24 more hours. Admist all of yesterday's chaos and the excitment of finally finding clothes for Luke and having him at school looking sharp as they got their pictures taking today, and impromtu play date in teh morning with another mom, nasty heat and requests to put up the kiddie pool I forgot about Ella'S piano lesson. Mind you. This is the first time I messed up in all of 11 days and instead of being proud of myself of having done so well I beat myself up over not being perfect. First Ithought it was because I forgot to put it down. But guess what. I was on today's list of things to do. All the way up top even, I guess I got careless casue things went so smoothly.
Oh well. I think I am over it. I did by that binder I passed up last week. Maybe that fixed it. I did well. I did really well. I made her practise for 30 min to make up for the missed lesson. I will go to bed now. 24 hours. I can do it.
2016-06-30
2016-06-29
COMFORT SHOPPING
I never considered myself a shopper. Here is why. I hate shopping. I hate comparing prices. I hate having to decide on a brand. Should I go for cheap, or pay a little more and hope it is better quality? Shopping means decisions, and I am not good at those. Every now and then I have to go shopping. Usually James goes, as he actually enjoys it, even grocery shopping.
Today I went. Mostly because I wanted to get rid of all the cans and bottles with a deposit on them, they were blocking my hall. I had 2 things on my list. Bathroom cleaner and hand soap. Well. I got the bathroom cleaner. I also got a little beach tent, 3 water bottles, I did pass up the sunglasses and the cute folders. I really want the one with the fruit on it. What could I need a new folder for? I could diss the plain blue one I have for my translations. Great idea. Someone always needs plain blue one for school. What else did I get. I don't even think I got all that much, but just the fact that I had 2 items on my list, only got one of them and still ended up with a full trunk, speaks volumes about my shopping style. I got some food ( good thing I skipped the chocolate aisle). I got diapers. Well. I guess except for the tent and the bottles all those items will be used, but fact is, they were not on the list and I could have done without them a few more days.
I ended up being 3 min late to pick up the girls from dance class. And I think this is the real problem. Risking being late so I wouldn't miss a deal? Ouch. Even if I wasn't activly risking it. I got sidetracked and ended up late. I am afraid I'll go back for the folders...
Today I went. Mostly because I wanted to get rid of all the cans and bottles with a deposit on them, they were blocking my hall. I had 2 things on my list. Bathroom cleaner and hand soap. Well. I got the bathroom cleaner. I also got a little beach tent, 3 water bottles, I did pass up the sunglasses and the cute folders. I really want the one with the fruit on it. What could I need a new folder for? I could diss the plain blue one I have for my translations. Great idea. Someone always needs plain blue one for school. What else did I get. I don't even think I got all that much, but just the fact that I had 2 items on my list, only got one of them and still ended up with a full trunk, speaks volumes about my shopping style. I got some food ( good thing I skipped the chocolate aisle). I got diapers. Well. I guess except for the tent and the bottles all those items will be used, but fact is, they were not on the list and I could have done without them a few more days.
I ended up being 3 min late to pick up the girls from dance class. And I think this is the real problem. Risking being late so I wouldn't miss a deal? Ouch. Even if I wasn't activly risking it. I got sidetracked and ended up late. I am afraid I'll go back for the folders...
2016-06-28
BACK TO NORMAL
As ridiculous as it sounds, it seems I had a better grip on life when I was on my own. There is something about being soley in charge that keeps you focused.
What have I achieved so far? House is semi okay. I not only identified some bags in the basement that might be "chuckable", I also went through them and threw out about half. I sold more books, they are ready to be shipped off.
Sometimes I think I can see improvements. Then I look into my worst room and I am not so sure anymore.
What have I achieved so far? House is semi okay. I not only identified some bags in the basement that might be "chuckable", I also went through them and threw out about half. I sold more books, they are ready to be shipped off.
Sometimes I think I can see improvements. Then I look into my worst room and I am not so sure anymore.
