Good morning :)
Scooter is feeling a little better this morning but I will let him sleep in.
Cloudy, dark rainy day so I will bake cookies.
I have a little Merlin, a small Falcon that's been living here for many years and sucessfully rearing more Falcons.
The Falcons are not afraid of me and will perch right outside the diningroom window in the huge juniper/cedar tree.
There is plenty here for her to eat, Wrens, Finches, house Sparrows.
Falcons hunt during the day, like Hawks do but at night I have Great Horned Owls who don't fly away when they see me but I quickly leave the yard when I see them.
They are so HUGE and will look straight through you with their HUGE eyes, letting you know just who is the superior creature. :D

Thanks Dianne. Roxie sounds like you were running on overdrive to get so much done. Daffodil delight tillie thanks for sharing. H ani Dave. Did you make it till Tuesday?
Today I did dishes ate soup, put two gates back on deck, upside down so they open out rather than in. I took them off a month ago and got tired of tripping over them. Walked all over property and picked up things that blew in from storm, papers, roof pieces etc. Filled large garbage bag with stuff from garage and yard. Walked in circles for an hour wondering why I start so many things and don't finish, oh, ADHD, be kind to myself and realize I am truly doing the best I can, considering the cards I have been dealt. Friend called today and we had a nice long chat. She suggested I return calls when friends call. Yep, I have stopped returning calls again. She called last week. She is sick and just wanted to talk.
Roof patch done yesterday is holding, no leaks during rain today. All is well, wood stove is such nice heat. I was feeling frustrated at how little I got done today, and now am grateful I did do some of the things I planned to do. Helps to come to this site and read what others did and write what I did, to put things into perspective.

Good morning :)

The trash can is out at the road waiting for the truck to come empty it. :D

Hi Dave :)
No problem :D
Since this site is basically unmoderated
It is up to all of us to decide on all the rules we will operate under.
Majority rules in making these decisions and everyone gets a chance to give their input. :)

Hi Jess :)
Stay safe and have a GREAT time. :D

Hi Diane :)
So happy you had fun! :D
WTG! getting so much done but mostly for taking care of yourself while doing it. :D

Hi Roxie :)
We all understand that some times we have to focus on what we need to focus on.
Very glad you posted your plans & accomplishments so we can cheer you on. WTG! :D

Sometimes I have so much to think about and do that all I can manage is to say "HI" and let you all know what is going on in my life. :)

I have laundry out drying on the line.
By this afternoon the next storm will be blowing in.
Read Stephen King's "Doctor Sleep", took me two days.
Have borrowed "11/22/63" to read next. :D
Planning to sew today after I do my usual daily tasks.
Scooter is feeling poorly today. :(
Hoping he feels better soon.

My apricot tree is blooming today and there are 5 daffodil blooms now. :D

Tillie I smiled when I read your post that daffodils opened. I could visualize their smiling little faces.
I found 12 books to get rid of so far. Sun came out, was only supposed to be out for 2 hours so I was out in it, then it was sunny all day, so I stayed out and worked in the sun, I was a happy worker. Supposedly heavy rain tomorrow. I came in several times to make sure toes were warm enough. Drank plenty of water. Patched new roof leak,will find out tomorrow if it worked. I used my dremel oscillating tool to remove the build up, so much faster that scraping it by hand. was so much fun, scraped some other areas with dremel. when I was on roof, realized I am happiest when I am busy outside. Even thought of volunteering at habitat for humanity so I could help as well as learn how to build things correctly. Have to start a fire just wanted to connect to the group, and read your adventures for today.

Day 13 -

Already finished my shift at work. I'm packing for a trip to stay with my brother and sister in law. I get to watch my baby niece for them for a couple weeks so I'm pretty excited about that!

Since I'll be away I made sure to tidy up as much as possible. I'm pretty anxious, as I always am with travel. It's very uncomfortable to be out of my element and staying somewhere that isn't home. My plan is to try to stay calm and talk myself through my OCD moments and focus on family.

Sorry if I'm a bit checked out through all this. Before I leave today I'm touring a potential new house with my husband. Lots of stuff going on that makes my brain twirl so I'm trying to focus.

