Warts & All *OCD Warning*

 So it's now December 16th, 2021.  9 days until the fat man arrives with his sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.  It would also be my oldest brother's 70th Birthday were he still alive.  We lost him in June of 2009(well really in January of 2008 when he went into a coma that he never came out of).  He had just turned 58 so I am feeling a bit sad today.  He was one of the loveliest souls that ever walked the earth in my humble opinion.  A big Happy Birthday in Heaven to you my big brother!

We got home from our vacation on Sunday evening.  The only thing I have accomplished since Sunday was unpacking my suitcase, doing tons of laundry(which Hubs helped with...oh hell, he did most of it, who am I kidding?), going to Rite-Aid(both for Rxs and for deals), paying a couple of bills(oh the pain!), mailing ONE package and going to the PO to ask about getting our held mail.  No cooking, no cleaning and a lot of lying on my BFF the heating pad in bed.

We put up the Xmas tree and I mailed a big honking box of birthday and Christmas presents to my daughter and her hubby in Louisiana before we left but as far as Christmas decorating, cards, cooking, present wrapping that is it.  I told myself I'd have PLENTY of time to get everything done when we got back.

HA!

So here I am baring my soul  and the state of some of my house to y'all on the 9th day before Christmas.

If you have OCD please back out of this page now!!  You have been warned........ ;-)

This first photo of the living room isn't too bad.....there's our little tree and I even put a xmas cloth under it.  Ignore the shit and tubs of junk on the chair next to it and next to the chair.

Here's what to the left of the tree in the living room-my tp stash(all of it pre-Covid)and piles of mailing boxes.  Ya see, the grand plan in my head(which never happened)was that I'd jump back into eBay selling in the Fall(September?)so I brought all the mailing supplies from the garage here to be more convenient to pack and ship what I sold.  Of course as many grand plans this one never materialized, what with going to my brother's house and then Sissie's house in September, the work on the powder room and the kitchen by our handyman in the Fall, a bridal shower in Jersey and just regular "life" stuff then our international travel the beginning of December.......well this is the result.

Another shot of the sofa and more boxes.  I am pretty pleased with this one as the sofa was covered with gifts before that box got off to Louisiana and I haven't put anything else there.lol

Here's what the other side of the living room looks like.  Mostly it's tubs and piles of crap I didn't get around to listing let alone selling on eBay.  I know Sissie is gasping in horror at this..........

And if that wasn't enough to send you over the edge, here is a shot of the dining room table(which isn't a 'real' dining room table at all but a folding table).  The tablecloth is rolled up on one end as I used it to wrap the presents sent to LA.  There are bags of boxes, bows, a bag of gift wrap as well as grocery type bags of stuff I was going to sell on eBay and locally.  Add in a couple of pre-filled Giveaway boxes for the next few months and that's what I am dealing with at Chez Sluggy at the moment.

Company is coming in NINE DAYS so I have eight days to shape up the downstairs and spew Christmas around in the house.  

Can I get it done?

Come back tomorrow and see what I got done(or not).

Until then I'm putting on the Holiday tunes and getting my big fat white ass in gear!

 

Are y'all  ready for Christmas?

Sluggy

The Resolution We Can't Keep In This Country....Non-Consumption REDUX

My January 2013 Rant........dragging it out of the closet for another airing in 2014.
$12 A Day's post HERE reminded me to share this again.

Still timely advise and something to get you thinking.
Is this the year you break the cycle?

Enjoy.
***********************

When we start a new calendar year, we tend to want to start fresh in all areas of our lives.
One of the prominent thoughts at the new year is to get organized or get MORE organized.
Being organized is ALWAYS a worthwhile goal, isn't it?

This is when we see stores haul out big displays and sales on Storage Containers and Organizational Systems of all kinds: from filing systems for the paper in our lives, to the clothes in our closets, to the foodstuffs in our cabinets, to ?.  Every area of our homes is ripe for storage improvement.
And the retailers stand at the ready with shiny new stuff for us to buy to make our lives more contained and organized.

It's true that in order to live a life that's streamlined and functioning well, we need to stay on top of everything in our lives, especially our "stuff".  But do we need to pull out the credit card or bank card or money envelope every January to buy something to achieve a functioning home?
The retailers will tell you YES you DO!
I say not necessarily.

