Good morning.

Tatoulia,

The part about the iron took me a minute. In my brain, a "flat iron" is the old fashioned heavy metal object you heat on a woodstove to smooth clothing. So my first thought was "they still call an iron a flat iron in Boston?" Followed by "why is she ironing her pillow?" And THEN "oh, it's a hair thingie!"

Good job on the Christmas decorations. My tree still has nothing but lights, I dropped the job advent calendar idea, and I am feeling generally demoralized again. Maybe if you guys keep doing so well, I will get inspired..

I use mostly bar soap - the downstairs bathroom has a liquid soap right now because it was a teacher gift. Most of my bar soap is either teacher gifts or homemade from goat milk. If I buy soap I get Kirk's Castile because it has very basic, environmentally friendly ingredients and can be used instead of shampoo if I run out. (I am still trying to bring myself around to shampoo bars) I use liquid dish soap at the kitchen sink - I keep it in a reused soap dispenser. Most soap bottles are type1 and can be recycled if that is available in your area. Buy refills and reuse the dispenser. But environmentally, bar soap is better - shipping all that liquid is very fuel intensive, plus the plastic packaging..

Road, I am so impressed with your bed project! Not just the progress, but also the planning and time management! Way to go!

When can you take out the garbage? Check the laundry!

I am supposed to go to a meeting at work today and I am skipping it. If I go to the meeting, I have to leave home at 10:30. If I don't, I have to leave home at noon. I have too much to do. And I need to go to the feed store after 9 and then feed my chickens breakfast.

I have one week to turn in my class proposals for next year.

Yesterday after I dropped Bean off I went to the resale store and I did find him something similar to what I wanted to buy him. - more "toy" less "educational" but wooden and used - per DD's request, and very cheap and I bought it.

Also, the shop was overwhelming and depressing. The sheer volume of plastic toys just made me sad. I don't even want to buy anything for the Christmas toy drive right now because I feel like there are just too many toys in the world. Most of them based on cartoons and made in China. I mean seriously, I feel like we could solve the shipping crisis if every American child was limited to one new plastic toy this Christmas - new would be ok, plastic would be ok, but only one toy that is both.

I will check back later. I need to do something to reset my attitude.

SubC I am glad you've made the decision to skip the meeting. You are overbooked these days.

I honestly don't know what the hair straightener is called. I have bone straight hair but when my Friend was living here ?let's call her Emiko (although she has a different name), she would straighten my hair every morning, which was very loving and very sweet.

I agree on the toys, SubC. I tend to give activities to kids. I bought a bunch of paper craft activities at PaperSource (made in the US, which made me happy) and sent them around. One young lady (nearing 12, I think) had her mom send a video thank you and then a picture of her craft fully made. Books are also an A+ gift.

BF and I were at the annual assisted living sale last Friday. We were surprised it was on. It's at a high-end assisted living and the residents donate their things. We used to have a friend who lived there but she died, at 97, many years ago. A few of the aides had called to tell us it was on. There was a beautiful hand made wood squirrel that was like a rocking horse (although not to be ridden) that was so sweet. Made by someone who lives there and clearly made many years ago. That person was also selling some of his lovely tools. All sale proceeds go into a fund for the aides. I got away from there with one Christmas gift and some jewelry. Nothing big, as I have all the furniture I need. BF bought me a lovely transfer ware bowl from around 1880 and he also bought me an older delft jar with lid. Both will have easy places to live once Christmas is put away. I love my older stuff.

Oh! I dropped off a bag at goodwill over the weekend. Not sure if I reported that. Did same day I bought my wreaths. I should take a peek to see if they survived the high winds.

Off to work. PS I am not ready for the shampoo bars. I bought some in London in 1999 and I tried but had trouble getting used to them. My hair would get tangled in them and then they felt creepy against my hands. I'll try again. I'm a different person today.

SubC, I meant to wish you "HBD" yesterday. (happy Bean day) 🙂 I wish you could shop for him in my garage bins. so much great stuff out there. haha.

I tried to describe the toy to Dh. I asked him if he could help me make one. He said "what you are describing is a precision item. Yes we could make one, but I don't think that is the best use of our time or effort right now. Buy the thing."

