Peeved Michelle at 09:21 AM in Household, Resolution | Permalink | Comments (0)
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It has been a few months since I updated about my resolution to get rid of ten things a day this year. The long gap is due to the fact that I haven't been getting rid of much. A box here or there to Goodwill and a bag of baby clothes here or there to my sister. Tonight, I got rid of 115 things in about an hour. I needed this purge of things to help me purge my mind of some heavy things I wrote in my journal. It worked. Now - well, as soon as I finish this post - I can get some sleep.
Peeved Michelle at 01:57 AM in Organization, Resolution | Permalink | Comments (4)
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If you recall, my New Year's Resolution was to get rid of ten things a day. With all the moving, packing, and purging that I have done, I would be that I have gotten rid of 900 things this year. That number makes me sick, especially when I think of how much stuff there is left in my house.
I downsized from a four-bedroom, 2000-s.f. house with a three-car garage to a three-bedroom, 1400-s.f. (maybe) house with barely a two-car garage. We're not done unpacking yet, but most of our stuff fits. With each box I unpack, I get rid of a few more things.
I was at an impasse in the living room until a couple nights ago. I simply could not figure out how to fit our home office furniture into the living room. At our old house, we had a living room, a family room, and a home office (the fourth bedroom). We had to combine all the functions of those rooms into one room in this house.
As I was sitting in the living room, staring at boxes still packed, and furniture shoved up against the walls, I thought, "Why am I holding on to the office furniture?" We didn't even use most of it at the old house. I have two desks, a three-drawer lateral file cabinet, a smaller cabinet with one lateral file drawer and one sort of open area with a roll-up style door, and a hanging cabinet. We also have a huge laser printer/fax/copier/scanner. We have used all the functions of the printer, but we no longer have as much need for it as we once did, plus we still have my color inkjet printer, but that isn't networkable.
I couldn't understand why I was unwilling to let this IKEA furniture go but, if I needed to, I was going to sell my giant teak china cabinet that took me a year to find.
This weekend, I am taking pictures of the office furniture and putting it on Craigslist. I will keep one desk and the two-drawer cabinet. Those two pieces will fit easily into a corner of the living room.
Peeved Michelle at 08:23 AM in Household, Office Supplies, Organization, Resolution | Permalink | Comments (0)
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We have finally moved. Unpacking is going very slowly. Part of the problem is that we don't have a new washer and dryer yet, so I spend most of Saturday at my mom's house doing laundry instead of unpacking. We should be able to get a set this weekend. We decided not to cheap out -- to get what we really want and plan to keep them for a long time -- so we had to wait for another pay day to roll around.
Because the unpacking is going so slowly, the getting rid of things has slowed down as well. I am probably not getting rid of things at a rate of 10 per day right now, but I have not given up completely. I just put two boxes out for a donation pick up on Monday and I expect to have two more boxes to put out next Monday (along with a desk the former tenant left behind). Once the rate of unpacking picks up, so will my daily rate of getting rid of things.
Peeved Michelle at 03:37 PM in Household, Organization, Resolution | Permalink | Comments (0)
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I am an atheist but I celebrate Christmas and Easter as secular family traditions. Easter starts with the Lenten season, which starts tomorrow, on Ash Wednesday and lasts for 40 days until Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. For Lent, I usually give up something like sodas or Cadbury Creme Eggs or steaks or American Idol.
This year, I am giving up everything. I feel like my life has gotten a little off track. I am putting my energy into the wrong things. I am going to use this time to reset. I am going to see if I can give up every bad habit I have and divest myself of any extraneous demands on my time and energy.
Here is a list of things I can do without:
Peeved Michelle at 10:00 PM in Religion, Resolution | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Oh, it's been a month since I posted? That's because I have been busy getting rid of things. In the past 30 days, I have easily given away or thrown away or recycled well over 300 things that were cluttering up my four-bedroom, 2000-square-foot house. We are moving a week from tomorrow into a three-bedroom, 1400-square-foot house, so I have not just been organizing and decluttering, I have been downsizing as well.
The downsizing was not going as well as the organizing and decluttering until recently. This week, I sold a kitchen table set, and a matching couch and love seat. The buyers of our house bought two of my side chairs and our refrigerator. I was hoping they were going to buy our beast of a bedroom set as well, but they decided on something else.
