End of July

Hello friends,

The week goes so quickly and Friday is upon us again.

I'm still in summer mode but I'm not doing what people normally do with their summers. I'm not sitting relaxing in my garden or going to the beach or going to concerts. Instead I am doing a major household purge.

After years of purging a few things here and there of my late mom's things, my clothing, and knick knacks, I started purging some of my own papers. Before I knew it it got me into purging my books and wanting to change the furniture around. Why did I start on that?! I was supposed to be purging my papers. I think I was looking for a distraction as I don't like to get into my papers. There is just so much of it to go through.  I also find I can't focus on papers when there are other things that are also needing to be sorted.

I read Marie Kondo's book on the Magic of Tidying Up last year. She sets out a certain order of discarding and sorting which has come to be known as the KonMari Method which has taken off by storm.  I don't exactly follow the method or the order of decluttering but I did learn a few things from the method.  As for the order of decluttering (as depicted in the chart below), I like to tackle different areas as the motivation strikes me. I like to mix things up a bit and do a little of this and a little of that and tidy and clean and reorganize along the way. So many organizing gurus on You Tube run out and buy all kinds of containers to store stuff.  I've learned over the years that this might make things tidy but it only hides the clutter, it doesn't eliminate it.  At some point you will need to deal with it.

In the chart above, book sorting comes before paper sorting. So I guess I am following that rule.  Clothing is the first item to be sorted. I did actually sort a lot of clothing over the past few years, not just mine but my mother's as well and fabrics and so on. It is an ongoing process because I also bought a lot of clothing having gained and lost 50 pounds over the years.

But in between clothing and books I sorted and discarded a lot of miscellany to try and create more "breathing" space. It sounds like I am, or was, a hoarder but I am not. I just have a lot of stuff and I like my stuff to be contained and orderly.  I like everything in it's place but my place is too small for my stuff. That means I have too much of it. I can blame cooking from scratch, shopping for food sales and any other kind of sales (I love a good bargain), craft hobby, sewing hobby & reading hobby.  Now I am at that point in my life where I want a lot less stuff. That is hard when you like to read and do crafts of all kinds and when you were taught to save things for a rainy day or because they might be useful.  It also requires discipline to buy only what one needs when they need it. I will find a way to try and continue with all my interests and do it with less stuff.

Anyway, back to the books.  I've managed to "discard" 10-12 very large shopping bags. I was shocked to discover how many books there were.  It doesn't look like quite so many when they are neatly on the bookshelves.  Fortunately, my local hospital is going to take all of my cast off books but I have to deliver them. I'm hoping to do that on Monday. They  plan to sell the books to raise a bit of money for the work they do with seniors. So it's for a great cause.

In between cleaning and moving bookshelves and deciding which books to give away, I've also purged and cleaned the hallway coat closet. Generally I post giveaways on Freecycle and there are a few women in the community who always ask for my clothing which means they come and get it.  It is always much better to let someone else have use of something that is still in good condition than to put it in the garbage. Friday (today) I will vacuum and get back to paperwork which I'll work on throughout the weekend.

While all this work is going on inside, the exterior walls of my building are also being washed and painted. This should be done not later than the middle of August.  Everything on the patio has had to be moved in preparation. In  the meantime the patio pavers finally got a good washing. They really needed it as they were not washed last year

I have a guest coming in late August and another one in early September so they will find things looking a lot different. Not only that I will be able to enjoy visiting with them in my decluttered home.

They always say when you really declutter you start experiencing shifts in your life. Right now the shift I am experiencing is more freedom of mind and a growing sense of peace and joy in getting rid of a burden.
 

It's hard to believe in another few weeks we will definitely be in back to school mode and back to cooler weather and all the things that come with it. I always look forward to the Fall months when I no longer feel the heat of summer.

All the photos were taken in the month of July 2019 on various days except for the last photo which was taken in June ( I haven't had much time for photo taking). They are all taken between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.  I've started to notice these past few days the sun is coming up a bit later. Have you noticed that where you live?

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the last days of summer.  Of course some of you are going through winter season. In that case, I hope it warms up for you soon. I know winter can be quite chilly and rainy in a place like New Zealand.

 Thank you for stopping by to visit.

