I have bins too. A lot of bins. I haven't counted my bins, but I know I have six big ones for Christmas and four big ones for Halloween, and one medium sized one for thanksgiving.

I don't take pictures, I stick labels on the outsides of the bins. Some of the labels are general "puzzles" and some of them ar specific "red tablecloth, centerpiece, paper star man...."

If I get rid of something, I change the label. I don't want to be reminded of stuff I got rid of in case I change my mind and feel sad.

Some of my bins are clear and do not have labels. Right now most of my doll collection is in bins. The dolls are layered with baby blankets and towels, and in the clear bins you can see the tops of their heads and their feet. Dd says it is creepy and weird. The Lincoln logs are also in a clear bin. I can see them, so I don't need to write "Lincoln logs" on the bin.

I'm working toward getting my dolls back out on a shelf, and then I will either have fewer bins or new things in the emptied bins. Probably the second one, because there are still things out that could be packed away in bins to give me more space to work.

The bins keep things clean and at least somewhat organized. Every time I open one, I try to sift through it and see if I can let go of anything.

Taking the pictures helps me becausei have memory issues.
I forget where things are. So if I objects that I keep but very seldom if ever use , but never throw away they end up in tub.
Then I can't see them and they become out of sight outbof mind. When a tine comes to find the object, I ave to search through and rummage rifle though the tubs sonestimes. It can be a bigger mess than .

I started photographing the contents of tubs and baling the tubs with paint . Or big big stickers. Then I keep the photos in a folder gallery on my phone, in my computer, and on the cloud. When I need to retrieve stuff , I just thumb through the gallery and find things much easier. I'd say I have 8000 objects., but they are organized like a wall of 90 tubs.

About once a year I go through it all .
Due to my memory issues I can touch an object , I it triggers memories to flood my thoughts.
Like a lighter my first wife threw at me In hatred. I kept it.
But there were many other times the lighter was present in the relationship. And I sometimes relive those moments and remember the experiences.
Not just thelighter, but other objects that im emotionally attached to .I can't throw away. They have no value, but are priceless to me.
So when I purge the hoard about once a year, the emotional stuff is seperated from cluttercthat is simply just a value object. I sell or donate the big objects that I can easily replace using let go. And keep the smaller objects in the tubs . The tubs help with moving from place to place. The photos help with not mixing it all up again or digging through a clutter pile or stack.

I hate stacking and restacking clutter. My stacking skills are awful. My stack fall over and just become a pile again.
But tubs with lids I just can manage very well as long as the tubs are not in the common areas where guests may be present. Other things I do with tubs is have tubs within tubs.
So that when I take pictures . The tubs are filled in just one layer so I see the entire contents . Then if there more spcein the tub , I use a second container that has a separate photo.

In this way I can use my casting devices on my tv to sometimes look through my hoard , without opening a single lid.
Lately I've been obsessed with my projects for creative outlet .
So my hoarding is more focussed on model making. And I keep bringingbin new supplies which must be controlled or it will just become a mess . So sometimes just taking a pictureof it. And making digital stamps to move arrange and organize the supplies without going down into basement is a pastime , but helps me organize my hobby area. To put a lot of thought in not only the finished models, but the environment to create them in.

This practice has led me away from making strictly physical models , to developing my digital concept skills too.
Like for instance . A bouquet of flowers.
Cutting out the image of the flower pedals and rearranging the flowers in the photo. Attaching voice notes and collaborating with others that show intrest in my concepts. And re invintingthe concepts building from past collages.
I just love computers . But it's not the knowledge and skills but how I apply the skills.
Thing is I'm a hoarder. I also socially isolate myself. , so when I want to bring people into my living space, I my want to retrieve an object from my hoard,
Being able to do that quickly and easily using the photo gallery.gives me so much more confidence to incude objects in my hoard of objects withoutvthe panic of not knowing exactly how to access them.
A few people have seen the basement , with hoard in it.
And are perplexed and somewhat insulting. It's MY HOUSE, MY STUFF , AND MY SYSTEM. I've finally made my hoarding seperste from my living space. So to he'll with his criticisms, because IRS all been organized in a way that I move it all to another address easily, and will still ve able to retrieve stuff very quickly . Whereas in that it was a clutter stacked on clutter surrounded by more clutter.

I guess it would be like telling an old handy man he has too many tools and calling him a hoarder unless he minimizes his tool to his current projects. Ridicules right?
I keep many things , but I turning to more and digital concepts. Not needing photo albums . Not needing printers.
Not needing as many models.
For six years my creative outlet was bottled up. Because my hoarding management skills were so poor. The hoard took up Tje entire living space . When my wife became Ill I had to remedy the hoard so care givers could help tend to my wife.

So I can't stand here say my hoarding days are over because I've managed to contain my hoard for now. I have done that in the past and it keeps coming back in different ways. In different places.

So the photos are tool . With photos of packed tubs . The hoarding is less of clutter mess. Rather a hoard of contained transportable objects. with help I can move all 90 totes in 1 hour to storage unit , and still find each and every object from the photo gallery. On demand.
In this way I only need one day notice to move my entire hoard if needed to storage for only $50. Thus I FEEL very confident to invite and or welcome anyone into my home.
Without the photos in the hoard gallery I would be overwhelmed and would just keep stacking unstacking and restacking to find things.

Hi!

Tatoulia, thanks. I need to put order and clean the house, there is a lot of clutter everywhere. Identifying the most important things is a little problematic for me, hehe.

