Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 May 18 - 05:26 PM

Apparently locks and alarms are on topic for this thread because we prefer no unauthorized decluttering. ;-)

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 May 18 - 02:33 PM

I accidentally left my garage door open earlier this week; I received a call at work from the sheriff who noticed it and asked if I was the one who still lived that that address.

I told him how to use a long stick to reach the button next to the regular door at the back of the garage (so he didn't have to open a gate the dogs could run through) - he never saw the dogs the entire time he was talking to me from the driveway and garage and activating the door closer. So much for my guard dogs! They're supposed to bark (they make friends easily, but they need to start out by barking.) They were guarding their beds in the front room, apparently, watching the inside of their eyelids.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 18 May 18 - 11:59 AM

We have an alarm system that emails us when the patio door is left open for more than five minutes. The neighbours think it's close to overkill, but I think losing the family silver once (October 1983) is warning enough for a lifetime.

On the bright side, the cold I caught in Connecticut last weekend is on the wane and breakfast actually tasted of food (instead of nothing). Having been to the gym already, I shall now make a chicken salad for lunch, fold and stow the bed linen I washed yesterday, and put on another brassée de lavage. (I would rather do laundry in French, a language in which one's socks and underwear are brewed.)

Spring has most assertively sprung in Perth County, and our garden is full of periwinkle and forget-me-nots. How cool is that?

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 18 May 18 - 10:58 AM

The alarm system Harding chose arrives Tuesday. I think if I need help setting it up, the local Geek Squad will come.

~S~

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

Dorothy, I guess your household is the kind Michael Moore famously described as the Canadian norm with respect to door-locking -- i.e., not. Having lived so much of my life in downtown Ottawa, the locked front door is still A Thing with me, although Stratford natives find it a bit, um, shall we say, anally retentive. I just smile sheepishly and say, "Big-city habit" and lock it anyway. In an old house, that way one knows that the door won't accidentally fall or blow open because of a weak latch. In a sketchy neighbourhood, that way one knows that the hung-over neighbour has to knock rather than just wander into the kitchen in search of a Bromo-Seltzer (true story).

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 May 18 - 11:44 PM

Ohio:

There being a shortage of help and funds, I decided not to send all 12 Horde loads of laundry out-- or pay Cameryn to help at a laundromat. And I like doing laundry. So tonight I sorted it all by color and type of filth.

One especially nasty load went first, to get it out of the whole-house's HVAC airflow. I ended up with just one small bag of "best drycleaned" to join the brocade wedding comforter on its way to the perfessionals via car or scooter.

To avoid overloading the plumbing, I expect it will take a week to work through all this-- karma for never bringing a camper full of dirty laundry home after vacation! :-). But since DIL had bagged most of this-- which had been strewn on the floors thruout the house-- it was quite pleasant to see so many long-loved fabrics come out of those bags, that I had thought the Horde had thrown out. Yay! (Especially all those "missing" pillowcases!) There are some badly stained pieces but ammonia can do miracles.

I threw out the clothes and linens Tyler's girlfriend had left behind in her "redecorating" efforts. I suppose if I were sure that Goodwill were within safe scooter range, I might have donated these few items.... but honestly I'm just mad enough to have enjoyed consigning them to a landfill. I think the right word is "disdain."

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: pattyClink
Date: 17 May 18 - 11:13 PM

Acme, from all your postings it's hard to believe there is still excess stuff lurking around! As you pare back furniture, etc., it can help to think of 'activity zones'. What do you actually do in x portion of a room, or want to do, that needs related 'stuff' to be in that location; a reading corner, a crafts table, changing clothes bench, etc.   Sometimes it just involves clarifying or slightly re-arranging what's already going on, sometimes it can mean declaring a new purpose for a room or part of a room.

Doing fine on the road but now that it's sticky warm, suddenly remembering I deep-sixed summer underwear back on a cold day, one of the rare times I have over-de-cluttered.   Oh well, a little of that happens, hopefully for the greater good of carrying/storing less stuff.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 17 May 18 - 10:09 PM

Beaver:
WOW! such doings - susan's saga! And much de-cluttering!

I will shock the bunch of you: I have not locked my house in the 3 years I have been here, or the car either. What a great place to live! A dead end road and good neighbours. Yesterday, a man who seems to be involved at the next door neighbours - about 200 yards away - walked over to warn me that leaving the tailgate open might run the battery down; I thanked him and informed him that I do it to let the heat out so I don't have to get into a hot car and it has never run the battery down. Very kind of him!

Came back last Tuesday by way of picking up an injured turtle along the way (from woman who had rescued it) and delivering it to the Turtle Trauma Centre. Added almost 3 hours to the trip! All turtles are endangered in Ontario and the trauma centre can save lives or, if it a female, can often harvest eggs from a recently dead turtle and incubate them til they hatch! It was worth the Turtle Taxi trip!