Personally I feel that we don't have an organizing problem in this country, we have a "stuff" problem.

Now think about this......
How many people start out the new year buying containers, spending more money, and either abandon the plan to organize or find that just buying pretty containers and dumping your things in them is not a real organizational plan.

How many do this and by the time next January rolls around, the plan is forgotten and they are again, seduced by all those pretty containers enough to part with more of their money and start the cycle of buying containers all over again?

Do you realize that a fair percentage of people who are clinically referred to as hoarders follow this pattern of wanting to organize their things, purchasing containers/systems, and never do the emotional/physical work to change their habits and organize?  The containers just add to the clutter of their stash and every time they return to this phase of the cycle, more containers are added to the chaos.

Most new year attempts at getting our "stuff" organized are much like those new year resolutions we all make and promptly break or forget by February.  They seem like a good idea at the time, but the follow-through is just not there.

And if after all this organizing and storing away we still can't fit all  the "stuff" into our abodes, there are always garages and storage sheds we can buy, build and utilize.

And if that isn't enough extra space, there is a whole industry that is growing at an alarmingly fast clip that would love to rent you space for all that stuff you have that you don't need access to as often.  Yes, I am talking about the Storage Facility business.....a Billion Dollar industry that has grown up around our inability to throw things away.

Our homes in the US now are on average double the size of the homes our grand and great grandparents lived their lives in.....and usually with fewer PEOPLE living in these homes to boot.

We have double the space for the stuff in our lives than they did, yet we still can't organize it all in such a way to fit into the space we have allocated for it.

We have more clothing & shoes, we have more furniture, we have more kitchen gadgets, we have more dishware, we have more food, we have more cars and related equipment.  And let's not forget all the electronic toys they never had, and all the hobby stuffs and sports stuffs.

And then there are the collections of every type, shape and size.  Most Americans collect something and a large percentage of those who collect have MORE THAN ONE COLLECTION of stuff.  And if you are stuck in a perpetual cycle of buying containers every year to corral your stuff, those containers ARE a collection themselves!

If you can no longer use a room in your house or apartment for it's intended purpose because your "stuff" has taken over that room, you may have a problem.

Sure, if your collecting brings you joy and you have the extra space for it, that is great!

But if your things are taking over the space in your home AND taking the place of people in your life and costing you money that you can't afford to be spending on it, perhaps it's time to take a good hard look at your life and the choices you are making.

If you bought less "stuff", would you have more room in your home?
If you bought less "stuff", would you have more time because you would have to organize and clean less?
If you bought less "stuff", would you have more money in your pocket to spend on needs and not be stressing out at the end of each month that your income would last?
If you bought less "stuff", could you spend that money on the people in your life instead?(And I don't mean buying THEM stuff instead.)

Make 2014 the year you break the cycle of spending on things that are NOT needs, and on this perpetual cycle of cluttering and decluttering.
Make every purchase you make an INTENTIONAL, well thought-out one that fills a need!

What do you think readers?

Sluggy

The Resolution We Can't Keep in This Country

When we start a new calendar year, we tend to want to start fresh in all areas of our lives.
One of the prominent thoughts at the new year is to get organized or get MORE organized.
Being organized is ALWAYS a worthwhile goal, isn't it?

This is when we see stores haul out big displays and sales on Storage Containers and Organizational Systems of all kinds: from filing systems for the paper in our lives, to the clothes in our closets, to the foodstuffs in our cabinets, to ?.  Every area of our homes is ripe for storage improvement.
And the retailers stand at the ready with shiny new stuff for us to buy to make our lives more contained and organized.

It's true that in order to live a life that's streamlined and functioning well, we need to stay on top of everything in our lives, especially our "stuff".  But do we need to pull out the credit card or bank card or money envelope every January to buy something to achieve a functioning home?
The retailers will tell you YES you DO!
I say not necessarily.

Personally I feel that we don't have an organizing problem in this country, we have a "stuff" problem.

Now think about this......
How many people start out the new year buying containers, spending more money, and either abandon the plan to organize or find that just buying pretty containers and dumping your things in them is not a real organizational plan.

How many do this and by the time next January rolls around, the plan is forgotten and they are again, seduced by all those pretty containers enough to part with more of their money and start the cycle of buying containers all over again?

