kitchen tongs to catch and release a snake in her living room. She's moving soon; I'll miss our wildlife adventures. I've caught and released several tarantulas over the years, this is our first snake! (A western rat snake, small and non-venomous, but with an attitude! It kept shaking it's tail and feigning strikes from down in the bottom of the trash can. My neighbor was quite impressed but I was laughing at it's antics.) |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: LilyFestre Date: 05 Nov 17 - 04:18 PM It's been awhile since I posted and I can't remember if I shared that our cabin sold and we had the closing a little over 2 weeks ago. It was a lovely place for us with lots of good memories but it wasn't needed any longer so it was time for it to go. I have no regrets and am glad to be moving forward. We are going to do some home improvements with the extra money including the addition of 2 windows to our living room. There is one corner that is so dark and this will lighten the room considerable to a view overlooking a few mountain ridges without another house, car, barn or person in sight. Bonus? It will allow us to add an air conditioner in the summer. Someone recently gave us their freestanding room AC so it won't even block the view! We also have plans of adding a barn style sliding door across one of the pantries in the kitchen that currently has a curtain over the opening. Given the layout of that room, a normal door simply won't work....I love the look of the sliding doors so that's all good with me! New flooring will be going down in the bathroom and in the spring, a new front porch will be going up. The back deck is coming off to be made shorter but wider with a roof as currently it is too hot to sit out there without some kind of coverage. So many projects and so little time....and it seems that when we do have time, we are both just wiped out. I've been sick all weekend....coughing, sore throat, worn out tired. Monday is looking down her pretty nose at me and I'm hoping I'm ready as I've got a busy week ahead. As far as decluttering, I have a few bags in my car to be dropped off at the Salvation Army this week. Mostly clothing that Jeremiah has outgrown and shoes that I'm not wearing any longer that are in good shape. It's cold and dreary here today so I am trying out a new recipe for Loaded Baked Potato Soup in the crock pot. It smells wonderful and has about 2 hours to go. I'm having mixed feelings about it though as I know with this cold, I probably should stay away from dairy as best I can....so maybe it will be my lunch tomorrow. We shall see. Pete is napping, Jeremiah is practicing his guitar and I've been working on my Ta-Da List for the work week. I just got notice that a weekly meeting I am to attend has been cancelled which opens up an additional 3 hours in my schedule, Excellent! :) In addition, it's a 4 day work week for both myself and Jeremiah. Maybe we'll do some joint decluttering and plow through all the toys he no longer plays with. :) Happy November Everybody! Michelle |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Nov 17 - 09:36 AM For those regular and lurker readers who have mentioned pain (who hasn't, at this point) here's an article that might be helpful. Trying the Feldenkrais Method for Chronic Pain. The Feldenkrais method is one of several increasingly popular movement techniques, similar to the Alexander technique, that attempt to better integrate the connections between mind and body. By becoming aware of how one?s body interacts with its surroundings and learning how to behave in less stressful ways, it becomes possible to relinquish habitual movement patterns that cause or contribute to chronic pain. It was developed by "Moshe Feldenkrais, an Israeli physicist, mechanical engineer and expert in martial arts, after a knee injury threatened to leave him unable to walk. Relying on his expert knowledge of gravity and the mechanics of motion, he developed exercises to help teach the body easier, more efficient ways to move." A bit further down in the article: Mr. Wyszynski explained that he starts by observing how patients are using their skeletons ? how they sit, stand and walk in ways that may cause or contribute to their pathology, be it spinal disc disease, arthritis, shoulder pain or damaged knee joints. In accordance with Dr. Feldenkrais?s astute observation, ?If you don?t know what you are doing, you can?t do what you want,? patients are then given a clear sensory experience of how their posture and behavior contribute to their pain and physical limitations. Even if you don't go to one of these clinics, I think there will be information that helps each of us be more mindful about clenched teeth, hunched shoulders, funky walks, etc. It comes back to good posture: As a mechanical engineer and physicist, Dr. Feldenkrais understood that the job of the human skeleton was to accommodate the effects of gravity in order to remain upright. And he wanted people to achieve this in the most efficient way possible. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Nov 17 - 07:28 PM Plumbing challenge today - the friend who will replace the sewer line came to see how deep the line is, and pierced the water line by accident, so spent a couple of hours back and forth to fix that. I'm going to have to prepare ahead, have plenty of water handy, and clear a path through the front yard because this will involve an excavator. I pulled up some lilies and daffodil bulbs this afternoon, and put a few in another bed I was working on. I pulled up some steel edging in one area and put some down new in another. This shifts my plans for the next couple of weeks, I didn't know a machine that large would be involved. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 04 Nov 17 - 02:09 PM PA: It seemed like SUCH a good idea to bring home all the empty boxes and mattress bags when we cleaned out the OH garage, but OY, my back, and Hardi did all the heavy lifting!? But the upstairs rooms full of bookses now haz empty boxes of a good sort/tote size to begin the purge. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Nov 17 - 10:46 AM Working on a sewing project I realized there might be a small device that would help make my own bias tape (after cutting the correct width, feed it through, iron it as it comes out, it's ready to go). A reviewer for one of these kits on Amazon said "you should use a bias foot instead," and a light went off. I dug around and found the lovely shiny tubular bias foot in the box of attachments for my antique sewing machine. That still works just fine. Not only frugal, but it will probably look better when it's finished. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Donuel Date: 02 Nov 17 - 06:34 PM That is no more odd than collecting molds spores mushrooms slimes and fungi. Manuals even have an air of safety. You could say RTFM with ipunity. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Nov 17 - 05:01 PM I've looked through a box of owner's manuals to find instructions for a small item to list on eBay; in the process I've found a handful of manuals for items I no longer own. As a personal hobby, I enjoy looking through the sites like http://www.manualsonline.com/ and if I have one that isn't listed, I scan and add it. This helps other people like me who have items they want to sell find out information and print it up to include in the shipping box. Or people like me who buy used appliances and want to know how they work, etc. So that stack of manuals will be slowly scanned and entered into the site then tossed into the recycle bin. (You used to be able to find such manuals on eBay, but people always charged too much for them, and this online sharing of manuals is a much better way of operating.) I didn't find the booklet I was looking for, but I found them for a couple of other things that are around here that should also go on eBay, so those are in a different stack. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Donuel Date: 02 Nov 17 - 12:55 PM A writing challenge by katlaughing is a welcome revival. It will pay to advertise. In those early years I knew nothing about mudcat but I knew I liked catlaughing's posts. by any spelling she was swell I still know less about mudcat than I would wish but am surprised when I go exploring. I am forced to declutter with a commitment to replace all our windows. This time it is actually getting done. With the floors being done afterwards, a second complete decluttering will be forced. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Nov 17 - 11:24 AM Back in the early years of this new century Katlaughing (who originated all of these declutter/exercise threads) started working on a book, and it became Wind Words of Wyoming. She started it because of the NaNoWriMo challenge, November as a month in which to write an entire novel. A number of mudcatters picked up the challenge, but she actually finished the book. I don't know that I'll finish a book, but I have decided to use this month to block out a book I've been thinking about for years. Ala Roald Dahl or Louise Erdrich, with multiple related short stories, different narrators, that combine to tell the whole. The original sales page Katlaughing set up is still there, though I don't know if the purchasing links work. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 29 Oct 17 - 10:38 AM Yesterday morning I pulled the remaining tomatoes and eggplants from the now frost-burned plants. Time to pull all of the foliage and tote it back to the compost. The frost singed the tops of the potatoes that are coming up on their own; usually I would plant them in January but they came up because I didn't pick last year. Last year I had some tiny little leftover buds from the previous year's garden and they started growing but never really got much of a crop going, then they disappeared under a volunteer tomato and sweet potatoes. Now the tomatoes and sweet potatoes have been dug and the soil is clear for the lasota potatoes. Identifying items to offer via a "Buy Nothing" facebook group in this area. I heard about and found the closest group (they're in the next town east of here). What I have to figure out is how to occasionally drop off items without making an extra trip (no point in donating small things if you're burning a lot of gas and time to do it.) I have a small loop to drive this morning, dropping off recycling, picking up a gift for a friend, and getting free mulch for my garden. Even with that, this group is outside that logical range. I'll have to plan a drop off on my way home from work for this to make sense. I'm thinking of making a centrally located Goodwill my point of exchange. Making another batch of my favorite eggplant casserole this evening to feed myself this week. Cooking the last of the garden crop rather than cramming any more in the freezer. |
