Thoughts and Quotes: I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned. Richard Feynman
Boy, would he hate the cancel culture!
Things that Grow: Why do cats love flower pots? They've already ruined two of my patio pots. That's Sweetie Face in the pot and Grampa and Baby on the bench. This morning, Grampa is in the pot.
A heavy storm went through last night, and I've only seen Grampa today, and it's noon. The others probably hid out and decided to sleep in. When the thunder boomed and the lightning flashed, Stormy came running to me like a scared toddler. Pepper just ignores everything.
Tidying: Time for an accounting of Challenge 1.
Boxes before
Boxes after
The only box left contains things I'm taking to my Lil' Sis. The blue box is a coffee maker I'm also passing on.
Cat food boxes gone, but there's wallpaper in the box, which I'm saving to make cards.
Games after
I kept everything. Remember, I just sent three people home loaded down with as many games as they could carry. My first thought was to save only the dominoes, as that was usually our game of choice. Then, on a whim, I checked the price of the Trump games, and it seems they're becoming collector's items, AND they're discontinued.
Amazon has only one left of the black box, and it's $122. Other sellers range from $70 to $200. Only one of the red box left at Amazon for $82, and other sellers range from $38-$200. They don't take up much room, and they might be worth more later, and my kids can sell them.
Friend Susan has a group of ladies she calls her "tribe," and they get together for food, fun, jigsaw puzzles, games, and dining out. I'm so envious. I've lost friends who have passed, moved, are being avoided due to politics, or incapacitated. My future goal is to form my own tribe - right after the decluttering is finished, so I saved three trivia games, some playing cards, and Rook cards because that's what my grandmother and I used to play. All are welcome in my tribe - young and old, male and female, single and married, (no kids under 12).
Luggage before
My suitcases are nested in the largest one, and in the garage. Keeping those.
As for the totes and bags, the two on the top right are kitty carriers, so they have to stay.
The navy bag is my favorite carryon and the striped is for might need - weekends away at snooty resorts (like I do that a lot). The stack on the bottom is in limbo, and on the bottom left are purses, which we'll address later. I'm torn about the beige and orange bag because it came from Galeries Lafayette in Paris. There's also a wine-colored nylon bag in the stack which was a promotional giveaway from there. They bring back happy memories. Perhaps I'll use these bags for cookbooks for my vet's wife who owns a restaurant.
I discarded some small bags, took the thin vinyl totes to the car for trips to Aldi or Goodwill where you have to bring your own bags.
I actually got a head start on crafts and got rid of a lot of loose patterns. When I started, the drawer was full.
Food
I organized all my garage food and isolated the things which have expiration dates in the near future. I took a photo and printed it, so I can find ways to use these items when planning meals. The canned goods have been arranged so that I use the oldest first. I'm very good at organizing and making a plan for future, BUT I'm very bad at following through and keeping up the plan. I need to go through at the end of each month and isolate what's expiring in the near future.
I also cleaned out my garage freezer and refrigerator. Then I tackled the kitchen. I was surprised to find that I only needed to pitch some chocolate chips, freeze-dried mango, and dried cranberries. Oh, and a chicken carcass from the freezer. I don't have time to make chicken broth right now, and it was in the way.
Too much for one week. I did little else since I also went to Lowes on Sunday, took Pepper to the vet for his shots on Monday, the plumber was here on Tuesday, and I shopped for food (mostly for cats on Thursday).
Tomorrow a guy is coming to clean my floor grout. I'm so happy I watched that Joshua Becker YouTube about spending money on the three things which make you happiest. Now that I look at hiring people to do my chores as a purchase of time instead of a cop out from doing my chores, I not only buy time, but I also relieve stress because I don't have the chores sitting on my shoulder, reminding me that I haven't gotten to them.
I didn't get much Tidying and Thinning accomplished with my body, and afternoon tea was just a wishful dream, but there's always tomorrow.
So what shall we do next week? Are you joining me? Two people told me they didn't have any of those things to declutter (I have very organized friends), one told me she didn't care (my free-spirit friend), and another said she's inspired but has other categories which needed attention more, so she worked on them.
We can choose from:
Electronics
Hygiene, cosmetics, cleaning supplies
Old linens
Kitchen items (like spatulas, spoons, pans, etc.)
Kitchen gadgets
Entertainment - videos, DVD's, DVR recordings, records, CD's and tapes (visual and audio)
Books
Recipes
Crafts
Clothes
Computer files
Papers
Take your pick. I think I'll mix it up, as most categories will take me much longer than a week. I'll do a little of each.
Challenge Two (time alloted two weeks): My selection -
One bathroom drawer or shelf
One linen shelf
One kitchen drawer
Try one kitchen gadget (I have a bazillion I've never used); keep or discard.
Watch two videos, two DVD's, two DVR's, transfer one record set to computer and/or permanent storage, listen to three CD's and three tapes.
Read one book
Try three new recipes
Make measurable progress: crochet, cards etc., other
Organize one color of clothes; hem or fix any which can't be worn yet.
Organize one recipe category in Pinterest, watch three Todd Mohr YouTubes.
Work on unfinished travel journals.
Organize one of my many, many notebooks.
Tales: I promised myself I'd work on my own book-books so I can declutter the garage, but I somehow get side tracked, so this is what I'm reading from the library:
If you're either a Foodie or a Francophile, you'll like it. As I'm both, I'm really loving it.
I'm so sorry I don't have any new recipes as I promised, because I simply bit off more than I could chew this week. I did make one new recipe which was a fail. It's called Mississippi Pot Roast, and it was too salty. That was my fault because I combined recipes I found on the internet and put in au jus mix AND onion soup mix. I probably won't try it again, though I know how to adjust for my mistakes. It's cooked in the crockpot and shredded. I find nothing wrong with plain old pot roast made in the oven, so I'll just stick with that. Perhaps I'll try the Mississippi kind in the oven, as I do like pepperoncinis.
I mix an envelope of brown gravy mix with hot water (cheap at Aldi); then combine it with a can of mushroom soup.
Put the roast - I like chuck roast - (seared or not) in a large pan with a lid; sprinkle a package of onion soup mix (cheap at Aldi) over it, then the mushroom soup mixture.
Cover and bake at 325-350 until tender. Add potatoes and carrots about an hour before the time you anticipate the roast will be done.
I'll post some more from Lessons from Madame Chic later in the week.
CHOOSE YOUR DECLUTTER GOALS
EAT A DIET MORE HEALTHFUL THAN MINE
LOTS OF GREENS
PLENTY OF TEA
AN APPLE A DAY
AND SOME DESSERT NOW AND THEN
Thank you for sharing my life.
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