Okay, full disclosure here, I have lumped a WHOLE BUNCH of things in to this one idea for myself for the year and I am now completely overwhelmed.
1. Yes, I am committed to the Compact and reducing my purchasing of new items. Yes, I am staying within the guidelines as much as possible.
But I also said I would do a Freezer/Pantry challenge in which I am using up all the food in my freezer and pantry rather than buying something else to prepare for dinner. So there's that.
Then I agreed to a Savings Challenge of seeing how much I could put away in my savings account for the year. My goal is $5000. I think this is very conservative and do-able. But I haven't been accountable in that I didn't write down my starting balance and make note of each deposit. I think I need to get some of this written down so that I can track where my savings are coming from.
And on top of this! I signed up on the cleaning-decluttering daily challenge. Daily is just too much. I have not been able to commit to this. I would bet that I haven't even opened this week's daily emails due to the fact that I have been babysitting all week and this is the first time I have been on the computer since last week. So, I can't very well do the challenge when I haven't even SEEN the challenge. It's too much.
This is for my own accountability. But I will try to keep regular updates to stay on track.
Showing posts with label monthly de-cluttering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label monthly de-cluttering. Show all posts
Friday, January 26, 2018
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Recommitting to The Compact and to Decluttering
Here I am again!
I am going to post these thing separately for ease of searching them out later. 10 years ago in January of 2007 I heard about The Compact, a group of people in San Francisco who made a commitment to not buying anything new for the calendar year. I signed up on the yahoo group (there are still about 10,000 people participating in that group) and started and education. Boy, did I learn a LOT! There are so many ways to look around and find a used item or make do or borrow or barter or any number of ways to do something other than just buy a new whatever-it-is.
What goes hand in hand with not buying new things is taking really good care of your old things. Also, I found a TON of ways to do the environmental thing rather than the easy things. Such as:
*Use cloth napkins rather than buying and throwing away paper ones. I guarantee you have cloth napkins, or bandanas, or wash cloths or and old table cloth that has a hole/stain in it that you could cut up and hem and make napkins. I have not bought a single paper napkin in 10 years. I haven't bought any new cloth napkins either. I already had some and I have found some in estate sales and added to the pile. Just a few extra napkins added to a load of laundry will cost you no more in water, soap or electricity. Plus they are much nicer.
*Recycle everything that you don't compost. Buy foods with as little packaging as possible. When you buy food with no packaging you are automatically buying your food as close to its natural form as you can get it. That means you aren't buying crap for your body, either! Yay! I have been known to dig through the garbage and move things to the recycle bin or to the compost bucket.
Here's a short list of things that I throw in the compost bucket, things that no longer go in my trash:
Toilet paper cores, Paper towel cores, used tissues, shredded paper, dead plants, flowers, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, tamale husks.
Now, picture your trash can and take all those items and compost them. Then start looking for things to recycle, like oatmeal boxes, glass bottles, plastic bottles. If you get those things out of the trash, look how small your trash pile is now! It's awesome.
Anyhoo, I have back-slid quite a ways from my Compacty ways and I am now publicly making a recommitment to get back in to that. I will post here regularly (not exactly sure how often) and see what I am adding to my list.
In addition to getting Compacty, I found a decluttering challenge called JanuaryCure 2018. Go here to see what is happening with that one. I signed up for it and today's challenge is to clean out a drawer. Any drawer. Freezer drawer, desk drawer, junk drawer, dresser drawer, any drawer. Dump it out, see what you can throw away, recycle, put in its rightful place, clean the drawer inside and then neatly put in the contents that need to live there. I will be doing that here in just a bit as soon as I select which of my cluttered drawers deserves the honor of being the first one decluttered!
Let me know if you are interested in either getting Compacty in your ways or in decluttering your way through 2018. I would love to hear from you.
I am going to post these thing separately for ease of searching them out later. 10 years ago in January of 2007 I heard about The Compact, a group of people in San Francisco who made a commitment to not buying anything new for the calendar year. I signed up on the yahoo group (there are still about 10,000 people participating in that group) and started and education. Boy, did I learn a LOT! There are so many ways to look around and find a used item or make do or borrow or barter or any number of ways to do something other than just buy a new whatever-it-is.
What goes hand in hand with not buying new things is taking really good care of your old things. Also, I found a TON of ways to do the environmental thing rather than the easy things. Such as:
*Use cloth napkins rather than buying and throwing away paper ones. I guarantee you have cloth napkins, or bandanas, or wash cloths or and old table cloth that has a hole/stain in it that you could cut up and hem and make napkins. I have not bought a single paper napkin in 10 years. I haven't bought any new cloth napkins either. I already had some and I have found some in estate sales and added to the pile. Just a few extra napkins added to a load of laundry will cost you no more in water, soap or electricity. Plus they are much nicer.
*Recycle everything that you don't compost. Buy foods with as little packaging as possible. When you buy food with no packaging you are automatically buying your food as close to its natural form as you can get it. That means you aren't buying crap for your body, either! Yay! I have been known to dig through the garbage and move things to the recycle bin or to the compost bucket.
Here's a short list of things that I throw in the compost bucket, things that no longer go in my trash:
Toilet paper cores, Paper towel cores, used tissues, shredded paper, dead plants, flowers, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, tamale husks.
Now, picture your trash can and take all those items and compost them. Then start looking for things to recycle, like oatmeal boxes, glass bottles, plastic bottles. If you get those things out of the trash, look how small your trash pile is now! It's awesome.
Anyhoo, I have back-slid quite a ways from my Compacty ways and I am now publicly making a recommitment to get back in to that. I will post here regularly (not exactly sure how often) and see what I am adding to my list.