Spring has finally arrived and I have been weeding and resting, potting and resting... Good neighbour came by today and we considered my new plants: blueberries, raspberries and 3 cherry trees. Yes, I live in a swamp and the upshot was that I need another raised bed for the raspberry canes. Will put the 4 blueberry plants in an existing raised bed - L will come by on Sat with peat moss to add to the soil for these guys. I will give him as many of the strawberry plants as he wants; he gave them to me last year and lost all of his to the cold! I have LOTS! Last fall, new plants were jumping out of the bed but those all died in the frost. I could not even give them away. After L left, I decided to pot the cherry trees in very large terra cotta pots until I can plant them at the new house.


Volunteer lettuce - two sorts - are coming up prolifically. Also Italian parsley. A sage and the lavender did not fare well so I bought new ones at the herb farm, and a sorrel and a couple interesting tomato plants.

A trip to Toronto on Sun to visit a friend's pottery open house - great visit and sharing of info with her musician husband (a Yellow Door friend of almost 50 years); they have an orchard near R's latest building acquisition in south eastern Quebec. I told Lynn I was thinking it time to give up potting but she emphatically negated that idea so we stayed over in To and went to the Pottery supply house for more clay and glaze materials. I am happy to be encouraged and to have the energy to work: 90 min to 2 hrs at a session, then rest for two or more! Yesterday I vacuumed the studio - with respirator and goggles in place! I am ready to produce! The racks are full - need more shelves! I left a little heat on so I can start again in the am.

R could not see anything wrong with the kiln and we took pics to send down to the pottery supply house - they do not show any glitches??? But maybe M can get a clue. May also send them to Paragon in Texas to see if they can help with this brand new 1983 kiln - used about 10 times since I got it.

By the time we went to eye doctor - "healthy"! - and wended our way homeward by way of a lengthy back road, we were tired. Then went to a wonderful presentation on "The Land Between".

So R had managed to get here for supper on Saturday and left at lunch on Tuesday. Not much accomplished around here! And 7 boxes of clay in the LR! But it will soon be safe to put it in the studio. As soon as I have a kiln load, I will see if it will at least do a bisque firing. And maybe I will find the energy to try the other kiln - an oldie I have not yet tried but with which I am more familiar as it is similar to the one I left in the great NW; I had had it for 25 years and fixed it many times.

Today, I missed the right time to prep a good meal (while neighbour was here I got beyond that) and ate all manner of stuff. Tomorrow...

Dishes done; laundry done; pots drying; beds mostly weeded; plants need planting.

I am grateful for my increased energy and ability to walk - better and better!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 May 18 - 09:29 PM

Despite the steady effort to move out unnecessary furniture and objects, there is still too much stuff in this house. You can move through all of the rooms, it isn't packed, but it doesn't look polished because there is too much to let the best pieces stand out. So this afternoon I lay down on the sofa and thought about all relocating all of the furniture around me, where could the pieces be more efficient if the items they are holding were moved? What could be sold or donated, etc? The cabinet that holds the LPs has to be very sturdy, but DVDs in the top half could be stored somewhere else. How many chairs do I need, can I move the coffee table? Do I need the coffee table?

As a result, I attacked my closet and dressing room, as a place where I could easily remove something right now - there are things in there that I can't use, won't use, and won't sell, so they are in the trash (hair care products, etc.) or (mostly sweaters and slacks) in the Goodwill bin. The clothes came from a wicker basket, the rest from cabinets in the dressing room - now the question is, what should live in those spaces? I'm thinking it needs to be a logical extension of the counter above, so since I keep my jewelry boxes on the dressing room counter top, perhaps I should store the beads and jewelry findings and related items in that cabinet. They would be out of sight, but they wouldn't collect as much dust as they do now on top of a glass front secretary in the bedroom. The basket is part of a set, but they're separated, maybe I should rethink how I use those.

That doesn't help the living room or front room, but it does get me moving again. There is a computer desk that was moved into my guest room that I'll start with. The computer as well can be dismantled and donated. Once that is gone, something can be moved into the guest room from the living room. I'm offering it to family and friends first.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 May 18 - 06:47 PM

Ohio:

Another corner turned. Still have no clue where I'm going.... but I was not triggered, today (yet). So I'm cautiously calling this phase 'From "In Crisis" to "Fragile Looking for Fun"'.

Friend Janis brings $150 to expedite trip due to imminent pawnshop closing time, takes me to pawnshop ("I know where that is, when I was robbed I had to go there to get my stuff...."), is a riot the whole way, comes in WITH ME, wants to do lunch after school gets out next week, stops for my diet coke on the way back, drops me at Walmart's door and then COMES IN to hang out with me at the service desk to collect Hardi's wired funds-- and presents me with four cans of wasp spray for home defense. Believes every word I tell her, thinks im dealing with all this perfectly, and wants to come back soon to purify the house with sweetgrass, with me. Carries all the merch in, and insists on a hug before leaving. Well.... wow!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 May 18 - 08:44 AM

Ohio:

Some big deal of last night:
. Big batch of mixed rice in crockpot, cooled over AC register
. Horde curtains in guest room removed/repositioned. Unfortunately, one set of rod brackets will need repair.

