2023 Declutter & Organize Your Life

[moneysquirrel]

debthaven -- great news.

[debthaven]

SORRY THIS IS LONG AND NOT IMPORTANT FEEL FREE TO SKIP IT.

PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE.

I woke up in the middle of the night because I realized my older niece has decided to come to Paris the weekend DS3, his partner and his partner's mom are already staying here. I hadn't realized it was the same weekend when my niece was texting me about it LITERALLY TWO MINUTES AFTER MY DH GOT OUT OF SURGERY THIS MORNING.

So when I woke up in the middle of the night, I texted her that we weren't free that weekend, but they are welcome to stay AFTER the weekend. Ugh. 

I don't know what's in the water on the east coast but Niece M is literally the 5th person in the past two weeks telling me OMG WE ARE COMING TO PARIS THIS SPRING AND WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU!!!

We've offered for one very close friend and his wife to stay, and of course my niece and her family, but not the others. They can get a hotel.

Also, something crazy happened today!!! I don't think I have ever mentioned this here, because I know it sounds crazy. I occasionally (rarely) get these "psychic flashes".

I went to the clinic early enough this morning to be in DH's room when he came back from surgery. The whole way there, I kept seeing myself literally running into DH in the elevator. 

My close friend E's close friend In is head nurse at this clinic. DH and I have had dinner with In several times, but not for years. E told In that DH was having surgery there. 

When I got to DH's room on the first floor, I was told the operation was running late, so come back in an hour. I went back 45 minutes later. I was then told DH had been moved to a nicer room on the fourth floor. I went up to the fourth floor, and In was there. In said, I moved your DH. We moved all his things, but please come with me to empty the safe. I said, I don't have the code. She said, I have a master code, but I can't empty it myself, so come with me, that way that room is free.

We go back to DH's old room, In opens the safe, I empty it. In tells me, let's take the staff elevators to his new room.  

The elevator goes down to the basement (where I assumed the operating rooms were). Floor -2, no DH. Floor -1, no DH. Ground floor (lobby). So I figure I was wrong, no surprise LOL. The elevator stops on EVERY SINGLE FLOOR on the way down from DH's old room on the first floor all the way up to DH's new room on the fourth floor.

Lo and behold, on floor 2, the door opens, and there is DH on a stretcher waiting to get into the elevator!!! Mind absolutely blown LOL. 

I swear on my 4 children's heads and my 2 grandchildren's heads that this story is true. 

HOW FREAKING WEIRD IS THAT?!

[TheOtherMe]

You do have psychic powers.  

Every surgery I have ever had has been in a basement.  Two different hospitals.  My niece told me one reason is so they can continue surgery if the power is cut for some reason.  The generator will kick in and that's the best place to be in case of tornadoes

[startsmart]

Busy but productive day!

I got one of the new bookshelves assembled and with only a little difficulty covered the ugly back panels with the fabric I picked out. Second bookshelf can be assembled tomorrow or Saturday.

I’ve also got a lot of clean up done so the living room is more spacious and tidy. I am leaving out my ironing board and sewing machine a bit longer because I have more quilt bindings to sew. I pick up the surprise gift quilt from the long arm quilter this weekend and I cannot wait to see it and finish it up!

My red and pink quilt is now finished and I plan to lay out the orange and yellow one to do next. N

I also finished editing a 2- hr masterclass for a client today (which was a CHORE) and closed a new client at almost double my usual rate.

We had surprise snow last night after temps in the 60s all day but it has mostly melted off by now. They said it’s remnants of the storms in California making their way across the US but I’ll take an inch of snow over 7” of rain! My parents have gotten a lot of rain and it washed out one local bridge but not the main bridge to town.

[finnime]

ORs do not need windows, either, so can go easily into a basement.

I'm glad all went well for your DH, debthaven.

[Sharon]

debthaven good to hear your DH's surgery went well.

Yesterday I went through the closet some and one more dresser drawer.  It could probably use a little more thorough job but I did end up adding to my donation pile and had a pile that went into the garbage.

[TheOtherMe]

In that documentary I watched, one of the things Grandma had was a box of all the toothbrushes and toothpaste given to her by dentists over the year.  The box I am cleaning out in the bathroom has way too many toothbrushes that will be tossed.  I use the toothpaste when I travel so I won't get rid of that.

I don't need people finding 50 toothbrushes.  

My dentist now doesn't give that stuff out.  Sometimes they over a tube of toothpaste but that's it.

I use an electric toothbrush so I do not need all of those toothbrushes.

