2023 Declutter & Organize Your Life

[startsmart]

I finally tackled some of my clothes and put 18 shirts and 2 shorts in the donation box (all ill fitting or too big). I freed up a drawer which now has my sweat pants for working out and I’m going to wear them and see if there are any I don’t love.

Today I also changed my sheets and have laundry going, hoping to get that folded and put away tonight.

And I counted the fabric hexagons that I make for my quilts. I counted them at the end of 2022 and I added a ton more this year. Mostly because I can create hexagons while I’m on my bike and I’ve done about 1,900 miles since January. It averages out to 20 a day so if you do the math you know I have a HUGE stash.

I’m actively turning individual hexagons into projects so I’m not upset, I like that I counted so I can remind myself I do not need more fabric! Want, yes. Need? No.

[moneysquirrel]

Good evening all.  I am keeping up with things and making a little progress on some delayed projects.  Have to do a little pickup tonight as the cleaner is scheduled for tomorrow morning early.  I will get the last load of laundry done while she is here. Bed linens were done today.  Also plan to get the last of the Christmas items up if weather permits -- a few items outdoors.

Yesterday was the last of the craft shows for this year.  This week I will get the sales taxes paid and take inventory.  Will also decide what items I need to remake for the coming year.  A few less shows this year as a few of the venues decided not to sponsor them.  A design or two will be retired. 

I got the latest covid booster this week and as usual lost the next day due to my usual vaccine reaction of chills, fever and tiredness. Classes were finished this week as well so I am finished with  those until January.

I haven't even thought about Christmas cards but I only send a few out so will try to get those out either this week or next.  Also several bills will come in this week including at least one if not two insurance premiums.  This is my most expensive time of the year.

Looking Ahead:
*Cleaning -- Monday
*Insurance Premium 1
*Insurance Premium 2
*Sales taxes -- State *2
*Sales Taxes -- Parish *2
*Utility and monthly bills -- 5
*Christmas Cards
*Christmas Gifts -- only a few little things left
*Organize at least three areas 
*Pick up item at a friend's
*Doctor appt -- Tuesday
*Lunch with P -- Wednesday
*Zoom with J -- Friday
*Get RSV (need to schedule it with at least one down day afterwards in case of reaction)
*Lunch with A -- Tuesday week
*Doctor Appt -- Thursday week

Wishing all a good week and will check it as I can.

[TheOtherMe]

Dec 9, 2023 19:49:04 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

My Christmas cards finally arrived today.  They had been going in circles at USPS.  That is tomorrow's task.  

The cards didn't happen today, so I hope to do them tomorrow and mail on Tuesday.  I have usually sent them out by now.

The ones going to the UK and Canada will definitely be late.

[busymom]

Hi Kids!  The electrician just finished installing my new light fixtures (replacing old ones that were going bad).  Here's what I got for the dining room if anyone is curious:



www.bedbathandbeyond.com/Lighting-Ceiling-Fans/Trade-Winds-May-6-Light-Chandelier/35382518/product.html?refccid=BINJ72FD5RYL3H2ASK564PEIQU&searchidx=0&option=67871882



Now the contractor working on the ductwork is going to be here all day, and probably part of tomorrow, so it's going to be a long day.

[seriousthistime]

I was out of town for a month, got home a week ago, and need to go back to that location this weekend, for about ten days.  I might as well drive there (3-day drive) because I have a rental a few hours away from that location for 3 months starting in January.  My kitchen is going to be remodeled while I'm gone, so I have to empty out all the cabinets and remove the cabinet handles which I'm reusing. I ordered a new over-the-range microwave, garbage disposal and kitchen faucet.  I have boxes for a lot of the stuff in the cabinets, and for some of the kitchen items I'm clearing out closets with built-in shelves so I can move and stack dishes and such without having to wrap and box them up.  I also straightened and semi-organized the garage so the contractor can store materials there during the remodel. 

