OH Yah Trance. I REALLY would like to get out into my garden shed and clear as much as possible out of it. I am so sick of stuff around I never use. Having been here two years now I hope to be able to part with lots more from that space. I have used very little of what was there and it is time for it to go away.

When I look back through our house pictures from long ago I can see my de-cluttering efforts are paying off. I certainly have enough stuff around but it is nothing like I used to have. AND only in the pictures do I see the things I no longer have. I do not miss any of it.

Chris

My husband, friend and I tackled the garage last fall. I had been eyeing some metal laboratory cabs on Craigslist and finally did get them. My friends and I decluttered and cleaned the garage and made room for them to be delivered and installed. I then started filling them. I have a rhyme and reason to the organization of the drawers, so that helps!

Then last week, during a terrible heat wave, out air conditioning went out. The same friend and DH went to the basement for the day and started sorting all the stuff down there into piles by their function - kitchen stuff here, painting stuff there. When the kitchen remodel is done, I can get downstairs and locate our missing kitchen things (like a $200 mandolin!) and organize the kitchen. Then I can take some of the other stuff from downstairs and put it in the garage cabs. Then I can try installing flooring into Dear Deceased F-In-L's room and start organizing some of my crafty things in there and pretty soon, WE WILL KNOW WHERE STUFF IS! And it will all have a home. For me, lack of storage is the worst possible fate, for things just stack up where they lay.

Trance, I have seen people use a permanent marker to outline each item on their pegboard, so that they can see at a glance what is missing from the empty hooks. You did a nice job of making those pegboards look finished, with frames and all!

trance_gemini, great job on the tool pegboard. I'd love for my hubby to get the de-cluttering bug, too.

But I'm just as bad as he, because I was eying your garbage pile thinking, "I wonder what I could do with that..."

Trance that really is a great job on the peg boards. I was still half asleep when posting earlier and forgot to mention it.

And THANK YOU for spurring me on to get out in that garden shed first thing this morning. I did not do 100% sorted but got a great big pile of stuff to go away and made a place to feed out door kitty so the dogs can not get to the food. This kitty will not go on the porch. He hates the porch kitties. Sheese!!!!

I really have to be in the purge mood to get a good job done and I think I did pretty well this morning. I placed some rusty things in the garden for decoration and cleared out the garden sink I also use to bathe the dogs in and I need to clip and bathe them. Then the big load of just stuff to go away I am tired of trying to find a place for it and I have not used it in two years or more. I am oh so done with it. Thank You Thank you I needed a push. Been wanting to do it for quite awhile now. Woo Hoo. Later I can sort the shelves better. But until I did what I did this morning I could not even GET to the shelves.

Chris

Yes, I'm in decluttering mode too. I have been walking through room looking around to see what is used and what is just clutter. So far I'm stacking it all on the dining table and will take a big load to the thrift store.

I really like the peg board you built. I bought dh a tool chest for his birthday one year and it's already bursting at the seams. He also leaves tools laying around everywhere.

Great job Trance. Nancy's post reminded me of something. When I was still working, we had these weeklong sessions where a team would brainstorm on ways to increase production. One of the popular ideas was the toolboard like you have. We outlined them and at the end of the shift it was easy to see what was missing and where evrything went. It worked so well that we got rid of individual toolboxes.

I've just started working on my closet. I'm having trouble letting go of my extra winter coats. Don't know why.

nancy it sounds like you have lots of sorting in your future. Great idea to sort things by function for now in the basement so at least you can find what you need for your kitchen reno. not knowing where stuff is drives me mad. I bet you can't wait to get it all sorted and in it's proper place. I hope you find you mandolin after all that! lol

mamagoose, stop eyeing that pile! lol In the first pic I posted there is a chest of drawers that I always planned on fixing up and painting but I could never figure out where to put in the house, so I decide to add it to the pile. you want it? hehe

shades that's fantastic! Im glad I could spur you on and now you've reminded me that I should poke my head in the garden shed and toss some stuff. There's an old lawnmower in there and some saw horses we dont need so they can go for starters. Dont worry if you dont get everything, I figure as long as you get rid of some of it, it's all progress. How great it is that outdoor kitty has a spot now to eat. what a great reward for clearing out stuff. I've gotten rid of so much stuff over the last few years and I really dont miss it either - there was so much of it I dont remember most of what I got rid of!