So, I ordered it. His other Grammy is going to buy him all kinds of stuff they don't want him to have. I am going to buy him one new thing - carefully chosen, educational, and made of wood. If they don't like it, they can leave it here.

Then, I went upstairs and completely cleaned off my dressing table and dusted it and the mirror and pictures on the wall over it.

I share a bedroom with Dh. He has half the bed, a nightstand, and two dressers. I have the other half of the bed, a dresser, a little dressing table with a bench, a little curio, a small bookshelf, and a child's rocker and footstool. (I have 2/3 of the closet) we have a low dormer window alcove and that is where the bookshelf, rocker and footstool are. It would fit one normal sized rocking chair and nothing else, but you would hit your head.

Anyway, I feel better now.

Holy cow! I get busy for 3 days and the board explodes with posts! So nice to see everyone.

CM, wow you haven't been posting in awhile. It's so nice to see you and know you are ok. I definitely understand "let go and let God" mentality. I get there too. I don't know what I would do without Him.

SubC, thank you for the decor advice. I think I am too scared of rejection to tell them anything about it, but you reminded me of something. When I got the items I said "is it okay if I share a few with my son? They don't have much" and they said SURE. So, it is true, my son's family has very little. I will ask my DIL if she would like to come over and choose some things (after I sort out my favorites). If they take them and even if the donate them after Xmas that is ok. I will just suggest that instead of Goodwill they give to the thrift store that helps the community.

Tatoulia (I am reading along and catching up as I write), thank you, I like your bluntness. I think adding to what I said above, if my DIL does not want things I can offer them on Buy Nothing (to neighbors basically but easier) and then if it ever comes up, I can let them know I shared with people who really loved the decor. True enough!

SubC, I hope you have a fun Christmas season with Bean! I think grandkids make Christmas SO fun! I am really enjoying my grandd this year more than ever.

Road, I'll pray for your son! When my child needed an MRI, we were blessed to be able to do it at a hospital that had an actual movie thing in the MRI. Well it was actually a mirror headpiece which pointed at a TV screen at the end of the tunnel, so to the kid it looked like a tv in the tunnel. They could chose a movie to watch while they were in there so Harry Potter saved the day. Maybe call and ask what they have as distractions. If there is a Child Life specialist they will know all the options. Also, great work on the bedroom!! I love reading your progress and it is so nice when we get a burst of motivation!

You guys are getting me moving.

Update the last few days: I was sick with a UTI but getting better. We got our Christmas tree, which is real, and it is in the stand but is crooked. Today I plan to have two of my kids help get it straight and then I can put the lights on it. There are needles everywhere so need to clean that up and get the tree exactly where I want it.

I did not do much else with the house except I cleaned the printer and got it set back up in the living room. I need my son to vacuum today. I thought I was done with the living room, but I forgot to clean the fan and to pull the play kitchen out and vacuum behind it. There is also a small pile of items on one end table... they were on various shelves and need a home.

I am doing laundry, making phone calls, working on volunteer stuff. I will again try to get the dining room bar and table cleared off... UGH it never ends!

Hi guys,

Whelp, tree thing didn't turn out so well. The new to us one from my parents/brother is a very nice tree, right size, right style, etc. but 3/4 of the lights are toast and H spent much of the day trying to cut them off the tree. My deal was either I buy a new prelit tree or you do all the labor of relighting the "free" one. He did not agree and we are also not buying a new one so ... I just know this is an 8 hour project and I am so over it. Also I feel bad that I foolishly told my son we'd be decorating the tree today so he was probably disappointed.

Tatoulia, yes 100%, something or many things need to go. But I want to have two trees because I use one for the handmade vintage ornaments, and the other one is for antique glass (when I put that one up, which isn't often). I was hoping this one from my brother would replace one of the existing but now this is a project too... This is where being cheap doesn't pay off! As for the parents, my mom is 100% get rid of it, I don't care, unburden yourself, I'm so sorry, etc. My dad is the collector and shoved a bunch of stuff at us he didn't intend to when the emotional stuff got to be too much for him. But we really do feel free to get rid of anything we want to - we just won't tell him. The stuff we got from them is probably 30 boxes. I mean, I guess that's a lot but not compared to what I was already dealing with. There's stuff I have no intention of keeping, stuff I defn. Want to keep, and tons in the middle that will prob be hard to let go of even though I should. There are a couple things he intended for us to sell like a few boxes of mason jars, some tobacco tins, and a centennial hooked rug. I have no attachment to those so it's just a matter of tackling the project. I'll bet Lila could dispatch of all of that in a matter of days. My nieces and nephews are all in other states so there's no other family members to give things to... my cousins' kids may want some (family) things eventually but we aren't going to store things in case they may one day want something. They're all out of state too.

