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Post by Linda on Apr 7, 2021 20:45:59 GMT
filled up the one assembled 1x3 cube unit today and moved some stuff around in the craft room. Hoping to get the second assembled tonight.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Apr 10, 2021 16:48:46 GMT
Recently I discovered a new show on HGTV that I suspect many of the fellow declutters will enjoy. It's called Everything But the House and is hosted by Lara Spencer. Each episode showcases a family that is wanting to declutter and/or downsize their home. A company in Cincinnati called Everything But the House comes in to take over the appraisal and removal of the items to their warehouse to be sold in online auctions. At the end of the show they show a few of the auctions as they end and give the total amount of sales. While that sounds good, I think I would have trouble with the way the auctions run. Every item listed starts at $1! It seems to work, but I am so not a risk taker that I don't think I could handle that! Anyway, the show is on Friday nights at 8 pm (Central Time). I have YouTubeTv, so all the episodes aired so far available on demand. So far it is not available on the Discovery+ app. It's a fun watch, and even better, makes me realize my need to declutter isn't as great as that of some others!
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Post by ntsf on Apr 10, 2021 17:09:48 GMT
I found that show fun too.. and they auction 200 or more items per house.. so the return is thousands.
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Post by tentoes on Apr 11, 2021 13:24:05 GMT
I've just spent 3 weeks trying to help my sister downsize in prep for her to move to assisted living. We took 5 trips to goodwill with the car pretty much full of stuff, and we didn't put a dent into what really needs to happen there. It was a drop in the bucket. Every time we got back home the amount of "stuff" still there was suffocating. Her daughter is coming to help this week. I hope she has more success! The move is necessary, and should have already taken place. I came home yesterday to a fairly organized place, and to say I'm glad to be home is an understatement. Thanks for the help and encouragement this past year!!
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Post by tentoes on Apr 11, 2021 13:26:09 GMT
even better, makes me realize my need to declutter isn't as great as that of some others! Ha! Like I just wrote--my sister's place made me realize the same thing!!
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Post by Really Red on Apr 11, 2021 13:34:38 GMT
I've just spent 3 weeks trying to help my sister downsize in prep for her to move to assisted living. We took 5 trips to goodwill with the car pretty much full of stuff, and we didn't put a dent into what really needs to happen there. It was a drop in the bucket. Every time we got back home the amount of "stuff" still there was suffocating. Her daughter is coming to help this week. I hope she has more success! The move is necessary, and should have already taken place. I came home yesterday to a fairly organized place, and to say I'm glad to be home is an understatement. Thanks for the help and encouragement this past year!! I helped move my mom out of her house 12 years ago. It was awful! And she was not a hoarder in the slightest. I'm trying so hard to get my stuff together so this won't be my kids/siblings. This weekend I attached my computer room closet. It was the repository of everything. It's a closet about 12' long and 2 or so feet deep (normal closet space). The amount of stuff I took out of there was amazing. It was like the Really Red Magic Closet Show. I piled SO SO much stuff in the guest room. It took me about 30 minutes to take everything out of the closet and about 10 hours to sort through it all. I made a separate post, but I have some amazing girls' clothes from our European relatives - maybe about 30-40 very high end and stunning outfits. I cannot give those away, so I photographed them all and will put them up for auction. I'm trying to find the right site. I don't love ebay and would much rather just dump all the clothes on someone and have them sell them for me. We don't have anything but Once Upon a Child here, so I have to find some place online. If you didn't see my other post and can help out, I'd appreciate it. I just need to know someplace where there is enough traffic and sells kids' clothes.
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Post by alsomsknit on Apr 11, 2021 14:16:20 GMT
Took my sister’s baby gift, which has been sitting in the office for almost a year, to her yesterday.
Was thrilled with finally being able to meet my nephew. He is a happy, cuddle bug. My heart is full. ♥️
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Post by tentoes on Apr 11, 2021 14:19:14 GMT
I helped move my mom out of her house 12 years ago. It was awful! And she was not a hoarder in the slightest. I'm trying so hard to get my stuff together so this won't be my kids/siblings. Yes! My sister isn't a hoarder either, but she LOVES clothes. She had heart surgery last year and her husband "has been taking care of the house" since then. He has dementia, so it's NOT a good combination at all. I found stuff in the weirdest places!! The kitchen especially is a "mess." I couldn't find the DISHES!! Finally found them in a drawer in the lower part of the island!! Who the heck puts their dishes in the lower cabinet in the island? the cups are in the upper cabinets--and nothing is together!! It drove me insane. And the refrigerator?? forget about that!! he leaves things out on the counter for 3 hours then returns them to the refrigerator. It's a wonder we all didn't get sick. And don't ask about medication. I'm a retired RN and neither one of them knows where their medication is, or how to take them, or what they are for. Like I said earlier, they need the assisted living. My brother in law had all his loose pills in a cup!! and he carries it around off and on all day--and takes them off and on all day. He had no idea what he was taking. I bought them pill dispensers and they are still sitting on the counter!! I tried!! I don't live in their state--and they should not be alone!!
