Tillie looks like you're on. Can you come into chat now?
Dianne
Posted: 28 September 2013 - 10:31 AM
I just did something with Java to get into chat. I'm going to leave myself in today and will be checking the computer. Karl will you join me there when you read this?
Tillie
Posted: 28 September 2013 - 10:30 AM
Mornin ;Z
This old laptop computer is crashing. I keep trying to keep it running with duct tape, hot glue gun and chewing gum. ;P
Wanted/needed to wipe out the inside of the fridge yesterday. His shelf was stuffed full of mystery food. Made him remove it all and evaluate it. By the time he was finished there was only a very few items fit to eat returned to the fridge. Making him take all that wasted food out to the garbage can and tossing it might let him know how much food & money he wastes.
Need to go into town today. Have my grocery shopping list all made. :D
Have two bags of DVDs to sell to the pawn shop too. Now the shelf where I store my movies is looking neat & tidy and there's now room for any new movies I may get. I can also trade my movies at the pawn shop for ones there I haven't seen yet. Most all my DVDs & Blurays come from there. It's a real sweet deal :) And I don't end up trying to organize and store a hoard of movies in my room.
The cats have been fed. Now time to get me dressed & out the door. TTYL :D
Dianne
Posted: 28 September 2013 - 10:27 AM
Oh No, Karl, why??!!
She told you at the last check that you were doing so well! What else did she want you to have done? Didn't she even offer to help? Do you think asking for the extension made her flip?
60 days is a long time. Can you get so much done that she will cancel the notice?
I know we're just an online group but is there anything at all we can do to help?
I hope it doesn't sound stupid to say we love you.
Tillie
Posted: 28 September 2013 - 09:26 AM
NO!!!! Karl :( (((HUGS)))
Karl
Posted: 28 September 2013 - 12:25 AM
I just heard back from Mrs Landlord. Not only is the request for extension denied, but she says her husband will be serving me with a 60-day notice to terminate tenancy.
Roxie
Posted: 27 September 2013 - 12:23 PM
Hi, all. Dianne, I have not found the videos referenced earlier, but I'll keep looking.
where she talks about letting go of sentimental items. Figured some folks here might enjoy the blog.
This morning I dropped off two bags of clothes at my hairdresser's place for her church closet, plus made an appointment for next week.
Then I took two bags of recycle materials to the recycle center.
Then I dropped off some cat tests at the vet's office that I'd ordered for the cat shelter.
Then I stopped at a store I'd never gone to before and did some grocery shopping. It is enough shopping to get me by a few more days and was interesting just as a change. Not the place for "real" grocery shopping though.
I put away all the items I'd purchased.
My sleep has been crazy like Kar''s. Sometimes up all night, sleeping days. Or splitting sleep time into chunks of time. I think it's the season change doing it.
Did my usual teeth, meds, and took out a bag of garbage to the bin.
Little by little.
/size]
Tillie
Posted: 27 September 2013 - 11:43 AM
Good morning :) TGIF!
Hi Dianne :) WAY TO GO! on another load to the dump! :D Please accept that this will be a stressful time for you. The more that you feel this stress and accept it as a normal part of your decluttering the easier it will become for you. Keep your main goal in mind. Breathe. Take breaks when you reach your physical or emotional limit. But most of all don't give up. Once you have your home clean and clear you will soon begin to experience a peace of mind, an inner calm when you are relaxing at home. This is all a big major change for you but the rewards will be so very well worth it. ;) (((HUGS)))
Hi Karl :) The best way to get the sleep you need to function properly is to set a firm bed time and force yourself to obey it. WTG! on the things you have accomplished! :D Since you seem to get a lot of "HAVE-TOs accomplished when you do chat challenges, get into this chatroom and see if this helps you get more accomplished. takeonestepatatime The chat link is in the top blue bar.
Today I will be doing a few things to get ready for the weekend. Hoping I don't have to be nasty again just to get him away from his computer. :(
Have a fantastic Friday everybody :D
Karl
Posted: 27 September 2013 - 04:25 AM
I never made it to bed -- I ended up staying up all night. I read a few more sections in the book "Stuff", but I was having trouble keeping focused. Now I've been up for 34h and I feel like I've gotten my second wind, but I'm going to go to bed soon anyway.
