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good to see you all doing so well, I've been able to get all the front yard cleaned and put all the empty pots in the back.
Juneybug, great job, it takes an awful lot of work to get ready to move, that is probably the hardest part of moving is packing up the old residence. I love moving into a new space because it is empty (for a while at least)..lol
Geraldine, I'm so happy you got your hallway clean. I can feel the joy way out here in Oregon!
I planted two trays of seeds. Kind of late for me. Something about the weather made me drag my feet this spring.
Last spring, I planted most of the seeds I had. I did it so I could start fresh this year.
I felt much more in control and organized. It was more fun buying seed in February. I didn't have the guilt of buying more seed when I had so much at home imprisoned in packages in the fridge. Baby steps.
Alrighty - I am finally back from dentist and grocery shopping. I got here over an hour ago, but have been running around straightening the things that I left undone earlier today. Things are acceptable looking now, so my reward is some computer time.
I will try posting again and hope that I don't lose it this time. Geraldine, it sounds as though you have been a busy little bee recently. I am really glad that you have the church garden to tend to. It sounds as though it is filling a void very nicely for you. I think it is great that you are willing and able to do it for them. Good going there Lady. I am very sorry to hear about the death of a friend of yours.
Huckleberry, I made a note to take some pictures of my laundry room to share with you sometime. I always enjoy looking at everything in there when I am folding laundry. You mentioned that you are not actively getting rid of any clutter, but you have made a decision to not bring any more clutter in for a while. I think that is a positive step too. At least things won't get worse.
I too have made a point to not go in to any Dollar Tree types of stores. I am just way too tempted to buy up a bunch of stuff, just because it is a dollar and a deal. It isn't really a deal if you never use the item. hahaha I can't seem to walk out of those stores for less than about forty dollars. During the holidays, I have been known to make several trips and spend in the hundred dollar range a few times. I love those stores, but haven't been to one in several months now.
Juney, I am with Gourd in saying "Job well done." It sounds like the system of working on the project every other day has worked really well for you. I will have to remember that the next time I am facing a large project.
I was late planting seeds indoors this year too Huckleberry. I finally got things set up to sow seeds about two weeks ago. I love going in there each day and checking on them. It is very thrilling for me to see when the first hint of green starts popping up through the soil.
I am swamped with seeds and have them set aside in order for me to come up with a better system for accessing them. I had them in a large plastic, lidded container but I am hoping to find something smaller to use for them. I might do what you did last year and just take some of them and strew around in empty spots. I truly love collecting seeds from my plants at the end of the season too. Much of seeds I have come from my yard.
Last year I was active in another group on Dave's and mailed all of the regulars, about 20 folks, several varities of things I had collected. I haven't done that this year because I am running so behind. If anyone has come up with good ideas for storing their seeds, I would like to hear about it.
I enjoyed reading everyone's posts. Thank you all for posting.
Oh boy, I'm finally back from the Dr's also.. got a couple of sonograms and bloodwork... so hopefully all is well.. my sugar glucose was 96, but my cholesterol was high 268, I better start exercising.. anybody got ideas on how to bring that down fast? Garlic pills? I 've heard that they can help. I went to that Life Line Screening that you can get done when they go to your city... Well today I didn't do much else, I just got home. So I need to drink lots of water, it is hotter than heck here today.
Wow Gourd - Sounds as though you had a very full day. I hate to admit that I even though I was told by doctor that I have high cholesterol, I never asked how high, nor do I know what the ranges are for normal. She gave me a couple of months to see if I could bring it down with diet and exercise and of course, I didn't do either, so ended up with a new pill added to my daily arsenal.
The oat companies are certainly touting the great successes that folks are having bringing their numbers down while eating their oat products. I am not sure how much is hype and how much is true, but if you like oatmeal and other oat cereals, it wouldn't be a bad idea to try and incorporate it in to your diet. As I type this, I realize that I should be taking my own advice. For the past three or so years, since turning fifty, my diet has been horrendous. I had so many things non diet related going on, that I got in to a habit of treating myself with gobs and gobs of sugar each evening.
I have watched the scale at doctor;s office creep up for the past couple of years and it is now at an uncomfortable number for me. I need to seriously begin thinking about making diet changes. It just seems that something always comes along to take my energies and I put things like dieting on the back burner.
At the moment, I am sitting here and the leg that has been bothering me for several weeks now is acting up. I just spent a bit over an hour outside doing some weeding and am paying for it. It has been very frustrating for me the past few weeks when I was either hurting too badly to get outside, or it was raining which also prevented me from doing anything. Today is a perfect day to catch up on some of the things waiting on me to plant or sow. I am not feeling so great at moment, bo am not sure if I will be able to do anything more today or not. I hope that after resting a bit, I can go back out and do a few more things.
Sorry to go off on a tangent. We were discussing you Gourd. I hope that all of your tests come back normal or good. I have received two of those offers to the Heart Healthy for Women series and haven't signed for either. My female doctor seems to be staying on top of things for me though.
It is very warm here today in Virginia, so I imagine it is quite unpleasant in New Mexico. Take care and stay cool.
Hi Ruby,
I think that cholesterol is inherited also, because, I don't eat a whole lot of meat nor a whole lot of fried food.. I do, however need to excercise more and move around. Winter is when I gain the weight too. It seems to just jump on during that time. My weight gain started at 50 also. I'll be 56 next month. (I had to figure out how old I was, darn if my memory is going too lol)
I do eat oatmeal all the time, but I don't excercise, that has got to be the key element for me. The other thing is that I have not found a doctor here since we moved, so I've got to do that, I hate to keep going to appointments, I used to have to take my mother and stepfather at least twice a week each and it left me burnt out.
I hope your leg feels better soon, and that you are able to get out there and the weeds are gone. My son said that the Military (his unit anyway) does work for the elderly and the needy. This past weekend they cleaned some yards and pulled weeds for a couple of elderly people in their area. You should check with them or other volunteers that do that type of work. Maybe they can clean your yard and give you a hand.
Okay, I've got to get out of here, it is so hot, and I've got to cover my seedlings outside before the sun bakes them.
Oh, I have had a slight weight problem all of my life actually. There were some years that I was actually able to get to what those height/weight charts call normal and that is where I would love to be again. Yes maam, exercise is the name of the game when it comes to losing weight at least. It has been some years back now, but I used to walk each morning and I had about 25 pounds just melt off.
When I turned fifty I had some new strange things begin to happen to my body. One thing that started and has progressed some is that I began developing Peripheral Neuropathy. The PN causes basically a lot of feet problems, especially with diabetics, which I am not. Anyway, also I began developing Scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine. So, at age 53 I drag my feet, and feel as though I am going to fall down all of the time and when I am walking, I am bent to one side and forward. Heck of a way to spend my next years. Better than the alternative though which is to not be here at all. LOL
So, it is very hard for me to walk any sort of distance, because I begin to ache all over. So, since my movement is limited, I am sure that if any weight will be taken off, it will be because of dieting. Oh, how I hate the word.
My husband is so good. When I told him about my weight gain, he said that I will lose it this summer when I am outside doing gardening types of things. I hope that he is correct. I just came back in from an hour or so of cleaning up some of the beds in the front yard. I have had a very productive day, garden wise today. I still have half of a fairly large bed that needs me to go through and pull weeds, but it will have to wait until another day.
I have several things waiting for me to plant and after May 16, when I will be attending a regional Plant Swap, and I will have lots and lots of things that will need to go in the ground.
The weekend is almost here. I hope that everyone has a good and productive one.
Ruby and Gourd,I am sending healthy thoughts your ways. I want to thank you both for being so supportive. This really is a wonderful place to discuss and listen to the problems we all seem to face and to share.
January of 2008 I turned 45 and decided it was time to lose the 25 pounds I had gained steadily over the past 10 years. I started eating a breakfast of old-fashioned oatmeal with cinnamon and a handful of my own raisins. At first I really missed my usual toast with butter and homemade jam, but I liked the way the oatmeal made me feel so I kept it up for the year. I also cut the sugar out of my morning coffee and I lost 15 pounds last year and have kept it off simply by changing my morning routine. I absolutely can not diet. I do not have the disipline, and I like not knowing what I am going to get to eat over the course of a week. Also, I bring my own sectioned "tupperware" container along when I eat out. It fits into a pretty purse and the waitstaff are very impressed with it when they catch a glimpse. I try to put some of my meal in the tray and then enjoy eating the rest and don't have to stuff myself. I know it has helped with the pounds. I still get my fattening restaurant food, but it is spaced out for two meals. With these good habits in place, I am supposed to lose the last 10 lbs., but so far I haven't budged. I plan to eat more salads (I have always loved salad) and get working on some very physically demanding projects (fencing- I loathe fencing! =^..^=) My de-cluttering project alone will result in TONS of weight lost. Just like Juney did!
I have placed one more sweater on the "out" pile.
OOH, what a great idea dividing your food before you start eating.. I think I'll adopt that. I do that with oatmeal, I make enough for two or three days, split it into plastic containers and eat one, save the rest. Then while I'm out side, the next day, I just heat up the oatmeal... I do add cinnamin, but wanted to share this little tidbit.. I don't know where I learned this, but, I've been using this for a couple of years.
The creamers that come in flavors Vanilla, etc.. the tiny ones for the coffee, they sell the boxes at sam's, well they don't have to be refrigerated and since I was always running into spoiled milk, I decided this way the way to go, my grandchildren do the same for the regular cereal. I use two of these for my oatmeal and add a little amount of water, sometimes I use three, or you can empty them into a glass and add the water to them. The creamers don't have any fat and are sugar free, yet they sweeten the oatmeal. Then sometimes I just add dried fruits (mostly crasins) cranapple/rasins mix) Those also sweeten the oatmeal. I don't do much sugar. My problem is the meat and cheeses I guess, or either it is in my genes.
I'm so sorry about your feet Ruby, Mine hurt too sometimes, I think it may be PADs.
Well, we are burning some of the weeds today, they burn outside and we hate to burn, but that is the only way we can get rid of this pampas grass.
You guys have a great weekend..
A.
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
Come to think about it, the decluttering WAS hard work and I did lose 15 pounds at the same time. Part of the weight loss was not eating rich foods like DH loves to cook. (pretty easy since he was half a world away...) I also made myself eat salad and found a way that I liked: I bought the "healthy" tortillas and the low calorie salad dressing and wrapped the salad. Sometimes I pulled out some meat that I have frozen in baggies and added that to make a meal of the salad. It worked great for the weight and for the convieience factor. It didn't help the lipid levels...my colesterol is "kept down" to near 200 with 60mg statins, but my bad colesterol and triglycerides are still high. Doc says to buy a treadmill and use it for an hour a day... I guess exercise is the "way to go" (yuck). When I move to Korea, I will be 5 blocks from a military fitness center and Hubby has said that he would like to start working out, I guess that we will use the treadmills there and try to get fit for the next half of our lives.
Best wishes to all.
June
When I wrote that my decluttering project will result in TONS of weight loss, I was referring to the weight of the stuff I plan to get rid of. Juney, it seems like you lost literally several tons of stuff. Didn't mean to infer you lost tons of weight off your own self! Happy to hear you lost 15 lbs!
Ruby, 2 years ago I would not have known what you were talking about when speaking of neuropathy. Since then a good friend developed it in her feet due to the aggressive chemotherapy against her breast cancer. It has been 2 years now and she still has it to a degree - she said it is like when your foot goes to sleep and you have that 'pins & needles' feeling when it is 'waking' up. Only it never fully wakes up and is more painful. A year ago my dad developed a neurapathy in his legs (at 80) and said it was like walking on pillows - feeling very uneven and sometimes falling. He LOVES to walk his 3 miles each morning and walk 18 holes at the golf course several times a week, but has had to limit that now. He went through treatment that involved a series of an IV serum made from 1000 different peoples blood. He had to do that a second time also and seems much better now. It cannot be cured, but slowed down considerably. I will pray for relief for you. You sound like LeeAnn and Daddy - plugging on in spite of pain!
Blessing, Lynda
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
I'll try for the third time, but my computer keeps losing the internet...I've tried this for 2 days.
I will brag about that 15 pounds for longer than I'll probably brag about the "Big DeCluttering" LOL! This has been a lot of work and Boy - O - Boy! has it paid off!!!!
I feel so good about the job that I have done and I like my house so much!
The packers for the stuff to go to Korea were here yesterday and the packers for storage were here today and they tell me that they will be done tomorrow early-afternoon! That is a full day faster than they had estimated back in December. Whoopee. I am so relieved! Now I'm hoping the place sells soon! It looks so much bigger that I have trouble believing that it is the same (crowded) house that I've been living in for the last 8 years.
The elephant has been eaten! it took from December till now, but I got - er- done! When you all get it done, then you can understand JUST how wonderful I feel from having accomplished all of this. It truly feels great and I loved my home so much with it's decluttered look. Now I just have to make sure that it never happens again...
Best wishes and I'm praying for you all.
Congratulations Juneybug! I'm so impressed that you got your house decluttered!
We moved here about 2 years ago from a larger house with lots more storage. I thought that I had gotten rid of large quantities of things. But we are still living in wall to wall KRAP!
I'm trying to tell myself to get right up from this computer and go do the dishes. My husband works out of town bunches and I get to do as I wish when he is gone. It is a major problem that I have too many hobbies. I have loved to sew since I was 14 (am 56 now) I started quilting about 10 years ago, and learned to throw pots on the wheel about 8 months ago. I have painted, done counted cross stitch, needlepoint, silk ribbon emproidery, hand-dyed fabric, and did a little bit of printmaking. I have WAY TOO MUCH stuff for doing fun things. Of course I love all my beautiful things. But this is beginning to get on my nerves!!! Maybe that's a good first step. And we are landscaping an empty yard.
I hate the piles of stuff; but always seem to sort and keep too much. After all, "I might use it again someday." And I paid "good money' for all this stuff.
Got to go clean the kitchen and attend a church board meeting. I think I will clean out the old bills drawer. Maybe we don't need to have a copy of every utility bill for the past 2 years.
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
Yep, that "I might use it again someday." And I paid "good money' for all this stuff really can hold you back. It took a lot for me to get past those thoughts.
I donated to a charity so I got receipts so that I could take it off of the taxes. That made me feel a little better. Others have sold it and set the money aside to do something special with. Keeping "your eyes on the goal" helps. I even got rid of all but ONE craft's stuff. (well, almost. I still have a jewelery box that is full of jewelry parts and some parts to a lamp that I will build one day...But I gave the rest of the "stuff" to the thrift store so that someone else can deal with the crowding mess and my favorite charity makes money off of it (and that makes me feel GOOD).
Some day I will have a "Crafting Cabin" (workshop) that will be full to the rafters with all kinds of tools and projects. Until I build that, I will not let myself get crowded and cluttered again. (I say that with more hope than conviction, LOL)
Mostly, I just tell myself that the "payback" for decluttering and downsizing is worth much more than the all of the stuff that I donated will ever be worth.
This has been the first major & hard to reach goal that I have ever reached ( or even set for myself) I am "on top of the world" and ready for the next challenge - learning to read and speak Korean. I've dabbled at it and still cannot make any sense of the writing. Now that I know that an elephant can be eaten, I know that I can do even this insurmountable looking thing. just start small and keep going. :-)
Juney- you go, girl! I am so happy to hear you still have the wind in your sails. I am happiest to know you have no regrets. I sometimes wish I still had something I have given away and it deflates me. I want so much to free myself from "needing" and "wanting" all these possesions. I am now trying to think of them as prisoners and I am their mean guard. The toys are not played with, the books are unread, the clothes unworn and going out of style and getting stinky. I am wasting time, space and energy keeping them hostage. Oh, the drama of it all!
Gavafriend, welcome to the clutter club. Maybe something you will share will give me the urge to purge. What you wrote sounds very familiar! =^..^=
Oh, this was fun and interesting reading. Thank you to everyone who posted.
What a great testimony to healthy eating that you shared Huckleberry. For a couple of years now, I have watched the scale rise and rise and I am at the point now that my clothes are fitting too snuggly and I am feeling badly about the extra weight. I need to start giving some serious thought to doing something to see if I can get some of it off before too long.
I am like you Huckle in terms of not being too successful with dieting. I like your system for just making a few adjustments to the diet and how that has benefitted your weight loss desire. In years past if I did ever begin following a restricted food intake, I always ended up a nervous wreck and an unsuccessful dieter. I have a real downfall with sugar and coffee too. I used to use Sweet and Low to sweeten coffee and then when I met John fifteen years ago and he puts in about a half cup of sugar to each cup of coffee, I just started on the sugar again.
I wish you much good luck with getting the last ten pounds off. I know that you can do it!!!
Gourd, you ladies and your talk of oatmeal is working to convince me that I need to begin incorporating it to my diet. I like oatmeal but just haven't eaten it very much as an adult. What is PAD, in regards to the feet?
Juney, it is really good having you post here. It has been very interesting to keep up with your major undertaking these past few months. Your excitement is contagious. I hope that you will continue to update us as things happen. What an exciting time for you.
Quilty, yesterday I went for a massage. The first in a long time it seems. Even t hough it was only a very short walk between my car and the Chiropractor's office, I had a heck of a time walking down that hallway. I felt exhausted before taking too many steps. I also felt very unbalanced too. I am not sure if sitting in car for thirty minutes or so had stiffened me up or what. Anyway...I was fitted several years ago for leg braces. I used them for about one month and then sat them in the back of my closet. I have pulled them out the past few months because I am becoming aware of not being able to walk as steadily or as far as I used to. I had kind of decided that I would just wear them when shopping at large stores or whenever I knew that I had more than a normal amount of walking to do. I believe that yesterday convinced me that I probably need to begin wearing them when going small distances too. They do really help, but I will need to adjust to wearing them again.
Gava, it is good to have you posting with us. It sounds like you and I have a lot of the same issues where getting rid of things is concerned. I am hoping that hanging around here where people discuss strategies for coping with the clutter, that something will eventually rub off on me and I can do a good job of getting rid of things too.
You mentioned that you moved from a larger space. I did too almost five years ago. Exactly half of the square footage that I had in other house. Things are really tight here, to say the least.
Much of my clutter is artsy-craftsy types of supplies. I may as well finally admit that I am never going to get around to having loads of time to sit around and play with it. I am sure that there are folks out there who would love to have the stuff. I have donated things in the past when a direct request was made. I subscribe to our local Freecycle group and have on a couple of occasions given arm loads of things to a couple of groups who were looking for crafting supplies. I still have loads of it though. LOL
Juney, once again I want to mention what an inspiration you are to me. I want to eventually begin to feel as though you must be feeling...happy, joyous and free. i will get there the same way that you did, by eating the big old elephant one bite at a time.
One goal that I have and would like to have done by at least Christmas time is to set up my spare bedroom as a bedroom again instead of it serving as a big closet. If I put a bed in there I will force myself to have less stuff in there. I haven't done too much in the planning stage or it. I guess that you would say it is in the idea stage for now. Hopefully I will find the time and have the attention that I will need in order for it to come to fruition.
With all of you ladies cheering me on, I will get it done!!!!!
Have a great day everyone. Virginia is having a very lovely day today. Temperatures are fabulous and it is really good to see the sun after so many days of gloomy rain.
Thanks for your encouragement, ruby. I spent the morning working in my work room. It's my sewing room that I share with my huband's computer. I spent two hours cleaning out the top drawer of the file cabinet and shredding documents. Then I moved the file cabinet out where I could use it easier. I thought there was a very cool stacked compartment thing with lots of dividers that could cut down on the paper clutter. Well, it just took up space on top of the desk, collected dust and junk and looked ugly.
I think that I've been seaching for the "magic tool" that will eliminate the junk, make me organized, and make me happy. My cousin showed me a beautiful vacuum cleaner that sucked the dust mites out of the bed pillows. She needed to do the dishes more than once a week. I think that those of us who are not visual learners tend to believe that there is just one magic tool that will fix out messes. So I will move the magic divider to the church office and see if it works there.
We all seem to have our pet excuses for keeping stuff. Maybe if I write all of my excuses down it could give me insight and I can tell myself the truth. How in the world does a person get their personal stash of projects down? I have those old excuses running around in my head and they keep playing over and over. If someone asked me for some of this fabric, I'd gladly give it away. Why do I keep it? When I'm dead my son will take all of my stuff to the dump or goodwill. My daughter in law never keeps anything extra. Maybe I'll send this stuff to my quilting sister. This could be such a nice little room where my husband and I sit together. I'm going to get up right now and start another pile of pretty fabric for one of my friend's daughter. And I'm going to fill a BIG box for her.
Congratulations Juney!!! Wow, what a burden off your shoulders. I have been quietly cheering for you with my evening mocha! Which is a nice segue into the following-
Ruby- I have lost about 10 pounds by changing one habit. Well, perhaps it is two, but they are related. My husband makes his 1 cup of coffee each morning. I have whatever tiny bit is left in the pot. It is usually about two two sips. I noticed that it really is the first gulp of coffee in the morning that I want. It tastes the best! Instead I make a cup of Red Zinger hot tea. I enjoy the whole cup. Then at night, after dinner, and only if I am NOT full - I make a cup of Interneational Coffee's Swiss Mocha. Decaf & Sugar Free, 30 calories. A cup of Mocha is not something I would have enjoyed before, but it is my favorite time of day now. If I am full I don't allow myself one. I find myself not having a second helping of anything just so I can have my treat! Also, around 2pm on a lot of days I have a handful of carrot sticks & a cup of mocha. I lost 10 pounds in 8 weeks.
Its odd because I have more of a salty snack desire than sweet. Not that I have ever passed by a Hersey Kiss without eating it! Somehow it is as if my temptations are changing.
Ruby - I too struggle with leg issues. I had an L4/L5 diskectomy & lamenectomy 2 years ago. I had that sickening pain & tingling. I fully understand the term "unnerving" now. I was fabulous until recently I have been struggling with my L5/S1 disk & the pain is on & off. Keep the faith. I don't know if the weight loss is making it better or it is just a coincidence, but that question alone is enough to make me lose more weight! Degenerative disk disease & stenosis are a pain!
Have a nice evening everyone. I am looking forward to my mocha already!
I find it very interesting that so many of us posting now have clutter in the craft department. Have we always been creative?
I am hooked on the process of acquiring the materials. I have always wanted to make a crazy quilt. I grab all kinds of corduroy and velveteen clothes at the rummage sales to add to the mountain of fabrics I will someday transform into this quilt. I can't get rid of them because it would mean giving up on my "dream" to turn all this trash into a real treasure. I can do it, but first I must convince myself I have enough material to work with. I am so addicted to the thrill of the hunt for material. This weekend is the big city-wide yard sale. I had talked myself into having a sale. I then made the mistake of reading the paper and seeing all the sales that will be occuring and I completely lost my discipline. Now, I think I will go, but I will try to hold myself to a promise; I will have to begin the crazy quilt. Once I have completed it, I must let go of the materials I didn't use. Sounds reasonable. Do reasonable people dream of making crazy quilts?
Dear Huckleberry,
Yes, reasonable people dream of crazy quilts! Or maybe it seems so reasonable to me because I'm crazy :0)
I have noticed that lots of us like to make beautiful crafts. Since I'm not a visual person it surprises me when something turns out well. Maybe that's why I do it - perhaps I've noticed a lack of beauty in my face/body and decor and try to make up for it with touches of beauty in things I make.
It's hard for me to fold and sort laundry. The jumble of stuff really confuses my brain. I scrape mirrors/fenders off cars because I can't judge distances. Visual learners simply cannot fathom why we don't see things as they do. I was shocked to see my mother in law put her salad from a salad bar on the plate in a pleasing arrangement. I always just dumped stuff on my plate. It never occurred to me to line up boxes and packages in my grocery cart and put things in neatly. I just dumped my groceries in the cart.
Some people think of wildly different ideas for the same material. My idea of creativity is to take the same idea and make it over and over - changing one aspect at a time. It takes me a long time to choose a color to paint a room. My mother's decorating taste is all in her mouth. I work really hard at being creative.
Once in a graduate class the professor asked us to take out a piece of paper and make a list of all the things you can do with "brick". I wrote my list as the teacher walked around and looked at them. I had about 20 items on my list and was very proud of being called upon to share my list with the class. It started like this: "Build a barbeque, build a wall, build a walk, build a fountain, build a home," etc. Then she called on another student. His list started with "Throw it, use it to build with, grind it up, etc." She said my list was a perfect example of convergent thinking - his was an example of divergent thinking. I never even thought of using it for anything except building. Which way would your list have gone?
I can walk past something out of place and never see it. It's hard for me to tell that there is a mess or to know how to fix it. My brain just does not see things or process things in the same way visual learners do. Choosing colors and prints for a quilt is the hardest part of making a quilt. I've learned to look at the colors in natural light, to audition them and to take a picture of them with my digital camera. The camera is a like having a second person/opinion for me. The camera allows me to see things closer to reality than the way my brain processes them.
Yesterday after I worked all day in my work room, rearranged the furniture and took out lots of trash and fabric I was very proud. So I brought in my camera to take pictures to send to my sister. When I looked at the pictures I realized that there is still a whole bunch of KRAP in this room. My quilting sister is very creative and her house is very cluttered. (More cluttered than mine.)
Maybe all this clutter is the fault of my brain. I just know that I have to get going and get it taken care of. I'm starting to write down the excuses that run the circles in my brain. Last night it was, "I can't get rid of this. My friend gave it to me and she will notice that it's missing."
I lived in Santa Barbara, CA for 8 years and still have friends who live there, so I keep up with what is going on. You may have seen the wildfire they had there a week ago. I was reading stories on the internet and there was a short parargraph interviewing a man. He has a company/organization called Vitamin Angels. He had just arrived home from an overseas trip shortly after his home had burned, so unlike those who had evacuated he had no opportunity to "pack up the important stuff". He had been doing work in Kenya. He said that while they will miss their home and what was in it, after seeing how so many lived on/with so little, the whole situation was put into perspective.
That is something I, along with most of us, need to keep in mind when we have difficulty purging our stuff. Since most of CA is in a fire zone, living with the threat is what we have to do. Last summer a friend in No. CA was evacuated for a week and when they came back they diligently went through all their files and photos in drawers and on the computer and put everything on CD's to put into safe deposit boxes at a bank. I told her "I have a Mac with desktop hard-drive, all I have to do is grab that and run out the door". She answered "that is providing you are home..." Oh dear, had not considered that. We had been packed to evacuate twice without actually needing to leave, but we should consider what to keep by what is the most important, maybe.
We've been using a service called "Carbonite" for off-site backup of files from our hard drive. Since it's possible to save photos, important papers, etc. now as digital files, it makes sense to back up that info at another location.
You are so right about how we live in this country. It's been in my head for a while that I live like a queen in comparison to most people outside of the US. So for the past several days I've been "sharing" with the local sheltered workshop, the women's shelter, and the Mennonite quilt makers over the past week. One of the lies in my head is that I'm validated and defined by my stuff. Keeping the truth in front of me helps a little. And this is really hard work - But it is something I'm determined to do.
My sister and I helped my mother for a couple of days. She thought she would move to an assisted living center. We sorted through just a couple of rooms in her home. It helped to take dozens of photos out of the frames and put them in a book. We also removed lots of stuff from several cabinets. It made me want to come home and clean my house with a "bobcat."
Isn't it funny how time changes our perspective so much. I've got pounds of paper ready for the recycling shelter, too. When I taught school I saved lots of information that I just knew would be crucial to someone's success in life. Later as a tutor for the local branch of the college I wrote some articles that I was certain that students couldn't survive without. Today the extra copies when in the recycling bin.
I'm making progress - but am definately not ready to stop. My husband thought the office/workroom looked nice. It feels better to me.
I heard about carbonite. You're right that it should be done. If there were a fire at my house I'd lose the stories my dad wrote, photos of my granddaughter, important papers, and lots of stuff. We got ready to evacuate from a grass fire once and I had my sewing machine and photos in the truck along with my dog. When we moved here the movers broke lots of crystal and pretty things. I'm so thankful for the start they gave me on the decluttering. :0) Thanks, ya'll. I'm inspired to get going again.
I shouldn't sound so virtouous... there are plenty of things we should scan and back up and haven't done yet. But having the service is a start, and at least we've got some stuff that's "safe" from events that nobody likes to consider.
I live in an extreme wildfire risk zone. We have towering Ponderosa pine, oak, manzanita and buckbrush all aroung us. Every late summer we have weeks when it is hard on the lungs and eyes to be outdoors due to the smoke. Part of my desire to de-clutter is to reduce my combustibles, be organized for an emergency, and be able to access the animal carriers, etc. that I would need in a fire emergency. The plan is to get the animals in the vehicle or down to the river if we can't leave by car. I have their supplies ready, but nothing for me and hubby. I don't plan to take any possessions, because I will be so busy running around trying to catch cats and chickens.
Strangely, I don't want to take anything. These clothes, books, etc., that I can't part with to give to charity, I will just allow to burn. Now I feel guilty, knowing my Crap will be fueling the fire. It is pure selfishness when I see it this way.