FALLING APART
I am officially starting to fall apart. Things went a lot better than expected until Sunday. Monday morning it was obvious that I had started to fray. As of this morning I am officially falling apart. It is still more than 80 hours. How on earth am I to survive 80 endless hours with all the things I should do and a baby that thinks waking up mommy in the middle of the night is a fun sport? To make matters worse the gas tank light just lit up when I reparked the car. I hate having to get gas. I am clinging to my daily lists but today I even started crossing things off that weren't done yet and vice versa. Friday. Please. If you hear me...come quickly!
2016-06-27
DEAR RACHEL!
2 years ago you taught me how important it is to "make time for action". I can't stress this enough. It seems to be one of the key elements of succeeding with decluttering. Over the last couple of weeks I got bags of clothing together that I wanted to pass on to different people "someday". Well guess what. "Someday" just like "tomorrow" never comes. In the end I had a pile of bags in the hall that were constantly in the way and I was too tired to pick them apart. Especially cause picking them apart resulted in taking things out again.
I decided that I will just forget about getting them to their "proper destination" as one person moved, and the other is really picky about what she wants anyway. They will all go in the donation box at the end of the street.
Next problem was that I refuse to drive such a short distance, but that I can't really take them all at once.
Solution: Bring a bag every time I go for school pick up or drop off!
Thanks to you I know I need to make time for action!
I decided that I will just forget about getting them to their "proper destination" as one person moved, and the other is really picky about what she wants anyway. They will all go in the donation box at the end of the street.
Next problem was that I refuse to drive such a short distance, but that I can't really take them all at once.
Solution: Bring a bag every time I go for school pick up or drop off!
Thanks to you I know I need to make time for action!
2016-06-24
GOOD DEED OF THE DAY
I had a bad day. 3.5 hours of sleep, nap rudely cut short in the morning by Mr Grumpy, hot and humid, I was sweating all day long and because I was so tired I didn't really get anything done. A few things could have gone really wrong in the early evening and I was as mad as if they had. I know. Stupid. It's just that it is the same problem over and over again and I am sick and tired of being apologized to. I want things to change. One more "I am sorry" about this and I will punch someone.
On the way back home I saw what looked like a wallet on the street. I told Alex, that I wanted to turn around and get it and return it to the owner. He was wondering why. "It' to late," he said, " we passed it already." I told him I had a crappy day and it would improve my day to save somebody else's. So we turned around, went back. Sure enough. A wallet. 150 bucks in it. ID, credit cards, you name it. Fortunately we also found a name and address.
I ring the door bell.
A guy answers.
"Are you John Doe?"
"Yes, I am."
"I am here to brighten your day!"
A puzzled look.
I hold out his wallet.
Slowly.
Recognition.
Surprise!
He hadn't even missed it yet.
He insisted on rewarding me and gave me a 50. I refused to take it and said I would take no more than a 10. He said he had no tens and gave me a 20. Back with Alex I said:"When you counted you counted 100, 110, 120 and so on. There was a ten in that wallet, wasn't there?" "At least 6," was his reply.
Hahaha. The guy lied to me! What a day.
On the way back home I saw what looked like a wallet on the street. I told Alex, that I wanted to turn around and get it and return it to the owner. He was wondering why. "It' to late," he said, " we passed it already." I told him I had a crappy day and it would improve my day to save somebody else's. So we turned around, went back. Sure enough. A wallet. 150 bucks in it. ID, credit cards, you name it. Fortunately we also found a name and address.
I ring the door bell.
A guy answers.
"Are you John Doe?"
"Yes, I am."
"I am here to brighten your day!"
A puzzled look.
I hold out his wallet.
Slowly.
Recognition.
Surprise!
He hadn't even missed it yet.
He insisted on rewarding me and gave me a 50. I refused to take it and said I would take no more than a 10. He said he had no tens and gave me a 20. Back with Alex I said:"When you counted you counted 100, 110, 120 and so on. There was a ten in that wallet, wasn't there?" "At least 6," was his reply.
Hahaha. The guy lied to me! What a day.
2016-06-23
SOOTHING OFFICE SUPPLIES
Oh. Get a life. So I bought office supplies. My husband is out of town for 12 days for crying out loud. And I already passed them up last time. I only bought 2 packs of folder divider sets (2 per package) totally justifiable because I am down to 2 packages in the basement. Well. Okay. So a total unnecessary purchase, but the colors where nice and at least the stuff doesn't take up much room and will be used for school "someday". I stayed clear of the pens and all the cool paper I should get some credit for that!
