Junk Drawer

Does every kitchen have a junk drawer?  Today was junk drawer day.  My adventure started innocently enough.  I went in looking for  "Box Tops" points that I thought were lurking in the bottom of the drawer.




There was so much stuff in there; sparklers from several July 4ths ago, candles for birthday cake, batteries, nuts & bolts, an old cell phone.  I don't think I'm the only one stashing things in that drawer.

I sorted through it all.  I bagged up some of the things that needed to remain (we use the birthday candles a few times a year).  Some of the junk went to the trash (and should have gone there a long time ago).  The sparklers went to the garage, only nine more months until Independence Day!  Tools, nuts & bolts, and similar went out to the workbench as well.

In the end, I found the "Box Tops" points I was looking for.  They're in a sandwich bag on the table ready for tomorrow.  Speaking of tomorrow, Monday is on its way.  And I need to get to bed.  So this will be a quick post and more to come.  (^:

Recycling

Today I'm back on the topic of computers.  With today's focus on the trip to the recycler's yard.  I had an old computer monitor (the big heavy ones, with a thick glass front).  Those things actually cost money to recycle!  In order to properly turn the monitor in for disposal (at least around here, it seems), there is a service charge per monitor that is turned in.

The reason for this is that the big glass tubes are chocked full of hazardous materials.  So they have to be treated with special handling.  Special handling equals service charge.  How much?  This depends on the recycle business (and probably regional location). 

I made some phone calls and found a recycle business in the area that will accept computer monitors for FREE... as long as there is a computer tower turned in with it.  Shazam! That's the answer I needed.  I had a computer and computer monitor that needed to be gone.

I'm in a small town, so I had to drive about 20 minutes to get to any of the recycle locations.  The one offering free monitor drop-off happened to be located a few miles from another small town.  The business was right off a highway, neighbored by corn fields.  I drove past it the first time (small sign!), turned around, drove back and finally found the correct entrance. 

Basically, this business is a large metal warehouse (like a farm machinery shed) surrounded by a dirt track. Lots of bins hold all sorts of things that get turned in.  Cars (like mine) and small trucks bring in small loads of recyclable materials.  Recyclable things are sorted, and then big trucks drive around the dirt track and get loaded with big loads of material to ship out to their next destination.

This place looked like a scene from a movie.... in the warehouse where the "deal went wrong".  It's pretty dirty, very noisy, and not my idea of a "happy place".  I got out of there as soon as my stuff was in the bins.  Maybe I'll have a look around at the other recycle businesses next time.  Maybe that service fee is worth it?

In the end, I was able to turn in my very old computer and monitor for no fee.  A few more things left the house today.  Successful trip? Yes.  (^:

What to say…

One week.  Yay! One week!  Hmmm... one week and I've no idea what to write about today.  Or at least what to type here that stays on my topic of cutting down the clutter in the house.  So, I'll start with that and see where my post takes me.

I've made little (very little) progress in the "Room of Doom" this evening, too many events taking up my too little time.  I'm trying to stay positive and stay motivated.  This whole thing takes time.  Time, that's one thing we all have the same amount of.  There are 24 hours in a day, no more, no less.  Budgeting and distributing time properly seems to be a difficult task.  Or at least it's difficult for me.

There's a line from Jim Croce's song Time in a Bottle; "there never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do, once you find them."  I think I get more meaning from those words the older I get.  Is there ever enough time?

I want to be at my kids' school events.  I want to volunteer.  I want to be involved with our church.  I want to get the back yard cleaned up before winter arrives.  I need the paycheck from my job.  I need to go back to school.  I need to make dinner.  I need to sleep.  I need to publish this post!

All these things take time.  I'm not sure I'm spending the time I have the best way possible.  I know that these days, I view my job as my employer compensating me for the hours I spend doing my job.  That might seem straight-forward, but I believe I held a different view not so long ago. 

I used to look at the job I was doing being worth a certain amount of money.  Recently, I've taken the perspective that time is a limited resource.  Simliar to money, there's only so much of it to be spent throughout the day.  My limited amount of hours can be "spent" on things for me and my household, or they can be "spent" doing a job for someone else.  How much is our time worth?


I guess I've asked more questions than I've answered tonight.  Maybe I can read some articles and get some organized thoughts to share here. Tomorrow is another day.  Twenty-four more hours to spend!  (^:

Computer Clutter

Oh my!  Guess what I found?  The old family computer.  Stuffed away in the "Room of Doom" when an upgrade came along.  It was just sitting there, quietly collecting dust.

Unfortunately, it is still a digital warehouse of family photos, MP3s, and many electronic documents.  I hadn't even thought about digital clutter.  And now I've just come across a whole bumper-crop of it!