Subclinical, nice to meet yo too! Yes, it's very stressful. Some days ago I was feeling very anxious and desperate, but nice people in the chat helped me to get started :D

Porter, how does taking pictures help you?

I meant to say
Having both a mansion and large sailboat , with enough property to grow my own plant foods , near areas where I could hunt and fish for my protein foods.
I am afraid of bears , but I think could deal with them.
I have no idea why we can't implant wild dangerous bears with identity implants that trigger when near fences or other electric enabled structures. So we can be better alerted to their presence.

I've seen similar things on tv about sharks in tuorist beaches.
Where a boating party captures age sharks. Rather than be a cost to the local authorities , they offer it as an adventure for some of the gutsy tourists to help capture and release the sharks that are near the beaches to other other non human areas. I think that could be wise to do for bears too.
Tag then with small transcievers. And track them with phones that can also alert us to their presence in th area. Perhaps in their tails.. Instead of paying a ranger to do it . The ranger guides a tourist to do it for a liscence fee. Or at least be in the hunting party .

Tillie
Yes I do very much want to live on a boat.
I'm not very good a saving for it though. I'm still under a lease till November 2018 and may wish transition then. I commute 50 miles to my work. So I will need to move . I can decide if I want to move near the factory , or find another factory near a place I can keep a boat. I'd rather pay $1000 a month towards a boat than paying rent.
But honestly I just so obsessed with affordable home design , I'm not sure what I want to do. I have until November to decide. My direction. I believe my idea place would be Alaska near the coast. If i look in that direction .

Something like finding a propery that near a the ocean , near a lake near a river. I would then also employ green house food techonoly. However, the way I feel right now, I just don't want to live alone. So I'm glad you asked me that. It's making me think ?

Hi Mar
I used struggle with tubs and boxes till I started taking pictures of the inside of the ones I rarely open. Then I was much more connected.
---
Sorry about the bunny

----
This morning I I worked on a model home for awhile then spent about an hour reorganizing the model supplies..

My thoughts kept drifting to hovercraft design , I have shelved for a long time, but this morning went and organized it's models and supplies too. Using oil lamps in the basement near the pipes seems to keep the pipes from freezing. They do freeze but just a little electric heat for half hour and the water is back on. I just get lost working on the projects and while at work my mind drifts into daydreaming about it works.
Income home and voice text it the ideas into the tablet, go down to the project area and try to make it function.

Lately I've been obsessed with home modeling, but I think I'll return to the flying vehicle concept for awhile. On Friday a terrible ice storm hit the areas I travel through to get to work. I saw two horrific accidents happen right in front of me . Could of just as easily been me. So the hover craft concept is filling my thoughts. I've hoarded too many supplies. But not spent money. I'll never have a working model . But the more I try the more I'm convinced it's a doable achievement .

Two vehicles.
Hydrogen hover craft that levels at 50 feet. Must bee talker than tree height . Carries 350lbs.
Hydrogen powered bicycle top speed 40mph.
The hydrogen concept eliminates need for motor with moving parts except for the blades to reduce gyroscopic interload.

The bike travels to hover craft. Thry are snapped together and locked together. The hover craft asends to it's hieght.
The wheel of the bike work like propellers to navigate direction and speed. Weight of the two together 280lbs.
Once on the ground uncoupled . The bike will have a ten mile range to get more fuel. Or carry canisters

I've ordered the off the shelf hydrogen bike.
I really can't afford it, but just can't stop thinking about it.

I hyper focussed on it.
I'm now focussed on off the shelf hover technology. And looking up current manufacturers
.

I'm going to try tot get my mind off it for awhile and go detail clean the kitchen. Maybe the inspect the lower cabinets .
And play with my cat jackie. As we look for mice. For bait I use cheese curls in an especially loud crinkly bag .
Only two mice were caught last week. I've nit seen or heard any, but Jackie hunts for them while the weather is fridgid.

I'm so excited about the bike. This model has a range of 70miles without pedaling. Is only 28lbs but very strong .
So Ive lost 2lbs since new years day. Very focussed on that too. Not just Callie counting , but making it taste good enough to look forward to eating later. This is my steak day and I want the kitchen to be extremely perfect . Nealy a year and half since I started the lifestyle. I feel very well. Even though I'm now alone, Feel good about who I am , and not let hoarding control my environment.

Well that's me for this this week.
I'm going wash all trashcans this week.
And put all laundry where it belongs. All on one day. Sundays.

Hi mar! Nice to meet you, good luck getting prepared for your landlady. That must be very stressful.

Tatoulia, I hope you feel better. A day to one's self is such a nice thing. I didn't do any job work on my snow day yesterday!

I have jumped into "project reassemble the doll shelf" with both feet.

Woke up at 4:30 this morning, made some coffee, and cleared a path to move the "farm" (eggs, cheese, food awaiting processing) fridge across the room. Mostly organizing and relocating. I only found one tiny item to get rid of, But things look a lot better.

Sometimes if I work on a space and only find a small item, I make myself feel better by imagining 365 of that item in a box.

That's pretty much how I got into this mess - one little item at a time.

Hello everyone! Tillie his I love hearing about your dollhouse!! So wonderful!

Snow Day! Congrats SubC! Good for you to work on house! Someday we will have time to do things other than sorting and purging and making tough decisions, etc. I'm convinced of if!

Welcome back, Mar! What types of things do you need to tackle before LL comes over? How can we help? Just remember to do the important things first.

