decluttering 2015

Since I am doing a half decent job at the moment, I thought I would list what I have done, and from which room, so that later I can be impressed with myself.

I thought to myself earlier, when was the last time a thing, saved because "it *might* be useful" actually WAS. I think I'll be thinking a long time.

I will have to use Facebook for most of this.

30th Jan I asked the question: Situation: Wall unit full of 'stuff' (mostly books) that really hasn't been looked at/used for, about 5 years.

I want to at least get rid of the novels. Taking them to the op shop is NOT an option. I would feel guilty if they went in the rubbish bin. Putting them in the recycling is a perfectly good compromise?

That day, or the one after, I binned the books. Most were old Mills and Boon types.

3rd Feb. I started on the old rat house and binned lots of denim that was for rag rugs. lots already braided or in 2 inch strips. Someone wanted me to take it to them, (they were always after more rag rug supplies), but I didn't budge. If they had wanted them THAT badly, they would have made an effort to come and get them. 

6th Feb. Rubbish day. The bins were emptied. I was strong and tossed out the 'good thick, good for a pack liner, plastic bag before the rubbish man came. 

Also tossed out, into neighbours bins, were another bag of rag rug parts, a dried up tin of paint, and about 13 modern cloth nappies.

I started again in the old rat house, chucking started rag rugs, that never got past about a foot wide. It was tempting to 'keep going,' but I resisted. While in my room, I 'saw' the dusty old books on the bottom shelf of the book shelf that haven't been read, probably since I got the Kindle in 2011. I put the M&B types in the recycle bin, and a few others that sounded good in the op shop, but I never read. One of which was The Horse Lord. I think I needed another book to make the series, and I didn't want to start until I had it. I did start it though, and obviously never finished it. 

I also went through the books my daughter left here: Old ones like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. I know for a fact *I* will NEVER read them. 

7th Feb. I turfed a number of discs, in their cases from the drawers of the dressing table in the lounge room. The idea was to put the balls of yarn in the drawers, but...I ran out of room. Eeep!

8th Feb: the old wire basket from the deep fryer went in the recycling. 

In a week, some 100 or so books have gone in the recycling, and several kilos of 'rags'. I think the denim alone was from about 8 pairs of jeans. Not so many video tapes, maybe 20, but about 40+ dvd cases - most with 2 discs. 

On Friday I cleared off the shelf in the bathroom (it sits on a coffee can), and wiped that down to eventually paint it. Lots of *things* that had been in the little trays, night lights, shampoo samples and stuff, went in the bin. Granted I have a lot of the little shampoos in the camping stuff, but I hadn't relocated these. So, they could safely go. 

Replacing the now white shelf makes everything look cleaner, so I chucked the hanging things. Necklaces and what have you that I don't wear. I made them in my 'I'm too poor for store bought things' days, and the last time I remember actively wearing one, was when my now 9.5yo niece was in Tasmania...as a 9mo. I also put some things that have been on the bathroom window sill behind the curtains for..YEARS out. I'm thinking of painting that white, but only if I can find the big paint brush, which should be on the filing cabinet in the kitchen. 

I would like to repaint the bookshelf in my room one day. But, that might need to wait. 

Decisions will need to be made about the almost complete series of books I have by Faye Kellerman, Jonathan Kellerman, Patricia Cornwall, Sue Grafton, Kathy Reichs and Carol O'Connell..oh, and Dean Koontz, John Saul and Richard Laymon. I mean, just there is about 90 books. :o Some Dean Koontz ones are 20 years old. I have a lot of these as ebooks as well, but I haven't read any on the Kindle, or as a real book, because I had read them SOOOOOO often when I was poor. 

Since I am halfway thinking this is a 'prior to moving' thing (though without any actual moving plans), and I would be moving out bush...getting rid of the above *now* might be a bit premature - coz they are perfectly readable. If there is no internet out bush, then getting new books for the Kindle isn't an option. 

Anyway, I'll chuck the ones I know I wont read first. I may never move, but it feels good to get rid of the 'dust collectors.' 

This is a good way to see things. 9 Clutter Clearing Tips. The Rat house is right inside the front door, the first load of books and daughters books are in the room I spend a major part of the day in. Everything I have tossed out hasn't even been touched for a good 5 years. So, its well and truly 'dead' as per that page. 

