sorry to hear of painful breakup, hope you can use pain to take good care of yourself
Tillie, long weekend to get carport emptied out!!!!in our dreams
I lost all hope of finishing craft room, then the carpenters came, so now have been back in there. Started washing walls and painting them white. It is a gloomy room that I dislike being in. Has not been painted in 20 years, and hoard was to the ceiling, so really in bad shape. I just went in there and realized I have to get rid of so much more stuff to ever like being in that room. Having to move stuff to paint the wall, really made me see that stuff I thought I wanted/had to keep a month ago, has less value than empty space has to me. Wish me luck in saying goodbye to more stuff today. The only window is in the closet, and could not get it opened, it is so old, afraid to pry it open afraid it will break, and need fresh air in there to paint more today, good thing carpenters are getting a window to put in there, although yesterday I was thinking how nice it would be to have a door in there, opening on new little deck in back yard. (Never use back area of yard, no easy access. Last week I just wanted to throw a sheet over remaining hoard and call it done, now that I started cleaning and painting walls, see I would like it to be an empty room. I plan to visualize a simple organized room and see if I can let go of stuff today. Craft stuff and its possibilities is still difficult to let go of, although hoard prevents me to be creative. Looking at the empty painted wall sparks my creativity. Thanks for posting and wish you well this weekend,

.....my relationship break-up has brought on a whole new array of sentimental things at my place.....like my whole, beautiful back yard, that he did, that i loved, now is a painful memory.....

How nice you had visitors, Tillie--even though the thought of having visitors strikes fear in my heart. I do remember when it didn't, and I need to get back to that place.

Working from home today. Haven't done anything around the house--had to take kitty to vet (clean bill of health, thank goodness) and have been working. Long weekend. Have some thoughts as to what I would like to accomplish.

Ice water clinks, everyone!!

Hello everyone! Diane, you accomplish so much physical work--good job! I am glad you are getting help with your windows. Boy you have been making fantastic progress!

Tillie, loved the comment re improving your room!

Tonight I have been relaxing since getting home from work. I did resist the urge to put the stuff I was carrying in the middle of the room and instead put everything away. There's still stuff there, but I've gotten rid of about a third of it and I'm consciously not adding any new.

It's early here and yet I'm ready for bed. See you all tomorrow! Congratulations on your accomplishments today!

Hello all. Tillie must be so nice to have everything done and have a day off. Today I had no luck changing my attitude so worked in the yard, burned a bunch of stuff, then habitat carpenter showed up without warning, so happy I did maintenance yesterday. They measured windows looked at roof etc. In craft room he tripped over stuff I left in front of window that needs to be replaced. All of a sudden I am once again motivated to work on that room, although went back out in yard to work physically to work off the anxiety of having two big men in my small place, looking in every room. Now have to shower then start on craft room tonight. He also tripped while measuring the windows from the outside, and suggested I get that junk off the deck before windows are put in. They were very kind and gentle, knowing this is difficult for me. Not sure when they will be back, do know their visit was exactly what I needed to keep me going on craft room and deck. Thanks so much for being here.

Today I cleaned up some messes and did maintenance things inside. Then I went out in the yard and worked for hours, weeded, mowed, trimmed branches, dead headed flowers, cleaned up stuff in yard. Then cleaned ashes out of wood stove, then cleaned the chimney, then cleaned up more of back yard. By 5 o'clock I was/am exhausted. Emailed my helper and said I have so much to do outside and feel stuck finishing craft room. Spring is my favorite time of year and do not want to spend nice days inside organizing craft room. Then I read your posts and thought I need to look at it differently, I have donated so much, now I need to see what I really want to keep for me, to use in the near future. I like the question, how can I make this room better. It is easy in clean living areas, not so easy when I look in craft room, but will try it tomorrow, how can I make this room just a little better today---thanks for the posts

Okay--sorry--me again. As I gathered up the last garbage bag and the two bags of recycling, I ended up vacuuming the hallway, the rug under my desk and the rug in the den (which I call 'the library'). I happy about that. It's a little late to be vacuuming but it only took a few minutes and the guy downstairs seems pretty chill. I'm flirting with putting the vacuum away.

Hey Anony-good to hear from you! Sorry the romance is over--you sound upbeat which is good! In the few times where I've broken it off, I've felt a great sense of relief after doing it. When the other person has broken it off, I'm stuck with the stark reality that that person is the victim of incorrect thinking! So either way I breathe and keep breathing. Easier said than done!

