Hooray for Tillie's rain!

Tillie, please get plenty of fresh air while you can!

CM, fantastic work with the clear out and the van decisions!

I agree that as you continue to edit your possessions, the quality of what us left and of what you are willing to accept will improve.

I am always amused when the simple living/homesteading/zero waste websites are selling stuff. I understand that everybody us trying to make a living, and some of it is bvery good, but a lot of it us just bandwagon junk that goes against their stated purpose.

I like the zero waste people who says "don't throw out all your plastic! Keep using it as long as it works and If you replace it, pass it on if you can."

I mean, seriously it does not help the environment if I put a plastic lunch container in the landfill and require a metal one to be produced!

Today was mostly a tomato day I guess. I filled the dehydrator. I also ran the dishwasher, did my virtual open house for my youngest kids (less than half attended), and made buckwheat pancakes for dinner (because Dh didn't want to cook and I felt like pancakes.) I am still falling behind on tomatoes and everything else from the garden.

I also finished the online set up for another class. Really have to knock the rest out by tomorrow night, but they get easier.

I also need to run some laundry.

I watched another calico girl vlog today while I was slicing tomatoes. She swept her porch, picked a basket of goodies from her beautifully maintained little garden, touched up her fall decorations and made a pie.

Perfectly reasonable day, but what did she do with the carrots from the garden and when does she weed and do the pie dishes and wash her underwear?!

YAY FOR RAIN 💦🌧️

I got 2 cubic feet of stuff out of my storage, but I didn't start till after 3:00. Was waiting for my roommate to get back from the doctor with news. I guess she is going to have to have a kidney biopsy. That felt like a disappointment and anxiety thing from my perspective.

I know they don't want to rush into surgery, but I'm squeamish about things where big needles are stuck into people's innards. Kind of had to go calm down as I almost felt like crying or something. I'm okay now. Will support as best I can and maybe if need be her family could come. But hopefully it will be less scary when it actually happens.

Anyway, happier things - the stuff I got out to donate was books, jigsaw puzzles again, and a couple glass and ceramic items. And a throw that had been given to my mom in the nursing home - it was a mass-produced thing from China, nothing special.

On the way home, I almost ran over a very suicidal squirrel but I don't think I did. Slammed on my brakes, didn't hear any thumps, of course they always have run up a tree by the time you look back. If they have lives like cats do, that dude used up one of them for sure.

And of course my boxes flew off the seat when I braked - not the donation boxes, but ones with dolls that I am going to give to a specific person, which I need to make a time to do one of these days. I'm glad it wasn't the boxes with the jigsaw puzzles. Hundreds of puzzle pieces all over the van would've been super annoying. 🧩🧩🧩🧩🧩

I also found the two UFO books I couldn't locate for months. 🛸👽 They were in with some science books. They're for research on my satirical UFO cult novel. As I carefully put them in a different box with the rest of the UFO books, I got to thinking how this decluttering is going to make it so much easier to write! 🙂 📝💻📚

Good Afternoon Everybody

Hello CriticalMass
No, you are not being snobbish.
It makes perfect sense that now that the worst shelves are gone you are now able to look at the ones there with a more critical eye.

Go ahead and snark away at decluttering/organizing websites trying to sell stuff.
I am extremely snarky at commercials & ads but mostly I just tune them all out.

Very glad you are looking into other places for vehicle maintenance.

WTG! and keep up with all this fantastic work you have been doing (((HUG)))


Hi Tatoulia
Sounds like a lovely evening after that long meeting. :)
Good luck finding bread.
I still have plain English muffins and corn tortillas, so I'm ok.

Sorry you have the smoke but glad you can't smell it.
It is a very sad sad smell.

Good luck reclaiming the coffee table! :D


Another dark day here but.....
IT'S CLOUDS!!!
About noonish until around one-ish we had drizzle!
A beautiful air cleaning drizzle of RAIN!!!
When I look up at the sky it's gray with cloud formations.
The rain cleaned the air down here so I have the windows open letting in that fresh clean rain smelling air!
Real air! :D

Just a stray thought or two...and a few ramblings

As I'm extricating these "rickety" shelves (and some of their contents) from my storage unit, it has crossed my mind that these are the "good" shelves I had consciously saved when I moved from the storage unit across town in 2017.

I gave my mechanic several of the REALLY rickety or at least ugly ones. Metal shelves with generous amounts of rust, super light Parsons table plastic ones, shelves that had been store displays including one garish yellow one that may have held Mountain Dew soda at one time. All these were SO inadequate and/or ugly that I guess the ones I kept did seem much nicer by comparison.

Maybe I sound like a snob, but I'm raising the bar on both aesthetics and sturdiness now. And as for the stuff that occupies whatever shelving, usefulness and joy sparking are newer, tighter criteria.

I went to glance at the KonMari website and y'know, I don't know how to feel about the fact that they have merchandise for sale. Doesn't that in a way contradict the aims of her method? Aside from the books that is. However, I do think her method is useful. Thinking in categories, spark joy, and other concepts are relatable for me. I'll just ignore my snarky thoughts about the merch, LOL.

Speaking of my mechanic - I've not heard from him for another couple weeks or more. But I started brainstorming new ideas, because I think that's going to have to be the wave of the future. This lovely van cannot be allowed to deteriorate because of a misplaced loyalty to that man. We can still be friends, and if once in awhile he can do a lower priority task, fine.

So anyway, I'd called my friend who had gotten me the new van and she and I we were talking about other things. It occurred to me to ask if she and her husband were coming into town anytime soon, and if by any chance her husband might be able to change my oil. I already have the oil and filter. Turns out they were planning to come next week. And that most likely he can do it.

Once he gets the blue dye out (it went in with the oil and is to check that the valve cover gasket that was replaced is doing its job, but the dye can harm the engine if left in >3 months or 2,000 miles) I'll be good. After that I can start taking it someplace else for oil changes and such.

Hi Tatoulia, good to hear from you. Glad you had a nice dinner with your friend.

Quick check in! Keep taking good care of yourself, Tillie. We have some of the smoke here, The sky has been a milky color for most of the week, It's high so we can't smell it. I worry so much about everyone out west. This is so terrible.

SubC I love to hear about your life. I love the story about the bed! And they ended up together!

