2022 Declutter & Organize Your Life

[Rukh O'Rorke]

I had a RI project over the weekend, and kept the house and kitchen very tidy throughout.....but that was it for the weekend


That is the last RI project for the year though! I have some evening meetings this week for dayjob, and then that is it for 2022 after hours work!! Have 2 outstanding bills to send for RI and waiting on a payment that hasn't come through as yet.......

So for today:

• keep up with the uncharacteristically tidy kitchen
• Finish RI billing
• touch up hair color
• some personal business phone calls (finance, medical, etc)

[TheOtherMe]

Tomorrow is trash only day.  So with my usual trash, I put construction trash and it's full and at the end of the driveway.

I also managed to overheat the living room by leaving the gas fireplace too long and it's hot in here.  It will cool down

[debthaven]

Pink Cashmere thanks. I'm so sorry, but I forgot to add a request not to quote that. Would you mind deleting it please? 

[finnime]

Best to you, debthaven. And happy birthday! May your stress level float way down and you enjoy this holiday season.

[Sharon]

Today I got the dishwasher ran and emptied, the litter box changed, and the garbage cans out to the curb.  We still have quite a bit of snow on the ground so rolling the cans out to the street was somewhat of a challenge.  I did try and use the tire tracks so that did help some.  I also got my bottles/cans turned in and made a post office run.

I got both Christmas trees hauled to the house from the shop but haven't assembled them yet.

[Iggy aka IG]

I lined L out this morning.  I ended up buying her a $25 gift card for her birthday.  She texted me immediately after discovering it on the counter.  

[debthaven]

That's so kind of you Iggy aka IG . 

Finished my last classes of the semester at Job 2. Came home, marked a late paper and caught up on laundry.

I still have meetings/professor-staff classes/marking left. I can't finish my marking before Christmas because we get the exams on 21 Dec and my kids arrive that evening. Oh well. 

[TheOtherMe]

Murphy Came.  Somebody must have hit a headlight in my car while I was inside for a quick errand.  The headlight broke.  It will cost almost $500 to fix it because to change it the bumper has to come off.

That's what I have a savings account called Murphy Came.

[debthaven]

Oh crap! I'm sorry TheOtherMe . Fabulous name for the savings account though! 

[finnime]

That's a bummer, TheOtherMe.

[TheOtherMe]

I don't want to drive around like that.  Water will get in it.  The guy was surprised I want to fix it.

[snapdragon]

Dec 7, 2022 16:22:34 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I don't want to drive around like that.  Water will get in it.  The guy was surprised I want to fix it.

Of course you want to fix it. Water and debris collects in there and it can mess with your electric. Geeze what a bonehead male thing to say. They should just be happy about getting the extra money for the repair.

[snapdragon]

So thankful it's Thursday. I would rather be at home due to a messed up sleep schedule last night. I have tea but it's too hot to drink at the moment. I really don't want a scalded tongue.

[TheOtherMe]

Dec 8, 2022 11:11:49 GMT -5 snapdragon said:

Dec 7, 2022 16:22:34 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I don't want to drive around like that.  Water will get in it.  The guy was surprised I want to fix it.

Of course you want to fix it. Water and debris collects in there and it can mess with your electric. Geeze what a bonehead male thing to say. They should just be happy about getting the extra money for the repair.

That was my feeling.  It needs fixed.  I see lots of cars around here with tape around broken headlights.  I'm not doing that either.

[Iggy aka IG]

Dec 7, 2022 15:27:08 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Oh crap! I'm sorry TheOtherMe . Fabulous name for the savings account though! 

[Iggy aka IG]

Hello from my home office!  How does it look?     We received more snow overnight/early this morning resulting in a sh*t show on the hill road.  Apparently, at least 6 cars slid into the ditch, along with the plow truck.     So, there was no way I was going to join in the drama.  I still haven't relocated the desk over to the window wall, but everything else is going smoothly.  I love having things at my fingertips, can wear PJs, and walk down the hall to a full kitchen.  I exercised, holiday music is playing, and next up I'll wrap a few stocking stuffers then make some holiday treats.

[debthaven]

Congrats on nearly finishing the home office Iggy aka IG ! Glad you can stay safe now when it snows.

[Iggy aka IG]

Thank you so much, debthaven.  After hearing DH and two of my neighbors reiterate their commute experiences last night, I am even more comfortable with my choice to WFH on questionable winter mornings.

This weekend is the postponed sleepover with the neighbor kiddos, and I have several fun activities planned.  Not being a morning person, DH gets the first "shift" and will have the boys help him with outdoor things.  

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone.

[debthaven]

I have been in bad shape because of my paperwork issues. I'm having a lot of trouble functioning. I haven't managed to do the Christmas shopping I meant to do.

This morning I managed to put a bunch of stuff away in the kitchen, and take DD's and DS1's mail upstairs (it was sitting in neat piles on the stairs.) I found some towels that needed washing in their bathroom so I'm washing those. I'd also like to wash some of their bedding before they arrive. (Today I did the guest room sheets (where DS1+DDIL sleep) and DD's room (where E+I sleep)).