Tillie I had a miserable night's sleep. Work still wasn't great today but not as terrible. A number of people gently approached me to see if I wanted to talk. That was nice I thought. I didn't talk other than thanking them and telling them I thought it would work itself out. I did have a coffee with someone and ran the situation by her and she was able to give me a different perspective and a way to let go of some of the bad feelings. So I was lucky.

I just got in and I'm proud of my pike of boxed dishes and I'm trying to figure out how to get them to the car for donating. We are having massive rains and our snow is melting away!

We have a long weekend. I will get a day to myself.

Oh!!
I used to have a big doll house, it was beautiful. My mom made it when I was a girl.
But some years ago we had to move and disassemble the house. Now everything is in boxes, somewhere in our new home :-/

Hello all!

It's been a long time without posting! I'm glad to be here again.

Currently we have a little "crisis". Our landlady is going to come next Sunday and I don't have finished ordering and cleaning the house. I have now only 2 days. Hope I can finish on time ...

Tillie, I am so glad you are having fun. I am going to get there!

I can envision a day when I have a snow day and instead of "I can spend a couple of hours working on the basement" I think "I can work on that sewing/craft/hobby project."

That's great Subclinical :D
Would be so nice if you could have your favorite toys all unboxed and displayed to enjoy.
No matter how old we are we will always need to play.

Have been playing with my new doll house furnishings.
Decided that the carpets must be replaced with something a little more posh to go better with the posh new furniture.
The wall paint and light fixtures are still alright.
Just the carpets need replacing.
Also decided to re-upholster the settee and two occasional chairs.
The antique white on them now is too stark of a contrast with the deep mahogany wood.
Anyways, I am having a BLAST! ;D

Along with putting away Christmas decorations, I have been wandering around the basement, rearranging things and thinking.

I asked dh about taking out a fairly useless closet (wide, shallow, narrow door) to create enough wall space to reassemble my doll shelf.

Dh was opposed to removing the closet, but helped me figure out a way we could reconfigure the basement so that the shelf would fit. I still have some more work to do before that can happen, but it is definitely something I could achieve before spring.

SNOW DAY!

Putting away Christmas decorations.

Good Morning Everybody :)

Hi Tatoulia :)
Good luck getting the trash out for pick up today.
Sorry about your terrible day and hope things have settled down by now.

No Rain forecasted for today. Scattered clouds, not too cold.
Everything is sopping wet and the humidity is high from the rains we did get.
No plans for today. I'm tired and think a slower more relaxing day is in order.

Great work, Tillie! Glad you were able to get the laundry hung today. So envious of your cleaning and maintenance skills. I'll get there, you are a great role model.

We are expecting to get torrential rain this weekend.

I had a terrible day at work. Will write more later. Tmr is garbage day and I hope to get mine out in time. B

Good Morning Everybody :)

Got two loads of laundry out hanging on the clothes line.
The outsides of the kitchen cupboards need to be washed.
They look too dusty and have finger prints.
Since they don't go all the way up to the ceiling I need to do the tops too and the few decorative items displayed up there.
Shouldn't take long to do then I can play this afternoon. ;D

Made my soup today. Turned out good and very satisfying.
Weather prediction for tomorrow is no rain so I can finally hang out laundry.

Checking in on you CM.

Hang in there and rest CM.

I am sorry about your bunny.

CM I am so, so sorry. My heart breaks for you on the loss of your bunny. I will join you in your prayers. You know that we all care for you deeply and completely understand that you may not be able to post. And remember, you don't need to read our posts in order to post. Just do what you can and when you can. We will be here for you.

I am so, so sorry. You are a good, loving person and you deserve peace.

Much much love.

CriticalMass

((((((HUGS))))))
SO very sorry :(
Please take extra good care of yourself.
Be kind and gentle with yourself during this time.
You are never far from our thoughts and prayers.
((((((HUGS))))))

Good Morning Everybody :D
Tea "clink!"

Hi Subclinical :)
Swimming and biking.
Great exercises!

Hi Tatoulia :)
WooHoo! you are doing FANTASTIC!
Keep making your consign/donate piles, that snow won't last forever. ;D

Love reading about all your doll houses!
I always wanted one but never had one until Steven's mother died.
It was out in a rotting falling down shed in a deteriorating cardboard box.
All in pieces, full of dried mud and reeked of mildew.
I cleaned it up, treated the mildew and sealed the entire thing with a coat of exterior house paint.
Put it all back together and painted it properly inside and out.
Wired it for lights and have been slowly finding and making furnishings.
Now I get to slowly redo all the rooms, play, play, play! ;D
But first I must make split pea soup and do all the cat related tasks and clean up the kitchen and some other miscellaneous chores. ;(

Hello friends,

I've been wanting to post for such a long time now - we had that crazy weekend with the plumbing and then I started cat sitting. And I've been trying to keep my spirits up but sometimes the busy-ness of running back and forth, trying to keep track of things like gloves and sunglasses with my brain half fried has been hard.

And then yesterday evening my roommate noticed that one of my bunnies had eaten a 2" piece of linoleum. They've nibbled at it a little bit but this was a lot more. Didn't know which bunny because it happened in the daytime.

Well, this morning we knew which bunny - my girl was not well. I was ministering to her but it didn't look good. Having had bunnies for so many years I've developed knowledge and instinct about these things. I knew, too, that if it was that bad, even a vet wouldn't be able to save her. She died around 8:45 this morning.

