2021 Declutter Stuff & Organize Your Life

[anciana]

Iggy aka IG, glad to hear you're on the mend!

debthaven, I'm sure the show ending is bittersweet, it was a lot of work but also connected you with friends that you miss. Good luck with the long week!

startsmart, it sounds like you had a fantastic trip! I am in awe of your quilts, such beautiful pieces of art, and grateful that you've shared pictures!

moneysquirrel, sorry to hear about your Thanksgiving! But what a nice feeling it must be to have the house so easily picked up, it makes things so much easier long term.

bean29, that's a lot of unknows in your family to try and prepare for with your daughter possibly moving, and then you and DH selling the house! Good luck!

TheOtherMe, your experience with the organizer is giving me some ideas about how to deal with my "stuff". I may not be able to afford a professional but I may be able to channel some of their work, or better yet, try to get into a different mindset and look at my rooms through the eyes of one.

seriousthistime, hope you have a great trip! Yes, shitepile may be gone at the end of one day, but a new one appears the very next one.

finnime, wishing you the best of luck with all the home renovation going!

[TheOtherMe]

anciana she definitely has a different mindset about decluttering than I do.  I love that she says first you make a big mess and then you clean it up that same time.  Otherwise it haunts you.

I also like that she tells me once an item has left a room by my decision to get rid of it, it is gone.  I don't go through the stack of stuff that she is taking with her to donate.  

I need some kind of shelving/storage for all of my genealogy stuff but I'm not getting anything until she comes in December to give me ideas so it will be more efficient than my ideas.

[toomuchreality]

Nov 15, 2021 13:30:17 GMT -5 anciana said:

Nov 12, 2021 12:58:20 GMT -5 anciana said:

I have looked and looked! I actually found a bedroom set in the store we both liked but it doesn't come with king size bed, just queen   Then I found a bed on NextDoor that would work but it was priced to sell and gone by the time we messaged the seller. The search continues...

I am still planning on continuing with my mini-project this weekend since it shouldn't take too long, it could be done in a few hours of focused work. I am hoping it will give me the motivation and confidence to approach the dreaded basement this winter, finally. Hope I didn't jinx myself, lol.

We are having a beautiful autumn, it is so calming and I am hopeful, feel like I can breathe a tiny sigh of relief, maybe. 

Yup, sure enough, jinxed myself. It was erroneous to think I could relax a bit. I was not able to channel all of the anxiousness into cleaning, instead I spent a few hours just sitting and fretting. I did the usual weekend chores and managed to add a few small ones. But the mini-project didn't happen. Maybe next weekend.

It's okay. It will wait for you. 😊

[toomuchreality]

bean29
It sounds like you got a lot done.
Part of my problem is deciding what to do with stuff. You made many of those decisions this weekend, so you can move forward.
Good for you.

[toomuchreality]

Nov 15, 2021 10:13:57 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

I hope you're having a good day. ♡

[toomuchreality]

Nov 15, 2021 13:13:18 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

Nov 12, 2021 10:38:16 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

Today's tasks:

--dining room shitepile/filing and recycling (in progress)
--plant the begonias
--finish packing for trip
--finish vacuuming
--ATM stop

My airport shuttle picks me up at 6 a.m. tomorrow.  My goal is to be able to roll out of bed, make the bed, get myself clean, get dressed, and meet the shuttle.  I think I can do it.  I may not have ever done it before, but I think this time may be different.  

Safe travels!

[Iggy aka IG]

anciana, my apologies.  Last week, when I read your post about finding the set you like, I neglected to read further.  I am sure the perfect set is out there waiting for you to discover it!

Welcome home, startsmart!

Congratulations on the play success and conclusion, debthaven.

Thank you, Knee Deep in Water Chloe.  

