Lila, you are doing such a great job! Especially in that little room, the hard room, with the light not even fixed. Your report on the master bathroom and other things on your list are motivating me. Thanks.
I only got a few things done today, not anything out, really. I am suffering from a reaction to my allergy shots and had to just not move for a few hours. I am still quite uncomfortable. I did go to the laundromat and also trimmed some bushes. Walked the dogs, the day was so lovely.

Hi, SubC!

Hi Messi! Hi Lila!

Had all three boys yesterday. My house is wall to wall toys and books, there is popcorn in the couch cushions, and we had a great day! Bean and I started some seeds and played Lego while the little ones napped.

Today Birdy and i are meeting dsil and the cousins for library story time. We have to stop at the grocery store again for milk and bread.

I have a list of things I need to get done during his nap time - fortunately he is a good napper.

hi SubC and messi, Tatoulia, CM, Road, everyone else we miss!

Today I finally have a day off again. Worked very long hours and am working tomorrow as well. So today is cleaning and decluttering day.

Yesterday I did take a box full of donations to the car, where 2 other boxes already were, and I took them to the thrift store. So that is done.

Today it is raining so no yard work. So far I have not done much. Just eat, read, care for dogs.

Plans for the day will be
- laundry
- kitchen
- bedroom

Not sure what else. I am thinking about moving some items from the small storage bedroom the the coat closet shelf so I can use one shelf in that bedroom as a small pantry shelf to free up some kitchen space.

I really need to do another no-spend month. I have been failing at that, ordering groceries etc every week. Anyone else want to do a no-spend month with me? Maybe from like 3/15 to 4/15?

Hope you are feeling better, messi, and hope you have had more fun with your family, SubC. Will check in later.

Good morning!

My boys headed out this morning. I'm feeling a little sad. It was great to have so much time with Birdy though. And Ds was a big help. They left with an empty plastic 3 drawer bin and an entire bin of blocks and Legos - we found ds's castle blocks, furniture, and people, and the girls and I decided Birdy should have most of the smaller colored ones.

I have nine days (plus two days with bean and Buddy) until school starts again, and I am going to try really hard to make good use of them.

So far I have been to the feed store and loaded the dishwasher.

Good afternoon!

I went to a doll club meeting in a not-so-nearby suburb.

I gave away all my waifs and accident victims. They gave me cake in honor of Barbie's birthday. CM, I thought of you - wherever you are.

I think that's a decent start on my clearing out week - that and the bin my son took this morning. The people were generally nice, but I'm tired from the hustle and bustle of getting my son off and the socializing.

I want to get a little more done today, but the sun is out so I don't want to go in the basement or the studio. I suppose I could accomplish something in the yard or barn. Or maybe bring a bin up. It isn't warm, just sunny.

Feel free to come cheer me on.

I am cheering you on SubC!! I hear you on the sunny day. I went out and cleaned the whole dog yard. And then I keep trying to go sit in the sun on the deck, but every time I go out, the sun goes behind clouds and it gets breezy. Too chilly for me!

I will try to get the vacuuming done today.

Good morning!

Today I woke up with a migraine, but after a slow start I have made some progress.

It is very warm and windy today, so it is a good drying day.

I took the bin Ds and I found that had a moth problem outside, and I washed all the toy gnomes, blocks, and accessories - fabric, plastic, metal, wood, in very hot water and soap. I soaked the fabric items completely under soapy water for two hours to drown anything before the washing. My porch is covered with drying toys. Most of them survived well, although the cloth ones need a little repair because of the moths. When they are dry I will send photos to the kids so they can choose one of three options - take, mom fix and then take, throw away/donate.

I opened the box with my honey hill bunch dolls in it. The tree canopy disintegrated. The dolls were dirty. I washed everything. Most of it washed really well. I will have to do a few small fixes there as well though. One doll did not survive. It has been disposed of and a replacement ordered from eBay. Unfortunately the best price on the doll in good condition included duplicates of two other dolls. Let's be honest, I will keep them. At least for now.

