2016 Declutter and Get Organized Thread

[dee27]

We do not have any decent bakeries. There was one European style bakery that used to be okay until they changed how they iced their cakes. Now the cake is a thin layer and the rest is icing. Blech!

[plugginaway22]

Good reminder about bakeries.  We have a Polish bakery that I love!  And I am that way with Christmas cards.  Some years I send nothing and some years I go crazy and send to everyone I know, depends on the seasonal stress levels!

[debthaven]

I'm very lucky that DH sends our Christmas cards!

DH always makes a traditional English Christmas cake, which few of us like. I also buy a bakery Christmas log for Christmas Day. (Sometimes one of the Big Boys brings that.)

I have an appt with my second (keeper) school tomorrow morning to talk about my new course. I don't feel prepared and I am still exhausted. I guess I'll wake up very early again. Never in a million years would I have ever imagined that I'd opt to get up early instead of working late.

And I have done NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, about Christmas. We are broke this year, and with the way our CC works, I'm probably going to do everything at the last minute so it goes on the Jan billing cycle. Frankly, Christmas is really stressing me out this year, because of finances. I can't believe that both studios are for sale and NO bites.

[debthaven]

About the bakeries, or lack of ... There are two women in my neighborhood who bake to order (they're friends of friends, not close friends, and I've never used their services myself, but I know a lot of people in my neighborhood who do). Another closer friend has a woman in her neighborhood who does this too. They all do "seasonal" cakes / cupcakes, wedding cakes, etc.

Other thought: when DD was in her Hospitality HS (trade school) her best friend there specialized and became a pastry chef. DD lost touch with her but we used to sometimes order birthday cakes from her while they were close. If there is a cooking school near you, you could definitely order whatever you want at a very good price from a student. Sometimes DD's friend would come over for the day or to sleep over and we'd come home to 3 cakes LOL. We have very close friends who regularly cater their parties using students (or recent graduates) from the local hospitality trade school, and they ALWAYS do an AMAZING job.

Just a thought.

I'm not from the bakers, the only pastries I do well are brownies or crumbles (apple or berries). So I always try to keep a Betty Crocker mix and can of icing at home if I need to whip something up unexpectedly. Obviously that wouldn't be appropriate for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but it does come in handy sometimes.

[Sharon]

Housework
   Knock down the cobwebs
   Clean the Fridge
   Tell the oven to clean itself- Found out since the clock on the stove no longer works the self clean feature won’t work. I can’t seem to manually run it.
   Deep dusting with pledge
   Scrub kitchen floor
   Scrub bathroom floors (2)
   Clean Shower Stall
   Clear Backside of Counter
   Clear tubs of decorations out of the house
   Corral the disaster recovery supplies in one area
Holiday
   Finish decorating the tree- Got a few more ornaments added
   Finish decorating the house
   Get out the Christmas dishes
   Christmas cards- Got started, over halfway through.
   Wrap Presents
Errands
   Return car battery charger to Dad
   Cardboard Recycling
Shopping
   Christmas Presents
      SIL- Ordered Online and it took way longer than it should have.
      Mom
      Dad
   Birthday Presents
      Niece S
      Sis
      Nephew G
      Towels to make Bro’s present
   Socks/Hats etc for UGM barrel at work
Cards
    Anniversary Card- DD/SIL
    Sympathy Card- funeral on Sat
    Birthday Cards for above people
Miscellaneous
   Mail Niece S present
   Ship Nephew G present- England
Cooking
   Pumpkin Bread
   Rolls for the freezer
   Fudge

I didn't get as much done today as I had hoped.  I slept in for one and it was snowing, freezing rain etc so I kept just watching what it was doing outside.  Last night I went down to DD's and we played with greenery.  She made a wreath and started on a second wreath.  I made 2 table centerpieces for Christmas.  With 15 people coming for dinner it takes multiple tables to seat everyone.  I also kept procrastinating on scrubbing the kitchen floor.  That was the most time I have spent down on my hands and knees since last May, before I injured my knee.