Dianne,
It sounds like things that you did to help Jack adjust to his loss of companion have been working fairly well.

Thank you Tillie. Please accept my apologies for lines I have crossed. I will work to see that doesn't happen again.

HAPPY FAT TUESDAY! :D

Hi Dave :)
Thank you for posting about all your different storage places.
What usually happens when someone gets a POD or other "temporary" storage unit
is the stuff is just shuffled around which we call "churning".
All those hard decisions as to what should be donated/tossed or kept are not done,
That, we call "procrastination".
Procrastinating, not doing the actual "work" of making decisions is how people end up with TOO MUCH STUFF.
Best to not churn everything into expensive alternative storage, ever, since it usually ends up being years of wasted money.

Another thing,
The online chatroom is a very very safe place for people to say anything because what happens in chat, stays in chat.
If we were to discuss another chat poster's issues on the messageboard, they may feel violated and not get the help they need.
Some people need the security of knowing that when we all log out of chat all the postings are erased forever. :)

Hi Karl :)
Sounds like you are making great progress and possibly finding a great work connection too!
WAY TO GO! :D

Hi Jess :)
Love reading all your daily plans and accomplishments.
Keep up the great job! :D

Hi Diane :)
Glad to see you paying some attention to your diet. :D
Take care of those toes! :(
Good luck today filling a bag for donation. (((hugs)))

Drizzled all night and now morning fog. It should burn off soon.
Two daffodils are in full bloom and many other buds are getting ready.
Grape Hyacinths are fixing to bloom any day now too.
Trees, bushes & shrubs are all getting their buds out which is bad news because we will probably have another deep freeze & that will kill them. Oh Well...

Back to reading for a while then maybe I will get up & do something else.
Happy Mardigras :D

well the sun smiled on me for an hour or two today, I went up on roof and measured garage roof, and wrote down the measurements. Stopped at Home Depot on the way to dexascan. Looked at different types of roofing, including metal roofing. Heavy rain this week is predicted so won't be working on roof any time soon.
Got to appt early and had to wait and wait. It was so hot in there. I got impatient. Was not happy about my impatience today. Realized I had not eaten enough. I went to Costco after appt. and got turkey burger and greek yogurt as well as berries. Cooked the turkey and ate a bunch tonight. Have to make time to eat protein so don't get so irritable. Today I hung up all the wet towels from leaks, put away when dry. Took shower, washed hair. Put all tools away that had landed in different areas. Brought wood up on deck. Tomorrow I will be here all day and plan to cook some good food, clean kitchen. Also would like to fill at least one bag of donations. Was able to throw some things away from garage today. My toes are more painful today, got too cold yesterday, today are red and swollen. I wrapped each one in paper tape and will until skin gets thicker. amazing how frostbite from weeks ago is still painful.

Karl,
That sounds exciting. I hope that gets you to the next step of an interview.

Although I can see that sorta creates an awkward position if you like the other place better.

Day 12 - Having an oddball day. Preparing for a trip to see family.

Organizing some clothes.

Tillie,

I know chat stuff is supposed to stay there. Is it permissible to mention the one lady's situation and ask for thoughts and prayers for her? I think they would make a difference.

Portable on Demand Storage - PODS.
Yes on chat.

Background not discussed on chat.

I have had
a house and a storage locker.
a house, apartment and storage locker.
an apartment and storage locker.
a house and a storage locker.
two houses.
one house (with crammed basement and garage).

I swore I would never again have multiple spaces.

We won't go into long details, but shortly, for mrs dave to remain around, I needed to agree to her renting a pods unit and me clearing the garage so a new door and opener could be installed. the pods rental was for 3 months. After that was put in motion, I discovered termites. Termite treatment required clearing the entire perimeter of the garage. The door work required emptying the front third of the garage. I'd chose the size I thought I needed for the door work. We did the termit work first and that required more storage than I needed for the other project, so I had to do more discarding initially than originally planned for. Then I had to move everything around for the door work. Then there was unanticipated warranty work and my slowness in doing things which led to 4 months instead of 3 for the unit. I discarded some more things coming back into the garage from the storage unit.