I bet the berry bushes will help you face the clutter. There's something about making a positive change that breeds the next one. I'm posting a lot these days because I need to be here. Every little thing someone says reminds me of what I need to do and what I can do.

Hoping everyone is well. I took out two garbage bags and am about to fill another and take it out.

Hello all you wonderful posters! Ive been distracted in a world of romance that has crashed & im now back to facing my mess...i just found out that berries will grow in my area, so im going back to my gardening project...hopefully that will inspire the growth of a cleaner space inside....yeah, that is a bit of a stretch, but who knows...ha ha...music & dance is an excellent tool for positivity! It is perfect for cleaning! ~☆♡☆~

Thank goodness for everyone here.

Yesterday I fought the obstacles in my mind...I can't wrap that gift and get to post office because I need to dust the table first....I can't dust the table while the floor is a mess....I can't work on the floor because I still have my winter boots strewn about...so I'll sit here and feel miserable. I fought it yesterday and I won.

Tillie--that is a good reminder that puttering is progress. I witnessed it myself in the kitchen yhis morning. I polished all three silver trays, gave one away and have a new home for one other (also giving away) and the third one has been put to use. Today I'm doing a few loads and will hopefully get to store tonight. I like to fast on Mondays to make up for the weekend so getting to store isn't always doable--too hungry--but I'll try to get there after work to get more laundry soap.

Will write more later. Wishing everyone a wonderful day!

Ps having music on makes all the difference, Tillie. The dancing makes me happy.

Good Morning Everybody :)

Hi Tatoulia :)
Your words touched me deeply.
You mean the world to me and I cherish your friendship. (((HUGS)))
WTG!!! FANTASTIC!!!
Clear and clean counters to greet you in the morning! :D
Your puttering around has resulted in great progress toward your goals.
We are only one person, and one person can only do just so much at a time.
You CAN do this!
Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and eventually you can walk a thousand miles.

It takes time to declutter and clean.
It did not get cluttered over night and you can't be expected to get it all sorted out over night either.
Unless you hire Cory Chalmers to do the work with his team of expert declutterers. HaHa ;D
Every little bit tossed or donated or put away where it belongs is a fantastic accomplishment toward your goal of having a home you are comfortable with.
Be proud of all your accomplishments.(((HUGS)))

Hi Diane :)
It means so much to me to count you among my friends (((HUGS)))
I think you are not tired of all the stuff in your craft room because you have not been able to get in there and see all you have for too many years.
Now you can see the things and now you also have the time to do the projects.
Think of this as "shopping at home" rather than sorting out for donating.
Keep all the best bits that spark your creative interests.
Put them away nicely sorted and organized.
Let go of the supplies from crafts that no longer thrill you.
The goal is to turn that craft room into a place that holds all the best supplies for the crafts that interest you right now, not maybe someday in the distant future. :D

Well, time to get moving here and clean this dump.
Really, really don't want to but really need to.
The winds didn't get outrageous yesterday and right now today it's calm out.
There is a very thick layer of dust/dirt on everything, including me.
Days like today make me glad this house is so small and that I have very few "knickknacks" and furniture.
But I still have to clean everything and hope the winds don't trash the place again.

TTYS :)

Good morning. Am working from home today. Normally I do a lot of laundry but I don't have much soap left. I was glad when I got up that two of my kitchen counters were clear and clean. It was a good feeling. I have to remind myself that if I don't have room to put away all of my stuff, then I have too much stuff. I'll try to "cull the herd" today.

Diane great to hear from you! We can go this, right? Let's get a clean clear house. I have a friend who is very neat and very clean and she said that whenever she walks into a room, she asks herself, what can I do to make this room a little better. I am certainly not at that point yet--every room needs 'a lot better' but maybe I can ask myself that on a smaller scale. Like wiping the clean counters throughout the day.

I know I sound like a broken record but I have to believe I'll get there. Someday, somehow I'll make this stick.

thanks Tillie and Tat, both great writers and kind.
I have not accomplished much at all this weekend. I did bring stuff out to living room, and want to keep most of the beads and jewelry findings. Guess I am not sick and tired of the junk in craft room enough to unload it yet. Maybe I will do better tomorrow. Tat ;you did a great job of describing how great /Tillie is and how she helps us.

Good morning everyone!