This week, I am mailing off a package of toiletries to the troops in Iraq, via anysoldier.com. I had a basket with lots of travel size toiletries that I kept in the spare bathroom for guests. My husband suggested donating them to deployed troops (he is a veteran of the first war in Iraq) and @staceylt, a military wife recommended anysoldier.com to me. I found a unit that specifically wanted toiletries and hadn't received much so far. This unit had a good number of women and also requested pads, so I bought some of the ones that come with a wet wipe attached. My BIL works in a health food store and had tons of samples of all-natural toiletries and muscle pain creams and things like that, so I threw that stuff in, too. That box is crazy heavy.
The next week is going to be light on the getting rid of things because we will be concentrating on packing and moving. As we unpack in the new place, I expect for many neglected areas to be freshly organized and whipped into shape. I don't anticipate a problem with continuing to get rid of ten things a day, at least until later in the Spring.
Here are few things that I know are on the chopping block after we move:
Peeved Michelle at 11:34 AM in Household, Organization, Resolution | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Things I got rid of since the last update:
2 pack-n-play sheets
19 cardboard coasters that I only used for birthday parties
1 Hello Kitty water bottle made in China
3 pairs of decorative edging scissors
2 USB drives
A bread basket with warming stone
Things I already got rid of:
13 candy canes
2 pieces of peppermint taffy
1 organza gift bag
12 silver plastic chargers
12 gold plastic chargers
3 baby blankets
8 toddler pants
3 toddler shirts
1 toddler sweater
3 baby pants
4 pr kids socks
1 basket
1 pr panties (never worn, they fit like crap)
Vase w/fake rununculus
2 dish towels
2 doz votives
10 skinny taper candles
3 taper candles
1 lg earthenware bowl
2 pkgs jelly beans leftover from making turkey cake pops
1 drinking glass that I dropped on the kitchen floor
Mega Bloks bus w/driver
3 pillar candle holders
1 doz stocking stuffer toys and doo-dads
Stamping supplies
Scrapbooking supplies
3 casserole dishes
Potato ricer
Loaf pan
3 mixing bowls
Wooden salad bowls
Microplane
Mandoline-style slicer
8 disposable loaf pans
16-year-old down parka
10-year old leather jacket
5-year-old puffy pink jacket
5 pairs of pants
3 sweaters
2 bathing suits
2 pairs of shoes
3 belts
More of my clothes
Baby clothes
Baby shoes
Bibs
Diaper bag
Insulated bottle cooler bag
Baby play mat
Bumbo seat
12 champagne glasses
5 cookbooks
Toys
Children's books
Wrapping paper, bows, etc.
Peeved Michelle at 09:01 AM in Household, Narcissism, Organization, Resolution | Permalink | Comments (1)
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My New Year's resolution to get rid of ten things a day was a continuation of what I'd already been doing to pare down our possessions before we move to a smaller house. It isn't really about reducing the amount of stuff we own, it is more about streamlining our lives. We have very busy lives. Apparently, I am an overachiever and I won't admit it. (Several people, in different areas of my life, have pointed this out to me recently. I still don't buy it.)
I had a set of three ceramic mixing bowls from my mother-in-law. They were pretty and went well with our kitchen decor. They also weighed a ton. I nearly gave myself a hernia every time I took them out of the cupboard. I had those mixing bowls for five years. Last month, I did more baking than I normally do and it became apparent that I had to get rid of those mixing bowls. It wasn't an easy decision, though. They are nice. They were a gift. They are functional and in great condition. But, I had to ask myself this, "Do they make my life easier?" No, so they go. They went.
I wanted to replace them with plastic mixing bowls with a pour spout and rubber grips, so I put a set of those mixing bowls on my Amazon wish list. And, just as I was getting to this part of the post, I thought, "You have a good job, jackass, why don't you just buy them for yourself?" [please hold] So, I just did, along with a new mandoline slicer
to replace the comically dangerous one we used to own and new measuring devices
that will help us reduce the number of them we need to own.
For some reason, I don't like to buy new things that would make my life easier if I already own something that is performing basically the same function. A few months ago, I finally bought a new trashcan to use for recycling in the kitchen. The lid had broken on the old stepcan and no longer worked with the pedal. It pissed me off every time I had to lift it to put something in there, or it fell on the floor because it sat at a weird angle on top of the can. I lived with that broken thing for a year. A year! What the hell is wrong with me?