In addition to getting Compacty, I found a decluttering challenge called JanuaryCure 2018. Go here to see what is happening with that one. I signed up for it and today's challenge is to clean out a drawer. Any drawer. Freezer drawer, desk drawer, junk drawer, dresser drawer, any drawer. Dump it out, see what you can throw away, recycle, put in its rightful place, clean the drawer inside and then neatly put in the contents that need to live there. I will be doing that here in just a bit as soon as I select which of my cluttered drawers deserves the honor of being the first one decluttered!
Let me know if you are interested in either getting Compacty in your ways or in decluttering your way through 2018. I would love to hear from you.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Update on the new eyeglasses and a few other things
Did you look at the pretty frames I posted the other day? Well, I got in to see my eye doctor and the new and improved lenses will be ready to go soon. However, one of the new frames did not work for me. Yes, it is sad to say that the Frida Kahlo frames will not be mine. They did NOT look good on me. My daughter is coming to visit and I will offer them to her if she wants them and if they look good on her face. If not? Well, I will either offer them up to someone else or ask the seller if I can return them. They are lovely and need to be worn.
Other random thoughts running through my head:
1. When you have little kids and you can't go to the bathroom by yourself, they eventually outgrow that nonsense and give you some space. When you have cats? Not so much. This morning I had 2 in there with me and one at the door. They are like little 2 year olds with OCD.
2. I am still sick. I believe I am on the mend, but I am still sick. And every time I go to a doctor they all ask "Are you depressed?" Well, let me think. I have been sick since April 1 and before that I had sciatica and couldn't walk and before that was the frozen shoulder. What do you think?
3. I know summer is the worst time to try and watch anything on t.v. because it's usually a wasteland of crap and reruns. In case you haven't seen any of these great summer shows, here are a few I highly recommend: The Jim Gaffigan Show. It's on Nickelodeon or TVLand. Also the FX channel has 2 great new shows, Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll starring Denis Leary and John Corbett, and also one called Married. These are outstanding t.v. Look for them. The upcoming fall season is going to include The Bastard Executioner whick I am really looking forward to and what appears to be the final season of The League.
4. I am still doing the mostly all meat-free, dairy-free and gluten-free. I say mostly because I have eaten a bit of meat here and there. Maybe once a week. But no dairy and almost no gluten. I went to an Indian restaurant and of course I had a small naan and one of the golub jammun for dessert. The naan was totally worth it and the golub jammun was not. It was not as good as I am used to and was a total waste of calories and gluten. So far, I am still with the sinus congestion and still coughing. I have lost 1 pants size so there's that!
5. I am almost completely off the caffeine, too. I dropped my black teas months ago and drink a cup of green tea in the morning and then switch to red tea (rooibos) and herbal teas after that. AND NO SUGAR!!!
6. I have been starting the Kon-Mari method of tidying up and decluttering my life. I love her philosophy. Here's the book in case you haven't seen it yet.
And that picture is almost life-size. The book is tiny. Everything in your life, your house, etc. should spark joy and bring happiness and be useful. If not, thank it, and release it.
Have a great long Labor Day weekend!
Other random thoughts running through my head:
1. When you have little kids and you can't go to the bathroom by yourself, they eventually outgrow that nonsense and give you some space. When you have cats? Not so much. This morning I had 2 in there with me and one at the door. They are like little 2 year olds with OCD.
2. I am still sick. I believe I am on the mend, but I am still sick. And every time I go to a doctor they all ask "Are you depressed?" Well, let me think. I have been sick since April 1 and before that I had sciatica and couldn't walk and before that was the frozen shoulder. What do you think?
3. I know summer is the worst time to try and watch anything on t.v. because it's usually a wasteland of crap and reruns. In case you haven't seen any of these great summer shows, here are a few I highly recommend: The Jim Gaffigan Show. It's on Nickelodeon or TVLand. Also the FX channel has 2 great new shows, Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll starring Denis Leary and John Corbett, and also one called Married. These are outstanding t.v. Look for them. The upcoming fall season is going to include The Bastard Executioner whick I am really looking forward to and what appears to be the final season of The League.
4. I am still doing the mostly all meat-free, dairy-free and gluten-free. I say mostly because I have eaten a bit of meat here and there. Maybe once a week. But no dairy and almost no gluten. I went to an Indian restaurant and of course I had a small naan and one of the golub jammun for dessert. The naan was totally worth it and the golub jammun was not. It was not as good as I am used to and was a total waste of calories and gluten. So far, I am still with the sinus congestion and still coughing. I have lost 1 pants size so there's that!
5. I am almost completely off the caffeine, too. I dropped my black teas months ago and drink a cup of green tea in the morning and then switch to red tea (rooibos) and herbal teas after that. AND NO SUGAR!!!
6. I have been starting the Kon-Mari method of tidying up and decluttering my life. I love her philosophy. Here's the book in case you haven't seen it yet.
And that picture is almost life-size. The book is tiny. Everything in your life, your house, etc. should spark joy and bring happiness and be useful. If not, thank it, and release it.
Have a great long Labor Day weekend!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Ash Wednesday
It is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten Season. 40 days or so leading up to Easter. It is traditional in different faiths to observe this time by giving up something, doing without, or just being extra mindful of what you have and how you can improve yourself.
In the last few years I have taken to cutting back on preparing one dinner a week and with the supposed savings I make little brown bags of things for the homeless. I put little affirmations in them and a piece of fruit, a bottle of water, crackers, granola bars and a wet-nap. That kind of thing. I found some little toothpaste samples I am going to put in bags till I run out.
