I need to get back to a simpler life.

[ilovedolphins]

I feel overstressed, overworked and over cluttered. I want to try to get back to relaxing, not working every minute of the day and getting rid of clutter.

My life right now - work 55 - 65 hours (depending on the week) a week at my job, come home exhausted, and go to bed by 7:30 pm most nights.

I want to get the house decluttered so I have more room and I just want to relax some. I am starting to go through some stuff for a garage sale within the month I hope. I don't think I have done anything fun and relaxing for I don't know how long.

My parents are to the point age wise and health wise that I need to help them a lot more.  I just feel like I am running in circles. And there isn't any way I can cut back on hours at work - just learn not to get stressed out about work as much, I guess.

And I need to cut down my time on the internet but it is also my link to the outside world beyond my small town.

The time is going by so fast and I don't seem to get anything more accomplished.

[Shooby]

Can u cut back work hours?

[Deleted]

Can you get a prescription for medical marijuana for your glaucoma?

[Shooby]

I cut a lot of stuff out to destress. I used to play in the church band but I quit. I stopped attending events I really don't care about. I only volunteer for what I want to do. I stopped shopping for fun. I decluttered. Less stuff is less stress. I put the focus back on my family. I spend more time cooking and doing stuff that adds value to our lives.

[ilovedolphins]

Apr 21, 2014 10:51:02 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Can u cut back work hours?

I can't cut back work hours because I am a manager and if I did it would be to go to a lower position and that has never happened to a manager in our store.

[ilovedolphins]

Apr 21, 2014 10:51:56 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

Can you get a prescription for medical marijuana for your glaucoma?

I probably could. We have healthy people working for us that have an rx for medical marijuana that I can't see possibly needs it.

[Deleted]

Apr 21, 2014 10:55:22 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

Apr 21, 2014 10:51:56 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

Can you get a prescription for medical marijuana for your glaucoma?

I probably could. We have healthy people working for us that have an rx for medical marijuana that I can't see possibly needs it.

It wouldn't help with the clutter but it would help you relax about it. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

You need to prioritize. Do you REALLY need to do a garage sale or would tossing/donating to Goodwill be easier for you? It achieves the same goal of decluttering. Could you shove it somewhere so it's out of sight out of mind until work slows down?

Right now I don't give two figs what my house looks like. I have a lot on my plate, having a sparking clean home is not something that is important to me. So what if my MIL comments on it, she's not pregnantand working full time with a toddler.

I tell myself I can get everything accomplished, I just can't do it all once. So I need to pick my battles and remind myself I have every right to sit down once and awhile. Things will get done eventually, it doesn't have to be right this minute.

[ilovedolphins]

Apr 21, 2014 10:53:46 GMT -5 Shooby said:

I cut a lot of stuff out to destress. I used to play in the church band but I quit. I stopped attending events I really don't care about. I only volunteer for what I want to do. I stopped shopping for fun. I decluttered. Less stuff is less stress. I put the focus back on my family. I spend more time cooking and doing stuff that adds value to our lives.

I don't do anything outside of work and sleep it seems like. I love working in my yard so I am going to try to destress that way. I need to look at work as only being the part of my life to pay the bills and try to get back to enjoying life.

I just have so much stuff in my house. Not a hoarder house but all my outside stuff that I don't want to get ruined in the weather because I don't have a shed or garage I keep in the house.

[ilovedolphins]

Apr 21, 2014 10:57:12 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

You need to prioritize. Do you REALLY need to do a garage sale or would tossing/donating to Goodwill be easier for you? It achieves the same goal of decluttering. Could you shove it somewhere so it's out of sight out of mind until work slows down?

Right now I don't give two figs what my house looks like. I have a lot on my plate, having a sparking clean home is not something that is important to me. So what if my MIL comments on it, she's not pregnantand working full time with a toddler.

I tell myself I can get everything accomplished, I just can't do it all once. So I need to pick my battles and remind myself I have every right to sit down once and awhile. Things will get done eventually, it doesn't have to be right this minute.

You are right - I don't need to have a garage sale but I thought I would try and get some money out of it so I can put it towards a cruise in the fall.  There is a lot I may just donate.  I have gotten to the point where I don't care what it looks like -  nobody comes to my house but I would so love to get rid of it all.  Sometimes I think I need to get rid of the kitchen table so I don't clutter it up with stuff.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I'd rather put a bullet in my head than have a garage sale. Too much work for too little gain.  If you're already working 50-60 hours a week you're not going to be in the mood to haggle with old ladies over a nickel.

