2016 Declutter and Get Organized Thread

[Iggy aka IG]

I love it, debthaven!  What a nice way to begin the week. 


I forgot to post that we looked at the house on 10 acres Saturday.  It's an older home with upgrades, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in every room.  Too much for DH and I who work long hours.  Not a good fit.  On to the next one. 

[debthaven]

I hope you're not too disappointed Iggy, and that you find something that suits you better very soon.

[Jaguar]

Damn, darn, shit! I cleaned my steps on Friday and there's crap all over them again. It's also majorly shitty cold outside.

[debthaven]

Oh no Jag! Do you mean dirt, or literally Shite?

[busymom]

I FINALLY listed everything in my charity box, took pictures, & dropped it off today. One less thing in the living room. 

It is bitterly cold out today, so I'm focusing on things at home.  Which, I actually need to do anyway. 

[countrygirl]

DH and I are at it. He loaded all the extra stuff from our house garage, a lot was out there from the

motorhome and from remodeling places and moved it to one of his for now. By the way the weather

is nice, but it was 23 last night.  We took the rest of the stuff I'm upholstering and things to the

basement for me to work on.  And also I am washing rugs in the garage.  That front came through the

other day and I didn't get the door closed quick enough and got all my rugs wet out there.

He is moving the big ladder for me so I can clean ceiling fans and taking down fixtures so I can wash them.

Our ceilings are 9 ft, living room 12, garage 12 I think so hard for me right now.

I also washed the rest of the windows in the living/dining room/ and kitchen so that looks nice, inside and out.

I am going to do the garage as they are at the front of the house. All will be done but a few in the bedrooms

on the back.

I am also vacuuming and dusting, just sat down for a few minutes.

The chiro is going to be a good one, 2 adjustments and he has helped me already.  Like he says no cure but

he can do palliative care and help me to not have to use pain killers.  Eventually likely a spinal fusion but not

right now.  I was worrying about paralysis, he said no just pain from what is happening.  He said there is a lot

going on back there, well that I know.  But I feel better already.  DD got a massage, she is happy.

She is doing well, very happy, getting more into her things then when she would come home on weekends.  All

she did was lay there or sleep, and was always so sad looking.  Of course this is the honeymoon stage.

[Jaguar]

Nov 21, 2016 15:35:08 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Oh no Jag! Do you mean dirt, or literally Shite?

All the darn fall leaves, I swept up and removed a big bag full last Friday from my front step. I went out today and it's all back on my front step.

[plugginaway22]

Debt, congrats on the weight loss!  How have you accomplished that?  I should lose about 20lbs. This time of year is difficult!  I work with 30 women and there is always FOOD and treats in our break room.
We all complain about weight gain but we all bring it in to share, what a bunch of enablers!

[debthaven]

Thanks Pluggin! I'm not doing anything radical, just REALLY cutting down on sugar and carbs. I never drank much Coke but I haven't had one since June. I'll have a diet soda very rarely.
I initially started being careful in July because of the upcoming wedding. Then my sister came for 3 weeks in Aug, and she only eats salad and protein. (She is heavy so frankly I don't get it. She says it's because she doesn't exercise.) After she left I just kept going ...

This week's marking
Mon: 21 tests + enter marks
Tues: 19 tests + enter marks

I'll get to the papers when I get to them, this marking marathon is over.

Also emptied dishwasher and folded last night's laundry. 

ETA: I have to go food shopping and pick up the turkey tomorrow (it's not really Thanksgiving here so the stores won't be crowded.) Ideally I'd like to go in the morning before work.

Still to do (by Mon?):
- 1st years: 2 + 1 papers 
- 2nd years: 5 long papers 
- MSc: 4 + 2 papers 
- write up MSc exam
- translate writing exam 

I have more left to do than I thought. And usually I mark on Fridays but I have to work late this Friday. 

[debthaven]

OMG what a day! My Thanksgiving turkey nearly did a runner!

