| Tillie | Posted: 14 June 2018 - 04:29 PM |
Welcome to the NEW and hopefully improved message board page. ๐ | |
Replies (1561)
| Tillie | Posted: 22 July 2018 - 01:31 PM |
Good Morning Everybody Hi Anonymoniker ๐ Every one posting here is so important to me, keeps me sane and moving forward. (((((HUGS))))) YEA! for a dump run in the new vehicle! Did a whole bunch of things already this morning. So, what are you all up to today? ๐ | |
| Anonymoniker | Posted: 22 July 2018 - 12:59 PM |
~Coffee clinks!~ | |
| Tillie | Posted: 21 July 2018 - 09:38 PM |
Please forgive me ๐ | |
| Tillie | Posted: 21 July 2018 - 09:36 PM |
Hi Anonymoniker ๐ It is very important to get the smell of urine out of the house. Good luck with all your plans on catching up and getting some decluttering done. (((HUGS))) | |
| CriticalMass | Posted: 21 July 2018 - 07:36 PM |
Happy Saturday with iced tea clinks! Read through the posts and picked up several good tidbits - thanks to SubC re the Woolite, Anony re the Science Diet, and all of you just for being your wonderful selves and sharing. I agree that we can usually judge for ourselves whether therapy is necessary. As long as we're motivated, which everyone of the regulars here is. Friendship and trust may even be better. I went to a lot of therapy in the past that helped some but in other ways led me down the rabbit hole and wasted time and money, and for awhile took me further from the things I really needed to dig in and deal with. Of course everyone's mileage may vary. The clutter meeting this week was more like they used to be, save for the unappealing setting. But with a nice helpful bunch of ladies who were eager to help one another, the drab setting literally faded into the background. I've got to deal with the unpleasantness of kitty's urine which I realized had gotten on more items in my bedroom near where I first discovered it. Aggravating. But I don't think there's new urine, I just should've been more thorough checking how big an area "ground zero" was. Threw out items not replaceable or superfluous (a little mourning for one art bag that I liked, but I'll live). Googled how to launder the socks and a towel with traces of lingering odor. Bagged those things and stuck them out in the garage till I can do the proper procedures next week. Roommate uses the machines on the weekend. Weather here hit the 100s this past week with lots of humidity. Pretty nasty, and I had to be out in it. A cool front and storm brought rain last night and things are slightly better. Really want to hit it hard both on decluttering and general catching up, things that weren't easy to do when I didn't have a vehicle. I know it's going to take time and patience, but I know where and what needs tackling first. Too bad we had to have the kitty pee on top of the existing problem, but glad we got him to the vet and treatment begun or it could've been a lot worse. | |
| Tillie | Posted: 21 July 2018 - 12:03 PM |
Good Morning Everybody ๐ Hi Tatoulia ๐ I know what you mean about doing laundry, just laundry all day. I tend to do that too while everything else goes to heck in a hand basket. ๐ There are many "experts" in the field of helping people who hoard or squalor who insist that this message board format does not work. Today I need to wash dishes, again. | |
| Tatoulia | Posted: 21 July 2018 - 07:57 AM |
Good morning! Coffee clinks! I've been socially busy the past few days! Breakfast with a friend, dinner with two girlfriends, lunch with a girlfriend then date with BF to the art museum, which is open til 10PM on Friday nights! I'm feeling satisfied with my focus. My weight is continuing to drop and I feel great. I have some tasks for today. This is our last day in the forecast without killer humidity so I need to look alive. This summer is going a great deal better since I don't hate myself and hate my house. Tillie, having it cleaner, clearer, and better organized has really changed it up for me. I find I'm just cleaning and wiping up as I go. And my new trash can, divided between recycling and trash, has proved to be a winner! And it bears reinforcing Tillie's sage advice: do not buy organizing things until you've cleared out. If I'd bought this a year ago it would've been a failure and I would have probably donated it by now. SubC you have been doing great work! I adore your idea to recycle the ribbons! In a similar vein, most conferences I go to know leave a basket or table for people to leave their plastic name badges. The host takes out the paper piece and reuses the plastic for the next event. I hope kitty is doing better, Anony. And CM just sending you some love! I agree that there is a difference between people trying to clear out and people bring forced to clear out. Mindset is completely different. And having sympathy for those being ordered to get it together doesn't equal sharing time together to work on clutter! I have some stuff I want to do today including shopping for clothes and checking out the fabric store. With respect to clothes, just looking for a few items to help round out the summer. Nothing dramatic. My vinyl rug should be here soon so I'll need to sweep and Murphy oil soap my floors. I'm purposefully not doing laundry today as that sometimes ends up being a hindrance. I'll feel like I've accomplished when in reality, I'm just standing still. Love you all. | |