Yes I used the word "good!" I just spoke with my mother and explained I really need a day to myself. She was great and kind and thoughtful. No guilt and a deep understanding. Very sweet. Second, my toaster died. So excited. Already looked up how to dispose of it/recycle. Have shredded some papers, and started a goodwill bag. So far only some gloves but it's gloves. Have three silver trays lined up to be polished. Puttering--feels good. Thank you! I'm probably not out of the woods on feeling awful but I'll not dwell right now.

Diane, your doctor will be so touched by your letter. It broke my heart in a way, too, to see you saying goodbye to your doctor. Isn't it wonderful that we make connections with the people in our lives?

Tillie, you are such an anchor and rock and I can only hope that you know I appreciate you so much. You are an excellent writer, a good story teller and a solid presence in my life. I truly hope you know that I so appreciate your friendship and I know I take more than I give. I am deeply grateful for your commitment to helping me. You set a stellar example for making lemonade out of lemons, and I aim to be that person for others.

Good Morning Everybody :)

Hi Tatoulia :)
Hope you had a lot of fun at the party.
WAY TO GO!!! for putting away the shoes, sending scarves to the cleaners and making a final decision on the heated mattress pad. :D
You sound like you are in a great mental place to start doing some serious decluttering.
It's when we get completely fed up and disgusted with the clutter that we can really begin to make progress getting our homes back to being a place we are happy with.
(((HUGS)))

Hi Diane :)
Thank you.
Any time we can bring things to sort out into a different/better location is the best way.
First, a different location can give us a better attitude about the task.
Seeing stuff away from where it has been for too many years can make it easier to make decisions about keeping it or not.
Most important is that we should always try to keep it more interesting/fun by doing these tasks in an atmosphere of positivity and an element of fun.
Try to keep decluttering from being a punishment.

Whenever I sort out my dresser drawers, I bring one drawer at a time into the living room
where I watch a video as I sort and straighten it.
This way it is a pleasant task and I do a much better job of it.

Got some watering done yesterday before the winds drove me completely insane.
Today I will finish watering the trees and bushes.
Also need to clean the kitchen today. ;P
Tomorrow I must do the usual general house cleaning. This place is a filthy mess from all the wind blown dirt in here.

TTYS :)

Home from the party and feeling a little better about myself. After I took off my shoes I put them back in their shoe bag and back on the shelf in my closet. I always hang up my clothes so that was less of an accomplishment. But putting the shoes away felt like progress. I also took several silk scarves to the dry cleaner today and when I changed my sheets I took off my mattress pad and decided to chuck it and I'll get a new one. This one is a heated mattress pad and I don't like to keep them beyond a few years. I think this one is probably six years old at this point. I'll get a new one in the fall.

Okay I'm going to head into bed now. I am feeling better. If I do things I'll feel better.

Diane and Tillie--thank you for your support and help--still feeling quite down on myself and will continue to receive read your words til I stop feeling this way. Leaving for a party now.

I need to act and get this done. I don't want stuff anymore. I'm making myself crazy. I want to just get rid of everything. I don't even want to start fresh. I just don't know why my house is such a cluttered pig sty. I am working hard not to call myself names. I need to act. I need to act.

Love Tatoulia.

Tillie, sorry the allergies are acting up, rain finally hit here, and yes the wind dried everything out here too. I had a fun day yesterday, just as I got home last night, rain started, perfect timing. I thought I would be all refreshed today from a fun day off-----well, tried to work in craft room and need to take timer in there and see if that will motivate me.
Tat it helped read about your struggle, if we have too much stuff can not have clean organized home. And Tillie thanks for saying to stop being mean to ourselves, instead use that energy to get rid of stuff. Hopefully Tat and I can get more done today.
I dropped a tear soaked goodbye letter to my doctor yesterday, felt so strange not saying goodbye in person, but no openings, cried when out in my car. Let myself feel sad for a few minutes then cheered myself up and went to library and picked up my dvd's on hold, then headed out to rock country. I must say it was nice to come home to a clean house and dishes done. Being mean to myself today, said can not watch dvd until work in craft room. After reading your posts, I am now going to bring the stu;ff out here to sort and watch dvd, military punishment is no way to live. Sure appreciate hearing what others are dealing with and ways to solve difficult situations.

