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I'm also going to try an experiment on Ruby's behalf. I know Dave set up the system to chop off long lines of "..." that people were putting in (it messes up screen width, I think), and that's why the lines of dots that Ruby is using instead of hitting the return key (since it's broken) keep getting cut back to just 3 dots. I think, although I am not sure, that you can type several 3-dot series with spaces in between for a longer gap between lines. I'm gonna try it... ... ... ... ... ... Did it work?
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
I just spent part of the morning trying to get DH's & my keyboards cleaned. I vacuumed them with the upholstery brush and then wet wipe-dusted them between the keys and my two or three keys that used to get stuck are working now! Yippee!! ( does a happy dance!)
Everyone at the transportation office at Ft. Wood had told me that I could ship my new, wireless keyboard and other peripherals over here in my van. Well, that didn't work out... The shippers in Illinois didn't allow that as they said that they would get into too much trouble with customs. I had to abandon my new monitor, wireless keyboard & mouse and the *big* tower that (Thank you God) I had just taken the hard drive out of so that I could "hand carry" it to Korea in my luggage since my van will not get here for a few months. I had already been to the post office asking about mailing the tower and it would have cost me $88., the monitor is bizarrely heavy so it would have been too much to mail and I figured that the wireless keyboard and mouse are cheap enough to replace that I do not have to worry about them until I need wireless types again. I miss that custom tower though, it had everything from old floppy drive to disc burners for movies and music in it along with enough plug-ins on the front of it to plug in different camera cards and lots of USB's.. whine.. Oh well, at least now I do not have to disassemble this computer and sell the parts.
Wow! Sounds like we 'all' did a lot of soul searching to see 'why' we clutter!
I did get the bags out of the bedroom and see I have about all my Xmas shopping done!! It's all in the hallway with my storage bins with winter clothes in them..
I find it easier to just take everything out and start fresh...now need to get into my closet and take out summer clothes (a few bags of ?? there also) will be a treasure hunt! Do plant to downsize wardrobe and am not buying clothes like I usually do.
Have plenty!! Our priest talks about other countries where people are 'happy' and have little...
Ruby, you did get lots done! The plants are in ( I would have hated to bring them in also) so you can easily work on them and the room.
Getting over a cold, takes longer for this 'ole' body to heal!
Juney, good luck with computer...need to get mine into a shop to have it 'cleaned' out...dread taking it out...worse...no computer while being worked on!!
Have a great day all! Geraldine ::)
Juney, I am thrilled to see you posting and also want to thank you for starting a new page for us. Critter, thank you also for pointing out the dot dot dot thingie for me. I have a new keyboard in the closet, but have just been too lazy to go and get it and hook it up. I bad. ... ... ... ...Gava, I was going to remind you of Juney's move and tell you how liberated she felt after she had gone through and only saved necessities. You are right on regarding storing up possessions here and how little they will mean when we are in heaven. None of this will mean a thing then. I am going to give some thought to trying to remember to let The Lord be a part of my clean sweep task. I probably would have had this done years ago, had I allowed him to be involved in it. ... ... ... Gava, thank you for sharing your thoughts on your son. I think I can understand how a sadness just washes over you at times. I have felt the same way about my two boys from time to time. Critter, be forewarned that the precious child in your life will be capable of causing you the most pain that a person can ever experience. I am not saying that she will, and I sure hope that she won't, but there is the possibility of some tremendous pain associated with those we hold so dear. ... ... ... ...Thank everyone for opening their hearts here. It is so good to get to know each other better.
Gava - it would probably be a good idea to have someone else go through our things with a fresh eye. Although they would no doubt get rid of more things than we ourselves would, we could likely live just as well - or better - without all the...cr** (crud). Last year during the school year, our 15 yr old DD had a friend live with us and share here very large room. I had been haranguing DD for a year to go through things and get rid of things. Her friend went through stuff in short order and filled trash bags with stuff. Thing is, a lot of stuff was worthy of a Thrift Store, at least. So, I went through the bags and gathered like items together (like all the cars & trucks) in bags. I cleaned up her American Girl dolls, clothes & furniture and put it all together to be offered as a set - but one of them I had to keep, with the Mexican Folkdance Dress with all the ribbons that I made to match her former Folklorico Dance dress. It sits on the shelf in my walking closet next to a K & 3rd grade painting on the wall! Also could not give away her 'fact-speaking' globe - yet.
Ruby, you are so right about our children. I never dreamt I could love a creature as much as I love my son, and never realized how much it could hurt to let him go. Of course we are proud of him, but there has been much pain along the way. When I have completely lost my mind I hope I will just remember how much I love him. ... ... ...I wish I had a sister to help with my cleanout. My sisters are worse than me for the most part. ... ... ... So good to hear from you, Juneybug. We have missed you.
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
Oh, the house didn't sell yet - the family is renting it while awaiting some paperwork for their mortgage. I signed a paper for the realestate agent to close it in our abscesce, so I could just get over here and start this new life. I've been here 3 weeks and am finally getting used to it.
It is a crowded mountain valley city. the roads were here for thousands of years before the cars and trucks showed up and are a real challenge to drive (got my license today) The apartment is pretty good sized for a city apartment. Job prospects are real low. I guess that I will be spending time trying to figure out how to break these "clutter king & queen" crowns we have. Before I shipped my stuff out, it was so nice to have a whole entire house & the sheds & garage completely uncluttered. I could easily find anything that I needed and I've gotta' say; it was a breeze to do the normal weekly cleaning! It looked so much better too. Like as if the whole house was calmer and steadier, now that it wasn't cluttered up.
Now to keep this place from going down that path...
Juney, I hope that you will stay around in order to remind us the wonderful way that you felt after de-cluttering your home. I don't think that I would ever tire of hearing you describe it. Makes me really want to be like that too.
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
I have some real grief over some of the stuff that I donated (don't we all), BUT, I am so glad that I did it and that my house is so neat and well organized. I have promised myself that: If I actually need anything that I had donated, I can always buy the new and improved version...LOL, that really worked to calm myself back down as I was unloading treasures onto the dock at the Samaritan Center! Hubby really appreciated how nice everything was, but then he only got to see it for a 2 week visit before we shipped it to storage and Korea and he had to return to Korea.
He is still overbuying foodstuff and has 5! wardrobes for his clothes plus the dresser and chest of drawers... I know that some things take longer for guys to get through their heads and he will learn this new and better way of life eventually... It doesn't do any good to push him... he really likes how easy it is to live in an organized &clutter-free house
Oh, Ruby! You are so right about the way I feel after having de-cluttered! It is as if I had escaped a briar patch that I had been in all of my life. I can so easily move through my days now and without that clutter in every closet/cupboard/drawer/shed/garage I can DO everything easily (and it feels so good!)
Juney, I am so 'jealous' that you were able to 'declutter'!! Hopefully if I stay out of stores I won't buy anything, use what I have and hopefully get rid of things that are just 'there'! I have 3 bureau drawers full of stuff I have not used or actually need...will try to tackle them this winter or sooner...why do I need these things around if I don't use them?? Will donate to a church or goodwill...
I did start putting up winter clothes, and have lots of shirts, many I will not even wear, need to get 'the spark' to put them into donation bag.
We all here seem to have the wish for a decluttered home and just need each other for help...Geraldine ::)
Good way to look at things Juney, with the old things gone, there is room for the new and improved if you ever need it. Maybe I will be able to use the same sort of thinking when I get to my shed and its contents. ... ... ... ... I just know that I need to be ruthless and just get stuff gone. I have been thinking this week of asking my hubby to borrow a pick up truck to load up the things that I have in the shed that I will be letting go. Hopefully he will agree to drive and deliver. That would be a good weight off my shoulders knowing that he would help. Speaking of a pack rat... ... ... he is definitely one. And Juney, I don't know what all sorts of things your hubby collects and holds on to, but my hubby has mainly a garage full, plus sitting all on the outside of his garage, junk, if you ask me. Thankfully, he put up a privacy fence a couple of years ago between the house and the garage, or you all would be hearing me throwing fits if I had to look at it each day. ... ... ... ... Progress on getting the plants situated is slow. This is one of those cases where a dozen things need to be done before you can begin the actual task. In order to bring the houseplants inside, I had to first spend several weeks straightening and organizing the room for them. Then we had to take a bookcase out of that room which I am now wiping down each book and knick knack that goes on it and letting them dry so that I don't chance mold. I did a bit over three quarters of it yesterday, but still have a ways to go. I then want to take pictures to share here of the plant room. I have a lot of plants!!! ... ... ... ...Geraldine...I am missing you girl, where the heck are you? I hoope that everyone will have a good week coming up. Take care.
Oh goodie, we cross posted Geraldine. I was afraid that the cold had gotten you down. Good to hear from you too and you are making progress with your tasks. Sounds as though things are coming along for you. If you are like me, we would like to have had it done yesterday, but that is not the way. Our homes did not get in bad shape overnight and they won't be straightened overnight either. Each is or was a set of small steps. I am not sure how much I might get done in plant room today, or even if I will be in there at all. I have a doctors appointment this morning and need to start getting ready here shortly. Wishing everyone a wonderful day.
