2016 Declutter and Get Organized Thread

[debthaven]

Iggy 10 acres?! Good luck, I hope it works out!

DS3 is on the bus from the airport to his city, then he has to take another bus to the campus. Once he gets on the bus to campus I'm going to bed. 

[moneysquirrel]

This week's list:  

Home/Personal:
*Maintain progress -- slipped some and need to get back on track
*Deep Clean -- BR
*Deep Clean -- Bead Room*Keep up with laundry and daily items
*Go through closets and reorganize
*Ten million other things that I forgot to mention

School: (Last week before holiday = craziness)
*5th project @ 60 (due tonight)
*6th project @ 90 (Due Friday = corrections during holiday)
*7th project @ 85 (Due Friday = corrections during holiday)
*7th Test @ 65 left (got one set corrected today)
*Begin working on First Semester Exams I and II
*Post all of the grades asap
*Water classroom plants before Friday

Crafts:
*Finish CR Necklace -- definitely want to finish this before Thanksgiving -- haven't had time to sit with it -- too detailed for a little here and there
*Shorten Green necklace (have a sale for it once I shorten it)
*Other Earring -- Teaching myself a new stitch and have one done.
*Fix broken bracelet 1
*Fix broken bracelet 2
*Make 2 earrings (cross)
*Remake pin if I can't find the one I finished (put it in a safe place and can't remember where)

Today I finally got to exercise even though I lost my voice (allergy), reported street lighting out, got exam info printed out, corrected first set of tests and several of the projects that came in early. unloaded the dishwasher and got one load of laundry done. I am not sure if I will get anything else done tonight.

[moneysquirrel]

Debt -- Hope you can get some sleep soon.  Sorry to hear about DH's uncle.
Busy -- One day at a time
Start -- Bench looks great


Beginning to fade -- more later.

[Iggy aka IG]

Nov 14, 2016 11:48:11 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Things left on my list:
Deliver the moving boxes to my client
Return the Halloween costume at the post office, deliver the last harvest mix from last month while there
Put the coffee table back which was moved for the Halloween party

Added:
Make an appointment with the real estate agent to look at the house this Sat
Monthly grocery shop
Meeting at the BLM tomorrow night.  Yay. 
Possible jury duty Wed.  Even more yay.

Adding:
Pick up chamber Santa flyers from the printer
Deliver flyer to numerous locations for marketing purposes

[debthaven]

DH's uncle passed this afternoon. They'll decide on the funeral arrangements tomorrow. He was surrounded by his immediate family.

[Iggy aka IG]

debthaven, sending hugs from afar. 

[Jaguar]

My Sincerest Condolences.

[busymom]

So sorry debthaven!    Prayers & positive thoughts to you & your family. 

Still slogging through Mom's paperwork.  We did so many little & big things for her house, that getting the final tally put together is time-consuming. 

I DID get a lot of walking done today.  I won't hit 10,000 steps by bedtime tonight, but I might get to 9,000.  (Which is wayyyy more steps than I've been getting in for quite awhile.)

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Hi, friends! I'm totally behind on life. Bill the Dog became deathly ill with an infection in either his blood, intestines, or pancreas this last weekend. $450 later, he's on the road to recovery. Plus, we've an ant invasion. 

Here are some things I need to accomplish this week: 
update YNAB
Pay bills
work together with DD to assemble new Ikea dresser for DD#2
KILL ALL THE ANTS
finish all the grading for first trimester. 
finalize grades for first trimester. 
clean the little car
sweep the whole house once
sweep the kitchen Tuesday & Thursday
send a thank you note to SIL
---TBD
---TBD
---TBD

[taz157]

Debt - I'm sorry about your DH's uncle.

[debthaven]

Thanks everyone. He was 84 but you're never ready, you know? Also DH's parents both died by the time DS3 was a few months old, so this aunt and uncle were like DS3's grandparents. I'm so glad DH was there with his family. Once things settle down DH's aunt will come to stay with us for a while. They were/are the only family members of that age / generation left.