I will do this again this year. I always have fun putting them together and carry around 5 bags with me every time I leave the house. They get really good responses from the recipients too.
I learned about a blog challenge called 40 bags in 40 days that lots of bloggers are going to participate in and put weekly updates on their blogs. It looks great. I think I might start it as well. Check it out and see what you think.
For me Lent is about stretching and expanding my spiritual self, finding new ways to put myself out there for my fellow man, not about "oh can I live without chocolate or chips for 40 days". Of course I can. But I want it to be about adding a new habit to my life that is meaningful.
How will you acknowledge the Lenten season? If you aren't Christian, would you consider using these 40 days as a time to look inward and start some type of meditation or even doing the 40 bags and de-cluttering your house?
In the last few years I have taken to cutting back on preparing one dinner a week and with the supposed savings I make little brown bags of things for the homeless. I put little affirmations in them and a piece of fruit, a bottle of water, crackers, granola bars and a wet-nap. That kind of thing. I found some little toothpaste samples I am going to put in bags till I run out.
I will do this again this year. I always have fun putting them together and carry around 5 bags with me every time I leave the house. They get really good responses from the recipients too.
I learned about a blog challenge called 40 bags in 40 days that lots of bloggers are going to participate in and put weekly updates on their blogs. It looks great. I think I might start it as well. Check it out and see what you think.
For me Lent is about stretching and expanding my spiritual self, finding new ways to put myself out there for my fellow man, not about "oh can I live without chocolate or chips for 40 days". Of course I can. But I want it to be about adding a new habit to my life that is meaningful.
How will you acknowledge the Lenten season? If you aren't Christian, would you consider using these 40 days as a time to look inward and start some type of meditation or even doing the 40 bags and de-cluttering your house?
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Mid-week stuff
It's the first Wednesday of the new year. I haven't listed my resolutions yet. Pretty much it's going to be the same ones as last year, only this year I will try to remember all of them!
1. I will still be shooting for $20,000 in my savings acct.
2. I will make all my Christmas gifts and I WILL start much earlier this year.
3. I will take charge of my health and doing what I can to get this arthritis thing under control.
4. I will increase my activities of lightening my global footprint. Which is at 3.5 right now. I can't believe it is so high! Most all of that is due to living in a hot climate and having to use a/c all the time and what isn't attributed to that, goes to driving a car. I just do not live in the right place.
I didn't do the obits last week or this past Sunday either. So I will just give you the highlights of this week:
"Maria Elena found peace with the Lord on Dec. 24"
"In memory of our late father, Pledger Bracket, please help save minds by donating to the Alzheimer's Assoc."
"Katheryn Gaynelle age 89, fell asleep in death due to complications of Alzheimer's disease".
"Howard E. (Bubba), age 67, passed away"
One guy "passed into God's hands" while another man "slipped into the Lord's hands".
But my favorite was this:
"George Eugene lived joyfully with his beloved wife of 67 years."
Living joyfully with your beloved sounds like just the kind of legacy I would like to leave behind.
. . . . . . . . and without further ado . . . . . . . . . . .
The very first winner of a free bag of tea is . . . . . .
Sarah with an H, as opposed to other Sara's without H's, please shoot me an email with a mailing address and I will send you a lovely bag of tea.
Next month we will do the same thing. So make sure you are here during the first week of the month if you want to get in on this excitement. 'Cause what is more exciting than free stuff?!!
On to other news, did any of you watch the first episode of the new season of Biggest Loser last night? I did not understand this at all. But if I were Bob or Jillian I would be dusting off my resume'. This does not bode well for either of them. Yes, I have seen the gossip reports that Jillian will be leaving after this season. But Bob? What about Bob? And still after the 2 hour long opener we have not seen the faces or names of the "Unknowns" as they are calling the new trainers. Very strange.
Have a great day!
And Sarah, let me hear from you.
1. I will still be shooting for $20,000 in my savings acct.
2. I will make all my Christmas gifts and I WILL start much earlier this year.
3. I will take charge of my health and doing what I can to get this arthritis thing under control.
4. I will increase my activities of lightening my global footprint. Which is at 3.5 right now. I can't believe it is so high! Most all of that is due to living in a hot climate and having to use a/c all the time and what isn't attributed to that, goes to driving a car. I just do not live in the right place.
I didn't do the obits last week or this past Sunday either. So I will just give you the highlights of this week:
"Maria Elena found peace with the Lord on Dec. 24"
"In memory of our late father, Pledger Bracket, please help save minds by donating to the Alzheimer's Assoc."
"Katheryn Gaynelle age 89, fell asleep in death due to complications of Alzheimer's disease".
"Howard E. (Bubba), age 67, passed away"
One guy "passed into God's hands" while another man "slipped into the Lord's hands".
But my favorite was this:
"George Eugene lived joyfully with his beloved wife of 67 years."
Living joyfully with your beloved sounds like just the kind of legacy I would like to leave behind.
. . . . . . . . and without further ado . . . . . . . . . . .
The very first winner of a free bag of tea is . . . . . .
Sarah!
Sarah with an H, as opposed to other Sara's without H's, please shoot me an email with a mailing address and I will send you a lovely bag of tea.
Next month we will do the same thing. So make sure you are here during the first week of the month if you want to get in on this excitement. 'Cause what is more exciting than free stuff?!!