2016-06-22
WORKING HARD
I had a list of rooms to clear last night. Guess what. I didn't even make it through half of it. I had 3 h 45 min to work. I probably wasted at least 45 min on the phone and chatting doing nothing. I spent 30 min on laundry instead of 10 and those rooms where simply more work than I expected.
I finished the first room. The guest room. I thought I had 2 weeks to prep it, but it turned out it needs to be done by tomorrow 11 am. I meant to leave the vacuuming to the cleaning fairy, but ended up doing it myself. It only needs bedding now, than it is all the way done. Oh wait. At least for this guest, it will need some more prepping and clearing of shelf space for guest #2 who is staying a lot longer.
The second room I worked on was the bedroom of my girls. That room is such a night mare. I ended up only picking trash and broken stuff out, discarded it and put things in baskets and boxes attempting to pre sort it. I had every intention of a 6 am wake up call (that happened) and going through the stuff before school. That kind of didn't happen. I forgot that Ella has early start and I highly overestimated how fit I would feel myself. In the end Marie did a few things half heartedly, Ella was sent off to practice reading and I focused on not yelling at anyone.
I dreamt about doing it in the afternoon, but of course that never happened. Somehow I doubt it will ever happen and that room will just return to it's terrible state and it will all have been in vain.
I finished the first room. The guest room. I thought I had 2 weeks to prep it, but it turned out it needs to be done by tomorrow 11 am. I meant to leave the vacuuming to the cleaning fairy, but ended up doing it myself. It only needs bedding now, than it is all the way done. Oh wait. At least for this guest, it will need some more prepping and clearing of shelf space for guest #2 who is staying a lot longer.
The second room I worked on was the bedroom of my girls. That room is such a night mare. I ended up only picking trash and broken stuff out, discarded it and put things in baskets and boxes attempting to pre sort it. I had every intention of a 6 am wake up call (that happened) and going through the stuff before school. That kind of didn't happen. I forgot that Ella has early start and I highly overestimated how fit I would feel myself. In the end Marie did a few things half heartedly, Ella was sent off to practice reading and I focused on not yelling at anyone.
I dreamt about doing it in the afternoon, but of course that never happened. Somehow I doubt it will ever happen and that room will just return to it's terrible state and it will all have been in vain.
2016-06-21
ON MY OWN
Once again I am on my own. James is on a 12 day business trip to China. I can't believe I said it would be just fine if he went. Truth be said "Oh sure. Go ahead," was meant to have a sarcastic twinge, but that doesn't carry too well via email. Things started of well. 20 of the 272 hours are over already. It might not be obvious to outsiders, but I can tell my stress levels are up.
Living up to my word to take the clothes to the donation box only happened, because I put them in the hall and they took up so much room that I could not get by with the stroller. Otherwise I would have forgotten about them again, even though they were in plain sight.
I manged to take 3 bags with me. On the way there I passed the glass collection boxes. And wouldn't you know it. One contained drinking glasses. Just on Sunday I talked to a friend of mine who is a student, that she needed more drinking glasses. I resisted the urge to pick them out. The fact that they were bulky and ugly made it easier, but it was a conscious effort.
I heard the collection truck on the way back (falling glass makes an awful lot of noise especially when it lands on top of more glass) and thought I was safe. Once I realized they had not been to that street yet, I crossed over to the other side to stay as far away from those glasses as possible. I must admit that I did longingly stare at the box. I didn't see the glasses, but I knew they were there.
A clip in my head started rolling, me, saving the glasses from the box, getting them out of the dishwasher. all sparkly to present to the new owner, AAAAAHHHHH! I picked up speed to get away from there.
Fortunately a few steps further down the road a bag of clothes with a flyer attached to it caught my attention. Curb side collection! Yeah! I checked the flyer. TODAY! Sure enough I had one in my mailbox, too, that I had never bothered to get out.
5 min later the clothes from the car and the ones still in the house were out on the curb with the flyer attached.
ALL the clothes gone AND I RESISTED the urge to acquire! I am AWESOME!