Therefore there are now about 6 little jobs needing cordless drill bits, so Lowes via scooter with dog is likely today, after AM storms pass through.

Also planned is getting Hardi's guitars out of hock today. The acquaintance giving me a ride is bossing me about logistics nicely.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 16 May 18 - 11:50 AM

Ohio

There are a number of practical decisions I've been trying to make lately that have only resulted in hand-wringing consideration of options. So I've begun delegating decisions I can't make quickly, to others. The first one involved our mattress, for which I identified 8 great options... which chased each other thru my head MOST unpleasantly. I delegated that one to Hardi, who decided instantly that we would choose from those options and implement one, together, once he gets here in July. BOOM!

The next one involved comforters soiled by the Horde. One narrow one stuffed with feathers, one nice twin (down), bought in... 1995... and pretty nasty. Wash? Have washed? Dry clean? Goodwill? Trash? BOOM! Bagged and on the way to trash night. That leaves one of those original 1995 twin down's, IN the now-dusty duvet cover I bought for it after my 2012 botched surgery (Keep!!! Wash cover!).

I don't need help thinking through options (a la Hoarders crews). I need people willing to DECIDE. (Like I happily delegated most of my wedding decisions when we decided on a 30 day engagement!) It's a LOVELY opportunity NOT to be in charge all the time!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Vashta Nerada
Date: 16 May 18 - 09:53 AM

When I bought this house it had been a rental over a dozen years, so new keys were essential. And not just doors - this part of town has ornamental iron grates over most house windows and each bedroom window has a lock for obvious safety reasons. The back iron gates over sliding glass door had a key that fit all of them, but they barely moved due to inattention. So the locksmith rekeyed two regular doors, the security door, and three bedroom window grates. There was a key made to go in each room, hung from a cup hook under and beside the windowsill where each room occupant knew how to find it and work it. And there are spares in the drawer in the kitchen where all of that kind of thing goes.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 16 May 18 - 09:28 AM

When we moved into this house last summer, we found that the handles on three exterior doors were of the indoor passage type, suitable for a bathroom, perhaps, but not for any door that might have to stand up to a burglar. The previous owners had left us only one key, and it fit only the main door to the garage. Said door is so flimsy that a good shove would send it into next week, and its lock is of the knob-on-the-knob type that a knowledgeable person (such as I) can open with a bobby pin.

One of the basement windows was broken, to boot.

Our very first business in Stratford, after the real-estate agent and the lawyer, was with the locksmith and his buddy the glazier.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 May 18 - 11:23 PM

Ohio

Ride arranged for pickup Thursday afternoon.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 May 18 - 07:59 PM

Ohio

According to Det. Wilson, I am supposed to pick up the guitars from the pawnshop ASAP. We have to pay what the pawnshop paid out to get them, but when the case is complete we supposedly get reimbursed. This is for the guitars and amp-- no mandolin, and autoharps, or tools yet.

Thing is, I may need help picking up the stolen property. My loaner car is not reliable, and my taxi funds are tied up in replacing groceries. I was hoping not to have to buy my DIL a new tire or two, and was planning to baby the slow leak per her instructions and just use it in town. The pawnshop is about 25 minutes from me and the last time I drove it that far, it was flat the next morning.

Sigh....

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 May 18 - 04:58 AM

Ohio

Weird dreams. (Dya think?)

So as i headed, exhausted, for bed, I gave the windows a qiick chrck. There were TWO kitchen windows unlocked. One had stuff in front of it, making ingress difficult. The other now has a big, loud bamboo wind chime hanging from it.

So after I found that second, unlocked window, I had to clear the house-- look under every bed and into every closet. Including the furnace room-- where my two missing BLM signs have been all this time! Plus the tension rod that secures the dog closet. And my Spoon Theory poster, a bit crunched.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 May 18 - 10:58 PM

TWO kitchen windows, including the one with nothing obstructing it inside. Till now that is.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 May 18 - 10:36 PM

But the dog never barked. She's not much of a barker except at other critters. And she knows Tyler, too.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 May 18 - 10:00 PM

Damn!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 May 18 - 08:52 PM

Oh sorry, I thought I'd posted this part earlier-- I found an unlocked kitchen window this morning.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 May 18 - 08:45 PM

Acme, Newbie had been nervous all evening with things she was hearing outside. What I heard was metallic clunking inside the house, that is not a normal sound for this house, at all. NORMAL is critters scampering on the roof.

Police arrived quickly; but I think the panic button folks and the very loud tone the unit sounded scared them off. Now whether they were inside or still outside-- I'll never know. But a robust security system is on the way.

The paranoid thought is that they'll do this from the outside often enough for 911 to start ignoring me, and then come in hard and hot to pay me a visit. So I hope the security system comes quickly.

The other end of the spectrum of possibility is that it's JUST paranoia. (So I hope the security system comes quickly.)

The reality is probably somewhere in between. So I hope the security system comes quickly.