Joining in with Skywatch Friday.

Spring Activities Continue

Hi friends,


It's been raining a lot here this week so I didn't get to plant my 2 gardens plot yet. I am happy about that because it gave me time to shift to doing a few other things. I'm still in Spring cleaning and spruce it up mode.  I'm making notes here for my own record and for future reference.

 I'm constantly in the process of decluttering and getting rid of things some of which has piled up for over a decade.  Things piled up when I spent years looking after my late sister's children then looking after my late mom.  I couldn't spend time to properly deal with my business while others in the family were in great need. The declutter project I'm doing will still take a lot more time.  I don't easily get rid of things and like to take time going through everything meticulously.

Sometimes I go through things 3 or 4 times before making final decisions and over the years, needs and wants change and things come into clearer focus as to what is needed or can be let go. I am no hoarder though and over the years have gotten rid of a lot of things mostly through giving to the thrift store or posting things on the local Freecycle website.  For now while I'm still in declutter mode I'm trying to spruce things up a bit.

Spring Cleaning

• A new bathroom shower curtain. I just changed it a year ago and felt the colours (navy on white) needed toning down. My new curtain is mostly white and has small designs in navy and gray). I intend to paint the bathroom (something I never seem to get to) and install a train rack for extra towel storage.
• Purchased some command hooks for the laundry closet on which to hang my mop and broom. I've had metal ones for many years but never got around to nailing them in the wall. So at last I have some stick on ones. I've purchased extra command strips if needed. One of the shelf units in the laundry closet came out of the wall so rather than put it back up I purchased some narrower plastic shelves from Wal-mart a year or two ago. I am happy with the new arrangement because I don't have a laundry room as such and have to make do with a very small laundry closet.
• I emptied and cleaned the vacuum cleaner, vacuumed the living room/dining room and moved the area rug from the front room into the master bedroom. I'm looking for another one or two larger area rugs for the living room and dining area. I've been looking for a very long time. I am not in a big rush because of all the other things I have to do and because I hope to live with my purchases for many years to come.
• I bought a new larger entry hall rug to replace the temporary one I bought last year.  I went back and forth to the store 3 times to buy and exchange the rugs. In the end I got a different colour than I wanted.  That's okay because the entry hall rug and the kitchen rug are now the same design (different colours) and can be interchanged if I want to change the colour scheme in the kitchen.
• I bought a new tablecloth (narrow brick red and tan stripes on natural background) and natural coloured napkins.  I've got a number of tablecloths I bought many years ago but wanted something to freshen things up. I think I can get rid of at least one or two tablecloths that have seen better days.
• New (slightly larger) kitchen rug, dish rack, draining mat and oven mitts. I've decided I'd rather have a dish tray under the Umbra dish rack but have been having problems finding just the right one. Maybe I'll change my mind as time goes on and stick with the draining mat. I will donate the well used teak dish rack and several drying mats. If no one wants them I'll be fine with putting them in the trash because all of the items have been used for quite a long time.
• I bought an under the sink shelf. I'm not sure if I'll use it in my kitchen or in the master bathroom. If I like it I may buy another one later. Right now I use plastic containers under the kitchen and master bath sink to keep things organized. Right now though the  master bathroom stuff is out of control and needs to be reined in again (I'm working on not buying more products and using up what I have. It takes discipline).
• I used some white wood putty to fill in some cracks on my kitchen cabinets. I'm not sure yet but I may paint out the lower cabinets some time in future or I may reface the kitchen cabinets.  It will depend on whether I can make a small repair to one of the cabinet hinges and also on overall costs. This is just one of so many projects that need to be done.  For now I am focussing on the smaller projects to try and make the household flow a bit better.  It seems to be a never ending process.
• I purchased a can of Scott's Liquid Gold to shine up the kitchen cabinets after washing. I only buy this stuff about once every decade and mainly use it on my laundry closet shutter doors to shine them up a bit. I got this tip from an Executive Assistant to a former boss.  We would share a few decorating ideas from time to time. I was surprised to learn that this product is multi-functional and can even be used on kitchen pots to shine them up.
• Notes: Most of my new purchases were done at HomeSense so the items were all at a discount.  Of course the stock changes daily.  If you waffle a bit and return another day you take a risk that it might not be in stock when you return.  Imagine my surprise when I returned the very next day for a red & beige rug for the entry hall (there were 3 of them less than 24 hours earlier) and they were all gone! Since I visited the store daily for 3 days in a row it was clear to me that stock turnover happens very quickly.  Overall though I've been very pleased with what I found there. I'd been wanting to stop at this store for years. I didn't realize it's location was convenient to me.

