Road,

So sorry about your iep meeting. I'm proud of you for not decompressing with alcohol though - it rarely helps.

nice job on the laundry! You are doing really well with the morning routine and the stacking. I hope you start to see it make a difference soon!

I'm glad you found your slides. Tgat us one of those events where I take a moment to encourage myself. "I am doing better. I found the slides and r secure them before anything bad happened."

I was mostly venting about work, and just trying to let you guys know where my head is. I had a good day yesterday with my kids. I also had a couple of conversations with my boss about students and supplies that looked and sounded totally normal, so I guess we are just going to pretend nothing ever happened. Right up to the day I decide to quit and she tries to make me feel guilty for leaving... (or maybe she won't - that will be offensive - she always tries to make the good teachers feel guilty or sad so that maybe they'll change their minds and at least teach one class) anyway, I think that is years out.

Lila - great job on the bar! I am so happy for you that things had homes!

I can't believe someone would say that about your child (well, actually I can believe it. I tell people that when I decided to become a teacher I felt confident that even if I wasn't very good at it, I would be SO much better than some of the teachers I had.) I can find something to like in almost any kid (there have been a few mean girls and one probable sociopath I have had trouble with) Adults are a different story..

Anyway, it sounds like you are getting more organized, and that is great!

Hi Tatoulia and CM!

I am officially on break now, but it looks like I will be spending most of my break with Bean. Which is delightful, but not productive.

I don't have him today and I am going to start by focusing on pottery in my studio and maybe go to the studio sale downtown. Dh is playing golf.

My house is a mess. Yesterday I left some paper egg cartons hanging off the arm of the couch. I also left mr. kitty inside all day. Let's just say those egg cartons are no longer a threat..

I'm going to throw a load of laundry in before I get going (join mr road?) but otherwise I'm going to try to just be on vacation today and clear my head.

Good morning SubC. Sounds like a nice quiet day is just what is needed. I hope you feel better tonight! Maybe just put your feet up and read a book, or watch a movie, drink some tea etc. We all need room to breathe. That's most of what I did yesterday... sit, chill, breathe.

Today I am drinking coffee this morning so I can get moving and clean. I am hopeful and doubtful at the same time that today could be the day I clear the whole bar. This morning when I walked past it I finally saw how much less stuff is on there. So I already put 2 things away. They are not in ideal places (crowded under the sink and in a cabinet) but they are away, and I can declutter those spaces another day, after Thanksgiving. The kitchen table is still pretty covered. But maybe if I focus on the bar, it will build momentum. I think I will make it my goal to get everything off the bar and wash the thick dust off the bar today. I think just seeing it clear and clean will be an immense boost, even if some of the final items are just moved to the kitchen table so I can clean the bar off. But the rule will be, I can move a few things to the table, BUT I can NOT move them back to the bar to clean the table!

One step at a time.

What are you all doing for Thanksgiving?

Major announcement - the kitchen bar is cleared!! The only thing on it is the Keurig! Wow, it feels so amazing to accomplish this and see it clear. Thank you guys sooo much for encouraging me. Several things went into the trash, one or twin in the donate bin. I only had to move a couple things to the table. And I did actually get some more of the table cleared too! A few items got put into my bedroom because they do belong in there, although there is no space, so I'll need to get rid of some things in there to make space. But not many things, only a few!

I had just gotten everything off that bar counter and was about to wash off the dust and ick, when my husband (way more hoarder than me) came upstairs to cook himself something and he set some things on the bar!! I was so irritated. I JUST got it cleared and it wasn't even clean yet and he sets junk on top of the dust! I said 'I am cleaning this off' and moved them items to the table and told him he needed to take them with him and find a space for them. Then I used wet paper towels to wipe all the dust off the bar, then used a soapy sponge and hot water to wash the whole bar counter. It was pretty bad. But now it is perfectly clean - I even sprayed it with disinfecting cleaner at the end and wiped it again. I am proud of myself!!

I also got one of my kids to 'run' things for me: he took some items to my car, a bag to the trash, my husband's junk to him in his den, put away the carpet cleaner, took more stuff to the trash, put laundry and baskets in the laundry room. That helped me a lot.