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Apr 11, 2021 17:33:57 GMT
I made a separate post, but I have some amazing girls' clothes from our European relatives - maybe about 30-40 very high end and stunning outfits. I cannot give those away, so I photographed them all and will put them up for auction. I'm trying to find the right site. I don't love ebay and would much rather just dump all the clothes on someone and have them sell them for me. We don't have anything but Once Upon a Child here, so I have to find some place online. If you didn't see my other post and can help out, I'd appreciate it. I just need to know someplace where there is enough traffic and sells kids' clothes. I have no personal experience with this site, but it seems to be a fit for your items. Vestaire Collective Have you looked into the RealReal? They do have a kids section with designer items. You will have to set up an account to view the information though. Poshmark is the other site that might work for you. eBay would be my option of last resort. The people who tend to shop there now are looking for garage sale prices, and the return rate for clothing is awful IMO (I no longer sell clothing there) with them siding with the buyer in most cases. eBay has become very buyer centric over the past few years.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Apr 18, 2021 22:22:00 GMT
Now that Spring has pretty much arrived for most of us, is anyone starting to work on their outside areas and garages? Here in Texas, you have to do it now or wait until November - unless you are just a glutton for punishment or crazy! I am trying to get back on the decluttering train. This past week all I managed to send off was an electric foot massager that DD brought back, a rolling lawn cart that has storage and you can sit on it, a watering can and an unused hanging basket. Today I've been going through my pattern drawer, tagging ones I want to make soon and organizing the drawer a bit better. 32 patterns went into the donation bag. So many of them were purchased with good intentions and plans - yet are still uncut 20 years later. Time to send them on their way. I also pulled a gorgeous vintage silk scarf from my stash. I've offered it to a friend who I will see this week. This scarf just screams her name, so I'm hopeful she will accept it. It was a thrift store find a few years ago and I've never worn it. It looks like it is in mint condition! Thursday my handyman comes to help me with the garage. We are going to unload 2 large wall shelves so we can move them further down the back wall. This will allow me to roll the third shelving set onto the back wall, rather than blocking work area. DH and I have already earmarked several things we will send off with him. Then I want to organize the stuff on the shelves in a manner that makes more sense. It shouldn't be too difficult of a job. When we started work on the garage almost 9 years ago, we could not get a single car inside. It's a 3 car garage! So much better these days since both cars are parked inside, but it can still use some tweaking. Really Red - have you sorted out a place to sell the children's clothing? Linda - How are you settling in to the new house? Have you started to get the old place ready to sell yet? tentoes - Glad to see you pop in! It's been fun having you around while you worked on downsizing and moving. I really hope you stick around! Sorry about the mess with your sister. Will her daughter be able to finish up the job? Definitely no fun cleaning up someone else's massive amounts of clutter.
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Post by Linda on Apr 19, 2021 0:51:39 GMT
**GypsyGirl** - sounds like you've made awesome progress with the garage. Right now we have a 2-car garage and no space for a car (only one of the cars is small enough to fit even empty- it's not a wide garage) but we're working on it. We're settling in well. Still haven't gotten the last of the furniture moved - I'm not entirely sure what the delay is on hiring the movers for that. It has rained the past couple of weeks so our shed emptying has been on hold (we use a open trailer) - we have less than half of the big shed (all DH's stuff), a small shed no one has been inside in a few years but it has garden stuff and DH's tools and I'm not sure what else, and a carport left to deal with.
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Post by MZF on Apr 19, 2021 1:40:54 GMT
DH & I went through our closet and drawers again, got a bag of items to donate to EDD(they take interview appropriate items), and another bag for goodwill or the clothes closet. I'm giving a couple of my hand-knit skirts to a niece that loves my knit items--I'm so glad she does as I can't just toss them in a bag to donate. So, a little roomier in the closet. And I'm still on my Cold Sheep (no yarn buying) and knitting only from stash--it's starting to make a visible difference in my craft room. So, yay!
