View Full Version : September Purge
I continue with 10 digital items per day, some each day now old emails from my son on things like our internet and cable service. I know he will not be discussing them with me anymore.
That's a good idea--I will try that or maybe up it to 27, like Fly Lady.
Got rid of the last of my "bought during the pandemic just in case even though I don't use them normally" stash. Got rid of some cleaning products as well as disinfecting wipes that were under the kitchen sink. Also purged some stuff from the junk drawer. This morning I decided to get rid of my handheld vacuum that I bought to spot clean spilled litter. I don't use it because I ended up buying litter mats that work well at keeping tracked litter off the carpets.
Yesterday I took 4 bags of towels to the local shelter. How many blessed towels does one couple need?!
Also purged my cookbook collection. I have a 2-shelf bookshelf which was full and had a 10-stack on top. Now the shelves are both 1/2-filled, and no stack. AND the cookbooks are in quasi-categories. Until DH gets into them.
Sold one dress on Poshmark the other day (didn't see this thread until today).
iris lilies
9-3-21, 1:57pm
Maybe next week I will start on photographs on my hard drive. I now store everything on iCloud, but there are batches of images on my hard drive. Most of them I’ll get rid of but some must be transferred.
Teacher Terry
9-3-21, 3:20pm
I delete my emails daily if I don’t need to save them.
My sister stopped by on her way to Savers and fabric recycling, and she relieved me of a worn out sheet and two vases.
I continue with 10 digital items per day, some each day now old emails from my son on things like our internet and cable service. I know he will not be discussing them with me anymore.
This is such a good idea, Yppej. I may try this eventually.
Passed on two under-bed storage bags that were too high to put under my low Ikea bed to a person from my Buy Nothing Group.
Weeds since we got some good weather. More to follow.
Put this here as I've started to purge myself of my back deck - LOL. Initially it was not going well, then our wonderful neighbors gave me the power tool I needed. Down to the base and hope to remove the rest on Monday. We'll see, but I'm very excited and already liking my vision of the patio!
Put this here as I've started to purge myself of my back deck - LOL. Initially it was not going well, then our wonderful neighbors gave me the power tool I needed. Down to the base and hope to remove the rest on Monday. We'll see, but I'm very excited and already liking my vision of the patio!
That sounds like an exciting project! You will have to keep us posted.
iris lilies
9-5-21, 10:02am
I haven’t done a major purge in a few weeks although last night I did finish up all the reading materials on the table by my chair in the living room. They were plant society bulletins from last spring that I had not read, so I sat down and made myself go through them.
Anyway – I did a “pre-purge “discussion with DH about kitchen cabinets in Hermann and what they will hold. His hoarder brain works in this way: I have X amount of stuff therefore I need to find room for X amount of stuff, and he was talking about our kitchen objects in that vein.
So, I gave him a tour of our current kitchen and pointed out that only two shelves in each cabinet and perhaps three in places are being used for things we really need.
And then I pointed out where dishes now reside, some will go live in my condo.
Where flow blue 100 year old dishes reside now, Because I love them, I’m hanging onto them but I will place them around our Hermann house in various places. They are decor.
I hope he can see that just because were using up X amount of space now doesn’t mean that we must have X amount of space in Hermann. I would be happy with 1/2 X.
iris lilies
9-5-21, 10:09am
Massive refrigerator/freezer units will be residing in Hermann. I don’t know how DH does this, but he wrestled, single-handedly, the biggest damn refrigerator I have ever seen into the basement of our Hermann house. He did this a couple years ago when our friends moved and gave him this refrigerator. They owned a bed and breakfast inn, so they had need for lots of refrigerator and freezer space.
Then someone else moved and gave us his freezer.
The Hermann house also has a normal size refrigerator on the first floor, this unit from my condo.
2 units from our city house will be joining this group next year. Oy. At least I will not buy a new refrigerator for our new Kitchen in Hermann because the existing black refrigerator is the size and color I want. It’s rather old and worn at 12 years old but I will use it until it goes kerplunk.
All of these appliances are old and could conk out at any moment.