I didn't go crazy acquiring things at the big yardsales this weekend. I think posting about it helped me to get a grip. I bought mostly practical things. Canning jars, only two books. I needed the jars, the books were wants. Oh, well. I'm not yet virtuous like critterologist, but I'm trying (sort-of). =^..^=
Virtuous.. hah... all of you have started in on decluttering projects that I know I should at least be contemplating... I'm lurking here for inspiration!
Good for you, critterologist! I've been very inspired by these hard working folks! Sometimes recognizing the problem and starting is the hardest part. We all have to eat elephants one bite at a time.
We haven't even considered backing stuff up until now. I have an old copy of Sandra Felton's book, The Messies Manual, The Procrastinator's Guide to Good Housekeeping. I heard her on Dr. Dobson's program many years ago. It helped me a bunch at the time. But obviously I have not internalized everything in the book - cause i had a hard time finding the book! :0)
We painted a room over the weekend, reorganized it, and I've gotten rid of several boxes of paper from my house. Did you know that a house fire can burn as hot as the inside of a kiln that fires stoneware? And it can reach that temperature very quickly. We have a friend who was an arson investigator - he said it can get up to 2200 degrees in about 3 minutes. That would melt discs, computers, etc.
I'm going back to my "record destruction" project. When I agreed to be the chruch treasurer I inherited many boxes of old records. Some of them are permanent, but others only have to be saved for 6 years. I have some records that are 7, 8, and 9 years old. So they can be destroyed now. They have to be burned or shredded.
I think posting about this helps me examine my true motives and helps me get a grip, too, huckleberry. Thanks
Maybe I have written this before, but... My DH has an elderly aunt whose son is in maybe early 50's and for since before I met them 1y years ago he has been saving what looks like every newspaper printed. He has them stacked floor to ceiling on every sq ft of the living and dining room save for about a 2 ft path to doors. Talk about fir hazard! Had not been there for many years and was there recently and even though auntie says he is clearing the papers out, it looks the same. At 91 she still baby's her 'boys' (53 & 65). They do not help her one bit. I told DH I want to call their Fire Dept and report their house as a fire hazard, but he said then she would have no where to live (they do not live near us).
We have to consider beyond the wildfire zones, just how dangerous our own homes can be with our stuff.
huckleberry - For fires, yes, I have an emergency box with needs for small animals, dogs, cat, bunny of food, water, litter, treats. A couple times a year I rotate the food bags. I keep their leashes on hook of coat closet by door and am quite maniacal about them being returned to the hook. Outside of all the photos in boxes in coat closet, do not have anything packed for us humans. Duck tape and spray paint are for the goats and horses to put our phone #'s on their halters, horns or side of their body - we do not have a horse trailer and for those we could not lead out we would have to let them loose.
In San Diego one of our 4H kids had to leave a lot of their animals, mostly goats, as they could only fit just so many into the horse trailer with their horse and the truck was full of dogs they breed. Only one road from their house that is long & windy. They were blessed when the fire did not get to their house. This fire was in JANUARY not eve near fire season.
Yes, humans can be their own worst enemy. The first time I saw a home of a lady with OCD it was shocking! I think my son still remembers it and he was only 7 at the time. I realized immediately that she had a problem.
I'm thankful that we do not often have wildfires that are close enough to endanger our home, lives, animals, etc. I had a cousin who kept papers, etc in his home. I think one of his neighbors called the fire dept. and they made him clean it up. I think that's an extreme case - it doesn't look to me like my house is that bad. Of course your DH's aunt might not think her home is very bad either! :0)
I have 3 sisters. One of them is very clean - she never keeps anything extra she doesn't need; she does spring cleaning all year round and doesn't do any craft projects. One of my sisters is a mess - her house is nasty - and she blames her kids, grandkids, everyone else. My other sister is very talented - she quilts, paints tole, does ceramics, she does everything except clean her house and she saves lots of stuff. I'm kind of cleaner and neater than 2 of them, but not as neat as the cleanest lady.
A friend of mine only buys quilt kits. Do you have a fabric stash, quiltygirl? I think that quilt kits a good idea. When she wants to make a quilt she has all the fabric, she doesn't buy extra, and she gets one project done before starting another. I have BINS of fabric - I might use it someday. But my son will just give it away when I'm dead. I should give it away and deprive him of the fun of throwing it away or giving it all away. Wish I'd gotten this de-cluttering bug sooner.
My daughter's preschool teachers would love to have an empty bag & 15 minutes to take what they wanted from your craft rooms. They spend their own money on fun things for the kids to makeprojects with. For Mother's Day I got a box that was covered with scraps of tissue paper & wrapping paper. It is darling. She said she cleaned out her stash at home. It would be really cute with fabric scraps. You never know who's day you can make! Share the wealth!
Gava, it sounds as though you are making some good progress in the room that you are working on. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for the diet tips Teri. One of these days...
Huckleberry, what a keen observation regarding many of us having lots of craft supplies. For me, who has never spent very much time on doing artsy/craftsy types of things, I believe that I stocked up on supplies for that elusive day when I could sit down and zone out while doing a project. I say elusive because in the past five or so years, I can't even tell you of anything that I have done or made. I have lots of really great ideas, but somehow life took over and I haven't been able to find the time to just lounge.
I belong to Freecycle and have a couple of times taken craft types of items to either a mom who wanted things to work with her children on crafts, and I also donated a good supply to a local Mental Health and Retardation Service who needed supplies for their clients.
I also donated purse making supplies to a local Girl Scouts troup last year for them to use as one of their projects. It was going to be my own project, but when the Girl Scouts needed things, I finally donated and admitted that I wasn't going to get around to doing what I had planned.
It is good to see you posting Quilty. Fancy meeting you here Critter. Thank you so much for posting the link to Carbonite. It might be something that I should give some thought to.
I am really proud of you for passing by on some of the yard sale steals, Huckleberry. Way to go and keep it up. I finally reached a point where I just absolutely have to stay away from Dollar Stores, because I spend way too much and too much unneeded stuff whenever I enter their doors.
Critter, don't feel badly. I have been coming in here for a while, and even though I now have two clean and organized closets that I didn't have before, I still have a long, long way to go in terms of de-cluttering.
Again, very fun read. Thank you to everyone who shared.
I can't resist a good yard sale, but I missed several big local ones last Saturday because I'd far rather go to a plant swap! LOL I have at least become choosier about what comes home with me from yard sales and thrift shops. ;-)
Ruby, I actually came across this thread randomly (popped up on the "most recent post" list), but I'm glad I found you all here!
True confession - Yesterday when we dropped off a load of sharing stuff at the sheltered workshop store I passed their dumpster. I noticed they had a large piece of felt in the dumpster. I COVETED THAT PIECE OF FELT IN THE DUMPSTER!!! I am in corrigible.!!!!!!!! :0)
OK, I'm done with my list of things I could do with "brick".
You really got me thinking deep thoughts. Like how your "divergent" way of thinking honored the brick. You kept it whole and used it in constructive, "positive" ways. The "convergent" thinker deconstructed the brick and used it in ways that it wasn't necessarily made for. I guess I do both. I think it is called "scatterbrained" thinking.=^..^=
As I snap up the clothes at stuff-a-bag-for-a-dollar-or-two sales, I am rapidly thinking
'this one may be wearable, this one may be good for The Quilt, this one is good for a pet blanket, this one has nice buttons,etc. I get some king of a "high". It really is thrilling, like an Easter-egg hunt. I think it satisfies some hunter/gatherer instinct. When I pick vegetables in my garden, I try to get every single one that is ready. It's as if my life depended on it. If I discover something I missed and it is rotting, I am deeply disappointed with myself. We will starve this winter because I missed that one stringbean. I can't blame this on my upbringing. It is something in me that hunts, gathers and stores. I think it would be a fabulous trait if it weren't for the superabundance of stuff our culture has allowed me to shove in a bag for a dollar.
My siblings and I have passibly neat homes, but we all have our hidden storage jam-packed with stuff. Did anyone watch Sunday Morning on CBS this Sunday? Nancy Giles has a mess of a closet and a professional organizer to help her sort it out. Also they had a man who lived in his apartment with almost no possessions. He was in the Arts world and did not want any decorative fussing. It was accidental, but it had become his sanctuary. I sometimes think of clearing out one room to the bare necessities and experience what it would be like. How long could I keep it spare until the urge to clutter comes roaring in? Maybe I will try it and see.
Oh, yes, Huckleberry, I see myself in some of your motives, too. "I deplore waste - it's my responsibility to save things, because if I don't do it, nobody else will save those pages that have been written on only one side. That tiny bit of fabric can be used somewhere, I might find a use for that scrap". The enemy tells me those lies and more every time I get in to sort and clean.
Maybe recognizing the patterns of our thinking will help us to see problems coming and solve them before they become another 40 pound box of paper to sort. MAYBE - see? I'm still looking for the magic cure :0)
There is room for all kinds of thinkers; divergent thinkers make great artists, convergent thinkers make wonderful research and development scientists. And what a blessing to be able to think in lots of ways.
Wish I had known about some of this stuff when I was younger. My husband has always said that I would make a fabulous R & D biologist or chemist. I do my pottery that way. I make one pot, do it again changing one element, and soon there is a series. One of my classmates said he really didn't enjoy trying to remake a pot that didn't work.
Beautiful rare day in the Land of Enchantment - clouds with a slight chance of rain! VA
You folks really tickle me. So glad that everyone feels comfortable enough to admit to their "sins." I see myself in each and everyone of you. If you think that you have the "bug" badly, just wait a day or so and there will be others you hear from who do the same thing. LOL
Today is a day in which I am way, way off schedule. The only things besides sitting in this chair, glued to the screen that I have done is to wash a load of clothes. I still need to put them in the dryer. I have things really piled up in several places around the house that need my attention.
I was graced enough to attend the same Plant Swap as Critter and now have a large table full of plants that need homes here either in pots or the ground. I have been watering when needed, so they are not completely being ignored. I have at least a week's worth of mail to go through also. Sounds simple, but I shred and then compost plain paper, so it takes some doing to separate glossy prints and window envelopes.
At some point this afternoon I want to make a toss salad to have with the chicken that John will grill later on. That is a full day for me. Yesterday, I found a few minutes of extra energy and potted up some houseplant cuttings that John will take to our Farmer Market on Saturday.
My older son called earlier and wanted to know if I wanted to come over and visit with him, his wife and my two year old granddaughter this afternoon. When he calls back I will say not today, but maybe tomorrow. Hopefully that will work our for us.
My plan to put houseplants on screen porch has been delayed by a week or so. I can't tackle decluttering that room until they are out, but we had a really chilly night one night this week and I don't want to chance killing anything.
Anyway, just rambling here folk. Again, I enjoyed reading everyone's posts. Have a good day all.
Terichris, I wish that your child's preschool teacher could come with several bags and hours of time to help herself to my craft room. I cleaned tubs of fabric out, and gave away boxes of ribbon spools. I'd like to get rid of more.
I have found that most of my problems can be solved if I only 1) recognize the problem, 2) think of several solutions, 3) begin work 4) make adustments to plans. Frequently it's hard for me to recognize the problem. I keep on stepping over something instead of doing something about it. Or I clean the same things over and over until it occurs to me that there is a problem and it needs someone to solve it.
So today I decided to get rid enough stuff to be able to put the drawers full of sewing notions into the closet with the fabric. I'm going to take my own advice and take a photograph. Then I can remember what an ugly mess there used to be in my work room. Once I choose a plan it's much easier to get it done. If only there weren't all those people who want me to do other projects for them. :)
Gava, have you ever heard of "just say no?" LOL As women, we tend to be care givers and often times forget to add ourselves and our needs to the list of things to do. I am no where near where I need to be on this account, but have made a lot of progress over the years in learning to say no to some things that just don't fit in to my limited hours in the day.
Kind of like...if Momma ain't happy, ain't no body happy. We have to begin tending to our own needs and making sure that we are fit mentally and physically before we are much good to anyone else. This is really hard for some of us to master, but as they say, practice makes perfect.
Here is wishing everyone a very good holiday weekend. Enjoy yourselves.
ruby, I think I read an old post that you said something about you decorating your walls and home with things you love - they are the jewelry of your home. Well, it made me realize that I have a whole lot of stuff that I don't love. I have stuff that I've been GUILTED into keeping, displaying, owning. I hate that! I'm going to go through my rooms and take out stuff I don't like even if I like the person who gave it to me. I won't love my friend less if I take down the ugly teapot she gave me. I'm not required to keep stuff that I don't like. I will store them and tell people that I'm storing them to use them later.
What do the rest of you do when someone gives you something you don't like?
I say thank you & pass it on. Guilt free. Everyone has different tastes! Have you ever pondered over a gift. What to give someone, will they like it? etc. Guess what? Sometimes we are wrong.
I try to include gift recepits with everything. My book club likes to exchange things. One month we will bring purses. One month beauty products, lotions, shampoos, eye shadow. We purge what is no longer wanted or perhaps we never wanted it. Sometimes the nail polish isn't as pretty once it's on, but would look beautiful on your red headed friend.
We are all in the same boat. Be considerate of those who are ultra sensative. Also, when people ask what is on your birthday list by all means TELL THEM!!! Also, ask & be specific. Gift certificates are great.
Wow Teri, you have given some thought to this question. You have really great tips on what to do. I love the book club exchange idea. It would be a cute thing for some other groups to do as an amusement. Cool, cool.
Yes Gava, I do call some of my wall decor, wall jewelry. LOL Your idea to begin taking down things that don't give you any enjoyment is great. I am willing to bet that you will like the looks of things a lot better.
I like your idea to tell any gift giver that you are storing an item for future use. I would NOT bring up the topic, and would only mention it if asked first.
Here is wishing everyone a good day. Have a good one all.
Ruby-
When our book club did beauty products you should have seen the boxes & bags people carried in. I have a friend who gives me perfume as a gift every time she visits. I wear only very light clean scents. After 8 years she has never given me one I could use. This is expensive stuff. It is a horrible waste of money for her that she can not afford. She has been in my bathroom & has seen the one bottle I wear on the vanity, yet she continues to give it to me. The women at book club loved it! There were bottles of eye cream, bubble bath, hair gel. Tons of lipstick that was used once. We each went home with $100 in products. It was like a shopping spree.
Another time we did kids books. It was like Christmas!!! Kitchen gadgets, cook books. It is fun & we get new items that we couldn't afford otherwise.
My mother asked what I wanted for my birthday. I asked for a case (12 bars) of Burt's Bees Peppermint Shower soap. Boring, but I love it. It brings me joy every day. Clean & refreshing. A simple pleasure, but still a pleasure.
I really do flat out ask someone what they want and then try to somehow personalize it a little bit also. I always explain that I am not a creative gift giver & need to be steered in the right direction. Or perhaps I am just still in shock from the boyfriend who once gave me a dry cleaning gift certificate & a bottle of scotch for my birthday!!!
Good to read all the latest !
My hall still has boxes of spring and summer clothes to unpack !!
I have it on my calendar to clean out my closet, get rid of all I did not wear this winter and put in summer clothes !
Wish me luck !!
So good to read of others with same 'clutter' problems. My sis has a very neat home!! Makes me feel guilty...but I guess she got all the neat genes.
Teri and Geraldine - You both put smiles on my face as I read your posts. The exchange sounds like loads of fun, Teri. I am one who has spent loads of money on makeup types of things, and never even opened a lot of the things. I wore makeup all of my life up until the last ten or so years. I believe that most everyone is now used to seeing me without, so if I ever started wearing it again, I would probably freak them out.
The story of your girl friend continuing to give you unused perfumes is cute. Poor lady, doesn't have a clue. I dont' feel too badly about spending extra money on things if I can donate them to someone who will use and appreciate them. Many of my clutter problems are due to me not thinking that anyone else would love my item as much as I do, so silly me holds on to it and junks up my iving space.
Geraldine, you still have plenty of time to change wardrobes. I haven't tackled that task either for the year. So, instead of donning shorts and cami to go out and garden, I have so far been wearing my shorty gowns that I sleep in. That is something to say about living in the country versus the city. Clothes optional.
Thank you both for your continued activity on this thread. Take care and have a wonderful day.
Ruby - Someone else who gardens in nighties! They are useless for sleeping, but since no one else is up and around at 5:30 when I have been know to pull weeds and water, why get dressed?
Gava-Yes, I do have quite a stash and when not using it, just enjoy opening the drawers and looking at it and stroking. It is all arranged by color and pattern style (Christmas, 'construction', patriotic, etc) Could not tell if you do still have extra fabric or not. A good place to give that to would be a church quilting ministry. A big, national, group is Prayers & Squares International (http://www.prayerquilt.org/).
Teri- I love the book club exchange idea!
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
The thrift store that I donate to has a shelter for women and children that it's profits and some donations go to. I asked them what I could do with all of the slightly used makeup and they said that the women of the shelter needed it and would love any old office clothes that I could part with too. I had thought for sure that they wouldn't want any of this stuff since it had been opened and used, but they seemed pretty excited that I'd gotten allergic to it and needed to get rid of it all...
Years ago some friends and I went to a swap meet to sell our stuff. Not the kind we generally have around here now which is new stuff, but the old style swap meet that was like a garage sale. Anyway, the day before one of the gals was making all these cute crafts to sell and my old, half used bottles of nail polish sold long before her crafts! Too funny. One man was buying some and when asked why, he told me he uses it on the ends of ropes and twine to keep it from fraying. So, you never know. That is a great use for barely used makeup. I would like to donate more things that could be directly used rather than sold.
I've been reading lots of articles on how to de-clutter; maybe that's part of the problem. I'd rather read than do almost anything else. Anyway - this is a really cool site.
Hi gavafriend, I did get some great ideas and much encouragement from this site.
I took out a pr. of sneakers in donation bag...may put them back...at least I stay out of the stores more now!!
Great to hear others with the same problems and can laugh at them...
Just prowling around the DG forums and there is Critter and Ruby, you two go everywhere. LOL Just came by to lurk and get a few helpful hints myself.
I have a lot more clutter than I want. I try to keep the living area pretty free of clutter but the back rooms are just full of it. Right now my laundry room and mud room are in renovation so one of my downstairs bedrooms is nothing but items that have come out of that space. I too, have tons of craft items that I know will never be used. But I did drag something out the other week that had been sitting on one of my shelves unfinished for years. Guess I just needed the right inspiration to finish it.
There is a community yard sale where my son lives and I was thinking of taking some of my stuff to his house and setting up a table. But I have no idea what price to set on anything. Plus I would have to take the time to dig everything out and pack it up. Well we will see how that goes.
Ladies, I would like to introduce Holly to you. I was fortunate enough to be a guest at Holly's home two weekends ago. Don't let her fool you. This woman is highly talented and fits right in with all of the other very giving Dave's members that I have met. I met both she and Critter three summers ago at a Plant Swap that was organized by members of The Mid Atlantic Gardeners group. What fun they always are. I can give you the official heads up on Criiter too. Both women are above average in all they do.
I was the very lucky recipient of Holly's latest crafts endeavor. I came home from her house as the happy owner of a ceramic flower pot with two elephants and loads of jungle foliage on it. Beautiful!!!!!! and I love it and will always treasure it. Thank you so very much for thinking of me Holly. It is potted with two small Elephant Ear plants that I got from another Dave's gardener at the swap. Really, pretty. I will try to take a picture of it soon and share with everyone.
Juney, it is good to see you posting here. I haven't heard much from you lately. Have you moved yet? To newcomers, we have been the cheering section for several months as Juney declutters and packs up for a major move, to Korea, I believe. Set me straight if that is wrong Juney.
Thank you for the link to the clutter website Gava. I saved it to look at later on. Hello to Geraldine, Quilty and others who may be reading. I hope that everyone will have an especially good weekend. Take good care all.
I'm decluttering, at least a little, this weekend! We just finished up a painting project (living room & dining room), and in the process a lot of stuff had to be moved out of the rooms. As we move it back in, I'm trying to do some sorting and organizing. I have a lot of "treasures" in those rooms that I don't want to get rid of, but I'm going to try to display fewer things and rotate them for a less busy look. I should probably rotate some of the pictures, too, but so far they're all going back up!
I'm also finding some things that are not treasures, LOL, and they're going into a donation box. If I haven't etched or painted that bunch of garage sale wine glasses by now, it's probably not going to happen! LOL
Yeah, that means that you will be posting those pics we have all been waiting for. LOL
That is some of what I have been doing. It started last fall with Josh buying that house and as we dug out his stuff and moved it, I cleaned, sorted and organized my stuff. When the washer died we had to move a lot of stuff to get it out so I moved everything into that empty downstairs bedroom and am still waiting for the laundry room to be completely finished. Then I will clean, sort and organize everything as it goes back in. The cabinets in the laundry room were hung and I painted them so I did move some things back in to those. The shelves back there will probably be the last thing done. Maybe with the rain they are calling for next week I can get Ric moving on it again. He is really dragging his feet on this project. I really didn't mind that much last winter as we honestly didn't do that much laundry. I would take a load down to Josh's when I went there to do something or my Mom's and even got a few loads done while babysitting the Grands at my daughters. But now that summer has come it's an entirely different matter. I'm out in the yard getting dirty and with the pool open I have tons of towels to do. Gotta get my washer in soon...
Hello All! I went to Idaho for the week. Lots of windmills being installed and operating in OR and WA. It makes me happy to feel that we really are looking to the future as a nation. Clean and Clutter-free. Well, the windmills are clutter, hopefully the energy will be clean.
Have been spending my spare time planting, mulching and watering the seedlings.
My attitude regarding my possesions is slowly changing. I am a bit more able to admit I won't likely get around to turning most of my trash into treasure. I am mentally shifting items from the "keep" to the "go" piles. The plan is to have a yard sale, then give away what doesn't sell.
I picked up a book in the free box at the library about discovering what colors are becoming to me in clothing. I have been watching a few of the clothing makeover shows on TV. I will try things on and attempt to weed the piles of clothing down. The big thing for me is hanging on to clothes that do not fit. Now, if it is an unflattering style and/or color, I should have no qualms tossing it on the "out" pile. Also, I will only aquire things for myself.
On my trip to ID, a gas station attendant liked my necklace. I pulled it over my head and handed it to her. A niece complemented my bracelet so I took it off and handed it to her. I told her if she tires of it to pass it on. It felt wonderful.
Hope you are all getting out of your dirty and cluttered homes to enjoy the weather. Or you are basking in your clean and clutter-free ones.
Oh, huckleberry, what a delightful way to give stuff away. I'm going to start sharing quilting books, fabric, etc. with people. I've never worn much jewelry, but have given away a homemade quilted vest your way. Thanks for reminding me. I'm thinking of taking some of the pottery I've made to the farmers' market this summer. Last summer I gave away basil by the trash bag full to neighbors - maybe this summer I can sell a little bit of it along with a few pots, bowls and mugs.
Pottery makes nice gifts - but everyone in my family has scads of it now.
My son who never keeps anything un-essential asked me for a set of mixing bowls. I'm willing to keep trying to make them, but that will be his graduation gift from medical school. He's right about not keeping stuff you don't need. Now I see that - it was pretty hurtful at first. When the first grandchild was born I made 3 quilts; the DIL said that's enough for 3 grandbabies. Okay- I understand now. I'll make quilts for others who like them. I haven't bought fabric for almost 2 years.
Hope you have a lovely weekend. The dahlias are starting to bloom, tomatoes are growing. Does it get any better than that?
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
I am now living out of a suitcase and sleeping on an airmattress "camping out" in the house as I await a buyer. I whittled down the most of the clutter and ended up sending 12,000 pounds to storeage. We only shipped the guest BR furniture and the kitchen to Korea as the landlord furnished everything else (including high speed internet!). I would have been able to get rid of a lot more, but DH... Oh well, he will learn to live the clutterfree life, he says that he likes it.
Huckelberry, That is a great way to go through the closet!
So busy outside that I don't spend as much time on the computer.
TTYL
June
It will be interesting to see what I'll do if anyone ever compliments me on my pants, ha ha!
JuneyBug, you brought me happy memories of sleeping on a camping pad in a sleeping bag while hubbers and I made a room for ourselves. I wish you the best for your new adventure. Please stay clutter-free!
Gavafriend, I feel your hurt in wanting to do so much to help the kids that you go overboard and they have to hold you back. I'm sure you could find someone happy to receive your extra handmade gifts. But I know the disappointment hurts. Every T-shirt I convert into a small animal pad may be thrown out at the shelter by someone who thinks it is a rag. I hope at least a few of them are snuggled on. They do make great rags though. =^..^=
Nice luck with the internet Juney! You will keep in touch we hope! I will hopefully be at Lake of the Ozarks this summer. My parents live in Excelsior Springs where I went to high school. I have been trying to meet a girlfriend at the lake for two years. Re-live our college days I guess!
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
Critter, much of my clutter is supplies for crafts too. I understand your thinking about your etched glasses. I have gobs of crafts supplies and not a whole lot of motivation. LOL I need to accept that I will never likely do all the things that I once planned to do. I stay way to busy to add anything much else to my plate.
Holly, I too am anxiously awaiting the last little birdie to leave the nest. I am thinking the time is coming soon to kick him out of the nest, actually. If he leaves and takes most of his belongings, it will certainly open up some more space for me.
Huckleberry, you are one in a million, lady. I love what you did on your tripi with your jewelry. It does feel good to share things.
I hope that you will have good luck at the Farmer's Market Gava. My hubby has been taking some plants to our local one for the past few Saturdays. He isn't going to get rich, but every dollar helps.
I hope that your house will sell soon for you June. Nothing like camping out under a roof. hahaha
It is good to see you too Teri. You've got my curiosity up now and I am going to research Excelsior Springs. Sounds like fun already.
Take care everyone and happy gardening and de-cluttering.
Ruby, LOL Even if he goes don't count on most of his things going with him. Josh has been living in and out of my house for the last 10 years. For several years he would go out to Vail Co and work winters at the ski resorts and then come home for the summers work construction and stay here. He shared several different houses with different friends, came home when a knee injury required surgery and when his last housemates moved to NJ. Thought it all in and out the one constant was his stuff. Most of it stayed. He would take his clothes (not necessarily all of them) and sometimes even his bedroom furniture but that was all. I'll tell you he has tons of stuff. Right now he has 5 boats, 2 kayaks and a wind-board. Two golf carts and a 4 wheeler. Then there is hunting gear, guns and archery, golf clubs, ski equipment, and more tools than many construction companies own. He bought a 5 bedroom house with a basement two walk in attics and a garage last fall. A couple of months ago when I made him move more stuff out of the garage (and it isn't all gone yet) he tried telling me he wasn't ready. His garage wasn't cleaned up and ready for more things. I told him I didn't care where he put it but it was coming to his house. LOL
Oh and we have barely touched his stuff stored in the barn.
Oh Maaaaaaannnnnnnnn...You did have to tell me that, didn't you? LOL Thankfully Tucker hasn't accumulated that much stuff yet, but he too is working on it. He bought a four wheeler last week and when he got ready to transport it Sunday afternoon he had to keep interupting John to borrow things. John finally told him that he couldn't park the ATV here, so I think he is now parking it at a second cousins house which is nearby.
He and a guy who is going to move in with him are hopefully going later today to see a house that they know of which is for rent. I know that you have experienced the hint of glee that I am having pop up every now and then when I think of him getting out on his own finally. This Mama Bird has finally come to the point that having Baby Bird leave the nest is exciting for her. I hope that things work out for them so that I can finally have space for my houseplants when they come back in next fall.
Tucker is younger than Josh just give him time. LOL Yes getting baby birds out of the nest is fun. When Ric and I met I already had 3 small children so we had never lived alone and where very much looking forward to it. Actually it wasn't just Josh using the revolving door for the last 10 years. My oldest had graduated from HS got a job and apartment and stayed out for 7 years or more. Then they started building a house, they were sharing a large free apt with her sister in law who was also saving for a house. Then partway thru the construction the place they were living got sold and they all had to move. My DD and her DH came here thinking it would only be for a couple of months but you know how it is building a house from scratch. Winter came work shut down and a year later they moved in. Much the same with my youngest, They bought an old mobile home in a park to live in while they got their land ready. It needed well, septic, driveway (had to dynamite the driveway) Part way thru the process the mobile home park was sold and all the houses had to move out. They moved theirs to their property but couldn't live in it. Yep they were here for about a year with my baby GS. My other daughter was in college and had decided to move up to her fathers place as it was closer to school. When he died unexpectedly she came back and stayed until she graduated and for about a year after that while she was substitute teaching. Then she took a permanent job and got her own apartment. I had all of them moving in and moving out with Josh coming and going in between. I was just thinking that this is a little off topic but I guess there is all kinds of clutter. I will say though we are a close and happy family. LOL
Thank you so much for sharing the story of the baby birds Holly. My goodness. No wonder you and Ric leave home every chance you get. haha That is a lot of moving in and out isn't it. Ben, my older son has been back to live with me on two occasions since he finished high school. He is now buying a home, so hopefully he won't be coming back.
