The Bluestocking - Best Pub on the Internet

[EdithStourton]

Welcome to the Bluestocking women's pub. Excellent (if sometimes wilful) gerbil bar staff, varied cocktails, splendid cakes, cracking Sunday roasts...

Voted Best Pub for the umpteenth thread running, join us for conversation about tractors, units of measurement, films, wildlife, and even, sometimes, women's rights.

Just keep Glenda off the gin.

Any men, you can trot along to the Staunch Ally just up the road.

You're doing so well Beetle, I'm in awe of your resolve.

I would be willing to bet others, such as family or your cleaner, can see a difference, even if you can't.

We had a massive chuck-out during Covid and ended up with enough cardboard boxes to build a other house. One of the local charities had spotted an opportunity, and you could take your massive car-load of evicted items to their collection site, shove it all in the back of their truck, and when the truck was full they carted it off for sorting. You had to be early, though, as it was one truck a day and word spread... They got 3 or 4 car-loads from us.

There were some dramatic farewells by DC of cuddly toys, and a few last-minute rescues of same.

But then.... five years later we had another go, and found even more evictable crap.

Crap-evicting is a process, not a single event.

here’s a news story I’m sure some of us will appreciate (more than Stanley Milgram!)

Secret of hedgehog hearing discovered at far beyond human range https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8d52n0dnzro

Last year was very noticeable to everyone. This year it's more about sorting the crap out that's hidden away in cupboards etc so to the casual observer it looks the same as it did on January 1st.

Although it did look cleaner in January when it was all dark and gloomy and the dust/cat hair collecting in and on things wasn't noticeable! Now with spring having sprung I can see the house is in need of a spring clean.

Hopefully though the spring cleaning will bring with it a whole load more stuff that I bin rather than deep clean!

And the sheds, after a winter of opening the door and just shoving stuff in, will probably be a treasure trove of crap I don't need and paint that's a solid lump in the tin!

Thank you. I expect that you're right that I might not have managed full-time work if I had had a job.

The stress of the operation, infection and recovery time has been very hard. I'm still not discharged from orthopaedics. I had the results.of the scan to check my lymph system yesterday. The radioactive material was barely visible in the lymph nodes in my groin at the two hour scan. This showed my lymph vessels didn't develop properly while I was in utero and I will always have trouble with swollen feet and ankles. I must take care with insect bites and scratches and look out for cellulitis.

I do feel much better these days and hopefully a new job will be mine soon.

I went the other way. Covid was the point where I slipped into total hoarder mode. The amount of stuff I bought on Amazon at ridiculous low prices was not good! And the cardboard!! Even the cat got sick of new boxes to shred.

You're right though it's definitely a process. Ughhhhh!

"Domino hoo hoo"

Crap-evicting is a process, not a single event.

I'd agree with that. I wish I could be like my mum in that respect. Every cupboard gets cleaned out methodically twice a year.
Nothing gets to loiter if its not still being used.

I'm glad you feel you're making progress, Myrtle, you've been through so much.
Getting yourself back to a good level of health and strength is a job in itself!
But hopefully the other kind of job comes along soon, the kind you get paid for😃

Hedgey, isn't Errol's article about your hearing interesting?
It could help scientists work out how to protect the animals from stressful noises when in rescue centres, or develop sound repellants to deter hedgehogs from going near machines that can kill them, such as cars, lawnmowers or strimmers.

I think you should take this to heart and avoid lawnmowers, strimmers, washing machines, dishwashers, etc etc -
Sorry, I couldn't possibly do the washing/dishes/gardening - anything that makes noise [you can put a paw up to your forehead melodramatically at this point] is bad for me, somebody else will have to do it, I can't be too careful, that nice Dr Rasmussen at Oxford said so...'

Keep at it Boily, we're all cheering you on! 👏

@AsWithGlad i missed your post hugs, hugs, and more hugs>

I need to buy three things from amazon. Deodorant, nail repair stuff and something else in the personal care department. I can't remember what the third thing is. Despite having never said anything about it out loud, it is obviously the Walrus' fault that I can't remember. He has taken full responsibility but can't remember either. Probably because I didn't tell him.

I then remembered I needed to buy iron tablets but that's not the third thing either. It's still his fault.

In the last few weeks I smashed two of the white sideplates the cats get their bedtime snack on (they couldn't eat their snack off their meal plates, obviously) so I was very pleased when I called into the best charity shop this morning to find that some declutterers had donated white sideplates and they were being sold at 3 for €1.

Lucky cats.

That was lucky, @DeanElderberry.

I bought a couple of new ceramic bowls for Kitty to have her food in since I thought they were nicer than the old plastic ones.

No. We had to compromise on buying new plastic ones. Apparently ceramic bowls are only acceptable for water.

That is, ceramic bowls, taps, the watering can & the drips off the shower mat. But not her fountain.

I threw out a teapot yesterday, from the matching set of (now discontinued) Denby pottery that fella and I bought when we got our house. It had a matching set of cups and saucers, milk jug and sugar bowl that have never, or rarely been used. Eldest sprog managed to lever the teapot lid off the thing when getting a bowl out of the cupboard it lives in (despite it being hidden at the back). It smashed into a billion pieces on the floor. Even the Japanese couldn't have put it back together and made it look pretty. I had a look on ebay, jic someone was selling a lid without a pot to go with my pot without a lid. There was nothing. I wrestled with the urge to keep the pot; a lid might materialise somewhen, it could be a vase, other reasons (all bad ones) then binned it. I'm now thinking the unused rest of the set should go too.

Also if fella had registered the missing lid he'd have had a go at sprog, as though she didn't already feel bad about breaking it. It would have sat (lidless) in the cupboard, like a UXB, until he noticed. The tension! So, all in all, best to get rid now. The penny might drop with him eventually, why are we suddenly big teapot-less, but it'll probably be years.