[snapdragon]

Jan 13, 2023 10:43:56 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

In that documentary I watched, one of the things Grandma had was a box of all the toothbrushes and toothpaste given to her by dentists over the year.  The box I am cleaning out in the bathroom has way too many toothbrushes that will be tossed.  I use the toothpaste when I travel so I won't get rid of that.

I don't need people finding 50 toothbrushes.  

My dentist now doesn't give that stuff out.  Sometimes they over a tube of toothpaste but that's it.

I use an electric toothbrush so I do not need all of those toothbrushes.

Can you have someone donate the toothbrushes if they are still wrapped? Keep some in the car to pass out like lollipops?

[moneysquirrel]

TheOtherMe -- My first thoughts are similar to snapdragon.  Homeless shelters and safe homes for women and children can always use personal hygiene items.  I would check with charities that serve those in need before tossing them.

This morning I made a quick trip to WM.  They have a donation box near their vision center that collects old eyeglasses.  I donated several pairs to them.  I don't know how I missed those glasses last year when I did an earlier donation.  It is nice that there is such a convenient place to donate those.  


debthaven -- So glad to hear that DH will be released from the hospital early.  Your powers were in full force the other day.

[TheOtherMe]

Some are wrapped and some are not.  The ones that aren't wrapped, I wouldn't donate.  They have my hair on them.  

I will be keeping a few for travel and I will donate the others.  I think the school right here in town takes donations for school kids.  I will have to call them.

I will not take them to Goodwill to be sold.  

[startsmart]

I’ve been picking up spices for a local food bank donation and my local spot also has a shelf for toiletries like the dentist toothbrushes. Which is a good reminder because I go to the dentist in 2 weeks and I have plenty of those little toothpaste tubes.

[Sharon]

Today I did a load of laundry, ran the dishwasher and emptied it, and dropped off two bags of clothes at Goodwill.

[finnime]

DD left at my house some brand new toys she got for her cousin's children for Christmas, that Amazon sent duplicates of. I need to donate them somewhere. They're nice toys; the 3-yo and 1-yo love them. Got to think of a good donation recipient.

[Sharon]

Jan 14, 2023 5:01:08 GMT -5 finnime said:

DD left at my house some brand new toys she got for her cousin's children for Christmas, that Amazon sent duplicates of. I need to donate them somewhere. They're nice toys; the 3-yo and 1-yo love them. Got to think of a good donation recipient.

Does your town have a women's shelter for women and children leaving domestic violence situations?

[debthaven]

finnime I like Sharon 's idea. Otherwise you could keep them till next Christmas and donate them then, but that's a long way off.

I was going a bit stir-crazy at the hospital so I left earlier today. I picked up DH's meds + dressings and went grocery shopping on my way home. 

DH comes home tomorrow morning.  He's more mobile than we expected, so he'll be fine this week while I'm at work. I got a few microwave meals. Bad timing, it's the only week all semester I'm teaching at school 3 days. My colleague on maternity leave comes back in February.   

[seriousthistime]

Good to hear that your DH came through the surgery so well, debthaven. 

I am out of town (warmer climate) for three months, so there's no decluttering to do right now.  

But I am thinking of decluttering a few extra pounds.  I'm a Lifetime member of Weight Watchers, and I'm sharing a seasonal rental with a friend who is also Lifetime.  We went to our first meeting in a few years and are back on the program.  I'm within 2 pounds of my goal weight so the meeting was free and I have to weigh in once a month to keep it free. I hope to lose about 5 more pounds, which I hope I can do reasonably easily. 

I'm doing more walking here.  My little dog is used to running all around my fenced yard so she doesn't need walks.  Here, there's no fenced yard so she needs to be walked a few times per day. That gets me out and about, and moving. 

[startsmart]

I have a longish list of things to do today to clean and paint around the house. I am hoping to get the second bookshelf assembled and in the office, then touch up the window trim paint.

I tried to buy all the supplies for the 4 windows I need to trim out but Home Depot has very little in stock. I need 12 pieces of trim, they had 3. I also wanted to get cinderblocks to secure my greenhouse and they were out of stock. Annoying because it means another 3 hour trip to the other side of the state for the supplies I need.

I absolutely love the stitching on the wedding quilt and was able to make the binding last night. I’ll finish ironing it today and work to assemble it this week. Then it’s back to the orange and yellow quilt from this series: imgur.com/gallery/Z2Kg6oK


ETA: I can’t share any wedding quilt pics until late February when it’s been gifted to my best friend. I am intent on keeping it a total surprise!

[debthaven]

Beautiful, as always startsmart . I'd love to see the wedding quilt (when you can share of course!)

[TheOtherMe]

Can't wait to see the wedding quilt.