On to other news, did any of you watch the first episode of the new season of Biggest Loser last night? I did not understand this at all. But if I were Bob or Jillian I would be dusting off my resume'. This does not bode well for either of them. Yes, I have seen the gossip reports that Jillian will be leaving after this season. But Bob? What about Bob? And still after the 2 hour long opener we have not seen the faces or names of the "Unknowns" as they are calling the new trainers. Very strange.
Have a great day!
And Sarah, let me hear from you.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
75%
Since the year is 3/4 done and over with I thought I might recap some of the things (cough, resolutions, cough) that I promised I was going to fulfill. So an update on what is happening here in Chez Lisa Pie is in order!
1. Remember those silly one room a month getting cleaned out, organized, repairs made, etc.? Didn't make it past month 3 or 4. That engine lost its steam. Turns out it takes waaaaay longer than a month to do the stuff I want to do. It takes a month just to find people who will come over and give you a bid, and then even longer to schedule you in, and finally come over and actually do things. Maybe if I was just doing general pick up and organize, rather than repaint, remodel, etc? I don't know. Anyhoo, this never materialized into what I wanted. I need a better plan of attack for next year.
2. Do you further remember that my goal was to put $20,000 in my savings acct. this year? I am sorry to say this is not happening either! 3 cars worth of repairs, new parts of various kinds all got billed to my savings account. And then there was the whole Fergus going to 2 different emergency vets and transfusions and 4 days of intensive care. This was quickly followed up by the Pet Resort bill while we were on the cruise and then by Maxwell Banks and his bladder stone debaucle. All of these things have added up to more than $11,000. So, no dice on the extra $20,000. This one really pisses me off. I really was trying to achieve this goal. And if I hadn't been, where would the $11,000 have come from?
3. Tea Hoarding. I said it again. It has been 18 months that I have been talking about the stupid tea hoarding in this house. 2009 was the year that I bought no tea. None. There was plenty of tea already, and it was my challenge to bring that shelf space down. A year later, there was not a great change visually. I think the tea canisters, boxes and such spread out to fill the space. Plus, my son's girl friend moved in with us this year and she works at a very famous coffee establishment and brings home tea. And if I am being truthful, I will tell you that I have only bought teas that I consider medicinal this year. The regular other teas? There are still too damn many of them.
4. As long as I am confessing all, I am going to tell you that the Tea Hoarding doesn't seem to limit itself to teas. There are coffees, spiced tea mixes, juices, hot chocolate mixes and various other beverages that never seem to dwindle. It's depressing in the pantry, is what it is.
5. By now I should have already made my Christmas gift list and completed a lot if not all of the gift making. And guess what? I haven't done that! Other than taking the summer off and galavanting all over creation for the month of August, I can't recall why I have been so busy that I haven't taken care of all these things. I guess it is now going to be Plan B for Christmas. (No, I don't really have a Plan B, but I am thinking as fast as I can!) Suggestions welcome.
6. I am leaving in a day or so to go stay with my Grandma and see how things are going for her. Our hope is that she will be able to continue living on her own and maintain her health. If it is obvious that we have passed that stage, it will mean that we have to find a nursing home type facility that she will agree to and then get her moved out of her current place and into the new one. And you know that will mean cleaning, sorting and selling off a bunch of things. It won't be pretty. Let's all say a prayer that Grandma's situation is such that she can keep her independence a while longer. She really wants this.
I will be taking a laptop with me to check in and to send updates to my sisters on how things are going. But I would be surprised if there is a wireless connection in her building so my postings may be sporadic. Don't give up and leave me! I will be here when I can.
Also, I have a great idea for what I am posting tomorrow, so hurry back to scope it out!
1. Remember those silly one room a month getting cleaned out, organized, repairs made, etc.? Didn't make it past month 3 or 4. That engine lost its steam. Turns out it takes waaaaay longer than a month to do the stuff I want to do. It takes a month just to find people who will come over and give you a bid, and then even longer to schedule you in, and finally come over and actually do things. Maybe if I was just doing general pick up and organize, rather than repaint, remodel, etc? I don't know. Anyhoo, this never materialized into what I wanted. I need a better plan of attack for next year.
2. Do you further remember that my goal was to put $20,000 in my savings acct. this year? I am sorry to say this is not happening either! 3 cars worth of repairs, new parts of various kinds all got billed to my savings account. And then there was the whole Fergus going to 2 different emergency vets and transfusions and 4 days of intensive care. This was quickly followed up by the Pet Resort bill while we were on the cruise and then by Maxwell Banks and his bladder stone debaucle. All of these things have added up to more than $11,000. So, no dice on the extra $20,000. This one really pisses me off. I really was trying to achieve this goal. And if I hadn't been, where would the $11,000 have come from?
3. Tea Hoarding. I said it again. It has been 18 months that I have been talking about the stupid tea hoarding in this house. 2009 was the year that I bought no tea. None. There was plenty of tea already, and it was my challenge to bring that shelf space down. A year later, there was not a great change visually. I think the tea canisters, boxes and such spread out to fill the space. Plus, my son's girl friend moved in with us this year and she works at a very famous coffee establishment and brings home tea. And if I am being truthful, I will tell you that I have only bought teas that I consider medicinal this year. The regular other teas? There are still too damn many of them.
4. As long as I am confessing all, I am going to tell you that the Tea Hoarding doesn't seem to limit itself to teas. There are coffees, spiced tea mixes, juices, hot chocolate mixes and various other beverages that never seem to dwindle. It's depressing in the pantry, is what it is.
5. By now I should have already made my Christmas gift list and completed a lot if not all of the gift making. And guess what? I haven't done that! Other than taking the summer off and galavanting all over creation for the month of August, I can't recall why I have been so busy that I haven't taken care of all these things. I guess it is now going to be Plan B for Christmas. (No, I don't really have a Plan B, but I am thinking as fast as I can!) Suggestions welcome.
