Good morning.

I have to clean up today because bean and a bunch of friends are coming for an egg hunt this afternoon.

I forgot the trash and recycling yesterday.

Also, I realized that I posted that I had a dozen packages coming. That was figurative. Actually there are 4. One is supposed to come today. It is another "replacement plus extras"

I know what Tatoulia would say about that. I wish she would come nudge me. I am not good at nudging myself.

I need to go to the feed store and post office this morning (still have to mail Birdy's gift.)

I was hoping the feed would stretch to next weekend. But it won't. I really overspent in March! I'm not good at moderation either.

Hello. Sunny and quite cool here today. I hope the egg hunt went well and was fun. I am now home from work, and the sun is still shining. So I hope to walk dogs and then maybe do some home things if I have energy left. Dishes, paperwork! Paperwork could go on forever, but I have a meeting on Monday where I need certain records so I really should give it a try to organize a few things for that. Ugh. Wish I could be hunting for eggs rather than papers, lol.
I did take two small bags of clothing to the thrift yesterday.

The egg hunt went well and was fun.

Dd brought me a hand-me-up shirt. Also my box came - one replacement, 4 extras.

Dd did take some of the baby things she had stored here to send to her friend (dd is not having any more kids and there is plenty in the "baby library" for my other two kids). I told her, if it was originally hers she could do as she wished.

I'm not counting any of that out though.

She also helped me sort through the baby clothes and get them more organized so I know what is where. Overall I don't think I really gained any space, but everything is better organized and labelled and less stressful.

Bean used up some paper streamers I had stored in the basement decorating the mailbox so his friends would know where to turn in.

Good morning!

Yesterday I finished the ribbon bin. I got rid of about a third of what was left.

I also pulled the broken bits (there are always a few) out of the Easter eggs for recycling.

I put the new duplos into the bin the ribbon was in (so yes, my "these duplos are costing me a bin of progress" estimate was correct.) - actually, I put most of the new duplos and some of the old duplos into the bin, and the other new duplos into the old bin, which is less full, but a bin takes up the same space wether it's 100% full or 80% full.

And I moved the bins dd1 helped me sort out of the playroom.

That was it.

I feel like everything is a slog right now. And my brace is driving me nuts. I just want to be able to take it off and do things!

At lunchtime I gave up and spent the rest of the day reading. At least if I'm reading, I'm resting my hand and I'm not shopping or otherwise making the situation worse.

Today my boys come! I am happy about that.

LOL, isn't that how it goes?? A short task has a way of multiplying! But hey, you got several things done!

I have off work again today, so I plan to get the last few things done like finish vacuuming, wash my sheets, clean up the dog yard. The kitchen is also in need of a good wipe down.

After that, I can sort something to declutter. Maybe a shelf or a drawer, or reclaim some part of my bedroom that is starting to reclutter (like the desk and rocking chair).

I hope you have a good day, SubC!

post 2 today -

having a bit of an emotional day. Or moment maybe.

Someone gave me some new seeds and they go in the fridge, so I wanted to make space for them by the chia and flax seeds in the fridge door.

So I started pulling everything out of that shelf, threw a couple of expired things away, and saw that the shelf was really dirty. So I pulled it out and started to wash it.

For some reason this made me incredibly sad. I know I have not cleaned that shelf in over a year and several months. I kept thinking about the pets and people I lost last year. It felt like I was washing away any trace of them.

I don't know why that shelf would provoke those feelings but I had a hard time holding back tears.

I did get the shelf washed, and the little butter holder shelf above it as well. I have sprayed down the door itself (interior) and cleaning that. I am not doing the lower shelves right now... this is enough.

So I am taking a break while the washed shelf and butter holder drip dry a bit. Then will put them back and put the seeds and other items back in there.

I just wanted to process it. Maybe someone else will relate someday. Grief is a funny thing.

Lila, grief is really strange. You can never tell what is going to suddenly pull the rug out from under you.

