2023 Declutter & Organize Your Life

[TheOtherMe]

My recycling bin was completely emptied today, so I can start filling it again.  It is only picked up every two weeks.

Two weeks ago they only took half of the recycling.

[moneysquirrel]

I managed to get one load of laundry done yesterday.  Had enough items that I don't put in the dryer so I got those items washed and hung.  Other laundry will have to wait until the no bending restriction is lifted on Friday.  Dishes are being done by hand as well this week.

My passport came in and today I updated the number for my global entry. So those items are off the "to-do" list.  Realized that I will also need to update driver's license info once that will be renewed in a few months. Wished I had a trip to look forward to.

Ran a few errands this morning and picked up gifts for the two little ones that I shop for.  DIL is also covered.  Rest will get gift cards/cash. DS will get a bottle of his favorite and a small item.  We eliminated others a few years ago as we were just swapping GCs.  Made the holidays less stressful. 

Also got a few groceries but not much else.  Started putting a few items on the tree but still have quite a bit to go before I call it done.  I have it up earlier than I normally do so I'm taking my time doing a little at a time.

[startsmart]

Tonight I mopped the office floor and have been vacuuming the fireplace hearth where there’s some broken glass. I took down some curtains to wash and will rehang in the morning. It was annoying dark in the office until I replaced 2 burnt out lightbulbs.

Tomorrow I will move stuff into the office and mop the living room/dining/ entryway.

I got the groceries I needed and made no bake peanut butter bars for tomorrow’s parade. They’re very rich so I cut them super small.

[debthaven]

My health insurance still owes me 115e + 44e.   I have a mammo tomorrow but my insurance finally seems to be working!

Unfortunately, it starts all over again in Jan because my current work contract ends on 31 Dec. 

[TheOtherMe]

Did you get paid what they still owe you?

[debthaven]

They paid 370e (out of 414e) TheOtherMe  , so about 90%.

They still owe me 44e for the gyn but that's not freaking me out like when they owed me 225e for the dentist and 115e for the neurologist and 74e for the gyn. They still owe me 44e for the gyn, but I'm not willing to fight with them for that. Hopefully it'll come at some point.

[Sharon]

The electrician unexpectedly was free today so my new ceiling fan is installed, and the existing recess lights switched out for new modern LED lights.  I'm so happy with how it looks.  It just looks cleaner and more up to date.  Now I need to paint the ceiling in the family room.

I had an extra thermostat sitting around so he also replaced the thermostat to the gas fireplace in the family room that was no longer working. All of that took right around an hour, hopefully the bill won't be too much.

[debthaven]

What a happy surprise Sharon ! It's amazing how lights can change a room!

By the way ... not even two hours after I received the money from my complementary health insurance for the dentist yesterday, I received an email from them saying that they can't reimburse me because they are still waiting for me to send the paperwork. The exact same paperwork I have already sent 3 or 4 times!!! I RECEIVED THIS EMAIL AFTER I HAD ALREADY BEEN REIMBURSED!!! 

[TheOtherMe]

Competency is not their strong point.  Same for most insurance companies in the US.

[debthaven]

For sure TheOtherMe ! But it's just horrible to have to start over with them twice a year now that I'm retired and no longer on a permanent contract.

I'm planning to do it ONE.MORE.TIME. in January, but then I am DONE. DH feels it's a necessary evil to get affordable healthcare. I can't even tell DH, if you feel that way, then YOU fight with them! Because *I'M* the contract holder, so *I* have to do it.

[startsmart]

Tonight’s Christmas parade was nice and not too cold! We set up early and gave out a lot of hot cocoa and a few cups of coffee. We have another parade Saturday and we’ll just do cocoa. I also made peanut butter no bake bars that were popular.

I did a lot of the chatting with kids and adults as well as mixing up the cocoa with my mini frother.

[debthaven]

I'm glad you had a nice time startsmart !

[snapdragon]

I had a horrible headache verging on a migraine yesterday. I need some asprin right now due to weather changes. But today is better. I got a lovely chair for about $100 and am enjoying it. 

