2023 Declutter & Organize Your Life

[Rukh O'Rorke]

crap! I missed St. Patrick's Day?? ??

[moneysquirrel]

Good morning all.
     I am continuing to get things done.  Trash has been picked up already and can returned to its place,  recycled bin is out and waiting for pickup.  Laundry has been started - one load in washer and other in dryer.  Logged into my yoga class earlier and manage to get that hour in as well as my walking videos that I try to do everyday.  (Only way that I can be sure of at least 5000 steps.)  

Also paid a few bills.  House is picked up and I pulled something from the freezer to thaw for dinner tonight. 

Note: I am starting to do my usual eat out of the freezer plan.  Hoping that by the end of next month I will only have stuff in the freezer section of the fridge and that I can unplug the one in the garage for the summer.  This is part of my yearly summer plan as hurricane season will be upon us sooner that we want.  The less I have in the freezer the less I can possibly lose in case we have power issues.

I think that my new shutters will be installed this Friday.  Will be glad to get that finished and off the list.  

I have been continuing to make items for the upcoming craft shows. Planning to try to finish my need to remake list by this weekend as I will be very busy with several craft retreats and vacation starting soon. Those will lead to a minimum of nine to ten incomplete projects and I don't want to get even more overwhelm than need be.  I am letting things expire off Etsy and will be putting my shop on vacation for about 6 weeks at the end of April.  That way I won't have to worry about it while I am on vacation and at one of the craft retreats.  I will reopen in early ton. mid-June.  Doing the same next week as I will be at the first craft retreat.

Also working on a few other craft type projects mainly to use up items I have on hand.  Got a polymer clay flower done yesterday that I will use as a paperweight for the time being. Still have some clay left and will pull some out periodically until I use it all up.  It is also a good way for me to use my fingers in different ways than I do while beading.

Will check in later.

[Iggy aka IG]

Hello from my home office!  Snowed in here at the house.  Happy spring, LOL.

[debthaven]

So glad you're enjoying your home office Iggy aka IG ! 

I'm continually impressed with how much you do moneysquirrel ! 

Any progress on the plumbing startsmart ?

I had an exceptionally long day at Job 2 today. I go back tomorrow for a shorter one. Catching Caught up on laundry tonight. 

[debthaven]

I have two Rubson dehumidifiers in the basement. I knocked one over weeks ago (mopped it up but didn't put it back together). Realized tonight the other needed a replacement tab too. 

I brought them both upstairs, put them both back together, put a new tab in each, and took them both back downstairs. 

Since I was going to the basement, I put away our 3 travel bags from last weekend. (We only used two but I had brought up both of mine before I decided which one to use.)

Yay me! I also put away some groceries as well as some pantry items and DH's tools.

Sometimes it really is the small/stupid things LOL. Happily DH is finally fine on stairs again! 

[startsmart]

Debthaven - I did get plumbing news but none of it good.

My house has 2 sewer lines from the house to the main. Both are broken, 1 has been fixed. Price just went up another 70%. Work on the second line can’t start until the rain stops and I still can’t use the master bath. The half bath has also been flooded so I have to replace that floor too.

[debthaven]

OMG startsmart . I am so sorry!!! How on earth can they justify a 70% increase?!

[startsmart]

Mar 22, 2023 17:36:09 GMT -5 debthaven said:

OMG startsmart . I am so sorry!!! How on earth can they justify a 70% increase?!

Because it’ll take another full day of work to dig out the second pipe and replace it. They have to bring in a backhoe and replace about 12’ of 6” PVC pipe.

[debthaven]

I hope the work goes well and quickly startsmart . 

I'm mortified. I slept through an individual Zoom class today. I was up very early so I decided to take a nap. I set my alarm but I guess I turned it off in my sleep. The woman was very nice about it but OMG how embarrassing and unprofessional.  I slept for 3 hours. 

We have a quiet weekend ahead, which is clearly a good thing.

[startsmart]

Cleaning the house this weekend and I’d like to finish the following:

- clean (3) sinks
- clean (3) mirrors
- clean out the fridge
- finish all dishes
- wipe down kitchen counters
- cut 8 pieces of window trim
- start orange quilt
- change bedsheets
- clean out (2) litter boxes


Eta: I got distracted cleaning the kitchen but dishes are half done, one litter box is done and counters are half done (I’m sensing a theme…)

I did go to the hardware store to get razor blades to clean the oven glass. It is a nice day so I walked the couple of blocks and now I’m back to cleaning.

