Doll Storage and Ikea

Today I pulled out two laptop power supplies that have been annoying me each time I clean under them. Both have US plugs, both could be used for the German's current laptop, both won't be as he has a power cord with German plugs.

We took these to the recycling point, but were glad to hand them off to the folks at the gate who ask for any electronics: I am very glad to not add to solid waste and if someone can take the time and energy and sell these (and by doing so, get more use out of them), I am very happy for them.
Our visit to the center also allowed me to drop the accumulation of dead batteries and empty out a drawer.

We also dropped off some cardboard boxes (T2 moved to a three point car seat this past month): we try not to overwhelm the cardboard bin in the cellar— these count because they are not ordinary refuse to us.

Finally, we went to Ikea and returned two clothing storage bags, a multi-candle holder, a light cover and a light cord: if we haven't used them now, I'm guessing we aren't going to for a while (although in the case of the light, that might not be true:we may need to re-buy it). But the German was being proactive:).

To show how hazardous it is to go to Ikea, we also picked up a bookcase while we were there. I was planning on putting it next to T1's computer desk and using it as a storage center (with rods) for her doll clothes. But once we got home (after a stop at Kaufland to do the week's shopping), I decided that the Expedit that we have in the living room could have three boxes emptied and be used for doll storage and that meant that we could return the new bookcase we had just gotten.

Does that count as a downsize when we haven't even opened the box? I'm going to say it does. And on the de-clutter side, the German bought (instead) an insert of two drawers that fits into a single box, a metal rod to use as clothing rods (after being sawed into the correct sizes) and two sets of rod ends (from Bauhaus, the German equivalent of Home Depot).

As he was putting it together today (Sunday), we discovered that the book case was a bit too hardened for the screws of the rod ends, but no matter: I know where the double-sided, good to 45 kg, tape is: score for de-cluttering drawers!

T2 is ecstatic: she just ran around gathering up all her doll clothes to hang them  and her accessories to put in the drawer.

 A very good start to the week.

How to Start

De-cluttering has always been a huge issue for me: I'm a biblio-addict.

I used to read and re-read Dan Aslett's books, although generally I used them to help me organize and then clean around my clutter.

With the two kids starting to create messes on a daily basis and to accumulate clutter of their own— and ungainly clutter that can't be simply contained by weeding through my books shelves, or perhaps buying another bookcase— I have been feeling overwhelmed while trying to keep the chaos under control. I want to be able to have people over without apologizing for the mess and whereas before I didn't really mean the apology (if someone objects to piles of books and magazines, they aren't really my sub species anyway), now I do: toys and dolls and crayons and drawings and DVDs are exploding throughout the apartment.

Even though our latest move decreased our living space by 30% (and our storage space by more), that's not really the issue: we are a family that uses things and we need to pare down and to organize. We don't have the luxury of space to hide our excess and there's nothing more annoying than having to purchase something to replace something that I know we have— somewhere! That's particularly so when we are dealing with adaptors and transformers and foreign appliances and power cords and appliances.

I was wandering through the NY Times and ran across a fascinating article about legacies and clutter and losing one while trying to get rid of the other. The comments were even more interesting than the article itself and in the comments I ran across someone who started a Downsizing blog. I really enjoyed reading about it and I am going to take him as a model.

I don't expect to post every day, particularly as we will soon be leaving for a month's vacation. Nor do I expect to be able to necessarily be able to downsize/de-clutter on vacation. But I'm going to go at it seriously, I will post at least every week, and I hope to de-accession at least one item for every day, even if I need to do it proactively or after the fact. I also won't be counting ordinary recycling: here in Germany (as it should be everywhere), organics, metal, plastic, paper and packaging are recycled daily and as an ordinary part of life, not requiring any acknowledgement. I will count anything that requires me to go to a special recycling facility though.

Let's start with what I have been able to do:

• I have a large number of books listed for sale on Amazon. This has netted me some results, but not nearly enough because I'm not willing to sell for a net loss. Clearly those who can sell books for less than it costs me for postage are smarter bears than I. I have shipped off about 15, though.
• Through kijiji.de I was able to sell patio furniture (two loungers, two chairs) that we can no longer use as we no longer have a roof.
• Also able to sell a milk pump- glad to get it to someone who could use it rather than to just recycle it at small appliances.
• Attempted to off load some furniture for free, but when two sets of people did not show to pick it up, we carried the Ikea computer desk to the local recycling facility and, after breaking it apart, recycled it.
• On Thursday, I gave two pairs of T2's dress shoes (therefore in great shape as not frequently worn before she out grew them) and two outgrown shirts, also in good shape, to the younger sister of T1's friend, a year younger than T2.

Big items coming up:

• sell a Nikon D70s and 18-55 lens (this may wait until I get back from the US)
• find a non-profit that wants English language books to donate mine to
• get rid of the lights from the old apartment that no longer work in this apartment, including a children's overhead with three lights and a dining room three halogen hanging light: very nice, very formal, but we aren't re-wiring this living room for it and it is fragile and uses precious space in the cellar.