Living up to my word to take the clothes to the donation box only happened, because I put them in the hall and they took up so much room that I could not get by with the stroller. Otherwise I would have forgotten about them again, even though they were in plain sight.
I manged to take 3 bags with me. On the way there I passed the glass collection boxes. And wouldn't you know it. One contained drinking glasses. Just on Sunday I talked to a friend of mine who is a student, that she needed more drinking glasses. I resisted the urge to pick them out. The fact that they were bulky and ugly made it easier, but it was a conscious effort.
I heard the collection truck on the way back (falling glass makes an awful lot of noise especially when it lands on top of more glass) and thought I was safe. Once I realized they had not been to that street yet, I crossed over to the other side to stay as far away from those glasses as possible. I must admit that I did longingly stare at the box. I didn't see the glasses, but I knew they were there.
A clip in my head started rolling, me, saving the glasses from the box, getting them out of the dishwasher. all sparkly to present to the new owner, AAAAAHHHHH! I picked up speed to get away from there.
Fortunately a few steps further down the road a bag of clothes with a flyer attached to it caught my attention. Curb side collection! Yeah! I checked the flyer. TODAY! Sure enough I had one in my mailbox, too, that I had never bothered to get out.
5 min later the clothes from the car and the ones still in the house were out on the curb with the flyer attached.
ALL the clothes gone AND I RESISTED the urge to acquire! I am AWESOME!
2016-06-20
ROTM - JUNE
I just checked my blog stats. One of the most read articles is titled ROTM. YIKES !!! I totally forgot about that concept. I guess if I wanted to jinx myself I would pick Ella's and Marie's room as I tend to not get around to the room I picked originally. The mere thought of a ROTM makes me shudder.
Oh. Wouldn't you know it. I just checked. Girls' room was ROTM in JANUARY! It just never got done.
I'll just do the guest room. This is the only room I feel I can get done!
Oh. Wouldn't you know it. I just checked. Girls' room was ROTM in JANUARY! It just never got done.
I'll just do the guest room. This is the only room I feel I can get done!
2016-06-17
STAR WARS VS STAR TRECK
Have you ever participated in the endless discussion of which is better? Star Wars or Star Trek? Well. It's official. The buyers have spoken. The verdict is in. Don't take this too hard dear Trekkies.
When it comes to VHS tapes, Star Wars sells. Star Treck does not. We win!
And how would I know? Because I had both in my boxes of VHS tapes. I did throw out 2 Trekkie tapes with the first batch and started panicking when I sold 1 on the third batch. I was about to dig them out of the trash. GROSS, I KNOW! But it was worth something! Don't you understand?
I then remembered that the paper covers where in the recycling bin, I got them out and punched in their ISBN numbers just to find out they were worth NOTHING! Probably just as well as I am afraid I might have dug them out of the trash. I know, TERRIBLE! Only 1 Trekkie tape sold. Every single Star Wars tape sold. Point made.
When it comes to VHS tapes, Star Wars sells. Star Treck does not. We win!
And how would I know? Because I had both in my boxes of VHS tapes. I did throw out 2 Trekkie tapes with the first batch and started panicking when I sold 1 on the third batch. I was about to dig them out of the trash. GROSS, I KNOW! But it was worth something! Don't you understand?
I then remembered that the paper covers where in the recycling bin, I got them out and punched in their ISBN numbers just to find out they were worth NOTHING! Probably just as well as I am afraid I might have dug them out of the trash. I know, TERRIBLE! Only 1 Trekkie tape sold. Every single Star Wars tape sold. Point made.
2016-06-16
MISSING IN ACTION
Tuesday night when I put out our trash I was a little disappointed.out of 5 people I was the only one who had it out. I had hoped they would all be out as 2 of the neighbors had been on vacation and I had my hopes up they would put half empty bins out on the curb.
Wednesday morning brought a lovely surprise as one neighbor put out a basically empty trash can. I quickly got my left over trash and but it in. Still more than have empty! I was so excited and ran up to the attic in the hopes of finding enough to not waste this opportunity. No obvious trash! I started peeking into boxes. YIKES! A whole box full of stinking VHS tapes! OF course I couldn't just toss them. I frantically started entering ISBN numbers. And believe it or not, the stuff was selling! After selling 3 I could not stop and had to enter them all. I worked as fast as I could.