When I stopped into Hermann earlier this week I peeked into of all these units and they’re all jammed full of food stuff. DH has made good use of the giant refrigerator because he put all of our kitchen food stuff into it including canned and boxed foods.This keeps them all out of the way of plaster dust and construction mess, and I understand that, but then why did we rent a storage place?
In the end he is handling every iota of moving household stuff around in Hermann during construction and I have not had to lift one finger. I absolutely cannot complain about that.He really is a hero for doing this!
So, I've had a purge that I didn't volunteer for. Our house (which my son is renting from us) had a flooding due to Tropical Storm Ida, and--not unexpectedly--the basement got a couple of feet of water.
When I left for VT, and my son let me have the garage/basement to continue to store stuff, I had kept some things in the basement. My son called me to tell me that a couple of my boxes were waterlogged and damaged--old memorabilia like letters and newspaper clippings from the 60s, etc. So he promised he'd spread out all the stuff on the lawn on the sunny day and try to salvage stuff.
My DIL apparently got really into it and was texting me photos she apparently found especially interesting, and then today, they found a tin box that had the naturalization papers from my Scottish immigrant relatives, and other things apparently saved by my BIL. I didn't even know they were there. They were in a plastic container that my BIL saved a few things in.
I asked DIL to continue to do her work in helping us salvage some of this family history. They are sending whatever they could save in a shoebox-sized package (the original box was a big Rubbermaid container). I'll scan and post the best pics/papers to Ancestry or to my computer.
I am so glad that when I went to NJ last November I brought all my diaries (started in 1964) to VT. I don't really care THAT much about the old letters that my mother wrote to me when I was in Junior Year Abroad in London, but I would have been upset if those diaries had been ruined. My journals are my therapy, and my grounding for the gap between memory, perception, and reality.
iris lilies
9-5-21, 1:56pm
Oh Catherine that is nice about your daughter-in-law doing that. And a shoebox full of stuff is inconsequential to store.
Oh Catherine that is nice about your daughter-in-law doing that. And a shoebox full of stuff is inconsequential to store.
I was on the phone with my son and he was telling me about how they should be considered for a job as an archivist somewhere, and I joked, "Well, I hope M___ is wearing latex gloves for this Important Work. And he laughed and said, "Haha! She IS wearing latex gloves!"
I feel that it's wonderful that my life's footprint is getting smaller and smaller, yet so great. Like concentrating the flavor of tea or maple syrup
3942
A local cat shelter is having a garage sale so we are cleaning out the things that are not a good seller on Ebay or are hard to ship. Just cleaned out a huge box of ornaments that we no longer use but are all cat and mice themed. Anything that can be sold, we are selling for them with 100% going to the charity. I am only going to keep my Nativity set that can go on a shelf and special ornaments. Probably have at least 6 huge totes of things for them and another 6 full of things to sell.
Feels so good.
Teacher Terry
9-5-21, 4:33pm
Sweetana, I love that your stuff will go to help the shelter. I gave a curio cabinet full of Hummel, antique glassware to a husky rescue at The Lake to sell in their thrift store.
OMG, got up super early and decided to mine the basement for more things to donate. Found another huge tote of "saved" items to give as presents. Just decided to give them to the shelter. So another box out of the house. Plus they are getting the totes that are not clear in color.
Why should I keep these things if I dont even remember they were sitting there and I have not really looked at them in several years. I opened one book and the page said "Don't be a slave to your possesions."
flowerseverywhere
9-6-21, 6:27am
As a quilter I have a lot of fabric and I am using it for charity work. This week my group had a request for microwave bowl cozies. There is to be an empty bowl fundraiser. Potters are donating bowls, some local restaurants are donating soup and we will do the cozies. I will use yards of fabric I just cannot get to.
my group gave eight kid size quilts to guardian ad litum (foster kids) this week, all made with our scraps. We got a request yesterday for two quilts for a local school fundraiser too. A few weeks ago two went to a group that was raising money for Salvation Army. We even made bible bags for women at the local baptist alcohol and drug rehab facility. So we are all decluttering our fabric for good causes. Much better than sitting in a plastic bin in my closet.
