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PrairieSong

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Everything posted by PrairieSong

  1. I made good progress on our small bedroom and will be delivering several boxes of donations today. I will also put away items that belong elsewhere but somehow got piled in that room.
  2. I'd get rid of the bed. Long ago (our kids are all adults) a woodworking friend surprised us with a handmade cradle for baby #5. It was gorgeous. However, we had a small house. I put it in the corner of our bedroom but couldn't rock it because it would bang the wall. The baby did sleep in it but when he outgrew it I gave it to a friend. We moved to a bigger house and had two more babies. We had a crib and portacrib and our babies slept in our bed most of the time anyway. I did gush over his handiwork when they gave it to us, and even said, "I can pass this on down to our kids when they grow up and have babies." In reality, the cradle was beautiful but impractical and none of our kids would have wanted it. Those friends moved away many years ago and we are not in contact with them. I think you can appreciate someone giving you something (whether it is specially intended for you, or just a hand-me-down) and not keep it forever. You can keep the memory of the person giving it to you and be grateful. My thinking is colored by the fact that my parents kept every single gift (and card!) anyone ever gave them, and when they were gone it was an enormous clearing out job. YMMV
  3. The way you describe her reminds me of the borderline person in my life. You have been a good friend and have gone above and beyond for her. She is unwilling and/or unable to do the same. You don't deserve to be treated that way, by her or anyone. I am so, so sorry for the loss of your long time friend. I wish you healing and peace.
  4. I'm working on the small catch-all bedroom where I stash things to be donated but then I don't take them anywhere (WHY do I do this?) and they pile up. I'm making progress!! I have tried the Marie Kondo category method before, but decluttering by area works better for me. If a room is overwhelming, I put mental blinders on and focus on one corner, shelf, drawer, etc.
  5. Our kids are older and we haven't homeschooled for 5.5 years, but I'm wondering why homeschooling stuff is impossible to sell now? I used to sell it all the time. I gave away several boxes of what was left to a mom of a large family but not much money. She was very appreciative and said she'd pass on what she didn't need to homeschooling friends.
  6. The small bedroom next to ours has become a catch-all for the things I want to declutter but haven't taken anywhere yet. My sewing/craft room also has way too much stuff, including a bed youngest dd used in college that I do not need. Giving it to granddaughter, I think. The garage is a nightmare. However, there are some large items and I think we could make progress quickly. It's way too cold for that today, so I'm starting in the small bedroom.
  7. It was very sweet of her! She had her brother cut and stain the piece of wood, and a co-worker with a Cricut machine made the lettering. Dd saw one on Etsy for about $50. I know she spent way less, but she put time and thought into it. I would never, ever tell her it's not the style of something I'd choose. I'm not even going to say that to DH. There's no reason.
  8. I return things when I can. Often they don't include gift receipts and I hate asking! Obviously I can't return the handmade item. I have no problem with others exchanging a gift I gave them. It isn't a rejection of me or my love for them. It's just stuff.
  9. I will put the handmade sign somewhere. Today I suggested to dh that maybe I could exchange the pickleball set for something I'd use more, and he said, do not return it! If you do, I'll go to the store the next day and buy it again. Maybe I'll re-gift it to him for his birthday in the spring. 😄 Another dd gave us a digital photo frame that hooks up to an app. Other family members can send you photos and short videos. However, it does not support 5G wifi, only 2.4, so it won't work for us. Honestly, I think it's one of those things that we'd look at a few times and then forget to turn on. Maybe I'm wrong. I told DD about the wifi problem and she wasn't upset. She just sent me the Amazon gift receipt.
  10. I was thinking of hanging it in my sewing room, right over my desk where my sewing machine is. Another option is the hallway where we have some other photos hung.
  11. I need to do this as well! Are we just continuing to add to this thread with our progresses, etc, or will it be a group? I'm fine with it being here, or whatever everyone else prefers.
  12. Yes! I don't hate that they got me *whatever it is*. Several years ago DH and I attended a local art show and I really loved one of the paintings. Later DH secretly inquired about it, but it had sold. He bought another painting by the same artist, beautifully framed and I know it was not inexpensive, but so different from the one I loved. It is very dark and gloomy. It was generous and kind of him, and I thanked him and it's still hanging in our house. And I still really dislike it. Sigh. On our wish lists we also add "things I don't want/need". Would it be horrible of me to add no sports equipment, art, home decor? Edited to add: what I hate is the fact that I feel guilty for not liking the gift they put thought and effort into choosing/making for me, and that their money and time seems wasted.