There is a lot more work to do in the coming weeks to continue spring cleaning and decluttering though I won't likely write about all of it in this space (lucky you).

Gardening

I bought some pansies to plant in the containers on the balcony. I should have time later this week to undertake this task. Pansies are one of my favourite little flowers and each year it is hard to find the starter plants here. When I saw a few earlier this week I snapped up 10 pots because the store didn't have much stock and very little of the purple colour I love so much.  I have to plant them soon and hopefully the weather will cooperate later this week.

Frugal Cooking

I've baked bread every week for the past 3 weeks. We haven't eaten it all up so I made bread pudding with some of the slices. I forgot to take a photo. It was good but I'm still looking for a good recipe. I find most of the recipes I've tried result in what I consider to be a dry pudding.

I want a pudding that is much creamier and similar to what my late mom used to make. Too bad I didn't learn her recipe but back then I really didn't enjoy cooking at all and had no interest in learning much about it.  In the version I made today I added more milk (find it here) and used less sugar. It was a decent outcome as in tasty but lacked the creamy texture I'm after.  I think the trick might be more eggs and milk though that might make a bread omelette, lol.  If you are a cook and have a creamy bread pudding recipe that you wouldn't mind sharing please let me know.

Right now I'm cooking from my food stock and only buying the barest minimum of foods, like a bit of fruit or eggs and milk to supplement what I have on hand.  I've got a lot of dried and canned goods as well as stuff in the freezer that I want to use up before I do any more grocery shopping.

So for today we had garlic mashed potatoes, fried pork chops and canned cream corn. I have salad fixings but I didn't make any salad.  Once I eat salad I tend to be too full for the main course. Dessert was bread pudding.

Yesterday we had baked chicken breasts (bone in) with canned browned mushrooms and mushroom soup "sauce" over steamed rice with steamed asparagus on the side. We had oranges for dessert.  I think Monday I'll make breakfast for dinner (bacon, eggs and hash browns or bacon with an omelette so I can put some veggies in there).  The goal is to use as much of my stock of food as possible so I can clean the freezer and the inside spaces of the cabinets.


If I run out of meat or fowl I will make vegetarian meals with chick peas, lentils and so on. In fact I hope to intersperse some of the meat and chicken dishes with vegetarian ones. I was inspired by browsing through the book by Mary McCartney (daughter to Paul and Linda McCartney). I didn't buy the book. I just sat down for awhile and thumbed through it (and a few other books) enough to be motivated once again to eat more vegetarian meals. One thing I want to make (which I saw in Mary McCartney's cookbook) is a corn meal bread with jalapeno peppers and corn niblets. I have several bags of cornmeal that a friend gave me and I need to use it up soon. In fact, I'm not sure what the expiry date is (it's in sealed plastic bags with no markings).  Perhaps I should open one bag and smell it first.

Creativity

The crochet afghan I am making is going to be large enough to comfortably cover a twin sized bed so it is much larger than the throws I've been making to cosy up while sitting on the sofa. I think I'll be gifting it to my uncle who is now in long term care but first I'll call his wife and see if this is okay with them because my idea is rather last minute.  I'll take some photos of the finished product and share them when I'm done.

Television/Movies

I started watching a new series called "Hanna" on Amazon Prime.  I'm on episode 4 and find it very interesting. Are any of you watching it? I wanted to go and see the movie Dumbo but haven't got around to it yet. Have any of you seen it and do you recommend it for adults?


Reading

I am also reading a bit here and there. I am slowly working my way through the book Beyond Expectations which  I  picked up during my recent travels to Kenya.

It is quite interesting and chock full of information about the early days of Kenya's independence and the power brokers of the day.

I also picked up 3 more books at the library.

