Clearing the decks at home

[lagatta]

I thought the shipping out forum "clearing the decks" topic was about fighting hoarding, getting rid of stuff. My recycling box is now full of papers (though a few will have to be shredded before I actually dispose of them). I've been making a concerted effort to get rid of stuff. Today a friend was happy to take a beautifully seasoned but HUGE cast-iron frying pan I never use. He is younger than I am, and can lift it with far more ease. (I do have two other cast-iron pans, a medium-sized one and a small one, both beautifully seasoned and both made near here a long time ago).

I have several bags full of clothes to give to charity shops and am cutting down on bedding, linens etc.

It is a struggle.

[Deleted]

And what an incredible struggle it is! I can never decide what must go. But at least I have nothing from my childhood. (unlike my brother!)

[bixaorellana]

Hmmm. Have you been spying on me, Lagatta?

I moved so much paper crap in this last move and untidy piles of it have been using up space. Today I thought I heard the garbage truck bell, so rushed into the sump of death dining/tv room, telling myself I'd clear as much as I could before the truck arrived. The truck never came, but I got rid of tons of pointless paper. One problem here is that credit card receipts frequently have the credit card number printed in full, even sometimes name and number. This means I'm loath to throw them away without tearing them into unreadable pieces first. (this doesn't explain why I found some from 2006)

[bazfaz]

Getting rid of stuff is liberating. Mrs Faz has decided she no longer needs hundreds of slides of her early married life to her ex - who will need them? And who can look at slides anyway. And a computer tower and keyboard... And dozens of floppy discs of books I've written....And files of telephone, electricity and local tax bills, long paid. And why have I kept Visa statements since they are automatically paid off each month? And then there are pots on the terrace of plants given to us with no labels - out they go. And plastic pots that villagers used to bring us because we are such fantastic gardeners - do we need 300? No. Children's inflatable toys for the pool that need to have holes patched - out. A cement-incrusted wheelbarrow that a builder left - we already have one. My Thai sandals with the Velcro straps that come undone after half an hour...Hold on, I am going to use those for the next month. Then out.

[Deleted]

Strange indeed ,that you post this thread as I sort through stacks of magazines and newspaper and clothes and linens and books these past few days while the rain has been pouring down.
I have got to do a purge more often,that's all there is to it. Ruthless.
So, I went for a bike ride when the rain stopped and saw some people putting out some very cool '50's looking chairs. On she rode,I don't even LIKE '50's era stuff!

[lola]

"Ruthless" is what I mutter to myself when I'm on such a mission, casimira. Time to do it again, inspired by you all.

[lola]

Unfortunately, I find myself craving those iron skillets, lagatta. And I already have the 3 I need.

[Deleted]

It's too bad we couldn't have an Any Port "slip" sale and donate the money to Spindrift's young friend in Nepal.

[lagatta]

That would be great. I'm giving all the really usable stuff to a charity sale here soon, so that is an impetus. The other of course is the friend in the "hoarding" thread who was under threat from the Fire and Public Health services - we had been devoting a lot of time and mental energy into getting his house cleared out. Every thing tossed out or given a way is a struggle.

Not spying on anyone - so many of us have that problem. And yes, I have to take all the unusable electronic junk to a recycling centre, and it is not easy on a bicycle, even with Dutch bicycle saddlebags.

The other problem is weeding out somewhat-worn clothing that I wouldn't take to a charity shop or sale, but seems too good to toss in the rubbish. There is no recycling for textiles; pity, as a lot of the stuff is pure cotton or wool (less of the latter) and could be reused for other purposes. I ony need so many painting or dirty-housecleaning jeans, shorts or t-shirts (probably no more than two of each at the very most).

Lola, I also crave cast-iron skillets. And fine English teapots. I've kept two, though I really only need one.

[spindrift]

This thread reminds me that my bedroom cupboards need clearing out but, like the rest of you, I find it impossible to start and if I do then I come to a full stop because I like my old clothes and I might need them when I'm old or penniless or something.

[bixaorellana]

Hi ~~ great to see you back here, no matter what you're wearing! ;D

[spindrift]

Thanks! I've missed you all

[bazfaz]

I have this afternoon filled up 8 sacks of plastic flower pots to take to the tip - unless anyone cares to collect them by Tuesday.

