2023 Declutter & Organize Your Life

[Iggy aka IG]

Late to the health item conversation, but in the past I have donated unopened shampoo, conditioner, soap and other toiletries to a thrift store several towns over.  They accept donations for folks in need.

That's great news about your DH, debthaven.

moneysquirrel, thank you for the WM eyeglass donation location reminder.  

seriousthistime, congratulations on the weight loss.

startsmart, that's gorgeous!

Last weekend:
4 loads of laundry, including the main floor bathmats
Unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher
Refilled the ice trays, Keurig, napkin holder and PTs
Planned suppers for the next two weeks
Processed boiled eggs and fresh produce for lunches
Made a tasty pan of oatmeal squares
Rummaging through the kitchen freezer, I found the mini bottle of Hawaiian vodka I'd forgotten about.  
Cleaned the cast iron skillet and stovetop
A few more items went into the donation box
Cleared out more TV DVR programs and cell phone saved links
Oh, and I've "donated" just over 10 pounds bringing me to my mid-November weight.  I feel SO much better.
 
L came yesterday and the house is sparkling.

Tomorrow is a CE course so I'll WFH.

Have a fantastic week, everyone.  

[debthaven]

Iggy aka IG congrats on the weight loss! I'm curious, are you using your home office every week now? Or just in case of bad weather?

These days I'm home most days (even if I'm WFH). But it always made life SO much easier to be home even one day/week to do a load of laundry or two, run/empty the dishwasher, etc.   

[Sharon]

This week I have done a few things around the house, trying to accomplish something everyday no matter how minor.  Today was nice enough that I was able to work in the yard for about an hour after work.  I was working on pruning my grape vines. 

[snapdragon]

I am really happy to say that I am feeling better and was able to  -

Go grocery shopping along with getting fuel for the car last night

I also took the trash out

Not sure what I al going to do over the weekend but I really do plan on refreshing all the bedding and of course laundry

[startsmart]

Ugh. I had a day or errands planned this morning and my car is dead. We tried a battery charger and that doesn’t seem to be the problem and the soonest the mechanic can get to it is Tuesday.

Right now it’s sitting in my driveway completely useless and annoying me because I’d placed a pickup order at Home Depot and after so many days they’ll return and refund the order.

Thankfully the bday I’m attending Sunday is a few block down the road and the gift has already arrived.

[debthaven]

Ugh startsmart . Hope it's a cheap fix.

[startsmart]

me too debthaven! But it'll be a few days until I know for sure. Just googling some of the likely problems + costs is stress inducing! 

Since I couldn't go anywhere today so far I have: 

- done a layer of paint on the door/window frames 
- cleaned out the fridge (way overdue!)
- cut out another 500 hexagons for quilts
- started a new book 
- cleaned the bathtub, toilet and sinks 
- took out a bunch of trash 
- dusted the ceiling fans

It's cold and rainy out and supposed to snow tonight so I'm staying in and staying warm. Hoping to knock off a few more of my monthly cleaning tasks this weekend. 

Next on the to do list: buying a new iron since both of mine have quit on me and I need one to finish quilt bindings! 

[Deleted]

Jan 21, 2023 16:45:52 GMT -5 startsmart said:

me too debthaven! But it'll be a few days until I know for sure. Just googling some of the likely problems + costs is stress inducing! 

Since I couldn't go anywhere today so far I have: 

- done a layer of paint on the door/window frames 
- cleaned out the fridge (way overdue!)
- cut out another 500 hexagons for quilts
- started a new book 
- cleaned the bathtub, toilet and sinks 
- took out a bunch of trash 
- dusted the ceiling fans

It's cold and rainy out and supposed to snow tonight so I'm staying in and staying warm. Hoping to knock off a few more of my monthly cleaning tasks this weekend. 

Next on the to do list: buying a new iron since both of mine have quit on me and I need one to finish quilt bindings! 

Talk about lemons to lemonade - you got a lot done today 

[Sharon]

Today's plan to work in the yard was abandoned due to cold weather and a very small amount of snow. 

So instead I

- changed the sheets on the bed

- did 4 loads of laundry washed, dried, and put away

- ran the dish washer and unloaded it

- did a big grocery run

- cleaned the bathrooms

- vacuumed the house

Tomorrow the DD and family are coming over because DSIL wants to watch some football.  DD is bringing lunch and dinner so I'm going to make chocolate cookie cake (I've also seen it referred to as Texas sheet cake).  DD didn't sound happy that DSIL wanted to watch two football games so we shall see how long they stay. 

