RedSquirrelUK
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,729
Location: The UK's beautiful West Country
Aug 2, 2014 13:03:45 GMT
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Post by RedSquirrelUK on Jul 16, 2020 14:30:18 GMT
Aw thank you. I'm feeling pretty good today. The bathroom is clean other than the vacuuming which I'm going to do now. And I've made DH's birthday card, a loaf of lemon zucchini bread and a couple of batches of flaxmeal flat bread which will keep us going for a while, so I'm feeling productive. I really need this thread to keep me moving though.
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Post by tentoes on Jul 20, 2020 4:24:30 GMT
Our barn got finished up last week. Now I can move the rest of my stuff from my home to my son's home. That should happen in the next month or so. The floors are being replaced at my house, then the painter will come, and that is the last we have to do over there before my granddaughter's wedding in September. The garage here has a lot of stuff in it from my house that we didn't have room for until the barn got built!! Now my son will be making shelves for the bar to house my stuff that is in the garage now, and we'll finally be able to get the 3 cars into the garage, and we'll have room for the work-out equipment also. Things are moving along. When I get the stuff here from my shed and garage, I will downsize it as I go through it. It's good to see "an end" in the projects!! Hope you all had a great weekend!!
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jul 20, 2020 8:58:15 GMT
It's the little things that irritate me. Yesterday I tossed endless little pieces from Kinder Egg toys. And a can of dried out Play Doh. Since the kids have been home since March, there hasn't been any time when I could leisurely clean away cheap crap toys that were quickly forgotten.
With the surge of online orders coming in, I've been persistently breaking down boxes & immediately putting them in the recycling bin.
I've found another trouble spot that needs remedy. School supply storage. It's not just regular pencils, folders, etc, but also spirit day wear for all the many Dr Seuss week, anti bullying orange shirt day, favorite sports team shirt day, etc. Oh, and all the children's books for book reports from grades K-3. (They are assigned, and I buy them because they're impossible to borrow from the library, even before pandemic hit).
Right now these all live in my bedroom, and it's making me a little crabby.
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Post by tentoes on Jul 22, 2020 5:08:34 GMT
Pulled another bin of papers out of the guest room today. I needed a copy of our original land survey (from 1991). The bin that holds all the house papers also had 2 huge folders of old finance papers that need to be shredded. Now the bin is half empty and in my sewing room/office so that I can sort through and organize the house papers. Also need to organize the papers from the house we sold 4 years ago and figure out what can go. One of the boxes I pulled out last week ended up being full of old papers that need to be shredded as well. I seriously thought I had done all the shredding! Papers multiply in the dark. Wrapping up a couple of sewing projects this week, then I will be able to tackle that room full force. OH YES!! I've thought that too!!
I went to my house this evening. The flooring guys have it almost finished. They just have to do the transitions, and put the baseboards on. The painting starts the 5th of August. That shouldn't take long. They did my son in laws house in about 3 days, and it is a bit bigger than my house. I am glad I'm not doing the painting. After the painting is finished I'm hiring a cleaning crew to give it a good cleaning--windows and all. My ddil has a friend that does that type of work, so we're going to use her.
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Post by ntsf on Jul 22, 2020 16:06:32 GMT
with all the cleaning going on I have been inspired... I am looking for our 1993 tax returns.. I had them in my hand and my dh wouldn't deal with them.. (I am mad..he needs them to update social security).. so I stuffed them away several years ago. so I am pulling out every single thing in my study and hope to find them. I went through 5 bins of memorialbilia yesterday and have a stack of bags to recycle.. the task goes on...
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Post by mikklynn on Jul 22, 2020 18:49:09 GMT
Paper is definitely my nemesis.
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Post by tentoes on Jul 26, 2020 6:00:25 GMT
We spent the day at my house today. I cleaned out the refrigerator and got rid of all the stuff in it--and washed it all down. I even got rid of all the ice cubes so it can make new ones. I cleaned out all the freezer too. We brought what was left over to my son's home. I also swiffered up all the new floors. Have I told you how good they looked? The flooring guy was finished up. So the swiffer got rid of any sawdust or dirt from the workmen. We'll probably have to do that again before my granddaughter moves in! The painters are coming in a little over a week, so they will probably make another mess. I cleaned both bathrooms good too. My son, ddil, granddaughter, grandson, and soon to be grandson all worked outside in the yard. They took out a tree stump, fixed the sprinklers, swept up the walks, used the weed-whacker, and got rid of a lot of weeds! Then we ordered pizza and had a late lunch back at my son's home. I've spent the rest of the day tired out!!
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Post by ntsf on Jul 26, 2020 6:17:27 GMT
papers multiply... too true.. I brought up 3 bags of files from the basement.. so far, found all the tax returns except the year I am looking for. need to go through each folder individually.. last night, my son and I had a big adventure killing a wasp nest on our boat... on the way home, he was telling his girl friend about a biography he did of a family friend in 3rd or 4th grade. The biography was of Ed Mcmillan.. who won the Nobel prize for finding plutonium. today.. going through the files, I found his report!!! that did not go in recycling bin. Next week, I should get more done. we do have to go back to the boat and remove a bird nest from the sails..
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jul 26, 2020 11:18:12 GMT
I've barely done any decluttering, but I've been thinking about it a lot.
Trash collection has been very delayed and unreliable for the past two months, so I'm hesitant to put out a ton of stuff, only to have it just sit out in the weather for a week or two.
Talking about paperwork, I know I still have bills and rent papers from an apartment I lived in eleven years ago! I just have to physically get to the paperwork in an attic, then shred it.