marti so far DH has organised quit a lot of tools in the tool box, I'm trying to keep as much as possible out of there and hung up but he's a bit clingy with some of his stuff :) That's great you're looking around the house for things to donate. I read a tip somewhere that it's a good idea to put things in boxes and each time you fill up a box you tape it shut so you dont get tempted to pull things back out again. Then everytime you fill a box you drop it off straight away at the nearest thrift store. I have a couple of boxes of books and whatnot I've been meaning to drop off too - I really should do that.

idie, (and nancy) thanks for the tip about outlining the tools. that sounds like a good idea. I'm still shifting things around up there as I find more so that I get things grouped together but it's a good idea for when I finish getting it organised so we know what goes where. It's hard getting rid of things so I know how you feel about the coats L. why do we get so attached to all this stuff?

"lack of storage is the worst possible fate, for things just stack up where they lay."

ain't that the truth! I live in it...lol!

saw horses? I could use those...too bad we don't live close - we could all just trade junk...lol!

I plan to 'declutter' a lot while I'm getting ready to move this next month. (gee, I've been attempting to work on it for the past year!)

once moved over i plan to go thru things and pack up in plastic bins stuff for the kids. stuff from each of their gmas homes etc. I'm also taking pics of stuff i have and journaling it - who it belonged to and where from etc in some old photo albums I have (with new guts). (I have a lot of their paternal gmas stuff that came from her mom and MIL). And some of the stuff (small) I plan to box up and mail to them a few times a yr. let them use/store/ get rid of them. I have more than 1 household can use.

i don't want to leave a mess for them when I die. like 'where did she get this?' 'was this gma P's or gma D's?' etc.

At least a lot of it will be packed up and marked and stacked in a closet. So glad I have 2 walkins and 2 6' long closets. I'll only need 1 walk in for my clothes, shoes, purses and linens.

and I need to get a shed. don't even have one of those...
I need to mention that to dbf - he probably has 5 extra at one of his properties...

I also have a good number of things I'm giving to my sister to take to her annual church sale. that'll include several boxes of fabric. I doubt I'll be making my clothes anymore. haven't in 30 some yrs!

I'll be very happy to get rid of as much as possible.

I want to thank you all for inspiring me! I need to clean the house and it's the perfect time to declutter. My friend has a new baby and a toddler, so I need to "baby-proof" the house...at least the main areas.

A few years ago, I did a lot of sorting and donating of items, but they do stack up! One nice thing, it's so much easier to dust after decluttering :)

" 'lack of storage is the worst possible fate, for things just stack up where they lay.

ain't that the truth! I live in it...lol!"

Me too, and I suspect it is the same for everyone in a small house. Nancy, that's a great line, I'm going to save it in my favorite quotes notebook.

"..too bad we don't live close - we could all just trade junk...lol!"

You know, I think you are onto something. I've heard about clothes swapping parties, and they don't interest me a bit. But junk swapping.... now I could get into that.

I want to reduce clutter and use my space more efficiently. Stylish without looking spartan. I think that's what I like about buddyrose's house so much. I want to build a murphy bed in one bedroom, but I have to pry dh's closed mind open first.

Idie2live sez:" I've just started working on my closet. I'm having trouble letting go of my extra winter coats. Don't know why."

Lo, I think that the winter coats symbolize comfort, and feelings of warmth in cold days. Down here, I don't have to wear heavy coats more than once or twice a year, because I just don't go out that much when it gets cold. I've thought about cutting up things made of wool and making quilt tops from them. Wool worsted and velvet last a long time, but I must remember to put my woolens into moth balls. My DH says my favorite coat, a down filled long coat from Lands End, is my "Nanook of the North" and I look like an Eskimo in it. But I'm warm when I wear it up north. In Alabama, it is a bit overkill. I will be sorry to see all of the winter woolies disappear when we move full time back here, because I do so enjoy the warmth of wool and down, long bulky sweaters, and cozy throws when I watch TV. Yep, I can relate to the feelings.