[debthaven]

I had a very lazy weekend. I needed it after going back and forth to the hospital the previous weekend. I also wanted DH to rest. He's doing well. 

So just keeping up on house/kitchen/laundry. I've also been taking the bins out and bringing in firewood so DH doesn't have to.

I'll get 32 essays to mark on Wednesday.  Happily I have less marking this semester.

[wvugurl26]

I finally dealt with my clothes. There are no longer piles everywhere. I have a few things in my Amazon cart to buy to assist with final touches.

I shredded a folder of paperwork and emptied a bag that was storage. I feel like I never know how long to keep that sort of thing. It was all from 2016 or earlier so I felt okay in finally shredding it.

I was going to work in my bathroom Sunday but I was too tired. DH got food poisoning when we went out Sat night and I woke up everytime he did.

[snapdragon]

I managed to get the bedding done and laundry folded and put away -- except for a few loads which I will handle when I get home.

Tonight I need to do my accounting and wash dishes. Depending on time I might try and do a load of bedding and get that out of the way.

I also need to figure out what is for dinner because that's bothering me....this weather is making me hungry and all I want to do is eat every hour or so. Besides working for a food company and reading food words all day is not helping at the moment.

[Iggy aka IG]

debthaven, thank you for asking!  Usually I WFH on snowy days.  I haven't yet pulled the trigger on officially scheduling a WFH day(s).

snapdragon, glad you are feeling better.

Sorry to hear about your car, startsmart.  How frustrating!

Nice job, Sharon and wvugurl26.  

Over the weekend:
-Passed my CE test
-Did 4 loads laundry including sheets
-Emptied and refilled the dishwasher twice
-Refilled the Keurig, ice trays, and napkin holder
-Worked on my bathroom drain.  That's all I'm going to say.  
-Made a snack plate, low carb White Castle pie, toad in the holes, and one of DH's G-ma's bread recipes.  The latter didn't turn out well as I neglected to knead the dough long enough.  Was too lazy to get the bread maker out and this is what happens.  
-Cleared out more DVR programs and listened/watched NFL while doing chores
-A neighbor brought over jalapenos and tomatillos which I traded for some homemade cookies.  One of the former went into refried beans, and 10 of the tomatillos were processed to go into slow cooker soup tomorrow.
-Continuing to rummage through the freezers to use leftovers

And since I was studying, I waited to do laundry and other chores yesterday instead of Saturday.  I need to not do that as it results in a late Sunday with less relaxing before the new work week.

[debthaven]

What is CE testing Iggy aka IG , if you don't mind me asking? 

Honestly, I really wonder how many of your clients would even realize that you're WFH one day a week ... SO many people WFH these days! And if they did, would they even care? You seem so entrenched in your community, they'd probably be happy for you. 

[Iggy aka IG]

Aw, thank you, debthaven.  I've got to move past the, "Well, what if they stop in to see me and I'm not there?" way of thinking.

CE = Continuing Education  

[debthaven]

If it's any help Iggy aka IG , all staff at both schools (not the teachers of course) put their schedule in their signatures ... ie "on campus Mon/Wed/Fri, online Tues/Thurs" or whatever. 

[Iggy aka IG]

Jan 23, 2023 16:05:27 GMT -5 debthaven said:

If it's any help Iggy aka IG , all staff at both schools (not the teachers of course) put their schedule in their signatures ... ie "on campus Mon/Wed/Fri, online Tues/Thurs" or whatever. 

Brilliant!  I love this idea.  Thank you.

[TheOtherMe]

When I talked to my friend in Spokane, she said her youngest son, who is an engineer, moved back to Spokane from Oklahoma City because he could WFH.  His company had always insisted everyone be in the office if they were not traveling.

As they started transitioning some people back to the office, he was told he could stay in Spokane and WFH.  He still does his traveling that he did before shut downs.  She said he was going to quit if he had to go back to the office in Oklahoma City.  He and his family did not like it there.

[wvugurl26]

Before we went primarily remote due to covid and iPhone only for many offices, my coworkers did the same. Their signature line would say M/W - remote phone number, T/Th/Fr - office phone.

I had never done a dedicated day because my office had some more hard core come to the office types and I used that to my advantage when I had online training. I'd take the training from home even if it exceeded the number of telework days we were allowed per week.