So in the course of all that, I got rid of some purses and an area rug through my local Buy Nothing group. I also took a bag of household items to Goodwill (curtains, a curtain rod, a shower curtain and towel set...).

Today I am going to start on filing the mountain of paperwork that's accumulated over the past few months. And I'll continue to chip away at the closets and the cabinets.  Laundry will wait until the day before I leave.  

I had to buy a new-to-me car when I returned from my out-of-town trip.  My car was totaled in an accident (no injuries, thankfully).  I bought a car via video and telephone.  Same make and model as my old car, but newer.  I didn't need to test drive it since it's very similar to my old car, and it has 20K miles and is certified pre-owned with an extended warranty.  I hate buying cars but the process was about as easy as they come and I feel I got a fail deal.  So - I guess I recently decluttered a car.  Does it count if I replaced it with another car?

Also still managing to declutter some weight off my body. 

The stress of the situation I was dealing with when out of town wreaked havoc on my sleep. I was drinking more wine (after I'd basically reduced my consumption by maybe 80%), which led to me drinking less water, which seems to have caused horrible nighttime leg cramps that required me to hop out of bed and walk around.  Sometimes my leg muscles would be sore for a few days after a bad leg cramp.  Since being home the wine consumption has stopped, I'm being more purposeful with water intake, and I'm drinking a cup or two of Sleepytime Tea with melatonin.  The sleep is better.  The leg cramps are now rare.  I just have to keep up with this. 

[TheOtherMe]

Dec 11, 2023 10:24:02 GMT -5 busymom said:

Now the contractor working on the ductwork is going to be here all day, and probably part of tomorrow, so it's going to be a long day.

Having contractors in your house makes for very long days.  The guys who did my shower remodel showed up promptly at 8 AM and left around 5 PM.  Some days they took a lunch and some days they didn't.  The main contractor subbed the tile work out.  When the tile guy was done, he told me he had already received the check so I didn't have to worry about mechanic's liens.

It always felt like I couldn't go anywhere because they had a lot of questions.  Yet, I had a basement remodel when I lived in Boulder and wasn't home.  

[TheOtherMe]

seriousthistime  Will the contractor be updating you on the remodel and send pictures?

Have a safe drive on that long trip.

[seriousthistime]

I have kids in town who will be checking up on the work done.  I also have the kitchen planner who will do the same.  And of course they can reach me by phone, email, and text.  I would have preferred to have all but the demo done while I was here, but it just didn't work out that way. 

[Iggy aka IG]

startsmart excellent multi-tasking!  Hexagons while on the bike.  Respect!  

Nice list, moneysquirrel!

Sorry about the delay, TheOtherMe.  I am late in mailing out my agency wall calendars but have no one to blame but me and life happenings.

busymom that's a beautiful light fixture.

seriousthistime I am glad there were no injuries.

The weekend flew by as usual:

-DH's present is most of the way completed.  I left it at the neighbors to dry.  I got in some pet therapy while there with their 3 dogs and 1 cat.  
-Looked at lights with the neighbor kiddos, their mom, and one other neighbor kiddo.  We were disappointed at the number of displays this vs. last.
-Washed a quick 3 loads of laundry
-Emptied, refilled, ran, unloaded, and refilled the dishwasher halfway for the next load
-Handwashed a bunch of dishes
-Refilled the ice trays a few times so now the bin is full
-Cleared off the main counter
-Did a baking ingredients inventory
-Had a mini-Hanukkah celebration weekend in honor of a friend who passed away last week.  I made latke and gelt and DH bought bagels.
-Boiled eggs for the week, scrubbed a toilet, set out fresh towels
-Filled stockings for the neighbor's visit in a few weeks and DH's for Christmas
-Coordinated a Christmas craft day with four kiddos and two moms at my house for this Saturday.
-Planning a concert trip with three local gal pals for next fall
-Got in several chapters of reading then watched my NFL team lose

Have a wonderful day, everyone.

[TheOtherMe]

The labels are printed.  One going to Canada will have a gift that isn't here yet.  