Managed to get 1 dresser loaded with clothing.

2 large bins are cleared out and I filled 2 smaller bins with clothes that are put away.

Still working on stuff but I am happy I have a donate pile started. 

I need to work on the bathroom. When attempting to find medicine yesterday I realized that I couldn't find anything! So I will be starting on that in a few. 

Lunch is calling. 

[Iggy aka IG]

Nov 29, 2023 20:26:00 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Competency is not their strong point.  Same for most insurance companies in the US.

So much 

[Iggy aka IG]

Hi there!  I've caught up finally and appreciate learning words such as oeil de boeuf and plotz, LOL.  I've missed you all.  I'm still ill, and DH is about 4 days behind me, but we are upright.    Lately, in no particular order:

-Monday, I wrote a small, doable to do list for while working from home
-Plowed through 160 unread email and deleted 251
-Last weekend I managed two loads of laundry, but am now way behind
-I put away fall decorations and brought up the first Christmas tote which was mostly throw pillows.
-This weekend I'll bring up more totes from the basement while going up and down the stairs for laundry. 
-Before becoming ill, I switched out warm weather clothes for cold weather clothes.  Or did I post that on a previous page?
-This morning I went to the library and Dollar Tree.  This evening I'll swing by the bank and then pick up groceries at Walmart.
-I'm almost finished with holiday shopping.  DH and I decided we aren't going to send Christmas cards this year.
-I'm wrapping up manual insurance renewals through the end of January 2024.
-In the office lobby, I put out a thank you sign along with non-perishable snacks and water for the delivery folks.  Several upstairs businesses keep them busy!
-And, no, I haven't kept up on the dang dishes.  

I'm off to finish things for the day before the latest storm rolls in.

[debthaven]

snapdragon I know you've been looking for a chair for a while, so yay for finding one! 

Iggy aka IG I'm sorry you're still not feeling well, but I'm glad you're upright! The dishes won't go anywhere, I'm sure! OMG you get SO many emails!!!

Today's mammogram went well, which is a relief. Back to the dentist tomorrow ... he's going to LOVE it when I tell him I NEED that bridge before the end of the year while I still have health insurance.

DD was here overnight last week on her way to the UK, and for longer this week on her way back. It was fabulous to see her! She is nearly back to her normal weight, thank Gd!!! She was very happy with my recent "small monthly gifts". Dec was a set of 3 wooden cutting boards and food containers from Ikea. Jan was a veggie chopper. 

I worked 6.5h this week (on Zoom). I feel like Goldilocks ... 15h/week is too much these days (despite being significantly less than I used to do), but 6.5h is too little. I hope next semester's 10-12h/week will be "just right" LOL.

[startsmart]

So I was on my way to pick up some checks today when... my car check engine light comes on and I have to turn around and go right back to town and to the mechanic. He was able to look at it today and perhaps get it fixed by tomorrow, now I just need to get those checks into the bank so I can pay the mechanic. 

It's been awhile but I have to revive the 'screw you Murphy!' vibe because I am so annoyed. 

Since I came back home without doing any of my errands I was able to mop the rest of the living room, really tidy up my office, put in the table leaf extension and do a load of dusting and cleaning. I haven't pulled out the Christmas decor yet but the house looks really good. I do have a number of flannel fabric (mostly unhemmed) that feels Christmas-y so I pulled those out and put them on the table, over some chairs and on my dressers and media cabinet. 

I was planning a trip tomorrow to restock my pantry and deposit the checks but now I'll probably be home until I get the car back and then deal with the trip next week. 

[snapdragon]

Hope the car issue is not that bad startsmart.

[TheOtherMe]

Can you do mobile deposit startsmart?

[debthaven]

Ugh startsmart I hope it's an easy/cheap fix.

[megaptera]

I've really downsized my seasonal decor the last couple of years. My Christmas/Fall decor now takes up only two small crates, so storage is manageable. Our current rental is about half the size of our last home, with almost no storage.