CM I am bursting with pride! You are amazing!

I am focused now that my dining room table is clean and clear. My coffee table is still suffering.

My cleaners came yesterday instead of Wednesday. I was in a zoom meeting the entire time. When they were near me and working behind me, I would cover up my video feed and put my mask on.

Then last night I had dinner with my friend at my favorite restaurant. So tasty. We were out til about ten. We were going to park here and walk down together, but neither of us had eaten very much and we had both been in the zoom meeting from 1 to 5PM so I had her pick me up and we drove to the restaurant together. We then walked a bit after dinner and we were out til 10 so that was nice. I dropped off some raisin bread for mom on my way home. The store didn't have any fresh bagels and their regular breads were out of date so I'm going to have another rough food day unless I can get out.

Got my garbage and recycling out last night and cleaned the kitty's box.

Back to work!

Now for the Extended Director's Cut Version, as promised... 🎥 🎞️ 🍿

Last couple of days I was kind of tired and at times out of sorts. This morning too. I'm wondering if I need to start having a cup of coffee in the morning or else drink iced tea with caffeine the first part of the day. I try to get more sleep yet still wake feeling unmotivated sometimes, which can quickly devolve into irritability. 🦖

Things picked up in the afternoon today, though. I called my elderly friend from church, the lady I used to "babysit" pre-Covid. Her daughter is still working from home. Both sounded upbeat and chipper.

Then I went over to the storage unit and got more things out. I had one partial load from earlier this week in the van - consisting of the 2nd set of plastic shelves, and odds and ends. Today I added a rickety metal shelving unit, a little 2-drawer plastic thingy, odds and ends, notebooks, jigsaw puzzles, and a few books. Then hauled it off arriving at the thrift shop minutes before the donation dock closed! 🚛🕔

I think I made just enough progress to feel better again about the direction this whole project is taking. The other day I felt doubt and a touch of overwhelm. Today I was dealing once again with things that were easy to decide about. Finding out what was even in some boxes that have sat a long while - and that most of it was stuff that could go away. So that was nice. 🙂

I have a couple more metal shelving units that have books on them. These are less rickety, if I was to put them up along a wall instead of perpendicular to it (I was going for a "library stacks" approach but it didn't work that well).

It's possible that those two shelves would be stable enough to house my kitchen stuff. There are books in another area of the unit. All the books need to eventually be in one area, and culled RUTHLESS-ly.

So much information is available online for nonfiction topics, recipes, etc. My religious books, children's books I still love, some of my cat mysteries, sci-fi, artsy books, and such I will keep if they still feel relevant - the best ones anyway. They'll be stored neatly, the ones that make the final cut. 📚📒📕📗📘📙📖

If I can get those two metal shelves away from where they've been, I'll have reached the Family Memorabilia area - oboy! But I'll also have access to sturdy shelving that got blocked early on. By that point, the whole place will be getting more open.

I've been working my way down the East wall, the South is the back. That'll take some time what with memorabilia. The West wall is mostly crafty stuff. Loose stuff, the stuffed animals, etc. are here, there, and everywhere, too. All will be dealt with in due time. Breathe, CM. Breathe.

Catching up on everyone's posts...

SubC you are really going to town making cheese and other wonderful things. My roommate's tomatoes all got stolen by critters this year. 🍅🦝 She put up a holographic silver fake owl (Disco Owl!) 🦉 but I don't know if it has helped.

Sorry about dh's spine... hope the pt and exercises will help.

Kitchen prep and cleanup is sometimes overwhelming to me even for large meals. I remember once making Sand Hill Plum jelly with my mom. It was a busy day but our batch was not that huge.

Now when I was taking Wilton cake classes, cake "homework" could be rather exhausting. At my storage I had gotten my Wilton pans out from the two big tubs and gotten rid of the tubs the other day.

I do think in my own place, and perhaps even here to some extent, I'll be using some of those again. From what I feel, they still spark joy. I won't try to make the next royal wedding size cake or anything at this point! What I had gotten was mainly sets of basic shapes for versatility - and I have a bunny pan or two (surprise). But I didn't try to collect oodles of specialty shaped cartoon character pans or anything.

Tillie, I too had wished I could send you ibuprofen! But glad if the other pain relievers and heated throw are working. Hope soon you will be all recovered. The sky was hazy here I'm assuming from the smoke in the atmosphere, and the sun going down was orange. 🌅

Good Evening Everyone

Still resting my back with slow gentle movements when I need to move.

Today was just dark and kept being darker and darker.
Could not even see the sun through the thick smoke cover.

With it being dark day after day is it has not been very hot.
Highs of 80F so the garden plants are not all withered and shriveled.
There has been absolutely no wind or even a small breeze for days now.
Can barely see down the road even a little way.

But I have honestly never seen it this bad ever before.
The air inside is not bad and the ceiling fan feels good.
I am not coughing a lot and Scooter's eyes are not doing too bad.

WOOHOO!
WAY TO GO!!!
That's FANTASTIC! CriticalMass!
🧨🎆🎈🏆

Quick summary - full report later

I think I got rid of 12 Cubic Ft. or so of stuff including 2 more sets of rickety shelves. Got to the DAV dropoff right before they closed!

Good Afternoon

Today is just as smoky bad as yesterday.

Been taking it easy & moving slow.
So much I really want to do but won't till my back is better.

House is all closed up tight to keep the smoke out.
It's a pleasant 72F in here and I have the ceiling fan on just to make the air move.

🐺

Good Evening Everyone

Hi Subclinical
So happy you all went to the orchard.
YEA that Dsil wants to make apple sauce all together!

Sounds like they are enjoying taking Bean on these family outings.
Apple orchard and soon the pumpkin patch for bean :D

Last time I went grocery shopping I looked for some apple butter but there wasn't any.
Enjoy yours. ;)

Yeah, you will have to do the math for how many guests will be eating there on occasions and add that number to what you & Dh need.
Don't worry, you will get this all figured out but it will take a bit of trial & error.

Have a wonderful day tomorrow!