Out of that experience, when diane was talking about garage repair, I was suggesting the possibility of a pods unit to help her get it done. Tillie gave an emphatic no to that and I wanted her to see that temporary storage does not always work the way she expressed.

I currently have stuff in the garage and in a small rubbermaid shed in the back. Mrs Dave has served notice she wants the shed back in the spring for gardening equipment. She is upset the car is not in the garage yet. I have been stuck on the useful stuff issue. I am out of time to "fix my head". I just need to suck it up and go do the things I would tell someone else to do. Reduce the stock pile of sheets, towels, hardware and some clothing. Declare some of my father's old tools scrap metal. Make up a big batch of still good and useful car chemicals and yard chemicals for the hazardous waste site. Make one more pass at the "valuable" plywood and lumber scraps. I bought two new ladders at thanksgiving and the unwrapped one has to live with the plywood right now. If I do all that, I think I can have room for mrs dave's garden stuff and the car. (and then I will have to start addressing the rubbermaid shed by either buying another for myself or getting rid of more.) Bicycles are one problem area I haven't figured out the solution too yet. (The x thousand $ I've wasted would have been very helpful over the next 6 months.)

Actually, I think I am getting a lot closer to the "fixing my head, fixing my life" position I want to be in-just not there yet.

With Mrs Dave's prodding, i have probably just gone by one of the road forks that lead to "old fartdom" in a decaying home.

Good morning :)

Already tired out from Scooter!
He sure is full of it this morning.
Planning to do some cleaning in here today, wash my hair and then read.
Too cold & breeze to spend time outside.
Planning to make another batch of coleslaw and then clean the kitchen.

Hope you all are having a great first Monday of March! :D

WAY TO GO!!!! Roxie :D
getting lots done!

WAY TO GO!!!! Dianne :D
Great plans for the day!

Diane,
Re garage. wanted to mention one thing for you when you are doing your checking this week.

You mentioned wiring. If your studs are exposed and you need additional circuits, I think you could string some of the wire and attach the receptacles in the garage and then have an electrician hook your stuff to the box.

You would need a wire stripper, one or two pairs of specialized pliers, one or two spade bits for your drill motor and a small bladed screwdriver. Wire, staples, receptacles and wire nuts. It's pretty much a mechanical type process to string the wire and attach the receptacles. There is no danger to you as long as you are not working with live circuits. You can get everything you need at Lowes. The labor costs and markup on copper wire that you would save would probably pay for the tools and then some. The skills you have expressed here leave me with absolutely do doubt that you could do that if you wanted to.

I did that on a house mrs dave and I used to own. All the circuit work went pretty well but I almost killed myself when I started working in the main box. I hired an electrician for that and I have a melted screwdriver as a souvenir to remind me to be careful if I work with live stuff.

0 degrees, real feel -15. I'm shoveling snow and my fingers are turning blue.

the neighborhood cardinal is in a nearby tree, (not at the very top this morning so it was difficult to find) going sweet sweet sweet sweet as fast as it could. It started to sound like a broken water pump pulley and I was looking suspiciously at my truck to see if something was wrong!

Mrs Dave just went racing by and has beaten me to the warm gloves and snow shovel. My fingers probably won't last long but I should go put in an appearance too.

(Wounded male pride. I can't be the boss of Dianne or Mrs Dave. (She is protecting my age and infirmity.))

(I also can't stop at the thrift store later to check for the green coffee pot or restaurant china I want.)

Whine! :) :)

d T & K

Greener Supreme actually dead but in sealed bag and still looks good. Eating project for this week.

Sprouting potatoes. 10lb bag and 5lb bag on sale for the same price. Score! I've had several potato lunches.

Also have dead yogurt, coconut milk, and stop light peppers.

I finished the 20 year old oreos in January. We are now working on the 3 year old licorice Scotties.

There is some lunch meat I will probably have to throw out.

Just a comment about the PODS storage.
We went one month over Mrs Dave's 3 month plan.
three reasons.
One was just my slowness in dealing with things.

