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Post by phoebepj on Jun 28, 2010 21:34:51 GMT -5
Against Garbage!
Since my trash can has arrived, I have placed and gotten rid of 11 trash bags and have multiple more (at least 25 - of various sizes) that are just waiting to go out the door. I finally don't feel embarrassed about garbage. I simply wheel my garbage can to the curb wednesday night and by 8-9 am thursday morning, its been emptied and ready to receive more garbage. (unfortunately, its not placed back in the same spot i put it, but it is only across the street. so its not that far to walk to get it)
I'm hoping if i keep placing it in the same spot, eventually, they;ll get the idea and empty it where it is, but its not a big of a deal for me to get the can from across the street either.
My kitchen is almost clean, the countertops still need to be re-organized and my sink and dishes need to be cleaned after i dig out some of the sink muck (bleh!) The livingroom is mostly clean with the exception of some clean laundry on the couch and nearby area, I need to organize that. I also need to empty out the fridge of leftover nasty food (will do that on a wednesday evening before i take the can to the curb, so that the food wont spoil in the can during the week)
My office and bathroom are gonna be my biggest challenges, but with most of the garbage bagged up in the office, all i'll have to do is put the bags in the garbage can, and make sure that all remaining garbage gets in the bags. My biggest battle in the office is my laundry. I think i need a 3rd laundry basket, that way i will have 2 empty ones and one full of clean clothes that come back from the laundromat (i'm still a bit *** to put the clothes away in drawers.
The bathroom is going to be a huge battle. For such a small area, it contains my cats litter box and other various cat items (pooper scooper, litter, etc...) Hopefully with this garbage can, i'll be more willing to empty the catbox more frequently, or at least scoop the poop where i can easily dispose of it immediately downstairs in the can. (in bags of course!)
My bedroom is surprisingly the least squalorous of all my rooms, but then i only go in there to sleep at night. I do have a few piles of things in the corner and a few bags of clothes in the closet. I'd like to go through those items once i've got the main part of my apartment under control again and dispose of them. I think by doing that it will help with my organization of other items. I also need to be more vigilant with changing my bedsheets and washing my bed linens and comforters.
I see big changes in my future and i'm excited about finally getting to maintenance the way i want it to be. My place isnt NEARLY as bad as when i had 130+ bags of trash piled up everywhere, but i did backslide quite a bit. Most of my backsliding was due to me having a second job, so my energy level got zapped and i simply didnt want to face having to trudge to the dumpster. This new can is working out splendidly and i can tell me and garbage are gonna have a better relationship.
Thanks for reading.
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Blackswan
Banned
Joined: October 2008
Posts: 6,388
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Post by Blackswan on Jun 28, 2010 23:30:38 GMT -5
Good job on the garbage control! That must feel amazing! I had a funny thought. What if the garbage collectors are trying to train YOU to put the can across the street and this goes on for years and years and years?  |
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Post by Little_Ninja on Jun 29, 2010 1:20:35 GMT -5
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Post by messymimi on Jun 29, 2010 10:53:27 GMT -5
Amazing work and progress!!!
All of us have the occasional slip backward a bit, but you caught yourself and kept going. That is wonderful.
Here's to no more garbage bags waiting to go out!
messymimi
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Post by phoebepj on Jul 1, 2010 14:51:07 GMT -5
Blackswan.. and others.... There has been a bit of a hangup in my garbage, I put it out yesterday evening and it was still not emptied by this morning, I thought they might be running late, so i went about my day to come home and find... my can has STILL not been emptied.... GRRRRRRR this is frustrating as all heck! I called the city, the lady claimed it was becuase i just got a can why it wasnt emptied, i told her they had been emptying it the last 2 weeks, then she says, oh there might have been a substitute driver on that route... i accepted this, until i realized every OTHER Can had been emptied.  ? so i told her i put it out by the street, and when i had picked it up the last 2 times, it had been across the street. she told me that they only pick up on one side of the street...... which is a LIE! because a MAJORITY of the cans on my street are on my side of the road, so by that logic, they should have picked up my can.... additionally, i KNOW they pick up on both sides of some streets becauyse the cans are lining each side of the road.. so why was mine missed! grrr. |
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Post by fluffernut - now Jannie on Jul 2, 2010 8:47:58 GMT -5
I own three plastic garbage cans. two for household garbage, stuff that comes from kitchen and bathrooms, and one for bagged-up clutter going out. I don't use the third can enough...