[dee27]

Debt,

I love to bake and I am fairly proficient, but sometimes it is nice to buy a dessert that is yummy. I do draw the line at Danish pastry which is a major investment of time. Two of the bakeries we used to frequent have gone downhill. The one above that I mentioned, and the other is a bakery/bistro with Austrian owners. Their product used to be excellent, but the last year the pastries are very different. I suspect that their son took over the day to day baking because the Napoleons have thick layers of pastry although the filling is fine, and the Danish tasted stale. I could make the pastries, but then I would have to eat all of them in fast order.

There was a lovely French bakery in the city, but it closed two years ago. The Italian bakery is okay for bread, but the cannoli are awful. The Jewish bakery has great bagels and sandwiches, but the cookies/pastries are only passable and bought from another vendor. We enjoyed the carrot cake from a small café until the provider changed the recipe. I can make all of these items, and I can reduce the recipe, but usually I only want one or two.

We have the same problem with finding a decent NY style pizza; the best one out here is actually a flatbread pizza that is very good albeit different. I usually make my own. After the recession, I noticed that many of the restaurants we enjoyed have pared their menu selections and too many restaurants have the same food.

[moneysquirrel]

Updating this list -- to see how much more I need to do before next week's list:

Dec 5, 2016 20:38:07 GMT -5 moneysquirrel said:

This week’s list:

Home/Personal
- Maintain progress and make some improvements
- Put out Nativity sets -- one more to go (I have about 20)
- Store Holiday storage container somewhere other than the middle of a room -- Working on it
- Stop by the gym and pick up a few gift cards (only allowed to buy one per day)
- Several other items that I can’t remember

School

- Continue checking for late projects
- Correct 6 more sets of part one of the exams -- Done
- Conference two days this week -- Done
- 11 sets of part 2 of exams (Next Week)
- Semester Grades (Next Week)
- Put the away from internet message on school email (next week)
- Set up 2017 calendar with duties, activities, etc. -- Started

Crafts

- Bracelet for T -Now have to do 2- haven't started either.
- Craft show – Saturday (last one before the holidays)
- Start new project for me
- Finish loom bracelet -- Almost there
- Gather info to place order for items needed
- Reorganize bead room
- Glue puzzle together
- Get frame for said puzzle (Christmas related – will be used yearly)
- Decipher pattern for future project

[Sharon]

Housework
   Knock down the cobwebs
   Clean the Fridge
   Tell the oven to clean itself- Found out since the clock on the stove no longer works the self clean feature won’t work. I can’t seem to manually run it.
   Deep dusting with pledge
   Scrub kitchen floor
   Scrub bathroom floors (2)
   Clean Shower Stall
   Clear Backside of Counter
   Clear tubs of decorations out of the house
   Corral the disaster recovery supplies in one area
Holiday
   Finish decorating the tree- Got a few more ornaments added
   Finish decorating the house
   Get out the Christmas dishes
   Christmas cards- Got started, over halfway through.  Cards are done and have stamps on them,  just need to drop them at the post office.
   Wrap Presents
Errands
   Return car battery charger to Dad
   Cardboard Recycling
Shopping
   Christmas Presents
      SIL- Ordered Online and it took way longer than it should have.
      Mom- Got one thing today but need a little something more
      Dad
   Birthday Presents
      Niece S
      Sis
      Nephew G
      Towels to make Bro’s present
   Socks/Hats etc for UGM barrel at work
Cards
   Anniversary Card- DD/SIL
   Sympathy Card- funeral on Sat
   Birthday Cards for above people
Miscellaneous
   Mail Niece S present
   Ship Nephew G present- England
Cooking
   Pumpkin Bread
   Rolls for the freezer
   Fudge

Today was shopping and errand day.  Tomorrow will be a toss up.  DD originally said she would be up but is now changing her mind.  If she comes up we will go to a couple of craft places and then were going to work together to get some baking and candy making done.  Work together and split the goodies.  If she doesn't come up I'm not sure what I will do.

