14 Day Clutter Purge

nsmar4211 said:

Last day?!?!? OH no!

Ok, today will be clean out a drawer. That'll easily be the rest of what I needed.

We should do this again soon!

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Well, the last day for me. Anyone that is on a roll and wants to continue, should go for it.

Usually this is a 30 day decluttering - I just felt like that would overwhelm me toward the end and I wouldn't stick to it, which is why I set my goal for 14 days. I do think I will do it again. I'll be traveling for a couple of weeks in June, so maybe July and August. Unless the summer lazies set in.

Happy birthday snappyllama and steve! I hope you both had great days today.

Yesterday drained me, so today I just slept all day. But, I really need to get started on the shed. So, I'm going to take some ibuprofen, massage some Ben Alternative Lifestyle on my aching muscles and get out there. (FYI: I don't care who Ben sleeps with, he makes ME feel better!!)

snappyllama said:

Tomorrow is my birthday (a big one - blech). I plan on soaping in the morning and then making a list of all the supplies I'll be treating myself with - after my move. I cannot believe I haven't bought anything fun since Christmas - the list is getting very long.

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Happy birthday. I hope your soaping & list of supplies went as planned. Yes, it does sound like a nice gift to yourself.

Steve85569 said:

62 for me in the morning.

How did this happen!?!?

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Happy birthday, Steve.

TeresaT said:

I can now fit two cars into my two car garage. Too bad I only have one.
<snip>
ETA: I found an Ace Hardware "welded steel" 5 gallon paint mixer in my garage. Do you know if this will be safe to use with lye solution for mixing large batches of soap batter? If not, I'll toss the mixer. My painting days are long over.

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Congratulations on your garage clearing!

I actually saw a video some time ago where the person making soap was using just such an item. In fact that same person even made a video about how to make a box to hold the mixer so he could put the bucket of soap batter below the mixer and not have to actually hold the mixer in his hands while mixing the soap. If I remember correctly. It's been awhile & I can't really find that video, but her is one about using a paint mixer for soap making.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYTD1G_reNY[/ame]

dibbles said:

Well, the last day for me. Anyone that is on a roll and wants to continue, should go for it.

Usually this is a 30 day decluttering - I just felt like that would overwhelm me toward the end and I wouldn't stick to it, which is why I set my goal for 14 days. I do think I will do it again. I'll be traveling for a couple of weeks in June, so maybe July and August. Unless the summer lazies set in.

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Thank you, dibbles. Yes, I don't think I could have managed 30 days either. As it is, if it hadn't been for the wrapping and labeling of soap project, I don't know if I would have managed to get so much done anyway.

Other things I've done:
Tossed out a jar of moldy dandelion oil infusion, jar and all. I am such a saver of glass jars, this was not easy for me to do. Sad that the infusion was growing mold (next time I'll dry the flowers in the oven instead of just on the counter.)

Gave away 2 more dozen soaps (mentioned this in another thread, but not this one yet.)

Major cleaning in the master bedroom. General cleaning of my soap making work area.

We are going on a short roadtrip starting early tomorrow, so all I have planned for the rest of the day is to finish up in the bedroom (clean sheets as the mattress is airing out now), put the rest of my soaping supplies away (did a rebatch this morning) and pack for our trip.

Thanks for the info Earlene. His is red and mine is black, but other than that, it's the same. (I'm jealous, BTW. I wish mine was red.)

I started in the shed and darn if I didn't do what I didn't want to do! I found a container of tupperware that my mother bought in 1987. How do I know it was purchased in 1987? Because the stuff was still in its plastic bag and the receipt was in there with it. This is ORIGINAL tupperware microwave dishes. And a sectional "lazy susan" thingy. That stuff is in the "keep" pile.

I've also started going through the ceramics that she painted when I was a child. My mother was an incredibly talented woman. Ceramics, crocheting, construction, wallpapering, it is amazing what that woman was able to do. I guess when you don't have a husband around to help you and have two kids to raise, you get to figure stuff out really quickly. Anyway, I was originally going to give all that stuff to my next door neighbor to sell and be done with it. However, I'm thinking that maybe I'll do that myself. Maybe. These are a couple of items that I am keeping for myself. The tiny pumpkin was painted by yours truly when I was about 10 or 11. If you look carefully at the photo the witch, to the right is a statue of a dog. My mother painted that of my dog, Mickey, when he was a young stud of about 3 or 4 (OK, he was actually neutered at the time but he thought he was hot sh!t on a gold platter). She actually made him sit like that so she could get the markings on his head and body perfect. Which she did. I'll have to photograph that and post it.

ETA Mickey's photos (notice the markings on his back).

Yup, Teresa, your mom was talented.

I did a bit more than planned for today. While cleaning the bedroom, I decided it's time to change out the winter linens for the summer linens, so into the wash go all the stuff I now have to store until next winter: Duvet cover, down comforter. Guess I'll be doing laundry for a few more hours, as the comforter takes a long time to dry. But the bed is made and my suitcase is waiting on the bed for me to decide if I am done packing it or not.

While gathering roving and needle felting materials to bring on my trip, it made sense to consolidate and do a little re-organizing there, too. So they are more neatly stored than before. And I have one small bag of stuff to bring with me. I have been planning for months to do some ball-team themed felted soaps for my brothers, but my last attempt was not exactly what I was going for and I had run out of the colors I needed. Since then I have purchased more. There are certain colors I can't seem to manage to dye myself and come up with the right shade, so I ended up buying black & a couple of reds in San Antonio last time I was there & a couple of purples when we found a fiber shop on our last roadtrip to the Smokey Mountains.

