Beauty

[just bee]

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

Should I order this one...

or this one?

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@just bee 

Depends on whether you want to look like a ferret face or not.

They're both cute, the pup gives off happy vibes because he's smiling.  The other can be mistaken for a cat, or any number of other critters so people will always be asking, "What are you supposed to be?"  Could be a pain, or it could be quite fun, depending on your mood at the time.😈

But don't you think the neck covering is going to be hot going into the warm weather?🥵

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@geezerette 

I thought about that, but I figure I can hide the skin tags and jowls with this thing.

But I guess a bandana would work, too.

[just bee]

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@Eager2Learn wrote:

In my quest to make my office more of an office and less of a junkroom, I gave myself an assignment.

I had what is best described as a plastic "crate". Inside that was a leather tote bag filled with greeeting cards, old cards that I received from 2005-2007, wrapping paper, bows, name tags, twine, tape, etc. About 80%-90% of what was in the bag is now in the garbage or recycled.

I kept tape, blank cards and a pen. S/O kept tissue paper, gold cord for wrapping and 3 angels for hanging. I will clean out and fold the tote and store it in my closet for now. I will try to repurpose the crate. If not, it will go into the trash as well, unless S/O can use it (it originally came from him).

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@Eager2Learn 

I parted with a lot of cards, stationery, paper, gift wrap and other wrapping materials after the fire.  I'd hung on to some items since the 70s.

You probably saved what was necessary. 

But it feels better, right?

[Eager2Learn]

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@just bee wrote:

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@Eager2Learn wrote:

In my quest to make my office more of an office and less of a junkroom, I gave myself an assignment.

I had what is best described as a plastic "crate". Inside that was a leather tote bag filled with greeeting cards, old cards that I received from 2005-2007, wrapping paper, bows, name tags, twine, tape, etc. About 80%-90% of what was in the bag is now in the garbage or recycled.

I kept tape, blank cards and a pen. S/O kept tissue paper, gold cord for wrapping and 3 angels for hanging. I will clean out and fold the tote and store it in my closet for now. I will try to repurpose the crate. If not, it will go into the trash as well, unless S/O can use it (it originally came from him).

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@Eager2Learn 

I parted with a lot of cards, stationery, paper, gift wrap and other wrapping materials after the fire.  I'd hung on to some items since the 70s.

You probably saved what was necessary. 

But it feels better, right?

---

When I took a better look at the tote, I realized it's imitation leather. It's kind of worn in places so I'm going to toss it as well. The file container/crate is too small for what I wanted to do with it. S/O took it back, even though he has no use for it right now. 

[just bee]

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@Eager2Learn wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@Eager2Learn wrote:

In my quest to make my office more of an office and less of a junkroom, I gave myself an assignment.

I had what is best described as a plastic "crate". Inside that was a leather tote bag filled with greeeting cards, old cards that I received from 2005-2007, wrapping paper, bows, name tags, twine, tape, etc. About 80%-90% of what was in the bag is now in the garbage or recycled.

I kept tape, blank cards and a pen. S/O kept tissue paper, gold cord for wrapping and 3 angels for hanging. I will clean out and fold the tote and store it in my closet for now. I will try to repurpose the crate. If not, it will go into the trash as well, unless S/O can use it (it originally came from him).

---

@Eager2Learn 

I parted with a lot of cards, stationery, paper, gift wrap and other wrapping materials after the fire.  I'd hung on to some items since the 70s.

You probably saved what was necessary. 

But it feels better, right?

---

When I took a better look at the tote, I realized it's imitation leather. It's kind of worn in places so I'm going to toss it as well. The file container/crate is too small for what I wanted to do with it. S/O took it back, even though he has no use for it right now. 

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@Eager2Learn 

When I was going through my closets, looking for items to save, I noticed how shabby and worn a lot of my things looked.  Suddenly, stains, tears, faded colors, frayed cuffs and collars all seemed more obvious. 

I wore this stuff?

Some of it, yeah.  But a lot of it had just sat, unworn, for a very long time.  Why was I holding on to it?

It's like there's a brain shift.  You see things a little more clearly and things look... a little more shabby.  Easier to part with.

[just bee]

@rnmom 

BH found something on the Internet.  A parody of the Pure Michigan campaign.