I was joking with the friend who has taken over researching which system, this morning, in a mad interval of black humor. "Why couldn't it have been a heroin group? These meth-heads stay up too damn late for me!"

But in all seriousness, meth.... that's a kind of crazy I'm not trained in. So it's hard to gauge anything. Which is why..... I hope the security system comes quickly.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 May 18 - 08:25 PM

I've had that kind of scare, moving into a place and some old friend or previous resident comes by and tries the door. You have cause for considerably more concern and I hope they weren't actually in the house! Did the dog set up any kind of alarm? I find the deep warning bark that my Lab occasionally gives during the night to be more reassuring than alarming - he's doing his job.

Comparing gardening notes with my dentist - we conclude that last year was a bad year for gardens. This spring we're both going full tilt—where else but at the dentist's office should I come to this slightly scientific conclusion? I sometimes take produce over on my fall visit.

One thrift store stop on the way home and I only picked up things I can sell on eBay. The phone app is handy for a quick look to see what actually sold and how much for.

The shoe store DSW sent a postcard offering a $5 discount if I download their app; I think the hang tag in my purse is sufficient, but this serves as a reminder that I have a couple of pairs of unworn shoes that I need to walk around the house in to be sure they're broken in before wearing them to work. That's money already wasted if I don't put them into service. I saw a woman wearing a cute pair today and realized they were almost identical to one of those unused pairs.

Food tip for the day: I buy Dannon lowfat vanilla yogurt when I can find it on sale and at that same deep-discount store I regularly buy several pints of blueberries at a time. Those berries go onto a cookie sheet and into the freezer. Lately I've been mixing equal parts yogurt and frozen blueberries, no extra sugar, and it is almost as good as eating ice cream. I need to make sure I get enough calcium in my diet while the PMR is being treated. (I didn't link to the store's actual page because my Kaspersky always blocks it, says something about the cloud and I haven't argued with it.)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 May 18 - 07:50 PM

Ohio

Tub cleaning started today. The ring is gone and the new mold farms are dead. Iron stains on the tub surround remain. If that's what the brown splashes are (and yes I know what to use next). They got disinfected, whatever they are.

The vinegar spray appears to be clearing up the shower curtain.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 14 May 18 - 08:23 AM

Ohio

Well, peaceful didn't last long. Police came at midnight in response to panic button-- noises of people in the house. They treated it like I was crying wolf, till I clued them in on the open case. The panic button worked great, and when I pushed it the base unit let out a really loud, shrill beep. The fast-responding "care center" voice asking if I need help was LOUD.

I think it scared them away, and they probably think now thst I have a new alarm system-- so I doubt they'll be back. But I can't say I slept well.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 May 18 - 10:53 AM

Happy Mother's Day to all of us! For me, it's a mix of time spent in the garden and time spent in the sunroom. I'll speak with my son (several states away) this evening and have lunch with my daughter tomorrow. We all understand that this is a greeting card company's promotional gimmick, and cards are rarely ever a part of our enjoyment of the occasion.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 18 - 11:49 PM

I mis-counted. Eight more boxes, in two neat stacks of four in the dog stall in the garage, moved here and cleared out space in my ex's garage.

It looks like there is a chance of rain in the middle of the week so I'll pick up a carton of beneficial nematodes and have them ready to distribute once we get rain (that gives them time to get into the soil where they do their work, otherwise I have to water deeply first). Another tick was found today, on me (still walking around). This has to end.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 18 - 08:20 PM

I'm liking the newly-rearranged garage since moving the mower in and out, whether out the big door to the front yard or the side door into the back yard is unimpeded by boxes and stacked stuff. It passes beside the SUV or behind it with plenty of clearance. A couple of more large plastic items are out (old cat litter tray and lid) and rearranged the coolers in that space.

I brought home three large boxes from my ex's house when he ordered tile for the bathroom - I just used one, I cut one down to a smaller size, and have one large one left so I'll retrieve the other four later this evening on a shopping run. He lost his cell phone in the garage weeks ago and finally found it today, so clearing out these few boxes and stacking them neatly here in a place cleared for them will help his decluttering efforts.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 May 18 - 06:37 PM

Ohio:

They say folding laundry is stress-relieving, and today I was grateful to able to do that mundane task, back in my old spot here for it-- I like to sit in the center of the wicker loveseat in the LR.

It overlooks the picture window, with its pretty view. There's room on each side for the folded items to pile up, which helps me sort the results for their various destinations. The laundry basket fits just right, in front of it, and if the job is interrupted there's no traffic pattern there.

There's also a particular wastebasket that fits just right, there, for spent dryer sheets and loose threads.

So by today, the loveseat cushions had been put back together; I'd covered them with the least-dirty sheet to keep dog hair off the fleece cushion covers (she sits there every day); the wire wastebasket had been found and pushed back almost to its regular shape and lined with little trash bags... folded... started the putting-away process....