Soooo, now DH is sick.  Between making him soup a few times, and doing the usual chores, my step count was over 3,000 yesterday.  I am still tight, and am nebulizing a few times a day, but am definitely feeling better.  Yesterday, in no particular order:

~3 loads laundry
~Scrubbed all toilets
~Unloaded, reloaded, and started the dishwasher
~Emptied 2 garbage cans
~Set out fresh towels in 4 rooms
~Watered the plants
~Refilled the ice trays, Keurig, tea light jar, and napkin holder
~Supper planned for the week
~Updated tomorrow's grocery order
~Tidied up my side of the clothes closet
~Brought in and put away Friday's Sam's Club order
~Boiled eggs and processed produce for lunches
~Washed my hands dozens of times
~For fun:  Watched several DVR'd programs, played Words with Friends, read, and made skinny margaritas using freshly squeezed juice

Here's to a new week.  

[anciana]

Nov 15, 2021 15:57:54 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

Nov 15, 2021 13:30:17 GMT -5 anciana said:

It's okay. It will wait for you. 😊

It sure will, I don't doubt that one bit, toomuchreality 

No worries, Iggy aka IG, I figured you just missed it, and good wishes are always welcome!

TheOtherMe, my personal mindset hasn't helped much so I figure I need to be open to change. You know, to defy the definition of insanity 

[debthaven]

Oh no Iggy aka IG ! I hope your DH feels better quickly. I'm so glad you're feeling better! 

anciana I think you're doing great! Some weekends are more productive than others, and we all need our rest too! 

bean29 sounds like progress to me! I don't know if I dreamt it or not, but isn't your DH renting out half of his new home? Could extra items go there? (I'm not sure if renting furnished is a thing there ...)

I got home from PT about 6 pm and put on my pjs. SUCH BLISS not to have to leave the house this evening!!! 

One more PT session after work on Thursday, then done with PT!  
 

[startsmart]

I got the pool moved back into place (upside down for winter) and then hammered in the edging around the stepping stones. Next is pouring out the small pebbles around the stepping stones and then moving on to the brick path.

Big meeting with a client tomorrow and I need to prep for that a couple hours tonight.

I am making slow progress moving stuff upstairs, trying to do 4 trips a day to keep up steady progress.

[bean29]

Nov 15, 2021 17:59:04 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Oh no Iggy aka IG ! I hope your DH feels better quickly. I'm so glad you're feeling better! 

anciana I think you're doing great! Some weekends are more productive than others, and we all need our rest too! 

bean29 sounds like progress to me! I don't know if I dreamt it or not, but isn't your DH renting out half of his new home? Could extra items go there? (I'm not sure if renting furnished is a thing there ...)

I got home from PT about 6 pm and put on my pjs. SUCH BLISS not to have to leave the house this evening!!! 

One more PT session after work on Thursday, then done with PT!  
 

Debthaven-lol, we could rent out our finished basement as a separate living unit, but we don’t. That is probably why we have highest assessment in subdivision despite the fact that we don’t have largest or nicest house.

Glad you can relax, no play, and I am sure some of your classes are done too.

I have to leave work rn and meet DD at the mall. She is looking for interview clothes. Interviewing in Boston-didn’t your son live there when he was in Graduate School? They asked for interview today, scheduled for Thursday. She will fly out on Wed, doesn’t know if they will expense room or not yet. I am going to meet her at my fav store b/c I can finagle a discount.

[debthaven]

Yes he did! Suburbs of Boston, near Cambridge. Arlington? I know I said Boston but they were actually closer to Cambridge than Boston.

I didn't mean YOU renting out YOUR place lol. I thought your son bought a two-family unit but I could be wrong. 

PS Just checked, yes I think it was Arlington. They first lived in Somerville but when they had E, they moved further out to Arlington to have more room. It was only a 15m bus ride to Cambridge! I'm sure chiver78 or empress of self-improvement or Malarky would be more help than me! And Malarky could confirm if it's Arlington or not, because my DS1 lived right near her bakery, and she and I met up, and she brought a box of AMAZING croissants!!!

PPS I just ordered a bunch of items on Amazon. Two types of coffee pods (real coffee and decaf, stocking up for when the kids come for/after Christmas), a second dehumidifier for the basement, and refills for the 2 dehumidifiers. These items have been in my basket for a while but I didn't want anything arriving during Play Week.

The old dehumidifier is 20 years old. The new ones are MUCH more efficient! So we ordered a second one, and I'll get rid of the old one (hopefully without DH noticing). 