iris lilies
9-6-21, 6:30am
As a quilter I have a lot of fabric and I am using it for charity work. This week my group had a request for microwave bowl cozies. There is to be an empty bowl fundraiser. Potters are donating bowls, some local restaurants are donating soup and we will do the cozies. I will use yards of fabric I just cannot get to.
my group gave eight kid size quilts to guardian ad litum this week, all made with our scraps. We got a request yesterday for two quilts for a local school fundraiser too. So we are all decluttering our fabric for good causes
what is a microwave cozie? Honestly, that doesn't sound very practical.
flowerseverywhere
9-6-21, 6:40am
IL, here is an example from the pampered chef site
https://www.pamperedchef.com/shop/Gifts/Under+%2425/Microwave+Bowl+Cozy+Set/100055
of course ours are fun and colorful. It is much easier to wash a spill from a cotton cozy you can throw in the washer and it makes removing a hot bowl safer on your hands.
iris lilies
9-6-21, 8:01am
IL, here is an example from the pampered chef site
https://www.pamperedchef.com/shop/Gifts/Under+%2425/Microwave+Bowl+Cozy+Set/100055
of course ours are fun and colorful. It is much easier to wash a spill from a cotton cozy you can throw in the washer and it makes removing a hot bowl safer on your hands.
ok, I guess I can see that. I just use hot pads or dish towels as microwave cozies. I do use our microwave oven a LOT.
Why should I keep these things if I dont even remember they were sitting there and I have not really looked at them in several years. I opened one book and the page said "Don't be a slave to your possesions."
This is a biggie for me! If I suddenly find something that I don't even remember I had, 9 times out of 10 it is out the door.
And the opening of the book to the saying is a great sign - if you believe in those types of things.
Congrats on continued progress!
Spent a good part of the day in THE GARAGE. *sigh*
Went through pantry and pulled all the expired can goods and boxed foods. Re-arranged everything now we can actually step up to the shelves and not lean over to them - if you get my drift. Took 1 box and three large bags to St. Vinnies + a large Christmas decoration. Filled the recycle tote with flatten boxes (they tend to accumulate). Did a lot of organizing, but just made a small dent into the project, but it noticeably looked better, so that is encouraging. Dropped off a bag of empty bottles to the recycler and a big bag of plastic wrapper to the plastics bin at the grocery store. Recycle bin = full and garbage can nearly full and we don't have service until Friday! That is one thing I miss about the old job. If I had too much garbage I could toss a bag or two in the work dumpster :|( of course I was descret!
You are more dedicated than me Greg. I work in dribs and drabs. Continuing with electronic decluttering, removing old downloads from my tablet.
Culled old books yesterday. Bound for the local thrift.
Funny, as I was culling I found my old Kindle Fire. It's so old that the trade-in is only $5. BUT it is still working and I can still download books. Now, I have been feeling bad about myself because I have not been the reader the past few years that I used to be. Not sure why, but I think it has to do with work burnout.
Now that I'm retired and looking to change up and establish my routine, I think I'm going to rev the ol' Kindle back into action. Especially with fall/winter coming on, I'll be spending more time indoors. My DH tends to bring books in from those cute Little Free Libraries, but doesn't replace them; they just stack up. Hence the book-culling. Ugh. I wish he'd just do a Kindle, but he won't.
I took 18 items to Goodwill and gave away 4 items to folks in my Buy Nothing Group. New total for month: 26.
My house bunting faded so badly that I threw it out yesterday. Sad to lose my summer decor, but on to fall. Also mowed the daylilies down, a purge of sorts, I guess. Summer is ending, fall beginning.
Teacher Terry
9-8-21, 2:06pm
I think a microwave cozie solves a problem you don’t have. I use hotpads.
opened a container and found some instruction manuals for a camera I haven't had for years. into the recycling they went.
A pair of shorts I didn't wear all summer. Even if I lose the weight to fit into them they are too short for someone my age.
iris lilies
9-8-21, 8:21pm
I think a microwave cozie solves a problem you don’t have. I use hotpads.