More than a year after my grandfather died, I turned the corner at the end of a Home Depot aisle, and the man ahead of me who had just passed the aisle was apparently wearing my grandfather's cologne. The scent hit me and my knees buckled.

Today I left home to get away from an aggravating situation I could do nothing about so I took the long drive to the thrift store and dropped my stuff. However, I also went into the thrift store. I had to - books were buy one get one for a penny and I needed Easter basket fillers for my boys.

For the Easter baskets I got each of them a battery operated bubble wand fan - the batteries work and are replaceable - I pushed the buttons through the bag, three books for Birdy (also five books for here) and an awesome chicken hat. I think that is for Birdy, because he loves hats, but it might be for Bean or Dh because they have this chicken thing going on- I wished there had been two hats.

The bubble wands were in a bag with a bunch of other stuff. I kept the (4 actually) bubble wands and a little night light and put the rest back in the bag and handed it to the nice employee who came over to take my cart.

But, I also got three sippy cups and a toddler snack cup (I don't have any travel snack cups, and we ran low on sippy cups when both boys were here) and, two giant bags of duplo.

I couldn't resist the duplo. There were fire station parts in both bags. I don't know if there is a complete fire set, but there is at least a truck with a ladder, a fire, two guys, a fire station garage door, a window, and a roof. It was $27+ tax for both bags and you can't buy just a used fire station set for that little. I called Ds (Birdy's dad) before I bought it.

I think I need to do some soul searching and join your no spend thread Lila, I am buying too much stuff.

Plus, my little dolls came today - one is a replacement, but with the other two, the nightlight, the extra bubble wand, 5 books, and four toddler cups, that is 13 things in. That is a lot of things.

I relate to scent being a grief trigger, too. And sights, because lately I am laying eyes on a lot of things that bring up deep and difficult feelings. Sigh.

Yes, that is a lot of stuff. I think we WANT to get cute and nice things for our grandkids, so as long as there is space for it OR it is going to their house, I think those kinds of purchases are okay to some extent. The no spend is already forcing me into changes, and while hard, it is good. I will post about that stuff on the No Spend thread.

Remember that, like the Tally, you can make the no spend how you want it. It could be no spend in a certain area, or specific store. Mine is pretty overall, except for regular bills and stuff. And this year I am making the Farmers Market ok to spend at. For food, not stuff.

Good morning.

My Dd has Covid, so my boys aren't coming today. I'm sad because I had a lot of cool stuff planned. There is supposed to be an Easter egg hunt party at my house on Saturday too.

I'm going to try to make good use of the day, although my first activities have been sleeping late (6:30 - lol) because I was up at 4 yesterday, and nursing a migraine.

Yesterday I cleaned up a little in the studio. I don't know if you remember the long abandoned glaze rehydration project, but I restarted it (to get another bucket, to clean off some more shelf)

I also started another materials reclamation project, and then halfway through, I stopped myself. I said, "girl, this is taking a lot of time. It is using a lot of water, and when you are done, you will have recycled a few ounces of plastic and you will have a small collection of art material that needs to be stored, costs maybe a dollar to replace, and you won't need this year." And I stopped and threw stuff in a trash bag. It wasn't even my trash to begin with, it was stuff I intercepted at school on its way to the trash.

The glaze project is worth doing. Most of the time it uses is passive. If I just go out there every day (which I should because it will get clean, organized and used!) and spend five minutes on the glazes, it will save me at least a hundred dollars. Each jar is just "fill, soak overnight, shake, (maybe repeat soak and shake), pour, rinse, recycle." And the jars recycle at the mixed bin drop, so it's easy.

Ok, my stomach has settled and my head is just a dull ache I can ignore, so it's time to get dressed, start a load of laundry, and do my chores. I'll go from there.

Today I did laundry and dishes, finished cleaning up from the "clean out the coat closet" project and faced my recent shopping habit.

And I found the bubbles I couldn't find when Birdy was here (I bought a new small bottle and sent it home with him) and a planner that would have. Been ok instead of the one I bought and already wrote in.

