bobbywatson wrote:Posted my Spider-Man comics today.
Some guy is interested in the "Amazing Spider-Man" issues I have, and asked me to take photos of their spines. I'm thinking: "They are all in plastic sleeves, taking them out and putting them back in will take more than an hour, so no." I did it for a few issues, and that's all he gets. If that's not good enough for him, too bad, I'll wait for the next buyer.
Good! Decluttering wasted time is also important and there will always be other buyers!
And there was! Somebody else just bought a whole bunch today, and already asked me to set aside another bunch for him. Plus I'm meeting someone later so he can buy another series. He did not even try to negotiate on the price. I took $24 off the total to get a round number, which actually ended up being $20 more than I was willing to accept.
I like the Daily Goal concept. Checking off a checkbox is one of the best feelings.
This past weekend I finally pulled the trigger on some various home things I'd been meaning to buy - like a whiteboard to better organize our household to-do list and storage bins to wrangle the closet. I did successfully transfer things like my fabric from various moving boxes into clear storage bins which stack nicely, allowing me to also move the sewing machine off the floor of the office and into the closet. I also realized that I could put some of the odds and ends kicking around in there (a space heater, a backpack, a collection of other small bags from conferences) into a large storage bin so that they're stackable with the rest. It's funny how getting that better under control makes me feel calmer just in general. And gets rid of the guilt from my partner diving in to dig out things I need from there and restacking the precarious boxes once we found it.
I also grabbed some binders, paper protectors, and dividers and gathered up some random recipe cards that we've been keeping loose in a cabinet. Also went through the first magazine I got from Bon Appetit and tore out the recipes I want to keep so I can organize those and keep from amassing a pile of magazines. Another binder holds knitting patterns now, and I've got a couple extras for the next thing that occurs to me.
Working from home has also made it clear how much having clutter in the kitchen stresses me out. So we've been keeping up better with the dishes, which ultimately makes it easier to keep up with them so it's not piling up. Funny how that works. I've found it to be a nice thinking break from work, or sometimes will knock them out while listening in on a call or training that I'm not speaking on. Yesterday I cleaned the counters and stove as well while listening to a virtual conference presentation. The tea area is also more organized now - we have a lot of loose-leaf and have collected some into jars. Maybe I'll get us some more to keep the cabinet better organized because right now all of our mugs and tea don't quite fit...
Today's goal is to shred and file papers. Note that this is not a huge task for me because I already have a paper filing system set up and have done what I could to not bring so much paper into the house, and I regularly shred and recycle mail that comes in. But the papers that I do need to file have been in a pile on the floor in the "office" room and had gotten kicked around and all over the place, and the same has happened to my small "to be shredded" pile. So that's the goal for today.
I went through most of my papers this week as well. I have a nice, 3-inch thick stack of things that need to be shredded. No way I'm going to spend a few hours doing that myself, I'll just go to Staples later today and make use of their shredding service.
Looks like I'll be able to get rid of an entire bookcase soon! Maybe even two!
I wish the library was again accepting book donations now, because I have at least two boxes of them to give away. Oh well, I guess I might have to wait for this COVID thing to pass before that can happen...
One area I would like to declutter is the digital space. I have decades-old backups lying around, on CDs, DVDs (remember those?) and hard drives. I'm thinking it's time for me to organize and consolidate everything in one place, make sure everything is backed up... But I expect this will take way longer than going through all my papers!
I also have a bag full of old electronics that I need to bring to Best Buy's recycle bins.
My digital space is a disaster that I really need to organize. It usually gets less priority though because it's less visible, and I've already sorted through and organized any CD's and DVD's I still want to keep, so at some point I'm going to need to do something about the digital clutter and mess. Even though it's not so visible, it is still a source of stress.
Went through a stack of old burned CDs tonight. I did not find anything worth keeping in there, and everything went to the trash. I have another stack waiting for me, but that's going to be for another day.
Also managed to sell some comics today. The guy who bought them was a cop who showed up in a phantom cop car
We managed a purge of shoes, kid accessories, old diaper bag stuff, binkies, kitchen clutter... A trash bag full of stuff and some cleaning and planning.
Not as much as we'd like, but considering we had to pause to run the carpet-cleaner behind one of our kids I think we kept a decent momentum.
Another stack of old CDs went to the trash today.
I'm in the process of moving things around in my apartment. When I moved in a year ago, I did not plan for the fact that I'd be living here 24/7, and things were not optimal. I think it's going to be nice when I'm done, but at the moment, the whole place feels like a warzone. I wish I could spend my afternoon putting everything back in order instead of working. (But I'm also grateful that I get to work while so many people do not have the same luxury.)