Good night Mr. Kitty 🐈


Today I washed dishes and cleaned up the kitchen.
Didn't do that yesterday, weren't many, mostly my drinking glasses.
This evening I got the grass watered.
Now I will take a shower & lay in bed.
I am tired.
The sun never broke through the smoke today and when I could see the sun it was a big orange blob I could look directly at.
Walked out to get the mail (sample voting ballots) and looking down the road visibility was very poor.
Saw that the air currents have carried the smoke all the way to New York.
I think I am able to hang out laundry on the line but not with this much smoke.
It would just smell terrible. :p

Thank you Tillie,

We did have a wonderful day at the orchard! Took a few pictures and picked what Dh said were a good number of apples. Bought a little jar of their homemade apple butter too.

Dsil definitely wants to come over for an applesauce making day. Turns out it was his first trip to an apple orchard too! Not yet though, the apples will keep a bit, and I am still catching things up. Maybe next week.

They are working hard to include the other Grammy, but they are not comfortable with her home or social distancing practices. After today though, they decided they will ask her to meet them for Bean's first trip to the pumpkin patch (for a pumpkin to carve, not eat.) 🙃

Today I got the tomatoes picked and the stalls cleaned. I started cutting some tomatoes up for the dehydrator, but I don't have a whole batch, so I put them in the fridge.

The kids stayed for dinner and we ate a whole loaf of bread. (A smaller, homemade loaf, not the store kind) Dh and I eat a loaf in a week. This is why I think I need so much food!

The dishwasher is running and there are not too many dishes left out.

Tomorrow I get to see Bean again! I am going to his house so his parents can work on building his entertainment center. It will fit over the large glass case that holds his daddy's model ship to protect all the people and things. They are using 3/4" wood. Both of them are excellent designers and builders. When they were first dating, they built a project together for a class. Then, it got stored in our barn, they broke up for a while, and Dd scavenged the wood to build herself a bed. She was loading it in the truck when she looked down and yelled "oh [expletive]! I have to sand (first name) (expletive) (last name)'s name off my bed! It's funny now.

Mr. kitty says goodnight.🐈

Good Morning Everybody
"Clink!"

Oh Tatoulia
(((HUGS)))
You are so sweet.
Thank you but I still have a whole lot of acetaminophen and aspirin.
Plus it is very slowly getting better, it's a whole lot less painful.
No more screaming while moving into different positions.
I am thinking by next week I will be able to make a quick trip into town and until then I will take what I have and keep resting and using the heated throw.
Thank you Sweetheart 💖


Hi Subclinical
You did the right thing.
Being taken by a Raptor or Fox is preferable over being chicken pecked. (((HUG)))

Ouch for Dh's back.
Hope the doctor has good recommendations for some therapy.

That is hard, working on downsizing from feeding a large family to just the two of you at home.
Yes, your workload should be a lot lighter.
I think finding the perfect balance as to what you need on hand will just take trial and error.

You have done excellent with not salvaging everything you found for free, you now are very discerning as to what you pick up.
This thinking will help you in deciding what to plant, milk, harvest, breed so you have enough but not a bumper crop. (((HUG)))

I really hope you do get together and make applesauce.
That would be fun. 💝

Have a WONDERFUL day at the orchard! :D


Still too smoky to hang laundry out.
But it is not as dark as the other days, yea.

Yes, Scooter has no idea just how huge the bird is that dropped that feather.
Whenever I have had any kittens I always had to keep them close to keep them from being bird chow.

I can tell by my clothes that I have lost a bit of weight since I don't have a scale.
Just have not felt like snacking & munching.
Plus there isn't any junk here to munch on or I might have been tempted.

Tillie I'm not caught up on the posts and we have a second dry run of our presentations soon but if you can create a wish list on amazon, I can send you the meds you need without your having to reveal your full name or address.

Chickens eat pretty much anything. They are not quite as efficient as pigs - they leave citrus rinds for example, but they are great speed composters.

The other chicks were picking on the dwarf chicken, so I let her free. She spent a few days hanging around the barn and then unfortunately disappeared. I'm guessing hawk. But maybe she's just living somewhere in the woods....

The rest of the chicks are currently separated into two pens. "Roosters" (7), and "possibly hens" (7), but I think three of the latter are late blooming roosters. I don't know why I get so few hens!

After the first frost the rooster pen will be put to work clearing my garden. They should be big enough to be hawkproof.

Scooter clearly doesn't know what that feather is. Mr. kitty is terrified of the big owls. Of course, he is also afraid of the chickens....

I'm glad you are eating well. Keep taking care of your back and avoiding the smoke as much as you can!

Dh got his test results back. He basically has bone spurs and arthritis in his spine. He is not happy, but he is going to talk to his doctor about physical therapy and exercise.

I love the feeling of tucking away a years worth of something all at once. I like the satisfaction of that big batch of jars, but I am starting to think it comes at too high a cost. I am limited in how much ice cream I can make at once by the capacity of my ice cream maker and the way the motor heats up - I can't just run it all day and make a dozen batches of one flavor without washing it... and yet, I have a nice stash of ice cream in my freezer, in many flavors, and I never feel overwhelmed at the thought of making ice cream.

I did less jam than usual this year - but there is enough. I am no longer feeding three teenagers plus extras.

I am starting to think "what if I just made a big pot of spaghetti sauce, served spaghetti for dinner, and tossed a few jars in the little canner...." if I did that once a week or so for a couple of months, I'd have plenty of spaghetti sauce. What if instead of letting the cucumbers pile up and trying to make a big batch of pickles, I just picked the cucumbers, filled four jars, and put them in the little canner....

I never made pickles by the way. I accidentally hit the temperature control wheel in the overflow fridge and I froze everything. The milk and eggs thawed, but the cucumbers became chicken food. Hoarding and waste.... I need to find balance.

When the kids were home and involved, a big canning day was fun. And we may do that with applesauce. But now it is starting to be like everything else I put off until it becomes too big and overwhelming. Even the amount of cheese I made yesterday was too much at once. If I am going to make ricotta, I need to stop at two hard cheeses. Which means I need to make cheese more often for a smaller part of the day. Or eat less cheese and feed the chickens milk, or milk fewer goats.

Balance is very hard.

But I'm rambling.

I got my shower and clean sheets last night.

This afternoon Bean is coming for his first trip to the apple orchard! My goal is to have fun and not buy too many apples.

Maybe I'll also do something with tomatoes today.