[moneysquirrel]

finnime -- Another idea for those toys.  Is there a Ronald McDonald House in the area?  It is a place for families with children in cancer treatment can stay for free with their other children.  Or a children's hospital?

startsmart -- Another one who can't wait to see all the quilts. Your work is outstanding.

I woke up very late for me today and am playing catch-up on my to do list. 

[Sharon]

Finally finished the second coat of primer in the kitchen/dining area.  It is so much brighter in there even if the walls now look light blue.  The second coat smoothed the color out.  That turquoise was nasty to cover, hopefully the gray won't be as bad.

I also got the sheets changed, did two loads of laundry, and cleaned the litter box.

[saveinla]

Today I cleaned the fridge and the kitchen - the stove has been used a lot this past week and we are having guests for lunch tomorrow.

I have to cook some special stuff, so figured I would clean everything and prep today so its not as bad tomorrow.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jan 11, 2023 21:31:56 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I watched a documentary on Prime today called 306 Hollywood.  

A family's grandmother dies and the grandchildren are left to deal with her stuff and house.

They quickly determine Grandma was pretty much a hoarder and so was Grandpa.  Not as bad as what you see on the tv show but they never got rid of many things.  

They decide to give themselves 11 months to go through the house and treat it as an archeology site.  When the 11 months are up, they can't get rid of the house as they are not done.  

It was another 10 years before the grandkids could give up the house.  

It's an interesting watch and shows their process.  I could not hold on to a house that long.  In the condition it was in when they started, a realtor told them it was worthless.  It wasn't when they sold it.

They had started interviewing grandma 10 years before her death and some of those are also included.  

This is what happened with my parents' house after my father passed away. My father had given up battling my mother's hoarderness about 15 years before he died. Even when my mother got everything out of the house, its condition was revolting. She really couldn't/can't grasp it. She still (8-ish years later) still blames the real estate agent. 

Jan 12, 2023 11:33:35 GMT -5 snapdragon said:

I have managed to do nothing besides make it into work. I have kept up on dishes and DOING laundry...I need to get the pile of clean clothes folded and put away. Hoping for tonight.

I do have a small collection of boxes and I should start boxing things up but I just can't seem to get in the mood yet.

I hope you're feeling better! 

Jan 12, 2023 14:45:26 GMT -5 debthaven said:

The operation went well! DH should be home on Sunday (instead of Mon or Tues)  .

Thank you for all your good wishes. 

PS TheOtherMe I watched the trailer but unfortunately it's not on Prime here.

I'm so glad to hear this! 

[laterbloomer]

My new year house cleaning continues. All the main floor floors got a deep cleaning, all the furniture moved and vacuuming and mopping done, and the living room area rug got washed. I also managed to clean the TV screens with no streaks or marks.

[debthaven]

DH got home yesterday. He's doing well! 

Back to school tomorrow.   There are huge strikes here this Thursday so I'm hoping they'll let us be on Zoom that day. I'll find out tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

I caught up on laundry and ran/emptied the dishwasher.

[startsmart]

Occasionally the local auction really pays off! Today I bought a double/queen sized bed frame which has a solid wood headboard and footboard for… $1. It took 30 min to get outside and strapped to the roof of my SUV but we’ll worth the cost to have this for the house!

Tonight I have some laundry to put away and can hopefully meal prep a bit for the week.

[debthaven]

We're all allowed to teach online on Thursday because of the strikes! This is my last Thursday replacing that colleague. 

What a fabulous find startsmart !

[startsmart]

Finally got the second bookshelf assembled last night and will start stocking it up today along with cleaning my desk.

I’ve sewn up all the binding for the wedding quilt and attached half of it to the front of the quilt.

Did some laundry, slowly putting it away. Currently I’m watching the kittens play. The little one, Harry, has found an unused wrapped tampon and it is his new favorite toy 😂

It’s raining today so I’m doubly glad I got the bed frame I bought off the roof of my SUV and into the garage!

[debthaven]

LOL at Harry startsmart ! What are you plans for the extra bedrooms? Just curious. 

Today was a long day. I mentioned that DS1's van broke down on Christmas Day. He was here last night so I took him to meet the tow truck very early today before school. The good news is, DS1 emptied the basement of his family's Christmas gifts. (They went back by Eurostar so couldn't carry much.)

So thankful to be on Zoom tomorrow!

[debthaven]

I have another company coming tomorrow for a last last estimate for the windows.

I'm done replacing my colleague one Thursday/month! I'm teaching at school only two days/week for the rest of the semester.   

ETA: I took DH to his physio this morning. He was very happy with DH's progress! DH will go there twice a week. As of Monday he can drive himself. (It's very close.)