[Deleted]

Oh wow, Spindrift is back -- unless she is rushing to collect plants in the south of France.

[bazfaz]

No, her next visit will be to the Lot.

[Deleted]

Speaking of which, I have a point de chute near Gramat, the lovely rustic cottage of a close friend. It is not extremely far from where you are moving, Baz.

[bazfaz]

Our map is in the car (which is still being repaired). But our village Marminiac is 20 minutes from Gourdon (or the supermarkets on the edge). Is Gramat the same distance to the east?

Anyway, a mini pissup will make all the others jealous. We'll have a Southeast Asian meal: I'll do Thai Galloping Houses; you can do Vietnamese chicken curry.

[traveler63]

Ironic that this subject has popped up while I am going thru the phone book and have found a company that sends the truck out to do your document shredding.

We have so much stuff that we kept after our collective parents passed away. My Kirk is a complete hoarder. It's "well we might need this someday", I have heard that for 40 years. Clothing, we donate to the Veterens. Books go to the local library. However, what do you do with old cameras, electronic stuff I donate.

[traveler63]

Well hey spindrift!!!!! Welcome back I have missed your posts! Not that the rest of you haven't kept me amused and educated.

[spindrift]

Traveller63! Hi!

Kerouac - please tell me what a 'point de chute' is....(would it be a love nest?) ha ha

[lola]

baz, I'm already jealous. No added pissup necessary.

[bazfaz]

Does Clearing the Decks include informing people of the impending change of address? I have a list of 44 organisations (and counting) that must be informed - and that excludes friends. I am trying to do as many as possible on-line but for some I have to register first. The Authors Licensing and Collecting Society has refused to register me because I do not have a British style postcode (I think only Canada has followed the British format). It all takes time and hail and storms are forecast which means the computers will have to be unplugged.

So I better get back to the task.

[bjd]

Spindrift, a "point de chute" is a place to land after a drop, probably from parachutists' jargon, rather than from landing from a sea journey. So, it doesn't imply a lovenest, simply a place where you can drop in.

[Deleted]

Thanks for replying to that before I managed to get back to this thread, bjd.

[lagatta]

Bazfaz, I believe our postcodes, while inspired by the British alphanumeric ones, have one more number (or is it letter)? So even that doesn't work. Yes, I've had that problem with French, US and even British postcodes.

Yep, I guess that is part of clearing the decks, as we now have virtual decks as well. I throw away a lot of old computer files - there is no reason to keep all work I've done 20 years ago as long as I have samples.

[Deleted]

I have made tremendous progress in this department since the inception of this thread. It almost came to a halt but ,I carried on with the purging this weekend. Need to be more ruthless though. The main thing is I didn't replace the junk with new junk,yet.

[lagatta]

I'm proud today, as yesterday I took a whole granny-cart full of "good junk" to a yard sale friends were organising for a community association. Everything I took sold quickly, and what is more, I refrained from buying ANYTHING. I've made progress too, though I have a serious clutter problem.

I have other electronic stuff I have to take to the "éco-centre" (a dump/recycling centre a bit like spindrift shows in her thread on daily life in Image Bank). I can't take it all at once as it is heavy and I don't want too much weight in my bicycle panniers, as it can be hard on the bicycle. It would be a long foray with the granny cart.

The only friends with cars are people with very long working days who have to use the cars in their jobs, so we hate bothering them! Most of my friends don't have cars, but we live a few minute's walk from a métro station.

[bazfaz]

This morning I have taken a second car load of off-cut planks to a woman who will use them in her fire. Down to the tip I went with the car stuffed with broken terrace furniture and an old video player and sacks of ancient legal papers. Now I am having a break between bringing up floor tiles left over from tiling the pool house and giving them to our mason neighbour. Villagers arrive cos they have heard we are giiving away pots of plants - they can't believe their luck. One woman brought us a pot of peach jam in exchange.

[Deleted]

If I can manage to get my old computer fixed, it is getting a 90% purge of the stuff inside.

[bazfaz]

Frustration! I took two heavy bags of books to the market - but the second hand bookstall wasn't there. People should not be allowed to take holidays when I need them to be there.