Two, When cleaning into pod for gar door repair, need for (unplanned) termite treatment was discovered and this created a 2 step repair process. Each step had to have entirely different areas of the garage exposed.

Three, both the garage door and the garage door opener installation work required some unplanned for warranty work that added 2 or 3 weeks to the time the pod was needed.

I have destroyed the family finances by paying for two places for stuff storage for over 15 years. I literally broke down and cried when mrs dave first broached the idea of a storage unit as a way to get the garage repairs and cleanout going.

Jess,

Thank you for the post that you made. The last paragraph about walking around the store looking for something so you would feel accomplished. I appreciate seeing that. That is a very nice possible explanation for why, when I have gone back to the (grocery) store for a day old bargain I left there earlier, and it has been purchased, I wander around the store aimlessly looking for day old tags in other spots.

Your discouragement really comes through in your post. It also sounds like you are gaining insights from the experience. Maybe in all your challenges for dealing with a small thing, the pie, you are gathering knowledge about yourself you can use in a big thing, how to better work with your husband in regard to that house purchase.

Day Eleven -

I have to work tonight or else I would check out the chat. I work every Sunday night.

Today I want to clean up the kitchen because I made french toast as well as a giant mess in the process! I plan to go through that box of wedding cards before work even though I don't want to. I feel motivated by the deadline of my weekly task.

Yesterday I felt like crying in the grocery store just because I couldn't find what I wanted to get to bake the pie. I took the time to analyze my feelings and realized it had nothing whatsoever to do with the pie, it's that I feel helpless and lost when my plan falls apart. My brain reels.

I walked around the grocery store and felt compelled to find something that I needed so that I would go home accomplished. I didn't need anything but I kept searching.

Good morning everyone :D

Hope you are having a pleasant Sunday.
Very quiet here.
Cats are not fussing about anything. :D

Hi Ali :)
aren't those tiny houses just too cute! :D

Hi Karl :)
Taking photos of her hoard and keeping them just to look at can be a great motivator to never allow your new home to get to that state. :)

Hi Roxie :)
Find a travel agent who understands and will help you make travel arrangements where you won't have to run to make connecting flights.
I would love to see you visit with your brother. :D

Hi Jess :)
BIG WAY TO GO!
for all you have been doing! :D

Hi Dianne :)
Hang in there!
Spring is right around the corner. :D

Hi Diane :)
A good way to make up for falling off the "no shopping wagon" is to look around your home and fill a bag or two for donation.
Please never feel that all is lost and that you should just give up.
Each and every morning we get a whole fresh new day to start over. (((hugs)))

Hi Dave :)
How's it going?
Any progress on the garage or other areas?
Missed you in Sunday night online support group.
Hope you can make it tonight. :)

Well, yesterday is finally over.
Mr. Hoarder bought a LOT of stuff at thrift shops. :(
He fiddles with the stuff for a bit after getting it home then he puts it down where ever and that's where it stays. Neglected, abandoned, left to rot & ruin.
I bought a fabric remnant to use on the quilt I am making and a spool of quilting thread.
Also bought two twin bed size comforters.
I like to keep a nice warm blanket on hand for any of the abandoned dogs & cats that city people dump out here in the county.
The comforters are in excellent condition, cost 2.50 and the neighbor saw them and told me that she needed one for her bed, so I gave her one. :D
Finally got to the grocery store and bought lots of fresh fruit & veg and kitty kibble.
Mr. Hoarder did well at the grocery store. :)
Having him handle and actually look at all the food he already has is like a reality check, a wake up call that he did not need to buy out the whole store to survive this coming week. :D

Hoping to "see" you all in the ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP tonight at 5:00pm PST. :D
Be there or be square.

Wherever there's clutter accumulating I plan to stop it in its tracks.

Sounds like an old Saturday Evening Post cartoon. Theres a cartoonist that used to draw funny shaped people, I think Osborne was his name, but not sure. I like him for this one!

