Kenny also told me so etching at the swap that made a lot of sense. Even the ones that are hardy need to be kept inside for the winter when they are babies. He gave me one of those black ones and said it is hardy--but not to put it in the ground until next spring, if you plant a tiny baby in the fall it can't get strong enough to make it through the winter, but after a whole season in the ground, then it will be hardy.
Spooky Oct. is here!!!
Sandra that's a good link. I hadn't seen it before. I'm trying an experiment this year. I planted some of my EE's in the ground this spring but I'm keeping some of the same ones I planted in the ground in pots in case I lose them. I have one variety that someone gave me 4 or 5 years ago that has always been in the ground and grows like crazy. My big dipper will come back. But it's figuring out which other varieties are hardy for me and which are not
I don't ever remove any of the leaves or pine needles in my back yard. They cover everything in the early part of the spring but when the plants start coming up it doesn't take long for them to get big enough that you don't really notice the leaves. They disintegrate fairly quickly also. All the pine needles that fall on the stone I put in the beds. Probably wouldn't have any soil to plant in with all the trees and shrubs I have back there if I didn't do that.
Alocasias are thicker feeling leaves is how I usually tell the difference. Of course, there are a few exceptions to every rule.
Yes Jeri, that is true. I have to read it pretty often as I can't remember things now. I was putting thing together on the porch I need to bring inside this afternoon. I looked at the info on the diamond head EE Kathy Ann gave us and it says Zone 7 hardy to 5 degrees, so I am going to leave it out. I have way more to bring in that I want to think about. I do have Cayla's room now for them, but the girls will sleep in there when they come. They will spend the week of Thanksgiving with me, Amanda wants to go out on the truck with Ben.
I've got to start thinking about getting my stuff inside also. It's been real cool here today. I've got to clean the greenhouse out before I can put anything in it. I even have some wisteria growing inside. I didn't know that about the thickness. I could definitely tell the difference in mine. I have some that I know are not hardy outside but the leaves are not upright. After feeling them I can tell they are actually the type alocasias that do not point upright. I have found the alocasias are easier to over winter for me. I keep them very very dry all winter.
I've been painting all afternoon. I have an armoire, round table and two chairs, a desk and a tall (about 7 ft) corner cabinet I need to get painted by the 28th!! I will have space to put them then and I've decided it would be easier to get them all done at the same time and hire my guy to help me move all them at the same time. Would be easier than me trying to move them one at a time and probably better for my back! LOL
I put a majority of my brugs in the ground this year. I had just gotten tired of bringing so many of them in and they had gotten so big. So I'm going to mulch them with leaves really well. I'm going to do like Jim and Kenny and gather up bagged leaves from my neighborhood. I did that last year and put them all over my raised bed at the vegetable garden. I was one of the few that didn't start spring with a bed of weeds
I bought a number of frost cloth type bags this year (if I can just find where I put them) that I'm going to put on some things outside. I found them at Tues morning back in the spring.
Not enough hours in the day or either I'm getting slower as I get older!
Me too Charlotte, turn around and the day is done and half of the stuff done I intended to do.
We have a freak 32 forecast for tonight and they are still on the porch, Nashville and just north of us have a frost warning ! I haven't cleaned them up yet so hope they make it ok on the porch tonight
I've been cutting down Root beer plants, the last 2 days, that have sprung up in my small green house. The ones that are over an inch thick, I cut down and put some 2,4-D on them with a foam paint brush. I hope it gets them to the root. I'll let you know how that works. One of my Central Bloomers friends told me this works for her.
Jeri what is 2, 4-D??? I cut down a privet when I put up my little greenhouse and I keep having to cut off shoots that pop us from it. The wisteria is the remains of one that I pulled up several years ago. The gnats and mosquitoes were so bad in there this summer I couldn't stay long enough without doing a good spraying first to really get anything done.
It's a weed killer. She said she used it to kill poison ivy and then would go back 2 wks later and clean up that area. It's the only thing that has killed these vines. I just don't know if it will come back from the roots.