[debthaven]

DH was home sick on Wed and Thurs, and yesterday I came down with whatever he has/had. Fri I had to go to the new school for a meeting and lunch but I crashed when I got back. So I'm just going to take it easy this weekend. I still have a fever.  

I had a two-day thing for Mon and Tues that was cancelled, thankfully. Now I have a class Mon morning instead.

This week's finals
Thurs: 30 grammar, 30 vocab
Sat: 16 essays
Sun: 14 essays

Other stuff
- Get the tree before DS3 comes home on Sat.
- Get frames for wedding photos DS1 and DIL gave us
- Get kitchen mandolin for DS1 (not a Christmas present) yay for amazon

Also that primary job has been dilly-dallying and they haven't yet hired the replacement. I hope they to do it this week, with Christmas vacation coming up.

[startsmart]

Hellllllllllllo ladies! I'm back from vacation, slightly more tan and settling in at home. I did bring home a cough that won't quit so I'm hoping a few days of rest will knock that out so I don't need rx meds. I'm working on a list for the house but I'm going to wait to post it until I have a better idea of what I want to work on these last few weeks of the year.

Had a great time despite a few setbacks and didn't work for the whole week which felt amazing! It's raining here and home and I just got the dogs back from the kennel so they're sacked out sleeping after a week of play. 

For now I'll just share 2 pics (I'm working on editing a bunch of them for an album). 

The first night I arrived: 

Last night on the island: 

[debthaven]

Beautiful pix Start!

[dee27]

Feel better Debt.

[debthaven]

Thanks Dee. Apart from marking those papers and doing one load, I spent the entire day on the couch again.

DH said he'll get the tree tomorrow. I'm not in any state to wrestle with it myself (I usually do that with DS3).

[plugginaway22]

My weekend has been fun but not getting a damn thing accomplished!  Went to DHs Holiday Party last night, which was overnight, so got back home today and felt mehhhh.  Made a pot of chile, going to visit my Mother tomorrow. Hope everyone feels better, weather has turned very cold here.

[wvugurl26]

Sorted through my clothes today. Tossed out a pair of boots that are wore out and two old pillows. I have a big trash bag full of clothes to donate. I'm not finished but things are looking much better. It will help to get all of the Christmas gifts out of here.

[Jaguar]

I cleaned out and spruced up my hat, glove and scarf basket today for the coming winter. I threw a lot of old stuff out, that I know I will never use again.

[debthaven]

This week's finals
Thurs: 30 grammar, 30 vocab
Sat: 16 essays
Sun: 14 essays

Other stuff
- Order kitchen mandolin for DS1 (not a Christmas present) 
- Get Christmas tree 
- Get frames for wedding photos DS1 and DIL gave us

DH got the tree but we'll wait for DS3 to get home to decorate it.

I'll get 84 more finals on Friday (sometimes they come in 3 batches which I prefer, but this year it's only 2.) 

ETA: DH went grocery shopping. I made a big pot of chili and cornbread. We're still mostly eating out of the pantry but we were nearly out of toilet paper and laundry detergent. We're finally at the point where we are starting to repurchase staples: maple syrup, peanut butter, canned tomatoes, etc. 

[moneysquirrel]

I have been trying to get some things done and have done quite a bit but my list seems to be getting longer and with items that take up a lot more time to accomplish.  This is the last week before the break so I have exams to grade, calculate the grades (actually just typing the grades in as the computer will do the calculations), evaluate those hanging on by the fingertips, take down the rest of the items including the small tree in my classroom so that the floors can be done during break and a lot of things I can't think of now.  Really looking forward to a few days where I don't have to rush out of the house before 7.