Good Morning Everybody :)

Hi Diane :)
Polka Dot rocks! Sounds like a really fun expedition :D
Happy your Helper knows when to cut you some slack. (((hugs)))
I sprayed the aphids with something he had in an old mayonnaise jar he said was Diazanon? as he mixed it up with water in the sprayer.
My new red dress is not fancy, just a pretty summertime dress to wear at home. :)

Hi Karl :)
Please get all better and stay that way (((hugs)))
Great that you can now store more in the kitchen area!
I understand that it is hard to keep everything you own in one room and yet still have room for the maids to get in there to vacuum.
You are doing GREAT with organizing! :D

Hi Tatoulia :)
Stop it, please just stop!
(((HUGS)))
Be angry with all the excess stuff and the mess it causes but be kind to yourself.
Use the energy generated by your anger to help you to push through and tackle this clutter beast once and for all.
Remember that YOU are not the enemy, YOU are the solution to this aggravating situation.
(((HUGS)))

Day after day of raging wind has taken it's toll on my nerves.
Plus all the allergens it's stirred up have me miserable and itchy.
Not one drop of rain has graced the land. :(
It could be worse though. I could be a baby bird flung from the nest by the winds, being picked to death by ants. ;P
Need to get out there and water stuff. The winds have stripped all the moisture from everything.
This is typical Springtime weather up here in northern Nevada.
But honestly, there are so many other factors that make this a wonderful place to live. :D

TTYS :)

Hi everyone! Sorry you've been sick, Karl.

I'm disgusted with myself today. I am sick of the mess. I have a short window to do things before having to go to brother's house to deal with his mess. Unfortunately this isn't something I can negotiate. I just have to forge ahead.

Sorry to be so negative. I'm mad at myself for owning too much stuff and being such a slob.

hello again.
Tillie do you have a hot date to wear that red dress? Bet it is beautiful. What did you spray aphids with? Sounds like you have been busy.
Today helper came. She could see how much I accomplished this past week so did not push me too hard today, she saw how stressed I am from all that I have done and losing my doctor. Made an appointment to have air bag recall done, not until August. Sunny this afternoon so spent over 2 hours pulling mammoth weeds in back yard, they were too huge to weed whack. Was supposed to rain today, but not a drop. Supposed to rain all weekend, hope it does. Tomorrow is my fun day. The Polka Dot rock mine is open this weekend, so I get to go find some beauties to tumble. Thanks for understanding the humiliation Tillie, and sorry you have to deal with a hoarder.

Good Afternoon Everybody :)

Hi Anonymoniker :)

Hi Tatoulia :)
WAY TO GO!!! plowing through all the papers nd all the other things you have accomplished! :D
Yep, sad but true, the laundry is not done/finished until it's put away.
The internet can be such a black hole, just sucking us in and before we know it, hours have passed.
But there are so many wonderful articles on every subject under the sun.
We all need to be strict with ourselves and surf the web with a timer and then get back to real life. :D

Hi Diane :)
Wonderful to "see" you! :D
I feel humiliated too every time someone comes onto the property and sees the horrid conditions here even though the inside and garden area are nice.
Big, big (((HUGS)))
FANTASTIC!!! all you have been up to! :D
Tire changing and sorting and donating and gifting! :D
Sorry to hear about you losing your health care person. Hope you like the new one.


I have been busy here.
Went out early this morning to spray some aphids before the winds picked up.
Made a beautiful red dress.
Been doing yard work off & on all week.
Hoping we get some rain, it's predicted, windy and cloudy.
Every night this week a kitty has been coming up on my front porch and singing.
When I open the door to place a bowl of cat food out for him he runs away.
After I get back inside and shut the door he returns to eat the food and ceases his singing. :D