Y'all have been busy. You'd think with 4.5 days off, I'd have gotten a lot done, but of course I was at the surgery center and playing nurse most of that time I didn't get much done. I cooked a lot though and finished up some chores in the yard. Saturday morning I ran a 5k race for Breast Cancer. I was shocked to find out I placed 4th in my age group! (That would be the 'geezer group', 65-69.) I even beat my daughter by 2 minutes, lol! Anyway, DH came with me to cheer us on. I think he enjoyed getting out. He's down to 1 crutch now and getting better.
Then we grabbed a bite to eat, then went home and I cleaned up and we went to DGD's soccer game. Her team was playing in a tournament this weekend. They had 2 games yesterday and they won both and won the tournament! DGD had a hat trick on Saturday in their first game, 2 assists on Sat afternoon at the game we watched, 1 goal in the semi-final and 2 goals and 2 assists in the final game. Makes ya proud!
I also got the cabinets in the bathroom cleaned out. I think cleaning out under the sinks must be a once-every-5-year thing...Good grief!
Good to hear that Earl is doing so well!!! Congrats on 4th place!!! At our age that is amazing and then you had the energy to attend the soccer game!!!! WOW!!!
We've had a couple days of rain so I'm doing bank statements and tax prep!!!!
I'm still chasing that vine in my teahouse. Been too wet to dig very much so I've started cutting my bamboo back. The cane's never get bigger so I'm cutting anything smaller than a 1/2". Making room for those big canes.
That's wonderful Elaine! It really pays off to stay in shape.
I was just thinking last night about all the stuff I need to go through and clean out!!! I decided I need to write it all down and start working on one thing at a time! I usually keep some of that kind of thing done in the winter but didn't seem to get anything done this past winter.
I'm working on several pieces of furniture right now. A round pedestal table and two chairs, a desk, an armoire, and a tall corner cabinet. I'm moving it all into my 5th and last booth at the end of the month. Then I need to get my garage straighten up really good before I bring anymore projects in! I wish I could find more pieces that don't need to be painted. But it's getting harder to find things good pieces at a price people are willing to pay. Also the painted pieces always seem to move fast.
I also need to clean out my greenhouses and start putting some things away! Don't see any really cold nights in the forecast for the next 10 days. I'm not going to put as much up this year as I did last. I put a lot of it in the ground this spring. There is just one of me and just don't have time to spend a week or more putting stuff up.
Lol Charlotte, only one of me too- poor Jerry does well to get home at night working 7 days a week
Elaine, you old geezer, congratulations ! That is great you beat your daughter!
Pat and I are going to Mobile this week end. We leave Thursday morning and Tommy has a fun week end lined up for us.
Thursday night we will get to see Bella Voca http://www.bellavoceofmobile.org/BellaVoceBrochure.pdf
They will be rehearsing their Christmas program. Then Friday night Tommy has the lead in "The Mikado". Sat we are going to Belingrath Gardens then will drive home Sunday. Tommy will be off on Friday so we can rest up that day.
Yikes, we may have some light frost here later this week too, so that's one more thing to add to the list to do! Gotta put plants under the house that I want to survive! My confederate rose is blooming away but this might get the rest of the buds. It always takes a beating before I'm ready for it to go.
Charlotte, you are a painting fiend! Do you use a sprayer? I frequent a decorating forum on another website and there are a few gals over there who paint furniture (for their own use mostly not to re-sell) and they have done some beautiful pieces. A couple of them have some sprayers they use. And yes, I've decided I may try to clean out a drawer or two 1-2 nights a week. That way I can spend 30 minutes or an hour and get most of them done. I need to really purge. I've already got a big pile started in the attic for Goodwill and took a trunk full of stuff to the consignment store a few weeks back too. Not to mention the stuff I just threw away out of the bathroom drawers and cabinets.
No idon't use a sprayer. I just use a brush or a foam roller.
Bathroom drawers and cabinets are high on my list to clean. I have those stacked plastic drawers in my bathroom closet. They sit on a 3 open shelf base. I created lots of storage space for stuff I don't need!!!! I only use stuff out of about 3 drawers. I need to go through and throw most of the rest away!
Sandra know you all will have a wonderful time this weekend! Great time of the year to be traveling!
My first cousin in LA makes trays from old barn wood. The handles are made out of deer antlers. They are so unique I decided I want one. He sent me this photo of one he just finished to see If I liked it. I'm going to get it. He has an aunt that has a sister that lives in my same neighborhood so when she comes up to visit her sister she is going to bring it time.