The kitchen table is not bad now so I might even be able to get that done today! Oh and I had my son take a printer downstairs with its ink, and I dusted the cabinet it was on. That was in the living room and so even that room is getting much better.

Woot!
Way to go Lila!

Now you just have to stick to the table plan.

Bean is bringing his parents here for Thanksgiving (I'll pick him up Wednesday morning and they will join us Wednesday night and stay to Friday morning - when they will leave him here for me to return to Dd after work)

Someone is going to cook I presume. Not me.

Today was not a productive stuff day.

I went to the studio pottery sale, where I bought three items for myself - I little cup, a creamer sized mixing bowl style pitcher, and a decorative pumpkin. On the way I stopped at the reuse store and bought brushes for my class and a mold and a stamp for pottery for me. And on the way home I picked up a brio table and an interesting looking ball toy (that might not be fixable) off the curb for Bean.

I guess I should stay home.

Aww, SubC, that's ok. Sometimes we get stuff. It's hard not to. Sounds like you were moderate though. Maybe trade out? Someone here told me that - bring a thing in, something goes out. I try to do that but don't always.

I got a little more of the table done. Then I started to feel burned out. So I went in my room and got that big medical equipment thing, cleaned it well, got all the accessories, cords, pieces, etc and cleaned them off. Laid it all out on my bed and took pictures (for the record so it's clear what I sold her). Turned it on, tested it and took pics of it working. Put it all away into its huge box which I had vacuumed out and dusted. Now it is taking up about 1/3 the space and this week I will take the big box over to the person who is buying it and I will have ALL that space back! That is a huge relief.

The other bigger item that I have been trying to sell is not selling. It was about $110 new. I listed it for 50, and gradually listed it more places and lowered the price. Now it is $30. I also offered it to a friend who didn't need it. I will give it another week and then offer it for free. I hate to do that but... it s taking up too much space.

That's about all I can handle for the day. But wow, my goal was just to get the bar cleared off so I got more done than my goal so I am happy about that.

Only 4 more days til Thanksgiving, and I want everything cleaned in the kitchen/dining/living/bathroom before then so really need to get all the decluttering of those spaces done by Tuesday night.

I think I can do it. One day finishing the living room and hanging the painting. One day finishing the dining room and the tall cabinet. And one day doing the kitchen. I'll need to mop as well and clean the bathroom but I can do that stuff on Weds. Ugh but the cooking too. Hmmm.

Wow! Ladies! You are all doing so much. I can't address each thing but please let me express my gratitude to each and every one of you. Great friends.

SubC I am thrilled you have time off! Lila and road, you are getting so much done! Cm-checking in on you!

I packaged up a bunch of stuff to mail today and went to the post office. I also had a new battery put into my newly found watch. I picked up a few craft things for friend's kids. I'll be packaging those up and mailing next week. I sent a few things from our childhood to my sister. I stopped by my friend's work to invite her for dinner and we had a good meal together here.

I saw BF for a few minutes and dropped off some milk and bread for mom. I'll help her tmr.

Now I'm running the dishwasher and getting ready for bed.

I am having Thanksgiving catered. I'll go to mom's lunchtime with her meal and sit with her while she eats. BF and I will eat here thanksgiving night.

My cleaners will deep clean mom's on Tuesday. I suspect that will be the day they clean my house. I'll work from home that day instead of going in.

I was thinking about Christmas today and how people spend money they don't have on stuff they don't need and for people they don't like. I'm pretty much done with my shopping. I have new robe and nightgown for mom, a calendar for BF, a Turkish towel and bathrobe for my friend from Japan (the one who lived here) since she will be joining us for Christmas dinner. I am having the oil painting of BF's cat framed for him for his Christmas gift. I have little gifts such as handmade soaps, chocolates, cookie tins for any extra gifts I may need. Dry cleaner, person who cleans our common areas, etc. service gifts. I'll make three gingerbread houses and that should complete it. Really no muss, no fuss. I will send my brother a check. So now I can just enjoy myself. I'll make mom, BF and friend stockings as that is one of my favorite things to do. I was telling her tonight about the stockings and how I use the ones from my childhood and then I take them back. Just so she's clear as to how that works.