Right now, after her funeral at 1:00 at the shelter where they have buried my other bunnies, I'm going to try to simplify as much as I can in my life and I may or may not even be online much. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I'd been about at that point anyway - feeling like I was having too many things to do, too many people to respond to, just TOO MUCH and that my mental health is kind of teetering on the brink. If I can pray and take it easy, though, I think I'll heal.

I will be thinking about all of you and if I do feel an urge to post, you know I will, and you know I'll be back before long because we're all a team. God bless you and I hope all goes well for everyone. CM

Tillie! The dollhouse sounds beautiful! Congratulations! Your dollhouses sound beautiful, too, SubC. My dollhouse (made by Grandpa and was a Midcentury Modern beauty, is long give. I have some of the furniture but not all. I remember so clearly that Christmas morning coming downstairs and finding it with my sister. And I can remember the wrapping paper and how the furniture was wrapped and placed inside the house.

Congratulations on your find, Tillie.

Well I have two glasses, etched and very beautiful from Neiman Marcus that I will consign. I had four but long ago threw out one with a chip. I will keep one because I'm not ready to give it up. I've also id'd a knit throw to donate. I'm on a mission here. I'll have to be ruthless with the coffee mugs.

I'm going to need neko loading up my car--not going to be easy to do as there are tall snow banks everywhere. I will figure it out somehow. In the meantime I'll keep making up boxes and piles.

THANK YOU SubC for a potter's perspective. I appreciate it.

Tatoulia, fantastic decision making! Delft is one of those things that is very pretty, and you are either deeply into it and have a big collection, or keep a couple of high quality/meaningful examples. Tourist ware does not belong in either group. The potter has spoken! ;)

Now, want to talk mugs? Dh is threatening to cut me off to a one in, one out plan.

Tillie, that is amazing about your dollhouse find! You deserve to have beautiful things around you. Good karma to the thrift donator!

I used to have two dollhouses. One is a very sturdy wooden 4 room cabinet box style my great grandfather made for my grandmother. It has painted block type furniture and all the children have played with it over close to 100 years.

The other one was a fancy one with fancy furniture that I made from scratch when I was a teenager. The movers smashed it 20 years ago. I had three kids under 5, and the furniture has been boxed up ever since. Someday I will build a new house. Maybe with a grandchild.

Work has me really busy these days, so not much else happening during the week. Not biking this morning because I returned to swimming yesterday after work. Wednesdays and Fridays are long school days, so I will probably double up (bike morning, swim afternoon) on tu/th and rest on w/f

YEA! WAY TO GO Tatoulia! :D
I'm so happy you are enjoying your new dishes.
Coffee cups, pens and clothes hangers seem to multiply in the dark.
LOL :D

Got groceries today, tomorrow I'll make soup.
There are no shops anywhere near here that sell craft/hobby supplies.
I am always looking for any doll house items at the thrift shops.
The things have to be the right scale for my doll house and it would be easier to find hens teeth.
Today there were two small deep shadow boxes fitted out like rooms with exquisite furnishings.
A parlor and a bedroom, eight pieces of finished wooden furniture in each room and lots of tiny accessories, including a gray striped cat.
The tiny drawers all open and the doors on the china cabinet and grandfather clock open.
My doll house will now be so beautiful, not a mish-mash of assorted scavenged bits & bobs.
Over one hundred dollars worth of miniatures for only sixteen dollars.
I fear that I will soon wake up and find I only dreamed this.

Delft is in consignment bag. No need for it. It's not useful and it can't hold a candle to my two plates. I did it.

I've now washed all the new dishes and have packed up all the old ones. I cleaned one of the shelves and put down a freshly washed dish towel. The new white dishes are so clean and nice. I ate off of a new plate tonight and really liked it. My new tumblers are great too. I started to keep a few of my old dishes and eventually settled on two of the tea cups and saucers. My new set has coffee mugs, no saucers, and I was long enamored of the cups and saucers from the dishes. I tried to keep a certain shaped bowl but got over it. I also have to get rid of some coffee mugs--I feel like I just did that two years ago and now there's a new herd of them. I will have to cull those. I don't need this many coffee mugs.

While in the cabinet I pulled down a small box and saw some miniature items I haven't seen in probably 20 years or more. Some of the things are wrapped to go to consignment store such as some small candle holders, two pins I'll never wear and two miniature Isleta NM pots. There are four of the pots and I am keeping two. There were a couple of tiny little pieces of Limoges and one piece of blue delft that I will keep, all gifts from a far away boyfriend who used to travel. I may end up consigning the delft as I have two pieces that I love madly from other sources (both are plates and one is my birth plate) and I'm not sure I need this little vessel although being probably 35 years old it is fairly decent quality although obviously made for the tourist trade. It holds no meaning I just like it. I'm actually on the fence which makes me think I should just consign it. Help please. Tell me to consign it. Just tell me to. I'll feel better.

Ok goodnight dear friends. I'm moving forward. With your help, as always.

Good Morning :)

Really loved your latest posts!
A lot of fantastic thinking going on there. :D

Hi Subclinical :)
WAY TO GO!
And a BIG WTG! for your DH for how he is managing the spaces. ;D

Hi Tatoulia :)
WAY TO GO!
YEA!!! for new dishes!
My rocking chair has a small quilt on it only because the cats sleep there and by removing the quilt a human can then sit there without getting all covered in fur. LOL ;P

Planning to go to the store today.
It's almost 9:30am.
I need to get some food. Want split peas and other fixins to make soup.
Not raining right now and there is some sunshine.
But first I must get dressed and do all the cat things.
:D

Tatoulia, that is the great thing about this group.

