Tag: decluttering

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WEED OUT THE SUMMER DOLDRUMS

We’re finally getting a break from hot weather.  We can open our windows at night and sleep with fresh air. Still, it’s been a long hot summer. Covid cases surging means we’ve had to stay home for months. And we’re really tired of hearing about Donald Trump’s troubles.  But now, we wake up with a little spurt of energy.  Now is the time to weed out the summer doldrums. 

Weed out the summer doldrums. Weeding is relaxing and gives a feeling of acomplishment.
WEED OUT THE SUMMER DOLDRUMS. Weeding is therapeutic in troubled times.

Weeding doesn’t have to be outside.   I started yesterday with my dresser drawers.  It’s amazing how many  tee shirts and night gowns a person my age can collect.  Filled two big trash bags within an hour.  A bottom drawer revealed old half slips and a bundle  of panty hose. Why  would I save these after retiring  decades ago?  Ok, I’ll save a couple pair of hose for weddings and funerals.  But half slips?  Do people even wear them anymore?   There are more drawers to be emptied, but I’m tired of looking at that stuff right now. Time to move outside.

After months of scorching heat followed by  torrents of rain, the weeds in my Hosta garden are tall as trees.  I’ve watched them grow outside the window all summer long.  And yet, I know it’s not a good idea for someone my age to be outside when it’s close to 100 degrees.  So, the weeds have had a heyday.  We have a lawn man, and a bush trimmer,  but it’s difficult to find a weeder for hire.  There are much better jobs waiting to be filled in air conditioned places.

I gather my tools, don my gardening gear, slather my face with bug spray, and head out doors.  Some weeds have shallow roots, others are way too deep for my weak arms to pull. Using clippers, a small saw and plain old elbow grease, I soon have a pile of weeds.  Getting rid of them is a chore, as they have to be hauled away in a shaky cart.

Later, as I return from the Goodwill after dropping off my bags, I feel a surge of  joy as I enter my driveway and see my pretty Hosta garden.  Why is weeding so therapeutic?  I don’t actually enjoy it the way some do, but it clears my mind. And the feeling of accomplishment raises my spirits.

Now is the time to weed out the summer doldrums.

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9 THINGS TO DO DURING A HEATWAVE

One good thing about this hot weather.  It’s given the media something to talk about besides politics. Instead, they’re scaring people with dire warnings about what might happen.  On top of that, we’re having a resurgence of covid-19 infections because people aren’t vaccinated.   It’s almost as if  we’re facing an attack from outer space. Most octogenarians  have survived many heatwaves and plagues like polio. This is not our first rodeo.   Assuming  that you live in air conditioning, and you’re smart enough not to spend a lot of time outside, here  are 9 things to do during a heat wave.

     1. Walk around a big box store.  Mall walking peaked out about five years ago.  But now, malls are like a graveyard.  It’s dreary and depressing to see the demise of your favorite stores like Macy’s.  However,   big box stores are spacious and very cool.  You can easily walk a mile in a place like Meijer’s, and it’s fun to meander through the aisles and log a mile on your activity app.. At the same time, you’re liable to find some interesting new products you haven’t tried before.

     2. Sleep in the buff.. You may think this is the height of debauchery.  But if you’re over eighty, you don’t have to worry about the kids seeing you naked.   It’s much cooler, and you don’t have bunched up pj’s or a nightgown waking you up at night.

     3. Start a decluttering project. I began at this time last July https://livingwellafter80.com/decluttering-diary-day-one/and wasn’t finished until November!   It gives you a productive way to spend your time indoors.  Much more satisfying than watching television.

     4. Get creative. Write a blog.  Paint a picture. Needlepoint a pillow.  Get  out that old guitar and write a song. Make a YouTube video.

     5. Clean your refrigerator and freezer. This cool task won’t make you sweat.

     6. Weed out your photo album. I don’t know about you, but my cell phone and computer are loaded with photos I will never look at again.  It’s a tedious task going through them and deciding which ones to eliminate, but it gives you something to do while you’re shut up inside in air conditioning.

A cool, fresh smoothie makes a great summer meal
Start with some Greek yogurt,add 3 or 4 fruits, and whip up a cool smoothie in the blender

7. Whip up a cool refreshing , healthy smoothie.  I start with half a cup of Greek yogurt, then add 3 or 4 pieces, each, of fresh or frozen fruit: Try different combinations of banana,  blueberries, oranges, grapes, pineapple, mango, peaches etc.  If my smoothie tastes a bit sour, a handful or grapes or a few pineapple chunks will sweeten it up.

