October Decluttering: Part 1

My decluttering goal in October is to declutter 10 items a day for a total of 310 items.  So, how is it going?  I'm a little behind, but, here's an update for the first five days.

Day 1: 10 books.

Day 1: 10 Books

Day 2:  1 catalog of quilt patterns, a miscellaneous collection of craft supplies (ribbons, feathers, lace, Easter eggs, artificial flowers, small pom poms, a crayon, and the zippered bag in which they had been stored. The majority of the items were tossed.

Day 2: One Catalog and Miscellaneous Craft Supplies

Day 3: 8 books, 1 skirt, 1 blouse.  I have now gone through all my patchwork/quilting books and decluttered all but three, which I am keeping for now.

The skirt (floral, long, lined, with tiered chiffon flounces) was something my cousins gave me when they were decluttering their mother's closet a few years ago.  I loved it, but, it was too snug and I didn't want to undo the fitted waist and zipper to alter it.  But, I kept it, hoping that one day, I'd lose some weight and it would fit.  Well, I lost a bit of weight, and, I was able to fit into the skirt last winter.  But, by this summer, I had lost a little more weight and now, the skirt is a bit loose!  The waist slips down a bit, the long skirt gets too long, and I run the risk of tripping on it!  I don't want to cut and shorten the skirt, so, I'm donating it.

Day 3: 8 Books, 1 Skirt, 1 Blouse

Day 4:  Kitchen Items - 1 copper sauté pan, 2 copper saucepans and lids, 1 metal trivet, 6 spoons/utensils.

The trivet is something I purchased for $0.25 from a thrift store when I was a student in Wisconsin because I loved that saying ("The hurrier I go the behinder I get").  But, it is time to pass it along.

The copper cookware was something I collected in the 1980s.  I never used them for cooking, just for displaying.  I still have the colander, kettle, and the big pan.  I use the kettle to hold some of my cooking utensils, the colander to hold fruit, and plan to use the big pan as a planter.

The cooking utensils were given by neighbor S, when she was sorting through her kitchen.  I accepted them thinking I will use them, but, haven't used these items and it's time to let them go.

Day 4: Kitchen Items

Day 5:  3 Books, 3 VHS tapes, 4 pairs of glass bangles from Sri Lanka.  The bangles are the last of the 10 or 12 pairs that I bought on my first trip back to Sri Lanka in 1979.  The majority of them broke over the years.  The red pair still fits, but the others are too small to fit over my hands, now.  

Day 5: Books, VHS Tapes, and Bangles

I am making progress and I am starting to see it.  It is a bit slow going and I find myself needing to take some breaks as I ask myself questions like, "Am I really going to re-read it?  Am I really going to make those projects?  Can I find directions for similar projects online?"  etc.  For the most part, I am still focusing on reducing the visual clutter, but, I look through drawers and cabinets, too, especially when I'm looking to make up the numbers!  

If you are decluttering this month, how are you doing?

Shopping on Monday

Dollar Store Haul

On Monday, I went back to the pharmacy to pick up another medication that was ready for pick up and this time, I decided that I will look around the newly opened dollar store which replaced the old dollar store that went out of business.  I saw that they had frozen foods  (I bought a hot pocket and a big burrito for $1.25 each),  candy and other snacks (I bought a package of one of my favorite candies), canned and other shelf stable foods (didn't buy any), lots of kitchen ware and baking supplies (I bought a set of paper muffin/cupcake liners) and, in their crafts supplies aisle, yarn!

100% acrylic, no-brand name yarn, in 50 gram balls for $1.25 each.  Which is approximately what I would pay for an equal amount (by weight) of store brand yarn at the big crafts supplies store and a little less than an equal amount of name brand yarn.   At first, I passed the yarn section without buying anything, but, then, I went back and bought 15 balls of yarn!  Three each of grey, blue, and white, and six of purple "eggplant"!  I had been telling my daughter, just the other day, that I wanted to get more yarn for another blanket.  Besides, I wanted to support this dollar store, after the other one went out of business.

My bill came to $25.65 with tax.

After I came home, I had half of the burrito for a very late lunch (I had the other half for dinner).

