Not quite a horder - decluttering
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yeah!!! we all seem to be kicking it lately..
i went to clean up my patio garden, and found two big bags of lights mur "hid" in the bushes!!so, now, we;ll add those to the christmas stuff in the attic!!!so, you're not the only one still dealing with christmas stuff, patoo...3jays
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I took about 6 things out of my closet to donate and another 6 to return. I also put two sweaters into my closet, that had been molting on a rack. I put 6 pairs of shoes back into my closet, where they belong. I finally looked to see if my silver was still there, it was!!!! It is now in the safe we just bought where I won't have to worry about cleaners going off with it.
I feel like I am waking up more, able to "see" better than in a long time. Clutter was not even registering with me last year. Things that I pulled today I was totally unaware of last year.Reading each otherssnippets of stories really helps me.
Love you all, Ginger
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so glad you found the silver, Ginger..yeah!!!0
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Argh! I went out to my little storage shed where I keep holiday decs. DH had taken all my bins and put them in the attic! Now I don't have free access to them! I wanted to decorate for Easter! But the storage is definitely decluttered, only two Christmas trees in their boxes.
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I cleaned out several boxes of long expired prescriptions. I found a document from the hospital that said to put all the pills together, pour coffee grounds or kitty litter on them and then throw away. I opted for coffee crounds and a little added water in a strong zip lock baggie. I actually found a couple rx from 1988, uh huh. Now I only have a few older tylenol with codeine just in case and the rest are all up to date. I also sorted out some old face creams and such. I am doing pretty well with this.
Next will be the boxes of my mom's jewelry. I will see how many of the boxes are empty. It is stored in three large clear storage boxes. I gave a lot of it away before I moved but I didn't bring along emptly boxes. I still feel like an idiot for leaving the boxes in my closet. I think it is time to forgive myself for not taking extra care myself regaqrdless of what anyone else might choose to do.
I am happy I get these meds cleared out. Mostly old antibiotics and such, but a lot of it. It feels good to get something done. To feel well enough to get going on any of this.
Hugs Ginger
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never heard that, ginger.. thanks for the tips..
we've been wondering what to do.. they used to say "flush" them, but now we know it goes into the groundwater..
i guess the coffe grounds causes them to deteriate,, at least, i hope so!!!3jays
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I used to flush them as well, until they brought out the ground water issue. I have one pharmacy I got rx's at about 2 years ago, and the labels have faded almost unreadable. The ones I have left are the Tylenol w/codeine and muscle relaxers. I really should dispose of those as well. If I am so bad I need them, I should see a dr. and have them re-prescribed.
DH got my Easter decs down last night. Whew! I was about to panic!
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I accidentally got onto one of those survivor sites one day and was reading about all the things we should do in case we are in an emergency situation where we don't have access to food, water, etc. Other than the normal things to store like food and water, it said that we should hold on to all of our old meds because they will become very valuable as bartering tools if this should ever happen, along with alcohol and ammunition. I guess I'm SOL because I don't drink, don't have any guns, and had just disposed of all my old meds. Oh well....sigh
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But meds can loose their potency or change, so who would know what they were capable of doing in years.
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Meece: I know they are supposed to lose potency, but I guess in a crisis a low potency penicillin would be better than none if it weren't available and so that is why it becomes so valuable as a bartering tool....according to the "survivor experts".
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That's true. Sounds bad, but I'm not that interested in surviving under those predicted conditions.
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Just found these "funnies" but our decluttering is serious so we don't end up like the horders on TV.
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We had to dispose of TONS of expired prescriptions when we cleaned out my in-laws house...they never threw anything away.
Fortunately, our pharmacy sells bags (maybe $3 or $5) that you can fill with as many old pills as you can (they're pretty large) and then then return to the pharmacy (or did we mail them?) and the pharmacy will safely dispose of them.
Doing things like mixing old meds with used kitty litter, dirty diapers, or coffee grounds are supposed to keep dumpster divers from finding stashes that they might try to take or sell on the street.
As for keeping old meds for the future, well, it's hard to tell which meds can keep well past expiration dates, and which ones go through chemical changes that actually make them not only useless, but sometimes harmful if you were to take them.
Meece: when we built our house, DH cut a hole in the garage ceiling and built an attic up there. It's a thousand degrees in the summer, and reachable only by one of those pull-down ladders, which - thanks to my balance issues and fear of heights - does not work for me.
We put a Tuff Shed in the back yard, with the idea that all his camping crap would go up into the attic, and all my holiday decor would go into the shed. Think that's happened yet? Guess I won't be decorating for Easter this year!
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I read that Cipro was lasting a really long time. This was important to me at the time because I was traveling back and forth to Haiti. What I read then was that Cipro was 100% still at 12 years.
On the other hand a recently read where a woman took her mom's old tetracycle and it caused her to have either liver or kidney damage (I don't remember which)
I think we need to know.
