2021 Declutter Stuff & Organize Your Life

[laterbloomer]

I have more than half of my Christmas shopping done already. I am never this far ahead of the game. I'm even planning to put up Christmas decorations this week. My guess is it is a side effect of WFH. It is amazing how much time this frees up for me. Not just traveling time, but housework and cooking time. I can take 2 mins to throw laundry in the washer and dryer between work calls, I can put supper in the slow cooker at lunch...some of the time I use to gossip with co workers or surf the net is now productive time.

[startsmart]

Laterbloomer - WRH benefits are real! I love being able to catch up on little chores in between client work.

I picked up the rest of the stepping stones for the pool today and when the wind eases up I lay them out properly. The brick pathway is looking really good and I also got the rest of the edging for it at Home Depot.

[TheOtherMe]

I only buy for the two little ones in the family.  Received the 2nd wish list today and ordered that so my shopping is done

[nikiz628]

I have 3 gifts and 3 gift cards left to purchase and my Christmas shopping is COMPLETE! We leave for Disney on 12/10, so my goal has to been to have all shopping completed before we leave! It feels good to be close to the end of the holiday spending  

[TheOtherMe]

I do have the gift I give myself left, but I can't buy it until either the Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales.  It's a subscription to Ancestry and that is when it's the cheapest.

[debthaven]

Ugh I haven't even started ... it's the one thing in my life I do at the last minute. 

This week
- bottle bank/Mon
- office supply store/Mon
- pharmacy
- Xrays X 2/Thurs

[bean29]

We have removed the TV stand that is "New" from our garage.  DH is going to put it on the curb at his office hoping someone will free cycle it.  He also has a table that my BIL left behind at DS's house.  There is two cabinets and a counter top still in the garage.  DH says my car can fit with it in there, but it needs to be moved first.  He wants it for his office, but that is another clutter mess that he needs to deal with.

DS took the Sofa from my office.  DH helped him move it.  He still needs to take His long dresser which he says he wants.  

I pulled out the boxes of shoes from my front closet and asked DD to stop home and decide if any should be tossed/donated that are shoes she left behind.  Baby gift is wrapped fro my niece in GA.  She has 4 girls and the 5th was a boy.  I packed up a gift from my MIL and Me together, and added a 200 check for her to buy something for her girls.  DH talked to his brother yesterday and he mentioned that the girls were very competitive which I think meant that he was glad I was sending something for the girls.  I had asked if they had a Target nearby as I was going to send GC, but I ended up deciding a check might be safer anyways.  DD said she gets a discount on UPS, so she is going to ship it for me.

I decorated one pine tree out front yesterday (I usually do 4), but I have the power stakes out, covered two rose bushes, mostly just so that when I go to the power outlets I do not get snagged by the thorns on the roses.  DH wanted me to do it as it was warm out, but I really should have been getting ready for Thanksgiving by cleaning inside.  DH and I both went through mail yesterday.  It is so much just to sort through the junk mail.   

[moneysquirrel]

Organized some in the craft room.  Rearranged some items on the top shelves and manage to toss 15 items.  I only tackled the closet area  I will be getting to other areas of that room in the future.  I also have items ready to be added to the donation box as well.

They are scheduled for tomorrow morning so I may be able to work on another section of the room once that is done.  Worked on a small craft project afterwards and need to do a few things on that project I have neglected so long. At least it is now started.  

We decided to not do Christmas gifts last year for the extended family so I only have DS and DDIL and GS to get something for.  Mostly GCs for them plus a little something. 

Take care all! 

[startsmart]

Well since I disassembled all the shelves in my closet I needed a temporary solution for my hanging clothes. Today I picked up the clothes rack I bought at auction and I'm so glad it'll work for me short term! 

Of course I also bought a set of storage shelves only to find out the previous owner had WELDED all the joints together so it could not be disassembled for transport. The auction guy is working to find me someone with a truck who can bring it my way since it was too dangerous to haul it home on my roof rack. 

I am adding Christmas lights to my fence and I might keep them up year round. It really makes the whole yard brighter at night and easier to spot the dogs. 

Over the weekend I got 53% of my black, white and gray quilt assembled and laid out the rest of the blocks I need to sew this week. I am hoping that work is a tiny bit easier because of the holiday and I'll have the space I need to catch up around the house. 