I was thinking earlier how great it will be to actually have extra space in the house versus not an inch clear. I already shared with you in a dmail my plans for one of the bedrooms, but will post here again. I am hoping to at least remove a window and replace it with a sliding glass door in order to have more space for my houseplants when they come back inside this fall. That will make me so happy.
I am not going to tackle the clutter in the bedroom where the houseplants spent the winter until I am sure if Tucker is moving out or not. It has rained the past few days here and I haven't been outside to do any sort of gardening, so am looking forward to being able to spend some time taking care of a few things before I get too involved in anything else.
Today looks as though it is going to be a beautiful day. A nice breeze is blowing this morning and I have the back door open and am enjoying it. I will wait for things to dry a bit more before I head out to check on things.
I hope that anyone reading here will have a good weekend and will lots accomplished.
Oh, my goodness. I went to see my favorite sister for a couple of days. She has always worked hard to make her home beautiful and clean. It's very tastefully decorated and elegant. But it was very CLUTTERED! I feel bad because I gave her lots of pretty things that are part of the clutter. (And when I saw them in her home I had no desire to bring them back to my home.) I love her so much - and she is so very talented. She frequently wins blue ribbons on the craft projects she makes, but "bless her heart", she can't even use the bed in one room for the stuff on it. I guess that the thing I learned from last week is that we each one have to "want" to do something about the clutter before we can begin to "do" something about it. I see now that she and I have different goals.
When I told my DH that I wanted to clear the kitchen counters off as much as possible, he said, "Why do that? You have plenty of room to work in there." I'm trying to make a new 21-day habit of cleaning the kitchen up completely after each meal. I'm starting my streak again from scratch, because I left the mess before we went to church this morning. My house is a little bit better. There are no papers or stacks of papers on this desk right now.
This process goes on in fits and starts. It's not a smooth climb. I still have closets to de-clutter after my DIL comes next week. (I'll wait until she leaves - it's too embarrasing for her to see all of my junk.) :0) Hope she won't open Fibber McGee's closets.
Have a great weekend. Hope you house sells very soon, Juneybug.
Juneybug, I have a few counter top spots that clutter collects but never on my dining room table. Ruby mentioned my house I have a great room with a lot of glass. It is a living/dining area and the kitchen is at the one end with just an open counter separating it from the rest of the living space. Ric's stuff ends up on one side of that counter and I have an antique kitchen saver sitting in the dining area that also gets paper clutter, mail and magazines. When you walk thru my front door you come into the dining area and I just can't stand things sitting on my table. It is the one place that nothing is let to sit. It's the first area that greets me when I enter my home. I would say that in my house one of the biggest spots for clutter is the stairs to the second floor. I bring things down and then set them on the steps to go back up. I always seem to bring more down than ever goes back up. LOL
Gava, I understand what you mean with taking fits and starts with things. It seems that over the past so many years that I have almost always had a clutter catching room. I have been officially tired of it for some time now, but haven't yet been able to arrange and have it stay arranged for any length of time.
I know of one thing that has contributed to the clutter, and have taken steps to stop the action that seems to have been my down fall each time before things become messy. Confession time. I am addicted to Dollar Tree Stores. Yes, indeed they have fantastic prices on things and on occasions I am able to buy cleaning type supplies and have a stock of them until next trip.
I haven't made a trip to one of them for several months now though. I know that my tendency is to go a bit overboard and buy things that I will never use. I don't believe that I have ever walked in to one of the places and come out without paying in the forty plus dollar range. During Christmas Holidays I have been known to buy two buggies full and spend up in the hundreds. No sense in that folks. So...the only thing that I know to do is to just not go to them.
As for all of the things that I have bought there or at other places when the deals are so great, I have big plastic bins full of little gifts that I can pull out when people visit, or I need a little something to take with me somewhere. For several years now I have been a recreational shopper, but the old bank account is shrinking faster than I like it to.
I look around the house and see that most of decorations are things that have been sitting pretty much in the same places for almost five years. Other little things are packed away and are not being enjoyed.
I am now waiting to see if son will be leaving before I tackle anything clutter wise. It will be so nice to have some added space.
I realized that most of this is the same thing that I typed several times before. Don't mean to bore you all, but evidently I need to get these thoughts settled in my mind and writing them helps to do that.
I hope that everyone has had a good weekend. I can't decide if I want to try and be productive with the afternoon, or whether I just want to lounge around for most of it. Lounging sounds the best actually.
You all take good care.
Ruby
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
If it wasn't for writing it here...I don't know that I would have gotten nearly as much done. I think that I learned more about what I needed to do and how I needed to change my thinking by writing it down.
Yes! The Dollar Tree Stores are dangerous places for us! Stay away! If you can't make a list and stick to it, don't go into those stores! I think at least one full van load of my "stuff" that I hauled out of here was Dollar Tree purchases.
It has been a bit surreal these last 4 weeks. I have been camping out in my house on an air bed, using the suitcase as my dresser, shoe rack & medicine chest, with my only other furniture being a stool, the TV stand, and the computer is on an old typing table. Living like this, and knowing that if it doesn't fit in the suitcase, it will be donated when I sell the house, makes for eyeopening shopping trips. I sure am an inpulse shopper! Of course, I haven't actually bought anything since I shipped all of my stuff out, but I had the impulse several times. So many pretty things! All placed in such eyecatching spots in the stores! DH had always run all of the errands and simply loves grocery shopping so I haven't been in the stores much for the last 15 years until he left for Korea in Dec. Now I know why he couldn't resist buying all of the stuff. LOL So funny to me to see that I could have been just as bad as him if I had been doing the domestic duties that he was doing!
Hope the weekend went well for you all.
June
June and Ruby - here is my confession - I'm a shopaholic in thrift stores and "Tuesday Morning". I love a bargain. They have wonderful things in thrift stores/sheltered workshops. And my money goes for a good cause. And it doesn't cost as much as shopping retail. I have spent way too much time and money in them.
My sister is the manager of Tuesday Morning - you know that they have everything you want and nothing you need. So yes, I have hauled large quantities of stuff out of my home from those stores, and Walmart, too. Fabric stores have to be off limits for me as I have more fabric than I can possibly sew up right now.
Now, I find myself asking if I really need that stuff when I go in. Usually the answer is "NO!" It does help to stay out of the stores and avoid looking at stuff that's irresistable to me. My mom is a recreational shopper, too. She has quite a stash of food in her home. 2 big freezers and 2 refrigerators for one person. Plus, she has canned goods and staples in large enough quantities to feed a family for a year. And she's not even Mormon! :0)
It's easier to get our spaces cleaned up, and de-cluttered if we recognize the places that are dangerous for us. (I've found that I spend less money on stuff I don't need if I spend lots of hours in the studio working on pottery.) And getting rid of stuff often kills my urge to buy more KRAP! We are making progress, even if it's only a little bit at a time.
Well, daggone it!!! I just lost some of the insights that I have had over the years that I wanted to share with you all. Poof, hit a wrong button and all of a person's message are gone. I wish there were some trick to prevent this happending so often on this website. Anyway...I will save it for another day.
I did want to comment to June that I completely understand what you are talking about when mentioning writing things out serving as a good tool to use when facing any sort of project. I too have learned that I will often times come up with the answer to whatever is on my mind, if only I will quiet myself long enough to be able to listen to what all is going on in my mind.
You have done great work June and I am glad to hear that you recieved a lot of help by having this thread to come to and share. I always enjoy reading about your progress and insights you have had along the way. I hope that you will continue to stop in and give us updates.
Thank you for sharing your confession on your Dollar Tree purchases too. What did you end up doing with the van of purchases? I have two large bins of goodies inside the house and if I were to pack up the many, many more things that are in the shed, I would be in close following in terms of the van load of things you had.
Gava, I too have dealt with thrift store "itis." I had typed a fairly long message regarding the many years that my main activity was attending estate auctions and visiting thrift stores. I was so in to it at one time that I worked for a thrift store and exchanged work for items in the store. Having an auction house within a mile of my house didn't help matters either. The combination of working the store and attending the auction left me having two spare bedrooms that were basically big storage areas. Ridiculous.
It must have been about five years ago now that the auctions and thrift stores lost their appeal for me and I can pass either by very easily. While writing the previously lost message, I was about to share that I know when and why clutter became a problem for me. It has to do with a great loss taking place during this time and how I handled my grief with shopping these places. The only thing is that the grief situation worked itself out and I am now stuck with a shed fully and bedroom full of impulse buys.
I am hoping that by coming to this thread and sharing and hearing from others, that I will eventually come upon a way to rid myself of the things that meant so much to me at one time. Oh yeah, just remembered that in the past ten or so years, John and I have been recipients of two household estates full of our parents belongings which too are hard to part with. So...we are swamped as far as clutter goes.
I want to thank everyone who is continuing to post here with their concerns. Hopefully we will draw strength from each other as we do the de-cluttering dance. All of you guys are great and I feel as though I am in really good company.
I hope that everyone will have a good and productive day. Take care sweet friends.
Ruby
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
My van full of Dollar Tree items were all bought $15 - $30 at a time when we would go in for 1 or 2 things and see so many others that we just had to have. It was a shock to see that I had sooo many knicknacks stuffed into my cupboards and closets. They sold real fast at the Thrift store that I donate to. I dropped that van load off on Sat., and Tuesday when I dropped another load off, they were almost all gone!
Ruby, I understand the problem of inheiriting a house full of stuff. My mother gave us a set of twin beds about 10 years ago. They are almost brand new. 3 or 4 times a year we have company to sleep on them. My DIL is here now. They are too hard for her to sleep on comfortably. We are storing the twin beds in the garage in the back of the truck for now. (She is sleeping on the airbed now.) I have a queen size airbed - why should I bring those things back in the house? My main reason for keeping them this long was GUILT. I didn't want my mom to be without a bed if she comes again.
I'm going to call the Boys' Ranch and ask them to come get the beds. My mom will probably never be able to come to my home again. I already gave away some of the dishes she gave me that I don't need and didn't want. Then that guest room will be a lovely sun room where my spouse and I can snooze in the winter sun. And when company comes I can get the airbed out and they can sleep on it.
Don't take that guilt trip, folks. Take a trip to the beach or ice cream shop instead. Somebody else can be blessed by our choices to de-clutter.
Gavafriend, I have twin bed issues, too. LOL I have a bedroom set that was my parents when they first got married. It became mine when I was a child and then it became my daughter Julies and now it is in the room that my daughter Jen use to have. It's an interesting set but very dark wood. Jen took her bedroom set a pretty white dresser and white iron daybed when she first moved out. She no longer needs it and has sent it back to my house. I would much rather put her old furniture back into that room but then where do I put the other bedroom set and Ric is using that dresser for his clothes and likes to take naps on that bed. Jen's white dresser has gone upstairs to the craft room where it is working out very nicely holding fabric and other craft items for the time being. The extra bed is just sitting in an empty bedroom that is being used as storage while we work on a remodeling project. Once the remodeling project is done all that extra stuff will come out of that room and I will have to find something else to do with one of those beds. I have a feeling that the white iron bed will probably go
Ruby, is there a site on DG's for help in financial questions?
Especially for retiree's?
I know you know the sites on DG's and hope there is one to go to...
Thanks
Your friend, Geraldine
Thank you, fellow clutterbugs, for all the good reading.
Pardon my boasting, but I have removed a tiny glass shelf from my bathroom wall and all the cobalt blue glass "pretties' that sat upon it. For 15 years I had to dust it every time company came. I wrapped them all in paper and they are awaiting their fate at my next yardsale.
RubyW, sorry you lost your thread. It's never the same, having to pour out your soul the second time, is it? I haven't had that problem here yet.
I had to remove several bags of clothes to get the lawnmower out of the shed. Last year I told myself I was going to be rid of all that by this time THIS year. I refused to put one bag back in. I was headed to the spare bedroom with it to sort later when I got a sensation that I would just wallow in it like I always do. So I took it to the shop and put it in the truckbed. I think I am trying to break a pattern I have been stuck with since I was a teen. I am one of those everything out of the closet and on to the bed and floor because nothing feels or looks good kind of dressers. Hundreds of clothes and nothing to wear. What's up with that? Anyone out there know?
I keep falling asleep in the evenings trying to read the book about what colors and styles will be the best for me, so I can more confidently weed my clothing.
Hi to Everyone - June, I was like you were a couple of months ago when I opened the storage bins in my spare room closet. At least three of them had dollar store nick-nacks in them. I was able to pack better and so have one empty bin now. Even though I realize that they are great space wasters, I haven't yet decided what I will end up doing with them.
Gava, you have a great attitude regarding the de-cluttering. Yes, guilt over keeping things can certainly create some problems for us. I need to develop some of your letting go skills. You and I have the same idea for using our spare rooms as sitting and plant rooms. I have wanted a room devoted to mainly my plants ever since I moved in to this house five years ago. I am getting closer and closer to that realization. Just need to find a new place for my nineteen year old son first.
Thank you so very much for looking up those links for Geraldine, Holly. You saved me some work and I appreciate it. Lazy bones here. My goodness, all sorts of bed moving at your place. LOL
Geraldine, I hope that whatever the financial issues that you are checking on will resolve themselves. I hope that you can find what you are looking for in some of the Dave's threads. Please let us know if there is something that we can do to help you in your search.
Huckleberry, my stomach turned over when you said that you are selling the cobalt blue objects from your display. I love cobalt blue and would imagine that the display was really beautiful. If you had them displayed for fifteen years, you surely got your moneys worth from them. Just make sure that you get enough for the pieces, don't just give them away.
I was in my closet earlier trying to find something to wear to my ex father in law's funeral tomorrow afternoon. Many of things in there still have tags on them. A bit ridiculous if you ask me. Oh well, maybe I will wear some of them in the future.
Thank you to all who wrote. I always feel better after reading the posts, and often find tips that I can use to make things run more efficiently here. Take care all.
This is a picture of the helpers we bought to clear some of the property in front of our house. I would like to introduce you to Homer and Jethro.
Ruby, I was thinking the same thing about the cobalt blue knickknacks. I love them too. Maybe we should tell her to set a price and ship the box. Now the question is who gets the box??????? My son moved I have more room. LOL
Huckleberry, just a quick thought from all my years of frustration. What if you kept the few items from your closet that fit well, look good, get lots of compliments, and you really love to wear? Then instead of spending lots of money buying cheap clothes (or expensive ones) that you only like or even dislike, why not buy things that are really good quality - classic - and fit well. You would probably spend the same amount of money or less in the long run. You would look better, and you would feel better.
I've been overweight for years. I had (in the past) lost about 40 pounds and have recently gained about half of it back. I'm really short. But when I bought some nice clothes that fit really well I looked younger, thinner, healthier, and more self confident. Take a friend with you (one whom you admire their looks) and ask her about what looks good on you in the store. Try stuff on in the store. Buy coordinates. If you find a color you love and it looks good on you, get it. Then you can mix some classic pieces like blazers and black slacks with it.
In my closet there is a black sweater that I purchased years ago. I paid full price for it (the only time I ever paid full price for clothing) and I have worn it over and over for atleast 12 years. If you can wear something many times and it's a pleasure to wear - you have gotten a good value. A two dollar sweater that you NEVER wear costs more than a 50 dollar sweater that you wear 100 times. I'm going to clean my closets out, too. Hope someone can wear my $40 jeans that I'm now too fat for. I cut them off to fit me. Enjoy the hunt for your color. I decided to paint my bedroom in the color I love to wear. It's turquoise!!! :0)
WoW! Gava a turquoise bedroom!! Great color!!
I like the idea of buying good quality clothes and ones that you wear a lot.
I have bought nice clothes that don't fit now, but need to lose at least 30 lbs and they will fit again...
Thank you Holly and Ruby for finding those links for me, am going there now!!
Have a great day!!
Geraldine, it is nice to have you back. I also hope your financial worries will be resolved.
Ruby and Holly...Down Girls! You will be relieved to learn that my glorious cobalt blue glass collection consisted of old Noxema jars, a Swedish hand-blown vase with a bubble in it, and a shell-shaped soapdish. Most were found in the old dumps here and the rest were picked up for no more than a dollar a piece. I had $20, tops, invested (including the shelf I bought for $2 20yrs ago). I will do my best to get some of my money back, but I love to give a bargain as much as get one!
Gava, one of the clothing makeover shows I watch (What Not To Wear) featured a gal who thought she was getting great clothes for cheap at her thrift stores. They gave her money to spend in an expensive store and she couldn't do it at first. I really felt for her. She was able to do it and looked great at the end, naturally.
When I was 19, I was sashaying down the street in our nation's capitol when the zipper gave way on my pencil skirt. I hobbled to the nearest clothing store. I bought a dress I liked that cost exactly as much as I had in my purse (I was cash only in those days). It worked out well as I wore that dress til it literally fell apart and it was a classic. In fact, I'm surprised I don't still have it somewhere. You are right about bad clothing being a waste of time, space and money. And good clothing being a joy. Who knew?!
A problem I have with trying things on is the flourescent lighting in most fitting rooms. My eyes have difficulty seeing in it. Everything looks so washed-out, including me. It's depressing, as is the extra weight. But I am good at making myself do it. Comfort is #1 with me now.
Ruby, Homer and Jethro are adorable. When they are done munching your yard, I'll trade you the cobalt glass for them =^..^-
Lol Huckleberry, You have dashed my dreams of beautiful cobalt vases. Not that I have anywhere to display them and the china cabinet is full anyway. Sigh... You could take a hammer to the Noxzema jars, run the pieces thru a rock tumbler and make colored sea glass. Pretty in jars or you can make jewelry. Lets see rock tumbler, bags of sand, reels of wire (to wrap the pretty glass) you will want them in several colors silver and copper at least and several thicknesses , some pliers to work the wire, jewelry findings and boxes to organized everything in. Maybe a board to hold your jewelry while you work on it and jars to display the colored glass. Oh wait! This is the clutter thread, see how fast that "craft clutter" can grow just because you picked up a couple of Noxzema jars. Maybe you had better take them to the yard sale after all. LOL
OMG, I might need a crafter's clutter intervention!
Holly, you and I have it bad. Bidding wars on someone else's discards. hahaha
Gava, I know the point that you are making regarding buying quality clothing. I had a funeral to attend on Thursday and put on a black pencil skirt that I bought a couple of years back and had forgotten about. It felt so good getting in to it because the lining just made it feel luxurious to wear. There is really a difference in lined skirts and dresses. I forget about trying to buy items with linings, whenever I am shopping and just happen to luck out from time to time.
You certainly got your money's worth out of the black sweater.
Geraldine and the others who admitted to carrying around some extra poundage, welcome to the club. I have watched over the past few months as many of my clothes grow tighter and tighter. Bummer to deal with. I have a whole closet full of items that don't fit right now. I did break down a couple of weeks ago and bought two pair of blue jeans in a larger size. Oh well.
It looks like along with Holly's Crafts Clutterers Anonymouse, we might also need to start a chapter of Overeaters Anonymous. hahaha
I wanted to come to this thread and share something that I just thought of earlier today. I was reading another clutter thread that hadn't been active in over a year and people were discussing techniques to help motivate ourselves to begin dealing with our excess baggage.
I remember going to a Motivational Seminar years ago in which we were taught a technique that I just realized might work with decluttering. I believe it is worth sharing.
The seminar leader wanted to get the point across just how important and powerful the written word is. She also had us do exercises in invisioning what our end product of our work would be. She suggested that in order to reach a goal, we must first clearly define it. She said that by writing it down on a note card or something and keeping it in a spot where we would see it often, would help to motivate us to take the steps that will be needed in obtaining the goal.
I realized that I could use these little tidbits in terms of someday achieving my goal of having a clutter free home. I plan to first of all write out what my goal is. My goal is to have a clean and clutter free living environment in which everything has place and there aren't gobs of dust collectors sitting around take up precious space. I plan to write it on an index card and keep it here on my desk where I will see it several times a day. That will instill in me that I have a job to be done.
Another exercise that we did for the two day seminar was to get some old magazines and cut out pictures of what we are aiming towards. We were then lead to get a piece of poster board or something else to serve as the back piece to a picture that will show us what we are aiming for. Back then, I was interested in cars and some other material things, so my collage showed pictures of lot of things that I would have liked to have. When I find a piece of paper or a small board of some kind, I plan to cut out pictures of homes where minimalism is practiced. Before seeing the actual pictures that I might cut out, I am thinking along the lines of clipping out pictures of nice and clean floors with a few pieces of furniture and only really eye catching pieces of art or sculpture, versus the loads of glasswares that I now display.
I love my glassware and have four china press types of cabinets to display it in. I don't really need too much other shelving or anything else to display too much more. Just about every surface in my home is used to display things. I also have three large bookcases that are pretty much packed full with both books and other display items.
I realized just recently that we will be living in this house going in to five years in August. I have accumulated many, many more space wasters and dust gathering items since moving here. I realized that I am still pretty much displaying the same items that I set out five years ago. Most of the other goodies that I have obtained since then are not being given proper respect and are either still packed away in a box, or have been shoved in to a nook or cranny that still had a bit of space.
Anyway, I wanted to pass along the idea of the power of the written word and to also mention how powerful an image can be. I plan to keep my collage in full view at all times too and hopefully it will serve to motivate me to take the needed steps in order to realize my goal. I hope that something that I have said will help others here.
We are in to the weekend now. I hope that everyone is enjoying theirs. You good folks take extra good care of yourselves.
Oh HollyAnnS, you are absolutely right about how the craft clutter gets going in MY house. I find wonderful new things to do - sometimes they are things I've always wanted to do, like weave or make wool baby shoes. Sometimes the stuff comes to me by way of my favorite sister who teaches me how to do new projects. I went to a Women's Ministries workshop one day and did a little teeny tiny bit of "card making". I could tell that it would be addictive and would grow in scope. So I made myself stay away from the store where the lady sold the stuff. My craft tools, equipment, and supplies take up too much room now.
My precious granddaughter went home this morning. I thought we had prepared for her visit. She managed to get into lots of stuff that was safe for her - not poisonous or tiny pieces - but still my house is full of clutter and useful things. She eats paper, so we had to move magazines, etc. My DIL gave me some ideas for adding more color to the living room . I want my space to be decluttered, calm, restful. I think I'll take your advice, Ruby, and write my goals down. Then it will seem more real and more like a commitment than just a vague dream or hope. Now that we are dying of loneliness I should use the time and energy to follow through with her suggestions, my goals, and get over missing her so badly. I will certainly evalute everything I put back in the kitchen again, but think the stuffed animals will not stay in the onion bin. :0)
Gavafriend, I have little grandchildren, too. I will say that most of my clutter is not in the living area. My bedrooms are packed as is the barn and garage. I have to make a conscious effort not to let things pile up. They do but I usually don't let them get too bad. Although quite often my way of dealing with the mess is to toss it into a box and stash it in a bedroom corner. My Great Room (living,dining & kitchen) all stay in pretty good shape. It is easier now as the children have all moved out and I have extra bedrooms. One is for crafts and plants, another for the GC when they come and stay and it is filled with toys for them as well as an extra bed. One of the other rooms is being used for storage while the laundry room is in construction but I am expecting family from out of town the end of the summer and that room will be needed.
Ruby, My children's rooms were always very bad as I really didn't make them pick up much. But when they got to the point that I couldn't stand it I would say clean it up. They just would stand there looking at everything and not have an idea of where to start. So I would beak it down into smaller jobs. Like pick up all the cars and trucks, when that was done it was pick up all the Lego's, then maybe pick up all the clothes. I find that it works for me quite often too. Set a goal to do just one thing, like pick up and organize all the seed starting trays and cell packs.
GAVA - turquoise - great. Mine is kinda two shades of aqua blue/green. Had never been a blue person before, but love it. Like being on a beach vacation while I live in an almost desert. When I get to computer (on iPod now) I'll send pix.
Here is what the turquoise/aqua room looked like not too long after being painted (new house, we painted before we moved in). I try to fool myself into thinking I still live on the coast or am still traveling to beachy locations!
Here is the wall quilt I made to act as a headboard. I call it Hawaiian Sealife. I also made a new quilt for the bed in blues and purples and even though I was carrying the fabric around while looking at paint chips, it is not in the same blue family. It's ok and restful. For most of my adult like I had shade of pinks and greens.
Quiltygirl, That room is gorgeous. That quilt is to die for. Such talent!
I have a lot of beach theme areas in my home, no I have never lived at the beach but I am a water person in my soul. I will post some pics of my daughters room when I can find the old ones before there was furniture in it.
quiltygirl, that is beautiful. I would never have thought of painting two colors on the wall. I love how you did that. I think my turqoise has lots more green in comparison to yours. Love it, love it, love it. I put lots of other colors in my quilt, like pink, purple, cobalt, and yellow, because they make the turquose look so great.
Thanks for posting the photos.
Yes it does make me feel happy. My husband thinks I'm nuts and my Stepson who owns the house can hardly wait to cover it up. It has also been titled (no offense to anyone) Mexican blue (hey, they have happy house colors). He hasn't even seen DD's bath of bright lilac with squares and circles of plum, yellow, blue and fuschia painted on top, then some glow in the dark shimmer paint on those. He is OK with the long deep red wall from dining to living room and Tuscan gold sewing room and even DD's pale periwinkle walls - just not the green grass we painted up from bottom of baseboards LOL! My fog gray bathroom and pale butter yellow kitchen are as calm as it gets in our house.
Here are a couple shots that show multiple rooms as we were moving in. Our (aqua) bedroom and DD's horse room are at opposite ends.
Such great suggestions from everyone. Thanks!
I am in the process of organizing my clothing. I took everything out of one storage area and am sorting thru it in the living room. The three (yes, 3!) couches are piled with categories- bottoms, tops, dresses, winter, summer, too small, needs work. The rocking chair is the OUT! pile. My mess has been in there for 3 days while I work on it in my spare time.
I have done this maybe 20 times in the past. Always with a sense of glee and guilt. Always depressing in the end, as I see just how out of control my hoarding is.
This time, I feel much less glee and much less guilt. I hope it means I am slowly but surely detaching myself from the emotional aspect of my possessions and am looking at them in a more rational way. I am more able to envision myself getting rid of the Out pile with no regret. I believe using this site as a way to deal with this on MY terms and with the support and understanding of fellow clutterbugs is making the difference. Thank you ALL so much!
Love the turquiose/aqua wall color. It is like taking a fantasy vacation in your own home!
And looking from sewing room to DD's room. Light and age make so much difference. The red has aged darker and DD's room never looked that blue! I used regular rubber stamps to add grapes and then horses to DD's room.
huckleberry - so where do you sit to watch TV while doing this? Or, by covering the sitting areas does this help keep you going in order to clear it all? I look at those pix of mine and wonder at how clear and neat it looks before we moved all our stuff in. We lived here for 4 months before EVERYTHING was moved in. And you know what? We were able to live comfortably (and could park cars in garage). I did miss my bed, as opposed to aerobed. We had most kitchen stuff, clothes we REALLY used, TV, computers, folding table and chairs, washer & dryer - of course- and my quilting stuff, what else did we need? Then we brought a very large Uhaul with rest of stuff.
Yes, huckleberry, I understand the frustration of having to deal with the stuff. I took several teapots down from the plant ledges yesterday. I used to have lots of guilt when I did chores like that. Now I'm excited to see only teapots that I love up there. I have yet to tackle the closets. We are so blessed that we have a bedroom without a closet. (The builder called it a home office, but we think it makes a perfect guest room. Only enough clothing can be hung on the hooks for a few days visit.)
Isn't it interesting how we have these "feelings attached to 'stuff'?" I'm beginning to see my DIL's point of view better. And it would have been so much easier if I had never acquired all this "stuff" in the first place. Why do we buy/acquire these things that we end up having to purge? I moved here in a large moving van, before we came we sold lots of things, gave away lots of stuff, and have done that everytime we moved. The longest we have ever lived anywhere was 6.5 years. If we have moved so much why is there so much to move still?
The one thing I haven't done is buy more quilting fabric. I'm just using what I have. I recognize how strong the pull of fabric shopping is for me. And like an addict it's easier for me to just stay out of those stores. I don't even know what is in one of the closets in my house. Some of it is coats being stored since we are having summer now. But do we need 20 coats for 2 people? Maybe I should haul all of it to the living room. I hate having stuff on my couches and chairs. I painted a wall in there yesterday and got all the painting equipment and supplies put away so I wouldn't have to look at the mess. Good idea, huckleberry. I'm going to take pictures of the closet before and after, too. Yes, I need to keep letting stuff go!
Love the color of your home, it will be both beautiful and distinctive.
I never quite get rid of all my clothes, even as I think I haven't worn this in years I think well it is nice and you could wear it. Then it goes back into my closet for another five years. Yep that includes a winter coat that has to be 20 years old and I know I haven't worn it for at least 10 years.
