Not quite a horder - decluttering
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My apartment is messy, not because I have too much stuff.
I have a friend who just retired as a librarian. After Mass on Sunday, I asked her to come inside and help me figure out what to do with the messiness. I have a nice storage cabinet, 1/3 filled with books, that could contain all the odds & ends that I use frequently and therefore keep out in the open. I just increased my doily collection, and instead of putting them under glass, I starched them with Epsom salt, which works real nice for giving substance to some of the finer crocheting. And good decoration for little tabletops (I have a bunch, and all have drawers).
So I am eager to get busy, because the best place to put bookshelves would be in a wide hallway, but it might be troublesome if my mobility problems were to get worse. However, if I were to buy something more adaptable, that would not be a problem. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XR3PMXK/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B06XR3PMXK&pd_rd_w=84d3w&pf_rd_p=21517efd-b385-405b-a405-9a37af61b5b4&pd_rd_wg=KCYiT&pf_rd_r=GTP9PWRK7DR8PAT1M2VN&pd_rd_r=3e124a35-1e7a-11e9-9467-7d8fa144a26c
With a penchant for lace, and a love for Waterworld, I have some steampunk tendencies, so I could decorate them with gears and doilies. This superficial messiness is because of a lack of appropriate storage space.
Wish I could hire a professional.
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MCB, that cube shelving rack is so great looking! Very stylish.
Kale, it’s always interesting to me to hear how people deal with their parents’ home once it becomes necessary. I’ve had to disassemble at least 6 homes of parents and relatives over the years. There’s always that emotional element attached to it, often the hardest part. I’m happy you see your parents’ home looking perked up now that it’s cleaned up. Several years ago my MIL who was 87 finally sold the family home she’d lived in 60 years. I felt that it was (way past) time for a new family and new energy to move in.
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I moved around a lot when I was a child, so I'm not attached to any houses I've lived in. We've been in this house over 30 years and it really needs the kind of cleanout you do when moving. I wouldn't mind moving at all, but DH is rooted in his garden. I don't like the idea of senior housing because it's all apartments. I would love a cottage neighborhood with a shared commons in the middle and front porches to sit on and greet neighbors. Sort of a post WWII development without the huge yards but more like a village.
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GoKale- we had to sell our mom's home (also our childhood home) after she had a stroke and broke her hip in 2004 and never could go back there to live. My sister and I were back and forth for a year from out west dealing with things, and had a friend that still lived in our home town watching the house that whole year until we could figure out a final plan for mom's living situation. We were paying the bills too, but I always worried there would be a big failure with the furnace, a fire, or break in with an empty house for so long.
When we cleared it out finally in the summer of 2005, and I walked around the place by myself for the last time (my sister left a day or so in advance of me), and just had a big old cry. To let go of the home with all the memories and that our mom so loved. But the house was sold within a few months to a nice man who has really cleaned the property up and the house looks so good now. Whenever I am back east, I go by to look at it and hope the person and anyone else living there is happy.
I hope the same for your mom's home too. It was a relief once the property was sold (whew).
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Jazzy--Good point about rewards being experiential and not necessarily a physical thing.
GoKale4320--Wow, what a lot of work on your Mom's house, and what a reward for a job well done! It can be hard to let go of past places, but it sounds like you are in a good place.
MCBaker--it would be nice to be able to hire a professional, but you can also get some really great ideas from Pinterest and other websites. I search "organization hacks" once in a while to find different ideas. That's where I saw the idea of using an underbed storage bin for shoes, and that works great for me.
Wren--there are some retirement villages that are set up like you describe, and they are beautiful. I hope you find one someday.
Jazzy--it must be nice to see the place you grew up being taken good care of and bringing joy to another family.
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I almost bought one that was mostly plastic, but books are too heavy for it. I ordered this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078W7KP6R/ref. Maybe Pinterest has a way for integrating steampunk with my decor, to allow it to be a bit more eclectic.
I do have a friend who is an interior designer, but I am self-conscious about poverty. Once I get going I could invite her over to show it off, and invite her to make suggestions.
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Wren44 - I have often thought "patio homes" would be nice. They are separate dwellings that have homeowners associations that do the lawn maintenance. I also think patio homes are ranch-style so no stairs to contend with. These are not necessarily senior living communities - I think all ages live there. Though I bet there are some senior-living patio home communities out there.
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GoKale- I have a patio home, but no maintenance done by others. But it is small enough to manage on my own and big enough to enjoy. Properties out west in newer developments are much like this as many come here to retire and don't want a large yard and the maintenance. I LOVE IT!
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Jazzy, I like the reward being an experience rather than something tangible. I don't really want to bring in more stuff lol
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Mistyeyes- same here! A movie, a trip to the museum, a glass of wine with a friend, some good coffee, so many possiblities!
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Jazzygirl,
Your seating area is very inviting. I'll be right over. Hahaha.
Gumdoctor
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It was fun to go back and look at the photos from the early days of the back yard. We were in a drought here for a number of years and lost a couple trees as a result and then re-landscaped some things around 2012-2013. That photo was taken around that time and you should see how the back yard has filled in the past 5 years. It was slow growing from 2004-2013 and then boom, everything went crazy with the big summer monsoons that year. We are having another wet winter (El Ninjo is back) so I expect my spring blooms will be crazy this spring.
