I am going with, all this last-minute packing is draining my brain. I called the gas company to tell them we were moving and to shut off the gas. The agent said, "We will close your account and not do anymore automatic refills." I do not have natural gas, we have a propane tank full, that I had already paid for. Oh well, no need to shut anything off then. Lord have mercy.
A week in and I am still unpacking, but today I found the box of booze things are looking up. I have yet to find the flatware, so Mr. Image is using a kitchen knife and our one odd fork. I am going with plastic from our picnic basket.
Our son, on the autism spectrum, went through a phase a number of years ago where any dish I touched became "contaminated" in some inexplicable way. (We even checked to see whether there might be some ritual of cleansing that would suit him - we're not clergy for nothing! - but, nope, the situation was irredeemable). For several months, there was only one spoon he would use for his food, and that was the single plastic disposable one we happened to have picked up with take-out at some point. He'd have been quite at home with Mr Image.
end tangent/
Good luck with your unpacking. We have moved many times, so I sympathize. I'm glad the booze has turned up - probably far more important than flatware!
When I move in a few months, I shall personally transport the booze, and I shall be sure I know where it is so that it can be opened the first day in my new place.
There's a six minute edit window that allows you to correct typos. Just click the gear at the top right of your post and you can repair anything you need to.
When I move in a few months, I shall personally transport the booze, and I shall be sure I know where it is so that it can be opened the first day in my new place.
Exactly what I did when I moved in October. Ditto the wine opener.
When I move in a few months, I shall personally transport the booze, and I shall be sure I know where it is so that it can be opened the first day in my new place.
We always did that with the kettle, cups and tea - good idea with the booze!
I am a declutterer in the spirit of William Morris (beauty/ useful) but Mr Beaky is more of a hoarder which has often resulted in mild conflict.
However this pandemic has served me well.
One of our sons in law was furloughed and put on a reduced salary, cue me suggesting to my husband that we give him items to sell to boost their income. No opposition whatsoever.
Great result all round!
It’s funny how one thing leads to another, and a bonus when it leads to decluttering. Yesterday my tv went bonkers so this morning I replaced it with one that won’t connect with the dvd or vhs players. I can’t remember the last time I used either of those, and have a tiny tv for the caravan with an inbuilt DVD player so I’m going through all my dvds and keeping those few that I’ve not yet watched. I know the charity shops won’t want vhs tapes and wonder if they still take dvds. Whatever, the rest will be leaving this house.
In preparation for moving in a few months I have just de-cluttered the greenhouse. I won’t be planting anything this spring. How Did I Get So Many Pots??? I have saved about 30 of different sizes and recycled the rest after a very wet couple of hours washing them all!
When we moved a month ago I had them put all of the boxes on our back screened-in porch. ( Some ended up 3 boxes high) Today I can see the floor for the first time. Now only about 3 square feet but definitely floor. The problem was and is I can not unpack books until I have shelves built, not many only 2 medium size boxes full, I did downsize. The other problem is I want to store some things cleaning supplies and such in the closet on the porch, but until I remove all the old paint cans and such the previous owners left I can not use the closet, and until the boxes, some of which have cleaning supplies, are unpacked I can not get to the cabinet because they are blocking it. I also have a cabinet to put on the porch for my art supplies, but I can not put the cabinet on the porch until I unpack the boxes of art supplies and such filling the floor space, where the cabinet needs to go. Clearly, I did not think this through. I was thinking put everything on the porch and leave the house clutter-free until I unpack. However today I rejoice at 3 clear feet of floor showing up, and the remaining boxes are only one box high now. My goal was to be done by April 1, don't think it is going to happen. May is a good month for porch sitting.
I finally got a new bookshelf, thus removing several heaps of books from the floor. It feels so good! Today was sunny, so I put a heap of books and games out on our driveway, an advert on the local FB group, and behold, most of them have disappeared.
