Simplify - In Danger of Cute Box Overload

Recently I bought a recipe binder for the recipes we print off of the internet. It came is a beautiful box decorated with strawberries. Strawberries are one of my favorite motifs, so I wanted to keep the box to cut it up for some purpose. However, it suddenly occurred to me that it is probably the right shape and size to package up a plate that I have been needing to send overseas for some time. The plate needs to be double boxed, but I was having trouble getting a box for the inner one that would be close to the same size as the plate and help stabilize it in the bigger box when surrounded by packing materials. I resigned myself to the probability that I will use it for that and, after all, it's a good use of it!

Do you have a problem with wanting to save cute or useful boxes that come in the mail or with products inside of them? I don't know if anyone else here does, but I do. I am always thinking that a box "could be useful" or is too pretty or sturdy or generally "useful" to just put it in the trash. Thankfully, Dana K. White at A Slob Comes Clean has the same issue. She also has a useful solution that can really help in dealing with these things.

Enjoy! :-)

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Tips for Decluttering when You Are Emotionally Exhausted from Dana White

Here are some helpful pointers on how to deal with areas that need help even when you feel emotionally exhausted. Life has been "too much" on so many levels the last couple years that it can make us freeze up on things we see as non-essential. But, over time that can mean that cluttered or problem areas can get out of control and just add to our stress. These tips can help us at least make progress without making emotional decisions.

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Reader’s Comments – Why Do Americans Spring Clean?

 

About a year ago, the following comment was made on the post “Laying Aside Weights – Some Thoughts On Dealing with Things”.

Jo from Finding Joy In the Everyday wrote:  “Clara and I were talking on Facebook about spring cleaning, we don't do it in Australia like Americans do. We wondered why , Clara thought it might be the change in weather from very cold to warmer. Our temperature is not quite as extreme. I suppose we clean our homes all year round so there is no need for special time set aside for a more in depth clean. It's an interesting difference…”

From what I understand and have read, spring cleaning had a lot to do with the seasons.  These are just some observations I could think of in relation to that.  I’m by no means an expert on this subject! :-)

Painting by Henry Spernon Tozer

1. Smoke, ashes and soot.

During the dark, cold months of winter when the houses were being heated with wood and lighted for more hours of the day with candles and kerosene (coal oil), there was a build up of ashes, soot and smut.  My own family has heated with wood in a heavy winter climate and I remember how much more dust there was during the winter due to that.  Spring would have been a good time for a good clean up of some of these problems – the ones that perhaps were hard to deal with in cold weather.

2. Dirt, mud and other stuff.

In the winter in colder climates a lot of junk can get tracked into the house.  As wood (and at one time coal) is carried in a certain amount of extra dirt and debris will come too.  Depending on where the wood was gathered it can be quite dirty or quite clean.  Also, there are thaws which can produce mud in the middle of winter, and spring itself can be very muddy in some places.

Added to that, in the past more people had root cellars and stored large quantities of root vegetables, along with apples, cabbage and other things.  At the end of winter when some of these foods were mostly or all eaten, or when the remainder were starting to spoil, there would have been a huge cleaning job to get those storage areas cleaned thoroughly.  I’ve had a little experience with that as my family also has stored vegetables and apples and we had to deal with the clean up on a small scale.

3. No opportunity to clean some things.

Also, back in the old days people had area rugs and throw rugs on their floors.  These rugs were dragged outside to be beaten and cleaned from time to time.  After a long span of winter weather when it would have been impractical, spring was the obvious time to do this.

Heavy bedding might also be saved for a good washing in spring.  Heavy quilts, blankets and such like would not have been easy to wash with limited space and drying arrangements that were common in winter in average houses.  Also, since in many households there was a limited supply of these items and they were needed every night in winter, it wouldn’t have been a good idea to wash them in a situation where they couldn’t be dry by nightfall.  Airing might be possible, but washing would be uncertain at best.

