2023 Declutter & Organize Your Life

[Sharon]

Today I ended up washing all my bedding.  Let's just say that there was cat puke involved in that decision.   I also ran some items up to DD's house and was rewarded with a container of chili that will be at least two meals if not three.  DD makes the best chili.  After that a quick bank run and a quick trip to the grocery store to get the items that were on sale this week that I wanted.

[debthaven]

Lots of progress being made!

I completely forgot about last week's marking.  

This week
- mark 4 papers/Tues

[jerseygirl]

I’m working on starting to sell some old(classic!!) vinyl records. Have about 50 that I’m looking up on ‘sold ebay’
Think I’ll get around $500 at least and empty a corner of a closet . Win Win

[snapdragon]

Had a great time with friends and really enjoyed myself. I got several photos that M took and in the all I am smiling rather largely. I just look a bit lighter and I think part of that is that work is closing down for me and I am really excited to go to Oahu in April to completely de-compress for a few days. Mostly sun, water and beautiful scenery to take photos of.

I got home about 4:30 on Sunday and managed to wash most of my clothing on Sunday.

Tonight is the following -

Cut up mango that I bought for brunch - also cut up veggies for snacking

Fold and put away all clothing

Try and pick up the scattered mess in the living room.

Pull something from the freezer for dinner tomorrow.

Dinner tonight will probably be chicken tenders and onion rings so those can get out of the freezer and make things easier.

[debthaven]

Good for you jerseygirl ! I wish ... DH refuses to get rid of ours. 

Happy you had fun snapdragon ! 

DH isn't doing great these days. Turns out he overdid it too soon after the surgery. After seeing the doctor today, he's back on painkillers and anti-inflammatory meds. I had to go to three pharmacies to find the anti-inflammatory meds.

DS1 arrives with DGS tomorrow night, we're watching him Thurs and Fri while DS1 goes into the office. Of course we're very happy to see them, but the timing isn't ideal. 

Job 2 is off for three weeks so I have a very light schedule this week and next week. 

[moneysquirrel]

Checking in to update progress.  Need to get some food in me before next class.  Also waiting for laundry to finish in the dryer.  Sheets today.

Feb 5, 2023 13:09:47 GMT -5 moneysquirrel said:

Upcoming -- this week and/or next:
*Classes -- 2 Tuesday (1 more later today) , 1 Wednesday, 3 Thursday
*Need to prep a flowerpot for painting. Prepped and base coat on.
*Mail card to L
*Schedule appointment with cardiologist for summer. (Regular checkup but need to get a new one as my former one retired.  Will try to stay withing same group as all my records are there.) Scheduled for the beginning of August.
 *Water Bill
*Book two excursions. (I haven't decided on any others as of yet but I do know I want to do these two.  Figured I would get these booked and paid for early.  Plus I have partial credit for two.) Got four booked and trying to decide on others.
*Check craft supplies and start a shopping list of things I need to restock. (Have been trying to use up my supplies but certain ones are getting to the end and those I use pretty regularally. I should have enough to get most if not all of that to-make list done but will be close on a few of them.)
*Card for A
*Doctor appointment on February 13.  
*Sign up for craft show -- (Show is in December but we can reserve our location by signing up early.) Registration is submitted, check is written and waiting to be mailed.
*Continue work on restocking popular seasonal items for the craft shows. 
    >Christmas -- 6 earrings (Already did 6 of different style. And have enough of other styles.) Got 4 pairs done and will come up with new pattern for other two.  Ran out of the needed beads to get six done but that is ok.
    >Thanksgiving -- 6 earrings (Other style has a few left.)
    >Halloween -- 4 to 6 earrings (Other styles have enough left.)
    >Pirate -- 1 pair
    >Several Bracelets and Pins
    >Several simple necklaces (Aiming for 6 at least.) Two done.
*Utility Bills -- three should come in within the next two weeks.

Some of these items will be quick to get done.  Others will be here for a while.  

    


 

[jerseygirl]

Jerseyguy also refuses to get rid of/sell records
These are left from our kids. I contacted them and they said go ahead, they don’t want them

[bean29]

Success! 

My DD finally spent some time going through the stuff left in her bedroom at the house.  She purged 3 bags of clothing and two bags of garbage and is taking a comforter and associated throw pillows to her BF.  There are 4 TV's in her room and her brother's old room.  She will probably take 1, and we may use one in our living room.  I guess we will pick the best of the ones left over and donate the others.  The ones hanging on the walls are pretty old, so we will probably just switch them out.

DD still has to go through the walk-in closet in the basement, and her vast collection of shoes.  But this is great.  We need to replace the flooring (both rooms) and move the bed into the other bedroom.  DD should know by the end of the week if she got the job in Minnesota.  If she does not get that job, she applied for a similar job in Atlanta.  