On the bright side -- most of the important BITS have already been copied (Ha! Did you see what I did there?... get it?  Bits/Bytes... ok, maybe that's not funny).  Big items such as family vacation photos, resume documents and other digital gemstones get noticed if they're not around over time.  Sometimes this requires computer file "search and rescue" efforts.  But many other not-so-important files and photos are left behind.  And they're still there on that old computer.  The virtual desktop makes me feel like this:

I'm not sure the ABC rule applies here exactly, but the overall policy of "Do we need this?" still does.  An article that I read covers this topic with some good points, it also made good suggestions about system maintenance as well (full article here ).

"As computer storage capacity continues to rise, we have more and more space to fill with all of our old documents, music, and photos. But just because you can hang on to these things doesn't mean that you should. As you go through your folders, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I have more than one copy? If you have multiple copies of the same file, consider deleting one of them. Duplicate files can take up a lot of unnecessary space on your computer. And if you've kept a copy for backup, it's not doing you much good if it's stored in the same system—if your computer crashes, the duplicates will be lost, too.
  
• Do I really need to have this? Go through your old documents and files. Do you still need them for reference, or are they projects you put aside and forgot about years ago? If it's the latter, ask yourself (honestly!) whether or not you're really ever going to return to finish them. If the answer is "no," then delete them.
  
• Can I put this somewhere else? You don't want to erase those pictures from your last vacation to Hawai‘i, but do they really need to be stored in your computer? Probably not. For those files that you don't use frequently but still want to save, move them to a flash or removable drive and keep the drive someplace safe."

[Above from: "http://www.iolo.com/resources/articles/?id=41"]

 
It's going to take some time to apply this logic.  But, again, this is an investment.  So I'll continue with the cleaning... both physical and digital.

While I'm on this topic.  What if you've already copied over all the electronic files you need to keep? What do you do with the old machine?  And more importantly, what do you do with its data storage before it goes?

Before you find a new home for your old computer system, it's probably a good idea to clear all your data from it (you did some online banking with that thing, right?).  I will suggest a free tool that will securely wipe data from an old machine's hard drive.  It's called, appropriately enough, "Darik's Boot and Nuke".  The website (www.dban.org) has instructions and documentation on its use.  In a nutshell; burn the utility to a CD or DVD, boot the machine to load the utility, then the utility erases all data from all hard disk drive storage.  WARNING: There is no "undo" button on this one.  

As for your old computer's next life, there are lots of options.  Possibly a church or other group could still find use for an older machine.  One might make a dollar or two by selling serviceable equipment online (CraigsList or eBay possibly).  Some computer shops accept old machines for recycling, as some systems contain metals and such that are not meant for the landfill nor good for the environment.

(^:

Sorting...

Most of the obvious stuff is out.  Now it's down to the sorting and organizing.  And still a good bit of throwing out, because it's easier than figuring out where to sort and place of this stuff.  Cables and cords... oh the cables and cords! I have audio cables, I have printer cables (USB and Parallel), I have power adapters, I have cables that adapt one kind of cable to the other kind of cable! I have cables for things that I'm sure I don't own! [Where did those come from?]



Sorting.  What to keep. What to toss.  Where to put the stuff that's kept.  Tools, glue guns, soldering irons, tape, and the like should go somewhere specific.  Not sure yet, but maybe the garage.  The garage!  That's the next dumping ground that needs attention.  But I can't even start thinking about that wasteland yet.  For now, I'm working to get like items gathered together.

Today I spent some solid focused time in the "Room of Doom".  I've got more floor space uncovered.  More trash bags ready for the dust bin.  More things to give away.  I making my way towards the walls, and I'm making progress.

It's amazing, the things pile up slowly.  And I know I was doing it when I did it.  But I feel that I turn around and suddenly it's an avalanche of "stuff".  I'd like to blame something or someone else, but I know it was me.  It took me time to build this pile of stuff, and it's taking time to disassemble it.

I'm developing my skills.  It's slow going, but I'm getting better at this.  I'm quoting a clutter control page that I like by Heloise on the Good Housekeeping site:

"When serious decluttering is in store, try the ABC method. Select a cabinet or closet that's been bugging you. Take everything out and arrange items into three piles: 

A: always used
B: used during the holidays and special occasions, or seasonally
C: not seen or used in a year or so

Then do a final sort:  

Step 1: Toss or give away C items unless they are valuable or have sentimental worth.
Step 2: Return B items to the back of the storage area.
Step 3: Place the A team in the front of the space so those items will be handy for immediate use."