I'm in waiting mode till I find out when the funeral is. Funerals can take a while to organize in the UK ... up to 10 days. As an adjunct I have to either make up/reschedule my classes, or farm them out to colleagues (in which case I'm not paid of course). My colleagues have all offered but it's better if I can reschedule them. 

Since the funeral is unlikely to be before the middle of next week, I absolutely have to finish the 73 papers I get tomorrow over the weekend. (I'll get more papers on Mon and Tues.)

It also looks like I'm going to have to cancel Thanksgiving, which we're hosting for US friends. That makes me sad because it is a tradition with these close friends.

I should know more later today.

[dee27]

I am sorry for your loss. Please accept my condolences.

[wvugurl26]

So sorry debt.

I hope they make the arrangements soon so you can plan for your classes.

[Iggy aka IG]

Nov 15, 2016 10:59:30 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Nov 14, 2016 11:48:11 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Things left on my list:
Deliver the moving boxes to my client
Return the Halloween costume at the post office, deliver the last harvest mix from last month while there
Put the coffee table back which was moved for the Halloween party

Added:
Make an appointment with the real estate agent to look at the house this Sat
Monthly grocery shop
Meeting at the BLM tomorrow night.  Yay. 
Possible jury duty Wed.  Even more yay.  CANCELLED. 

Adding:
Pick up chamber Santa flyers from the printer
Deliver flyer to numerous locations for marketing purposes

[debthaven]

No news about the date yet ... one place offered a funeral in 3 weeks! The family refused but I don't know if they've found anything sooner yet. At this point they may only settle on a date tomorrow or Fri. Yikes. SOOO unsettling!

[Iggy aka IG]

debthaven, that is insane! 

[debthaven]

Iggy apparently there is a growing backlog for cremation ... burial is quicker but most people in the UK prefer cremation.

ETA: All my UK friends warned me it could take 10 days ... but 3 weeks?!

[wvugurl26]

I am very thankful for the US system right now. I've never heard of three weeks even with an autopsy being done.

[debthaven]

No autopsy thank Gd but two docs required to confirm cause of death, which of course delayed the death certificate, but only by 24h. (Recent law because of a crazy doc who killed a bunch of people, google Harold Shipman.) And Uncle B died in a hospital, unlike Athena's DH.

DH's parents died in the late 90s and it used to be 10-12 days. DH thinks there's a growing backlog.

Plus I'm Jewish, and we bury within 48h (exceptionally 72h). So this is just crazy to me. I said that when DH's parents died, and it was only 10 days for them! (I thought it was longer for his mom but DH said I remembered it wrong.)

[debthaven]

---

In other, "house" news:

- the Boiler/ Chimney guy came today. He's retired now, he sold his business to someone else (who we know and like). But the new owner has such a backlog at this time of year the old owner still services his old clients, ie us. The boiler has a (thankfully cheap) part that is leaking, so he is coming back next Wed to replace it.

- Between yesterday and today I went to:
    the pharmacy (twice)
    the post office
    the bottle bank
    caught up on laundry
    caught up on dishes       

I wanted to clear the decks before getting the 73 papers tomorrow that I need to mark over the weekend. To me that's a LOT for a weekend and I know I won't finish. Nothing else on the agenda after work tomorrow, apart from picking up DH (either at the airport or at the local train station, to be determined).

Lund, no more tea decluttered lol!

[plugginaway22]

Sad hearing about illness and death just before the holidays (Debt and Athena)!  So that pulls me back to put things into perspective as I am bitching about having Thanksgiving.  
(It is also going to be an effort to host 18 people who all have differing political views )

Anyway, bought the turkeys, assigned some side dishes, and plan to have it buffet style.  Need to clean and put away some small furniture for better flow that day. 

[lund]

DH,
Your DS3 needs to buy some tea for his own money - after that, he probably will gladly carry a semester's supply!