"I am slowly but surely detaching myself from the emotional aspect of my possessions and am looking at them in a more rational way. I am more able to envision myself getting rid of the Out pile with no regret. I believe using this site as a way to deal with this on MY terms and with the support and understanding of fellow clutterbugs is making the difference. Thank you ALL so much!"
Congratulations Huckleberry! You are making progress in your head!
I think that the problem is up in MY head. Why do we have such attachment to our stuff? My son is almost 27 years old. I had kept some of his first and second grade art projects until today. They were ratty, torn, and smashed. It was harder for me to put those old things in the trash than it was for me to send some nice clothes to the thrift store. I wrote earlier today on another thread that it was not so hard to get rid of some of my dad's treasures. I said that it wouldn't change anything for him or me to share some of his lodge pins.
I had such a terrible case of empty nest syndrome when my son got married. (I also had it when he went to college and went off to boarding school at age of 15.) Intellectually I know that we raised him to leave home. We are proud that he has launched from the nest - but I still miss my son. I hung his high school letter jacket back in the closet. Just couldn't part with it; even though he was willing to part with it.
Your idea worked for me, Huckleberry, thanks. I took everything out of that closet and laid it all on the sofa and dining room table. It was kind of hard at first - I kept getting distracted by the photos and cassette tapes. I took out LOTS of things, and now most of the floor of that closet is empty. It feels good. I will do my closet soon, too.
Taking it all out and dealing with it sounds like avoid idea - like those tv shows, but the emotional end is another story. I want to do that with DDs 2 closets and, heck, the whole (huge) room. When her friend moved in for 8 months, they did go through a bunch and the friend just pit of all on trash bags to toss. Even though I am not abig saver, that wad top much. I sorted and consolidated like things top out tpgether for thrift store - like her American Girl dolls (lookalike) clothes & furniture. I kept one and the Mexican folkdance dress I made to match DDs when she danced. LOL the stuff I saved from her closet is in mine - but better prganized!
The couches are empty again! I filled a garbage bag with 29 pieces of clothing i have no use for. My lingerie drawer is organized. I hung most of the clothes instead of folding them.
I placed a good mirror outside on the front porch. I decided that was the spot with the best lighting. If I needed to try something on for color and/or fit, I had to go outside. I played happy music while I worked. I did alot of dancing and prancing about in my undies!
The guest bedroom is still piled with clothing. I don't feel depressed about it tho. I am sort of looking forward to going thru all of it.
Holly, one of my coats is 24 yrs old. I still love it and it still fits (just barely). I wear it maybe twice each winter. It is a dress coat of plum colored wool. I bought it on my honeymoon as we were traveling from San Francisco, CA to Cleveland, OH by way of New Orleans in winter and I did not have a proper coat (just a jean jacket).
My fellow clutterbugs, what is the oldest thing in your closets?
Way to go everyone!!
I did finally throw away a pr. of old sneakers!! Was going to keep them for gardening but already 'have' gardening shoes!!
Got an antique fur stole over 70 yrs. old in my closet, I do wear it at times, it is
'warm', when winter comes it's nice to have to wear to 'special' events...have thought of donating it to 'civil war' recreation units!!
The oldest thing is my closet is me! Just kiddin' - I was thrilled to buy a vintage cashmere coat at my favorite thrift store. We called it "Little Niemans", and it was open only one day a week and all the money was for the benefit of the senior citizens center in our little town.
I bought a beautiful black cashemere coat that hat been much loved and worn. The lining needed stitching and hemming; and I'm going to have to remake the lining one of these days. It doesn't have buttons, just wraps without a belt, and I wear it for every occasion possible. I haven't had a dressy coat for years, and this one is spectacular. It even had the right length of sleeves for me! (I'm only 4' 11" and have to alter even petite slacks.) The price was right - $6. I can afford to wear it to the grocery store. I'm pretty sure it's atleast 50 years old from the style of the collar. Big wide shawl collar -
I have a beautiful red cashmere cardigan sweater from Lord & Taylor that I bought at a thrift store, too. Love those vintage clothes that are really classic styles!!!!
Hello Ladies - I hadn't read in a couple of days and had to start reading on the thirteenth for this thread. I am now too tired to write a post from the notes that I took while reading. So, I just wanted to answer the oldest thing in my closet question,... that is when I stop laughing from Gava's answer. You are too cute!!!
Anyway, I thought for sure that I would be the one with the oldest item and first thing I know, Geraldine beats me by about ten or so years with her fur coat.
Anyway, the oldest thing that I can think of being hung in my closet and has faithfully moved from different closets throughout my adult life is a navy blue, pocketed wool sweater that belonged to my grandmother who died in the late 1950's. Don't ask me why I hold on to it, because I don't wear it and it is serving no purpose that I can think of...but there you have it.
Computer session ended for now. Will try to drop back in later and post from my notes. First off, great going to those of you who are making progress with their clutter. You give me much hope.
I've got a wool plaid jacket that was my grandfather's. Haven't worn it in a while, but it's probably the oldest thing in my closet -- and I'm not giving it up. LOL
Do linen closets count? I've got a few antimacassars (large doilies) that probably predate that jacket.
It's mostly the newer junky stuff that needs to go... how many pairs of "garden pants" do I really need? Well, if I get rid of half I will have to do laundry more often, LOL.
When my son was in first and second grade I worked with a lady who hated to do laundry every week. She bought 14 pairs of jeans for her son every year so she wouldn't have to go to the laundromat for 2 weeks. I lived in an apartment at the time with a washer. It was much cheaper to get my son ready for school. So get rid of some of your garden pants and wear the rest for lots of days at a time. LOL
I don't have many pairs of garden pants; they double as studio pants during the school year. So I just wear them for a few days at a time. Not many people can tell the difference between clay from the studio and soil from the garden. And I usually wash them on the weekend or Monday morning. I've been repairing them again tonight. When the seat is gone again it will have to be the end of the soft, baggy, old jeans. And they have lots of paint on them, too. I've painted inside several homes, and outside, too. Of course they are good for wearing when I scrub toilets and splash bleach around. And I wear them to the hardware store, too. My jeans and my face both show quite a bit of milage.
Gava, you are a nut!!! So cute, always making wise cracks at your own expense. Good to laugh though and if we couldn't laugh at ourselves, what a sad world it would be.
Anyway, I ran out of steam before I was able to repsond to anyone's posts yesterday. So, I will now refer to the notes that I jotted down when reading here yesterday.
First off, good to see you posting here Critter. Always nice to hear from you.
Gava, you were posting about your grand daughter going back home after her visit and how you were feeling. How old is she? I have a two year old grand daughter named Emily. I adore her and have the most fun whenever we get to spend time together. I haven't seen her for a couple of weeks now due to a death in ex husbands family which has had everyone tied up for weeks now. I am hoping to get together with Emily and her mom and dad this weekend.
I called my son last Sunday and wished him a Happy Fathers Day. He said thank you, a week early. I was thinking it was last week for some reason. So, I have a Bird book for him and hopefully they will visit us Sunday, becasue we will be attending a wedding out of town on Saturday.
Holly, speaking of little birdies leaving the nest, like all of yours have...I am thrilled to announce that Tucker has decided to move out the first of July. We went on Monday evening to look at several places that are all within one complex. It is about five miles from here and I think will work out nicely for him.
I will then have some more space to use. I am excited about being able to set up the two spare bedrooms in the way that I want them arranged. I am not sure what that is yet, but I will figure it out soon enough. I have put off most of my decluttering process while waiting for him to move.
I loved your idea for getting the children to help clean up. Breaking a big job down in to easier steps is a good way to get things done. Thanks for sharing that little tip.
Gava, you mentioned that by writing down on paper what your goal is, it ss a step towards commiting to it. I agree. I hope that it works for you.
Quilty, thank you so much for sharing the wonderful pictures of your home. I love the wall colors and the quilt is out of this world gorgeous. I have to agree with Geraldine's summation of your color choices. They are happy colors and should lift anyone's mood as they enter your home. You seem to have a real eye for interior design. Very talented from what I can tell by the pictures.
Huckleberry, I too feel as though I need outside support in order to begin taking control of my clutter verses my clutter controlling me. I am anxiously awaiting getting back the bedroom that Tucker currrently uses. I am sure that I will be coming here to get a shot of energy that will be needed when I can begin my de-cluttering process.
Thank you to everyone who is continuing to post and keep this thread alive. I enjoy hearing about everyone's lives and seeing the photos that people share.
Until we meet again, you all have a nice and hopefully productive day.
Good Morning all, good to read about 'garden pants'!
I too have old pants for gardening, lately, I just hang up out of site and reuse 2-3 times. So 2 pr. should do fine!! It saves on laundry.
Did put 3 knicknacks in bag to donate, just have to find a box to leave them at...our local Goodwill changed their drop off sites!!!
Good to hear from you Ruby, you are one busy lady!! We all love to read your column!! I bought my son some jeans and a candy bar (for early fathers day) and gave them to him!! We all have much in common and good to share!!
Oh Thank God, I'm not the only grub in the group.
My washer went out last Nov and we decided to remodel the laundry room. It wasn't too bad doing without at first as it was winter we are retired and you could wear something for a couple of days an no big deal. Then Spring hit I'm outside in jeans coming inside covered with mud (especially with all the rain we have been having). So I hang them up in the mud room and the next day I look at those muddy jeans and think "Well I'm just going to get anything I put on muddy again, so I might as well start off that way" LOL
I have come to the point where I really "need" my washer. I had been taking a load or two with me when I go up to my parents for a visit or down to Josh's when I'm working in his yard. That had been working but last month Ric & I took everything to the laundromat. Pillows from the couch, blankets and sheets, tons of laundry that had piled up and all the tablecloths and bath rugs. Thought for sure that would be enough to get him moving on the laundry room again. Problem is that last winter he drug his feet getting it done and now he is outside working. That project is part of my clutter issue right now as everything that came out of there is piled in one of the extra bedrooms. Think Ric's dad is coming up for a visit and Ric promised that he would have the Laundry room done so we can use that room when his Dad comes. Problem in Dad's not coming until late August. LOL
I re-wear garden pants several times also, LOL... so another good reason to get rid of some of them would be so I don't have a muddy-dirty pile of clothes that sits there for weeks.
I've been lurking here but not posting much since I'm not making much progress on inside projects... this is an "Aunt Jill" month, and any extra time gets spent trying to get on top of things in the garden. :-)
Holly, I won't say that my garden pants get so stiff with mud etc. that they could take a walk all by themselves, but sometimes it seems like they get close to that stage - y'all sure did hit a chord with me in that department.
Actually, y'all have hit many chords - have only read a few of the beginning posts here - but I'm glad I found ya. I appreciate the inspiration more than I can say.
Critter - hiya - I owe you a dmail...there's one area where I do believe I'm going to facilitate MORE clutter in your house that we already talked about - lol!
Gourd - thank you again for keeping this subject going
Nice to meet you, Bluespiral!
Quiltygirl, I keep seeing your Tropical colors. I really like color. I can't emphasize that enough. The reason I had to take a mirror outside to check my coloring against the clothes' is that I have a lavendar bedroom, a green bedroom, a Pepto-Bismal pink bathroom, a knotty pine panelled living room and a dijon-mustard colored kitchen. No place indoors has unreflected color. Love it, but I'm always interested in changing.
Fun reading about the oldest clothing (or fabric) in our possesion. I love vintage also. I am hard on clothing and don't get to wear vintage pieces for long before I ruin them. So I have been going easy on vintage lately. I have picked up a few 1960's Laugh-In sock-it-to-me! kinds of get-ups and everyone gets a kick out of them.
Garden Pants. My mother called them "play clothes" I have some of the most hideous "play clothes" imagineable. Embarrassed when anyone drives up and catches me. At least I throw the jeans out now that get the rip across the rear-end. Didn't use to!
Ha! Ha! Ha! Loved all the comments on 'gadening pants'.
We all have much in common and I don't feel so lonely in my 'quirks' knowing you are all out there doing it also!!
Hey Ruby,
We are the proud grandparents of a 13 month old delight who lives 850 miles from us. We get to see her a couple of times a year. Her name is Dahlia and she is so beautiful. My (male) cousin told me I shouldn't tell everyone she's just like me because she is short, she's fat, she cries, and she wets her pants. I'm too old to be hiding stuff like that. After my hot air balloon ride I was so scared and happy that I wet my pants at the landing. I was laughing so hard I couldn't help wetting my pants. A lady told me to say, "My pants were so wet I couldn't stop lauging." There are bigger issues in my life than occasional wet pants.
Having wet pants seems to be better than not being able to pee when I want to. Y'all are right - it's way better to laugh at ourselves than cry about the problems.
I marched one of my hideous garden get-ups out to the burn barrel and torched it. Baby steps.
I found the first item of clothing I bought myself with my own money. It is a T-shirt, girl's size 10. It is pale yellow with a caricature of Carmen Miranda finishing a dance number in the middle, flanked by dancing bananas in red high heels. I think it cost $10.00 when I bought it in 1973.
I very proudly wore it to school. On the school bus going home, a nasty boy touched my chest, yelling "Grab a Banana!" to the whole bus load of kids. I never wore it again. I never said why. My Mother had saved it, and I saw it whilst looking thru her pantry for canning jars. I brought it home and will likely keep it until I can figure out a way to get revenge on that boy. ;- )
Huckleberry, Love that story, I was thinking what a great memory and funny story. Then I wondered if you look back and see it like that or if the memory still brings back the embarrassment of those teenage years? Is the memory one that you want to keep and then you will know do you want to keep your old T-shirt?
I have a drawer with a few special memory clothes. Mostly my children's, there is the bathrobe I made for my oldest daughter when she was 3, a hand knit outfit that a friend made for my youngest son when he was born, two hand knit sweaters that the twins wore they had a silhouette of a horse on the front and running down one sleeve was their horses name and the their name running down the other sleeve.
Recently my son Josh bought his first house (it's huge) he put some things in a 2nd floor sitting room. He has a charcoal drawing of his horse, and old saddle, used some old bits and things to use as hangers and hooks. I gave him his sweater and he hung it on the wall like you would a picture.
I say get revenge! Well, on second thought that might be too big a burden for you to bear. What a creep he was! (That's an old word isn't it?) He was a thoughtless jerk. Wonder if he is a better human being today. I can only imagine how badly his rudeness hurt. I was a very self-conscious person as young lady. Too bad you didn't think to "knee him" at the time.
It's easy for me to "say" forgive him for your sake. Don't let that hurt eat a hole all the way through your soul. Hope you can deal with this better than I would have.
Holy smoke! I opened a can of worms with the story of one of my clutters. It is true that the Banana Incident had a huge effect on me. The boy was one of my brother's friends, and I never liked him because he was always kind of mean. I was 10 yrs old at the time and it shocked me when he grabbed at my booby...partly because I didn't have one yet!
The effect it had is that I never wore another T-shirt that had anything over the chest area again. It also still makes me mad that I paid so much of my allowance for it (relatively) and got to wear it only once because he ruined it for me. And I loved it so.
Maybe I can hunt him down and send him a bill for $10.00 plus 36 years of interest at the rate of 1 penny per day. =^..^=
Geraldine, I always love hearing from you too. You truly seem like another top notch member of Dave's. A person of high character like the majority of members I have met here. I love to hear about your life and your dreams and look forward to having you post.
Holly, I had to laugh at your description of yourself...a grub. Can't get much worse than that in my book. Those things make me cringe. As for waiting for husbands to finish projects, welcome to the club. The rock walkway that I so proudly posted pictures of last fall has not had one rock laid since then. I am unable to get to the flower bed behind it and thus have not done any gardening much to speak of this year. I really hate laundromats and would rather do almost anything else on earth than that. I love the convenience of doing laundry at home on my schedule.
Critter, if actually "accomplishing" anything were a requirement to post here, I wouldn't be running my big mouth so often. LOL I have put off tackling anything much until Tucker is moved out. It shouldn't be too long now though. We are supposed to sign a contract on an apartment for him tomorrow and moving the first week of July hopefully. I hope that Camp Jill is fun for everyone. Have a great time.
Very nice to meet you Karen. I agree that this thread is very inspirational. I love hearing success stories. Stick around, we are a great bunch of women.
Huckleberry, I can identify with being embarrassed for anyone to see me in my gardening attire too. I tend to show a lof of skin which I do not do in public usually. I am not mentioning the stains and rips and tears that some of the items have too.
Geraldine, I have to agree with you on noticing our similarities. When people begin to become honest with themselves and others, we realize that we are more alike than we are different. We tend to spend too much effort trying to hide our secrets, when in reality folks like us better if we are honest and share our vulnerabilities.
Gava, the hot air balloon story is great. See, by you admitting that, I can now open up and say...hey, join the club. I have what is called a spastic bladder and it has seen me in all sorts of very uncomfortable situations. I never regret having such hearty laughs as to make me leak though. They are worth the price. Thanks for sharing this honey.
I recently pointed out to my husband the ratio difference in how many of his underpants I wash a load, and how many of my own I wash. I have him running at about six to one. Oh well, things could certainly be worse than that.
Here is hoping that everyone had a good weekend and that the week coming up will be better than that. Take care everyone. I will be looking forward to hearinig all that everyone has going on.
Hi All, I had to make a decision on whether to keep my paid off car or buy a new one. Then AARP magazine had an article on keeping older cars, will eventually save a person quite a bit of $$$$...so am keeping mine and going to start fixing it up!
It is a Camaro T top...always liked Camaro's, they drove well and lasted and lasted.
Will try to budget $100 a mo. for repairs to body and tuneups...still cheaper than all that sales tax and payments...
I really do not like making decisions like this...makes me nervous...but it is a great help when I read about others with the same problems..
Off to do some gardening, cloudy but I do believe the sun will come out some day!!
Oh yes Geraldine, I have it on good authority...The sun will come out tomorrow, tomorrow. The sun will come out tomorrow. LOL Annie told me this.
Good call on the car. Hey, you are a real hotrod gal, aren't you? What color is your car?
When I first divorced, I was terrified of making decisions. All of my life I had either parents or my husband to help me in decision making. It was really, really scary for me to realize that I had to begin making them on my own. I became better as time passed and I had more experience doing it alone. The world never did stop if I made a error in judgement. Life went on and things either worked out well, or they didn't.
I finally learned that even if I chose the greater evil of the two, there were always things to be done to rectify what ever the situation was. So, I no longer use the limited mental abilities worrying too much over things. If we were to look back, I would guess that we all try to do the best with what we have at any given time.
Now, sit back and rest, your decision is made and I truly hope that it works well for you. Take care everyone.
Good for you, Geraldine! We always drive used vehicles, too. And I heard that the breaking point for repairs is not to put more money into the car than it's value is. Several years ago we brought a wonderful "gramma car" for $950 and drove it for 2 years. We once put $600 into a new fuel pump for it and later sold it for $900. What a blessing that car was to us.
We saved up cash recently and bought a 2006 Toyota mini van for $14500. That's just about 1/2 what a new one would cost. Of course we have done stupid things with cars too. The last time we borrowed big dollars ($40,000) for a vehicle it was only worth $20,000. We were upside down in 2 trades and did them anyway. Man alive! It hurt to pay for that one, but it was a lesson I will NEVER forget!
Of course we forget that the new car we drove off the dealer's lot just instantly became a used car the moment we put the key in to take it home.
So glad to hear the sun will come out tomorrow, Ruby. I think that Annie must be a very optimistic person. :0) My mother always said, "Tomorrow is another day." I certainly didn't understand that when I was a kid. But she is right. I'm thankful for all the tomorrows and the wonderful blessings of my life.
Oh Ruby - to funny that someone else counts undies while folding on laundry day. Our ratio usually goes the other way I have (at least) one pair per day and other family members don't meet quota! They told me "get a life"!!!
Huckleberry - could you possible cut the front panel off the shirt and add it to a plain T-shirt of your current size? Maybe with contrasting colors. Just a thought. Beat the meanie by wearing it!
Ha Ha Ha! You all made my day (cloudy again so took vit. d, hope it helps).
We have all gone from stand up muddy work pants to 'undies'!!
We may get some sun thurs...sure do miss it...will just sit in the sun and soak up those rays...just read sunscreen 15 is about 93% effective...sunscreen 30 and up only goes to 97 or up...will stay with the Oil of Olay 15, comfortable to wear!!!
This thread wanders like the bits of thread on my sewing room floor and sounds just like the conversations of good friends.
In the land of enchantment we have sunshine for over 300 days a year. I cannot imagine not getting sun for days at a time. We get excited when it clouds up and there is a little humidity in the air. After I get out of the shower I have to bathe my skin in lotion. (Of course we have that enchantment all over the patio and the furniture, too! It's kind of a pain to clean it out of the window sills.)
My goal was to get my house decluttered this summer while I'm not in class. And I've almost succeeded. There are three little areas that still need work. I have a box of photos in the living room to sort, I want to re-organize my recipes, and I still have too much stuff in a cabinet in my sewing room. I realize that it's an ongoing process to keep from bring more stuff in here, to keep things put away, and to be on the lookout for piles of stuff gathering. This de-cluttering is suspended for 3 weeks. I've given myself permission to do that without feeling guilty. I need this week to get ready to go to CA and do VBS, next week to enjoy our granddaughter in CA, and the following week to recover from CA trip.
Y'all have really inspired me. Thanks. It's really wonderful to have the cheering section and the companionship of my "fellow clutterers" had been absolutely delightful. Hold my feet to the fire when I get back. This morning I have to call my mom, donate blood, bake a cake, and check on my pottery projects at school.
DH is from Las Cruces, NM. He and fellow former NM's call it the Land of Encroachment, but fondly so. He would like to move back there though. DD & I used to say it was too boring and one of his friends agreed and said that is why they had left, but now that they were getting old and boring, they wanted to go back and many have. The way CA is imploding NM is looking more attractive all the time... Plus, one of his friends has offered us 2 acres of his inheritance (of 178 acres) in the mtns west of Las Vegas, NM. Would be better after DD graduates as I have heard from several sources of extreme prejudice against newcomers and non-New Mexican Mexicans, in Las Vegas, plus the schools not being good there. Then again, sane old people don't move TO snowy areas to drive mtn roads!! The good thing would be to build a smaller home and HAVE to get rid of stuff.
Wonder how JuneyBug is doing in her new, smaller digs in So Korea? Now that is a live style change! Should be fun.
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
I'm learning to be patient - the house has not sold yet and I am still here "camping out" and waiting. I have a TV & stand, a computer on a printer stand, a microwave and an air bed in this empty house. ( and am NOT a real patient person - I think God is trying to teach it to me) This is week #5 :-(
It is surreal to go shopping and see cute things that I know Hubby would have bought before... I see how easy it is to fall into that trap. DH and I have agreed to keep an eye on each other to make sure that we don't get back into those bad habits again. (and he has agreed to go to a Dr. if he ever gets that bad again - Did I tell y'all about the van - load of Levis 501 jeans that I took to the thrift store? There were hundreds of pairs of pants stacked in his closet and more in the sheds - it filled my van up to the bottom of the windows) He has the buying disease, I have the "can't throw it out 'cause it is still useful" training since birth. What a pair!
He has said that he truly loves "living small" in Korea. There is no spare room for him to hide his stuff and that has forced him to be organized.
I can't wait to get over there and .. well, have the new adventure begin!
JuneyBug, I can certainly understand your frustration. When we left the Land of Enchantment (aka Land of Entrapment) for West Texas our home was on the market for 9 months. My DH moved to start the new job after 3 months. Then it was just me - trying to keep up the garden, flowers, house, and church work at the old place. I'd travel back and forth every other weekend, to see him and check on the house. It finally sold for $20,000 less than our appraised value, but we were paying the payments, utilites, frustrated, tired of driving, and ready to move out of the travel trailer we were borrowing and living in. (There was no way we were going to buy another house before that one sold. That's about the time we heard of Dave Ramsey.) Just before the house sold we found a beautiful fixer-upper that we had not even bothered to look at. And the price was fabulous. We made up for the NM loss when we sold the TX home.
The Lord had lots of lessons for me to learn at that time - I'm not certain that I learned all of them. However, I'm certain that if I didn't learn them - He will bring them around to me again.
Well, now somebody will be able to buy nice jeans at affordable prices. Thanks on their behalf.
I'm resting from my whirlwind morning - will do VBS this evening and take cake to 94 year old couple.
Juney, praying you will sell soon...I know what you mean by camping out...did the same in Fl. then came back to MA...
Just think of all the time saved by getting rid of things...no need to move things around and you can see what you have...
Brought a bag to Goodwill, gave in and took one item out of bags...but did get rid of some knick knacks...my good friend shops $1 stores a lot and is always giving me things...I hate to part with them but...dust catchers...all table tops filled with these $1 things...hope she doesn't notice when she comes over...how do you all handle problems like that??
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
"I've had to downsize; dusting was taking too much of my time and I had cluttered this place up so much that it bothered me" My friend said "Oh, good" to that and I started talking about something else real fast. It worked for me...
Terichris said this in May, "Say thank you & pass it on. Guilt free. Everyone has different tastes! Have you ever pondered over a gift. What to give someone, will they like it? etc. Guess what? Sometimes we are wrong.
I try to include gift recepits with everything. My book club likes to exchange things. One month we will bring purses. One month beauty products, lotions, shampoos, eye shadow. We purge what is no longer wanted or perhaps we never wanted it. Sometimes the nail polish isn't as pretty once it's on, but would look beautiful on your red headed friend.
We are all in the same boat. Be considerate of those who are ultra sensative. Also, when people ask what is on your birthday list by all means TELL THEM!!! Also, ask & be specific. Gift certificates are great."
I liked her advice and have added to it. If anyone asks me about a specific item they gave me I am planning to say that I'm rotating my pretty things on display. (Acutally I'm storing some of them at the thrift store.)
Juney - How is the real estate market, generally, in your area? Did the realtor give you an idea how long it is taking for homes in your category? It is a very tough market here in inland southern CA due to the vast number of foreclosures.
I remember 2 houses my folks sold that went remarkably fast. One is Santa Barbara, CA in 1968 sold twice in 2 days (first buyer changed mind). Second in San Francisco Bay Area was listed on a Sat., Sun Dad left for airport at 6 AM to go his new job in NYC and to house hunt there and at 8AM my 3 yr old sister got up while another sis and mom were sleeping and played with fireplace matches. No one was hurt and fire only smoldered in the area rug - but man! what smoldering smoke damage can do and how far it can be spread with furnace on!! Dad had loved that house and he was in insurance business, so we were well insured. We stayed in motel for a week while they worked in EVERY nook and cranny (dressers, closets, cabinets) washing and cleaning it ALL. We would be there each night when Dad called so he would not find out what happened until he came home to visit. Sign went back out on lawn when all was done and house sold right away. BTW, he ended up leaving the promotion to VP in NYC and left the company too as he said he COULD NOT live in snow again (formerly we came from WI). They have lived in TX since and says that houses around them are on the market for a long time and prices keep going down on the older houses like theirs (39 yrs old). My friend in rural NW PA said property still moves about the same as 3 years ago as they not to be so connected to the vast swings property in CA makes.
Pretty funny about all those jeans. Gava is right about others being able to have the benefit of his hoarding, but funny thing, my mind was thinking of how many jeans quilts could be made...
This message was edited Jun 24, 2009 10:37 AM
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
Oh! I made one of those quilts back in the 70's for a friends wedding present. Lots of embroidery.. The real estate market here is pretty good since we have a military base next door and a lot of local banks are owned by pragmatic mid-westerners and did not get into the risky loans. The Army is moving 3K more people here next month as part of it's BRAC - base re-alignment and closing. It will be a school for truckers so only a small percentage of the folks are going to be permanent - but it is still good news for anyone that has a house on the market. We have dropped the price by 4K and will pay closing costs and 2K to the agent that sells it, so since that offer "hit the streets" this morning, I have already had a call to show it this afternoon! That has been the hardest part of all of this - if it isn't shown, it won't sell. And this house has been shown less than once a week.
I had looked at the foreclosures in my area a month or so ago and there were only 12 registered in the whole county. My poor son in south Fort Worth probably has that many in the 3 blocks of his street that I drove on. Quite a big difference between the regions...
Hello Gang!
I'm back to my own little mess after helping my parents with theirs. Dad had a 20yard debris bin (dumpster) delivered to his ranch. He hired two workers to help me and DH. We cleaned out one building entirely. Cleaned up several piles of junk outside. We have always been recyclers and I was in charge of that. Took 1400 lbs to the metal salvage. Got only $20.00 for it, but better than having to pay to dump it. Took a full pick-up load of glass bottles, newspaper and cardboard to the recycle center and got rid of it for free.
Noticed the dump had a "donations" area where you can drop off useable and/or repairable items. Went back to the folks' and loaded up the truck with "good" stuff that was useable but filthy from many decades storage in a damp, dusty (and haunted) barn. They accepted most of the donations, and showered my mother with praise for not putting the stuff in the landfill. She was so thrilled, she was ready to go again. The junk my father collects has always been a huge mass of frustration and embarrassment to her. I let her know her 10 yr old granddaughter is big and strong enough to load small boxes of donations on the truck. It will be interesting to see if they go for it as a team!