[debthaven]

And we have a turkey ... from Costco!

Our Texan friend has a membership to the only Costco in France, which is about 45 min away one way. He invited DH to go with him today, so DH got a turkey! DH swore he was going to make his own pumpkin pie but he ended up getting a pumpkin pie too LOL. 

My last class (an Admin student) cancelled at the last minute, so I got home at 5 instead of 6.   I'll be paid anyway ... there's a 48h cancellation policy for staff/ faculty. I accept 24h, but not 1h. (The school pays for these classes and sets the cancellation policy... nobody pays OOP.)

I'm WFH tomorrow ... I'll be getting 29 final reports to mark. They'll be on this weekend's list.

Getting there ...
 

[chiver78]

I think I may have found a taker for the extra kitchen stuff Malarky didn't take for her daughters. I put up a post in the local Buy Nothing page, saying I had boxes of duplicate stuff that I wasn't even sure exactly what, that I'd moved a couple of times already and would anyone be interested? I got a woman who said she was starting over from scratch, and was interested in a couple of the line items. I pointed out it is all packed together, so it's more than just what she said she wanted. I need to take some pics tonight and PM her. she also posted separately, she was looking for Christmas lights. I know I still have those, and I'm 99% sure I know where they are. will include a pic of that as well. 

[Opti]

Anyone ever get annoyed at excess stuff when you are sick and tired? I have my original wedding dress that I want to get rid of, but I never remember when I could bring it to a thrift shop. I am tempted to just it in one of the clothing bins, just to get it out of my life.
At least I finally got rid of those dishes.

[laterbloomer]

So the Christmas decorations went up tonight. This is the earliest ever. GW brought the decorations up from storage and we did it together. That was a nice "moment" for us.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

[toomuchreality]

Nov 23, 2021 21:41:47 GMT -5 Knee Deep in Water Chloe said:

Same back at you!

[CCL]

Nov 23, 2021 18:22:11 GMT -5 Opti said:

Anyone ever get annoyed at excess stuff when you are sick and tired? I have my original wedding dress that I want to get rid of, but I never remember when I could bring it to a thrift shop. I am tempted to just it in one of the clothing bins, just to get it out of my life.
At least I finally got rid of those dishes.

I'm not sure what to do with my wedding gown either. I've been storing/moving it for 32 years. Right now it's in its sealed box sitting on top of my camper in the garage lol. Probably not the best place for it. I might get it out and try it on and see if it still fits.

[debthaven]

I gave the dress from my first wedding to the international HS/my theater troupe's costume bank (they share it) LOL. 

This week
- pharmacy
- Xrays X 2/Thurs

I worked from home today. I spent 3h proctoring my students who were writing their reports. I used that time to catch up on putting in marks from both jobs.  

4/8 regular classes finished this week ... the last 4 finish next week.  

I'm doing laundry now.

[Sharon]

It is beginning to look like I might get to close on my house next week.  I have even been talking with the title companies.  We are using the same title company for both the selling of my house and the buying of my new house, just different branches in the two cities.  I will get to sign the papers in the city where I currently live.

If everything holds to the schedule I will sign the papers on the new house sometime before the end of the month.  The movers will come on the 2nd and pack up what is left.  I will finish cleaning the house and load the cleaning supplies and the cat into the car and head to the new city.  The movers will bring my stuff on the morning of the 3rd.  Then I get to be the reverse process and empty the storage units and put everything away.

[finnime]

Hope it all goes well, Sharon.

[TheOtherMe]

I'm sure you are ready to start settling in to the new house Sharon

[startsmart]

Sharon - all the good vibes for selling and purchasing with ease next week! 

Debthaven - hope you have a good Thanksgiving in France  

Today is pretty chill, no client work scheduled but I will probably work on the copy projects I have pending and clean my closet walls so I can finish painting. The only cooking I have planned is some chicken curry and lettuce wraps. The temps won't hit 50 today so I am postponing my outdoor chores until the weekend when it will be at least 60. I would love to lay another 100 bricks and try to level the ground by the back gate if it has not yet frozen solid (should be fine this early). 

Yesterday my older dog woke me up by throwing up on my bed so the comforter, blanket and sheets all needed to be washed. Despite closing early, I made it to the laundry mat and did 4 loads of laundry in 2 hours. Regular laundry will be later in the weekend. 