Sorry to hear about your DUIL. Your DH must feel very relieved to have traveled in the beginning of the week.


Three weeks is not rare here either, alas. Most cremate here too; it is cheaper and there are more cemetery choices.
The old customs used to be either on the following Saturday or one week after the death (other variations probably exist), unless there were special circumstances (such as midwinter).


As to the tea-containing satchels, autocorrect has its highlights, though the description of the infusion at first caused me some confusion.

[busymom]

So sorry, debthaven, to hear of the chaos in trying to schedule the funeral.  (It took awhile to schedule my Mom's, too, but was told it was because she was a member of a large congregation).  3 weeks though, ouch!

I went into pie-baking mode today, & finished my pumpkin pies.  They'll go into the freezer tonight, and I'm always pleased with the flavor.  If I was making them closer to Thanksgiving, I'd make them the Wednesday night before, as the flavor is always better after a night in the fridge.

I bought a Christmas gift online today.  Shhh! 

[Sharon]

debthaven I'm sorry to hear of the death in the family. 

[dee27]

The only items I have left to buy for Thanksgiving are apples for the pie and eggs and bread for the stuffing. Since it is just DH and I, I am making a stuffed chicken with homemade cranberry sauce, gravy, mashed potatoes, green vegetable (green beans or peas) and apple pie for dessert. I like pumpkin pie, but DH will not eat it, so I skip the second pie. I have my second eye surgery three days before Thanksgiving, and I hope the blurriness disappears quickly, and I can cook dinner instead of instructing DH step by step.

[debthaven]

Dee when it was just us and the kids we used to have a Thanksgiving chicken too! (No time to cook a turkey on a work day).

[dee27]

Even a small turkey has too much meat for us and it tastes stale after a few days, Debt. I have tried a turkey breast, but it tasted too salty. Chicken is the perfect size and I have leftovers for only a few days.

[debthaven]

Believe it or not, still no date set. Hopefully tomorrow! DH is on his way home.

I have a ton of marking to do this weekend so feel free to ignore. I did one set despite teaching from 8-4pm today. Some papers weren't turned in on time. They may have been put in my cubbyhole but I didn't go back to check so I'll worry about those one day.

Thurs: First year A: 21 papers (1 missing)
Fri: First year B: 17 papers (4 missing)
Sat: Msc A: 15 papers (1 missing)
Sun: MSc B: 13 papers (1 missing)
?? First year C: 4 papers

ETA: We are not supposed to mark late papers ... they're supposed to get a zero. Sometimes I mark them anyway, but if I do, I always hand them back ... very late.

[busymom]

It'll be nice for your to have DH home again, debthaven!  So sorry everything is dragging our regarding his DU's funeral.

We're supposed to get our first sN*w of the season tomorrow, & you can really feel the chill in the air this afternoon.  In case I'm mostly stuck at home, I bought my Christmas postage stamps & stationery, so I can work on Christmas cards if I'm chained to the house.    But, I've got a care conference that I'm supposed to attend for my relative.  We'll just see how things go.

[Iggy aka IG]

on the snow.  According to Facebook "memories", it snowed the first time Nov 16th last year.  This year today was the big day.  It's mostly staying in the higher elevations, and I can actually see what we call a sucker hole of blue from here at my desk.  


Deliver the moving boxes to my client-She was supposed to come by Tuesday.  Sigh.
Return the Halloween costume at the post office, deliver the last harvest mix from last month while there-Done, and sent two other packages and bought stamps.
Put the coffee table back which was moved for the Halloween party
Pick up chamber Santa flyers from the printer-Done
Deliver flyer to numerous locations for marketing purposes-Delivered 45 of them to my board members and various locations.
Picked up dry cleaning
Dropped off something to a client

This weekend:
The usual laundry and food processing
Transfer warm weather clothes and shoes for cold.


The errands today took 3 hours.  Though my feet hurt, I am happy to get these things completed, especially now the weather has "begun".