[chiver78]

commenting as a placeholder, so I'll remember to read back a few pages in the morning. it's been a minute since I spent much time in Watertown/Belmont, but when I last went back up that way for a wake, it hadn't changed much from what I remember.

[Sharon]

It's been a while since I've checked in.  Still hauling a load every weekend to the storage units at the new place.  The larger storage unit is getting pretty full and DD and I have done everything we could to maximize the space in there.  The smaller unit still has some room.  I did convince DD to let me put my wheel barrow behind their shed for the next couple of weeks.  That really held space wise in the smaller storage unit.

I did hire mover for the big stuff.  That drive is getting worse every weekend with the wind and I didn't want to be driving a big old U-Haul through an area that regularly has wind gusting at 30mph or more.  Plus I would either have to tow my car or drive the U-Haul back and pick up my car.

My goal (ha ha) is to do a double closing on the 1st, then meet the movers on the morning of the 2nd.  They shouldn't have too much to load, in the grand scheme of things since I have hauled so much over there already.  Then finish cleaning the house and leave for the new place.  The movers are scheduled to be at the new place the morning of the 3rd.

This plan has way too many parts that are dependent upon other people so we shall see what really happens.

I do have something to look forward to once I move over there.  Tonight I was invited to the pre-school Holiday program.

[toomuchreality]

Nov 15, 2021 22:49:19 GMT -5 Sharon said:

It's been a while since I've checked in.  Still hauling a load every weekend to the storage units at the new place.  The larger storage unit is getting pretty full and DD and I have done everything we could to maximize the space in there.  The smaller unit still has some room.  I did convince DD to let me put my wheel barrow behind their shed for the next couple of weeks.  That really held space wise in the smaller storage unit.

I did hire mover for the big stuff.  That drive is getting worse every weekend with the wind and I didn't want to be driving a big old U-Haul through an area that regularly has wind gusting at 30mph or more.  Plus I would either have to tow my car or drive the U-Haul back and pick up my car.

My goal (ha ha) is to do a double closing on the 1st, then meet the movers on the morning of the 2nd.  They shouldn't have too much to load, in the grand scheme of things since I have hauled so much over there already.  Then finish cleaning the house and leave for the new place.  The movers are scheduled to be at the new place the morning of the 3rd.

This plan has way too many parts that are dependent upon other people so we shall see what really happens.

I do have something to look forward to once I move over there.  Tonight I was invited to the pre-school Holiday program.

Yay! A holiday invite already! Well done!
You've done a crazy amount of work!

[nikiz628]

I have a PILE of cardboard boxes on my deck to take to the baseball dumpster. Perks of being board members, they let us throw our junk in the dumpster when needed- that really comes in hand sometimes. I wish our recycling center would open back up fully, its been limited hours and limited items accepted for a few months now. And before that it had been closed completely since COVID began. I miss recycling. 

My goals for the week are to just get caught back up with my regular weekly to do's. If I can do that, I would love to do a quick closet clean out. I try to do it at least twice a year to keep it from getting out of hand. If nothing else, just going through and straightening up the items makes it look much less messy. I would also like to throw some of the junk sitting in the "toss" pile in our basement out (again, yay for that dumpster access). It usually isn't an issue but I've been down there pulling out Christmas totes and its a pain to maneuver around all the trash. 


 

[TheOtherMe]

The furnace is being serviced for winter this morning.  Then I guess I am as ready for winter as I will get.

I want to put the tall cat scratcher I bought together today.  The cardboard ones don't cut it with these two so Merry Christmas to the cats.

Then I'm going to start with the Christmas decorations and see if they will leave things alone.  

I did manage to get 1 nail trimmed yesterday.  I have to get more done today.