Hello

Hi Subclinical
OH YEAH! Babies just love sweet squash! :D

WTG! getting so much done today!
Dinner sounds good too. :)
I like "casserole" type things.

Good luck getting the bed made and a shower.

Sometimes it is better to work hard all one day and do the clean up the next day to get stored away the number of things you need to see you through until next growing season.

Didn't know Chickens eat tomatoes. Did know they eat greens and mice too.
Little garbage disposals I guess.
How is your Dwarf Chicken doing?


Found a just shed Great Horned Owl feather.
It is huge and fluffy.
Allowed Scooter to sniff it and he is still loving sniffing it.

Got litter box scooped.
Still in a LOT of discomfort with great immobility due to my back.
Need to go outside and water my garden plants in a bit.
Will try to hurry and get back inside out of the smoke.
For brunch I toasted an English muffin then melted some cheese on each half in the microwave.
Then I fried two over hard eggs and put one on each half of the muffin.
For dinner I will have some sweet juicy cantaloupe.

Tillie, it makes me mad that you don't have your ibuprofen. At least he gave you his scary old medicine, so next time you leave the house, you can throw it away!

I cooked most of DD's baby food - not because I was smart, because we were broke. I have a pie pumpkin ready to bake and purée for Bean (pumpkin was one of DD's favorites) plus we will be making the applesauce.

I will order Tattler lids from now on when I need lids.

CM🕷💃🏻, whatever you need to do for the stuff it's will be the right thing. You are making great progress! Imagine moving into a smaller storage unit and tucking the money difference away every month like Tatoulia did for her debt!

I am tired. Today was a dairy day. I should have done lessons, but I did not. I made four wheels of mozzarella, a pint and a half of ricotta, and three pints of ice cream. I did most of the cleaning up from that (the dishwasher is running for the second time) and also stripped the bed, washed the sheets, and made dinner. I feel like the day went so fast!

I need to put sheets back on the bed and shower before bedtime. Dh is at the office today and the dinner is waiting forhim. It is a big layered thing that has to sit for 20 minutes to an hour after it comes out of the oven.

I have a bunch more tomatoes that need to be cut up, and I haven't picked yet today.

I am trying to channel the girl on the vlog I was watching - I know the vlog is curated, but she makes her home life look so relaxed and peaceful. And one of the reasons is that she doesn't do huge projects. She just does small things from beginning to end. I can have 30 jars of tomato sauce and be hot and sweaty and exhausted and go to bed late knowing I will face a horrible mess in the kitchen tomorrow, or I can have 4 jars of tomato sauce, clean up the kitchen, shower, and sit calmly with a book and a drink before bed.

I probably planted too many tomatoes. I need to learn that I don't have to maximize all the tomatoes. Chickens like tomatoes.

Another very dark smoky day.

I found that ibuprofen works better for my back pain than aspirin or acetaminophen.
I have only 2 200mg ibuprofen pills left.
The most I ever take at one time is 2 pills = 400mg.

Asked Steven if he has any or would he get me some.
He gave me a prescription bottle from his hoard of 800mg pills that expired 10/26/2010.
Said that's all I get, to just take those.

I will now be trying my acetaminophen or aspirin again to see which of those two help best.
No way in heck will I be taking his nasty old pills.

Good Morning Everyone

Have a wonderful day Tatoulia :)

Hi CriticalMass
WAY TO GO! You're doing fantastic!

With a smaller storage unit you would be saving enough money to easily replace the common items that have become sad, dingy and depressing to look at now.
Think about saving only the "best" for your future home.
With arts & craft supplies it's hard but prioritize what you truly actually want to or will use.
Sentimental things like Stuffies are hard because they have a face.
Are you sure the big machines at laundromats are off limits?
Please don't over think and make donating things harder on yourself.

There are a lot of different degrees to minimalism.
It s not a matter of counting possessions and striving to have the lowest number.
It is having only the things that bring real value to your life.
Not a bunch of "Justin Case" maybe someday I will want this stuff taking up all the space.

Some people can exist with just a back pack containing only 23 items.
Most everybody else wants more than that.
If a person enjoys creating and crafting there will be more items.
A person may enjoy cooking and baking and need the things to do that.
Some people like entertaining guests and need a set up for it.
We are all different with different likes and wants so minimalism can also be factored into our lives, but differently.
We just need to get rid of the useless (to us) excess to achieve our own personal minimalism.

My theory about cats on beds...
When we turn off the lights, cats become Black Holes, generating more gravity than the Sun.

Stay in the moment, CM. You are doing it!

Okay have a little bit more time til my conference lunch break is over. Ttyl

Hi all

Watch out everyone for bad backs, seems like they're going around. Or legs. My roommate has had trouble with leg/hip joint muscle seizing up at night. Partly exacerbated by cat, you know how they decide where they want to become dead weight on you. I hope she has a better night.

My friend who was in the hospital and got out and back to her care facility tested positive for Covid. They hadn't told the family there was an outbreak there before they brought her back! But so far she is asymptomatic. Praying she just has to quarantine and then will be okay.

Took the vanload of donations to the thrift store. Went back to storage and did a fair amount again. Got the biggest set of wire shelves assembled and started moving kitchen stuff onto it from rickety plastic shelves. Dances With Spiders may become my new name, yikes. I'm getting really tired of those critters.

More stuff will have to get out of the way before that shelf can be rolled neatly against the wall. I got about 7-8 cu. ft. out to donate next run. Of course, this is all the low hanging fruit - the harder things will come in time and the going will be slower.

Some victory feelings and some trepidation - the latter about how I'm going to get it all done, and it makes me think about the future and wonder. I know, stay in the moment. I try to.

It's interesting what I am deciding to let go of that I didn't think I would, but stuff does get sort of dingy hanging around in a storage unit more than I realized it would. And dingy depresses me.

When I know I've seen nicer versions of the items for reasonable prices at Walmart or other places - not that I plan to turn into a crazy shopper as I've been sometimes, but when I get my own place there will be a few more up-to-date items I can get. And if (fingers crossed) I'm able to downsize to a smaller storage unit, the money I'd save not storing the dingy old things would more than make up for having to replace a few.