Update on my son - we see neurosurgeon weds, MRI on sat, EEG tbd. Will see how MRI goes - not thinking he's going to be able to tolerate it just with medication, but hopefully he can and we don't have to do general and delay things once again.
So I've upgraded my grade from an F to a C- in the health department. In the social department, we got out a bit more this weekend, had a play date with a friend of his, saw family members, went to some stores, etc, so I brought my mom grade up a bit in that department also. Registration is tomorrow for recreation programs. I missed the deadline for one of the forms, but not the other so I'm running about a C right now... I jest but I really have been wracked with guilt lately and although I know guilt is not that helpful, I do really need to do better for him and I'm making a little progress at least. I do feel like I was under water and now I'm trying to climb aboard the ship in the middle of a storm. I have both hands on the ladder but I'm still getting dunked and whipped around, sucking down a lot of seawater... Yikes that doesn't sound like I'm doing so well, actually!

Hugs to everyone,

SubC, so interesting about the environmental thing. Fake trees are bad news, eh? I honestly hadn't considered it. How about LED lights? I'm more open to those now since they improved the color but how are those environmentally? How much does it cost to cut your own by you? Around here tree lots and box stores are selling trees for $60-$100 and if it's a fundraiser, more.

Wow. Just nodded off again! Gotta wait to take that melatonin til I finish posting!

Tatoulia, my dad (music teacher) always played a Boston pops Christmas album. "Sleigh ride" Is one of our faves. We've been having some fun driving around Looking at Christmas Lights, listening to Christmas music.

One of my girlfriends is pulling out all the stops for her grandkids' Christmas memories. She has had a pretty tough couple years... mom died pre-COVID (but maybe COVID... ), dad then got cancer and went through tx, but is now terminal. Son took job contracting in Afghanistan and she had to endure all of that and the dangerous extractions... and she finally found out who her birth father was but he had died... Her daughter died when she was 5 and she somehow survived that. Now that her son has a family she is just knocking it out of the park being grandma... planning all these fun activities ... they even put up an ice rink in her back yard! I really admire her.

Good morning all!

Road - you are not allowed to compare yourself to anybody but you. Are you learning, working hard, and making progress? I give you an "A". (A "B" if you are missing assignments.) not kidding - that's how I grade.

I hope things go well with your son's medical stuff this week.

If you are going to have lights, LED are the best choice (we just got them last year)

The tree farm near us charges $10/ft. The tree has been growing, providing habitat, and cleaning the air near us for years. Trees are a low chemical input crop that provides the farmer with income and motivation to keep the soil healthy. They reduce wind and erosion year round and lower the local temperature in summer.

We get a fun family outing and (most years) a few cups of hot chocolate with our tree. Our purchase price goes directly to a person in our community - helping the local economy and being taxed for things like schools and emergency services and roads we actually use. The cut tree will be replaced with a new little tree - starting the cycle all over again.

After Christmas the goats eat most of the tree and the trunk with the branch stubs is thrown in the ravine to rot and reduce erosion. Some communities have recycling programs. No storage required.

Today is Bean day. I might stop at the children's resale shop after I drop him off to check for a couple of Christmas ideas. I think I am going to get him one new wooden toy if I can't find it used.

SubC, thanks for the analysis on the tree topic. You are the best! Not sure what I will do yet but now I know. I bought some laundry sheets awhile back. Hey, what's your take on hand soap? I feel like since the pandemic I have added 22 tons to landfills Just in hand soap plastic bottles and am always running out. would love recommendations.