Yesterday I decluttered an old chair by burning it. I chose a day when Mr Cats was absent so he wouldn’t worry. Spurred by that today I have emptied a metal cupboard which can now go to the recycling centre, and have got rid of a lot of used envelopes. I mean you only need so many used envelopes. But again I got rid of the excess by burning in Mr Cats’ absence, or they would just leave my pile and enter his.
The dining room is full of things that are waiting for the charity shops to re-open (26th, I hope). Unfortunately before then three removal companies have to look around to give quotes. One is coming in person but two are doing it via Zoom to my phone which will be “interesting”.
I have now got into a decluttering mode, thinking through the things I accumulated for use after retirement. It's quite clear that what I imagined I would be doing isn't going to happen any time soon, so things need unloading.
For instance, I rather admired the collection of costume jewellery my sister wore, and built up my own, but didn't wear them while teaching. The absence of suitable occasions now makes them unnecessary - though they did make a nice decoration hanging on my bedroom wall. So the other day I went through them, eliminated any that were too similar to keepers, that were not gifts, or that I could not imagine going into Oxfam to buy back, and took them in. I still have enough, and one hanger with the necklaces dangling decoratively.
Now I am on to crochet scarves, having given everyone in the family one, and possibly matching hats where they exist. I had a marathon using up the stash session a few years ago. I still have enough winter scarves to go with everything I'm likely to wear. Probably the wrong time of year to dump them on the charity shop, but it wasn't open when it was the right time.
I’m working my way through the spare room. I’ve done it once a couple of years ago, but still kept too much. So I’m doing it really slowly and thoughtfully and - hopefully - this will be the last time.
I don't have a spare room any more. Himself moved into it when we had cleared bedroom two for his mother, who then utterly refused to go upstairs as she sensed bad vibes up there. During that move, we moved stuff from the small spare room, which, as I have a flat roof, served as loft, into my bedroom, where it has stuck. Bedroom two is half what it was designed for, a sewing, ironing, drying laundry room, and half a horizontal wardrobe on the futon, carefully bought to be a suitable bed for when sisters came to visit. It has legs so not floor low. Plus bags of things that would normally be in the bottom of the built in wardrobe, which is currently host to all the cushions from the sofa downstairs which has stuff on it.
Decluttering is something like one of those tile puzzles where you move the tiles one by one into a space until everything is in order. Without the space.
You can't declutter someone else's cherished stuff.
Today I finally opened the last box from our move. Alarm, the move was 5 months ago. I still have the stuff to donate but they only will pick up six small bags worth once a month so the porch still looks a bit of clutter. However, I am thankful for the porch on the back of the house, but I would like to enjoy it this summer and not be using it for the storage of unwanted items. My son said that I should have taken a before picture so I could appreciate my progress.
Another trip to the recycling centre made. More space in the (large) shed gained for the important things which are bikes and (for Mr Cats) organ parts. That is random organ parts, not a whole organ or even parts which belong together, or even parts that are rare or in good nick (these are in the house). But each to his own. I have gardening tools. And why yes, I do think I need three spades and three large forks.
*Imagines the odd spare heart and kidney stored in the shed for Mr Cats' future use*
My decluttering continues slowly. I rather lost heart when I sorted a whole boxful of books for eviction from Casa Nen, only to have Mr Nen veto it and put them back in the loft (and I'm the reader here, not him). So I'm gradually just going through things in my study and the kitchen drawers, on the basis that I can't be too forceful about the shared areas until mine are completely in order.
Took the bag of scarves into Oxfam. Not just the woolly ones, but a velvet one, fairisle one from a shop - lovely colours but it doesn't hang well. and a few other fabric ones.
Our wedding present from my brother was a food processor. It included a mystery attachment, like a colander, for which I could find no use. It also included a citrus reamer, but I couldn't figure out how to attach it. Despite these two attachments remaining unused for the past 32 years, I kept them with the other, useful attachments.
Last week Mum and I were sorting through Dad's paperwork and I found the instruction booklet for my food processor!! To squeeze oranges, the colander attachment has to be fitted first and then the reamer fits into it!