Charlotte, that is beautiful! I can just see it filled with pine cones, greenery and maybe apples at Christmas or small pumpkins and gourds now for Thanksgiving.
Elaine that's exactly why I want it. His sisters keep posting pictures of their trays with arrangements for the season in it. One of them put several small pumpkins and gourds in hers for a fall arrangement. So pretty! I've found trays like this to be so useful. I bought a basket/tray (it has a wooden bottom) in the Amish country several years ago. I didn't know what I was going to do with it at the time - just liked it and wanted to buy something from them. But use it all the time. It's perfect for taking something to a pot luck. Hope his aunt comes up here soon!
That is pretty, I hope you get it soon too so you can pretty it up even more for the coming holidays.
Hello all ..... just trying to catch up on the thread!
I renewed my DG subscription back in the spring because even though I am friends with most of you on FB - I feel like we post a lot of things here that I would NEVER consider posting on FB for everyone to see!! I feel like it is money well spent to be able to keep up with my friends and their families and everything that is going on!
Oh, now ya'lls talk about cleaning out things is making me feel SLIGHTLY better......... I am totally embarrassed to say this, but I spent over 6 hrs cleaning in my master bathroom last week :( ............ I was SOOOO upset that it took me so long - I have NEVER been a fast cleaner like my sister but that was totally ridiculous! I cleaned out the cabinets, and three large drawers, cleaned the walls from the ceiling down, cleaned the whirlpool tub and the 5' shower, oiled the cabinets and woodwork, and scrubbed the floor. Realized a few days later that, even though I had marked "deep clean masterbath" off my list.....I FORGOT to clean the window! The inside really doesn't need much if any cleaning but the outside is BAD - but I will have to have a tall ladder to reach it. So, I hope this weekend to get some help cleaning that and some other windows. I have come to the conclusion that I am an absolute horrid housekeeper and that we have got to be the biggest packrats I have ever seen!! I have a VERY long list of things that need to be cleaned or done inside the house and have a separate list for outside. I am positive that I do not have everything on the list, but at least it is an attempt to keep me focused which is VERY difficult for me when I am trying to clean and feeling overwhelmed. But, I am FINALLY at the point where I can tell that I am making progress, but no I am not at the point to bring people thru every room and closet, but I am praying that after this weekend I will be. The kids are on fall break from college on Thursday and Friday so I will have a little help.................although Jessica has to work on Friday and Saturday so that will eliminate most of my help those days. I will probably take off work on Thursday so maybe we can make some progress....but even that day she has a dr appt that we have to make. HOPEFULLY we won't be sitting there three hours like last time! I can't begin to tell you how many bags of trash I have thrown away - burned 3 this past weekend that had old bank statements and receipts etc that couldn't just be thrown away - and have 5 boxes for charity in the back of my vehicle plus Kyle had already taken a couple of boxes for me several weeks ago. EVENTUALLY I will notice there is less stuff!!
Got the posts that needed replacing done, and all posts are primed and painted so the porches look much better. I still have plants scattered all over the front porch - not sure what I am going to do with the things that I wanted to try to overwinter................ may just have to give up on that. But our post sit on an aluminum square that is about 1" tall that was supposed to help them last longer by eliminating them wicking water during rain storms. I have always hated how the space at the bottom of the posts looks and they ALL have wasp nests under them that I had to fight like crazy while painting. I think we have eliminated most of them, but I know they will just be back.....so we bought some of the plastic molding like you can get to go on door casings etc and Leigh has cut it to fit the bottom of the posts. Because it is plastic, it won't wick water, and I think it will really dress up the posts. So, now I have all those pieces to prime (with a special primer so the paint will adhere) and then paint. I HOPE to get that done this weekend as well. But, then I always have way more to accomplish than I can get done!
I spend every evening trying to accomplish something - even if it is just sorting thru more old files, or filing items in Leigh's study. It still looks like a tornado went thru it but i am at least able to see progress...... I worked for hours and hours in there to begin with and you couldn't even tell it! I have some smaller boxes that I have obtained for him to pack up some of the excess books he has just stacked in front of the book shelves so when he gets those packed up it will make a big difference as well.