I also loaded up the car and dropped styrofoam peanuts at ups, recycling at the park, materials at school (where I also prepped my room for Wednesday classes and fired the kiln), and books, plastic, and work to be fired at the downtown studio. I also glazed a couple of things, picked up my finished work, and cleaned up my shelf.

There are seven new pots. Most will go in my sale.

Tomorrow is going to focus on studio work and getting ready for school. Also keeping a fire going because it is going to drop down to 28 degrees.

I got the last two books I ordered in the mail today. I added one thing to the donate box and have banned myself from reading either book until I add at least one more thing to balance them both out.

Good morning all. Catching up on your posts. Sorry for not posting. Just been busy in a funk and not getting too much done. Happy Spring! I thought I posted about that, but I guess that got lost. The spring weather has been yo-yoing and me too! On a good weather day, I was able to get some yard cleaning done. Glad to hear about all the things you have been up to. Hoping to hear more details about the lean-to project. Sounds great! Lila, thanks f0r sharing about grief and fridge cleaning. It is helpful on at least two fronts.
Today is looking beautiful. Taking care of dogs, then off to work. more later...

SubC,

Hobbit, haha!

You got a lot of physical work done, so you deserve to rest and chill! Good going.

Continuing, I:
- brushed dogs more
- vacuumed again
- put another load of clothes/towels in the wash

I also sorted through the fridge and found things that needed to be used up and had them for breakfast and lunch.

Today I started a No Spend, which I intend to extend through the summer - details on the No Spend thread if anyone is interested and wants to join me (you can do a month or a week, however you want!) I just need to get control of my over-buying and the resurfacing habit of stopping at drive thrus.

I did not do the small task.

I got distracted by some clay. I thought "I wonder if that clay is dry?" It was.

I thought "I should put it in a bucket. It would free up that whole piece of shelf!"

I did not have an empty bucket.

But, I could make an empty bucket if I dumped the dry clay into the mixer!

The mixer was full.

But the clay in it was ready to wedge.

So two hours later I have a big bag of wedged clay ready to take back to school, a mixer full of reclaim clay soaking in water, and a bucket drying in the sun.

And new parts of my body hurt.

Good evening.

My basement feels more organized. Progress is happening

I found eight more things to add to the donate bin today. Six of them were things I have added to my life in the last year, so I guess I am still making bad choices, but otoh, at least maybe I have learned not to hang on to things when they are not right?

I made a donation appointment at the offsite craft storage, and tomorrow when I take my boys home I will drop trash and recycling and maybe stop at school and leave some things there.

Does using the wood shavings count as something leaving my house (studio)? It was a big bag. I didn't go anywhere, so there wasn't another way to actually get rid of anything, it was just a using up day.

Good morning!

I'll be posting more this week because I'm on vacation and trying to make progress.

We got snow last night! Fortunately I had brought all the gnomes in to finish drying in the house.

I dropped trash and recycling when I took the boys home and took some things to school and stuck them in the teacher supply closet - nothing that really counts as an "out" but freed up a bit of space to keep working.

I have ordered some books this month. I have a "saved for later" list on ThriftBooks and when a gifting occasion comes up or a free book is about to expire, I put together a minimum order. Three arrived yesterday, so that will be +3 items on my tally list.

So, here is my progress so far today - I've been moving around, but mostly working in the studio.

8 things put in the "go to school forever" bag
9 unfinished projects smashed (so I don't change my mind and try to save them)
11 items in the donate bin,

I have also disassembled one plastic shelf that was against the wall that is going to be opened up for finish work (moving power and adding lights) when we put the lean-to on.

I am also cleaning out a closet and washing coats (optimistically)

Back to work

hi SubC, you are making good progress! I also am taking a week of vacation in April to work on the clutter and do some cleaning. So I hope to get a LOT done.

I am chipping away at things, bit by bit, a few things on the Tally, cleaning some here and there. I am not feeling like it will EVER get done at this rate, but I am not giving up. It is a lot better than it used to be.