I had to come back home, but wish I was still down there, packing stuff out. I guess that means it was a positive experience. Dad hasn't received the bill yet for the weight of the garbage in the dumpster, and he may pull a Fred Sanford and feel a heart-attack coming on, but I hope it was a positive experience for them and they will allow us to help them again.
We didn't eat the whole Elephant, but I think we ate a vital organ. And this from a semi-vegetarian.
I did not hunt down that boy who ruined my Carmen Miranda T-shirt. I was too busy and didn't think about it. But I know his name and am still enjoying some fantasy revenge scenarios. ;- )
Quiltygirl, I like the suggestion to remake the shirt into something fun and innocent again. Living well IS the best revenge.
And girls just wanna have fun!
Greetings All - Sounds like everyone is trudging through and making progress. One step at a time. I had to come in and tell what is happening on this homefront. Really an exciting time. After almost a year of attempting to get my 19 year old son to move out on his own, he has finally signed a contract on an apartment and will be moving in on Wednesday, July 1.
A new friend that I met on here recently gave me some advice on how to handle the moving out bit with my son. She suggested acting as though this were really a very positive thing and it could be fun at the same time. My son picked up on my signals and rather than seeing the move as a form of punishment he is now looking at it as an opportuniity to do something that he has always wanted to do but didn't know how to go about it. Hopefully it will help him become a responsible adult. It is time that the apron strings be cut a bit. He will only be about five miles away fromo here and that is a good distance.
Anyway...I was thinking that yippie, I will have more space when he leaves and I can set up a guest room in his old bedroom. I am also going to love having two rooms for my house plants versus only one which was tightly packed this past winter. A few days ago I began making lists of things that he will need as he sits up housekeeping. One is a "buy" list and the other is "take from here" list.
Yesterday I spent a couple of hours working from the "have here" list and was able to get together a good amount of things for him. I was surprised to realize that I had eight spatulas in a kitchen drawer. Spatulas are not even something that we use daily. Who in the world needs that many? I realized while getting this together for him, that I could actually set up several households with all of extras that I have accumulated over the years.
So, by him needing to set up a household, it is going to be a big boon to me in terms of de-cluttering. I am excited on all sorts of levels about this. I am with the rest of you who are finding having our little "club" here is really helping in terms of getting and then hopefully staying motivated to do better.
It is interesting to hear of the revelations that we all have as we go through things. Yes indeed, our emotions are closely tied with our things. Sometimes this is good, but it can also be bad if we are not open and willing to take control of things, versus things taking control of us.
I can already feel a lightness about the house as I get things together for their new home. It will be so nice to open closet door and not have things fall out on the floor. It will be nice to move one item and not have ten others fall down. It will be nice to have some extra space in the shed too when some of the chairs and tables stored there leave. I can think of sorts of benefits that I find when having more space.
Anyway ladies...I hope that everyone has had a good weekend and the week coming up will be another good for everyone. Take care. Thank you each for participating. Everyone has such great things to say.
Oh Ruby how wonderful, Yes, It really is a positive move forward for both of you. I don't have much time right now but I was thinking about the comment enough things to set up several households. Right now might be a good time to donate whatever doesn't go with him, I'm sure there are a lot of new families that need things right now.
Ruby, I am so happy for you and your son. Make sure you give him as much of your extras as you can. He will likely be able to pass them on to new friends if he doesn't need or want them himself. One of my stepdaughters trades stuff with friends and that makes a lot of sense.
I waited too long to turn the girls' rooms into my fantasy guest and craft rooms and they just became junk rooms that I straighten up in a panicked state when company comes.
I need to envision what I want them to be and then get to work on them.
Hope everyone will have a nice week.
Ruby, helping and supporting your son's move is a wise way to handle the situation.
It's scary out there for young people trying to get on in.
Letting him know you are there to help and are actually helping will take a lot of stress off his mind.
We must realise that eventually we will not be there for our children and hopefully they will be able to take care of themselves.
Friend gave me 'hen's and chick's' going to put into stone wall at church, hopefully they will stay in and catch!!
Have a great day everyone!
Oh Geraldine, I love hens and chicks. I have a great looking strawberry jar full of them. The first year that I lived here I took some of the larger ones in that pot and planted them in the ground in the front yard. By the end of that first summer, I had one of them begin to grow tall and actually bloomed with a very pretty desert flower. That was my first and only time to see them in bloom.
Thank you to all regarding best wishes for Tucker. He came for his furniture yesterday. He still has a few odds and ins in the bedroom, but at the moment there is no rush to move them because I will need to put some thought in to how I am going to arrange the room.
Yeah Holly, you are correct about this being a good time to go ahead and take the plunge and get rid of some other stuff while I am at it. I will give some thought to that also. The major thing is tackling the outside shed. Only problem is that I saw a snake in there the last time I visited, and am not looking forward to seeing him again. It might be cold weather before I get around to it.
Anyway, I will be looking forward to coming here for support and hurrah's when I get in to the spare bedroom and start setting things up. Thank you to each of you who participate here.
Just cleaned the 'old' shed at the church, thank goodness no snakes...
Just spiders, used a broom to clean them out...the shed is small and has many holes on the bottom but still am able to use it...
Have a 'Happy and Safe' 4th of July everyone...whether alone or with others always know that we are thinking of you!
Love Geraldine
Ruby, I've been lurking more than posting lately (busy month), but I've been following along... I'm so thrilled for all of you that Tucker is moving his life along and freeing up a plant room for you in the process! *happy dancing* I know you'll miss having him right there, no matter how sure you are that it's time for him to leave the nest, but I'm praying for him to stretch his wings now and just soar. :-)
Dear, dear Critter. It means a whole lot regarding best wishes for Tucker, coming from you. Yeah, a couple of days before he officially moved out, he spent the night away from home, and I began feeling small pangs of sadness then. I know in my heart that this move was necessary in order for him to finally begin stretching his wings, as you say. Part of me wants to snatch him back and settle him back in to his bedroom, but the other part knows this is necessary in order for the both of us to be happier in our lives.
I am already aware that things are not going to move along as fast as I might have imagined in regards to setting up a plant room for myself. I am still waiting for him to get some of things out of the room. The furniture is already out, but there are storage bins and bags of clothes, etc., etc. A friend came by earlier and I was able to give her some of the clothes that Tucker left hanging in the closet and said that he no longer needed. So, that is my de-cluttering attempt for the day.
Geraldine, I cringed when you mentioned snakes in the Church's shed. That is the exact reason that I haven't been in to my shed for a while now. I saw what seemed to be a medium sized one the last time that I was in it. I send John for things out of the freezer and other things that I need insde from from time to time. I will go back in in the fall when snakes have gone wherever they go during cold weather.
The board has been quiet for a while now. I hope that means that everyone is involved in some fun things. Here is hoping that everyone will have a good and productive week coming up. Take care all.
I need good de-cluttering vibes coming my way this week! I'll be moving stuff we've been storing in our presumptive nursery into the craft/plant room, which has become a bit of a disorganized disaster zone... I am hoping it looks worse than it really is, LOL.
I'll be grinning the whole time, though, because the reason for this effort is we need to make room to set up the crib and various other baby "things." It will help if I think of it as "nesting" rather than "cleaning" LOL!
Ruby, is there room for the rest of Tucker's stuff in that shed? LOL Maybe if you threaten to put his stuff out with the snakes, he'll get it sorted out sooner. I'm sure you miss him, but I know you're also so proud of him (and of you)!
Critter - Oh my gosh...I almost didn't wait to post but to hurry on over to the link you posted. I cannot wait to hear baby news!!!!!!! I am so excited that I am shaking and getting goosebumps. If all goes well, we will certainly be having reason to jump for joy!!!!! I have been aware of your desire for a child for a long time now. I cannot think of anyone who will be a better mother than yourself.
You are a nut...but that might just work about the putting his remains in the shed. LOL Too cute!!!
I am making a plan... there is an old narrow bureau in the guest room, serving as a TV stand. I'm going to toss Jim's old desk (at his suggestion) in the craft room and move the bureau in for better storage/organization. We can get something nicer to put the TV on in the guest room. I can also use a couple of shelves of my big plant stand in there for storage, at least for now (only 2 shelves have plants at present, and they could probably be condensed to a single shelf). I need some of those clear storage boxes for those shelves. Perhaps a trip to Ikea is in order..
I really need to dig out the closet in there, but if I can just get some organizing done with the extra storage space, that would be a good start. I'm less interested in tossing out at present than in just getting it looking presentable... but I'll keep a box handy for stuff I know should just go.
I did dig out the nursery pretty well... I've moved "gift storage" (things we pick up in advance because they're on sale or because we just love them... nice to go "shopping" in that corner, and if anything hangs around more than a couple of years then it gets donated) into the guest room, and I'm going to get some underbed storage boxes for wrapping paper and ribbon so it's easy to store and access in the guest room also.
I found my nice stroller in the basement -- it folds flat to a big pram-style thing that I can use as a bassinet, and I also have a pack & play with a bassinet insert, so I'll have something both upstairs and downstairs.
I mentioned being "hand-me-down central," and I've also picked up things here and there over the years at garage sales, so we've got more baby stuff and kid stuff here than anybody else I know who hasn't actually had kids yet. LOL See, sometimes it does pay off to be a bit of a pack rat, although I shouldn't probably mention that on this forum!
Congratulations Critter! Wow, shopping for gifts in my 'stash' is something I have done, but I did not have baby stuff around (always had my sisters' babies to send a 'find' to) when I had my pregnancy late in life (no reference to your age, just that I was old). DH wanted to start buying as soon as he heard, but I wanted to wait. We lived in a 2 bedroom, so we had a combo nursery/office split on the diagonal. Since that was only a year after this organized chick married a pack rat, everything still had it's place!
I passed "finds" along when somebody needed something, but we've been "trying" for years, so I always thought, "any day now I will need all this stuff!" LOL
We're pretty late in life for kids too, but our prospective birth mom actually likes our being older because she figures we're more settled and stable, and that's a good thing. Experience with nieces and nephews and just with life in general will help balance out our lack of youthful energy & agility -- I hope!
Keep sending those good vibes, because I also need to tackle the study this week... especially since it's the first thing the homestudy person will see when they walk in the front door! I have a remarkable ability to live with an overstacked desk, but it sure doesn't look good.
Older mothers are better mothers - We waited and have never regretted our decision to have kids a bit later. (30 for me, 34 for DH) Our son is 3rd year medical student and first one of the 17 grandkids to finish college. We were much more patient than lots of people we knew. Our son was very calm, responsible, and loving. My son's FIL is ten years younger than his dad. That's okay - cause we stayed married to each other!
I have worked on living room, and need to return to sewing room again. Tomorrow is yard work early, then sewing room. (It seems to work better when I post a plan.)
I understand what you are saying about it seeming to work better if you post a plan, Gava. The power of words. Makes us feel a bit more accountable I believe.
Jill, your news is wonderful. I am thrilled along with you. If you think you have a lot of baby things to contend with now, just wait until you cannot pass up buying the many cool toys and gadgets that are out there and waiting to be brought home for hours of play. It is lots of fun being in the toy market again. I love it.
I too, along with Jill and Quilty have a gift stash. A couple of months back while trying to do some organizing of the spare bedrooom closet, I had three very large bins full of things. It has been condensed down to one container now thankfully. It is helping that I am making an effort not to buy right at the moment too. I have to just stay out of the stores, or here I come loaded down with an armload of bags.
As I mentioned, until Tucker has everything out of his room, I won't even attempt any real organizational work or decorating. The garden is calling anyway.
I wanted to show a picture of one of the space eaters that Emily received last Christmas. She is so proud of herself when she rides this guy. You folks take good care and be productive. Where are you Holly?
I've been lurking Ruby, Reading all the good news and following the threads. Can't seem to get myself up and moving right now, pulled a muscle last weekend water skiing (or should I say attempting to water ski) and then came down with a stomach flu. Nothing is getting done inside or out. Can't dig or bend over very well, hurts just to sit still. What a sweet pic of that dear little Emily. I have one of those space eaters, too. In fact I have two of them as there is one out in the garage that the guys drug home to fix up for her house and never did work on. At least it is smaller than this monster.
Critter, Definitely, you can see the look of pure joy on Lily's face. LOL
Unc Josh bought Lily something similar at Target (I think). I wasn't impressed with it, even though it was cute it was small I didn't think she would use it much. Boy was I wrong. Same idea as the spring horse but it sits on a central pedestal. It's a zebra with red sneakers Lily would use it to pull herself up and support her while she would walk around it. She was pretty small and could crawl up on it, she is small for her age but at 2 she is still using it. Keep and eye out for one when you hit the second hand stores. Here is an old pic from last year.
Cute! Thanks for the tip -- like you, I'd probably have passed it up at first sight.
I'm so sorry you caught a bug on top of a water skiing injury! I hope you feel better soon. My only attempt at water skiing involved a lot of being dragged around the lake on my face, sure that at any moment I'd get my legs all the way under me. They kept telling me that when my face hit the water it was time to give up on that attempt, but I was maybe a little stubborn as long as my feet were sorta under me! LOL
So far, the study doesn't really look better, but DH was gratified to see a big "toss out" pile developing in the middle of the floor.
Yeah, Ric and I are a real pair. I actually took a shower this morning and picked up a few things Ric helped me drag the hose around the house he bends over and helps move it around and I spray. I am getting better and keep pumping those anti inflammatories into my system.
Okay! I confess that I thought about telling about my "owie". But after reading about real problems I will just shut up, post a photo, and get rolling on my tasks for the day. It's going to be hot again today so I worked in the garden this morning and will clean up the inside now that the sun is pouring in.
My DIL says that she will never allow more than one plastic bin of toys to ever be collected in her home. Let's just see. :-) We have refrained from buying toys for the beautiful baby girl - and I haven't seen some of the books we made/bought. So that keeps me in control of myself. (a little bit)
Thanks for the kisses on my "ouwie". It feels better, but It didn't stop me from cleaning shelves, this morning.
AMEN! Critter, you nailed it - or your SIL got it exactly right. When our grandbaby was here she enjoyed emptying drawers, cabinets, boxes, and baskets. I wish she would come and make a "mess of my kitchen" again soon. Her parents fussed because we "spoiled her and let her get away with stuff." That's my job!
It was kind of fun to see some of the books that needed to be moved. Almost like seeing photos of old friends. Most of them belonged to my son - and I thought of all the times we read them over and over and over. Don't wait to start reading to your baby. A child on your lap can see the pictures and will enjoy the experience of reading one word per page. Don't wait for him/her to ask you to read. Start reading as early as possible. I'm making cloth books for my grandbaby. I can't draw as well as her mom can, but I can color a blue ball from a coloring book and write blue under it. (If only I can convince my son to read to her.)
It took less than 2 hours to rearrange some shelves in the living room, office, and sewing room. Why in the world did I put it off for so long? I kind of imagined that it would take days to get it done. Now I have the rest of the day to begin working on the BIG box of photos.
LOL, no worries on the reading... you should see our upstairs room, that the nieces & nephews call "the book room." There's a bookshelf just for children's books and a couple more shelves with "young adult" books... I've been picking up good ones for years. We both love reading to kids. I'm pretty sure if I'd been lucky enough to get pregnant, Jim would have been reading Green Eggs & Ham to my belly. LOL
I'm finding a remarkable assortment of things in the study that definitely don't belong there. It was a handy place to "stash" stuff while we were painting the living and dining rooms!
Hello All!
Been too busy with the garden in my spare time to even think about the computer. Mine is as slow as molasses in January.
Congratulations, Critterologist and Jim! Best wishes to you and your baby!
Congrats to all you spoilin' Grandmas too! I saw a bumpersticker once that stated this-
"Mom said No? Call 1-800-Grandma"
JuneyBug Dongducheon CpCasey South Korea (Zone 4b)
Good to see you Juney. You have been quiet for a while on here it seems. I hope that all is going well with you.
Gava, sorry that you have an ouchie. Mind if I ask what it was? Holly, my goodness, while reading about your lack of mobility, it brought back memories of how I was feeling the first couple of warm weeks that we had and I was laid up inside with an achy leg and couldn't get out to do anything in my yarden. It really threw a wrench in to things and it has just been in the past ten or so days that I have been enjoying doing yarden chores. I usually love to water things, but until the past ten days or so, we had sufficient rain fall and my services were not needed. I cannot walk by a weed and not stoop to pull it.
Jill, slowly but surely always gets the job done. Don't beat yourself up for not being further ahead than you are. You will get there...you have some excellent motivation.
Gava and Holly...Oh my goodness, what doll babies these girls are. Thank you both for the pictures you shared. Huckleberry, I love the bumper sticker. I knew early on after Emily was born that she would be one person that I would find it impossible to say no to. I was able to finally visit her after a whole month going by last Monday. I never smile as much anywhere else as I do when around her.
My cleaning lady just walked in and I was showing her the carpet that needs cleaning in Tucker's old room. There are still things belonging to him in there. I am going to close out of computer for a while and go in there and put everything that is sitting on the floor in to the closet so that it can be shampooed. She has to leave early today, so I may end up running the shampooer or wait until she comes in next week.
After the carpet is as clean as we can get it, I can begin deciding how to arrange the room. It will need to serve as a winter plant room as well as a guest bedroom. I have a nice full size bed but need to purchase a mattress set. The other spare room has three large bookcases in it so at least one of them will be moved to this new room. You all can not imagine how excited I am to have some spare space finally.
Here is wishing a good weekend for everyone. Take care and enjoy yourselves. Stay cool and don't work too hard.
Funny, Gava, I guess having a child at 30 is 'later'. If that was older than I was just old. DH had 3 adult kids and 2 grandsons when DD was born. But, at 42.5 years I was one of 4 from my graduating class that had kids that year plus another who adopted. Now, this year for our class reunion they are having it in October since they "don't have to worry about the school year" anymore. LOL, some of us still have teenagers!
Yes, reading to the little guys is so enjoyable for the parent and child! DH and I did not share the same passion for Dr Seus, but I liked challenging myself to speed read certain passages. There we so many favorites. DD had her first library card at 3 and we would go to the small local library with the little shopping cart that was part of her toy kitchen. She would check out her maximum number of books and we would listen to the volunteer who read to the kids a couple times a week. I still have some of her favorite preschool books.
I knew my obsession for neatness and putting things away was too much one time when DD & I were on floor at 3. We had taken the little train set out of its storage box and while playing with it I suggested getting the blocks out to build houses and she thought we couldn't have them both out at the same time! Now she just drops whatever she is using - pens, clothes, trash - on the floor when she stops using it! AARGH
I'm so ashamed to tell you all that the painful "owie" is a plantar wart. I will have the podiatrist look/work on it on Tuesday. I have always been bless with great health and had no real injuries. It bugs me that I cannot walk as much as I want. I've enjoyed walking all over my house all day as much as I want until the last month or so. I will wear my big heavy sneakers to church this week - it hurts too much to wear the cute shoes.
My mom and sister are coming tomorrow. Yes, I decluttered the guest room. Even gave away the BEDS!!!! so now I will have to use the air mattress. My mom gave me those beds. I got upset when my kids got rid of "good stuff"; I hope that I will not be in too much trouble. How silly for me to worry about this. I am a 56 year old lady and it's my house. I should have gotten rid of them sooner and told her that I wanted a murphy bed so we could use the room for a winter sun room.
We did not think that she would ever come up here again. So I gave away lots of stuff that I didn't want from her. Yikes! What a weekend! A friend died, we start meetings at church, and I will have company. Shame on me for whining. Thanks for listening anyway. Hope everyone has a lovely calm weekend with much accomplished by Monday morning. :-)
I'm sorry you lost a friend, gava. I think air mattresses work great for a combo winter sun room & guest room! Actually, I'm thinking they're a more comfortable solution than most sofa so-called beds. Sofa beds work pretty well for kids, not so comfy for adults... and here, the kids usually end up together in the "book room" upstairs. (In this house, books stay -- they do not count as clutter. LOL)
I just had to come in and report that I straightened two of my kitchen cabinets earlier today. Yippie!!!! Now we won't have every plastic storage container that I own fall in the floor whenever we need to get one of them. Yippie!!! I hadn't really planned to do this, but dear old hubby needed something earlier and things were falling out so I told him to just sit them all on the counter and I would attack it later. While I was at it, I also straightened the cabinet in which most of our canned goods live.
You all just gave a name to what my new vacated room is going to be called. A winter sun room. I love it. I also love the idea of a murphy bed. I might have to check online and see what kind of things are being offered.
I have company coming soon, so I need to run. Thanks for checking in ladies.
I'm with you, Critter. Books stay in my house - they are not clutter!!! We have hundreds of books in our home.
My guest room is turning back into the sun room today and I'm over the guilt of giving away the twin beds. Now all I need to do is clean the kitchen, put bags of clothes back in the van (our deceased friend's family offered me some really nice clothes - but I told them if I couldn't wear them they would go right to sheltered workshop store), and get ready to enjoy Kenny G concert tonight.
My favorite sister paid me a big compliment. She said she understands why it make me crazy to be at our mom's house. She said that my house is so neat and clean and mom's house is very cluttered and messy. That was way cool to hear that. All my hard work is paying off. Hope everyone is having a very productive week.
I feel better, knowing I am not the only one cleaning up for company!
I spent 3 days cleaning the guest bedroom. This time I didn't just hide things. I took the time to remove excess items to the shed. Then I laundered All the linens. I cleaned the dresser drawers with Murphy's oil soap and sprayed them with cedar oil. I left the top 2 drawers EMPTY for the guests. I took all the clothes out of the closet. They are in garbage bags in the shed, awaiting their fate.
I can't explain how good I feel about this. The only time I have ever seen an empty drawer or closet is when I have moved.
I feel much less frustration in dealing with my hoarding. I think I can break this bad habit of hoarding. I have a new feeling about my home. I think it may be respect.
Thank you, everyone, for the assistance
Cleaned for company today and 'Murphy's Law' visited...garbage disposal went...water under the sink...UGH!!!
Glad I put cleaning supplies in a low plastic bin under the sink, pulled it all out..was half filled with water...what a stink!! Was time to clean out things I didn't use past year...happy the floor stayed dry under the sink...will try not to buy too many house cleaning supplies...
Getting a new garbage disposal today, will vacuum (again) and what is done is done...back was not too happy with all that bending..took a pain pill...will have to take another when I put things back...but will be happy that that chore is done!!
Geraldine, every time I clean for company, Murphy's Law is the law of the land. I save vacuuming for last, and it always is a race to see if I can get it done before the vacuum rebels.
I don't have a garbage disposal now, but I cleaned one once and it was one of the worst smells I have encountered.
I don't like the way I sometimes "blame" my troubles on the fact that company is coming and I am forced to clean up my messes. There is not enough time to clean,fix things, find things, and prepare food, etc. Too much stress. I do enjoy visitors, so I am having a good talk with myself to see if I can't change my ways. If I could be a little less messy, It would save me alot of stress when company comes. Never thought of it before.
I agree with both Critter and Gava on the books. I have three very tall bookcases filled, plus books stuck in nooks and crannies everywhere. Great compliment from your suster Gava, I know it made you feel wonderful.
Wonderful news from Huckleberry. What great hope you give to those of us following behind you. You should be very proud of your stream lining progress. Sounds as though things are coming together very well for you. That you are having some insights rearding hoarding or collecting along the way is great too. It may work to help things not get out of hand for you in the future.
Sorry to hear that Murphy came to visit you Geraldine. You have just given me incentive to put straightening under my kitchen sink on my list of "to do's." I too have a tendency to have too many different sorts of cleaners, when in actuality I only use a very few of them. If I were ever to build or buy a new house, I would want to have a lot more kitchen storage space than I do here. When Tucker moved out last week I was able to just about sit his whole kitchen up with my extras. I can't think of anything that he needed to buy for the kitchen other than an electric can opener and a toaster. I had most everything else for him.
I am glad to see that others of you also have little pangs of panic when we hear that visitors are coming. You hit the nail on the head Huckleberry when stating that if we were less messy in everyday life, there would be no reason for panic when visitors came. Things would already be straightened and clean.
I want to thank everyone for their continued participation in this thread. It is a good way to be encouraged in regards to our clutter by hearing the success stories of others. It is also nice to have a place where we are held accountable for our actions or inactions. I am a person who likes to have dialogue occurring as I work through issues that arise in my life. Thanks ladies.
I checked on delivery status of the new mattress that I ordered last week. It looks as though it will be delivered today. Yippie!!! Tucker wants our current king size mattress in his new place and I have difficulties sleeping on the too firm mattress. I ordered a memory foam mattress and am looking forward to seeing how this is going to work for me rejoining my husband in the bedroom versus me sleeping every night on the couch. I am already benefitting from better sleep because Tucker is not coming in at all sorts of early morning hours and rousing three big mouthed dogs. hahaha
Good to hear from you ladies and here is wishing everyone an extra special day today. Oh yeah, yesterday I spent an hour or so in the newly vacated bedroom straightening things and wiping down walls and other dusty things. I can now begin dividing the much crowded extra furniture that is on the other spare bedroom in to two rooms instead of one. That is going to be a great help in terms of looking better. I then need to get a bed frame from my older son that he isn't using and purchase a regular mattress and box spring set in order to have a guest room set up. I need to have this done by August 3 when I will have a overnight guest who is also a member of Dave's who stays here whenever she has appointments at The University of Virginia Medical Center.
Okay, will try closing once again. Have a great day, all.
Hi Geraldine - We cross posted. You are up and at it early today. What kind of ideas are you looking for in terms of scheduling things? The only thing that comes to mind in trying to schedule things in terms of organizing and such is that while yes, a written schedule, or aim is good to have but we also need to not carve it in stone and we should remain flexible enough to realize that it is not the end of the world if our schedule gets rearranged or delayed.
It will be good to hear others ideas. Again, take care everyone.
Well, girls, it occurs to me that it must look very strange to others that since I'm such a "clutterer", that I love lists. If I'm so organized why am I such a "messie?" Who knows? I have a permanent checklist that I use for every trip. I can add to it or change it because I wrote it in MS Word and keep it on my computer. For example, the list now has "Ipod" since I got one and love to listen on long trips.
One time I went to my mom's house for an over night Christmas trip and didn't take underwear - My husband had a heart attack and open heart surgery. How is that for MURPHY? Yes, I need a list to remember to take underwear on a trip. I even have a list to take 4 items to class with me; it's terrible to arrive on campus without lunch.
Just recently I thought of putting my slippers in the same spot on the shoe rack every time. It's amazing how much time I was wasting looking for slippers in the morning or at night.
Anyway I love to cross stuff off lists. It makes me feel so good to see the list being crossed off. I even put on stuff in several steps so I can cross more things off. Sometimes I put them in order of things to be done, but I'm not aways very good at scheduling time frames. I try to remember to do the things I like to do least at the top of the list. That way I don't spend the day dreading the task. When I was teaching school I had a list of things that had to be done at the beginning of every school year. I am the "list lady" and my family teases me - but they always ask if I have everything done on the list.
Gava, putting things 1st on list of what we don't like to do sounds great!!
Will have to try it...making list and all...hope it helps...
With gardening, esp. today being hot, I want to get our early to weed and usually by the time I get back home am tired!!
Like to hear others 'forget' some necessary things when on vacation...all of us here share so many things and that makes us feel 'normal'!!
LOL, Yes I am a list person especially when it comes to packing for vacation. One year I didn't bother with a check list for clothing just grabbed everything out of a drawer or two and ended up at the beach without a bathing suit.
Ruby, I have my 'old' granmothers' iron bed, has rails for top headboard. It was a God send that my son Rico kept it...was perfect for my back and knee operation..had something to hang onto that was sturdy to turn over!!
Being 'old', could not figure how to do matress and box spring without having to climb into the bed using a step ladder...
Along came 8 in..memory foam mattress...have plywood down as base...would never know there was no box spring and really not needed with this thick mattress..it is very sturdy...I do love it!! It doesn't get 'hot' when on it for a while..the newer memory foam mattresses are great...do make sure it is at least 4 in thick or it does not work for aches and pains...this mattress is great for all 'high' beds..
Love Geraldine, off to church to weed...been up since 5:30 and slow to get moving...
Murphy moved out and now I have 'Arthur-i-tis' visiting!! Ha Ha Ha
Hope Arthur Itis doesn't stay long, Geraldine.
Great tips about the memory foam mattress. I have been trying to figure out a way to make the guest room into a craft room. I envision a bed that could convert to a table for crafts. Just one of my many fantasies! =^..^=
I've had a twin bed in my craft/sewing/plant room... it's actually pretty easy to put a piece of plywood on top of the bed to use for a craft surface. I often ended up with my cutting board there. When not in use, just slide it under the bed or between the bed and the wall. :-)
Heavens to Betsy! I went to my neighbor's house this morning to see a quilting frame. After I finished trying to assemble it (never did get it accomplished) she insisted that I taste and take home some "goodies" like kalamat olives and gorgonzola cheese. She didn't have to twist my arm to get me to bring some home. We have shared grape leaves & produce from our garden with her.