BUT, Lo, all those items take up such a LOT of space. Before you get rid of them all, try one of those storage bags which squeeze all the air out and compact bulky clothing into just a tiny little flat package. Especially extra bed pillows, they squeeze down to nothing. That is what I've ordered so I can store these seldom used items in the drawers of our new platform storage bed from Room and Board. It is probably the nicest piece of furniture I've ever purchased, even outdoing the Drexel Heritage tuxedo sofa I bought half price--which was destroyed by Hurrican Katrina 15 years after I'd bought it. Now THAT was a sofa to die for....sigh....

And as for what projects current? Well, I am leaving DH some projects to take care of up north before I get there. So far, he's only purchased my Zellerschwartzenkatz Mosel wine (a riesling), and the Kahlua for ice cream topping. He's ignored the second push of decluttering of the garden shed and the single car garage. My goal there is to paint the garden shed interior after it is emptied, and to make it into a staged playhouse so the folks who might purchase the property can envision it as a studio or a playhouse for kids...it already has water and power and cement slab floor. And the garage will have the table saw in it for a while until the bathrooms are done and we can sell that saw, not moving it down south where he has another one, and then all the wall tools are hung and will be taken down and given away to my DH's adorable son or to the really great neighbor....and all those old kitchen drawers he moved to the garage can be emptied so they will look fantastic, and it will be possible to actually put a car into the garage.
In his town, they do not let you put into the trash any lumber since July 1st, so now we are collecting all the tear downs and going to call his trash man when we have enough on hand to make the $200 minimum worth while. This is a big difference to Mobile, where every two weeks or every other Tuesday, we have municipal trash pick up, which involves anything from tree limbs or bagged leaves (a pity to toss such green gold, IMHO) to old stoves and fridges and microwaves or broken windows and glass, etc. Our trees and such grow very prolifically, and our area is subject to much tropical storm damage, so any cleaning up prior to such a storm will minimize damage to homes in the neighborhood, and everyone knows it. Even the city. Our GARBAGE (not the trash) is picked up (every Friday) mechanically by a truck which grabs the lidded square barrel with pincers and tumps it into a truck which compresses it in a big drum and only one man who drives the truck, no person touches it. With the TRASH, the truck is outfitted with a swinging grappling set of jaws on articulated arm, with a truck driver and a crane operator lifting piles of trash up to 9 cubic yards per household every two weeks, and puts the loads into a high sided trailer being towed by a fifth wheel. When one trailer fills up, it is dropped at a central location in the neighborhood and an empty one is reattached to continue the pickups. My DH is very impressed that it is a free municipal service, which we all feel is a very necessary part of our tax dollar at work.

All the stuff I clean out of the house and storage and yard can be taken away very easily. If it is useful to someone, I set that out separately a couple of days early (not too early or we'll be fined) and sometimes within an hour it is already gone. The day before trash day, we have "pickers" cruising the streets looking at trash piles, and they will mess up a carefully constructed pile built to stay within our 9 cu yard limit to get at some item thoughtlessly placed on the bottom. So I've learned to keep the pile as transparent as possible, so useful items can be salvaged without scattering my real trash.

Also, I have at least ONE neighbor who is a hoarder in the worst possible sense of the word. I realize that she has come after dark sometimes to take things from the trash, and I really do not want to contribute to her addiction. So I will place these items on the far side out of her view, and hope she will not chance driving up to take a look. She is in her 80s and her home is unusable except for the back bedroom and a half bath. Yesterday she told me she only uses a window a/c in that bedroom, not her central a/c, and that she had a power bill around $80 at the most. Since she also has electric stove, I realize this means she is not cooking in her kitchen. Maybe not heating water for a shower or to wash dishes. She is not a very pleasant person actually, more's the pity, so her two sons and her daughter seldom bother with her. I figure when she passes, her house will either be razed or totally renovated before ANYONE can live in it. No floors, a leaky roof, 30 year old appliances, vermin, and old person smells, I am concerned that public health will condemn the property and put her in a home in the near future. Thinking of what her fate might be compels me to take an objective look at myself, for THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD, GO I. The authorities just MIGHT look at my home that way one day. If anyone else needs motivation to declutter, consider how it might look to authorities should a "friend" turn you in as a health hazard! With friends like that, who needs enemies......