I have to give my boss in LR an answer this coming week. I had hoped to see what type of response to the house selling, but I guess that wont happen.....so I guess I am telling him that I will take the job in Magnet Cove and plan to report there in January. I am not looking forward to possibly having to commute that distance! :( Then to make life more interesting, I have also applied for a job in our HR dept in LR. The range on the job is better pay that what I am making now....well, actually the mid point is about what I make currently, but I will lose my overtime when I go to Magnet Cove which will translate to a 6K cut in pay. MAYBE if I could get around mid point on this job, then I would not have to go backward. They posted it last week and I got my application in the next day. Then the VP over that dept requested a resume....I have never known anyone to have to submit anything but an internal application....but I got that to her the next day. Haven't heard anything else, except that I did verify yesterday that she did receive the resume. Just trying hard to keep praying and waiting for God to show us exactly where He wants us to move and what to do next. Meanwhile, I just keep plugging away at my list.
Love the tray Charlotte - very nice! I would love to have some of those made from the old boards on the barn at my parents place, but unfortunately, I am not sure the wood is still usable. Leigh was going to try to make Jessica a picture frame out of part of it and we weren't sure it was still usable. But, I think that would make a neat keepsake for my kids.................. see why I have so much stuff!! and thinking about adding more............... I think I need mental help!!
I don't understand how I got so far behind on all this stuff, but I know that year of driving back and forth to Alex's on the weekends sure didn't help, but for those of you that have a spotless or near spotless house all the time..........could you offer some pointers to those of us who do not????? I would really like to never be in this position again! Not to mention that IF I ever get all of it cleaned and ready to show, I have to attempt to keep it that way!
I have missed hanging out with all my "friends" here and hopefully life will return to somewhat normal soon........ it was a year ago this coming week that we learned about Leigh losing his job and this past year has really been one of changes and transition, but I am trying to keep my head above water and keep treading!
Have a great day everyone!! Love you all!
Genna
Genna , living in a mobile home is a challenge to keep clutter down too. I hate clutter it really gets on my nerves. I have a place for everything and try to keep "most things" in their place.
I had to clean out the linen closet when Cayla moved to find her quilt that Pat made her for her graduation, I was so glad I had it cleaned up when we got the new tub. I had to empty it as the water access is in that closet. I just got the stack out and put them on Cayls's bed, then covered it all with a sheet to keep the dust off. I had a bunch of garbage I threw away from there too. I don't keep too much paperwork anymore now that everything can be found on line, such as EOB's from the insurance, bank statements I usually only keep about a year back.
I keep all tax returns, but that is about it on papers, I shred lots of stuff for the worms to eat!
Well I'm sure I could fill up a dumpster with things I don't need! I have come to the conclusion that part of my problem is I actually have too much storage space! One of the reasons I bought this house was because it had really good storage. Especially for a house built when it was. Then we've accumulated all these outdoor buildings!! Then I have lots of furniture with storage space. Plus 4 full size filing cabinets in the garage!! All the filing cabinets are full but probably 3/4 of it needs to be thrown away. I haven't put anything in them in over a year as I want to clean it out before I put anything back in it. So all my stuff I planned to keep for the last year or so is in big tote bags!! Probably a lot of it can be thrown away!! I have a closet in the foyer that is a walkin closet that goes under the staircase. I just open the door and look at it and close it again!!! LOL It tends to be where I throw stuff when I'm trying to clean in a hurry! I really don't know what's in my linen closet - that's on the list to clean also. I just take sheets off the bed, wash them and put them right back on. Didn't used to do that but I've found it easier.
Just where I'm sitting right now I can see 6 big chest plus the built ins in the den. So rather than throw it away I just stick it in a drawer! Now all the drawers are full and I don't remember what drawer I put things in! Oh well there is always tomorrow!! Or I can just keep putting it off and let my son and DIL deal with it! LOL
I keep way too much paper - but for years Leigh insisted we keep every utility bill, every receipt, cancelled checks, bank statement, etc. I do still keep paper bank statements but mainly because we were audited once and they wanted 24 months of bank statements from EVERY account our ss # was on which at the time included every account my parents had, the two accounts that Leigh's grandmother had, all the kids, and one for his Mom I think! It was crazy!! I am afraid that if that ever comes up again (which I hope it doesn't) that I wouldn't be able to access all of them on line from the needed years, particularly if banks change etc. So I still have 7 years of bank statements stored and of course all tax returns from when we married. I started to burn all of those over 10 - 20 yrs old but I knew Leigh would stroke so I just ignored them and went on. in the scheme of things, they take up little space.
