Less Binge, More Purge

No, I'm not considering an eating disorder...


This time of year, every year, I feel like getting rid of stuff. I'm not sure if it's all the loot that just arrived by Santa's sleigh or being "stuck in the house" for winter, but I definitely have the urge to purge. This is the sort of thing that I have to harness and ride when I get it because when I'm not in the mood, it's a pretty daunting task, and if I'm feeling a little melancholy or nostalgic, it's hard to get rid of things.


This week, I've been going through stuff in my office area which has been a WRECK for months. It'll take some time and dedication to get through all the rubble, but I made a good dent and a lot of stuff got tossed. Pipsqueak got inspired when she got home from school one day and cleaned out some of her art supplies that are kept near my office area. She found a good pile of stuff to get rid of, too. I noticed all the Disney Princess stuff is going... the end of an era.


I also feel like buying less. That should be easy; stay out of stores and delete online sale announcements without looking at them. I need to start shopping in my own house. I have plenty of books and craft supplies, which are my weaknesses, so it's time to start reading them and using them instead of buying more. I'll still allow myself the occasional thrift shop spree. Yesterday I went to Border's and TJ Maxx looking for a present for a birthday party. The only thing I bought was the present even though there were lots of great sales going on. The reward of shopping less will be two-fold: I'll have less stuff coming in the house and I'll be saving money.

Halftime

It is football season, but I feel like I'm stuck in halftime. I don't mean that my life is all cheerleaders and marching bands. Wouldn't that be nice? No, I mean that everything is only half done. The laundry is washed and dried, but not folded and put away. Four out of seven raised garden beds are cleaned up. Three out of eight dining chairs are recovered. Just over half of my windows are washed. And that's probably not even half of the things that are half done. I won't even mention the knitting and crafts projects that are half finished.

I can't figure out if I'm busier (doesn't feel like it), more scattered, distracted or unfocused (could be), or unmotivated and tired (very likely). There are so many things that need doing that I dabble here and there and get many things started and nothing finished. I'm also setting my daily goals too high, so it's hard to feel satisfied when everything isn't accomplished.

How do I fix it? I need to go back to my lists. To-do lists work really well for me, and I get a sense of accomplishment when things get crossed off. I've also got to work hard at seeing a project through from start to finish, and I'll start with finishing up projects that are already started. If I do this, I think I'll feel more on track in a week.

On a positive note, I'm a little more than halfway through NaBloWriMo and I haven't missed a day. Writing every day is a daunting task, and I'll be scaling back when the month is over, but it did give me my writing mojo back.

Freebie Friday

Here are a couple of freebies for you:
Here's one for a Mr. Clean Eraser
http://www.cleanupthatfilthyhouse.com/apr_01.php

And another one for Quaker Rice Snacks
http://www.quakerricesnacks.com/offers/

Cabinet Revelations

My blogging friends were a prolific bunch this weekend. I had a lot of reading to do today to catch up since I've been busy working. As I expected, it took nearly three days to clean and organize my cabinets. They look soooo much better and everything feels more convenient even though I made very few changes.

I got rid of a lot of stuff. It's hard to part with things... everything has a story and memories, but I have to remember that just because the THING is gone, doesn't mean the story is gone too. We had two drip coffee makers, we haven't been drinking drip coffee at home in almost seven years... GONE. There were a couple of vases that I received as gifts that I didn't like... GONE. I have a big pile of stuff to sort; what will go to goodwill and what should just be thrown out.

I used to be a Pampered Chef junkie. I think I went to something like 20 parties in a year. I practically owned the entire product line. I had a couple of things that were brand new and unused in ten years. I'll try to resell those. I'm glad I've overcome my PC addiction.

There were a few things I couldn't bear to toss. One was an oyster knife even though we've never eaten oysters at home. Maybe we will; it's probably much cheaper to eat them at home. I made rediscoveries... things I haven't used in a long time because I forgot I had them. They'll get a stay of execution until the next clean out to see if a more convenient location will bring them into use.

Going through my pantry cabinet, I realized that I shouldn't have to grocery shop for about a month. There is way too much stuff in there, and I need to start planning meals around it. There's a surfeit of egg noodles, so we'll have some beef stroganoff soon. I've got to figure out what to do with two cans of coconut milk. I think I have an Asian recipe that uses it.

I'm taking a day to tidy the rest of the house because the clutter monster took over while I wasn't looking. Then it's back to the master list and more deep cleaning.

Scattered!

What is wrong with me?! I can't seem to stick with anything lately. I actually forget what I'm doing sometimes until I get back to that area and find the remains of whatever I was doing sitting there. I've started cleaning up my office, straightening and cleaning kitchen cabinets, recovering dining room chairs, making greeting cards, making jean bags, and who knows what else. This afternoon I started thinking about spring cleaning Pipsqueak's room, which would involve pulling everything out of there and doing a thorough cleaning. It was then I became aware of what I was doing and slammed on the brakes.

Maybe it's spring fever. There are so many things I want to do, but I've been busy with meetings and appointments the last couple of weeks, so I've had little time for big projects. Whatever, it is, it's got to stop because I'm getting a lot of things started and nothing done.

Tonight, I'm going to make a list. (I love lists!) I will write down all the projects I want to do for the next two or three months. I always get a feeling of accomplishment when I make a list and get to cross something off. My list will help me remember what I've been working on and give me choices so I can do something I really feel like doing. I'll make a rule that I can't have more than three projects in progress at one time.... okay, maybe four.