ETA: Kitchen cleaning took a long longer than normal but I cleaned out the toaster and microwave and then scraped the glass inside the oven clean. The fridge is organized and cleaned and the last thing to do is the floor but first I will need to wash my mop head. 

I brought the orange quilt and batting down from upstairs so I can begin pinning that tonight and sew it tomorrow if I can maintain momentum. 

It was supposed to rain today so I did not get out the miter saw to cut window trim. Tomorrow should be good weather so I'll try to get it all done in one go and then I can caulk and paint.

The cats have 2 newly emptied and cleaned litter boxes, water refills in both spots and dinner so I am hopeful they will behave tonight when I have my quilt out. 

[TheOtherMe]

I almost hate to ask, but are the plumbing issues taken care of?

[startsmart]

Mar 25, 2023 10:41:07 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I almost hate to ask, but are the plumbing issues taken care of?

Still no. The plumbing is working for the washer and kitchen sink but that’s it. So I can do chores 🙄 but still not use my master bath at all. Half bath is worse than when this all started and I’ve had to take out the floor I installed in there.

[finnime]

That's really rough, startsmart. I hope things improve dramatically very soon. I don't know how I'd manage without a functioning bathroom.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

well the month without a cleaner did not go that great, not too terrible though. My pre-pandemic cleaner called and asked if I needed someone as she has someone she is helping to get established with a client base, so I said sure, I'll give it a go. I wasn't blown over with the first cleaning, but the place was getting a bit crusty so will give it a few times to see. Paying the same price as I did for the service, but as an independed cleaner then I don't tip and with an independent person can be more flexible with the job on the fly, like skip this room and do that room instead kind of thing. And communication is better, can talk about the job. But I am supplying everything so that is an expense on my end as well.

I do need to focus on other household things...oh. and taxes!

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Mar 22, 2023 17:36:09 GMT -5 debthaven said:

OMG startsmart . I am so sorry!!! How on earth can they justify a 70% increase?!

that is crazy!!!

[TheOtherMe]

Mar 25, 2023 11:48:18 GMT -5 startsmart said:

Mar 25, 2023 10:41:07 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I almost hate to ask, but are the plumbing issues taken care of?

Still no. The plumbing is working for the washer and kitchen sink but that’s it. So I can do chores 🙄 but still not use my master bath at all. Half bath is worse than when this all started and I’ve had to take out the floor I installed in there.

I'm so sorry.  I don't know how I would manage either.  

[startsmart]

Honestly, for the first week or so I wasn't managing this whole plumbing disaster well at all. Lots of crying. Lots of worry and stress as I tried to find someone to fix things and the funds to pay for it. Last weekend I started spring cleaning and continued this weekend. A bit of "improve what you can do while everything else is f'ed." 

It's still not easy or simple or cheap but I have some faith that it'll get done, I won't be totally broke and life will be back to normal. At this point I just want a long, hot bath. 

[debthaven]

startsmart I know it's not ideal, but could you take out a small personal loan to pay for this? (I think you own the house outright.) Hugs friend.

[debthaven]

This is an uneventful week. I'm at Job 2 two days this week again.

I was sad to see that I'm only 12 weeks into my 28-week spring semester/summer term/orals/prof-staff classes. Not even halfway. 

[wvugurl26]

I decluttered a bag of electronics to recycling at Staples. I highly recommend this. They take a lot of stuff and it's free.

DH took a load to Goodwill.

I'm trying to be very careful of what I bring home from my grandma's house. So far most of it has been my stuff that was stored there or things I've taken to recycle like the old cell phone.

I'm trying to put the house back in order. I was literally gone half of December and January brought more travel. Then I spent half of February out of state. I'm slowly picking away at it.

[debthaven]

You've had a very rough few months wvugurl26  . Please go easy on yourself. 

[Iggy aka IG]

wvugurl26 that is good to know about Staples, thank you.  I was told by an Office Depot associate they will take old printers, but charge for the shipping fee.

debthaven sorry about your untimely nap, though it really does sound like you needed the downtime.  I hope you had some this weekend.

Nice production, startsmart!  So sorry about your expensive repair.  We had a new well motor and pump installed in December.  Much needed and appreciated, but ouch.

Stopping in for a rare weekend post perched on our kitchen banquette watching another snowstorm roll in.  It's been productive, which is good, as the month of April weekends are full.

-4 loads laundry including sheets and mattress pads
-Unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher.  It now needs to be emptied.
-Watched my NCAA team lose  
-Scrubbed two toilets
-Put a free black vinyl storage cube on social media and it has a taker  
-Refilled the Keurig, ice trays, and refrigerator water
-Cleared out several DVR hours
-Pulled three zipper bags of old linen and blankets to go through with DH.  Donations will go to the local animal shelter.
-Exercised both days
-Meal planned for the week
-Completed several computer to do's
-Next up:  Start taxes.  Boo, hiss, LOL.  I'm weird, though.  I like doing them.