I have washed three feed bags to pack up recycling to take to the recycling drop. I have done two loads of laundry and one of dishes. I have vacuumed some spaces where I worked.

I am trying to focus not on best or optimal use/destiny of items, but on optimal use and destination of relevant items right now in my life as it is. So, I am not washing everything I can possibly wash because it is a good drying day. Historically I would do that, but then some of the items would get put where they would get dirty again before use. (Example - kiddy pool is dirty. It will be 34 on Monday, we will not use the kiddy pool this week. I am not washing it.). I am just washing things that will improve my life if they are clean as I come across them. I am using the rest of my time for other tasks.

Another example is the bag of hardwood shavings I just dumped in my chicken coop. I have been saving them forever to do raku at home, but not finding time to do raku at home. I do raku at the studio. They provide wood shavings. Also, I can purchase cedar or pine if I need to.

Right now I need space in my studio. I need to pack it up for the lean-to studio construction project (did I tell you guys about that? I am so excited!)

Also, not having a muddy chicken coop makes my life easier. I could go buy pine shavings, but it makes more sense to use what I have and stop storing it and then buy pine shavings if I need shavings later. They are not as good, but the difference isn't worth the gas, errand time, and storage space right now.

Ok, back to the basement.

Good evening.

My basement feels more organized. Progress is happening

I found eight more things to add to the donate bin today. Six of them were things I have added to my life in the last year, so I guess I am still making bad choices, but otoh, at least maybe I have learned not to hang on to things when they are not right?

I made a donation appointment at the offsite craft storage, and tomorrow when I take my boys home I will drop trash and recycling and maybe stop at school and leave some things there.

Does using the wood shavings count as something leaving my house (studio)? It was a big bag. I didn't go anywhere, so there wasn't another way to actually get rid of anything, it was just a using up day.

Good morning!

I'll be posting more this week because I'm on vacation and trying to make progress.

We got snow last night! Fortunately I had brought all the gnomes in to finish drying in the house.

I dropped trash and recycling when I took the boys home and took some things to school and stuck them in the teacher supply closet - nothing that really counts as an "out" but freed up a bit of space to keep working.

I have ordered some books this month. I have a "saved for later" list on ThriftBooks and when a gifting occasion comes up or a free book is about to expire, I put together a minimum order. Three arrived yesterday, so that will be +3 items on my tally list.

hi SubC, messi, Tatoulia.

Been working long hours every day. I am having a bad day today. I had planned to work on decluttering today after some work, but sad things happened and I am sad. Trying to just have a quiet hour or rest, and then hopefully I will snap out of it and try to get some things done. It is beautiful and sunny.

The small storage bedroom light is a saga all in itself. Son installed the new light and it started flashing. He has a friend who is a licensed electrician and he came and couldn't figure it out, replaced all the outlets and the switch, still flashing. Then he replaced the outlets in my bedroom (omg), still flashing. By then it was late, I told him to come back another day. He did ask if we had a different new light to try, since the one TotsDad got is some weird fancy dimmable motion sensor one, so I have ordered a simple ceiling light AND a new ceiling fan/light for the living room since it has 2 burned out things the bulbs go in (it is close to 30 years old). When those come, he will install them. In the meanwhile, I can only work in that storage bedroom in the daytime when I can see. He said not to use the flashing light.

Maybe I will do some stuff and come back and post, and try to add to the Daily Tally. I have 2 days off.

Good morning!

Lila, I'm sorry about the sad things.

I'm also sorry you have had such a struggle with your electricity! Hopefully because it was your son's friend all that work is not crushingly expensive.

I am having a great time with Birdy and his daddy. Our days are full but fun and relaxed. Birdy is a delight. It has been raining almost nonstop, so we have basically been in the house, but later this morning it is supposed to be partly sunny and 70 degrees, so I plan to take him out and let him play in the mud puddles.

