|
Post by creativechaos on Feb 23, 2017 0:18:07 GMT -5
i meant to come back here but since i have been posting on the weekly challenge thread, this thread has been neglected. i will think on how to revive it so it is an augment to the weekly challenge thread. maybe this thread is about building and committing to new consistent habits - something i've never been able to stick to. report:1) i am trying to do better about the dishes, and have found a solution: not cooking. i am making the effort. i wouldn't say i'm all the way to doing them every day to completion but i am keeping up better. 2) those taxes and tax corrections i dreaded doing and procrastinated on, but finally did? got my refund checks and am up to date with federal taxes! project A - at a standstill but i have done a few more steps on it project B -my back taxes don't fit into any of the file totes i have, and it looks like the social security/medicare stuff is going to need its own file tote too! then where to store THOSE? more has to GO. this week's focus:clothes sort with the idea to purge more swap meet on sunday:decide if i am going through with the swap meet. it's supposed to snow - no snow tires, so maybe not! if i do the swap meet, i need to clean out car to make room for loading it up on saturday. if i don't do the swap meet, i need to start unloading things to the thrift store, box by box. they don't take much at any one time. i need to make more progress on the piles everywhere in the apartment. don't have a specific plan for that. maintain on dishes and try to keep the stove top cleared and wiped down better, regularly.
|
|
|
Post by creativechaos on Feb 28, 2017 0:59:02 GMT -5
update; i did the swap meet. had only one table but it was full, above and below the table. i did mostly "giveaway" prices - i enjoyed doing that with most of the people who came through. i do have one big regret, concerning the never-worn $150 snow/mud sorrel-type boots with perfect huge lug sole tread, which i sold for a mere 20 bucks to a really obnoxious, cheap, pushy and very dour man who complained all the time of having no money and then pulled a huge wad of cash to pay for the boots - i commented "i thought you said $20 was all you had" and then he gave some lame excuse about needing to pay his electric bill. when i went downstairs to the taquiera to order a tostada for lunch, he was down there, all ready to buy himself a lunch and when he saw me he left, lickety-split. i hope he had an attack of conscience! i regret selling them to him now, would have rather given them away to somebody really poor and in need. i could tell he was not at all poor. i should have held firm on price or refused to sell to him. nothing in my moral code says i have to sell to @ssholes at rock bottom prices!
had a good morning of clear thinking and getting some things sorted out, mainly in organizing my thoughts around some master lists, but that soon fizzled out and i had my usual rest of the day of non productive distractibility and brain fog. oh well!
dishes are all washed. reorganized some food in my cabinets, by date. am trying to actually use all the canned food i have accumulated at the food bank over years. not sure what is safe for canned meats - i have some dated 2013 but they are still sealed so i imagine they're ok.
will work on clothing tonight, and a letter i need to write. maybe tomorrow i will have another morning of clarity. i hope so.
|
|
|
Post by sidestep on Feb 28, 2017 5:45:07 GMT -5
|
|
H2H
Banned
halfwaytohoarder gets rid of it all!
Joined: February 2017
Posts: 2,041
|
Post by H2H on Feb 28, 2017 13:31:15 GMT -5
Creativecahos: I feel the pain of letting go of what cost us dearly...I try to focus on another enjoying and getting good use. HE however would have ticked me off royally, and yes you can refuse the 'sale'.
"....which i sold for a mere 20 bucks to a really obnoxious, cheap, pushy and very dour man who complained all the time of having no money
But ohhh that BEHAVIOR burns me! I had ONE large yardsale when I first move here..( I learned I hated being overrun with strangers) and never did it again as a 'sale')
many were nice, but one jerky guy had picked up my $$ polarized eye shades worn during UV treatment.. they were in new condition I had them for $2. a fair price... he offered 25 cents, he stood there, and complained they were 'scratched', they were this, they were that...so I looked at him and said "You are right, NOT good enough to sell" ..grabbed them out of his hand and put in my pocket and glared at him...he was stunned..and had to leave as he use a bazooka of logic when a "will you take $____? would have done.
People who "poor mouth" annoy me as it is a lie, you know it, they know it, and an insult to dealing fairly with another. and if they run down an item as a method of negotiation I lose it.
I USED to be the best yard sale holder ever, (friends even hired me (with free furniture unfortunately!) getting rid of tons of stuff..the trick is to put FREE stuff in a box ( half jars of shampoo, hangers, 3 dish cloths, anything) out FRONT to lure them in, once they grab a few free items they are relaxed to look and choose other items for cash. ( OK NOT a good thing to tell people who love to find stuff, but just abut human behavior)
You did GREAT with a giveaway table as it helped the decision process..pricing items high meant you were not ready to let go..a barrier....but you were..HORRAY!
|
|
|
Post by Arid on Feb 28, 2017 15:26:24 GMT -5
Ladies, it can be worse!