I completely forgot the Boiler Guy was coming back this morning, so I was on my way out when he arrived. I had to wait 45m for him to finish. Rush to the supermarket 20 min away when I had ordered the turkey through DS3's former HS. Pick up the turkey, put it in the cart, take the cart to the veggie dept, choose some veggies, and ... no cart. People assumed I was running around looking for a child ... when they found out I was looking for a lost cart / turkey they walked away.
 

I went to the manager who asked a few employees to help find the cart with the turkey (remember nobody is buying turkeys here now). An employee found it, WAY on the other side of this HUGE supermarket! You can imagine how people were laughing, the manager is announcing a lost shopping cart / turkey on the intercom. "Haha, she lost her turkey!" I don't know if someone did it as a stupid joke or if someone accidentally took my shopping cart, but I really didn't need that aggro.

NOW I can laugh about it but I certainly wasn't laughing then!

Today I worked, finished the shopping, prepared all the veggies for roasting and made cornbread. DH will do the pumpkin pies tonight, and he's working from home tomorrow to do the turkey. Our friends are bringing soup to start. The third couple has been conspicuously silent, even though I asked them to please bring a dish and tell me what they'd like to bring ...

Obviously no marking got done today, and none will get done tomorrow either. And I'm working on Fri. 

[Chocolate Lover]

I'm glad your turkey didn't completely get away Debt, but what a pain that was to have to hunt it down!!! 

[debthaven]

Chocolate I'm just so happy someone found it lol!

[busymom]

You need to write a book, debthaven , about your adventures in Europe.    Glad no one else got your turkey.

I FINALLY have all of the groceries I wanted to make Thanksgiving Dinner.  And, the snow quit falling this afternoon, so after I picked up DS, we found a Hickory Farm stand, and bought my favorite beef sausage & some of their famous mints to save for Christmas.  The stands here often sell out after Black Friday shopping, so I wanted to make sure I got what I wanted.  (Just don't ask how much I spent.  My favorites seem to go up in price every year.)

Oh, and you should see my living room and dining room!  They look SO much better without all of that clutter.  And, having less stuff around actually energizes me. 

[debthaven]

Yay Busy, so glad you're happy with the way the house looks!

[Iggy aka IG]

Nov 23, 2016 16:14:09 GMT -5 busymom said:

You need to write a book, debthaven , about your adventures in Europe.    Glad no one else got your turkey.

I FINALLY have all of the groceries I wanted to make Thanksgiving Dinner.  And, the snow quit falling this afternoon, so after I picked up DS, we found a Hickory Farm stand, and bought my favorite beef sausage & some of their famous mints to save for Christmas.  The stands here often sell out after Black Friday shopping, so I wanted to make sure I got what I wanted.  (Just don't ask how much I spent.  My favorites seem to go up in price every year.)

Oh, and you should see my living room and dining room!  They look SO much better without all of that clutter.  And, having less stuff around actually energizes me. 

[startsmart]

I am finally, finally, getting my faucet replaced! After struggling with it on Tuesday I called and made an appointment for next week. They called because they had a cancellation and the dude fit me in! 

I'm also working on clearing out the front yard where things are getting waterlogged and messy out there. It's my goal tomorrow to clean it all up and hose it down. Thanksgiving marks 1 year since I took out the tree so it would be really nice to get that flower box cleaned up a little more. It's hard to move a bunch of mulch with the rain we've had lately but it's supposed to be dry until Saturday. 

No big plans tomorrow, I might make a casserole from the turkey I cooked last week because otherwise I'm never going to finish it! 

Is it time for vacation yet?! 

[WholeLottaNothin]

Finally got to 900. That took longer than I thought it would. I am getting over a cold and the cough just lingers. We will see how much I can get done this long weekend.

[busymom]

Nice work WholeLottaNothin! 

Well, we got through our Thanksgiving dinner, & we all ate too much.  We're putting the leftover ham into the freezer to eat another day.  We have enough leftover pie to eat tomorrow, then I need to get back to regular exercise.

Right now I'm REALLY glad the house is clean.  Just found out my IL's are popping in for a visit this weekend. 

[debthaven]

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was good! The third couple who hadn't asked about food showed up with 3 dishes! We all shared out some of the leftovers which was nice. But we still have enough turkey for an army! We are invited for a Thanksgiving dinner on Sat (a lot of people here do them on the weekend since Thurs is a weeknight.)