I have tons of photos that need to be gone thru and organized, tons of keepsake stuff for the kids scrapbooks that has NEVER found a home in a scrapbook etc. I thought maybe once the kids got in college I would have time to catch up on some of those projects - and I did actually get a few similar things done and some sewing projects caught up on before life seemed to fall apart again. I keep thinking maybe someday............... I have gotten better at letting things go - but i have a long way to go!!!
When Leigh's mom died she had EVERY card she had EVER received for any occasion - thank you, birthday, mother's day, etc. I am not that bad at least............. :) She had BOXES and BOXES in her attic of articles that she had saved out of magazines, newspaper clippings, craft ideas, etc. A major fire trap I thought, but she would not let ANY of it be thrown away until she was gone! I do have the last birthday card that my parents gave me before my Dad died. Momma always just signed the card, but that year my daddy signed it separately..........I have kept it because of that. I can't throw it away but realisticly I have no idea why I keep it........... :( Leigh is worse than I am~! He was SO proud of himself the other night because he went and filed something instead of piling it on the desk which is what he would normally have done.......................but the thing was that it was just a prospectus report for a stock he owns in his 401K. I have NO IDEA why he thought he should keep it! I am positive he could look at it on line any time he wanted, and I am fairly certain that he will NEVER retrieve it out of that file to look at it again............ I am fighting a losing battle. But, I hated to say too much because at LEAST he did put it away!
Sandra, I used to hate clutter too................and I still do......but I gave up years ago trying to corral it all. Once, years ago when we lived in our old house and the kids were much younger and I couldn't get him to help me in the house AT ALL... So a friend suggested I not pick up anything and that eventually they would get the idea and pitch in. I hate to say that I tried the idea..........it did NOT work! It literally became like a trail in my house.......and NO ONE seemed to notice but me. After weeks of that,and being MORTIFIED that the wrong person would come to the door, I spent weeks trying to catch back up to the mess!! At least, things have been better than that since we moved into this house because I made a BIG deal out of us all helping to keep it presentable. Sure doesn't feel like it at the moment since it is taking so long to get it presentable to show! I think a lot of it is Leigh is totally immune to clutter - doesn't even notice it! LOL and the fact that I was always outside working with my Dad growing up so I never learned the tricks to quick clean ups. I had to keep my room clean and then on Sat morning we would clean the house before going to town to get groceries etc for the week. I would dust all the LR stuff and clean the bathroom and Momma did everything else I guess. It was years before I realized she was cleaning something all the time (EVERY day) and I just didn't know it!! I really envy people who keep their house spotless -
LOL Charlotte, we cross posted. That is what happened to our study and my sewing room.....someone would just open the door and toss it in there to clean up in a hurry and they both became disaster zones. I have worked hours in the study - and made a much bigger mess on the front end because I was emptying old stuff out of files, etc. before putting things back in. In fact, I did the same thing the other day in my bathroom - would completely empty a cabinet and sort thru it all and then clean the cabinet and put it back in place - same with all the drawers etc. It took me a long time, but I threw away two sacks of stuff that was either out of date or will never be used etc. I don't know how all that stuff accumulates - but it sure did. Of course, I think that is the first time the cabinet has been completely gone thru since we moved in 10 yrs ago. Sounds horrible to say - but I don't know where all the time goes! I did some superficial cleaning and cleaned out closets 4 yrs ago when we refinanced to lower our interest and had to have a new appraisal - but I didn't clean in all the cabinets and all that.
I have plans to go thru all my kitchen cabinets and I will probably even pack some odd and end things up that I rarely use to make the cabinets appear less full. Same goes for my kitchen drawers. I just haven't gotten that far yet.