I got some outdoor chores done, and cleaned up about 600 files on my hard drive, though that's not relevant to my deadline. I also moved some magazines to a better "home" location, and freed up a box which I'm now using for paper to be recycled. I need another container for the papers that I want to save; just stacking them will lead to problems.
Dianne
Posted: 26 September 2013 - 07:56 PM
My brother came today and he and I and Laura got two truckloads to storage. I already had ready what I wanted to take but it was stressful to have his help.
He brought a dust mask and although he didn't wear it the mask was on his head. He used the front door and I was a little worried that neighbors would see stuff getting hauled out. Because he has more energy he was ready to work fast and non-stop. I finally said I have to sit. I was grateful for his help but by the time we got it all in the unit I said thanks we can handle it from here. I gave him a load of books and a loaf of bread.
I was stressed with Laura sorting and packing books and said let's leave, I'm cooked for today.
Earlier I had made another run to the dump.
My feelings are mixed. Good to have stuff out but the physical push past my usual pace and stress at having someone else work alongside wasn't good.
Hi Karl :) Good idea asking for an extension. Maybe a little more time will help with the motivation.
Been awake since 5:00am. Not my idea. Anyways... It has finally warmed up a little this morning. Now it's 40 degrees. Have no real plans for today. Need to do some tidying up around here but will find something to do to keep myself amused. I think I am bored & lonely. ?
Talk to ya all later. :D
Karl
Posted: 26 September 2013 - 05:52 AM
I got 50m of sorting done tonight, plus taking the trash and recycling out to the curb. It's not nearly a good enough rate, though. I'll probably have to ask for an extension.
Diane, congrats on getting that balance between work and home. And it's good you have a doctor appt for the growth. Let us know how it goes. I'm also glad that your Molly is still peeing for you. Cleaning pee from a loved one is better than no pee to clean. :)
My storage unit is 10' by 15' by 8'. But since I'm 5'2" I won't be stacking too high. It's enough room to store some things and to sit there and sort. My daughter told me not to store papers there with personal info especially financial. So the boxes of legal stuff are leaving the unit and going to get moved to her house. I didn't even think about that. Too bad because I have a lot of paper stuff I wanted to put there.
Karl, I must miss a lot of your interesting news because I don't go to chats but it sounds like you've got a great balance too of work on your home and social time with good friends.
Thanks Roxie, for looking for the tv show. I watch some youtube but have no computer speakers. Those pbs shows sound pretty cool.
Today I am making a dump run, catching up on chores in the house and tonight an O's game. No playoffs for us this year (Wash Nats are out too) so Laura and I will see Toronto tonight and Red Sox twice this weekend. This year has flown by again.
Tillie
Posted: 25 September 2013 - 12:21 PM
Good morning :)
Hi Dianne :)
Hi Diane :) Keeping our fingers crossed that your flooding issues will be all gone now that you have been reinforcing the areas. WAY TO GO! for all you have accomplished! :D So happy you will be having that skin problem looked at soon. (((HUGS)))
Hi Karl :) So happy for you having 2 get togethers in a row! :D Hope you are feeling a little motivated to get back to work on the rooms.
Hi Roxie :) Thank you (((hugs)))
Cats were all insistant that I feed them NOW!!! as soon as my feet hit the floor. Noticed that HE forgot to put the big green wheelie trash bin out at the road for today's trash pick up. :( It is very hard for me to drag it through the sandy yard but I did manage to get it out there. Since I was angry I also tossed some other crap laying around the yard out there with it. ;) (evil grin) Windy & cool here today but I will still need to get out and water some things. The trees are all turning yellow & red & orange. But they still need watering. Weather report says it will be upper 70s again by the weekend. :D TTYL :D
Tillie
Posted: 25 September 2013 - 11:20 AM
This is the latest thing I have watched on youtube. There are 3 episodes.
Karl, glad to hear you made progress AND had a good time!
Tillie, I think about you often. I hope you continue to do things for yourself, to make your life better and more of what you want it to be. You deserve it.
Diane, it seems to me that your getting out of the house to work has been a good thing for you. Right? And you are becoming a little more social, which is wonderful. We can all take a leaf from Karl's sociability.
Dianne, I'll see if I can scout out that tv program where they empty the house. Different approach and interesting.