This weeks list (with several items hanging on for dear life):

Home/Personal

- Maintain progress and make some improvements
- Store holiday storage container somewhere other than the middle of a room -- Some progress made but more is needed.
- Put wreath on the door
- Exercise -- Monday
- Stop by the gym and pick up a few gift cards (only allowed to buy one per day)
- Several other items that I can’t remember
- Tutoring - 2 to 4 hours (exam week)
- Lunch with a friend
- Christmas Gifts -- only a few left to get -- mainly gift cards 
- Sam's run -- major stock-up needed 
- Car Inspection
- Car Sticker

School

- 11 sets of part 2 of exams 
- Semester Grades
- Put the away from internet message on school email (Friday)
- Water the classroom plants 
- Set up 2017 calendar with duties, activities, etc. -- Started
- Two school luncheons

Crafts

- Start new project for me
- Finish loom bracelet -- Almost there
- Gather info to place order for items needed
- Reorganize bead room
- Get frame for glued Christmas puzzle -- Odd size so I might have trouble finding an inexpensive one.
- Decipher pattern for future project


Upcoming:
- Car Insurance payment
- Airport

[dee27]

Dec 10, 2016 22:50:07 GMT -5 Jaguar said:

I cleaned out and spruced up my hat, glove and scarf basket today for the coming winter. I threw a lot of old stuff out, that I know I will never use again.

I have a plastic bin with a lid for all of my gloves, winter hats and scarves. Out of season, I put the bin on the top shelf of the closet. In winter, the bin fits under the garment bags in the closet. Since our house gets very dusty, I reorganized the master closet so that DH's suits and my dresses/skirts are in clear garment bags. For sweaters, pants or shirts hanging on the top bar, I use shoulder covers. Shoes are in plastic cases similar to these www.vminnovations.com/Product_69319/12-Sterilite-16428012-6-Quart-Storage-Tote-Shoe-Box-Containers-Clear-Closet-Tub-Pair-.html?rd=gpf_69319&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=CPCS%20-%20Bing%20Shopping%20NEW%20Campaign%20Type&utm_term=1100506581029&utm_content=Main%20Ad%20Group. My cases are clear not opaque.

[busymom]

Get well soon, debthaven! 

Yesterday most of the day was spent traveling to & from, & enjoying a concert.    Today, after church I was back to playing catch-up around here.  Dishes, laundry, you know, the glamorous life... 

[Sharon]

Housework
   Knock down the cobwebs
   Clean the Fridge
   Tell the oven to clean itself- Found out since the clock on the stove no longer works the self clean feature won’t work. I can’t seem to manually run it.
   Deep dusting with pledge
   Scrub bathroom floors (2)
   Clean Shower Stall
   Clear tubs of decorations out of the house
   Corral the disaster recovery supplies in one area
Holiday
   Finish decorating the tree- Got a few more ornaments added
   Finish decorating the house
   Get out the Christmas dishes
   Christmas cards- Got started, over halfway through. Cards are done and have stamps on them, just need to drop them at the post office.
   Wrap Presents
Errands
   Return car battery charger to Dad
Shopping
   Christmas Presents
      Mom- Got one thing today but need a little something more
      Dad- Gone one thing yesterday but need a little something more
Miscellaneous
   Mail Niece S present
   Ship Nephew G present- England
Cooking
   Pumpkin Bread
   Rolls for the freezer
   Fudge
   Frosted Sugar Cookies
   Peppermint Bark

DD spent the day with me yesterday and we got quite a bit baking done.  Today I finally finished decorating the tree and got all the tubs out into the garage.  The living room is vacuumed and the furniture is back in place.  Things were all catty whompus while I was decorating the tree so it would be easy to reach.  The vacuum cleaner is finally put away.  The kitchen step stool is back in the kitchen.  Things just like neater and it makes the house feel more calming.

[dee27]

Sharon,

Call the manufacturer's help line about your oven. Perhaps there is an easy way to fix the clock, so you can use the self cleaning function.