I did manage to find a small storage facility fairly close to where we live that has a 5 X 10 room for $ 18 a month. I have a couple of boxes of recipe books already boxed up and as I box up additional things, I will probably go rent one of those rooms and just put them in there - hopefully very short term!! I do not like the thought of leaving things in storage and don't plan to put them in there until I have to. I will have a couple of boxes of books from Leigh's study and possibly some misc junk out of the garage..... probably won't move any furniture there because of the changing temps and also because the size is so small. They only have 3 spaces left open! So other people apparently have a lot of stuff too! :)
There is a new facility a little bit further away but their prices are double what this one charges. Wouldn't be that big a deal for a month or two, but then I have no idea how long this is going to take ....... :( praying it sells quickly!
Genna have you ever heard of "Fly Lady"?
http://www.flylady.net/
I don't use it but know a lot of people that do, now that it is just Jerry and I here, keeping house is not a big problem. I am home also and I remember how hard it is to do everything and work.
Yall are making me feel bad!!! I'm still fighting that vine in my teahouse bed and after that I'm lucky to get the trash cans to the road. It takes more effort to figure out what everyone wants to eat for the masses!!!
This week Ashley and I have been shopping both Monday & today for a homecoming dress, she doesn't have a date but is going with a group of friends. I think I would rather it this way but you know how it is. We found the cutest dress but of course, I think it is too short but Jim got to vote, via cellphone and he said let her get it. Now there is the problem of shoes but THANK GOD, Rebecca(Jimmy's wife) is gonna help her find those and figure out the hair. I'm to old to even care.
I'm sorry, for sounding so out of sorts today but I am so sad! My 1st housekeeper, when Jimmy was born, and 30+ year friend's son committed suicide last night and I'm just sick for Leona. Brandon was about 8 or 9 and the cutest thing back then when Leona worked with me. He was a good man, with a good job at EXXON and until the divorce, a loving family.
Jeri, so sorry about the hurt you are feeling. It is so sad when a life is needlessly ended.
I know his Mother is just pitiful.
Jeri that is so sad!!!! Such a terrible thing!
I had forgotten about the fly lady! I remember looking at that years ago. I can get my house whipped into shape when I need to but on a daily basis I just have too many other things I do and as a priority it's way down the list! I decided long time ago life is too short to spend all my time cleaning house!! LOL
My twin grandsons for some reason didn't want to go the their homecoming dance. They plan to go to the senior prom but just didn't want to go to homecoming. Instead they dressed up like "dads" and went to all the pre-dance parties as paparazzis (also known as dads). That's the picture shown. They are the ones on the right and center. Don't know where they got all the old cameras. Clint did go to the homecoming dance at the other high school in town. A friend of his that goes to the other high school asked him to be her date and I guess he couldn't turn her down.
She is Sandra. I talked with her this morning. The police that came to tell her said that the surveillance camera showed that he went to the emergency room at Lonnie Kemp Hospital and would walk up to the door and then away and turn and walk back up the door and then turn and walk away. He did that over and over and the last time he walked away, he pulled the gun out and shot himself in the side. He was that close to getting help and walked away!!! I'm crying again typing this. Such a total waste!!!!
Oh Jeri that is so sad!!! To think that he was that close to getting help and didn't get it. If only someone had seen him and asked him if he was ok! We just never know some time how much someone needs help!!!
Jeri I was just looking at some homecoming dance pictures that were posted on my GS FB page. Obviously SHORT dresses are the thing now! The girls all have on short dresses but one is RIDICULOUSLY SHORT. One has on a back tight fitting dress that barely covers her crotch! Guess we're going back to the med seventies or earlier. I remember a co-worker having on a dress that a older gentleman politely asked if she was wearing a dress or a blouse??
I know exactly what you mean!!! I am from the 70's but this is a school function and I'm worried that it may be too short but it's longer than a blouse. LOL!!! All of them were that short.
Oh Jeri, that is so sad! Last night on the local news, the Dad of a young man who committed suicide a couple of weeks ago made a plea for the local medical community to pay more attention to pleas for mental health calls. His son was suffering from depression and he felt that he didn't get much attention from the phone calls he made to try to get help for his son. His son as about to turn 16 and was a good student, but was depressed. The son made national news - he and some friends had decided to 'streak' during a local football game. The other kids didn't do it but he did and was expelled and the principal made some comments about charges that could be levied (public lewdness, etc) that could mean jail time. A few days later he hung himself and died 2 days later. Really sad. His dad said this was not the main reason his son did what he did, but he just wanted to bring attention to the mental health reform needed.