6. I am leaving in a day or so to go stay with my Grandma and see how things are going for her. Our hope is that she will be able to continue living on her own and maintain her health. If it is obvious that we have passed that stage, it will mean that we have to find a nursing home type facility that she will agree to and then get her moved out of her current place and into the new one. And you know that will mean cleaning, sorting and selling off a bunch of things. It won't be pretty. Let's all say a prayer that Grandma's situation is such that she can keep her independence a while longer. She really wants this.
I will be taking a laptop with me to check in and to send updates to my sisters on how things are going. But I would be surprised if there is a wireless connection in her building so my postings may be sporadic. Don't give up and leave me! I will be here when I can.
Also, I have a great idea for what I am posting tomorrow, so hurry back to scope it out!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Monthly De-cluttering, remember?
Does anyone remember that I had this great plan to completely clean out and de-clutter one room a month? I did pretty good for the first few months and then I got sidetracked. I swear I am as bad as that dog Doug on UP who seems to be paying attention and then whips his head around and yells SQUIRREL.
That's not to say things aren't getting done. Things are definitely getting done. Just not necessarily one room at a time. I keep finding myself doing that stupid time-wasting thing where you start in one room and then take something to another room to put away and get side-tracked in that room which then leads to another project and next thing you know . . . The whole day has gone and you have stirred up projects in 5 different areas.
Mr. Big Ed's office was the first room I started on and I got rid of books and cleaned out shelves and organized crap. I have one more thing to do in there and I don't know how to get started. Maybe you have some advice for me? Here is the background on this project: This house was built around 1977 and we bought it from the original homeowner. Oh, it was so modern and cool and had all the coolest gadgets from back in the day. Some still work, like the central vac system that I love, and some were totally out-dated and crappy back in the '80s. On to my project!! In this office there is a set of speaker wires that lead to the big family room where there are speakers on the wall and also out to the sunroom/Florida room where there are speakers in the ceiling. I want to know if those speakers work. I don't really know what kind of equipment I need to bring in here and hook those wires up to, so that I can check it and then oh I don't know, USE THE DAMN SPEAKERS!
Maybe these are too old and can't be connected to anything that is currently made? I don't know. I have searched and searched online and here is a photo of what the end connecting thing looks like.
See how the center prong sticks straight out? and the surrounding area is in 4 separate little pieces. This is what these things in the office look like. I have no clue what that thing is in the picture behind the cord, but it sure looks antique-y doesn't it?
So if you have advice or information on how I go about figuring this out, please let me know.
That's not to say things aren't getting done. Things are definitely getting done. Just not necessarily one room at a time. I keep finding myself doing that stupid time-wasting thing where you start in one room and then take something to another room to put away and get side-tracked in that room which then leads to another project and next thing you know . . . The whole day has gone and you have stirred up projects in 5 different areas.
Mr. Big Ed's office was the first room I started on and I got rid of books and cleaned out shelves and organized crap. I have one more thing to do in there and I don't know how to get started. Maybe you have some advice for me? Here is the background on this project: This house was built around 1977 and we bought it from the original homeowner. Oh, it was so modern and cool and had all the coolest gadgets from back in the day. Some still work, like the central vac system that I love, and some were totally out-dated and crappy back in the '80s. On to my project!! In this office there is a set of speaker wires that lead to the big family room where there are speakers on the wall and also out to the sunroom/Florida room where there are speakers in the ceiling. I want to know if those speakers work. I don't really know what kind of equipment I need to bring in here and hook those wires up to, so that I can check it and then oh I don't know, USE THE DAMN SPEAKERS!
Maybe these are too old and can't be connected to anything that is currently made? I don't know. I have searched and searched online and here is a photo of what the end connecting thing looks like.
See how the center prong sticks straight out? and the surrounding area is in 4 separate little pieces. This is what these things in the office look like. I have no clue what that thing is in the picture behind the cord, but it sure looks antique-y doesn't it?
So if you have advice or information on how I go about figuring this out, please let me know.
Monday, April 26, 2010
De-cluttering
Our city management has on-going brush and large item pick-ups. Every neighborhood has 2 scheduled times a year that you can throw out anything your little heart desires to be rid of, and this is ours! Yea!!!
When we bought this house it was from the original homeowner who drew up the plans and had it built. It was in 1977 according to all the custom made cornice boards that were atop each and every window in this house. For those of you who don't know this, 1977 was a big year for gold and avocado green. Guess what color all those cornice boards were? Different shades of gold and avocado green, that's what!!
So back 5 years ago when we bought this house and we were re-doing things, painting, re-texturing walls, ripping up the 30 year old avocado green shag carpet, etc. I had the crew put all the cornice boards into the garage thinking that I would have them recovered and put up with the new draperies. Five years later I still haven't put them up! I am leaning another way on the whole window treatment thing and the cornice boards were just not part of the new plan. So, out they went!
We cleaned and organized, and purged, and even mopped the garage floor. We organized what was leaving, what is going to a thrift store as donations, and what is moving to one room from another. We worked hard, is what I am sayin'.
I found things that I thought were gone forever. I found projects that I hope I will finish in my lifetime. Otherwise my kids will be stuck having to toss them and feeling guilty about tossing some of my treasures.
This is one of my main catalysts for purging; that my kids not hate me when they have to go through all this shit when I die. Or pass away. Or go to be with the Lord. Or whatever euphemism they use in my obituary. Have you seen the kids of the hoarders on those t.v. shows? They are miserable. They have real resentment for their parent and the fact that they chose piles o'crap over a quality relationship with their kids and grandkids.
