Tag Archives: organizing and decluttering

September 10, 2022 · 9:21 am

Sunny Saturday 9-10-2022

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Awwwwww. I want to hug this dog.

All About Gardening

This morning I’m planning to get SOMETHING reasonable done outside. I worked outside Wednesday, making some good progress, but then life and other commitments got in the way while it was cooler on Thursday and Friday. I’m hoping to get my sweet red onions harvested from the garden and spread on the trailer bed in the sun to dry today. My garden is awful now, but I’m going to ignore that, doing what is pressing on me the most outside each day possible until things are under better control. Our weather is supposed to be cooler for a couple of day starting tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to that and hope to spend a lot of time outside.

Bookshelves – Guest Room

I cleaned out the books in the guest room and on my side of the bedroom about a week or so ago. My husband just noticed last night when we were getting ready for bed.

Bookshelves – My side of bedroom

Things got busy and I pooped out last night, so we just had soup and crackers for dinner. I’ll cook the chicken and rice dish my husband likes tonight.

And that’s our quiet, happy day. I hope YOU have one, too.

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February 9, 2021 · 10:05 am

Some Progress, More Coming

Drafting Table When I’m Working – 1
Drafting Table When I’m Working – 2

When ideas are coming fast and furious, rattling around in my poor brain until I’m dreaming of them, it’s a relief – and so much fun! – to spend time zipping from one idea and medium to the next, shoving things out of the way enough that I can keep playing.

Every once in a while, though, the adult emerges and looks – appalled – at the mess I’ve created once again. The stern taskmaster says that I MUST clean things up before starting anything else.

I went upstairs several days ago. intending to at least START with the tractor in there, but got some ideas for new magnets and I simply gave in to the need to play. I had a GREAT time, got the magnets finished, priced them yesterday and put them into the basket I take back and forth to my local booth in town.

I then listened to the taskmaster and decided to at LEAST get the drafting table cleared off.

Drafting Table Cleaned Off – 1
Drafting Table Cleaned Off – 2

My plan is to continue my cleaning efforts up there today. at LEAST getting another table cleaned off.

Happy Tuesday!

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February 8, 2021 · 9:49 am

Cleaning my Art Room?

Two days ago I went to my art room full of good intentions to clean things up and organize. I’ve been reasonably productive lately, so things are really a mess. :0)

I started with my drafting table because that’s where I do most of my work. As I cleaned it off, I got some ideas for new magnets to make for sale in my booth in Rags & Roses. The cleaning stopped as I started gathering the things I wanted…

Raising Children Network

Today I will go up and see if I can actually finish cleaning off the drafting table, as well as tackling more of the art room…

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January 25, 2021 · 10:08 am

Pat, Pat, Pat

Clipart Library

Yesterday I truly earned a pat on the head.

THING ONE: I FINISHED my part of our 2020 tax prep. It is in an envelope waiting for some investment statements to be available online and printed, then it will be taken and dumped, with relief, on our CPA for processing.

As a part of this, I started spreadsheets for 2021, made some improvements to my filing system, and threw some stuff away. I also discovered that there was, indeed, a DESK in my office, under the huge pile of STUFF.

Note: The big white envelope on the right side of the desk is the tax stuff that is almost ready to go!

THING TWO: I finally went through the big laundry basket I use to haul things back and forth to the booth my friend Carla and I share at Rags & Roses Collective in Greenwood. It was an absolute mess, full of packing materials, display supplies I can never quite put my hands on when I’m trying to put new things in the booth, products I had brought home, products that needed to be put in the booth when there is room, etc.

The thing remaining is the counter area where my computer is. I’ll clean that up today and then celebrate by giving myself some time to play in my art room this afternoon.

Every once in a while, I do something GOOD! :0)

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January 14, 2020 · 10:59 am

New Mantra

Joshua Becker via becomingminimalist

Two years ago now, I made a donation to the Veterans Thrift Store in Fort Smith at least once a month, every month, in an effort to declutter our home. I made a lot of progress, but I’m trying to get started again.

This month so far we have made one donation – a whole bunch of glasses – glass and plastic – that were cluttering up our kitchen cabinets and pantry. I was truly amazed when my husband brought a 5 foot long box in from the shop to use. I was amazed when we filled it almost to overflowing!  We added a trash bag with an old crock pot and an old juicer, and that it was the first donation.

I’m going to continue in the kitchen/pantry/dining area for now. Since we are eating keto now, I’ve changed the way I’m cooking. I’m going to reorganize, so that the things I use the most often are in the prime storage spaces – or, at least, that’s the PLAN. :0)

It feels good to gather things others can use and donate them.

This year I’m not going to try for any particular number of donations. I just want to make steady progress in my effort to only have things around that I use and enjoy.

 

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November 14, 2019 · 1:31 pm

Thoughts on a Thursday 11-14-2019

wildlife-photography-awards-www.boredpanda.com

We are having a balmy day today – bright sunshine at 56 degrees F. – can’t ask for more.

