Mission Organziation HELP? #3

OKAY ALL - Goal for week of 8/28 - Get Back On that Horse!

Thought we'd start a new thread...here's the link to the old one.


http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/538441/

M.

This message was edited Aug 28, 2005 7:18 AM

I seem to be back-sliding. Probably because I don't feel any better than you do, Marcia! Maybe some chicken soup for me, too... although I don't have a summer cold.

I hear ya - I've been doing that the last few days as well - even before the full blown cold. Have some soup and relax. I'm not even going to try to work from home today - just chill and rest. We'll get back to it eventually - one day at a time.

Much love,

M.

I have been lurking, drawing inspriation from all your good efforts. I have NO excuses, just love to hang on DG and putter in my plants.

Anyway.......I pulled all my "office clothes" out of the closet, made sorting piles and got out containers to put them in until my DD comes to get them. Took all the linen for a 3 bedroom house out of the ceder chest and pulled out containers for them also. All drawers pulled open to make inventory of what was expendable. This was the state of my small bedroom when the snake came in. I had visions of having to throw everything out in the yard in order for the Animal Control person to catch him. Fortunately (or not) the snake and I had an eye to eye stand-off in the middle of the floor and was no trouble to get with the snake stick.

Anyway.....Still in a state of shock, I pushed everything up against one side of the wall when I went to bed last night. So I'll go back to lurking until I get inspired again. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! LOL http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/539869/
Pati

LOL, Pati!

Patti, did you tell us in detail about the snake, if you did I missed it. Please elaborate!!

It's at the link she posted above. In the wildlife forum.

Rachel,

Have you considered "bribing" yourself? I do it to my 6 year old, my husband and even myself sometimes. For example i will tell my daughter that if she donates a bag of toys i will buy her the video (for example) she wants.

My husband and i do it with clothes, it had gotten so bad with t-shirts that now our rule is that for every new one purchased, two need to be thrown away or donated (depending on condition).

I have also recently made a deal with myself (much negotiation involved, LOL) that if i got rid of some of the big stuff in the garage that i had been holding onto, i could buy $50 worth of bulbs at the costco bulb sale. I put several items (including my grandfather's old organ which weighed a TON, and no one could play) on freecycle, which is great because someone comes to your house and takes them away!

The trick is to make sure the reward is smaller and not as messy as what you are getting rid of. No getting rid of 4 boxes of stuff for a trip to the local thrift store and coming home with 5 boxes. LOL

Just be kind to yourself, those boxes didn't pile up in a month, you probably can't sort them in that time. Give yourself a realistic long term goal, like one or two boxes a week. And just keep at it. When you get through the first five, drop me a d-mail and i'll send you some bulbs... I just went to the costco bulb sale :)

Melissa

Costco has bulbs???

Adam and I made a deal about the boxes. Since I have this insane fear of opening and going through them and I am also manic about keeping the living room straight, he has decided to empty a box a time out in the living room floor. Isn't he cruel? LOL I didn't even put the stuff back in a box, I got rid of it like a good girl. It was a bunch of junk, old papers from a desk job I had 3 years ago, old magazines I grudgingly threw away without reading again and some old fabric. I hope they are all that easy, but I know that some of my late Dad's things are somewhere and I dread coming across that stuff. I also know that some of my vintage Fire King and Fiesta Ware are somewhere and I need them for the dining room, so it's like a treasure hunt! He better be careful dumping my junk!

So, I have never planted a bulb before and I want to try a container to get my feet wet. Tell me more about this costco sale?

I love this thread, everyone is cheering each other on and helping solve problems, it is great!

Rachel

I too have fallen off my wings for a couple of days. I have been feeling under the weather, too. Except I feel like I have a horrible hangover, but I havent been drinking. Maybe a virus? I brought out all the kids outgrown clothes and starting sorting them by size on the living room floor. Its a mess, but it has to get worse before it gets better. I guess. I have discovered there are few people in my community that respond to freecycle posts very quickly. I just put a bag of stuff on the porch and poof! its gone. No chance for second thoughts or regrets. I also got a reply to one of my posts from someone here on DG! I love that the huge cyberworld somehow shrinks our own little world a little.
I got bulbs at costco too!! and I want to go back for more.

