This blog is rapidly becoming the aww clutter of my mind, not of my house (or car). But why not, since decluttering the house isn't happening.
So today I went grocery shopping over my lunch break. This is a great example of too many choices being too overwhelming. I was thinking about all the clutter I keep in my head - the grocery rules.
We have three stores we can easily visit. Store 1 is running a special, spend a certain amount for a certain number of weeks, and get a free gift card. Store 1 has become our go-to store with this promotion, plus best prices/availability of organic milk and eggs. And, this week they had triple coupons, and they double coupons up to $.99
Store 2, our former go-to, has better baked goods. And carries quick cook grits in the canister, unlike store 1. Also, grape tomatoes are $1 a pint cheaper.
Store 3 used to be the go-to place for some specifics - the only place that carried vegetable bouillon cubes, stuffing mix in a choose-your-size canister, and my favorite bottle drink super cheap (organic white iced tea with a hint of peach). But they've remodeled, and no longer have the bouillon or stuffing mix.
So moving through the store today, I remembered we needed grits, but now I have to make a special trip to store 2. And I was in store 3 last week, but we still need bouillon. And then I can make a special trip to store 4, which is more of a pain to reach, but by far they ave the best prices on dried fruits, frozen goods, and wine. And that leaves off entirely store 5, which I tend to avoid, but they have by far the best prices on chai, carry 2 specific types of wine I really like, and have the best gingerbread.
Now add in the coupon clipping and organizing, and shopping list organization by the sale flyers, and my brain is quite cluttered with grocery thoughts.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
more hitching post news
Rich spent some time on google and sure enough, hitches can be had for not as much money as from the dealership. Not a huge surprise, really. Now have to call around trailer rental places and we're back on.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Stymied
So we've run into a slight hitch in the Thanksgiving plans. Literally.
Our plan is to rent a trailer and haul the stuff back. But, we need a hitch put on the Subaru, which is something we've sort of wanted anyway as it might come in useful some day. You know, when we buy a boat and a travel trailer and start hauling stuff around on a regular basis from our urban house.
I always underestimate costs. How much could a hitch cost? What, maybe $50 for the part and another $50 to install it? Well, our dealership up here says $300 for the part, $300 for installation. Uhaul Florida says $275. Hmmm. Plus, how much can it cost to rent a trailer? What, $300, max? We've only called one place, but more like $450. So, while this was always going to be an expensive proposition, we'd get a bedroom suite and some other stuff out of the deal. But if we're looking at $700 or even more, heck, we can buy a bedroom suite. So, we need to find a cheaper way to acquire a hitch, and find a better rate on a trailer. Or, we bring back a lot of stuff (hahahaha) to make it more worthwhile. I've had my eyes on a china cabinet for a while, and my parents do want to downsize. I'm kidding. So, we're still thinking. More research to do.
Our plan is to rent a trailer and haul the stuff back. But, we need a hitch put on the Subaru, which is something we've sort of wanted anyway as it might come in useful some day. You know, when we buy a boat and a travel trailer and start hauling stuff around on a regular basis from our urban house.
I always underestimate costs. How much could a hitch cost? What, maybe $50 for the part and another $50 to install it? Well, our dealership up here says $300 for the part, $300 for installation. Uhaul Florida says $275. Hmmm. Plus, how much can it cost to rent a trailer? What, $300, max? We've only called one place, but more like $450. So, while this was always going to be an expensive proposition, we'd get a bedroom suite and some other stuff out of the deal. But if we're looking at $700 or even more, heck, we can buy a bedroom suite. So, we need to find a cheaper way to acquire a hitch, and find a better rate on a trailer. Or, we bring back a lot of stuff (hahahaha) to make it more worthwhile. I've had my eyes on a china cabinet for a while, and my parents do want to downsize. I'm kidding. So, we're still thinking. More research to do.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
the car
I realize it sounds insane to describe a car as cluttered as our is, except I've been in other parent's cars and it really does get bad quickly. You're mostly in the car with the kids, and so when you get home you've got them and the diaper bag and whatever stuff you went out to get and while you try to make a dent, it builds up. (Especially with a child who must, just must, bring her favorite toys with her.)
So today we went to the doctor and the grocery store, and so coming home we each had a kid and groceries and we scored a parking spot close, but not right by our house, so between each bringing a child in along with bags of groceries, that's exactly how the car continues to be cluttered.
Anyway, the point of this post was to say, as lovely as it was for Rich to bring in a small bag of trash, as I looked around the car today, I didn't see that it made any difference at all. Much work to be done!
So today we went to the doctor and the grocery store, and so coming home we each had a kid and groceries and we scored a parking spot close, but not right by our house, so between each bringing a child in along with bags of groceries, that's exactly how the car continues to be cluttered.