You actually just gave me a progress marker. There is stuff on both beds right now - laundry waiting to be folded on one and pictures on the other, but when I started dehoarding, you could not sit down in my house. Literally, if you wanted to sit, you had to move a bag or a back pack or a pile of books, or laundry, or....and whatever it was, you had to put it on the floor - or more likely on top of a pile that was already on the floor - because there were no other options. the only chair that stayed clear was dh desk chair.

I just walked through my house. There are two child sized chairs that have dolls sitting in them. There are two folded quilts and a pillow on the bench by the stairs. The swim bag that is coming with me today is on the couch. Every other seat in my house is empty! Even my desk chair in the basement! As is most of the floor space besides the basement (I could completely clear the floors in half an hour, but it would include taking half the stuff down to the basement - where I would put it on the floor.)

Ok, forget the floors - I have stopped storing things on chairs!

Thank you for your post and support, SubC. I am doing better with things every day. You'll be thrilled to hear that it hadn't occurred to me to put recycling in my trash bag. I even put tags from clothes (price tags/hanging tags) into the recycling bag. So in that respect I've been trained. I'll need help getting to a different level at some point.

I envy your space and the bright, light windows. I would love to go into one of those rooms whenever I needed a respite from the chaos of my living space. I have to agree with your husband about stuff on the bed. OH MY GOODNESS -no joke-I JUST HAD AN EPIPHANY. I was about to write how much I hate stuff on my chair at work. I hate it when people put stuff on my chair. Put it on my desk, people. BUT THEN WHY do I have stuff on my chairs at home??!!??

Ok, I have to go to work but you've unlocked something for me.

Coffee clinks from new coffee cup. And sending you all much love.

Shoes. Ug. You have to throw out old shoes. Or eventually someone else throws them out if you pass them on. Or sometimes the sneaker type can be "recycled" into playground mulch - but I am not sure that mulch is such a good idea.

Thank you for getting the special bag! I know it is much easier to just put some recycling in the trash.

I'm glad you are feeling good about yourself and your home.

Laughing about space for an exercise bike - I have so much space! It is a function of where I live vs. where you live. But dh has carefully designed the new space and renovated the old space to minimize STORAGE. So in the new basement, there is a ping pong table - open, for playing ping pong. But there is not a single shelf or drawer. The ping pong paddles and balls stay in a cardboard box on the floor under the table. The exercise bike is in a little part of the basement that bumps out.

If dh would let me put storage/work space in that bump out, I could fit a 6' craft table and cupboards for all of my craft stuff, which would open up the existing basement space a lot. But he says no - that I would simply refill everything to its current level. He may be right. So, until I have actually scrapbooked all the "scrapbook" stuff and quilted at least a reasonable amount of the "quilting" stuff and used up (or recycled) the 3ft shelf of partly used spiral notebooks, and made stuff out of the scrap clay, and passed on some of the toys i'm saving for grandchildren who don't exist yet, etc. I am penned into the space I already have.

And, every time I empty a space, he "takes" it. Very reasonably really, but I get frustrated - example - two kids have moved out, leaving "empty" bedrooms. Dh knocked holes in the walls and installed beautiful windows that fill the room with light and go down low enough to prevent anything (shelf, chest) being placed under the window. I lined the remaining walls with shelves and immediately filled the shelves and the closets. Dh bought queen sized beds and took some of the wall space and most of the floor space away. - creating spaces for our children to come back with their spouses and sleep here - which I LOVE, but then I feel like the space is "wasted" the 350 days they are not here.

We compromise that I am allowed to put stuff on the beds "temporarily" (sometimes for months) - dh hates things piled on the beds, but is comforted by knowing they will be removed and the room thoroughly cleaned several times a year for kid visits.

And so it goes...

Tillie, that stockpiling things that are very cheap and might work in order to avoid buying new expensive things is one of the things I struggle with. For example, for a long time I would buy shoes I liked when I saw them at the thrift store for a few dollars. Because shoes wear out, and they are expensive. But then I had a closet full of old, used shoes. I have managed to redonate and wear out to a pretty reasonable level, but now I need new Mocs and can't find used ones. But I keep telling myself, if I wait for a sale I can have exactly the pair of shoes I want, and it will be new and last longer, and so cost about the same as a bunch of shoes that are "good enough"

I am slowly adding to the list of things I spend money on.
Healthy food
Undergarments
Socks
Shoes

Socks and shoes are new to the list since I started dehoarding. Food has become more generous.

I have also bought a couple of new pants and dresses, but only because I needed them and struck out at the thrift stores.

Congratulations on finishing your painting, Tillie! Great work!

I got three pair of shoes in a bag to donate. I found one shoe that I can't find the mate, which is odd since I've worn it recently. So I threw it out (don't tell SubC). I also threw out two unmatched slippers and I have one orphan shoe that I will need to find the mate to donate it, it's too cute to throw away.

I got my new dishes tonight! I have some in the dishwasher. I also got new glasses. I like big plastic tumblers and got four new ones and will out the four old ones in the donation bag.

I have my garbage out and I got a big recycle bag for my recycling, I'll need to take that out before it's too late.

I feel good about myself today. I feel good about my progress today. I also went to mom's to bring her supplies and I made her bed and I brought her a skirt I bought for myself but is too big and I think mom would find it pretty and nice. I hope it fits her.