The Piano Teacher,  set in the 40s and 50s in Hong Kong. It's a fictional story which is primarily about two separate but intertwined love stories set in the period before and after Japanese occupation.  I've just finished the book and I would probably give it a 3 or 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I'm about to start on the next two books.

On Island is a book of fictional short stories written by a former Canadian Member of Parliament. The stories revolve around island living.

We're Going to Need More Wine is a memoir by actor Gabrielle Union. Her essays are true stories about power, color, gender, feminism and fame.

Other

I was hoping to see an old friend for lunch but she's had some family issues come up as well as some health issues so our get together is temporarily on hold.  I have another friend who I hope to see early in the week. I've suggested we go and see the Monet to Matisse exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery. I thought we were going on "cheap night" but I now see it may still cost quite a lot so I'll have to reconfirm with her tomorrow. Next up I have to meet with a new financial advisor. I've been wanting to change up advisors for some time now but never have time to do the research. I've been called by a new to me advisor at one of the banks I deal with so am hoping to have a meet and get to know you session before any decisions are made. There have also been a number of dental and medical related appointments on the agenda this month and some family matters of my own (all is well) and the ongoing charitable work in Kenya. I didn't expect April to be so busy.

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I hope you are well and busy and that you

 have a wonderful week ahead wherever you may be in the world.

Joining

Our World Tuesday

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Hello November

Hi friends,

It's been raining heavily for much of the past week so I continue with my decluttering. Actually I haven't been decluttering so much as I've been posting my decluttered things for giveaway and arranging for people to pick things up. I took the photo of the sky and trees a few days before Halloween just before the heavy rains started. I love the colour of the leaves and the blue of the sky peeking out above the clouds.

I've been busy making my crocheted afghans and trying to finish the ones I'm gifting. My hope is to find time to make a few others for possible sale but we shall see how things go.  The berry coloured afghan is finished but I must still weave in the loose ends before it will be ready for gifting.  I tried hard to get a photo without shadows but it is difficult getting indoor shots at this time of year.

I also finished the other afghan I shared in my last post (the gray and gold one below) but didn't take a photo of the finished project yet.  The third afghan I am currently making is the same colour way as the gray and gold. I must  have been getting too tired as I ended up ripping out almost one third of it today. Actually it is the 3rd rip out I've done in 2 days due to mistakes I didn't like.  I don't usually make a lot of crochet errors but lately haven't been getting enough sleep.  I really love to crochet. I find it very relaxing and gives my hands something to do during long, dark, rainy nights.

Last week I was decluttering and this week I was posting stuff for giveaway and communicating with people to arrange pick up times.  The big balls of yarn I gave to a missionary ladies group that I've donated to before. they have a large group of industrious woman who are always making things and sending them abroad to Asia and Africa.  I love knowing that things will be put to good use and benefit others.

In future I will not be buying so much yarn in advance of actually needing to use it.  I thought I was saving money by buying yarn on sale but it takes too much room to store and if I haven't used it in 3 years then it's not likely going to be used soon.  My new approach is to buy one or two skeins at a time for projects I am currently working on though I also still have a stash of smaller skeins in a few colour ways. You will likely see some of them on this blog in a future project/s.

 

The photos below show other things I was able to give to others. After buying velvet hangers for my closet I had 70+ plastic hangers in a variety of colours to give away. Someone gladly took them off of my hands. I also had various tops and jeans, shower curtain and bath mat and an artificial Christmas tree (not in the photo) to give away.  I'm still waiting for someone to arrange to pick up a few smaller items at a mutually convenient time.

I meant to share the next photo long ago. I took it a year ago in October down at the English Bay sea wall on one of my walks. I stopped to buy a coffee and saw this gentle, old dog quietly waiting for his master.  He was very sweet.

 

I took a photo of the ducks down at the same beach. I like the way the sun is shining on the water.

A week ago Friday I went to dinner with two friends, one is a missionary to Taiwan.   It was really nice to chat with Cindy and find out more about her life and work in Taiwan. She has already worked in Uganda, the Philippines and Canada's far north. She's spent the majority of her time in Taiwan and it is her home now. She loves the people. I still remember the day we prayed for her at my former church as she was preparing to leave for Taiwan. I haven't seen her in many years and we had a good catch up.