"there is a chest of drawers that I always planned on fixing up and painting but I could never figure out where to put in the house, so I decide to add it to the pile. you want it? hehe"

Send it to me airmail!! Shades has convinced me to put it under my kitchen table/island!

LOL Mama Goose. I just had a thought. Dangerous for sure. If the chest of drawers does not have a nice back you can always put bead board on the back. Or tongue and groove. or stain it to match the front or sides. Just thinking out loud. The little chest of drawers I had was painted pink and trashed all over. Now it is purple and glass on the top. Hehehehehe

I am all for marrying pieces together to make them work for you.Under my table in studio to hold my printer, files in the drawer and sad stack of old lap tops. Some day I MUST go through them and pull the old stuff off and get rid of them.

http://shadesofidaho.multiply.com/photos/album/19/Moving_in#photo=32

Chris

Here is a link that might be useful: You can always paint or stain to match your decor

oh moccasin that's sad about you neighbor lady. my sister might think it's me... lol! I'm surprised she hasn't 'turned me in'. I always tell her there's a method to my madness - anyone idiot enough to break in here would kill themselves trying to get down the hallway... I've never been afraid here alone - even tho my door doesn't lock (doesn't really shut anymore).

I guess I'll have to learn to be afraid when I move...lol!

my sister keeps sending things home with me. I finally had to tell her last month 'nothing more (other than food) until I move! nothing else can fit in here.' I think I now have about 3 bins of clothes she's given me these past 2 yrs. lots of sweat sets - I wear those a lot during the winter here.

I spent 3 wks - every day from about 9am - 2:30pm going thru stuff at my MIL's house when she died. my sweet BIL came from NY and spent the days with me. well, he stayed there at night too.

I do have a lot of nice glassware, statues etc. I plan to rotate them about every 6 months so I get to see the nice things I have. I'll have a shelf in the cab in back room to keep them when not out.

once I get settled I don't think I EVER want to see a box again!

Shades, they had a special piece about the recycled copiers that are being shipped overseas, mostly they said to China and other Asian countries, but elsewhere too. And what they had to say, that most people who trade in their all-in-ones, which print/copy/scan/fax whatever, have a harddrive in them. This harddrive can be accessed and if you have COPIED any of your sensitive personal documents, that picture is still visible on the harddrive. Even if you sell your computer and think you've DELETED any sensitive personal documents, it is by chance still on the harddrive. A better geek could tell you about how this comes about, but it has to do with the way the info is still there until the computer writes over the spot where the deleted document is located. It stays there until the spot is needed by something else.

Just think of all the businesses who make copies, and even government agencies who sell their old equipment and it goes to warehouses of such machines, and then they are sold in bulk. To where? Well, ANYWHERE. If you've copied a document of your tax returns at the post office, or at the accouuntants, then you have a potential leak of sensitive info that is beyond your control. Interesting, isn't it...

So before you get rid of a computer or a COPIER, I'd take out the harddrive, or have it professionally cleaned of all data. Think about it.

What an interesting take on copies. Now I'm thinking of all the investment forms I signed and faxed out. Since important documents are accepted via Fax, this sure is open season for anyone interested in taking full advantage of my personal information.

ML the hard drive thing is exactly why I have not bothered to go through the old lap tops. I plug them in onec a month to keep their CMOS battery going and their regular battery charged and then just let them set in the shelf. I do have cables to hook to old hard drives to access the information. Maybe I should just take those old lappys apart and remove the hard drives and get the information if and when I need it. I do have three larger hard drives from my old desk tops I pulled when I got rid of them.

Never thought about the copiers and printers having a hard drive. I have only had two others than the one I have now at home and they are way long gone and can not worry about it now. Certainly will keep it in mind from now on. Thanks for the tip.

Chris

ML, I had my ducts cleaned last week and I was so embarrassed about the clutter in my house and apologized, and they said they have done much worse. They have done houses of hoarders where everything was stacked along the walls and everything covered in a layer of dust. And those people were having their ducts cleaned?