Her home is beautifully decorated. It's like what you see in a magazine. She has the drapes that "puddle" on the floor and the whole nine yards. But her kitchen was a disaster. I mean it was a gross mess. There was grease on the stove, a spilled sack of garbage on the floor, open containers on counters, piles of dirty dishes in the sink. It looked like she had a party last week and never got around to cleaning it up. I came back here to my comfy home and put the groceries in the fridge. There are a few dishes in the sink, but I cannot remember when my kitchen looked that bad.
Bless her heart - she might not feel well. I guess I should cut her and me some slack. I'll quit fussing about how bad my house looks. And keep working on getting the clutter out of the garage. My son doesn't know how well off he is. I hope that I will not ever feel that bad.
Hi gals - Been busy here and haven't checked in for a while. Good to see you all posting though. Gava, yep I am a list person too and it is fun to be able to cross something out as done. I would truly feel lost if I didn't keep a running list on my kitchen counter where I keep my purse. Some days I never look at my list and my day just happens, but most days I have things that need to be done, so refer to it a lot.
My two bedrooms are both still in shambles from Tucker's move out. There is still a small pile of things in the middle of his room that need to be stored or given away. I cannot really begin doing anything much in there until I get the carpet cleaned. Probably ought to try and schedule that soon. We were kind of waiting for the new mattress to get here and it was set up yesterday. I took a four hour afternoon nap. It felt truly lovely. Geraldine, I ordered a fourteen inch foam base. Yummy!!!
Jill, I love your idea for using a sheet of plywood as a crafting surface. Neato. Makes it really handy to store away when not being used. I love it. Maybe Huckleberry could use this idea.
Good to see everyone. Geraldine, I too hope that Arthur hasn't decided to stick around. I find bodily aches and pains are so annoying. Thankfully, I don't suffer too badly with any arthritis types of pains and things usually but have had some very agonizing times in my life with them. If you are having a bad time with it, I hope that it will ease up soon.
Does anyone have one of those ottomans that opens to a twin hide-away? I have a chair & a half that does that, but it is too big for the current space. Would love one of those. I think they run around $200.
Also, a baby tip if you are interested. I had a C-section for my second child. I also had a horrible back & had surgery when she was 6 months old. Bending was nearly impossible. I bought one of those foam changing pads that has a curve to it. I set up a changing table on top of my dryer. The utility room was closer than her room. It was a great height so there was no bending. I kept all of her baby clothes & supplies in the cabinet above the dryer. It made it easy for me & kept the "guest room" (actually her room - crib was in a cubby behind the door) nice & spacious with empty drawers for company. No need to buy a changing table! It stayed that way until she was potty trained.
I probably wouldn't have picked up a changing table if buying new, but we got one as part of our garage sale "find" with the crib & dresser. There's also a changing pad that has made the rounds of friends/family and will soon find its way back to us... much as you describe, but with a solid weighted base that makes it stay put really well.
I am making great headway in the nursery, guest room, and craft/sewing/plant rooms, and I'm making some progress in sorting things out in the study, also. Once bed risers arrive (ordered from walmart.com), I'll be able to slide storage boxes with wrapping paper etc. under the bed in the guest room, and then that room will pretty much be together. The nursery is looking good, although I've still got a little clutter on the changing table shelf.
Digging out my closet and re-organizing my clothes is probably the next big project.
Oh Geraldine, I didn't even buy a box spring. This mattress is fourteen inches thick and the wooden bed frame sits a good height off the floor. My dog Blue can vouch on how comfortable the mattress is. He layed down with me yesterday afternoon and a couple of hours after I had been up and moving around, he was still laying in the exact same spot as during his nap too. He must have really loved it. hahaha
Teri, I don't have one of the fold out ottomans, but have been eyeing them in catalogues for years. Too bad that your chair and a half is too large for your space. I hope that you will find something to work better for you. Great idea on baby changing set up.
Jill, I have had another busy week and am behind once again on the threads that I like to read. I haven't been over to your baby thread all week and may not get there today either. It sounds as though you are doing some great work though. You have the worlds best motivator for de-cluttering/re-organizing spaces...a nursery. Whenever I think of your news, I want to stand up and dance around in joy. You seem to be holding yourself together a lot better than I might be if I were the one in your situation. Talk about having to remind myself to be calm, be calm, be calm. You are doing great friend.
I hope that everyone is having a good weekend and are staying cool. Take care all.
Ruby, thanks for the image of your dog, Blue, snoozing the day away on his comfy spot. That new bed sounds wonderful. My dog Blue died 2 yrs ago on Valentine's Day. He was a very tall and gentle Black Lab. We had a deep bond and I smile everytime I hear of another Blue out there, enjoying himself.
I have more company coming and it's a good thing because it is forcing me to keep cleaning and decluttering. I'm on a roll. I bought a new set of sheets JUST FOR the guest bedroom. The ones I had on before were a tad too small and had a few faded felt pen marks from when the girls used them 15 yrs ago. They have served the bed for 22 yrs and will retire to the garden where they will cover the tomatoes when frost threatens this Autumn.
Critterologist, I like the idea of a plywood cover for the mattress. Thinking of covering it with oilcloth so it doesn't get stuck to the bedcovers and/or shed splinters.
Gavafriend, what a surprise you had at the neighbors'. How interesting! Reminded me of the character in the novel 'The Catcher in the Rye', the prep-school roommate who was suave and well-groomed on the outside and a slob in the bathroom. I bet most of us have areas where we are neat and tidy and organized, then you turn around and you're in hurricane alley. How sad if it is from illness. At least she let you in. I still haven't had my neighbor over for tea and cobbler. My kitchen mess is mostly clutter, cobwebs and a perennially filthy floor. DH does most of the floor cleaning. I do most of the dishes, and twice a day at that. Generally I leave the spiders to catch the flies, but sometimes both get out of hand and I have to play god. That happens when company comes. Like now. Coffee, Tea and Blackberry Cobbler, anyone?
Huckleberry, great idea for the plywood, will cover it when I flip the mattress...may be a year or two...
I decluttered the plants in my window, saw some great pots of rattan on sale and massed all my orchids into them...needed 3 but it looks great and I can see the shelves now! Will rotate them weekly so all plants get the sun...these planters are lighter than all thosed clay pots I had them in...sure hope it works!
Stay cool, hot and humid here in MA...
As long as you sand any cut edges, most plywood is pretty smooth -- unless you're talking about chipboard. Instead of oil cloth, if you want to "surface" the plywood, how about using peel & stick floor tiles? It should come out sort of like laminate and give you a smooth, durable surface. You might be able to score an end scrap of flooring to use the same way.
ooh, slide me a piece of that blackberry cobbler, please... I'll get a refill on my coffee to go with it... :-)
I've got an extra day to get organized, as I had to wave off the cleaning crew when our A/C went down last night. Of course, it's also a little warm in here to do any serious digging out, but I can sort through papers, etc. I'm making progress, but it seems like slow going because I'm working on several rooms at once. I need to focus on just one room this evening and get it all the way done!
Yes, huckleberry, I'd like cobbler and earl grey tea. Cream and sugar in my tea, thank you very much. Wow, I cannot imagine how wonderful that must taste. We are going to see my mom this weekend. She does not need it, but I'll take a frozen cobbler over to bake at her house. We can take it to her little brother who is extremely ill. I need to visit with him, and he loves cobbler.
I had envied my neighbor's skill at decorating. It takes me years to even choose a paint color. I've never used anything except pastel colors. I cannot imagine being too sick to even load the dishwasher. She answered the door yesterday when we went around the neighborhood giving away spare vegetables. She was slightly incoherent and she had a hard time walking. She is in her early 30's. No, she wasn't drinking...
Just wanted to encourage you to do one room at a time, Critter, it's easier to eat that elephant when you gnaw on one leg before starting another. It was for me anyway. Glad to hear that you are still making progress.
Isn't it funny how we do something like put the plants in matching pots and they look less cluttered? Great idea, geraldine!
Daggonit!!!! Typed a bit over a paragraph and then lost it. Oh well. Was just going to give an update on my process of merging two rooms together somehow and come up with a plant/Library Room and guest bedroom. This has certainly been slow in coming, but as Gava pointed out...the way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.
Huckleberry, I too have company coming in on Monday, so it is also serving as a motivator for me. I have to get the room ready for her to sleep in. My weekly cleaning lady stayed a bit longer yesterday and shampooed the carpet in the room that Tucker just vacated. It will be our guest room. I have a queen size air mattress that I will be putting up in the next day or two and then I can begin arranging other furnishings and things.
I haven't felt very well for over a week and that has put the brakes on getting much done. I seem to be doing a lot better but still am having bouts of nausea every so often. I told my hubby that I didn't know which was worse, physical pain or nausea. I am no stranger to pain either, having spent a twelve year period suffering horribly from headaches. If I had to choose which to have, it would be the nausea. It usually subsides fairly quickly, whereas my headaches seemed to go on forever and ever. Okay, off track here Ruby.
Good luck on getting your happy project done Critter. You too have an excellent or actually the world's greatest reason to assign new duties to a room. I am so excited for you.
Geraldine, I too can derive a lot of joy about doing one small thing that is some how more pleasing to one's eye.
It is great to see each of you and I enjoy hearing what everyone has going on. You ladies take good care and I hope to see you all again soon.
Ruby, you've got a great reason to work on those rooms, too! Isn't it something... first we put a lot of effort into creating the perfect "nest" and the next thing we know, we're encouraging them to try their wings and leave! :-)
I knew about eating the elephant one bite at a time, but it seldom occurs to me to concentrate on eating one leg before nibbling on the next! LOL
Oh, critter, you are absolutely right about creating the perfect nest and then so soon we encourage them to launch from the nest and leave. If there was one thing I could do over it would be to work less when my son was little. My sister told me on the day I came home from the hospital with my tiny baby boy that before I knew it he would go to school. Then the time would really fly. (I thought she was full of mud!) Yes, they do grow up and leave home so quickly.
Just enjoy your baby, critter, take time to laugh with that precious gift, and explore the world from his/her perspective. My son was always "experimenting", building things, creating structures, and asking lots of questions. We had stuff growing in dishes all over the house. He loved legos - we thought he'd be an engineer. He's a third year medical student and he's a good daddy, and a wonderful husband. I miss him - but we are proud that he has left the nest. :-)
My other regret is that I only had one child. :- (
It sounds as though your only child turned out quite well Gava and you have perfect rights to be proud. I had two sons and to roll it up in a nut shell, both boys were very much in to G I Joe figures and video games. The younger son was big in to sports until the last couple of years when he has decided to be a society drop out, of sorts. Poor guy, he will get himself turned around before too long I hope.
Critter, I suppose that one of the main responsibilities that come along with little one's is that we teach them to be able to survive on their own once they leave our homes. I agree with Gava, enjoy the next years that you will have with your little one and believe me, by the time she is in her late teens, you will be glad for a break. LOL
Latest report on guest bedroom. It has a guest who stayed overnight in it now. I will be waking Darius at 7 AM in order for her to go to her doctors visits at UVA Medical Center. At the moment, the room is very sparce furniture or decor wise. I had been waiting for her visit before I started doing anything very major in there. There is a lot of paint touch up that needs to be done, or actually maybe re-paint the whole room. Will have to give some thought to it.
The closet in there still has some of Tucker's left behinds. I need to sort through those one more time and find new homes for some of the things. It is at that point where I can begin organizing the closet and taking some of the over crowded items from other closets and put in there. I will then decide what furniture will fit and put that in.
On my trip to Walmart this morning I am hoping to buy a small TV for in there. It is a quite small room and so not a whole lot is going to fit in. This has been slow in coming, but it is coming...that is what is important. I hope that this finds everyone doing well and staying cool. Take care everyone.
Sounds like progress on your spare room...I had a tv in my bedroom and gave it away, it was tooooo big...saw a nice 'flat' tv my friend had and plan on getting one of them...does not take up much space and can even put it on the wall...
finally getting some hot weather here in MA, garden is blossoming!!
How is your new mattress working out, wondered on how the bottom sheets fit.
Am slowwww in this weather...but do enjoy the sun and heat...
Well, bless your heart, geraldine, you are welcome to come get some of the heat we have in New Mexico. :D And you may have it if you will bring us some rain in the process.
I guess we shouldn't complain too much. I really don't like the humidity, bugs, or weeds. We pull very few weeds here, don't have bad bugs, never have mildew on plants or in the house, and the humidity can be around 10% in the summer. Most people around here use evaporative cooling. It doesn't work during the humid days when there are monsoon rains.
We spend more money keeping our house cool in the summer than we do heating it in the short winters. We have 5-7 months a year when we don't have to heat or cool the house with help from the utility company. Next spring we will build "portales" on the east and west sides of the house to keep it cooler. They will have shade cloth on them so we can remove it when we want the sun to heat the house.
We finally have a yard with lots of sunshine so we can grow beautiful sun loving flowers, vegetables, and fruit trees. No, I'll keep my yard with the heat and you can keep yours. As soon as I take out all the trash I'm going to work on getting rid of some fabric, quilting books, and magazines. I'll add them to my sister's clutter. She likes it and says I worry too much about my house. I love my sister, but it would make me nuttier than I am to live in her house.
Ruby, can you just buy a little TV that will work with the new signal now? We had a little TV in our guest room and gave it away after they changed the signal. I'm not sure our TV watching guest will ever come to see us again. (my mom) We keep telling people that we don't have time to watch TV. I love to watch HGTV, TLC and Food Network. Maybe it's a good thing I don't have a TV. I'm too cheap to pay for cable, and have too much on my plate to watch one most of the time. I'm thankful my son doesn't have his baby glued to a TV. Thanks for the compliment, Ruby, about the my child. I hope your sons will turn out to be blessings to you and your husband.
Geraldine, I would say that we have moderate temperatures mostly, with a few stifling days here and there when the temperatures get up in the 90's. Are you thinking of maybe not moving as far south as South Carolina and possibly stopping in Virginia as you move southward? How are plans for setting up in a retirement community coming along for you? I don't hear much from you these days since we don't dmail any longer and the other room that we used to go to has no activity again. Dmail and give me an update when you can.
As for TV's. Oh yeah, the flat screens are the ones to go for. I have a 32" flat screen in our living room and I love it, knock on wood. So far, so good. I think that the smallest the flat screens come is 19" and that is what I will most likey get. That is still going to be over two hundred. Oh well.
Geraldine, the mattress is delightful to sleep on. I feel like I am laying on clouds. I love it. No problem with the fitted sheets working, they were plenty big. I ordered a three inch thick foam topper to give to my son who got our old too firm mattress. It should be here today maybe. I also broke down and order three sets of sheets when I ordered the topper. Man, are sheet sets outrageous in cost. I shopped Overstock for these items and compared and compared and read all reviews of items and finally made my choices. I too am very thrifty Gava, not cheap, but thrifty. LOL Nah, I am pretty cheap to when it comes to certain things.
I hope that you were able to accomplish a lot yesterday Gava. I didn't get much done at all, but today is another day and maybe I will be more productive than yesterday. Good seeing both of you fine ladies. Until we meet again, take good care.
Hello again!
Company has come and gone, Sister and 8yr-old niece, then DH's fishing buddy and his DW. It was so hot (109) all we could do was sweat, complain, and play croquet under the sprinkler! Too hot to BBQ. The heatwave broke, and we were caught in a hailstorm in our new car! One hit the windshield, it was the size of a ping-pong ball!
Off to be company myself, apple pickin' time at the folks'. They have the remains of an old Gravenstein orchard. When we get home, daughter will visit with 1month-old grandson, Shiloh. As far as i know, that concludes the summer visits.
I am eager to keep organizing. Garden is doing well, unless you interview the potatoes. They look as if they were hit with a torch. Do they like a little shade?
Huckleberry, picking apples in the heat!!
Not my thing...
I go the orchards and buy the seconds, a few marked spots from hail or ?? but still as tasty. I don't like sour food, so wait til later after a frost so they are sweeter, do need to check on the peaches! Was able to put up 6 bags last year in freezer, found out that if you put them in a light syrup they stay very well and were great as cobblers.
Have a great day all, nice night for sleeping last night...up to 80 today!
Heat wave is past, but will return here this week.
Haven't had a good peach yet this year. May I try a bite of yours?
Picking the apples is the easy part. Processing them is the chore. Everything seems to ripen at the same time. Apples, grapes, blackberries. We make wine, juice and raisins, jam and applesauce. Then it is tomatoes.
I live like a pioneer. Don't understand why I enjoy it. My Mother says I am primative.
My stepdaughter is visiting with her 1-month old baby boy. She washes him once a week yet he appears very clean and fresh. I know absolutely nothing about babies. This pleases my stepdaughter immensely. ; - )
Recycled today. Always makes me feel good. Made $5.00 from containers I cleaned off the beach while on vacation. Visited the thrift shops, didn't get too carried away. I am making slow but sturdy progress on becoming a little cleaner and a bit less cluttered.
Have sunflower heads drying on chairs in the kitchen, clutter again but will be nice to decorate in fall...have been staying out of stores, so don't spend and bring home more clutter, do need to clean the closets 'again'. (have clothes rabbit that keep multiplying) ...will wait till we get some fall weather. We are finally getting a nice sunny day! Have not really had a Spring and Summer was cool...strange weather...wonder what the fall and winter will be like!!
AHHH! New baby, enjoy!!
Sunflower heads in your kitchen... that's what I call good clutter. Had to put the birdnet over mine as the birds got to them and ate half the immature seeds.
Looked at 500 digital baby photos. Proud Mamma had several of babe in each of his tiny outfits. Cute. Hard to delete excess pics in front of Mamma though! We had a giggle about that.
Canned 32 quarts of applesauce. Made an apple crisp for tomorrow morning. I have invited my 95 year-old neighbor and her daughter over to meet the babe. Finally!
It's been 1 year exactly since I last had them over for apple crisp, tea and coffee. Too lazy and embarrassed by my mess. They are yardsalers too, but they take care of their aquisitions. They don't cram them in like I do.
Finally had a good peach this morning. It was delicious in my cup of vanilla yoghurt. Yum : })
Your apples sound delicious, you are really busy and will have some great food
when the cold weather comes...am enjoying this heat wave we are having, makes summer feel like summer...do have a/c on at times.
I agree that the heat is what puts the simmer in summer! The garden won't ripen up without it. I love to play in the water, and the Rogue River is ice cold. Quite a contrast on a triple-digit day.
Had a wonderful visit with my neighbor. She is sharp as a tack. My husband told her her ankles looked good (no swelling) and she shot back 'Why are you looking at my ankles?!" She kept teasing the new mother, asking her "Do you think you want to keep him?" (the baby) She got a big kick out of that.
My stepdaughter left today. I did not bombard her with stuff. In fact, I didn't give her anything but a few photos of her as a 3yr old. We never mentioned the 12 large garbage bags of stuff I made her go thru when she visited 2 yrs ago. They are still in the wellhouse, awaiting their fate. I think I can let them go now. She doesn't need any of it, even with a new baby.
I got right to cleaning the guestroom. Didn't let it lay like I usually do.
This winter I plan to organize it as a craft room too.
Tomorrow we pick blackberries along the river. Up early and quit when it gets too hot.
Except for a recent period while we were reorganizing it for storage purposes, I try to keep the guest room "ready" all the time... that way, there's never any hesitation about inviting people to stay the night. I pretty much whisk the sheets off the bed and into the wash right after guests have headed out... I'm sure if anybody ever had to turn right around and return due to car trouble or something, they'd be very amused to find their sheets whirling around in the dryer!
It really is nice to have the guest room's other purpose just be storage and not activities that would leave stuff strewn around on a regular basis. And since it is the guest room, I try not to let the storage get disorganized and overflow its assigned spots! However, there's less and less space in the closet available to guests. LOL
Good morning all! Hot still in MA...have a/c on at times...cools off fast in my 'lil' apt.
Went to get more peaches, my great niece had her 1st native peach and ate them all up! She's 5...will give her more...the flavor or native produce is so much better than store bought...will tell her mother how to freeze them...
Was a little depressed earlier this week, get those 'spells'...sometimes I think I need to take some medication for depression but hate taking pills!
Anyone out there taking something not tooo strong??
Stay cool all, enjoy the Roque River, sure sounds nice!!
You're right, Critter. A guest room is nice to keep for the sole purpose of guests. Sometimes I like to go in there and pretend I'm a guest in my own home, ha ha!
I'm thinking it will require more discipline than I have to make a craft/guest room work. I know the junk/guest room doesn't work! Too much stress in making the conversion.
Geraldine, I am sad to hear you are feeling depressed. My mother suffers from Depression. I don't have any advice to pass along, sorry. Sometimes I think I am too mean to get depressed myself.
I have heard that St Johnswort works for some people. It is an herb. One thing you may want to try is to allow yourself to be depressed sometimes. I think that is what my mother does now. You have my support and my best wishes. Take care.
Thanks Huckleberry, will check on the St. Johnswort and give it a try...I quess many of us do get depressed at times...life just keeps changing as we age...and it is hard to adjust to the new needs and changes...raining today, we need it..still hot and humid...have a good day...
Hope you are feeling better, Geraldine. Depression must be tough to deal with. I have a friend who stuggles against it more than I do. She takes St. Johnswort all the time to try to deal with it.
My biggest problem is my memory - I keep forgetting how blessed I am. When I forget to count my blessings then it can feel overwhelming. It always shocks me when the "grief/depression" rolls over me in fresh waves. You are right about adjusting to the changes. It seems like I'd rather stay with the "old familiar" than accept the changes that always seem to come my way. Later on I'm grateful for lots of the changes, but struggle when the change is current.
Thanks Gava, was nice to hear from you, yes, if I look back, I am doing ok, but the changes in my life have me frustrated...have many blessings, but hard to think of what is ahead for me...I pray to God and know it will work out ok, just have to keep the 'faith' and good friends on line help!!
Geraldine, I read the coolest article by Dr. James Dobson today. I planned to just shred the newsletter from focus on the family, but "accidently peeked'" before running it through the shredder. It made me cry again, but it felt good to know that I'm not the only one who grieved when I suffered from the empty nest syndrome. (I went through it 3 times with the same kid.)
God bless you and give you the courage and strength you need for the changes He has planned for you.
Hello to everyone - good to see folks posting. I am so far behind in reading on Dave's that I doubt I will ever catch up. I particularly like this thread and like to see it pop up as having activity on it. Gosh, I can so identify with the things that are on people's minds. Geraldine, if the blue feelings continue for as long as six weeks it is time to consult your doctor about possibly taking something to treat it. I have taken an antidepressant for over twenty years now. When I became physically ill in the mid 1980's and spent so much time being frustrated with the new limitations that had fallen upon me, I began experiencing a lot of depression. Supposedly the medication that I take also works somehow with pain receptors and that is an added benefit of it.
I clearly remember the first morning in my life that I woke up and the first couple of hours of thoughts weren't those of gloom and doom. I don't have a date for it, but it happened so subtlety that I hadn't realized that I had spent most of my life with negative thoughts being in the forefront of my mind at most times. I still experience bouts with the depression from time to time, but have learned to just ride them out. I have now experienced many years of not being depressed, so I am able to recall that and know that things will soon feel better to me.
Gava, excellent insight in to dealing with depression. One cannot feel both depressed and grateful at the same time. One or the other will win out. I am amazed and recently shared with a doctor how back some almost thirty years ago now, it was suggested that I make a list of ten things that I was grateful for. Man, before being treated for depression, I had a very, very difficult time coming up with ten things good about my life. Since depression treatment, I could name ten reasons to be grateful before my feet hit the floor in the morning. There is just an amazing difference in my life due to the meds. I don't want to spend what time I left on planet earth missing out on the good that is out there.
Huckleberry, you are putting me to shame with everything you are involved in recently. Lots of company is good for the soul. Last week I was able to spend a couple of afternoons with a girl friend of mine who now lives out of town, but whom I have known and been friends with since age five. We had good times together as always. Next week I will be away on vacation at VA Beach VA. I have a second cousin who lives there that I haven't seen for many, many years but the two of us have been keeping in touch via email since last fall. I am looking forward to spending some time with her next week too.
Critter, have you shared with this group why you have been involved in re-purposing some of your rooms? You have the world's very best reason of all to re-decorate a room. I am glad that you post from time to time here. Good to have someone who I have known for while around the threads I frequent. That brings me to thinking of Holly who has been really quiet on this thread for a while. Waving hello in case Holly is reading. I miss you Lady Bug.
I just made myself a note to take pictures of the new guest room that I have set up since Tucker's move. I am also going to shame myself and take a before picture of the room that I will tackle after getting back from vacation. I will post them here for all to see.
Anyway, so good hearing about the goings ons with everyone. I hope that you will begin feeling better soon Geraldine. Please don't feel as though you need to suffer in silence. We want to be there for you. Some of the issues you are dealing with are those that not all of us have experience with...such as widowhood. I would think if anyone had a good reason to be depressed, it would be someone who has lost their spouse. I would like to see you become involved with some other women who are working their way through the same sort of issues that you are. I know that I rely on others who have the same health issues as myself to be of support to me whenever I am dealing with something new and many times uncomfortable. I need the support of others who have walked in my shoes and who will tell me that yes, sometimes the going get tough, but that still life is really full of a lot of wonderment.
Take care, don't work too hard and have a wonderful day everyone.
Waiting to hear if my church will be having a tag sale this weekend, then will go through closets...didn't lose any weight this summer...so all too small will go...am doing gardening right now, so am busy there, that clutter is getting 'worse' am drying some flowers for a flower arrangement, had to hang them in my hallway!!
Hopefully they will be able to use soon...sprayed them with clear lacquer to help prevent shedding...
Have a great day all...
LOL Ruby, I'm not sure there are too many people anywhere on DG now who don't know about our little Bundle of Joy!
Checking in for moral support... there's a gawdawful mess in one corner of the morning room where I just keep stacking things up, and I need to tackle it... also need to clean out the little fridge in there (such a fun job) so we can move it upstairs (OK, so I have good motivation at least... fridge across from the nursery means fewer trips up/down stairs in the middle of the night!). Also need to do a bit of decluttering in the guest room because handmedowns arrived in quantity last weekend... LOL at all my bragging about how that room is always ready to go! Grandparents are arriving tomorrow. :-)
Good to hear from you all!
Geraldine, you sound peppy now. I hope sharing your troubles has helped.
I get a terrible feeling when the weather is hot for days. Oppression is the word. I am menopausal right now and am experiencing hot flashes. I find them sort of interesting. But the combination of internal and external combustion is unsettling at times. I have been discovering new ways to cool down! =^..^=
The garbage bags of clothes are getting another going thru before I get rid of them, hopefully forever. I am sorting on one couch, and then they go into the wheelbarrow and out to the back of the truck. No more piling on the guest bed. Too easy to close the door and "forget" about the mess.
Ruby, have a glorious visit with your second cousin.
Critter, I know you will tackle your messes and get things organized.
Gava, My mother has 4 kids. She says when we leave, the place is like a tomb. I know she also enjoys having the time to herself and not have to attend to needs or break up fights. I hope your son will grow to miss you as you miss him. I guess it comes with time.
Geraldine87... I could not agree with rubyw more. If depression lasts more than 6 weeks please do not be afraid of meds. If St. John's wort works for you all the better. I've expreienced several bouts of depressions "from hell" ( sorry thats the best way to explain it) in the past 20 or so years. Through the doc have used several types of meds, and been very stable in this area for several years. What a relief. I just feel so normal and happy, not drugged up or anything. Depression is in my genes, so it has to be counteracted with meds, just like diabetes has to be counteracted with insulin. I will pray for you dear one that you find the answer that works for you. I have truly been there and know the depth of despair that depression can bring. Do not hesitate to dmail me or whatever if you want someone to "talk to". I'm a very good listener.
Never forget, my heartfelt prayers are with you,
Sylvia
Thank you for posting Sylvia. Thank you for sharing some of your journey. It is good to hear that you have had a good amount of time without having to deal with depression.
Huckleberry, you surprised me when you said that you were menopausal. I don't know you well and just assumed from some of your messages that you were just a spring chicken, maybe in your late twenties or early thirties. You write young. LOL
Critter, I am sure that each and every chore that you are currently involved in is done with much joy and with a big wide grin on your face. I cannot wait to meet the little one at some of The Mid Atlantic Gardening future plant swaps. You have so much to teach this little one about gardening. One of the things that my little Emily has always done since she could first get around and be involved in things is to stick her little nose in to anything green or alive. She learned that from Grandma. I haven't even minded when she sees me dead heading things and she chooses the biggest and prettiest of the blooms to pick and destroy. I could never be mad at her. Just thinking of all your future fun with her brings joy to me. Continue to enjoy!!!