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Post by tentoes on Apr 19, 2021 13:04:51 GMT
tentoes - Glad to see you pop in! It's been fun having you around while you worked on downsizing and moving. I really hope you stick around! Sorry about the mess with your sister. Will her daughter be able to finish up the job? Definitely no fun cleaning up someone else's massive amounts of clutter. Thanks so much. I still have the stuff we put in the barn to go through, so I'll be here! I am home now, and my niece is with my sister and her husband. My sister still has her head in the sand, but the niece is pushing through. My niece is a "very organized minimalist" type of person, so sooner or later, she'll get through the stuff. The plan is for my sister and bil to fly to where my niece lives, then my niece will drive her van there packed with whatever will fit in the van. She'll take care of getting the house ready to sell (but is currently considering making it an Airbnb or whatever it's called. She travels back and forth from her home to this area for work quite often, so she thinks it might be a good idea. We'll see. The one thing she's been able to to do that I couldn't accomplish is organize their medications!! I couldn't even find them!! So hopefully, if my bil is on the right meds, his demeanor will be better!! I'm a retired nurse, so seeing how both of them were taking their medications about did me in!!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 26, 2024 15:03:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2021 13:11:31 GMT
3 weekends of decluttering and organizing done.
Ready to do a yard sale!
So tired but glad.
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Post by MissBianca on Apr 19, 2021 13:28:19 GMT
Went to Maine this weekend and picked up a donor truck to rebuild DH’s truck. I told DH and DS24 that the next few weeks are solely focused on sorting and cataloging parts. We will have piles for trash, metal recycling, repair, use, spares. We had an agreement that there are no more car parts and they have a month to put everything out and sort the junk from the good stuff. The middle of June I’m getting a dumpster and they know I will toss everything! Lol Over the weekend when we got back we emptied the shed that holds parts and had a car in it. Pushed it out, put up new shelves, started sorting. DS24 took photos of random car parts from other donor cars on FB to sell. Finished removing an engine to a different car and took that shell to the junk yard. The engine will be picked up this weekend.
I also did a quick sort of my moms room. This is hard because my brothers aren’t around to help decide what to keep and what to get rid of. But my dad wants stuff gone so I’m trying.
I too and trying to get rid of crap so my kids don’t need to do it. My parents lived in this house for 30+ years and collect all kinds of stuff. My mom made crafts from recycled items so there is all kinds of junk kicking around. I’m trying not to do the same.
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Post by Linda on Apr 19, 2021 14:23:40 GMT
I also did a quick sort of my moms room. This is hard because my brothers aren’t around to help decide what to keep and what to get rid of. But my dad wants stuff gone so I’m trying. My sister and I worked on my mum's house at different times. What we did is if there was something one of us wasn't sure about was to snap a photo and text the other - hey is this something you want or you think should be kept/sold vs trashed/donated?
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Post by tentoes on Apr 19, 2021 15:38:54 GMT
My sister and I worked on my mum's house at different times. What we did is if there was something one of us wasn't sure about was to snap a photo and text the other - hey is this something you want or you think should be kept/sold vs trashed/donated?
Thankfully, when we cleaned out my husband's parents house, all three of the boys and wives were present, so we got through it all in about a week. My FIL was almost a hoarder, so we got rid of a LOT of stuff!! The attic area (the boys old bedroom area) was packed with stuff, plus the garage and the chicken coop and they had a greenhouse and basement also. The main floor wasn't bad--but it was HOT --and humid--in Michigan--in the summer--and NO air conditioner. I swelled up like a pig!! I could hardly walk. We filled the bathtub with cold water and stood in it several times a day just to cool off a bit!! We were the only family that stayed at the house during that time. The other two boys stayed with their inlaws--we lived the furthest away--in California. One of the boys lived in Connecticut, and the other one in Iowa. We were the only ones that flew in. Needless to say, we didn't take much stuff home. The older boy shipped a few things to us when we got home. I was more interested in pictures--so all the boys either got copies or originals of everything.
But after cleaning out their home is when I decided we were never going to leave a mess like that for our kids!! And we won't. I made sure of it.