Clutter Clearing is also good, with more detail. I want to get the 'front entrance' done and the old planter beside the freezer sorted. Especially the planter. It was my Nans, built by cousin Paul who was murdered. I can't use it as it was intended in this house, but maybe I can if I move. It can look a LOT tidier though. Right now its a receptacle for stuff off the freezer when I want to get into the freezer. I dont really have a place for 'papers'/menus/receipts so they end up there. The other day I got rid of receipts from 2011. I 'kept' receipts from fuel, from when I had the old car. Which was crashed in 2012. Why did I keep them? That cars fuel economy is a moot point now. Comparing that car to this car isn't even going to tell me anything, because the old car was a 6 cylinder and the new one is a 4. Gah!

There is still several bin loads to go, and unfortunately I can't really do more until the bins have been emptied. A skip is a bit too expensive, but maybe one of those 'hippo' bins could work better for now, and use the ute to take the dryer/tv/monitors to the tip. 

Well, I guess the Bale away size is better than nothing too. I think that is $15, and would hold more than 4 regular rubbish bins worth of stuff. I'll see about that one. Mrs Next Door used to have it, so I know they come here. But I would rather a solid bin. 

Such a long time!

I've been thinking of moving recently, and while I can't actually afford to move into a private rental, thinking about it has nudged me towards cleaning out some extraneous matter.

To that end last week I went through my show box. This is just the old recycle bin we had, until the council went for the larger wheeled version. I chucked out about 5 pairs of sneakers, and numerous pairs of 'sandals.' The box's' contents doesn't look like it has changed dimensions.

Next I determined that the old books in the wall unit could go. I dont like to chuck books out, so I have put them in the recycle bin. This seems an adequate compromise to me. If someone at the recycling depot wants them, they can fish them out. There is still a ton left. A girl I know took the Virginia Andrews ones.

Then I started thinking about the rag rug bits in the old rat house. I haven't touched them for years. How many rag rugs does one person need? Not many, since the other ones haven't worn out yet! So, they were slated for the bin as well. Someone on Facebook said to bring the parts around, but no. If she truly wanted them, then she can make the effort to collect. I've cleaned out one shelf and the bin is full. With the dog t-shirt I found with the rag rug parts in a bag, I can safely say it has been at least FIVE years since I did anything with them. My craft blog mentions a denim rug in May 2009. And the 'tie rug' also in May, which I found as well.

I've also gotten down the bag of fabric that I had for KNITTING a rag rug. Thats going too, even though the balls and or sections of 'color' (a green, a blue and a pink) look lovely and ''oh..I could work on these"..no...BIN!

But it looks nice...

That was the rug I started like you'd make a friendship bracelet, just with a LOT more strands. Its useless as is, and I can't do anything with it. The premise was sound though. 

Since I know what I have, mostly, and what I 'need,' I was thinking that I could hire a skip bin. Sure, I now have a mate with a ute, but to do it by the ute load? Just in the shed is two sets of bunks and a mattress from the old 70's style couch I used to have (similar to this) - 12 years ago. I kept the foam part 'just in case.' I think I have had a 'just in case' ONCE! I was talking to the neighbours the other day, and they all have shed shit to get rid of. If they chipped in for a skip hire that would be a bonus. I don't expect them to though. 

I also have the dryer, which I also haven't used in 12 years, and which is full of stuff, inside and on top. Two old cat post things, the fan (which still goes, but which I have never used.) Technically I should get rid of 'my' chair as well, but the cats like to scratch it. If I replace it, it will be for a 2nd hand one so they can use it as a scratching post. 

Knowing that I can 'afford' to upgrade my things now, or get things I have sorely needed for a LONG time (wardrobe in my room), my plan is that for every new thing that comes into the house, things of equal or greater size will be going OUT. Or at least, whatever its replacing. 

It will take forever. But, its been here 12 years, a year to declutter sounds doable. 

cleaning up cat poop

Wow, it has been a LONG time since I visited here! there has been a fair bit happening in the last 18 months, too much to detail of course, so I will get onto the purpose for being here.