LOL @ mamagoose. ok mamagoose gets the chest of drawers and desertsteph can have the saw horses. now can I interest anyone in some old computers? lol

ML it sounds like you have a great junk service there. we get a weekly trash collection (one wheelie bin) and then twice a year we get a junk collection for things like old appliances, furniture, metal, plastics etc. They take the "good stuff" to an area where they sell it and anything plastic, metal, cardboard etc gets sent off for recycling. we can only put it out a week before but then you get a constant stream of cars with trailers and utilities stopping and people rummaging through, it doesnt bother me if they take stuff but they mess up my piles of metal, plastics etc that I've neatly sorted. so rude! There was even one guy with his own dump truck who was driving round collecting up all the metal. He must have been a scrap metal dealer or something? oh and the guy who just drove around cutting the cords of perfectly good appliances for the copper, sheesh

Trance, yep, we have a great trash collection by the city. Every two weeks is fantastic, and I hope it is not cut back to monthly because of city budget problems. They do allow garden trash, meaning leaves, but they must be bagged, not just heaped up.

I totally agree about messing up neat piles. So I sort of build a separate area with the metal objects, like the old fence posts which will soon be thrown away, and the old fencing chainlink, because scrap metal is highly marketable. Guess where it winds up? CHINA for the most part. And they say the yards over there are full to capacity, so they are not buying as much of it as before. When copper was commanding a higher price, any vacant house was in danger of having its air conditioning unit vandalized to take out the copper tubing. The house up the street that my friend was looking to buy, had them go under the house and cut out the copper water lines also. It was deplorable.

The day I trashed the electric stove, it lasted about an hour at the street before someone manhandled it into a trailer filled with derelict appliances. I've also tossed some heavy duty venetian blinds, nicely wrapped and leaned against the power pole, so someone would be sure to notice them. Sure thing, they disappeared.

We live on a normally quiet street, but during the school year traffic avoiding the school zone and the traffic light cut through here, and that brings more cars into the hood. I would not wish my trash on a close neighbor, but other folks can look out for themselves.

Trance, you would not happen to have any big bird cages, would you? It might be worth a trip to Australia to pick it up! The wild parrot population has to come close to your area, right? Exactly what kind of bird species do you have?
I know they may be considered a mixed blessing, but consider that farmers killed off the only native parrot species in the US, and the last lone survivor died in the lat 30s or early 40s. What a sad day because the Carolina parakeet will be a long time extinct.

ML no bird cages Im afraid. I'm in the thick of suburban sprawl so I only get little birds here mostly honeyeaters like new holland, singing and wattlebirds. In the lower south west they get the large black cockatoos but they are endangered. There is a lot of fruit growing down south and the farmers would just shoot them although the govt is trying to put a stop to that now.

"any vacant house was in danger of having its air conditioning unit vandalized to take out the copper tubing. The house up the street that my friend was looking to buy, had them go under the house and cut out the copper water lines also. "

wow that's terrible that people would vandalise someone's house just for the copper. It's amazing what some people will do to make money with no thought about the cost for someone to replace it. :/

Thanks, trance, I've found a couple of craigslist bargains lately, but ya can't say 'no' to free!

shades, your mosaics are amazing--every time I look at a pic, I have to go through them all again. I thought about doing something really fun on the prep-sink splash, but decided to stay with my usual safe (boring) colors, LOL.

As for metal thieves--my sister had her yard ornaments stolen. Most were vintage pieces of iron and brass, and I know that the thieves couldn't have rec'd a fraction of their worth. Makes me sick, what people will do to each other, especially stealing copper pipes and AC converters--those things are necessities, not just decorations.

Trance those black cockatoos are nice looking birds.

Thanks Mama-goose on the mosaics. I used to be pretty mellow on my mosaics and then something went wonky in me and I sort of lost my mind. Maybe it was turning 60. Anyway I am having fun doing it. We will be donating this house and what ever is left of our estate to some animal rescue and do need to get that all written up. So I am having the time of my life doing what I want and devil may care what a prospective buyer will want. And yes I know some day we might have to sell it but we are working really hard on going out of here feet first. Let some one else deal with it. Hhehehehe

Chris

Yes, one of my birdy forum acquaintances has a pair of the black palm cockatoos. I think she breeds them, but they are super hard to come by, and way up there in price. Sort of like the hyacinth macaws, a breeding pair several years ago brought more than $35,000. And whoever buys them must feed them specific foods, because they have a very selective diet.