I guess the scary thing is, I don't want to get stuck paying for a large storage like I have if I can't reduce down enough, and before I figure out how to bring in that extra bit of income that would qualify me to rent regular grade apartments or even a small house. Instead of dinky slummy low income places. Or the senior places that have too many rules and probably wouldn't let me have my bunnies.

I know, I know - getting far ahead of myself. This decade has been so weird because if I were 20 years younger it would feel like surely a comeback is more possible. Keep telling me it's gonna work out.

Back to the stuff - some things I bring home to clean before donating. At some point I will have to wash stuffed animals. Before Covid I could've taken them to a laundromat and run them through a big side loader. But we do what we can.

Stuffies will go to the small, privately owned thrift shop because the larger ones just toss them in a huge bin and everybody paws over them roughly. I can let go of the ones that aren't super sentimental fairly easily but I still want them to be looked at and picked out by people in a sane fashion, if that makes any sense.

Another apprehension - and it's probably rather silly - is that this whole process is making me feel like maybe I CAN achieve minimalism after all, yet will it feel too "empty" especially after so many years not living by myself?

LOL! I think it's not going to be a straight arrow shot, I'll have to find the level of possessions that is right, and it will take time and thought. And the decluttering will be up and down too, not a perfect 45-degree downslope to near zero. So yes, I'm worrying WAY too soon.

But I just do NOT ever want to be a hoarder again.

Good Evening Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
Yes, Just look at you! :D
WTG!
Clear distraction-less table too!

Bet your Mom was happy to get slippers and reading material.

My chrysanthemums are yellow, white and rust colored.
Let us know what colors you get. :D

So sorry about the homeless people being shuffled down your way.
Very glad you took a scenic route. (((HUG)))


Hi Subclinical
Yeah, you're right.
At 5 foot 4 inches I should not be helping anyone older than 2 years of age.

Reusable lids that cost twice what the others cost.
That's a no-brainer.
Very glad you got them and want you to get the smaller size too.

When I had a baby I would take a golden delicious apple.
Peal & core it, cut it into small pieces.
Cook it in a pot till tender, just took a few minutes, then puree it.
I was one of those moms who made all the baby food from scratch even though people thought I was strange.
But I just knew better. :D

WAY TO GO! getting laundry, dishes, tomatoes & icecream done and especially for spending time with Bean. (((HUG)))


I made up my bed with clean sheets & pillow cases then got into the shower.
The shower was amazingly delicious.
The flowing water purified the air and the warm water felt sooooo good.
I am all clean, sitting in my clean bed.
After I rest up a bit I will go straighten up the bathroom, get my stuff all put away right.

Tillie,

I'm concerned too. Hopefully being in the shower helped you get some fresh air.

I completely understand and agree about not helping Steven. Just call someone!

When my grandfather, who was a very large man, was very ill and 90, he fell. And my grandmother, who was five years older and 5'6" tried to help him up. Then she called my mom and said "I need help. Your father has fallen and I can't get him up." we rushed over, and I think once we got him back in bed, my mom was most upset that my grandmother even tried to get him up.

Tatoulia, I'm glad you're enjoying your nice clear space.

Mental health Issues and homelessness are a hard combination to address.

I forgot to tell you I ordered Tattler lids today! We are going to make applesauce (obviously, Bean must have applesauce) and I normally can it in regular mouth quarts with Ball lids. But I am out of regular lids. And they are very hard to get. And even if you can get them, they are very expensive. And the sooner you want them, the more expensive!

I have been wanting the Tattlers (reusable) for years, but I can never bring myself to accept the cost difference. But today I discovered that I could order them for about twice the cost of the disposable lids and they will ship in two weeks. The first batch of applesauce will have to go in wide mouth jars, because I have those lids, but that is ok.

And when I told Dh about it, and explained what a Tattler lid was, he said "good grief. Just buy those from now on."

I had a good day with Bean and I ran a load of laundry and a load of dishes and started a batch of ice cream. Also packed away the quart and a half of dried tomatoes from the dehydrator.

Oh Tillie I'm worried about you! And the kitties. That smoke must be terrible. So worried. It is very windy here. I went for a nice walk tonight and brought my mother new slippers and some magazines and the Vermont Country store catalog.

Apple picking sounds great, SubC. Oh I'd love to make a nice apple crisp.

Garbage out. I also took care of the geraniums. What a difference having a clear table today! I was very focused at my desk and when I went to the dining table to do paperwork, there were no distractions and no suddenly writing out fourteen postcards. I chipped away at the piles on the coffee table.

So I walked around the city tonight. There's a bit of a problem right now because of opioids. There are a lot of suffering, addicted, homeless people that have been pushed down my way and it is unpleasant on the sidewalks. So after going to mom's, I walked around the beautiful Christian Science Center reflecting pool (so choppy due to wind). There were geese on it and they looked like they were standing still but in truth, they must've really been paddling against the current. I did a bit of mall walking and took the long way home. Delightful.

I'm showered and ready for bed.

Had the printer out, now it's put away. LOOK AT ME!

Hello
cough cough cough

The smoke has been so thick today that all day it's been twilight dark here.
Schedule was to water the grass this evening but I am NOT going out there, not at all!

Fortunately the majority of the smoke has been held high up in the atmosphere, not down on the ground.
But it's still bad down here. :p

Now my plan is just to change sheets & pillow cases on my bed and shower & shampoo my hair.
Took a very nice relaxing nap.

OK Subclinical

I feel better about the orchard now.
That will be fun and good for all of you to do this.
Plus you get some really good apples.

I know that trying to help Steven last Monday really hurt my back and made it so much worse.
Now I just stand back or remain seated where I am.
Never again will I try to physically help him or try to prevent him from hurting himself.

I know you all understand.

You all go pick apples and have a wonderful time (((HUGS)))

Tatoulia, enjoy your conference and your trash reduction. 😄

Your post card system sounds good.

Tillie, I think Dh back is as bad as it is because he didn't take it easy when he should have.

I'm glad you are making yourself eat properly.

The apple orchard posted their new procedures online this week. You have to go into the building, buy one or more empty bags (pay by cash or check as always) and then fill your bag(s) and take it home. You used to pick into a bucket and then bring the bucket back to be weighed and bagged and pay by weight.

Masks are required in the building - which also has a retail shop and a limited number of people are allowed in at once.