So I feel differently about myself and my apartment tonight. I feel great. Thank you all for supporting me and helping me get this done.

Hello Everybody :D

Hi Tatoulia :)
Space is such a wondrous thing.
It leaves you room to think, breathe and just be.
YEA! for Kitty getting her window time! :D
I keep promising mine that someday soon we'll go outside and play.

Hi Tess :)
WAY TO GO!!! for being able to lay on the couch and watch Netflix!
Good luck with your Valentine project.
Happy new year to you and please come back real soon. (((hugs)))

Hi Subclinical :)
Great plan to get slowly back into the bike exercise.
Hope it becomes an easy habit that you enjoy.

He went to work today! :D
I finished the painting this morning, cleaned up & put everything away.
About 1:30pm here now and I will shower & shampoo soon.
The problem with Steven's electronics is that he buys them all at the thrift shop and most all of them are broken/defective/worn out.
He wastes a LOT of money by being stingy and trying to save money by buying these used things.
He would spend less money by buying components new and they would also have some sort of warranty.
After he got my ROKU working again my laptop wouldn't go online.
He got that working again but his garage computer wouldn't work.
And so on and so on and so on...
He was installing thrift shop routers, one after another.
He believes his hoard is thrifty, saves money and time.
In reality it never saves us any money. His constant purchases of defective items is expensive when added up over time.
Whole days are wasted trying to find anything or anything that works.
Then there is the added expense of rodent and insect eradication.
Torn clothing and skin trying to maneuver through it all.
Being thrifty would be leaving the money in the bank and only buying things as we needed them.

Anyways,
Dark overcast rainy day today and tomorrow too.
Going to watch movies on the ROKU and do something fun like sew, bead or crochet. ;D

I'm doing laundry and putting shoes away. I'm also identifying shoes that I don't wear anymore. They are taking up space that I need. I keep telling myself that. Space that I need. Space because when I envision what I want, I see space not stuff.

Hello everyone! That's nice you us have room for an exercise bike, SubC! That sounds like a good goal to try 20 minutes every AM!

I bet they'll pick up the garbage tmr AM on our regular pickup. I have so much recycling to go out but the bins are full and I don't have the special recycling bags that we can use as an alternative to the bins. I may pick some up tonight if I'm able to get to grocery store.

I have to run up some cat food to mom today. I'll pull out of my own stash as mom is panicking even though she has plenty of food. Being isolated and alone, she's become quite the worrier so I will just alleviate those worries for now.

Working from home and it is definitely warmer today. Cat has been a little crazy because she is used to a daily sit by an open window and I was finally able to accommodate her this AM. The power of double digit temps!

Also tatoulia Tillie ;)

I'm glad you are making progress on cleaning up and did not have a dish crisis. I wonder if they can get your garbage yet?

Hi Tess! Yay for a clear couch!

Tillie, I hope you get your rocky back!

I am trying a small change this week. Instead of stumbling downstairs and drinking coffee as soon as my alarm goes off, I am trying just 20 minutes on the exercise bike.

When I cleaned up in the basement I moved the bike, and the video screen stand and the little set of hand weights into the new basement space. Dh gave me permission to tu the bike there. The bike is very noisy, but I am hoping that from here it won't bother dh.

I'm doing just a slow, gentle ride this morning because I haven't been on the bike for a long time.

Happy New Year Tess! Congrats on the progress! Good feeling to look back and see what space you've reclaimed. I like your idea of s Valentine's Day goal.

I am trying to reimagine what I'd like and how to get there. I have plans drawn by an artist/designer and I'm working toward them. But I still need to decide what will and will not make it to the final plan. Meanwhile I'm thinking in terms of space and empty surfaces. I need to picture the final product so that I can use it as a filter when looking at each object.

I am also in the Northeast and it has been brutal.

Wishing you well and glad you are still with us!!

Hi everybody!
Just checking in to see how you've all been doing. The weather has been cruel here in the north east. Doing anything takes much more energy than it should. I've mostly been laying on my couch watching Netflix. That may not sound like much to most people, but I would not have been able to lay on my couch and do anything last New Year. So I'm very thankful and proud of myself for what I have accomplished.

Today I started getting caught up on my routine clean up. Tomorrow I'll continue with that. My goal this week is to start making progress on my bedroom it's my problem room now. As a Valentine's Day gift for myself, would like to move my furniture around and update a few things. I need to clean and declutter big time before I can do anything. I'm starting to look forward to it a little bit.

I hope all of you are keeping warm and being productive. This is very late, but happy new year to you all!

Tillie it sounds like the roku is no longer communicating with the wireless at your house. He probably changed the network name or password. I hope he figures out the Roku soon. Such a great device.

I swept the living room today and put away most of the Christmas stuff. I've shredded nearly everything in sight, have run the dishwasher and emptied it and have just finished showering and washing my hair. Hoping to get a few more things done tonight. Tough because still so cold.

Will report more later and hopefully won't be in disguise.

OH MY GOODNESS I did it again. I'm so sorry about that. My identity crises is in full effect!!!!