Something Old Will Be New Again

Something has been bugging me lately. Actually, a lot of things have been bugging me, but I can only de-bug one thing at a time. I am in a de-bugging mood, so expect more projects soon.


Our dining chairs are family heirlooms over 100 years old. I love them for their soul and their profile... they're comfortable and not too big and clunky. However, (here comes the bugging part) the fabric seats are filthy. That's the worst one, but none of the eight are great. I tried a couple of home upholstery cleaners that barely made a difference. When we had our carpets cleaned a few months ago, I had them try to clean one, but the suction pulled up the candlewicking. Monday, I decided to remove the fabric from one and try washing it in the washing machine. I could see from the tack holes in the wood frame, that the fabric had been replaced a few times. While I'm fixing them, I'm going to tighten the support straps and check the padding, too. Some of the seats feel a bit saggy.

After washing, it got cleaner, but not as clean as I'd hoped. It was a lot of work removing all those tacks, so I decided it was time to find replacement fabric. I picked up some samples at Joann Fabrics yesterday, and held a secret ballot family vote. Each of us got to pick two favorites. And the winner was....

Both Sweetie and Pipsqueak had chosen it. I did not, but since I picked all the choices, I guess I can be happy with any of them. They chose it because it was the most similar to what we have. I, on the other hand, am trying to conquer my fear of color in decorating, but there are plenty of other areas where I can use color, like that ugly yellow kitchen floor that I can't wait to replace.

I'll post a photo of the finished product in the future.

Never Enough

Thanks to blogging, there are days that I feel lazy and unproductive. It's not because my butt is making a dent in the couch all day while I type, point and click. (I have cut back... really, I have.) It's just that I read about everything everybody else has been doing and I feel like a slacker. Maybe it's because I'm reading the collective goings-on of about eight people and somehow I feel like I should have done all that, too. Oh, someone is knitting a scarf; I should have knit today. She made bread; I love making bread. There are women out there walking their dogs, cleaning their furnace, planning luncheons for all their neighbors, trying new recipes and more. It's all very humbling. So, what did I do today?

• made breakfast, which included fresh squeezed orange juice
• took a call from Pipsqueak's teacher re: next Friday's harvest party
• folded two baskets of laundry
• washed two loads of laundry and hung it out to dry even though it was cold
• put half of the window screens away
• put butcher's wax on the mahogany dining table
• polished the silver candle holders and put in fresh candles
• talked to my sister in law about her cancer treatment
• talked with another parent to plan next the school's harvest party
• made lunch
• went to the salon for Sydney's and my hair cuts
• cleaned up half the vegetable garden
• visited my mother
• made supper (a new recipe) and cleaned up after supper

It may look like a lot, but since there is more that I should have done and wanted to do, somehow it doesn't seem like enough. It'll never be enough.

More Less Stuff

I'm still in clean out mode, and more stuff went out the door this weekend.

Saturday was our area's Electronics Day. Once a year, they have a collection spot for about seven area towns to get rid of anything with a cord. Sweetie is a computer consultant for small businesses, so we had enough components, pieces and parts that some areas of our basement looked like a computer chop shop. We loaded my car with about 6 or 8 CPUs, a monitor, a VCR, a couple of laptops, a half a dozen keyboards and two big boxes of parts, mice, speakers, and cables. When I got to the collection area, the cars were 20 or 30 deep, but it was organized an efficient. About 20 minutes after arrival, my car was cleared out, and they only charged me $40.

It's amazing what you can fit in a car when you put your mind to it.

After that, we were off to the thrift store. I had two garbage bags, a box and a large mirror to remove from my life. Of course, I had to shop the thrift store afterward. I fondly refer to this as the "drop and shop". Since Pipsqueak was with me, she went straight for the stuffed animals. She already has so many stuffed animals that almost all species are represented, so I get a little Joan Crawford in "Mommie Dearest". "No more stuffed animals!!" minus the beating, of course. I had to admit they had some nice ones that day, so I thought maybe I could use this to my advantage. I told her that for every two stuffed animals she wanted, she had to tell me three at home that she would get rid of, so I did make progress there. She chose four "new" ones, and there are now six in bag ready for the next drop off.

Sweetie put some shelves in our living room closet this weekend, so today I'm organizing and finding more things to get rid off. My yarn stash is in there. I think I need the Joan Crawford treatment myself. "No more yarn!"

Less Stuff

This Saturday was our town's first annual town-wide tag sale, and I was one of the ten families selling. The space was only $10, but only if I made $10. I had so many big things to get rid of: strollers, high chair, child's easel and more. I do some selling on ebay, but big things are too much hassle to find a box and pack and they're too expensive to ship. My car (a Toyota Matrix) was packed like clowns in VW bug.

The day was glorious... sunny, low 70s and a light breeze. I got to sit and people watch for four hours (one of my favorite past times), and I made $120. As much as I love the thrill of an ebay auction ending, it's also pretty exciting to have someone put actual cash in my hand. I was tempted by a couple of things being sold in other spaces, but I resisted. The day was about unloading.

In the last hour, I looked at my remaining merchandise and considered what stuff I didn't want to go back in the door of my house again. At closing time, I was mentally prepared for scrupulous packing... a box to go home and a box for thrift donation. I drove directly to the thrift store and dropped off half the stuff in my car. I'm giving myself until the end of the year to sell the remaining things, or they'll be donated too.

Now I'm in cleaning out mood. I spent yesterday going through our cellar. I only got to the laundry and entry areas, but a lot of stuff went in the trash can or a box for the thrift store. Tonight, I'll get some stuff listed on ebay. It feels good to be ridding my life and home of unneeded stuff