Not So Pure Michigan.

You may have seen these videos, but if you haven't...

notsopuremichigan dot com....

[geezerette]

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@Eager2Learn wrote:

In my quest to make my office more of an office and less of a junkroom, I gave myself an assignment.

I had what is best described as a plastic "crate". Inside that was a leather tote bag filled with greeeting cards, old cards that I received from 2005-2007, wrapping paper, bows, name tags, twine, tape, etc. About 80%-90% of what was in the bag is now in the garbage or recycled.

I kept tape, blank cards and a pen. S/O kept tissue paper, gold cord for wrapping and 3 angels for hanging. I will clean out and fold the tote and store it in my closet for now. I will try to repurpose the crate. If not, it will go into the trash as well, unless S/O can use it (it originally came from him).

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@Eager2Learn 

Wow, you made quite a dent!  I find wrapping paper, et al some of the hardest to make decisions about.  Especially when I get a gift with some sort of really neat decoration that I want to keep and reuse.  Except my gift-giving is so limited anymore that I rarely reuse anything.  So it sits in the closet.

I've been trying--very slowly--over the last couple of years to declutter my desk.  Let's just say it's still a work in progress.  

It's a big old thing that I've used as a file cabinet and catch-all for forty years.  It's getting to the point that drawers don't work anymore because they're just flat worn out.  But because it has so many nifty places for 'stuff' and I've used it for so long, it's where I have pretty much most of my paperwork and office supplies.  (I still have unopened boxes of paper clips from the '70s.)  

But I know I will (hopefully) eventually be downsizing to a smaller house and this is just too old and too big to move.  Knowing what a traumatic job it would be to eliminate it, I'm trying to start early and go slowly.

But this is one of the 'problem' areas for me to declutter.  It was fairly easy to eliminate some of the stuff.  Admittedly I don't use a lot of this stuff often, but some of it I do use--just not often, so I can't see getting rid of things I'll need to buy at some point.  Right now my problem is that I have no idea what I'll be replacing the desk with, so I don't know how much I should keep and how much to toss.

So I have the luxury of be able to make choices slowly, and hopefully wisely.🤞🦉

[aprilskies]

Hello All, I hope you are all doing well 

@rnmom - yes, being mindful of eating is tougher than it seems.  Full kudos to losing so much and sticking with it. Keep it up. This my third day of being mindful and I feel better already. I have been walking everyday, some better than others, but consistency is what I am striving for. I wasnt so mindful this morning but I have the whole day to even that out and I just finished a 3 mile walk so I am off to a good start. I will do one later as well.  What else is there to do. I am trying to be outside as much as I can. 

I am really not compacting but this year I did buy a few things and they were all basically duds because they caused me to breakout. So, I am done buying products right now and I really want to get down to the basics. I no longer appreciate having a hoard of products. I rather have a hoard of the things I need. That is not to say I wouldnt buy something I really wanted but I am going to try and use up what I have. It felt great to take out my last shampoo and that only happened because I have also used some up as hand soap. 

@KaySD, yes it will be interesting to see how this puzzle will be put back together and how everyone will react. Interesting times for sure.

@Eager2Learn, that is great with your decluttering. I havent been doing much but will not start slowly. Like @geezerette, I want to be more careful of what I toss because at this point if I need it in the future, there is no need to get rid of it. And at this point, I am not sure what it is all that I need.  

I did bag up 7 skirts. For some I dont know if I will ever be that thin again and for others I think I am over. Looking at you peasant skirt. I also tossed in there a wrist pedometer. It was too hard to figure out and the instructions were useless. I dont like the wrist ones.  I wouldnt even use a pedometer at all but I am in a challenge at work so I need to measure my steps.

@geezerette, I have started looking at houses a couple of days ago. I really want a place that is big enough but not huge, has some privacy but is close enough to the city for convenience but not in the thick of it. Yes, good luck to me. I was looking at some houses and loved the house but then who the heck is going to clean that much house. Not I and I am not hiring a cleaner - for now - or maybe ever. I know you are not moving yet but good luck with decluttering slowly. That is another thing, when I move, I am not just going to move things just because. There has got to be a reason it is coming with me.