  13. Our family shares wish lists and I got some nice gifts..compost bin, snap ware glass food containers, popcorn. I can use all of those. However, I feel bad when people spend money and/or time on things I don't like or want. DH and I agreed to not exchange gifts, but then he surprised me with pickleball paddles and balls. I walk for exercise and don't play sports, but they opened up pickleball courts near us and he thought it would be a fun activity to do together. I am open to trying, but doubt I'd play more than once or twice. He spent like $100 on it! One daughter made us a farmhouse style board that says "Grandkids make life grand" and has a piece of twine with clothespins where she clipped wallet-sized photos of each kid. I thanked her and smiled at their cute faces, but it's so not my style. I'll put it up somewhere though. My parents (who have both been gone for years) felt an obligation to keep every gift ever given to them. I am not sure why. I have no qualms about donating things, EXCEPT when it will be noticed by someone who lives here or visits often, which is the case now. I guess I am very picky and prefer practical or consumable gifts. I really do. Or maybe I am just a grinch.
  14. I am on a group text with some other homeschoolers whose kids have grown. They are usually a quiet bunch. HOWEVER, I have heard vax conspiracy nonsense from them and fears of national mask mandates and lockdowns coming this year, so I wasn't that surprised when yesterday they got very agitated about the FEMA alert that happened today. They were urging everyone else to turn off cell phones, computers, TVs, and maybe even wrap cell phones in foil (???) because the alert signal was going to activate graphene oxide in our bodies that was "put there by the jab". The ones who were worried haven't been vaccinated, but they were still fearful sometime BAD was coming. HOW DID WE GET TO THIS PLACE??? I have known some of these people for 20+ years and never heard crazy talk from them, at all. Now it is all deep state, anti-vax, Q type stuff. A good friend in a faraway state struggles with the same thing, family and friends going down rabbit holes. She said zombies ate their brains. We just shake our heads.
  15. I had to clean out my parents' home a few years ago. Every closet and drawer was packed with decades of stuff: every Christmas and birthday card, ancient photos, kitchen gadgets, collectibles, my teen swimsuit (!), any gift anyone EVER gave them. Did they really think an old friend would stop by and ask, "Where is that bird figurine I gave you in the 80s?" It all became a jumble and not items they enjoyed. After they were gone clearing that house was a nightmare. I never want our kids to be burdened like that, and also, I want our home to be functional and enjoyable NOW. Don't wait until the perfect time or until you find the perfect method because it doesn't exist (though I do glean ideas from the Minimal Mom, A Slob Comes Clean, and others). Put on your comfy clothes and maybe a podcast or music, set a timer, and just tackle one area. Make it small if you feel overwhelmed: one drawer or shelf. Sit down, hydrate, and enjoy your small success. That helps me to tackle the next area. I got very overwhelmed thinking of my parents' entire house. I had to put on mental blinders and say, "OK, I'm just going to clean out this dresser." Get the stuff OUT. Don't put the boxes or bags away, not even in the back of your car "for later". Make a plan to take it the next time you're running errands. One idea I heard was to put donations on the front passenger seat of the car so you'll see them. Enlist a friend's help if you need to, or just come back here. We'll cheer you on!
  16. I'm wanting to make a photo wall, too. I really think we will put up some shelves, maybe floating ones. That way photos can easily be rearranged, swapped out for newer photos, etc.
  17. We remodeled 12 years ago and put hardwood in the living room, dining room, kitchen, and hall. It's engineered hickory and still looks great. The carpet in our bedrooms needs to be replaced and we're leaning toward doing the same hardwood there. We put luxury vinyl in an entire rental house and it is nice but I prefer hardwood. We do have LV in one of our bathrooms. Whatever you choose, I'd caution against going super dark because it will show all the dust and debris.
  18. I had a Moderna booster two weeks ago, after having Pfizer the first two times. This time I had a sore arm, then muscle aches and a low grade fever the next day for a few hours. It wasn't bad.
  19. The Q/Thanos theory reminds me of a conversation I had with 21yo ds. He'd heard of Q but didn't really know much about it. After I told him what I knew, he said, "Wow, that sounds like a really bad comic book."
  20. I wonder if this will eventually fade away or at least weaken after predictions keep failing to come true? Yet there is another date set when it WILL happen. "Trust the plan." But after many months or years?? I've seen stories of people leaving and talking about their experiences, so I will hold onto hope.
  21. I think about #2 a lot. I don't want them to be isolated from everyone else who is not in Q-Land, and I'd like them to know that even if they choose not to remain close now, if they ever change their minds in the future, that door is open.
  22. Spryte, I'm so sorry this happened between you and your friends. How awful.
  23. I might try, maybe through texts at first. Not sure yet.
  24. That's a good explanation. I think my friends are trying to make sense of (what they perceive as) the scariness. Of course the cult bubble just magnifies that. Another woman (more of an acquaintance) is also deeply into this. She's divorced with grown kids and I think she's trying to fill up something inside. I think it makes her feel important that she has "inside information". After she posted something particularly hateful on FB I called her out in a private message. She responded that she'd been researching for YEARS and I probably hadn't so I just didn't realize. Poor PrairieSong. A while later I unfriended her because she would not stop the hate and nuttiness, and I'm not close to her anyway.
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