Keep up the very good work! I have a bag ready for goodwill. Trying to reduce.

Oh! Good shopping decisions, SubC. Watch your anxiety, though. You've been doing well and not taking stuff from the street. Don't fall back into the old pattern. I'm proud of you and want you to focus on you.

I like the two things out for each one thing brought in. It has been a more meaningful practice for me?allows for progress vs maintaining an unhappy status quote. Your thoughts?

Good morning!

Lila, good choice to switch to something else when you feel burned out on a job. I'm sorry about your big item, but you will get so much space back - focus on that. One interesting exercise is to divide the value of your home by square foot so you can see how much the space you are giving away rent free to things you don't want is actually worth. Would it cost you more than $110 to add that much space to your home?

I'm very happy for you about the medical thing.

Good luck on your living room today - I hope you get great satisfaction from ganging the painting. If you need a boost, just go look at your bar!

Tatoulia,

You sound so calm and together going into the holidays. It is nice to see. Our Christmas shopping is weird. We buy big expensive presents for Dh parents every year because that is how his parents believe you show love. They have a lot more money than we do, so it is silly. They can buy anything they want. Monetary value is very important to them. Mil has a designated amount of money she spends on each family member that is carefully calculated to reflect the amount she is supposed to love them based on their degree of relatedness to her. Every year around august she panics that her Christmas shopping is not done and begins demanding shopping lists from us. I am never able to come up with appropriate items, but last year Dh told her to get me a check designated for my garden seeds and plants. She liked that, so now I think she will fund my garden every year at exactly the amount she doesn't manage to spend on things.

She has also started passing her jewelry on and is concerned about the fact that it is coming out of the value of the estate, so If you choose a piece of jewelry (she sends emails and photos throughout the year) that she thinks is valuable, she wraps it for Christmas and deducts the value from your gift spending. I got a very pretty antique bracelet and pair of earrings this year, but they are both "not real" and the bracelet needs repair, so she told me "you can just have these. They aren't worth anything."

Anyway, aside from that - sometimes I buy presents for my parents and sometimes I don't, it depends on if I see something they would like. Sometimes I make them a thing. They have lots of stuff. When our kids were little we tried to balance number of packages, and when they got older we tried to balance money spent, and after discussion this year, we're just buying a few things for each of them and only really spending money on Dd2 because she is at a stage in her life when the things she really wants are not in easy reach of her income. I'm making spoon rests for ds and flower pots for ddil, and I need to get on that!

I bought new pajamas on sale for Bean already, but that is part of his "thanksgiving gift" - lol. I told the kids I want to give my grandkids pajamas and a book after thanksgiving every year as part of their "Christmas" Dd said that was ok. But then after I bought the pajamas, she said that I can't give him anything new or plastic this year (I am allowed to use new non-plastic materials if I make him something.) I have two books for him that I bought used. I might give him the brio table for Christmas..

This is becoming a book.

Anyway, yesterday I threw pots in the morning (kept 5, I'm out of practice) went to the studio sale and caught up with people, I have missed, and then went back out after dinner and threw two more pots worth keeping and one maybe, and trimmed an old piece. I'm going back out this morning to do some casting, trim the stuff I threw yesterday, and maybe start the spoon rests.

I am rewashing yesterday's laundry because I forgot it.

hi guys,

I am at my "weekend" for the most part now. Just a phone meeting tonight at 7 and some paperwork etc to do at home today and then I am on break til Monday. YAY, I need it. I need more alone time in the winter.

Good job with the basement shopping, Road! I am teaching myself to do that. I was habitually buying new hair products, makeup and skin products every time my favorite ran out. For example, I had a foundation stick that I liked (easier than liquid etc, and I barely do makeup but just like to even out any redness). But I noticed I have at least 4 bottles of liquid foundation sitting around so I am making myself use those up before I buy a stick. Same for hair products - I have a whole cabinet full but they are not my "favorite" so I never used them. But there is nothing wrong with them, so I am using them up before I buy another favorite. Save money, make space! Learn new habits. Doing the same with the huge amount of dog food samples I have.

