Not quite a horder - decluttering
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Hi All: Tomorrow and Thursday I am going to work on photo sorting. I took a two month break, but I have three smaller boxes, a pen and a scanner. Wish me luck.
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I was looking for a cat photo recently and went thru the downloads from my camera. Clearly they were never edited. Many many out of focus photos and wonder why I photographed that? It was fun seeing DS hair turning gray like DH.
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I saw this on FB and thought it was great for us de-clutterers when we get sidelined.
I personally live been the city of Closet Reorg and the Mountains of Distraction!
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Haha, Jazzy, I love that drawing! I live close to you inbetween Mountains of Distractions and Mt. Gaming! I only have one game on my iPad, Toy Blast, but I’d hate to see how many hours I really spend playing it......
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I love that drawing!
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Good morning- took a lot of my extra kitchenware to consignment and she took everything except 1 thing and a few linens too. Everything else went to the thrift shop down the road. My deal of the day at the thrift shop was a long black Eileen Fisher fleece coat that fits like a glove. For a smokin deal of $15. It is in great shape outside a bit of dog or cat hair that can easily be removed (in the washer right now). I love thrifting and consignment.
Going to finish going through some cabinets today to reorg things into pots, pans and mixing bowls, a cabinet of small appliances, and then another cabinet of serving dishes I use on occasion. My hope is that I have things more handy to do some cooking and room for a mixer I plan to get in the new year.
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My sister is about 5'5" and weighs around 115-120 and wears an 8B shoe. I am so envious of her thrift shop clothes and shoes. She finds all kinds of designer stuff with original tags still on for pennies.Things that have never been worn Really nice stuff. Neiman Marcus stuff...More incentive to get my weight down.
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Hi Melissa- I am a larger woman (size 12-ish) and find lots of good things at consignment and thrift, so don't think it is like some stores where they only have certain sizes. They have everything from size 0 to 4X in the places I go. Shoes from size 5-11 (I wear a 9.5 and found some great things there too). May depend on the city and store, sometimes good to call before you go to ask what size ranges they have? The store your sister goes to may not be the right store for you.
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Jazzy - I must argue that I don't think size 12 is in any way a "larger woman". We've been bamboozled by the fashion industry. I think size 12 is right in the middle of NORMAL. I know it depends on individual height & size of the bones & body type, but I refuse to think of 12 as 'larger' - whatever the industry now says. My grandmother was 'large' with a size 22 at 5 ft tall. I remember going with my Mother to special stores to find dresses for her.
But Melissa - I agree about the stores. I recently was in both a junior league resale store and a resale store that supports battered women and they had a wide variety of sizes in both everyday and designer clothes. I'm not sure if they had anything bigger than 18, but then again I looking for 10/12/14 - depending on the cut of the clothes.
And don't get me started on that issue. Sizes are wildly different and there is no real standard. What happened to the old standard - 8/10 and 12/14 and 16/18 as size combinations? Why did it change to 6/8 and 10/12 and 14/16? Is that to make us feel that we are holding our weight down, or are more 'svelte'? I am a usually a 12. Occasionally I might wear a 10 in an expensive dress. Sometimes I need a 14 but a 16 hangs off my shoulders. The 12/14 made sense for me. (On the other hand, my DIL wears a -0- or minus zero).
So lots of clothes in my closet that need to move on. I don't think there are any left that don't fit (except for 2 pair of pants I saved from my anemic size 6 chemo Big D loss). But I think I've decided I'm never moving back to snow country so heavy things can go and I'm probably really retired for the last time so lots of "work" things can go. That's my project for the winter.
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MinusTwo- you are right that a 12 is in the average range. I have always been a 12-14 my whole life at 5 feet 7 inches and remember that was considered big back in the day. Think the big sticks in my brain from that time. All sizes matter!
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Marilyn Monroe was a 14. I do think thrift/consignment stores vary. Some mostly have small things and others have a full range. I have 2 pair Dansko clogs I bought at the same thrift store. They are popular here.
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I wanted to pop in and wish everyone a good holiday week next week. And well, here is another way to get rid of stuff I just saw too!
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Love that, Jazzy!