Well, I'm going to get inspired to do more decluttering - I'm going to my mom's! HA! She always claimed that my dad was the messie, that he was a packrat, that all the junk and clutter was his. Now he is gone. And she is about as bad as he is. Oh, well, my son thinks I'm a terrible packrat.
Hope that you have a good trip Gava. I didn't get anything at all done clutterwise today. I started off the morning by going to the doctor. I am bummed to hear that my Primary Care Physician is leaving to work elsewhere. She was excellent too. Always treated me friendly, kind and caring. I will miss her. My PCPhysician before her died of lung cancer a couple of years ago. That was a bit upsetting for me too. It will hopefully be okay because a past Primary Care doctor who used to have a practice in the other town I lived in is now practicing here, so I won't have far to drive whenever sick. I will call him on Monday and see if he is taking patients. It will be good to not have to start over once again.
I am not sure when I will have time to attack the last of the changing bookcases. There are still quite a few books that I want to dust before putting back on the shelf. I believe that I am going to like my new set up with the two bedrooms. There is one thing that we didn't get done that I had wanted to but not a biggie because I will write it down as being high priority when next spring rolls around. I want to take out the single window in the plant room and install a sliding glass door in its place. That will allow me to just scoot the houseplants directly on the deck next year when it is warm enough for them to go outside. It will save the possibility of spilling dirt and dead leaves all throughout the house.
It is quiet here so I hope that means that everyone is busy enjoying themselves, or are hard at de-cluttering. I hope that everyone will have a great weekend. I plan to. Take care all.
Hi all! Was at Dr's also, got medicine for sinus infection...did a little shopping, groceries (but have to start using what I have)...also got my grand-dog ( a chihuahua ) a "Patriots" t-shirt for his walks...am too tired when I get home to do anything but make supper and rest...tomorrow need to make an apple crisp for church and work 2-6...Sunday is church and visiting...but did get an idea to clean out those drawers and donate things to a friend who could maybe use them, gives me a goal...did get winter clothes in closet but still have things in closet to go through, hopefully can put a dent into it next week...what a mess my hallway is, but when I get it organized for Xmas presents already bought will be so much better...
Will be slooooow going but when I feel better will go faster.
Ruby, yes a sliding door would be great for your plant room...great thinking!
Tired for now...stay well all...Geraldine ::)
Sorry about the sinus infection Geraldine. I get them quite often too and they suck. I hope that you will continue to heal up quickly. It sounds as though you had a busy and productive day. You too are making progress with your tasks. Always good to hear.
I don't think I will have the time to do anything clutter wise again today. I want to visit granddarling later this morning and maybe a trip to dollar store. Meal is already cooked. Made a pot of mixed dry beans yesterday and John loved them. I also made a package mix of corn muffins. So, that is the menu for at least today.
Well, not much to talk about. Will close for now. Take care and have a great weekend all.
Hello All! I'm thrilled we have a new thread. The last one was CLUTTERED, ha ha!
What a gold mine of confessions and pledges to improve our behavior. Thank you all so much for sharing.
I watched a story on TV about a dog found along a highway in Texas. She was rescued by a lady. The lady figured she belonged to a loving home as she was very affectionate. The "found" ads she ran provided no pet parents, so the lady returned to the spot where she rescued the dog. There she found a "nest" of possessions, including a candle with the name Michelle on it. Some detective work later, the dog was reunited with her family. Turns out, there had been a car wreck, the dog was ejected along with clutter from the car. The people inside were hospitalized and not able to mention the dog. As they recovered, they assumed she had been killed. So, if not for clutter and a traumatized dog who needed the emotional comfort of her family's scent around her, this story could not have had a happy ending. In this case, Hooray! for clutter! ; - )
All you loving mothers do indeed "lose" your children. They do indeed fly away from the nest, and the few baby feathers they leave behind become treasures. Go ahead and let yourselves have a good cry over it. Gavafriend, you are a victim of your own success! It must be maddening to have to let go of your child so early. And Ruby, you had to let go at the prime of your son's "childness". It's no wonder you have filled the void with anything you could, and of course, it is not satisfying, as the stuff is just a distraction, or insulation, or a barricade. I don't know the best way to deal with the pain. Recognizing it is a great step toward healing. I hope I don't sound like a busybody or an amateur therapist. My intention is to help. I need help too!
I can report more success in my clothing clear-out. I have donated 5 more bags to charity. Truck bed where I am holding all this is half-empty. I need to clear out the rest soon, as it is time to gather firewood for the winter.
Drapelady, what was the message that was edited? Curiosity is killing my cat! =^..^=
Cute clutter story Huckleberry. What an insightful message you sent. Yep, we have been exposing ourselves to each other, haven't we? Oops, that doesn't look right. Exposing our emotions to each, describes it better. hahaha
My goodness, but you must have had loads and loads of clothes. For the most part, clothes were never my problem. I have some things that I never wear, but thankfully not to where they are a problem.
I had an idea of one way to get rid of my clutter and feel okay about doing it. We have a friend who is not currently employed, and I was thinking of contacting him and seeing if he would be interested in taking many of my things out of shed and going around to Junk stores and see if anyone might be interested in purchasing them. I need to give him a holler and see if he can do it for me. I would love to get it done either this week or the next before it gets too cold and no one is going to feel like being out in the cold. I wish I felt well enough to get some things together to send to auction. I used to send things to auction when I lived near an auction house several years back. I was younger then and things weren't quite as hard for me to do.
I liked what you said about becoming aware of the problem being a large part of the battle. As long as we can stick our heads in the sand, we don't have to face reality nor do anything about it. I have been aware for a long time it seems, but just never at a place where things lined up well enough for me to do anything major.
Okay, just rambling, I think I am going to lay back down and see if I can sleep a while longer. Take care and have a good Sunday everyone.
Today was drizzly and we had a light frost, so the perfect day to bring in the tomatoes and peppers, etc. Canned 32 pints of salsa. Was also a good day to camp out in front of the TV, chopping vegetables. I saw that story about the lost dog again. It took place in Tenn., not Texas. Guess I am starting to lose my memory. My mind is no longer "like a steel trap" to quote my mother! ; - )
I watched the shows about Hoarders on A&E and also on TLC. Wow. I have been calling myself a hoarder in my posts, mostly because I was trying to get tough with myself. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being buried alive by one's stuff, I guess I am a 5. I have an addiction, a "high" in acquiring stuff. The stuff is unuseable, or impracticle for the most part. I have an irrational, emotional attachment to it all. I hide it from others, because it is embarrassing and I never wanted anyone to know, because I didn't want to be judged, or worse, be instructed in ways of controlling myself and getting rid of it all. So, I know I have problems and want to be able to solve them. Before it is too late. Before I get to the place the people on these TV shows are in. Thank goodness I watched "fun" decluttering shows like Clean House before I saw the episodes of Hoarders. I felt real fear for the poor souls on Hoarders. I also felt some of the anger I felt toward my parents' lack of organization. It is a very terrifying feeling, to be out of control and not able to help yourself or another. It is more common than we think too.
Anyway, thanks for the mention of these shows. If I start to backslide in my decluttering process, I will think of the poor lost souls on Hoarders and get a grip on my inner Crazylady!
Ruby, liked the 'line up' you mentioned, and the feeling huckleberry has for buying and hiding things...must go back to our emotions...why are we doing this??
I still have boxes 'lined' up in the hall, but have 2 small 'empty' ones!! Will start to go through rest when weather is bad...sun is out today so will work outside some, need to neaten up and clean up gardens for winter...getting over the sinus inf. so am a little slow doing things...stay well all...Geraldine ::)
I just loaded 5 more garbage bags full of clothing and linens into the car. There is still more to go. I struggled letting go of a few items, and then told myself that I will be re-stuggling with them AGAIN a week from now if I don't get rid of them tomorrow. I'm down to the semi-"good" stuff, so it is getting harder to let go. But I am keeping on the straight and narrow path. I know what it is to live here with too much stuff. I am very curious to know what it will feel like to live here with just enough stuff.
Got to go close the gate to the chicken coop. Be back soon!
It is getting dark early now. All was well in the chicken coop. I found a dove that was attacked last week. It's mate was ripped to pieces. I am keeping it in the coop, segregated from the chickens. I hope it will recover and find a new mate.
Ruby, yes, I did have an awful lot of clothing. I went through some kind of teenage clothing crisis, and apparently, I have not yet come out of it. I hope it is never too late to grow up!
Juney, I'm so happy to have your posts to read. The fact that you shared that you had some grief with some of the things you donated gives me hope. It is as if you shined a little light on the path for me. Thanksfor keeping it real!
Well, I guess I am just talking to myself. It's not like it is the first time. ; - )
The little dove I tried to help died. I hope it joined it's mate in dove heaven.