Speaking of fiber, I had planned to attend the Southern Illinois Spinners and Weavers Fiber Festival today, but when Hubby asked if I wanted to go to Arkansas next month (that's what I thought he said) I said yes. As it turns out it was 'next week', which is now tomorrow. So I did not go to the Fiber Festival after all. I am sure I would have come home with a lot of fiber and a few new tools, though, so in that respect, no new clutter. But I will be looking for a fiber shop while we are in Arkansas just for fun.

I put away a few more felted soaps that I had not put away a few days ago when I was organizing my newly wrapped & labeled soaps.

I cleared a space on my worktable so now I can pack the small cooler to take on our trip. The worktable is not all taken up by soaping supplies, at least for awhile. I managed to put a few away!

This is such an interesting conversation. I've been absent for a while (fell and entrapped the ulnar nerve; finally gave in and had surgery on it) and during that time I have renewed my interest in minimalism. So since I've been reading a lot on the subject, I am noticing the number of people who are decluttering/organizing rather than purging. Either is a good thing, and to each his own. But that part of the conversation has fascinated me.

I am 4 days from retirement. And though I've been purging my house for some time, my classroom is a different matter. The problem is, there is so much GOOD STUFF there that someone who follows me could put to good use. But the time is fast approaching when it must be done. Thankfully my aide is there to help.

So I come here to get inspiration to begin soap making again and get drawn in by the 14 day Clutter Purge. I'll blame it on Adult ADD.

snappyllama said:

Tomorrow is my birthday (a big one - blech). I plan on soaping in the morning and then making a list of all the supplies I'll be treating myself with - after my move. I cannot believe I haven't bought anything fun since Christmas - the list is getting very long.

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Hey snappy, we're birthday twins! Hope you had a good day yesterday . . . mine was full of pizza and beer

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Ruthie and Doriettefarm!! My Dad's Bday was today. Good people are born in May.

As for the 14 day purge - I tried, and if one counts all the small stuff in boxes, probably reached the "item" amount, but was hoping for more.

I have stuck to my commitment of not purchasing anything 'non-consumable' until I've dejunkified my house. So, things have gone out, but nothing new's come in.

Happy Birthday, all of you!

I am, unfortunately, taking a break from the purge/organize fest due to doctor's orders, and my body rebelling. My summer cold has morphed into bronchitis. I have a LOT of trouble breathing with the least exertion. Even my soaping is on hold.

Susie said:

Happy Birthday, all of you!

I am, unfortunately, taking a break from the purge/organize fest due to doctor's orders, and my body rebelling. My summer cold has morphed into bronchitis. I have a LOT of trouble breathing with the least exertion. Even my soaping is on hold.

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Take care Susie!

doriettefarm said:

Hey snappy, we're birthday twins! Hope you had a good day yesterday . . . mine was full of pizza and beer

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Happy Birthday - even if it is a bit late. Pizza and beer - sounds like it was a great day.

Susie said:

Happy Birthday, all of you!

I am, unfortunately, taking a break from the purge/organize fest due to doctor's orders, and my body rebelling. My summer cold has morphed into bronchitis. I have a LOT of trouble breathing with the least exertion. Even my soaping is on hold.

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I hope you feel better soon. The not soaping would be so much worse than the not purging/organizing. Little batches = not too much exertion, so hopefully you will be able to do that before long.

Feel better soon, Susie!

Susie said:

Happy Birthday, all of you!

I am, unfortunately, taking a break from the purge/organize fest due to doctor's orders, and my body rebelling. My summer cold has morphed into bronchitis. I have a LOT of trouble breathing with the least exertion. Even my soaping is on hold.

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So sorry to hear that Susie. I hope you get better soon.
I'm currently taking meds for 4 weeks before they do a biopsy to see what's wrong with my lungs. I week to go [emoji21]

penelopejane said:

So sorry to hear that Susie. I hope you get better soon.
I'm currently taking meds for 4 weeks before they do a biopsy to see what's wrong with my lungs. I week to go [emoji21]

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I don't want to "like" this post. AT ALL. I hope everything goes well for you, the meds worked and it was just a nasty infection. Praying for you.

Get well to you, too, Susie. I hope your recovery isn't too long.

penelopejane said:

So sorry to hear that Susie. I hope you get better soon.
I'm currently taking meds for 4 weeks before they do a biopsy to see what's wrong with my lungs. I week to go [emoji21]

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I so hope everything turns out well for you. You will be in my thoughts.

penelopejane said:

So sorry to hear that Susie. I hope you get better soon.
I'm currently taking meds for 4 weeks before they do a biopsy to see what's wrong with my lungs. I week to go [emoji21]

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Praying for you! Not being able to breathe is horrible!

Hopefully mine is short term. I got steroids, antibiotics, and cough syrup. I'm not feeling much better yet, but tomorrow should be lots better.

Prayers for both PJ and Susie.
Breathing is a good thing. Here's best wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery for you both.

Oh my, prayers going up from here, too, for you PJ and Susie. I had a spinal fusion when I was a child, so my ribs do not expand. Add the fact that now my weight is way too high, and that makes it more difficult for my diaphragm to do the work. So I struggle to breathe with just a little exertion. Last night was my DGD's high school graduation which we found out at the last minute was moved from the stadium to the gym. So we were arriving later than we would have liked and trying to hurry to get one of the remaining seats. But we were 3 blocks away and walking uphill. I did my best to hurry! But by the time we got seated I was panting like a dog. DH and I had already decided to diet when summer break started, but now I am even more determined.

As for my purge update: The classroom is finished. I threw out so much GOOD stuff. But it would mean little or nothing to the incoming teacher, so there was no choice. All I brought home was a few books and 3 CDs. Still have 2 shelving units to go pick up. They will be nice for curing soap.