About friends... I get it. I am socially awkward too. Always have been quiet, shy, and as an adult have had to learn how to be social and even have learned to enjoy people, to an extent. But I feel the same about people not being predictable. And sometimes I say something that I think will have one reaction, and instead I get a not-so-positive or just confusing reaction, and then I feel like going away and hiding because I don't know how to interact with people.

It doesn't help that since the pandemic, I don't have anyone in my house. Right now I can't. The only people who have been in here lately are my own kids and ... this sounds bad... but if I know a friend has a worse house than mine (like theirs is more cluttered or is dirty - mine is not dirty but is very cluttered and dusty) then I will let them in my house because I know they won't judge. A friend came to my door today and I just stepped out onto the porch to talk to her, in the freezing cold. I felt bad but she didn't say anything. But when I go to people's houses they usually are all "come in! can I get you a cup of coffee?" Not sure why I find that so hard to do myself. Not sure if a perfect house would make it easier or not.

How interesting what both of you shared about Christmas gifts. And WOW about the giving being a monetary value of love. And they hyperfocus on value. I wonder where that started from?

My parents and grandparents have all been dead a long time... in laws, too. They died young. So I only give gifts to my husband and my kids and grandkids. I have done no shopping yet. I am fairly broke but I put aside enough for gifts. I never know what to give husband - perhaps a dumpster rental subscription?? lol. I guess it will be a gift card to a restaurant since I don't want to give him any more STUFF.

Today was church all morning. Then home, lunch, play with dog a little. I am going out to an early dinner with a friend in 3 hours and have a meeting tonight. So I don't have much time to work on the house today. Maybe I can just get the picture hung and a few living room things put away.

Delving into the "whys" of hoarding and procrastination - so my friend gave me this painting as a gift probably 2 or 3 years ago. I love it. It is big and on a canvas. I propped it on a short cabinet in the living room with a 'plan' to hang it in a specific spot. But it doesnt have the little hanging hardware on the back. So it still sits. In fact, it ended up shoved BEHIND the cabinet most of this year! I pulled it ou and dusted off the cabinet and it is there now. I even bought hanging hardware years ago. So the steps I need to take are:

1. Find the hanging hardware. There are several options in this kit of hanging items.

2. Look through them and choose which hardware will work best.

3. Find a hammer.

4. Attach the hardware to the bakc of the painting.

5. Choose the exact location to hang - how high? how far between walls? Measure and level to that spot.

6. Find a suitable nail and put it in the wall in the right spot.

7. Get the painting hung on that nail and check that it is level and looks nice.

See how "hang the painting" turns into a huge project in my own mind?? It is overwhelming to me and that is why it's not been done. I wonder how long all of that will take? I imagine about 30-45 minutes. I guess I will push myself to do it NOW. I will time myself and see how long it takes. I will have 2-3 years of procrastination anxiety once it is done!!

part 2 -

so the party is a wedding reception party. Now I am supposed to attend and help serve food and stuff. I am freaking out. But I want to be a good friend so I said yes.

I have not done a lot with the house the last few days. And two new things came in: an elderly lady gave me a teddy bear for my grandd, and a quilt she made herself with Christmas colors. I will put the quilt over one part of the messed up couch and it will look nice. I might give the bear to grandd to take home.

I took the clothes/soft things out of the donate box and put them into a bag to donate. I will spend some time today finding more items to donate. I did go through the stash n dash laundry basket in the living room and put those items away.

I have so much to do and only 6 more days after today to get things done for Thanksgiving. I am getting stressed now. Part of me really wants to sit and relax between doing calls and paperwork for work. But I also need to just make myself get up and work on the decluttering!!! Trying to find some motivation. I think if I can find another box and just start putting ALL the loose papers into it, to sort after Thanksgiving, that would help me. Papers everywhere!! I have to mini-sort them so I can keep out anything I need to deal with BEFORE thanksgiving. Then after, I can do the paperwork day where it all gets dealt with. At least putting them all in one big box would clean up the 10+ smaller piles of papers all over the house, right? Maybe I can find a plastic bin to use for this.

Ok, off to try and do things.

I had to look up brio table, SubC. Had no idea what it was! Now I know!