Here is a photo of what the day looked like early evening Thursday on the first day of November.  We have a rain warning starting around dinner time tonight and ending Saturday morning.  As you can see by the photo, my plans to clean the garden up at the end of September never came to fruition. It's still a job I have to do and will try to do in the next little while in preparation for the winter months.

Good weather for one of my other main hobbies, reading.
Here are my current reads.

I found this November inspirational verse on line.

 

It will be  a good reminder for me to remain positive as we head into my least favourite time of year weather wise.


Here's to November.
May you have a blessed and adventurous one.

Thank you for visiting :-)

Joining in with

Friday Foto Friends

Skywatch Friday

and

Saturday's Critters

Reducing and Recycling

Reducing

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I had a bit of time to get rid of some stuff through the local Freecycle.  My efforts to get rid of things paid off and now I've cleared up some of my clutter.

I love pretty, fresh cut flowers.

Yesterday and today I gave away several items of clothing (mostly vests and sweaters) that I've had for a long time but never wear.Since I've purchased newer things in the last 2 years I must get rid of other things to make room. Sometimes you just have to admit that some of your purchases weren't quite right and let them go. But there are also things one has for such a long time that can be let go to make room for something new.  The things I recycled were in good or like new condition and went to a lady who was very much appreciative.  I also recycled a lot of other items such as: books, bread machine, coffee machine, fabric remnants and DVDs (music and movies).

I've got lots more to get rid of but I prefer to take my time to sort through things.  It also takes time to give things away because one has to write up the advertisements, take pictures of the items, post and then respond to queries before someone comes by to pick things up. If there is a lot of interest in something for giveaway it can be a bit tricky to coordinate and believe or not, some people can get nasty about it if they are not the ultimate recipient. That experience put  me off of giveaways for a time but I've since resumed the activity because I prefer to give things to someone who needs them rather than give them to the thrift store for sale.

"Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”  

Luke 6:38

My mother was the type that held on to things to be used "some day".  I've inherited her tendencies toward sentimentality and also keep a lot of  things for a rainy day.  However I am also much better at releasing things than she was.  I don't like having too many things stuffed in bags and boxes and stored somewhere to be used "some day".  One tends to forget what is stored away in bins and boxes. I also think that one cannot receive "good gifts" if you don't have room for them.

I took the above photos at the Yellowpoint Lodge, near Ladysmith on Vancouver Island a few years ago.  It was Fall and I really enjoyed walking on the property through the mist.
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I  know many of us tend to purchase more than we need. I'm conditioning myself to purchase only the things I want or really need and let go of other things that bog me down.  For quite some time I've felt like I have far too much stuff and have been looking for ways to find new homes for it all. It takes time.

My progress sometimes seems slow because at the same time I am getting rid of things I am also adding to them.  A lot of it is clutter caused  by my ever present sewing projects. I need fabrics on hand for future projects. Once I've made things there are always remnants of fabric left. I don't tend to use fabric remnants myself so then they need to be stored.  A fabric stash and fabric remnants take up a lot of space.  Yarns for knitting and crocheting also take up a lot of space.  I've had to give away so much and so I realize it is better not to buy more until I really want to use it. Adding to things that need to be stored are things I must bring back from my mother's room and closet. I am always editing her things as she has limited space.

These are some of the ways I add to household clutter not to mention digital and paper clutter.
 Even so, I like to think I am making progress with clearing some of it up.

At least one of my brothers assures me that I am not a hoarder, lol. 

He knows how much I've given away and gotten rid of over the past several years because from time to time I need his help to take items to the goodwill  which I tend to do if I have  put together many bags/boxes of things at one time.

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Recycling

The city where I live has recently started collecting compostable materials. I have a small compost pail for the kitchen (it has been sitting outside in the garden for the year, lol). I need to bring it indoors and get used to setting aside food scraps and taking it downstairs to the compost bin that is emptied every week.  Cardboard,plastic and glass containers also get recycled and there are appropriate bins in the garbage room for all of it.  Sometimes I save the glass jars and wash them before giving them away.  They make good containers for storing buttons and other odds and ends.

I already save all the refundable containers. Once I have a great big bag of them they are taken to the recycling facility to get the small refund. A large black garbage bag of bottles and cartons usually gets me a refund of $3.- $4. Canadian.

