I did a big cleanup of my wardrobe and decluttered my bathroom this weekend.
Not sure where I found the patience, but I held and inspected every article of clothing I own, considered whether I wear it, like it, and have room for it, and I got rid of 6 garbage bags full. All of them off to Goodwill.
I bought a closet’s worth of new, matching hangers and tossed out the random assortment I had before. The new ones are plastic and seem pretty tough, but are unusually slim in the actual hanger part; I have room for more of them, and they LOOK good and unified now. Actually might be one of the cheapest, most satisfying improvements I’ve made. My closet looks pretty decent now.
I’ve got a home for all my clothes again! And maybe a little room for new purchases, though I’m going to try to stick to a “1 in, 1 out” policy.
It took my mother 17 years to be ready to give up my father’s logarithmic tables, which he’d last used in high school. Take your time.
Getting the house organized is a bit like building a puzzle. When I feel like “agh, I’ve been working for the whole day and I’ve still got a lot of boxes!”, I make the effort to list all the spaces which previously were disorganized or empty and are now properly organized; then I go look at the folded boxes I can now throw away. Yes, there is work to be done… but that doesn’t mean I haven’t done anything!
Yeah, it was rough. They rushed to hire more folks at work because they new people just weren’t going to sustain that under the conditions prevailing. At least one of my coworkers was hauled off to a hospital directly from work with chest pains during that period, determined to be stress and not a heart attack but she still was put on medical leave to get her situation under control. And that lady was 20 years younger than me.
I stopped worry about whether or not the stuff was usable for thrift shops - if it was intact and not stained and I didn’t want it, it got donated. Some of the stuff that was stained (the clothes my spouse used to wear in his workshop) I donated to construction workers I knew who always needed more shirts who didn’t care if they were stained or not.
I try to do a closet purge every six months (when I swap out the seasonal gear). Over time it’s getting easier and better. One lesson I had to learn was to stop looking for perfectly neat/tidy/organized and be satisfied with "it’s better now, it will be even more better next time through).
Yep, I have that problem, too.
Yep, I have that, too.
In my case it helps that my late spouse very clearly, directly, and specifically told me to sell a good number of his possessions and donate others. Not that he has any say in these things anymore, but it gave me mental permission to go ahead and shed a lot of stuff. Told me up front to sell what I could and buy something for myself. I’m not sure major work on both vehicles and dental work were what he had in mind, but heck, he lived with me for 30 years I doubt he’d be surprised at that, he once or twice referred to me as “ruthlessly practical” (about some things - about others I’m way too sentimental). And I did buy a couple of fun things, too.
I still have a hard time with some things, though. All the t-shirts he picked up at Highland Games, actually pretty much everything to do with his career as a piper.
Sometimes, I’ll just put things I can’t deal with in a box so they’ll be protected until I can deal with them.
I’m still working on getting that “you need to be responsible/adult/fix ALL OF THIS before you have a moment of fun/peace/rest” voice to STFU.
I realize that most of this post is “me-too’ing” and not that much actual help, but maybe knowing you’re not unusual helps? I have a widows’ group I meet with and we all have some variation on this.
Baby steps. Nibbles. A little bit at a time. And some days you just have to accept you can’t deal with the pile at the moment and do something else because the emotional part can be so damn exhausting.
My sister keeps reminding me that it took years to get to where I am, it’s not going away overnight, or in just a week, or even just one year.
Purple, if you have water issues in your basement, use plastic shelving. And try to be super aware of musty smells building up on things you might not want it to be on such as books and papers. A dehumidifier goes a long way to eliminating this issue. Good ol’ spring snow melt. It’s full of mold.
Yes, plastic shelves are high on my “to buy” list. I lost a week’s pay to covid quarantine, so I’ve been trolling Craigslist and 5-Miles but one of the disadvantages of getting the hell away from a gigantic city is less selling/swapping of random crap.
In better news, I finally found the turntable thingie for my microwave. I think I’ll have to clean it in the bathtub (or simply while showering) since it got packed all greasy, and is huge, but at least I know where the friggin’ thing is!
My parents are coming next week cue ominous music and they’re gonna be judgmental pains in my ass but they may at least help me tackle a few small projects that are easier with a second pair of hands. I kinda want to rearrange a couple of furniture items, and may even ask my mom’s opinion on the matter - not that it makes any difference to her voicing it!
If they decide I need shelves and decide to buy them for me, well, they’re unstoppable forces anyway and I won’t stand in the way! (If it happens, I’ll let that make up for the nosy, bitchy comments I’m about to get.)