A happy thing happened yesterday. I received an email from ArtFire that I had an order!  A nice lady ordered one of my mosaic Christmas Bell ornaments. After I received an answer on which one she preferred, I packed it carefully and mailed it today.

I always go around with a silly grin on my face after I receive a sale. It’s the highest compliment there is. :0)

My big push for the day is to clean up our office. It exploded recently when I was doing a lot of new projects in my art room, then trying to get the new stuff on my websites, and then was trying to get my products together to put in my new “Blasing Bright” booth locally in the Rags & Roses shop in Greenwood.  Every flat surface is piled high with ‘stuff’ now. ANYTHING more added would result in instant avalanche.

SO – I have promised myself that I won’t do another thing – other than write a few blog posts – until I transform the area from a hard hat area to what could pass for a regular office….

Wish me luck?

 

 

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October 24, 2018 · 3:30 pm

Bad News and Good News

MLive.com

The BAD news is that someone in South Carolina won the grand prize in the Mega Millions game last night.  :0(

The GOOD News is several-fold:

  • I have tickets for Power Ball that will be decided tonight!
  • My friend, Marsha, and I reconnected!
  • I just had a really good session of yoga, and my husband did some sit ups!
  • I finished cleaning off the table beside my chair in the living room and the ‘go-out’ table in the dining area.

I don’t have a ‘before’ pic of the table by the chair in the living room, but here it is cleaned off –

 

 

 

Here is the BEFORE pic of the go-out table between the dining area and the utility room with the door to the garage –

 

 

And here is the way it looks NOW –

 

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February 13, 2018 · 10:55 am

Cleaning Out the Art Room – Day 1

novakadjokovicfoundation.org

I’m going upstairs now, armed with trash bags for donations and trash bags for trash, to get started going through things in my art room. As bad as things are in there, my biggest problem will be NOT picking something up and wanting to stop cleaning and PLAY with something wonderful I’ve found. I have my mental ‘ruthless’ hat on, so I’ll do my best.

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January 1, 2018 · 1:44 pm

Pat on the Head

sunnystreets.blogspot.com

Forgive me for tooting my own horn, but I’m patting myself on the head today because I’ve done one of the things I hate most in life – done my bookkeeping book and office deductions for taxes.

I always put it off until I’m really under the gun, and then I’m doing it in a panic. Since I closed my website, Creative Artworks, in July, I decided that I would try to get a jump on everything and get that out of the way. It is now done, for the last time ever. :0)

I’m now going through receipts, trying to at least get the stacks organized, for our regular taxes. I’m also using this opportunity to clean out my desk. so far I’ve done the filing cabinet type drawers on each side of my desk, cleaning out, throwing a BUNCH of stuff away, getting everything out of the drawers so I could clean out the hair balls at the bottom of each one and start fresh.

I guess I’m about half finished with going through the drawers. I haven’t done this for years – content to stash things wherever I could put them. I’m determined to get better in my pack-rat-itis habit, trying to get together a donation to the Veterans Thrift Store and the local library once a month, and fill an extra 39 gallon trash bag each week with ‘stuff’ that has been gathering dust. I just finished doing the extra bag, and it’s in the back of the truck, ready to go down to the bottom of the driveway tonight for pickup tomorrow.

NOW I’m going to go put my feet up for a few minutes and finish drinking a cup of coffee before fixing our lunch.

I hope this first day of 2018 is being good to you.

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December 28, 2017 · 11:30 am

Brrrr!

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I know I’m going to show you what a weenie I am when it comes to cold weather, but the weather is really getting our attention this week. In Arkansas, last year, I was still growing lettuce outside in December and January.  It’s 24 degrees F. outside now. It’s supposed to get to 38 this afternoon. AND we’re having a cold front come through this weekend!  Lows in the single digits or teens usually comes to us in February…

The good part of this is that, other than gathering the sticks Amber has laboriously gathered for display in the front yard, and cleaning up the two empty planters in which she continues to dig, I’m not even thinking about spending much time outside.

The one thing I AM planning to do in the next few months is organize my greenhouse so I’ll be ready to start seeds around the 1st of March (depending on the temperature in there.) I’m reading every day and researching on the net ideas for how to get set up. I’m making plans of which seeds to start first. I’m even dreaming about where to put my first-ever home-grown transplants in my raised bed square foot garden this spring! And THIS from the lady who still wears the moniker, “Serial Seed Killer.”

 

While the weather is wet and cold, I’m concentrating on trying to go through our STUFF, room-by-room, closet-by-closet, shelf-by-shelf, drawer-by -drawer, in the hope I can do some serious damage by the start of spring. I’m trying to get into a ruthless frame of mind – using a ‘less-is-more’ mantra.

I hope that you’re able to stay warm and dry wherever you are, making this a fun day.

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