I've tried decluttering some phone calls from the to do list with mixed results. This has to be one of my most hated chores. It always seems frustrating and doesn't meet my needs in the end. I had to call twice to book a doctor's appointment because I accidentally booked it on a day with work commitments. Total wait time on two phone calls 36 minutes.

[Iggy aka IG]

TheOtherMe, I don't blame them.  I've been to OKC once, and that was enough.

The WFH topic really is a big deal these days:  One of my key contact people at the home office recently quit because they wouldn't allow them to WFH full time after the Covid restrictions.  They went to work for a company that would allow them to do so.  With a 17-mile (Denver) commute taking an hour, I don't blame them whatsoever.  

In fact, the course I chose for CE this time around was, "Working from Home: Exposures and Coverages" and was quite interesting.  Let's just say I hope people check with their insurance professional.  

[TheOtherMe]

I have been to OKC twice.  Once to see Colorado Women's Basketball play in Norman and the other time to see Paul McCartney.  

I didn't see much of OKC, but downtown didn't impress me.  

The Denver commute was brutal when I did it all those years ago.  When I first started working in Denver, it took 45 minutes to get to the downtown office.  

By the time I moved and was assigned to the south office, that was 90 minutes if everything went right.  On a snowy day, it was easily 3 to 4 hours.  Telework had not yet been invented.

I will never forget the day when I showed up at a taxpayer's 4 hours late to his house in Arapahoe County.  No cell phones so I couldn't call him.

Two of us got snowed in Cripple Creek for a week with no power.  The had to go in by horseback to get to the line so we were stuck for a week.  Let's say I don't think the boss believed us and he was mad about it.  If we could have gotten from Cripple Creek to the main highway, we could have made it home by late Tuesday or Wednesday.

[Sharon]

Yesterday I got everything ready for when I meet with the tax guy when I go back to where I used to live for Mom's birthday.  Taxes are one thing I have no desire to figure out and will gladly pay a professional for their knowledge.

Today I worked a couple hours pruning the apple tree in the front yard.  I'm not sure anyone can tell I touched it.  It hasn't been pruned in years and you can tell that someone years ago just cut the top off to lower the crown which just resulted in a bunch of sprouts.  It would be nice if the tree grew just like the pictures in my fruit tree book, then pruning would be so much easier lol.

[startsmart]

Loving this discussion and cities and WFH! Next month I’ll be both in Oklahoma City and Denver (and Phoenix, Las Vegas and Albuquerque) and I’m sure I’ll hate the traffic everywhere.

I did get my car back Monday earlier than expected. Squirrels got into my engine block and chewed some wires so the car would start but the temp sensor thought my engine was -40° which was causing all kinds of problems. I also got a new battery because mine was 6 yo and not the greatest.

I have the mechanic fixing one more thing Friday and then the car should be ready for this epic road trip.

At home today I need to do the dishes from my late night cooking, continue cat proofing the living room and kitchen and move the bonus dresser upstairs.

[Iggy aka IG]

TheOtherMe, your comment about Cripple Creek reminded me of one of my favorite books:  Susan "Doc" Suzy  It's about Doctor Susan "Susie" Anderson focusing on her time in the Colorado Rockies.

Sharon, good job on the tree!

startsmart, I cannot wait to hear about your travels and what you think about each of those cities.  I've been to all for either business or pleasure, sometimes both.  And critters being in engine blocks is a frequent topic in my neighborhood.

[laterbloomer]

I'm coming up on my 2 year anniversary of WFH and if I ever have to go back I'll cry. Actually I can work from anywhere in my Province. And a couple of weeks from my parent's place in another province if I put in the request. It's the only way to work.

[snapdragon]

I got the dishes washed and my done laundry put away.

I have started looking in my desk for stuff to take home and am content with one fairly full grocery sack and a small vertical fan going home.

I also found treats and microwave popcorn that I tossed along with some dry pens and $1.25 in change so far.

[moneysquirrel]

Working on laundry.  Had to travel for a funeral this weekend and just got home last night prior to tornado warnings.  Weatherwise I did ok.  It was nice to visit with family member but wish it was under better circumstances.  

Overslept this morning and missed my exercise class but I guess I needed the sleep. 

[debthaven]

So sorry for your loss moneysquirrel . Happy you got home safe.

This week/weekend
- mark 32 essays

I'm WFH tomorrow. 

[debthaven]

This week/weekend
- mark 20 32 essays (Th)

Not bad given that I taught online till 3 today. Tomorrow is another day. 

[Sharon]

Yesterday I was tired so I just sat and knit after work and into the evening.