For a while when I first moved to this house we had a neighborhood "plant thief." She dug up my newly planted Japanese maple that I rescued from Katrina, and stole my sand dollar stepping stones made out of cement. It happened more than once. The only plant I had returned to me by the law was a star jasmine--and that is the plant now covering the 8 foot tall 4x4 post in the front yard. I decided to spray paint all the bottom stems of every plant in my yard that florescent pink, so you will still spy some hot pink on several yard ornaments and big flower pots. That woman was off her medication, bipolar, and she hauled her stolen items home, which is where the neighbor spotted them through their common fence. It was quite a stir in the hood!

At this writing, it has been raining since morning, coming down steady. I walked out to the front stoop to sniff the air and noticed that the cops are once again parked in front of the house on the OTHER side of me, which is a rental property. First time they came, they parked in front of MY house, and it really distressed me. I asked the patrolman if anything was wrong, and could I help him. He said no, he was there to make sure the renters moving out took only their own stuff, because they had finally paid their rent and the home owner let them return for their belongings. This time, since it is midmonth, I think it is a domestic disturbance. Not that I heard anything, but that is a close possibility. Because that house is a rental property, and in the beginning the renters used our driveway beside the side porch for their barbeques and beer parties, we first enclosed the property line down that side (even before we bought this house), and then bulletproofed the porch with Lexan panels and deadbolt locks on the doors.
I am not a fearful person, but I believe in keeping my activities private, my whereabouts unknown, and access to my property limited. We do not have expensive things, but we do not tempt someone who might think otherwise.

Anyway, I made sure the car battery is charged so I can take the dogs to the vet in the early morning for their teeth to be cleaned. I had to jump it off last week.

Oops. I forgot what I learned a short while ago.
DH read online about a couple of folks up in Taunton MA who were found dead in their home, and the dog was dead too.
Apparently they'd been dead for around a week.

The home was totally cluttered. The woman was found at the top of the steps leading to the basement, and she is estimated to have stumbled and the tall wall of boxes fell over on her and crushed her an her dog. She had her arms around the dog in a loving embrace. Not far from her, estimated to have attempted to come to his companion's aid, was the older man, also killed by the falling boxes stacked in that area.

I asked DH why it took so long for someone to report a "wellness" check, and he said their nearest neighbor did report their noticed absence and called the law to go check on them after a week or so. Probably did not come to church as was their habit, or something like that.

But the home was in such a stage V (5) state, that the deaths occured from being buried alive in their possessions.

I suggest anyone having issues with clutter read the paperback book BURIED IN TREASURES. It will get your immediate attention.

When you've lived in a home for a long time, possessions have a way of sort of packing down, and you even forget they are there. Moving is sometimes a good thing. Or maybe like they say in Galveston TX, hurricanes are their URBAN RENEWAL PROGRAM. I've moved several times since selling my little brick cottage MoccasinLanding on the banks of the bayou. And I became painfully aware of the things I had amassed over the years. Plus the things I got after my mother died in 2001. Now in this Casa Del Sol, having torn out all the closets except one, I am again aware of STUFF.
But there is not much left by now. I hate to be wasteful
so it has been hard to part with some things. Ihave learned that it is not wise to give away to people with a clutter problem. Even giving them presents they cannot eat and which will therefore self destruct, is a questionable thing. It is contributing to the delinquency of a minor or a senior or any other age person. So I've just about stopped doing it.

Thank heaven for resources such as Freecycle and CraigsList. I've never used CraigsList, don't like to be exposed to strangers in my dealings. I much prefer to leave things outdoors and let pickers take what they will.

"then something went wonky in me and I sort of lost my mind. Maybe it was turning 60"

boy, am I gonna be using this line...

"I believe in keeping my activities private, my whereabouts unknown, and access to my property limited."

this one too! a great thread of 'sayings'!

"We do not have expensive things, but we do not tempt someone who might think otherwise."