My Clutter Reduction Action Plan is working. I donated 6 bags of clothing yesterday with no hint of remorse and I Did Not Even Want To Go Into The Thrift Shops!!!
In my wallet I keep a list of items I am on the lookout for at thrift shops and yard sales. I looked it over and put a line thru most of the items. I don't care about all the craft projects anymore. I am giving up. I think I have grown up and away from the desire to do so much.
I'm beginning to agree it is better to do one thing well than three things lousy. I may even be switching from having a mania to acquire things to having a mania for getting rid of them. What is the opposite of a hoarder? Whatever it is, I've yet to meet one!
Hope you are all busy living your lives and maybe doin'a little de-cluttering!
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
I worked hard on decluttering from October to May and I don't know what you call it, but I've got it. I still cannot open the closet without looking for something to throw out. LOL! I still fight the urge to buy every pretty little thing that I see, but I am much better at resisting now. I really like your idea of a list of things to get at the thrift store. Sticking to a list (edited too!) is probably the only way that I can shop with DH.
A big Whoo Hoo! To donating those clothes!!! Dosen't it feel good!!?!!
And I think you are right about the craft stuff. I got rid of everything except the one that my DH & I do together. I can buy an artists stuff that will look a lot better than I will ever make and let them have the cluttered workroom... If I ever decide to add more clutter-y stuff to my house.
I check in everytime a new post is made, I see by the number of views that a lot of folks do to. It is encouraging to read your words, keep it up, even if it seems that you are talking to yourself.
I am still trying to !gently! get my Dh's stuff organized so that he can more clearly see what he has. (he has way too much for one person, but what's new?!;)
Sorry to hear that the dove died. It is hard to understand why some stuff happens...
It is Friday afternoon here in Korea, Y'all have a good weekend!
Hi! I see we helped each other out...and are finally getting our homes in order!
Sorry about the dove, but being with it's mate is where it needs to be, I can understand it, many times wished I were with my DH in heaven...we shared many things...he was a good man, and I do miss him...but realize that I am needed (maybe) to help here on earth for a while longer.
Got boxes out of the hallway, have my Xmas shopping done, I bought what I knew my family liked during the year so know they will like them..just add a 'lil' $$ (not much). Realized that I do not have to decorate for Xmas like before, when we entertained, now I go to 'their' homes and enjoy their decorations, so will donate decorations to a needy friend...will keep just a few things to put out (the best)!
Have to tackle my 'red hat' items next! Got lots of them!!
Stay well and warm, how is the weather in Korea??
Yay! Glad to read your posts. I was kinda worried I bored everyone with my endless trail of garbage bags headed out the door.
You're right Juney. I have "met" someone who is a success at decluttering. I have a vision of your home and life, "before and after". You are the trailblazer. I could catch up to you, if not for all my baggage weighing me down! Gotta keep jettisoning.
Geraldine, how sweet and sad you feel. Yes, just like the pair of doves. Hang in here, and do your best to enjoy what you can until you can reunite with your good man. Perhaps there is a joy in the interval.
I'm happy to hear you are thinking about lightening up your decorations. It is fun to have a little change. I am decluttering in categories too. As soon as these clothes are gone, I will have proven to myself that I can do it. Everything else should be easy.
I'd like to know how the weather is in Korea also. I remember the episode of M*A*S*H when they are freezing in the bitter cold. I guess that was supposed to be in the North, not Seoul. Zone 3b sounds like it could get cold!
Speaking of cold, I'm glad you got your plants inside, Ruby. What an accomplishment! Good idea to put in a door to the outside also. Hope you are feeling better.
Gava, I'd love to hear how your visit went. Hope you have safe travels home.
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
I am only guessing about the zone here. We are north of Seoul and north of Uijeonbu (we-jon-bu), too. Up on the DMZ, sorta' northwest/central. I know that the Army does cold weather testing of equipment here and so it is probably colder than I am used to. Right now it is in the 40's in the mornings. here is a picture from our rooftop, those mountains are the DMZ, on the other side is North Korea.
Sorry I've been MIA. I've been DECLUTTERING. LOL And guess what! When you get a room completed, and can actually see the walls, you get to paint. That's what I will be doing today. I didn't realize how close we are getting to the holidays already. And speaking of paint. I went to Home Depot yesterday and the clerk told me that on Monday's they have a section of gallons of paint that were improperly mixed (called Oops paint). They sell them for $5.00 a gallon. When they finish shaking the can, they always dip their finger in it and put the color on the lid, so you can see what color it is, whether it was "Oops or not", the colors are great. I must have spring fever in the fall. LOL See what you folks have done to me. Thanks so much for this thread. My husband loves my new decluttering hobby. :)
Ok now, off to painting my bedroom. I have to get one room complete so I can have an inspiration to complete the next one. Ya'll have a great weekend.
Well, I had a good trip to my mom's house. It was pretty cluttered, and inspired me to come home an purge closets, cabinets, etc. It was fun to visit with my sisters and we didn't stay at mom's house very much so I didn't get terribly stressed out. I found out on Friday that we will be moving! Did you hear me shouting "hooray!" from where you live? We moved here with too much stuff - have gotten rid of lots of it, and I hope we will be able to move without a huge fight at the end about what stays and what goes.
So today I'm painting the color accent walls back to cream color. I took down all the photos that made it look like MY house. (The TV says we should allow potential buyers to visualize themselves in this house.) We patched those holes yesterday. I'm already packing up books and looking hard at stuff again. I'm trying to make the decision to let things go if I have ever even thought that they should go. So far, it's going well. I am resting for a few minutes here and will go back to painting. Hope everyone is being productive. Please pray that our house will sell for a good price in good time. I'm trusting that we will find the right place to live - only when this one sells. WE WILL NOT HAVE TWO MORTGAGES!!!!
I'm pooped just thinking of all the work you are all up to. Some of the clutter in my shed is cans of paint from Sears...yep, they had the Oops cans too. My hubby is happy I have caught the de-cluttering bug also. As soon as I'm done with my stuff, his will be on the outs.Can hardly wait!
Gava, good to hear your visit wasn't too stressful. Hope that home sells. I can't imagine having to pay two mortgages. Hang in there!
Moving, going to another town, the apt. is a little bigger...not the best ( nice apts. in this location are tough to find or non-existing) That's the trouble with MA...everything on the old, antique side...the landlord has given me a free hand to paint and decorate as I want! Will be next to my son, who is great!
Hopefully I can rent this apt. soon, did sign a lease til Feb..it is an easy apt. for someone who can't do stairs...(my new apt. is on the first floor and parking at door).
Going to check on drapes on Penny's Outlet on line...have great buys there...have been looking at decorating books at work..and will try to get ideas for a 'clean' 'open' feeling...am excited!
So nice to think of all of us getting our homes more comfortable and easier to maintain!!
Got to get packing, will have help with heavy stuff!! Geraldine ::)
Yeaaa, I finished painting my bedroom. There isn't a piece of clutter anywhere in there. All my cherry furniture is dusted and shiny. I just walked back in there and said to myself "it needs something". Sounds like "Clutter withdrawals" to me. LOL But I will contain myself until I get my drapery and comforter and pillows made. I'll post a photo when it is finished and ask you all what else it needs.
geraldine87 don't forget to look on overstock.com for drapes. Sometimes they have great deals.
gavafriend , yes I will agree with you in prayer for your request "Please pray that our house will sell for a good price in good time." The Lord never means for us to be under such burdens.
Oh well, now I am off to start the job that I dislike the most "My office and paperwork clutter removal". It is amazing how much piles up so quickly. I asked The Lord to help me do it quickly and the words 'divide and conquer' came to my mind. Now I just have to remember that dividing into piles isn't enough. To conquer it, I actually have to Burn, Shred or File each pile :) So I'm off to do just that.
Oh, geraldine, so glad to hear that you are excited about your move to the apartment close to your son. How wonderful that your landlord is willing to let you paint and decorte to suit you. When I see those old places on TV I hear lots of talk about the "character" of those homes. We lived in a home with lots of character, and I'd prefer to have new wiring and plumbing.
When I tell people where we are moving to they assume that it will be very hot -as Phoenix is - or very cold as Flagstaff is. Most are surprised to find that we are going to be in an are just about exactly like it is here. They get the same amount of precipitation and the temperature are almost exactly the same for highs and lows. They are even in the same altitude and close to the same latitude. So we know we can have a wonderful garden there.
We finished the painting last night about 7:00, I managed to get almost all of the color accent walls returned to neutrals that match the rest of the walls. I'm thinking about leaving the yellow sections because they contrast so beautifully with the cobalt pottery, quilts, and upholstery. I had stencilled some Bible verses on the walls and we chose to blot those out, too. I don't want to offend the athiests who have money to spend, but will put more back up in the new house where I can enjoy them. Also I did not want anyone to think ugly thoughts about the verses if they couldn't appreciate them. It was kind of a "pearls before swine" thing.