Another week of work done. 

PS I just asked my cleaner if she could do an extra hour before Christmas, and an extra hour after Christmas, to help me with all the bedding. 

[finnime]

Preparing for Christmas has introduced a new version of decluttering. I've unboxed the good china and put it on shelves in the basement for next year. We'll do Christmas at DSis's after breakfast here. I need to find the Christmas cards which will also provide a vehicle to let people know our new address. I've got the guest room clear and clean again, ready for DD. Getting there.

I'm going to do some minor/major baking starting next week. It's a bit odd to go through the holiday season with making only 1, 2 or 3 of pies and cookies and rolls. I'm going to be making only 1 buche de noel, for example. Last Christmas I made 4, then another for a client whose DD, named Noel, was having a birthday. I still haven't decided whether or not to resurrect my baking business. I am leaning toward no. That could change. A lot of the effort is in marketing and where I lived in Maryland I had some built-in clientele.

I have finally mostly tamed my vanity (furniture, not personal trait). I bought an antique at a close-by antiques mall and have been happily filling it with makeup and jewelry. I never had such a piece of furniture before. I'm glad to have it.

I have also been framing and putting up pictures. This home is starting to look like our home completely.

[debthaven]

finnime you mentioned once wanting to earn some income once you get settled in. My suburb has 2 Facebook groups and I often see people who have a home baking business posting on there.

Maybe something to do in the new year (if you decide you want to do it of course!).

[TheOtherMe]

I ordered two more ceramic Christmas trees last week and they arrived late yesterday.  Going to open the box and put those up today.  I bought from the same seller on Etsy as the other one and that one is pretty.  So I got two more with different colors of lights.

[saveinla]

My DS is coming today for a week and my cleaner came yesterday, so house is clean. Our suitcases are back to where they belong. I hope my DS will take some of the things we bought for him from vacation and some gifts for his GF for Christmas, so we will get a little closet space back

[debthaven]

Please don't quote.

I decided to see my GP since I'm really not managing. I took the first slot available, on 3 Jan. I asked to be notified in case of a cancellation. By miracle I got an appointment for tomorrow after work.

I have a relatively full week but will obviously cancel anything I need to if they give me a last-minute appointment for my papers.

[finnime]

Glad you got a slot, debthaven. Thinking of you.

[azucena]

Dec 10, 2022 10:01:54 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I ordered two more ceramic Christmas trees last week and they arrived late yesterday.  Going to open the box and put those up today.  I bought from the same seller on Etsy as the other one and that one is pretty.  So I got two more with different colors of lights.

Post a pic on fb. I can't quite picture what you mean by ceramic trees.

I got burned by etsy for the first time. Ordered cardinals end of Era shirt for DH with pujols and yadi. Worst printing I have ever seen. Shop has since disappeared but I'm still attempting the refund process. $40. I showed dd14 and we decided to wrap it anyway and pretend we don't think it's awful to mess with dh.

[azucena]

Debt- not sure if you follow the depression thread and too lazy to look. You might try 10k of vitamin d. I swear that and a lot of stubbornness about making myself go coach bball seems to have got me over the hump for now at least. Glad you got an appt. That's a hard first step - proud of you.

I am not a doctor disclaimer.

[azucena]

We hosted DHs work holiday party tonight. I forget if I mentioned that we cancelled biweekly cleaning appt when I was sick. And then dh ran the house for 13 days while I recovered so it was trashed. And our Jeffrey robovac stopped working last month.

Anyway on weds, i called and begged the cleaner to fit me in even for just an hour. She did two hours and I tipped her bc it was so dirty. She's her own business so usually don't tip. That was just the jump start we needed and got a ton done this afternoon before the party. Dh agreed to work another hour tomorrow on a few lingering items since we have momentum.

Dd14 has a cold so she vegged today in my bed watching TV. I brought her meals and drinks to butter her up and then a couple hours later dumped her backpack and all her random bedroom papers on the bed. Brought the 3 hole punch and helped her organize it all. It's been driving me crazy to see her backpack and room but I wanted her to live with it a bit and not jump in and fix it. Took about two hours and filled a full garage bag to recycle. Ordered binder folders on Amazon. Hoping she can cram loose school papers in there and will add backpack tidy to her weekend chore list. She admitted that it felt better to have it done.

[azucena]

Fin - you could choose to bake but set your own terms. My mom dabbled in Christmas candy for a few years to add to her budget. She set a goal going in and turned down orders after it was met. She said that made it way less stressful and physically demanding.

[finnime]

Makes sense about setting out a limited offering for baking.

Part of my resolutions for next year include launching more officially my business writing and editing, too. This includes some consulting services especially for businesses. I haven't done a lot; maybe 6 or 7 jobs in the past year, but the pay is good for extremely flexible hours and it takes advantage of my work background. So, we'll see.

I'm also focusing on our cruise at the end of May. Honestly I'm not sure (no one is!) how long I'll have DH. It could be 2 years, or 10. So the cruise is very important to both of us.