Also I tossed an ancient shirt with rips and rears in it. I loved its print... but.... as I move more clothes here from PA, some things have just got to go! I do tend to wear loved items to tatters.

It WAS therapeutic. I'll BOLO a new "special" basket at Goodwill and use this permanently misshapen one for a planter. I'll replace that sheet with a clean one, when I've done those 12 loads of wash lurking in the closet, and wash this dear old sheet.

It's not normal here yet, and neither am I. But it's peaceful at last.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: LilyFestre
Date: 12 May 18 - 03:10 PM

We are required to take 30 minutes for a lunch break if we work more than 4 hours. I usually eat at my desk and work right along but since that half hour is available to go out and do whatever, I'm going to start taking advantage of it. :)

Michelle

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 18 - 01:54 PM

I used to work on the sixth floor of a building and took the stairs most of the time; now I work in a basement and eat lunch at my desk so I don't have to take a half hour for lunch. If I do the compressed work week again (offered only in summer, but I haven't heard mention of it yet) I have to take at least a half hour during that 10-hour day, and I should make myself go both climb stairs and go outside to walk around.

I weeded for a while in the vegetable garden but it's now officially hot out there, so I'll mow instead. It's still hot, but that involves moving around more and staying cooler, plus I have a number of shade trees to pause under. We're having trouble with ticks this year (I think the mice that were here so much last year contributed to this - now that the mice are gone I hope the ticks thin out and go away again) so I sprayed an organic mix for flea and ticks (compost tea, molasses, orange oil in equal parts, distributed at about 4 ounces per gallon) into the trees we're around most, as the possible launching point for said ticks. And mowing to keep the grass shorter is also helpful. Next time it rains I'll spray beneficial nematodes in the area also. (Before mowing, now that the sun is at it's height and going to get hotter, I'll fill the pump sprayer with vinegar and hit a few weeds that I don't feel like trying to pull—and I won't hit anything important nearby).

There is a build up of paper and eBay stuff, and I have forms to file (property tax protest, most urgently) so this is another one-two punch weekend - outside work during the day, paper work in the evening. No wine with dinner or I'll be just sleepy enough to put off the paperwork. :-)

I'm pleased with the results in the garage, but I have a few more things to pull out of there and offer via freecycle. Or I could put them at the curb and they'd go without even the posting on that website.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 May 18 - 01:45 PM

Ohio

I have not been able to tolerate being in the pillaged Liberation Library since the Hordeation, except to focus just on my notebook computer right inside the door. I have been asking myself if perhaps I may have confused the Library's identity with mine, and separating that in my head.

Since we have had time to research our records, and the police took a more detailed list of the items stolen (after I found a pawn ticket that has led to the beginning of recoverable items).... it sort of made a corner I could turn, mentally. I also now have a seniors' 'panic button' that has freed me from having to wear my cell phone at all times.

So after a very long, sound sleep I went to ask the LL what it needed, and where to start.

It said, "Welcome back, and thanks for asking! Pick a pile and start separating out what belongs in here from what belongs elsewhere."

So I did. I started with boxes that a hash of things had been crammed into, to gain floor space and work-table space. Suddenly at least that much made sense. A trash bag filled. A recycle bag filled. "Oh!" I said to myself. "This is just a ROUGH sort! I don't have hsve to detail-sort yet!" Soon some obvious categories emerged, and landed in boxes for further sorting LATER.

I stopped the minute that "overwhelm" sense returned, labeled all containers in progress to facilitate picking up the process later, moved the rolling desk a few inches sideways to make solitaire on the computer possible, and got out.

Maybe it will call me again. I'll be listening.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: LilyFestre
Date: 12 May 18 - 01:02 PM

Down 1.6 this week...surprising as I had my annual oncology checkup/new oncologist (physical check up is annual/tumor marker check up is more often) and I was stressed out about it. I did fine until after the exam and even then I had a decent breakfast, behaved myself at lunch out...but when I got home....I don't know what happened other than I was starving and ate exactly what I wanted. It was ONE day and that isn't going to derail me. :) Good news from the oncologist and I was most thankful that she was very nice and not all clinical...I NEED that personality along with the clinical!

I worked late last night and took about 20 minutes to clean off some of my shelves and the bottom drawer of my desk as it had become somewhat of a catch all. I have been wanting to re-organize some of my hanging files as I'm working with both children and adults now....I want their stuff separated but within easy reach and easy to locate.

In about 30 minutes I am off to my sewing room to do some organizing but also to select a project to do for an upcoming quilting retreat. I have plenty of fabric in my stash so I'm sure I'll come up with something. I like to have everything pre-cut and bagged before I go so I can spend the majority of my time at the retreat actually sewing. While I'm up there, I'm going to find a bag of fabric that was donated to me for making dresses to go to Africa (surprising how many folks around here actually go to Africa on mission trips). I'm not into making clothes so I'm going to get it out and deliver to another woman who just finished 58 little dresses and is interested in making more. :) I'm happy it will be out of my space and going to someone to make what was the fabric was intended for.