Do you realize that a fair percentage of people who are clinically referred to as hoarders follow this pattern of wanting to organize their things, purchasing containers/systems, and never do the emotional/physical work to change their habits and organize?  The containers just add to the clutter of their stash and every time they return to this phase of the cycle, more containers are added to the chaos.

Most new year attempts at getting our "stuff" organized are much like those new year resolutions we all make and promptly break or forget by February.  They seem like a good idea at the time, but the follow-through is just not there.

And if after all this organizing and storing away we still can't fit all  the "stuff" into our abodes, there are always garages and storage sheds we can buy, build and utilize.

And if that isn't enough extra space, there is a whole industry that is growing at an alarming fast clip that would love to rent you space for all that stuff you have that you don't need access to as often.  Yes, I am talking about the Storage Facility business.....a Billion Dollar industry that has grown up around our inability to throw things away.

Our homes in the US now are on average double the size of the homes our grand and great grandparents lived their lives in.
We have double the space for the stuff in our lives that they did, yet we still can't organized it all in such a way to fit into the space we have allotted for it.

We have more clothing & shoes, we have more furniture, we have more kitchen gadgets, we have more dishware, we have more food, we have more cars and related equipment.  And let's not forget all the electronic toys they never had, and all the hobby stuffs and sports stuffs.

And then there are the collections of every type, shape and size.  Most Americans collect something and a large percentage of those who collect have MORE THAN ONE COLLECTION of stuff.  And if you are stuck in a perpetual cycle of buying containers every year to corral your stuff, those containers ARE a collection!

If you can no longer use a room in your house or apartment for it's intended purpose because your "stuff" has taken over that room, you may have a problem.

Sure, if your collecting brings you joy and you have the extra space for it, that is great!

But if your things are taking over the space in your home AND taking the place of people in your life, perhaps it's time to take a good hard look at your life and the choices you are making.

If you bought less "stuff", would you have more room in your home?
If you bought less "stuff", would you have more time because you would have to organize and clean less?
If you bought less "stuff", would have have more money in your pocket to spend on needs and not be stressing out at the end of each month that your income would last?
If you bought less "stuff", could you spend that money on the people in your life instead?(And I don't mean buying THEM stuff instead.)

Make 2013 the year you break the cycle of spending on things that are NOT needs, cluttering and decluttering.
Make every purchase you make an INTENTIONAL, well thought-out one that fills a need!

What do you think readers?

Sluggy

June is Busting Out All Over....with Decluttering P*rn!

More stuff leaving my house this week.....

2 x Transformers Beast Wars toys
9 x Micro machines Star Wars Battle Packs and Vehicles
1 x Racing Champions Black Sabbath Car
1 x Set of Star Wars Curtains

1 x Stick Horse
3 x Blankets/Flat Sheets

1 x Scooby Doo Mystery Machine
1 x Oreo Cookie Jar

1 x Mike Mulligan's Steam Shovel
1 x Flubber Doll
2 x Star Wars Metal Keychain Sets
8 x Miniature Mme. Alexander Dolls
1 x Racing Champions Ozzy Osbourne car
1 x Teletubbies Dominoes Set
1 x Star Wars Simon Sez

And  courtesy of #2 Son's closet we have this......

2 pair men's shorts
5 men's t-shirts
2 men's l/s shirts
1 scarf
1 pair men's pajamas
6 pair men's jeans
1 pair men's dress slacks

So what stuff have you pared down in your life this month?

Sluggy

May Decluttering P*rn....Part 3

Here is my latest decluttering/donation efforts this month.....

A set of plastic Cowboys and Indians that belonged to #1 son when he was 4 or 5.  While I might be tempted to hang onto them forever, #1 son doesn't have nearly as many sentimental bones in his body.

The 3 boxes(is that one of my plastic rubbermaid bins I see!?!)are filled with clothing from #1 son as well.  I guess most of this decluttering edition belongs to #1 son.  I asked him to go through his old stuff in the spare room and he done good. 8-)

Assorted cookie cutters and teenie beanie babies.  Also a tiny dog bandana for some poor nekkid tiny dog out there.

Some more piles of Daughter's outgrown clothing and 1 shirt from #2 son.
8 Christmas ornaments....5 Hallmark ones and 3 other ones.....all new in the boxes and unused.