DH has started the new job and is out in his new territory. He's looking at possible homes for sale, good neighborhoods, and nice towns. So I don't have to cook again this week, but I don't have any help with this next part of the job.
Break time is over - the jobs list is waiting for someone to do the chores and cross them off. I'll keep checking in - thanks for the prayer help and moral support.
I am thrilled to hear of your successes, everyone. Wish I was keeping up with your pace. I had to suspend my clothing clear-out due to several things, and I am feeling a bit "stalled" because of it. I have the trunk of the car full again, and have an appt. at the consignment shop Fri.
I have been watching Hoarders again. It is pretty frightening. I wonder if it is ok for me to watch it. As I go thru my clutter now, I am beginning to resent it. I resent the time I have to spend going thru all of it. I resent the labor involved in cleaning it up to get rid of it. I regret having collected all this useless stuff. I could have spent the time and money doing something better. I hope all these negative feelings are part of "the cure". Will I develop an aversion to clutter when I have carried the last thing out? I hope so. I hope all these crummy feelings will go out the door with it!
Gava, I got a kick out of you painting over your bible verses. I think it is best. Chances are that neutrality sells more easily than personality. That's what the experts say.
Juney, hubby says get ready to be cold! He has vague memories of frostbite warnings at Uijeonbu. That was in the 1970's. Maybe global warming has taken care of it by now. ; - )
Hope I don't sound too gloomy. I feel better just getting these thoughts out. Keep up the good work, Everyone!
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
OOOOH! I went through that resentment/regret stage too! I think that is why it feels so unbeleivably good to have everything so open and organized. I keep a sharp lookout for the "clutter-bug" inside me. I don't ever want to feel like I felt when my house was so cluttered and disorganized that I couldn't find anything and it was so hard to keep clean. It is soo easy now, I still feel kinda' thrilled
Hi, everyone! I used to have time to go to the DG forums a lot, but have been too busy lately with other Things. I've missed it! So when a friend (thanks quiltygirl) sent me a link to this uncluttering forum this morning, I had fun reading the posts! And I just have to add a short clutter story of my own.
One night I had a dream in which I 'saw' 3 garbage bags full of stuff. I knew even before I woke up that those bags were filled with giveaway stuff! So I woke up and thought, 'Hm. There is NO WAY I have 3 bagsfull of stuff to giveaway. NO WAY!' But as the day progressed, I started to collect stuff to give away, and by the end of the day I had 4 bags full of stuff to take to the giveaway box!! That was so much fun. The house felt downright . . . buoyant after I got all that stuff out of there . . .
Susan
Good morning all, I feel the resentment and rage also for spending all that $$ on things I really did not need...could have had a great retirement fund with all that $$
Moving to a new apt. will be next door to my son who is a great person...will be easier for each other to help out when needed.
As I move, I'll try to declutter but it is hard, just so much to do!!
Walls are white in new apt...I like white..just ordered drapes in an off white, saw this in a magazine at work (quiet times) hope it works out..love the idea of cobalt blue!
I have dough boys in my kitchen, they brighten my days but they are dust catchers!
Will try to figure out a way to put them out to keep them clean. Any help??
Geraldine ::)
Geraldine, if you love them (the dough boys) and I do, I think they are precious. Anyway, if you have a dishwasher and you put them where they are easy to get to, just pop them in the dishwasher once a week with your dishes and that takes care of it.
Guess what I did this morning. Had to head to town to pay bills. There is a Walmart at almost every exit on my way home. I stopped at the oneal lane one and saw some fences I just thought I had to have. LOL When I got to the next exit , I returned them at the next Walmart. LOL I guess if I wear myself out enough times, it will break me from buying junk I just don't need. What is wrong with me sometimes. :) habit I guess.
You are on your way to be clutter free!!!
Realizing that we 'really' don't need all these things is a great breakthrough!
Will do that cleaning of doughboys in dishwasher, thanks!!
I think that the feeling of resentment must be a good thing, huckleberry. It seems like that's a good step toward the goal of living clean and clutter-free. Somewhere at the end of the road there must be a place where I don't want to get more of this stuff, and I can see how having it would be counterproductive. I have to admit that I'm not there yet - I'm still hanging on to lots of stuff I find that I don't really need. It occured to me this morning as I was decluttering that I can get rid of all this stuff. If I'm taking it down to make the house look bigger, packing it away in boxes until I move to new house, THAT MAYBE I could do without it forever. Yep - I'm going back into the big box now while the mood is still with me.
Ladies, moving is the perfect time to let go of clutter, and yet, it is also the perfect time to hang onto stuff that is sentimental about your old place. Also, you don't know what you need for the new place and you may keep everything "in case I need it" for the new place. Just a reminder to be cautious and aware of your particular weaknesses. I have many things that are held onto for purely "historical" reasons. So many, at times I feel I live in a museum of my life. It feels oppresive, yet I hang on "because I may really treasure these artifacts someday". I picture myself as a sweet old lady in a rocking chair on my porch!
Yes, I do believe the resentment I am feeling is a good sign. Today is the 1 month anniversary of the day I started to move the "To Go" stuff out. I have donated to 5 different charities. It feels good, but I have so many more steps to take. And I am dogged by the dread that I won't make it.
That's why this thread is so helpful. I HAVE to keep taking those baby steps, or I forfeit my place on this team of declutterers. And I don't want to do that! I would miss great stuff, like Geraldine loading Doughboys into the dishwasher at her new place, next door to her good son. And Drapelady buying things at one exit and returning them at the next exit. And now, FayWray dreaming (nightmaring?) about how many bags o'stuff she can fill to lighten her load. It was fun amassing the stuff, it can be fun to disperse it, and life will be so much easier once it is done.
Once again, Thank You, Ladies!
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
Thanks June, went to site and realized that I need to stay with smaller sized couch and chairs, being only 5 ft. myself I don't need anything big!!
Will check for more hints I could use!! Thanks again all!!
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
WOW! Want to hear a real sucess story?!?
Thursday night just before 6, I was just pulling the fryer out to do up some fish and the doorbell rang. It was a relator wanting to show the house! A year ago I would hav etold them to come back some other day. Last night, I said sure! I put the fryer away and a few foodstuffs in the kitchen, stashed all of the junk on our desks in the drawers and ---- that was it! The whole house was ready for showing! Without all of that clutter, the house stays pretty neat, and I had just done the laundry and floors in preperation for the weekend, so, golly! it was already ready by the time the family found a parking spot(hard to do in this country) and oh my gosh! I can't get over how much I love being in a clutter free house!!! It is so easy!
The bad part is that our rent may go up $250/month with the new owners. It is $1100/month now, with utilities + cable and internet for about 900 - 1K sq ft (Real big by Korean standards - this is a converted church building) (I live in the old Church of God building in Bosondong Dongducheon about 5 blocks from Camp Casey & a block from the Boson train station)
I can not get over how good it feels to live in a house that stays so neat, orderly and fresh looking. And I can't beleive that it only took me about 4 minutes to "clean" for visitors!!!
An elephant is eaten one bite at a time...the completion celebration lasts forever tho'!
Thanks Juney, that's just what I needed to hear this morning to get me on to my next project. I bet that felt awesome. My mothers house was always ready for guest. Oh dear, I'm turning into my mother. :) She would be so proud. It only took me 57 years. LOL
You are all doing so great!! I will be moving this weekend...have no time to go through things, haven't even got all packed!
My 2 sons and grandsons are available and cannot pass up the help!!
Plan to just leave things stacked in boxes and go through them slowly when I get them in my new 'digs'!
I tell many people of our successes and laughs at our feelings of 'hoarding', keeping things we will not use again...they are starting to think about cleaning their homes now...I think I have taken 2 bites of that 'elephant' and enjoy it so much will definitely take more!!
No computer for a while, will take it in to have a check up while I have it apart. It is 7 yrs. old and must have dust and ?? some small toy mice in it!! I find them everywhere!! Even in shoes!! God bless you all and keep you safe and healthy til I get back on line...Geraldine
Way to go, Ladies! I am preparing to be gone for 2 weeks also. Family obligations.
Well, I said I had an appointment with the consignment shop this past Fri. When I called, she said "No more clothing til November". I was deflated for a moment, then I answered "ok" and made an appointment for Nov. 9th. I decided to go back to the shed and go thru a few boxes of kid toys. I ended up donating 2 more large bags of clothing and a box of toys and Halloween stuff to the Goodwill.
This may not sound like much of an upset, but in the past I would likely have thrown in the towel at the first hint of rejection. In the past, even the donation places were picky and would only accept a bag or two. It may be good timing for me to be decluttering at this time of economic insecurity. I had better keep going, before the economy picks up and nobody wants this stuff anymore!
I will be excited to read of your adventures when I return. Have fun!
Juney, I had to read your message again to really "get it". Wow, indeed! I wonder if I will ever be able to be so clean and organized. I want to try it! Have a LONG way to go!
Thanks for the link. I will look again, when I have more time.