[bean29]

Well - the good news is DH DE cluttered a car from our driveway and made some $$ doing it.  He said he posted it on FB Marketplace and the first person that responded is a loan officer that occasionally sends him business.  It was a 2002 Ford Explorer with 82,000 miles.  It had some issues like you can not fill the tank all the way, if you move the steering wheel there is a short in the steering column, so we did not move the steering wheel the last year we drove it and I think there was one more thing, but there were decent tires on it and the interior was clean.  He asked $3,000 and the guy asked if he would take less.  He accepted $2,600 he said he just wanted to be done with people contacting them and meeting them to show the car etc.  He did have several other people interested, so if he had held out he surely would have gotten his price.  I think even the guy that bought it might have paid more...but DH was willing to let it go for $2,000 a few weeks ago, and then I pointed out to him that it had decent tires on it and tires are hard to come by right now.  

We have one more car to sell.  I asked him to get on it, before the supply chain issues fix themselves.  That one is newer but has more reliability issues.  

Congrats Sharon - hopefully your Move goes well.

Niki I also would like to clean out my closet a bit.  I actually pulled some stuff a few weeks ago, but I know I could do more.  I need to tackle the paperwork monster in my house though.  If DD gets the new job, I don't know if we will take a moving truck with her stuff or if we will absorb her stuff into ours and our son's and have her buy new stuff.  We have to see what they offer her.  I realized last night that I was really glad DS took the new mattress from our basement and we just put his old mattress down there without telling DH.  DH had told us to go buy a new one.  DS said his Dad would never know the difference.  I think DD bought a new mattress when she moved into this apartment.  She also has a sofa and a chaise lounge that are brand new.  

I scheduled one of my Dogs for Teeth cleaning and removal of a growth on his leg.  DH really wants me to cancel it.  he does not want to spend the $$ rn.  I am going to wait a week or so to decide.  

Startsmart, I see you set yourself a goal of 4 trips a day to maintain progress.  I think I need to do that with my paperwork monster.  If I don't make progress daily - I won't ever get the house clean enought for Turkey day company.

Tonight's goal will be to wipe down DD's night stand and put it in one of the bedrooms.  Then hopefully I can deal with the stuff in the boxes.  Ideally it would be sent off to her apartment, but it would probably just get moved back in a few weeks.  Are related goal is to load the two pieces of furniture in the garage on DH's truck and take them to the Habitat restore, but I need DH's help for that, and I don't know how he will feel about it after work.

[anciana]

Iggy aka IG , sorry to hear your DH is sick. You accomplished so much while being under the weather! I do hope you are both feeling better soon!

nikiz628 , does your neighborhood use NextDoor app? There are always people asking for cardboard boxes for moving. Just one more option to recycling.

debthaven , thank you for your kind words! I am trying to tackle my life, in a roundabout way, by trying to organize my home, that's why so much thought is going into it all, before and after

Sharon , I cannot imagine just how tired you must feel! But, you've done so much and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just hang in there!



I've started a new list for daily stuff, the old one was either too vague or too much, so hope I can muster up the energy at the end of the day as most often I feel too tired to do as much as I'd like to so I fall behind. 

[debthaven]

Sharon you must be absolutely exhausted but hang in there, you're nearly there! I'm so happy for you that you'll be close to your DD/DSIL/grandkids! 

anciana trust me, I get it! I have pretty bad anxiety. I try to keep my house clean/neat/uncluttered (except for the basement lol) for my mental health.

We've had this discussion a lot on these boards, but might you consider hiring a cleaner? One of the reasons I've always been able to keep on top of the mess (despite raising 4 kids) is that I've always had a cleaner. So I could devote whatever energy I had to organizing and decluttering (which I love to do) rather than to the day-to-day cleaning. Just a thought. :-)

Yay bean29 ! Great job decluttering the car and getting money for it! Hopefully the next car will go quickly too. 

[debthaven]

PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE THIS!!!

My niece wanted to come to Paris with my grandniece for 3 days over Thanksgiving. To me, that's ridiculous ... we DO celebrate Thanksgiving, on Thursday night. Because we live in a country that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving! But why pay that kind of airfare for 3 days, especially if you don't even have enough time to see your cousins in London?! (They are close!)

I felt IMMENSE guilt at having discouraged Niece 1 from coming to Paris for 3 days over Thanksgiving weekend ... especially after finding out that Niece 2 is going to see my kids in London for 3 days that weekend! 