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Subject: The typical Ohio day From: wysiwyg Date: 28 Oct 17 - 04:31 PM Ohio: Very interesting meditations this week, such as about the HOWs of living here alone, and making my January re-entry easier and facilitating a quicker payoff in the usual increased activity level: no one cares if I leave the bedrooms messy, with their various non'sleeping uses' projects half done. Dnd doing so would actually re-orient me to the hard-won learnings about how to be alone and not helpless here. So I've decided just to welcome myself back with a clean and straightened up living room/kitchen/garage! A typical day here: Early Rachelcast wakies re Mueller's 1st charges. Back to bed til 9am+. Awoke knowing where garage security cam goes. Potential Mueller-firing rapid-response rallies signed up for and publicized. Great post by friend re racism saved. Cold pizza brekky after unstiffening house pickups, got dressed for Tyler carseat fix at 1pm (w items found in linen closet during last night's movie), then tea. Fleece throws re-allocated. Hooked up Tyler w more vouches w police that he is The Guy We Psy to Look Through Our Windows, via adjoining neighbors. Allocated him a weed sprayer to store in outdoor resin 'garage' (trash can keeper). Ministries at FB discerned for Internet svc provider, in case of data cost discussion. Driver car seat modified. Car cleaned out. Garden helper items stowed in kennel area. Gate reclosed w rubber straps for mowing service. Bugout sked/help planned. Driveway trash policed. Garage trash to bin. Big ticket item: Groceries n 3 cheap DVD's for the last few days here, the drive, and restockin the pantry for cold weather return. Halloween candy bought (NOT child-slavery-sourced chocolate!!!). |
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Subject: Soap scum From: wysiwyg Date: 28 Oct 17 - 04:04 PM .... the bucket shape was made flatter with compressed foam products of varying densities. SOAP SCUM EXPERIMENT RESULTS ARE IN!!! (A past thread topic)-- in addition to acidification of soaps and shampoos, a pre-shower spray of build-up areas PREVENTS build-up. Accidental discovey-- clear shower curtain ruined by housemate with mineral depis its, so tried pre-spray on replacement clear shower curtain and VIOLA! Pre-spray. Shower. Rinse pre-sprayed area with water. Done@ ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 28 Oct 17 - 03:58 PM Ohio: The season's first snow here landed on my neighbor's enormous tropical plant so I took a picture before it melted away but it's suddenly way colder here. Tyler helped finish modifying my car seats in anticipation of Wednesday's drive back to PA. The bucket shape puts my knees at exactly the worst angle. It was so nice to be able to pull the car into the garage and out of the cold wind! |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 28 Oct 17 - 10:25 AM I think we dodged the frost bullet last night; I'll take a look at the eggplant foliage later in the morning for the best proof (or not) of frost. But the time is near to clear out the greenhouse and move in a few winter residents. I turned both heat pumps to "heat" this morning to burn off any dust that accumulated. Chances are that for a while I'll leave one on heat so it comes on at night if needed, and one on cool so it comes on during the day if needed. Making another push on the eBay stuff, expanding the variety of items listed. I've organized the sun room in the last few weeks, I can see what is available for listing now. As part of that organization I cleared out a bin in the sun room by giving the rest of the large bag of bird seed to my across-the-street neighbor. I may donate one of my shepherd's crooks and feeders to him because his next door neighbor's cat spends time in his yard. Doubtless she stalks birds and mice - she's my regular garden visitor watching for my mice. A project that has waited months needs to finally be performed this winter, reassembling my wheelbarrow with the new handles I bought last winter or spring. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 26 Oct 17 - 09:53 PM I've pulled drinking glasses I used for the kids out of the cupboard - I'm replacing them with some I like better, much easier to clean (smooth instead of rippled sides), just as easy to pick up and have a good grip. I've looked for more plates of the style I've started collecting and once I have enough the chipped Corelle will also go the way of the glasses. There will be more replacements around the house, and likely there will be fewer things going back after old items come out. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 26 Oct 17 - 12:06 AM Beaver: Amazing warm fall weather with glorious days contributed to many hours or reading outside on the swing, and watching the colours change and the shimmering poplar and birch leaves. I have had a tremendous lack of energy for no apparent reason. Ankle still acts unhappy if I do "too much" so I take many days off. However, all the pottery is now on display in the new screen house - our fav room! Company most of the weekend enjoyed it as well and one insisted on purchasing 3 bowls. R was in residence and moved the antique sewing machine out of the BR and up to the library where it looks great; the BR is greatly decluttered as the book shelf, now in that space, holds things which had no homes! WOW! I managed to plant some bulbs in the memorial garden (Astri's garden) and hope the squirrels do not eat them all. I had to add a wheelbarrow of soil to it first. I suppose those tasks contributed to the, mild but noticeable, pain in ankle. Outdoor chores are mostly done. R removing his books to library has provided space for some of my books which I can bring from Quebec this next trip. Looking around: Do I really need a shelf of newspapers from the last few months? R likes to save them but I will quietly use them for fire starter - one more small book shelf! I count up about 15 lineal feet of shelf space == not much! I may need to ruthlessly discard.... Once the ladder to sleeping loft is in place, there may be some room for more. Charmion: Congrats on books shelved and boxes rid of! I did note in recent bill/insert from Hydro One that pot lights are discouraged. I think, being recessed, they give less light for the money. Off to Quebec tomorrow for a week, though I, more and more, hate leaving home. It is much nicer here: more scenic, cleaner air, more friends and things to do. - in English. