Friday, October 21, 2022

Bits and Bobs

So far so good on the restricted form of eating I'm on. Not easy by any means but I am committed thus far. When it's restricted it's a matter of choosing wisely rather than slapdash. With that in mind, I made a few more meals and froze them. One a highly nutritious meatloaf. I have a very long table against one of my kitchen openings and on there I can chop veggies and use my mixer and my food processor when needed while sitting down. An 9 foot long table is a marvelous thing. And I use it a lot.

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On my weekly call to Lana, my long time friend with dementia, she mentioned she was reading a book about her "memory failings". I said if the book is near, maybe she could read the title. She scrambled around and told me "Still Alice."  I know this is a novel about Alzheimer's (which I read years ago and saw the movie) but I don't get too excited about Lana's grasp of such things. I said, avoiding questions as I do, "I imagine you reading it in bed." She responded, "Yes, a page a night, it puts me to sleep." "It's all about your disease," I said. "It is?" she responded, "Oh that's very interesting. A book about my disease."

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I've cut back on my writing workshops this week and am taking it easy due to the changes I am making in my lifestyle. Not overburdening myself or taking on too much. With this free time I am slowly cleaning up my office. Death Cleaning in other words. I try and not leave too much of a mess for those I leave behind. There are many YouTubes and books on this but briefly here you go to get you started if you already haven't:

  1. Step 1: Let Your Loved Ones Know. ...
  2. Step 2: Start With Less Personal Items. ...
  3. Step 3: Gift Possessions Away Gradually. ...
  4. Step 4: Keep Mementos for Yourself. ...
  5. Step 5: Donate and Sell the Rest. ...
  6. Step 6: Make a List of Important Documents and Passwords. ...
  7. Step 7: Declutter Regularly.
Many of these I have done already but my closet needed an overhaul. If I haven't worn or used something in a year I am ruthless and have been for years. Two large garbage bags were filled and carted off by my helper who repurposes everything I give her. Still have loads to do mainly in photographs (boxes and boxes) and so much yarn.

But even a little bit of this decluttering is enormously satisfying.



23 comments:

  1. Well done you. On all fronts. I really, really need to declutter. I have been putting it off because himself is resistant - which is an excuse. I can still do my own. And I need to as well.

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    1. Setting a timer EC is enormously helpful. Even 5 minutes can get your started and it's quite purifying. I like swishing my clothes along on the loose hangers and seeing everything clearly as I am highly visual.
      XO
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  2. Things that once seemed so important to keep are slowly revealed to you be of little importance as you age, both to you and anyone else.

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    1. So true Andrew, for instance, I had an enormous collection of movies, which in the light of so much streaming services is a ridiculous thought now so started giving them away about 7 years ago. Still have a few but I haven't watched them in yonks so they need to be pitched.
      XO
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  3. I think it's hard to get rid of old tapes and CDs and DVDs and books and even magazines. But then I remind myself. It's old technology. The stories and the information are still available in other formats. So we don't really need to warehouse all that stuff.

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    1. My thoughts exactly Tom. Though not without the clawmarks all over the old technology and the memories they evoke.
      XO
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  4. Just this past week I got merciless and now have a rocking chair loaded down with clothing to donate. Still more to go but it's a start. I'm forever carting stuff off to the charity shop but I swear things sit around and have babies. Like walking in place. It's exercise but it gets you nowhere.

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    1. It's really an indescribable feeling to have a closet with space, loads of it. Totally Zen-ish. Congrats on what you are also doing Molly. I have a long way to go with the masses of paper and files I have.
      XO
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  5. My decluttering gets done one drawer at a time, or one cupboard at a time. I have a dvd collection, but I'm not getting rid of it. One of my sons wants it and will give the other kids whichever movies they might want from the ones he himself doesn't want.
    You have a 9 foot table? Colour me green (with envy)

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    1. It came from the dining room of my old house River and looks like it was custom made for the space it's now in. A fluke as I was leaving it behind as it was built by a local cabinet maker specifically for the dining room. I imagine DVD players will be a thing of the past and not too far in the future.
      XO
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    2. I'll buy a couple of spare players and stash them away for when mine breaks down.

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  6. Step 1: Let Your Loved Ones Know. ... Everything has already been written down, signed, witnessed and registered. Wherever possible, joint registrations have been used on "Either or Survivor" basis.
    Step 2: Start With Less Personal Items. ... I have reduced all my personal effects to the bare minimum required and do not add to them.
    Step 3: Gift Possessions Away Gradually. ... Done and dusted.
    Step 4: Keep Mementos for Yourself. ... Very few, but yes, I have.
    Step 5: Donate and Sell the Rest. ... Done and dusted.
    Step 6: Make a List of Important Documents and Passwords. ... See Step 1.
    Step 7: Declutter Regularly. I will if ever something comes my way in the form of gifts.

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    1. I admire you greatly as you know Ramana and your life is the simplest and deeply rewarding. You are one jump ahead of so many of us.
      XO
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    2. Thank you WWW.

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  7. That's very efficient of you, making such preparations for the inevitable. I've made no preparations at all apart from listing all my passwords and filing important documents in some easy-to-find location. But then I expect to live quite a few years yet.

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  8. Gosh Nick, I guess we all hope to live "quite a few years yet" but having had so many friends with great plans die without achieving them I hold a different viewpoint entirely. Any of us can get mowed down unexpectedly. Like the scouts, preparation is a good thing.
    XO
    WWW

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  9. Annie here. Quite frankly I have no qualms about leaving my mess for others to sort. Even if I went to the effort of decluttering (which I have done in the past to no avail) there would still be a lot for others to deal with. And it would be simple for them, get a dumpster and toss it all. For me, decluttering would mean spending precious time deciding what to keep and what to toss, too many attachments to mementos and stuff I think I will find a use for one day.

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    1. I do like the idea of a dumpster Annie. Just pull it up and throw it all away. But I believe I have come from a long line of sentimentalists and my own descendants are similar. But I am only handling everything the once and making a decision. I have tossed a huge amount already. I have a bit of renewed energy otherwise it wouldn't happen and I am finding some neat stuff.
      XO
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  10. Kudos to you for sticking to your new eating plan. Stay strong and keep doing it. As for decluttering, I haven't given it much thought. My clutter is my comfort zone I suspect and as long as I like it there the clutter can remain.

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    1. I'm not tossing all the clutter David, just the extraneous. and some are quite interesting. Labelling everything helps for my heirs (ha!) to sort out. And nice labeled boxes.
      XO
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  11. I've decided all my info will be in hard copy. You never know the abilities of the people going through it.

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