The H decided not to decorate the white pine in front this year - getting to tall, scared of heights, etc. He came up with a cute idea on his own as an alternative so I'm going with that and may add to that. can't seem to think that clearly right now so anything I do will be inefficient so. hopefully the synapses will start firing. had another discussion with him about perfectionism and its implications. It was mostly productive. lots of stuff to contemplate. Well, my goal this am is to reclaim my space in my room. getting cluttered again and I haven't gained any new ground in awhile. oh and I cut my hair the other day. My hair betrayed me a few years ago when my hormones went haywire. So now our relationship is "complicated" lol. It took a little restraint to not chop it down.. . But I ended up trimming the ends and cutting bangs. I wanted to make a new stitching video and needed to do something with my hair. It gave me a lift. Actually need to redo the video so I may put on makeup again today :::: ooohh wow. 🤓😅

oops - I sold the medical thing for 60%, not 30%. Much better lol.

Progress report -

Couch #1 moved, I vacuumed behind it and inside it

Took all ceramics etc off the 2 wall shelves, dusted them, blew the dust off out the window, chose 2 non-homemade items to donate and one wooden piece to give to my son who made it. Dusted shelves and put items back.

Put the couch back.

Emptied the box and bucket of stuff and put all the stuff where it goes.

Resting now, and when son comes back in we will move and clean behind couch #2 and move the end tables around and put things away.

Still to do: clean ceiling fan, have son vacuum drapes and floor. Take bucket of coins outside and dust it with compressed air. Move recliner and vacuum behind it, clean the window. Then my living room will be DONE!!

Lila, you are on a roll!

Fantastic on the medical device and the large bedroom item! I am enjoying imagining you with a clean living room as well.

I think we tend to stir up more dust than we realize as we start cleaning and clearing, and then it spreads and settles. I think things will probably get better as you go. Do you have central air? Sometimes changing the filter on that can make a big difference.

I am so happy you have room for your tree!

Tatoulia, I hope you found wreaths that you like.

My Dd2 is here this weekend. We spent the afternoon cutting greenery from the yard and making wreaths. She has a small one to take home to her apartment, and I made the big one for the end of the garage - I use two giant hula hoops tied together for the wreath frame. It's hung and looks pretty good.

She also agreed that we could donate a giant stuffed bear from her childhood that I've been storing for her - it is literally twice the size of Bean and even unfluffed took up half a bin. She is taking home her high school yearbooks, a bag of embroidery floss, and a crochet book that is hers. Also her sewing machine, which she left here a month ago because my mil was still using it.

Bean is due here soon with his parents and some pizza.

Besides the wreaths, I put big red bows on the outdoor garage lamps and a snowman in Bean's rocking chair. I also finally switched out the little butterfly bucket I keep pens in - skipping summer and fall and going straight to the winter snowman bucket.

I did bring five finished pots home from class thursday, so those are an in this week.

Sounds like a nice time with family, SubC. A good day.

I took the box of donations to the car and drove to donate it along with another box and bag of donations that were in my car. I put 3 books in my car to return to someone tomorrow. I put my ex's yearbooks and the one wooden item from the shelf in my car to give to my son.

The vacuuming is done, last living room window and sill cleaned. I am so tired! All I need to do it put a few items away from one end table and re-dust that table and the coffee table.

Next up on my list is the dining room table and bar counter - re-de-cluttering!

Wow! Homemade wreaths, SubC. I'm glad your daughter took some things with her!

Lila, I'm so happy with your progress. Very good to sell the medical device (I won't tease you for information but honestly I cannot picture what it is). And yay for donating the other thing. My goodness you are plowing through it!

I got my wreaths today. I went a little later in the day. They didn't have a lot but I got two and figured out the bows. Always so hard to decide! I'm sure they'll have more tomorrow. I have them up and they look very nice. I also used the last of my florist wire. So next year I'll have to get some more. This packet lasted a lifetime. I'd bought it used and it was in precut lengths and about double the gauge of the traditional wire.

I started pulling out my Christmas stuff today. Bought new batteries for the candles for my windows. I'm trying to remember if the set in the bedroom turns off after eight hours. I have a second set that I'm also wondering about. We'll see in the AM if they are still burning brightly.

hi Tatoulia! Sounds like Christmas! Everyone having wreaths makes me remember when I had a wreath on my door. I don't think I have one now but am not buying one, at least not until I purge more things. I don't have a hanger on my door anymore since it got taken off to paint the door a few years ago.