I've thought along this line living in this beat up 1973 trailer. not sure it'd even be good for a guy as a 'hunting cabin'! but I figure anyone out to break in and steal stuff looks at my place and thinks there surely can't be anything in here worth having... if they tried it, they'd probably kill themselves looking - lol!

I'm gonna have to change my thinking for the new place. I do plan on a few window alarms (windows I don't plant a cactus under) and the doors do close and lock. It also has those all metal screendoors with small holes all over them at the front and back door - they lock also.

That's a real sad story about those people and their dog. I don't stack any boxes over about 4'. I don't even pack up big boxes anymore because I can't move them. Instead I have 3,000 small boxes - lol!

I'm so looking forward to not having things in boxes anymore. or stacked anywhere except in a closet.

Steph, it is not always the places that look prosperous or upscale that interest a thief.

Think about it....sometimes rumors get started about eccentric old folks who keep to themselves. The rumor begins that they sock their money and valuables away in the mattress, or down in the cellar. No truth to the tale, but some idiot with a money itch breaks in and trashes the place, and maybe kills the folks. This scenario happened about 20 years ago to an original Grand Ole Opry performer, living in a cabin with no conveniences to speak of. They killed him. I wish I could recall his name, but he was a very simple soul who had no claim to fame. I bet we are exposed to more Twilight Zone creeps than you are anyway. A lot of them either drugged up, out of a job, out of money, and looking for a fix. I thought about this yesterday when the patrol car sat in front of the house next door for over an hour--was it domestic disturbance or being evicted? who knows. Second time they've done this at that same house.

Bravo for the 3000 small boxes, Steph! That is hilarious.

We have a term in our house for when stuff gets so piled up it falls over: It's called a 'crapalanche'. Never had anyone killed, or even injured yet, though!

"Steph, it is not always the places that look prosperous or upscale that interest a thief."

my place sure wouldn't be labeled 'prosperous' or 'upscale' - it wouldn't even make 'unprosperous' or 'downscale' - lol!

it'd be considered darnright dangerous - lol! starting with the holes the dogs have dug all around their 'areas'. the holes make a half circle shape from where their cables were connected.

don't know if I've posted this before but I only figured out a few yrs back WHY they did that. it was so they could follow where the sun was no longer over them... the hole was a place to put their buttside out of the direct sun - lol! silly dogs! (actually, very smart!)

anyway - i know the pattern - others don't - lol! of course, dbf has done away with those traps...er holes now.

then there's my hoses. they go in several directions and they change when I move them. you'll never know where they'll be next. but by the time i water the plants/bushes I'll be too tired to roll them up or get out of someone's walkway. if you're fool enough to walk on my land, especially after dark.

did I mention the natural wash that rain eroded out and thru part of my drive? that isn't marked either.

then there are the dogs. vicious sounding critters. ups man won't get out of truck. neither will the mailman.

I did replace the falling apart steps up to the door a few months back (dbf did). you couldn't step on each step and I didn't post a sign warning which one to skip. one of the others was only 'good' for a few times use before i had to 'reset' it. not something I did for a stranger either...lol! when dbf replaced those steps he wiggled the banister - and the whole thing collapsed in front of us! oh dear...

yeah, anyone attempting to get in here wouldn't make it in one piece. if they somehow managed that they'd meet the end of my loaded gun. If I wasn't home at the time they'd just let loose with a few bad words ending with 'someone beat me to this place!'

sigh. I will feel more like a target with things fixed up.

I think once it's all done I'll ask dbf to dig a few holes for me... toss some rebar around on the land etc and post a sign saying 'Beware of Rottweilers'.

the boxes - dbf said the other day something like 'think of all the room you'll have now to store these boxes'. lol! I've been saving them since before Christmas - from stuff I ordered for presents. I was hoping I'd need them soon... I know dbf would just throw everything in a few large boxes and then move the boxes with his forklift... but I don't do things that way. I don't mix kitchen stuff with bathroom stuff or dog toys... I do have 1 huge box to use for mocking up any appliance, cab or whatever in the new place before a real purchase or change (per kitchen forum).

I'm sure many people will think I moved and some nice normal lady has moved in here...SURPRISE!

"crapalanche" - that's a word I need to remember!