Good for you huckleberry. I'm so glad you didn't give up. And I hope you have a great trip. Donating toys, hmmm. Now might be a great time for me to go thru my grandson's toy boxes and chest. Pretty soon the little children will be needing them for Christmas. Thanks for reminding me of that. Have a good safe trip.
Well, I got up this morning at 5:00 to begin the task of decluttering, packing, and more staging. I was exhausted by the time I went to class at 1:30. However, there is much progress. I moved all the church's furniture out of the "office" and put it into the garage. The new treasurer will come and get it when he can. That was a big bite of the elephant! Kind of felt like I had bit off more than I could chew for a while.
However, I took time to work on the master bathroom, and it's almost ready to do final staging. I purchased champagne flutes to sit on the edge of the garden tub with sparkling grape juice. Have added the candles, spa goodies, and thick towels. Does that sound enticing? Over done?
If I had known how much work this would be in this new home - I might have balked at the move. However, it will give us the best chance of selling soon if I bust my buns to get it in tip top shape.
I can see progress, even if there are still huge piles to be packed in a couple of rooms. And the best part is that my husband's company will send someone to pack all the rest of the stuff up and move us to the new house. Yippeeeee!!!!!!!
Have a great week - later.
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
Enticing! Not overdone at all. 3 of the 20+ homes that I looked at last year had plates of chocolate chip cookies next to the information papers on the kitchen counter. I appreciated that.
You go gavafriend , I am soooo proud of you. Well, you certainly out did me today, so tomorrow I will try to catch up. LOL
And the "champagne flutes to sit on the edge of the garden tub with sparkling grape juice, the candles, spa goodies, and thick towels." That does sound enticing. In fact , I think when I have finished my master bath, I will do the same . Sounds great.
Greetings All - How wonderful it is to come in after not reading for a while and hear of the successes that many are having. High five to all. It is very inspiring and so I am here for a bit of inspiration and motivation.
Even though it has been months in the process, I am almost finished with new plant room and new guest bedroom. I tell you it is nice to have more than a path for those two rooms. Not sure if I will have time to address either room this weekend or not. I spent most of last week running to doctors office's in hopes of finding a cure for the Urinary Tract Infections that have plagued me this past year. I have been ill for the majority of the year and I suppose ought to congratulate myself for any progress, no matter how small.
I am now at the point where I will be beginning part two of my de-cluttering project. I have been wanting to find a place that I wanted to donate my items where I don't think the majority of the better things go in to the pockets of the volunteer workers. On my local Freecycle website last week an organization made a request for any yard sale items. Let me tell you that I am their gal. I spoke with my cleaning lady and she will come an extra day this coming week to help me sort and organize the shed and attic.
I wrote someone earlier today that I have been working on this de-cluttering project for months, but have been thinking about it for years. hahaha A little bit slow, but as they say, it is better late than never. So, I hope that you all will wish me luck. I want to be able to see the shelves in the shed and to be able to find whatever it is that I am looking for when the time comes.
I understand the resentment that might try to sneak in on us and try to discourage us. The thought crossed my mind that here I am having to hire someone to help me de-clutter, again!!! Oh well... ... ... I suppose that I will have to look at the situation in a different light than I have been. I need to give myself a break and not beat up on myself about the money I have invested in these doo-dads. Invested money, ha... ... how about the money I have "wasted." But then again, I can look at all of it as being fun while I did it. It served some purpose in the past but whatever the purpose of collecting dust catchers, is no longer operating in my life and I don't need all of these things to fill any void. At this point they are just a nuisance.
Juney, I am so inspired each time I read what you have to say about being neat and clutter free. I am not sure if that will ever be the story for me or not. Here is hoping though. You ladies take good care and have a good weekend. I hope that I won't be gone as long the next time I get behind reading. Smooches to each of you.
Ruby, you GO, girl! I hope you can get those UTI's under control... something like that can really sap your energy, and I know it's easy to get discouraged. I admire your spunk!
I admire you too Ruby. Most folks would have just given in and put it off. Good for you to continue. And thank the Lord for the help. I hope you enjoy your new fresh spaces as they get decluttered. Congratulations! :) And I will say a prayer for your health. That is really an uncomfortable, painful thing. Just sit and point girl. LOL
Hi there Critter and Drapelady. Good to see you both. Thank you for the compliments. They are much needed these days. I saw a Urologist last week and she has prescribed a low dose antibiotic to take daily for the next three months. I will also have an ultrasound on Wednesday to rule out some things. Am hoping to get to bottom of UTI's and have a better year coming up, health wise anyway.
The people that I am donating to will be coming here on Tuesday, November 10 to pick up the yard sale items I am getting rid of. I am hoping to clean and clear out a lot things that are just currently taking up space. After I finish at computer this morning and do my little morning chores around here, I am going to go in to my dresser and put together a bag of things to the sale. I know that I have several plus different sorts of bras, that have never been worn and won't be worn by me. No telling what all else I will find in there.
The rest of the week until my cleaning help comes on Friday, I will be just going through drawers and cabinets and things here inside. When my help is here we can either start at attic with loads of Christmas things that I don't want any more and then head out to shed and begin getting rid of excess out there.
Drapelady, you mentioned that I will soon be looking upon new and fresh spaces... ... that sounds good to me. Fresh is a wonderful word.
I hope that those who haven't posted for a few days will show back up and have some further success stories to share.
You all have kept me inspired and motivated. I started this with a desire to just get control of the clutter. It's really been helpful to get ready to sell our home. I'm so thrilled with the look of things now that I may never put all of my things back on the shelves or put all the cabinets back in the rooms. We will list the house next week, I'll post the address so you can look at it. It's not perfect, but it still feels comfortable and would be a wonderful place for a family. "It's not my house - I'm just cleaning it up for someone else." We have to view it as a product to be marketed and get ready to move on. I love the things I learned from the real estate agent about "staging for the sale." Some of them will help me decorate my new home. (My friend told me that turquoise is too "jarring". The realtor said that turquoise is fine.)
We are looking at some much smaller homes on much bigger lots. (I hope we can get a smaller mortgage, too.)
My husband and I have enjoyed it, but we are about ready to move on - emotionally. We still have a couple of days to work on last minute stuff. The movers won't take paint, and other stuff, so we have to pack them and he will take them to the storage shed we rented there. We'll miss our garden and the flowers, but we still have the strength and knowledge to do another one. There are some of our neighbors who we'll miss, and we will miss the church members.
I'm leaving on Wednesday to go see my beautiful granddaughter. Yippee skippeee!!!! Will write a note when I get back. Keep making those lists of all the little tasks and cross them off. That's how I got all this almost finished.
Best of luck with the upcoming move, Gava! How wonderful that you get to take a break with your granddaughter this week. Yippee skippeee, indeed!
LOL about the turquoise... not too jarring in NM, maybe, but I don't think it would fly out East. We did a lot of work on the townhouse when we moved some years back... rented a storage unit because we had way too much furniture (stuff we'd inherited that would be fine in our someday-house but the townhouse was crowded) and too many books (there's an upstairs room now that's lined with bookshelves). We painted, put in new (beige) carpet, de-personalized, etc... and after our first open house we had 3 offers! That was great, because we needed the townhouse to sell in order to afford the new house.. we undoubtedly did more than was really needed, but we wanted to make sure it moved quickly.
Unfortunately, I think we boxed up and moved too much clutter with us... good for you on paring it down!
You made some interesting observations, Critter. I think that color is very regional. In some parts of New Mexico it's forbidden to paint the outside of one's home with anything except earth colors. I cannot imagine that color on a cottage back east. And turquoise/blue was the traditional color of window/door trim to ward off evil spirits.
I'm with you about boxing up too much clutter. I can see that we have already kept too much clutter. If we can live without the stuff I took out, why can't I live without it forever? I'm still working on the idea of paring it down more and more. Maybe I'll take more of the pottery to give away at church when they have a going-away party for us.
Anyway I'm driving into a storm at Flagstaff - can't be as bad as the one that hit Montana. Have a wonderful productive weekend, everyone.
When cleaning up and getting rid of stuff...if it still means something emotional to you but you know you will never display it, or want to use it again...what I am doing is taking my digital camera and taking a picture of it. This way, if I want to look at it, I still can and that brings back memories for me. I am thinking in particular of a Christmas craft I made myself as well as one for my grandparents. Well, when they both passed away, I ended up in getting back the one I made for them...yet it had been years since I had even put up mine at Christmas...so I took a picture and then, got rid of both items.
Why not do this with some of the items that are hard to part with?
Photos are a great idea valleyrimgirl. Yes, probably most of the things that I will be dealing with are things that do have sentimental value to them. Tomorrow I begin my cleaning of the shed project. I will be having a friend come in to help. We work very well together and she will be getting paid, so hopefully we will make good progress with it. I know for a fact that when undertaking something major such as this, that I won't ever start if left to do it alone. I have to have someone with me for some moral support I suppose.
