January resolutions
13I suck at New Year’s resolutions. Even when I decide on super-simple ones for things I want to do anyway, like the year my resolution was to color more things with Sharpie markers, it doesn’t matter. That’s the year I don’t make any Shrinky Dinks at all. Watch a specific tv show? Doesn’t happen, I still haven’t watched season 2 of Lodge 49.
This year, well, I’m not saying it’s going to be different (because why jinx it?), but it kind of has to be different. I’ve mentioned before that sometime, maybe sometime soon, but definitely eventually, I’m going to move because the county is going to tear down the house in which I live. It’s in a floodway, which differs from a flood plain in that I guess it’s considered part of the river. It’s not just probably going to flood, it’s definitely going to flood. And apparently it’s cheaper to tear down some houses to spare some other houses. But this is the only place I’ve lived, and it’s full of my stuff. A lot of it shouldn’t be moved, because it’s essentially garbage. My grandparents moved across the country to California 45 years ago with at least two sets of pots, a lamp that was improperly wired and a waffle maker from the '30’s. These weren’t even good pots. The lamp was a fire hazard. The waffle maker was insanely heavy. They shouldn’t have moved them. I don’t want to do the equivalent, even if I’m only moving across town (I have no idea where we’re moving).
So January is going to be my month to get rid of actual garbage. That’s my resolution. It’s going to be tough. I still have a partially-burned pillar candle I bought at a rummage sale 30 years ago. And it’s not just in a box somewhere, it’s literally sitting on a shelf in my bedroom covered in dust. It serves no function and is heavy and bulky. I don’t want to get rid of it (I bought two, and burned one, so that seems reasonable). I might have two boxes of partially-burned tapers in the spare room. I don’t want to get rid of them.
But I’m going to try. If something has no intrinsic value, and no sentimental value, I’m going to try to get rid of it this month. If it goes OK, well, I’ll have to figure out the rest of the year, or at least the season. It’s only going to get harder. Wish me luck!
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Good luck to you. I totally understand the feeling. This is why when my landlord wanted to sell the house I decided to buy it instead of moving. Maybe moving would of been better to “clean house” and start over. My mom was sick though and I couldn’t bear the thought of dealing with it all.
@RiotDemon it sounds like a well thought out decision. sorry to hear about your mother. hope 2021 brings you what you are needing
@ophidance thank you. It’s getting easier.
@RiotDemon You made the best decision you could at the time, don’t start second-guessing yourself because it wasn’t perfect. Nothing is perfect.
In an era when almost everyone has a smartphone camera and easy/cheap digital storage, why not keep your memories in the cloud instead of in your way?
As you toss out the detritus, snap a picture of things you’d like to remember as once a part of your life.
Digital photos don’t take up real estate, and no one cares if you clutter up your iCloud account with pictures of half-melted candles or disused cookware. (What’s more, pics don’t need dusting.)
I’ve often found it easier to say goodbye to items when I can look back at them fondly even years after Goodwill or the garbage brigade have taken them out of my house.
@Ambiverbal But have multiple copies, in multiple places. Too many people have lost everything to a failed hard drive, or an online service shutting down.
@blaineg Yes, that’s what I do. Personally, I use iCloud, Google Photos,and Dropbox. YMMV.
Every January I try and not buy anything unless super necessary. I eat down my pantry use stuff I already have ect.
So I suggest light that pillar candle. Enjoy it now. Try and use stuff up that you don’t want to move.
@CaptAmehrican ah the pantry challenge i love this
well mine would normally be to eat better and work out but since I quit my gym membership and have resigned to 100% home cooked meals with a side of depression, that’s out. I am aiming to lighten my school load so I can mentally survive 2021 whilst keeping my job through pandemic budget cuts and keeping my family together through daughters 2020 autism diagnosis. So basically retain sanity.
When I helped my mom downsize she found it easier to tell me the story behind each and every thing we looked at. Including ugly 1970’s fabric complete with everything needed to make that piece of clothing - so I heard why she bought it, who she was going to make something for, etc… We had 4 boxes - keep (so I packed it), donate, give to a specific person, and garbage.