Dd has been there with me almost every year, and she feels it is safe enough that she wants to bring sil and bean and come with me.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
Thank you :)
Still have food and have been making myself eat properly at least once every day.

Really hoping your Dh doesn't try to rush getting better.
It is frustrating just sitting/laying down while wanting to do more, but pushing it only makes it take longer.
Ask me how I know...

Glad you got good help from your Cousin.
WTG! for dishes and dehydrating!

Maybe the apple orchard payment arrangements have changed and they can do "curb side"?
Have you called and asked them if they can?
That would be ideal.
I want you to have some bushels of apples AND still be safe. (((HUG)))

Give Bean a cyber hug from me. :)


Hi Tatoulia
Yes, get the postcards all consolidated so they are tidy and not strewn around causing visual clutter.

Good luck, best wishes on your presentation. :D

Very glad you will do that virtual conference.
Sounds like it will be very interesting and easy with no traveling.

My Chrysanthemums are full of flower buds, waiting for Autumn before they bloom.
They seem to have survived the trip through hell of Summer heat.


Very dark and overcast looking today.
It's wildfire smoke.
Hoping it clears out if the air/wind/breeze ever picks up.

Slept well last night. Would have slept in longer but a nasty telemarketer called at 9am and woke me up.

Steven stayed out in his beloved garage till 5am.
He has not spoken to me except when he was laying with his head in the cat's litter box and I asked him if he was alright & he said yes.

Don't want to jinx it but want to say my back is feeling better today. :D
Will continue to baby it.

Hello everyone! Glad to see you are making progress with your back, Tillie. Still sounds very painful. Hope SubC's husband gets a good report. Hello Baby Bean!

Yes the decision was made for me, I threw out the tin too. Just let it all go. I felt neutral on mailing the dollhouse furniture. I will be excited when they receive it. I'm glad I did it.

I'm working out a plan for dealing with my postcard mess. I'm keeping some of the postcards and the stamps in a canvas bag which I can pull out and use. When I run out of postcards in the bag, I'll get more out of the closet. This way it's done and over and not all strewn about. The canvas bag part is done ? loaded up. Next up is to further consolidate the others and put in closet.

I got up unusually early today. I have a big day in front of me including a dry run on a presentation I'll be doing in front of my entire company, including our London operations. My part is very short but I need this to go well. I volunteered.

I am taking tomorrow off to attend a conference that concerns volunteer work that I used to do. I miss all the people and haven't attended the conference since my term expired. Since the Conference is completely virtual this year, I can attend for a very small amount of money and obviously there is no hotel or food or airfare involved. So why not? It's an area that I am interested in and the agenda looks terrific.

So I got up early today and quickly ran to get BF's lunch as well as something else he needed. I ran them up to him and came home. It's a good feeling to be up and around. Grateful for my restful weekend.

Tonight is trash night! Always makes me feel good to get it gathered up and put away. I'm going to ditch my geraniums now. They have served me well. But I want it to be more fall like so I'll have to get some mums once it's cool. Today is a bit more humid than it's been.

So that's my news, ladies. Have a great day!

Oh Tillie, your poor back. Keep taking it easy. Twinkles will be ok. How are you for food?

Dh is still waiting for test results, but he is hoping to go to his office this afternoon. I am skeptical because he hardly slept last night.

CM, you are on a roll!🎉 don't let the 👻🕷scare you off! I an't waitvto year that your car is unloaded and ready for another round!

Tatoulia, I am sorry about the breakage, but at least the decision us made and you can move on. Great job on moving those papers. Sometimes we just need a shift to make progress.

I did not do laundry or write any school things yesterday. I did exchange a bunch of emails with my cousin that will help me with planning. And I ran the dishwasher and filled the dehydrator with tomatoes.

The apple orchard is open and I am trying to make a decision about going to pick. It is usually sparsely populated on weekdays, but I will have to go in the apple house (masked) and write a check. It would be my first trip into a Public building that is not an empty/nearly empty school since April.

Today is a Bean day. :)

Finished the last little bit of my chocolate icecream.

Did good today with standing up straight and walking around.
My back and legs get tired very quickly but not much discomfort.
Did a bit of bending, just a little so it wouldn't hurt.
Still hurts to actually bend down at the waist though or get in or out of the sitting position.
The general constant pain is down from a 8/9 to a 1/2.
When I first wake up in the morning I am so stiff and there is some screaming as I try to get to my feet.
But with 2 ibuprofen and slow movement it starts to ease up.
I know this all sounds horrible but I can slowly see improvement daily and that's FANTASTIC.

All 4 cats have gotten fed and watered daily.
Twinkles needs brushing but he said he understands I can't sit on the floor, the only place he will allow brushings.
I have kept up with washing all dishes as they are used.
Tonight I actually washed both my feet with a washcloth!
Put a towel on the side of the bath tub, sat there and got my feet up high enough to wash them. :D
I'm doing good.

Hi Tatoulia
Oh, OK, well...
Dropping the tin made the decision for you as to what to do with them.

YEA! for a nice clear dining table!
Yeah, having to look at an area all cluttered up day after day is disheartening.
Hope getting the coffee table papers sorted out is easier.

Happy you got to visit with little sister Kitty
and see your Mom too. ;D

How are you doing now that the dollhouse furniture is mailed?
Hoping you have a very good feeling about how you have gifted it. (((HUG)))

YEA! for doing the laundry and are putting it away!
My laundry is piling up. I did do one load of my dresses and a nightgown. They dry on hangers in my room.
But worry about trying to hang linens out on the clothes line.
Besides, anyway, it's too smoky here the last few days.

Steven got up about noon today.
I am so happy he took a shower because he was really stinking up the house.
Then he took off in his truck. Probably went to the grocery store.

Did he ask me if I need anything, knowing I have been incapacitated for a long time?
No...................................

Tillie, We cross-posted! CM it does become easier. You are living it. You are doing great. Still hard decisions in front of you but still easier than it ever has been before !

I love RUTHLESS.

CM! I am enjoying your storage purge as much as I enjoyed my own! You are amazing! You are motivating me! I am so excited. For you and for me!

Yay for the class lesson and headache being gone, SubC.

Tillie I'm so sorry about your back.