I had four good days of decluttering this week and I did a little bit today. Probably four large size trash bags gone!! I went through the wrapping paper, gift bags, bows etc and tossed anything that was tattered or tired. I already had good, neat storage for all that but you know how it is; over time it gets a little out of hand. Made a great new system for having like-sized bags together. That took two days but is so worth it. Then I tackled part of the craft stuff and tossed or gave away all but a small handful of things. I still have more craft supplies to go through but I've made a start. I got a box of children's book shelved and that's one more box out of the attic. I can't even remember why I put them there when I have space in my library for them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I also decluttered and reorganized my greeting card drawer. Next up is getting my Christmas cards ready for mailing so I can put that 'mess' away off my desk and into the now clean drawer! It may be after Christmas before I get back to any big jobs but that's okay. These are done if something happens to me sooner than we think, and will be easier on DH.
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Muddling, your decluttering activities sound productive! It’s great to not worry about any big jobs till after Christmas. Why stress yourself out unnecessarily.
This year I’m pledging to myself not to buy any additional Christmas wrap, bags, bows or boxes. The last few years they’ve been a weak spot for me. I’d go in to Dollar Tree or Dollar General or Big Lots, etc., and think, well this stuff is all so inexpensive and pretty. So now I have too much. I plan to use what I have, and I also pledge not to even buy any of these items after Christmas when they’re marked down. I could probably go this year and next without needing to restock amd maybe even a third year.
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I got on a roll last night and went through fridge, pantry and 8 cupboards with food stuffs. Really I don't cook the same way I did before cancer, so many things were way out of date. For example - the lone can of Campbell's Mushroom Soup was 'best by' 2008. Got rid of old spices, sauces and condiments, cans of veggies/fruit, boxes of ready mix things. Two big bags of stuff in the trash and another bag to recycle of cans & bottles from things I emptied down the disposal. Who knows why I decided to start this project at 9:30pm, but it sure felt good when I finished around 2am.
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MinusTwo, it’s always a good idea to clean when the spirit moves you no matter what time of day it is! Probly felt good to wake up the next day and know you’d cleaned so thoroughly the night before!
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That's another weakness of mine; Christmas wrapping paper/bags/tags/ and after Christmas sales!
I think I mentioned recently that we just moved into a new house, and it actually is NEW, which I have never had before. Anyway, about this time of year I usually go through all of those Christmas decorations I was talking about a few weeks ago....I try to evaluate what I have before I start buying (which I have actually already done!) Anyway, we recently had mice in our brand new storage room that holds all my decorations. Actually, they made their way upstairs but that was the origin, and so my husband has traps in the storage room. However, he's been gone for two weeks and I am TERRIFIED of mice. So stupid. I have survived horrible chemo and cancer so far and yet this tiny little thing makes me jump up onto the dining room table and scream. I haven't been able to do my usual yearly inventory!
I'll keep reading this thread - you all inspire me!
XO
Andi
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Jazzy--LOL, and unfortunately, too true!!
Muddling--Good for you!! Just imagine all the time you are going to save going forward, not bad for a couple day's time investment, especially things like getting like sized bags together.
Mrs. M--My Mom used to do the after-Christmas sale paper/ribbon/decorations sale shopping, all the time I was growing up.I don't think she's had to buy any of that sort of thing for years, now, except for the years when she can't remember where she stashed them away after the last holiday!
Minus--who cares why you got the urge at that time, as long asyou can take that time to do the work! I bet all that purging did feel VERY good! .
Andi--I hear you about mice. I live in a home that is impossible to mouse proof (the garage is the basement, always some little spot under the garage doors that they can get in, not to mention a dozen other places like the dryer vent). Live mice freak me out more than dead ones, but only to a degree.I buy inexpensive traps and put on gloves and toss out the dead mouse and trap together.Since there is only me, I've had to learn to cope! Very sturdy work gloves are a life saver, so is a little brush and dust pan set.
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The head of the Alley Cat Project, which finds mousing jobs for feral cats, posted an hilarious video of house cats and mice. One mouse was next to the floorboard and when the cat approached would hiss and puff up. The cat would retreat. I kind of hope that mouse got away. The project finds homes in barns and warehouses that need mouse protection. A brewery has 7 feral cats and no problem at all with mice, even though the beer is brewed from grain.