I am moving right along but am annoyed that my Christmas tree has not arrived. It was supposed to be delivered almost 7 hours ago. Then he said he would be late but was then supposed to be here 3 hours ago. No contact. I don't know the guy but he has a tree farm. I am sad because it's not here, I feel deflated, don't even know if it is coming so can't go get in the shower.

Anyway, dilemma: a year ago, some very very dear friends gave me a TON of Christmas decorations. They are retired and their son passed away so they have no family. They invited me over and showed me some really nice decorations and said they wanted to gift them to me but only if I would use them... they didn't want them going to Goodwill. I said yes. When I came back to pick them up it had turned into enough decor to fill my whole suv. Some for fall, some summery things, but mostly Christmas. All of it has sat in my garage since. It is overwhelming. I know they don't want it back, I don't want to hurt their feelings, but I can't donate it to Goodwill.

What to do? Maybe sort through and keep some...they ARE some nice items... maybe get rid of some of mine and keep theirs. But no way would I want more than half of what's there. What to do??

Hi,

Just thought I should check in if nothing else. Don't anybody worry about me if I'm here only infrequently for awhile and keep it brief. What I've hit upon for survival of this strange situation of the house lacking full functionality of an essential utility and all the craziness in daily routines attached thereunto, is to simply downshift and coast. I once saw a sardonic T-shirt that said something like "Once I gave up hope, I felt better."

It sounds morbid if you take it 100% seriously, but tongue firmly in cheek it somehow works. And also there's actually a spiritual precedent, namely surrendering and trusting in God. Jesus take the wheel, as the song says! So I've just simplified as much as possible in the areas where I can, so that I preserve just enough mental energy to get through each day.

So far the weather has continued mild which helps. And for several reasons I got my small bit of Christmas and winter prep shopping done by the end of November. I didn't get out my decorations, roommate has lights on the house, and I bought cat safe LED candles for my Advent wreath. It is just enough.

My parish hosted a county vaccination event so I got my Pfizer booster. That makes me confident enough to go to the laundromat. That'll be a necessary evil insofar as traffic and people but I can go early in the day, and clean clothes will be wonderful and eliminate some clutter. It is enough.

Starting at the top today...

CM, thanks for establishing my theme for today: e n o u g h .

With the sensation of Christmas decorations looming, I need that reminder. It was relatively minimal last year and still too much. This year, even though I've made progress mentally and materially, I still found myself slipping back into old habits of dreaming of ways to complicate things (cause, creativity...) *including some projects which led specifically to hoarding.

E n o u g h . What is enough when it comes to christmas Decorations? On some level, any is too much. I'm not a religious person, but Christmas is meaningful to me and is always a reminder of what a poor, pure hearted person can accomplish...so many people everywhere with not enough - but we get into a cycle of overconsumption and of course we are all here because of extremes in that department... well, I blather, but I think you all know what I'm getting at. So I will do my best to just do enough and not overdo it. Thanks for the reminder, CM.

I am off to decide which tree to use this year. Yes, that's what I said... 1) my favorite $10 thrift store tree that looks so good with my vintage hand made ornies but is oh so broken down and always seems to take 8 hours to set up... or 2) the one from my parents that looks better but I don't really like it... or 3) pick up another hand me down tree from my brothers... 4) the New one we bought yesterday is going back to target. Naturally, none but the new one have working lights most likely. Spent most of yesterday shopping for live (I'm just too cheap)::: and artificial (I'm just too cheap)::: and Facebook marketplace. Did NOT thrift. (Small victory)...

Will check back in with the verdict...

Hi CM,

Good to hear from you! Being content with "enough" is probably the secret to a happy life.

Tatoulia - we make wreaths every year. It's a tradition. I didn't ever finish mine last year, so I guess this year is better in some ways. Partly it was that the weather was nice yesterday and last year I started late, ran out if time the day we made them, and then it just stayed bitterly cold until it was so close to Christmas I didn't bother.

Lila, I would pull out all of the gifted Christmas items and either put them out or box them up. Then I would contact the nice people and tell them that decorating has just become too big a task for you and you are downsizing your decorations. That you have really enjoyed the ones they gave you and appreciated the gift, but that you were ready to pass some of them on and you know that they didn't want them donated to goodwill, so should you bring them back or is there somewhere else they would like you to take them?