Hello all. Tillie I loved reading your post demand resistance, right where I have been. I am sick of clutter busting. Wanted to cancel helper tomorrow, she is coming anyway. When I read your post I realized part of the reason I want to quit, is I don't want to finish craft room, afraid after all these months I will fail, and re clutter, as I have always done in the past. I have never ever had clutter free living, so am afraid if I finish that room, I will start messing up again.
Electric meter reader came to day and saw the hoard in front of meter, I felt so humiliated and hated myself, forgetting, that if he would have seen inside my house, he would have seen how nice it is in here. I took another car load to thrift store today, went to bank, filled car with gas. Supposed to rain all weekend so tomorrow I will go pick up some dvd's at library that I ordered. Just love having library, can order movies and tv series online, then they say when they arrive, and I have 7 days to watch them. I watched Season 1 of House of Cards and just notified, season 2 is waiting for me. Watched season 1&2 of Orange is new black, great entertainment while sorting buttons, jewelry etc. I gave a large bag of old metal jewelry to an artist that works at library, she actually makes upcycled jewelry out of old stuff, the very reason I bought this, but never used. She was so happy and she actually mailed me a thank you note, sweet. I have to vacuum tonight, do some dishes and tackle some papers that have not been filed since I cleaned out all the old stuff. It was easy to get rid of all the old stuff, difficult to know how to file to be able to find it when I need it. I think I reported that I actually sold RV, got canopy on pickup, only after being pushed by helper, or should I say shoved. So happy when I do things, just so hard to do it. I procrastinated making a doctors appt., only to find she is moving to east coast and I had received notification letter, that I had in the to do pile, so was unaware she was leaving. December is first appointment for "new Pt." at the clinic for medicare pt. even though I have been a patient there for many years. When things like this happen, it knocks me off my feet, feel devastated that I procrastinate, and have to deal with consequences. Still do not have skills to take disappointments in stride. I took pickup in to have summer tires put on, tire company could not do it because summer tires do not have pressure sensors in them. Cost $44 per tire plus $22 to program, and these are already on rims. I agonized for a week then decided to change them my self. Visualize an old 67 yo under a pickup trying how to figure out how to use jack. Had to jump on wrench to loosen nuts, they were on so tight. I was so exhausted but happy I now know how to change a tire if I get a flat out in the boonies. Enough rambling

Me again--haven't shredded any papers but I did get winter coats to dry cleaner for cleaning and storage. Also picked up some cold beverages and dropped off at mom's house. Going to make some peppermint tea and fold some laundry. Folding and putting away is key. Hard habit to learn but I'm working on it, with your help.

Hello everyone! Coffee clinks!

Going to keep working on papers today. Just going to plow through them. Thanks to everyone here, i use much better judgment as to which papers really need to be kept. Am working today but can fit in some breaks here and there to make my life less cluttered. I'll check in soon--hope you are all well.

Anony--re Internet--when I was in grad school, one of my professors said "tv is a thief" and said that once you turn it on, you have just committed a minimum of half an hour of your precious time. Now I'm seeing that I waste so much time on the Internet. The Internet is a thief, too.

Tatouli, dancing is an awesome way to go!!! I use to do more of it till my internet adiction took hold of me....

Good Evening Everybody :)

Hi Tatoulia :)
WAY TO GO! on getting so much done! :D
Honest, some day the backlog of papers needing shredding will be done.
Then it's just a matter of shredding them on a regular basis to keep them from piling up again.
Happy you had such a lovely weekend. :D
Have fun dancing around tonight as you switch things up and get them done! :D

Got up about 5am today,
went outside and did lots of garden stuff,
was finished by 9am.
Then took a shower and did two loads of laundry.
After lunch I took a nap.
Winds have picked up, blowing in big dark rain clouds.
Hope, hope, hope we get some rain!

Really missing all you MIAs (((HUGS)))

Hello Tillie and Anony! Tillie I liked your advice the doing something "permanent" --good reminder. I'm
Doing laundry and done dusting today and it is endless. That and shredding papers. Will I ever be done?

Windy day here. Beautiful weekend. Sunshine! So nice.

Going to follow your advice and put some music on tonight just to see what I can accomplish while dancing.

Hi Anonymoniker :)
That was actually a couple of days worth of stuff done.
What kind of help are you needing right now?
A suggestion...
Do one little thing that you will never have to do again once it's done.
Donating or tossing something, fixing something, mailing something or paying a bill, or simply making a final decision about something are things that once you do it they are done forever.
I find this much more satisfying than washing dishes, cleaning the bathroom, cleaning litter boxes or any other routine tasks because we still have to do these again and again forever and ever.
Sure, things will still break and need fixing and new bills will always need to be paid and trash will still need to be tossed but those are in the future and we will get to them later.
But right now there are things we can do that once they are done they are done forever.
I enjoy the feeling of having done something and knowing it's over and done with forever. :D


Sorry about the rambling...

Wow, Tillie...id love to accomplish in a month, what you do in a day?!! I am amazed! My phone hasnt let me read posts lately without a magnifying glass....plus ive been trying to find the humor in my mess, instead of just cleaning it....im back to wanting help with it....

Wow, Tillie...id love to accomplish in a month, what you do in a day?!! I am amazed! My phone hasnt let me read posts lately without a magnifying glass....plus ive been trying to find the humor in my mess, instead of just cleaning it....im back to wanting help with it....