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Post by MissBianca on Apr 19, 2021 16:17:59 GMT
I also did a quick sort of my moms room. This is hard because my brothers aren’t around to help decide what to keep and what to get rid of. But my dad wants stuff gone so I’m trying. My sister and I worked on my mum's house at different times. What we did is if there was something one of us wasn't sure about was to snap a photo and text the other - hey is this something you want or you think should be kept/sold vs trashed/donated? I was doing that for a while but my brothers are terrible about keeping their phones on, one in particular only uses his cell a few times a week. I’m probably a little bitter too because I have my own household to run with 4 kids, a husband, and a dog. But They are single. I live next door so I’m also my dads caretaker and he’s needy as all get out. My brothers get away Scot free while I am stuck with all the work. Plus my house is small so I can’t even absorb stuff that really needs to be gone through. I just get mad because I don’t know what to do with all the stuff, it’s overwhelming. And my own house is a wreck so that makes it worse.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Apr 19, 2021 17:03:23 GMT
I just get mad because I don’t know what to do with all the stuff, it’s overwhelming. Sounds like it's time for a Come to Jesus meeting with those brothers of yours! Give them the option of helping out physically or paying for someone to come in and help you do it.
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Post by Linda on Apr 19, 2021 17:53:15 GMT
I just get mad because I don’t know what to do with all the stuff, it’s overwhelming. Sounds like it's time for a Come to Jesus meeting with those brothers of yours! Give them the option of helping out physically or paying for someone to come in and help you do it. I agree - they either need to help (both with the house and with your dad) or they need to pay for someone to help
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Post by MissBianca on Apr 19, 2021 20:03:16 GMT
Sounds like it's time for a Come to Jesus meeting with those brothers of yours! Give them the option of helping out physically or paying for someone to come in and help you do it. I agree - they either need to help (both with the house and with your dad) or they need to pay for someone to help I will be Talking to them when the one brother comes home for Christmas. He didn’t come this year because of Covid but no excuses since we will all be vaccinated. I’d also like to go away for Christmas and make my dad someone else’s issue for a week but I’ve already warned my brothers that the week will be spent tossing and selling. I know that sounds mean but I have severe care giver fatigue. The local brother already is a hoarder so I’m mindful of how much I ask him to do. He will take lots of it. I’m trying not the kick the can down the road because he’s single and had no kids. It will become my issue once again. I just need to make it a priority. I just hate sitting over there going through stuff. I get bogged down with what’s useful and what’s not. What to keep, which books to sell, what to toss. My mom gifted my DD her doll collection, and it just sits there because we have no room. DD has opted to keep 5 dolls, but what to do with the rest? They are really old but are they valuable? I hate selling stuff, it’s such a hassle but I don’t want to toss it either. This is why I want to get rid of all my crap now and I don’t collect a lot of things. The only thing I collect is vintage cameras and I’m toying with getting rid of them. Sorry venting here!! Ok gotta get the kid from practice, marinade the chicken (shopping the pantry this week, that’s a form of purging!), and sort a box. My kids arm swept the dining table while I was gone and now I need to find it all. Lol
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Post by Linda on Apr 19, 2021 20:52:44 GMT
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Post by mikklynn on Apr 20, 2021 11:36:24 GMT
My sister and I worked on my mum's house at different times. What we did is if there was something one of us wasn't sure about was to snap a photo and text the other - hey is this something you want or you think should be kept/sold vs trashed/donated? I was doing that for a while but my brothers are terrible about keeping their phones on, one in particular only uses his cell a few times a week. I’m probably a little bitter too because I have my own household to run with 4 kids, a husband, and a dog. But They are single. I live next door so I’m also my dads caretaker and he’s needy as all get out. My brothers get away Scot free while I am stuck with all the work. Plus my house is small so I can’t even absorb stuff that really needs to be gone through. I just get mad because I don’t know what to do with all the stuff, it’s overwhelming. And my own house is a wreck so that makes it worse. I am so sorry your brothers are not helping out. Your dad is lucky to have you.
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Post by Linda on Apr 20, 2021 14:11:16 GMT
dd14 cleaned out some costumes. DH added a binder to the donation bin - yay!
We're finished with CCD (forever! yay!) so the CCD workbook and papers are binned.
I cleaned up my sewing area after finishing DD14's dress - small scraps are binned, larger scraps put away, pattern folded neatly and in a labelled envelope.
DH cleared off our dining room table and we actually got to eat on it last night for the first time since we moved. We also moved the dining room boxes into the dining room from the kitchen nook so we were able to add the leaf to the kitchen table plus the nook now only has stuff that belongs! YAY!
Yard wise - 2 rolling buckets of sticks and 2 baskets of weeds are gone! Yesterday was the first mostly dry day in over a week (it did rain in the evening)
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Post by Linda on Apr 23, 2021 4:53:30 GMT
Working on a scrapbooking project that's partly organising and decluttering as well. I've gathered all the 8x10s (and a few 5x7s) - the school pictures and other professional pictures - and I'm putting them in an album, chronologically (1991-now) - just matted with a little bit of journalling (name, date, occasion, place). And I sorted out the duplicates - gave copies to the kids, was going to toss the extras but DH took them - well, at least they aren't in my space.