When I got home, my new neighbor E (who bought neighbor T's house) came over.  About a couple of weeks ago, I had asked him if he could fix or replace my automatic garage door opener, which had been broken for years (it was last repaired in November 2019, then broke shortly after that and I've been opening and closing it manually since then).  I told him I could buy a new unit if he could install it for me.  He told me he could try to get a replacement part (he does construction work).  Well, today, he told me that one of the guys he works with will bring the part over and they can install it, later in the evening.  Around 6:00 p.m., he and two other guys showed up with a replacement unit!  They took down my old unit, installed the replacement unit, and adjusted the mechanism that moved the door up and down to their satisfaction.  It took them over one hour but the door works beautifully, now!  At the end of it, E handed me the new remote and had me open and close the door.  I asked him how much I owed him for parts and labor and he brushed it aside and said, 'Nothing"!  I was overwhelmed!  That was a lot of work for nothing!  I thanked him and his assistants and, of course, I will take over a thank you gift, later in the week.  But, that was such a blessing!  One more item crossed off my mile-long to do list!  

I have many more repairs to be done around the house.  I will ask E to give me an estimate to do those, though, and insist on paying him!  

I watered the back yard while they were fixing the garage door.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- My medication was available at the pharmacy
- A safe drive to the pharmacy and stores and back
- Neighbor E was able to replace my garage door opener
- He very generously didn't charge me for the work!
- A working garage door

Today's joyful activity was shopping!  LOL.

Sunny Days

 

Enjoying the Sunshine

The sunny and warm weather continues with the daytime highs being about 94F/34C.  Dancer still likes to lie on his quilt and enjoy the sun rays.  

My daughter had a virtual consultation with her doctor about her ankle on Thursday and the doctor wanted her to come in to have her ankle x-rayed and be fitted with a boot on Friday.  The x-rays showed that there were no fractures; thank goodness for that!  It's just a very bad sprain.  Even with the boot, my daughter is unable to put any weight on her foot.  The doctor told her that it might take a few weeks, but, if she is still unable to walk in four weeks, to make another appointment to consult with her.

My daughter's former supervisor K, who has since become a good friend, drove her to the clinic, stayed with  her until she was seen, and brought her home, again.  And on her way out, K took my daughter's household trash to the big trash container in the basement of the apartment building for her.  I am so grateful that my daughter has such a kind and helpful friend up there.

On Friday, I went to the pharmacy to pick up a medication refill that was ready.  I saw that they have opened a Dollar Tree where the former dollar store was (the one that went out of business).  I didn't go in to check it out because I really don't need anything, but, I just might go by one day, next week (and probably find things I didn't know I needed until I saw them!) LOL

 

M was here on Friday and he tended to the garden, watering and weeding, etc.  We discussed the cold weather vegetables I want to plant this year - carrots, beets, and maybe some chard.  I might plant some lettuce, too.  We will probably wait until late October or even, early November to plant them.

Also on Friday, neighbor S's family blessed me with most of a bag of frozen meatballs and a box of cereal bars with a strawberry fruit filling.  S's daughter called to ask if I'd like to have the meatballs as her father had bought them and they had some, but, didn't want the rest!  I was happy to have them and the box of cereal bars, as well.  I took some of the meatballs and made spaghetti with meatballs for dinner on Friday and had leftovers for Saturday night's dinner, as well.   The rest of the bag is in the freezer.  I plan to make some meatball curry, later.  

Saturday was a relaxed day.  I did a load of laundry, took some of the decluttered items to the recycling bin, watched some videos, and walked for a bit once it had cooled down.

I am grateful for:

- Daughter was able to consult with her doctor and have her ankle attended to
- It was not a fracture; just a bad sprain
- Her former supervisor was there to help her

- M's help with the garden
- Gifts of food from neighbor S's family

My joyful activities included tending to the garden, planning the cool weather crops, and watching videos.

Plans for Sunday include some kitchen cleaning and decluttering.

How is your weekend coming along?  What are your plans for Sunday?

Balanced Life Monthly Goals - September Review and October Goals

October has already started, so it's high time to review my monthly goals for September and post my goals for October.

Health, Self-Care & Well Being (6.75)(6.75):  The goal is good health.

September Health Goals Review:

My September health goals included taking my prescribed medications, more regular exercise, and a better diet; there was, in addition, a bone density scan.    To that end, 

- I have been taking my medications and the supplements my doctor recommended that I take.

- I have been walking more or less regularly (but, not as often or for as long as I should). 
- I have been trying to improve my diet by keeping track of the variety of plant based foods I eat and servings of fruits and vegetables per day (although I sort of stopped doing that towards the end of the month). 

- I had my bone density scan; the results would have been sent to my doctor and I will find out when I see her next.
- I have maintained the weight loss of 5 lbs. I accomplished in July, although there have been some weekly fluctuations of a couple of pounds gained or lost!  

I'm keeping my satisfaction rating the same because I feel that I didn't do enough to raise it.  