Last night, I bought 100 paper coffee cups with plastic lids. I finally said, "Screw the environment." I am tired of having every cupholder in my car filled with a dirty glass from my house. I take a drink with me to work in the morning, but I can't bring the glass in when I get home because my hands are full with kids. Once I get into the house, I have to let the dog out, get the baby's bottle, and get the toddler's dinner. Then, I forget to go back out, and I bring a new glass out in the morning. Now, I can just throw away (recycle) the dirty cup when I get to work. Seriously, the environment can suck it.
The next thing I am going to do is buy duplicates of some of my make-up and moisturizers so that I can keep a little bag in my purse. I tried putting my regular make-up bag in my purse but then I would be too lazy to go downstairs and fish it out in the morning when I wanted to put on make-up, so I ended up carrying it around all the time and never wearing make-up.
This is so obvious, but it has taken me 35 years to figure it out.
Peeved Michelle at 12:16 PM in Organization, Resolution | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Things I got rid of since the last update:
I nearly forgot about getting rid of stuff last night, then I spotted a crystal cookie jar on my countertop that was only supposed to be there for the holidays, so I got rid of:
13 candy canes
2 pieces of peppermint taffy
Things I already got rid of:
1 organza gift bag
12 silver plastic chargers
12 gold plastic chargers
3 baby blankets
8 toddler pants
3 toddler shirts
1 toddler sweater
3 baby pants
4 pr kids socks
1 basket
1 pr panties (never worn, they fit like crap)
Vase w/fake rununculus
2 dish towels
2 doz votives
10 skinny taper candles
3 taper candles
1 lg earthenware bowl
2 pkgs jelly beans leftover from making turkey cake pops
1 drinking glass that I dropped on the kitchen floor
Mega Bloks bus w/driver
3 pillar candle holders
1 doz stocking stuffer toys and doo-dads
Stamping supplies
Scrapbooking supplies
3 casserole dishes
Potato ricer
Loaf pan
3 mixing bowls
Wooden salad bowls
Microplane
Mandoline-style slicer
8 disposable loaf pans
16-year-old down parka
10-year old leather jacket
5-year-old puffy pink jacket
5 pairs of pants
3 sweaters
2 bathing suits
2 pairs of shoes
3 belts
More of my clothes
Baby clothes
Baby shoes
Bibs
Diaper bag
Insulated bottle cooler bag
Baby play mat
Bumbo seat
12 champagne glasses
5 cookbooks
Toys
Children's books
Wrapping paper, bows, etc.
Peeved Michelle at 11:40 AM in Household, Narcissism, Organization, Resolution | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Things I got rid of since the last update:
1 organza gift bag
12 silver plastic chargers
12 gold plastic chargers
Things I already got rid of:
3 baby blankets
8 toddler pants
3 toddler shirts
1 toddler sweater
3 baby pants
4 pr kids socks
1 basket
1 pr panties (never worn, they fit like crap)
Vase w/fake rununculus
2 dish towels
2 doz votives
10 skinny taper candles
3 taper candles
1 lg earthenware bowl
2 pkgs jelly beans leftover from making turkey cake pops
1 drinking glass that I dropped on the kitchen floor
Mega Bloks bus w/driver
3 pillar candle holders
1 doz stocking stuffer toys and doo-dads
Stamping supplies
Scrapbooking supplies
3 casserole dishes
Potato ricer
Loaf pan
3 mixing bowls
Wooden salad bowls
Microplane
Mandoline-style slicer
8 disposable loaf pans
16-year-old down parka
10-year old leather jacket
5-year-old puffy pink jacket
5 pairs of pants
3 sweaters
2 bathing suits
2 pairs of shoes
3 belts
More of my clothes
Baby clothes
Baby shoes
Bibs
Diaper bag
Insulated bottle cooler bag
Baby play mat
Bumbo seat
12 champagne glasses
5 cookbooks
Toys
Children's books
Wrapping paper, bows, etc.
Peeved Michelle at 10:30 AM in Household, Narcissism, Organization, Resolution | Permalink | Comments (0)
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