We enjoyed our first glass of freshly squeezed orange juice using the attachments today!
I am so glad that I didn't declutter the mystery colander-thing but kept it for 32 years and through two house moves.
(No, we have no idea why Dad removed and kept our instruction booklet!)
We have enough "special hidden gifts." Possibly to confuse burglars (but who knows why, really) Dad has left a box of keys meticulously labelled with meaningless labels, such as "motorbike" (no, he didn't have one) "en-suite" (no, it doesn't have the sort of lock that requires a key) "Jim" (wtf is Jim??) etc etc.
If it's any help, only now five years down the line do I have space for the things Dad wanted me to have (mostly elderly spanners - we were both that sort of person)... I hope Mum hasn't got rid of too many or, if she has, that at least they've gone to the nephews who'd appreciate them too.
Just as soon as some M5 nuts appear I will be able to declutter the old shed by moving stuff into the new shed, and turning the remaining sound parts of the old one (not many...) into a tool store on the allotment. I need the nuts for the bolts for the hasp and staple... and they came without them! What use is a bolt without a nut?
My tent is going to a nephew. I had to be honest with myself. I am never going to get my money's worth out of it. Camping is over.
The rest of the stuff is buried by the hoard removed from the hall of the other place so isn't going anywhere yet.
I'm keeping the gas cooker in case of getting snowed in with a power cut. They used to get that sort of thing here.
Our wider than normal garage is the only way through from front to back garden. Access is still possible amidst the clutter. It contains, amongst the usual junk, gardening tools ( meant to be in the shed), workbench with assorted screws, tools, varnishes etc, not used for 6 years, electronics desk and assorted gubbins, mostly useless, some valuable.
Fridge freezer used daily, food storage cupboard in frequent use.
Hints that now is a good time of year to sort out because the garage is not cold for once, have been ignored.
I had a similar garage @Puzzler and one night it was broken into.
Would-be intruder was chased off Very Promptly Indeed by neighbours who just happened to be awake and waiting for an ambulance. They also called the police for me.
Later on that morning the police stood there and commiserated on the terrible state the intruder had left my garage in……..🤭
Last time there was a thoroughly wet weekend, we decided to declutter the garage in preparation for moving house.
My husband found a small container of picture hooks and panel pins with a centimetre of water in the bottom where the roof had leaked. I suggested throwing them out.
“But they’re perfectly good picture hooks!”
“Yes, but we don’t use picture hooks. I don’t know why we ever bought those. They’re all going rusty anyway. Just put them in a scrap metal collection.”
“We might want them when we move. They won’t take up much space anyway.” He went off with them, washed them, dried them on kitchen towel and put them in a different plastic tub.
Meanwhile I sorted a pile of old beach toys into a box, threw out any poor quality plastic flowerpots, boxed up the small garden tools, swept cobwebs off the shelves and ceiling, and swept all the woodlouse debris and bits of leaves off the floor.
The following day I went into the garage to admire how tidy it looked, and found the new tub of old picture hooks had helpfully been put back in the exact spot he’d found it. With no lid on. It had rained overnight.
The picture hooks were sitting in a centimetre of water AGAIN.
The last donation pick up is today, the porch is clear of boxes. I washed down the walls, vacuumed the screens, and patched a hole in one. Next, I moved all of my plants out on the ledges under the screens. It feels wonderful. I have someone coming to put up some shelves and hooks for dog leashes and hang a large wooden art piece to block my very close neighbor's window and then I can just enjoy the space. My favorite thing is a large custom-made bookshelf that I have no room for in the mobile home, so I laid it down on its side, and filled the spaces with matching boxes for my art supplies. I ordered foam and a cover to put on the top which is wide enough to make nice napping or sitting place. .
The house is full of boxes and the cats are very anxious (so I don’t know whether to post in this thread or in the animals thread).