October Health Goals: continue to work on the above goals.  More specifically,

- consistently walk for 20 minutes daily

- increase the daily servings of vegetables to 3 and maintain that consistently
- decrease the consumption of added sugar
- reduce my weight by an additional 5 lbs. by the end of the month 
- Do another blood test at the end of the month

Apart from all that, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I am a survivor of 9 years as I had my lumpectomy on October 2, 2015.  Such a blessing!

Time Management (8.25)(8.00): The goal is to spend my time in a mindful manner.

- Spend time purposefully, mindfully

- Procrastinate less

September Goals Review:
I had a hard time with my procrastination tendencies, in September! My favorite excuse to put off doing things was that it was too hot!  Too hot to walk, too hot to do housework, too hot to cook, "too hot to trot"!  LOL.  However, the important things, such as medical appointments and bill paying, were still accomplished in a timely manner.  Even so, I made a small reduction in the satisfaction level because I did procrastinate.

October Time Management Goals: To continue to spend my time in a mindful manner and to procrastinate less.  

House (8.75)(8.75):  The goal is a home that is pleasant, comfortable, and welcoming.

September House Goals Review:

My biggest accomplishment in this area was the amount of decluttering I did!  I have posted regular weekly decluttering posts, so I am not going to  write much more about it.  However, I have made a dent in The Dump, which is what I've been calling the spare bedroom! 

I have been cleaning in a minimal fashion, dusting and wiping things down as I decluttered; it really has been too hot to do any real deep cleaning!  That's my excuse and I am sticking to it!  LOL.  However, I was able to get a couple areas set up the way I wanted, including this corner in the hallway where I used to keep the home telephone and answering machine:

The Old Telephone Table

I'm keeping the same rating, despite the amount of decluttering I did.  Partly because quite a bit of the decluttered items had been stored in drawers and cabinets, in closed storage.  Only the books and VHS tapes had been stored on shelves and visible.  There is still quite a bit of what I consider as visual clutter.  

October House Goals: Continue to keep a pleasant, well maintained house, keep the horizontal surfaces cleared, and continue to declutter.  I've a goal of decluttering 10 items a day for a total of 310 items for the month.

Spiritual (10)(10):   The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life.

September Spiritual Goals Review:
I continued doing the things I consider as important to live a spiritually meaningful life with daily prayers, meditation, being kind and helpful to others, and cultivating gratitude.  I'm keeping the same rating.    

October Spiritual Goals: Continue to pray daily, meditate, cultivate gratitude, etc.

Daughter (10)(10):  The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her.

 

September Goals Review:  

My goal was to continue to maintain a close relationship with my daughter and I did that. There is no change in the satisfaction rating.   

October Goals: Continue to have a close relationship with my daughter.

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies (10)(10):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.

September Goals Review:
My September goals included engaging in more fun, relaxing activities including crocheting, reading and gardening and I did all of those.  Once again, I read the maximum number of e-books I was allowed to borrow from the online library, gardened, listened to music, watched videos, and crocheted.   I am keeping the rating the same.   

October Goals include more of the same. 

Garden (10)(10):  The goal is a garden that is productive, yet drought tolerant.

September Goals Review:
My September garden goals were to continue to nurture the fruit trees and vegetable plants and to maintain the garden.  The September heatwave we had was brutal, but, with M's help, I've been able to keep the garden productive.  I am keeping the rating the same.

October Garden Goals:  Continue to nurture the fruit trees (give them their last application of fertilizer, prune as needed), continue to clean up and maintain the garden.  Start thinking about planting cool weather plants.  

Family/Friends/Community (10)(10):  The goal is to have a close connection with family and friends and be involved with my community.

- Regular phone calls and emails, etc., to keep in touch with family and friends
- The occasional in person visits as and when I feel comfortable with doing so

- Participate in the blogging community and the online organizing community

September Goals Review:
In September, I kept in touch with family and friends through phone calls, texts, and emails.  There weren't many in person visits, but, I did have a curbside visit with friend R when I dropped off some packages.  I participated in the blogging community, as well, and interacted with neighbor S and her daughters.  I am keeping the rating at 10.

October Goals will continue to be the same as above.  

Finances (10.0)(10.0):  The goal is financial security.

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose

September Goals Review:

My September goal was to continue to budget and spend mindfully, with purpose, and I believe that I have met my goals.

October Financial Goals: Continue to budget and spend mindfully, with purpose.

September was another good month.  Only one area (Time Management) had the satisfaction rating lowered by a little bit.  The other areas remained the same, although there's room for improvement, especially in the Health area. I hope that October will to be another good month.