I've been on youtube a lot lately. I just watched the whole pbs series called "Regency House Party." It was great. I love the Regency period. These were a group of people from now who agreed to spend 9 weeks living the Regency lifestyle. Quite entertaining. There are also other pbs series which are interesting: The 1900 House, Manor House, Frontier House, Colonial House, Edwardian Country House. PBS does such a great job.
I'm out of canned cat food again, so need to go soon. Also need to set up a doctor's appointment so I can get someone new to prescribe my meds since the other doctor has left the area.
Karl
Posted: 25 September 2013 - 04:32 AM
The follow-up social event also went well, though one guest had a longer traffic delay than expected. The visible rooms were still adequately clean, so no additional work required there. I'll need to get back to work on the remaining rooms now.
diane
Posted: 24 September 2013 - 08:33 PM
Great reading all of your posts. Some heavy rain yesterday and today and no problems yet. It took all weekend to barricade the steep back yard to prevent another mudslide flood, so far so good. Worked on bedroom past 2 mornings, some was fun, some was torture, but kept at it. Washed all blankets and towels Molly peed on today. Have been keeping dishes done, helped when billie talked about her clean up. Tomorrow I go to a small little town that I enjoy,, with a friend I enjoy, for work. Thursday is a really long day. Have actually enjoyed the grey weather, got more done inside. I still am having trouble letting go of clothes and fabric. Way too many of both. This winter it will be so much fun sewing and crafting now that i know where things are, for the most part. Called and made appt. with doctor, have a suspicious skin growth that is getting bigger, will see her Monday. Thanks for the prayers Dianne. Looking forward to updates on moving into storage unit. What size did you get? I had one years ago and it was $75 a month, painful to pay to store stuff that we don't have room for. Since you can afford it, it might be just what you need to finally feel refreshed and energized to go through a box at a time until it is all gone. Hugs
Dianne
Posted: 24 September 2013 - 07:16 PM
Oh Tillie, thank you!!
That is VERY encouraging to hear!!!
Tillie
Posted: 24 September 2013 - 02:39 PM
I watched a program on youtube where the people's items were all removed from the home all except the very basics. The people then cleaned their home and did some repairs. After one month the people were taken to a big warehouse where all their stuff has been being stored. There they are helped to sort through it all. After living in their clean empty homes for one whole month, their thinking, emotions and other issues that had them frozen in place were all changed. They had a different and better outlook about their stuff. They liked the clean & clear home now and were able to let a whole lot of the excess stuff go. O.K. there was one woman who still had way too much stuff but most of the people did a FANTASTIC job letting lots & lots of stuff go.
The video was removed from youtube but if I can find it again I will post the link here. ;D
Dianne
Posted: 24 September 2013 - 12:55 PM
Good for you with the clothes Tillie. Consequences of his actions.....
I was very resistant to a storage unit for a long time. I figured it would allow me to get/keep even more. Buffy told me to think of it as a transition. Instead of stressing about *making decisions and getting rid of* it's basically a big shuffle to get things clear in the house. Harder decisions can come later.
What I'm seeing is that the stuff in storage that's building up is nothing I need (except some divorce papers). And getting things more open in the house is really nice. And to bring all the crap back here would literally be to make big piles again.
My intention (I say intention because it's more powerful and committing than hope) is that when my home is finally clear and clean I will be able to let go of what's in storage rather than junk up the house again. The first junking up was many years and gradual. A second junking moving everything back would be more sudden, jarring and depressing. Literally like going into a pretty, clean room and trashing it.
I haven't heard from insurance so maybe I will get a break.
Tillie
Posted: 24 September 2013 - 12:11 PM
Hi ;) We slept in today, was nice :) Cats have all been fed now. Need to scoop litter boxes, sweep floor near the box, put down fresh water & fill kibble bowls. Cold front moving in. Will be lots of high winds blowing dust & sand. Snow in the higher elevations. Want to do some sewing with my new sewing maching and hoping Scooter (the kitten) will allow me to without attacking and hanging from the fabric like he always does with anything like that.