I would like the artisan aspect of a quilted cozy. But I am afraid I think you are right.
Flowerseverywhere: A friend gave me two of those "cozies". They reside next to my bowls. We use them for hot soup. I DO NOT put them into the microwave but use them to protect my hands, have something pretty, and remember my friend. That quilting cotton washes beautifully and they are as colorful as when she gave them to me.
iris lilies
9-9-21, 10:52am
Flowerseverywhere: A friend gave me two of those "cozies". They reside next to my bowls. We use them for hot soup. I DO NOT put them into the microwave but use them to protect my hands, have something pretty, and remember my friend. That quilting cotton washes beautifully and they are as colorful as when she gave them to me.
That is nice! To each our own. That little bit of art in the tiny quilt is nice.
I took 54 items to the expired prescription drug drop-off at my grocery store. Yes, I counted. :)
New total for month: 80.
Someone gifted me one of those bowl cozies and she told me it has an insulated oven-proof lining inside, used in hotpads, etc. So, safe for the microwave.
Hm. I use a baker's pad for everything. Once you get used to putting your hand/arm thru the hole, it works great. Not pretty or artistic, but functional and I've had 2 of them in 20? years or so...
3958
happystuff
9-11-21, 1:44pm
Hm. I use a baker's pad for everything. Once you get used to putting your hand/arm thru the hole, it works great. Not pretty or artistic, but functional and I've had 2 of them in 20? years or so...
3958
I've never heard of these! :0! Are they really good for taking hot pans out of the oven, etc? Even against the heat of hot cast iron? AND they last that long?
happystuff
9-12-21, 4:02pm
The deck is off! Although there is now a pile of wood and one big under-beam that needs to be removed. Getting an estimate for the masonry work I'm wanting done around the house including a patio. And only minimal injuries - at least as far as I can tell at this point. (Tomorrow will tell - lol)
GeorgeParker
9-13-21, 1:05pm
This is such a good idea, Yppej. I may try this eventually.If not now, when? If not you,who? Yoo Hoo! Do, or do not. There is no "eventually". ;)
GeorgeParker
9-13-21, 1:41pm
Why should I keep these things.... I opened one book and the page said "Don't be a slave to your possessions."I love it when that happens. It's called bibliomancy. You pick up a book, think about a question or problem, and open the book to a random page. If you're lucky and The Force is with you, something on that page will spark an insight or point you in the right direction. Usually this is done with a book of wise sayings or useful advice, but it can be done with any book.
Sometimes the results are amazing, and sometimes they're hilarious, especially if you do it with a fiction book you like and you are looking for some relationship/relevance between your situation and what the characters are experiencing on that random page. What would do if you were them? What would they do if they were you? Is what you're confused/concerned about better or worse than what the fictional characters are experiencing? I don't do this often, but it's always fun when I do.
When I was 17 I was on a trip with my parents and we went to a show where a very attractive 20-something-yo woman came out into the audience and flirted with various guys while she was singing a song. I was one of the guys she stopped in front of and flirted with using only body language and her facial expression. Back in our hotel room I said how much I had enjoyed her doing that, and that the biggest part of her flirting was what she did with her eyes. A few minutes latter I noticed the ubiquitous Gideon Bible on the bedside table and just for fun I opened it with my eyes closed and put my finger on a random passage. It was Proverbs 3:8 "Lust not after her beauty in thine heart, neither let her take you with her eyes." OOPS! :|(
GeorgeParker
9-13-21, 1:53pm
Funny, as I was culling I found my old Kindle Fire. It's so old that the trade-in is only $5. BUT it is still working and I can still download books.A lot of books and other items in the free internet archive https://archive.org/ or https://archive.org/search.php?query=Zen%20and%20the%20Art%20of%20Moto rcycle%20Maintenance can be downloaded in Kindle format. And since you're only borrowing them for a limited time, like a regular library, you have an incentive to go ahead and read them before they expire.