My other reason is that I am finding that I feel lighter, free-er, and generally not as weighted down by all the possessions. I find that instead of adding to the quality of my life, they are now just a burden, something I have to clean, something I have to keep on my inventory list. Do y'all have inventory lists? I started doing inventory when we were moving every couple of years to different countries. They all require a complete inventory of your household goods that you are bringing in and out. What a job that used to be! Now there are programs that are soooooo helpful! It will sort by room or by type of item or by $$ amounts, whatever you want. Every few months I have to go in and update the inventory and it really keeps me aware of what we have. What items are important enough to keep in your house, keep taking care of, and keep on your inventory lists? What items can you let go of? Better yet, how much better and unencumbered will you feel if you get rid of a bunch of junk?
When your possessions stop bringing joy to you and become just another thing to pick up and dust and hope the cats don't knock it off and break it, that for me is when they become "junk". That is when they need to be set free and become a new treasure to someone else. I have released all sorts of treasures this weekend! Woot!!
Oh, and you know what's funny? Everyone, including me, has always thought that 99.9% of the clutter, and junk in our possession is mine. It is all me. I am the one who can't let go. No one else takes any blame for the piles o'crap. And my son pointed out after we caught Mr. Big Ed going through the throw-away piles THREE DIFFERENT TIMES that it might not all be my fault! Love it. It is funny how my stuff is treasures and his stuff is crap. And vice-versa. : )
One more thing: anyone remember the Tea Hoarding Challenge of 2009? Well, I made it through and did really well and was well into the stash when 2010 rolled around. And you know what happened? I started buying more tea, that's what happened. And the shelves are just as full as they were beforehand. So I am issuing myself another Tea Hoarding Challenge. NO NEW TEAS!
Here's the fine print on the Challenge: If it is chamomile, sleepy time or joint comfort teas, things that are medicinal and for health and for others; they can come in the house. If it is just a new and fabulous flavor of tea. Nope. I am going to work through the millions of teas here and that is that.
Wish me luck on my continual growth and releasing of items. And most importantly the releasing of the need for items.
When we bought this house it was from the original homeowner who drew up the plans and had it built. It was in 1977 according to all the custom made cornice boards that were atop each and every window in this house. For those of you who don't know this, 1977 was a big year for gold and avocado green. Guess what color all those cornice boards were? Different shades of gold and avocado green, that's what!!
So back 5 years ago when we bought this house and we were re-doing things, painting, re-texturing walls, ripping up the 30 year old avocado green shag carpet, etc. I had the crew put all the cornice boards into the garage thinking that I would have them recovered and put up with the new draperies. Five years later I still haven't put them up! I am leaning another way on the whole window treatment thing and the cornice boards were just not part of the new plan. So, out they went!
We cleaned and organized, and purged, and even mopped the garage floor. We organized what was leaving, what is going to a thrift store as donations, and what is moving to one room from another. We worked hard, is what I am sayin'.
I found things that I thought were gone forever. I found projects that I hope I will finish in my lifetime. Otherwise my kids will be stuck having to toss them and feeling guilty about tossing some of my treasures.
This is one of my main catalysts for purging; that my kids not hate me when they have to go through all this shit when I die. Or pass away. Or go to be with the Lord. Or whatever euphemism they use in my obituary. Have you seen the kids of the hoarders on those t.v. shows? They are miserable. They have real resentment for their parent and the fact that they chose piles o'crap over a quality relationship with their kids and grandkids.
My other reason is that I am finding that I feel lighter, free-er, and generally not as weighted down by all the possessions. I find that instead of adding to the quality of my life, they are now just a burden, something I have to clean, something I have to keep on my inventory list. Do y'all have inventory lists? I started doing inventory when we were moving every couple of years to different countries. They all require a complete inventory of your household goods that you are bringing in and out. What a job that used to be! Now there are programs that are soooooo helpful! It will sort by room or by type of item or by $$ amounts, whatever you want. Every few months I have to go in and update the inventory and it really keeps me aware of what we have. What items are important enough to keep in your house, keep taking care of, and keep on your inventory lists? What items can you let go of? Better yet, how much better and unencumbered will you feel if you get rid of a bunch of junk?
When your possessions stop bringing joy to you and become just another thing to pick up and dust and hope the cats don't knock it off and break it, that for me is when they become "junk". That is when they need to be set free and become a new treasure to someone else. I have released all sorts of treasures this weekend! Woot!!
Oh, and you know what's funny? Everyone, including me, has always thought that 99.9% of the clutter, and junk in our possession is mine. It is all me. I am the one who can't let go. No one else takes any blame for the piles o'crap. And my son pointed out after we caught Mr. Big Ed going through the throw-away piles THREE DIFFERENT TIMES that it might not all be my fault! Love it. It is funny how my stuff is treasures and his stuff is crap. And vice-versa. : )
One more thing: anyone remember the Tea Hoarding Challenge of 2009? Well, I made it through and did really well and was well into the stash when 2010 rolled around. And you know what happened? I started buying more tea, that's what happened. And the shelves are just as full as they were beforehand. So I am issuing myself another Tea Hoarding Challenge. NO NEW TEAS!
Here's the fine print on the Challenge: If it is chamomile, sleepy time or joint comfort teas, things that are medicinal and for health and for others; they can come in the house. If it is just a new and fabulous flavor of tea. Nope. I am going to work through the millions of teas here and that is that.