This morning I had to do paperwork ... we are listing the other studio. So they'll both be listed and hopefully one will sell quickly.

I haven't gone touched my marking since Tues, and I'm heading off to work soon. We have those ridiculous parent-teacher conferences (for university students!!!) today. I'm hoping I can get some marking done in-between parents, but I doubt it.

Marking / Exams:
- 2nd years: 3 5 reports (Fri/Sat)
- write up MSc exam (Sat)
- 1st years: 1 + 2 papers (Fri/Sun)
- translate writing exam (Sun)
- MSc: 4 + 2 papers ?

ETA: Got home at 10 pm, am already in pjs with a glass of wine! I was able to mark 2/5 reports.

[plugginaway22]

In the end we had a great T-Giving day.  So much work for 18 people!  But everyone behaved, politics was not discussed, they all brought a dish and hostess gifts, and we have amazing leftovers for the weekend.  I can leisurely put away all the serving pieces, extra chairs, etc...
We are not Black Friday shoppers and I am not feeling any desire to start hauling Christmas decor out!  Just shopping on-line (filling on-line baskets and not pushing purchase yet) and relaxing!
Happy Thanksgiving!

[busymom]

Am I bad if I admit I've already wrapped my first Christmas present?

I'd planned to sleep in a bit this morning, but Bad Boy Puppy was very loud about feeling lonely with no one up, & he wanted to go out, so maybe I'll take a nap later.  As we were moving things into the basement at the last minute yesterday, I discovered a large bag of Mom's clothes that I'd forgotten about, so that should make a good sorting project for later today.

DD admitted that her rain jacket isn't quite doing the job as she commutes to work, so we'll be checking for specials online.  Of course, to get free shipping, I might have to add an item or two to her cart... 

[debthaven]

The agent asked for more paperwork for the studio. I found what she asked for but it will take ages to photocopy it on my small home printer so I'll do it at school on Monday.

[startsmart]

Had a really good client call today and got one of our projects back on track. The other big client is going to be a challenge these next few months with lots of launches happening. 

Tomorrow it's supposed to rain and I'd like to get more of the garage and yard cleaned up. If I can pull the car out of the garage then I can put away the fall decorations and start pulling out Christmas decor. I'd like to get things set up before I head out on vacation. 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Debt!!! I'd have been totally freaked out also!!! I'm glad they found the turkey. 
Also, I never say anything about anyone's weight loss either. If they bring it up, I'll confirm I was thinking that they had but didn't want to intrude. Congratulations to you! I've gone the opposite direction with my weight this year. 

I'm still behind on life. On Sunday, I came down with a nasty cold. My throat hurt to the point that I thought I had strep throat. I still taught Monday and Tuesday. We didn't have school Wednesday, but I was supposed to put in first trimester grades. I went for a strep test instead, which was negative. At least I knew though. Thursday, I felt well enough to attend Thanksgiving at DH's brother's house. But, other than teaching, I accomplished absolutely nothing this week. 

Today, we did a bit of shopping, and we've decorated the outside for Christmas. I'll try to upload pictures, but I've not been able to get photobucket to work for week or so. I want to upload the listing pictures of my house but heck if I can get it to work. 

Tonight, I need to finalize my grades. 

We still have an an infestation, and that's damned annoying. 

By Sunday evening, 
--File the Pile
--Decorate inside for Christmas
--Lesson Plans for the week
--Prep for the week
--DD#2 needs to vacuum her bedroom
--Dye my hair
--Set up a balance transfer
--meal plan
--Set up DD#2's chore list for next week
--Email my mother DD#2's dance schedule
--mail SIl a thank you card
--mail my sister a check
--Purchase the restuarant gift certificates needed for Christmas gifts
--Clean up two random piles of clutter that have appeared over the last two weeks 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Nov 23, 2016 16:14:09 GMT -5 busymom said:

Oh, and you should see my living room and dining room!  They look SO much better without all of that clutter.  And, having less stuff around actually energizes me. 