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Charmion Date: 25 Oct 17 - 09:50 AM I would love to live in a climate where basil seeds itself and comes up the next year on its own! But, of course, that would mean putting up with sweltering summers ... Hmmm. Perhaps growing it in a pot is not such a hassle after all. The kitchen contractor came to visit yesterday with his favourite electrician and his lead carpenter. By the time they left, I had decided to abolish the dining-room light fixture altogether in favour of a row of pot lights all across the back of the house, from the loo past the pantry and the back door, through the kitchen, and across the dining room. To accomplish this task, the ever-so-60s swirled plaster ceiling in the dining room will vanish behind a layer of plain old drywall that will be painted plain old white. Nobody with any brains does drywall work on a ceiling over a brand-new hardwood floor, so the floor installation must be postponed. Why does I feel as if I'm planning Operation Overlord? Perhaps because this project has almost as many moving parts. Himself left town for the week to hang out with another retired legal officer transformed into a small-town barrister, and then to attend the annual Criminal Law Association in Toronto. The weather has turned sharply colder and the leaves are tumbling off the trees by the heap, but I'm just going to let them lie there until he gets back. The compost-turning doohickey he ordered from Lee Valley Tools arrived yesterday, and I think he's looking forward to concocting the optimum mix of grass clippings, leaves and kitchen fall-out. Just as well; yard work is not my favourite way to end up with an ache in my lower back. Besides, the ironing basket is an ever-renewing resource for which I seem to be responsible. I'm cool with that; ironing doesn't involve rain down the back of my neck or cold hands. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 24 Oct 17 - 11:50 PM I don't plant many annual flowers, but I have lots of xeriscape trees and shrubs that flower off and on all through the growing season. My garden is a working garden, herbs and food. I plant pretty much the same core of plants every year, and try a few new ones if I have time and space. The PMR limited my range of activity and motion last fall and through the winter well into the spring. Once it was being treated I got out and started gardening, slowly (turns out the neighbors noticed my lack of a garden and several asked if I was okay.) I have a core area of tomatoes and eggplants, the sweet potatoes harvested, and the red lasota potatoes I missed harvesting last spring stuck around and are growing tops again now. So maybe next spring I'll have potatoes. There are also volunteer herbs (the oregano, rosemary, thyme, and bay are year round, and every year the basil comes up in the spring and the cilantro comes back in the fall.) The garlic comes back from corms left behind in the spring. Now that I have this in motion I step in at the appropriate times and harvest stuff. |
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Subject: Garden Staging From: wysiwyg Date: 24 Oct 17 - 05:17 PM Does anyone else do this? At the end of the garden season, I mock up all the ideas I have for spring, and take 'staging' pix to aid my planning for the next year. (I started with staging pix when I converted the MudDorm to a rentable room.) I can usually take all my shots with just one flat and one potted plant, which I give to neighbors when I depart for PA. I find it really motivating (especially due to not living in the Ohio house year round), to have an approximation of what I'll need to do/buy (and not overbuy). Here's what I gave myself as eye candy this year so far: The bold Dragon's Breath a neighbor recommended is still going strong in a granny cart garden, which is ALMOST too heavy to move (despite its styrofoam core and perlite in the soil). The petunias surrounding the dragon never quite recovered from the hired help's neglect during an early fall hot/dry spell, which also kilt the several trailing vinca I'd bought. I did not have time in August to puncture the plastic liner to insert annuals into the cart's sides and front, but I hoped my plan would work.... I dreamed of that planted cart... So, last week I splurged on one flat of clearance pansies, which do give some idea how this may look, when I arrive in May with annuals and herbs started from seed in PA. The plastic lining the cart is 2 layers of construction-weight plastic, and the soil is not leaking out from the pockets I slit into the plastic. I'm also very pleased with the look of an old, enameled iron woodstove I mock-planted; in those pix I can see how much/what kind of plant material to prepare for horizontal grow-bags which will nestle into the open oven and warming section on top, with pots all across the top of the stove. Even on a cloudy day that white enamel pops! ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 23 Oct 17 - 11:30 PM Slippery, never, but I live in a flood plain, pay flood insurance, so it makes sense to have flooring that is least damaged by water, should the worst happen. In all of the years this house has never flooded, but next door has had water a couple of times (they're a few inches lower.) Too bad the shifting foundation is sending cracks radiating throughout said tiles. A number of my eBay listings have watchers, but no takers since last week. I've lowered a few prices a little bit, sometimes it seems only to matter if a price is XX.49 versus XX.99 or XX.00. Congratulations on clearing the kitchen, Susan. Mine was clear yesterday, but today I brought in a few thrift store bags and there it goes again, stuff will sit there to be gone over, cleaned and polished, then moved into the sunroom/ebay room. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Charmion Date: 23 Oct 17 - 01:33 PM All our books are out of the boxes and shelved -- not necessarily in their permanent spots, but at least available and accessible! I am so happy, not least because there's room for all of them. In fact, we actually have room for more (God forbid). Painting is not happening after all; the painters overbooked themselves and dumped us. That's okay with me, as I have done nothing about acquiring curtains for the windows that are currently covered with ill-fitting Venetian blinds that are almost, but not quite, the last word in ugly. I hope to start work on that this afternoon. The flooring crew returns on 1 November to remove the slippery white ceramic tile from the dining-room floor and replace it with hardwood. I can't think why anyone would put that stuff on a floor at all, let alone a space where wet stuff happens, but there it is; I'm sure it was one reason for the availability of this house when every other half-decent dwelling for sale in Stratford this spring had a line-up of bidders. Unfortunately, the kitchen and foyer floors have the same white ceramic tile, but replacing it will have to wait for the tumult and shouting of the kitchen renovation have died down, the bills are paid, and our chequing account has recovered from the shock. But today, I'm just grooving on the neatness of my study. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 22 Oct 17 - 10:12 PM Ohio: Today, with helper Tyler, the clutter from several departed housemates (and the family who sold us this house) is gone, and OUR stuff is up in the rafters, hanging on walls, and organized by corner, with room to play with Newbie or park a car in there when I come back in January. We left a clear path to the small electric snowblower here, as well as the snow shovel. More than half of the cubic yardage was empty boxes stacked on and around everything else. Those are all broken down now, and wrapped in plastic mattress bags for transit to PA to fill them UP. In PA they will be stowed up in the attic where such boxes are warehoused. The hardware department can now move from my kitchen to the waiting shelves, yaaaayyyy! |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 22 Oct 17 - 12:47 PM Lovely heavy rainfall last night, clear and sunny today. Must go for a walk and see how many pecans were knocked out of neighborhood trees. Tis the season. EBay removed one of my listings, a product I would never use myself but know there are practitioners. It's something I found on deep discount at the discount grocery I visit. After running for weeks, eBay noticed it and removed it, so I looked up the product name and see that the other listings still in place call it by the product name but don't discuss any of the squishy popular but not medical cautions about the product. I'll leave this vague, I don't want the post to turn up in a search about the product. I have relisted with just the name, fewer photos, and the price. Once these are gone they will not be replaced to sell any more. Mostly I sell estate items and small electronics I find at thrift stores that I know how to market. The occasional foray in to other stuff can offer challenges. I haven't decorated for Halloween in recent years but I have a couple of small pumpkins, one ceramic, one metal, that are out for now. I don't want to toss all seasonal decorative items (I had a lot more around when the kids were little) but if I do have them, I should use them. I've reduced the xmas stuff a lot, though I need to label boxes better, I still have to go through several boxes looking for particular items. I've started sending some of the kids' favorite ornaments to them one or two at a time each year. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 Oct 17 - 10:33 AM A friend and coworker, depressed at the prospect of an evening in an almost totally empty house, came over for dinner and to watch his favorite PBS news programs last night. Since he wanted to follow my car to my house, I drove over to his house after work so he could take a look to confirm this was the current status. The insurance company is covering the replacement of the floors in his house after a water leak of long duration warped the wood floors something awful. The movers had to empty the largest items and they finish moving large stuff on Monday (bed, fridge, piano, basically are all that are left), then the magic will happen. Right now, because of those floors, the house looks like something abandoned for years to the weather; once the new gleaming floors are in this house will be a little gem. The landscaping is marvelous, he's a master gardener with an amazing eye and imagination. This artist (mfa) will be able to restage his house once the floors are in, and he plans to (here it comes) "declutter big time." There is so much art, are so many interesting objects, that it has a sort of Victorian state of clutter. He's going to go for the "less is more" approach. So with him coming to dinner I then looked at my house through the eyes of my artist friend as he walked in the door. I have more space, I don't have wood floors (alas), though I do have a foundation that needs attention. But this house has good bones, it has some gorgeous woodwork, and excellent prospects - something to keep in mind as I continue to declutter. My gardener's eye also has a vision, aimed more at a stroll through a lovely park than his trip down Alice's hole into Wonderland, and it is enacted through xeriscape plantings (low water). He recognized my plants and it's nice to have a fellow gardener enjoy the result of years of work. Charmion, your new floors will give your vision for your house a huge boost, and I look forward to a few facebook views of the before and after. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Charmion Date: 19 Oct 17 - 04:42 PM We now have a sofa in the sitting room, just in time for the first visit of Himself's elder sisters and their husbands, who intend to lunch with us tomorrow at half past one. Boy, howdy. This morning, the moving company sent a nice man with an even nicer van to pick up the great stacks of flattened cartons that were cluttering up the garage, and now we actually have room to park one of our two cars in there. The other has to wait for the kitchen project to be finished, as its half of the garage is encumbered with 5-cubic foot china barrel boxes. We have a date for the first tactical bound of Op Kitchen, the laying of a hardwood floor in the dining room. We cross the start line at 0900 on 1 November. Okay, then. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Vashta Nerada Date: 19 Oct 17 - 02:45 PM Nine months in I'm still making myself do the Bullet Journal, and though I don't put in as much as I once used to in my one page per a day book calendar, I'm finding it useful in remembering things I planned to do, or adding them to future tasks when the weather permits, etc. Many of the things in that journal are home improvement and declutter projects. It's also good to look back to see what has actually been accomplished. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 16 Oct 17 - 11:19 PM Even the racist stuff - let an archivist take a look at it. It represents a period, a vile period, but it may be important. I'm working on clearing the freezer slowly. It's cooling off enough now to feel like cooking season. A sewing project is spread out on the dining room table, but even if I set up the sewing machine and a small television in that work space, it won't be so much that I can't easily clear it if we have company over and need the space. That has been a problem in the past. I have cleared out extra stuff that used to pile up there. Some years ago I brought home a 1940's dresser from the swap area of my nearest recycle center, and I used the mirror back (no glass remained) to enclose the back of the knee hole, I put a good birch plywood base in, and using the rest of that good plywood made cupboard doors and installed articulated hinges. I used iron-on oak veneer to trim the rough edges. A lot of the table cloths and napkins and things that I've wanted to use but were packed away in a trunk are in that sideboard now. Before putting it into service I painted it with high gloss black enamel, put a glass top, found some elegant brass pulls for the drawers and matching door handles, and brought a lot of family treasures back into circulation. I enjoy the story of the transformation of that dresser. Whether my children will want it later or not, I enjoyed that project, but it is good looking so one of them might want it. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 16 Oct 17 - 08:00 PM Subject:?RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From:?wysiwyg?-?PM? Date:?10 Oct 17 - 09:53 AM? Funny that I'm of Swedish heritage, and didn't know that the name for what I've been doing is Swedish Death Cleaning: https://www.treehugger.com/cleaning-organizing/swedish-death-cleaning-new-decluttering-trend.html |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Donuel Date: 16 Oct 17 - 06:26 PM Vashta thank you for the old sheet music information. I was not sure what to do with sheet music of Scott Joplin or even the original Dixie by Boston minstrels. 'God save Benjamin Harrison from every harm' I did notice in the Smithsonian but the tune was meh Some other stuff is highly racist ":^/ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Vashta Nerada Date: 16 Oct 17 - 10:24 AM Music like that, depending on how old, is making its way into university collections. It is scanned in and in some instances the first few bars are run through a recognition program to offer a tinny file letting you know what the tune sounds like. Finding the university or special collections that wants it, that's the difficult part. If the prints are too new, even of older works, then the copyright issues kick in (as you no doubt know). Collectors of ephemera love the old sheet music, especially with more elaborate covers and even better if it was printed in four-colors (offset). Look at eBay, and you might try searching some of the titles through Bookfinder or ABE books - they deal with printed matter beyond just books. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Charmion Date: 16 Oct 17 - 09:53 AM Death cleaning. Yup, I've been there for years. I'm still there. First, clearing the big family home after my mother died, so my dad could move to a much smaller and more manageable house. That took the better part of a year, including two summer months of full-time work before the sale. Then, dealing with the aftermath of Dad's sudden and untimely death; he had recently moved house and half his stuff was still in heaps, and his papers in particular were a hoorah's nest, mostly filed under M for Miscellaneous. That took years, for it involved accepting that my brothers and I had to stop living as extensions of our parents' establishment and define our own needs and wants without listening to that ghostly voice crying, "But I gave you that!" or "But that was Uncle Alfred's!" In fact, vestiges of the previous generations are still cluttering our quarters. We finally finished unpacking our books -- 55 two-cubic-foot cartons of them -- and yet again I found a corner for the wreckage of four Victorian copies of The Book of Common Prayer, once the property of my father's uncles and aunts, and the tiniest possible edition of the New Testament in