Not having kids in the family helps on the gifts. My favorite memories are wearing my Christmas nightie, bathrobe, and reading the books Santa brought me. To this day, I give pjs and robes and books.

I like to buy tea towels and Swedish sponges from Etsy as gifts, too. But with not seeing friends at restaurants and not otherwise celebrating in person, I have no need to purchase those things.

I agree, Lila, don't buy something that your husband will just add to the pile.

Good work throwing some pots, SubC. I remember the time you showed us a picture from one of your sales. Beautiful work.

I spent the afternoon at mom's, watching tv. Really nice. We don't ever do that. I did some furniture rearranging.

Ok I'm going to just be quiet for a little while. Rest my head.

aaand part 3, my day.

I was very lazy today but I did get a small bin and start putting all the papers from everywhere into it. I did a quick sort and just pulled out the trash and threw away a stack of junk mail etc. I will take a look for anymore stray papers and then put the bin in my room to sort into files after Thanksgiving.

What's left on the table and counter is stuff. Not papers, but actual stuff. No trash, just stuff that has no home. Which has been sorted, so I don't think much will be donated. But I have to figure out where to put all this stuff if I am keeping it.

I'm back. I hung the painting. It took 15 minutes from start to finish, even though I could not find the little wire hanging kit. I was getting so frustrated and about to give up but decided to try a heavy duty metal staple to the frame and a hook on the wall... since it is very light weight. It worked! It looks fine. The colors don't really go, but the friend who gave it to me is coming for Thanksgiving which is why I really needed to have it hung. I don't want hurt feelings.

Yay. 2-3 years of procrastinating fixed in 15 minutes.

Good morning.

I got to see part of the lunar eclipse this morning.

Lila, that stuff with no home is the worst.

We made our house bigger and Dh somehow managed to work it out so that I LOST storage space. I hate the container concept. It is valid, but that doesn't stop me from hating it.

Sometimes you just have to bin up papers. Just don't lose them. I think giving the bear to your grand Dd is a good idea. It is for her.

Also, good job using up what you have!

Road, check the laundry.

I have planned an easy day for school today, but I will have to stay late to load the kiln. My weekend (and my break) start after I catch up on my sleep tonight.

Hooray for the hung painting!

If only all our angst could be solved in 15 minutes!

I suppose I will have to settle for 15 minutes at a time, but honestly some days I can't even manage that.

Art does not have to "match".

I didn't get any spoon rests done, but I have plenty of time. I do think my pots will be ready to take to the city studio for finishing tomorrow (my membership gives me access to materials I don't have at home.)

The kids do not want the brio table, so I am going to donate it for someone to find and be excited at the great deal they get for Christmas for their little one. I could not leave it out for the rain last night.

I was going to take it tomorrow, but my schedule got changed and now I am going to the studio early and watching Bean at his house in the afternoon, so the thrift store will be closed when I drive by.

I'm having a hard time getting moving this morning too, SubC. I am deciding if I want to go get an energy drink but I know they're not healthy. I am stressed out so I want to eat but trying to be calm.

So glad your meeting went well Road! That's a relief. I know what those school meetings can be like.

I am going to help a friend plan a party today. That is really not my thing and I'd rather stay home, but I want to be a good friend so I am going in about an hour. I have done nothing at home this morning but emails and decaf coffee. I guess I will go give my kid's cat his meds (he was sneezing and is on an antibiotic), then go dry my hair (I did shower so that's a plus) and get presentable. Then I think I will pull out that stash n dash laundry basket on my living room cabinet and see what's in there. I hope it is just a few big things I can put away and not another stack of papers I have to sort. I have filing cabinets but I have so much to sort and file that it just ends up in piles.

I have the rest of the day free, so when I get home I can do laundry and work on the kitchen table/bar.

Hi Lila, hi everyone,

I'm back from errands. I picked up my new glasses. I've been getting by on cheap readers for years. The frames are cute, they are flattering (I think) but I'm having more trouble seeing now than before. I think I can see street signs and leaves better but the distance I used to be able to see is now blurry And I can't bring my eyes into focus using the lower/reading section of the lens. Also everything is kind of warped. Is this normal? I will probably go back in and chat with them about it.