4. Once-a-year jobs.

Some jobs needed to be done once a year, or every other year perhaps.  Things like sanding and oiling the floors (and possibly walls), whitewashing, and other things.  It probably only made sense to do them when other big house cleaning jobs were being done.  Why remove the rugs more than was necessary?

Conclusion

I’m sure that a number or all of these practices relating to spring cleaning came with various people from “the old country”.  Many of them came from cold climates to cold climates, so it made sense to keep on doing those things.  Added to that, the Puritan influence was heavy in New England and they were quite obsessed with cleanliness/tidiness as an evidence of piety.  (Another whole topic evolves from that.) 

I can see how spring cleaning would not be necessary in Australia’s milder and hot climates.  I couldn’t honesty tell you if spring cleaning was practiced by the early settlers of our southwest.  They may have dropped it as well where it wasn’t necessary.

There are many people who no longer practice spring cleaning.  Our modern cleaning abilities, more comfortable homes, cleaner methods of heating (in some cases), cleaner lighting, washing machines and dryers, etc. have made it possible to do heavier cleaning projects throughout the year.  Consequently, some of us choose to do this rather than making a heavy, labor-intensive project of it once a year.  Some of us are very random about it.  (Not mentioning my anyone’s name.)  :-)

A friend of a friend was complimented once on how tidy and she kept her house.  Her reply was, “Just don’t move anything.”  ;-)

Monthly Challenge - March

(An old photo of me cleaning our fridge when we first moved to Texas.)

If you don’t know what the challenges are about, please read the first one. :-)

I had written up a different challenge for this month, but then realized that the northern regions of the globe would maybe be too wintry still for it to practical, so I had to figure out something else.  I postponed the other challenge to April, so that little hint should keep you guessing. :-)

Since it’s March and “Spring Cleaning” is popular with some people, I thought this challenge might be a good one for us to do this month.

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Clean something that you know needs to be done, but you have been putting off.

And/Or

Get rid of 5 things you don’t really need or never use.

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Even if you don’t practice “Spring Cleaning” (which I don’t) this challenge is doable.  A lot of us have some cleaning job that is nagging us that we could get done this month.  I can think of more than one at the moment.  It doesn’t have to be something huge and exhausting.  You don’t have to clean out the whole garage.  Pick something for which you have the time and energy.  Ideas:  Clean the fan blades of ceiling fans in one or more rooms, clean the top of the fridge, wash a load of rags that have been waiting to get done, clean out the bath tub you never use, etc.  Cleaning and getting rid of 5 things could easily be combined in some cases such as cleaning out the fridge.

On the other hand, if you’re not up for a cleaning project at all, you can get rid of 5 things you don’t need, want or use.  That should be fairly easy for anyone, except maybe a pathological hoarder.  (If you feel too overwhelmed by the thought of getting rid of 5 things, and assuming you’re not a minimalist, you might want to seek professional help.  Seriously.)  Some areas to look: clothes closets, storage areas, cleaning supplies, the freezer or deep freeze, shoes, book shelves, seasonal décor, toy boxes, craft/sewing area, etc.

I’m thinking that it probably would be good for me us, if I did both of these challenges this month!  Since some of these challenges are meant to improve our own personal spaces, naturally it can improve things for those around us as well. :-)

Sew Happy Friday – Some Tips On How to Clean A Quilt

 

There is some good information here from “apartment therapy” on How to Clean A Quilt, especially vintage quilts which require much more careful handling.  The bit about cleaning a wool quilt with snow is very interesting.  I wonder, though, how you clean it if you live where you never get snow. 

For an old white or light quilt, you also might try laying it on clean grass in the sun to brighten it.  I remember reading once that this was an old method for brightening white clothing and it was claimed that it really did work.  Of course, you wouldn’t want to do this often with a quilt of any age!

If you have an old quilt that is poorly put together be sure to use extra care in cleaning it.  If you have a local quilt shop you may want to contact them to find out if you can get any special help with it or if there is someone locally who specializes in cleaning antique quilts. 