One of my cats, Snot, likes to poop being the tv cabinet. It is a big cabinet, and it isn't easy to get behind it, since it is set diagonally in the corner - so lots of space to do business. At first, 'someone' (I am not sure who started the pooping-behind-the-tv thing) would only go potty behind there on a winters night, when it was cold and nasty out, so I didn't mind cleaning up the poop every day. I have indoor/outdoor cats, so they do their business outdoors as a rule, and this means there isn't a potty indoors.

Fast forward a few years, and it is now summer, with fine weather. But the pooping-behind-the-tv has escalated. I've cleaned it up almost everyday this week, with windows have been open, and the days/nights have been perfectly fine. But there has been fresh poop, in addition to the old dry stuff that soaked into the carpet. I've been staying away from home some nights, and haven't managed to get to these ones in due time, and they were sloppy - so harder to pick up. (You can leave your censorship of my housekeeping habits out of it. Dried poop is easier to clean up than wet.)

With the much warmer weather, and the sun coming in the windows, I decided that today I would pull my finger out, move the entire cabinet and clean it up properly.

Items needed.
rubber gloves. 
a STURDY fork
paper towel
spray cleaner of your choice (I used Ajax Spray and Wipe)
Vacuum cleaner
bucket
floor cleaner of your choice (I used Ajax)
some washing powder. 
at least three old cloths
plastic bag
face mask - optional


First I took the tv and other assorted things off the cabinet, then shifted that out of the way. Then the gloves went on and I picked up what dry and or loose poop I could collect by hand. Next I used the fork to scrape out the looser of the cemented-to-the-carpet poop. Use the paper towel to collect these bits.

After that, I had to use the fork to break up the cement poop. If you are going to use a mask, do so now. Dry cat poop goes everywhere) Various places said to 'use a fork' to clean up dried cat poop on carpet, but, as I found, you cant lift it that way. Stab the dry stuff with the fork in the middle and work out. It is much easier. In this manner you should be able to be a majority of the poop up. Use the sides of the fork to tease apart the carpet fibres and loosen the crap in them.

Vacuum the area when you are sure you have all the poop off the carpet. Then have another look. With the debris out of the way you will see other smaller hiding parts. Remove as many of these dags as you can. Vacuum again. You may find that a few sheets of paper towel on the carpet will also find wet patches you didn't know about. Gross animal!

Spray the carpet with spray cleaner and leave it to soak in. Normally people say 'test in an inconspicuous are first to test for color fastness', but if your cat has been pooping in that area, it isn't going to matter either way.

I suggest changing gloves about now, and then get a bucket of hot water, with the floor cleaner and washing powder in it. Soak the old cloth in the hot water and proceed to wash the carpet. Don't soak it, even though you might be tempted too. If you think it is that bad, you'd be better off cutting that area of the carpet out and I considered it. Wash the fibres as many times as you need, changing the water if necessary, until there is less 'color' coming off the carpet.

Get another cloth, dry this time, and go over the fibres to see what comes off. Repeat if you need to. When that is done, dry the area with the last cloth, you may have to stand on it to get the moisture out and leave it to air dry some.

I don't know if cleaning the area would stop my cat pooping behind there again (I expect she will say 'yay! clean potty!') since I plan to change where the tv cabinet sits to avoid making that space again, but it might yours, and will make the place smell fresher anyway.

I've tried all sorts of things to stop her from going behind there. Squirting her, spraying the area with vinegar citrus spray (home made even), pepper, Vicks, naphthalene flakes. Nothing works. The most recent spate of pooping was done on top of a fresh layer of white pepper. I know a lot of places say to put a potty in the area and slowly move it, but that doesn't work either (I tried that one winter). I want to DIScourage her from using that corner, not ENcourage her.

For the record though, Vicks DOES work to discourage spraying. I use the store branded stuff which works fine.

But now, it is time to put the cabinet back and hope for the best.

April

Desk moved over.

The corner of stuff.

Other computer installed.

All this to connect to the internet.

With Ubuntu on it.


8 degrees indoors at 11:41am


Sort of tidy.

The stuff in the loungeroom left to do. Later tonight I think.



Time flies huh?