In other news, I also showered. I opened up most of the neglected school emails and filled out some of the forms. I looked up more recipes and then tried to narrow them down... I even did another load of laundry and folding. What with picking up my glasses, I'm pretty much adulting the hell out of this day. Lol.

Thanks so much for the suggestions with the couches and the grandd's toys and books. I will work on that tomorrow. I need to pare down a little and find some dog-proof spots for the things we keep, tomorrow.

I went to a small social tonight and it was nice but now I am exhausted again... it doesn't take much! Oh and that reminds me, one of you asked about my time mentions... yes I am west coast 🙂

It's almost bedtime but I am relaxing in front of the TV some more before I go to bed. Wish I had a jar of yummy apples to eat! That sounds so good... I bet it would be amazing on vanilla ice cream!

Tomorrow I have a super busy meeting in the morning to plan an important event. It is going to be a lot of work. I am excited but nervous and need to be sure I recruit more help than the last time I did it. Then I have most of the rest of the day free and can work on the living room/dining room. I really hope I feel motivated and energetic in the morning. I did not get much sleep at all last night so hope tonight is better.

See you guys tomorrow.

Yay for adulting, Road! lol. I am trying but I think you're ahead of me! And when I got "progressive lenses" (trifocal glasses) everything looked weird and made me nauseous for about a week. I almost cried. But my eyes got used to the warped thing and now nothing looks warped. Give it a week or two and see how you feel, but yes I hated them at first.

The party planning took WAY longer than I'd hoped - about 4 hours and I was so exhausted and everyone else was chatting and still going and I was like yep I am done, thanks, cya. But I did help and smiled and stayed cheery while I was there. Home now.

I got home and put in my load of laundry. It's in the wash now. Then I popped into my daughter's room and quickly took a lot of stuff out of her closet and binned it up in empty bins and boxes. No time to sort now, but at least her closet is 2/3 empty (some things on the top shelf and pushed into the far side) so she can use it to hang her clothes etc if she likes. When I get in a mood to really get rid of things, that stash of bins is going to be what I hit. I probably can donate about half of that stuff without too much angst.

Let's see, what else have I done today? Took a box of stuff to my office. Threw away 2 papers. Loaded the dishwasher and ran it.

Goals for the rest of the day include filing the donation box with stuff and putting it in my car. Drying and putting away my laundry. Oh and that laundry basket in the living room that I still have not looked in.

I was also thinking about all my paperwork. I think instead of taking bits of time sorting and re-sorting all of that, which I have done for years, I just need to pick a day on the calendar where I can set aside 3 or 4 hours as "paperwork day." Put ALL of the paperwork piles on the table together, put the trash can beside me and the paper shredder right there, have file folders and a pen ready, and just DO IT. Sort every piece of paper into trash/shred or a file folder and then at the end put the folders into the filing cabinet. That would be so amazing to be able to find every paper I need! I have all the folders and everything. I just need to dedicate a few hours to do it all at once instead of playing around like I've been doing, which has ended up in piles all over the house, partly sorted but never actually filed.

I need to move my soft/clothing donations from the box into bags. Then the box can be for other donations. I will do that today too.

Keep up the good work, ladies!

Tonight is trash night. I look forward to it. I change the cat box and generally like to shred my mail. I don't empty the shredder. The cleaners do that on Wednesdays so they can vacuum up any escapees. The little shreds go everywhere.

My eye is still terrible. Will see if I can get to the doctor tmr.

Good evening.

I did all the things. And a load of laundry.

And I bought three board books for Christmas. Two for bean and a really funny one for my sped teacher ddil.

And I bought bananas and forgot oat milk.

Road, yay for good meetings and for laundry. I hope you get some coat reduction.

I am vegetarian and I can eat all the things except the turkey - what do you put in them?

I also did not have much trouble with my progressive lenses. I know some people do, but if it lasts very long, you should definitely get checked.

Lila, you are a good friend. I would have punted on the party planning. Especially if there were other people to help. What is the party for?

Nice job on the closet. Your paperwork plan sounds good too.

