View E--Recap.

We were quiet. We didn't bother anybody. We just sat here silently, waiting to be needed. We knew she would come for us eventually. We were patient.


But it was a bit uncomfortable. We were, well, not to complain, but we were a bit cramped in there. So we were happy she came down and started picking some of us up, holding us, putting some of us down in other places. We thought we might see each other again--she's shuffled us around before.

But then, we were told, no, some of us were leaving for good. I heard it from the lampshade, who said she got it from the box of books, who got it from the box of fabric, who got it from the blinds. Where were the blinds? I couldn't see them anywhere. Maybe it was true.


It was only a week later when the bench moved in and I started to get scared. Was nothing special anymore? Didn't we mean anything to her anymore? What happened to everyone? I took some comfort in the hope that she might pile some things on the bench, and she did; but never for long. Most of the stuff that went on the bench went into great big blue bags, up the stairs and then who knows where? Stuff that left in a bag never came back. I was very scared.


There's hardly any of us left, now, after the Great Purge of the Spring Cure 2008. There are very, very few of us left to remember.


I survived, though I was moved to a new corner. There are some nice things over here, and we've all agreed we can breathe better and it's nice not to be so squished.

I've changed though. I talk more now, ask more questions. You never know who might leave next and then you'd always be wondering about them. I ask them: what was their life like upstairs? Why did they get put down here? What was their best moment, stuff like that. Sometimes, I don't get an answer. They say, we may be leaving someday, so why make the effort? But I have a feeling we may be here for a bit. She's putting up curtains and vacuuming, sort of taking care of us again. I like that.

She says most of us went to better places where we could be useful and live upstairs again.

I hope that's true.

Cord Tidy

They said it would be simple.

They lied.

First the husband had to drill a hole. He went through thin wood and it splintered.


(Perhaps I ought to explain: our computer desk has a pull out shelf. On it, I keep the router along with the keyboard and mouse. That's five cords which had had no chance to be tidy.)

I had to go through solid oak four times to attach the thingy.

I learned:

1) drilling upwards is hard.

2) If something measures out 3 cm larger than the space you have for it, there will be problems. (I had to drill those d*mn holes for the supports a total of eight times.)

3) Tidying cords merely transfers the mess from one place



(the floor) to another (the thingy).



4) You really can finesse a partially stripped screw head with a hand held screwdriver, but you probably shouldn't. (And not with a bum arm through oak.)

But at least the dog can't chew through the computer cords when my mom isn't looking.

The Laundry Tub--recap

On March 19th we went from this:



To this:



It was my organizing centre, actually. I kept the boxes of garbage bags and blue bags here, notepaper and pen for jotting down the stuff weighed on its way up the stairs and out the door, twist ties, and the box where I'd put books good enough to sell. It was the guts of the whole operation and so it couldn't be until this weekend, that we could even begin to have this:



and then this, as of yesterday:



It's still nasty, but better.

Given our trip happens in about 2 1/2 weeks (see this post), it's highly doubtful we'll have taps in by then. Nonetheless, I just wanted to show you the transformation.

Outstanding To-Do List

We are leaving for our vacation to visit family in about 2 and a half weeks.

(All the time I was writing this post, I'd thought it was a week and a 1/2! That's what you get for putting nebulous symbols on your calendar without explanation. I mistook the asterix for the date our library cards expire for our date of departure. Phew. However, as I was about to hit full scale panic when I hit "publish post," I think I'll just accept the extra week and not try to cram more into the "extra" time.)

So, except for a few things I really want to get done before we leave, I'll be leaving most of this list undone. But I wanted to get them down so I can toss the paper lists!

*Wash stairs

*Wash (and paint?) shoe shelf

Sort kids' artwork

Take stuff to eco-centre (done)

*Put up curtains over wall of shelves

sell Crop'n'Style

move clothesline

Sand chairs and paint

Cover new table for laundry tub (done)

Find and install taps for laundry tub.

*Tidy up cords at computer desk.

Cut and install wood facing for faux fireplace facelift. Paint.

Construct and paint "skirt" for trunk.

Remove paint from silver bits on trunk.