The Toddler's present is there and that is what matters.  

I plan to stuff the envelopes tonight while I watch television.

I only had one address I had to look up and that was for my cousin with Ahlzheimer's.  Luckily she is in assisted living center in a small town that only has one assisted living center.  It makes me sad that I will never receive a card from her again.

[TheOtherMe]

I did not realize the organizer had filled the trash bin.  I barely could fit my two bags of trash in it, but I did.

So tomorrow a full trash bin and a full recycle bin will be going away.

[moneysquirrel]

Dec 10, 2023 19:23:17 GMT -5 moneysquirrel said:

Updating this list:
Looking Ahead:
*Cleaning -- Monday
*Insurance Premium 1
*Insurance Premium 2
*Sales taxes -- State *2
*Sales Taxes -- Parish *2
*Utility and monthly bills -- 5    3
*Christmas Cards
*Christmas Gifts -- only a few little things left
*Organize at least three areas 
*Pick up item at a friend's
*Doctor appt -- Tuesday
*Lunch with P -- Wednesday
*Zoom with J -- Friday
*Get RSV (need to schedule it with at least one down day afterwards in case of reaction)
*Lunch with A -- Tuesday week
*Doctor Appt -- Thursday week
Additions:
*Lunch with L -- Thursday
*Pick up door prize I won
*Work on 2024 Spreadsheet

Wishing all a good week and will check it as I can.

[Iggy aka IG]

~I completely filled the dishwasher last night, so I started it.
~Made a tasty supper of fish and veggies
~Finally found some information needed for our passport applications
~Today I went to the post office and then the liquor store to buy stocking stuffer shooters
~This afternoon I have a phone appointment with a long distance friend
~Wed and Thurs:  Work on the dang 2024 calendar mailing
~Friday I'll pay bills and have an annual Christmas lunch and gift exchange with a longtime local friend.

Counting down the days until Christmas vacation.  

[TheOtherMe]

The Christmas cards are all in their envelopes.  Have a few to write in and then put the return address label on them.  

The ones going to the UK will definitely be late according to the USPS website.

[moneysquirrel]

Iggy aka IG -- FYI: Passport processing times are much faster now.  It was 4-5 weeks after I sent mine that my new one arrived.  Also it you have global entry don't forget to go into your account and update it with your new passport number.  Also new Driver's license info if your has been recently renewed.  I have to renew mine in a few months so this is on my radar.

Managed to organize the pantry so one space has been done.  Why do I have so many bags of chips? and pasta?

[Iggy aka IG]

Thank you, moneysquirrel.  This will be DH and my first passports so hopefully they won't take too long. 

[TheOtherMe]

I renewed mine during early Covid so I could go see DN1 and family in Toronto when the border finally opened up.

Getting the photo done was a strange undertaking.  The drug store was enforcing only so many people in the store and required masking.  I had to take the mask off for the photo but they were in a big hurry for me to put it back on.

Back then, due to State Department employees working remotely, it took forever for the passport to come. 

I knew this was going to happen because the Toddler was born in March 2020.  They sent for his passport when he was 1 day old.  It didn't arrive until late July.  That's what they were waiting on to resign from Iowa State because if it was too late they couldn't get into Canada to start their jobs.  

Baby's original birth certificate came in a separate envelope and ended up being forwarded here as they were already in Toronto by then.  

The university had made arrangements with the Buffalo port of entry for it's employees to get in the country, so they had to go several hours out of their way with a baby who had never been on a long drive and got carsick.  Fun times.

[snapdragon]

I got the car looked over and received the rebate check from Ford on the tranny also. They also replaced the really difficult turn bulb that burned out sometime this year. I really don't enjoy missing a turn signal or not having all my bulbs in good order. 

Managed to also get new tags and updated my registration info for the car with the state. Since I moved out of my old county I saved $50+ for my car tabs. 

Tomorrow is garage door opener fix or replacement day. I have the car in the driveway for the night because I would have to move it out anyway tomorrow. Very thankful this is happening before garbage/recycling pickup on Thursday.

