12 THINGS TO NEVER THROW OUT WHEN DOWNSIZING

That was the headline of something shared on Facebook from Country Living magazine today. Since I had just written a post speaking of decluttering for the new year, I just had to read it.

http://www.countryliving.com/homes/home-maintenance/never-throw-out-when-downsizing?src=spr_FBPAGE&spr_id=1453_125966035

I will list the 12 things here, but you will have to check out the link to see the descriptions of each one.

1. Family heirlooms 

2. Electronics of any sort 
       (until you wipe them clean of all personal information)

3. Photographs

4. Important paperwork

5. A landline phone

6. Collections

7. Fine jewelry AND the boxes they came in

8. Extra kitchen and bathroom supplies 

9. Decorative and sentimental items that bring back precious memories

10. Emergency supplies

11. Tags from expensive handbags

12. Medication and toiletries that haven’t expired yet



How do you tell what is TRULY meaningful? 
Watson says this is her favorite trick: “In any given category, like artwork, ask this question, ‘If I could only take three pieces with me, which three would they be?’ With books, the question might be, ‘If I can only take 20 with me, which 20 would they be?’ This will help you discover the items that are the musts to take with you; the rest is negotiable." 

I don't have to worry about numbers 7 and 11 since I don't have either one. I do like the favorite trick on what to get rid of in any category.

Many on the list are obvious keepers, but sometimes we can get carried away with tossing 'stuff' that we wish we had kept later. And when we move and unpack, we wonder why we even bothered to move some of the others. Right?

COMING SOON. . . .

A new year is fast approaching, are you ready?

When I was younger I always tried to start the year with a clean house, as well as have things somewhat better organized. Of course, that did not last long - the organized part anyway.

I have gotten out of that habit ever since my hip and knees got really bad. But this year, I am working on it again. I have been sort of forced into it since Felix died. He made such a mess with tracking his litter all over the house this last year, plus messes around food dishes, and water bowls all over the house, and a small milk saucer next to the fridge, not to mention many toys that he no longer had an interest in. I must admit that, even though I loved having Felix around, I was getting tired of  having to work and walk around those things. Plus, with having walking difficulties, I was getting concerned they might cause me to fall, and I don't need that!

I am not going to have this house 'perfectly' clean by the new year (or ever anymore!) but I have been busy doing a more thorough vacuuming in every room. Remember, I have carpet in every single room in this house, including kitchen, bathroom and laundry room. That is not my preference, but when renting you don't have much choice.

All the cat food, toys, and treats are gathered and boxed so my daughter can take it all to an animal shelter in her city the next time she comes this way. The litter boxes are in the garbage and that area has been cleaned up. I still need to shampoo all the carpets but I am not sure I can handle doing that myself, so may have to wait until one of my daughters will be here for that as well. Nose prints are on a few of the windows, but it is frigid cold right now - only 9 degrees at 3 pm - so washing windows, even inside, will wait for a much warmer day.

I am not good at making and keeping New Year's resolutions. Is anyone? Some of my friends and fellow bloggers do make a list of goals for the new year. One priority for me is to continue to do some deep decluttering, especially paper things - recipes, magazine pages of hints and things I like, old financial/business type papers that are no longer necessary to keep. I have decided I am a paper hoarder. Not as bad as those on the TV show!! But I do have way too much, and to be honest, they are never looked at again after I saved them. I can always look things up online quicker than trying to find a paper in a huge stack or 4 drawer filing cabinet.

I also intend to work at blogging more regularly again. I have neglected this much too long. And I have lots of work to do in getting all my genealogy research in order. I do want to make a trip to the small town where I grew up, so I can go through the newspaper archives in the library there. I wish they were digitized and online like the neighboring town has done, but they are not. I have found a lot of needed information from those online archives, but some things are missing that might be in the old home town papers.

One side of my family is trying to have a family reunion this summer and I have several ideas of things I would like to do with that. I have started the ball rolling, so now I need to keep it going, hoping other relatives will take on some of the load. We are thinking the last weekend in June for that.

Then my granddaughter is getting married the end of August, and I suspect a bridal shower or two to attend. And a sister-in-law from California is coming for a visit in June, a niece is coming for her all school reunion this summer as well, and has asked to stay here during that time. So the summer schedule is filling rapidly. But it all should be fun times.

I think that is more than enough to concentrate on for the year. And that is why I need to get the cleaning and organizing done this winter! Time to get busy.

TRIBUTE TO FELIX

FELIX

December 24, 2014

This is the day Felix crossed over the Rainbow Bridge.

A sad day, indeed.

He was very sociable

He was very affectionate

He loved to be on my shoulder and then hug my neck

He greeted me every morning, about the only time he would talk

He thought his purpose in life was to take care of me, which he did

He made sure I found the bathroom during the night as he would lead me there, and rub every corner on the way, then would not move until I flushed

He lived with me for 10 of his 15 years

About two years ago he started losing weight, drinking a lot of water, and peeing a lot

We are sure he developed diabetes as he soon began to walk like a cat having diabetic neuropathy

But he did quite well up until the last month

Felix, you are greatly missed!

Look at those long legs! He was a long cat - long body, long tail and long legs. He could stand on his back legs and able to look over the top of the dining room table.

I KNOW. . . . . MIA AGAIN

Yes, I know. It has been far too long since I have posted here. There are various reasons that I will not go into. Even though I have not posted, I have been thinking about what I will be posting, and even made a list or two as I think of them. Now, it is just a matter of making the time to work on it. I am not so sure December is conducive to finding the time. Right now I am in the middle of getting my annual Christmas letter written, labels printed, etc., among many other things. How can an old retired person that rarely goes anywhere be so busy?

As I was going through some old emails tonight, I ran across this one that I never forwarded to anyone, but I do think these thoughts should be pondered upon so I shall share them with you now.

TEN COMMANDMENTS OF LIFE

Someone has written these beautiful words.
Must read and try to understand the deep meaning of it.
They are like the ten commandments to follow in life all the time.

1. Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble,
but it is a "steering wheel" that directs the right path throughout.

2. So why is a car's windshield so large and the rear view mirror so small?
Because our past is not as important as our future.
So, look ahead and move on.

3. Friendship is like a book. It takes few seconds to burn, but it takes
years to write.

4. All things in life are temporary. If it's going well, enjoy it, that won't
last long. If it's going badly, don't worry, that won't last long either.

5. Old friends are gold! New friends are diamonds! If you get a
diamond, don't forget the gold! Because to hold a diamond, you
always need a base of gold!

6. Often when we lose hope and think this is the end,
God smiles from above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a
bend, not the end!"

7. When God solves your problems, you have faith in His abilities;
when God doesn't solve your problems, He has faith in your
abilities.

8. A blind person asked St. Anthony, "Can there be anything worse
than losing eye sight?" He replied, "Yes, losing your vision!"

9. When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them;
sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that
someone has prayed for you.

10. Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles, it takes
away today's peace. 

'til next time. . . . .