Things to look forward too! Spring is 2 months away and daylight savings even sooner!
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Jazzygirl,
I sure am looking forward to new pictures of that beautiful spot.
Gumdoctor
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Jazzy, I’m heading on over along with gum doctor!
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Three subzero days expected next week. I'm leaving. Taxol be damned!!!
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My mom passed away a few days ago and so we have been purging years of paper records. I need to do the same at my own home but there is never time. Now, I think I am motivated to make the time so my family doesn’t have to do this sorting and shredding when I pass
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DodgersGirl--I am so sorry for your loss. {{{{hugs}}}}}
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Sorry dodgersgirl for your loss. I’ve got that on my list too.
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NativeMainer and Illimae- thanks.
Mom spent a few days in ICU but was then moved to Comfort Care on the Oncology Floor. The staff on that floor was amazing. They kept her comfortable and peaceful. And, they were very caring to the family. I hope my last days can be that peaceful.
Now we are going through all the kitchen items that dad will never use as well as a couple of cookbook shelves. Amazing how much stuff we collect when we have been in the same house for decades
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DodgersGirl - I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your mom. Best wishes to you as you clear out some of the stuff - such a big job. Wishing comfort to you and your family.
JazzyGirl - so interesting to know that patio homes are abundant out west. Your backyard looks like a peaceful oasis! Love it!
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DodgersGirl, Sorry you lost your Mom. I know what you mean about the house being lived in for a long time. I couldn't believe some of the things we found after my Mom passed. We need to get busy on ours, although DS is willing to burn it down with everything in it.
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Dodgersgirl, I’m sorry to learn of your mom’s passing. The hospice people sound very caring and helpful to you, your family and your mom in her last days.
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Dodgersgirl - keeping you in my thoughts. Hope you are not rushed to sort through everything. I only had two weeks to clean out a house in a different state that they'd lived in 60 years.
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MinusTwo, was off work this week and my brother was here from the easy coast so we did what we could in that time. Now will continue to decluttering process on weekends for a LONG time.
DivineMrsM — I felt like I was getting a glimpse of what hospice could be like, should I head down that path and it provided me with insight into what I would like from my family when my times is here. That is the gift my mom was able to give to me before being called home.
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Lady Dodger, the acceptance in that statement about hospice Is wetting my eyes. My mother died some five years ago. She had Alzheimer's, but her heart gave out first. They had just transferred her from semi-independent to full nursing home, and the stress of the change was too much for her. She did well for years on the new drugs to cover the deterioration, but she finally started having seizures. My brother came here with her, a drive of several hours, for a visit only weeks before she passed. I remember bro and I having a reminiscent conversation, and her eyes flitting back and forth, trying to follow it. Bro and I are eleven months apart so our communication style sparkles with common experiences. Most of the stuff from the house had been trimmed out in the previous ten years, first a temporary move in our hometown until a place opened up in the town where my sister lives. There for most of the rest of the time, then to semi independent, then to the brief stay at the full-care facility. We had a storage unit, and divided up most of what was left.
I got the shelving unit, set it up, and got my books out of hiding. Got a small stepladder so I can store stuff on the high shelves. Got a wig. Today I am expecting broccoli seeds for sprouts, and a new set of filters for my air cleaner. Then some gifts, two packages of hats and fabric, and a replacement vaping device. Then a McCall's pattern for making headcovers. Monday is my birthday, I deserve it. I think I remembered everything.
As I get all my stuff put away and start decorating I will need to get more doilies. In order to integrate the doilies, new furniture like the bookshelves, and old furniture, I need to get some steampunk into the decor, cogwheels have some of the same form as doilies. I may buy some, hem some muslin, and spray-paint their shadows on the muslin for several places, including the top of the bookshelves. Waterworld started steampunk, and it is my favorite movie of all time.
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MCBaker— condolences on the loss of your mother
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It still hurts, and always will. I have discovered that women who are over 60 and who are orphans-- yes, we grant ourselves that status; we mother each other. No matter how old you are, there is a hole. I remember when my father had his stroke, I told him that Mom was going to be there soon. Meaning my mom and his wife. He got confused and started calling for his mother. Never realized how true it is until some of the toughest times of my life.
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My mother was dx with pancreatic cancer and refused treatment. She was in her 80's and Dad had died 4 months earlier. We signed up with hospice immediately and were very pleased with them. I would not hesitate to have hospice for myself. Mom was comfortable until the last few days and the hospice nurse spent a lot of time getting her morphine when it was needed. Then she attended the funeral. At lunch with the family afterwards she told us how much she enjoyed seeing Mom and that she saved her for her last patient on Friday because Mom was always so upbeat that it ended her week on a high note. This was a long time ago, but I still think of hospice as angels.
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Dodgergirl- sending you love during this difficult time ♥️
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Jazzygirl— thanks. Feeling like we are throwing mom away as we clean out closets and dresser drawers
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