It seems so many of us recycle but sometimes one wonders if these efforts are helping when you see garbage everywhere. Moreover the rate of climate change is happening so fast. 

I shudder to think what would happen if no one tried to do their part to help the environment.

We all need to be vigilant in doing our part but some people still don't seem to be alert to the issues.

What about you dear reader? 

Do you give things away, donate them to goodwill or just throw them out? 

What things do you have trouble getting rid of?

Looking Ahead

Hi friends,


I've been sleeping more than usual. I feel I am fighting a cold but then again, it might be side effects from one of my newer medications. I've had 5-6 colds since the start of 2016 and that doesn't seem plausible though I do have friends who have had such a high number of colds.  It is just that I don't generally get colds.  I've also recently learned that one of my medications can cause upper respiratory tract infections. I will have to check into this in more detail with the doctor soon.

The colder weather is on the way I've been on the hunt for some stylish hats and vests that are a bit on the dressier side. I've heard that we can expect a  colder than usual winter season and I want to make sure I have the right attire that can also be worn for nights out to the symphony or concert.  I managed to find two hats and a nice cosy vest which I think will work nicely.

I got this cosy hat in gray faux fur to go with my black car coat.  I also got one in chocolate brown to go with my long faux beaver fur coat for those extra chilly days. I could not get a good photo of the faux fur vest I purchased in black but it is lovely and even better, it has pockets.

I've also purchased a comforter set, and sheets on clearance.  This will help keep me warm over the cold winter nights.  In my last frugal post, I mentioned that I'd purchased a comforter set and a set of sheets for a birthday gift.  The prices were so good that I decided to purchase some for myself.  The comforter was $43 and tax (marked down from $190 and tax).  I got the sheet set from a different designer line because I got a better prices that way.  Though the colour isn't exactly a match, it will do fine and coordinate with other comforters and blankets I already have.  The sheet set is 400 TC and  was $28.00 and tax (marked down from $120.00 and tax).

The weather has been sunny all week but the rain returned today.  Hopefully we get more sunshine in another few days. In the meantime I decided to delay my trip for laboratory tests due to the inclement weather.

View to the East

Once I made that decision, it freed me to gather together some unwanted or unused clothing, books and DVDs and a few kitchen items (coffee pot, bread machine and pots and pans). I've posted most of it for giveway and have had some good interest.  I was able to get rid of a lot of clothing and DVDs today and tomorrow others are coming for other things.  My decluttering is part of the Kon Marie process of tidying up even though I'm not exactly following her order of things. I am not following her order because at the moment, I'm trying to get rid of some of the more obvious stuff that needs to go. It will take me longer to sort through everything and that will still happen for later giveaways.

Truth be told, I haven't been very good about progressing on the Kon Marie method  since I began the effort a few months ago.  I've just been too busy with the garden, the summer guests, the task and errands and then my mother's hospitalization.. But little efforts here and there add up to larger efforts. Eventually it will all come together. I'm hoping this Fall and early Winter season I can make good progress in this area.  I certainly have enough projects to keep me busy.  I mentioned several of them in my last post but forgot to mention the "Kon Marie Project".

Since the sky is gloomy I've added a few flower photos here. These are from my archives.

Over the past few days I caught up to my reading goals and am now on the home stretch to finish the books for the year. I hope I can meet my reading goals and still manage the other projects.

Where I live the media from around the globe have descended.  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their two children are in beautiful British Columbia for a quick royal visit. You may see some photos in the news where you live.

Photo credit:  The Mirror (UK, September 22, 2016)

Joining with Skywatch Friday

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Friday Foto Friends. 

Take care and have a wonderful weekend.

Various Kinds of Tidying Up

The weather has been very nice here for a few weeks so have been  managing to do a bit of gardening  here and there between many other appointments and social engagements.  I'm still working on trying to finish planting then I will work on cleaning all the patio furniture.  Stage 1 water restrictions were effected on May 15th a full two weeks early due to the record breaking temperatures we've had.

Meanwhile in Kenya they are experiencing record rainfalls which are expected to continue through to June.