What also helped was we started in one room and worked our way though one room at a time (I didn’t do all of it with her, my sisters did some too). Mom found it too overwhelming otherwise. She could also see progress which helped.
Just jump in with both feet and rent a dumpster. You are time-limited (usually a week after which it may be another $100 or so), so you have external pressure to keep making progress. You don’t have time to second-guess anything. As an admitted “saver” I really don’t miss anything I threw out.
It was actually full to the rim by the time they picked it up
@ybmuG I have to second this. My parents are kinda full up on stuff last I checked. A lot was paper work related to my grandma when her house was sold. And pension. And power of attorney. and stuff from her house. She’s gone now so… And just idk. If you have kids or friends who can come over and help you parse things. Might not be a bad idea. Fresh set of eyes can’t hurt.
They’ve got 5 kids + 4 spouses who could coordinate a surgical strike when they are ready to allow it. but no immediate need. They could load my 97 expedition full of paper work they don’t want in the trash but would take forever to shred and we could just have a big ole fire
Plus people who might want sentimental items. Or could take things to donate that shouldn’t be trashed. Or just haul actual trash. Help sell non sentimental things for you. Etc
@unksol some municipalities offer bulk secured shedding services. At ours there are a couple locked bins with slots in the top and you have to feed the paperwork through, but we did about 5-6 file boxes worth in a couple minutes.
@ybmuG ours don’t we are in indiana and if I talked him into surrendering that much doco… And he was ready to let it go. It’s burn time.
He technically had no vested interest… Other than just taking care of moms mom. but I wouldn’t be surprised if he had copies of all 5 kids tax docs in there too. From when we were “kids” and the girls let him do them through college. And. And… And.
@ybmuG One of the good/bad things about the government buying your house to destroy it is that you can leave it full of garbage. Our contact person assured us of this, and also said that Habitat For Humanity would take any usable fixtures left behind (although it turns out that may not be an option, as two houses that were left empty all last year apparently had approximately 5 feet of water in the basement and everything was covered in black mold, so the houses were demolished without anything being removed). I don’t think anyone will want to spend extra money on a dumpster, and, frankly, the across-the-way neighbors who are also moving/cleaning out their house would definitely put stuff in it at night. It’s a great idea, though, and if we could go in on it with the neighbors, well, someone else in the neighborhood would put stuff in it overnight. So annoying.
@mossygreen @ybmuG yea I guess that’s true. So you don’t need the dumpster if they are going to demolish it. The whole house is technically a dumpster and just that would be sad. That a place you called home will just be gone.
@unksol @ybmuG It works so well on a symbolic level. But seriously, it’s going to be an empty lot going back to nature/some kind of wetland/retention pond. Which is kind of nice, if I don’t think envious thoughts of the neighbors who will have this open land next to them. I’m going to scatter my father’s ashes here and some milkweed seeds I have stashed in the freezer.
@ybmuG LOL@ White Trash Rubbish… not local; maybe I could get a franchise.
@mossygreen @ybmuG that sounds nice once it’s cleaned up. Milkweed does well in wet soil.
I got started early, cleaning the pantry. Now I know that I own 16 jars of various preserves, plus 4 jars of exotic honeys, and way more gluten free pasta than I thought.
@OldCatLady well time to eat those items. Might as well consume them over the nest few weeks
@OldCatLady That sounds like really fun cleaning.
I too neglected candles but then we required visitors to the house and suddenly burning candles aroma made me very happy. we put them next to the range for easy access. may 2021 bring us the safety for having visitors so we can burn those candles
@ophidance My mother would say, “from your lips to God’s ears.”
Is it a cast iron waffle maker?
I need to do the same thing. Good luck with your resolution!
Pantry is a good place to start especially if you have expired items. Very easy to let them go and gives you a sense of accomplishment. Tackle that and build from there.