I know the number of pieces of furniture in my apartment will be reduced by at least two. Maybe three. I will know better once stuff gets back on shelves.
Edit: Wasn't sure what price to put on some old Wii games I have lying around, so I checked eBay. $100 for a copy of No More Heroes 2? Really? I was happy to see this... Pikmin 1 and 2 also fetch some pretty good prices...
Met a friend today for coffee (outside, and with 6 feet between us) today. I sent him my list of DVDs earlier to see if there was anything in there he was interested it. He did not have time to go through it before the meeting, but he says he will grab everything, keep a few, give me a few bucks for the ones he will keep, and dump the rest at the thrift store, which sounds like a fine arrangement to me (since I was going to dump them all at the thrift store anyway). He will probably stop by in the next few days. He also took the box of books I had in my car. I also stopped by Best Buy to dump a bunch of old useless electronics I had lying around, and by Staples to throw a 6 lbs stack of old papers into their shredding bins. They only charge $1 per lb, so I call that a good deal, since that saved me a few hours of shredding.
Managed to get rid of one bookcase and another small piece of furniture. And put stuff back on shelves, so my place no longer looks like a warzone. I still have a few things to move around, I will take care of that in the next few days.
Fun fact: A few months ago, whenever I turned my UPS on, it would start beeping for some reason. I suspected that this was due to the battery needing replacement. I left it plugged, but switched it off. I turned it on yesterday, and no beeping, and apparently it works fine now. Glad I gave it a try before including it in the pile of electronics I dumped off at recycling today.
The next step in my decluttering quest is to go through my DVDs and select the ones I want to keep. Outside of my Star Trek season sets, I'm not sure I will keep much...
Cleaned the humidifier which was gross. After a bit of trial and error water, cleaning vinegar, and backing soda worked great. A toothbrush for the small spaces.
I posted an ad on Kijiji about a month ago with a bunch of graphic novels that I wanted to get rid of. Then, for about a month, nothing happens. Suddenly, today, I get two replies for the same graphic novels. If all goes well, most of what I posted will be gone tomorrow!
I wish the French comic books were selling as well. A friend of mine suggested that I post my ads in the Montreal area instead of the Ottawa area, which makes total sense. Once my current listing ends, I'll post a new one and see how it goes.
I'm thinking I need to rearrange some of the furniture in my office.
The big problem I see is that my drawing table is right next to my working desk. I've taken some measurements, and I think I've found an arrangement that would be better. But that means I have to empty took bookcases, move them, put the stuff back on the shelves, unplug four computers, move my desk, move the drawing table, and replug everything. I think it might be worth it though. My current arrangement is far from optimal, and it's been bugging me for a while. I wonder if I can convince my brother to come and help me if I bribe him with pizza...
Edit: I used thai food instead of pizza, but it worked, he'll be here tomorrow
Seems like you've been very diligent with your daily goals so far! Congratulations!
One good thing about moving furniture around: I'm finding a lot of places where cat hair has accumulated. Vacuuming all that and washing the floor will help greatly. And I think my new arrangement will make it easier for me to vacuum everywhere. After all the pieces are in place, I'm going to have a lot of cleaning and dusting before I can put everything back on shelves and replug everything.
Can you just move the bookcases on furniture sliders? That is what I do and it works pretty well. Much easier than taking everything off and putting it back on!
Can you just move the bookcases on furniture sliders? That is what I do and it works pretty well. Much easier than taking everything off and putting it back on!
Not really, because I'm replacing them both altogether. I've had those for decades, they've been through several moves, and they're falling apart.
Plus they look like sh*t.
Edit: I'm supposed to pick up the new bookcases in 20 minutes at Ikea, and apparently my order isn't ready for pick up yet. Now I'm worried.
Edit 2: New bookcases have been assembled and... they don't fit where I wanted to put them I measured, but I measured with the old bookcases, not the new ones, so now I have to revise my plans slightly... Oh well.
Unrelated, but now I'm wondering if the reason I enjoy assembling Ikea furniture is the same reason I loved Legos as a kid... Probably.
Edit 3: Not perfect, but much better than before, where both the drawing table and the desk where right next to each other. Trimming the bookshelves is on my to-do list. This is the only part that looks neat though, what's not shown on the right is a real mess I plan to organize later (namely, two bookcases filled with manga I may or may not keep).
Also on the list of things to take care of: the cables! It is hidden by the chair, but there is a power bar on the floor between the desk and the bookcase, and it's not pretty. I was going to buy something they have at Ikea to suspend cables to below the desk, but sadly they're out of stock here in Ottawa. I also plan to screw the power bar under the desk to make the place easier to clean.
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