This weekend: get Christmas tree, buy groceries, work on craft projects, and probably watch NFL.

Have a great weekend everyone.

[Iggy aka IG]

debthaven good job getting the mammogram completed.  I hope today's dentist appointment went well.

startsmart I am so sorry about your vehicle troubles.  Those are so frustrating!

Last night I emptied, refilled and started the dishwasher.  I'm working from home today.  We received a few inches of snow, and more is to come.  I started laundry, which will keep me moving, and brought wrapping paper and a few other items upstairs.  My weekend looks similar to megaptera's with decorating the tree (we bought a faux one years ago at the Dollar Store) and NFL.

Happy weekend everyone!

[debthaven]

Thanks Iggy aka IG the dentist went well! I'll get my bridge on the 19th. Hopefully insurance will process the payment before the end of the year ...

ETA: The dentist just texted me to come in on the 15th to do the paperwork earlier! He's so incredibly kind!!! He's been working around my stupid insurance company since my toothache in late August. I'll definitely bring him a bottle of Champagne.

[TheOtherMe]

I have a few dishes left in the dishwasher to empty.  I was emptying while my food was cooking and I ran out of time.  

[Iggy aka IG]

Dec 1, 2023 14:10:33 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Thanks Iggy aka IG the dentist went well! I'll get my bridge on the 19th. Hopefully insurance will process the payment before the end of the year ...

ETA: The dentist just texted me to come in on the 15th to do the paperwork earlier! He's so incredibly kind!!! He's been working around my stupid insurance company since my toothache in late August. I'll definitely bring him a bottle of Champagne.

[startsmart]

Some good news bad news today!

The good: I got my car back and it was less than half of the quote because of where the problem was they didn’t have to tear apart the engine block to fix it.

The bad is that the checks are still not here after being mailed a week ago so I am back to no spending until those get deposited. My bank’s app does now have mobile check deposits which I will try so I don’t have to drive 2 hours to the bank. But the checks need to arrive first.

I got a lot done around the house and pulled out decorations. I’m about 75% don’t but the tree lights died so I will need to add new lights before the ornaments go on. I’m hoping the cats approach it in awe and not as a second cat tower to conquer. Time will tell.

[debthaven]

Rooting for you startsmart ! That's great news about the car!

And thank you Iggy aka IG . 

Our very close friend who recently had appendicitis/peritonitis/an abscess/nearly died is on her own this weekend, so she's coming for dinner tomorrow night. We offered to bring dinner to her, but she said she wanted to come to us. DH said, you invited her, so you're cooking LOL.

[TheOtherMe]

I just heard good news.  DN3 called and said they have an all cash contract on their house.  Now to get their loan approval.

Closing expected in early January.  8 parties looked at it and 4 made offers.  Cash and no inspection won over the others as they were all the same price.

[tcu2003]

Nov 28, 2023 11:02:50 GMT -5 startsmart said:

megaptera - I got the snow here in SE Kansas and it is mostly melted now. Glad you drove through safely! 

debthaven - yay for reimbursements! 

I need to get to the grocery store for the one ingredient I need for a recipe but it's so cozy indoors and cold and windy outside. Even the cats are curled up in the sun and under the blankets for warmth. I'll go soon and luckily I put my shoes in front of the space heater after going out in the snow so they should be toasty. 

Tomorrow at the Christmas parade I should really bring blankets and extra scarves and gloves, it's going to be cold! 

I forgot you are in SE KS! That’s where I grew up and where my mom still lives (for another week or so), so historically, we’re in that area pretty frequently as it’s only about 2.5 hrs from our house.

[snapdragon]

Went to the condo for the last time today. Left the keys with the Realtor so things are almost wrapped up. Signing is next week and they take ownership on Friday.

It has been confirmed that my besties will be ringing in the new year with me so I need to really start working on finishing things. I will end up putting on some music and have and good time going to town. I figure if I have about 90% inside the house done than I am golden. It doesn't have to be perfect it just need to be welcoming.