Wish me luck on my continual growth and releasing of items. And most importantly the releasing of the need for items.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Feb. Monthly Decluttering
February is supposed to be the month for de-cluttering the Living/Dining Rooms. I lumped them in together because they are rather attached and go together. And it has been suggested that I do a bunch of Before Photos and then After the Decluttering Photos. So here goes the Before shots:
This is from the foyer looking at the doors that lead to the living/dining rooms. When we moved into this house there were no doors here, just a big framed-out doorway. After you got into the living room there were doors to the dining room. These two rooms are similar in size and it just never made sense to me why there were doors closing off the dining room. And get this? Those were the ugliest flipping doors you ever saw! Uggggg- lllllly is what they were. My friend Norma took them and her husband put at least one of them in her laundry room. That's how ugly they were. One night I woke up in the middle of the night dreaming that I had put gorgeous stained glass doors in the entryway to the living dining room area and made it more of a combo room set. So then I set about learning about stained glass, patterns and textures as well as colors. It took me well over a year to design a pattern and then work with the glass guy on colors and textures. It is a fascinating process and would really be a great hobby. The tree trunk thing on the right of the doors is a great art piece I picked up in an antique shop in Puebla, Mexico. It really is a tree trunk and has carvings all around it representing Adam, Eve, the apple, the snake, the tree and the angel who is telling them to get the hell out of Dodge. I love it! I turn it all the time so that each part of it gets equal representation.
On the left of the doors is my Greenling delivery tub. They come and deliver fresh, local, organic goodies each Wednesday and pick up the empty tubs from the previous week's delivery. Love Greenling!!
Here are a couple shots of the inside of the living room. Notice the bookshelves? I go through these all the time trying to organize them by subject matter. In front of that is one of a set of three antique chairs that belonged to my Great-Aunt Bea. This one still has the old original upholstery. This will be changed soon. Next to that is my antique sofa and our prize possession. The painting by Loretto Sanhueso. We have 2 of her paintings and I wish a photo would do it justice. It is exquisite.
This is from the foyer looking at the doors that lead to the living/dining rooms. When we moved into this house there were no doors here, just a big framed-out doorway. After you got into the living room there were doors to the dining room. These two rooms are similar in size and it just never made sense to me why there were doors closing off the dining room. And get this? Those were the ugliest flipping doors you ever saw! Uggggg- lllllly is what they were. My friend Norma took them and her husband put at least one of them in her laundry room. That's how ugly they were. One night I woke up in the middle of the night dreaming that I had put gorgeous stained glass doors in the entryway to the living dining room area and made it more of a combo room set. So then I set about learning about stained glass, patterns and textures as well as colors. It took me well over a year to design a pattern and then work with the glass guy on colors and textures. It is a fascinating process and would really be a great hobby. The tree trunk thing on the right of the doors is a great art piece I picked up in an antique shop in Puebla, Mexico. It really is a tree trunk and has carvings all around it representing Adam, Eve, the apple, the snake, the tree and the angel who is telling them to get the hell out of Dodge. I love it! I turn it all the time so that each part of it gets equal representation.
On the left of the doors is my Greenling delivery tub. They come and deliver fresh, local, organic goodies each Wednesday and pick up the empty tubs from the previous week's delivery. Love Greenling!!
Here are a couple shots of the inside of the living room. Notice the bookshelves? I go through these all the time trying to organize them by subject matter. In front of that is one of a set of three antique chairs that belonged to my Great-Aunt Bea. This one still has the old original upholstery. This will be changed soon. Next to that is my antique sofa and our prize possession. The painting by Loretto Sanhueso. We have 2 of her paintings and I wish a photo would do it justice. It is exquisite.
These are some shots of different sides of the dining room. The first one is straight on coming in from the living room. Then the lovely look at my block captain map for the neighborhood HOA. I should really find another place to keep that, instead of next to the little wine cooler thing. Then there is a pic of the buffet all cluttered up with San Pellegrino water and glasses. What is hiding behind all that Italian water is my antique Desert Rose stuff that my Grandma gave me. I think it looks exceptionally good against my beautiful green tea ice cream colored walls, don't you?
Ok, I tried and tried to move these last ones around so that they make sense. But nope, not happening for me today. These are the coordinating rugs we have in the living and dining rooms. The top photo shows you the distance between said rugs. The middle one is the living room and then finally the dining room rug. We love these rugs because they are not traditional oriental rug colors, they work so well with each other and are each beautiful in their own right.
What my goals are for these rooms is to:
1. Reupholster the 3 little chairs from my Aunt Bea
2. Reupholster the dining room chairs
3. Drapes or window treatments of some kind and get rid of the shitty 1970's mini blinds that I hate.
4. Touch up paint where necessary
5. Keep looking for just the perfect coffee/cocktail table for the living room.
6. Continue to fine-tune the bookshelves
I have just taken my breakfast room chairs into the antique refinisher guy and then they will go to the unholstery guy. As soon as I get done paying for those he finishes with those I hope to have some fabric selected and take the living/dining room chairs in to the upholstery dude.
If you think of something I can do with the windows in those rooms, please let me know. I am open to all suggestions. Other than shitty 1970's mini blinds!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Making something out of nothing
I am trying to hurry and get all the office cleaning and organizing done that I can in the month of Jan. So I brought in the step ladder that lives in my pantry and got up eye-level with the top shelves and started working my way down.
Oh, sorry about the before pics! I had already cleared 65 cookbooks off the shelves BEFORE I got the great idea to continue with the office for the last 12 days of Jan. So I felt like any pics I took would not truly be "before" photos but more like "in the midst" pics. I swear I will do good pictorials of the next month's room.