In preparation for leaving, I need to

*clean the house (my Mom will be staying here with the dog while we're away)

*figure out what to pack (which may involve a few shopping trips)

*plan what we'll be doing--what to see and where to go when.

If that isn't enough, I plan to continue with school this week.

AND

If I have time, I'd like to post an area a day this week--a re-cap--from the beginning to now. I also want to do up a slideshow for you (and me!) but don't count on it!

*items have priority.

Different Decluttering Styles...

You'll have to talk me back from the edge.

When I started clearing out the basement, some of you may remember, I tackled it 15 minutes at a time. I started with one 15 minute session, then two, then I just stayed down there as long as I had the energy and the time to do the job I'd set for the day (and sometimes getting distracted and doing a different job). This is my way. This is my style. It keeps the impact of the project low, and allows for frequent breaks when one is overwhelmed with the decisions that need to be made .

The husband is quite different. Impressed with the work I've done down in the basement, he's motivated to clear out his workshop. It truly needs to be done. Specifically, he needs room to use his router table and he wants to leave the collapsible "Workmate" workbench up so he has an extra surface to saw upon.

I'm all for it, actually.

He has a wall of shelves, 24" deep. He wants to cut them in half (so they are 12" deep) and clear them off--not my way--slowly and in small bits of time, hauling out 75 lbs of crap or so a week--no, he wants to do it his way--which means dumping everything into my freshly cleaned and cleared area--and then putting back what will "fit."

Egads.

I can see this taking months!
Months where no one can use the dartboard again, months where the punching bag will be inaccessible again.

Should I bite the bullet and just let him do it "his way" or should I encourage him to do it the way I did?

Maybe you could suggest how it might be done his way--and not take months. That would make me happy.

Weekend Projects...so far

Yay!

My energy is back.

After being thoroughly disgusted with yesterday's "Progress Report," I got to work on the North-East Corner of the basement.

I want to go waaaay back and show you the corner as it was on March 8th:



On March 25th, about 2 1/2 weeks later, I had this:



I pretty much ignored this area until I rearranged the stuff along that wall and took down the "canopy" last weekend.



Then, last night, screwdrivers in hand, I tackled those shelves. I had thought to remove them all and free up the whole corner, but I really needed a spot for my "house box"--a 1" to 12" scale model of a "townhouse" partially constructed and packed away since I moved out west almost 12 years ago. It has been on the floor for the past year...and I'm worried about flooding...so I wanted it in a "safe" place. The basement has never flooded along this wall, ever.

About 40 minutes later:

That is actually a different lime green fabric! It's an old vinyl table cloth. The "canopy" fabric is in the outbox.

Today, I ventured downstairs to tackle the art work. I stacked it all on the bench and realised that now with the house box and the stack of art work removed, I could re-configure the two tables down there so that the boys would have access the punching bag. I neglected to take a proper "before" picture as it was one of those organic things where I just moved from one thing to another, but here's a picture of the area from March:


The brown lamp is resting on the old undercounter fridge, the small worktable is under the paint can, and the old kitchen table is under the picture frames and fake flowers.

The fridge was hauled to my Mom's, the yellow lamp tossed, the picture frames sorted.....here's a shot of the work table in action, April 8th. (The kitchen table is under the "coax cable" kettle box.)



And so we come to today. Here's the before picture of the art work to be sorted (still).



As I said, though, once it was out of the way, I just started moving things around.



Hmmm. Nasty. So, stealing an idea from Yvestown, I got out one of my other vinyl tablecloths (handily accessible in it's plastic roll out box) and stapled a lovely blue one to the top.



I decided it was too nice to be mucked up with painting and staining and such...and I'd been wondering about how to get a work surface over by the laundry tub (for when it is eventually converted into a place to do laundry, I'll need one), so after measuring (the table is 18" wide and 42" long) I wrestled it in under the stairs, beside the laundry tub.



The husband says he'll fashion a small table for the left hand side of the laundry tub. (Hooray!)

And the table area?
This is what we have as of today:


Boom da da boom.

Week 7: Progress Report

Short Version:

Tossed: 40 lbs
Donations: 35 lbs (see below)
Cardboard Boxes: 5lbs
(Didn't weigh the recyclables or garbage.)



Toss Total to Date: 535lbs

Long Version:
There is no long version this week.