I gave away 26 items to two people in my Buy Nothing group. New total for month: 106.
happystuff
9-17-21, 9:44am
Donation pickup day arrived - 38 items gone! Time to start filling the donation corner again. :)
happystuff
9-17-21, 9:49am
The deck is off! Although there is now a pile of wood and one big under-beam that needs to be removed. Getting an estimate for the masonry work I'm wanting done around the house including a patio. And only minimal injuries - at least as far as I can tell at this point. (Tomorrow will tell - lol)
Here are pics of the deck - pre and post deconstruction. lol. Have a contractor lined up. Am starting to get excited about having this and other work around the house done!!
3974 3975
iris lilies
9-17-21, 10:24am
Here are pics of the deck - pre and post deconstruction. lol. Have a contractor lined up. Am starting to get excited about having this and other work around the house done!!
3974 3975
Progress, yay!
Progress, yay!
Happy, you and IL have the same color house!
iris lilies
9-17-21, 11:37am
3978
The deck is off! Although there is now a pile of wood and one big under-beam that needs to be removed. Getting an estimate for the masonry work I'm wanting done around the house including a patio. And only minimal injuries - at least as far as I can tell at this point. (Tomorrow will tell - lol)
Oh good, I am glad you are going with a masonry patio for your flat yard. Wish I could with my Hermann house, but hill requires deck. Blech.
I love/adore/am besotted with my brick patio in our city house, made with 100+ year old brick. All free brick, it just takes time to collect it. It requires minimal maintenance (if you are open to using weed killer) but even if not, there are other ways to control weeds coming up through cracks such as weed wacking.
DH made our patio, so labor was free. I remember that summer, me hauling bricks from the stack on the side of our yard, to feed to him as he laid it.
He even found, hauled, and laid the stone steps leading into our elevated yard.
I love the first floor of my house and if I wasn’t married, I could happily live in the first floor with a basement to store stuff. I don’t need a second and third floor.
3977
The problem with them is the hole in them, which is made for you to put your hand/arm through. These are made for commercial bakers, so I would expect they'd work with anything. They aren't pretty and they get stained, so I keep mine in a drawer. But they are made for high heat, are cheap, and last for a long time, so they get my vote. If I quilted or did sewing or such, I'd figure out a way to make decorative covers for them. I don't sew or quilt so... no such thing here.
Teacher Terry
9-17-21, 2:23pm
Happy, glad you are getting a patio that you want. IL, I love the brick patio.
I took 19 items to Goodwill today. New total for month: 125.
mschrisgo2
9-18-21, 1:48am
Cut up and hauled 17 cartons to the cardboard recycling center by the grocery store.
happystuff
9-18-21, 10:57am
The problem with them is the hole in them, which is made for you to put your hand/arm through. These are made for commercial bakers, so I would expect they'd work with anything. They aren't pretty and they get stained, so I keep mine in a drawer. But they are made for high heat, are cheap, and last for a long time, so they get my vote. If I quilted or did sewing or such, I'd figure out a way to make decorative covers for them. I don't sew or quilt so... no such thing here.
Thanks for the additional information. I'm contemplating. LOL.
Got rid of my steam cleaner this week that I hadn't used in years but always kept around "just in case". Found out over the weekend that my smaller Bissell Crosswave works well for cleaning stains out of carpets.
A couple more tomato cages I found in the basement.
iris lilies
9-23-21, 9:23am
Got rid of my steam cleaner this week that I hadn't used in years but always kept around "just in case". Found out over the weekend that my smaller Bissell Crosswave works well for cleaning stains out of carpets.
Our carpet cleaner came from the alley.DH fixed it ip and now uses it occasionally on our filthy carpeting. We will not have carpeting in our new abodes. I think I will have, eventually, a few Persian-type rugs But I do not plan to have a wet carpet cleaner.
I will get a stick carpet stick vacuum for these area rugs.
My main fear is that DH will insist on taking the carpet carpet cleaner with him to Herman where it will be stored in the bunker where everything will go when we don’t know where to put it. I will try to convince him hey, we don’t need this anymore but yeah. I doubt that will work.
I passed on an old car booster seat. New total for month: 126.
