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Post by 1rarebeautifuldove on Nov 12, 2019 23:58:42 GMT -5
Diane, great job on getting all that released. And every item that you see and grab and donate or toss is always a plus. (Check every time you look in a drawer for anything, I always seem to find at least one thing that I "all of a sudden" can release, especially if I am looking to find something that I am in need of at the moment. Great chance to "weed" out a box or drawer or shelf.)
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Post by dtesposito on Nov 19, 2019 10:38:16 GMT -5
Thank you, dove! I have been grabbing some items as I see them, and I'm keeping myself aware that these "low-hanging fruit" items are easy, but that as I get closer to the actual move it will get harder to deal with what's left, so I'll need to watch the calendar closely.
Swampy, looking at the rooms I have left is a good way to view it--the rooms other than the LR, BR and plant room/second bedroom are the kitchen, DR and sunporch. The kitchen will have to be incorporated into my new living room, and the only things that I'll take with from the kitchen are the refrigerator and a 5 foot tall narrow cabinet where I currently keep my dishes.
The DR is currently a storage room, although it has a small table and my exercise equipment. This is the stuff that will be hard to find room for. And the sunporch currently has a loveseat, a lateral file cabinet and a printer stand. I will need somewhere to sit but will probably get a recliner or some other comfy chair after I move. I will need a file cabinet, but probably not that one--I still need to think about that.
Here is my list of purges from the week that ended Sunday.
42 books 3 cat beds 15 cat toys 1 dog sweater 36 old calendars 2 hangers 1 keychain 1 hanging plant basket 1 pair of mittens 1 pair of jeans 34 miscellaneous pet supply items a 10 inch high stack of file folders and file inserts a 3 inch high stack of hanging files a 2 inch high stack of Christmas cards 1 storage box 1 sheet of stickers 1 decorative plaque 1/2 a desk drawer of envelopes 7 gift bags 9 pantry items
I also looked into possibly changing my email provider.
Diane
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Post by doodles on Nov 20, 2019 1:56:35 GMT -5
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Post by Unswamping on Nov 22, 2019 13:16:26 GMT -5
dtesposito great job on that purge list. Changing your email provider can be a huge chore. I did that this year and it took weeks to save all the emails i would lose access to in the changeover. Maybe it was such a chore because im so bad about clearing out/checking my email. It sounds like you have a good plan for stuff. Yes focusing on the keepers does make it easier.
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Post by MamaAngie on Nov 22, 2019 13:26:05 GMT -5
You're doing great Diane!!!
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Post by dtesposito on Nov 25, 2019 22:55:27 GMT -5
Thank you doodles, swampy and Angie. This week I had a shorter list of purges, but I managed to get out to my sister's and measure rooms and evaluate everything. There's quite a bit to do, but plenty of time to get it done. My sister's handyman was out there yesterday and my sister called to tell me some of his recommendations, and the exciting thing is he's working up an estimate to maybe put a shower in the upstairs bathroom. That would be a big plus, because my sister has one of those walk-in tubs downstairs and it doesn't look comfortable at all. I have an assignment to look at some flooring online to figure out what kind I want.
Here's my list from last week:
2 bowls 1 plate 1 glass jar 1 seed starter tray 1 bottle 1 storage bin 3 books 14 instruction manuals 6 sample chips of countertop material 1 photo 2 shirts 2 dish towels 1 misc. plant item 1 calendar 6" high stack of note cards 3" high stack of my old business cards 2" high stack of file folders
Diane
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Post by Unswamping on Nov 29, 2019 20:27:20 GMT -5
Diane, im so glad you got to your sisters and got a chance to measure and evaluate things. I hope you had a good visit. That would be great if he could fit a shower in. Great job on getting stuff out this week. I love that you tracked the paper stuff in inches. We all know how difficult an inch of paper is! Bravo on 11 inches! Thats almost a foot!
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Post by dtesposito on Dec 2, 2019 19:57:22 GMT -5
Thank you Swampy! I did look at some flooring at the big box sites and see some I like, I think I'll have to talk to the guy to make sure that what I'm looking at will work.
Here's my purge list for last week:
12 cookbooks 9 other books 11 magazines 24 postage stamp catalogues dating back to 2000 14 miscellaneous catalogues I was saving 28 pieces of cardboard 7 scrub shirts 2 pair scrub pants 4 pair other pants 2 sweatshirts 2 pair socks 2 page protectors 1 toy 28 calendars 1 tool box 1 pipe tool 4 boxes of matches 1 bowl 1 jar 4 toothbrushes 1 baking pan 3 decorative tins 1 tin cover 7 plastic food containers
I also decided that an entire box of books that I had saved for trading will now go to the little library. I was only counting books that used to be "keepers" for this list, but I'm pleased that I moved one whole box to the little library category. Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Dec 9, 2019 12:24:02 GMT -5
I'm finding that the measuring I did at my sister's was not adequate--I did not measure the exact width of the areas that did not have the ceiling slant, so when trying to figure out how much furniture I have room for I can't tell with my tall things--I have a tall wooden DR cabinet, 2 tall wooden bookcases, and 3 tall Ikea bookcases. Plus, the fridge I bought a year ago is taller than the one I had previously. So I will either need to have my sister do some measuring or else wait until the next time I get out there.