Hope to see more folks come back and post, too! It is getting lonely here.

Hi Lila, I hope more people come back also.

I wonder if Tatoulia decided she had reached the point where spending time here was just a gift to us and figured we'd be ok without her. I could understand that, but I wish she'd stop by anyway. I always worry about people who just disappear.

I still haven't decided about the doll club, but I told them "if I don't come back, it isn't because I didn't like you. This was fun and I enjoyed meeting everyone, but I have a lot of demands on my time and I may have to decide I can't add this right now."

Today I worked on some boxes with years written on them.

I recycled a noticeable amount and made a small stack for each kid and put four things in the donate bin - which I am now declaring full.- when I take it to the thrift store, I will have met my cubic space removal goal for February.

I have selected a new donate bin. I have to do two more to be on target for March.

Right now I'm going to pop back out to the studio because I think it's good for my brain to switch around what I'm doing.

Good afternoon.

I keep forgetting to hit post.!

Yesterday I finished sorting out two boxes of saved things. Recycled a bit more, kids piles are a bit taller, one more item in the donate bin.

I cleared off and wiped down a surface in the studio because I want to do some actual making today. I glazed two things.

It all feels really slow.

Sometimes I look at a thing and I think "I could...". Then I stop myself. If the sentence doesn't end with "use this to (fix something right now/finish a project that is underway but stalled/solve an existing problem)". I change the sentence to "someone could." and put it in the donate bin.

The weather got nice and I spent two hours working outside and another hour on a walk with Dh. Now I'm tired.

Good morning!

Happy spring! Today's forecast - cloudy, with a high of 72.

I realized I have been drifting around a lot picking at things and not really feeling like I am accomplishing anything, so I made a list of specific tasks for today. They are two big things and a lot of small ones, but the important thing is that they are s.m.a.r.t. goals, so at the end of the day I will be able to say "I DID these things" rather than "I worked on."

I am also wishing that the piles I have made that have to go to various places would be gone, but none of the places are less than 30 minutes away (except the grocery store or gas station for small trash bags) and the longer I stay home, the less I want to drive. We are starting to need a few grocery items though. Dh has been going places, but he won't stop to get them. Not even when he keeps complaining that he is out of milk.

The other part is that I keep thinking "well, the car won't be completely full, and I'm going to keep finding more things that have to go to these places.."

Soon though, i may going to need the boost of having stuff actually gone. Maybe if I fill the second bin I started? That would put me halfway through target for March. That drive is a long trip to the thrift store, and stops at the farm store for some goat supplies I need and the grocery store on the way home.

I made a new appointment at the offsite craft storage shop for donations in April. They usually only take two bags or boxes per person per day, but I talked to the lady, and she gave me a waiver to double that if I sort it out (for example - I have one bag that is entirely fake flowers - which she wants.). I may have been a bit of a jerk, because I tried to sign up for two appointments on the same day to take the larger amount, because it is a long drive, and they told me no. So I said "I understand, but that means I can only bring you things no one else will take, because I need to get this stuff out of my house." And she said "well, what do you have..."

I have a box of ribbon and a drawer of paint I need to sort down as well. I have been working on emptying out paper ream boxes, so hopefully I will have 4 of those (I have one so far, plus one that didn't have a lid, so it gets recycled) I think 4 paper ream boxes = one large bin.

I am still buying myself "rewards" which is probably a bad system, but I think it is helping more than it hurts. I bought a used Lego tree set that was less than half retail even after tax and shipping, and it arrived last night, so that balances out the one thing in the box I didn't tally. I do know exactly where I am going to put my little Lego man's world when I get it set up, so I don't feel too bad. I ordered a few extra brick pieces (very few, I promise! A window, some colored tiles, two patterned bricks, and a ladder.) to change the design up and they seem to be (perhaps literally) on a slow boat from China as my mom used to say, so whenever they get here, I will set a task and reward myself with time to play with that. (The shipping is untracked and may take "up to 28 business days")

I will be back to check in later..

hi SubC, I know that feeling of having stuff to go, but the box/bag is not full... so it stays. I have a thrift store within 15 minutes drive and a trash pickup service though so I have no excuse. Sometimes I just will take the half box and donate it just to be free of the stuff. So do what you need to, maybe put it all in the car at least so it is out of your space. If you find extra things you can take them out to the car to add them, right?