Today we finally destroyed the over-large and somewhat flimsy wardrobe which would not have survived a house move. It has been a bit wobbly since we moved it into a different bedroom four years ago. I also have a permanent scar on my finger where it got jammed between the wardrobe and the doorway (four years ago, not today).
Notes to those moving furniture:
- never assume you can do the task quickly
- always measure large items before trying to get them through a doorway
- never move a large object with a deaf person if you can’t see them round the other side of the large object
Deaf husband says he still feels guilty about that incident. I was lucky not to lose half a finger.
@ Aravis, Thank you for the post as I was thinking I am tired of waiting to move a large hutch when my son next comes to visit, so I think I will just move it myself. After reading your post I think waiting for younger, stronger help is the way to go. I did measure, in fact twice. Good luck with your move.
Mum and I are sorting through my late father's stuff. It's all very tidily stored but there is so much of it. I'm seeing similarities between the stuff I store and the stuff Dad stored and I'm not liking what I see.
I have a specific question. Maps. Dad had two boxes full of maps. I have put the sort of leaflet maps picked up from tourist information into recycling, but he had dozens of good quality Ordnance Survey maps. I'd guess most of them were bought in the 1970s, and none will be less than ten years old.
Mum doesn't want / need them, and if I leave them where they are, I'll just be postponing dealing with them.
Oxfam here sells maps - older maps can be of interest to show how things have changed over the intervening years, even if they no longer work so well for walking now. Or people use them for upcycling projects or as pictures. There is a market for them.
Comments
Yes - win win and the jars have a good home. 👏🏼
Our son, on the autism spectrum, went through a phase a number of years ago where any dish I touched became "contaminated" in some inexplicable way. (We even checked to see whether there might be some ritual of cleansing that would suit him - we're not clergy for nothing! - but, nope, the situation was irredeemable). For several months, there was only one spoon he would use for his food, and that was the single plastic disposable one we happened to have picked up with take-out at some point. He'd have been quite at home with Mr Image.
end tangent/
Good luck with your unpacking. We have moved many times, so I sympathize. I'm glad the booze has turned up - probably far more important than flatware!
There's a six minute edit window that allows you to correct typos. Just click the gear at the top right of your post and you can repair anything you need to.
Exactly what I did when I moved in October. Ditto the wine opener.
We always did that with the kettle, cups and tea - good idea with the booze!
All the best with the move 🕯
However this pandemic has served me well.
One of our sons in law was furloughed and put on a reduced salary, cue me suggesting to my husband that we give him items to sell to boost their income. No opposition whatsoever.
Great result all round!
I am un-decluttering now I’ve discovered I can link my DVD player to the new tv. I must be more disciplined and watch then ditch.
The dining room is full of things that are waiting for the charity shops to re-open (26th, I hope). Unfortunately before then three removal companies have to look around to give quotes. One is coming in person but two are doing it via Zoom to my phone which will be “interesting”.
For instance, I rather admired the collection of costume jewellery my sister wore, and built up my own, but didn't wear them while teaching. The absence of suitable occasions now makes them unnecessary - though they did make a nice decoration hanging on my bedroom wall. So the other day I went through them, eliminated any that were too similar to keepers, that were not gifts, or that I could not imagine going into Oxfam to buy back, and took them in. I still have enough, and one hanger with the necklaces dangling decoratively.
Now I am on to crochet scarves, having given everyone in the family one, and possibly matching hats where they exist. I had a marathon using up the stash session a few years ago. I still have enough winter scarves to go with everything I'm likely to wear. Probably the wrong time of year to dump them on the charity shop, but it wasn't open when it was the right time.
I’m working my way through the spare room. I’ve done it once a couple of years ago, but still kept too much. So I’m doing it really slowly and thoughtfully and - hopefully - this will be the last time.
I’m turning it into an art studio.
Decluttering is something like one of those tile puzzles where you move the tiles one by one into a space until everything is in order. Without the space.
You can't declutter someone else's cherished stuff.