Rachael, what a great expression, "I too have fallen off my wings"...

ok, I confess too, didn't shine my sink last night or monday night. Baby sat all day yesterday, and didn't fly here at home. Fell asleep on the couch at 9:30, woke up at 11, set up coffee pot answered some emails, stuff like that, went to bed at 12. Slept until 7:40, got kids on bus, laid down for 1.5 hours. Fed Jeff, palyed on computer, fell asleep for another 1.5 hours. sitting here in my sweats and the t shirt I slept in. Still groggy. Want to get the LR picked up and some more clothes folded. Need to do laundry but have to give baths tonight worried about the water situation.
Have to go to the grocery store, don't wanna do that either.

Phone co shut off our service yesterday, can't get it back until tomorrow. Will do a check by phone from my sisters house. Did print out the FACE control journal, and got all the bills together, threw all but newest away, et cetera.

I am gonna go get dressed to the shoes. Start with the dishes and at least one load of laundry.

I hate living from payday to payday. Barely making it, skin of our teeth. Jeffs mom has been giving us about 100$ every 2 weeks between pays. Making a promise to myself, no more purchases (except 2 pairs of jeans this weekend cause they are half off) until all is caught up. Have to get bubb's school clothes and the girls some more, but I mean for me, or the house, unless we cannot live without it. Babysitting for my sis is gonna help so much. As much as I wanted to go back to school, I am gonna watch the babies, and keep on doing it until things are in place here, or she doesn't need me anymore. No more eBay purchases no more seeds, planters et cetera. PROMISE

Ok going to get dressed, I have about an hour til kids get home, I"m gonna see what I can get done

Janis

Janis, not only are you not alone in having a messy house, you are also not alone in the financial dept. : ) I barely (and sometimes do not) make ends meet, and my social security check will go down almost a hundred bucks a month come Nov. when I turn 65 and thay deduct for Medicare.

Oh wow Darius. I cannot imagine "losing" 100 a month in income. But if I look at in from another direction, I do "lose" probably that much and more on impulse buying, stuff I don't need, things I think, well its just a couple bucks. That adds up quickly.

I am going to try to curb that as much as possible. Its going to be hard, I think that is one of the ways I console myself for everything being messed, up, the finances (LOL) the house, ya know? I really, really wish we could quit smoking. We probably spent close to 500 a month or more on cigarettes and his snuff. Geez, thats 6 grand a year. We spend more a month on cigarettes than we do on ourt rent. That is so sad. I guess along with decluttering my house its time to start decluttering my habits. I quit drinking for the most part almost 7 years ago, didn't have to, but wanted to. I maybe have 6 drinks a year now. Don't miss it a bit. Watching your dad die at 45 years old, 9 days after one of your children was born of cirrhosis kinda of cures the urge to drink :(

Ok, got to go get busy.

Hold on tight to that rope Darius, we will make it, all of us

Hugs,
Janis

Janis, how about making tour own cigarettes? I just got my stuff to start, figure I can make a carton for $7-$8.

Go to Google, type in "make your own cigarettes"... different than "roll your own" because these use pre-made tubes with filters, menthol or not.

Jeff just told me that tomorrow on his way home is is buying us one of those LOL. He said the kit is 20$ at least and we will have to buy the tobacco, cause we smoke menthol, but heck its worth a try :)

Janis

Off to my sisters house again. Raining here real light, hope it does it all day. We are so dry. Dinner (pot roast carrots and potatoes) is already in the crock pot, did that last night. Gonna start a load of towels since no one will be here using water today. Jeff got paid so I'll call the phone co from my sis's house and make the payment by check so that the phone is turned back on. I really don't miss having it now that I have cable internet LOL but I know I have to have it for the kids and stuff (we don't get any cell reception here)

Didn't sleep good again, was awake until after 3, hit the snooze 3 times this morning LOL glad the kids are easy to get out of the house.

Well, talk to everyone tonight.. hope everyone in Katrina's path is safe

Janis

Janis, my "stuffer" machine was $43, top of the line... you can get some for at little as $5-6 and get frustrated at not making good cigarettes and give up. I forget how much the tobacco was, but got 2 kinds to experiment with... one pound will make about 3 cartons. The tubes with filters attached run around $2 for a carton.

You can get menthol tubes and buy regular tobacco.

Hi all - seriously fallen here....

I'm slowly getting over my chest cold. Took a shower and it wore me out. I've been working from home today - and that's about it.

Hope to get back on the wagon tomorrow.

And = I'm only going to say it once - but you could save a lot more money if you didn't smoke! DON'T HIT ME!

there - that's all I'm going to say.

M.

Yeah, Marcia, I know that... and that my lungs would Thank Me.. but Nicotine is a hard addiction to shake... and some days I just don't care.