I have no one home with me today so am enjoying the peace and quiet with the windows open.

So far today I:
- juiced some oranges that were needing to be used (one glass of juice, consumed)
- gathered trash and took it out to the bin
- vacuumed part of the living room (work in progress)
- put in one load of laundry

I am gonna keep going.

I think if I saved all the dog hair I brushed off and vacuumed up in the last two weeks, it would take up more space than the actual dog. One of the mysteries of the universe.

Hi Lila!

Dog hair is like chicken feathers. Supposedly chickens only molt once a year in late summer, but my barn is always full of feathers!

So far today I:

washed my heavy wool cape and hung it to dry (think hobbit, not opera)

Unloaded, loaded, and ran the dishwasher

And went outside to level some ground and move six sections of fence (one of my big tasks), which I estimated at about two hours of work. 3.5 hours later I had been interrupted by Dh - who took the week off because I was on break (even though I tell him I don't want him to do that) and had finished only 5 fence sections. However I had also accomplished a significant amount of tree work that I wanted done and which required Dh help - because he decided that was what we were doing today. And I was sore and exhausted because I did most of the fence work before starting the tree work.

So for the last two hours I have accomplished "eat lunch and read online" - I should have gone to the thrift store! I might skip my second big task.

for now I am going to go out to the studio and do a small task.

Oh, the fence leveling involved laying down a lot of cardboard as weed barrier - so that is out of the studio barn space. Small wins.

hi SubC and messi, Tatoulia, CM, Road, everyone else we miss!

Today I finally have a day off again. Worked very long hours and am working tomorrow as well. So today is cleaning and decluttering day.

Yesterday I did take a box full of donations to the car, where 2 other boxes already were, and I took them to the thrift store. So that is done.

Today it is raining so no yard work. So far I have not done much. Just eat, read, care for dogs.

Plans for the day will be
- laundry
- kitchen
- bedroom

Not sure what else. I am thinking about moving some items from the small storage bedroom the the coat closet shelf so I can use one shelf in that bedroom as a small pantry shelf to free up some kitchen space.

I really need to do another no-spend month. I have been failing at that, ordering groceries etc every week. Anyone else want to do a no-spend month with me? Maybe from like 3/15 to 4/15?

Hope you are feeling better, messi, and hope you have had more fun with your family, SubC. Will check in later.

Good morning!

My boys headed out this morning. I'm feeling a little sad. It was great to have so much time with Birdy though. And Ds was a big help. They left with an empty plastic 3 drawer bin and an entire bin of blocks and Legos - we found ds's castle blocks, furniture, and people, and the girls and I decided Birdy should have most of the smaller colored ones.

I have nine days (plus two days with bean and Buddy) until school starts again, and I am going to try really hard to make good use of them.

So far I have been to the feed store and loaded the dishwasher.

Good afternoon!

I went to a doll club meeting in a not-so-nearby suburb.

I gave away all my waifs and accident victims. They gave me cake in honor of Barbie's birthday. CM, I thought of you - wherever you are.

I think that's a decent start on my clearing out week - that and the bin my son took this morning. The people were generally nice, but I'm tired from the hustle and bustle of getting my son off and the socializing.

I want to get a little more done today, but the sun is out so I don't want to go in the basement or the studio. I suppose I could accomplish something in the yard or barn. Or maybe bring a bin up. It isn't warm, just sunny.

Feel free to come cheer me on.

I am cheering you on SubC!! I hear you on the sunny day. I went out and cleaned the whole dog yard. And then I keep trying to go sit in the sun on the deck, but every time I go out, the sun goes behind clouds and it gets breezy. Too chilly for me!