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Post by phoebepj on Jul 2, 2010 22:40:20 GMT -5
Update - the can still remains unemptied and i did call this morning at 9 am to gently remind them that my can needed emptying. The lady sounded annoyed that I was bugging them so I was very polite and agreed that they would get the can after the regular route had been done. Well lo- and behold, I came home around 3:30 pm to find the can STILL full and placed @ the street where I had left it. I called the city AGAIN and this time got a sincere apology but it will have to wait until monday before it will get emptied. At this rate, if they miss it again and again, thursday (normal trash pick up day) will roll around and i'll bet my can will STILL go unemptied. GRRRRRRRRRR.
Additionally, I got my bill for this past month and the can charge (8.00) isnt on the bill, so i dont know if they havent put it in the computer yet or if i should mention something. GAH!
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Post by downandout on Jul 3, 2010 1:40:43 GMT -5
def mention your bill being wrong. that may be part of the reason for the glitch in service. somewhere someone is seeing that you havent paid for the can therefore no can pickup. good for you tho on getting all those bags of trash out!!  |
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Post by messymimi on Jul 3, 2010 9:14:35 GMT -5
Keep fighting city hall, as frustrating as it is. Sooner or later they will get it straight if you keep after them, and the results of winning the garbage war will be worth it!
messymimi
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Post by messymarie on Jul 3, 2010 17:27:10 GMT -5
Wow. that would be frustrating. On the cat litter thing though, I wanted to share something that helps me. I got a plastic jar that is about a foot tall and about as big around as a coffee can. It has a screw on lid. I keep it next to the litter box, and every time I use the bathroom, I scoop the litter box into the jar. When the jar is full, I dump the whole thing into the litter box, and take the litter out. Taking the litter out is made much simpler by using cat pan liners with drawstrings. I grab the strings, pull tight, and I have a nice tidy bag to take out to the garbage. Then just pop in a new liner, pour in the litter, and start the process over.
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Post by phoebepj on Jul 8, 2010 20:09:24 GMT -5
It took a full week for them to come back and empty my trash can (it got emptied today - thursday, normal trash day), so I lost a week of garbage disposal. I'm fairly disappointed in the way the city handled the whole situation. By the time Tuesday morning rolled around, it was fairly clear that my bin was not going to be emptied before thursday. It was finally emptied and left on my side of the road (hopefully clearing up any confusion as to what side of the road to put it on.) I might tape a sign to the can next wednesday night in hopes the trash guy will see it and let me know which side to actually place it on as I do not want a repeat of last thursday when it did not get emptied and sat by the curb all week.
I had to resist the urge to go out there and drag it back into the door. I did check on the can multiple times a day (i'm afraid it will get stolen) - I did note on my bill that my new trash can was not accounted for (i will be ok if they charge me for the 3 weeks it WAS emptied, plus the new month) if it does not show up on next months bill, i *may* call them, but then again, dont look a gift horse in the mouth if the garbage can is getting emptied.
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Post by onwardandupward on Jul 10, 2010 11:59:23 GMT -5
This may be slightly off topic, but it reminded me that one of the interim steps that helped me get into maintenance mode was to place a garbage can in every room. Trash for me was a big issue. The kids and I would put food wrappers down and never pick them up. Old magazines and mail also piled up, along with anything else that I happened to break or get tired of. When I would do emergency cleaning for inspections and such, half of the clean up was pitching trash. After I realized this and put trash cans in every room, it encouraged me to throw stuff away instead of setting it down. When a trash can was so close at hand, I would also pick up and throw random stuff away as I passed by.
I never intended to live the rest of my life amidst a bunch of garbage cans, and now that I am in maintenance, the only trash cans are in the kitchen, bathrooms and garage. But the habit I formed of throwing stuff away immediately has stayed with me, even though I now have to go in the other room to do it.
Onward
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Post by phoebepj on Jul 10, 2010 16:48:39 GMT -5
Onward, i have trash cans placed at strategic points in my apartment (hot spots aka garbage magnets) Getting the garbage into bags is not a problem, but getting it out the door to the dumpster is.
I am very pleased with how my single garbage can from the city is working for me. It limits my exposure/embarrassment of having garbage and being seen with it.
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