September/October purging and cleaning

[iris lilies]

Well, I did not get rid of another house as I expected to last month. Our broken down greenhouse is still sitting there. We bought it used about 20 years ago so it has seen good service. If I empty it, DH will probably help me dismantle it.

The weather here the past week has been miserable hot and
i did not want to clean anything. But last night I couldnt stand the filth in our kitchen area any more, so I spent 1.5 hours wiping woodwork and nooks and crannies. We have had 3 rescue dogs through here and that has added to,the filth factor.

And now we have a mouse, at least one, maybe more. This is disturbing because it is a house mouse, not a field mouse.

[Tybee]

What is difference between house and field mouse? I thought house mice were mice that came in from the field, but then I live surrounded by fields, so. .
Since our kitty died, the mice have returned. She was mousing up until the day she died.

[iris lilies]

Field mice like to live outdoors and will come into a house only to get away from harsh winter conditions.

House mice prefer to live in a house, thats why they are more serious pests.

All of this info is from DH, farm boy, who probably knows what he is talking about but it is not guaranteed.

one year we had a little mouse who spent the winter in our compost barrel. When DH went out to dump compost scraps, little Wilbur would be there, looking up at him. Wilbur enjoyed the rain of free food coming down on his head.

Tybee, your mouser kitty did good! One of our cats was a good hunter back in the day when she went outside, but now she stays upstairs because we have a constant parade of strange dogs theough our downstairs area. The mice here are always downstairs.

[catherine]

And now we have a mouse, at least one, maybe more. This is disturbing because it is a house mouse, not a field mouse.

How can you tell the difference? I suspect we have a mouse that gets into the kitchen from the basement in through the opening in the wall for the gas line. It's an annual thing for DH to have to set traps, and I hate it!

[Teacher Terry]

Every fall we get mice in the house and we set a ton of traps. The dogs will just sleep and not pay any attention to them. It seems like once we kill some we don't get anymore. Maybe they tell their friends:))

[nswef]

Or maybe they hide better....We get about 5 or 6 caught in the basement in the winter/fall. I always think the others are just better at avoiding the traps.

[Chicken lady]

Today dh and I went to an arts festival. I wore a shirt I kind of liked but haven't worn much. Dh bought me three metal butterflies on stakes to stick in my garden, and the hem on the back of my shirt rolled up and annoyed me all afternoon - up three butterflies, down one shirt.

[ejchase]

I'm back to counting what I get rid of, was aiming this year to get rid of a total of 1,200 things, but I'm nowhere near that. In any case, I threw out a shirt yesterday that had holes in it. So my total for October is 1. I'm thinking if I start keeping a count here again, it'll motivate me to get rid of more.

I do have a box of things ready to go to Goodwill, but I don't get to count them until I've actually dropped them off!

[Zoe Girl]

I cleaned through my yarn and goodies, I actually don't have that much stuff. I found a pretty box with old phone and other cords in it that we no longer need so I was able to clean that out and put it on my dresser for the small balls of yarn and crochet hooks and other items that get lost in the yarn bag.

I also got all the shoe boxes I keep thinking I am going to use in the recycle bin, I save too many for crafts.

[iris lilies]

DH is in Europe for two weeks.

Here comes da purge! He will not notice the absence of 99% of what leaves here.

[ejchase]

Recycled 9 old sippy cups this morning. New total for month: 10.

[Tybee]

Got rid of a used up candle in a jar and a game that I got at a garage sale for my grandson and after trying it, realized no one would ever have the patiience to play it--too much assembly.

Yesterday got rid of a planner system that was not working for me; have going to a new stystem and am getting rid of vestiges of the old system.

Had to try a couple of new systems to find ones that worked, and think about it and separate functions.

Also cut down the milkweed plants for the winter and harvested amaranth. Right now most focus is in cleaning the garden, not the house. Need to dig a bed of potatoes before bedding the garden bed for the winter with straw.

[frugalone]

I recently read that a "field mouse" is not really a mouse; it's a vole. Source: my Audubon animal guidebook.



How can you tell the difference? I suspect we have a mouse that gets into the kitchen from the basement in through the opening in the wall for the gas line. It's an annual thing for DH to have to set traps, and I hate it!

[Chicken lady]

So, I seem to have reached a point where more of the "potentially useful" stuff is actually useful. And using it is tipping me in the "cleaning out" direction.

dh banished the worn out rug from his room (our goodwill accepts anything fabric to bale for recycling) and we replaced it with a rug that has been rolled up in the studio - we have some rugs out there to make nicer, defined "play areas" for the kids. The "kids" are now all in their 20's. The studio should really have a bare concrete floor for cleaning (it took me a week to wash all the clay dust out of the rug and get it dry)

I built a raised bed from scrap lumber and used decking nails, then I topped it with the 4 plastic mesh trays I had used to "replace" the missing drawers in the crappy dresser that came with the barn (to keep free range chickens out). Which made me realize I could toss out 80% of what I had stored on them. Next I want dh to build a small wall shelf out of more scrap lumber, move the air pump for the pond onto the shelf (off the top of the dresser) and then the dresser is going in the bonfire pile, reducing mouse habitat in the barn.

in the interest of full disclosure - dh just replaced his work phone and this morning he ordered a case for it. While he was at it, he ordered some welder's glasses for me so I can fire my kiln at higher temperatures and check the peepholes. So that's going to be "in". I'm looking forward to doing some high firing this winter - after I clear the cardboard out of the studio barn.

