Not quite a horder - decluttering
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Zill--LE sucks. Out loud.
Jazzy--Good idea to look at things periodically as our lives change over time. Also good not letting stuff come back into the house!
Cling--congrats on the upcoming retirement! Approaching home decluttering as you would ajob is a great approach.
Mrs. M--GREAT JOB with the video editing! Feeling the burden lift is wonderful!
Jazzy--dementia is such an insidious and horrible disease. The sufferer becomes so very resistant to change of any sort. When safety requires a move to an assisted living or memory care setting it can be traumatic for everyone involved.
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Refusing the help to purge is more common than not—yes, it truly does seem to be the case, Jazzy. It sounds like your sister's partner has some decisions to mull over. My thought process goes something like this: if I leave (loved one) in this situation and do nothing, how will I feel if something bad happens to that person that I may have been able to prevent by taking action sooner? For example, we were glad we moved MIL from her house to an apt before she fell and broke a hip walking down her icy driveway in the winter to get the mail. Not that it was easy to get her to budge!
Too mamy old folks have no concept of the stress they put their adult children through when they stubbornly refuse to simplfy their lives for everyone's sake.
Even homes that are decluttered require a lot of work to disassemble. My dad's place was like that. He was tidy and had affairs in order when he passed. It still was stressful going through a small household and determining what to do with what, and there were at least five siblings and some of our spouses helping!
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In July, I had foot surgery to get a pin (looks like a drywall screw) placed in a broken metatarsal bone to help it heal. It's slowed me down, I'm on the mend but have been wearing an air cast boot for six weeks. No walking for exercise, little driving or shopping or yardwork. So, I focused on the coin counting and video editing since I've been hobbled, trying to put a positive spin on a drag-me-down experience. I'm sure if I'd been able to be more active, I would not have any of the coin/video stuff done. Have another dr appt late next week and am thinking I'll be able to stop wearing the boot.
I also went through the file drawer in the desk yesterday, going through folders, and purged a nice little mountain of old, unnecessary papers, then shredded them this morning. I always think I'll do that at the beginning of the year (like a fresh start), but hey, if even if I didn’t get to it till September, that’s still as good a time as any!
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Divine- you are right that it is good to be able to go assess the situation and try to help before something worse happens. It sounds like the MIL is opening up to more help as the visit goes on. My sister is starting small and letting her ask for more. Trust issues here.
I saw in another post you have been laid up with a cast this summer. I hope you are continuing to heal well friend
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Oops. A friend loaned me some cups 2 years ago during treatment. I sent them to the thrift store. Yesterday she asked for them! I went to the thrift store to buy them back, but they weren't around. I found some replacements on eBay.
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OOPS!
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Ouch. Isn't there a timeline when you can't ask for it back???
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Florida has lots of bugs, so this weekend was our twice yearly clean out the kitchen cupboards and spray them with bug spray. It also helps clear out a lot of useless, broken or unwanted items. So glad that it is done now. The rest of my uncluttering is going slow, since I only do a little at a time, but I am seeing such great results, so this little at a time is really working and I am glad I did that instead of waiting for a big chunk of time to do the whole job. ( I would probably still be waiting for that) . Hoping to clear out some of my closet next. I have a bag in there to throw stuff in I want to donate. That helps some.
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Yay mistyeyes! I hate clearing out my cabinets and it's past time for me to do it.
I've gotten rid of a lot of paper "junk" this week and DH burned it yesterday. Still have lots of files from which I need to toss at least half of the contents. I really only need to keep the last few bill statements, not the last few year's worth LOL. Making great progress on my clothes and personal belongings, except for books. I've walked into my library a few times and just turn away. I'll get the nerve to do that one day.
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Oh Muddling - books are hard to get rid of, I have to remember that I bought a lot of mine from thrift shops and if someone else didn't get rid of them I wouldn't have had a chance to read them. There are some I can't let go and won't, but I do try not to buy any more books and go to the library or read online on kindle.
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Mistyeyes--small steps add up!
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Love and am inspired by your stories of clearing out shelves and paperwork.