You can always have one at a later date if you still want, but I wouldn't be pressuring yourself to have one in a month.

You could also consider selling bigger items on Craigslist if you really wanted to make some extra cash. A lot less work than a garage sale.

[lynnerself]

Apr 21, 2014 10:57:12 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

You need to prioritize. Do you REALLY need to do a garage sale or would tossing/donating to Goodwill be easier for you? It achieves the same goal of decluttering.  

I have finally learned that it is just not worth the effort for the garage sale.
Especially if you are stressed and short of time.
We would never make more than a couple hundred dollars, and so much time goes into organizing it, not just the day of the sale.

As stressed as you are, unless you really need the money, I would just haul it off to Goodwill or The Salvation Army.  Think of it as doing a good deed and you also get a charitable write off on you taxes.

Every time we haul a load out of the house, I feel better.

[Iggy aka IG]

ilovedolphins, I am so sorry you are going through this difficult time.  I recently hit my breaking point, and vented via a huge typed paragraph to a friend exactly what was going on that day.  After I re-read it, I knew it was time to re-prioritize.  For the sake of my marriage, health and business.

Example:  One day, I spent so much time on the many outside volunteer activities, I wasn't able to get to my insurance business that day until 1:30PM.  That didn't cut it.  So!  I wrote down everything I was spending my time on, and one by one, started slashing them from my life.  I kept two volunteer activities, but they are things which bring me joy.

And, I agree with the others:  Garage sales take up a lot of time, and are very stressful.  We had one several years ago.  Since then, I've taken small batches of items to a local church's thrift store.  Much easier.  Craigslist is your $$ friend for larger items, however. 

[HoneyBBQ]

I agree with Iggy. Craigslist the larger items, ebay the smaller more expensive items. For me, anything that I think would 'earn' less than $20 goes in a donation bin. Especially for someone working long hours, it's just not worth it to sell items that cost a buck or two.

[ilovedolphins]

I do need to focus more on me. I put everything and everyone else ahead of me. I had a doctor appointment last Tuesday at 1:30 in a town 30 miles from here. I work 4am to 12pm on Tuesdays and I had to stay later because I didn't get my work done because we were short of help. I ran home and didn't have time to eat lunch before I left. I commented to my son that why do I always come last in the scheme of things and his reply was because I don't put myself first. Which is true. So when I got home from my doctors appointment I laid down and then my mom called to see if I could run her on an errand. Since she can't drive I never turn her down because I don't want her to think she is a burden to me.

I had been trying some overactive bladder patches and of course I was in the 1 - 6% of people who had a reaction. My bladder wasn't emptying so I had a urinary tract infection and the extra fluid was backed up into my kidney making it hurt as much as a kidney stone. But I went to work because I was the only manager on duty and couldn't call in.

I has seemed like the last week has been the week from hell.

[Iggy aka IG]

Apr 21, 2014 11:44:23 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

I do need to focus more on me. I put everything and everyone else ahead of me. I had a doctor appointment last Tuesday at 1:30 in a town 30 miles from here. I work 4am to 12pm on Tuesdays and I had to stay later because I didn't get my work done because we were short of help. I ran home and didn't have time to eat lunch before I left. I commented to my son that why do I always come last in the scheme of things and his reply was because I don't put myself first. Which is true. So when I got home from my doctors appointment I laid down and then my mom called to see if I could run her on an errand. Since she can't drive I never turn her down because I don't want her to think she is a burden to me.

I had been trying some overactive bladder patches and of course I was in the 1 - 6% of people who had a reaction. My bladder wasn't emptying so I had a urinary tract infection and the extra fluid was backed up into my kidney making it hurt as much as a kidney stone. But I went to work because I was the only manager on duty and couldn't call in.

I has seemed like the last week has been the week from hell.

This is something else I've been doing for me.  (I want to take advantage of DH's health insurance, just in case it "goes away" with all the changes.)  I made a list of things I need to take care of.  Most recently, I've been having dental work done.  At first it is strange, to take time off for personal appointments, but it gets easier.    A client mentioned I'd been out of the office a lot lately.  I told him it is for medical reasons.  He never mentioned it again.