One thought that comes to mind is that some wedding dress shops have means and ways for cleaning vintage fabrics because they are sometimes called upon to restore an old dress for a wedding.  If you have an old quilt that is velvet or silk or some special fabric you may want to contact local wedding shops to see if you can get some professional help from people who know what they are doing.  Ask to see photos or examples of vintage items they have cleaned and restored.  However, if they act at all hesitant or like they don’t know what they are talking about, don’t trust them with your quilt (or wedding dress).

Healthy Clean – No Shampoo Hair Cleaning

 

Unknown source.

Sometime last year I started using what is commonly called the “no poo method” for cleaning my hair.  It was a bit of an experience.  I’m sharing some of my own observations as well as a link for instructions and observations at “Living On A Dime”. 

1. Not everyone has the same results, or at least not quickly.  It literally took my hair months to settle down and adjust to the new method.  At first it felt rather oily, and yet it was very manageable and it didn’t look oily.  So, I continued with it.  In the end my hair settled down and started acting pretty much like it always has.  I used to wash my hair twice a week. (I’d heard years ago that washing often resulted in oily hair, so I didn’t do it.)  Now I wash my hair a little less than once a week – usually.  It runs about 5-6 days most of the time with an occasional need to wash sooner for various reasons.

2. I do still get scalp build up on the top of my head.  I find it necessary to remove it with my finger nails.  This may seem kind of gross to some, but the fact of the matter is that it’s a natural body function and people had to deal with it in the past without our modern stripping shampoos, so it isn’t a strange or unusual thing.

3. It may not be for everyone.  I’ve heard that it “didn’t work” for some people.  Judging by how long it took my own hair to finally get its normal feel again, I wonder if they stuck with it long enough.

4. There are various methods.

Here is one. (Note: She mentions using lemon juice in place of vinegar – be aware that this can bleach your hair, while vinegar won’t.  Also, she says her hair was wonderfully more manageable and kept its curl longer.  I’ve not noticed a significant improvement in mine.  Results will vary from person to person.  Just don’t quit too soon.)

My own preference is to make some baking soda paste in the bottom of a small cup.  I find that I need more when my hair is longer and less when it’s shorter – a no brainer, but I thought I’d mention it.  I don’t use precise measurements, though I probably should.  I have thick hair and so I make a generous amount. 

I rub in the baking soda paste well focusing on the roots and then rubbing it through all over.  I let it sit for at least a minute while I do other washing.  This was suggested by another site I read (bad language, no link provided here).

I have found that I need to rinse my hair well before moving on the apple cider vinegar rinse.  If there’s baking soda left it can react with the vinegar and for me this seems to have a negative effect.  (Also I do not recommend washing your hair in the bath tub by submersion with this method.  Once the baking soda is in the water it appears to mess with the rinse.)

I use more than the recommended 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar per 8 oz. of water as well.  Again, my hair is thick.  I feel like I need it.  I dip sections of my hair into the full cup carefully, squeezing out the excess as I go.  When I’ve well soaked each section I then pour the remainder over the top and make sure it’s worked in.  I wait a little (not as long) and then rinse it well.

I have also started letting my hair dry with little to no combing.  This is supposed to help the hair maintain its own body or curl.  It also helps reduce the strain on the roots that can occur from combing wet hair.

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As a side note, I have started using aloe vera gel in place of hair gel.  I buy a kind that does not have colorings in it.  It may still have some undesirable ingredients, but it’s a lot better than the manufactured hair gels.  And, I’ve been very happy with the results.  It brushes out and washes out beautifully and it doesn’t leave a nasty residue.  My hair spray, which I still use some, is another story.

Sew Happy Saturday – Organizing to See what You Have

 

Here is one way to organize some of those loose bits and pieces in the sewing room.  This can be done by recycling or reusing large plastic jars or tubs which came with food in them.  My husband likes to buy pretzels at Costco (warehouse store), so they come in large quantities – meaning they also come in large containers which happen to be clear plastic.  Be forewarned, though – pickle or sauerkraut jars might make your finery and fabric smell, well…odd. :-)  It’s hard to get some smells out.