Why I don't have a clothes dryer. This house is very small. There is room for a washer in the bathroom so that's where it is since it would freeze outside in the winter. The garage is HUGE and a clothes dryer could be installed in there, no problem. I have been given two clothes dryers over the years. Nice new ones. One was a gas model and the other was electric. HE would never allow me to install either one in the garage. Would take away a small amount of space from his hoard. He gave them away. To reward him for doing this, in the winter I put clothes drying racks filled with his wet clothes in his bedroom. Balance them up on his piles of assorted stuff and hang lots of his wet clothes over the closet doorway. Takes about 3 days for it to dry in there. He hates it! ;D
Tillie
Posted: 24 September 2013 - 11:54 AM
Good morning :)
Hi MayMay :) Was WWZ any good?
Hi Karl :) WTG! :D Have fun with your company today!
Hi Dianne :) Happy your back was better yesterday and that it was a beautiful day at the beach. :D My biggest worry about the storage unit.... Once there is clear open space in the home please work very very hard not to allow it to fill up. Make "No Clutter Zones" and defend them every day. Take a mental inventory of what you have and find contentment in knowing that you have all you need and a whole heck of a lot of what you really, truely want. :D
Dianne
Posted: 24 September 2013 - 11:06 AM
Having a hard time getting going today. Insomnia, headaches. Yesterday I went to beach to clean up from weekend people. In the off season now that will be my job instead of summer maids. It was a stunning day, my back was pretty good.
The bursts of energy are followed by an equal or more amount of time being down. A balance is hard to keep. Maybe it's very mild bi-polar. Or maybe just age.
Anyway as I lay in bed before falling asleep (which can literally be hours) I think of and pray for each of you. Lots of other people in the world too.
Tillie do you mind me asking why you don't have a dryer?
It's noon. Laura did morning animals chores. I'm going to do some deeper cleaning with them. Washing, refilling litter boxes. Brushing, trimming nails. Then get some more stuff together for storage.
Karl
Posted: 24 September 2013 - 04:35 AM
There were six of us, total. Leftovers were less than expected. Tomorrow I'm having a couple other friends over.
MayMay
Posted: 24 September 2013 - 01:24 AM
Hi everybody! :D
Today I went to work; and took Snuggles, Matt, and Cory with me. Then when we got home, we watched "World War Z" on pay per view. :)
Thanks Roxie! :)
WAY TO GO Karl! :D
Hi Tillie! :D
Tillie
Posted: 23 September 2013 - 04:46 PM
Got all my cleaning tasks completed. Easy to do since the house is so tiny and I have all but his bedroom totally decluttered and I just keep his door shut. Resting up and rewarding myself with a little computer time. :D Keep up all your great efforts and some day your house cleaning will be easy too. ;D
Tillie
Posted: 23 September 2013 - 10:42 AM
Good Monday morning :)
YEA! Karl :D WAY TO GO! Happy the chat challenges went so very well! :D Have fun with your company. ;)
Hi Roxie :)
This morning I have two wash loads drying on the line. This will be the warmest day of this week and soon it will be very hard to get heavier laundry dry on the clothes line. Wish I had a clothes dryer for the winter months but that is another sore spot in my life.
Cats have all been fed. Planning to clean the bathroom, sweep floors & porches, wash the floors & vacuum the carpet, dust, eat lunch then shower & shampoo my hair.
Busy day. :D
Karl
Posted: 23 September 2013 - 12:27 AM
We had a couple of buddy cleanup sessions at the end of the Sunday chat. During the first one, I cleaned the bathroom sink and half the floor. During the second one, I loaded and started the dishwasher, and cleaned half of the kitchen floor. I expect those are both dry by now, so I can move stuff across each room and do the other half before going to bed.
I also need to get some groceries for tomorrow's event. I'll do that first, right now.
Roxie
Posted: 22 September 2013 - 04:43 PM
I was up at something like 4 am, fed cats and noodled around. I lay down for a few hours nap at noon. Feeling better. For the first time since summer I was actually chilly, so I napped under a blanket. Love that feeling.
Tillie, stomp your foot some more, dear. Hand him 3 or more large garbage bags and insist he fill them with his junk and get it to the garbage. You go, girl!
MayMay, way to go on settling back in after your journey.
Diane, what's up for you now?
Karl, put on a good piece of music and dance through 15 minutes of cleaning.
Dianne, you start dancing, too. It's physics. A body at rest tends to stay at rest, a body in motion tends to stay in motion.
Hugs all around.