I've been tossing little things as I come to them, but most of the stuff that bothers me isn't my stuff to toss, so I can't. I almost wish I could just ask everyone to stop bringing stuff in for a few months just to slow the process.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jul 26, 2020 12:24:11 GMT
Our old house is under contract - yay! So I met the guys from the auction house over there Thursday and went through all the stuff we had left there. We did a quick sort of keep-auction-donate and it was fairly painless as I had done a pretty thorough job of sorting during the move. I only kept seven very small boxes of stuff and they moved one piece of furniture to the new house that we had planned to keep all along. They filled about half of a 20-ft box truck with stuff to auction. And then went back the next day to get the donate stuff. It feels so good to have it all done.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jul 26, 2020 15:01:54 GMT
It looks like everyone has been busy! Friday afternoon I went through all my desk files and found more things to get rid of. After DH went to bed that night, I got busy with the shredder. Had to take a few breaks because it would get hot and turn off automatically, but got all of it shredded! There were 5 tall kitchen trash bags full of shredding! I know that isn't the last of it, but there should be very little left after this round.
Now that my sewing projects with deadline are completed, I am going to have more time to devote to decluttering. Going through the eBay pile, digitizing slide and working on the guest room are on my list. Hoping to find my momentum in that room.
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amom23
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,329
Jun 27, 2014 12:39:18 GMT
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Post by amom23 on Jul 28, 2020 18:48:44 GMT
I have 2 shelves in my closet where I keep my shorts. Well I finally went through them. I ended up with a pile to keep, a pile that almost fit, a pile that I'd wear if they fit and a pile to donate. Oh and my piles really aren't that big...honest!
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Post by ntsf on Jul 28, 2020 22:23:29 GMT
all my tax folders are gone through, stuff thrown away, and put away in file cabinet.. now I am going through all other files and reorganizing.. so the pile of recycling grows and I am accomplishing something I haven't done in at least 20 yrs.. found apay slip.. one summer made $250 for 40 hours work. a few years later, made $400 for 80 hours work.. did not find the tax file I was looking for. yet at least
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Post by Linda on Jul 28, 2020 22:50:55 GMT
I went through all my scrapbook paper and pulled a big pile for donating. DD20 went through her dresser and found a bunch of stuff to get rid of. DD13 is still going through her room and getting rid of stuff - she donated over 100 books to a friend for her classroom library. Dh...well...he found a rummage sale this past weekend...sigh.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jul 29, 2020 0:36:42 GMT
In my bathroom I have two of those countertop cabinets that replace a medicine cabinet. Emptied both of those today, cut new shelf liner for the ones that needed it and then put everything away. Consolidated and threw away a good bit. Then I tackled the 2 deep drawers. One holds hair brushes, blowdryer, flat iron and 2 sets of hot curlers. Cleaned it out and then rearranged the drawer. The bottom drawer holds extra contact lens/solutions and travel toiletry bags. Again, consolidated and reorganized and tossed more than I thought I would. One problem spot has been chargers. When did everything in a bathroom begin to need chargers? Toothbrush, air flosser, mirror, scales, etc. They were scattered all over so I grabbed an empty shoe box (Container Store) and gathered them in one spot. It lives under the sink now. Not sure why I didn't think of that solution earlier.
Last week one of the LED ceiling bulbs went out in the kitchen. I decided that the Warm White (2700k) just wasn't bright enough so I ordered enough to change out all of the bulbs in the kitchen area Bright White (4,000k). 12 of them! I was shocked at how much LED bulbs have come down in price. When we remodeled and put in the original bulbs 7 years ago, they were around $40 each! The 12 bulbs I ordered from Amazon were a total of $66. I also noticed how much lighter the newer bulbs are. Technology marches on! 11 of the bulbs were still working so I boxed them up and will pass them on to my housekeeper's family. So much happier with the brighter light.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jul 30, 2020 20:08:07 GMT
Read an interesting article in the WSJ today. It seems that some mental health professionals are now offering closet organizing services. Makes sense when you think about it. Here is the main points from that article:
After reading this, I realize that I am definitely a Compulsive Collector when it comes to my fabrics. I've mastered getting rid of other things (clothes/shoes in particular), but the fabric is proving harder. I am also a Stubborn Sentimentalist. As I have said here before, both DH & I became the family "keepers of the cr@p". He's gotten so much better about getting rid of the sentimental things, me? Not so much. Lots of work to be done in that area.
Where do you fall in these categories?
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Post by ntsf on Jul 30, 2020 23:47:27 GMT
I am the family historian/collector. my parents tended to hold on to stuff. but they cleared out 4 houses of relatives.. the relatives had lived in those houses at least 60 yrs. as depression kids.. they tended to hold onto stuff.. but their reaction was also to down size from a house to a condo when they retired.. and got rid of a lot. yet every time I visit my dad I find more to move on and get rid of.. so the more I get rid of elsewhere.. like his house, his other condo, the more inspired I am to clear out stuff at home. my son has been coming over once a week to help with basement. I have been cleaning out files and other stuff. but it certainly helps that my husband is not home and hanging out elsewhere.. so I can leave a big mess for a few days while I deal with it.. I need to chunk it and in the middle you can barely walk across the floor.
my mother in law on the other hand throws out stuff whether it is good or not.. she throws out pictures of her husband.. and we have few --her sister comes over and throws out more.. so I see both extremes.. though no one is a hoarder.
I am also facing the fact that I will probably not have grandkids and it is unlikely that I will have grand nieces or nephews. so maybe distant cousins.. may get some of the family history stuff. this is sad for me but I have to face reality.
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