Continuing to TOSS, AGGRESSIVELY (thread #3)

[morningglory]

Update on old film processing:

I read a very helpful article about various places to get film processed, who does the best job, who charges least, what the process involves, etc. - www.adorama.com/alc/article/8548.

I decided to start by dropping a couple of rolls at Target. I put it in for "next day" as opposed to "one hour". They called me to ask for instructions on one of the rolls, which was something I wouldn't have gotten if I'd sent it away for processing. They also told me that the second roll had no photos on it. (I think I actually didn't shoot any on that roll, but it got mixed in with the ones that did have pictures on them. I might have others like that in there, too.) Anyway, that means that there were pictures on the one. I plan to pick them up later today, so I'll get to see how they turned out after sitting around for about 10 years.

[Sunshine]

Wow... that will be such a treat, a mystery pack of photos

And... yes, I'm very glad that other thing is going. Nothing silly about that at all

Everyone is doing so much great work!

[morningglory]

PHOTOS:
They came out fine! And I can tell they are 10 years old, because there were photos of our 17-year-old son's 7th birthday party, as well as pictures of our 10-year-old as a baby! So take heart, those of you who have old rolls to process! :-D

[cando]

Oh, Morning Glory! I am so happy to hear those pictures came out! I can't wait to find my film and take it.

I was also happy to read that your DH likes the plastic drawers. I know exactly what you mean, though, about maintaining it so that it doesn't become a dumping ground.

I would have gotten rid of that furniture piece, too. That is just too creepy!

You've done great!
CD

[Di]

That is wonderful news on the photos. I can't wait to drop mine off.... I just have to find them, I though I knew where they were and the maid, straightened them somewhere. I may never find them again. I love the housekeeper but some things "disappear" when she's here. Last time she tossed out 2 VERY EXPENSIVE car door magnets. Oh well...

[Sunshine]

What wonderful news, MorningGlory! Such special photos to have, too!

[morningglory]

Progress today:

1) I took the whole stack of keepsake items and put them into their respective boxes. (Well, a couple of the stacks aren't yet put into their boxes, but they are separated out and ready to go into the appropriate box.)

2) This wasn't part of the dresser challenge, but I got inspired to start working on other parts of the room, like the stack of junk next to my bed. It was so horribly dusty that I had a sneeze attack, in spite of the fact that I use a nose spray daily that usually works super well. I tossed out lots of stuff--mostly into the trash, but some to donation. Some stuff I found can be put away easily, so I kept it. I am making a stack of books. But here is the funniest find so far--a disposable diaper in approximately six-month size!! I guess it fell down behind stuff 10-1/2 years ago and just stayed there! How ridiculous!

I was also going to throw away an old guitar box that has collected a thick layer of dust on top of it, but when I went to pick it up I found out it has a guitar in it! Not sure what I am going to do about that, since it was my husband's guitar, even though it was a super-cheap one he bought at least five years ago but never actually took the time to learn to play. I'd like to simply donate it. (At least I think that's the one it is. I need to verify that before making any decisions about it.)

Hope to have more to report tomorrow.

[hiding]

I have rolls of film that are way older than 10 years. I am getting them developed little by little and so far they have all yielded crisp, clear photos. This is color negative film I am talking about. B & W film should not be a problem, nor should 'regular' color slide film like Ektachrome. Whether or not the film is still good depends a lot on how the film was stored - exposure to extreme temperatures, moisture, etc.

You definitely will have a problem if some of your film is Kodachrome. It was a special slide film, a dye transfer process. You will be hard pressed to find anyone left on the globe who still processes it. You might find a chemistry nerd who wants to try to formulate the chemicals but short of that, I'm afraid undeveloped Kodachrome is a lost cause and it may be what your husband was referring to. If you really care, it's worth doing some research. When Kodak announced they were discontinuing it, I lost heart. I'll never, never forgive Kodak for discontinuing Kodachrome. It was the most beautiful color film ever. At least I was fortunate enough to use it at one time.

Digital photography has its place and for many applications it is more appropriate than film photography. But I believe there will always be a niche for film photography. I love it. I went to commercial photography school long before digital photography was even a fantasy.

Good luck with your film!

[eatingbonbons]

I also have a couple of dozen rolls of vintage film. After hearing your great reports, I've decided to go ahead and process them. I'm amazed that Target is still processing film on-site!