What I have kept are some codeine prducts and some valium. I almost never use either but figure if I need it I'll be glad I have it.
Do we have any researchers amonst us?
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IMHO I think most of them have a longer shelf life than we've been led to believe. The drug companies would make less money if people were able to hang on to their unused prescriptions. We are brought up to believe that nothing lasts very long and must be replaced.
We watched a special the other evening about the Pope's visit to Cuba and you wouldn't believe the number of very old cars that are driving around there...looking like brand new! A good mechanic really has job security in that country. It looked like classic car heaven. Some of those cars were over sixty years old and still humming. Here, they would be in the junkpile or sitting in some collector's carpeted garage!
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I have vitamins and supplements that I am sure have been around more than a couple years. I just have problems throwig them away.
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From WebMD website:
" ...A little clarification is in order: The testing does not mean that the drug will remain potent for only two years. It means only that the drug has been tested to assure its safety and potency for at least two years. In fact, a drug may be potent for 10 years or more but still have an expiration date that is only two or three years.
The U.S. military has found that many drugs stored in their facilities lasted much longer than their expiration dates. The reason is that their drugs were stored under ideal conditions. Not many of us truly can keep our drugs stored in a cool, dry place without being moved for years on end.
The experience with the U.S. military's drugs underscores why you should take expiration dates seriously: You don't store your drugs under ideal circumstances, as the military does.
You probably store some drugs in your bathroom, where they get moist when you take a shower or bath. Or you may store some drugs in your kitchen, where the stove gets hot, or on the windowsill, where the sun hits them.
Under these circumstances, it is not likely that drugs stored will become outright unsafe, but they could easily lose potency, which means they won't be as effective as they should be.
Health is too important to chance. You want your drugs to work as they should. That's why it's so important to store drugs properly and discard them when the expiration date says to."
Here's the whole link: http://www.webmd.com/news/20000421/drug-expiration-dates-serious
We may not trust pharma, for good reason, but I prefer to be safer and err on the side of caution - FWIW
Now, back to our quest to declutter lots of bigger items (at least in my case)
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Who won? Hope it was your crazy cat. They are so bold when hunting. One of mine proposed jumping onto the head of a golden retriever. Dog was rescued at the last minute. My Dd big black lab is afraid of their fully clawed rescue cat.
I went through some of my mom's remaining jewelry and found some london blue (saphires, are those saphires?) stones. I put on two rings a very flashy bracelet, earrings and a pin. I never wear more then faux pearl studs a cross and on the rarest of occasions a watch. I am all dandied up just now.
I went through this box of tee shirts and found my worst Christmas sweatshirt ever. I was thrilled to find it, I will win any contest in it. I may even bedazzle it. It has Santa and his reindeer running across the chest and over onto the shoulder and arm. It is pretty stretched out and worn but a treasure non the less.
Laters all Ginger
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I cleaned several kitchen cupboards today. Also one kitchen drawer. I looked at some of the stuff in them and decided to pitch a few utensils and some bowls. That was a big step for me. I can't tel you the times I went towards the "go away" box and turned around again. Then I convinced myself I hadn't used these items in years, and they could go away. Plus, those cupbaords and drawers are CLEAN!!!!
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Way to go Meece! I need to take my cue from you on that.
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I added four more books to the DONATE box!!!
It's about 3/4 full now.
Luckily, it should fill up soon, since DH and I both just got a bunch of paperbacks at our favorite thrift store. (benefits Hospice...)
We'll take all the books back there so they can sell them again.
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Teka, you got me for sure. I was really worried for your crazy cat!!!!!!!!!!!
You did good!
LOL GIngerbrew
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I jst figured that flying squirrels were prevalent in NY.
I have a bad memory from my very early childhood of a squirrel runign into our house and my mother chasing it out with a broom and as he left, she slammed the door behind him...or that had been the intent!
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LOL...good one Teka! You fooled me!
My kitchen cabinets are sparse....just the minimum needed to cook and eat. When we sold our home on the west coast of Fl to move back to east Fl the people bought everything, right down to the sheets towels and kitchen supplies. All we had to do was pack our clothes, toothbrushes, and leave. It was great! I bought just enough to get by on in the new place and find I don't need as much as I had before.
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Who's taking pictures of my home---??? oooo the clutter--I seemed to throw it into my bedroom what a mess. I really need to declutter like crazy--just let it go and go. Now it's over welming to me. I was not a saver before--but lately it's a matter of maybe I'll need it. Yea right 4 yrs and i didn't need it--just a mess with no energy.
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camillegal, some have found that you start by just giving it 15 mins at a time and just get rid of something - maybe it's only a piece of string but it's something. At times that's all you can do and other times it gives you the incentive to discard a rope, then a chain, then... Don't look at it as the whole BR, but one corner or just a tabletop. Come here often for motivation.
Teka, I simply thought squirrels, somewhere, could fly and your cat was after it!
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