It seems I can't Flylady AND walk twice a day at the same time. Well, its the concentration really, and the lack of desire for exhausting myself. (The people in another place will tell me i need more fuel, I'm inclined to agree.)

Anyway, with a lot of stuff thoroughly annoying the crap out of me in the computer room and lounge room, I decided that today was a good day to sort most of it out. So, I moved the other computer from the loungeroom, into the computer room. Thankfully that is on a little bench/trolley thing with wheels so that move was made easily. However, where I put it didn't suit me. (in front of the wardrobe) So I measured up the space next to the other desk and decided it would fit THERE.

To achieve that, I had to move the desk over 10 inches or so. Then I had to move the things in the corner OUT. After that, I had to move the other puter into that hole. With that space behind the couch now empty I decided that NOW was a great time to move the modem and wireless router as well! That proved more tiresome than the computer. But I got it all done, reconnected everything, even changing the power board that the laptop is plugged into, coz it has been a bit sparky, and I heard it humming when I was plugging in the modem line.

I've stashed the milk crate full of cottons under the puter table, and filled up another milk crate with the yarn that was floating around, that I am sick of the sight of. They fit under there nicely, and even though it was meant to be a temporary measure, they might just stay there for now.

The stuff that was in the corner, a box of my daughters things and a laundry basket full of baby things, is now under the main table. I couldn't face taking it to the shed.

With that done, I vacuumed the floor. I am hesitant to work out just how long its been since I did a proper job of it.

The surfaces are still a bit of a write off, but it is a heap better than it was at 9am this morning. I need a better storage system for circular needles.

After all that, I weather proofed the screen doors. Plural. Normally (usually around teh end of daylight savings) I take the um..beading? out of the front one only, put plastic up and use the rubber stuff to anchor it in. Today though, because it was so cold, I just used tape. Why I decided to do the back door as well, I am not sure, but I did the same thing to that. Why do I do it anyway? I don't like closed doors. I also don't like the cold, and while this doesn't stop ALL the cold, it does hinder cold air blowing in, while giving me the illusion that the doors are open. :)

When it finally warmed up outside I went out and found the damage last nights vicious frost did to the pumpkins. So I had to cut all those vines up and put them in the compost. One small pumpkin might be too little, but I've brought it in anyway, and rescued the green tomatoes. The compost bin is full now.

Pics.

simplified list

I've read, in various places, that people find the Flylady site hard to navigate. Somehow, I found this link for a PDF that initially lists the baby steps in a simplified manner, then goes into detail. Its not MY list, but its here for reference, should anyone else like an easier format.

Lordy..long time!

I'm not sure where the time went, but I know I was flat out the previous 8 days. That included 4 nights away from home and a trip interstate. I came home knackered. :| Could barely THINK, let alone tidy up. Then I got a cold. Just a little one, but that was enough to suck what bit of life I had out.

Anyway, today, feeling much restored from traveling and the cold, and with it being a public holiday (so no one online to chat to) I got out into the yard for some much needed work. You might remember this picture from August. Well, today I worked to get rid of that, dug out some rough sow thistle, and planted some bulbs I found. I'm not sure what they are, I'm hoping freesias.

The bulbs went into the guttering someone gave me to deter possums. I never got around to using it all for that. I'd found this gutter garden idea in Pinterest a while ago, and decided to plant the bulbs in the guttering.

To get the guttering up, I needed to prune the elderberry that was there (that would be the stick in the original picture). So I did that, found the hay string and started tying up the guttering. I moved the compost bin to put things in as well. The crap in the wire was in the way, so after I got one 'garden' up I dealt with the wire. I sorted things out, plastics in the Chrisco box, vegetation/rottables (cardboard etc) in the compost bin. Tossed the wire out of the way. Wondered how I was going to plant the bulbs with no potting mix and decided to check out the compost, that I didn't think had 'worked.' Turns out it had, so I shifted that to the guttering. I tied up the other guttering and used a different method for planting. The first one I put the compost in first and poked bulbs in, second time I put a layer of compost, bulbs, then more compost.