[constanz22]

I will never, ever do a real garage sale again.  Way too much work for too little pay-off.  I sell most of my excess stuff on FB buy and sell groups.  I regularly make $50-100 a week when I'm good about listing stuff.  So, so much easier than a garage sale!  I, too, have a house completely overstuffed with "stuff".  I look around and go "where did all of this CRAP come from"?  I have been a part of the decluttering group on WIR for YEARS and still made little to no progress with it.  I only work 37.5 hours a week, but have some recent health issues (well, recent diagnosis, the issues have been here for years, which led to a lot of the exhaustion, chronic pain and inability to get anything done).  I have very recently seen maybe a 10% improvement in symptoms, but for whatever reason have FINALLY started tackling the disaster.  The more that gets done, the more energized I feel to keep going.  I still have to be really careful not to over do it when I do feel good, and most of my "good days" are weekends, cuz between working and commuting, most days I get home and collapse in a heap, feeling like I've been hit by a bus.  I have a LONG road ahead.  It is bad, not "hoarders" bad, but pretty dang close.  I just participated in a "40 bags in 40 days" group on FB that was awesome motivation. 

[Shooby]

Yes forget the yard sale. No way. I did one. It took days of planning and I had most of the junk left anyway and made $80. Never again.

[HoneyBBQ]

Apr 21, 2014 11:44:23 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

 I commented to my son that why do I always come last in the scheme of things and his reply was because I don't put myself first. Which is true.  

Your son is wise.

[tloonya]

Apr 21, 2014 10:58:22 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

Apr 21, 2014 10:53:46 GMT -5 Shooby said:

I cut a lot of stuff out to destress. I used to play in the church band but I quit. I stopped attending events I really don't care about. I only volunteer for what I want to do. I stopped shopping for fun. I decluttered. Less stuff is less stress. I put the focus back on my family. I spend more time cooking and doing stuff that adds value to our lives.

I don't do anything outside of work and sleep it seems like. I love working in my yard so I am going to try to destress that way. I need to look at work as only being the part of my life to pay the bills and try to get back to enjoying life.

I just have so much stuff in my house. Not a hoarder house but all my outside stuff that I don't want to get ruined in the weather because I don't have a shed or garage I keep in the house.

I am with you 200%. I didn't know what to tell you until this one. Buy a friggin shed! Will take some stress out of sight. So one is done?

[tloonya]

Apr 21, 2014 11:08:52 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I'd rather put a bullet in my head than have a garage sale. Too much work for too little gain.  If you're already working 50-60 hours a week you're not going to be in the mood to haggle with old ladies over a nickel.

You can always have one at a later date if you still want, but I wouldn't be pressuring yourself to have one in a month.

You could also consider selling bigger items on Craigslist if you really wanted to make some extra cash. A lot less work than a garage sale.

Wrong! Had it done at friend's house. Saturday or Sunday. Got a few beers, sat under the awning. Watched people come and go. Sold all of my DD's stuff and some friend's crap. It was stress free. It was also a block sale but not too many houses participated...so you CAN enjoy it.

[tloonya]

Apr 21, 2014 11:43:33 GMT -5 HoneyBBQ said:

I agree with Iggy. Craigslist the larger items, ebay the smaller more expensive items. For me, anything that I think would 'earn' less than $20 goes in a donation bin. Especially for someone working long hours, it's just not worth it to sell items that cost a buck or two.

Yep! Taking picture of each piece of crap you don't want and posting it and adding description to it and IF someone wants it - answering questions and then shipping it OR meeting them just to find out it wouldn't match their eye color...is it really easier than garage sale?

[ilovedolphins]

Apr 21, 2014 12:03:03 GMT -5 tloonya said:

Apr 21, 2014 10:58:22 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

I don't do anything outside of work and sleep it seems like. I love working in my yard so I am going to try to destress that way. I need to look at work as only being the part of my life to pay the bills and try to get back to enjoying life.

I just have so much stuff in my house. Not a hoarder house but all my outside stuff that I don't want to get ruined in the weather because I don't have a shed or garage I keep in the house.

I am with you 200%. I didn't know what to tell you until this one. Buy a friggin shed! Will take some stress out of sight. So one is done?

It is easy to say buy a shed. Then you have to put it up. As a single woman that is no easy task. And don't suggest hire someone to do it because if there were people in my small town who did construction or concrete work all my worries would be solved.