A few weeks ago a non profit group ran an ad looking for yard sale items for a fund raiser they are doing. They will be coming here on Tuesday November 10 to pick up the items. I am not sure if we will complete the project in one day or if it will take longer.
I have this little nagging voice in the back of my mind saying... ...you have done this in times past and it always gets piled right back up again. It is my desire to NOT have it pile up again. I am sick to death of never being able to find things because there is too much other stuff that needs to be addressed too. I know that the time is upon me and this is something that I truly desire to be done, but frankly I am not having much faith in myself. I always keep too much stuff to take up space.
Gava, I didn't realize that you were putting your house on the market. Cool beans. Yes, I can certainly see where the help of those here would come in handy as cheerleaders. I hope that you will continue to update us with your progress. I so want to be here eventually giving completion reports to the group
Does anyone have any particular hints or tips for me as I tackle this thing tomorrow? What sort of questions should I ask myself when trying to decide whether to keep or give away? Any little mind tricks I can play with myself? I appreciate any and all comments.
In case I don't see you all for a bit, have a good Friday and a wonderful weekend all. Take care and stay well.
LOL critter, with that beautiful little girl of yours coming up, you will be getting rid of more and more of your things, to make room for hers. That's always a good way to let go of stuff we don't need. Soon you will be into saving everything of hers. But in all seriousness. I am noticing a lot of places going up around here asking for cloths and things. With the economy like it is, it makes it easier for me to give away something that I haven't even thought about wearing for 6 months. It's great to know someone else will put it to use immediately. OH dear, let me add 'pull a few more clothes out of closets today' to my list of things to do. LOL
I drove to CA last week to take a vehicle to my son. Some of his clinicals are too far away to ride his bike, so I drove out to see the grandbaby. She is amazing! My grandbaby is the greatest baby that God made. Wow - what fun we had for 3 days. I might get to go back for a few days in November after the baby comes. Then we'll go back between Christmas and New Year to visit again.
Well, Ruby, I don't have all the answers. But I agree that if we can discover the question(s) that we need to sort with it make things a whole lot easier. It was a little easier for me, because I kept stuff, and just put it away for a while. However, I'm thinking that I can take some of that stuff to the thrift store when we get moved. I'm blessed that there is a boarding school near the town we might move to. I'm hoping that I can donate some craft stuff, fabric, and things to the girls in the school. I learned to embroider in 3 grade.
I have asked myself all kinds of questions, including: Do I love it, or keep it out of guilt? Do I use it or just store it? Would my life be better if I keep it or simpler if I get rid of it? Would I buy this for myself again? How and where will I store this?
The good thing about moving further from family is that I can get rid of some stuff that I don't really like, because the giver of the gift is less likely to come see me. I'm really bad about keeping stuff our of guilt. When we moved here the movers broke lots of stuff. I just told my mom that they broke lots more. I gave away all the crystal candleholders that didn't get broken to my nephew. I got tired of cleaning all the candles and holders.
I still buy stuff on impulse occasionally that I later find I don't need. However, we are moving from here with less than we brought and I'll take some of it to the thriftstore in the new location. The original impulse to clean up and declutter came out of frustration with the closets full, and lack of storage. I'm loving this little casa with just the stuff for staging. It turned out to be a great thing that we began to clean up, declutter and think about someday.
We finally chose a realtor today, and will get the carpet cleaned tomorrow. I have most of the rooms staged, clean and ready. I have a couple more window sills to paint. I've ordered a banner that says, "Beautiful garden for sale, (home included)" I'll promise to post the realtor site when it's up with photos. So I'm going to send the garden photos to the graphic art man to get the banner finished. We'll post it on the back of the shop which can be seen from the main entrance of our development.
Jill, I laughed at your description of us as being "hard cases" Yep, that is me for sure.
I am rather disappointed to report that out of the first six or so plastic totes that were brought down from the attic with Christmas decorations, I had nothing that I wanted to get rid of. I still have about the same amount that need going through and am really hoping that some of these will have things that I can depart with.
I went through and culled my jammie dresser yesterday. I had two grocery bags of good enough to donate, and another jammed packed bag with "rags." So, at least it is a start. Did I mention that a group is supposed to come here on Tuesday morning and pick up items that I am donating for the yard sale?
While outside yesterday I saw things in my greenhouse and also in my shed which need to be set aside and donated too. Just need to get motivated and started. The deadline is drawing near. I think that my cleaning lady is coming either tomorrow or Saturday to help me with the shed items. I hope that it will be Saturday so that we can start earlier in the day. She has another morning job Monday thru Friday.
Gava, how exciting for you getting to move. Are you excited about it? Moving sometimes seems like a good idea, but actually every time I have ever moved I say this is the last time I am doing this. It is a lot of hard work.
Critter and Drapelady, you both have some good questions for us to be asking ourselves. Only problem with that is that I forget to apply this principle. I am sure that it would make decision making lots easier. I will try to remembmer to ask myself some questions when I attack the shed.
Anyway, good to see you ladies. Happy de-cluttering!!!
It is Saturday morning...the day of tackling the shed. First off I have a few more plastic bins to go through that came from the attic earlier in the week. I so far have a few boxes filled with Christmas things that I am donating to a charity yard sale. The group representatives will be coming on Tuesday morning to get the items.
The lady who was supposed to come and help for a few hours called and said that her grandson who lives with was at the hospital last night and that he has swine flu. I told her to please stay at home with him because I don't want to chance her bringing germs in here to us. I haven't seen my own granddaughter for several weeks due to someone or the other in her home being ill and me not wanting to be exposed.
I have a chronic illness that I deal with already and the way that regular illnesses that are contagious go, is that the general public will heal up fairly quickly and for me it takes a couple of months usually before my body can kick things. I just cannot face her bringing in germs today. She is upset trying to say that she isn't sick, but she doesn't seem to understand that her being around the sick child sets her up to be the carrier of germs.
My husband actually just called her back to say not to come, because I couldn't get her to agree to stay home. She hung up the phone on him. I think we have every right to say who comes and goes around here. I hope by the time it is her regular day to come and do housekeeping that she will be over her little snit.
Anyway, John has agreed to go out to the shed with me and spend a bit of time gathering donations for Tuesday. There is hardly a path to walk around in there these days. Much of it is larger things that have come from his folks home as they shut things down a year or so ago and sold the homeplace. I know that I have either 3 or 4 Electrolux vacuum cleaners that can go. Some working, some not. There is also Christmas decor out there that some can go. All sorts of things that can go actually. I am getting psyched!!! I am going to finish my coffee and then head out. If I am not too tired later I will check back with a progress report.
I hope that everyone is just busy and that is the cause for quietness here. No flu is allowed in this room, so everyone stay well.
Hey Ruby, Don't get too down on yourself for not being able to get rid of much yet. Don't forget the Baby Steps. Give what you know you won't miss too much to the charity now, and keep the thought in your mind for giving to them again. That will keep you in the flow and hopefully, you will stay encouraged.
Good for you to be donating to A Good Cause!!!
UTIs- I had a problem with these until I did something drastic. I drank as much water as I could stand, then urinated, then drank as much as I could stand again, urinated, and repeated this for a whole day. I envisioned myself literally filling and flushing my bladder as if it were a bag filled with gunk clinging to the sides. You must do this at home, when you have a whole 24 hours to devote to drinking water and eliminating it. I drink water several times a day to flush my bladder. Haven't had a problem since I did this.
I know drinking too much water can be dangerous, even deadly, but go easy at first. But keep the water coming in as long as you are able to flush it out and you are not obstructed by scar tissue, etc. It really did work for me.
The folks came and got a truck load yesterday and plan to come back for the remainder today. We did a pretty good job clearing the shed out. No wonder there was no room to walk in the shed, because what we gave away took up a rather large spot on the porch.
A week or so ago we took the Christmas stash out of the attic and have it sitting in the spare bedroom floor. I went through the Christmas things before we started on the shed. I was able to give away three medium sized boxes and thought that I would most likely use the rest of it. There are still about 8 large bins of things and I think that is way too much. I am thinking of possibly going through the bins one more time this morning before the people come to get this second load.
I am so relieved that this stuff is going. Now, to keep things from piling up again will be the real test. I appreciate the support that I have found here.
Speaking of UTI's. I am glad that your water drinking marathon worked for you Huckleberry. I am with you and believe that there is some gunk in my bladder or kidneys that needs a good washing out. I need to try doing this some time and see what results I will get. I am a person who doesn't usually drink much water, so will have to really start just making myself do it. I will let you know what happens.
Has everyone dropped off the side of the earth? Hope that some other folks will stop in and say hello. I hope that everyone is doing well. Take care all.
Ruby
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
I still stop in. I am finding that I am still fighting the clutter-bug. My office looks like a tornado hit it and there is no real reasn for it, I am just going to have to fight the mess maker in me
Cranberry juice mixed with water is what I always used for UTI's. Cranberry is supposed to make the walls of the bladder less sticky so that the bacteria can't cling and cause problems.