The Walrus dropped and broke the teacup from my kitchen pot-for-one teapot combination. Obviously he is mortified and has promised to toil in hell for a lifetime as recompense. As I need him here I've said that it's not necessary. For now.

We are keeping the pot and saucer in case its twin, which lives upstairs for tea in the living room, where I spend most of my time, breaks. This is obviously very unlikely because I am responsible for this teapot, not him. It was an opportunity to buy another pot-for-one.

I went to the garden centre (I know! 5 visits to 3 garden centres in a week!) and bought a lovely handpainted pot which is also dishwasher and microwave safe (no, I don't know why anyone would put a teapot in the microwave either).

It is lovely and cheerful, but has no saucer, and the pot is top heavy. But it holds more tea.

So it's staying for now, particularly as it was only £5.99.

I still have boxes I brought over when Mum moved in with us. I've also been sorting through things that belonged to DH's Mum.

There were some family medals and jewellery, etc that I sent to DH's kids and grandchild after he died, together with some memorabilia.

DH had already passed on one set of medals and the letter of condolence that the Queen Mother sent his mum when his dad died, but there were other items that I don't think DH knew he had or had maybe forgotten about.

I've put one of DH's leather jackets into a bag for the charity shop, but most of his clothes are still hanging up in the wardrobe.

I took big bag of books over to St Andrews the other day. (They wouldn't sell in the charity stores here - they really only want thrillers and romances.)

Nevertheless, the house is still very cluttered.

The local charity store got boxes of brand new plimsoles. The wide-fitting kind are rather expensive, so I snapped up 4 pairs at the same time when they were on sale...and then the chap who fitted me for my new insoles told me that they were totally the wrong kind for my feet.

He was right: I bought what he suggested and my feet are so much more comfortable...so the charity store got the three pairs of plimsoles that hadn't been worn plus the beautiful suede sandals that I bought in Italy sob and shall never wear again. (The were bought prior to my foot op.) Also, my lovely red patent leather evening sandals...

I am now condemned to either wide-fitting trainers or granny shoes. Never mind.

I still have far too much stuff. I also suffer from the "Oh, this is a handy container!" syndrome.

I still have boxes in the conservatory, from when my mum died, nearly 3 years ago - all her photo albums, which I need to go through, and copy all the photos so dsis and I can both have them, plus a plastic crate full of envelopes of photos she took of gardens she visited - dsis and I have agreed that these can all go, so I need to go through and check for any pictures of people we know, then ditch those.

And I also suffer from Nice/Handy Container Syndrome, @WearyAuldWumman. I am a particular sucker for a pretty tin, and dh only lets me keep them if I can tell him what I’m going to keep in them.

Then there’s the library - I have too many books for the bookshelves, and need to go through them and send any I’m not going to reread to the charity shop, to make space for all the books I’ve bought recently. And we’ve used the library as a bit of a dumping ground, so there is a whole pile of things that need a proper home - and now ds3 has parked his golf clubs in there too. Sadly I need dh’s help to do all of the sorting, because I can’t stand for long enough to do any of it, and he is knackered from working and looking after me and the house.

It's been a long time since I've visited this lovely place but for some reason I've stumbled upon it again today and seen this.
< waves to anyone who remembers her >

I think I do need someone stood over me in real time in real life to go "Really Boiled? Really? You want to hold into that load of crap?"
Have my DD for a month, no tunnocks required. It's the only thing we argue about as she's bloody ruthless. She is right but you know... it is MY precious stuff

Can I borrow her when @Boiledbeetle is finished with her, please, @PurpleSparkledPixie?

For @midgetastic and @PurpleSparkledPixie who are themselves, or are related to ruthless declutterers, how do you deal with perfectly lovely things that you don't like, and are perfectly good for something, without just binning or recycling?

I can't bear to throw away such things as it feels like a waste. Even though they're wasted in my garage. I'm thinking of my dad's china that I've had for 25 years. It has gilt so can't be used for microwaves and the local antiques place says there's no market for it and won't take it.

I use the OHIO method as in Only Handle It Once.

When I am sorting out a cupboard I pull something out and interrogate it:

How long have I had you?
Have I used you in the last 3 years?
Could I replace you or borrow one if I really needed to?

Unless it comes up with a good excuse, out it goes. There are no maybe piles.

For clothes it is:

How long is it since I last wore you.?
Are you the right size?
If not, can I realistically see myself fitting into you again?

I had some stuff like that when I was downsizing from my last house. I offered it on Freecycle and it went to an old-fashioned tea room that uses mis-matched china. I also let some of my big terracotta garden pots that I could no longer move when full, go to a community garden.

Thank you. There is a lovely teashop near me that might take some. And I had forgotten about Freecycle.

Awaits the arrival of @PurpleSparkledPixie daughter.

I suppose I should be grateful that after my mum died my stepdad got the house, along with all the contents (his and most of my mum's stuff) still in it, repossessed and by the time we found out the contents had been skipped. And then my dad had the decency to die in a foreign country and had a wife who hates us, so none of his stuff either. The thought of having to deal with dead parents (both had hoarder tendencies) crap as well would tip me over the edge I think!

Fella's parents are still alive, both in their 80s. Still in relatively good physical health although his mum is starting with one of the dementias and his dad is starting to get frail. His mum is an artist, not famous, never exhibited at the RA. We have some of her pictures on our walls. She sells some through an art society she is a member of but there are lots of framed and, especially, unframed pieces in their house. I don't know what fella and his sister are going to do with them all. There's a house full of their possessions that one day will have to be dealt with but that's mostly bought stuff. The art is different, her legacy, personal. That will be difficult to deal with and, it's not my mum so my say will be limited. I'd rather stay out of it anyway.