Genna, I think Charlotte is right - the more storage you have, the more we tend to fill it up. When we moved in our house, I think I felt like we could breathe, but as the years have gone by, we've filled up that space and then some. I've been trying to purge, but as you well know, when you're working, you get overcome with other things to do and don't always have the time you need to do a very good job. I can totally see spending 6 hours cleaning the way you did, lol! DH is more of a packrat than I am. I don't dare throw out or give away anything of his without him going through it first. He would have a fit even though there is stuff he'll never put on his back again. Go figure. And I can't convince him to burn the old tax records no matter what. He thinks we 'need' them, so we have boxes full in the attic. When I retire that's the first thing I'm taking on.
Elaine seems I remember reading or hearing on TV about the young man your talking about. It seems this is getting to be more of a problem. I bet most of us know someone that's been affected by suicide. I know several myself. Seems to be hard to recognize the warning signs and get help for those people. Such a waste and so, so sad for the families. Affects them forever.
Well it seems men can be worst a hoarding old stuff than women. Richard is the same way. He will not let me throw away old clothes that he will never put on his back and I wouldn't be seen with him if he did!!! I finally got him to throw some of it away a few years ago but he wouldn't part with all it. He has several boxes of old records that belong to a company they sold many years ago. They are at least sitting in one of the storage buildings out back. I have boxes of records from my old store in the attic. I don't want to hold on to them but they are things the IRS require you to keep for so many years. Tax records of all types. I had trouble with my Federal Unemployment Tax payment for the last quarter I was in business for about 5 years after I closed my store. They kept saying I had not payed it which I had and had the report and cancelled check to prove it. But it took me 5 years to finally get that cleared up. I'm thinking enough time has now passed that I can start destroying that stuff. I need to look up the time limit again. When you pay employees you have to keep all those records FICA, etc for what seems like forever!
A lot of what I have stored is just junk that needs to be tossed. But I'm discovering that there are a lot of things I have my family wants. Just gave my GS all the old record albums I had. Richard gave his old erector set to his granddaughter a few weeks ago. It was still in the original metal case with the instruction book. She was thrilled. I know there are a bunch of things I have my son wants. I know my DIL wants a lot of things. I've given her a lot of china etc already and would give here more but she's running out of storage room also!! She started collecting Christmas villages several years ago and if she keeps it up is going to need to rent a storage room to put it all in!!! My oldest GS was asking me just last week about a coocoo (can't spell it the clock with a bird that pops out) clock. He said he was telling one of his friends about it the other day and was asking me some questions about it. I know there are several things I have he would like to have The clock is a really nice old one that I lucked upon. I've had it before they were born and they were always intrigued with it as small kids.
All my grandkids are fascinated still by all my junk in the garage!!! They don't consider it junk they think I have some real treasures out there!!
Genna I finally got a handle on my mail. I used to put it on the kitchen table and the junk stuff would pile up before I got around to opening it. Now I open mail every day and toss the junk immediately and sit down and schedule any bill that needs to be paid and put it away. I pay everything on line. I even make all my deposits online using my iphone. If I kept all the prospectuses that we both get I would need another row of filing cabinets!!! Some of them are actually books like a catalog. Most of those I don't even open. I'm sure I could go online and get the same information if I ever wanted it.
Mail is one thing that does not 'sit' with me, nor do catalogs, except for a few that I want to flip thru in the evening. Since I pay almost all my bills via auto-pay, I usually just scan the ones I get for accuracy and file them. Junk mail immediately gets thrown away or shredded. And I am purging my magazine subscriptions down to a few right now. I keep a couple of gardening magazines, Health, and Southern Living but I keep thinking I will drop SL.
Between Christmas and January sometime I do a file clean-out and purge. I either shred or organize for the taxes and start new folders for the new year. I pretty much follow fly-lady's rules. If you read her article on 'paper clutter' it's pretty good. DH is a different story. He lets things pile up, including the envelopes things come in. I dunno.....