After all that, looking nice and neat I took the old cage off the lilac, only to find that it wasn't dead. I though I had dehydrated it too much over summer. :| But it has rallied. I poured out some of the decorative white rocks around it, then did the same to the elderberry, and finally shifted all the old catalogues that were in the wire to the bald patch near the fence. I raked up the stuff and poked that in the cmpost as well.

Dug up more sow thistle..in places I could swear I'd just cleared. They grow fast! :P

After I did that, and had lunch, I painted some bits of the hutch that the chickens live in nowdays back together, then I painted the hutch. White. And a bit of the big hutch. Thinking about painting the fence too :D

I spread out the last of the compost and fixed up the wire on the fence.

The chickens were a gift from a friend whos chooks hatched out a pile of chickens. I hope at least two are chooks, and not roosters.

Two gutters up, one full.

Compost

Bulbs.

More bulbs.

Not dead lilac.

Nice and tidy now.

Chickens!

Chickens eating spider webs in the guinea pig hutch

..and kicking out the guinea pig food.

The badness within.

Inspired by my sisters post (7 of the bad), and the one she bounced off (Bad stuff), I am inspired to put some of my badness out there for the world to see.

Like my sister, I am 'quietly anxious.' Things stress me out (omg they are going to cut my tree down!! what ever will I do now!?) Never mind that the tree is all but dead. Thinking about it being cut down stresses me. Need to go a 'different' way? = anxiety. It lodges just there in my chest and sometimes it can take a concerted effort to ignore it or talk myself down.

I am great at ignoring things. Either deliberately or not. Out of sight, out of mind works wonders for me. Should I tidy something up before I am done with it (like that pair of socks I am knitting) it will stay 'tidied.' For months, if not years. I also forget lots of things. Like posting the last pictures of the Photo A Day Challenge here. :s

Despite everything to the contrary, I like things neat and tidy. But...perhaps excessively so. Nicely made bed, with cat prints on it? Totally annoying. And these aren't even muddy prints, just indentations on the fabric. Nice clean kitchen that *I* 'mess up' making a meal in? grr. So, I try to avoid being TOO tidy to avoid the stress of things being messed up. Of course, it's easier now days with no kids or SO's in my life. Imagining a SO in my life will flip me straight into the anxious mode.

I have a great imagination. Good in some respects, bad in others. Until fairly recently I could think about 'going for a walk' in great detail and then decree (from the safety of my bed at 6am) that I had already done it. As with the above statement, I can also imagine a SO in my life and shy away from them, without ever having met them.

I very VERY often say things without thinking (I asked an older lady at the market if she knew how to turn her computer on *imagining* myself to be witty). And on the flip side, over thing what I should say in a particular situation and then spend so long dithering that I don't say anything. To make that a ménage à trois, I rarely say things when I ought to, such as 'no' to any particular request. If I do stand up for myself, then...I'll say things without thinking. :o I lack tact.

I'm a shitty hostess, and guest. If people turn up I almost NEVER offer a drink or bite to eat. Hell, I'll be lucky if the loo is flushed. When I am at someone else's table for tea, I never compliment the cook. I'll do the dishes, or hang out washing without being asked though. Which apparently has been getting on someones nerves. I think I am being 'helpful' (as a way of saying thank you.)

I'm also crap at saying thank you. For dinner, gifts, company. you name it, and there is a good chance I didn't say thank you. I refer you back to the over thinking something, and never saying what I wanted to/ought to have.

I have no faith in myself. I won't TRY, lest I fail. I don't like failure. If I don't try, I *can't* fail. Which, I guess is failure by default, hmm? This is only a brand spanking new realisation that 'erupted' when I was talking with a friend about my license. He didn't get it either.

Like Ilja, I rarely take my own advice. To quote Harry Potter, no one likes a know-it-all, including me..even if that IS me. For the most part though, I can now let people carry on with their totally wrong facts and leave them to it. I'm also happy to let them have their own opinion on things, without trying to make them see it my way (which of course, is the way they should see it in the first place).

I get terribly pissed off when I see/hear/know that people are doing the exact same things I was condemned for, and getting away with it. Mostly it is married couples, which seems to be ok. Be a single mum, and its not. I know whats done is done and there is nothing I can do about the past or 'everyone else,' but it still shits me.

Well, that will do. I need to play with the baby guinea pigs again, coz they are cute as.