[azucena]

Another day of race to pick up before the housecleaner comes at 11 along with a round of hide the dirty dishes. And of course the dishwasher is full of dirty ones that weren't run thru overnight.

There seems to be no good way of making the point to DH that it shouldn't all be on me to get the house ready. Yes, I'm home, but I'm supposed to be working at the job that pays our mortgage. Saying anything about it likely starts another fight. Extra irritating since I spent 3 hours last night getting DD15 to choir concert and watching it while he was having game night.

And, yes, I was behind in doing my part of keeping up with the laundry, but it was all done and put away before I left for the concert.

On a positive note, he's talking about finding a new therapist to meet in person. However, he asked me how to do it. I provided the insurance login via email this morning, but that's as far as I'm going.

[startsmart]

I finally got the thread that I ordered 2 weeks ago so I could continue my quilting projects. I feel behind but I’m just going to keep going and try to get them all done by end of the year. I did binding for 4 table runners on the machine last night and now I just hand stitch the rest. Also finished the Christmas tree skirt which turned out great!

Todays big goal is to touch up paint in my bedroom and bathroom so I can get those off my list! At some point I also need to make soup.

[TheOtherMe]

The cards are in the mail.  

Now I turn to getting my house ready for cleaners on Friday.  

I think I have two weeks of mail that I only opened the Christmas cards.

[Opti]

Dec 12, 2023 16:29:22 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I renewed mine during early Covid so I could go see DN1 and family in Toronto when the border finally opened up.

Getting the photo done was a strange undertaking.  The drug store was enforcing only so many people in the store and required masking.  I had to take the mask off for the photo but they were in a big hurry for me to put it back on.

Back then, due to State Department employees working remotely, it took forever for the passport to come. 

I knew this was going to happen because the Toddler was born in March 2020.  They sent for his passport when he was 1 day old.  It didn't arrive until late July.  That's what they were waiting on to resign from Iowa State because if it was too late they couldn't get into Canada to start their jobs.  

Baby's original birth certificate came in a separate envelope and ended up being forwarded here as they were already in Toronto by then.  

The university had made arrangements with the Buffalo port of entry for it's employees to get in the country, so they had to go several hours out of their way with a baby who had never been on a long drive and got carsick.  Fun times.

Quoting only because you mentioned Covid. I think I saw an article saying that Covid cases this year were the highest in region 7. Region 7 is Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. I know I need to start mask wearing again given how bad my sinuses are which might be complicated by this tooth that needs extracting. 

[Iggy aka IG]

Dec 13, 2023 9:38:40 GMT -5 azucena said:

Another day of race to pick up before the housecleaner comes at 11 along with a round of hide the dirty dishes. And of course the dishwasher is full of dirty ones that weren't run thru overnight.

There seems to be no good way of making the point to DH that it shouldn't all be on me to get the house ready. Yes, I'm home, but I'm supposed to be working at the job that pays our mortgage. Saying anything about it likely starts another fight. Extra irritating since I spent 3 hours last night getting DD15 to choir concert and watching it while he was having game night.

And, yes, I was behind in doing my part of keeping up with the laundry, but it was all done and put away before I left for the concert.

On a positive note, he's talking about finding a new therapist to meet in person. However, he asked me how to do it. I provided the insurance login via email this morning, but that's as far as I'm going.

azucena I am happy to hear he is talking about a new therapist.    

[azucena]

Thanks. He has been seeing my therapist. We don't have any secrets and it was convenient and kinda helpful that she already had most of our elaborate backstory.

Listening to We can do hard things podcast episode about Healing from emotionally immature people' and some of it really hits home. He's really stunted in early 20s when he got sick.

In another section, they described my sister to a tee. All about how she only talks about herself and any conversations with her leave me feeling irritated and bored. TheOtherMe - you should give it a listen in regards to your sister. I need to finish it during my kid pickup driving today.