Does anybody know what to do for bone infections? I've had one in my jaw for the last 4 years and I have given up on being able to getting rid of it by the antibiotics the Drs give me.
Oh my gosh Juney. The bone infection doesn't sound too good. Where is the bone located? What has doctor said about it not healing up? It seems that you are in a country where many alternative treatments are used. The first thing that came to my mind was accupuncture. That ought to be widely available there, I would think.
Second thought on bone infection is that maybe a Nutritionist would have some luck coming up with a diet plan for you to use to rid the body of infection. How about Chiropractic care? They may have something to offer also. If you do end up using some of these therapies, or finally get on an antibiotic that will work, please let us know.
I have been told by several people that cranberry juice helps with bladder infections. It doesn't do a person much good sitting in the refrigerator though, does it? hahaha I will try drinking some of it today also. Thank you ladies, for your concern.
Juney, on getting a cluttered desk, that is an easy one to do. My husband and my girl friend speak of my desk as being a Command Center. It is definitely a place that I spend a lot of time, so things here can become piled up easily here too. Are there things on the desk that can be put away in drawers until you need them? What sorts of things are taking up precious space at your desk?
My desk has a few extra things sitting on it from the past few days. On Sunday I went to Walmart and purchased several computer things. Here they sit waiting for me to install them. There always seems to be a stack of some sort of papers on here too that I don't touch for weeks at a time.
I can only live with disarray for a short time before I have to begin straightening and organizing. If I can't see things such as closets, drawers or even whole rooms I am okay to let them slide until I decide that they too are gross enough to need some attention.
Juney, please let us know what you decide to do about the bone infection. I hope that you will get it addressed soon. Good luck. I hope that everyone will have a good day. Take good care.
I know nothing of bone infections. I am sorry you have had to suffer for 4 yrs. I hope someone will be able to help you.
Yes, cranberry is supposed to prevent(?) things sticking to the walls of the bladder and hosting bacteria, etc. I mentioned water only because some people are totally turned-off by cranberry. I love it, but when you are burning down there, it is hard to drink anything that may taste sour, tart or "acidic", for fear it will pass through you with a vengeance.
JuneyBug, I am here to help you with your mess of a desk. I guess this means you are not perfect. What a relief! Ok, where do we start?
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
Perfect!?! Don't I wish.. No, I got the major decluttering done and then sent the remainder to storage and am now living in a mix of stuff from the landlord, the Army, & some of our furniture and stuff that we shipped over.
Nothing is the right size, nothing matches, and it is all cheap particle board.
My main problem is that I am not motivated at all...
I have on/around my desk: 3 piles of reading, 2 books w/language tapes that have been sitting there untouched for 2 weeks and a box of pictures still in there envelopes that got wet last week and are covering everything that they can while they dry out. ( they didn't get too wet) I am supposed to be scanning the photos and organizing them and sharing them with the family.
I am clueless as to how to do this, but I shouldn't be ignoring them until a leak forces me to open the boxes...
I just can't get "into" any of this. Learning German was fun and there were classes & outings. Learning Korean is "on your own" and it is hard and it is easy enough to just "not" do it. I have no problem going shopping without knowing the language. At least the numbers in the prices are written the same as we do.
I need to buy a 2 drawer file cabinet for all of the paperwork and something...a small trunk to keep the pictures in. Someone had mentioned in their post about not being able to put stuff away because there was no "away" to put it in. I thought that was pretty profound. I am now living proof of that!
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
Had to hit the send when DH got in from work. I just stuck into files, the worst of the piles: the one with notes, recipes to type, articles torn from magazines & other such junk. It all looks so much better just for having done that! It was eating my desk I am just going to have to make myself get around to all of this reading. I just keep blowing it off since I don't have a comfortable chair for reading in. I'll have to get creative...
DH has applied for a job in Seoul, about 60 miles south of here. I don't know if I really want to move to a megalopolis of 25 million people. I'm in a city of 84K right now. I moved here from a town of 4 thousand. All of this crowding takes getting used to... thank God that they have a lot of farm land and the unbuildable DMZ around here so that I can at least see some nature.
With the jawbone, well, I'm on antibiotics now and they aren't doing anything. I had 17 prescriptions the first summer that I started fighting this. Nothing has worked. I had surgery twice and just sort of gave up after that first year. Now it will get real bad and I will go to the doctor and get an antibiotic if it is too much to deal with, but I've lost any hope that antibiotics will permanently fix this.
Gosh Juney, have any of the doctors explained to you why the infection is continuing on this long? Is it normal for this to happen? I believe I would be camping out at doctor's doors until I had proper treatment or at least a good explanation as to why it won't heal. I can't imagine what you are going through. Does it cause you much pain? I hope that you can hurry and get to the bottom of it and get some some relief.
Again, Miss Huckleberry, the cheerleader is amongst us with her wise words. Well, I guess you could say that I am in a pickle with drinking to help aid with UTI's. I am not crazy about either water or cranberry juice. hahaha I did buy two jugs of cranberry juice the other day and had a glass of it last night and am getting ready to have one here shortly. I am positive that I would feel much better all the way around if I were to begin drinking more water. Will need to give some thought to it.
I hope that anyone reading here will have a good weekend. Juney, keep us updated on the bone infection. Take care and stay well.
Well, Juney, just reading about all you have on your desk makes me want to go outside and watch the leaves fall. Avoidance, for sure. I'm proud of you for tackling it, and with an infection in your jawbone too!
I almost was in your shoes, tho just a baby toes' worth. My husband was going to an assignment in Korea, I would accompany him and we would both learn the language. Then he decided to retire. We both love adventure, and sometimes regret not doing it.
Is the task of learning a new language all on your own a bit daunting? I love learning new words, but haven't attempted a whole new language in a long time. As lingo is a totally social thing, it seems best to learn it in a class setting, as you did with German. More of an adventure and less of a chore. I hope you can find a fun way to become engaged in this new culture. That is if DH doesn't keep changing your horses in mid-stream. Another tough aspect of the military-esque life.
Seek those things you know you love...gardens, nature, markets, music,...whatever. Hopefully doors will begin to open to you. You sure deserve all the enjoyment you can hold after all the work you've done to clean up your lives stateside.
I also share your pain and frustration in trying to scan and send photos. I was halfway thru my first srapbook when DH decided we needed a new printer. Prints photos too dark. This interrupted my "flow" and the frustration came seeping in. That was a year ago! I better figure my photo problems out too! Wish us luck, everyone. =^..^=
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
AAAKKK!!! Grandparent's old home in Little Rock was just bought by a historical society as it is just across the street from Central High School (the most beautiful high school in America). I had to get some pictures scanned and sent to them of the magnificent gardens & how the house looked 50+ years ago... so I learned on the fly how to scan and send as attachments! Whoo Hoo!
As for the jaw bone; I just finished a round of Clindamycin and it didn't do anything. Infections can "hide" in bones and not receive the antibiotic that is traveling in the bloodstream. I need to make another appointment with the new Dr. and see if she has any new ideas... I am dreading having her send me to my dentist for the fix, as that will be thou$and$ out of my pocket again and I have no faith that it will actually do any good.
DH and I are very shy folks, but that is not stopping us from shopping and sightseeing! We may not be able to read the signs or speak the language, but armed with English brochures and the local currency we are having the time of our lives with going and doing! Being polite and smiling gets you far in this world!
Huckleberry, watch out! My DH retired, got a Civil Service job and was set up to continue on that path forever. Unfortunately, he got fiddle-foot after about a decade of that and started putting in for jobs all over the world. He said to me: The Adventure Continues! We have X number of years before we have to permanently retire - lets use them to see the rest of the world! He was gone 3 weeks after that conversation...
We moved from a 2 bed/2bath home that was an 44 yr old metal trailer filled with black mold. The house came with my partners job, but after taking pictures of sending them to the boss he finally got the hint that the house was making us sick. Now we live just up the street in a 11 yr old manufactured house. 4 bed/2bath. You would think now there is more room so we should be cluttered, that is until I realized that the other place had more drawers and storage space. This house has 3 drawers in it. First they tore down the two ugly metal sheds and we got one big one. It's got a sort of sun roof, a couple vents and windows; it's plastic but looks very nice. Over 1 1/2 years and I'm still trying to organize it. Since it is near the holidays we started with my craft/cat room. Michael's always has sales or those 40-50% off coupons so I went with Jetmax storage solutions instead of looking around for odds and ends at Target.
my goodness, Tau10, it looks like you made some good choices for organizing your office area. I have frequently bought things that seemed like they would be perfect for taking care of big messes. Then they turned out to be poor choices and didn't work for me. I hope you were smarter than I am. There is a tool on the Lowe's site, I think, for designing a closet. We used that at our old home and it worked well, then we sold the house. Maybe that should be a new thread. What kind of containers/systems work for organizing stuff?
Hello, Tau10! Your office looks very inviting. Good for you two to be out of the bad trailer and into a better one. May you prosper. : -)
I think it is a good idea to start a thread about organizing with or without products. I may have something to contribute, but I will have to think of it in my sleep (at 2am!).