10 min after I had dumped the tapes into the neighbors trash can I heard the dump truck! I had 2 or 3 DvDs left that didn't sell. Progress people. Serious progress. 3 boxes less to deal with in the attic!
Oh. Captain Ramius and Red October are still missing in action I wish I could be a little more like Jack Ryan. OR even better. Jonesy!
Wednesday morning brought a lovely surprise as one neighbor put out a basically empty trash can. I quickly got my left over trash and but it in. Still more than have empty! I was so excited and ran up to the attic in the hopes of finding enough to not waste this opportunity. No obvious trash! I started peeking into boxes. YIKES! A whole box full of stinking VHS tapes! OF course I couldn't just toss them. I frantically started entering ISBN numbers. And believe it or not, the stuff was selling! After selling 3 I could not stop and had to enter them all. I worked as fast as I could.
10 min after I had dumped the tapes into the neighbors trash can I heard the dump truck! I had 2 or 3 DvDs left that didn't sell. Progress people. Serious progress. 3 boxes less to deal with in the attic!
Oh. Captain Ramius and Red October are still missing in action I wish I could be a little more like Jack Ryan. OR even better. Jonesy!
2016-06-13
BYE BYE VHS TAPES!
Once I decided that the tapes will all go into the bin it was hard to not run out and dump them right away. I decided to wait as I would rather be left with a few tapes for the next load of trash than with food scraped of plates that has no where to go. It was hard for me and I finally decided that second to last day is good enough. With Pickup early Wednesday morning everything else can sit in the bins in the house for a day if needs be.
So I stuffed them.
So I stuffed them.
Will you look at that. Completely full. Yet, not overflowing. A perfect fit. Yes, I had to pull of the paper covers and put them in the recycling bin. As I did that right away, I figured it is okay.
Here. Proof:
There is just one problem. I have not come across "The Hunt for Red October" There is no way that I parted with it previously. I really hope it is still at my parents house. Because if it isn't, it is hiding in my attic and there is no way it would be on it's own. It would be with at least 30 friends and this would start all over again!
2016-06-10
ATTIC PROGRESS
I am happy to say that I am making progress. Yes. I still need to throw each piece out individually. Yes. It would be so much faster if I could just take one quick glimpse and throw out the whole lot. No, that is not going to happen any time soon.
I went into the attic, opened a box and started throwing things out. I lasted longer than I thought. I also got more out than I thought I would. Unfortunately you can't really tell a difference as the box is still there. It only contains half as much as before, but it is still there.
A lot of things went that I could not bring myself to toss before. Lots of Fast food chain toys. One would think we eat there once a week.
I filled up a small carrier bag and got it right out of the house as the trash can was empty. Now it I could only get myself to do this twice a week I'd see progress!
I went into the attic, opened a box and started throwing things out. I lasted longer than I thought. I also got more out than I thought I would. Unfortunately you can't really tell a difference as the box is still there. It only contains half as much as before, but it is still there.
A lot of things went that I could not bring myself to toss before. Lots of Fast food chain toys. One would think we eat there once a week.
I filled up a small carrier bag and got it right out of the house as the trash can was empty. Now it I could only get myself to do this twice a week I'd see progress!
2016-06-08
VHS TAPES
I was tempted to say that VHS tapes were "so last season" but I am afraid that's DvDs. And VHS is so much older. A year ago I had a few potential takers still, but when I casually dropped the word on social media about getting rid of them, no one volunteered to give them a new home. I got the message. Thank you. So it is good bye for good. Thanks for the great stories.
I wanted to keep 1 tape (the one that has our wedding on it) and was a little worried about having to dig through the 2 boxes and whether or not that would shake my determination to get rid of them. I opened the first box and wouldn't you know it. The wedding tape was the first I touched. I took it as a sign.
The next obstacle was that I still nursed the hope that the dumpster divers might pick them up. So I wanted to set them out on the street tonight. I transferred them to card bord boxes and happend to come across Lord Vader.