I think most of my decluttering for the rest of the year will be in my craft space - it has scrapbooking, sewing, genealogy, family archives (aka all the photos and paper from my mum's house plus the stuff I've been given from the ILs - I'm the designated archive person) as well as my computer/home files. So going to try and get all that into better order -both actual stuff and the computer files.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Apr 23, 2021 15:05:48 GMT
Yesterday was a major accomplishment with the garage! Totally exhausted, but happy with the end results. The handyman showed up at 9 am, and other than a short lunch break, we worked until 3 pm. The biggest improvement came when we rearranged some shelving so that none is out in the open area. As we pulled things out, or off the wall, we made a "get rid of" pile. Lots of old yard tools went into that pile. There were several duplications due to bringing in things from both parents' estates. I was super impressed at how much DH was willing to let go of. He also decided to get rid of the rolling work cart and mechanics creeper that were left from restoring the old plane. The handyman was happy to get those! I chose to part with old curtain rods - very nice in their day, but that was 30 years ago. I won't use them again and neither will DD. Also gone - all the grapevine wreaths, raised dog food bowls (DH replaced with a Weathertech one at least 2 years ago), leftover wood, all the yard treatments (weed/fertilizers/etc) since we use a service now. One nice discovery was finding the box of tile leftover from our kitchen backsplash. It looks like it might be enough if we choose to go forward with the kitchen update, which would save several thousands. While I would love to change out the tile, I'll live with it if it means I can get the update/more counter space. Several things have been pulled out and set aside for DD's new apartment. Those will migrate over there in the next week or so. Just so happy that we have that project wrapped up before the summer heat/humidity arrive in the next few weeks! I think most of my decluttering for the rest of the year will be in my craft space - it has scrapbooking, sewing, genealogy, family archives (aka all the photos and paper from my mum's house plus the stuff I've been given from the ILs - I'm the designated archive person) as well as my computer/home files. So going to try and get all that into better order -both actual stuff and the computer files. This sounds much like what my summer will be - working on the same things. Most of it has been piled up in the guest room and our old dining room. I'll be working on getting the scrapbooks finished up, sorting/purging old photos and old memorabilia. Also have quite a bit of fabric that I need to get listed or donate. Also on my to-do list is an inventory of family items and my jewelry. The goal is to take photos of these items, then type up descriptions of them, along with provenance. Not sure which program will work best for that, so open to any suggestions!
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Post by Linda on Apr 23, 2021 15:15:38 GMT
**GypsyGirl** - wonderful job on the garage! I'll be watching for replies on the inventory software - I need to do that as well.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Apr 23, 2021 15:19:11 GMT
**GypsyGirl** - wonderful job on the garage! I'll be watching for replies on the inventory software - I need to do that as well. Thanks! I forgot to say that what we got rid of filled the back of the handyman's truck! I knew we had some things to get rid of, just didn't think it was that much! I'll be doing some research on the inventory software, and also hoping for feedback here. Will keep everyone posted on what I find out.
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Post by ntsf on Apr 23, 2021 23:18:22 GMT
my husband came home after 4 months in our brand new condo and said.. heck, we should just call 1-800=junk and get rid of everything in our basement....
panic time. so he is tackling the car that has sat unused in our drive way for months .. and he is moving out a bunch of sailing stuff (we just sold boat) to a boating consignment store next week. so I am scrambling to show that I am working on getting rid of stuff in the basement.. for the next month. got a big bag of garbage out, recycling and a big bag to go to donations. and found a box of photos from a friend who died suddenly 20 yrs ago. I wish we knew where his kids are but don't.. but my husband went through it and found pictures of a mutual friend. he called the friend.. turned out that guy had lost all his pictures of that time in a house fire. so the photos are moving on to him this weekend.
I have had basement on my list, but between getting vaccine and feeling sick and organizing my scrapbooking stuff.. and it being really cold (48 degrees.. warmed to 52 today)..I hadn't done much since I got home a few weeks ago. I will work an hour or two a day on it. I started throwing out college notes circa 1977.. to be fair, my dh did say he noticed that more stuff was gone from basement. from last fall.
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Post by tentoes on Apr 24, 2021 0:39:10 GMT
I cut up my old costco card and got rid of it! Does that count? (Kidding!!) I also went through some paperwork and purged some of them I won't need. That really has a way of piling up in a short amount of time.
It's almost time for me to bring in my summer clothes and take out my winter clothes, so I feel another "purge" coming on!
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