@just bee, now that you have been in your home for a while, how do you feel with less stuff?

Anyway, I think I chewed your ears off.  I will say so long for now and will tackle some paperwork that has been piling up.  

[just bee]

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@geezerette wrote:

---

@Eager2Learn wrote:

In my quest to make my office more of an office and less of a junkroom, I gave myself an assignment.

I had what is best described as a plastic "crate". Inside that was a leather tote bag filled with greeeting cards, old cards that I received from 2005-2007, wrapping paper, bows, name tags, twine, tape, etc. About 80%-90% of what was in the bag is now in the garbage or recycled.

I kept tape, blank cards and a pen. S/O kept tissue paper, gold cord for wrapping and 3 angels for hanging. I will clean out and fold the tote and store it in my closet for now. I will try to repurpose the crate. If not, it will go into the trash as well, unless S/O can use it (it originally came from him).

---

@Eager2Learn 

Wow, you made quite a dent!  I find wrapping paper, et al some of the hardest to make decisions about.  Especially when I get a gift with some sort of really neat decoration that I want to keep and reuse.  Except my gift-giving is so limited anymore that I rarely reuse anything.  So it sits in the closet.

I've been trying--very slowly--over the last couple of years to declutter my desk.  Let's just say it's still a work in progress.  

It's a big old thing that I've used as a file cabinet and catch-all for forty years.  It's getting to the point that drawers don't work anymore because they're just flat worn out.  But because it has so many nifty places for 'stuff' and I've used it for so long, it's where I have pretty much most of my paperwork and office supplies.  (I still have unopened boxes of paper clips from the '70s.)  

But I know I will (hopefully) eventually be downsizing to a smaller house and this is just too old and too big to move.  Knowing what a traumatic job it would be to eliminate it, I'm trying to start early and go slowly.

But this is one of the 'problem' areas for me to declutter.  It was fairly easy to eliminate some of the stuff.  Admittedly I don't use a lot of this stuff often, but some of it I do use--just not often, so I can't see getting rid of things I'll need to buy at some point.  Right now my problem is that I have no idea what I'll be replacing the desk with, so I don't know how much I should keep and how much to toss.

So I have the luxury of be able to make choices slowly, and hopefully wisely.🤞🦉

---

@geezerette 

Desks are very personal.  I purchased a desk in the 80s when I was collecting Asian art.  It's Asian in style: Simple with one drawer.  Pretty minimalist.

I was still in my burl phase, having graduated from a university in Northern California, behind the Redwood Curtain.

The finish on this desk was "burly."  Unfortunately, the burl headboard and antique burl chest that were in the garage perished.

And BH has been sharing this desk and destroying the finish on it.  I will need to have it refinished.  Do I choose a non-burl finish?  A different color?  Still deciding.

Before the fire, the drawer was stuffed.  After the fire, I parted with most of the "very important" papers I'd collected.

We had two other really great desks in another room and those were "let go."

Now those had all sorts of drawers and compartments.  Loved those desks.  BH was not as smitten.

I think you're at the point where you need to try creative visualization.  You have to start visualizing the next chapter.  Where are you?  What do you have around you?

Start picturing yourself in a different environment.  Visualize a typical day.  Design your life.

What are some of the things you would save if you knew a tornado was coming your way?

We all have a tornado coming our way whether it's a actual tornado or not.  What are the most important things right now?

[just bee]

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@aprilskies wrote:

Hello All, I hope you are all doing well 

@rnmom - yes, being mindful of eating is tougher than it seems.  Full kudos to losing so much and sticking with it. Keep it up. This my third day of being mindful and I feel better already. I have been walking everyday, some better than others, but consistency is what I am striving for. I wasnt so mindful this morning but I have the whole day to even that out and I just finished a 3 mile walk so I am off to a good start. I will do one later as well.  What else is there to do. I am trying to be outside as much as I can. 

I am really not compacting but this year I did buy a few things and they were all basically duds because they caused me to breakout. So, I am done buying products right now and I really want to get down to the basics. I no longer appreciate having a hoard of products. I rather have a hoard of the things I need. That is not to say I wouldnt buy something I really wanted but I am going to try and use up what I have. It felt great to take out my last shampoo and that only happened because I have also used some up as hand soap. 