How was your September?  Did you feel that there was balance in the different areas of your life?

October Heatwave!

"It's 100F; I stare into space;
maybe Mummy will put the a/c on"

We are having a little October heatwave.  But, not enough for me to put the a/c on, although I did put the fan on for a little bit in the late afternoon.  

Yesterday (Tuesday) was the first of the month and I made my usual milkrice for brunch.  Then, I paid the auto insurance bill that was coming due by the end of the week, called and wished my stepfather's sister who celebrated her 95th birthday, ran the dishwasher, washed my bedsheets and remade the bed, watered the indoor plants, brought the trash cans in from the curb after they had been emptied, and, later in the evening, watched the vice presidential debate.  

Today (Wednesday), I paid three more bills - the gas bill (which let me know, in a colorful graphic, that I went over my baseline of 14 therms by 2 additional therms, even though I didn't use the heater and used the oven only once, and which were charged at a higher rate), the water and power/utility bill (again, I went over my Tier 1 water allocation which is charged at the lowest rate of approx. $10 per hundred cubic feet, by another 1 hundred cubic feet, which cost approx. $12 per hundred cubic feet), and Dancer's vet care and medication bill.

Gardener friend M arrived later in the morning and he shared a chive plant with me.  I shared the leftover milkrice with him, served with a spicy onion relish called seeni sambol.  Afterwards, he watered the back garden and did some raking and tidying up.

I had a long conversation with Aunt C (well, she talked and I mostly listened)   I also chatted a bit with friend R.  Earlier in the week, I checked with my niece in Florida to see if she was OK after the hurricane and with my niece in North Carolina, too; they were OK.

I didn't make a proper meal plan for this week - I had egg salad sandwiches on Monday for both brunch and dinner, then, milkrice for brunch on Tuesday and Wednesday, leftover rice and curries for Tuesday's dinner, pancakes with seeni sambol for Wednesday's dinner, and cheese and crackers plus fresh fruit for snacks.  I should do some cooking, tomorrow (Thursday), but, I might just make some tuna salad sandwiches, instead, if I feel too lazy to cook (or it is too hot to cook).

The other night ( I think it was Sunday night), I wanted to have a pizza delivered.  But, the more inexpensive pizza places don't deliver and the cheapest delivery pizza special was $14.99 plus tax for a large 1 topping pizza, with a $7.99 delivery fee and optional tip for the driver, which would have increased the cost of the pizza to about $30.00 which is more than my weekly grocery budget.  Needless to say, I didn't order the pizza!  I had a cup of instant chicken noodle soup, instead!  LOL.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Hot and sunny days
- M's help with the garden (and sharing plants with me)
- Chats with aunts and friends
- Electricity to run the appliances and water for the garden, etc.
- Blog friends who participate in decluttering with me

Today's joyful activities have included sharing milkrice for brunch with M and tending to the garden.

Plans for Thursday include more decluttering, maybe cooking, ordering Dancer's medication refill, making his next appointment for his injection, and giving him his flea prevention medication. 

"No a/c; don't like flea meds; I stare at the carpet"

How is the weather where you are?  I hope you are not affected by inclement weather and safe from storms and hurricanes. 

Seeing Decluttering Results and October Goals

 

Family Room Bookcase 

This is the "before" picture of the family room bookcase, taken in mid September.  Five shelves with four of them filled with books and the middle shelf displaying four brass decorative items.  I didn't pull out the trolley table with the inlaid work to take a better picture of the bottom shelf because it was too much work (the trolley table has a removable lower shelf and I've stored jars of jam and chutney on that shelf).  The bookcase was sort of organized by categories of books.  The top shelf held books on religion, the second shelf held crafts books (mostly knitting, quilting, and crochet), the middle shelf held decorative brassware, the fourth shelf held more crafts books and a few other non-craft books, and the fifth, bottom most, shelf held books about gardening and decorating.  

I have a tendency to jump from place to place when decluttering, rather than going through one shelf or drawer and decluttering that before moving on.  I am not sure why I do that, except, perhaps, I find it easier.  Somehow, it doesn't seem quite so overwhelming to pull a couple of items from here and another item or two from there, knowing that, sooner or later, it will make a difference.  The downside of that is, of course, I can never say I have completely decluttered one particular area or category of items.

However, when it came to this bookcase, I had an idea of what I wanted the top shelf to look like.  

Top Shelf: Before

I asked myself which books were most important to me and which books might I realistically re-read.  Here is the end result of the decluttering of the top shelf:

Top Shelf: After

I decluttered approximately one third of the books that were on the shelf.  I might not keep this particular arrangement, but, I don't intend to add more books to this shelf.  