(No, those fabric scraps are not perfectly organized by color.) :-)

One nice thing about this method of storage is that it’s easier to see what you have at hand, and find just the right scrap, width of ribbon or eyelet that you want.  You could also store other items such as zippers, bias tape, etc.  Buttons could be separated by color into smaller jars.

A word of warning:  If you have a sunny sewing room, or if you have florescent lights that you use often, and you cannot close the containers away in a closet or other dark storage area, I don’t recommend this method.  Light will fade colored fabrics, ribbons, laces, etc. 

Clearing Out the Fridge

It is a temptation to put this post in the “Laying Aside Weights” series, but since it really doesn’t have to do with the theme of that specifically, I suppose it will be better to let it stand alone.

The clutter in my fridge is not exactly a weight, although maybe some people would view it as such.  It can be a nuisance, but mostly it’s wasted space.  It’s cleaned out pretty well now, but the truth of the matter is that it will probably get bad again eventually.  Coming from a long line of fridge packers…well, at least two generations…I don’t see myself bucking my genes on this one. ;-) 

Not that I wouldn’t like to improve, and I actually think I have some. My mom, in her own right, has improved some to start with and I’ve tried to go a little farther. Neither of us have, nor desire, the “knack” my Gramma had of filling a fridge (and its freezer) with myriads of little plastic containers holding a tablespoon of this or that.  I can’t speak so well for our freezers, though we do make the effort to control them from time to time.  When you opened Gramma’s freezer it was a good idea to stand back.  Just the act of opening the door was likely to dislodge something that was being held in by the mere presence of the door.  Trying to extract something could even start a small avalanche.  Mom’s freezer and my freezer are sometimes not much better.  Sigh.

But, to get down to the point --

I decided it was high time to get the fridge cleared out of excess stuff.  Though I do try to date my leftovers to keep them from getting too old, I still sometimes have something that gets missed in the shuffle.  The bulk of my excess, however, is the result of opening too many jars of pickles, pushing untasty jams and sauces to the side because I can’t make myself pitch them, and saving “useful” things that are not as perishable as most foods – such as bacon grease.  Ahem.  (This is the down side of being a bit too paranoid about wastefulness, by the way.  There are two sides to that coin.)

I found at least 4 containers containing some amount of bacon grease in the fridge (I think it was five, but I’m not sure).  Yeah.  That’s a lot of old dabs of bacon grease, considering how seldom I cook bacon from raw and thus have excess to put away.  And, don’t ask me how many there are still in there because, though I discarded some, I added another one the other day. 

You see, the very best corn bread recipe I have calls for bacon grease (no wonder it’s so good, right?), so I can’t bear to discard it thinking about that delicious corn bread.  The thing is, though – I seldom, seldom make corn bread!  (Hmm….this looks suspiciously like “weight” thinking to me.  Something that does need to be laid aside!)  Plus, green beans and eggs are so good fried in bacon grease….

Well, Friday morning is the day our garbage is collected, so Thursday is a good day to do a job like this.  In an effort to acknowledge my limitations and not overdo, I made the decision to not clean the fridge at all, but only clear out the items that had no future.  I also decided not to try to do the fridge and its freezer on the same day.  (We also have a chest freezer, which needs to be defrosted, but it’s not quite so cluttered with useless things as the fridge freezer was – I think.)

If you are a “normal”, energetic, healthy, strong woman (I don’t know many, but there must be some), then you might think this is a bad plan and method and that it would be better to do the whole thing in “one fell swoop” as Gramma would’ve said (only not about the fridge).  If you have a chronic health problem, are often overly busy, have kids, homeschool, have hormones or any number of other things that tend to make women tired and run down, I suspect you will see the point in this plan. :-)  Anyway, it worked for me.