See you tomorrow, friends.

[Opti]

Mar 26, 2023 16:14:01 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

I decluttered a bag of electronics to recycling at Staples. I highly recommend this. They take a lot of stuff and it's free.

DH took a load to Goodwill.

I'm trying to be very careful of what I bring home from my grandma's house. So far most of it has been my stuff that was stored there or things I've taken to recycle like the old cell phone.

I'm trying to put the house back in order. I was literally gone half of December and January brought more travel. Then I spent half of February out of state. I'm slowly picking away at it.

What do they take and how do you do this? Did you speak to someone special?

[Sharon]

Well the cold that I had a couple weeks ago turned into a sinus infection.  Finally last Tuesday I went into urgent care and they put me on antibiotics and gave me a couple prescription cough suppressants.  Needless to say not much has been done around the place for some time now.  Yesterday I did basically nothing.  Today I did manage to get somethings done.

Changed the sheets on the bed

3 loads laundry done and put away

Wastebaskets emptied and garbage out

Assembled my new can storage thingy for the pantry and reorganized one shelf on the pantry.  This included throwing away 5 badly expired cans, not sure how 3 of them even got moved here as they expired before the move.

It isn't much but it is something.  Hopefully I can get another really good nights sleep tonight.

ETA:  I also sewed the head back on one of DGD1's little stuffed animals, sewed up a dog toy that is left here, and sewed a button back on to one of my shirts.

[startsmart]

Second round of plumbing is done and total cost is 60% more than first quote. I will get a detailed bill before paying this week but all the pipes are now working.

I didn’t get around to cutting the window trim today but did get half the yard mowed, waiting for a few days of sunshine to finish the rest.

I also stitched my yellow and orange quilt and have just about finished attaching the binding to the front. I’ll hand stitch the binding to the back and then it’ll be on to the green quilt next.

[Opti]

I hope this means you finally have working bathrooms.

[wvugurl26]

www.staples.com/deals/it-s-recycling-day-every-day/BI3000592

The first time I went with a couple of cell phones, broken Keurig and old router, I went to customer service and they sent me to the online pickup counter/tech services.

Today I went to that counter and they took me to a regular check out line. I think it had something to do with having ink cartridges and batteries? I supposedly got coupons for those.

I'll see if I use the coupons. They are generally more expensive than other stores. At this point, I'm happy to get rid of these electronics for free.

[countrygirl2]

Hi all, usually post elsewhere. I've been deluttering for awhile. But have a long ways to go. I stocked up too much stuff during covid afraid I was going to run out and not be able to get items. Some has gotten stale dated and I had to throw a lot away. I'm working through the freezer and trying to use up canned goods.

So I wanted to see and be near our grandson more. So turned out we bought a double wide near them in Washington state, we live in Indiana. Going to go up and visit a month at a time 3 or 4 times a year. If we decide we like it there, may sellout here and move. I wanted to, hubs did not. But then I agree with him, a very drastic move to make and not be sure.

So we are in the beginnings of taking furniture and things up about April 1. We have a lot of extra items in our basement, that hubs is building out.  I am finding I have most stuff to stock our kitchen, enough linens for the beds and some for the bathrooms. We are going to get new beds for hubs and I so taking our older ones. I think all we will have to buy is a kitchen table and chairs, maybe another recliner for there. We 
will replace our couch here and new mattresses when we come back. I do have some routine items to buy for the kitchen. I knew I had way to much of everything but know I really know I do. 

If we sell the other place later, it will likely be wholly furnished.

Hubs laughed and said we had to buy another house to declutter this one. I'm embarrassed to admit he is right.

[debthaven]

So happy the plumbing is finally fixed@startsmart !

Feel better soon Sharon ! 

Congratulations countrygirl2 . You're right, it's a good opportunity to declutter. 

[laterbloomer]

Mar 25, 2023 18:51:13 GMT -5 startsmart said:

Honestly, for the first week or so I wasn't managing this whole plumbing disaster well at all. Lots of crying. Lots of worry and stress as I tried to find someone to fix things and the funds to pay for it. Last weekend I started spring cleaning and continued this weekend. A bit of "improve what you can do while everything else is f'ed." 

It's still not easy or simple or cheap but I have some faith that it'll get done, I won't be totally broke and life will be back to normal. At this point I just want a long, hot bath. 

You will get through this and it will all be good eventually