@KaySD, yes it will be interesting to see how this puzzle will be put back together and how everyone will react. Interesting times for sure.

@Eager2Learn, that is great with your decluttering. I havent been doing much but will not start slowly. Like @geezerette, I want to be more careful of what I toss because at this point if I need it in the future, there is no need to get rid of it. And at this point, I am not sure what it is all that I need.  

I did bag up 7 skirts. For some I dont know if I will ever be that thin again and for others I think I am over. Looking at you peasant skirt. I also tossed in there a wrist pedometer. It was too hard to figure out and the instructions were useless. I dont like the wrist ones.  I wouldnt even use a pedometer at all but I am in a challenge at work so I need to measure my steps.

@geezerette, I have started looking at houses a couple of days ago. I really want a place that is big enough but not huge, has some privacy but is close enough to the city for convenience but not in the thick of it. Yes, good luck to me. I was looking at some houses and loved the house but then who the heck is going to clean that much house. Not I and I am not hiring a cleaner - for now - or maybe ever. I know you are not moving yet but good luck with decluttering slowly. That is another thing, when I move, I am not just going to move things just because. There has got to be a reason it is coming with me.

@just bee, now that you have been in your home for a while, how do you feel with less stuff?

Anyway, I think I chewed your ears off.  I will say so long for now and will tackle some paperwork that has been piling up.  

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@aprilskies 

Refer to my post to @geezerette  regarding creative visualization.

I like your analogy about jigsaw puzzles.  I think it fits.  And it might explain why so many of us have started to do puzzles again.  We're trying to put our lives back together.

Moving into a new space is an opportunity.  You have said that you feel stuck.  Moving into a new space is a good way to get unstuck.  Again, refer to my previous post about creative visualization.

Where do you see yourself?

Start looking for that place.

What do you see in that place?  What's not there?

Is the house near a big park or an outdoor mall where you can walk and explore?

Is there a yard or just a patio?

How many rooms?  Is it contemporary?  Traditional?  What's the outside like?  Wood?  Brick?  Stucco?

What colors are you seeing?

It was interesting reimagining our home.  We made some sweeping changes.

I am slow to unpack because I don't want to be reminded of the things I lost.  But I do have to remind myself that I would lose them one day anyway.  What I kept were reminders.  I didn't have to have fifty things to remind me of one thing.  Instead, one thing was enough.

I don't feel smothered by stuff.  The house is lighter.  I have more options.

Options = freedom.

What kind of options are you thinking about right now?

[geezerette]

@aprilskies 

Yes, being mindful of our eating is a must.  I always can get very motivated to eat properly, or at least more properly, when I feel bad.  I had used this pandemic and all it's hysteria as an excuse to go absolutely off the walls with diet.  And I paid big time.  Not only did I feel bad mentally, I felt bad physically and looked like it too.  So I finally got my act together.  The first few days while I still feel and look pretty awful are easy.  When it gets harder to stick with the good food is after I start feeling, and looking, more like my old self.  That's always where I end up failing.  

This time I have to find a motivation to keep on the straight and narrow.  I think I've got it, but it's different than it used to be.  I'm no longer focused on the superficial aspect of looking good.  Now it's pure physical survival.  Not to be confused with longevity, however.

And I also gave up thinking I could get myself back down to the weight I wanted, what I was years ago.  That's not going to happen.  I physically can't do enough exercise anymore for that.  So I'm looking to get to the point where I fit comfortably in the pants I have now and enough that I am able to function doing what I need (and want) to do.  Whatever weight that turns out to be is okay.  And I need to be okay with it in my mind.  Forget numbers.

As for the new house thing, I've slowed down my looking since this craziness.  I am not at the point where I'm ready to buy yet, and this pandemic has thrown a monkey wrench into what plans I did have.  I'm gathering my thoughts about it all though, and continuing to casually check out what's available.  My town is so small that the choices are usually very limited.  I have a few "musts" of what I want and need, but other things I'm still mulling over in my head.  

I think it's always good to have a game plan.  An objective.  Or even just a dream or idea in mind of what you'd like your future to look like.  But be flexible enough to not have too much written in stone, or you may be disappointed.