17 yards of cotton fabric with assorted fishing and hiking themes.  Would be great to make a quilt for someone who is outdoorsy....that person does NOT live here.
My brain was not switched on the day I bought all this.  ;-)

More clutter to come later this weekend when I get back online.
Let's see if I can come up with FOUR full donations before May is over!

Sluggy

Decluttering and Donating

If you are into decluttering be sure and check out my bloggy friend Mark's blog HERE.  Most Fridays he posts his weekly decluttering booty....er, or should I say bounty?  Anyway, HERE is a recent example of what he's sent packing.  Be sure and go check out his efforts and cheer him on!
Gotta love a man who fights the urge to hoard his kid's outgrown clothing.....

Well I DID get a donation for Sallie's together for February!
Here it is.....

 One big trash bag full of assorted used clothes......

And another bundle of mostly clothes and some odds and ends.
Among the odds and ends is an MP3 player my Daughter had to have one Xmas, that's been sitting in my desk for a couple of years now.  Everyone has Windows 7 here now so we can't upload anything to it.  I hate technology......well, the fact that things go obsolete so quickly!
Ugh....
The rest of it mainly is a load of my sweaters.  5 of them I never even took the tags off of, let alone wear them.  They were my size, the right colors and styles that don't make me look like a troll(a rare thing!lol)AND they were a "deal".  So I bought them.
Let's not get into the fact that I don't WEAR Sweaters....ever!
Nope.
I live in PA on the top of a mountain.
Even so, I wear a winter coat maybe 3 days out of the year....if that many.(We won't get into the fact that I have a winter coat hanging in the downstairs Coat Closet that I have never worn.  It's been around since Clinton was in office, or since my Daughter was an infant....)

I go outside barefoot....in the winter......in snow even.
I am a walking 24/7 Hot Flash....not just since menopause but ALWAYS.
Why the hell am I buying sweaters?!?!LOLOL

So after keeping them safe and snug in my cedar chest for the last oh.....7 years or so!....I have let them go, hopefully to a new owner who will actually WEAR them.

We got our donation together in February and Hubs actually dropped it off on Friday, March 4th.  I am still going to call it a Feb. donation.
Monday morning, we begin gathering the March donation.

So what clutter have you sent packing outta your life lately?

Sluggy

Are You a Curator?

When I was in high school....10th grade I believe....the guidance counselor had us all take a career test. By answering about 100 questions this test would be able to tell you what vocations you would be well suited for in your working life.
Among what seemed like a very strange mix of careers, the test indicated that I would make a very fine Curator.
Though I believe the test meant that to be a Museum Curator, I do believe that old test did nail down my life's work!
Though the National Gallery of Art doesn't sign my paychecks, I look around me here and yes, I have become a Curator.

A curator of stuff.
My stuff....
my hubs stuff....
my kids' stuff.....

 
(Not a picture of our actual stuff.)

Not only do we all collect stuff(or did), but I started collecting MORE stuff to sell.
I got bit by the beanie baby craze over 10 yrs. ago.....and I started collecting extras to sell or trade.  The beanie buying branched out into 'collectibles' buying too.

Then I started buying old out of production toys since with 3 kids under the age of 5, I found myself in toy stores quite a bit, so 'in the day' I was one of those rare grownups who knew waaaay too much about Power Rangers, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Pokemon.

The buying to resell worked out pretty well....between my 'geiger counter hands'(I had an uncanny nack  of being able to feel that a particular toy would be worth selling, just by the vibrations it gave off when I held it)and having kids who could tip me off to what was or would be a 'hot' toy(since nobody knows these things like a kid does), I could buy low and sell high.
Yes, I was the Charles Schwab of the toy market.....a day trader of toys when I wasn't toting kids to practices, breaking up fights or sorting laundry.

And where has this brought me to today?

Well, I still have boxes of toys to dispose of.
Seems I was much better at buying the toys than selling them off in a timely manner, what with all my other jobs as a mom that took precedence.
And now with shipping costs having more than doubled since I began this hobby, it's not worth my time to try to sell some of this stuff anymore.

So not only do I have stuff like regular people that they need to get rid of having grown out of the need for it, I have all this toy stuff to let go of.

Plus I have hubs stuff......and the kids' stuff like I mentioned before.