For the fun of it I entered the ISBN on the site I use to sell books and wouldn't you know it. They pay me 3.50 for it! I'll take it. Greedy me immediately assumed that there was a fortune to make and I started entering other numbers. Well. After 3 I gave up. Some of these tapes are old enough to not even have an ISBN number. I am proud of myself for stopping after three and some good came from it after all. Nicole's full name and address, yes Nicole, hand me down VHS tapes from YOU! were on the tape. So I scraped them off.
Now here is the grand ending to the story. Luke abused the tapes as building blocks, he had permission. So after I had written the last paragraph I started to put the tapes back into their individual boxes and found yet another sticker with Nicole's name on it. As I started scraping it off, I thought:"This is totally ridiculous!". It really is. I just grabbed the rest of the tapes and boxes, threw them in a box to collect them and on Tuesday night they are going in the big trash can and that is it. No hoping that some random soul will rescue them. Even if tow of them are still in their original cellophane wrapping. IT IS NOT WORTH MY TIME! Now THAT is progress!
I wanted to keep 1 tape (the one that has our wedding on it) and was a little worried about having to dig through the 2 boxes and whether or not that would shake my determination to get rid of them. I opened the first box and wouldn't you know it. The wedding tape was the first I touched. I took it as a sign.
The next obstacle was that I still nursed the hope that the dumpster divers might pick them up. So I wanted to set them out on the street tonight. I transferred them to card bord boxes and happend to come across Lord Vader.
For the fun of it I entered the ISBN on the site I use to sell books and wouldn't you know it. They pay me 3.50 for it! I'll take it. Greedy me immediately assumed that there was a fortune to make and I started entering other numbers. Well. After 3 I gave up. Some of these tapes are old enough to not even have an ISBN number. I am proud of myself for stopping after three and some good came from it after all. Nicole's full name and address, yes Nicole, hand me down VHS tapes from YOU! were on the tape. So I scraped them off.
Now here is the grand ending to the story. Luke abused the tapes as building blocks, he had permission. So after I had written the last paragraph I started to put the tapes back into their individual boxes and found yet another sticker with Nicole's name on it. As I started scraping it off, I thought:"This is totally ridiculous!". It really is. I just grabbed the rest of the tapes and boxes, threw them in a box to collect them and on Tuesday night they are going in the big trash can and that is it. No hoping that some random soul will rescue them. Even if tow of them are still in their original cellophane wrapping. IT IS NOT WORTH MY TIME! Now THAT is progress!
2016-06-06
FACING THE PAIN
I hate feeling stupid. I guess nobody likes feeling stupid. I hate it. When I feel stupid I usually make things worse by telling myself just how stupid I am. I think that might also be the reason why I don't want to face the attic. Everything up there that needs to go is basically a wrong decision. It should have been tossed months or actually years ago but I parked it up there. So every time I threw something out I have to admit I made a stupid decision back then.
I have come to terms with it in as much as the stupid decision was made whether or not I deal with it now. The only thing to make it worse is to postpone dealing with it even more. I have decided I am strong enough to face it now. Actually I decided that about 3 weeks ago and it took until now to actually do it. I picked out a few random things that were thrown into the trash I have upstairs and hauled down 2 boxes full of VHS tapes. Yes. VHS tapes. Next destination. Trash.
I have come to terms with it in as much as the stupid decision was made whether or not I deal with it now. The only thing to make it worse is to postpone dealing with it even more. I have decided I am strong enough to face it now. Actually I decided that about 3 weeks ago and it took until now to actually do it. I picked out a few random things that were thrown into the trash I have upstairs and hauled down 2 boxes full of VHS tapes. Yes. VHS tapes. Next destination. Trash.
2016-06-02
MY DAILY BATTLE
How on earth am I to declutter if just half a day of not keeping up on daily chores makes my house look as if it blew up and I haven't done a thing in 3 weeks? It is so frustrating. I really am struggling with this. I used to start upstairs in our bedroom, but then, when we switched rooms with the girls I never really was able to keep it up. I know I have whined about this before. I have finally decided to completely turn things around and just start downstairs. Since the cleaning lady started things have been more under control down here and I think it is the only way to go. Wish me luck and asked me how it went in July.
Abonnieren
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