I will be busy for a week to celebrate Thanksgiving. One thing I have to be thankful for this year that I didn't have last year, is this wonderful community of friends. You have helped me get a grip on my compulsive acquiring habits and my disorganization. I thank you all, from the bottom of my cluttered little heart.
Have the best Thanksgiving ever, everyone!
Wow, beautiful room Tau. I am in awe. I could have the very same set up as you show, but being a nicky nacky decor freak, I would have several boxes of things sitting around to look at, all the while complaining that I have a lot of things that look like clutter.
Huckleberry, what a nice thanksgiving sentiment regarding the help that you have received from the group. I love all of the Dave's sites that I go to. There a many, many good people here. We are glad that you are with us too.
Here is wishing everyone a good Thanksgivinig Day. Take care and be well all.
Ruby
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
Yikes! You and me both!, Ruby! That is exactly the problem that I am dealing with now. I am glad that you clarified that. I keep looking at Tau's craft/cat room picture and loving it and then I look up and around my office and gag... It is because it is cluttered up with nick-nacs and too much stuff on the walls and too busy window treatments. I need better organizational containers & systems and since I will be moving to another (!quieter!) apartment next month, I may have to buy some of whatever I can find here to do it. I hope that some♥ne with good ideas will start a new thread on great containers & systems...
Good news from the de-cluttering front. My father let me take nearly all of his shoes to Goodwill. He wears Crocs everywhere now and can't stand the idea of squeezing into his old 9EEEs.
I am going to get started on my own decluttering again. My consignment lady is sick of clothes. I have to go thru household stuff and find some consignable items.
Hope you all are doing well. Geraldine and Gava, hope you are getting your households and computers up and running.
Way to go Huckleberry. I have way more household items that need to go versus clothes. I am really sort of ashamed to say that even though I was boasting recently of being about 95% done with the two rooms I was working on de-cluttering, they are both in pretty bad disarray at the moment.
A couple of weeks ago I brought all of my Christmas decorations and some after Christmas sales items I bought last season down from attic to go through and donate extras to a group who was holding a yard sale. I was able to send off a couple ob boxoes of Christmas things to them, but that still left me with about ten large plastic bins of things. The bins have been sitting between the two rooms since that time.
Last weekend I was able to send away another fairly large box of finding from my "gifts" closet. My niece from out of town was in with her family and they will not be visiting during Christmas so I wrapped all of their things and sent home with them. This past year I have been buying when I see things on good sales and I had gathered more things than I remembered. I bought several things for her two children that I had forgotten about.
Anyway, we had a friend over yesterday and my husband mentioned some items that I have that he wanted me to show our guest. I couldn't get close enough to one of the closets where I believe the boxes are to see them. I had to tell him to come back maybe over the weekend after I had a chance to go through the closet and find the items. I don't like living this way. It is serving to show me what I DON'T want though. Not sure at the moment how I plan to store things when putting things back after the holidays, but know that current system isn't working so well.
Anyway, thought that I would fess up on my setback. I refuse to continue to live this way, so some things are definitely goiong out this door soon.
I hope that everyone is doing well and staying healthy.
Ruby, you have a partner in crime. My "clean" guestroom is full of stuff I have pulled out from other places. My greenhouse has never been messier. But I am making those itty-bitty baby steps. I have acquired some more clothes, but they are better than what I am shedding. I have the decorations out as well, but I am going to put some in a bag for the thrifts. Yes, my life is still a mess too, but I can see daylight WAY far ahead.
I'm making progress here, too! So far, I've been mostly sorting through stuff and throwing out junk. I need to do a "secondary sort-though" to find more items to give away or donate.
A huge carton of cylindrical coffee containers (I save them for shipping cookies and so forth, but you know I had waaaay more than I could possibly use) went home with a friend yesterday... her dad wanted them for sorting stuff in his workshop. She found a couple other things in the basement that she could use, also. Two corners of the basement are now clean (or at least tidied up and swept -- floor is visible!), and I'm making progress on breaking down some of the extra boxes along the wall between the corners (the cardboard will be used under mulch in the garden).
I'm also trying hard to "shop" in the guest room closet for Christmas gifts, and I think most of what is stored in there will go under a tree this year.
My fairly cluttered "style" of housekeeping worked fine when it was just the two of us living here (plus occasional kid visitors, who could generally be kept out of the corners LOL)... but we always said that's something that would have to change when we had kids, and now we have one! :-)
We did three times our "normal" clean this week (I'm fortunate to have a couple of gals come every 2 weeks to do the scrubbing)... during the extra day on Tuesday, we cleaned the carpets in many of the rooms (rent the carpet cleaner from Home Depot, it's amazing), and that forced me to continue the decluttering process last week in order to clear as much floor space as possible. The house is looking pretty good! And that's a good thing, because the family court person will be here in 2 hours for our home study visit.
Oh Ruby, I only WISH I had only 10 boxes of Christmas stuff. With my collection of 1450 Santas that I have and now starting to collect Angels & Stars and more greenery, I could open one of those year round Christmas shops! LOL Yes they are out of the way in the garage, but really, how many do I need? DH hates being involved in putting up, taking down or looking at any holiday decorations, so that much Christmas stuff would send him over the top. At 16 our DD has other interests, so it is pretty much me and I don't want the pets having a field day with decos. I did start going through some kitchen cabinets and have a bunch of crystal & glassware, etc to give away. Thing is, since May this year I have started seriously couponing and have learned to get fabulous deals. Now, I need to learn to stop as I am running out of room to put canned and packaged goods as well as toiletries (but honey, it was free). Funny, we prefer fresh to canned, but when that emergency comes, we are READY! The good thing is I have been able to donate lots of food and school supplies.
Well, it sounds horrible to say this, but I think that when we are so frustrated and sick of all our KRAP, then we are making progress. If we aren't sick of it, then we will continue to want to acquire more, to keep what we have, and to collect more in the future. If it were my stuff that was getting me down I wouldn't worry about selling it - I'd give it away. Garage sales are too much work for the money. I'd rather donate it to charity, get it out of my house, and take it off my taxes. You have way more paience than I do.
I have made some progress - being forced to declutter and stage my house for selling it - but I have to tell you that I still have a problem with "coveting". I fell in love with a home and knew it was more than I wanted to pay, but justified it saying that it would be easier to sell if we ever move again. I said those words, but I know that I really just coveted that big beautiful home. Then we found out it's in a high risk for flood zone.
My husband was very attached to it, too. Now we can move on and look at homes with smaller mortgages. By the way - WE SOLD OUR HOME! It was on the market for 3 weeks, one man looked at it, and bought it for full list price. What a blessing for all of us. Got to go work on the garage. There is a whole lot of cleaning stuff that the movers won't take and DH is putting them in a storage shed until we get a new house.
Whoopee, Gava! I'm so happy your house sold. I am interested in your move, the things you let go and the things you are storing. I will be very interested to learn what goes into your new place and what you decide you won't need after all.
Critter, you are doing a great job letting go of things. You seem to want to ensure the items get a good home. I know the feeling. I have 2 grocery sacks full of empty food containers I want to give to someone who will poke holes in the bottoms and start plants in them. Gotta start Freecycling. I think that is next.
Quilty, good for you for switching from collecting decorations to collecting food. I'm going to think about that. If I stay away from buying junk, I can save the cash for my favorite charity.
I haven't decluttered this week. Been trying to solve some photo mysteries. Taking a little break, i guess.
I'd have been happy to just throw out those containers (they're not recycling candidates), once I realized how many I'd squirreled away... but it's better to reuse stuff when possible, although I realize that attitude can lead to unnecessary hording LOL.
Gava, great news about your home sale! I'm looking forward to hearing where you'll go from here.
I'm sorting through Christmas stuff a bit as I unpack it, but Christmas stuff is challenging... so many fond memories... still, there are a few things that I think I can part with! There are also a lot of things I haven't put out for several years that I think we'll probably be using now, because I think we'll do more decorating with a little one around... this will be the first year in a while that we've even been home during Christmas.
I'm trying to resist the temptation to get more (and larger) outdoor decorations. Lights don't take up that much room, but the many large (unbreakable) silver balls I bought on clearance last year may not stay with us, no matter how cute they'd be on the mimosa tree. LOL
I like that question you asked, quiltygirl. "How many do I need?" I'm going to try to remember that. I'm finishing up my third semester of pottery class. So now I have lots of beautiful pieces. I had been saving the best ones for me - even that's more than I need. So I'll be giving more of them away for Christmas gifts. I gave away most of the mugs I made to the kids in my class at church. They were so thrilled to get them, and I was so thrilled to be rid of them.
I'm going to have to work on this over the next couple of days, as I bring home more dishes from the studio. Thanks for the good wishes, all. I'll keep you posted, especially if we move into a smaller house. YIKES!
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
I learned to not save stuff for eventual use by constantly reminding myself that someone else needs this !now! and there will always be more at the thrift store when I need them.