On the Thursday in question I cleared out the fridge, saving the cleaning for later (apparently much later).  Here is what it looked like --

Before:

Note the bag of (smelly) garlic on the top shelf – some of it is now growing in my dad’s garden.
You can just see a gallon size jar of pickles behind the milk and orange juice.  There were two jugs back there actually – one almost full of pickles that had the “lovely” flavor of vinegar, garlic and plastic.  (Not a commonly accepted flavor of pickles, but the result of a company switching from glass to plastic jars.)  There was also a glass gallon jar half full of kimchee.  Now, I like kimchee, but I couldn’t eat this kind because it didn’t agree with my finicky stomach.  My parents and I made the kimchee together, but it ended up in my fridge.  Now it’s at my parents’ house.

After:

Notice how you can actually see the light on the top shelf now.  That is because the multiple layers of stuff have been reduced!  Also, there’s a big, almost empty space on the second shelf.  The parmesan cheese has been moved to an upright position on the bottom shelf.  On the left of the bottom shelf is an unopened 2 lb. package of cheddar that expired in June or July – of last year.  Yeah.  Embarrassment, horror, disgust (at the waste), you name it.  There were white specks all over it which I thought to be mold, but I decided to open it anyway.  To my surprise and relief, it was still fine – NOT rotten!  The specks were the salt coming out apparently.  So we went ahead and ate it. ;-)  (This was some weeks ago and we are still alive, so YES, it really was safe, oh doubters.) :-)

The door doesn’t look a lot improved because I moved some of the odds and ends jars that were crowding the inside to the spaces I opened up in the door.

I actually didn’t take the “after” picture till a couple of days, so there are a few other changes as well, but you get the idea.  I think it’s actually even more empty now, and since I did this job in February, I seem to be keeping it better for at least awhile!  Not that I think a fridge should be empty.  When I have legitimate things to keep I’m fine with it, but the excess of things that were past usefulness was the problem.  Also, having the fridge more empty is handy because I can store leftovers right in the pan I will reheat them in, which saves on dish washing! :-)

To my shame, I have to admit that I totally forgot the drawers till later!  Ack.  I’m not sure I would’ve wanted to “share” them with you anyway. ;-)

Ok, I can’t believe I could write that much about cleaning out the fridge!  Looks like the freezer part should wait till another time.  Too bad, the story about…..well, you’ll have wait and see. ;-)  (We had “wait and see” a lot for dessert when I was a kid.  I so disliked that answer!)

Laying Aside Weights - So, Where to Begin?

More posts in this Challenge.

Hebrews 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

So, how do you actually knuckle down and really get started with laying aside the physical weights that are besetting you?  In the first place, it would be good to select an area of specific need if you haven’t yet, and since my most pressing need at the moment is to get rid of clutter and unfinished projects, that’s where I have started.  I suspect that most of you can use this too since there are many of us that are so “fabulously wealthy” that we have to fill the garage (ouch) or spare room, or a storage unit or backyard shed with our excess stuff.

The first thing that probably started me down the road of reconsidering  possessions and clutter was a little book my dad loaned me called Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James.  While I don’t agree with everything she had to say (she is not a Christian writer), I found some things in her book that were challenging and helpful.  However, I really didn’t implement a lot of it.

The next thing that gave me pause to consider was last spring (2011) when we evacuated our house and headed south when a powerful storm was going to brush us from the north.  The feeling of leaving almost everything you own (I took a few things in a couple bags) not knowing if anything will be there when you get back is weird to say the least. (Note: We live in Central Texas – this is tornado country!  Praise the Lord we didn’t even have hail damage here from that storm!)

Then in September that year the wildfires started.  With high winds at the beginning of the month and extremely high fire risk due to prolonged drought, things were pretty scary for awhile!  We gathered up our “to go” pile in a few boxes and bags, and put several day’s worth of clothing and essentials in a back pack.  We were living with the constant possibility of evacuation because fires were popping up all over Texas and spreading, sometimes rapidly.  Some were positively huge. 

It’s a strange feeling to go through your house and pick out the few things that you’d really like to keep and can load quickly into the car in case you have to leave suddenly because of a wildfire.  It made me stop and think about some of the things that I own.  Really, if I never use them, what is the point?  Why are they cluttering my life?  And, what is important here?