Back to the shelves and what I found on them. Mr. Big Ed keeps saying that all that stuff on the shelves is mine. Mine. In his office. But they are all mine. Mr. Big Ed is a big fat liar, is what he is. This office has one wall that is all built-ins. Cabinets below and shelves above. 4 shelves wide with 5 shelves high on each. They are about a yard each so that makes it about 4 yards across in total. That's pretty frigging wide.
The far right ones are the ones that contain cookbooks. They were completely jam-packed and now there is breathing space. I am happy with them. If you were keeping count at all that leaves 15 more shelves and I just counted 10 books that are mine. 10 books out of 15 YARDS of shelf space. I rest my case, gentlemen of the jury. Is Mr. Big Ed a big fat liar or what?
Oh, and back to the reason for this post. I found a thin paperback journal that was from when I was pregnant with Jonathon. Which I had done a piss-poor job of filling in. It's one of those pre-printed "I felt this way, and the person I admire most is _____" kind of things. And first I put it in the throw away pile, but then after I got down off the ladder I decided to look at it and see what my 25 year old self had filled in. Not much, that's what. But I did find some great fill-in-the-blank pages towards the back for moms and dads to use to think about the birth and how things went. So instead of trashcanning this book I am going to scan and print up copies of these pages for my clients. Instead of rubbish it is now a resource!! I am loving this!
Oh, sorry about the before pics! I had already cleared 65 cookbooks off the shelves BEFORE I got the great idea to continue with the office for the last 12 days of Jan. So I felt like any pics I took would not truly be "before" photos but more like "in the midst" pics. I swear I will do good pictorials of the next month's room.
Back to the shelves and what I found on them. Mr. Big Ed keeps saying that all that stuff on the shelves is mine. Mine. In his office. But they are all mine. Mr. Big Ed is a big fat liar, is what he is. This office has one wall that is all built-ins. Cabinets below and shelves above. 4 shelves wide with 5 shelves high on each. They are about a yard each so that makes it about 4 yards across in total. That's pretty frigging wide.
The far right ones are the ones that contain cookbooks. They were completely jam-packed and now there is breathing space. I am happy with them. If you were keeping count at all that leaves 15 more shelves and I just counted 10 books that are mine. 10 books out of 15 YARDS of shelf space. I rest my case, gentlemen of the jury. Is Mr. Big Ed a big fat liar or what?
Oh, and back to the reason for this post. I found a thin paperback journal that was from when I was pregnant with Jonathon. Which I had done a piss-poor job of filling in. It's one of those pre-printed "I felt this way, and the person I admire most is _____" kind of things. And first I put it in the throw away pile, but then after I got down off the ladder I decided to look at it and see what my 25 year old self had filled in. Not much, that's what. But I did find some great fill-in-the-blank pages towards the back for moms and dads to use to think about the birth and how things went. So instead of trashcanning this book I am going to scan and print up copies of these pages for my clients. Instead of rubbish it is now a resource!! I am loving this!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Cleaning, Anti-Hoarding & General Stuff
I have been bitten by the "get rid of excess crap" bug. Call it Spring Cleaning or what-have-you, I am ready to pitch stuff. There have been times when I have worried about stuff going to a good home, whatever that means, but now? Not so much.
Here is the plan: With many apologies ahead of time to whoever I stole this idea from, because I don't remember where I got it! I will concentrate on one area each month. I have written up a list of each room/area and assigned it a month. During that month this area will get cleaned up, cleaned out, paint touched up, anything that needs fixing will get fixed, anything that needs replacing will be replaced. I think this is very do-able.
There are 2 weeks left in January and since I have already removed 65 cookbooks from the shelves here in the office, I will continue in the office for the rest of the month. We have a HUGE box we are filling up with cds, books, and movies to go to the Half-Price Book Store. It will be nice to have money coming IN from that place instead of always going OUT! : )
January - Office
Feb. - Living/Dining Rooms
Mar. - Family Room/Bar/ Closet
That's the order for this quarter. The garage will be done in the month we have our semi-annual brush and large item pick-up. The city has twice a year large items and brush pick-up where you leave all that stuff out at the curb and they come take it all. Dead appliances? Yes! All the brush and limbs you can trim? Why, yes of course! Boxes of old garage crap like paint cans and such? Certainly!
You can't ask for a better deal than this. So, to the person who told me about using the room a month system, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! This fits my personality to a tee.
Here is the plan: With many apologies ahead of time to whoever I stole this idea from, because I don't remember where I got it! I will concentrate on one area each month. I have written up a list of each room/area and assigned it a month. During that month this area will get cleaned up, cleaned out, paint touched up, anything that needs fixing will get fixed, anything that needs replacing will be replaced. I think this is very do-able.
There are 2 weeks left in January and since I have already removed 65 cookbooks from the shelves here in the office, I will continue in the office for the rest of the month. We have a HUGE box we are filling up with cds, books, and movies to go to the Half-Price Book Store. It will be nice to have money coming IN from that place instead of always going OUT! : )
January - Office
Feb. - Living/Dining Rooms
Mar. - Family Room/Bar/ Closet
That's the order for this quarter. The garage will be done in the month we have our semi-annual brush and large item pick-up. The city has twice a year large items and brush pick-up where you leave all that stuff out at the curb and they come take it all. Dead appliances? Yes! All the brush and limbs you can trim? Why, yes of course! Boxes of old garage crap like paint cans and such? Certainly!
You can't ask for a better deal than this. So, to the person who told me about using the room a month system, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! This fits my personality to a tee.
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