Here is my purge list from last week:
35 books 1 4' tall bookcase 1 2-shelf storage cube 87 recipe cards 12 recipe booklets 83 photos 1 pile of negatives 21 song lists 17 note pads 1 pack of wallpaper cutouts 1 can sleeve 2 bowls 12 calendars 1 set shower curtain rings 4 hair ties 5 mailing envelopes 1 frame 1 parrot drawing 1 pantry product 1/2 inch stack of paper 1 storage box 1 bat hair clip 4 medicine cabinet items 3 cards 10 magazines 2 toys 2 cat combs 2 cat nail clippers 1 lanyard 1 eraser 3 book marks 3 logo pins from the shelter I used to work for 1 miniature chair 1 piece of cardboard 1 bag of paper clips 1 storage tin 2 watches 1 purse mirror
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Dec 14, 2019 14:07:57 GMT -5
It's not time for my Monday purge list yet but I'm posting to kind of write out some ideas since I feel kind of stuck. I'm getting to a point where I'm not sure what else to do--there is furniture that I'll be getting rid of but not til I move, because it's holding things I'll be taking with me (bookcases, cabinets). I was going to get rid of the loveseat but the visiting dog loves it, so I don't think I can. Unless I can rig up something else for her to sit on to look out the window when she's here--maybe some storage bins that are heavy so they won't tip over if she climbs up onto them. I have things to get rid of in my storage basement, but the whole area when you walk in is full of donations--the woman who always says she'll help me with them is really busy lately and can only come at certain times to get things, plus she can't take them all at once. Now she's traveling until January so it still has to wait. I have more donations in the dining room, and not much room to put them downstairs unless I do a major shifting. I can't call a donation place to come get things because they want you to leave it outside for them, I don't live in a house, I can't leave things all over the front of the condo building. I could probably take a shopping cart at a time myself but I don't do much in the direction of the thrift stores so those would be special trips, it seems like a waste of time if I can get someone else to do it--and the woman DOES do this all the time, she's very into recycling and wants to help people reuse things, but she seems extra busy for the whole last 6 months! Anyway, besides getting rid of things, I'm going to have to clean everything before I move it, so it would be nice to get part of a room empty so I can have a place to work, and for stuff that's ready to go--the only place I can do that is the dining room, which of course, is still pretty full. So I kind of feel at a standstill, although I know there are still things I can be doing. Books are the big project, because I'm still hoping to release a lot before I move. And I actually could start packing up the books I know for absolutely sure are keepers (there are a lot of them). I think I won't be able to make any major progress until the holidays are over, just psychologically if not because of any actual restraints on my time--I don't ever have Christmas guests over and I don't go out for activities--but somehow it feels like a time that I want to enjoy. The renovations have not started at my sister's house yet, probably for the same reason--just because I don't do holiday activities, most people do, so my sister's construction guy has been busy and hasn't been able to start yet. I guess the answer is to concentrate on book purging (which at this stage will be time-consuming since I've already removed the low-hanging fruit!) and plan to step it up in January. I just know how fast time goes, and although I'm still thinking that I have a lot of time, I don't want to become complacent. Diane
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Post by itsybitsy on Dec 14, 2019 22:58:25 GMT -5
Diane, Just a suggestion on the condo challenge and donating: there may be others in your building with similar needs. Many may have a car and can do it themselves; however, there may be some fellow residents who are also looking for help with donations. I would think so long as the time is limited, say one week, could you not have a large donation center come and pick up things from your place as well as that of your neighbors? This may take an email or discussion with council members for the okay and then a notice by the common mailboxes or in the lobby about the "disposal week" and where to group the donation items.
Also, at what point do you feel you can start packing up the "for-sure" keepers? That way, you could free up some furniture items. Another way to do this is to load the furniture you will be taking to your sisters with the "keepers" so that once it is full, you know roughly how much you have to donate or further cull from your keepers grouping. This shuffling may be a bit of a pain. It may also help with a reality check on what will fit or not.
Perhaps start with the kitchen items. You seem to have less attachment in that category. Or clothes. If you aren't taking the items to your sisters, why do you (in theory) need to use them now?
At this point, and if it has been six months, you may also look to hiring a "Got Junk" type business and have them move the items to the charity of your choice. Or see if the charity is willing to come into your apartment floor, again with permission, and take the boxes and furniture that you have ready to go right now. I think it would give you the breathing space you're looking for.