I got a notice that I will have a new student after break in a class that is full. They have never force added without asking me before. I'm getting a bit annoyed. I sent a note saying the class if full. Seriously, the class is full! It is a young class and 25% is kids with significant issues affecting their behavior, plus one health issue that disrupts class mildly, and another kid who is just "a handful". No aide. No available desk. Class is full.

I like trash night too, Tatoulia. We actually have two big cans to put out, and I try to make sure they are pretty full each week. It's like a challenge... what else can I throw away before the trash truck comes??

I am so tired today, no energy at all and drinking a Coke to try and get moving. I had my morning meeting which went well but gave me more tasks to get done (not today). I came home, looked around at the stuff to do, and felt like giving up. So what I have done today is: put the small handheld vacuum on its charger so I can use it. Asked my son to open a box that has been sitting in my living room for a month - it is a birthday gift for one of my sons, a set of tools. It came late and then I never took it over since it is heavy. So my younger son opened it, put it in my car so I can take it, and got rid of the box (which is too shallow for donations). I also contacted the company where I got a huge bag of dog food that made my dog vomit, and they quickly refunded all the money for that bag! I think there is something wrong with the food so I asked son to take it out to the trash. So that's done, too. I also got out a new food from all those free samples etc I have piled in my room to start the dog on and gave it for lunch. I will use up the sample bags before I buy more food. Clearing space.

Now drinking Coke and trying to get motivated to do a bit of decluttering and cleaning once the caffeine kicks in. I will do some email/online tasks while I sit here.

What are you all doing today?

Wow great to catch up with you all! Amazing progress! I can't address everything so please know I am cheering for each of you! And Road, I'm so glad that the meeting went better than anticipated!

Ok I have to rest my poor, diseased eye now.

Ug. I hate trash night. I actually have to drive through some neighborhoods that have their trash out when I take Bean back on Mondays. It's really hard for me to see the giant piles and cans of trash and all the things people have put out.

Covid did help me with my stop and rescue impulses, and even now I am resisting (like the two little bow back children's chairs I drove past twice tonight) but it is aggravating.

I just want people to stop buying things they are going to have to throw away and stop throwing away things that can be fixed or even don't need fixing.

I went to an online program about recycling in my area during bean's nap, and it was just depressing.

We built an addition on our house, which involved removing a WALL and part of the roof, and when we were done, I put out 18 cans of trash, 40 lb limit - including regular household waste, over a three month period.

So, anyway, that's my angle - I'm here to help you stop hoarding by never buying anything again (slight exaggeration)

We did get a new mattress topper in the mail today - Dd picked it out and ordered it but we paid for it. It's for the bed where Dd and dsil sleep because dsil needs a firm mattress, but the surface is too hard. Fortunately all the packaging will recycle at the store drop off.

Tomorrow I am doing a bunch of "removing things from my house" drops - used book store, thrift store, 2 recycling categories, "like new" Christmas drive, and the two plastic grocery bags of trash (mostly disposable diapers) that have accumulated in my house the last three weeks.

Lila, I am tired too, although with me a lot of it us the daylight. I'm very proud of you for using up the dog food! Save money! Gain space! (I would also throw out the food that made my dog sick)

Tatoulua, I hope the eye doctor can help you!

Oh dear Tatoulia, did you go to see a doctor about the eye?

Doing all the things yesterday has made me surprisingly tired. Unfortunately it didn't make too much of a dent in my home.

It looks like I will have Bean here Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday next week, with his parents staying over Wednesday and Thursday nights. That will be fun, but it also means that I will not have all the time I thought I would have to catch up on school and farm work and get December planned out. I think I want to work fewer hours next year. I was supposed to have benefits this year because I am finally full time, but they took those away retroactively, and so they can no longer promise me anything (as in, I do not trust them anymore, and so I am just working paycheck to paycheck and they cannot say "well, if you do this, we will do this" because I won't believe them. Which is really sad.) They were pretty minimal benefits anyway. My tangible benefits take place in my classroom.

That's funny that you say that about the dog food, Lila. I contacted a shampoo company today to tell them that the shampoo smells like smoke or fire. And they are sending me a coupon. And I also contacted my laundry detergent people to tell them that I made a mistake when ordering the scented and that I need to send back at least one packet. I haven't heard back yet.