I hear ya - and my Dad smoked for 40+ years - then quit cold turkey at 68. Dr said he'd wouldn't have lived till 80 had he not. It was horrible for him - but he did it. But I won't preach. Just a concerned friend.....

We all have our bad habits - mine's shopping! Which by the way gives the same chemical high in the brain as smoking, drinking and gambling does! So - I know how hard it is to drop an addiction - believe me.

I'm tired of being stuffy......

Some might not understand that Darius, but I do, without question. Till the time Mom slipped into a coma and wasn't able to talk she never didn't want to smoke. Nor did she blame anyone other than herself for the lung cancer. Lord she was stubborn, and I miss the heck outta her. But she lived and died on her terms. I would say that I stopped smoking because of my health etc but that would be a lie, I did it because that's one of the last things she asked me to do, so I've done it. Maybe seeing how she died in close quarters because she wanted to stay at home helped me the first couple of weeks, maybe not.

They say that nicotine addiction is worse than cocaine. Belive me I have tried everything to quit, and may suceed for a few months, then the first stressful situation that comes along, I am right back where I started. I have tried the patches, pills, I have been hyptonized and have tried cold turkey. Even have a picture of myself under hyptnosis suspended between 2 chairs!! Betsy Bug, I hate to shop, so I sure am glad that is not an adiction for me.

Well Bonnie, you and I will be the 2 smoking outside Molly's place at the RU before lights out!

I'll be at the RU, smoking, wherever. They have just passed a no smoking law for restaurants in Louisville, as well as Lexington, and other cities in Kentucky. I will have my car, so if no place else the car it is!! Darius, you a welcome to join me!!

Bonnie, we will have lots of wide open spaces to smoke, plus a covered porch!

edited to add: the harder part fro me will be the drive from NC to KY in Molly's van. She'll have to make a couple of stops just so I don't climb the walls and go berserk, LOL.

This message was edited Aug 27, 2005 2:04 PM

Just roll the window down and hang out!! That sure brings a funny mental picture. I know what you mean. We took a trip to Indiana last year with a neighbor, in our car, and still was not able to smoke as they are allergic. Told DH that he had to make several stops along the way, or I would be an irate traveler by the time we got there. Guess what, we are going again with the same people on Sept 21, this time in their vehicle. Hope they will take pity on me and do some stops along the way.

I'd like to quit smoking, but obviously not enough to do it. I'm allergic to the patches and I am a raving lunatic when I go cold turkey.

I worked more in the dining room today and then got sidetracked sorting out my yarn collection. I am giving most of the baby colors to my Mamaw tomorrow, which is about 100 skeins, so that is a step forward. Now, I need to find the time to make up the more adult colors, but I prefer doing that when it is cooler. Tomorrow, we'll work on the dr some more and finish off the bedroom (it's almost done yeah!)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend, Rachel

Hi guys sorry I haven't been around, have had my 9 yr old neice this weekend, and my tori has been with my sister. I babysat Friday, and didn't do a dang thing today :( I Think I'm babysitting Monday not sure. Definately gonna do some zone work next week.

Haven't done the dishes or shined the sink the past 2 night, last night or tonight, and not gonna do it tonight either. I'm grumpy and ticked off at DH and grumpy and ticked off

LOL We had it out tonight about him drinking, he is a "recovering" alcoholic, but he still drinks like 1 a day, last night it was a whole bottle of wine.... made for a bad night. He isn't abusive or anything, but I drew lines and set limits a while back, and now I need to figure out how far I can let things go :( I dunno, its a total mess :(( Day by day.

Well, my house is falling back apart, and tomorrow I have to take bubby and get him some school clothes, and new shoes, my mom is gonna keep the girls for me. Hopefully it won't be too bad.

I'll try to post tomorrow, I"m just not in the mood for it tonight I guess. Hard to fly when you can't drag yourself up

Janis

Hi all SMALL's!

I know today is Sunday - but since I was down all week - I feel compelled to get something done today.

I set my alarm wrist watch for one hour and I neatened my hall linen closet. Did it all in less than an hour. I can't say I "organized" it - just neatened it so I could get stuff back in there without it falling on floor when you open the door. Baby steps - but it sure made me feel good.

Now I need to go reboot the laundry - and that's all I'm gonna do for today. Need to work and I started making glass beads last night (first 3 were bad - last one - well we've nicknamed it the blue blob bead - say that 3 times fast!) But it's a start - so I'm itching to play some more.