I will try to get the vacuuming done today.

Good morning!

Today I woke up with a migraine, but after a slow start I have made some progress.

It is very warm and windy today, so it is a good drying day.

I took the bin Ds and I found that had a moth problem outside, and I washed all the toy gnomes, blocks, and accessories - fabric, plastic, metal, wood, in very hot water and soap. I soaked the fabric items completely under soapy water for two hours to drown anything before the washing. My porch is covered with drying toys. Most of them survived well, although the cloth ones need a little repair because of the moths. When they are dry I will send photos to the kids so they can choose one of three options - take, mom fix and then take, throw away/donate.

I opened the box with my honey hill bunch dolls in it. The tree canopy disintegrated. The dolls were dirty. I washed everything. Most of it washed really well. I will have to do a few small fixes there as well though. One doll did not survive. It has been disposed of and a replacement ordered from eBay. Unfortunately the best price on the doll in good condition included duplicates of two other dolls. Let's be honest, I will keep them. At least for now.

I have washed three feed bags to pack up recycling to take to the recycling drop. I have done two loads of laundry and one of dishes. I have vacuumed some spaces where I worked.

I am trying to focus not on best or optimal use/destiny of items, but on optimal use and destination of relevant items right now in my life as it is. So, I am not washing everything I can possibly wash because it is a good drying day. Historically I would do that, but then some of the items would get put where they would get dirty again before use. (Example - kiddy pool is dirty. It will be 34 on Monday, we will not use the kiddy pool this week. I am not washing it.). I am just washing things that will improve my life if they are clean as I come across them. I am using the rest of my time for other tasks.

Another example is the bag of hardwood shavings I just dumped in my chicken coop. I have been saving them forever to do raku at home, but not finding time to do raku at home. I do raku at the studio. They provide wood shavings. Also, I can purchase cedar or pine if I need to.

Right now I need space in my studio. I need to pack it up for the lean-to studio construction project (did I tell you guys about that? I am so excited!)

Also, not having a muddy chicken coop makes my life easier. I could go buy pine shavings, but it makes more sense to use what I have and stop storing it and then buy pine shavings if I need shavings later. They are not as good, but the difference isn't worth the gas, errand time, and storage space right now.

Ok, back to the basement.

Good morning.

Yesterday I got so much done. Lots of laundry, trash out, cleaned the master bathroom, brushed dogs, worked in the yard, vacuumed, made soup, took car for an oil change, and more. I was so tired at the end of the day but my house feels livable again.

Today I plan to wrap up the things from yesterday:
- finish cleaning the dog yard and take poo to the bin
- finish wiping down the master bathroom floor
- take out the master bathroom trash and a bag of trash on the dining room table
- brush the dogs one more time and finish vacuuming (edges and hard floors)
- freeze some of the soup

I also have some new things to get done:
- give dogs monthly flea/tick meds
- cut the dogs' nails
- add info to the car maintenance file

Then, I am going to start decluttering! I think I will work in the small storage bedroom while it is sunny out and bright enough to work in there with no light. And will take a box of donations out to my car.

Doing good, getting things done. How are you guys?

Lila, you are doing such a great job! Especially in that little room, the hard room, with the light not even fixed. Your report on the master bathroom and other things on your list are motivating me. Thanks.
I only got a few things done today, not anything out, really. I am suffering from a reaction to my allergy shots and had to just not move for a few hours. I am still quite uncomfortable. I did go to the laundromat and also trimmed some bushes. Walked the dogs, the day was so lovely.

Hi, SubC!

Hi Messi! Hi Lila!

Had all three boys yesterday. My house is wall to wall toys and books, there is popcorn in the couch cushions, and we had a great day! Bean and I started some seeds and played Lego while the little ones napped.

Today Birdy and i are meeting dsil and the cousins for library story time. We have to stop at the grocery store again for milk and bread.

I have a list of things I need to get done during his nap time - fortunately he is a good napper.