On top of being hobbled with a broken foot bone, extreme weather this week has confined me indoors. We had a literal heat wave of three days of 90 degree weather followed by four days of non-stop rain. So coin counting and reviewing video editing continues.
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Watching the weather forecasts, it seems we are going to have lots of trouble from the hurricane, at least as they see it right now. Our focus this week will be storm prep. Oh, and blood work and Xgeva this week if the oncology center is open and we can make the 70 mile drive to it.
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Be safe sisters in the mid-Atlantic with the upcoming storm. Especially those of you traveling for treatment like Muddling......
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Our local Sneakers Plus store is accepting sneaker donations. If the sneakers are in good shape, they are given to the needy. If the sneakers are not, they are recycled.
Win-win!!
I have 6 pairs of sneakers from our family going there tomorrow.
Here is an online resource for recycling clothing, and her other pages are for recycling and reducing in general:
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DSW in Houston has a program that if you take in a pair of gently used shoes, you get 50 points towards the purchase of a new pair. I don't think there is a limit on the number of points you can get but I was told that it's only points each day no matter how many pair. Or 50 points each time if you take in a pair every day. I'm going to get some new winter slippers with my points once they are in stock.
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Today I am looking through a box called "Japan Themed Stuff". I've always been pretty good about marking boxes. I use this stuff in February, when the foreign students arrive. The plan is to cut it down by half and put it in a clear box, so I don't forget what's in there.
Hopefully there is a Happy Meal china teapot In there. Now THAT, my friends, is a Happy Meal Prize! : An actual teapot with 101 Dalmations on it!
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That would be wild to find!
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Wednesday was brush pick up day in town. I brought 3 month's worth of branch and hedge trimmings to the front yard. That was a lot of work, and sadly, I had to do most of that in the rain. We had missed the last two month's pick up dates due to other commitments and the piles of brush were taking over the back yard.
Thursday was big trash day . I put out 2/3 of my tomato cages. That nagging voice kept asking me, "what if I need them again?" I said to that voice, "hey, they are old and rusty and falling apart. I didn't use any this year. And anyway, I still saved the best bunch of them."
I also put out an old mini-vacuum and an old computer carrying case.
Just as I walked back into the house, a man drove up and took the cages and the mini-vacuum.
Finally got to Sneakers Plus store today. The sneakers have been in my car, but who wants to make extra trips in the constant rain?
I also went to the town recycling yard today and dropped off two large boxes of broken electronics.Not a bad week's work!
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Mominator, I applaud your donations to the curbside pickup! I really hear your internal arguments! I have them myself!
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Mominator--moving all that brush in the rain must have been a real chore! LOL at the man picking up the tomato cages and vacuum. At least you know those items are now where they will be used! And sneakers and recycling?You really did get a LOT done!Good for you!
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Mominator, it sounds like you really cleaned up! I love that sense of accomplishment I feel when I unload things from numerous areas around the house, so I bet you are feeling really good about your discards.
I’ve finished wrapping all my coins! My word, what a chore. It made a big difference to tell myself to allot just half an hour a day for this. All told, it ends up being almost $900. That’s 15 years worth of tossing change in the bottle. I still have to take the coins to the bank but that’s the easy part. Sort of! They’re heavy, lol!
And yesterday, I finished reviewing the dvds I made and am getting ready to place an order for them. From 25 home video VHS tapes, I made 6 dvds. That means there was quite a bit of worthless filming of stuff that became very unimportant years later. However, the memories that I *have* saved has made the process, time consuming as it was, to be such a worthwhile project. In the end, it shows a very loving family, celebrating years of birthdays and Christmases and some every day living like a big hail storm, picking apples in the backyard and watching home improvements unfold.
Again, it was chunking the process down into half hour blocks of time that helped me feel less overwhelmed by the size of the project.
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DivineMrsM, I am so impressed with your coins and videos. I should get the old vcr tapes converted but I know I'd never have the patience to edit like you have. I would just tell them to copy it all. What service are you using? Sorry to ask if you already said that.