Ok I never finished clearing off my dining room table and it really bothers me. When I use it for paperwork, I become distracted and start writing postcards. It is the first thing I see when I get home and the piles are discouraging. I'd gotten it down to about 1/3. So I took the remaining 1/3 off and put on coffee table. The dining table looks beautiful. Yesterday I dropped a tin full of little ceramic things that I didn't know what to do with. They broke. They are in the garbage.

I mailed off the dollhouse furniture. I also got to see mom last night. I had done some shopping for her and when I got there I was waved upstairs. Good to see mom and of course that cat. I love that cat. Mom ate her dinner while I was there. So it was good all around.

I slept til nearly one today. Cooler weather with no humidity. I love it. I did three loads of laundry yesterday and I'm folding it and putting it away now.

It's 4 PM.

WOOHOO!
Tomorrow that should feel so good to clear out your vehicle! :D

Yeah, some decisions are easier to make.
But the more you keep working at making decisions and letting some of the harder things go
the easier it becomes, honest. (((HUG)))
Not saying it all becomes a breeze but decision making gets easier and the letting go becomes a lot less stressful.

Just ask Tatoulia.
She has been letting go of things she never dreamed she would be able to.

Subclinical has also let go of long saved items she thought she would use someday.
But her thinking about them has changed and she let them go. (((HUG)))

Thanks for the nice feedback!

Yesterday was a great day.

So many spider carcasses, though🕷️🕸️- plus a few live 8-leggers scuttling around. 😱 It's nice to think that I'm making fewer places for them to hide now. I have cleaning supplies over in the storage so there's a broom to get the webs and dust and leaves that blow in, etc.

I truly believe I am experiencing a combination of a mental shift and divine inspiration going on here. I'm rather blown away, actually.

All I have to do is show up and cooperate with it.

There will be harder things - it's one thing to yank out a chair that takes up about 4 cubic feet. It may be way harder to deal with 4 small stuffed animals or 4 greeting cards. And to do it over and over until all the cubic feet of that sort of thing is dealt with and most of it gone.

All such things I will face eventually. And I remember I've gone through and gotten rid of lots of boxes and bags of papers already in this effort since whenever.

No matter what, I will have hope. And I will have you wonderful ladies! So I'm not going to let it scare me.👻 I promise.

Tomorrow I get to take the stuff away! 🚐 Woohoo!🎆🎉🥂

Hi Subclinical

YEA! for a lovely time with Bean!
And photos to remember when he was little. ;D

Good luck with doing odds&ends bits&pieces today.

Good getting ahead on XMas presents.
So much easier when it's spread out.
Hoping you do get a chance to see Ds at some time.

Wow CM!

That is an amazing purge! I hope you have a sense of increased space to enjoy.

You seem to have been gaining a lot of useful insight lately.

Tillie, we're glad you are too smart to believe Steven. It saves a lot of disappointment.

We had a lovely time with Bean yesterday - and yes, I took pictures. 🤩


I did pretty well on the "recovery" yesterday. I still feel overwhelmed, but not as badly.

There was a lot of cooking and eating, so my kitchen and scullery are buried again.

Today I think I will be doing odds and ends. I ordered a Christmas gift for one of the kids (starting early to spread it out and take advantage of sales.) Also because I expect to be 90% online this year and may have to ship to ds. I don't know if we'll be able to see him.

More dishes, more laundry, more tomatoes, class postings, maybe first day plans...

We'll see where I end up.

Good Morning Everybody
"Clink!"

WAY TO GO! CriticalMass!!!

That's a FANTASTIC! start on taming the storage!

Great combination with you working with Badger and leaving Ruth at home. ;D

Your thought processes are great in deciphering the "whys" as to what you have.
Life happened and plans got changed too many times.
Yes, when the time comes there will be chairs available for you to find and bring home to use.

I have found that the universe does provide.
There is so much furniture out there to fit everyone's needs and budgets.

Keep the image of a smaller well organized storage unit for all your necessary items. (((HUG)))

The money pit van was deceptive in how high maintenance it really was because it slowly nickeled & dimed you to pay to keep it running.


I must have pushed it too far yesterday cause my back is really achy again.
Yesterday I was trying to do more bending down tasks like picking up kitty dishes off the floor.
Been trying to use the electric blanket and having to really fight with Scooter to "GET OFF!".

Steven finally came in from the garage 10:45pm last night for the first time since returning from the hospital.
There is no bathroom in the garage, only the one bathroom here in the house.
He keeps bottles of pee lined up out there.
Yes, you have all seen that before on episodes of HOARDERS in some of the worst case scenarios.

That, along with the mouse poop everywhere makes it a hazmat zone.

The wildfire smoke is "moderate" this morning and it should warm up into the 90s by afternoon.

Plan today is to baby my back until time to water my garden plants this evening.

A pleasant day here, warmer and sunny. 🌞 I'm glad we got the rain but the sudden bout of cloudy and chilly weather had gotten me down.

And now it looks as though we won't have 90s for awhile or until next year. Kansas is fickle though, so I never make absolute statements! But today was pretty ideal.

No news yet on family.

My roommate had given me another small wire shelf unit she was no longer using, so I went to take it over to the storage unit where it can replace one of the several rickety plastic ones.

And while I was there, I sort of lost my mind. 🙃🙂🙃 But in a good way. I went crazy pulling stuff out and now the following is in my van awaiting donation on Monday:

__________

Three school chairs my parish got rid of some years back - sturdy but worn and splintery; I don't want to put in a bunch of work to fix them up.

Two wire milk crates

Two large empty non-transparent plastic tubs

A large whiteboard I don't need

My silk flower pick machine - I don't use it anymore

Various other containers, old Tupperware

Posters and cheap framed prints of Tuscany scenes which I'd put up at my parents' house - not part of my new minimalist plan, let somebody else enjoy them

Misc. like notebooks, household whatzits
__________

So yes, SubC, Badger came.🦡 I left Ruth at home though. So I was... wait for it... RUTHLESS! 🤷‍♀️

In addition to extricating donations, I was moving several shelf units to better positions and starting to clear space. Some items I ran out of time to sort today had to go back in "momentarily," so the front looks cluttered, but those items will soon be dealt with.

I'm finding that apparently I've kept more things that are bulky, blah, and not worth paying to store than I realized. I think I know now why this happened.