[debthaven]

Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly Sharon ! You must be so excited!

This weekend
- pharmacy
- mark 28 reports
- see A?

Semester countdown: 14/15 weeks done!!! Just 1 week left! (I'll still be working after that, but less.)

Thanks startsmart ! It's pretty low-key here LOL.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

[debthaven]

Thanksgiving went well!!! It was great to catch up with our friends! We have enough leftovers for an army LOL.

This was my last week of teaching regular/student classes 4 days/week until late March, and that's only for 2 weeks (when the semester overlaps with Job 2 summer term).

I'll still be working 4 days/week, but NOT 5 (which happens fairly often). I'll have regular/student classes on 3 days/week, and the 4th day will be staff/professor classes on Zoom, so WFH. 
I know there will be some exceptions, but I'm thrilled!!! 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Sharon, I can't remember because I've been so self-centered lately: Are you also changing jobs with this move, or can you keep your current job and do it remotely?

debthaven, that's a great idea to give a wedding dress to a theatre troupe! I honestly cannot remember if I still have my first one or not. Since we're moving soon, I'll find out! If I do still have it, I'll give it to either the local troupe or the high school. 

bean29, yay! that's a bunch of stuff!

My Christmas shopping is probably 1/3 done, and my Christmas cards are only about half done. 

[bean29]

Well our last guests left. We had 31 people, Two Turkeys, a half ham, Flautas, stuffing, mashed

[debthaven]

31 people bean29 ?! 

[bean29]

Yes Debt, we were even missing a few who usually come, but we are lucky to get nearly everyone to come.

So I fell asleep when I started to list the food. Two turkeys, one traditional, one fried, one ham. Potatoes, Stuffing, Fruit (Strawberries, Blueberries, Red & Green Grapes, Cantelope & Pineapple. Cheese, Sausage, Crackers, Mac & Cheese, Orange Cranberry Sauce, Shrimp, Deviled Eggs, rice, beans, Pico de Gallo, red & Green Salsa, Flautas, Kringle, dinner rolls, About 7 kinds of pie and ginger cookies.

We send everyone home with food, so we have leftovers, but it is not too bad. I was too tired to face dishes last night. Will need to do that when I get up.

I usually buy disposable table cloths for the serving tables. They were wiped out at the store, but I found some regular vinyl Thanksgiving tablecloths in the front entryway of the store for $4 and $5 each, so I took those, they were round and we use 4 foot by 2 foot folding tables like this for food:

Mainstays 4' Adjustable Height Folding Table, White Granite www.walmart.com/ip/208160596

We set tables up in living center walkway we have a huge area in entryway between Kitchen, Dining Room, Living room and front door. Bar is downstairs, also full kitchen downstairs, so we end up with about half people upstairs and half downstairs.

There are empty cans and drink cups all over my basement. I have chafing dishes to wash and put away, and I need to take down the tables and wash various serving dishes.

ETA: sorry I thought this was What are you doing right now when I posted. On a positive note, my niece who brought deviled eggs is the proud owner of a brand new Tupperware Deviled Egg Tray-Decluttered from my store room. She was very pleased with it, and just as pleased to hear my DH loves Deviled Eggs. Her Dad said he told her no one in his family would eat deviled eggs.

[debthaven]

That's really impressive Bean!

[Sharon]

Working hard to get as much packed up as I can but I am so tired that my box labeling is going down hill.  My last box was just labeled "Weird Random Sh*t".  I need to get more packing tape and probably some more boxes which means another trip to Home Depot, ugh

[nidena]

Two years ago, I packed up all my DVDs and books in preparation for moving and what-not.  When I moved into this house in July 2020, I unpacked the books and stacked them all around the perimeter of the front room.  Most of them are still stacked along the perimeter because I had no bookcase.  The DVDs came out of their boxes yesterday, finally, now that the closet has been converted to shelves.  It seems weird to see them all out like this.  Even in my house in Delaware, for the last few years, they were in this little cabinet that was so small that I couldn't see all of them because they were two deep on the shelves.  Now, they're just one deep and I even have room to add a few.  



The walls of the room and behind the shelves are mauve and the shelves (and room trim) are mulberry/eggplant.