If they ask you to keep storing them, tell them you really can't because you don't have room, but you will be happy to bring them back to them until they decide what to do with them. If they refuse to take them or designate a recipient, donate with a clear conscience.

Good morning everyone!

A few ideas (blunt). Road, could you consider getting rid of the tree your parents gave you? You don't like it. That's all you need to know. Your parents, whether alive or not, do not want you burdened by a Christmas tree. They do not want you to carry that weight. Even now my mother tries to get me to promise my keeping some stuff and I can't. I won't carry it with me. She doesn't understand the stress she puts on me by making me promise to keep certain magazines. (!). Her need to keep things is very upsetting to me but I am trying harder not to show it.

Lila (blunt). You own these things now. I wouldn't want to risk hurting their feelings. Pull out what you want, and invite neighbors and friends to select what they want. OR see if an old folks home wants them. Then off to Goodwill with the remainders. The elderly friends were allowed to decide where they gave them, not where you give them. Call it a day. SubC I'm not trying to undermine you, I just think that for the elderly couple, they have done their part. I would be hesitant to put the hard decisions back in their lap. A big part of my hoarding is guilt. We are allowed not to like something. It's allowed. (This is so hard for me). The items are no more being "honored" by sitting in your garage and aggravating you. If they ever ask, you can say, it was an embarrassment of riches and you decided to share the joy with friends and neighbors. True e n o u g h.

SubC, you are amazing. You do so much and are such a good person. Let us all look at what is enough.

Cm I am glad that you are content and finding a way to deal with the house issues. I loved your saying! I generally try to characterize things as "free" instead of "less". So this fits: you're not hopeless, you're hope-free. I don't have any more shopping to do. I just have to pull out a few more decorations and wrap gifts. I'll have a few more festive napkins to mail to the elderly and then I'm done. I am having an oil painting framed for BF for Christmas this year. We are trying to find time where he can join me at the frame shop. It's the painting I had done of his cat.

I'm going to mom's today to decorate a gingerbread house. I can only use wrapped candies because she will eat even a week old gumdrop. And I use real egg whites when making my frosting. I'll make the frosting here, but it in piping bags, and head over soon. I dropped the house over to her house yesterday. I'll put the candies in ziplocks.

I'm wishing for one more day off but I don't see it in the cards for me. I have plenty of vacation time (and in fact will lose about four days this year as we can carryover/cash-in 10 and I have over 14) but it's been a big year and such is life. The company is good to me.

My cleaners will clean mom's on Wednesday and I have to tell you, her place is still pretty nice from the last time. I'm happy with its condition. This will be a big $ commitment from me but I'll try to do it. I also pay for all of her groceries and yes you'd think being in assisted living with food available that she wouldn't need food but she always has some crazy project she's about to do that she doesn't do. There always something rotting in her fridge.

So I'll be heading over there soon. My window candles were off this AM so they do appear to be the type that will run for eight hours and close down for 16, then switch back on. I hope so. I'll have to change the time to something earlier like five but I'll wait another 24 hours to test my theory.

Tatoulia, I think either approach works. Lila knows her people best so she will make a good choice of what to do.

Tatoulia, the gingerbread house sounds like fun, as always (wish you were local - I would make you wreaths and you could make me a gingerbread house). That was always the activity mil wanted to do with my kids because she was very good at it. By "good at it" I mean she made beautiful houses, but it was kind of stressful because she cared mostly about what the house looked like and worked very hard to make sure my kids did it "right".

But what is wrong with week old gumdrops? My mother had a gumdrop tree that we would decorate with gumdrops and them pour the rest in the dish around the base. We would eat the gumdrops from the base all of December, and the others when we "undecorated" the tree after Christmas. If the gumdrops got hard, you just sucked on them.

road, we cross posted last time. I would say, pick your favorite of the trees you have (including post brother options), and use that this year. Get rid of the others. You can even put a tree up without lights. One year we couldn't find the Christmas ornaments (wince) and the kids and I decorated the whole tree with home crafted decorations. You can look for a new to you thrifted tree all year for next year.