Matthew 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

I didn’t think of this verse at the time, but I think it fits in a way.  Life is about so much more than stuff, even though things can bring us some temporary pleasure.  We also read in Luke 12:15,  And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

In my first post I also mentioned the inspiration I’d had from other sources, particularly some of the things that have been helping me more recently.  I’d like to pass on a few more ideas that might help you get started and make some headway if you haven’t already.

Again, please remember that I put a disclaimer on my sources.  Please use discernment with these things.

The first one I want to mention is the “fast 21 thing purge” which I saw on a lady’s vlog. Simply grab a bag or box and head through the house.  The goal is to quickly search and find 21 things around the house that you don’t use and either put them in the bag/box to donate, or throw them away.  Because you are going fast and only picking out 21 items it won’t take too long, unless you let yourself get bogged down with the decision making process. This I am all too familiar with.  The important thing is to keep moving, make the decision and then stick to it.  Get the things out to the car or buried in the trash as soon as you can.  (I haven’t yet used this method since I’ve been working on a slightly different type of purging challenge which I hope to explain later.)

I probably should mention the respect of personal property here. I feel pretty strongly that it isn’t wise or helpful to carelessly throw out other people’s stuff – especially things they are going to miss.  One friend’s sister-in-law decided to sort through her sister’s basement and threw out most or all of her brother-in-law’s school mementoes. Naturally, he was quite provoked! My great-grandparents moved often and they threw away all Grandma’s toys except one doll every time. This seemed to affect my grandmother in later years.  She was very attached to things and even showed some hoarder tendencies. So, try to be wise about this, even with your kids. Include them in the decision making process when possible. (Teaching them decluttering skills now can have lasting benefits!)  I know from personal experience that it can be hard in some situations, but it is good for your relationships to your family to respect their property.  Then if you do need to reduce things without their presence for some reason, they will know that you won’t be unkind about it.

The next quick method of getting rid of things is to “go shelf by shelf”.  Sometimes it is just too hard to think about doing a whole job at once, but if you do a little here and a little there you can make it.  Just go shelf by shelf as you have a few minutes.  Clean, declutter and organize just that one small section at a time.

For example, today I wanted to clear out the fridge of things that were old, tired or not getting used.  I knew that trying to clean the fridge itself at the same time would be overwhelming for me, so I stuck to the first job of just clearing out the junk.  This worked well, and my fridge looks a lot better even if it isn’t clean – yet! :-)  So try going “shelf by shelf” when you have a few minutes – talking on the phone, waiting for something to cook, waiting for someone, etc.  Even baby steps are steps!

Another great suggestion from the same lady is to “suffer for 15 minutes”.  The basic idea in this is that you can chip down an iceberg 15 minutes at a time. :-)  You can’t do it all at once, but if you do it for 15 minutes a day you can eventually get it done!  Her description of being overwhelmed by the enormity of a project fits me to a “T”.  I am one of those don’t-start-because-it’s-too-much-to-do people.  I also tend to be one that starts a project then pushes it aside if it’s taking more effort than I thought or if I run into a snag.  But, this “suffering for 15 minutes” is a good idea and I want to give it a try.  By limiting the “suffering” to that time frame I think even I could make some progress!

And speaking of those unfinished projects lurking around making me feel guilty and unaccomplished…. 

Here is one last good suggestion that I need to seriously put into practice: Abandon an unnecessary project.  Ok, I know that’s not what she titled it, but the fact is that some of our projects that never get done really aren’t “fun” projects.  We may have thought at some point that it would save us money or be useful or that it would be fun but, we found out that either we wouldn’t get it done, or it wasn’t fun after all.

Though I hadn’t heard this suggestion till today, I’m tickled that I’ve already been working on this. I have recently discarded three “fun” projects that were cluttering my life.  There was a scrapbooking blank calendar that was made unnecessary since I discovered it is easier to create my calendars online.  I also decided to discard my paper raffia which I had used to make baskets.  I don’t think I’ll ever do that again, so it might as well go.  These craft items will be offered to friends, and if they don’t want them, they’ll go in the donate pile!  Yes!