But.....
I am making some headway in reducing the piles of stuff here.
But it's slow going.....
And sometimes I look around and get so impatient with myself and the stuff.

Because I don't want to be a Curator!

I don't want a house filled with Stuff!!

I don't want to spend my days dusting tchatchkes(that's nicknacks to some of you).

I don't want to spend my days changing decor according to the seasons from the stash of boxes piled in a closet marked summer, winter, spring or fall.

I don't want to spend my days worrying about the color scheme of a room or having to search for months or years to find just the right 'thing' that is missing to make this room feel like home.

I want to feel at peace and serene and not have all this stuff surrounding me.
I want to get rid of all the visual clutter and have just a few special things or furniture pieces accenting each room.
I want to be able to open my front door at any time to anyone and not be embarrassed at the mess because of all the stuff.
I want to be able to enjoy family and friends in my home and be able to have people in because it's empty of stuff and there is plenty of room for them.

So tell me.....are you are Curator?
Is your home filled with objects and you are the caretaker of stuff?

Do you enjoy being a Curator of things?
Or do you want to change like me?

It's never too late(or too early)to start!
Start small with something easy.
How about letting go of some old collection you have shoved in an attic, garage or closet?
If it sits untouched or unappreciated, why hang onto it?
Anything you bought and hang onto because it's going to appreciate in value and be worth a bazillion dollars?.....it's NOT!.....well unless you have gold, money or real estate shoved in a closet.
 
Let it go!

Here is a cute video I found on YouTube that humorously talks about the difference between a Collection and Clutter.
Have a look and then get busy making the changes in your life that you want to see!

If this inspires you, leave a comment and tell us all about it....



FYI--I do think Marc should NOT ditch that Dark Shadows record album....

Sluggy

A Busy Friday on my 2 Good Feet

Not much time for playing on the computer today. I have been to the dr. this morning and my foot is aok again....yah!
Since the foot is on the mend, I have a list of things to get accomplished today.

1. Packing up items to take to the Salvation Army & sorting the recycling to drop off tomorrow. It will feel good to get all this stuff done and gone! The clutter it caused was driving me bonkers.

2. I also need to put back all the stuff back under the kitchen sink that was pulled out & boxed almost 2 WEEKS AGO from when my favorite Countertop Installer was here putting in my new Countertops.
Have I mentioned lately how in love I am with my new Countertops?? ;-))

3. After that chore, I need to go through the toiletries box from the upstairs linen closet. I have a box on the floor of that closet up there with my spare toiletries. Since beginning the hounding, my box runneth over....literally!lol

I need to find a storage method for my ever-expanding stockpile of HBA. I think I'll keep the small box upstairs in the linen closet where I'll keep an immediate supply of restocking supplies(ie, 1 tube of toothpaste, 1 shampoo, 2 bars of soap, a package of razors, t.p., etc.)
I need to find a much larger area for the bulk of the stockpile....the garage perhaps?

4. After I get all of the HBA Stockpile cleared off my dining room table, I can get more items listed on eBay. I actually got a phone call from eBay yesterday!lol They really miss me....er, that is to say, they really miss the money I pay out in fees over there.
I really need to get back to selling stuff. I just let the eBay thing slide this month while I concentrated on bringing my Food/HBA Budget down, and now my March Savings Challenge totals will suffer for it. Well, yes and no....the food savings will help keep more of our income but the lack of selling will not grow additional income. In a perfect world, I need the discipline to achieve both.

Ok, I am off to get some things done now that I am cleared to use the foot again. If I have time leftover I may hit the store to return a couple of things.
I figured I'm going to be wiped out by day's end, so all bets are off for the Friday Menu Plan today. I'll see what creative meal I can pull out of the pantry tonight or just say the Heck-With-It and order a pizza. That's so not like me but change is good, right?lol

Here's a funny photo I snapped the other day. #1 son has become addicted to those Mickey D's Shamrock Shakes they sell every March. He drank one and left the cup in the wastebasket by my computer desk. That's a big no-no with 3 dogs who love to get into food garbage. I came into the room and found the chihuahua had jammed her head so far into the cup trying to lick that minty green goodness left in the bottom of said cup, that she had gotten the cup stuck on her face & couldn't extract herself!LOL

(I did take it off her face after taking the photo.)

There is always a new hilarious moment around every bend at our house....

Sluggy