Tillie
Posted: 22 September 2013 - 04:15 PM
Today I did all the cat related tasks. Then got out flour & yeast & a bunch of other ingredients and made myself 3 loaves of my favorite bread. Ate 1/4 of one loaf fresh out of the oven all warm. Washed dishes & cleaned up the kitchen. The other 2 loaves of bread are in the freezer till I need them.
Dianne
Posted: 22 September 2013 - 11:40 AM
Yes I read it awhile ago along with every other hoard book on Amazon I could find.
Of course I've forgotten what I read and the books are somewhere in my piles in the bedroom.
It's kind of interesting that I was aware I had a problem back in the 80's when I bought all the books I could find on housekeeping. There were some great reads and ideas. Back then it was called clutter, being a pack rat and organizing a family.
Tillie
Posted: 22 September 2013 - 11:08 AM
Hi Dianne :) WAY TO GO! asking for some help from your family. :D Have you read "Buried In Treasures"? Please read it. It can help you with your thoughts, feelings and emotions about your possessions. (((hugs)))
Dianne
Posted: 22 September 2013 - 10:53 AM
Yesterday I broke down and rented a storage unit. The idea of paying money to store my junk was always something I thought I'd never do.
But as I walked out I felt about as light as if I'd actually gotten rid of a lot of stuff. Just knowing it wasn't going to be in the house anymore.
So that was kind of an eye opener; That I really will feel a lot better when things are cleared out. I'm not going to burden my mind right now with all the negatives of shuffling and paying for it or that I have to deal with getting rid of it sooner or later (obviously later).
First thing out today will be thousands of books Laura got together from her room. She worked solid for 3 hours. I haven't seen her that active for that long literally in years. Her mood perked up, she was excited about clearing/cleaning. Her bookcases in the hallway are still full but they look good.
I just asked my brother and nephew for some time to help this week and Buffy can give me some time tomorrow. That feels ok since it's moving things and not throwing out.
This solution feels like a quickly grabbed rag to stop massive bleeding but right now I'm good with that.
Tillie, good luck on prodding your hoarder into action. He's up and moving and that's a good start.
Happy Autumn everyone!
Karl
Posted: 22 September 2013 - 04:36 AM
Roxie, if you want something simpler, you might consider Esperanto. It's estimated to be 4-5 times easier to learn than a typical national language, and a free call to 1-800-ESPERANTO will get you an information packet that includes the first lesson of a free postal course.
Tillie, can you put your foot down and insist that he has to accomplish certain chores each day before he's allowed to play computer games?
I had three social events this week that I ended up not going to, but I did finally get out of the house on Saturday. I'll get some cleaning done yet tonight so that I'll have progress to report for the Sunday online chat session.
MayMay
Posted: 22 September 2013 - 12:45 AM
Today I went to work. Then after I got home from work, I washed my bedding. And right now I just finished giving Snuggles, Cory, and Matt all baths. So now I have 3 clean dogs and a nice clean bed to sleep in. Yay! :D
Tillie
Posted: 21 September 2013 - 05:00 PM
O.K. This morning I was feeding the cats, scooping litter boxes, filling water & kibble bowls, washing dishes, watering all things in the yard, washing & hanging out 6 loads of his laundry, taking out the trash, monitoring the burn barrel as it burned, sweeping & tidying up around here all the while he sat at the computer. So.... I quit biting my tongue and spoke up. :D He has been slowly walking around outside, pretending to do some work. I told him to get out there and gather up all his trash. Fill all trash cans full. Maybe by sundown he will have accomplished something. ;D
Tillie
Posted: 21 September 2013 - 10:27 AM
Good morning :) The interwebs can be quite a sticky place to waste time. So many interesting items to read. It is so easy to develope an internet addiction. I limit my online time so I don't end up spending 24 hours a day here. I use online time as a reward for getting up and experiencing RL (real life). I never play any games on my computer because by watching my hoarder I can see how very very addictive they can be. It is mind numbing and there is some sort of brain chemical release when playing them that works in the brain pleasure centers. And that is what is addictive, just the same way as crack cocaine works.
My ToDos for today... Laundry Dishes Watering outside Trying to kick start my hoarder
Enjoy today! This is the very last day of Summer :(
Tillie
Posted: 21 September 2013 - 10:15 AM
Hi Karl :) Your LLs seem to be reasonable and patient people. Can you ask for an extension? An other two weeks? Tell them that other things and life in general have slowed you down. Let them know that you have made some progress but haven't finished the job yet. (((HUGS)))
Dianne
Posted: 21 September 2013 - 08:59 AM
Karl, I'm sorry you're depressed too. I don't sleep well either and surfing has become my daily addiction.
