Frozen Clutter

I defrosted my upright freezer yesterday. It took from 10 a.m. until 3 a.m. Yes, I was up until 3 a.m. defrosting my freezer. That's either crazy...or it's crazy. By 2, I resorted to pouring hot water on the inches of frost. Worked great!

I've reclaimed an entire shelf in the freezer. And, I tossed two sacks of ancient food items that will never be eaten by anyone except bacteria in the giant municipal compost heap. There's plenty of space now, so like is with like--meat all together in the bottom, convenience dinner items together, etc.

Roomba a Roomba

I know, I know, you're tired of my evangelizing the Roomba. Well, I vacuumed our master bedroom today and it was a snap. I have so few things on the floor that it took about a minute to put them on the bed. In fact, I turned on the Roomba and then picked up the room, it's so spare now. I love it!

And now, the room is nice and clean with little effort on my part. I want the whole house to be that way. And it can be, it really can. I just need to push a bit more, get rid of more clutter and convince the children to pick up all their crapola.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Tidying the Stash-n-Dash

My little one knows that there are stash & dash bins in the garage. She asked last night if she could "get some Barbies". It took me a moment to understand that she meant dig them out of the various stash & dash bins in the garage. I told her she could, but she'd need to find as many toys to give away as she wanted garage items. She immediately went and grabbed ten things. Wow!

So, I had to keep my word.

I just finished two hours of stash & dash sorting. I filled three bags of recycling and three of donations. I donated things I don't like in the house, as well as items the kids have definately outgrown. I consolidated the bins, eliminating two of them through the donations, trash and recycling. It's still not done, but it's much better and tidy enough that the little one can pick a few things to bring back into the house.

Having a garage is good for me, because it allows me to let things age. I was able to give away items I'd kept in an earlier round of decluttering, because there is enough emotional distance now. It's what works for me. And each time, it gets easier.

Score at the Thrift Store

I had fifteen minutes to kill before an appointment this morning, so I decided to stop in at Value Village. I recently learned that I like camisole tanks with the built in bra. Rather than troll the department stores or brave Victoria's Secret, I decided to see what VV had.

I was in luck. They had lots! I found three nearly new French Dressing ones and two lightly used ones. The nearly new were $2.99 each; the more used were $.99. So for $11, I got five camisoles. With the one I already had, that's all I'll need 'til they wear out. Perfect!

I have no qualms about buying such items used things. I wash them and forget the fact that they were used.

Reader, I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond

And I didn't buy a single thing.

I've had a few items on my list that I thought BB&B might have. I want a very small plastic wastebasket for the bathroom to put recycling in (you know, magazine blow-in cards, empty TP rolls, etc). There's not much room and with tile floors, I didn't want anything breakable.

BB&B had sent us a flyer with a coupon ($5 off a $15 purchase) and it was on my way home from dropping the kids at school. Seemed worth a try.

That place is overwhelming. It's full of stuff, stuff that promises to make your house a haven, to organize every room and closet, to eliminate smells and create tranquility. But what really happens? I'll bet shoppers toss items in their carts, hoping for that transformation. And those items just end up creating more chaos.

Anyway, I left empty handed. No wastebaskets that met my requirments and the only other thing I was mildly interested in (some Nautica towels in the right colour for our bathroom) were excluded from the coupon.

I handed the coupon flyer to a shopper entering the store and that was that.

Re-Reading "It's All Too Much"

I just picked up Peter Walsh's "It's All Too Much" from the library. It really struck a chord with me when I first read it. Now, re-reading it, it feels like I know it. The questions to ask have become second nature. Do I love this? Does my family use it? How will I feel if I give it away?