(I know; I know--I've told this story before, but it was decades ago that I did; so, I'm repeating it . . .)
My MIL was holding an estate sale. (She'd recently married my FIL, and they were combining households, both having lost their previous spouses.) She had a *LOVELY* English bone china tea set. She had priced it at $125.00. The set included 6 delicate, beautiful tea cups.
So, this "guy" comes up to her and offers her a pittance. She said, "No." He then *deliberately* **BROKE** one of the tea cups, telling her, "Now, you have to sell it to me for ___; it's no longer a complete set!"
My MIL rose up out of her chair and shrieked at him, "Get out of here, or I'm calling the police!!"
He left, but he didn't get the rest of the tea set, either.
Arid
|
|
H2H
Banned
halfwaytohoarder gets rid of it all!
Joined: February 2017
Posts: 2,041
|
Post by H2H on Feb 28, 2017 16:13:50 GMT -5
Arid..you win..a miserable human!
When I sold my hand crafted lap robes in public fairs I was in a HOT HOT area of Sacramento in August one time, not selling many as they are heavy... for winter warmth..
some idiots came by and handled the sides of a few, fingering the fabric over and over...and said to eachother" Let's wait until other people get them DIRTY, then we can get a discount." YES!!!!
this is one reason I really don't like "people" as a group..but will choose individuals carefully and am a loyal friend... I am no longer enamored of any organization, or collection of humans - religious, do gooder, etc etc. Most humans really are self involved.
|
|
|
Post by hiding on Mar 1, 2017 1:30:22 GMT -5
From Men in Black: "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." Yes, so true.
|
|
H2H
Banned
halfwaytohoarder gets rid of it all!
Joined: February 2017
Posts: 2,041
|
Post by H2H on Mar 1, 2017 13:27:32 GMT -5
hiding..a small diversion from topic of humans as sometimes jerks in groups:
Psychological studies done where one young MD in a roundtable wth all other older experienced MDs .. the young MD was instructed to give false information, insist certain studies proved something... all the OTHER MDS knew this was not accurate, but they started caving and dismissing their own wisdom to agree... groupthink.
I try to remember this ..and ask myself: what am I hearing, what is being said, who benefits, do I trust the information over my own life experience.
|
|
|
Post by creativechaos on Mar 1, 2017 16:08:42 GMT -5
@sidestep - thanks for that link. i'm not dead yet from my canned food risks, but it's nice to have safety guidelines. thank you H2H, hiding, Arid - for the laughs, for the wisdom, and for visiting me. and Arid - that is the WORST yard sale story yet! what a mean butthead! the cool thing about that swap meet is there were a lot of tables of "us" - so the people were not quite as annoying as if i would've had to field the annoying ones alone. intersting psychological study i have noticed: it's the poor or working class ones who, when i ask, "what do you think?" about price, or what would they offer (myself included) - they always offer too much. the ones who whine and complain and behave badly are MOSTLY rich or very well to do and are crying poor and yes - it's IRRITATING! Another few good things i am learning with this sorting and releasing: (i believe they called this ERP or something like that in the old days) 1) i'm not dying from the anxiety of releasing, even when i make the "wrong" decisions there is something to be learned. 2) most of the "regrets" over letting go treasures, fade within a couple of days to weeks. 3) it makes me happy that someone else can or will use what i am not using 4) i like giving, i really do. 5) i don't have to sell to @ssholes 6) i also like making some money off of sales and it helps with the guilt about all the money i have thrown down the black hole of long tenancy in storage units.
|
|
|
Post by Unswamping on Mar 11, 2017 10:59:29 GMT -5
creativechaos im so glad to read about your realizations. Here on the forum, we can talk about these and they are discussed in the hoarding books, etc. Each of us i think when we first start the process of sorting and discarding, believe (maybe consciously, maybe unconsciously), that these "truths" somehow dont apply to us, that they may apply to others but we are the exception. Until we leap in and take a chance to start letting stuff go. Then we find that it is the truth. Anxiety is a feeling and while sometimes it may feel like it will kill us (panic attacks), it really wont. Acknowledging the anxiety for what it is helps rein it in. So if it starts, just say "oh, thats just anxiety", take a few deep breathes and it will start to dissipate. (I have generalized anxiety disorder and a long history of panic attacks, so im not minimizing your feelings. I have found that even using some humor helps. Like saying "oh there it goes again, haha. Anxiety thinks the world is going to end". Laughter is incompatible with anxiety, it makes you take deep breathes which combat the hyperventilation of anxiety).