All have a good day and don't forget to bless your heart!

M.

BULBS !!!

Costco sells bags of bulbs, 100 grape hyacinth, 80 crocus, 50 tulips, 3 giant allium, 4 Frittilaria, daffy's etc. etc.. for 8.99 a bag. This week they were 2 off per bag (max ten bags per card) i took my friend with me and got 20 bags! Their prices are cheaper than i can buy wholesale!

Well watching the destruction on TV of Katrina put me straight. I at least am lucky enough to have a home to clean up, so, I'm cleaning it. 15 mins at a time.
sidney

ok ok i clean clean still looks awful due to my piles this that stuff every nook cranny.. so i got to try some thing Feng shui tried nothing said have red by the doors.. ok purple when come in front door hall goes to other rooms does that me corner in last room(my bedr.)purple in it leftcorner..??? whta esle?/ i need to do something to survive thru mess,& finances ect.. cleaning the most..

I'm too thankful for having a load of laundry to wash and cats to feed and a roof over my head. God be with those in need.

Does anyone know why it is so hard to throw away stuff? I mean, just *stuff*--junk, really.

I was doing the FlyLady mission today, cleaning out my plastic containers, getting rid of the cracked and unmatched stuff and I had the hardest time actually disposing of the "junk" when I was through. I even shoved some of the extra lids back in with the rest in case the bottoms turn up somewhere. I'm not even talking about real Tupperware here--just the Ziploc-type containers. Oh, and margarine tubs.

It actually *hurts* to throw things away! I feel this sudden anxiety, like I'm doing something wrong.

Yesterday I decided to throw out an old, broken end table (and ugly to boot!) that's been sitting in the living room, piled with junk and not really adding anything to the ambiance. My husband asks, "Are you sure?" and I stopped and had those anxiety pangs, fearing I was doing something terribly wrong. I said, "Well, I dunno, do you think we should keep it? Can we fix it? Can we find another use, or...?" and he said, "if you want it gone, it's history." But even he seemed a little anxious about it.

Neither of us like throwing things away, which is how we got into this mess in the first place!

Do any of you have the same problem with throwing things away?

Rhonda

I was raised by depression era folks where the saying was,
Use it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or do without!
I am going to give a truckload of good things to a survivor of Katrina. No junk.
sidney

If it's that hard sit down and see if you can find a use for it. Not next week kind of use but right that minute. Like can you take those containers to the garage and use them to hold nails. If not then throw them away. I use to have a terrible time with it. Always said but what if I need it next week/month/year/lifetime then I'll have to BUY it again. I found it got easier as time went by. Course that could just be cause I'm a lazy smuck and when it got easier to clean my house cause I had less *** I realized I liked it. *G*

Saint

"Use it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or do without!"

I was raised by a mom who was raised during the depression (so was my husband) and I think that that philosophy is completely ingrained on our brains! I was looking for stuff to donate for Katrina and I realized that I don't really have anything because, when I'm done using something, it really isn't worth much to anyone else. In fact, a lot of the stuff I have is other peoples' "junk" that I couldn't stand to see them throw away! (Like that old end table.)

Right now I'm looking at a hand-crank type pencil sharpener that I took out of someone's garbage can at work and stuck duct tape over the broken side and still use. I can see the $5 desk lamp that my husband hasn't replaced, even though the switch is broken. He just plugs it in when he wants to use it. This is just the tip of the iceberg. To us, nothing is junk, even when it is! ; )

I chucked out the containers, and I'm not going back. I've got to start somewhere. : )

Rhonda

Baby Steps - one thing at a time.

Being a packrat myself (and married to one) and raised that way - I'm always saying - "this might be useful some day" - but that day never comes. What's helped me alot is to ask the following questions:

1) Have you used it/worn it/needed it within the last 12 months?

2) If not, will you use it/wear it/need it in the next 3 months?

3) If the answer to 1 and 2 are no, is there a valid emotional tie to the object? If no, out it goes! If yes, ask yourself if keeping the object really is necessary? Will it be passed down? If not - reconsider getting rid of it.

Also - I'm learning to throw out magazines - REALLY hard for me - because anything in them I want to keep - I can either find it on the internet - or somewhere else - when I get ready for it. And - I won't remember what those things are anyway.

Keep at it. It will get easier.

Good luck!

Marcia

my dh is that way with magazines so I have started cutting the page out with the article he wants to keep and putting it in a binder. The sheets are very thin and he will be able to keep thousands in this large binder