Good Morning :)

Last few days have been a whirlwind of activity & happenings here.
A lot of positive things have been accomplished and a lot of obstacles have been overcome.
Got the evaporative cooler all set up and ready to run, so the weather has gotten extremely cold again.
It's like Winter refuses to completely leave.
Somebody ran into the power line and knocked out all the electric power, they finally fixed that.
Got my garden nicely weeded and now my body hurts, but only when I try to move.
Bought groceries, made more potato salad.
Finished sewing a summertime dress, maybe it will warm up enough to actually wear it someday.
Have a list of plans for the coming week, wonder what unexpected events will try to throw me off course?

:)

Good Morning Everyone
where ever you may be :)

Since I stored away a lot of Winter blankets, clothes and space heaters, it has been getting rather chilly here over night.
I will try to enjoy it for now because at any time now it will get very HOT here.
LOL :D
Finally got him to mow the 10 to 12 inch tall grass yesterday afternoon so today I can spread some "Turf Builder" on the lawn and do some watering.
The rain we had was beautiful in this drought stricken area but it was not a deep watering like the trees and bushes need.
The cats are all mad at me.
I refuse to open the door and let them all go outside.
The yard is filled with tiny baby birds and teeny tiny baby bunnies.
Of course the cats believe these are just the most wonderful cat toys ever!
The cats can be mad at me all they want, I will NOT open the door for them. ;)
Running out of people food here but not wanting to go into town.
The fridge is empty except for some pickles and catsup.
Still have some nonperishable food in the pantry, so I won't starve.
Last night for supper I had a can of cream corn. lol
Found a package of raspberry jello and a can of sliced peaches that I will put together to tide me over for another day or two.

Enough of this insane rambling...

What are you all up to these days? :D

Good Morning Everybody :)

Hi Tatoulia :)
Sounds like you had a lovely day antiquing and socializing. :D
Karl is renting a room in a house with lots of other people and the cleaning service is part of their arrangement with the landlord.
Sorry your Mother hates it. Some people (me, myself included) just really hate the idea of having a stranger come into our homes and clean.
;)

Time for me to get back to what I was doing around here.
I just really hate it when all my plans, schedules and projects are all screwed up and ruined by someone else's ideas of what I should be, could be doing with my time and energy.
He never asks me if I would like to spend my time doing these things, he just tries to dump these projects onto me.
I feel that if he decides to accept these obligations, he should be prepared to do all the work involved.
Anyways...
The baby sparrow that Marty (the cat) gently carried and placed at his feet is now safely returned to it's nest (?) where the parent birds are diligently feeding and caring for it.
;P
But honestly, I still feel that he should have been the one to keep the baby bird safe and warm all night long. At sunrise he should have been the one who cleared away enough of his clutter to safely put up the ladder and then climb all the way to the top to access the nest.
And he should have spent all afternoon checking that the baby bird was accepted and being cared for by the parent birds.
Rant over...
Sunny but cold today so I will do some laundry.

:D TTYS

Hello everyone! Great job, CM, on working on your storage space. So pleased for you! I like your thought process on getting rid of the frames--congratulations!

Karl, I'm glad you have a cleaning lady now. I'm not sure of your living situation -- are you renting a room that comes with housekeeping services? Are you renting a house with friends and you split the cost of s cleaner? In any event, I hope you get good use out of the cleaner. I have one for my hoarder-tendency mother and although my mother tries to resist the weekly visits, it is nice that her bathroom is always clean (and the litter box is cleaned too!) and her floors are vacuumed. But still, I see the stress on my mother's face so I realize it's not the blessing I imagine it to be.

Tillie--a good thunderstorm is always fun, isn't it? I had a cat as a youngster who was cool as a cucumber during the weather--not like my scaredy-cat I have now.

Had a beautiful day yesterday -- antiquing and lunch with mom, then dinner with BF and some overseas friends. Terrific, satisfying day. Am doing scads of laundry today.

Wishing you all a good day!!

Good Morning Everybody :)

Hi Karl :)
WTG! for finding that card and sending off the promised information. And a special WTG! for tossing the card afterwards! :D
Hope your landlady was a little more specific as to what the cleaners were complaining about.
It is always easier to fix a problem when we know exactly what the problem is. ;/

Hi CriticalMass :)
FANTASTIC!!!! :D
You are doing GREAT!!!
A local artist here will finish a painting first, then go around to thrift shops to find a frame for it.
He says he can always find a frame that suits his needs this way.