I have started decluttering the next shelf, but, I haven't finished it.  Here's the "before" picture:

Second Shelf: Before

I will continue to declutter this shelf, and other areas of my house, in October.  The October decluttering goal is 10 items a day for a total of 310 items for the month. 

 

Will you be joining me in an October decluttering challenge?

September Decluttering - Week 4

On to September decluttering week 4 or the final push!

Here are the links to the previous weeks of decluttering during the September decluttering challenge:

Week 1 Decluttering

Week 2 Decluttering

Week 3 Decluttering

22nd - On the 22nd, there were 10 items that I didn't photograph: 6 cardboard boxes I had been keeping because I never saw a cardboard box I didn't want to keep (flattened and used in the garden as a weed barrier), 2 empty gallon sized plastic water bottles I had kept because "you never know when you might need a gallon sized bottle" (recycled), 2 additional pill containers lurking in a drawer, kept because I made the mistake of looking up uses for empty pill containers on Pinterest (recycled) and the following 12 items I did photograph: 1 cute resin kitty with a broken Welcome sign (decided I didn't want a broken welcome sign at my front door), 1 tote bag, 2 lantern shaped candle holders (given to me by M who rescued them from another client who was going to throw them away; I used them for decorations and during a recent power cut, but, I have other candle holders), 1 camera and holder, 2 lab work books (my daughter's that she said to declutter), 2 vinyl records, 1 stack of craft idea cards, 2 CDs. The lab workbooks and craft cards will be recycled.

Day 22: The Photographed Items (12)

23rd:  2 empty yogurt containers, 3 VHS tapes, 18 books (the tattered red book on top will be recycled; the rest will be donated):

Day 23: 2 Yogurt Containers, 3 VHS Tapes, 18 Books

Day 24:  Daughter's Text books.  She had decluttered them but, I had held onto them thinking I could donate them to someone, but, no one accepts used text books, especially after several years.  I will have to dump them all in the recycling bin and that about breaks my heart.

Day 24: 24 Text Books

Day 25: 5 boxes, 10 books, 6 brass coasters, 1 VHS tape, 1 calculator, 1 decorative bathtub shaped painted wooden shelf (craft item), 1 pack of dried out markers , 

Day 25: Boxes, Books, Coasters, VHS Tape,
Calculater, Craft Item, Dried Out Markers

And that is where I stopped decluttering for September.  I sort of hit a brick wall.  I think I got decision fatigue and/or overwhelmed when the numbers got bigger.  I sort of anticipated that happening.  Which is why I gave myself permission to stop at 300 items, which would have been the equivalent of 10 items a day.  But, I went a little bit above that and I am happy about that.  At the same time, I feel a little disappointed that I didn't quite make the 465 items goal.

Week 4 decluttering = 22 + 23 + 24 + 25 = 94

Week 1 = 28

Week 2 = 77

Week 3 = 126

Week 4 - 94

Total decluttered in September = 28 + 77 + 126 + 94 = 325

So how do I feel about this decluttering challenge? It was something I felt I had to do as I felt that I had too much and the visual clutter was getting to me.  Yet, at the same time, decluttering doesn't come easily to me and it was hard to declutter my books (and CDs and VHS tapes).  I felt the need to look through each book (partly because I tend to write my name and the date of purchase on the inside of each book and I don't want my name floating around anymore than it is already with the various data breaches!)  I love looking at the pictures of various craft books and I had to tell myself that I was not going make half the items shown in the books, it was better to let someone else try making them.  I wanted to re-read all the non-fiction books and I had to curtail that to just a skim through (I did hold back a few to re-read them).  I told myself to be realistic about how likely I was to re-read some of my books.  As for the CDs and VHS tapes, I listened to each CD before I decided it could be decluttered and watched each VHS tape (yes, I still have a working VHS tape player).  

There is much more to declutter, but, as I stated above, I experienced decision fatigue and had to stop for a few day and then, I ran out of month!  I will continue to declutter, most probably at a slower pace, in October, too.  It's not quite Swedish death cleaning, but, I am mentally preparing myself for a possible downsizing sometime in the future.  When that happens, I want to be able to easily fit my belongings into a much smaller space.  

The next step is to call for a donations pick up!

Thank you to all of you who have encouraged me and cheered me on.  Thank you, too, for not being judgmental in your comments about what I had been holding onto.  I know that some of you joined me in decluttering and I hope you had a successful month of decluttering.  If anyone is interested, you are welcome to join me again, in October.