Im sorry you had to deal with such a jerk. From having done alot of yard selling, i came to the same conclusions. Im convinced that there will always be one jerk who shows up. So i used to tell myself that in the morning before a sale, that there would be one total a$$hole who will show. By knowing in advance to expect it, i wasnt as upset when they finally showed up. I learned to say "if its junk, dont buy it" and remove items from the table. "Nope, sorry, changed my mind, im not selling." People who show up with big wads of money, have big wads because they dont spend it!
Arid that is the worst yard sale story ive heard.
|
|
|
Post by Arid on Mar 11, 2017 14:55:48 GMT -5
Yes; Unswamping. I **KNOW!!**
I was an eyewitness to the whole thing! I was right there when it happened. Sigh . . .
Arid
|
|
|
Post by creativechaos on Mar 12, 2017 13:23:42 GMT -5
hey, Arid - your yard sale story truly is horrifying. i would have had to fight the urge to slap that guy - verbally and physically! and i probably would have let loose on him verbally Arid and Unswamping - sort of a funny story about that guy who bought my boots - i saw him yesterday when i was on my "non-acquiring" visit to the local thrift store. he was wearing the boots. i commented that i was glad to see him enjoying the boots - and said yeah i remember him, he was the one with the wads of money - he said "it's all gone now." then i actually got nervy and asked him why he left the restaurant so fast when he saw me coming, and how strange that seemed. he said something like that he was just THINKING about buying food but then remembered he had food at home. i said, "oh - i thought it was just because you were avoiding me." ha ha! then before he left i said i was glad he was putting the boots to good use. funny thing... then i was able to let the whole thing go once i said my piece to him - and be glad he was using the boots and they were giving him some relief from the mud. but i'm still not fooled by him one bit. i need to get back to SOME accountability list, whether this one or some other. since i already do a weekly challenge list, i'll have to think on how i want to this thread, or whether to let it slip into oblivion. i want and need to do some sorting at home but what i REALLY want to do is move FORWARD on project A - the liv room one - by getting the tall wooden shelf emptied, and OUT of here. not yet sure how that will happen, but if i can get THAT to storage, i can proceed in both storage and the LR. i also want to get that little sheer "procrastination item" sewn today - it would feel so good to sew something - anything!!
|
|
|
Post by creativechaos on Apr 2, 2017 19:30:08 GMT -5
i wonder what it would be like to use this thread regularly, at my own pace?
"project A" in the LR is DONE! tall wooden shelf was emptied, sat in entryway blocking a lot of the hallway for at least two weeks, maybe more! The metal shelf got assembled and put in its place and i FINALLY, last Thursday, hired a sweet young man to move the wooden shelf to storage, where it's now in place. it may end up holding boxes that don't fit here til after inspection is over. hoping the mice are gone!
As soon as I assembled the metal shelf, i realized that the table i used to have in front of the wooden shelf wouldn't work there because I wouldn't be able to access stuff on that shelf without moving the table every time. so now i'm stuck there! can't put wheels on the table because i used downspouts (painted) to "extend" legs from low coffee table to something more useful - and hence, nothing to attach the wheels to. there are boxes everywhere; most won't fit. which means, get them out now before inspection and then do a serious fabric sort after that.
today (tada): scooped put trash out in dumpster moved LR pile by loveseat around into some other areas so that I could get entryway goat trails wider.
to do: corral all new papers before they get MORE out of hand. decide how best to file them so i can access them when i need them dishes dinner & cleanup more PEEPing and sorting like with like in LR box up fabric.
was going to change out the polyester lace sheer curtains that stick to themselves (annoying!) on the sliding doors to back balcony, til i discovered the curtains i wanted to put there are way too long! don't feel like hemming today, so am going to look for the old ones i used to have up there as a temporary measure. i'd like to sew a better lace curtain or sheer curtain for behind short beaded curtain i put up in my window; one that more follows the wavy bottom of the beaded curtain, or at least one longer than the one i sewed. so... more sewing is in store anyway.
|
|
H2H
Banned
halfwaytohoarder gets rid of it all!
Joined: February 2017
Posts: 2,041
|
Post by H2H on Apr 3, 2017 12:53:16 GMT -5
don't feel like hemming today, << pin them up on the bottom ? less work than getting stepstool and taking them down, putting up others. at least until the inspection is over
|
|
|
Post by hollyhock on Apr 4, 2017 5:22:15 GMT -5
|
|