My son has cooked us dinner twice - and cleaned the kitchen after! When he gets done with work, we've been sorting through the legos in the playroom while playing with Birdy, and he has put three of his Lego Star Wars ships from when he was a kid together to take home. There have been a few missing parts, but we have managed to sub out or work around them. Sometimes we find them later and he goes back and fixes it. Sometimes not. I'm not counting these as out.

Yesterday Birdy found a Lego Ewok and it was love at first sight. The Ewok visited the troll house, took over driving the little orange car from the "man man", had some food in the toy kitchen, drove on the Brio train track, rode around in the stroller with the "baby" and required the getting down of the fisher price little people house. He has also gotten many kisses. Ewok will definitely be leaving next week.

I bought another, larger Lego set for me because I had been coveting it and it was on sale. It arrived yesterday - I don't think I ever recorded the bulletin board, but that will be a wash. I am not going to open it until I get caught up on the basement project - hopefully over spring break.

I don't know if i will get to post again in the next week, but I am not gone. I will be back at it working hard after the 14th.

Good evening.

Lila, you are doing well. My heart aches for you over teen. I hope you will find peace eventually. Losing a child is such a terrible thing. I am sad for her as well.

I am typing this on a new iPad. Mine fell off the dresser yesterday and unfortunately could not be restarted or accessed. Also, my pictures hadn't been backed up since November, so I have lost all of Christmas and the ones I took of bean and Buddy in January and February. I know it is a small loss, but I am a little sad over it. Also I am tired of suffering consequences that are my fault. I would really like to be a better person.

I lost my day to a trip to the Apple Store. And my budget is blown for February. The iPad is my only computer. My phone just makes calls.

Tomorrow I have Bean and Buddy again. And class in the evening.

I am still keeping up with my counter.

Thanks, SubC, I am coming to terms with it.

Today is a paid holiday for me, so I am taking this time to relax as well as finish some paperwork and clean. So far today I am doing really well with this:

- loaded and ran the dishwasher
- hand washed some dishes
- put things away in the kitchen
- scraped burned stuff off stovetop and cleaned it
- wiped some of the counters

This plus have been caring for the dogs and heated up some soup and made tea. I am really DONE with sickness and I refuse to stay sick anymore!

I claim wellness!

I plan to do a bit of sorting as well, and get the donation boxes moved out to my car once it stops raining (they are on the dining room table, still).

Quick stop.

The counter of doom is clear, the dishes are all loaded and running and I put a few things in the donate and recycling piles today, but nothing worth counting. Not working on the basement, but keeping up with the house and recentering.

Thinking about you all.

Hello. Just a late night moment to try to catch up to you all. I am not catching up with much else, alas.

SubC - nice work with the clear counter of doom. It's inspiration for working on mine. I did a little bit this evening, but it is not clear. And, of course, there is also the desk of doom and a "top-of-the-dog-cage" of doom upstairs. You give me hope to keep working on these things.
I'm sorry about your ipad. You are a wonderful person.

Lila - my thoughts are with you in your moving through the sadness. I admire your strength and wish you peace.

I hope you are feeling better. You really did a lot on presidents' day! Bravo!

Good morning!

Messi, I keep telling myself there is a finite amount of stuff.

Sorting out the school Legos was really good for me, because I can look at the bins and think "there were thousands of pieces! But it was a finite amount of stuff. And I got it done." My house is also a finite amount of stuff. If I keep working on it, it will get done.

Also, taking my time off this week to mostly focus on Lego has been good for me - it uses my brain differently and helps me reset. I finished my plan for the little house yesterday and made an order for the pieces I need plus little treats (Lego sells individual pieces like penny candy, but if your order is less than $14, they charge you a $7 "picking" fee.). I added some trees, cats, a butterfly, and a bunny instead of paying the picking fee. I will add them to the little garden.

