September's Dynamic Declutter

[blessedw2]

embarrassing moment 101 - when cleaning out desk found mini moth larve (alive 2 of them)
tossed quite a bit..
found I had 10 pink erasers (yes 10) 3 art erasers others too
I also had 4 measuring compasses with one broken
5 geometry measuring tools, old ink for old printers, hole punchers 3 upstairs and their are more downstairs, children scissors galor, and old cds for dd's from elementary school that were broken.
enough top pencil erasers to give a whole class for the year
and tons of envelopes that don't match any cards
and just junk on junk including enough pens that were yucky and pencils (so many to count)
so kept 2 pink erasers, as dd's have their own, donating whats good, tossing what no one needs or wants.. feeling kind of guilty I bought over and over again every year because I couldn't find the old stuff. \but I tossed tons of papers, the extras of everything and donated the rest that was donatable . It was hard but I did it. silly these little items would bog me down
REMEMBER: HONOR WHAT YOU HAVE.

[Harriet]

Dd12 got through one of her 6 cards for decluttering the areas we targeted in her room - the biggest one. She is learning that at first it's easy but as you go through and come down to the last few things, they will be tough - no place for them or hard decision, etc. Anyway, a doll and a bear to donations, 3 toys to donations, and several things tossed, so about 2 CUBIC feet of clutter lifted for her. "bigger than a breadbox" so that's progress.

Oh, I love blessed's name for "wish papers". I have many.

About "lazy" - You know, there is a real theory - I really read about it somewhere - that states it is possible there is no such thing as laziness, just misunderstood planning time, such as daydreaming.

Like Harmony, I recently threw away long accumulation of sauce packets and mustard packets, the horseradish from Arby's, etc. I was trying to stick a little paper inside a baggie to date them, but it got out of hand. I may try the baggie idea again. It is not a bad idea, just has to be a temporary one.

LOL! editing to change "square feet" to "cubic feet"! We've been doing well, but not THAT well!

[Indiana]

I watched both hoarder shows. Both I found interesting. The family dynamics was interesting in both shows. Even the family dynamics of Sir Patrick.

Harriet keep appliance boxes until expiration date of warranty and then toss. Put a sticky on the box so you know when your warranty ends.

[blessedw2]

great job to your dd dharriet! great job dharriet and dharmony on getting rid of the extra condiment packages
and great job dnancy on your seasonal garb! awesome!

I agree with dindiana especially about having the date on the box. dh and I had a box for the air conditionaire for the back room. funny thing is we didn't know it only had a top and not a bottom. we kept it in the 3 season room in the corner for put away and I opened the box and alas no bottom. I laughed so hard. d dh wanted me to keep that box a nd we both laughed when we realized what we had done.

I was called lazy all my life and I know I am not lazy but I would shut down when I was stressed or felt that no matter what I did was not enough plus I was never focused as a child... the poverbial puppy with the butterfly! At least I saw a lot of joy in things and still do!

working in dd'15's art area/my sewing area. I did get rid of my broken serger the other day and am finding more thread from the machine

I finished the art area. organizing it and tossing broke. I also took all the extra children scissors (lots) that I used for girl scouts and parties at our home and tossed all but two as I also have 2 regular size scissors upstairs drawer, dh has a bunch in the garage, and I have my sewing scissors. Believe it or not it made me sad to toss those (not usable). I loved having 20 girls in my little house and have thought about volunteering my time with scouts again but I know in my heart I want to finish school and get to work with preschoolers. so reality came in even if it made me a little sad
.
Make space in your heart, and face the discomfort. from dharriet

from dharriet
thank dharriet... this came at the right time for me..

[Harriet]

On a whim, I googled "Lazy". Found several "no such thing" mentions, including this thought-provoking list by Jeremy Pope, from his article "No Such Thing As Lazy". He is a counselor/hypnotist.

"Here are the three things that may be masquerading as laziness in your life.

1. Procrastination. This is what I was dealing with. Procrastination is putting off something you intend to do. It’s an active thing - you are pushing the task away from you, because of pain. Procrastination lives exclusively in the domain of pain and fear.

2. Lack of motivation. This is simply when your values do not match your goals. Values are the things that are important to you - what you spend your time, money, effort, and thoughts on. Goals are the things you want to accomplish. When a goal isn’t important to you, why would it EVER be accomplished? Duh.

3. Not knowing what you want. If you don’t know what it is that you want, how will you ever achieve it? Most people fail to be specific in their goals - instead they leave their future in ‘dreamland’, where it’s always far away.