Oh! I finally swapped the silverware drawer and spatula/stuff drawers. Toldja guys that was a thing!
In a way, it was actually beneficial. A lot of stuff has just been moved to other rooms, but I also tossed a whole bunch of stuff. I was able to get the room re-organized just before my company went to WFH all the time. There was a little stuff left after moving to WFH, so I worked on that when taking a break from work.
Living room is clear, and as long as it doesn’t rain on Saturday and my man-of-all-work can work that day, I’m emptying out the storage unit. Hopefully I have enough space in the LR.
(side note - I named the squirrel Elvis so that when I managed to get him out of the house, I could say “Elvis has left the building”. However, unlike his namesake, my Elvis did not like peanut butter)
Next week I have 5 days off work. I will not spend the entire time working on the Great Pile but at least a couple mornings.
Meanwhile, this week I’m working on stuff in my new home so I’ll have room for the next slew of boxes I bring home to sort.
My current apartment is about 800 square feet. It is becoming apparent that this is not really enough for my long-term needs. I don’t need a LOT more - 1000 could work, and 1200 would probably be ideal. However, I don’t intend to move until I have thoroughly conquered the Great Pile. Right now that looks to be 1-2 more years, given the rate at which I am going.
While at present I can use the old building for storage I like to have a back up plan. Looks like I can rent a lockable 10x5 storage unit for about $65 a month. I know there are pitfalls to those, but based on how I’m using my basement storage locker - actually organized, stuff goes both in and out on a regular basis rather than just sitting there, items in there are in fact used - I think this could actually work for me as auxiliary storage. I could, for example, put all my winter stuff in there during the summer, then rotate it with the summer stuff come winter. There’s a facility near where I work, so stopping by would work in with my usual schedule.
It’s a thought. I will think some more on it. Definitely, if I was losing access to the old building I would do this, then continue to go through the stuff.
Meanwhile, I am starting to think about slightly larger places to live. I’m planning to be in this area until retirement (currently scheduled for about 15 years from now) and thanks to the money I’ve earned during the pandemic for hazard pay and overtime and plonked into savings I might actually be in reach of buying a home. It would be a modest home, but since I’d be happy with a couple of bedrooms and 1 bath, kitchen appliances dating back 20-40 years (as long as they work), and am not looking for a big lot (because I don’t want to work hard enough to take care of an acre or two) getting a modest home might be workable. And, if I do downsize the Great Pile the way I plan to such a modest home is likely to be plenty big enough for my needs.
Or maybe I’ll just rent a slightly larger apartment where I can continue to not worry about maintenance costs, mowing the lawn, dealing with snow removal, can scoot if the neighborhood goes down the toilet or something else unpleasant happens, and a new roof in 10-12 years is sort of someone else’s problem. There is the possibility of moving to a larger, 2 bedroom apartment in the complex I’m currently in, but there are other options, of course.
But I guess that’s the “end” point now (because, in truth, this is a sort of project that never really ends). Finish off the Great Pile, then move to someplace with the intention of remaining long term.
I know, right? I went through several attempts at getting him to trip the trap. He did like pecans, and I knew he was getting into the trap, because he was eating the pecans I put in there. I would stick the pecans in the peanut butter, and he pulled the pecans out, ate them and didn’t otherwise touch the PB!
How’s everyone’s work at nibbling on their respective personal Great Pile going?
I put up a shelf in the bathroom (reiterating an earlier post of mine: I used two L-brackets to support a piece of snap-in floorboard to the wall) and now at least the good towels have a proper home.
I also got 8 red bricks. They are on my basement floor, acting as water safe “feet” for two big boxes, upon which are stacked - like that rainbow colored child’s toy - several smaller boxes.
I’ve actually had to spend some time on my New Place - after all, I want to avoid the New Place getting into the state of the Old Place! Yesterday I purchased two small chest of drawers - although they are plastic/rubber and I swore I’d never buy furniture like that again these are actually a step up from rock bottom, being sturdy, there are actual rollers for the drawers, and a stable base for the bird cages. They replaced the stacked milk crates and boards that had been doing that job, which, let’s face it, are even more low-level than plastic dressers. Also, I am very able to get these up the stairs myself, move them around myself (to clean behind them, don’tcha know). They are already providing much more compact and efficient storage for my underwear, socks, and winter clothing.
Did have a minor allergy outbreak afterward but knocked it down with my array of pharmaceuticals for the purpose.
The milk crates will be going into the utility closet where they can provide some storage for things like my toolboxes, small appliances, canned goods, and anything else that needs storage in the kitchen area. Hope to get that done today.
