@geezerette wrote:
@just bee wrote:
@geezerette wrote:
@just bee wrote:
@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
Part of the trouble I'm having is what to do with the stuff I have to keep even though I don't want to. Paperwork, for example.
And yes, I have been visualizing and imagining what my life might look like in another venue. I don't particularly like what I see, so I have to tell myself I'm going to have to make some big decisions about what will be my new priorities for my remaining lifetime.
As I mentioned to @aprilskies, this lovely little pandemic has put up a small speed bump to my imaginings. But at the same time, it's also made me more aware of what are choices I have and what are not. That, and keeping in mind my abilities (or lack thereof) as I age and how I would prefer to deal with that reality. Options tend to get more limited when you get more limited.
One thing that has entered my imaginings more seriously lately is taking on a "roommate". Relax, she's a female--and it's more of a mother-daughter relationship than what may be running through your creative little head right now. 🐝😈😉😄
On the surface, it makes a lot of sense. She's getting a divorce, her finances are limited and she hates to live alone. I have the resources for a decent size house for us, she's younger than me, loves to cook, clean and garden and thinks I'm wonderful. Yeah, I'm still trying to figure that one out, but why look a gift horse in the mouth at this point in my life?
Privacy is the ultimate issue I have. I'm a loner by nature, but I do realize that if I live long enough, I'm going to need help. Assisted living and even nursing homes are almost nonexistent in my town, and those few we have leave much to be desired. I'd much rather be able to stay in my own home, even if it means having help. I may be better off giving up some of my privacy while I'm still functional to have someone in-house later. She'd be gone to work five a days week, spends a lot of time with church activities and has a male friend that also takes up her time, so I'd still have a lot of alone time.
Right now this angle is still a consideration, on the same plane as what color flooring I'd like. Just mulling the pros and cons around in my head. At this point, every direction I consider seems to have a con. I don't like what I'm visualizing.
@geezerette
The roommate idea isn't that crazy. I've often thought about what I'd do if BH was suddenly out of the picture. I thought about housing exchange students, nursing students, older women who had to give up their homes to save some money, a handyman (or woman), or a bunch of schizophrenics who are tired of living in the group homes here that are no better -- and sometimes worse -- than homeless shelters.
How's that for crazy?
Years ago I had a boyfriend tell me that I'd be happy if I never had to leave the house and just had food slid under the door. And he came across as if he was saying this was a bad thing.
But I do recognize that part of myself that is content to stay inside, hermitized. It's one reason I have to have a job. I need a reason to leave the house. A dog also gives me an excuse to go out.
I could be one of those people who isn't seen by the neighbors for a few weeks and then someone finally calls for a welfare check. And I'm on the floor or in the tub, past tense and putrid.
Well, that's graphic.
Yeah, a roommate is not a crazy idea at all.
@just bee
Another post I could have written myself almost word for word. Although I have to admit this isn't the reaction I thought you would have.
I've always enjoyed being at home, no matter what that home was like. My mother never could punish me by confining me to my room--my punishment would be to have to go out!
Never in a million years did I ever think I would even be considering anyone living with me. I still have grave doubts. And as @aprilskies says down thread my friend and I will have to have some serious discussions beforehand.
But I do recognize that my reality is different now. And I want to maintain as many choices as I can. And part of being able to do that is having to give up other choices. Again, this is just another case of deciding what our priorities are, or rather what mine are. I've already made some decisions about my future, and circumstances are making others for me right now.
I'm taking it slow and will just see how things play out for a while. After the last few months, it's clear that anything can happen.
But I'm still hoping that I can just keel over while I'm right here and not have to make any decisions about anything. I hate making decisions!
@geezerette
I'm not decisive, either. When I finally make a decision I second-guess it to death.
Still, I am able to make big decisions occasionally. I don't know what the difference is. Maybe it's how the planets are aligned or something. Or maybe it's because no one else is making the decision and someone has to.
It's not bad having another person in the house. Like the other day when a lizard was running around the kitchen. It was easier to capture with two people.
I won't discuss how many critters have found their way into the house since the rebuild. Wasn't a problem before, so we suspect there's a hole somewhere.
Here's one for you. We bought a new refrigerator. It was installed. As I've posted previously, somehow the doors were dented after installation. The contractor is responsible.
The manufacturer can replace the dented doors.
Now that fridge is practically half-price at Home Depot and costs less than the replacement doors.
Do we cancel the replacements and buy a new fridge, then put the dented one in the garage to hold... well, Amstel Light?
Don't really want a second fridge when a freezer would make more sense.
This is the kind of cr@p that makes a person crazy. And it's the kind that makes another's opinion valuable.
~My philosophy: Dogs are God's most perfect creatures. Angels, here on Earth, who teach us to be better human beings.~
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