My decluttering continues slowly. I rather lost heart when I sorted a whole boxful of books for eviction from Casa Nen, only to have Mr Nen veto it and put them back in the loft (and I'm the reader here, not him). So I'm gradually just going through things in my study and the kitchen drawers, on the basis that I can't be too forceful about the shared areas until mine are completely in order.
Our wedding present from my brother was a food processor. It included a mystery attachment, like a colander, for which I could find no use. It also included a citrus reamer, but I couldn't figure out how to attach it. Despite these two attachments remaining unused for the past 32 years, I kept them with the other, useful attachments.
Last week Mum and I were sorting through Dad's paperwork and I found the instruction booklet for my food processor!! To squeeze oranges, the colander attachment has to be fitted first and then the reamer fits into it!
We enjoyed our first glass of freshly squeezed orange juice using the attachments today!
I am so glad that I didn't declutter the mystery colander-thing but kept it for 32 years and through two house moves.
(No, we have no idea why Dad removed and kept our instruction booklet!)
Just as soon as some M5 nuts appear I will be able to declutter the old shed by moving stuff into the new shed, and turning the remaining sound parts of the old one (not many...) into a tool store on the allotment. I need the nuts for the bolts for the hasp and staple... and they came without them! What use is a bolt without a nut?
Multiple tents will never be used by us again and helpfully one was shredded by a mouse, so That one is decluttered straight into the bin!
One tent goes on freecycle or the equivalent around here.
One might be sold on fb market place.
Then there is the paraphernalia surrounding camping…….oh my.
Once it is all relocated OUT of the garage, our garage is quite big!
The rest of the stuff is buried by the hoard removed from the hall of the other place so isn't going anywhere yet.
I'm keeping the gas cooker in case of getting snowed in with a power cut. They used to get that sort of thing here.
Fridge freezer used daily, food storage cupboard in frequent use.
Hints that now is a good time of year to sort out because the garage is not cold for once, have been ignored.
Would-be intruder was chased off Very Promptly Indeed by neighbours who just happened to be awake and waiting for an ambulance. They also called the police for me.
Later on that morning the police stood there and commiserated on the terrible state the intruder had left my garage in……..🤭
My husband found a small container of picture hooks and panel pins with a centimetre of water in the bottom where the roof had leaked. I suggested throwing them out.
“But they’re perfectly good picture hooks!”
“Yes, but we don’t use picture hooks. I don’t know why we ever bought those. They’re all going rusty anyway. Just put them in a scrap metal collection.”
“We might want them when we move. They won’t take up much space anyway.” He went off with them, washed them, dried them on kitchen towel and put them in a different plastic tub.
Meanwhile I sorted a pile of old beach toys into a box, threw out any poor quality plastic flowerpots, boxed up the small garden tools, swept cobwebs off the shelves and ceiling, and swept all the woodlouse debris and bits of leaves off the floor.
The following day I went into the garage to admire how tidy it looked, and found the new tub of old picture hooks had helpfully been put back in the exact spot he’d found it. With no lid on. It had rained overnight.
The picture hooks were sitting in a centimetre of water AGAIN.
Today we finally destroyed the over-large and somewhat flimsy wardrobe which would not have survived a house move. It has been a bit wobbly since we moved it into a different bedroom four years ago. I also have a permanent scar on my finger where it got jammed between the wardrobe and the doorway (four years ago, not today).
Notes to those moving furniture:
- never assume you can do the task quickly
- always measure large items before trying to get them through a doorway
- never move a large object with a deaf person if you can’t see them round the other side of the large object
Deaf husband says he still feels guilty about that incident. I was lucky not to lose half a finger.
I knew you and Mr. Image were downsizing, but that seemed a bit extreme!
I have a specific question. Maps. Dad had two boxes full of maps. I have put the sort of leaflet maps picked up from tourist information into recycling, but he had dozens of good quality Ordnance Survey maps. I'd guess most of them were bought in the 1970s, and none will be less than ten years old.
Mum doesn't want / need them, and if I leave them where they are, I'll just be postponing dealing with them.