I just realized that I have skipped over one of the most significant parts of the Lego adventure - I can play with my Lego and walk away and come back because - I HAVE A CLEAN PROJECT TABLE IN THE SLEEPING PORCH. It has been cleared off since right before Birdy came at Christmas and all that is on it are my Legos and two fabric bins of 1) papers to sort and 2) unfinished projects.

I will move the bins back to the dining porch and clean up/move the Lego before he comes back at the end of the month.

Yesterday I worked in the barn a little bit and discovered just how out of shape I am. I need to work harder on getting exercise.

I also took out the compost, cleaned up the great room, made dinner, and did the dishes (I told you that). And I worked a little on the backlog bin - the stuff I just scooped off of the counter of doom back in October when my in-laws were coming.

I am finding I am able to throw some of it in the trash if it does not have an immediate and obvious solution. I ask myself "Do you want this? Or more Lego time?" Also, I have to remind myself that I cannot optimize everything on the planet. I have a bag of trash and two of recycling to take today.

Messi - I don't know if you know this - I don't have trash or recycling service. Everything that leaves my property leaves in my car or truck. I drop my trash off one plastic grocery bag at a time usually in the can next to the gas pump or grocery carts (most of my trash is unrecyclable materials bought attached to things I got at the grocery store) or in the trash can at the park where I drop my recycling in the mixed materials dumpster (the township that provides the dumpster collects taxes from my paycheck, so it seems fair to use it). Diapers go back to Buddy's house and straight in their outside can. And several times a year I make a trip into the city to drop off recycling that can't go in single stream. Plus, we make a scrap metal run with the truck every so often.

Ok, I need to do yoga and chores, get my lesson plans together, and go to school.

hi SubC and messi.

Good thought SubC, about the stuff being finite. It doesn't feel like it some days. But if we are careful about bringing in less stuff (which we are), then the stuff WILL get sorted and done.

My son is putting a new light in the small storage bedroom today, so that is a win. It needs badly to be decluttered but it does not have enough light in there since the fixture died almost 2 months ago.

It is a stomach-ache bedroom but it simply has to be done. I will pick a day next week, when I am less busy, and take in a donation box, a trash bag, and a tote (for stomach ache things I do not feel I can get rid of) so I can put the tote in the garage. Then it will no longer be a stomach ache area in that bedroom and it will become useful again.

Hope you all are doing well! I am still coughing and very tired but working. I really need to get all the way better.

Good morning!

Lila, after I posted that about the Lego - a coworker brought me another bin of Lego found in a closet! "Done" is relative.

I'm glad you are getting a new light and can't wait to hear about your progress on the bedroom!

My life is getting very full lately and I am tired and having trouble keeping up with things. I have not met any of my basement goals for February, and it doesn't look likely, since my only "open" day this week is Thursday, and I also need to get ready for my son and out of state grandson to come stay for two weeks. (Ds will be working remotely the first week and traveling the second, so I will have Birdy to myself.)

I did turn in my full allowance of pottery pieces for my class this session, although many of them were small and simple.

Dh has a second round of oral surgery tomorrow. This time I will be better prepared - I know the waiting room is freezing and I will be there for hours, so I will take a lot of paperwork to catch up on.

Today is the boys and my class in the evening, and I need to get moving so I will be ready for them.

Good morning!

Tatoulia, I hope you are safe and warm in the snow!

My parents lost power for almost 24 hours, and a tree fell on their shed, but they are ok. We only got light snow here.

I had a good day with the boys yesterday. Now I need to focus on getting myself together for this morning.

Maybe I will find some time to work on the house when we get home.

What is everyone else doing?

Good morning crickets!

I hope everyone is doing ok!

Today is my day to clean up and get ready for my visiting boys.

I am really looking forward to having my son and grandson under my roof for a while.