[morningglory]

Last night I went through a bunch of stuff in the piles around my bed. My husband had to tell me to turn out the light and quit tearing things up (hand-shredding) because it was keeping him awake. :-D

[Hurricane]

You go girls. The before and after pics are astounding Glory, and I'm always excited to see them! I've never been brave enough to post my own photos, but it helps me SO MUCH to see what others are doing.

Wonderful that you were able to save your pics. Photo storage is a big issue for me. I decided to use photo boxes instead of books, and just organizes the pics by decade. Still though, I now have 5 photo boxes in a basement closet. That seems like a lot.

Then I have Baby Hurricane's baby book which is bursting at the seems with pictures, and his keepsake box. I have no idea where to put these things, so for the moment the baby's stuff is in my master bedroom closet. Maybe when he's older, I can keep it in HIS closet, but I wouldn't want them to get ruined. Baby Hurricane has his own walk in closet, which kind of chafes me, because I didn't get a walk in until I was in my late 30's....he has had once since birth!! I want to use some of that space, but right now it needs to be baby proof, so I've given him the whole closet. We have very few closets in this house except for two walk-ins in each upstairs bedroom....I get to keep the vacuum in my closet...yuk.

So I sort of went off on a tangent there, but if you find a reasonable place to put this child keepsake stuff Glory (or anyone else), please let me know.

Congrats everyone, for everything you've accomplished. I'm here, cheering you on!

[morningglory]

Welcome back, Hurricane! Thanks for your comments on the photos. I had also always been shy about putting them online. But lately I am excited about it. I LOVE seeing the difference. Like you, I always love seeing other people's photos; I find it very inspiring to see what can be done. I am hoping my photos will give those of us working together here a better understanding of what I'm working with and what I'm achieving, as well as give everyone who sees them some encouragement that even a big ugly stack of assorted junk can be cleared away, little by little, with determination.

[morningglory]

PS - I may have some other before/after shots to show by the end of this thread, because working on my dresser has motivated me to work on the rest of my room at the same time. I just spent another half hour or so sorting down a stack next to my bed, all the way to the floor. (It had been about two feet higher than my bed, to start.)

I've filled two white bags of trash so far, and have a little bucket of things that I know where to file--keepsake stuff and medical records, mostly. I've found a number of give-away things, and things that have no reason for hanging out next to my bed (like lightbulbs, dimmer switches, assorted tools, and other odds and ends that my husband just left in the last place he had them).

But what's amazing me is all the paper that I can't figure out why I kept in the first place. It's one thing if there are old catalogs I was reading and set down and they got covered with other stuff, or articles I printed out to read and set down in the same way. But there are also old utility bills that are stacked neatly, along with old synagogue bulletins, and mailings about events that took place years ago. I used to feel compelled to keep all that kind of stuff. I thought I had to keep all my old bills. I thought I might want to hang on to info about events, for historical sake? I don't know.

I do enjoy seeing some of the old stuff, but the momentary pleasure all added together does not come close to matching the ill effects of having that squalid bedroom.

Plus, I'm sneezing up a storm with all the dust that is getting stirred up. There is also some mouse droppings, which is not cool. But I used to let severe anxiety about the effect of stirring those things up keep me from cleaning. This time I am determined to get it all done and KEEP it clean. It will be much easier to keep layers of dust and sprinklings of mouse droppings from accumulating when I can actually see the floor and sweep it!

[Hurricane]

Yea Glory!!!

The one thing I've always hated about squalor cleaning was the freakin' dust and (for me) spiders and bugs. Ugh....so, so awful. Once in maintenance, you never have to worry about choking on dust again, and the bugs will be rare visitors. In my opinion, this is one of the best things about de-squaloring. Years ago I used to trip over a stack of abandon magazines and have wolf spiders running all over....but that doesn't ever happen now. Gah.....gives me the heebee jeebees just thinking about it. It is one of the ugly realities of living in squalor....and you are BANISHING squalor m'dear, along with others here.

[Di]

Hurricane_Jane, I hate to tell you this but my kids are in their 30s and their "keepsake" box (the things I kept for me and not for them) is still on my closet shelf. In over 30 years, I still haven't found a better place for it.