A friend's house was damaged and needs restorative work due to the heavy rainfall experienced in his town. They had to mop up all the water that had gotten inside the house too.  The heavy duty rains have only been occurring in the last few years and so restoration work is not a business there as of yet. Anyway I'm sure most people affected by such damage could not afford to pay for that kind of work so it is just as well.

You can see from the above photo that water had made it to the front door.

There was water all around the home.

 Though this home has been damaged, many others in Kenya have been flooded out of their homes.  Still others have lost their lives due to the torrential rains. The country's infrastructure is simply incapable of dealing with the forces of nature.

In related news, I watched a documentary last night that discussed the issue of recent extreme weather events and the scientific projections as to what we can expect in future.  In a nutshell, the weather is going to get even wilder and more extreme and cities and citizens will need to adapt.

Within 35 years it is said that Canada can expect:

• Double the number of extremely heavy precipitation events - with periods of drought in between.
• 5 times as many hot days over 30 degrees.
• 100% increase in wildfires.
• 50% less snowfall across the prairies.
• More hail and 50% more ice storms.
• More intense hurricanes.

We have certainly seen a lot of evidence of heavy rains starting earlier in the season, record breaking hot temperatures, devastating wildfires such as those going on right now in the north country and a lot more hail and ice storms than I can ever recall.  It is difficult enough for developed nations to cope with these kinds of extreme and rapid changes. It is that much more difficult for developing nations to do so.  If anyone is interested in the documentary, you may be able to watch it here depending on where you live in the world.

In addition to doing a bit of work outdoors and trying to enjoy the warm temperatures before they become too hot for comfort I am also working indoors.  I've been working on the ongoing decluttering & downsizing project that has literally been going on for years.  I seem to make so much progress and then end up right back where I started after a short while but I may have hit on a solution that will help me out.

I recently read the books, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and "Spark Joy:  An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up", both written by Marie Kondo, Japanese organizational consultant.  She calls her organizing and tidying method, the KonMarie Method.  I think it was Jeanie from the blog The Marmalade Gypsy who alerted me to this approach to tidying.  After I read her thoughts on the book I investigated and found a long waiting list for the book at the library. I put my name on the list and it took at least 8 months to get a turn to read it. I actually put my name on the list for both books.

The books are easy to read and I found many of the points made by Ms. Kondo resonated with me. The author writes about her early years of organizing and decluttering experiences while still a young girl living in the family home and afterwards. Everything she tried did not really work.  Ultimately she came up with her own method and that is what she now calls the KonMarie Method.  Up until now I've been decluttering and getting rid of things.  But I  have been decluttering slowly, a bit at a time over a long period. I also was still holding on to things that I did not use but felt bad about letting go of for various reasons.  In addition, I looked for more storage and better storage solutions thinking that would help keep good control over the "stuff".  Nothing ever worked for more than a temporary period.

Ms. Kondo's years of hands on experience led her to realize that slowly decluttering doesn't work. You need to do it all rather quickly and she recommends a time line of about 6 months.  She also takes a far more radical approach to letting go of things than I did.  Some of what she suggests seem amusing to the  average North American reader, for example, saying thank you to things that  you are letting go as they have served their purpose.  But in Ms. Kondo's spiritual practise all things are imbued with an energy so saying "thank you" to your sweaters and dresses is something that doesn't seem foolish to her or many of her in country (Japan) clients.  Even though I do not practise her religion I think there is value in appreciating those things we have taken the trouble to purchase or acquire and letting them go with good thoughts and acknowledgement that they have served their purpose. This approach probably frees your  mind not to focus on any feelings of guilt or remorse for wasted funds or for not keeping what someone might have given you. Finally, Ms. Kondo believes that more storage for your things is NOT the answer and in fact leads one to forget about what it is they actually own. I can attest that this is true in my life. I was amazed to discover just how many pair of tan coloured capris I own (*smile).

As soon as I finished the first book, I commenced clearing out my closets and dresser drawers again even though I just did a similar clear out within the last year or less. I made good progress using the method and hope to continue over the next few months to make even more progress. Ms. Kondo says to work on everything over a short period rather than a long period and the short period is about 6 months. I think I can make some good progress within that time frame.  She also outlines the sequencing of what to tackle in the process of tidying up and gives rationale for why she recommends a particular order.