I think the open house at school went well last night. I got a swag bag that someone left on my desk. It's a little canvas tote with our logo on it and a keychain/bag charm and sticker. I brought it down at the end and told admin "this was on my desk" and she said "then it's yours." I am going to put the charm in my Christmas stocking gift box. But the bag is a plus one. I also had another little box of Lego arrive yesterday, so that is a second item. The tiny cats and bunnies are so cute!

Challenge - get real house in order. Do not play with tiny Lego house all day. Tiny Lego house is for spring break after boys leave.

Good morning.

Here we are at the end of February and I have done very little on my basement. In fact I received an eBay order of Lego yesterday - partial sets and accessories that came in two bags, so I will call it 2. My little man will be getting a tiny greenhouse, a streetlight, a picnic table (with picnic), and a car. Bean will love the car. There are various other tiny accessories too.

It is definitely time to put the brakes on the Lego habit though. Spring will help. I need to start seeds. I got seeds in the mail too, but they are consumable, so I will not count them in.

I am also getting paid less in March because I am taking time off to spend with Birdy.

My son and Birdy arrive today! This morning I need to clean up the playroom, put some laundry away, and reclear the counter of doom. I also have some barn work I need to get out of the way, so better get moving!

Hello. February just disappeared. The sun was out today and it was not cold, so that was quite a boost. Birds and the promise of spring. I have been discouraged this past month, not getting much done, not keeping up. Seems like the month was spent on tires and car problems and more appliances quitting, Nothing too terrible but it takes more time and energy to get things done, i have to re-organize my time. This week, though, I was able to do some laundry at the laundromat, prepare a compost drop-off, and drop off some recycling. These extra daylight hours are a blessing.

SubC - I like hearing about legos and glad you have time with Birdy, Enjoy.

Lila - I hope you ae feeling better and that there is light in your small bedroom.

Hi Messi,
Hi all!

Messi, I hope your weeks continued to get better!

Had a great day with my boys. My daughter came and took home a giant bulletin board, so that will be one out.

Sunday. Still sick.

Did a session of work in my office. I figured nothing in there could be stomach-ache items, aside from maybe the baby clothes but those have been sorted enough I relate them more to my grandkids than Teen. (I don't know why I still call her Teen. She will be 21 this year).

But behind a bunch of things there was a small box. I did not remember that box - I was like, what is this? And inside were some things of Teen's. Including this really pretty candy she begged me for, 3 Christmases ago. It is all colorful and looks like big crystals and gems.

Well I could have just cried, but I took that box of candy and two other things in there that were Christmas gifts, and took them to the outside trash.

I don't know when it is going to stop hurting.

Still working on things. Wondering when I am going to finally be done with all the sorting and getting rid.

I found some paintings and pictures in frames that belong to my ex, so I emailed him. He does want them, so they are in a pile with a few other things that belong to him.

I found a box of coffee and a quilt that belong to my son, so I gave those to him last night when he stopped by.

I found expired food that belonged to my daughter, which broke my heart a bit, and I threw it out. Her Dad tells me she is never going to recover from the brain damage from addiction. They say she is not even the same person, or even able to think or respond like a person, anymore. She is supposed to be going into a residential type hospital and they will care for her physical needs for the rest of her life. The daughter, sister, we knew is gone and just a shell remains.

So when I find anything that was hers, I put it in a box in the garage. I figure her brothers might want some of it for some kind of memorial, and at some point if not, I will toss it or give to her Dad. I am saving a few things to put on a shelf in memory of who she was. I have really been struggling with this reality over the past month or two. Not sure when my brain will catch up with my emotions or vice versa...

Good morn8ng.

Lila, I am sorry you have been sick!

Thank you for coming to post about the freezer!

I mostly sorted school Legos on Thursday. I found that I was ok throwing away little bits of broken things and trash I found in the Legos and not making piles of tiny plastic or paper recycling. I feel less "responsible" when the items are not mine.

I sort of put the food away. There is still a bag sitting next to the pantry cupboard because I have fantasies of cleaning out a shelf before I put it away.

I am making progress on the counter of doom.