Now, this isn’t an either/or situation. Many times all three issues are present, and they must all be dealt with. Procrastination is dealt with by moving to a positive motivation instead of a negative one. Lack of motivation is dealt with by simply deciding what you want both to be (value and goal), then making it so. Not knowing what you want is dealt with by sitting down and actually thinking clearly about it - with pen and paper."

Business counselor Mark Silver say he doesn't believe in "lazy" and says he can prove it to anyone by suggesting they do nothing for a week. In every case, the person can't stand the thought, so obviously these are not lazy people. He says "laziness" is really resistance, and it's healthy, because it's telling us there is some step we have missed. He says sometimes it is that we are depleted and we're resisting because we know we need to care for ourselves first. But sometimes it is because the step we think we are too "lazy" to take is really several steps, for instance the resistance to having to work with a tricky software program may be what's really stopping a person from entering information that should be quick to do. He says the answer is actually to slow down:

"Make space in your heart, and face the discomfort.

What is your heart needing here in order to face this issue?

Laziness is this blanket judgment we put on ourselves for not “just doing it.” In reality, there’s either a missing piece that we don’t want to miss, or some discomfort that we’re not yet willing to face.

Slow down, break it down, listen to your heart, and then see if it’s easier to move forward."

[Lynlee]

Harrietthank`you.
I`love`your`post.
I`need`to`get`back`to`dealing`with`5`things`at`a`time`in`terms`of`PUPA`or`toss.
Thinking`beyond`that`immobilizes`me.
Lazy`ia`a`label`designed`to`belittle`or`as`self`torment.
It`does`not`inspire`me`to`action.

[Harriet]

Lynlee, I love the "5 by 5" idea learned on these boards of planning 5 things done by 5:00 p.m. (Or just any 5 things on an index card for any timeline.)

I watched the other network's show, TLC's Hoarding: Buried Alive at 9 est last night, but it's not the same thing. They showed much less real work - almost none. Never showed a single worker, just one scene each for dr and organizer. They go from the scene where the person starts sorting through the first few items, to commercial, to the end scene with a clean house. You find yourself thinking, now wait, there were mountains of clutter right there, I saw them, what happened! LOL It's really not hands-on and doesn't spend time teaching viewers what to DO, just to be sympathetic. But the subject people are interesting (and calm!) and before and afters are cheerful, I guess. Change happens, they just don't SHOW it happening. Previews for their other types of shows during commercials were morally icky.

blessed, I went out and bought glue sticks this year and yesterday found a bunch in the office supply drawer (wide file cabinet drawer), which is too crowded to find things well. Hope the new ones don't dry out before dd12 gets to them. To make matters worse, dd did her first project of the year that could have used them and had to use regular glue so it wasn't as neat. So I figured I had to buy!

[Nancy]

I need new glue sticks!

Was talking to a neighbor about those hoarder shows and she said she saw in the paper
where a gal had died and they did not find her for three days under the clutter. OMGosh that's
like a person's greatest night mare and great mojo for keeping up with our decluttering process.

Saw that hoarders was running all day today in one of those T. V. marathons.

[Lynlee]

Nancy`I`saw`a`report`recently`of`someone`buried`alive/died`under`a`fallen`stack..
even`sniffer`dogs`hadn't`found`her...`too`much`bad`smell`handler`said.

Harriet-`I've`seen`other`programs`with`addictions`(spending/eating`candy.chocs/etc)
`where``there`is`a`big`thing`on`sessions`with`the`dr/psychologist`helping`with`the`person's
understanding`of`why`they`do`it,`and`a`trainer`giving`practical`instructions.
The`shows`were`very`respectful`of`the`person...Showed`them`freed`of`whatever`had`them.
I'm`thinking`the`process`might`be`similar`on`that`show`you`mentioned.
Not`needing`to`be`personally`verified`by`stuff/eating`seemed`to`be`the`key.

Put`donations`collected`in`my`bedroom`over`years`-bagged-`in`car`to`deliver`today:)

[blessedw2]

hello everyone

today was donation day: donated some tops, my books, a window fan that was still in the box and never opened as we have enough,

Yeah lynn. a big atta girl for getting your donations ready to drop off.

nancy, its so sad how what comforted them and then became an addiction took away their life literally. I get inspiration from watching those shows because I don't want that for my family (or me )

harriet I too like the 5 things done.. it helps with focus and not over goaling. I too wish the shows would show more of the hands on work like the old show that would help people understand why they feel the way about their stuff and how to honor their families lost by keeping the most special and displaying it. I forgot the name of the show with the gentleman who has been on oprah.
Also I have to buy things for dd15 when it comes to projects and then find out I let the items ruin or over buy. at least it makes life interesting. now at least you will have them for the next project!