I used to subscribe to tons of magazines. I found they just created clutter and I would spend 15 minutes looking at them when they first came in and after that was just clutter. Also seemed to me the quality was really going down. So now I have NO magazine subscriptions and have not missed them at all! When I'm waiting in a doctors office I will look through their magazines and that's enough for me.
Most of the magazines now are more advertisement than anything else I get enough of that watching tv
Whoo! I am behind again! I don't know how I manage to get so far behind but we have spent a lot of time outside lately cutting and stacking wood for the fireplace. Al has cut down 3 trees this summer, two of which were already dead, and the storm in August blew one big oak tree over. We discovered that although it wasn't dead yet, it was starting to rot from the inside out. So we have had four trees to cut up, split and stack. Of course, Al does the cutting with chain saw but I help him with the splitter. He has a gas-operated hydraulic wood splitter and I operate it while he moves the logs around. We both do the stacking after we get a pile of wood split.
As far as clutter is concerned, Al is a champion hoarder. Not in the house, but in his "man cave" and in the two outbuildings that we have. I think the man has three of every kind of tool there is! LOL (His sister tells me it is because they grew up poor.) There is a detached garage with a lean-to on it which is about 50 feet behind the house. He uses it for all his tools plus for his re-loading equipment for shotgun shells. I rarely go in there. LOL It is just as well that I stay out of there. :D Then we have a smaller storage building which was full of "stuff". I convinced him about a month ago to go in there with me and clean it out, which we did. It was amazing the stuff that was thrown away or taken to the recycle center. The rest of it we organized like hanging extension cords on hooks and other stuff we stacked neatly on shelves instead of having it all just piled up. We can get in there now without tripping over anything!
Last year when I married Al, it took me a full month of working almost every day during each week to get the house organized. I went through every drawer, every closet and every cabinet, room by room. It was unbelievable the big black plastic bags of stuff that went out of here. We donated most of it and some was thrown away or taken to the recycle center. A lot of those plastic bags were full of clothes that belonged to the late Mrs. Piche'. She had a ton of clothes--far more than I do. I don't think either Al or the other Marilyn (her name, too) really knew what all they had because they couldn't find anything when they looked for it. Anyway, it felt so good to have things organized and to know what was put where.
Genna, once you get everything organized, it will be a lot easier to keep it that way. You just have to start with one room at a time so you won't feel overwhelmed.
I have all the EE's put away for the winter. The only EE I left in the ground was the Big Dipper. I have it well mulched so I hope it will come back. It always came back for me when I was in Cabot but I realize that was in zone 7 and I am in Zone 6b up here. I also have dug all the caladium bulbs and dried them out and put in paper sacks for storage through the winter.
Elaine: glad to hear that Earl is doing well.
Jeri, I am so sorry about your friend's son. It is such a shame that he was so close to help and just couldn't bring himself to ask for it.
Well, I need to get back outside while the weather is pretty. It is cool today but the sun is shining so I need to get back out there and rake up some pine needles out of the yard to put in the flower beds.
Most of ya'll have probably seen this photo on Facebook but I will post it here for those of you who don't make it over to FB.
This is Al in front of some of the wood we have cut, split and stacked so far. There is more waiting to be done. The log splitter is to the left in the photo.
Marilyn it looks like you are expecting a very bad winter there, lots of wood. Is that your only source of heat?
There is also a forum on here that I haven't looked at in a while but it has some helpful stuff on ithttp://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/cleaning/all/
No, Sandra, we have central heating but we have a fireplace insert that does an excellent job of keeping the front part of the house warm. When we burn wood we don't have to use the heating unit as much. There is nothing like wood heat to warm the bones. We aren't necessarily expecting a bad winter. It's just that we had a couple of dead trees that had to come down plus we wanted to cut down the big Mimosa out front because it was just too, too, messy. Then, too, the storm in August blew down a huge oak at the end of our driveway so we had four big trees to cut up which makes for a lot of firewood!
The weather folk are predicting our first hard freeze of the season for Thursday night/Friday morning. Our high tomorrow is only supposed to be 51 to 54F. Today's high was in the mid-50's. It was cool but the sun was shining and the wind wasn't blowing so it wasn't all that bad outside.