There is a pile of purses peering through the sidelight at the front door. Inside there is a mountainous pile of books, clothes, pigs and dust clouds looking rather like one side of the parted Red Sea. In front of which is a lady with a determined facial expression, with a trash bag behind her, holding a chair in one hand and a whip in the other.

Hello everyone. Good to hear progress and your plan Tillie, for an upbeat day. I am snowed in, s00o have fire going and plan to clean up some clutter. Had a blind date that I cancelled, for two reasons, snowed in, anxiety meeting a man. Feel relieved to stay home and get back on track organizing. Got taxes done yesterday, very anxiety provoking. Went shopping after that, yep, compulsively.
I went to lowes and bought a dremel oscillating tool assortment attachments. I tried out the scraper blade on some old paint today, worked great. When snow melts, will take it up on trailer roof and try it out on old build up of patching and see how it works.
I followed up on stick built house I was thinking of. There is about $20,000 worth of things not on base price that are required things, I thought it was too good to be true. This is not upgrades on carpet etc., it is footings, permits, etc. Out of my price range. Happy I asked for details, and insisted on break down of all necessary charges. This answered my question to continue repairs of replace. Happy garage did not leak yesterday with rain, no leak in kitchen so patching is working for now. Hope all goes well for you today

Hi :)

WAY TO GO!!! :D
getting stuff done.

Going to the grocery store today,
have my list all made out.
He wants to go to the thrift shops. :(
Today I will not mention anything about not buying or about decluttering/cleaning.
That is my B-Day gift to him.
Tomorrow will be a different story though. ;)

Have a GREAT! Saturday everybody. :)

Day TEN - I want to ship these cards and things to their final destinations today. Got everything ready for three of them and have two more to prepare. Have to find addresses.

Laundry. I have two loads to do, maybe three if I have enough whites.

General straightening up. Kitchen table, counters, living room, etc. Wherever there's clutter accumulating I plan to stop it in its tracks.

I'm going to break out the pie book and really consider baking one today. But that also reminds me to call maintenance about our oven. It isn't lighting by itself and I need to have them come fix it but I hate having the man in here when I'm alone. Not sure I'll be brave enough to go through with that one.

I hope everyone is doing well. Thinking of you all...

Tillie - Glad you're starting to feel better!

I did the boxes in my clutter closet and THE PURSES. Whaaaaat? That's right. I scrubbed one up that was in okay condition and then I threw it away lol Almost kept it but, you know, it really wasn't necessary. With the space I've freed up getting rid of these old, increasingly shabby bags I can buy a nice new one that doesn't have ripped lining and a pen mark on the side. I only want as many as I'll actually use.

The only thing left to organize in my clutter closet is a box of cards from our wedding and my huge wedding binder. These are things I do not need but feel like I must keep. After I deal with that I will be calling this my walk in closet and not my clutter closet. After all, I'm typing this from the floor that actually exists now.

Good morning :)
Was sick the last few days.
House went all to heck.
Freaking out.
Need to clean the house because people told me they will be coming over tomorrow to give Mr. Hoarder his B-Day card.
Oh Well :(
I will do as much as I can get done without pushing myself too hard since I am still a little shaky & feeling small.
I know I can get the place good enough :)
T.G.I.F. and it is also the last day of February.
Lets all march into March together with renewed optimism and convictions. :D

Good luck with the apartment search Karl! It sounds like you're being very proactive :)

Day Nine - I did go to the grocery store yesterday and I did drop off my donations! I started writing out the card I plan to send out with those things I want to mail, so that's something, but I didn't finish that project. So I'll work more on that today.

I need to get back to the clutter closet today too. The rest of my weekly task is to finish the remaining couple of boxes in there so I want to do at least one today. My guess is that I'll finish one and want to do it all so we will see.

I plan to run out quickly and get more firewood too, just in case. Might bake a pie if everything else goes smoothly. It's my favorite way to heat up the apartment!

For Tillie -
A Tiny House on Wheels (with no Hoard of course)

https://sftimes.co/?id=93&src=share_fb_new_93

Karl,
Is there something specific that you would like me to pray about in your situation?

I am concerned about you and at a total loss as to the right things to say.
Dave