I have to confess I did not strictly follow the KonMarie method in the work I've done so far.  It is because I do not like to have a big jumble of clothing piled on the floor, or on my bed.  That would be too overwhelming.  But I did try to adhere to the suggestions as closely as possible and make as much progress as possible.  For those that don't want to deal with all clothing at one time, she does recommend tackling a subset of clothing items and working through all subsets until the entire job is done.  The other suggestion I did not follow is throwing things away once I decided I no  longer needed them.  Instead I packed them up and posted them for giveaway. This requires a bit more work but keeps "stuff" out of the landfill and that is important to me. Others may find that having bags around tempts them to go and look in the bags and retrieve items never to get rid of them. I'm happy I do not seem to have this problem so bags are okay until a new home is found for the items.  I also know that there are a few things I will be unable to implement from the books. Things like having nothing in the bathtub (soaps and tools kept elsewhere), having nothing near the sink (soap and implements kept under the sink) and storing absolutely everything in the closet (like books).  These particular suggestions will not work for me but that is okay. My main objective is to pare down my things and keep them in a tidier way.

The red topped storage containers were picked up within a few hours of posting.  There were 5 of them taking up a lot of space.  Though these were purchased not so very long ago I no longer need them because I've decided I do not need to keep so many dried goods in my cupboard.  I plan to empty and give away even more containers.

I dislike throwing out virtually anything that can be used for other purposes but I also don't like hanging onto everything just in case I might  need it  later. One can have too many interests and not enough time to do everything so you have to pick and choose those things you will focus on and get rid of the rest.  I do a lot of sewing and have done a lot for my mom over the past year.  The scraps of fabric were posted for giveaway and also picked very soon after posting.  I mostly keep fabric that will be used later for quilting but I think I still have a tub of fabrics somewhere that can be given away and will need to check for it. Most of it would have been fabric I inherited and will likely never use.

Although it can be frustrating having clutter in a smaller home, the good thing is you are forced to address your possessions and make decisions about what to do with them.  Many people (myself included) mindlessly accumulate things even if we don't necessarily spend a lot of money in  accumulating them. If one is not careful, pretty soon you have far more than you need. I want to be a conscious consumer not a mindless one. I also want to prioritize those things I decide are worth keeping and other things that can be obtained when needed. Not everything needs to be kept on hand just in case it is needed.

In the past, books were hard for me to let go of and paperwork too. I tend to keep a lot of both.  I have gotten to the point where letting books go is much easier because I can get books at the library and return them. Sometimes I buy inexpensive books and give them away when done.  With papers, I don't like to throw anything out until I've deal with it and made sure it is shredded or burned. Making time to do that is difficult but it will be done.  Once it is done, I will have arrived at my goal and my prioritized "clutter" will be my crafting items.

In addition to tidying my things, I've also been busy week tidying my financial matters and planning for end of life.  I've attended a seminar about pre-planning my funeral because I saw an advertisement in the paper.  It got me motivated to make some firm plans when I learned that the cost of a burial plot in my general neighbourhood now sells for approximately $28,000 and that doesn't even cover the cost of funeral services, or any of the others costs like caskets or urns, etc.  The other thing I want to look into is ways to have a  more "green" funeral if possible.

After my meeting I will have a lot of work to do to figure out what I want for my own arrangements and hope to make some firm decisions in the next few months. This will take a load off of my mind as it is something I've been meaning to do for quite some time.

The other related areas I want to address are some adjustments to financial plans, redoing my Last Will & Testament and just getting a better handle on all these issues in general. Though I have taken care of a lot of things, I want to make sure everything is brought up to date and kept in a very organized and clear way for my executor.

What about you dear reader? 

Have you thought about pre-planning a funeral for yourself or a loved one
or do you find this too difficult to deal with?

Do you have to contend with such high costs for burial plots and funeral services?

Perhaps these are not issues that most people like to think about.  

But I think peace of mind over last wishes is such a wonderful gift to give oneself and loved ones. 

There is also the assurance that matters related to costs have been handled. 

When it is time to say goodbye, the grieving family and loved ones don't have to deal with all these decisions for you.

I'm joining in with Our World Tuesday today. Thank you for stopping by!