I get incredibly agitated by clutter. Having a minimalist approach to the house is much more peaceful for me. 

[Sharon]

I made a huge grand mess in the kitchen today and enjoyed every minute of it.  The kitchen table got moved close to the wall so it could be used as a sewing table.  The chairs are scattered around the dining room every which way.  The ironing board is in the middle of the room.  The ironing board has patterns and my self healing mat on top.  The end of the kitchen counter has thread and assorted notions.  The usual sewing table, which lives in the dining room, has more thread and notions.

I am working on a project that I actually started in 2001 and pull out every so many years and work on.  I am down to the final quilting step and then sewing on decorative beads for embellishments here and there.  I am switching out thread colors frequently so have many spools of thread sitting around.  Hopefully the cats don't decide to bat them around.

[debthaven]

Sounds like fun Sharon!

Chloe I hope you feel better soon ... any bites on the house?

Hope you get it all done before you go Start!

Marking/Exams:
- 2nd years: 5 reports
- write up MSc exam
- translate writing exam (needs proofing)
- 1st years: 1 + 2 papers (Sun)
- MSc: 2 + 4 papers (Mon?)

We're invited for another Thanksgiving tonight. DS3's friend is lonely and asked if she could hang out with us, so we're taking her with us.

ETA:
- visited my friend
- mailed letter
- milk
- bottle bank
- hostess gift

In the end today was a productive day. I'm hoping not to have to leave the house tomorrow ...
 

[moneysquirrel]

Updating the list:

Nov 21, 2016 12:06:45 GMT -5 moneysquirrel said:

This week list:
Home/Personal:
*Exercise -- Monday Done
*Clean LR/Hall Done
*Clean and mop Kitchen Done
*Decorate for Thanksgiving Done
*Keep up with laundry and dishes Ongoing
*Continue with closet reorganization Ongoing
*Thanksgiving cooking and hosting (small group this year) Done
*Heater inspection -- Friday Done

School: (Glad to have this week off )
*7th grade projects -- About 50 left -- All that have been submitted have been corrected -- Lots of incomplete projects
*Refine exam Ongoing
*Plan sub work for conference days in December 

Crafts:
*Finish CR Necklace -- Done
*Make 2nd earring of new stitch Done
*Make 2 pairs of cross earrings Done
*Fix broken earrings Done
*New projects?? Done

Today I finished grading the 6th grade projects except for the missing 12. Emailed them (and parents) so I hope that they will come in soon. I have about half of the 7th  projects done and plan to do a few of these today but I am taking a break before getting back to grading.  I have the exams almost done - part I is finished and part 2 needs refining. I did find the missing pin - so glad that I don't have to remake it. 

Debt -- This is also my last major grading prior to exams. I think that this semester has flown by.  I'm not complaining.

Need to get a few things done so I will sign off now.

Got a lot off of the list.  New one wi l be coming soon.  The house is still in Thanksgiving mode -- haven't put everything away as of yet.  Neeotd to start putting out Christmas before it gets away from me again and I'm rushing. Have been completing small projects and trying to be creative with the ideas I have on hand.  I still have three craft shows prior to Christmas so I am slowing adding a few small items to the inventory.  Some of what I have completed will be mine, others will be available at the shows.  
Planning on spending time with DSis today.  I avoided the shops yesterday -- actually did not leave the house.  We may do a little shopping today but not if the shops are crazy.  I need nothing that badly.  Besides, a lot of what I give are gift cards. 
This week off has flown by.  I have to finish up a few things before I return to school on Monday.
Need to get myself in action so I can leave in about an hour.

[debthaven]

You got a LOT done this week Moneysquirrel!

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

--File the Pile
--Decorate inside for Christmas
--Lesson Plans for the week
--Prep for the week
--DD#2 needs to vacuum her bedroom
--Dye my hair
--Set up a balance transfer
--meal plan
--Set up DD#2's chore list for next week 
--Email my mother DD#2's dance schedule
--mail SIl a thank you card
--mail my sister a check
--Purchase the restuarant gift certificates needed for Christmas gifts
--Clean up one two random piles of clutter that have appeared over the last two weeks
--clean toilets
--change sheets