Thanks for the reminder about the coins. That could become a good couch chore, just my speed.
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Muddling, I use a company called " iMemories", easily found online. You pay a fee to have the vhs tapes transfered to digital format (10 or 12 bucks each video cassette) and then there is a fee to have them transfered to dvds (10 bucks each). You mail them in and they let you know when the tapes are received. It takes a couple days for them to be digitized, they let you know when that happens and then you can access them online. I'm sure there are many people who don't edit and just do the video to dvd transfer. I've had to deal with customer service a few times and found them easy to work with.
I had about 20 years worth of home videos. It didn't occur to me during all those years that video taping family fun was a hobby of mine. In hindsight, I realized it was. So when I worried about the cost of transferring them all to something viewable, it helped to look at it as another phase of this hobby. I knew the money (time and energy, too) had to be spent. I know many people spend lots of money on their hobbies, so I allowed myself the luxury of spending money on something that meant a lot to me and that which I'd put a lot of time. I saw at it as creating a finished project from years of raw footage. I also see it as a relief and closure! Ha, ha, that's worth a pretty penny! Remember when camcorders and video taping was such a novelty? Nowadays most people have video capabilities on their cell phones!
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DivineMrsM, you can use the money from the big bottle to pay for you movie hobby.
That seems fair.
Madelyn
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Madelyn, you are so right!
I've finally been okayed to stop wearing the aircast boot which is great. I'm not supposed to do any walking as exercise for 3 more weeks but can go about a normal day without overdoing it. The foot is finally feeling better. What I observed while I was hobbled is I did much less piddly shopping and I'm happy about that. Really no need to buy 20 or 30 dollars worth of more home decor when I'm out and about. I have a tendency seek filling a void in my life with buying “something else" pretty for my house.
Today I went through a tall cupboard, floor to ceiling, where I keep seasonal decor. It's been decluttered numerous times but needed straightened up. I took note of what's in there so I don't buy what I already have. A couple weeks ago I bought a fall floral arrangement then today I see one in the cupboard I forgot about. I found a fall door decoration with tag still on it that I don't need, found the receipt and will return it.
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congrats! You all have been busy.
I bought a cool old shelf? Bookcase? Wanted to hide the bathroom shower. It's now in my room. Looking forward to getting out all my fav dust collectors. They have been boxed for several years.
The front seat of my car is loaded with donations and returns. Misjudged kids sizes or new brand is off. Want to get rid of the cardboard the kids collected so I can park in the garage. Of course they are still using it
Got a new dog, the kids were sick, cross country meets were two hours away so we declined. Sat was race day and I can't find their uniforms. Have torn up two houses. Can't imagine where they are. I always set them aside so they don't get mixed up. The dog prefers dirty clothes, not clean.
It's driving me insane. I can never find things when I ckean!
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{{{Zillz}}}}
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Frustrated.
DD#1 cleaned her room and took out 3-4 large bags of clothes. These clothes she bought online, mostly with our money. Clothes are too big, or too small, or she doesn't like them, or they're cheap clothes.
She also is going up and down on her weight. We're seeing a dietician to help her to learn good eating habits and a therapist for everything else.
Money is very tight here. I see 3 big bags of $$$ going out the door.
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Mominator- that is frustrating. But the up and downs are something I have dealt with and it can be a root cause of many things. Going to a dietician/nutritionist will help. I saw one a number of years back when I first became diabetic. They will make you write down everything you eat or drink for a couple weeks and come back to review it for any issues. What you eat, when you eat, etc. Late night meals and/or snacking are the worst for weight gain. No carbs at night is a must. Make sure she is honest with the person and does not write down what she wants that person to see. They won't be able to help her otherwise.
I worked with a personal trainer years ago and she also had me write down how I felt when I was eating. For example, was I eating a meal because I was hungry? Or some other reason? I learned at that time I eat to comfort myself sometimes and learned to undo that with some awareness. Therapist can help with this too. Food should be for nourishment. Plenty of tasty low calorie foods to enjoy!
Wishing you the best on this
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