I'm a big fan of cutting our own locally. But from a consumer/environmental standpoint, the absolute worst thing you can do is buy a new artificial tree.

I had a nice weekend with my kids. I always miss my son and ddil when we are together though. Bean decided his family was very tired and should stay over last night, so they did. After they left today I went down to the studio and actually got some pots ready for Thursday while dh and Dd2 spent some time together. (I broke one too. I don't know why I keep breaking things.) they made dinner and we ate and now she is on her way home as well.

Good morning
Coffee clinks.

Lila, good work on your bookshelf! I am proud of you for jumping in and doing instead of procrastiplanning!

Maybe you should put a little sign on the bar "please leave items to be donated here".

I will start another thread for weight loss.

Yesterday was good, so I am back to my original plan of denial as far as work goes. I am a coward.

Bean learned how to say "hug" and he gave me three of them! He is a busy little fellow and not super cuddly, so that was pretty great. He went to the zoo with his daddy yesterday, and he got out his animal book to show me all the things he saw. At the moment he loves giraffes and elephants and anything he can call "doat" (goat) - deer, antelopes, bongos..

My pots came out pretty well at my class, although I left one set in reduction too long.

I did one task from my "advent calendar" list yesterday, so I am only 1-2 days behind.

SubC you make a very good point. I went back and reread the post. It's only bern a year that she's had the decorations. Looking forward to seeing how it's handled! Good for you, Lila, to realize it's too much!

I love that you can have your family stay over, at a moment's notice! Staying at my Nana L's house was a treat where at Nana S's house was more of an ordeal. Nana S was very, very clean and neat as a pin, so having us stay with her would cause a lot of upheaval for her. Always kind and welcoming but little things, like she didn't want me to use her towels so she would cut up paper towels for me. Including for my baths. Kind of funny then and now. It was a joke to us and I knew she couldn't help the fact that she didn't want me to use her towels

House went well at mom's. I would love to swap with you! Would very much enjoy your wreaths! I brought over my jam box portable speaker and streamed the Boston Pops holiday concert. It is so much nicer at her house right now, and her cleaners will be here this week!

I have not eaten a proper meal so at 9 PM I must do so.

I didn't wrap gifts or anything today. Still time. I work from home tomorrow.

Hello everyone! I had the day off. I slept in then spent time with BF. Right now I'm trying to figure out if I should have dinner start laundry or go to sleep. I guess I should start laundry while I figure this out.

I'll go do that now. Otherwise, an hour will pass and I'll still be sitting here with no progress being made b

Good morning!

I did two loads of laundry last night and that made me happy. Folded and put away.

Today I going to a church sale to get my wreaths. I also want to start wrapping presents.

SubC I am sorry that your school didn't hold up to their end of the bargain. I am sure you feel betrayed and it's hard to rebuild trust after that. And you must feel that they do not value you. I'm sorry.

Road, that makes me snicker about my Remote Storage Facility. I used to actually have a very large storage space, packed front to back and top to bottom. I was attending some workshop at the office and one of the sessions required us to (privately) make a commitment to do something. And I committed to get rid of my storage space by Dec 1 of that year. And I did it a month early. Not only was it costing me 400 a month, it turned out that I got rid of everything. Donated all of it. All. My childhood bookcase, the desk my grandfather made, etc. ALL. and then I looked at my house and how basically I'd been operating as a storage facility for some future event that would never occur. I saw myself as needing to be the person who swoops in and says, ?oh I have that!' Whenever somebody needs something. I had to come to grips that I was trying to operate as a free store for other people. It was an important mind shift and I haven't slipped back. Occasionally I'll see a bargain and want to buy multiple items but now I stop myself and remember that it's not up to me to buy things at a discount to give to other people for free.

Lila! Amazing bookshelf work! Wowie!

Good morning friends!

haha, I love the 'donate' sign on the bar! I may try that! And I also love the comment on seeing our house as a storage facility... ugh. My home IS a storage facility. Again I cannot fathom how I have taken out loads and loads (literally, dozens of trips) in my SUV to donate, many many full trash cans, and an actual yard sale... and STILL it resembles a storage unit! If I reverse the thinking and imagine bringing all that stuff back IN, I don't know how it ever fit!!