I believe moving so many times and having just so much to deal with sort of exhausted my capacity to process and look at things with a clear eye. Maybe sheer fatigue played a part - like, if it fit into storage at some point and I was tired of lifting stuff, I didn't question it.

And of course I had NO IDEA that I would end up staying even one year, let alone five, when I first moved in with the current roommate. I honestly thought I'd be figuring out a way to get back out on my own as soon as possible and would need some of those old chairs, etc. We had originally said a couple of months!

But so much happened, and thanks to the money pit red van, my small reserve of $1.5k was drained upon my arrival here. As was the $3k inheritance I got from my aunt later that year. That stupid old van... I can't believe how much I poured into that pile of junk. But it wasn't all at one time, of course.

Ah well. Water under the bridge. Right now I'm going to get this "stuff" situation dealt with, and that's what's important. Outlast the pandemic, help my roommate get through her health stuff, then see if I can find a way to bring in money. It appears, barring any drastic events, there is a sequence that will unfold so that I'll focus on one big project, segue into the one after it, then the one after that, etc. 🛣️

And when I get my own place, I can buy some not expensive, but nice new chairs or whatever else I need! It's even possible that this effort could result in being able to step down to a smaller storage unit. But one thing at a time.

Hi :D

YEA! Happy your headache has gone Subclinical :D
Good Dh has been taking it easy on his back.
Sitting on the couch holding Bean will be great.
Hope you take a pic.

WTG! doing laundry!!! ;D

Fantastic getting the class fully written up and posted.
Best wishes with the others, yea! for a few more days.

Hi Tatoulia
Thank you ;)

So happy you are well rested and relaxed. :D
Get dressed and have a wonderful day.


Well, soon as he got up off the floor yesterday he went out into the garage.
He has not come back inside since.
A while ago I went and peeked to see if he was alive and he is.

When he was in the hospital he said he would come home and help me with things I am struggling with.
I did not believe him.

Good afternoon!

It's ok tatoulia, my headache is gone. Dh massaged my neck and I went outside in the humidity.

I'm glad you are well rested!

Tillie, Dh back is still bothering him, but he's taking it easy. No heavy lifting. Bean and family will be here a little later and he's going to just hold Bean on the couch. He's gotten a lot of desk/phone/paperwork things taken care of and put in order the last few weeks!

I'm glad your back is doing better!

I did my first laundry load and I am going to hang it.

I also got one of my 11 courses fully written up and posted (the first day lesson plan is still a bit vague). It was one of the three hard ones, so that makes me feel better. I'll finish another hard one this weekend. I thought they had to be done the 15th, but I actually have to the 18th, so that is better.

Dishwasher is running too.

Quick drive by. Went to bed at 7PM up today at 11:30. So relaxed.

Tillie: ugh and oh no. And head in the litter box is particularly funny. You earned that moment: don't hide in shame!

Cm you are my hero! Tough decisions executed perfectly! Fun to see the candles and yes, too much maintenance. And someone at the thrift shop will be very excited!

SubC. I'm worried about your headache!

Ok off to do some things today.

Feeling pretty good right now. In my favorite pjs and everything.

Good Morning Everybody

Hi Subclinical
Thank you (((HUG)))

YEA! the soap has arrived!

So sorry about that headache.
Hope it starts to leave you alone.

Bean is coming to visit!
Have a wonderful and relaxed time with them.

I have always found that doing the usual routine household chores helps me to feel more in control and hope it works for you too.
🐐

How is your Dh's back doing?


My back is doing better so far today.
Less extreme pain when I move.
The electric throw and resting it seems to be slowly working.
Never realized before just how much I need to bend down to do things.
So much activity is from the knees down.

Tillie, I don't think that makes you a horrible person.

CM, those were very cute. Good job being brave and passing them on!

I'm sorry for the emotional struggles you are facing. These things are so exhausting. Definitely treat yourself to plenty of dark chocolate.

Tatoulia, did you get the trash out?

I'm glad everyone likes my future rose.

I had a good day with Bean yesterday, but I did not get much planning done.

I went to sleep with a headache last night, and woke up with one this morning. Don't worry, I'm not sick, it's sinus or tension. It's centered under my right eye and gets a little better when I take my glasses off. Unfortunately I'm pretty much blind without my glasses (Black Mr. kitty is sitting next to me on a dark brown couch. When the glasses come off, Mr. kitty blurs to invisibility)

My laundry soap arrived as promised, so I hope to do laundry today.

Dd is bringing Bean to see Dh this afternoon. They will either come mid afternoon accompanied by daddy and dog, or early lunchtime and the other two
will come later. Either way she is staying to cook and eat dinner.

I had "things go wrong and get out of control" school dreams again last night.

Today's theme is "recovery" I am going to try to focus on doing the things I need to do to feel less overwhelmed.

I must be a terrible person...

Every time I picture him laying there on his back on the floor with his head in the cat's litter box I chuckle.

😈

CriticalMass' three candle pics bring back lovely memories.
I remember everything 🌝

Hi CriticalMass
Hospice is a real blessing.
Concentrating on their comfort, peace and dignity at the end.
Biggest of (((((HUGS))))) for those she leaves behind.

Yes, find those 80% dark chocolate bars.
Chocolate is a wonderful "medication" for many physical and emotional problems. :D

Do a drive-by whenever you get the chance to let us know you are doing ok.💝

Well...
They sent him home in a taxi.
Since when he left in the ambulance wearing only a pair of green shorts they dressed him for the ride in scrub pants, a Tshirt from lost & found and a pair of those hospital socks with the rubber bits on the bottom for traction.

He came inside, dropped his plastic bag of hospital "goodies' on the counter and went into the bathroom to pee.

Finished peeing then fell out the bathroom door landing on his back with his head in the litter box.

Said he slipped.

I went out into the carport and extricated his walker from some clutter and set it on the porch.
It's filthy and well covered with spider/cob webs.

When he was standing upright again he went out into his beloved garage.
I told him to keep his phone close so he can call me should he fall again, pull a stack of stuff down on himself and need something.

Scooter is terrified again.
Took a long time for me to coax him out of hiding.
Hope he can settle down soon. 🙀

Somehow I double posted my own post! 🤪