Long story short, my grandniece's other grandma (ie not my sister, the other one, who lives in Israel) suggested we all meet up in Europe in April to celebrate my grandniece's 16th birthday.

DH and I are thrilled!!!

They're thinking of coming to Europe for 9 days in mid-April, and doing Paris and Italy. I promised them a long weekend in Paris for as many people as we can fit!!! I'm pretty sure DS3 would come over from London. Obviously it would be harder for DS1/DDIL/E/I. But it would be SO much better for my niece and grandniece than coming in late fall for just 3 days!!! Plus, I'll finally get to see my sister again!!!

[toomuchreality]

Yay! It would be so nice for you to be able to see your sister and other family again! I hope it works out. 😊

[debthaven]

Thank you toomuchreality ! So do I! 

[Iggy aka IG]

debthaven, I like the April idea.  

[debthaven]

It's just PERFECT!!! Even if we can't do the whole trip with them, we could definitely host them for a long weekend in outside Paris! 

I'm very anxious, but I'm realizing more and more how negative my sister is. (Your ears must be ringing TheOtherMe .) When I called her yesterday, she kept talking about "this ridiculous idea". I ended up texting my niece for more info. Then I called my sister to tell her IMO the idea wasn't ridiculous at all!!!

My sister is a retired teacher ... it's very easy for HER to say there's no point in going to Europe for less than 3 weeks! But Niece 1 is a lawyer with a teen in school. I agree, going to Europe for 3 days is indeed ridiculous (to me). But not going for 9 days!!!

I promised my sister the best bed in the house (besides ours), with or without her very elderly boyfriend. She finally agreed LOL (not because of the bed). To her credit, she does generally end up "going with the flow". She's negative, but she's not difficult, if that makes sense ...

[TheOtherMe]

My ears are definitely burning.           

I must admit I stupidly flew to London the premiere of a show at the Royal Albert Hall.  I was gone from the US for 3 days.  It's a decision I regretted as soon as I realized it was too late to change the reservation.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Nov 15, 2021 13:30:17 GMT -5 anciana said:

Nov 12, 2021 12:58:20 GMT -5 anciana said:

I have looked and looked! I actually found a bedroom set in the store we both liked but it doesn't come with king size bed, just queen   Then I found a bed on NextDoor that would work but it was priced to sell and gone by the time we messaged the seller. The search continues...

I am still planning on continuing with my mini-project this weekend since it shouldn't take too long, it could be done in a few hours of focused work. I am hoping it will give me the motivation and confidence to approach the dreaded basement this winter, finally. Hope I didn't jinx myself, lol.

We are having a beautiful autumn, it is so calming and I am hopeful, feel like I can breathe a tiny sigh of relief, maybe. 

Yup, sure enough, jinxed myself. It was erroneous to think I could relax a bit. I was not able to channel all of the anxiousness into cleaning, instead I spent a few hours just sitting and fretting. I did the usual weekend chores and managed to add a few small ones. But the mini-project didn't happen. Maybe next weekend.

I am not one who cleans when upset. I'm totally jealous of those who cope that way. I hope you're feeling better.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

A personal check-in:We've gotten a bit further in figuring out what is physically wrong with DH--though the doctors all seem to agree it's stress-induced. There are a few cancers eliminated, but we're waiting on some tests about some others. The pancreas inflammation is reducing; however, the stomach lining is still inflamed. There's an ultrasound scheduled next week for his kidney. There was a lesion discovered during the explorations for causes of pain. This isn't connected to the current problems, and if they've caught something important they believe it's an early catch. There've been a few medication switches, and our eating patterns have changed substantially. DH's primary doctor has put him on medically reduced work hours. He will work no more than ten hours per week for the remainder of November. Then for January and February he is only allowed to work 20 hours per week. He really is feeling better, so I'm glad about that. 


Regarding organization and decluttering: My current project--besides homework and applying for new jobs--is Christmas cards. I put all of that away last Saturday, and then we were gone Thursday - Monday. I need to get it all back out and get going on it. 

[saveinla]

Glad to hear that your DH is getting better Knee Deep in Water Chloe.

[debthaven]

Thank goodness he's doing better Knee Deep in Water Chloe.