Making the Most of a Bad Situation

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Delaware, or my area of it, at least, was spared the wrath of Hurricane Sandy.  Mother Nature took a last-minute deep breath and blew Sandy just slightly north and south of us, whalloping the coasts of Maryland to the south and New Jersey to the north.  The Delaware coast got its share of damage but nothing like the previously mentioned places, and we're used to flooding and to high winds from nearby hurricanes.

It's scary, though, to see such damage so close to home.  I also used to live in NJ (as a kid) and NYC (as a college student) and saw familiar places and people affected by the damage.

Staten Island (and many other parts of NYC) got hit really hard, not only by flood and wind but also by resulting fires.  Some people lost everything.  My heart goes out to them.

I don't have a lot of money right now so it's hard to hear the calls from the Red Cross and other organizations asking for financial help.  I did find, though, ways to help which actually helped ME as well:  Some friends and local citizens have organized trips up to NY with loads of most-needed supplies like dry clothes and outerwear, blankets, toiletries, easily prepped food.  LOTS of things I had too much of.

Yes, some of the food we could have/would have eaten, but I'd rather they have it.  Sure, we'll need to buy new toothbrushes and toothpaste soon, but it will be there for us.  I could sell some of the clothes.  And we DEFINITELY did not need the amount of coats, jeans, hats, sweaters, scarves that we had (a mind-blowing quantity.)  I'm so happy that not only is this stuff out of my house, but it is going to people who really need it.

Yard Sale, Take Two

Did another yard sale yesterday, made a little money, got rid of some stuff, and brought all remaining sellable (but not worth selling on Amazon) books to the Goodwill donation afterward.  I am thisclose to being DONE with books!

Other than that, I don't have any huge-huge milestones to brag about.  Honestly, I feel like I have been so busy just keeping up with the house and family/daily grind that I haven't had any time to get PAST the regular stuff to the culling.  Due to a series of not-quite-comical mishaps this morning, my regular chores for the day extended through the afternoon.  The pile of books that is halfway ready to send to Amazon is sitting in the same spot it was a week ago, still half ready.  I DID clean and thoroughly mop the kitchen/laundry/hall/powder room area today, but again, that's just maintaining.  But it looks nice.

I have a few deadlines coming up:

October 12 - drop off consignment items that I will be selling in the Mom's Club Sale.  Yay for not having to ship things!  I have a bunch of stuff set aside already, but I want to get more.  I optimistically ordered 100 tags.  As if.

Week of Oct 22-26 - City of Milford's Fall Clean-Up Week, where you can put as much trash out to the curb as many days as you want to and they'll haul it away for free.  I REALLY want to take advantage of this.  I bought a 40-pack of Glad Forceflex Super Heavy Duty large trash bags specifically for this purpose.  I want to get started on this soon but I don't want a mountain of trash bags piled up on my front porch while I wait for the week to arrive.

Visible Progress!

There is a noticeable lack of clutter in a few areas of the house, finally, not to mention a lot less dust/dirt because I swept and vacuumed.  Yesterday morning I cleaned the parlor and was then able to start making use of all the storage bins I've been waiting to put to use:

They have since been emptied of adorable children and filled with STUFF.  Each bin is labeled - donate, Lewes (storage for now), sell, ? (this one is more for my clueless men helpers), recycle, trash - as well as labeled with a specific symbol such as a heart, star, etc. for the illiterate in the family unit.  What followed this snapshot was a GAME called "put this in the star box," and so on.  Each of the bins is now almost full, plus I have another box or two for the yard sale, and ANOTHER 2 boxes of books to get rid of.  GAH.  So. many. books.  When we have money I'm totally buying myself a Kindle.  Meanwhile, I will start frequenting the library in my (ha!) free time.

I'm also in the process of deconstructing my brown & blue guest room, for anyone who is interested.  There is lots of bedding for both a queen size and 2 twin size  beds, as well as some really nice striped blackout curtains.  I'm still washing/folding/photographing all this stuff, but here is one of the 2 queen bedspreads:

The trash can is full for pickup on Tuesday or Wednesday (not sure when they are coming on account of the holiday) and I am getting some of my artsier-craftier-kitschier books ready to list on Etsy.  

Today I excavated the dining room table and pushed it over to one side of the room so I can get to all the STUFF in the rest of the dining room (aka home for homeless stuff) and I can utilize the table as a workspace for photographing, listing, pricing, etc.  Hoping to have a yard sale next weekend.

Oh!  And this isn't stuff, but it was cluttering my life - I had Husband mow the lawn yesterday and then today I went through the front and back and clipped the heck out of some bushes and hedges, as well as some weeds that the lawnmower wasn't able to reach.  It now only feels like a jungle with regard to the nasty humidity level.  

