May Declutter and Organization, 2019

[Twins' Mom]

Too funny about your every-other-week recycling, Harriet! It's the same here, and we occasionally have an inquiry on the Facebook group for the neighborhood about whether it's this week or was last week! Or M and I discreetly check with each other. The dneighbors to one side of me, tho, use two of the standard recycle bins, and I think they must believe it's a contest to get it out there earliest. As soon as the garbage can comes in on Wed the recycling goes out, so I can usually tell, unless they're out of town.

I have stalled out today on decluttering at all.

[blessedw2]

Those little mice can be a bother!!! so true about the canned goods... I told dh that we had to have all that type of stuff out of that area!
you made me laugh -

Watch me get in there and find no hole at all, just imaginative fear.

.

Yay on your declutter of cloths d Harriet!!!!!

telling my neighbours about my critter problem has been a plus. I thought they would go ewww! but they too said they were having problems too since our old kitty died. It's funny how one cat can protect a house. Some of neighbours have been having trouble with mice as well since developers tore into the wooded area and built homes. The mice have to go somewhere. Our next door neighbour has a skunk living under their house now.

I only have inside kitties now but they haven't a clue how to catch mice (without releasing them in front of me (alive) as a gift.

[blessedw2]

I am surprised that you and d harriet have recycling only twice a month d twins.
oh my gosh, so funny:

The d neighbors to one side of me, tho, use two of the standard recycle bins, and I think they must believe it's a contest to get it out there earliest.

d twins I stall out all the time on the decluttering.

[blessedw2]

thrilled... we have done so much cleaning up over the years that dh can see we no longer need the small shed (which is literally falling apart). I was trying to figure out how to buy him a new shed. the only thing we have in there right now is a riding mower that is 25 years old that keeps breaking, snow shovels, and winter salt. Dh said he is going to call the man to pick up the riding lawnmower and give it to him for parts. Then he is going to ask dd's to help him and I move the rider to the front of the house. Hoping that we can get the shed torn down this week. yay

[Nancy]

Poisting a goal here so I can come back and x it off when progress is made.
I have a laundry basket half full of I might need this some day left over fabric pieces scraps odds and ends of an old sheet.
I already made pillow cases out of the best poart of the sheet.
Making progress on the book case in the creativity room.

Sorted the fabric scraps and decluttered the non keepers. Found the old jean fabric I had been looking for yea for progress!

Shelter is way on the opposite part of the next town road construction prohibitive, plus they have an abundance of stuff now, because of a recient drive for a yd sale fund raiser. I kept one piece back for a possibl e dog blanket later. Warn sheets were cut up and only parts of em left.

[Harmony]

Wow, blessed that's a huge declutter! Our biggest declutter was 2 riding mowers, neither of which worked, and the little utility trailer DH sold.

I keep going back to those spots I decluttered today to just look. Almost half of a tall kitchen garbage can full of old bottles, boxes, labels, just junk. It would have taken too much water to get them clean enough to put in the recycle bin. All of that gone with no problem making decisions. Now I have a problem deciding what to do with 1 left over basket, it's a long narrow one with wooden frame and 2 wooden hinged handles. I sat there and thought about all the places I could put it. I even loaded it up with all my small devotional books, but there was nowhere accessible to put something like that.

I hate when I get 'stuck' over one stupid item.

Ok, Nancy, could you make pillow cases out of the leftover sheet? Sorry. Just let it all go!

[Twins' Mom]

Donate worn or extra sheets and towels to an animal shelter! That one is easy for me, at least.

[blessedw2]

d harmony that is awesome that you donated your riding mowers and sold the utility trailer!!! and look at all the work you did. It feels wonderful to de-clutter and then look back at that spot. I do that when I am in the garden!
I figure if you get stuck on an item - just put it aside. You will know when you come around to it again. I do that all the time otherwise I literally can't move forward.
Great job!

hi d Nancy! cheering you on through your decluttering!

Yay d twins on donating the warn or extra sheets and towels! Well Done!

[blessedw2]

dh and I drove to the household chemical waste drop off collection event.
gone:
extra containers of turpentine
weed products that are not good for people or the environment
some cleansers
garden stuff that is too old.
bad bug powder from way long ago that is dangerous for the environment.
45 year old flares - they were dh's dads.
paint
antifreeze
motor oil
those bulbs that have mercury in them - led

dh was really happy!

[Harmony]

blessed, were you able to take the (what was it?) kerosene there too?

Another spot in the house all finished. I had decaf and regular coffee beans which I put through the mill and put in the regular containers to use them up. I threw away some teas I would never use (1 flavored one I didn't like I've had for about 12 years)! Lots of organizing and cleaning.

I also had a big glass fancy container with a wooden top I had filled with seashells. I don't drag anything home from the beach unless it's absolutely perfect. Well the glass jar was beginning to break the bottom out and the rubber gasket around the wood top was cracking. Filled another one instead, recycled the glass jar, threw out the top, and put the big nice shells in that dratted wood basket I was fussing about. I threw out 5 lbs. of shells!

Oh, interesting fact: I have a chunk of granite from our Pgh. trip when we went past my old HS and they were redoing the crumbling granite front steps. I also have a couple quartz rocks from the NC mountains! I kept those with the big shells.