| Tillie | Posted: 20 July 2018 - 06:24 PM |
Hi Everyone ๐ Well this morning I watered the flower/herb beds. | |
| Subclinical | Posted: 20 July 2018 - 02:28 PM |
Anony, if you were actually around me, you might be annoyed. A lot of people seem to be. Paul Wheaton developed a scale for envoronmentalists and said that people one or two levels above you are cool, but after that, they become varying levels of crazy. Most people I know have me firmly in the crazy zone. The floor has developed a few issues. Nothin I can't resolve in an hour or so, and not all my stuff. I bought a small tool at pottery class last night because my studio is still too messy and I couldn't find the one I already own. | |
| Anonymoniker | Posted: 20 July 2018 - 11:57 AM |
~Iced coffee clinks!~ | |
| Tillie | Posted: 20 July 2018 - 08:58 AM |
Good Morning Everyone ๐ Hi Anonymoniker ๐ Hi Tatoulia ๐ Been hiding from the heat but it is supposed to start slowing inching down now. | |
| Tatoulia | Posted: 19 July 2018 - 09:11 PM |
Hello everyone! Busy schedule these days. I need to go to bed now for I am exhausted. I've been waking up late again. I need to get back in the groove of getting up early. I shredded papers tonight. Goodnight everyone. See you tomorrow. | |
| Anonymoniker | Posted: 19 July 2018 - 10:06 AM |
~Coffee clinks & Good Morning to all!~ | |
| Subclinical | Posted: 19 July 2018 - 06:01 AM |
CM, I hope your kitty is better and you get to reclaim your clutter group. A good support group is really important. Anony, I hope you have seen the last of the skunk rats. I understood what you were saying. I don't like the smell of woolite. Yay for living room progress! I had a much better day at the fair yesterday. I stuck a plastic bag in my tote, and I gave myself permission to pick up clean looking water bottles or cans that had been left on the ground, walls, benches, etc. Not all of them - I could have spent all day!- but just a few to fight off the overwhelmingness. I also told the people I know "i'll Recycle that for you." When I saw them finishing off a water bottle. They all handed them over. I did buy a big pile of fried potatoes to share with Dd, and it came on a styrofoam tray with a paper liner. The paper liner got soaked with grease so the whole thing was trash, but I brought home the two plastic utensils we acquired to wash, and I remembered my refillable frozen lemonaid cup and saved $1. I have been contemplating my freezer needs and decided to invest in a set of four reusable silicon freezer bags someone suggested on a sustainability site. They are supposed to arrive tomorrow. I reuse regular plastic ziplocks, but they wear out. I thought I would see how these do. I can recycle the regular ones with my grocery bags (have to cut the zipper off) when they are no good any more. I'm not sure about the silicone.... I did well in the fair so I get a funnel cake tomorrow night. Today I will be at home and at the studio again for independent work and class. | |
| Tillie | Posted: 19 July 2018 - 12:29 AM |
Hi Anonymoniker ๐ WAY TO GO! working on your livingroom! ;D About some generic drugs... Great! that the skunks may have moved out! We can say all the brand names we want to here. ๐ YEA! for all your new fresh vegetation! Went out this evening and started watering the grass with the sprinkler. | |
| Anonymoniker | Posted: 18 July 2018 - 08:27 PM |
CORRECTION: SubC, DONT USE WOOLITE on your bathing suits!!! | |
| Anonymoniker | Posted: 18 July 2018 - 08:25 PM |
~โก~Beer clinks!~โ~ | |
| Tillie | Posted: 18 July 2018 - 04:58 PM |
YES! fresh flowers or a potted plant would be nice! ;D | |
| CriticalMass | Posted: 18 July 2018 - 12:53 PM |
Hi Tillie, I will give kitty that hug. He has been sleeping awhile on my bed at nights since coming back from the scary vet's. Sure wish we could find a more aesthetically pleasant place to meet. Can't return to the cafeteria because the agency moved clear to a different building. Somewhat further away, too, but not enough to mind if the ambience was better! Maybe I need to bring a bouquet of fresh flowers, a couple of scented candles, a bottle of wine... LOL | |
| Tillie | Posted: 18 July 2018 - 12:44 PM |
Good Morning Everyone ๐ Hi Subclinical ๐ Good luck on all your fair entries! ;D Loved reading your "book". Hi CriticalMass ๐ You are right, people who do not want to declutter and are being forced to should not be in a group of people who are truly motivated to. Today is supposed to be the hottest day this week. | |
| CriticalMass | Posted: 18 July 2018 - 10:56 AM |