I adjusted the drive belt on my big sewing machine so it’s running really sweet right now. I’m actually using some of my stash of fabric to make floor mats for the kitchen and bathroom. It feels so good to be creative! Now if I could only reliably get stuff like sewing thread… (…damn virus!..)
Since I’ve used some of my fabric stash (the mats are going to be 4-5 layers of fabric) I was able to bring more over from the Old Place, reducing that pile, because I now have room for it at the New Place. Yay! System is working!
Still going through old filing, old stacks. Still have some items to sell on Ebay, or try to, and in fact I’m going to touch base with my seller today.
Found my old hamburger press - need to bleach it to sanitize it but I can use it to make burgers and various patties. Yay!
Not charging ahead rapidly but still making progress. Last time the landlord at the Old Place stopped by and checked on the place he commented that it looked a bit more empty.
Still have quite a bit of work still to do, but I feel like I’ve found a pace and it will get done. It’s no longer quite so overwhelming.
I got my storage unit cleared out! Filled my living room with boxes: some stacked up to over 5 feet.
I’ve gotten quite a few boxes emptied, at least into the donate/maybe sell/trash/keep piles. It helps that the guy who sometimes helps me with yard work is moving soon and needs boxes.
Also, I’m turning some of my yarn stash into cancer caps. De-clutter and do good at the same time!
Oh, man, I am happy for you. That’s a nice feeling, isn’t it? When you’ve gotten so much done that it’s easily noticeable, not just to you because you remember which pile used to be minutely taller.
Dumb question, but … how do you use the milk crates? If I have them right side up, the board blocks using the space inside each crate.
Do you have them sideways, like little cubby spaces?
(I think I answered my own question.)
So, one of the bright ideas I had many years ago was to sell vintage crafts, as well as vintage craft books. The craft books have done pretty well, but I never even got started selling the craft supplies.
Which is how I ended up finding this in a box today:
Yes, you more or less did. Sideways they’re cubbies. Stacked open side down they can make a table. I actually have two in the bathroom stacked up for a seat/small table. I use the empty interior for emergency supplies (yes, I do think like that) that need to be kept on hand but don’t need to be used often.
I also have one in each of the vehicles I use to hold washerfluid, jumper cables, etc. so they don’t want all over the place.
The ones I have are ancient, about 40 years old. A couple have broken and I tossed them, the rest are hanging in their. They’re extremely utilitarian, not entirely pretty, but very durable.
Ain’t dat da truth! I’ve got a set of wall-mounted wire baskets full of old papers. Insurance, health paperwork, fine-art-sales-and-materials receipts, you get the idea. They’ve been overflowing for years, and I keep cramming more in.
Well, yesterday was Recycling Day, and I woke up motivated, but knowing I had less than an hour til they tipped our big blue bin into the truck…
Fwoooossh!
You’ve never seen papers fly so fast. From the baskets into the recycling box, or tossed into a File These box or the Figure Out If You Need To File These box. Oh, and an Oops, Should Do Something With These box.
57 minutes later, I heard the truck, ran out and dumped probably ten pounds of papers into our bin just before the city scooped it up.
I can’t really report additional progress… but I can report maintenance.
Laundry is put away.
Craft supplies better organized.
I am actually working on and completing some old projects I started!
I think it’s likely to be bits and pieces until my next short vacation/long weekend slated to be in September - at least one day of which is already scheduled for some needed dental work. But bits and pieces over time work just as well as a marathon session so I’ll keep at it.
Feels good to be creating again, and being organized sure helps that!
I am, however, getting to the point where I think I may actually need to rent a storage unit for some large items I want to keep but simply do not have room for in my present location. I still have free storage at the Old Place, but I want a back up plan or just a way to get completely OUT of the Old Place as part of moving on with my life.
So I managed to empty out my rental storage locker with the help of a young, strong friend and a uhaul truck. The furniture place didn’t want any of my leftovers and neither did Goodwill. So now have some furniture in the garage and we took a few other pieces that I couldn’t give away down to the trash haulers. I refused to watch as my dad’s big, oak desk was torn apart but nobody wanted it. Now, I need to get the rest of the furniture a new home so I can park my vehicle in the garage come winter. And I’m no longer throwing money at a storage space.
I need a local “young, strong friend.” I have identified a couple of things I wanna get rid of, and while I can find some general handyman on Craigslist who’d be glad of a small job … some of the items are in the basement, and I just can’t bring myself to be trapped down there with a complete stranger.
Toldja guys that was a thing!