Yesterday I managed to finish bookshelf #2 completely! It is all dusted and nice. I donated one book from there too. I also dusted a map and end table (which now has stuff on it from the shelf, stuff that is keep but has no home yet). I have one more end table with a very very dusty printer on it to clean and then the two wall shelves, and that is ALL the living room being done.

I have a very dusty home though. Maybe I don't vacuum enough (1-2x/week). Remember I dusted the other side of the living room the day before thanksgiving. Well one week later those surfaces have so much dust you can write your name in it, clearly. So I need to go back and re-dust that side of the room which won't be as hard since the surfaces are clear.

But it is frustrating to me to have to dust every week. I have never kept up with that and once a surface gets cluttered the dusting gets put off for months. I am going to dust it all today though and get son to vacuum. We are getting our Christmas tree today so I have to clean and get a space ready. Two weeks ago a tree would not have fit 🙂

post 2 -

This morning I cleaned the two big living room windows. I did the glass and then used polish and did the wooden ledges. I also wiped out the window tracks which were pretty bad. I feel good about getting this done and now the room just feels brighter. I started vacuuming the drapes but burned out and will ask my son to finish it.

I noticed more dust on bookshelf 1 ALREADY so I wiped the edges beyond the books. I need to find some kind of book shelf duster. I might have one somewhere - funny thing, I tend to keep buying cleaning supplies and not using them,

I also finished wiping off the last end table and vacuumed inside it. I need my son to wipe out the inside. I started vacuuming the edges around the walls and he will finish that. He is having breakfast and then I will get him in here to vacuum. I think we will even move the couches and vacuum under/behind them. Goal: when couch is moved, dust the 2 wall shelves.

Also: remember my big medical unit I paid thousands for? I sold it to a friend for about 30% of what I paid (I am happy with that) and she picked it up the other day. I also took down the ads for the other big item in my bedroom and offered it for free to a friend who I thought could use it for her kids. She was SO thankful for it! I gave it to her yesterday and that freed up even more space in my bedroom. That felt really good.

My kitchen table is now re-cluttered completely. The bar is about half cluttered. But, my living room/dining room is the cleanest and most decluttered it has been in years.

I have one bucket of toys and a couple small boxes of stuff that were in the end table that I will sort. I plan to look for a duster with a long handle to do the entry chandelier and the liing room ceiling fan.

My Christmas tree should be getting put up today so I am motivated to finish this living room!

Road don't be so hard on yourself. Your son was having a fun time and you were having bathroom issues.

Good morning!

Hi Tatoulia,

This is the part where I encourage you not to buy more Christmas wrapping paper if you are out. The dyes make it toxic to produce and difficult to recycle, and it usually comes wrapped in plastic.

There are tons of alternative wrappings if you ask google, or just plain white tissue paper decorated with an old card or magazine cut out, a stamped paper bag, even just a ribbon for people who are getting their package in the mail and already opening it.

I got my booster shot last night and my arm is very sore, but so far I feel fine. It is back to school for me today, so I have to focus on that this morning.

Dh made me very yummy and healthy dinner, but I "rewarded" myself for getting the shot with candy and then still ate dessert, so not good choices weight wise. Lila, how did you do? (Should we ask?)

Road, did you schedule your thing? And check the laundry!

SubC, thank you! I don't need to buy wrapping paper. I have so many beautiful Christmas cards, both used and unused and I am happy to use plain white tissue paper. I do love the look of white tissue paper over the red or green that are available this time of year. I am sold! Great idea and there's something about this idea that harkens back to my childhood. You just reminded me, I purchased burlap gift bags from a fabric store last year and will have those, too. I was going to get rid of them when my friend was cleaning my closet but she told me to keep them. So there's my homespun Christmas and I'm pretty excited! Thank you!

Good luck today! I hope the sore arm feels better!

Yay! You improved my day!

If the gift needs something "sturdier" than tissue you can always use plain white drawing paper or newsprint. But I think if the gifts will be set out together, your burlap bags would go great with plain brown paper grocery bag paper, string, and little bits of greenery or things like cinnamon sticks, fresh flowers (right before gifting), or dried fruits and plants.

Ate a healthy breakfast and working on my advent calendar idea.