I think the BF's furniture gets picked up on the 9th.  They will move to a hotel which she said will be $185/night and he gets a $45 per diem allowance for a few weeks.  

I have to file/scan all the paperwork I have in my Son's old room.  I want to make DD's room an office and DS's old room a guest bedroom - so I am flipping the rooms.

Jerseygirl we have a bunch of CD's DH inherited from one of his uncles.  I just saw that some of them can be quite valuable.  I guess I will have to list them on e-bay for sale too (If DH will allow me to) lol.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

cleaned and reorganized the fridge yesterday.....otherwise, just drifting along.....

[debthaven]

I envy you bean29 ! I wish my DD would do the same (although all her Stuff is in her room).

The wooden shoe rack by our front door broke last week. We'll replace it tomorrow. I didn't find anything better on Amazon so we'll just get the same one. 

[TheOtherMe]

I brought home a box of pictures.  I will probably start looking at them this evening.

It was good to see cousins I never see.  It's too bad funerals are the only time we get together and there is one uncle and one aunt left on that side.  Then it will be our generation.

[debthaven]

Then it will be our generation.

It's very difficult when that happens TheOtherMe . DH still has his 90YO aunt left. She's the last one left. 

[TheOtherMe]

I have one uncle on my mom's side.  On that side, the cousins will start dying sooner as the oldest is 94 and not well.  My Grandma had her 13 children over 20 years so there is a huge age span between the oldest and youngest.

[Sharon]

Yesterday I broke down the cardboard boxes in the garage and took them to the recycling place.  We don't have recycling with our garbage service but the recycling place isn't too far so it isn't a huge inconvenience.  There are more in the shop that need to go but that will be for another day.  The glass shelves that I took down a little bit ago hadn't had any hits on FB marketplace so I tossed them and took down the ad.  A few more things gone.

[laterbloomer]

Feb 6, 2023 18:37:47 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

My aunt's service is over. It will be on YouTube sometime this evening. I have grabbed all of the photos off the internet. I won't keep all of them. It makes me said that there are so few photos of my dad's family as kids.

I also got the photos off the internet on my remaining living uncle's ship page from WWII.

My basketball team got a road sweep this weekend. I see they are ranked 25 this week, but they have beaten 3 teams ahead of them. They beat those teams for a reason.

I am the holder of family pictures from when my Mom was a kid. I have no bio kids so I don't have anyone that would really want any of them. It seems rude to toss them. I don't know what to do with them.

[snapdragon]

Feb 7, 2023 12:39:33 GMT -5 snapdragon said:

Tonight is the following -

Cut up mango that I bought for brunch - also cut up veggies for snacking

Fold and put away all clothing

Try and pick up the scattered mess in the living room.

Pull something from the freezer for dinner tomorrow.

Dinner tonight will probably be chicken tenders and onion rings so those can get out of the freezer and make things easier.

Got most done so happy about that.

Tonight is bookkeeping, picking up the LR and folding the laundry that I forgot was in the dryer.

Pulled soup for dinner the next few days.

Need to cut up veggies for snacking.

[TheOtherMe]

Feb 8, 2023 9:06:57 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

Feb 6, 2023 18:37:47 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

My aunt's service is over. It will be on YouTube sometime this evening. I have grabbed all of the photos off the internet. I won't keep all of them. It makes me said that there are so few photos of my dad's family as kids.

I also got the photos off the internet on my remaining living uncle's ship page from WWII.

I am the holder of family pictures from when my Mom was a kid. I have no bio kids so I don't have anyone that would really want any of them. It seems rude to toss them. I don't know what to do with them.

I can't toss them.  It is wrong to me.  I will take all of them I can get.  

One pamphlet of WWII veterans from my mom's extremely small town is going to the Allen County Genealogy Library at their request.  

I finally got a photo of my great uncle who died when he was a little boy because he put a piece of corn in his ear and it got infected and he died.  That story has been passed around for generations and just last week I finally got to see him.

[snapdragon]

I managed to do nothing last night as I fell asleep and took a 5+ hour nap. I am going to attempt to work on things tonight when I get home.

[Iggy aka IG]

Happy Friday, friends!

I am happy to report the water delivery company is coming to pick up their equipment in a few weeks.  The hand-me-down water dispenser was given a thorough "bath" inside and out, was plugged in and is working nicely.  The company doesn't credit for unopened water, so I'll bring a few empty bottles from home to fill up.  Also:

~Planning a Goodwill drop off next week while in the big city.  I'll check with a few neighbors to see if they have any donations.
~Also, while in the big city, I'm going to get the truck serviced, so I'll wash it first as it's filthy with mud, etc.
~Confirmed with our local Walmart they do indeed have an eyeglass donation box, so the next time I'm headed that direction, I'll try to remember to bring some of DH and my old pairs.
~Determined to clear off the computer desktop and my physical desk in preparation for upcoming days off.

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone.  