[mschrisgo2]

....the "potentially useful" stuff is actually useful. And using it is tipping me in the "cleaning out" direction....

Yes! This often happens for me, too, and I Love it! Lately it's been bits and pieces of hardware. I have a good sized plastic bin that I toss things in as I come across them. Then this past week with all the rain here, I couldn't do anything outside, but started fixing small things inside. Cabinet door latches, changed several out for good ones, and tossed all the wrong size, rusty, or broken ones.

And in anticipation of the rain, I evaluated everything sitting around outside. If it was good enough to keep, it should have been good enough to find a place in the shed to keep it dry, and not have it blown around the yard. So that prompted a shed clean out. Guess what? I literally filled the large recycling bin, the yard waste (organics: wood, leaves, etc.) AND the garbage can! I have not filled my garbage can for months. It was pure joy to go out to the shed this morning and know exactly where the lights bulbs are, be able to reach them without moving anything, and select the size I needed.

[Chicken lady]

I started on my closet. I'm not sure if I should post on the clothing thread again, so I'll post here.

i got through all the dresses and 2pc sets that are basically a dress. Kept 20 that fit and 4 too small, donating 7. Also donating 3 robes, a hat, 2 short sleeved sweaters, 2 pairs of sandals, 3 long sleeve shirts, and a skirt. I didn't actually try on my way through those categories, I just cherry picked.

also in "dresses" in my closet I have my prom dress, my wedding dress, and my renfest dress.

20% reduction in dresses.

all the goodwill stuff that has been accumulating (except three large duffle bags that I want to use to fill for the next run) has been loaded into the back of my car and will be dropped off tomorrow.

[19Sandy]

Do you not wear slacks? I don't have a lot of skirts or dresses, and in fact what I have may not fit until I lose more weight. Most stores in my county don't even sell dresses or skirts unless it is something a teenager would wear. I am still sorting though my shirts to make a disposal.

[pony mom]

I piled up some old favorite VCR movies to get rid of, and I checked to see that my library has them on DVD so I can borrow them if I wish. Also read through pocket calendars starting from about 1996 or so. I saved them for years---don't know why. At times I abbreviated what I wrote in them and have no idea what it stands for.

I love having animal-related home decor, like figurines, about the place. Right now I'm torn because there's so many here, and many more stored in my cousin's basement. Most of the ones here are from thrift stores; there's a story attached to them, like where I found them, how cheap they were. But no history, like with my older things. So I'm thinking of donating the ones I'm not crazy about (probably to a thrift store affiliated with an animal rescue place), and using my older things instead. Actually I'd like to have bare spaces everywhere, but that would get boring fast.

[Chicken lady]

Sandy, I do not wear slacks. Jeans, shorts, skirts, and dresses.

i sort of have a couple pairs of "slacks" but they are pretty much light weight jeans in colors, not dressy pants. I wear them to work. My students almost never see me in anything but "jeans" and a school t-shirt.

pony mom, I think your animals are like my dolls.

[iris lilies]

Did we have a thread about regretting things we tossed?

Today I thought of one: DH dug up a tree root system that had branches intertwined in interesting ways. It came out of the ground in one piece. It was a cool, kind of witchy thing. I kept it around for a while and then pitched it since I couldn't htink of anything to do with it.

But now that I'm involved in National Garden Club floral designs, I could use it for lots of things. Makes me sad it is no longer around.

With other things I toss and regret, I can usually go out and buy another one. but not this.

[Chicken lady]

I took the giant load to goodwill!

i needed two 11x14 picture frames. I bought one 11x14 picture frame and one 8x10 picture frame. But that is all.

then I went to Home Depot and spent my birthday money and my subbing money on a giant storage rack I have been planning on since the beginning of the elephant. Tomorrow I will put it together.

[mschrisgo2]

Congratulations! ... on the load to Goodwill, the 2 picture frames, AND the storage rack! I'm picturing you so happy when you get it put together, as you put the things on it that you have been planning space for. Woot!

[Chicken lady]

It is basically the storage rack I had before we cut a hole in the wall of the basement. Dh took the rack (which he had purchased) out to the studio/workshop barn and got rid of a bunch of makeshift shelving. I ended up with piles of bins and boxes all over the basement. i am looking forward to having everything neatly stacked no more than 2 high on shelves and reclaiming so much floor space! my brain is already jumping ten steps ahead "and then I'm going to..."

i need to to remember that this week, I'm going to put the rack together and rack the bins, and that is all. Much Tetris will need to occur for even that to happen. With luck, I will pick up a few things, decide I'm tired of moving them, and put them in the new "go" pile.

[JaneV2.0]

I'm working on my latest "to go" pile. I enjoy finding items to donate; schlepping them out to the car, not so much. But I should have a car full before long. Then to start over.