French, so worn that the Book of Matthew is practically unidentifiable. Just what does one do with a holy book that is no longer usable as a book? Susan WYSIWYG, please offer some advice! I am also the custodian of a quarto-sized leather-bound Bible that was a wedding gift to my father's great-great grandmother in 1794. I had it restored and rebound about 20 years ago, and it looks good for another two centuries if adequately cared for. It has a special spot on the top shelf of a bookcase with glass doors. The unpacking of books immediately led to a major sorting and identifying of volumes that must find new homes. In particular, I have decided to let go of about four cubic feet of printed music, most of it classical repertoire that is either stuff I used to sing but is now beyond my asthmatic abilities, or was passed on to me by other singers in the hope that I would use it and I never did. Anyone out there interested in a complete set of Dvorak's Biblical Songs in the original Czech? Stratford is an arty kind of place, and I just might meet a younger singer who would like her own library of music to pick and choose from. If not, there's always Kijiji. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: pattyClink Date: 15 Oct 17 - 10:16 PM Thanks, MickyMan, good piece. I remember my dad and some other relatives did this. It seems most of our lives we are in 'accumulation' mode, but at some point one needs to get into a 'divesting' or 'distributing' phase. The best cases are when you can pass something on to a younger relative or friend or neighbor who honestly admires or is interested in the thing, and relate the background pedigree or special story behind it. And then have no illusions about the rest; just get rid of, as the article says, the meaningless stuff. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 15 Oct 17 - 12:21 PM MickeyMan, you have to go back to our late Mudcat moderator Katlaughing to find the origins of these declutter and fitness threads. Reading in one swoop might not be great literature, but it is a place where participants and a fair number of lurkers note milestones, share tips, offer encouragement. It was one of these threads where we learned of Lilyfester's cancer diagnosis that spun off into a life-affirming account of her surgeries, chemo, and radiation, adoption of a child, and life of her family as she grew and shared and thrived. Your sharing of the Swedish Death cleaning has an echo in a private discussion group where it was shared last week, and where we recognized this process, to a large part, is what we have without a name to it been doing here. The threads were monthly for a while, then quarterly, now it's a yearly amble through our attics, basements, pantries, home repairs, moves, downsizing, and more. Mostly we keep moving them back up to the top of the page, and every so often someone we've never heard from before drops in to tell us how they started reading and got an idea to make changes for themselves. Often those declarations are detailed and complete, the whole project achieved in a few months, accomplished, and now they're sharing in one succinct report. So whether people are regularly checking in or taking inspiration and moving on to other activities, it's all part of a process of getting rid of stuff. For some of us, the choice to simply discard or replace with smaller and more efficient isn't easy and the value of items needs to be realized through various forms of sale or donation, each move has to be strategic. In the past I donated items and took a tax break for the value, but now mostly I sell a lot of estate items on eBay. I research them, consider how someone in the family must have used or collected, and then, I let it go. I am not a museum, but I didn't know many of these family members whose objects I inherited from a couple of great aunts I met when I was old enough to set out and travel on my own to meet them. My journey has been one of learning, sharing, and letting go. There are people who collect many of the things of which I own only one; things I don't want to start collecting. And after having administered my packrat father's estate and considered my mother's vast sea of books and stuff and leaving most of it in place, I don't want to burden my children with things of no interest to them. If it what I learn is interesting but I can part with it, I am doing so now by choice. Thanks for the link. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: MickyMan Date: 15 Oct 17 - 11:06 AM I have seen this thread over the years, but my eyes simply glaze over when I try to read it enough to understand its intension and history. Anyway, I saw this internet story on Swedish Death Decluttering. It hit me that I should share it here .....https://www.treehugger.com/cleaning-organizing/swedish-death-cleaning-new-decluttering-trend.html. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Dorothy Parshall Date: 14 Oct 17 - 10:20 PM Beaver: weather turning cooler. Outdoor work getting accomplished. Laundry done but still drying! I put a plastic over it to keep the dew off and hope tomorrow will not rain! Walking almost perfectly most of the time!!! Finished with drops for cataracts!!! I feel freer! Roasted 3 cauliflower today and put cooked black beans in freezer/frig for current and future use. Managed to plant a painted fern today - finally! Just that took all the planting energy for today. Potted 3 geraniums found in the trash. Will take them to the horticultural society mtng next week to see if anyone wants them. Also parsley seeds and some others, and the little locust trees that I started from seed. Geraniums now in house. Still a few strawberries but heavy frosts on Sun and Mon... Bits of progress being made in house. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 14 Oct 17 - 06:28 PM http://www.roebic.com/foaming-root-killer.shtml Tips-- . Don't store it where it can't stay dry, or you may have to break up the caked product with a knife. It needs to enter the toilet as a powder. . You will need to NOT flush for 8 hours after using it-- so choose your time of day wisely and hang a sign to remind yourself not to flush no matter what else has gone in there (put used TP in the trash to avoid a clog when you do flush). And that's the whole house, not just the toilet you flushed it down. No laundry/dishwasher either. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 14 Oct 17 - 06:14 PM Ohio: Acme, when we bought this house there was an odd depression/crevice in the front yard. "Oh good-- spiraea!" sez I. "Hole 'mos' dug!" Until JUST before I bought one, TBTG. The housemate at that time complained that the tub was a slow drain. "Clean the hair cup," ssez I. She called a plumber instead who charged me $100 to snake the drain. A year later (she was gone), slow tub drain for me-- hair cup emptied daily-- hm. Asked neighbor with decades on this block. "Roots!" sez she. Recommended great (and cheaper) plumber. Plumber Dean found the clean out we'd not been aware of and started dredging up all kinda nasty, hairy roots. It was then that I noticed the straight line from cleanout to street ran RIGHT UNDER that crevice..... so I asked if he'd been here before.... yeah... that's why that bush they'd had got tore out. He opined that twice-a-year root killer would probably prevent his having to do this every two years-- spring and fall, when roots are most active. I researched least-toxic/easy to use, and even found a YouTube video w instrux. Kinda pricey but not as pricey as plumbers. BRB w link. ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 14 Oct 17 - 04:51 PM My friend came over and we walked the front yard and looked at the line from the cleanout to the spot where it enters the city line. We discussed the process, and by using an excavator and putting in PVC, plus a couple of improvements to upgrade the system (if there's a block in the house, this will now provide a cleanout for the house that won't require getting up on the roof). If he does it for half of what the plumber would charge he'll still make a nice profit even with renting an excavator and buying the PVC and other parts. I'd rather have a friend make money on this than the plumber. It's a sewer line so we don't need a permit like we would if it was an irrigation system connecting to the water line. It's something that homeowners are allowed to do for themselves. He also mentioned the root killer stuff, and something like that will keep the system open for now, but I have two large trees and a large shrub all in proximity of that line - it isn't going to stop having root problems with the perforated cast iron line. We'll probably do this next month. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 13 Oct 17 - 06:15 PM Susan, tell me what you know about root killing flush stuff. I don't want to nuke the city waste water department, but if there is something that will stop this without breaking that bank (or killing the tree), I would like to hear about it. A friend who now works for a local city public works department is coming over tomorrow and I'll show him the recordings I made of their camera exam of the line (the first plumber took a look, the supervisor who offers $$ options looked, but also used one of those sensors to show where everything is and showed me that the line runs diagonally across the yard, not straight out to the street. This makes a huge difference in the decisions being made. I'm running anything that came into contact with the yucky sewer water through the washer now with bleach to extra disinfect it. I'll mop, push furniture back to where it belongs, and study the options of getting the floor tile for the bathroom and then re-seating that toilet so the seal works. This flood shouldn't have hit the house, just the tubs. I didn't get the seal in correctly the last time, mostly because the flange is high and I had to use shims to hold everything in place until the tile is down. First world problems, I know. Busy weekend coming up. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Donuel Date: 13 Oct 17 - 05:38 PM Around 20 Anderson tilt out washable double pane vinyl windows installed is $13,000 with life time breakage repair guarantee. Acme you could get a good used car or windows for this kind of money. Maybe a new Houston flood Mercedes ":^/ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: wysiwyg Date: 13 Oct 17 - 06:15 AM Acme, are you regularly using a root killer you can flush down the toilet, preventively? ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Stilly River Sage Date: 12 Oct 17 - 07:28 PM I need windows also, at least 9, probably 12. They are expensive. I saw the guys replace windows on Ask This Old House, it isn't that difficult, but you do want to do it correctly. I'm sure labor is a huge part of the cost. We had another plumbing crisis arise last night, when the washer was running. Backed up again from the sewer line, probably more tree roots. That's my task for tomorrow, shopping plumbers (the last one was very expensive, I want to see if I can shop this around a bit.) Home ownership isn't for wimps. |
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Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness -2017- Clearing Out the House From: Donuel Date: 12 Oct 17 - 12:21 PM Wow this thread even has recipes for potions and poisons. I NEED WINDOWS - 20 - Metro DC area prices are undoubtedly high Prices probably go from 14K to 30K but what is reasonable? |
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