Geraldine, yes you sound a lot better on this post. I too have many items in my closet that I am afraid won't ever fit me again. Wish I could snap my fingers and lose some extra poundage. LOL Ain't gonna happen, but I can still wish. Drying the flowers sounds interesting. Take a picture of your arrangement when completed if you can. Would love to see some of your handiwork.
Thanks to all who are keeping the thread active. I look forward to hearing from all of you.
Thanks all of you, yes, not as down as befor, do have a Dr. apt. and will discuss medicines for depression...hopefully with few side effects..
Granddaughters took me out to the movies for my BD, saw 'Julia, Julia', enjoyed it!
Wore a yellow rose from my bush ' Julia', and Julia Childs' did have a bouquet of yellow roses in the movie at one time...our children and grandchildren grow up so fast! Enjoy your new 'bundle' Critter'...we will all share in your happiness.
Decided against moving into a mobile home here in MA, they are not like the one I lived in Fl...no clubhouses or pools...and mobile homes were on the old side...will wait a while and check out other options later on...at least I know I am better where I am for now..making all these inquiries and decisions alone is tough...
Ruby, thanks for making my day! I am 46 years old (and proud of it!) Any "youthfulness" you detect is pure immaturity shining through. =^..^=
Oh, Geraldine, you made my day even more. I want to see "Julie and Julia" too. And even more now that I can imagine you sporting a lovely yellow rose! I don't have a yellow rose anymore, but I'm sure I can find one somewhere.
All the cobblers I made for company added about 5 pounds to my bod. It's aggravating! Thought I was so active that the calories wouldn't take hold. Oh, well! I see that eating, sweating and complaining is not an effective weight-loss plan. ;-)
I am still sorting thru my clutter. I am trying to do as the experts advise- a little at a time. I do admit now to being overwhelmed by it. I am struggling with the "I need to pull everything out all at once and look at everything before I will get rid of ANY ONE THING" mentality. Case in point- I have 20 turtleneck sweaters. I don't look good in them as I have a short neck and a round face. Some of them are wool and I can't stand the itchiness of wool and will wear a cotton turtleneck under the woolen one. This is madness, yes? So I have thrown them on the "fix it" pile because I imagine I am going to remove all the turtlenecks and hem the collars this winter when I am abstaining from gardening (that is another story). Pure madness!! So my goal for tomorrow is to let the turtlenecks go out of my grasp and onto the body of a longer-necked person. I have plenty of non-turtlenecks to wear anyway. Please wish me luck. I can't believe how dramatic I am about this stuff!
Way to go Huckleberry! I put all my energy, and it took a lot of it, to go into the closet and take out clothes for church 'free tag sale'! Getting started is the HARD part for me! Put the bag into the car, it was tooo tempting to back in and take things back out! Will attempt another bag this week. Have been staying OUT of stores! Need to use what I have, there are people with far less than I have and I feel guilty having so much just laying around.
If you do get a yellow rose bush I recommend the 'knock out' yellow 'Julia'. A great bush, very hardy, little care. Also have the 'hot chocolate' and was amazed how great it looks. Knock Out roses are comming with more petals so they are prettier.
Craving for sweets so made cocoa oatmeal drop cookies...calories galore!! But
'Ohhhhhh' so good...
Enjoy the day all, off to church, praying for all of us here...
I intended to tackle those turtlenecks today but can't find them. It would be wonderful if there is a turtleneck thief in the neighborhood.
The back of the truck is crammed full of clothing, linens and craft fabric. Tomorrow I call a consignment shop and see what they may be interested in.
I think I have seen the "Hot Chocolate" rose in a catalog somewhere. On second thought, it may be a morning glory with a similar name. Sounds lovely, especially if it is chocolate-scented! I have grown a few chocolate-scented plants and loved them.
Thank you for the prayers, Geraldine. I think of all of us, struggling with our problems, as I work on my mess . I send kind thoughts out to all of you.
Got the bag of clothes to church without taking anything out!! Was really tempted.
Have not started on another bag yet.
Huckleberry your turtlenecks are 'nesting' somewheres' making 'more' turtlenecks!!
Got bit by a wasp and need to take antibiotics and steroids for it...these bugs have 'mutated' !!
Have a great day all...
We leave the wasps in our yard, because the eat the caterpillars that want to eat my flowers and vegetables. The entomologist at the state university said that they only "get testy" when it's time to protect their nest in the fall. Are you getting ready for fall already? I remove the nests before fall if I find them under my eaves or in my yard. So far, we have not been stung.
Oh yeah, time for a bee bite report. How are you doing Geraldine? I was away for vacation last week and spent the week at the beach with either rainy or very windy days. The weather cleared one day before we headed home. hahaha Just our luck. All in all, it was good to be able to get away for a while.
What I had waiting for me at home is a room that has been serving as junk central for many months. There are two very narrow paths to walk around in there. It is imperative that I get the room straightened soon. It is going to be the winter home to a large amount of houseplants. I am on a schedule because I don't want to risk having any plants die because I didn't get them inside soon enough.
I am hoping to make a small start this morning before I shower and leave to go and visit my grand daughter, Emily who is two years old. I haven't seen her for a couple or three weeks and always begin going in to withdrawals when this much time passes. Tomorrow I will have more time to devote to de-cluttering the room. Huckleberry, I have given some thought to consigning things too but wonder if just donating them somewhere wouldn't be easier. I will decide soon, because I need this stuff gone!!!
I am a bit picky at times about where I donate. The closest thrift store to me I some times wonder about the volunteers going through and taking some of the better stuff. I also feel more obligated to help another couple of causes besides this one. I will figure it out soon, because I have to.
It is really good to come back and catch up on what is going on with everyone. So glad to see Geraldine, Huckleberry and also Gava, the three who have posted since I last read here. I hope that everyone is having a good week and looking forward to a better weekend.
One more comment and then I will close for now. Geraldine, I think that I shared with you that when I first got divored after having always lived with my parents and then for nine years with hubby, I found that decision making was one of the hardest things that I had to learn to do. You will get better with each decision that you make and then it will become old hat for you. That is how it happened with me anyway. Much success for you.
Just wanted to report some major success for the morning. As I was writing the other post, I decided there was no time like the present to get started straightening. I am going to even admit my shame and show you pictures of the junk room, soon to be houseplant room. I took a before and after picture, but still need to spend about the same amount of time, hopefully tomorrow straightening the couple of spots that I was too pooped to get to today.
I do have a theme of sorts for that room. It tends to be where I unload from shopping trips and often times leave things sitting for months it seems. A large percentage of stuff I dealt with today were gifts, mainly for Christmas giving. The last time I straightened that room, there were two or three large plastic bins full of Dollar Tree buys, that I use for little gifts. So, I am a gift giving fool it seems.
Anyway...don't want to bend your ears for as long as I did earlier, so here is one of the before pictures.
Here is the room after I spent a couple of hours organizing things. Not finished, but hopefully with about the same effort tomorrow, I will have the plant room ready to begin its winter work. After the two spare bedrroms are straight, I will head out to outdoors shed. Much of the stuff outside will be donated, I just need to decide who to donate to. Thank you all for indulging me.
Ruby! Wonderful progress there on that room. I love your plant stands.
We were using the nursery in much the same way... I found some things I hadn't remembered at all when I organized my gift stash and moved it to the guest room. DH did get a little carried away using the higher risers (bought an "adjustable" set)... my folks nearly tumbled trying to get into bed... so we'll be adjusting that! The low set gives me the couple extra inches I need to get underbed boxes stowed away, so that will work fine.
Good morning all! Good to hear from you Ruby!! It's always great to get away, seems we have more energy to tackle things when we get back.
Great organizing your plant nursery...
Just bought my sons small shop vacs on sale at Lowes' for their BD's..also got one for me..great buy...will also take up lots of space...will use it for the car...hope it's not too heavy or clumsy...
Bee sting well, would not have been so bad if I didn't squash the 'bug' pushing all that venon into my arm...now have bout of tendonitis in right wrist...will have to baby it at work...twisted it moving a can of paint to scan at register...will just do phone and greeter for now...
Yes, I do feel better after checking into the mobile home parks around here. I think I should have rented out my home in Fl...and kept it...oh well...sons were glad to have me back up here...it will all work out for the best...I trust in God...decisions are very stressful for me, esp. about $$$$...
9/11 today, praying for all that died ...
You're right, Geraldine, today is 9/11. I'm praying that it won't ever happen again. Thanks for the reminder - I got up this morning and cleaned my bathrooms and kitchen. Forgot all about the day. PTL we have the freedom to choose where to live, what to do, and freedom to worship.
Amen, Gava. Some powerful words there. Good going on cleaning. I didn't get all done that I had hoped to but was able to spend about a hour further preparing my plant room.
Critter!!!!!!! I have been thinking of you and the family. I have'nt checked on the family prayer thread for a while, but now that I see you here, I will have to go and check things out. Are you still loving it? Silly question, huh?
Geraldine, always good to hear from you also. I have witnessed over the couple or three months that I have been communicating with you on the threads, that you seem to have grown emotionally or something that I can't quite put my finger on. You are sounding a lot more positive about things, it seems, despite having bee bites to contend with. Glad to hear that it is healing for you. I think I mentioned to you that as you get more experiennce making decisions for yourself, the better you will get at doing it and eventually come to a point where you don't want anyone else interfering with your choices. hahaha Watch out world, we are gonna set a liberated woman loose on you.
Geraldine, I think that you are right about sometimes getting away from things for a while giving us a new outlook on them and find that they aren't so tough to get done afterall. All in all, I feel as though I have had a productive week in terms of getting some things done that have been hanging over my head. (Don't tell anyone that I am not unpacked from the trip yet.) Priorities ladies, priorities.
Her is wishing everyone a great weekend coming up. Take good care all.
Oh yes, we are still loving it! It just keeps getting better!
I posted a smiley photo of her this afternoon on the latest thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1031916/#new, and I also posted a thread on MAG to see if anybody was interested in coming up for a "crocus planting luncheon." :-)
Geraldine, hope you've recovered from that wasp sting, sounds like it was nasty. Good for you getting those clothing bags out!
Great to have you back Ruby! I'll bet Emily thinks so too! I thought about you on your trip. I have very fond memories of the Virginia shore.
Geraldine, I saw Julie and Julia. I thought it was delightful! I told myself to watch for the bouquet of yellow roses but became engrossed in the movie and forgot! Did Julia carry it up the aisle when she was matron of honor at her sister's wedding?
I'm so happy you got a bag of clothing out of your closet and on to others. It is going to feel so good to do the same myself. It better!
Ruby, thanks for the photos. I need to take the time to figure out my camera and how to send photos on this site. But no more distractions from my clothing clear-out. I ate a little too much elephant and have to go lie down.
Never did get to the other closet, got 'tenonitis' and have to baby right wrist...didn't realize how painful this could be..getting better and trying not to overdo for next wk..we did make over $100 in donations for 'compassionate pregnancy' foundation. Did like just asking for donations and had a jar on the tables. We were able to relax and visit with people dropping by.
Loved your pictures Ruby, was so relaxing to look at the beach...didn't get to go this year and miss it...if I get up some 'spunk' will drive there...
Sorry you had so much bad weather, that's the problem with planned vacations, weather not always co-operative.
Huckleberry, Julia was carrying 'yellow roses' to finally meet her pen pal at the station..I don't remember what color she had at her wedding. Glad you enjoyed the movie, had a few good laughs, esp. since I had same experiences with cooking.
Have a great day all...Geraldine :)
This is so wierd - I just realized that I love to look at the trash to treasure forum. I envy those who find cool things that others have discarded and turn them into wonderful treasures. But I'm spending (wasting energy) time and energy wishing for some of those treasures, and trying to de-clutter my house and garage at the same time.
How silly of me! It's frustrating for me to know that there are special "things" all over my house, and I don't want them, but I keep them for reasons I don't even understand. I think I need to make up my mind to get this stuff done and not bring any more stuff in this house on impulse.
Geraldine- Oh, that movie! I thought the train station scene was the most thrilling. Hubbers poked me and whispered "Who's that actress?" when the pen-pal showed up. Must be why I missed the bouquet. I can see it now in my mind's eye though.
Is this tendonitis as bad as your arthritis? Hope you will soon be better.
Gavafriend, you have given me much food for thought lately. I was wondering if I was ever really going to get rid of my clutter and was feeling disappointed in myself. Then I remembered what your Husband said about people being like 5 gallon buckets. I have 5 gallon buckets stashed everyplace. Some are full of seashells, broken glass, chipped and cracked ceramics, wood ashes, etc., etc. Each one is the collected materials for a project to turn trash into treasure. Each one is a part of me. It is me trying to turn myself from trash to treasure. That is why I am unable to part. I am not there yet. I have only just begun the transformation. I am still trying to figure out what I can be. Do I want to create mosaics? Quilts? Gardens? It is a puzzle, and this collection of things are pieces.
I was an unwanted child. I was kept in line as a child by being reminded of the fact. It is the role I have in my family. I know I can rise above it, yet, I can't. I'm afraid someone else will be forced to play the part. I'm afraid if I fail to rise above, then it is true. I am a mistake. So I accumulate the stuff, but am forever on the threshold of JUST DOING IT. It is fear that holds me back. So now I want to get rid of the stuff. Because I have amassed too much and am confused and overwhelmed. I need to keep just what is necessary. I need to start a project. I can't because I don't have what is needed. So I gather more stuff. If I had a desire to make mashed potatoes, I would have 1000 potatoes and 20 pots, but no stove. And no plan to get a stove because I am too busy gathering potatoes.
Anyway, the 5 gallon bucket seems very limiting. Yet that is just what I need. But I don't want to be limited. Not by anybody or anything or for any reason. So off I go, with a vengeance, to hunt and gather more stuff.
I had a good feeling about the bucket. About limiting myself. Dialing back my responsibilities. Now THAT sounds great to me. I can just be me, just one bucket me. I don't have to be 20 bucket me. That's spreading myself too thin. Maybe less really is more.
Oh, huckleberry, my heart breaks with and for you. You have been very insightful, and I see much of myself in your buckets. I'm always trying to prove my worth by how much I can do. So I have large stashes of fabric for quilting, paints for tole, wool for needlepoint, etc. etc. etc. It's never enough to just have one hobby, or do one thing well. It started with trying for years to be a good student and earn a teeny, tiny, little compliment from my parents.
There is stuff in my craft room that will probably rot before it gets used again. I've got to get a grip on the real reasons that I keep the KRAP and learn how to let go of this stuff.
Sometimes I feel like this stuff is me or part of me. When my DIL rejects my gifts, she rejects me, too. It feels that way - she probably doesn't see it that way.
My old feelings of worthlessness led me to paths of self-destruction for many years. It was something that haunted me for years. It seemed like finding out that Jesus loves me should have taken all that away. I enjoy the parts of self-confidence that He shined up and polished off - but there are still pockets of that old poison floating around in the blood stream.
Please, believe me that you are a wonderful person, huckleberry. You are NOT a mistake - you were brought into this world to serve a special purpose by Someone who knit you in your mother's womb. He wants you in this world; He loves you so much that He died for you. It's easy for me to see how much God loves you. You are not defined by how much stuff you own, what kind of stuff you collect, or even what you do with all of it. You are defined by your role as one of the King's daughters.
A great read today, I finally realized why I did not like to be hugged, my mother rarely hugged me, and always made me feel unloved...showed more affection to sons and daughter in laws...my sister felt the same thing...now I try to hug anyone I can and have finally started enjoy it!! Ex...birthday for me and sis only a card $$ to others..yet my sis and I did most of the chores and took mother wherever she wanted to go...we were made to feel 'guilty' by mom...once we realized it and started to talk about, we felt better and have taken a stand...we do not cater to her anymore or be used by her...it's hard but for our own sanity we have to do it...I did mention this to her and she only 'shrugged' her shoulders..so sad..I see other mothers that have a relationship with their daughters and am 'jealous'..I try to treat my sons equal and explain why, they in turn have tried to treat their children equal also. It makes a good bond for all of us. Learn from our experience and try to not pass down the 'bad' parenting...LOL God bless all...
Geraldine, I'm sorry your relationship with your mother isn't a better one, and I'm proud of your strength in being able to break away enough from the negative stuff to protect yourself. I'm sad for your mom, because she's clearly missed out on the joy of having 2 wonderful daughters. I'm sad for you, that you've missed out on having the sort of closeness I have with my mom.
My tiny daughter is cuddled close as I write, and all I can think of is the pure joy in my mother's voice as she kept repeating, "My daughter has a daughter"... I can't imagine anybody not treasuring their children. What a shame. I'm glad you have your sons, and I'll bet they think you are fabulous!
Oh my goodness, what progress we seem to be making here in terms of being able to identify thought patterns that are keeping us tied to stuff. I can so identify with the abuse that has been mentioned here today. Thank you all for opening up and sharing your hurts with us. I find that sharing my wounds with others takes a bit of the sting out of them. During the five or so years that I have been wanting to de-clutter, I knew there was some mental block that was making it difficult for me to let go of things. I finally realized what had occured in my life that somehow was manifested by the need to gather and collect. I pointed out a few weeks ago that the reason the clutter problem began was I was somehow trying to fill the void that having my young child live away from me had caused. Since he moved back with me almost five years ago, I no longer need to practice the gathering. Only problem is that it became a habit during the seven or so years that he was gone and I am having a dickens of a time trying to kick the habit and thus rid myself of the gathered items.
Huckleberry and Gava, I loved how you are able to see each bucket of your collections as being a part of you. I also love that you shared with us how you are coming to a point where you desire to have only one bucket of a whole person versus twenty or more of partial pieces scattered around. It all makes perfect sense to me. I too have an over abundance of craft projects supplies. Last year I made a good dent in the amount of things I had when I saw an ad on Freecycle for a mental health worker wanting craft supplies for a group she sponsored to make Christmas gifts with.
I am stuck with being very, maybe too much so, picky about who I will donate to. I guess that I can examine that and see that I too look upon my items as a part of me, and I want to make sure that those parts of me are put to good use and not just looked upon as junk by someone else.
As I give thought to all of this, I realize that the clean sweep I am hoping to do with my shed soon, is not the first time that I have performed this exercise. Cannot count how many times in the past I have gotten to the point where I could just no longer stand the extras and loaded up my car and made a trip to charity. I want this to be the time that is final, at least at this magnitude anyway. Gava, I need to somehow learn to restrain myself too and STOP bringing in things that just end up sitting around taking up space.
Critter, I just went over and finished reading your prayer thread for Joy. A real cutie there for sure. It will only get more fun for all of you. Geraldine, looks like you too are doing some soul searching and making some realizations about yourself. Isn't it grand that we have a place to come and share our shortcomings and cares with others?
Thank you all for posting and sharing some intimancies. I am really enjoying hearing from everyone. Take care and have a productive day all.
Critter; you are so blessed to have a beautiful mother and a beautiful daughter. And you realize how blessed you are. It's a blessing with exponential growth!
My search for a clean uncluttered space has just been kicked up a notch. I'm going back into those closets, bookshelves, under the beds and all over. You are so right, Ruby, about the buckets. The burdens are rolling away and I no longer have to carry them in 20 partially filled bucket.
Years ago I was praying about what I should do with the second half of my life. I asked the Lord what I should do, be, or become. I plainly heard, "I just want you to learn to be content." I'm ashamed to admit that I still haven't learned that lesson.
Thanks Gava, yes God just wants us to 'be content'!
We really do not need all that we have gathered and will probably never use...I find giving to the church helps...
Many years ago I remember an actress talking about 'family secrets'...no one talked about the many abuses that happened behind those closed doors...that is why they kept occurring...it was wrong...and people were afraid to say something...whether it was alcohol abuse...physical abuse...verbal abuse...anything that families kept secret so we were never healed and often many perpetuated the conditions.
This also gave the abuser the ok to keep doing what he or she wanted.
I spoke to my sons about this and my grandchildren...that maybe that other student is so quiet or withdrawn is because of their home situation...this did make them think... going to play games on internet and relax...have a great night all...Geraldine...
Wow, Gava. Yes, I believe that is The Lord's message to us all. We are already perfect in his eyes, so what have we to prove to anyone else? We Americans are so spoiled in terms of material goods. If we gave thought to the very few belongings that most of the world has, we would see how blessed we each are.
Over the years we have become a Nation whose motto seems to be MORE, MORE, MORE. Now we have an epidemic of over supply and a mint being made by folks claiming to know how to show us to get rid of all of our excess. I believe that this tendency to hoard comes from many different places for each of us. We are all trying to fill some void that the many abuses in our lives have left us with. We need to learn that "things" will never fill a void in our lives that only a relationship with the Lord will fulfill.
I am witnessing here between the very few of us, how we are examining our lives to see just when hoarding took hold or why it took hold. It is now our jobs to continue to take the sometimes slow steps it will require in order to undo what has taken us years to do. I am realizing as I write this that straightening up over ten years of collecting, will take more than a few days and will require some major thinking to be changed around too.
That being said, I am now hoping to be able to find some time today to devote to straightening of the bedrooms. It seems with this particular project that I will make really good progress for a day or two, and then end up having to skip several days in a row from doing anything. I am going to try and remind myself whenever I begin to feel stressed about things not moving along any quicker, that this mess didn't happen over night and it won't be rectified in one day either. So...have a great day to everyone. Take good care.
Ruby, you are so right! I have stopped going into stores for 'sales', buying when I already have enough. The 'urge' to go into the store to 'browse' has lessened. It sure feels good...I do try to check out the clearances on baby clothes, will only buy if under $5...I donate that to 'compassionate pregnancy'...I limit myself to only $10 a month and that seems to work well. I get the excercise of walking and buying only what is needed. It is almost a 'game'.
Have a great day all! Geraldine ::)
I love it Geraldine. You get the physical exercise, plus the feeling good about helping someone and a cutie pie baby benefits. I love that you make a game of it.
It has been about a year for me since realizing how much I spend when I go to Dollar Trees. I buy mostly things that will be used such as cleaning supplies and things but I used to often come home with more craft kits and such that never did get used, so I had to restrain myself from shopping there.
A couple of weeks ago on vacation, I did go to the nearby Dollar Tree in order to buy things we needed. I was able to get out of there for less than twenty bucks but don't trust myself to begin going very often again.
I know that it is early to start thinking about Christmas, but the past few weeks of going through some of my closets I have found that I could stand here and be able to give everyone on my list something that I have already purchased. It is going to be a challenge for me to stay out of the stores when the holiday season is upon us, but I feel as though I must try this year at least. If I don't use what money I have on odds and ends that often don't get used by husband or sons, I will have that much cash to give to them and that is what the sons prefer anyway. It will be interesting to see how things come out.
Well, sure got off topic there, didn't I . I will close by telling Geraldine that I have a feeling you are full of cute little ways to benefit yourself as well as others with your "games." Again, I love it, love it.
Hello everyone! Wow, we sure have been rattling those skeletons in our closets. Must be getting close to Halloween!
I am proud of everyone and support all of our efforts to better our own lives and the lives of those we touch. My DH is tired of the mess I have created in order to "clean up and clear out" but he is seeing some progress, finally.
I have had a success. I consigned some items. What she did not accept I handed over to the Goodwill. I did have a moment of weakness on the way to the Goodwill, when I thought I might "rescue" the rejects and take them back home. What saved me was knowing their fate at my home would be to continue rotting in a garbage bag in a dark shed.
DH helped me make a dump run yesterday. Today I donated some linens and clothes to the Senior Center. I have the pickup bed full of clothes and linens in garbage bags. I am going to make up a few bags each time I go to town and donate every place I can find. I am making a bit of a game of it, as Geraldine suggested.
Yes, I am finally tired of schlepping buckets of myself everywhere I go. I want to be free of it. I want to be free so I may start on my new adventure. This may be the menopause talkin', but I am ready to listen! ; - )
Such a great report Huckleberry. Way to go!!! You closed your message with saying that you are tired of schlepping buckets of yourself everywhere you go and that you want to be free. I have the same mindset for my stuff, but need to begin doing better about sticking to a project once I start it. I can look back and see that I will have about one day of getting some things done and then somehow a week has gone by and I haven't done anything to the problem area. I realized yesterday that I am racing against the clock now and need to very soon finish organizing the plant room. It is getting fairly chilly here at nights and I don't wnat to chance killing any of my houseplants and need to get them back inside for the winter.
Our Geraldine has opened up the possibility of making what could be a bothersome chore by making a game out of it. I am always up for a game. hahaha I am interested in knowing from Huckleberry and others what finally drove you to the point that you were ready to begin taking actions on getting rid of things? Are there any tips that you have picked up along the way that you would like to share that may help make the jobs looming ahead of us more appealing? Truth be told, right at the moment, finishing up the new plant room seems like such a chore. It was in much worse shape a week ago but definitely isn't ready to begin moving the plants in to it yet.
Are there any little mind tricks or whatever that anyone has played in order make the work ahead seem less daunting? Not sure what I am looking for exactly. I may need for someone to get a bit tough with me and tell me that I have put things off for too long now and need to get up off my behind and get this room ready.
I realize that I am just rambling, so I will close by wishing everyone a good weekend coming up. Take care ladies.
Dear Ruby and all you wonderful people out there!
I heard a sermon from our priest one day and tried it, it works a 'little'!
He said to do a 'chore' that we dislike and offer it up to God...well...still have many chores to do...but it helps a 'little'!
I HATE housework...hubby used to do it. I would rather work...
Makes good sense to me Geraldine. I have heard something along the lines of doing your chores as if working for the Lord, and that should make a big difference in how we look at whatever the chore is. It would cut out some of the belly aching we do, I would think. If we are working as unto the Lord, I for one would feel a bit ashamed if I began grumbling and complaining about it. I probably need to give some thought to this course of action. Why is it that we forget to allow our Lord in to all areas of our lives? He is just as concerned about our interests in having a tidy house as he is about whether we have food on the table or not. I can see him sitting back on his throne and crossing his arms and shaking his head and thinking, why don't they let me help them? I tend to do as I mentioned yesterday, moan and groan about something for a period of time, until I tire of the grumbling and then finally realize that things would have been a whole lot easier if I had made the LOrd a partner in my plan. So, with that being said, I am going to try to remember later when I begin my chores to ask God to be my partner as I go about things. I will you all know how it goes.
I am motivated by wanting change, I think. I want to move forward. I want to get my home in order and functioning. Currently it has me as a slave. No one can find anything but me, so I have to stop what I am doing and find things for others. And I don't mean obscure things, I mean everyday items. The guilt of having so much excess causes me to hide things.
Most of the stuff I hoard is clothing and craft materials. I rarely begin a craft project, but I do wear clothing. I wear roughly 10% of the clothes that are in my possession.
Right now I am pretending I have just moved into this house. I clear off a shelf and then approach the empty shelf with a mind on what should go there. So far, it is working.
I have kept the guest room as a guest room, closet has space and EMPTY hangers, dresser has 2 EMPTY drawers. I still have too many unnecessary decorative objects, mostly because I can't decide what to keep and what to let go. But I will get to that once the clothing is gone.
I have another appt. at the consignment shop. I made up another bag for charity.
Let's get ourselves cleaned up so we can enjoy the holidays and begin 2010 Clean and Clutter-free!
I started reading these threads last weekend from the beginning thread. I have managed to begin cleaning up. Thanks to all of you for the inspiration and thanks to The Lord for helping me get in gear. LOL
I found a great way to break my habit of buying nic naks and things I just don't need, and in this economy, can't afford. But be forewarned... this takes time to accomplish. It is however, great walking exercise, and very very relaxing. Make sure you have on comfortable clothes and shoes. I know, I know, I can just hear you all now. "I don't have that kind of time". Yes you do. Make the time. Even those of you that work outside of the home, have a day off. The money and future time this experience will save you, will be well worth it. Pic a store that you just love. A dept store, 'Linens and Things', A fabric store (love all of those notions, don't you?), a craft store, a tool store, a hobby shop, Bass Pro, you decide. But pick a store that you absolutely just love. The best time of the day to do this is when the kids are in school and the rest of the family is working. Just a quiet, relaxing, unhurried walk thru the local Walmart did it for me. They have everything, everything that I think I just need...:) I thought to myself, wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to buy everything that I really like. Let's face it, all of us, including the guys, always leave a store, be it a hardware or big box store, clothing or shoe store, gardening center, fabric store, just wishing we could have gotten "that" item. So , instead of standing in front of an item and debating with myself, trying to figure out the details, like , where will I use this, or how much of my grocery money is going to this, I just got a buggy and walked the store for about 2 hours. I made sure that I had the time to waste. It is amazing how , when you go to a store with plenty of time, the employees and other customers, do not bother you like normal. Waiting in line is no problem. Anyway, back to the point. I put everything in my cart that I would normally just wish for. Not junk, just things I really really loved. I skipped the grocery dept totally and went up and down all of the aisles that have all of the housewares, crafts, baskets, pretty dish clothes, slippers, gloves, earrings, garden pots, any and everything I wanted, without a thought of the cost. Oh what an experience. Up and down the aisle's, touching, examining, any and everything I wanted to and filling my buggy. When I had completed all of my shopping, I did a strange thing. I turned my buggy around and backtracked my shopping experience. As I put away each and every item in their correct place, I counted how much money I had just saved. ( approximately). Round up to nearest dollar, it's quicker. When I got back to the front of the store, I put my empty shopping cart away and walked out with a smile. I had just burned up 2 hours of walking calories and saved myself $450.00. And the best part, I didn't have to unload and find a spot to put all of the junk I had left at the store nor did I have alot of empty plastic bags.
