Declutter #18 - My Mind

 

I had an idea of what to blog about . . . but then we went on vacation to Costa Rica for a week and I completely forgot what I had gotten rid of before we left.

 

Clearing my mind was lovely, though. I got as much done as I could before we left and I fully enjoyed being with my husband and dear friends for a week in paradise!

 

I brought some sample shampoo / conditioner pouches that we used and tossed. I finished off a small purse-size lotion and tossed that container, too.

 

 

I spent lots of money, but that's not something I'm actively trying to declutter from our home!

 

It was a joy and a blessing to be able to take such a fantastic trip. I'll try to work on getting rid of stuff this week. 

(Oh! I did resist the urge to buy STUFF . . . and only came home with a few mementos. The coffee beans and chocolate bars are consumables. A few little things are gifts.)

 

I had four photos on this post, but they were all "dead links" - I think I had done a copy / paste thing that blogger didn't like. Ah well. I don't remember what images I put here, so this one from vacation will have to suffice!

 

Declutter #17 - Having fun!

I have two boxes that are filling with things that do not need to live here any more. One has toys that haven't been played with in a long, long time (and the grandchildren have lots of other toys to play with). The other is filled with reams of colored paper, beautiful candles, and some pieces of decor that don't add to my joy. The cute "welcome" sign at left would be fine, except the wind makes it clunk against the house, which sets our German Shepherd into a protective fit of barking. Basically, it just stresses him
out too much!

I had warned Joshua that our cool refrigerator box "fort" / house / submarine / rocketship was going to be recycled. He asked why (as four year olds are wont to do) and I said it took up too much space. I'm glad I got a few photos before tearing it apart. It was fun! He has a fantastic imagination.

I'm really working on using up what we already have at home instead of buying stuff. Groceries haven't been as expensive this month because I'm making do with what we already have for the most part! Instead of stocking up, my grocery list just keeps growing and I only buy a few things that we need at a time.

 

I did buy myself some underwear, though . . . and I bought some really cheap ones. Big mistake! It's worth paying for quality. I guess I'll continue to wear mine until they're only fit for the garbage and hold off on buying "good ones" for later in the year. (I joked that I should pack my rattiest underwear for our vacation so I could throw them away instead of packing them home for laundry. Tempting . . . )

Anyhow, I feel as though I'm still in a slow, steady state of getting rid of things. I'm prepping a fat envelope of my mother-in-law's hand written recipes to send to the sister-in-law who said she wanted them.

Declutter #16 - State of Mind

I grew up in a packrat family. I even wrote an article about it that was published! (Don't ask me where it is right now . . . I have too much clutter.) Recently, a friend sent me a comic that made me laugh. Louie didn't think it was so funny, but I think it's hilarious! (If your browser doesn't show the whole comic, try clicking on it. Leave a comment if you can't view it and I can change the entry.)

Any time I've offered to help Louie with sorting and organizing in the garage, he reminds me that I should deal with my own stuff. So true! It would be a lot easier for me to get rid of HIS stuff than my own!

A different comic that I had posted on the wall in my office speaks more deeply to the "save everything JUST IN CASE" mentality that I grew up with.

Again, I think this is incredibly funny. "Always . . . keep . . . everything!!" That could be my family of origin mantra!

To be fair, I prefer to donate useful items rather than chucking things into the landfill. I'm getting even more passionate about not buying things in the first place if I can do without!

So I really wanted to include my article. It was in a box of stuff to be sorted. But I put my fingers onto it within a minute of opening the box. Fun to re-read this! It was published in the January 2003 issue of Library Media Connection. Over twenty years ago!

Raisin Sauce

 This will be a small portion of my "decluttering" blog entries, but I wanted to give this its own entry.

My mother-in-law was a very good cook and a wonderful baker. One of her traditions was a raisin sauce at Easter time. I actually like raisins okay, but just by themselves. Raisins in cookies? No thank you! Raisins in a sauce to put onto lovely salty ham? Absolutely not!

After she died, my father-in-law lived with us for four and a half years. I tried making raisin sauce for him. I couldn't find my mother-in-law's recipe, so I found one online and made it. I could tell that it wasn't to his liking, so I threw the rest away and didn't try again.

Here we are, almost six years after he moved out, and my sister-in-law gave me boxes of my in-laws' stuff. The recipe box is taking me a while to go through . . . but this weekend, I came across the recipe for raisin sauce! I don't anticipate ever making it. I decided not to give it to Lou's current wife. (She has her own raisin sauce recipe and probably wouldn't appreciate having access to Betty's.)

I had to include it here, just in case. You never know about these things! Plus, I love to see her handwriting. I miss her even after ten years.

Declutter #15 - Nada. Zip. Zilch. Or . . . ?

I had decided that there was nothing to blog today. Last week was busy and I injured my ankle on Monday, altering my plans and leaving me with limited mobility. Then I went up to Grand Marais for a few days to visit my youngest and his wife. But as I thought back on the week . . . 

 

I returned a quart mason jar to a friend at church last week. They had been filled with bread and butter pickles, which I didn't used to like but now really enjoy! Yum. 

 

I also returned a pint mason jar to Nick. I wasn't sure about that, because their house isn't finished yet, but he was okay with incorporating the jar into his current living situation.

 

I told Joshua that his cardboard refrigerator box will need to be recycled soon. It's still here (in the guest room), but I think I'll have the boys overnight next Sunday, so I'll get it into recycling the following week. (I'll need to take some photos and include it in next week's blog entry.)

 

I had a friend over for a project day. In between doing some ironing for her project, I used my serger to turn some ratty old towels into cleaning rags. 

 

No photos this week. I'll have to make more of an effort this week . . . 

Declutter #14 - This and That (Again)

My favorite "declutter" of the past week was sewing gift bags! I sewed one for my daughter-in-law's March birthday present (pictured), one for my son's April birthday, and a few to start building up a stockpile. I love love love using these for presents instead of buying wrapping paper. I usually tell the recipient that the bag is part of the gift. If they are going to throw it away, please give it to me to launder and re-use. (It's mostly my sons and daughters-in-law, so they're used to me.)

 

Since I've gotten so much fabric for free, this is a win-win for me. Plus, I get to enjoy sewing time in my studio! (This picture is not so complimentary looking. It was better with the gifts in it.)

 

I finally brought the big bag of towels over to Morgan's and Angela's house. I put them under the stairs by the extra vacuum cleaner. I feel kind of bad because they have SO MUCH unpacking and organizing to do (in addition to caring for their two little boys) and extra towels are NOT a priority. At least they're out of the way. . . 

 

I refilled my "microwave-sized" bottle of pancake syrup from a huge jug I'd gotten from Costco ages and ages ago . . . and there was still an inch or so of syrup. I plan to bring that to my sister Ann's house. I know that sounds tacky! But . . . she likes to put all kinds of sweeteners in her coffee. She also likes to "use up" random stuff. I'm pretty confident she'll be happy to take it off my hands. And that gives me a little more room in my cupboard. (Louie likes "real" maple syrup, which stays in the fridge. I'm fine with the cheap stuff, but don't eat pancakes or waffles very often.)

 

Last of all, I dealt with lots of little scraps of paper. Some were from a box of random "to deal with" junk and some were from my parents' box of papers. I am trying to not get re-cluttered, but when I am super busy it's hard to keep up with the day to day stuff. Junk mail, notes I've written for myself . . . sometimes I just need to put it in perspective! (Or stay home and plow through some of my good intentions . . . )