Hello Everybody :)

Hi Tatoulia :)
Almost missed your post due to the name change. ;D
YEA!!! that you and Miss Kitty made it through the night unscathed!
Wishing you all the best of visits with your brother.
I would bake too just to warm the house but I really don't need all that either.
Yeah, the garbage pick up will happen soon as they are able.
Hang in there.
Happy puttering. ;D

Hi Porter :)
Are you still toying with the idea of living on a boat?
I think you would very easily make the transition. ;D

Hi Subclinical :)
Many, many people are putting off taking down the decorations during this weather.
Some can't even dig them out of the frozen snow for now.
WAY TO GO!!!! for a GREAT start on your 20 hour challenge! :D

Friday Steven started getting a cold.
He now believes that he will soon die from pneumonia without medical intervention.
He also has been re-doing all the internet connections and wires connected to his desk top computer.
I can no longer get my ROKU to connect to the internet.
Everything else works just fine.
He is running around fetching stuff from out of the garage trying to fix the ROKU situation.
He is driving me crazy...
Not painting today, hope to heck he goes back to work tomorrow.
Trying to do a little sewing but he always needs me to do something.
He asks me questions while I am brushing my teeth and then gets angry when I don't immediately answer him.
Exasperated heavy sigh. :/
Anyways, cloudy overcast day. Everything is wet from the rains, lots of frost soon as the sun goes down.
Not a good day to play in the yard.
Oh Well ;D

Quick check in. Glad nobody is freezing!

It finally warmed up enough here today for the water I put out next to the heat lamps to stay liquid all day - that is a relief and a huge break!

Dh suggested that since it has been so horribly cold I should put off packing up the Christmas decor a week. So I am still enjoying the tree.

I finished the first hour on my 20 hour organization challenge. Basement looks a bit better.

Going to the gym.
I guess with dishes. It's like. I don't know why it's so hard to have just a few. But when I cook breakfast lunch and dinner,

I almost never clean as I go. So I eliminated the large cash of dishes for a stark minimum.
If I want to eat on plate there is only two to choose from. If theyer both dirty it's easier to clean them both than only one.
And typically what happens is I keep one in the strainer cleaned and as I'm cooking something I clean the dirty one and swap them.
I have two Pyrex bowls and two pryex pie plates. Two forks and spoons, one knife. Plus one frying pan. And a pizza pan.

I have a entire hoard of dishes in the cabinets too nanyang to mention. But I only keep out the minimum ones . I like to clean the kitchen with the windows open for better light.I just don't know what it is. I'm just drawn to it , I enjoy cleaning it on the weekend mornings, but after sundown. I nearly loath the thought of being anywhere near the cold sink.

I guess it's a thing where we have find our own way. For instance, I only have very large beer mugs. Not for beer exclusively , but because it's the only glass I can fit my hand our fist into. Eventually once the dollar stores started selling beer mugs for $1 .any sign that glass got icky and I just throw it out.I have 100 in the basement In large ziploc bags so that when quit selling them I'll be good for awhile. It's weird , I find them in weird places , out bybthe grill fire pit , by the railroad track, by the latrine, on the front porch, I find myself watering plants that don't need watering as there is about 15 mugs outside.then eventually Thry get too bad and get put in the trash bin . Unless I'm on a spiral clean , where I just go from room to room clearing and cleaning in clockwise motion sround the room ending with a third turn around organizing.
I used to do it by making a let , but I made very little progress. Til I adopted the clockwise method, Becauseonce I started I simply just wouldnt stop or be distracted until it was completely finished . Except in rooms where family had conditions on where and why they had their stuff there. The house so empty of clutter now it echoes like an empty cave.

We made it through the night. Very cold but I left the water running and checked on the house throughout the night. Miss Kitty came under the covers and we were toasty. I now have my bedroom drapes drawn so the sunshine can come in. We have warmer weather ahead!!!

The two of us could've gone to BF's house, which is very well insulated and has terrific heat. But I was worried about the house. He offered to take just the kitty but we were fine. I have lots of blankets and warm beds for her.

I will see brother later today. I'm going to run dishwasher now, if only for the heat it will generate! I will cook later on tonight.

I'm tempted to bake but then I will gorge on the freshly baked goods.

I am going to go work on my kitchen while I finish up a cup of coffee.

Let me know how the painting goes--I understand not bring able to enjoy the relaxation of a project with someone underfoot. I normally can't even do my groceries while doing with my brother and/or mom.

I think I'll put on some music to putter by. I haven't looked out back but I suspect the garbage is still there. I haven't called the city because honestly everyone is doing what they can after the storm. They know they didn't get to it/not up to me to mention it.

I had to work on Saturday , yesterday. So my weekly fasting plan didn't start as planned.

But it's Sunday and I got up out of bed at 6am and fixed an omelet . That's one thing I can extremely well, but now focusing on doing in a way that focused on extreme Heath food omelet .

Hmm , i know I can go on and on about subjects that are of mine own intresten even when other haven't asked about any of it. Not just here on this thread. So I try not too , at least not just ramble , I'm trying.

Anyway I'm focused on extreme nutrition uptake, as a hurdle I want to conquer. For reasoning that losing weight often coincides with malnutrition. So if I have extreme nutrition uptake , I'm more likely to benefit from the meals that I am eating more than the meals ive reduced. While other can simply press on with a fasting lifestyle, I struggle badly, and eventuallly binge. Then that's when the germaphobic issue start in the kitchen. Triggering the spiral from one dirty spoon to all dished dirty and stacked on the counter.