[Sharon]

Dec 11, 2016 22:25:52 GMT -5 dee27 said:

Sharon,

Call the manufacturer's help line about your oven. Perhaps there is an easy way to fix the clock, so you can use the self cleaning function.

No there is not an easy way to fix the clock.  Dad disconnected it because the timer would not shut off.  I was having issues getting the timer to shut off and then when Dad was installing a new range hood and dropped something on the knob that you turned for the oven timer and broke the plastic part of the off it really wouldn't shut off.  I could still turn the timer with a pair of pliers but it is stripped out and I could not hit the sweet spot again to make it turn off.  After about 15 minutes Dad got tired of listening to the buzzer and opened the back and disconnected the clock.  

I bought it used 24 years ago for $200 so I have more than gotten my money out of this range and if I need to clean it by hand once in a while I can do that.  I just need to suck it up and get it done.  Right now it isn't too bad and wouldn't take that long if I would just do it.

[debthaven]

I went into school today so I went to the local mall. I finally started my Christmas shopping! I'm only getting 2 smaller gifts per child (and DIL) this year, which is less than we usually get. And one gift for DS2's GF. Dunno about for DH yet ...

DD - DONE! (1 in shop, 1 ordered online)
DS2's GF - DONE! (1 in shop)
DDIL - 1/2 done (1 ordered online)
DS2 - 1/2 done (1 in shop, DH will get other near his office)
DS1 - not done
DS3 - not done
DH - not done
Not bad for a few hours' work!

[Iggy aka IG]

Dec 7, 2016 14:16:55 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

DH left town this morning.  His Gma passed away earlier this week. 

My goals during his absence:

Dust-continuing
Clean tile and laminate floors
Deep clean the master bathroom-The tub is almost perfect, now on to the floors and baseboard
Sweep front porch again
Do the usual laundry
Keep up with the dishes
Wipe down window sills
Vacuum-Main floor complete, need to do upstairs
Wipe down upstairs light switches and around door handles (as mentioned on a prior page, DH is a mechanic )
Start packing, beginning with upstairs rarely used rooms-2 boxes done.

I was just informed our home will be part of a real estate tour very soon. 

I also 409'd the stove fan cover, under the hood and switches, and the top of the microwave. 

DH is home.  He was able to see 4 friends from back in the day.    And, speaking of decent bakeries, he brought me an apple fritter as a souvenir which I just ate.  YUMMY.

Start, those are amazing pictures, thank you for sharing!

[debthaven]

So the primary FINALLY approved my replacement today! But they want me to work through my notice, ie the first week of Jan. I think it's RIDICULOUS to make me go back after Christmas for one session, rather than to "start fresh" with the new person and the new year.

I've told them I think it would be better for the kids to have the new person start then but I've had no response. Obviously I would NOT expect to be paid for that session.

ETA: I just wrote to tell them that, that obviously I would not expect to be paid for that session if the other teacher did it instead of me. We'll see if that changes anything. 

[dee27]

Dec 12, 2016 15:10:36 GMT -5 debthaven said:

So the primary FINALLY approved my replacement today! But they want me to work through my notice, ie the first week of Jan. I think it's RIDICULOUS to make me go back after Christmas for one session, rather than to "start fresh" with the new person and the new year.

I've told them I think it would be better for the kids to have the new person start then but I've had no response. Obviously I would NOT expect to be paid for that session.

ETA: I just wrote to tell them that, that obviously I would not expect to be paid for that session if the other teacher did it instead of me. We'll see if that changes anything. 

 This school seems very disorganized. Be happy that you do not have to deal with them in 2017.

[debthaven]

You bet Dee!  In fact it's an "association", not a real school ... hence the total disorganization. And that's what I'm hoping, not to have to deal with them at all in 2017 ... not even the first week.

[debthaven]

ETA: Just got an email, I raised good points. They are reconsidering my replacement's starting date and will get back to me soon.

[wvugurl26]

I hope you are done with them debt. It makes more sense to start fresh with a new teacher.