You've done so much work and done it in such a good way ~ small, manageable bits at a time with a good balance of exercise and good times with friends.
Like Roxie gave me a list of the most important things, can you make a list of the absolutes that need to be done before Doomsday?
Can you get in a few cartons of your very favorite ice cream? Maybe that reward will carry you thru. When I get too stressed to function I go for some major comfort food. Warm casseroles with lots of melty cheese settle me down. Then even if I'm depressed it makes me feel safer, take a big sigh and dig in to some mess.
Whatever works.
Roxie
Posted: 21 September 2013 - 08:19 AM
(((Karl))) I am sorry you are depressed and feeling out of it. I can relate. But please do a 10 minute chore today, okay? Let us know what you can manage.
Good morning everyone! I was up way early after going to sleep at some sort of normal hour. Still waking up hours later. Coffee being mainlined.
(((Dianne))) Yes, let the insurance company do what they need to do. You can deal with any fallout as it comes. You are strong enough. Meanwhile, concentrate on combustibles! :D Also, yes please get back on track with the teeth. It pays off.
I've been online a lot, too, trying to educate myself on various world issues, posting comments, etc. I also spent half an hour learning Russian, of all things. What a difficult language that is. I should probably go back to Spanish or French or even Urdo. LOL
I still haven't set up the photos I took onto my computer but I did purchase the connection I need. I think I left it in the car. Dawdle, procrastinate, ...
Hugs all around.
Karl
Posted: 21 September 2013 - 04:13 AM
I was up late on Thursday, mostly Web surfing. Friday I was lying in bed, not fully rested but not asleep either, when I heard the chime of my computer calendar, so I got up. It turned out to be for the unofficial Friday chat session, but I couldn't get the connection to work, so I gave up on that.
All of Friday likewise wasted in Web surfing. One week left until the Doomsday inspection.
Yes, I'm depressed.
Dianne
Posted: 20 September 2013 - 08:44 PM
Thanks Tillie. :)
Tillie
Posted: 20 September 2013 - 04:54 PM
WAY TO GO!!! Dianne and Roxie :D You both are doing GREAT!
Dianne
Posted: 20 September 2013 - 03:51 PM
Roxie great work with your teeth and gums!! Congratulations!! I have dropped off with mine, will get back to it tonight.
I wanted to run away today and lose myself in a movie. Didn't want to be around the roofers or think about an inspection.
But Laura and I agreed it was best to just deal with stuff head-on.
So I'm doing regular cleaning and catch-up stuff. I haven't heard anything more from the insurance company. But I'm beginning to feel like this is just something I have to let happen. Bummer.
Roxie
Posted: 20 September 2013 - 03:31 PM
Tillie, I also admire your spirit, and I feel badly when you are disheartened about your hoarder. All I can do is encourage you to make the best life you can for yourself, as I see you doing. (((Tillie)))
Diane, Tillie's advice is always good and helps so many people here. It is good to hear your good cheer when you talk about having the right clothes, knowing where your shoes are, and having a clean sink when you wake up. You have come so very far.
Dianne, you know the head in the sand doesn't work. On the other hand, no decision is also a decision. Were it me, I would say go along with the inspection and hope for the best. You can always try to negotiate time and a list of minimal changes. You do NOT want to go without insurance.
It sounds to me like you have a lot of the checklist already done. Look around now for fire hazards and maybe target that in your projects? That would be things like stacks of papers (including magazines and books), stacks of anything highly combustible. Yes, go ahead and get those fire and carbon dioxide alarm things you stick on the ceiling. Change the batteries whenever there is a time change. Get as many as you can. Even study online as to the best places to place/have them.
I also need to buy and put some of those up.
Yesterday I went to the dentist for cleaning and checkup. I have to go back for one cavity. However, the dentist said he can see a difference both in number of cavities and in the condition of my gums. While the numbers for my gums have not changed much, the hygienist assures me that with continued effort they will. YEAH! Haven't missed a day since July 2. Now I need to consider upping to two times a day. I also have a sonic toothbrush I need to set up for myself, which ought to help.