8. Go swimming. If you don’t have an indoor pool available in your city, drive to a nearby state park like McCormick’s Creek or Turkey Run in Indiana.  You’ll feel like a kid again–and so refreshed..

9. Finally, you might download  you tube music “HeatWave,” , and listen to Irving Berlin’s popular song  from the thirties  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5PpCCfhBhY

Irving Berlin wrote "Having A Heat Wave:in 1933
We’re having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave

Oh! We’re having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave
The temperature’s rising, it isn’t surprising,
She certainly can  the can-can
She started a heatwave by letting her seat wave,
In such a way that the customers say
That she certainly can can-can

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ONE DRAWER AT A TIME UNTIL ELECTION

We have about a month until the 2020 presidential election.  The country is polarized and people are on edge.  And to make things worse,  President Trump has just tested positive for Covid-19.   Won’t it be great when the election is over, and we can stop fretting about who will win? But, we still have a month of  social isolation until that happens. How do we keep our minds off politics between now and then? My solution is keeping busy with a project: decluttering one drawer, one day at a time, until the election. 

Just counted: I have 27 total drawers exclusively holding only my belongings.  : Bedroom dressers, eleven. . Bathroom vanity, seven. File cabinet, three. Desk, six.     When I run out of my own drawers, I can find plenty in the kitchen to take me through the next thirty days.

Sorting out  drawers is a formidable task.  There are so many small, miscellaneous items .  Today, I started with my top bathroom vanity.  Like most junk filled drawers, it is hard to separate the items into categories.

Ansious about the election? while away the time, one drawer at a time
Only a 30 days until the2020  election. While away the time by  decluttering  one drawer at a time.

Since my bathroom is also my plug in station, the  drawer is full of various wires and ports for recharging phones, kindle, hearing aids, TENS, MP3players, and therapeutic devices for my knees.  Those are keepers..  They stay, but they don’t occupy an entire drawer.  Other things were dispensable:  Tubes of old  cosmetic items , never used up: hair mousse, lipsticks,  creams and lotions; worn out nail boards.  You get it.  The list goes on and on.  I ended up with full bag of trash.   When finished, it still didn’t look like a Martha Stewart drawer, but least it’s not a jumbled up mess.

All of this is giving me a feeling of accomplishment, which is a mood booster.   What will you do to get through the next 30 days?  Just take it one drawer at a time.

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WEEDING OUT THE CLOSET

The day I’ve dreaded since the temperature dropped  has arrived.  I’ve sorted through a jumbled up closet full of light and heavy clothes for a couple of weeks,  because I live in a century old house with no walk in closets.   It was built in the day when people had smaller wardrobes.  Consequently, they rotated what few clothes they owned from side to side in the same small space.  But now, weeding out the closet at the end of each season is a chore.

Weeding out the closet in the fall is a tiresome chore
WEEDING OUT THE CLOSET IS A TIRESOME TASK IN THE SPRING AND FALL

As I yank clothes from drawers and closets, I curse myself for succumbing to so many summer sales.  I have culottes, shorts, blouses, tops, pants and dresses  that I’d forgotten I even owned.  I start by making  3 piles.

1.  Goodwill bound:  This is the toughest one of all.  How can I part with my Mexican outfits, and T shirts from all the places I’ve visited in the last few years?  And that lovely jacket from Italy?  They’re all faded, and even though t I hate to admit it,  too tight.  Other clothes that I loved and paid too much for have gone out of style.  Maybe they won’t even sell at the Goodwill store.  No excuses here!   The pile grows.

2.: T-shirts.  I live in them all summer, often changing a couple of times a day.  Many are stained and faded.  And yet, I keep them for years on end for something to “wear around the house.”  These cannot be given to a recycling store.  No one would want them, except maybe for rags.  T shirt rags are great for washing windows, so that will be their destiny.  And then, one day, my husband will observe that our broom closet is overflowing with rags.

3.: Summer clothes:  Which ones go to the Goodwill and what shall I keep?  I fold many of them to put in storage boxes.  The rest I put on hangers.

Luckily, this old house has a basement, with shelves and closets for storage.  I load my arms with summer clothes and head downstairs, replacing them with heavier winter clothes to be hauled upstairs.

The bedroom is littered with empty hangers.  Where will I put them all?

Okay, I’m almost finished.  But next Spring, I’ll have to do this all over again, in reverse. Now, if I can just resist those end of season sales!