I also sorted through the stuff I collected for scrapbooking.  At one time I thought I would be a scrapbooker, but as it turns out I am a card maker. So, why fight it? :-) I might put together some photo album type books, but probably never any involved scrapbooks with journaling, mementoes, and lots of ornamentation.  It’s time to let it go.  So, some of the items were delegated to card making, some selected as worth keeping, and a number of things, which will go unmentioned in case any of my family reads this, were discarded. <grin> Some things will be sent to the appropriate family members and they can decide what to do with them.  Out of my space. :-)  Whew!  That feels good, actually!

So, were you inspired to put any of these ideas to use, and if so which ones?  Maybe you came up with your own method for working down the pile.  Want to tell us about it?  Leave a comment! :-)

Get Organized!

Here are some links to help us get organized.  There is some good advice here and some plain talking.  These ladies aren’t trying to sell us a product that will “help us organize”, they are just giving some good common sense.  If you’re like me, you probably don’t need more space, you just need to eliminate or store the non-essential and clutter items that are going nowhere and doing nothing to improve your life or home.  (And, by the way, if you have a reasonable size house to start with, you don’t need a storage unit to put this extra stuff in.  Get rid of it or give it to someone who will use it!  Why pay to store things you don’t truly need?  And, if you really, really can’t part with something, buy a small portable shed – used, if possible – and store it yourself.  It will save money in the long run.)

Stand Up and Move – Toss and Store – This isn’t the actual title of this article, but it’s the part I like best; maybe because it applies to me! :-)

Get Organized Part 1 – Who knew that getting organized could improve our quality of living so much?

Get Organized Part 2 – Where the rubber meets the road.  Telling us what we need to hear.  (The author has CFS, by the way, so she is not unsympathetic toward those who have genuine disabilities and encourages us to work in small increments.)

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After reading some of these I got inspired to clean out under my bathroom sink and discard or give away anything that I wasn’t going to use or didn’t need, and to move at least one thing to a more logical location for storage. :-)  That area had been bugging me because it was too full and cluttered.  Since I want to move to more natural cleaning products it was a good time to eliminate things that I wasn’t likely to finish up.  Too bad I didn’t take some “before” and “after” pictures. ;-)  Later I may show some other projects I’ve been working on (the sewing room) or that I want to work on (the back bedroom).

And, lest ye think that my mess can’t be as bad as yours, here are a couple pictures for proof.  (Don’t look at these in the evening.  They might give you nightmares.) :-)

The back bedroom – dumping ground for various and sundry and sorting area for boxes not yet unloaded since we moved here.  Though the pile has somewhat improved, it is still difficult the move around in there…

The sewing room (before the desk and machine were set up in there).  This mess actually got somewhat organized and some of the things were put away or tended to; but, believe it or not, the mess in there is actually worse now than it was in this picture!  Ack!  (More later on that.)

Cleaning Up Dropped Eggs

A few weeks ago while working in the kitchen I managed to drop an egg on the floor, or rather part of an egg. I caught part of it still in the shell, but there was still a good amount of egg white on the floor. I hate dropping eggs! It makes such a mess and they are so hard to clean up. It really does tend to spread all over the place as you work on it and it makes it seem like a lot more egg white than it really was!

This time, though, I happened to remember reading something about sprinkling flour or corn meal on a mess to clean it up. I think that was corn meal on an oil spill, if I remember correctly. But, I decided to try some flour on the egg white and see what happened. I used some of my white flour (cheaper) and carefully sprinkled it over the egg white. After a few minutes it looked like it needed more, so I added some and kind of spread it around. I left this for a good long time (something that probably wouldn't be practical with small kids or pets around). Later, when I came back to clean it up the flour had soaked in quite a bit and it was much easier to wipe up than the plain egg white would have been!

I realize that some would not consider this a good use of their flour, and that I can understand, but for those with limited strength or difficulty in cleaning up such messes this might prove useful. Anyway, I wanted to share it. Eggs on the floor are a nuisance and anything that will help clean it up more efficiently is good news to me!