Drapelady, welcome to our site!! Any and all hints on getting the 'crap' (mental and material)out of our lives is a great help!!
My church had a 'donation' tag sale and we laughed and called it 'crap'!! Went over great!!!
You're right on, drapelady! I've almost done just such a thing at Tuesday Morning. I put stuff in my basket, and if it exceeds the amount of money I have then I have to put stuff back and take only the stuff I really love or need. (My mom got mad at me for saying that Tuesday Morning has everything you want and nothing you need - my sister is the manager of the store.) Now I make it a practice to stay out of the stores. I might just try your method - but I think it would take me longer than 2 hours to go through walmart.
I'm thinking about pretending that I'm going to move again, and will have to pay for every pound of this KRAP that I have to move. It should be easy to get rid of it if I have that in mind. We have less than when we moved here, thanks to the moving company and the lady who helped me with the packing. There were lots of beautiful things that were chipped, broken, lost, stolen, etc. I think I would rather box the pretties up and donate them than to know that they would be ruined and nobody could use them.
Okay! I'm going to start the list of stuff to make donations of. Thanks
Bravo, bravo...what headway we seems to be making. It is great to hear of each and every little success that each one shares, and also great to hear hints and tips for not allowing the clutter to pile up again. Welcome Drapelady and thank you for sharing your little trick for saving money and losing weight. I have heard other folks admit to doing similar things but they weren't as nice about their "buys" as you were by putting the items away, but they left full carts in the store after they got their shopping "fix." Huckleberry's and Gava's tricks regarding pretending to have just moved or getting ready to move, ought to work also to help clear out some unneeded items. I don't know if I mentioned it here or not last week when working on straightening closets, but I could very easily not have to leave the house to do Christmas shopping this year because the of the items that I have packed away that I have bought while on sale, or when I had some extra change and saw something that I thought one of my loved ones would like to have. I do know that for several years now I have looked at the holidays as a reason for a lot of extra work and stress. Maybe by cutting back this year it will help relieve that stress and make it a more enjoyable time for me. Geraldine, I have every faith that you will come in one day soon and report that you have successfully packed away your summer stuff and have all your cold weather clothes ready to start using. Huckleberry, you have me beat with the amount of clothes that it sounds as though you have, but I too have some that I will probably never wear again and should think about doing something with. I love your consignment shop idea. I have an appointment to sign up with one locally this Friday. I am allowed to bring twenty items to start with. I need to spend some time and give some thought to what I will be taking there when I go. I used to do this many years ago, but just got out of the habit since I am no longer employed and don't have any "better" clothing to sell. Thanks to all who posted. I have a lot to think about now. I wish you all continued good success on your de-cluttering journeys.
Oh dear gava , Tuesday Morning's is another of my weaknesses. And Kirklands. Mercy. LOL But how many walls can one have. And table accessories. Geez. I finally have all of my Donna Dewberry paints separated into their own collections, Fabric Paint, Acrylic Paints, and on and on. I have found the wonderful swap forum that I am going to utilize my craft and paint stuff. When I was going thru it, My head filled up with ideas of gifts I can make for the swaps. At least that way, someone will enjoy them. :) And I am finally going to start on customizing my own bedroom. I've had the rolls of fabric for a few years.
And ruby, I love the before and after photos. I am too embarrassed to post the before. :) But maybe I'll get my courage up when I have finished, to post the before and afters. And great ideas about Christmas gifts. And I put it all my items in the cart away, so that, as I put it back in it's place and see the price , I mentally say, "yes, I just saved $5.00" or whatever the price is and I add it up as I go. It doesn't have to be exact, but I get a pretty good idea. It feels great.
I really thank you all for sharing, it lets me know I'm not alone in my clutter. :)
Back to capris, having some summer weather this week, in July we had fall weather!!
Need to vacuum and wash carpet, remember when I washed the cat and she went into cat box and litter stuck to her?? Still has a few cement spots on her...she will not co-operate when she sees the scissors!! So am slowly brushing them out...she got cat litter into carpet, did vacuum and tried easy cleaning solutions...but still smells, so took a pill and will tackle it today!!
Will put it down as part of my fall housecleaning...am finding Xmas items also as I look into bags...need to get that all organized...bought items for bags for needy children when I had a great buy...will make some child happy...as you clean, if you see something, books or ?? that children would like think of the Xmas for needy children programs...
Off to vacuum...remember if you give your cat a bath, pick up the cat litter box for a few hrs...til cat is dry!!
Oh, geraldine, I've heard stories about bathing cats - I'm not sure I'm brave enough to ever try that! thanks for the laughs and good wishes. I have a compulsion to throw pots today. So I'm off to the studio.
Dear Gava, if you hadn't added the part about being off to your studio, I was imagining you throwing pots and pans around from your kitchen cabinets. I was wondering if that was some new fangled stress reliever or something. hahaha My keyboard is acting whacky and won't let me skip lines to start new paragraphs, so please bear with me. Geraldine, I hadn't ever given much thought to how cat litter might stick to a wet cat. I bet that you have had a mess there today. I tend to not get too upset when my animals do things that require extra work of me. It all comes with the territory, I suppose. Drapelady, you mentioned Donna Dewberry and several years back I ordered one of her sets and never opened the package. I am so very envious of those of you who have creative talents. I keep hearing of so many of you gardeners who are also artists. On another thread that I am involved in someone posted a couple of names of artists who have free online instructions for painting. I looked at the websites this morning and am hoping that after I get my house straight that I can devote some time to learning how to do some beginning painting. I believe that if I were able to create something beautiful it would go a long way in helping me feel good about life. Gava, the pottery is another thing that I am in awe of artists works. I have never had any sort of art training and I am finding that it might be something that will bring me great pleasure. Progress report is that I was able to empty the top shelf of a cabinet in the plant room where I had oodles of candles and candle holders sitting. I am packing them away in the closet for now, and have a good idea of what I have for the next time I want to burn something for frangrance and beauty. That was a very small step but it made me feel good to get it done. There is only one other area in the room that needs to have things organized on and then I can begin bringing the plants inside. I am so happy that I have decided upon a reward for myself when I get the rooms done...art instruction. Hey, that may be a tip for folks who are having a hard time getting started on a de-cluttering project. Promise to reward yourself at the end of the task with something special. Just might work. Maybe I will incorporate that in to getting my shed organized once and for all. I might not allow myself to purchase any art supplies until I have straightened and decluttered the shed. I am going to definitely think about this, because it may be the only thing that will work to motivate me to get out there and do what has to be done. Thank you all for being here for me to bounce things around with. Remember, slowly but surely gets the job done. Take good care and I hope that everyone will have a good evening.
That's too funnny, Ruby! I went to a weird seminar this afternoon. It was about "independent film making". The speakers was from the Sundance Film Festival and is now located in our state. They are trying to enlarge the film industry here in NM. They showed a very strange film - and I told my instructor that I didn't really understand the point of the movie. We talked about how we all take our background and experinces with us when we view things like that. I told him about our thread here and that we all are trying to de-clutter our lives, while bringing our baggage (buckets) with us. He said that was the point of the movie, too.
Anyway they suggested we write down these ideas - wierd stuff, ideas for lessons, stories, etc. Can you just see a movie of your idea that you imagined from my note? I think it would be funny - and fun to make. Maybe I should write this one down. Like I need another project. HA!
Interesting, Gavafriend. My film's opening scene would be a frumpy woman in her undies trying to squeeze into tiny outfits from a mountain of clothing in her living room. A timer would ding off camera, just as she is trying to extract herself from a many-sizes-too-small itchy wool turtleneck sweater. =^..^=
Drapelady, nice to meet you! You brought up an interesting point in your post. Time. Time to pick out the best item for your need. Time to try on clothes and not settle on something that is "ok", but not the best choice. I realize that I acquire so much junk because I am rushed and in a state of stress when I shop.
Today I donated another huge bag of clothes to Goodwill. I decided I could venture inside to shop for something "good" to replace all the "bad" items I have gotten rid of. I was calm and deliberate. I selected 3 things, none of which was great, so I didn't buy anything. I think it was the first time I did not buy a single thing. I am proud of myself.
So, I did what you suggested, though not intentionally. It felt great to be able to walk away ( I put the clothing back where I got it. I stocked shelves in my youth and it is a hard habit to break )
Geraldine, I'm glad your church had the tag sale. Hope your items sold! I'm happy to hear it was so much fun too!
Ruby, great progress on the plant room! Nothing like the threat of frost to motivate one to get those tender plants protected. I feel so bad if I let them get nipped.
huckleberry, isn't that the most liberating feeling. LOL I'm finding myself more and more walking out without buying anything. It just feels great. I think I need to box up another box to goodwill myself. This is wonderful. If we all continue to divide and conquer the items we don't need and donate or re purpose as gifts or just give something of ours to a friend, by the end of the year we won't have to make any New Years resolutions , by golly our homes will be clutter free. And for myself, I won't have so much mess to clean up and or hide :) when my holiday guests are on their way. I love this thread.
Do you have stuff that's especially hard to part with? It's easy to see that I don't need some of this stuff - I never liked it, but some of this is HARD to part with.
I have discussions with myself all the time. How do you do it when you have kept it for years and years? It's not about the money - some of it was free.
Whenever my mother went home to be with The Lord, she had some really special things that meant a lot to her. But inevitably , me and my two sisters had to go thru it all. There was no arguing over her belongings. It went really peaceful. As we would touch something, we would just say "I would like that", etc. and it was such a blessing because it seemed whatever one wanted, the other two didn't. My mother was a prayer warrior and she must have asked the Lord to bless us concerning this and He did. But, I live next door to her home and naturally had to do the last of the cleaning out of things after my two sisters went back to their homes in other cities. It was all the things that were special to Moma, but to no one else, that were the hardest to get rid of. It was nothing anyone else could use , so it made it very very hard for me to have to throw the items away. Gut wrenching, as a matter of fact. Now ,I think of my poor son, whenever I go to stick something I think is so special, into a special place. I would never want to put anyone thru that ordeal. If I receive a card or something that I think is special, I put in on my desk or refrigerator for a while and enjoy it, then I throw it away. Simple as that. Keep in mind, someone is going to have go thru all of the junk we think is "special". LOL That makes it alot easier to get rid of. Oh my, looks like I need to go back thru and declutter more stuff. LOL If I wake up in heaven tomorrow instead of here, oh dear, I need to get on that task right away. :)
Your welcome gavafriend. I thought about you today as I was putting away things. Hmmm, special enough to keep or junk? LOL
And, I finally got my shop table cleaned and everything put away or thrown away. Yeahhh. Now tomorrow I can start on a new project. What an accomplishment. Thanks again to you all for the push to "get her done". It took about a week longer than I thought it would, but it was time well spent. The only casualty in the whole thing, was I had picked up some small glass Christmas ornaments last year and they were in a bag on the floor. I had forgotten I had even purchased them. Well, I stepped on the bag and crunch!! I was barefooted. LOL Oh well, a little neosporin and band aids and back on the job. :) That will teach me from sticking bags in corners.
I hope you all have a successful today tomorrow and get closer to the goal of 'clutter free' before the holidays.
I love this thread too. In fact, I have felt that If I succeed in decluttering and organizing my home and my life, I will have to leave one place messy so I will have a reason to keep coming back here!
20 years ago, I volunteered at an Army family thrift/consignment shop. I had way too much fun there. It gave me a very warm and fuzzy feeling about people and their possessions. I think this may be another piece of the puzzle of how I came to have so much stuff that I have strong emotional attachments to.
I consigned more items at the shop yesterday. I have already made $12.00! Yippee!
She accepted more things than at the first appointment. I assured her that the money I make is not as important to me as getting this stuff out of my house ( where it was going to waste ) and into the homes of those who will use it is. Somehow, this soothes me and allows me to let go of the stuff more easily. She is glad that I am not demanding too much money of her customers in this tight economy, so she is able to relax and accept items that may otherwise be denied...such as worn old Levi's jeans. She took 4 pair to be sold for $2.00 a pair. I will receive 80 cents. This is much better than what I asked for at my last yard sale. I had them down to 50 cents in the last hours and they did not sell. I hope I will not jinx myself by counting my chickens before they have hatched, but I am feeling so good that this process of elimination is going smoothly. It has been 2 years since I knew I had a problem with hoarding. I hovered here for almost a year before I had the nerve to join in. I joined in in March, and have just donated my 3rd bag of clothing. I have consigned maybe 1 bagful, so that makes 4 large garbage bags gone out of about 20. 16 to go! The game I am playing with myself is that I find it all proper new homes and take little, if any, to the landfill.
When I cross the finish line, I plan to reward myself with an organized closet and a better wardrobe. Then I will start in on something else I have been hoarding. That's the plan!
Drapelady, I thoroughly understand your feelings for your Mother's things. My mother is living, and I am the youngest of her 3 girls. I imagine we will go thru her things as you did, and I know she will want us to be cooperative and thoughtful, as you and your sisters were. You painted a beautiful image in my mind, like the painting of "The Gleaners". I want to put possessions in their proper perspective, so there are no negative feelings. Just joy, and sadness. I know I will bring lots of silly things home with me, until I am able to let them go. I don't want to leave a huge mess for whoever has to clean up after me when my time comes.
Gavafriend, the discussions we have with ourselves are the key to solving the mystery of why we are having these problems. I am convinced of that. Typing it all here, for the whole world to see, takes it outside of ourselves and easier to see. I have gone over this thread many times. I see us all making great progress, even if we backslide at times of weakness. This is such good therapy. Let's keep going! : D
Right on about the bags in the corner!!
Bought things way ahead of using them for presents etc...and forgot where I put them...also found a bag of books to read!!
Oct. should be a good month to go through closet and bags for me...also take out winter clothes...still not done...had a warm spell here in MA so put it off..
Have a great day all, felt better reading about the bags, yes, sharring make it a lot easier to declutter..Geraldine ::)
That is really putting it into perspective - looking at our things as people will after we are gone. There are 4 of us sisters and I am afraid when Mom or Dad are gone any fighting that would go on would be over what we did NOT want to take home. Right at this point, I can only think of 3 items at my parents home that I would want. Since Dad, at 82, is talking about selling the place and moving to a smaller place, I should make them known. What 3 things? Silly, but her meat grinder (only used at Christmas for meat pies and hasn't been used for at least 10 years), the Danish aebilskiver (round Danish pancakes used once, I think) and the round ruby glass pitcher era 1950 (?). Simple. And for what my daughter would have to go through, my collection of 1500 Santas she already said she wants - even though I am ready to pare them down and all my fabric stash, which could be donated. As an only child she would have all the photos. How do siblings divide photos? "Here - you take the 1960 album, you get 1955, etc, etc."
Whoo boy! The family photos. I was volunteered to make a Memory Album for our Mother's 80th birthday celebration. I brought shoeboxes full of photos to my home and made a scrapbook. Mom can't see well, so I had to enlarge every photo I selected. It was a real labor of love. I got from her parents lives to her life in 1955, when I had to stop because it was her birthday and I didn't make the deadline.
So...I still have every box of family photos and am trying to pick up where I left off, but I am suffering from overexposure to family photos. Thanks for the reminder to finish the job before Mother passes into the Great Beyond! =^..^=
Dividing photos
my oldest sister volunteered for that job. But not until Moma was gone. Older folks like to have familiar things around them. It's comforting. She made different stacks for each of us. Divide and conquer. At family gatherings or outings there are always multi photos of pretty much the same thing or similar, the only difference was the people in the photos. One pile was for me. Any picture that had me or my husband and son in it went into my pile. The same for each sister. Of course Moma was in the photos or we were around the table eating lunch after church or on birthdays or vacations, holidays, etc. If there were photos of myself and my two sisters together with or without Moma, she just kinda evenly divided them. She put them in large envelopes. Then if we individually wanted to divide them with our own children ,or wanted to make a photo album, we each did that ourselves after we received ours. I love using shoe boxes when I am 'dividing and conquering'. Marks a lot the name of the person getting them on the end of the box. Get on a table or tv tray that is not used for anything else and out of the way (not the breakfast bar, LOL) and as you go thru the photos, toss it into the correct box. The reason I say a table or area that is not used, is so you can walk away when tired and do a little everyday. I use the shoe box or leftover gift boxes shirt boxes from christmas to do my paperwork too. Not to store them in, just to divide it until I can throw it away or file it in the correct folders.
great idea, drapelady! When my mom thought she was going to move to a very small apartment we helped her give some stuff to my siblings. The person who gave stuff to her got those items back. So we lined up boxes in the family room, put everyones' names on them and my mom told us what to put in them. We cleaned off a few shelves and I brought home dozens of boxes. It makes me stop and think about stuff I give her now, too.
My DIL sent me a photo of the baby for my birthday and I told her that it was the perfect color, size and it was just what I've always wanted. It used to hurt my feelings that they didn't give us gifts, or recyled them. Now I think it's better.
My church always gives an expensive placque to those they want to say thanks for. I'm going to suggest that they use the money to make a donation for something useful - like a goat for a family in Africa, food for an orphanage in Romania, or anyone of the other special projects in the "ADRA's Really Useful Gift Catalog 2009". I would love it if they would have donated some money in our name when we moved away from here 8 years ago.
I'm going to ask a young lady in my class if she would like to have the needlepoint stuff. It's what I have hung onto the hardest and longest and almost everybit of it came from thrift stores. Then I can be free from that burden.
I went shopping and gave in to some great sales...got a 'snugglie' had to get xtra large and it was more $$ but should be appreciated...also got a 'filler' electric fly swatter to bat flies etc...as a filler for birthday gifts..always try to give my sons a 'toy' or something funny with their presents...it's hard, they are in their 40's, but they sure like to open those presents!!
In a bag in the corner they go..ha ha ha ...will not be there long...bd in Oct. and Dec..
May get my winter containers out, put in hallway...at least it's a step..
Have a great day all! ::)
That's one thing about living in Southern California, at least we don't have to change wardrobes, pretty much. Assuming, Geraldine, your reference to winter cntainers means seasonal clothes. Living inland now there is a bit more seasonality, but there are still times when shorts are called for in January and (most especially on the coast) sweats in July.
I want to get the 'autumn' decos out, but I believe they are buried behind Christmas boxes in garage that I planned to go through and reduce last January and now it still so hot (in 100's) to move them.
I did it, I did it. :) Whenever I purchase something for a project or something, for example, cans of paint. If I buy 3 and only use 2. rather than store it, I put it back in the bag with the receipt and purpose to return it. Mind you, if I have used it, it's mine. But if not, then back it goes. The only problem is I hang those bags on the back of a chair in the corner of my dining room. I try to wait til I have enough to warrant standing in the return line. Well, my 'bags' had completely hidden my chair and finally I returned everything Friday. $100.00 later, my chair is clean and I certainly am happy with the $100.00. Wonder how many unused, unopened items you have laying around?
gava, I am sure she will be thrilled with the needlepoint. Way to go girl.
geraldine, I too have a Christmas container (tote)in my hallway. "FROM LAST YEAR". Geez, another 10 ft and all I had to do was pull the attic door down and put it away. I guess I thought it's been easier to walk around for a year. LOL Haven't gotten to that area yet. But when I do, No more totes in the hall.
Geraldine look what I just saw way up the thread!
May 06, 2009
01:14 AM
Post #6511176
Geraldine, I'm so happy you got your hallway clean.
quiltygirl, I know what you mean about wearing shorts in January. I sure hope our weather settles back to normal. Spring, summer, fall, winter. For the last few years , they kinda all blend together a bit. Not good for the plants. :)
Debbie, what would we do without our 'totes'?
Going to be warm today, so will wait a wk. or so to go through closets. At least if I need something it will be handy!
Still need to get to those 'bags' piling up with Xmas items...also bought another present for someone, a 'snugglie', it's hard to buy for adults, but if I see something I know they would really like, I get it...
Have a great day all...Geraldine ::)
I agree with those of you who love this thread. It is a place to go and get re-fueled when we are running out of steam. I didn't read for a few days and was surprised by all the activity while I was away. I made notes to refer to because I knew that I would forget who I wanted to comment to. My keyboard is goofy right now and I can't use my ENTER key, so I will just put dots between different thoughts. Please excuse...Gava, I understand your thoughts on taking on new projects. I have a tendency to begin projects and never finish them...I have decided to come back later with the personal comments that I have noted for you all. I want to mention something that I stumbled upon yesterday and thought that I would throw it out for discussion. I will come back later this morning and write the personal replies...I have a yahoo mail account and have been signed on to a website for at least a couple or years, and maybe even more. I haven't unsubscribed to the website, even though I haven't read it regularly for almost the whole time I have had it. Yesterday, for some reason I decided to read it. It is coming from a website called Messies Anonymous and the woman who began the website is named Sandra Felton. The topic yesterday was Completion Anxiety. The thought is there is some mental block that often keep some of us from completing the things that we start. Right now, I cannot recall the highlights of the day's message, but will go back and look later on to see what was being said. I thought that it might help people such as Gava and myself. Everyone is doing so well with their projects. I love hearing the stories. I am almost to end of m y one room being done, and hopefully our plants will be moved insdie today. Going now to tend to a few odds and ends in there and later I will take a computer break as my reward for finshing up. You ladies all take good care.
"completion anxiety", that does sound right!
I spend more time thinking about emptying totes or getting my early Xmas shopping together than actually doing it!
Why do we feel that way, is it because we will be changing our routines?
Geraldine ::)
Oh, Ruby, I love Sandra Felton! Obviously I have not used her book for a long LONG time. Otherwise I would not be in the state I'm in. Thanks for reminding me.
I have lots of her symptoms- sentimental messiness seems to predominate right now. (I can't spell either) I can't seem to get over this empty nest grief. Or maybe it just keeps coming back to kick my teeth in. I'm going to examine it today while my hands are engaged on the potters' wheel. I have a tremendous sense of urgency to get that project done, too.
Oh Geraldine, how true, the many, many hours that I have schemed in my mind the things I would do or need to do and then as I think I have mentioned here, the actual task usually doesn't take nearly the time nor effort that our minds had blown it up to be. You are in good company, I am sure. If anyone has spoken with me over the past few weeks, I know that I shared my current project with them. I know that it shouldn't be such a big deal, but it is something that has occupied a lot of mental energy and finally some physical action to get it done...I have had another mixed up day where I have slept most of it. I did the same thing yesterday and then was sitting here at the computer from midnight til about 7 am. That means that the dag gone plants are not in the house yet. I woke up an hour or so ago, but haven't been clear headed enough to get involved in doing it yet. They will be safely inside by dark today, promise...Gava, I must have missed something somewhere about the empty nest syndrome that has you out of sorts. If it is true grief, then you are doing well to accomplish anything at all. During times of grieving for me, I become incapacitated and zombie like. I hope that you are able to pinpoint something that will make things clear for you Gava, so that you can become liberated enough from the sadness to accomplish whatever it is you are undertaking and thus bring you much satisfaction. Thank both of you ladies for posting. I was looking forward to coming here. I am going to start another post in order to address what I noted this morning. Don't want to get too long winded if I can help it. See ya shortly.
I wanted to congratulate Huckleberry for going to a store and not purchasing anything. Progress, for sure. Feels good, huh?...Drapelady, I am so glad that you are enjoying this thread so much. I love it too. I think of you all during the day as I go about my business and wonder if any of you are working on de-cluttering also. I can't wait to run in here and see if anyone has posted anything...Gava, I wish that I too knew the answer of what to do with things that we have had for years and years. I too have a sentimental bone that runs through my being and can become attached to something quite easily...Drapelady, the thought that if I were to leave the earth tomorrow there would be others left to deal with the excess stuff I would be leaving behind. I can hear my sons now asking why in the world would she have kept that old thing? Actually, one of the reasons for my shed and some spaces indoors being so stuffed to the gill is that in the past five years since living in this house, my parents have died and left behind a huge estate in which I received a lots of their things. Also John's parents dissolved their housekeeping and moved to an apartment in a retirement community and we also brought home loads and loads of things from their place too. Both of our parents were depression era products and also had a tendency to hold on to things... It is now about an hour later and I am happy to announce that the houseplants are inside of the house. My husband and son both showed up and helped get them all inside. They are not organized to where they will go, but at least they are inside. Now I am over whelmed. Some of the larger ones really grew a lot taller over the summer months. I hadn't realized until they came back inside. So, if you ladies don't mind, most of my posting over the next little while will be part two of getting the plants indoors. I have a lot of work to do in order to stuff a huge amount of plants in to a rather small area. I haven't counted, but plan to count after they are situated, but I am sure there are more than thirty five of them...Quilty, you mentioned there being only a few things at your folks place that you would like to have. You also mentioned that your dad has mentioned the idea of downsizing their household. I would think that you offering to take those things that haven't been used for years and years, would be sort of a relief to him and might serve to get him started in his downsizing attempt. Thank each of you for reading, I am getting long winded I realize, but hope not taking up too much of each of your decluttering time. I have one more things that I would like to share with the group and then I will bid you each adieu for the day...Going to start yet another post for the other topic.
Last night I happened to catch the show called Hoarders that is on the Arts and Entertainment Channel on Monday nights at 10 PM. The two stories that they showcased were really sad. The first story was of a man in his mid fifties who some years back began collecting scrap iron and other metals in order to sell and have a side income. Problems arose when he grew attached to each and every item he brought home and never sold any of the stuff but continued to fill the two acre property where he lived. If any of you have been to a junk yard, you would agree that his place was as full or fuller than most. He had in excess of thirty cars, fifty refrigerators and the list goes on and on. He broke in to tears several times as he was filmed with a crew who had been hired to come in and help him get things organized to actually begin selling the scrap. He was being fined by the county he lived in for littering and was facing 90 days in jail if things were not straight before a certain date. He had already been jailed for three or so nights because of missing another deadline the judge had set for him. This man was in true pain over this. I don't claim to understand the mental illness and don't consider myself to be a hoarder, but can easily see how it happens to folks...The second story was of a seven year old little boy who had already developed the obsessive/compulsive disorder. His mother had it too. A professional organizer and a Psychologist were working with the boy and his mother to try and take control of things. The little boy too cried many times during the show and expressed how painful it was to give up anything, even torn up boxes and things that toys came in. He had an especially hard time giving up his stuffed animals. The Psychologist was there the day of the clean sweep to help matters, but not a whole lot was accomplished that particular day. One day when the little boy was at school, a crew came in and straightened his room. Somehow the little boy was thrilled with having a clean room, so I am not sure how much time and counseling had gone on between the first attempt and the day when things were cleaned while he was away. They didn't report on how the mother was doing either. I just wanted to share these stories with you all...I'm done writing for now and need to go and rest a bit on the couch. Supervising getting the plants inside was hard work. hahahaha I hope that everyone will have a good evening. Take care all.
Wow, Ruby, I wish I had seen that program. Maybe it would have been a good influence on me. Thanks for telling us about it.
As I drove to class today I listened to the evangelistic sermons about Jesus coming to get us soon. I realized that I'd give up everything on this earth to have a place in heaven. (Not that I think we are all losing out on our eternal reward by hanging on to all this junk.) It's just that I realize that there is nothing in this house more important than eternity. I'm singing, "This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through; My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue."
Maybe the solution for all of us is to trade homes and junk. It's easy for me to see why my mom should get rid of her stuff. I could easily pare her stuff down to get her to a small apartment in a heartbeat. I would do it by choosing stuff to take, and leave the rest. That's what I should do in my house. I should plan to keep only the stuff that I love, use all the time, and really want to keep. OK - here I go.
My son left home for the first time to go to school as a 15 year old. The hardest thing I've ever done was to leave him in the dorm and drive 550 miles home. He wanted to go to that school - we didn't force him to go there. Then 4 years later he drove 1500 miles to college in Canada. The old empty nest syndrome shocked me - I figured I had weathered the storm. When he got married 7 years later I was shocked again to find it felt like I "lost my son". I love my daughter in law and my son is very happy with her. I don't understand why the grief comes in waves when I least expect it. My husband doesn't understand either. Of course he thought it was a wonderful adventure for Josh to go to Academy at the age of 15.
The empty nest grief isn't incapacitating at all times. But there are times when I weep and it hurts as much as ever. This evening is better and I'm going to get to work. I still have an hour or two for work. God bless you, my friends, and thanks.
This thread is taking too long to load. I'm going to make a new one. It sure has helped me to read what all y'all have been saying. I have learned a lot about myself as we have gone through all of this.