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I have lurked here for a long time hoping to "catch" the urge to declutter--so far I have not caught the bug--but I have caught mice. I also hate them and how fast they move! About every few years I seem to encounter one or more and this fall had one a couple of weeks ago. I've learned to set traps in paper bags by putting the disposable trap, set with very tiny amount of peanut butter, in a paper bag and laying the open bag on its side along a wall. Mouse walks in to open end of bag, trap catches them, and I don't have to see or touch them--just pick up bag, roll the top closed and dispose--mouse, trap, bag and all! When a dollar store sells traps at 4 for $1, I would never reuse!!! Usually have caught them in the garage before they enter the house. Handling the bag is much easier on my fears of mice than getting any closer! Good luck all on ridding your house of mice!
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ceanna, What a wonderful suggestion! Get rid of mice and never have to really confront them. I'll put that one in my "use someday" list.
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Back to averages - apparently the CDC knows something that the fashion industry can't figure out. No matter what your height is, 166 lbs is NOT a size 10 or probably even a 12. I'm guessing 14/16.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American man weighs 196 pounds — nearly 30 pounds more than he did in the 1960s. The average American woman weighs 166 — nearly 19 pounds more than she did in the 1960s.
Edited to say - I love the idea for putting junk in amazon boxes on our porches. It's probably not a joke.
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Someone here put dog poop in one and left it on his porch. Sure enough, it was taken.
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Ceanna--What a great
idea, putting the trap into a paper bag!
I am going to start doing that, too!Minus--If the
average woman in America now weighs 166#, I'm changing my final weight goal
from 150# to 166#!Wren--there's a
video of someone putting a smoke bomb in a box and leaving it out and
activating it when the thief grabbed it and got in there car! It's hilarious.0 -
NativeMainer, glad you can use that tip. I got it from somewhere else years ago. Disposing of a grocery bag is much easier on my sanity than getting any closer to a dead mouse!!! Hope it helps with your garage mice before they get in the house. Ugh!!! I hadn't considered the dryer vent. Maybe I should put a bag underneath the wall vent!! I've also found little 8x10x6 inch plastic crates with holes in the sides at the dollar store and put mouse traps under those outside along the back wall of my house. The holes are big enough for a mouse but birds, cats, etc. can't get at the trap if you put a weight on top of the upside down crate.
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Ceanna--great tip with the plastic crates, too!
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And I'll bet we all have some of those lying around. I know we do.
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Hi all...just checking in after being MIA...I am now officially moved and in New Mexico... and the good news is that a whole lot of stuff (or should I say junk?) didn't make the the trip with us!
We are in a rental and have been house-hunting, and it quickly became apparent that hubby and I didn't see eye to eye on style and size of home...I wanted small, but I will admit that I did want room for my standard king bed which was an issue in some of the smaller homes we looked at....the real issue for hubby was outdoor space. So, in the end, we are in contract on a home with more space and more closets than we need, but a really nice BIG patio and yard (although still 500 sq ft smaller than our California home, so I guess that is progress). I am determined not to fill the storage space, and will rely on this thread to help me with that!
Jazzy, was your cooking class Southwestern cooking? Hubby wants to learn it as a post retirement hobby...if you liked the class, please pm me with info, would love the referral for him (I will benefit from his cooking, after all). While we got rid of a LOT of dishes in the move, I did let him go out and buy one new gadget: an instant pot: my first few failures cooking rice at high altitude convinced me it would a better option than a rice cooker and a crock pot!
Octogirl
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For those of you with mice: we have a pest control company that helps us with that. They set baits in the house (basement and attic). The bait makes the mice thirsty, so they leave the house and die somewhere else. No mess.
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I love the paper bag method. I put steel wool in the holes I saw outside. Dig watched. Hoping she hasn't taken them out. So far they are just in the garage. Should be warm tomorrow so cat might have to spend a few hours in there.
I'm still getting rid of kid clothes and bedding. I think it grows. Have a bag to drop off now.
Son bought shoes mid October. Bet he'll need new after Christmas.
I have bad chemo brain. Bought during the year. Proud of myself for wrapping presents as I go and not Christmas Eve. Have no idea what I've bought or wrapped.
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