Hi, been caught up in the business with boy kitty, who does indeed have a urinary tract infection. Getting the sample was a difficult business. He spent two nights at the vet's and produced nothing except once in the night and it dried up. We couldn't stand the worry so we brought him home for the weekend. At first we tried this supposedly non-absorbent cat litter, but it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Then I remembered something I'd bought for my artwork - little clear acrylic bubble thingies. I was going to use them for shine and texture in mixed media painting. They came from the wedding section of Hobby Lobby - meant to be used in flower vases the way you'd use glass marbles, only these are small, about the size of split peas. And completely non-absorbent. So off we went to Hobby Lobby and the next day we had our urine sample! Next step: Get kitty to eat Science Diet food laced with medicine. Took a couple days but now he's eating it like a champ. When we were in the thick of it all though, it was kind of disruptive, the having to separate the two cats and go outside and around to the back door to get to him then back around to the front, etc. So now things are smoothing out and I can tend to my business of whatever where I left off. Today is my clutter club meeting. I will be eager to share my good news about the van. Last few times I was rather grumpy and unenthused. The venue has also changed because the agency on aging that helps us out moved to a different building. The old meeting place was a roomy cafeteria with windows, and had a casual feel. The new place is a small interior conference room several floors up. Not my cup of tea. I'm very aware of the influence of place on my mood. I'm sure that is common among folks like us. Even when our stuff is overwhelming and making our surroundings unpleasant, somehow it all got to be how it is as a reflection of our hopes and tragedies and busy lives and what-all. And our downsizing and organizing the same way. For me, the "corporate" feel of a sterile conference room deadens my soul. We've also had people come to the meetings who were court ordered due to city/county code enforcement situations. While we can all empathize to some degree with those folks, who are defensive and upset, their presence among those of us who are more motivated tends to be disruptive. They monopolize the conversation to vent their grievances, excuses, etc. Our leader went to whoever was sending them and asked for a special group to be set up more tailored to their needs. Hopefully it will work and maybe they'll "graduate" from the remedial class and be ready to join our group and kick clutter butt because they genuinely want to. So, we'll see how it goes. | |
| Subclinical | Posted: 18 July 2018 - 05:02 AM |
Tillie, I hope the house is just a very echo-y mouse and one of the kittties will have it for a snack. I am sorry about your friend. We have flash flooding here and I spent a lot of time pounding "never drive through water" into my teenager's heads. Our driveway has a bridge in it, and sometimes people who come in the summer laugh at the giant overbuilt bridge that spans the little trickle of a creek. Then in the spring we hope it won't be taken out by a floating tree or a piece of moving rock or concrete. The creek brings us things in the spring. It brings us uprooted trees that are a couple feet in diameter. Once it brought me the whole roof of someone's shed. I've only been flooded in twice in 15 years though - it's a good bridge. You guys s have had very rough weather! Ours has been hot and humid, but just regular hot and humid. Today is supposed to be nice - only in the mid 80's and no rain. Tatoulia, I am enjoying hearing about you working on "finishing touches". It actually does help me a lot to know that I have made you think about the plastic. I went to the studio yesterday. People I like were there and I got some good work done. My favorite spot at the new table by the fan was open, so I took it over for 5 hours. The class i'm taking is very different from my usual work, and I laughed because a sort of friend (we are friends when we are both there, but that is all) is taking a class that is more my style. She says we switched places. It's fun to learn new things though. A met a new student who had invented a hack for a very expensive tool using an old, damaged bat, the base of a springform pan from the thrift store, scraps from repairing his storm door and some other home improvement work, and magnets. He had to buy the magnets new. It was pretty cool. The woman at the other side of the table drank her water, used her glass for a circle cutter, and then rinsed it off and put more water in it. These are my people. I also picked up my two new bathing suits yesterday. When I am swimming regularly I "wear out" a bathing suit every year or two. I really wish there wasn't so much chlorine in the pool! When I was a kid, we swam in the ocean, and my cousin and I always had "hand me down" bathing suits in great shape. Anyway, there is a particular brand of suit that fits me really well, but is expensive, and the store had a good online sale, so I ordered two. Maybe if I switch back and forth and soak them to get the chlorine out, they will last longer. Today I am going back to the fair. I am taking eggs to be judged, and all of the things that I entered earlier in the week were judged yesterday, so I can see how I did. They