Declutter #25 - Incoming and Outgoing

Ugh. I've been overbusy again . . . so this blog is three weeks' worth of not doing much. I'm trying to at least not bring more stuff INTO my house. Here are some quick "things" that fit:

 

• I dropped off a bag of sheets with one of my sisters-in-law since I have so many! (They had come to me from a different sister-in-law.)
  
• I did buy a pair of cheap flip-flops at Costco with the intention of throwing away the Nike ones that Titus had chewed up. Louie asked me not to throw them away because he has an idea to "fix' them . . . 
• My purse is getting a bit weathered. I'm resisting buying a new one because I don't NEED it and I'm trying to be thrifty as well as decreasing possessions.
• Some of the lovely short sleeve shirts that a friend had given me I've given to her sister-in-law. I just don't need that many clothes! I have a lot.
• I went through some of my jewelry and separated out some bracelets I'm okay with giving away. I meant to give them to the girls at the Akina camp I worked at this week, but it didn't happen.
• I have set aside two pillows to give to a friend for her son. We have so many! We have them up at the lake and at home in Jordan. We have them on our beds and on guest beds. I need to get to a laundromat to wash up the blankets for her . . . 
• Part of being too busy is not having time to go shopping!
   

Declutter #24 - I missed a month . . .

Today is Wednesday, July 12. I last did a declutter blog entry on June 5. Wow. June was a very, very busy month. I initially thought I'd come up with five entries for the five weeks that have passed. But then I thought I was being silly; if I'm already struggling with time, doing more doesn't make sense!

Here's what I had decided to get rid of five weeks ago:

The walker is one I had bought for $20 off Craigslist when Joshua was little. It was handy for using in the kitchen to keep him out of stuff and upright. Titus loved eating Cheerios off the tray, though! I've used it for Benjamin, but he much prefers to crawl around and get into stuff. I haven't decided if I'm going to try to sell it or just give it away.

The little wooden trains were in the car bin. I don't know where they came from and Joshua pulled them out and agreed we should get rid of them.

I don't have pictures of the portable DVD player, but I've had it for ages and haven't used it. Joshua tried it out and it works great! He liked having the headphones on and getting to control it. Morgan and Angela don't want it, though, so I'll probably try to sell it.

I also have three items on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace right now: the old pontoon boat, the old pontoon lift, and the old pop-up camper (to be a project trailer). I had hoped to sell them when we were at the lake for a week in June, but other than some inquiries, they're just sitting.

 

That's actually a pretty decent amount for five weeks! I don't know if it really counts as "decluttering," especially as I still have all this stuff, but it's what I've got lined up to go.

Lips!

I don't know why I thought about this recently, but as a teenager I loved Bonnie Bell lip gloss! I loved the yummy "flavors" and I thought it was fantastic to have it on my lips. But when I started dating Louie in 1983, he didn't like to kiss me when I had it on. I love kissing him! So I stopped using the lip gloss.

Over our decades together, I started to use Carmex to deal with dry lips. (It's what he used, so it didn't inhibit my kissing.) I'm okay with Carmex, but in just the last few years I've tried a few other lip balms. Some were a waste of money (Eos in those wasteful round things), some were okay (Chapstick), and . . . one has become my new favorite!

I love love love the yummy flavors and the feel of Burt's Bees lip balm. Since I put my favorite flavors on my wish list, I've gotten some as gifts! (It's a bit pricey . . . and I'm trying to be thrifty.) I still like kissing my husband, but I'm glad I can enjoy a "yummy" lip balm again! (He doesn't seem to mind the flavor rubbing off on his lips.)

 

Mango, Pink Grapefruit, Coconut, Pineapple, Kiwi, . . . there are so many flavors!

Declutter #23 - lanyards, et al

 I was concerned I wouldn't have anything to blog this week, but then I was looking for something and ended up doing an unintended declutter!

I don't remember what I was initially looking for, but I had two shoebox-sized plastic totes tucked in a back corner in my bedroom. They were coated in dust and full of things I don't typically use!

Here's what it looked like when I unpacked the two totes onto my bed:

There were so many lanyards! My graduation with honors tassel, name tags from different things, a prayer shawl, etc.