This week begins my walks during lunch time. There is a nearby park with a lovely trail around a pond that I'm going to check out. I normally eat my lunch while I'm working as it is so I'm going to use that *mandatory lunch break* to go out and get some fresh air and rack up some steps for the FitBit.

My car has been cleaned inside and out with the exception of winter gear that still is in the trunk. I was hoping to empty it out today but it's currently pouring....it will wait.

Have a great week everybody!

Michelle

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 18 - 10:25 AM

These days the term "stripper pole" doesn't bring to mind the same thing as it used to. (I have friends who take classes with the poles because it's great exercise, offered as one of many forms of dance at a neighborhood studio). ;-)

For a couple of weeks I've brushed against several plastic dry cleaner bagged garments hanging outside my closet. Time to try them on eBay, I'll never wear them again. They were special so I kept them, but no one in the family is that size, so. . . off they go. Two parcels shipped this week, and the combined income covers the electric bill that just came in. There's no telling what or when things will sell on eBay; sometimes they sell right away and I think I might have priced them too low, but because I research these things and try to put them in the marketplace correctly, someone just needed that thing at the moment I listed it. I keep my feedback score at 100% and have sold enough items that the extra information shows (speed, satisfaction, shipping costs, etc. are all rated by buyers.) You have to take it to the next level to make a living with eBay (buying wholesale, selling retail), I'm not there yet and probably never will be, but it's a good hobby.

It's an overcast weekend so into the garden.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 May 18 - 04:22 PM

Ohio...

As I'd hoped, the design of the panic button delivered and set up yesterday prevents accidental triggering if I wear it while sleeping. The base unit make just enough night-light, too-- red, and about like the PA dresser clock.

I take great pleasure in knowing that if the worst happens ("starring" on Forensic Files, lol), help can arrive in time to start the investigation promptly! ;-)

Busy day at Camp Ridgebury--

The county's Council on Aging grab bar installer Larry came and worked with me to determine best placements, while the lawn service loudly mowed and I called AAA to fix a slow flat on DIL'S car. Then Det. Wilson emailed an urgent request for a new signed statement, in order to FILE CHARGES YAAAAAY!!! Guitars have been located per the pawnshop ticket I'd found, and are being held pending case disposition.

Dealt with AAA and was then promptly off to bang out the story and paste the list I'd been working on, of stolen items.

Only 1 bathtub bar was installed because studs were not found near the 2nd desired and more needed location-- only a stripper pole will work there.

One was placed in the back door opening. One inside the garage door.

What I submitted to Det. Wilson was a detailed, 3-page witness statement including 58 high-value missing items. OMG. Only a typo or two and the wrong number for the time submitted-- they wanted a 2400 type number, and those never come out right for me. BUT IT'S DONE.

Hardi can use all that to submit an insurance claim. I'm just not up to managing that like I did our house fire claim in 2000. And the medical claims after my 2012 botched surgery and aftercare. Not this time. NOPE.

~Susan

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 10 May 18 - 12:11 PM

Ohio:

Digging out continues slowly and painfully. Pursuant to preparing to put away clean laundry, I cleared the BR "it can wait" area around the antique dresser-- hanging up honeymoon curtains and blackout fabric; setting clean linens aside; putting unpacked scarves and scarf hanger in a drawer; hanging up bath towels that migrate to the BR; consolidating drawer contents. It looks better and the million thumbtacks in the blackout fabric are safely cased.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 May 18 - 11:19 PM

One of my larger eBay items sold today; the shipping box is 20" x 15" x 16" and is mostly filled with cornstarch peanuts (to ship a terracotta piece). That will free up the space in front of a storage cabinet and is good enough for a school night. :)

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 May 18 - 01:11 PM

Ohio:

Found much loved (matches another) fleece in evidence they'd used the garage to store stolen goods, as well as Grand Theft Auto plates ready to use. :-0

Found local bank checkbook buried in the wrong section of purse-- huge help. Substantial balance there to pay kid labor, and Cameryn's aunt/step-mom next door was the neighbor who DID call me. Laundry bucks-- yaaaay!

My boombox Tyler kindly left WORKS and has CORD. (I still show no mercy.) It's a solid old Sony that does radio, TAPE, CD, and MP3 disc. Decent sound; I have a lot of audiobooks and music in tape and MP3. This belongs in the Guest Room, and is now playing. That will help relieve my fine battery! The always-on station was jazz and will now alternate jazz/NPR.

I got the Mother's Day card off.

I brought in and washed a chairside trash can they'd left in the patio full of crud.

In a little bit I'll take out kitchen trash and recycling that accumulated during de-Hordeation.

I invited two friends for dinner OUT, and I can afford a long-postoned wash, haircut and style on the way to dinner-- on my scooter.

I am informed that the Saturn's name is Polly. She picked up a flat yesterday, but I have AAA... and I'm gonna let them get this one. They can dig her spare out.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 08 May 18 - 11:22 PM

Happy teachers day, Ac.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 May 18 - 11:12 PM

Sending an item that doesn't work to Amazon as a return. Lucky me I had the packaging nearby, I often just toss it straight into the recycle bin (that I emptied last weekend).