Been rainy the last few days and still raining today. :D
Going to be a lot of desert weeds and rabbit grass this summer.
Maybe (fingers crossed) the drought is ending.
Hope, hope, hope...

TTYS :D

Hi everyone,

Chipping away at more of the storage unit! We had had two nice days with little to no wind predicted, Thursday and Friday. There were holdups on Thursday but I did make it out there by midafternoon. I got an estimated 4-6 cubic feet more stuff gone! Decided to let go of two boxes of picture frames. Those were a "someday I might use these with my art" thing. But I tend to like the "gallery wrap" frameless look that's trending, so when I do get back to doing paintings on canvas that's more likely the route I'll take. And even if I do want a frame here and there, it's that principle of letting someone else use these frames now and by then I'll get a new one - IF and only if I am immediately using it for a current painting! New life, new rules!

The rest of the stuff was just miscellaneous I grabbed and stuffed into bags. Just made it to the DAV in time and though they don't usually accept donations within the hour before closing (note to self, remember that next time), the lady was kind enough to take the stuff so I didn't have to haul it around.

Inside the storage unit itself, in small places here and there, I've begun to get things at 90-degree angles again. Standing upright or stacked flat instead of leaning precariously like some mad pick-up-sticks game. That makes me very happy.

I was hoping to get out there Friday but my van was being repaired - thankfully not a huge $$$ costly thing. I did some miscellaneous catching up at home and in the garden, though, so still felt like I used my time well. Yesterday was more windy and I did errands. Today is predicted to have strong storms later.

Tillie, you are so right in that our decluttering project can seem like a demanding taskmaster - but only if we allow it to! And stopping on a positive note is a good idea. I like to write and there's that advice given to writers to stop for the day in the middle of a sentence or paragraph (especially one that is going well, or is a cliffhanger) so you can look forward to picking up the next writing session. :)

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, including those who like me have furbaby children. ;)

Hello Everybody :D

Hi Tatoulia :)
You are so very welcome (((hugs)))
WAY TO GO!!! :D
You did FANTASTIC!!!
Sounds like you had a lot of fun, that makes me happy to hear. :D

Since I was thinking about jobs that I dread,
first thing this morning I got out and tackled the worst one.
This involved going into the hoarded garage of horror.
Moving half a ton of his stuff out of the way and getting to my cupboard where I store my portable electric heaters during the Summer.
Got the heaters stored all safe & sound and no reason to have to venture in there again until next Autumn. :D
Then the cats and I spent lots of time outside having fun until the wind started raging and caused a BIG dust storm so we all came inside and took a nap.

Sweet dreams Everyone :)

I put on some music and puttered in the kitchen tonight! I haven't puttered in a long time and it was great! Dancing, putting away the clean dishes and refilling the dishwasher, did a load of gentle laundry and changed out all of kitty's dishes. Thanks, Tillie, for getting me moving tonight!


Hello to everyone--thinking of you all--Diane, LR, Roxie, Bitsy, CM, Carl, and everyone else.

Oh Tillie, thank you for giving so much of yourself to me.

Hi Tatoulia :)

Thank you :D

There is this thing called "demand resistance".
The house seems to be "demanding" you tend to it, so you dig in and resist.
A lot of this is due to past negative experiences.
You associate the tasks with past experiences that were very unpleasant, physically, emotionally or mentally.
These negative experiences may have happened in childhood or later in life.
Whatever the cause, the remedy is to change things up to make it now a more pleasant experience.
Playing music and/or making the tasks into a game helps me to do things when I REALLY don't want to.

Game examples...
write the various tasks down on slips of paper or in a list, numbered.
Pick from a hat/jar/box a random task and do it or roll dice and do the corresponding number on the list.
I do best with timed challenges...
Do quick tasks while trying to beat the timer or the length of a song.
I find it amazing how much I can get done in such a short amount of time. :)

And most important...
When decluttering or doing any major deep clearing and cleaning
ALWAYS stop work on a positive note!
Do not keep pushing yourself to keep going after you have become tired/burned out.
This will help keep you from dreading and resisting starting the task again.


Hope that is helpful (((hugs))) :)

And with you as well, Tillie


Wishing everyone a good day. Here's a question that I am asking myself today--if I am happier when my house is clean, why don't I clean it more often? I'm not joking. I don't understand why I don't put two and two together here.