Read more: Clutter Control - How to Get Rid of Clutter - Good Housekeeping

 

If anyone is in the same situation that I'm working on, let me tell you -- it gets easier.  It's difficult to start, I've put this off for years.  Before this, I felt emotionally attached to every object I picked up.  I couldn't throw it away, we have a "relationship".  This "thing" depends on me. Or maybe I'll need it tomorrow if I throw it out. The list goes on of excuses and rationalizations.  That way of thinking results in me feeling like this image:

I don't want to feel that way anymore.  So I'm cleaning it up, sorting it, giving it away, or throwing it out.  But it takes an investment of time and energy.  I'm doing it!  Easy as ABC!

Busy day... and night

 [Technical note: Today I figured out the "Add Picture" button!]



There are some days that just seem stuffed with events.  I knew today was going to be a busy one.  Work from 8:00 to 5:00, then rush to the store to get some groceries.  Onward to the homestead to make dinner before going to our church small group meeting.  And what a meeting it was!


I am believer of Christ.  By that I mean (and I will paraphrase Billy Graham), I believe that Jesus Christ was exactly who he said he was.  And it doesn't need to get more complicated than that.  If you read this and disagree or don't quite agree, that's ok.

I had a night of sharing my opinions, thoughts and beliefs and it was great!  It was as if the Holy Spirit was talking through me in our small group.  I've not felt so convinced and sure of anything like the things we were all discussing tonight.  I am a believer... even more so after tonight!


Back to my topic... the de-cluttering my "Room of Doom" that has become the catch-all for boxes, craft items,  et cetera.  After our small group meeting, it was already late in the evening.  But I wanted to make progress and get something accomplished, something noticeable.  I set my sights on the small kitchen cart (microwave table?) with CD's, DVD's, computer software, papers and other items stacked on it.   Something like this picture, but not as nice. [Look at that!  I added a picture of a cart!]

Victory!  I cleared it.  I removed it!  Some of it went to the trash.  Some of it is going to donation.  But the cart is gone.  It is no longer in "the room".  I've freed up more real estate.  I can see more of the floor than I've seen in over a year.  I can do this, and it feels good!   (^:

Linking today and a little more progress

I was reminded today that there was a bigger purpose for the 31 days.  I'm trying to link my "31 Days" to The Nester's Blog.  This entire process was started in order to follow the example set of writing on a single topic for 31 days.  Thank you to The Nester Blog for the inspiration!

Back to my "Room of Doom"... Day 3: Not a lot of progress today.  I got tools and tape and glues and the like out of the entire mixed-salad that had become the workspace table in that room.  The bits removed were placed with similar bits in a more proper place.

I'm trying to stay focused on the positive.  Even though it was a small amount of change, it is still change towards an organized and efficient room.  There's still a lot of items to be cleared from the workspace, but every bit counts.

Now it's time have little Riesling and get this post posted.  Tomorrow is another day.  More work, rush home to make dinner, church small-group meeting... the day is spent before the sun comes up, it seems at times.

I just realized, I'm aiming for 31 days... this is day three... I'm almost 10 percent of the way!  (^:

It's a start

Last night, I started in the room that houses a good bit of "stuff".  I started by just getting a few items that were actually just plain trash out of the room.  No "valuables" or sentimental artifacts, just garbage and some empty boxes.

Today, I reviewed some of the shelves in the room.  I came across some VHS movies. Some of them definitely needed to go.  We still have a VHS player and we use it occasionally, but the movies I was targeting were ones that hadn't been played in years. 

There's nothing wrong with VHS.  I think many people, like us, had just about finished their Disney classic movie collections on videotape when the DVD format broke into the mainstream.  So the Disney and some other "classics" stay on the shelf.  But the Austin Powers and Ace Ventura have to go.

I've got a few dozen VHS tapes in a box ready for the donation pile.  It's not much, but it's a start.

31 Days of De-Clutter

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   It's October first.  My better half is sitting across the table from me, working on another blog.  We've decided to go for 31 days of 'something'.  My something will be working to reduce (hopefully remove) the embarrassing amount of clutter in our home.

   There's so much STUFF piled up in some rooms that it's difficult to even find a place to even consider starting to clean.  The STUFF is of all sorts of things; projects that haven't been completed,  craft items that "might come in handy", books no one is reading, games no one is playing.  And it's all taking up SPACE.

  I want this SPACE back!  My "collection" of things, crap, stuff & junk has completely taken over one room, most of the garage, a rented storage unit, and is sneaking into more areas as weeks go by.  When my spouse and I married, we brought together two households.  Unfortunately, almost all of both households are still here in the one house.  We got married eight years ago.  We've lived with the clutter long enough.

   Change has to start.  It has to start at some point and it has to start at some time.  I'm going to start today.  But, which area to tackle first is a good question.  I'll have to get that answered, but it will get answered.