Paper and books are piling up in my home office as I clear out extra stuff at my work office. Much of this will go into the recycle bin also.

Only two more weeks of tutoring in the public school district where my university sits. The U student tutors are taking finals and walking the walk this week, so the next two weeks will have skimpy tutorial help (since U students usually hit the road as soon as they can after finals and/or graduation). Means I'll probably double/triple up with the kids I work with (they get out around June 1.) This is how I remind myself that I've decluttered myself of math facts from long ago and have to read the workbook or look very closely at the problem examples to help these kids. Today's child had a writing assignment - right up my alley!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 08 May 18 - 04:09 PM

My DIL's kindly-loaned car is now safely garaged again in case of meth-fueled vandalism (when Tyler learns I've fucked up the visitation he lives for).

Young neighbor Camryn made a few bucks today helping rearrange the garage a bit to make room for the car, learned how to use a hand truck, and took a message for the neighborhood grapevine-- "No valuables in these boxes of papers and pictures." He even took that pesky last big bag of trash to his family's bin, after stowing the two big heavy bags to fill mine. That leaves me just enough space for the kitchen trash tomorrow night, more than half of which Tyler left me.

I'm mostly using the scooter for local shopping, but it's great to know I can use that tiny, uncomfortable old car when I need to.

Newbie and I celebrated being ALIVE with a rarely-indulged Coke and Burger King feast-- radio blasting-- after a very short highway spin to let the car run a bit. (MOMMY! TRUCK!!!! WHERE MY CRATE!!!) I wonder-- does it have a name?


~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 08 May 18 - 01:21 PM

Of course if I'd been told about the meth by my "friend" his mother... or by his younger brother.... or his parole officer....

If the friend with a key to water plants weekly had USED it instead of taking the plants home because "poor Tyler is working so hard/late that I can't wake him up" (when he had no job and was actually METH-crashing)....

Or if the neighbor who asked how many housemates I had, had been honest when I asked if there were problems....

Or if the mailman who told me ydy what a shithead the housemate was for hosting kids to drink, had called 911 or the number plastered on my front door....

Or if one of those kids' parents had called 911...

Or if the lawn service crew who watched the Horde moving out had called me...

Or if the other neighbor who wondered why she hadn't seen me but seen a woman living in my house, had texted me....

Or if the THREE kitty corner neighbors had....

Or if the cop living across from me....

Or if the neighbor who DID call me hadn't waited so long that our house was trashed....

After personally speaking with each and every one of these nice people to give our number and encourage watching out for odd things....

Yeah. "We didn't want to invade his privacy." They're all eager to have me listen to THEIR stories NOW-- but seem unable to hear mine. "Too much drama." (Class issue. Po' folks GET IT.)

Yeah. I'm having a little trouble making sense of ALL that, and nothing any wisenheimer here can say can actually help. Until it happens to you, you can't truly understand.

My social worker friend gets it. "You were conned by a drug addict. They're good at that."

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Charmion
Date: 08 May 18 - 09:28 AM

You know, Susan, even people who don't suffer from PTSD find it difficult to assimilate just how wicked the behaviour of people they know and love -- or even just like -- can be. The act of bringing a person into the charmed circle of home and family, as you did with your ex-housemate the druggie and friend of meth dealers, seems to cancel part of our instinct for self-protection. It makes sense; we can't relax and get comfortable in our homes (which is what home is for) if we remain on guard against the people we live with.

Life's a bitch sometimes.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 May 18 - 11:12 PM

Aaaarggh! Fone autocorrect!

Thanks, DP. I have so much PTSD from earlier in life that it's actually not clear to me how bad this is. 

But it appears that the Horde funded their meth use at least partially by charging underage kids a cover charge to attend the drinking parties-- the older addicts addicting the next generation. Nice, huh?

So, living in a crime scene is.... interesting in too many ways.

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 May 18 - 10:02 PM

Dorothy, for future reference, Manuals Online is a good place to start your search for manuals for older items of all sorts. I've uploaded several PDFs to them. And if this doesn't work, try searching the company, sometimes they have the older items (I've found that to be the case on several iHome devices I've brought home recently. Some of those will go on eBay with a printout of the manual).

I'm glad R is beginning to see the light. This weekend I finished the big push in the garage and ruthlessly disposed of a number of things that might have been usable - in the future - possibly - but I've owned for a decade or more and never used. Gone. Books are tough; I just pulled two slim volumes out of my "to read" stack to put back on top. The stack of books to read keeps rearranging itself as it grows.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 07 May 18 - 08:39 PM

Montreal:
Nice trip to Montreal in the rain on 28 April, via folk concert in Gananoque.. Have managed to little bits of clearing up here and at the mill. The LR looks so much bigger with the black cabinet gone (this am) – to the curb – and the stuff behind it. Have packed some of the shelved stuff and de-cluttered the shelves of years of dust.