have a section for dolls and I usually do very well in that, and also ceramics. Garden products and antiques are more competitive. The antiques are really nice this year, so I expect to win nothing there. I am happy to see all the beautiful things instead. The fair has small cash prizes, and I usually win enough to pay for my ticket and a couple of midway snack splurges. (Usually funnel cake, fries, and frozen lemonade - not on the same day) If I win less, I eat less junk. Last year I discovered that I could remove the ribbons and give them back for reuse because they are not dated. That made me really happy. I take pictures of my items with the ribbons on displayed with the other entries during the week, so I don't need the ribbons. I do keep the rosettes if I win best in show though. Once in herbs and often in Ceramics. The dolls are a subset of hobbies, so I never win there - it always goes to someone whose hobby is hand work of some kind - which I approve. Sorry I wrote a book! Stay cool and dry and carry on with the impressive homemaking! | |
| Tillie | Posted: 17 July 2018 - 11:56 PM |
(((HUGS))) Little Kitty That's fantastic Tatoulia ๐ Please be very careful with the storms. I had a very dear friend since I was in kindergarten who died in a flash flood when I was a junior in high school. Scooter was in Steven's bedroom again today and I asked him if he heard any sounds from the dresser and he said "no". Got the property tax bill in the mail today. | |
| Tatoulia | Posted: 17 July 2018 - 08:59 PM |
Great work, SubC! I used to have a terrible time resisting freebies. Congratulations! If it makes any difference, you have opened my eyes even wider when it comes to plastics. And for that, I thank you. I'm glad your daughter did the dishes! What a nice treat! Tillie I'm glad that you and the flat cats are keeping cool. That is something about hearing a creature in Steven's dresser. Really scary. Yes I am so pleased with my home this summer. Still lots to go but my habits are improving immeasurably. I am actually getting there. I cleaned my coffee table tonight and polished it. I had to do some relocation of scraps of stuff. I will deal with the relocated items tomorrow. I actually made a list of projects involving stragglers and loiterers. Stuff that's hanging around and needs to move on. I'd like all of them to be gone by the time the weekend is over. Small things that will make me very happy. Finishing up the coffee table tonight is one box checked. We had giant rains tonight. Giant. My rain shoes must've had an inch of water in them. I took the train home but still had about ten blocks to walk home. My legs had all sorts of twigs and leaves and dirt on them. Pouring with flash floods. I hopped in shower as soon as I got home. Poor kitty was terrified due to the thunder. Luckily the thunder started after I got home. Goodnight dear friends. I am exhausted. | |
| Tillie | Posted: 17 July 2018 - 05:52 PM |
Hi again ๐ Did some cat laundry and it dried super quick. Iced tea and Ice water "Clinks!" ๐ | |
| Tillie | Posted: 17 July 2018 - 09:24 AM |
Good Morning ๐ Hi Subclinical ๐ Hi Tatoulia ๐ Plan to do some laundry this morning and as always I need to clean the kitchen, again. There is something in Steven's chest of drawers that makes little scratching/gnawing sounds! The cats and I will spend another hot Summer afternoon watching movies and taking naps. | |
| Subclinical | Posted: 17 July 2018 - 05:26 AM |
Tillie, not only is that hot, that us a huge temperature swing! I went to the county fair yesterday. Turned my entries in and watched the goat showmanship. I didn't bring home any "freebies". I walked through the freebie tent, but just stayed down the center and glanced to see who had displays - nothing I needed to engage with. So many plastic bottles in the trash cans. It stressed me out. It makes me feel like nothing I do will ever make a difference. Normally I go to the fair all week, but I missed Sunday because my girls were coming/here, and then I will miss Thursday because I have a class. I am thinking about going down to the pottery studio where I have class to do some out of class work today instead of to the fair. The house is pretty much on hold all week. Dd2 did dishes for me last night! | |
| Tatoulia | Posted: 16 July 2018 - 06:56 PM |
Garbage and recycling are out. Kitty's box is clean. I'm sweating miserably. Some due to health and some due to humidity. I've kept my windows closed all day. I'll need AC soon. Glad you are okay, Tillie. Your little melted marshmallows! My friend has been okay today. I need to put her sheet back on the couch. It's cotton percale so very cool to the touch. I have to make dinner. | |
| Tillie | Posted: 16 July 2018 - 06:15 PM |
Hi Tatoulia ๐ YEA!!! for laundry done! ๐ Watched some Youtube videos featuring baby goats. Have everything watered well outside so they will be ready for tomorrow's heat. | |
| Tatoulia | Posted: 16 July 2018 - 02:58 PM |
Just checking in on everyone! I've done all the laundry including cat laundry. I've also vacuumed the couches. Hot here but I'm in no position to complain. | |