So I'm a work in progress, #1 I want to lose weight and be healthy while doing it.
#2 minimize cooking dishes so I stay on top of kitchen clutter and never feel overwhelmed in the kitchen.
#3 incude the nutrition knowledge I've gathered into meal plans that fit wieght loss , but also muscle building,strength training, and maintenance . Or basically writing my own guide .
How To Fast Lifestyle Before, During, and After

On the way home yesterday I stopped by a foamwerk business. Hoping I could spy into their dumpster. I was caught by the security guard. I was nice and explained what I trying to accomplish with making the model homes. As I was talking to him a man drove up in newer model truck and asked the guard if everything was ok. The surprised me by asking the man if I could have some of foam from scrap bin inside. I was shocked , they opened a garage door and I was in foam heaven. I mean if there ever was such a place. It was foam heaven. I quickly gathered up exactlly what I was hoping to find and filled my car up with. They were very nice about it. We quickly depated. I werked on it for about five hours in what i call hyper focus .

I'm working on a combination of storage container, abobe wall, and foam core metal panels. This model is set up for a high school graduate. Of 18 years old.
1 Have a job and a van.
2 mortgage a property that has a septic tank and foundation built.
3 buy storage container
4 fill storage container with either adobe wall making equipment or foam core panels.

I choose foam core panels because they are a pre insulated prefab wall. That doesn't need any further labor applied . No painting or treatments. If the storage container is 56 feet long.
Then the foam core panel can be nearly as long. So when they two are shipped at the same time to the property they are instant shelters. With intent to capture drinking water. And be roof ready on one side and ceiling ready the other. Where other panels are used as intant walls that don't need further labor , no painting.

Then like paint by numbers. Each step is well explained on phone app. Applying 30 hours a week on the project . So that full time employment can coincide with the build. Nearly primitive at first but as goes Installing better feature.
Using several storage containers as fast rooms. Filling them first ith construction equipment, then filling them with appliances, and other feature that require professional installation. Those installations can be installed off site prior to being shipped to site. One may think of it like a
The containers are a small train. A dinning car, a sleeping car, a cargo car, a bathing car. Once they reach the destination they can be configured in thousands of floor plans, but the first few need to provide minimal living and work space. It's important that they help to create a year round ability to continue adding 30 hours of labor per week.

So a single person could add up 390 hours every three months , if able to add $150 week to the project. Then every three months add approx $2,000.

Once the ground floor is constructed , topped with foam core.
A second and small third floor is constructed out foam core.
With simple A frame being the simplest to construct. Bought as needed or when It can be purchased cheaply or afforded.

In this was an owner builder could build a 10 person hone with in ground pool in 5 years. This leave a few other options on the affordability .
Buy the original property morgage as 10 year loan.
Pay as you go build , roughly finished in five years.
Can wait to get another mortgage to Finnish building or after the original property mortgage is paid off. The goal is minimize intrest payments, but also make it difficult to default.
Life happens , people get hurt, sick or just loose their jobs to no fault of their own. Using insurance to deal with inability to pay the mortgage for 6 months, but also a much lower mortgage payment for only the cost of property, foundation, and septic system or sewer connection.

If the homes are built in an affordable way, butvalso built to last hundreds of years through many natural disaster. It's at least an alternative to rental living, or stick built homes that are vulnerable and expensive. Only vulnerable to war.

I was so extremely happy to drive away from the foamwerks with all my new supplies . The manager , the guy the truck , gave me his card and asked me to send him some of my ideas if i wanted too. I didn't bring up the part about using urea to power flying bicycles from launch pads in the pool.
I though maybe that was too soon.

So today I'm just in the basement cleaning and orginizing.
Basically their just 8ft long strips 1x1. They are better than Lego or wooden sticks because they are flexible and can be pinned together or glued. But in my basement. They perfect because they are water proof.

My raise I got in November makes it so I can afford. My home, but just barely. I can pay the rent, the utilities on monthly budget, car, car insurance , gasoline to work. And about $40 left for food. So I'm happy that I'm more stable for at least the next 5 months.
On days where the temps are above freezing 33* , I turn off the furnace and use a small space heater in the smallest room in the house. Is a safe infrared heater, it turns of when it gets 73. But I also have inside a small bunk bed I covered like a tent. My December utility cost was only $47.
so I got to add $153 to my utility budget.
I know Jan will be much higher because I've been running the furnace to avoid ruining the pipes.

I have scheduled poker party scheduled for Jan 20, and Feb 17. I didn't think about , but it will interfere with weekend fasting plans, but I think if I'm careful I keep it near my BMR . Where I fast, binge, fast, where the total 3 day period is equal to eating normally for three days. So I'll need to be exercise ready to bring down the fat levels in blood.

Ok. I'm leaving my man cave. And really need to clear out and clean my car.even though it's very very very cold out there. Again I'm having a happy Sunday morning .

YEA!!! for frozen garbage! ;D
I like that my trash can is frozen too and no flies anywhere.
Happy your conversation with brother went well.
Thank you, my kitchen does look a lot nicer.
Didn't put the last coat of paint on today, Steven was underfoot all day long.
I don't want to paint with constant interruptions.
Did hem a pair of jeans that I plan to wear when working out in the yard.
Had O'Brian hash browns and eggs again for supper :)

Thanks for the support, Tillie. I felt a lot better when I realized I was the one worried about the dishes. I talked to brother and told him I'll take his big clothes to goodwill tomorrow and I'll pick up the dishes to get them out of his way. It went well.

Tillie I bet your kitchen seems so open and bright! Congratulations on finding a way to improve your space even more!

Bitterly cold here. I'm glad you had rain. I think we are expecting more snow next week/-nothing significant I hope. I notice the city didn't get our trash yesterday and I bet it'll be tmr til they are able to get. At least it's frozen and not smelling!