ETA - some of that same thing happens with DH. Any mtg with new therapist will require a complete and elaborate retelling of his illness journey rather than a summary to get to the point and move on towards healing work.

[Iggy aka IG]

azucena thank you for the info.  I shall check out that podcast during vacation.

[TheOtherMe]

Covid is really bad here but you wouldn't know it by going out in public.  I rarely go inside and I never see anyone masking.  I have not stopped masking and I am not allowing anyone in my house at present who is not masked.  I have plenty of masks to give to people.

The father of a friend who lives in Pennsylvania died of Covid last night.  He died on a gurney waiting for a room in the ER to open up.  The nursing home where he lived was taking no Covid precautions.  Even through 1/3 of their patients have covid and 10 are hospitalized, there are no signs to let people know.  When I was doing the Rep Payee stuff, notices would go on the door for stomach viruses and respiratory viruses.  

They let him to 5 days without eating and at least 48 hours with no water or other liquids.  The only reason he was taken to the ER is because my friend told the nursing home she was calling 911.  It was too late.  His body was so dehydrated he didn't even make it to being seen by an ER doctor.

[Opti]

Dec 13, 2023 15:35:05 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Covid is really bad here but you wouldn't know it by going out in public.  I rarely go inside and I never see anyone masking.  I have not stopped masking and I am not allowing anyone in my house at present who is not masked.  I have plenty of masks to give to people.

The father of a friend who lives in Pennsylvania died of Covid last night.  He died on a gurney waiting for a room in the ER to open up.  The nursing home where he lived was taking no Covid precautions.  Even through 1/3 of their patients have covid and 10 are hospitalized, there are no signs to let people know.  When I was doing the Rep Payee stuff, notices would go on the door for stomach viruses and respiratory viruses.  

They let him to 5 days without eating and at least 48 hours with no water or other liquids.  The only reason he was taken to the ER is because my friend told the nursing home she was calling 911.  It was too late.  His body was so dehydrated he didn't even make it to being seen by an ER doctor.

So very sorry to read this. I know its going to hit NJ hard somewhere around Christmas, so I need to start practice masking. Dehydration can kill. Not eating is one thing, but not hydrating is very dangerous. I still might get a nursing degree just to protect myself from my own idiocy when not sleeping with stuck sinuses.

I am using my healthcare facility branded mask now to get hay out of the box as I noticed how much of a cloud the dry hay makes. Need to get back into my surgical mask wearing when out in public and on the bus.

[snapdragon]

Hugs TheOtherMe that sounds just heartbreaking and awful.

[snapdragon]

So, my appointment was for a estimate and not a replacement. Duh, they have no clue what type of garage door I have. It's being ordered and they will be installing it on the 21st of December. I also remembered to call back and request a seal replacement for the door at the same time. Mine is cracked and has a 2+ inch missing piece that critters could use as an entrance. So that should be getting done at the same time.

Bonus for me, it's partially a write off due to it being a new to me house. I have quite alot of that going on for next year. 


Got the laundry room much more put together so I am happy about that. Emptied a large bin of all laundry fluid and cleaners. Something emptied out so I had to scrub to tote in the shower. Thank Gd I have a large walk in with a sprayer attachment. 
Working on putting together the bakers rack in the garage so more things can be put away.
I have more to do, but just can't remember what it is at the moment. 
Recycling is almost full and I want to take it out tonight instead of having to get up early in the morning and taking it out. 

[startsmart]

Opti - I’m in Kansas and not surprised we are seeing a surge. Folks here still think the vaccines are irrelevant and we have seen a lot of deaths since 2020.

I did touch up paint in the bedroom today! It was so dumb, when I was painting the trim I “touched up” the wall paint with the wrong color and it just dried and mocked me for.. months. Got it covered with the right color today and it took me 5 minutes.

I also finished painting the window trim in the bathroom and painted the door I fitted in there a month ago. Now it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb (bifold door over the water heater nook.

I got the two pillows ready to quilt today and I think I’m going to sit at the machine tomorrow to make progress on as much as possible.