[TheOtherMe]

Since one of my favorite cousin's died yesterday, it is our generation.  All there will be is a Memorial Luncheon, which is being held at a very old and small American Legion in a town of maybe 200 people.  It's old, smelly and decrepit.  The toilet doesn't work half of the time.  The food the Auxiliary serves is terrible.  We used them for mom's funeral and it was horrible.  

So I am not going.  Surprisingly, my sister has the same horrible memories as me from mom's luncheon and she says she isn't going to attend either.

The obituary is supposed to be on the funeral home website today but it isn't there yet.

[Deleted]

Feb 10, 2023 18:21:38 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Since one of my favorite cousin's died yesterday, it is our generation.  All there will be is a Memorial Luncheon, which is being held at a very old and small American Legion in a town of maybe 200 people.  It's old, smelly and decrepit.  The toilet doesn't work half of the time.  The food the Auxiliary serves is terrible.  We used them for mom's funeral and it was horrible.  

So I am not going.  Surprisingly, my sister has the same horrible memories as me from mom's luncheon and she says she isn't going to attend either.

The obituary is supposed to be on the funeral home website today but it isn't there yet.

[laterbloomer]

Sorry for your loss TOM ❤️

I got my income tax all done but I can't submit it online until Feb 20th. I'm getting a big return this year! I want it now!!!!

[debthaven]

Thinking of you TheOtherMe .

DS1 + E left this morning to go skiing. They'll come again for a night on their way home next weekend.

DS1's friends and their son also spent last night here, so today I washed their bedding and remade the bed. (DS1 would have done it but I didn't want to wait a week.) I was thrilled to see DS1 and E, but I could have lived without the 3 guests. (They were very nice, but who wants to wash extra bedding?)

Laundry caught up now, dishwasher running. 

There's another strike next week, but I'm not supposed to be at school that day. (They're striking because the government wants to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64.)

[startsmart]

Car was scheduled to go to the mechanic Friday which was good because those squirrels ate the SAME wire as they did in January and disabled it. So frustrating! But I got the wire fixed (again), the wheel bearing and new break pads only about $200 more than expected.

Did some grocery shopping for essentials and road trip snacks, I’ll do a pickup on my way back home from the trip.

Today I have some client work to do and then it’s on to my checklist before the trip. Packing, cleaning, watering plants, etc.

[TheOtherMe]

My errands are done.

My basketball team had a very exciting win last night.  The problem is that when it's a close game, I can't calm down enough to sleep for several hours.  I was still wide awake at 3 AM.  So a nap is in order for today.

Then I have to start cleaning for the cleaning lady.

[debthaven]

This morning I helped DH do his retirement request online. He told me he did it last month. Then he got an email saying if he didn't finish it soon, his info would be deleted and he'd have to start over.

So we opened it together today ... turns out he completed step 1 out of 6. 

But now it's done! 

[TheOtherMe]

Men! 

[debthaven]

Exactly TheOtherMe. 

[debthaven]

I am VERY VERY VERY low. I have smoked like a chimney since I was in my teens. Yes, I'm That Person. I have quit before, several times, including for my pregnancies, but not only. But it never stuck. 

Against all odds, I've had three lung scans in the past 18 months that all went well. But the stress was just unimaginable. I borrowed a few Xanax from a friend to get through them.

I did my third scan two Fridays ago, I was seeing my pulmonologist the following Monday. The technician said, don't ruin your weekend, just pick up the results on Monday before your appointment with the doc. I was thrilled, until I realized he probably saw that I was dying but he didn't want to tell me.

I quit the next day, nine days ago. I knew my good luck couldn't last forever.

Amazingly I saw the pulmonologist that Monday, got my results, and against all odds, all is well!!! Now he only wants to see me in a year!!! (That's as long as I don't go back to cigarettes ... he knows I'm vaping for now. He says it's not ideal but it's definitely "less worse" than real cigarettes.)

But quitting is VERY VERY hard.

I would appreciate any good juju. I know the vast majority of you are probably disgusted with me. So be it.

But I would greatly appreciate any good thoughts. 

Thank you my friends. 

[debthaven]

I'm going about this as methodically as I go about most things. 

- I bought an electronic cigarette on vacation five years ago. I barely used it. I found it, charged it, and started using it.  
- I bought nicotine patches.
- I bought nicotine sucking candies. (Unfortunately they make me feel sick.)
- I bought new coils for that electronic cigarette.
- I bought new liquids for that electronic cigarette. 

I also plan to buy a second electronic cigarette because you can't charge them overnight, and for now, I need it constantly. 

I am EXTREMELY committed to this. 

The good news is whatever I buy, it's still much cheaper than smoking LOL. 

ETA: DH has been an absolute star!!! I wanted to buy nicotine patches the day after I quit. DH drove me around for 90 minutes until we found a pharmacy that was open on Sunday.