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Post by dtesposito on Dec 14, 2019 23:48:28 GMT -5
Hi itsy! Part of my problem is that despite a trip to my sister's to measure the rooms, I didn't take an important measurement, and that is the length of full-height wall space--so there is some furniture that is still in the "maybe" category. As for the items I'm not using now but can't let go of yet, I mean furniture that's holding stuff I need. For example, in my bathroom there's a small space between sink and tub, and I have one of those tall but very narrow (maybe 1 foot wide) shelving units in there holding bathroom stuff--soap, toiletries, washcloths, some cleaning items. I'm not taking the cabinet because it's a press-board thing and has water damage near the bottom from mopping against it, but I can't get rid of it yet because I don't have anything else that will fit in that tiny space that will hold everything that's on there now. Also, my sister has a couple of large dressers I will probably use, so I can get rid of three of mine--but I can't get rid of them yet because I use many of the things in the dressers (only one has clothing in it, the others have other things) and I can't pack those things yet. I have three metal filing cabinets that I'm not taking with me (although I will be buying one new one as a replacement) and I plan to call one of the metal pickup places, I'm pretty sure they will come and take them from my house for free--they are heavy. But the largest one has my files in it that I use all the time, so I can't pack those up yet. That's what I mean by feeling at a standstill--I know what I'm doing with some things but can't do them yet. I could probably pack some books now, because there are many definite keepers. That won't gain me any space though, because instead of a bookcase I'll have a stack of boxes on the floor. I should still start with books soon, partly because packing books in boxes is tedious and I don't want to be doing all of them all at once--plus it will tell me how many empty boxes I have to collect. And as for the donations--what I have to donate now are small things in shopping bags. The large places here that pick up those kinds of things do not remove them from your house--they require that you leave them labeled outside in front of your house so that they don't have to coordinate a specific time. When I have the dressers emptied, I believe there are a few places that will pick them up from the apartment--they are not thrift type stores that resell them, they are immigrant aid organizations that take furniture for people who arrive here and have nothing. Although it would not hurt for me to check NOW and make sure that there are still places that do that. (I should add that to my list.) And my building--I have become so disillusioned by the building and other residents lately that trying to coordinate something like a mass donation pickup sounds awful to me. Especially since I'll be the one who ends up doing all the work, and would need to time it so various people are home--ugh. So even if I could find a place that picked up small things from individual apartments it would not be worth the aggravation I know I would go through. We had an issue once with electronic/hazardous waste things--people would just abandon them in the basement. I considered asking if anyone in the building who had a car would be willing to take everyone's stuff and drive it to the place that takes these things if we each pitched in a couple of bucks for gas--but having had to coordinate snow shoveling volunteers for the prior years and having very little cooperation, I decided it wasn't worth the hassle. This is not exactly a building with people who step up and volunteer to get things done... I hope that when I get back out there and do the measuring that I neglected to do last time, I will know exactly which items I'm taking and have a better idea how to rearrange things so as to let me get rid of a few bigger items now--I don't mind the extra work of shuffling things around if it helps my peace of mind to get a few larger things out. But I can't do that quite yet. That's why I keep coming back to book purging. I even started a list of books I'm purging that still look moderately interesting to me. That way I can always take them out of the library later if I decide I want to read them. I don't know how much of that I will actually do, but keeping a record of the titles and authors makes me feel better! Thank you for your suggestions itsy, I find that the more I talk these things over the more details I think about that need planning ahead.
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Dec 16, 2019 21:54:25 GMT -5
I almost forgot to post my weekly purge list.
37 books 1 small bowl 1 large fruit bowl 1 throw rug 4 partly used rolls of gift wrap 1 partly done cross stitch 1 watch 29 miscellaneous small items from bedroom dresser 1 framed cat picture 1 pack Christmas stationery 7 pens 2 desk trays 1 storage basket 2 bottles of ink 1 bag of staples 1 report cover 1 coupon holder 3 to 4 inch stack of unused (but yellowed) filler paper 9 spiral notebooks 1 5-inch stack of magazine recipes (took up several file folders) 1 cat statue 1 VCR 1 metal lockbox 1 old air purifier
The last 3 items were put out next to my dumpster for the metal pickup people while I was on my way out to a store. 50 minutes later when I returned, they were already picked up!
Diane
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Post by ohblondie on Dec 17, 2019 11:45:01 GMT -5
This is impressive Diane!!
I watched my aunt downsize from a 3 bedroom house (with a full attic and basement) to a one bedroom apartment. In the spring she plans on getting rid of even more. I admire her for that. I guess there comes a time when you truly realize what you need and don't need.
And she did what you are doing Diane - she measured her new apartment to a T, then measured everything she wanted to take with her, and only took what fit. We have had to go over a few times and help move/rearrange as she got a beautiful shelf unit and took back her piano.
I keep reading your posts and I keep adding to my message......We had someone drop off a space heater with kerosene still in it at our rummage sale last year. This type of space heater is illegal to use in our county. It has been sitting in the church kitchen for a year. We have no idea how to get rid of it. Someone took advantage of us and our rummage sale to drop off hazardous materials....ugh
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Post by Unswamping on Dec 17, 2019 13:45:00 GMT -5
Diane, cheering you on. I know this is a difficult phase right now. Concentrating on books sounds like a great idea. I dont know what type of bookcases you have but if they are expedits, you might be able to turn them on their side to take advantage of the ceiling slant space. You are doing great on the purging, im really impressed. The holidays are a rough time to get things done when it involves other people. You can do this!
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