Anyway, the point of this post was to say, as lovely as it was for Rich to bring in a small bag of trash, as I looked around the car today, I didn't see that it made any difference at all. Much work to be done!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Excuses
Too many excuses, no decluttering. Tonight's excuse - the varied ailments plaguing all the members of the family.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Another project
There are several areas of this house/our life that drive me crazy. My white whales, as it were. I hate that wardrobe thing, too.
Right now I am fixated on the car. Elizabeth cannot leave the house without something, or several somethings, in her hands. And then it ends up in the car, littering the floor and back seat. The stuffed animals she won at the Portuguese fest in Massachusetts. In early August. A random assortment of pens, pencils, and crayons - from restaurants with kid menus. Wrappers from snacks. Random toys. Books. Crap. The DVD player carrier is on the back seat floor, but the DVD player is under the front passenger seat. The other day I noticed there were still crab lines in the trunk! (last weekend in July trip to Pocomoke). We leave for our long trip in just 2 weeks. And that car has to be cleaned out. Every day I think I need to just go out there and collect it all, but work has been heavy lately. And when I do drive, I'm usually loaded down with too much stuff to bring in more than one or two things. I do bring in stuff and throw stuff out. I swear it's multiplying. (and where in the world are we going to store the crab lines, anyway? In the Pocomoke house, there was a corner of the basement where all that stuff went, but not like we're going crabbin' all summer long and need to grab it regularly, but then again they're nice crab lines so I hate to jsut dump them, so we need someplace where we can find them the next time we go crabbing in a couple of years! Actually I hope it is not that long, though this year's haul was disappointing, to say the least.)
Anyway. Rich took the car to work today so he could do school drop off and head into work directly (usually he walks E to school, then drives the Mini - we only have carseats in the Subaru). And imagine my surprise when he walked in at the end of the day carrying a plastic bag full of trash - a quick collection. One small bag of trash down. We probably need a couple of Hefty bags to clear out the rest of it.
Right now I am fixated on the car. Elizabeth cannot leave the house without something, or several somethings, in her hands. And then it ends up in the car, littering the floor and back seat. The stuffed animals she won at the Portuguese fest in Massachusetts. In early August. A random assortment of pens, pencils, and crayons - from restaurants with kid menus. Wrappers from snacks. Random toys. Books. Crap. The DVD player carrier is on the back seat floor, but the DVD player is under the front passenger seat. The other day I noticed there were still crab lines in the trunk! (last weekend in July trip to Pocomoke). We leave for our long trip in just 2 weeks. And that car has to be cleaned out. Every day I think I need to just go out there and collect it all, but work has been heavy lately. And when I do drive, I'm usually loaded down with too much stuff to bring in more than one or two things. I do bring in stuff and throw stuff out. I swear it's multiplying. (and where in the world are we going to store the crab lines, anyway? In the Pocomoke house, there was a corner of the basement where all that stuff went, but not like we're going crabbin' all summer long and need to grab it regularly, but then again they're nice crab lines so I hate to jsut dump them, so we need someplace where we can find them the next time we go crabbing in a couple of years! Actually I hope it is not that long, though this year's haul was disappointing, to say the least.)
Anyway. Rich took the car to work today so he could do school drop off and head into work directly (usually he walks E to school, then drives the Mini - we only have carseats in the Subaru). And imagine my surprise when he walked in at the end of the day carrying a plastic bag full of trash - a quick collection. One small bag of trash down. We probably need a couple of Hefty bags to clear out the rest of it.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
My Pet Project
This is my first post here. I figure since it is NaBloPoMo, why should Susan have all the fun?
As I'm usually the brawn behind the brains in decluttering our house, I thought I would contribute what I consider to be my pet project. That's actually a misnomer. This is something that is not mine - it's just what I would like to see go. It sits up in our 2nd floor hallway mostly because there's really no other place for it. Inside is a menagerie of women's clothes, many of which hold some sentimental value to Susan. So it's not about just getting rid of everything. That would be cruel. It's about getting this monstrosity out of the hall and finding other places for the clothes. Sounds easy. Far from it!
- Rich
As I'm usually the brawn behind the brains in decluttering our house, I thought I would contribute what I consider to be my pet project. That's actually a misnomer. This is something that is not mine - it's just what I would like to see go. It sits up in our 2nd floor hallway mostly because there's really no other place for it. Inside is a menagerie of women's clothes, many of which hold some sentimental value to Susan. So it's not about just getting rid of everything. That would be cruel. It's about getting this monstrosity out of the hall and finding other places for the clothes. Sounds easy. Far from it!
- Rich
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