Skip to main content

Neat Ideas for Seniors - Or Anyone, Really

I liked many of these Life Hacks. The one about using a spring on tech cords is genius.

One project that most of my senior friends talk about it getting rid of clutter. Over the years, most of us have accumulated WAY too much, and it's making us feel overwhelmed.

I'll admit that I'm bad, and my husband is, as well. We have more things than we can reasonably use in one lifetime - which, by the way, is getting shorter (well, it is, even for younger people).

So, over the next couple of months, I'm going to post about my progress here, with pictures.

Feel free to use the comments to add any ideas of your own, or to brag about your own progress in Taming The Clutter Monster!

Current plans:

I'll be out most of the day, shopping for various things. Den and I decided to make a day of it, perhaps going to Gastonia or elsewhere to shop, eat, and generally relax.

One of the things we did this morning is something we should be doing more often - PLANNING our trip, to maximize our efforts, and reduce both the time and expense of the trip.

We made a list of things we wanted to check out at the Container Store, and are going to measure the spaces we might want to get changed. The pantry is on the list for changes.

I'm going to dedicate some time this weekend (perhaps 1 hour on each of the 3 days of this weekend?) to clear out clutter. If I don't need records, I'm going to scan/take a picture, and toss it out. My goal is to clear off flat spaces in the home office, and empty some files/storage areas.

It's ambitious, I'll admit, but I'm going to work on it. I'll start by photographing the Before, and, after clearing off, the After.

Wish me luck.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What Retirement Looks like for Me

Last spring, after my husband had to travel to Cleveland to deal with a medical situation, he requested that I start substitute teaching in a local school. As he would be missing some time at school, he wanted to make sure that our budget was covered. It was a reasonable request, and I agreed. I ended up subbing about 2-4 times a week. I have to admit, I found it actually easier to keep up on housework and other things, due to the need to plan ahead. I could no longer procrastinate endlessly - I had to schedule tasks and writing, and meet my goals. I was able to put out two short stories, and make a lot of progress on a new book.  In addition, I improved my physical well-being (all that walking around the schools and in the classrooms), and got away from the fridge. This fall, I went back, primarily to get sufficient days in to get a qualifying year in Social Security. If I teach more than 53 days in a year, at $100/day, it meets the minimum requirement. Which does 3 things: G

Off the Fence

It's official. I submitted my retirement letter today. Already heard back from Benefits. I do feel relieved. Actually making a decision is less stressful than avoiding making one. I'm going to spend the rest of this week catching up on grades, making notes about what to take and what to pitch, and planning for the transition.

One Reason to Write

This post sparked mine today. I've been writing (slowly, one anecdote at a time) my memories of my youth, and the stories that I remember being passed down from parents, grandparents, and other long-lived people. I was fortunate - in my mother's family, old age was the default - my grandparents were born in the 19th century, and passed on stories of their youth. My father's family was equally long-lived, but not as talkative (WV vs. Irish-descent). Still, I have an aunt by marriage whose passion is genealogy, and who had compiled a bookshelf of clippings, copies of newspaper stories, and charts of the family, back to pre-Colonial times. If you aren't on Ancestry.com (and, I don't blame you - the price has risen shockingly!), you might want to use a word processing program or app - Google Docs is easy to use, and can be shared with others easily - to write down your memories - personal, or what has been told to you. If you'd rather, set up a videocam, and