Husband also cleared/cleaned off the top of the dryer - without me even asking!  He's a keeper.

A few more sales on Amazon but kind of a slow week.  I can't wait to get this DONE!  If only there were more hours in the day, and if only my son slept for a few more of them...

Recently Outed

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RECENTLY OUTED:

• Bin Garbage
• Bin Recycling
• Broken Crib - unfortunately, it broke when we disassembled it, but someone came along before the trash men this morning and picked it up, so maybe they'll do something neat with the pieces.  It is missing a vital piece so no worries that anyone would try to use it for a child.
• KitchenAid mixer - SOLD.  This thing was too heavy, valuable, and coveted by others to continue to let it just sit and take up room on my counter.  I've had it 6 years and probably used it as many times.  The girl I sold it to is SUPER THRILLED about it and can't wait to use it - I hope she makes many delicious things!
• 4 more Amazon sales
• 2 boxes to go out to Amazon warehouse today.
• 2 boxes of random stuff ready for yard sale

SOON TO GO:

• Set of Sango Nova Brown dishes with lots of extra pieces- will probably try to sell locally as they are heavy to ship...
• Culling of china cabinet, incl. glasware and table linens
• Clothes still needing to be listed

Check-In August 3, 2012

Out: 
1 big bag of trash
Kitchen Compost
1/2 trash bag my clothes ready to donate
1 box clothes folded/ready to list

Other Accomplishments
2 loads of dishes washed
4 loads of laundry washed (2 already folded)
1 small bag of trash culled from back hallway (where stuff wanders off to/laundry area)
Put away SO! MANY! CLOTHES!
90% of cold-weather clothes folded in bin w/cedar & lavender
Found part of my bedroom floor (It's a lovely oak hardwood; I'd forgotten)
Found part of the top of my dresser
Recycled some of my less-than-exciting jars (ie. spaghetti sauce, etc.)

Newly Up For Sale - Lots of books!  Check the links at the top right for some books I'm selling straight from me.  Bargains galore, and I will combine shipping to get you the best deal.  I also have a few more books ready to send off to Amazon and Etsy AND I HAVE HAD 4 SALES THIS WEEK ON AMAZON!

I have 5 items listed on eBay (see toolbar @ right) and they all have "watchers" with several days to go, and 2 of them have multiple bids!  Just little stuff, but that's ok b/c little stuff is easier to mail out.

I need to find some time to post more about the psychology of all this and what is going on in my head.  I have never felt so simultaneously bogged down and free.  Bogged down by so much left to go, but a little bit more free with every package/box/bag/etc. that goes out the door.  And... this is big... I haven't allowed myself to step foot in any thrift stores - only around the back to the donation door!

Out With Lots of Old Clothes, In With 5 New Items = WIN

Did not get a very big offer on trade-in kids clothing - last time I went was when my son was very young so everything was like new to brand-new and I traded in a LOT - but got rid of 4 bags of clothes (1 to them, 3 donated), and got 3 long-sleeve shirts and 4 sets of cotton jammies for him in the next size up for autumn in trade.  I have to think of it in terms of 4 bags in my way vs. 5 things we will use.  WIN.

Unfortunately there is not a similar shop nearby for women's clothes (someone should open one!), but I found out about a local Facebook group that is similar, so once I get some pix of my clothes I'm getting rid of, I'll post them here on the blog and in that group, and maybe put a few choice items on eBay.

Out - (Some) Clothes & Books

Out: 3 bags of clothes and an activity table that Noah has outgrown.

About a bag went to the re-sale/consignment shop, and the remainder went promptly over to the thrift store down the street from
the re-sale shop.

After I left the thrift store - without going inside, TYVM - I drove to the UPS store and sent off 2 large boxes of books and games to Amazon to sell in my Amazon Marketplace shop.  More books have been set aside to donate but I haven't made it over to the library yet.  I would say after they are gone, I will have gotten rid of at least 50% of our non-childrens books.

Tonight while I took a much-needed shower (damn this heat) my husband and son cleaned (organized) the fridge, something I've been trying to get to for days.  It still needs to be culled more and cleaned, but at least everything fits in it now!  They also not only took out the trash, but also REMEMBERED TO PUT A NEW BAG IN THE CAN.  A+ boys!

I gave myself a pat on the back for the stuff I've done, but in truth I feel SO OVERWHELMED.  Now, when I look at my stuff, I just see hindrances, things to go through.  Part of me wishes a tornado would just come and pick up the house and take it away.