Today R collected enough boxes to pack lots of the books that are on the staircase and the plan is that he will bring a whole lot on the truck to Beaver when he arrives for some part of next weekend. I thought my desk was empty but… Will empty the rest of drawers into one of those boxes today. On the other side of the LR is an electric organ that he found last week and brought in out of the rain – for how long???

Yesterday R divulged the amazing news that he no longer feels a need to collect stuff but only to find things good homes. Clearly this does not include books as 4 more bags full arrived on Saturday from the Little Green Library! But he found a good home for 3 nice light fixtures – installing them in Geri’s LR so we can see in there for the first time – in 30 years, she says! It was an exciting event to be able to really see her art work – by her! But he came home with the 3 old ones! Thrift shop, we agreed!!

Picked up the printer from the mill to take to Beaver. It worked fine last time I used it. Also found the instruction booklets and discs for it, if need be.

Will check with credit union when I get back on how to purchase things on line safely, and pay odd bills. No apps, Maggie, My phone is archaic.

Will leave early tomorrow to return to Beaver so I can be going north before the sun is in my eyes. (driving west)

My cat Friendly was the best of all possible cats for 17 years. Have no intention of taking a chance on another one! And, when I suggested to a friend the other day that I might like another dog, she responded in horror! NO! you don’t want to do that! Borrow one, offer dog walks… I have to agree. No more dogs.

No housemates either! Susan! What a dreadful end to a long trip! Thankful for the misplaced pawn ticket! Hope it leads somewhere! This far beats the worst “housemate” experience of my 81 years!

Rec’d email that plants were shipped on 4 May. Responded with a curt note that advance notice would have been acceptable as I am 4 hundred Km away. Hope all is well tomorrow and that I can find someone to dig the necessary holes! Cherry trees, blueberry and raspberry plants! And the yard a morass of roots that are almost impossible – for me – get a spade into, or a fork – maybe a pick!

Mags gardening notes are so amusing; our climate zones…! I am looking forward to getting back to Beaver to see what is up. In Montreal, the crocuses have bloomed and daffodils are in bloom. I saw a forsythia the other day. WOW!

R bought a brand new guitar at a yard sale on the weekend for $50, in a case. We will keep it until my django jazz son visits in June and dispose of it according to his advice. Googled at about $250 US at Amazon. He thought of putting it at his airbnb place in the Laurentians but I would like to know someone was going to get good use and appreciation from it.

Bro uses “walk the plank for mice: a bucket of water and a suitably placed stick. Or several of same if needed!

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 May 18 - 07:56 PM

Oh and I hauled out the heavy, last 2 bags of Horde trash earlier, which has cleared quite a bit of hallway/kitchen floor space. There's almost room there to unpack a box or two.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 May 18 - 07:49 PM

Ohio:

I'm having a really odd reflection.... that once I get the house back to "normal" no one (including me) will feel like it happened. A kind of resistance to doing more. Very weird feeling. Don't want to let this get buried as one more PTSD!

So.... after simple supper.... 20+ minutes upright time before sitting, ouch, but DW emptied and some kitchen order emerging. Fruit basket reclaimed and stocked. Unsorted spices abused/added by Horde set in bin in spice cabinet to sort later. Misc more groceries/bags put away as Penguins hockey game remains scoreless.

Ten more minutes after very brief sit, OWWWW but DW loaded from Horde Filth, and running. (Found missing dishpan NOW of course.)

Not all items may wash clean in one cycle, so may have to re-run some items. Also not loaded are company glassware they used... And befouled. .... That's a separate load w glassware I btought to unpack in a day or two, but the big kitchen island table is now nearly clear of Horde crud, though it needs to be scraped and disinfected. Hockey game still scoreless but stats are in our favor. I cannot imagine getting this all done without that game radio!

~S~

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 May 18 - 03:03 PM

A very generous friend sent a surprise today by special delivery and it's safely in the local bank (not the one whose checks I posted about). Her gift may covery a security system.

Subject: RE: Declutter & Fitness - Clearing Out the House
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 May 18 - 11:50 AM

It's a pain to change out account numbers, especially if you pay bills online or by automatic withdrawal, but banks will usually help with some of that. The activity you need to look for isn't at the bank - though sometimes thieves will wait a month or two and swoop in after the monthly check is deposited. It's the information on the check that thieves use to set up accounts you never see - identity theft. You don't know about the new accounts until the bills aren't paid and it hits your credit score. You know you can get a free credit report from each of the big three credit reporting bureaus; I usually get them one at a time, spaced out through the year. This happened to a friend after her purse was stolen, she decided the checks were okay only to get clobbered a few weeks later by a hefty withdrawal, and the new accounts set up. Because you are the victim of this kind of crime the bureaus will let you choose to add an extra security level and they let you know any time any new activity happens as it happens or will block the establishment of any new accounts.

We're supposed to reach 91^o today, so I need to do my mowing before noon. I also need to set up sprinklers in the vegetable garden. It begins.