[Iggy aka IG]

Apr 21, 2014 11:55:23 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Yes forget the yard sale. No way. I did one. It took days of planning and I had most of the junk left anyway and made $80. Never again.

We had an estate/yard sale at our home with another couple.  Afterward, my usually quiet, patient DH growled:  "NEVER again!" 

[tloonya]

Apr 21, 2014 11:55:23 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Yes forget the yard sale. No way. I did one. It took days of planning and I had most of the junk left anyway and made $80. Never again.

That is the problem! Junk needs to be not sold but trashed. I know person who made $1300 selling his stuff because it was a good stuff he didn't need anymore.
And what are you all so angry about garage sales? Do you 'work' at it? Don't! Relax, sit near it and enjoy the weather. If it is more than one of you - take turn taking nap. Then order pizza and more beer and have it almost a party. Or...what are you doing that it makes you so overwhelmed and hating it? Watching people so they aren't stealing...junk?

[HoneyBBQ]

Apr 21, 2014 12:12:49 GMT -5 tloonya said:

Apr 21, 2014 11:43:33 GMT -5 HoneyBBQ said:

I agree with Iggy. Craigslist the larger items, ebay the smaller more expensive items. For me, anything that I think would 'earn' less than $20 goes in a donation bin. Especially for someone working long hours, it's just not worth it to sell items that cost a buck or two.

Yep! Taking picture of each piece of crap you don't want and posting it and adding description to it and IF someone wants it - answering questions and then shipping it OR meeting them just to find out it wouldn't match their eye color...is it really easier than garage sale?

Yes. It takes like 15 seconds to take a picture and write a description. Posting on Craigslist takes about 3 minutes. Then everything happens in the background. If they want it, they come to my house with cash. It takes virtually no time or effort.

Time to set up and manage a garage sale? All freaking day. If not multiple days.

I got better things to do on a Saturday then sit around and haggle with people in my driveway.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Apr 21, 2014 10:54:13 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

Apr 21, 2014 10:51:02 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Can u cut back work hours?

I can't cut back work hours because I am a manager and if I did it would be to go to a lower position and that has never happened to a manager in our store.

Do you need to be a manager?  Yes, it'd be lower pay to return to non-management, but could you do okay with lower pay and then have less work, less hours, less stress, and more time with the family?  Would it hurt to ask? 

[tloonya]

Apr 21, 2014 12:16:24 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

Apr 21, 2014 12:03:03 GMT -5 tloonya said:

I am with you 200%. I didn't know what to tell you until this one. Buy a friggin shed! Will take some stress out of sight. So one is done?

It is easy to say buy a shed. Then you have to put it up. As a single woman that is no easy task. And don't suggest hire someone to do it because if there were people in my small town who did construction or concrete work all my worries would be solved.

What about those heavu-dooty plastic ones? Won't Home-Depot bring it and place it?

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Apr 21, 2014 12:35:43 GMT -5 tloonya said:

Apr 21, 2014 12:16:24 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

It is easy to say buy a shed. Then you have to put it up. As a single woman that is no easy task. And don't suggest hire someone to do it because if there were people in my small town who did construction or concrete work all my worries would be solved.

What about those heavu-dooty plastic ones? Won't Home-Depot bring it and place it?

Why buy a whole shed to store stuff you don't use or need?  Dolphins wants to simplify her life, and storing a bunch of boxes of carp month-after-month/year-after-year instead of just taking it once to Goodwill does not simplify things. 

[tloonya]

Apr 21, 2014 12:23:44 GMT -5 HoneyBBQ said:

Apr 21, 2014 12:12:49 GMT -5 tloonya said:

Yep! Taking picture of each piece of crap you don't want and posting it and adding description to it and IF someone wants it - answering questions and then shipping it OR meeting them just to find out it wouldn't match their eye color...is it really easier than garage sale?

Yes. It takes like 15 seconds to take a picture and write a description. Posting on Craigslist takes about 3 minutes. Then everything happens in the background. If they want it, they come to my house with cash. It takes virtually no time or effort.

Time to set up and manage a garage sale? All freaking day. If not multiple days.

I got better things to do on a Saturday then sit around and haggle with people in my driveway.

You MUST know if we are talking de-cluttering - how much stuff needs to be gotten out?
So it is not 15 sec at all!
It is photographing EACH piece and describe EACH peace. And download and upload. 15sec my ars!