School went well on Friday. I talked to a coworker friend who is cleaning out his studio. He said he recently filled a ten foot U-Haul trailer with recycling. So, he gets me. I also took bean to the book fair (book added in tally)

The teacher workshop yesterday was really good. I brought home consumables, stickers, a couple of catalogs and some little cloths for cleaning off your glasses. I am not counting any of that as "things".

Dh and I were out late last night, so I am being lazy this morning. He picked me up at the workshop and we left my car overnight. He will take me back today because he has lunch plans with friends, and I will work at the studio, have dinner at Bean's house, and bring the boys home to spend the night.

Monday is boys and my class, So it will be Tuesday before I really work on anything again.

I am very tired of winter.

hi again!

I am feeling slightly better. Yesterday I did not sleep most of the time. Today my lungs are getting clearer. Maybe I can get some decluttering done today.

TotsDad said he has a plan to be moving out this summer. I told him if he is still here when winter is dawning, I will be moving out to a smaller place to rent and he can just pay MY rent and stay here through the winter. He said there is no way he is not going to be moved out before winter. So we have a plan.

The weather has been nicer and I sat outside in the sun yesterday and that helped. Will do that again today.

I cannot believe I have been coming here for years, and have made so much progress on the hoard. Thank you friends. Thank you SubC, Tatoulia, CM, messi...Thank you Tillie and Road, whereever you are... and anyone else my sick brain is forgetting.

I know I mentioned the chat on this forum before... it has helped me because there usually are a few people there throughout the day, not during scheduled chats, and I can pop in and do what they call a Buddy Round. Where you buddy with someone or a few people and commit to working on something for a set amount of time. So I might say 15 min or 30 or 45... and then come back and check in. I haven't done much in the past 5 sick days but I will probably do a buddy round or two in there today. Sometimes I just leave the window open to see what people are doing when I sit down to have tea, and someone will want to buddy, and that gets me off my butt.

Anyway I am happy to have you all and am working on making my life better. Catch you later!

post 2 today -

I am so tired, almost falling asleep, but doing what I can in very short amounts.

- vacuuming with the stick vac in 3 or 4 minute bits
- worked on my coursework
- loaded the dishwasher
- took trash out
- worked on dog yard for maybe 5 min

I am so freaking tired, and dizzy. I am supposed to go back to work tomorrow afternoon. I hope I can do it. If I can't, I can't.

Lila, I am happy for you about the moving!

Don't push too hard and keep getting plenty of rest, ok?

The sun came out today and it was warm (ish) and I exploded into action.

I did yoga this morning. The laundry is all caught up and put away, the sinks are empty, the last of the dishes will get started when I go to bed, the great room is completely cleaned up and there is a clean tablecloth on my table. I repaired my favorite boots. I helped Dh cook and clean up after dinner, I carried things from my car and the floor of the scullery out to the studio (where they belong) and I cleared the counter of doom!

I also picked up the mail because my drive is still 4wd only. My reindeer arrived! Also I ordered another Lego set, which came, and I got it mostly put together as a reward for clearing the counter. It took Bean to help me remember how much I like Lego. It is really calming and meditative for me. This set is a little bigger and I am already thinking about adapting the design with some of the Lego I already have. (It has a person and a little house and some trees and flowers) - I want to change the "landscaping" and make the house bigger. It needs a second room upstairs. And the little man needs a friend. I used to spend hours as a kid creating entire Lego worlds in my room.

Anyway, I will tally the four things.

Tomorrow is a school day.

hi SubC,

I was just thinking about how I might like to build something, like a Lego kit (I have several of my kids') or some type of model. It does sound calming.

I went back to work today for 2 hours, came home for lunch and was so exhausted I fell asleep on the couch! Now I am coughing more. So I guess I went back too soon. But I have two days off plus Monday is a paid holiday, so that's good.

Hope to do some decluttering, slowly, tomorrow and add to the Tally.