I bagged up most of the lanyards into a Ziploc and put them in my Goodwill bag. I bagged up most of the religious "jewelry" and put that in the Goodwill bin. (I still love Jesus! I just don't wear or use these items.)

I put the jigsaw puzzle saying in a "projects" bin for ideas. I laundered the aqua prayer shawl and put it back into the one bin (I downsized). The other empty bin is for my sewing room. I threw away the name tags! Seriously! Why have I saved these for so many years?!

Cursillo, TEC, night watch at Lake Geneva Christian Center in Alexandria, . . . It feels really good to have thrown these away and to decrease the clutter!

I was finally left with one box of things that I am hanging onto for now.

The formatting on this entry may get strange, but I'm trying to do this in a hurry. Our grandson is staying over and will be awake soon!

In addition to all this that is pictured, I talked to Louie about donating the portable DVD player and all its attachments that I had asked for (a decade or so ago). I have used it in the past, but with how technology has changed and you can watch movies on your phone, it just sits. He was okay with it, so I'm going to test it out (can it work with just the car / cigarette plug-in thing, or do you need batteries also?) and then donate it! Woohoo! 

And I already have a blogging topic for next week! Woohoo!

Declutter #22 - my office

I'm not posting pictures this week (and I'm blogging early). 

 

To get ready for a family birthday party at our house on May 11, I cleared everything off the pool table and into a laundry basket. No one came downstairs or played pool, but having a fresh look is inspiring me. I've already started to make "priority piles" on the pool table. Since today is not highly scheduled, I plan to work on my highest priorities and clear some of the clutter!

One pile is for a baby shower I'm attending on Saturday. By wrapping gifts and writing cards (for grandparents as well as the young couple), I'll be relieving mental stress that comes from procrastinating. It will also be a mini-declutter of a kind.

I have so many items on my "to-do" list today, but by doing one thing at a time and completing it, I hope to have a less cluttered office by the time I go to my PCA job today.

Declutter #21 - books

I love books, but I have too many of them! It's getting easier to say goodbye to them - which is part of why I'm pushing myself to do these declutter blog entries. Motivation!

I've had the first book for several years. I used it on 5/21/23 as part of an illustration in church about missions. After church, I did a skim read. There's some good stuff in there, but I no longer identify with being "crazy busy." That isn't my life anymore!

I had started reading the Chabon book a long time ago. Seemed interesting and has great reviews. But only on page 48, I realized that I don't want to invest my time in reading it. Away it goes!

The third book is one I started to read several years ago. Besides being an award winner, it is compared to Shakespeare's King Lear thematically. But . . . I just didn't like it. I've thought about putting it on the top of my reading pile several times, but I decided to just donate it. Yay! All three of these will get dropped off at either a Better World Books drop or put into a Little Free Library.

The first three books are ones that have occupied space on my shelf for quite a while, but I've rarely ever accessed them. The fourth one I read and blogged about, so all of these were ready to find a new home. I brought them to The Recovery Church in St. Paul when I went for a Minnesota Quilters meeting. I want to be a blessing to others, not just get rid of my stuff! I hope someone digs deeper into God's Word or is inspired anew to build their relationship with the Lord.

Google Maps / Android Auto / Samsung phone

Ugh! I rely on Google maps much too heavily. It has become too easy to plug my phone in when I get in the car and have my route on the screen.

 

But after a recent phone software update, my Google maps showed me off track by a few blocks. It was so irritating! (It kept trying to get me to turn around to get on the road I was already on.)

 

I restarted my phone.  Maps still off.

I uninstalled and reinstalled Android Auto on my phone. Still off.

I "calibrated" my phone's GPS by going through the steps (waving it around, etc.). Still off.

At a family gathering, I asked one of my sons for advice. My husband told me to "Google it." I HAD Googled it! I had done all the steps I saw suggested!

I Googled it again and found one more suggestion I hadn't seen earlier. I went into the app settings on my phone and cleared the cache and ??? something else (Data?).

Settings / Apps / Maps (Under "M" instead of "G"oogle) / Usage / Storage / Clear Cache, Clear Data. 

 

I should have written about this immediately! It took me a while to re-find the route to do what I had to do to make the maps behave again.

It wouldn't surprise me if this happens again. The phone told me I needed to update, so I did. Then my Google Maps went to heck. It was frustrating, but now I've given myself a cheat sheet.