I just gathered together a huge cardboard box of fabric scraps and bigger pieces. They are going around the corner to a lady that loves to make things with them. Win/win.
rosarugosa
9-25-21, 6:35am
I gave away a pair of shoes on the local Facebook giving page.
frugal-one
9-25-21, 12:58pm
Took 2 bags of clothes to St Vinnies and 5 bags of books to a resaler who donates to the schools in the area.
Used the last of the emotionally laden gift card to Target.
Pulled up the rest of my big false sunflower patch.
Took down the rest of the garden so the tree won't crush it when it's cut down. I will get rid of the remaining tomato cages in the work dumpster.
I found more half eaten tomatoes near chipmunk holes. What I salvaged for myself I will make into fried green tomatoes.
Dropped off a box of bits and pieces at the thrift store at lunchtime today.
Took a box of books to the auction house yesterday then worked in the storage. Sorted 5 boxes out for the bookstore fellow to look at in October and culled 2. Donated the 2 boxes to the local paperback shop. So, 3 boxes of books gone and 5 sorted to go, one way or the other. Progress!
iris lilies
9-29-21, 11:43am
I formulated a plan to deal with the 8 large white table cloths I have, in preparation for a move. We no longer have big parties so I don’t need these tablecloths anymore.
Some of them are pure linen. I dyed those a dark blue.
The color came out darker than I want, and I don’t think it has stayed fast to the fabric. I’m now washing and drying them to test color fastness. We shall see. I sewed one pillowcase which seems quite luxurious, I just hope it doesn’t turn my face blue when I sleep on it.
That leaves 5 large table cloths. I’ve decided to use three of those as sofa covers and dust covers for my condo furniture.
And then two of them can go to live in Hermon where they will be protective table covers, not ornamental covers. In other words I’ll cover the table with them when I want to do craft work.
I signed up for Ridwell, a recycling service that picks up at your doorstep, for plastic, batteries, light bulbs, and occasional miscellany. We'll see how it goes.
Teacher Terry
9-29-21, 1:40pm
I had a few doggie items like a crate and airline travel carrier and a small thrift store was happy to get it. I kept one travel carrier. At one time I had 3 crates because of numbers of dogs we had and one lived in the car trunk for trips.
iris lilies
9-29-21, 2:21pm
Well, my effort at dying linen tablecloth went bust. I cannot get the color to stop washing out every time I put them in the washing machine. It is sad because the one pillowcase I made from tablecloth was really lovely.
Decluttered a box of books that I held for sentimental reasons. Going to the library sale. Down to one shelf of various books. Found a first edition of a Tom Baker (Dr. Who fame) autographed in 1999 when we were in London. Forgot all about it.
Found quilt panels for a friend and group, patterns and kits to sell on ebay, and an vintage doll bed to fix and give away.
Every time I start to investigate a closet or drawer, I find more things to eliminate.
rosarugosa
9-29-21, 5:55pm
I gave away a pair of shoes on the local Facebook giving page.
I acquired a pair of shoes from the local Facebook giving page, thus cancelling out the giving of shoes.
Jame, thanks for the info! I wish they were here, but they aren't yet. I did let a few neighbors know about them, so maybe we can change that...
I had a few doggie items like a crate and airline travel carrier and a small thrift store was happy to get it. I kept one travel carrier. At one time I had 3 crates because of numbers of dogs we had and one lived in the car trunk for trips.
Apparently Ridwell takes pet supplies (also kitchenware, clothes, electronics) occasionally. There is a monthly charge, but it's worth it if it saves me packing, hauling, and off-loading goods at my local thrift.
The back of an earring. Not a big thing I know but it would be hard to get on, and would fall off and always annoyed me.
Teacher Terry
9-30-21, 8:15pm
I actually could sell the crate for 20 online. I sold the other 3. I wouldn’t pay to give stuff away.
Jane v2.0
9-30-21, 11:04pm
I actually could sell the crate for 20 online. I sold the other 3. I wouldn’t pay to give stuff away.
Whatever gets it out of here with the least fuss is fine with me.
Teacher Terry
9-30-21, 11:22pm
I understand Jane that physically dealing with junk is difficult. Fortunately that isn’t a issue for me yet.
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