I buy laundry soap sheets. They are like rolled out powdered laundry. I get them from Clean People (made in Canada). I used to use Earth Breeze but they are made in China. This isn't anti-Asian on my part; it is a commentary on US businesses deciding to exploit people and use unknown chemicals and little oversight etc. so anyway I buy a year's worth of of soap at a time. The Clean People come in tiny title packets and I bought enough for up to 180 loads of laundry and I mistakenly bought the scented. Unfortunately, I don't like it and I also question whether it is bothering my poor painful eye. So I've asked if I can return the one package that I haven't opened (something like 90 or 94 sheets in the package). Even though the scent is barely perceptible, it is the only thing I've changed and my eye is really bad. So we shall see what they say. I do not anticipate a problem. I like the sheets because I am horrified by the plastic laundry jugs. I don't mind the premium price for the sheets. And they take up no room. I've also started using their dishwasher pods and find them to be very good.

The earth beeeze came in bigger packets but still made so much more sense than the plastic jugs. I think that SubC may have tried a different brand.

So I need to do some more work stuff then take garbage out. I hope I have more cat litter, I forgot to check my closet. If not, I have some sitting in my car. I'm going to go see BF anyway and his business is next to my garage. Actually it's how we met. I would walk by after parking my car and the rest us history. Although it took us a year to start dating.

Hi y'all,

I'm checking in...

IEP meeting tomorrow. I am completely chill because I have decided to attend via video not in person. In person is better but I do get triggered (long story) and one of the things I learned during the pandemic is it works out better for me to not be in person. I can always be a pain in the ass later via email. Unfortunately, I have not read anything yet so I will be faking it tomorrow.

In the house clearing department, I am making some progress. I am continuing with the laundry. I washed all the orphan socks and had a major matching party and actually matched quite a few. I tossed some stuff, put a few more items in the donate section,,, oh hey, you guys will appreciate this too - I went shopping in The kitchen department in my basement yesterday and found a box of wine glasses. I brought up some muffin tins for some apps I'm going to make for thanksgiving, and just generally started lining soup some Christmas stuff and more laundry... as it stands now, nearly all the clothing items in my room are clean and folded. And the stuff that's in the laundry room is down to about 4 or 5 loads now I'd say. Gee, I hope that number is smaller than the last time I analyzed it. Haha - more in a sec

We cross posted, SubC. I buy my furniture used. Much better quality and lessens the impact on the environment. Whoever invented disposable furniture makes me sick. It's terrible. The consignment and thrift stores have what you need. Although I do believe in new mattresses. .

Part 2 - my big face palm moment today was when - after painstakingly recreating my 3 page master list that I lost weeks ago - and it took about two hours I kid you not - I was nearing the bottom of some random papers on top of my printer and what do I find?! Augh!! So now I have all of them clipped to a presentation board and hopefully my son will leave them alone. I will take photos of them this time I guess,,,

I have almost gotten through all the dish towels and rags and almost have everything put back where it goes... also quickly purged a bunch of garbage from the fridge. I know it's almost going to need to be empty for thanks giving so... I guess I stalled out on cleaning cabinet fronts. I should get back to that. I also cleaned out the bathroom cabinet downstairs. I tossed a bunch of hand soap bottles I'm always intending to refill etc. so now I have gloves and masks and garbage bags on one side, and clean hand towels and wash cloths on the other side. All the garbage is off the floor right now due to the puppy...

So that's all progress and I feel good about it - the only frustration I have is a lack of focus (that's nothing new) and the pace is too slow to feel like I'm making a dent because the volume is so large. But I still feel pretty good about it because I'm getting used to throwing more away and am tightening up my standards a little about what to keep. Long way to go but everything I am doing does need to be done...

More later,

TruEarth. Also Canadian. I have a yearly subscription - they ship me a 4"x 5"x10" cardboard box with a shipping sticker and a piece of tape on it every year. It's too much for me, Dh, and dd2 - who brings her laundry home and also takes sheets back to her pay laundry. Even with barn laundry and sheets for company, so eventually I will have to cancel for a while.

Tell me about your dishwasher soap. Are they plastic pods?