SPRING-Clean Declutter - Need Help

Good afternoon @Faith-and-Hope and anyone else around...

Got to pack today for my week away at my parents' house. I've got a small stash of clothes that I leave behind there, so at least my travel backpack can be very minimal.

Is tricky working out which things I need to have at their end for my personal use. I have basic toiletries there (soap, toothpaste and toothbrush, deodorant, and a bottle of perfume). If I need "distraction entertainment" when the sorting becomes overwhelming, there's heaps of books and magazines there, I take a few DVDs with or watch some of their VCRs, and even though I don't have much internet access, I take my laptop, for games, music and word processing. If I really need a break I grab my secateurs and go out into their garden, or I go to the op shop... which is an enjoyable distraction even if I don't get anything while there. Am getting very cautious about what I buy.

Food's the other tricky thing. The first few months I was going through Mum's pantry and using up a lot of the non-perishables. I keep a small selection of tinned food and basics like rice, flour, pasta "in stock", and there's still heaps of Mum's jams and relishes in the cupboard... good thing that they keep well, a lot of them are years old. I buy perishables when I get there, but it's been challenging getting the hang of what I'll eat in the space of 5-6 days. (I turn off the power and water when I leave for safety, so can't leave anything in the fridge.) Breakfast and lunch on my "going home" day are often a bit... weird, because they're made up of anything that needs to be finished before I go. Meatballs, cheese and icecream for brekky anyone...?? No, not all in the same bowl.

Is it kind of odd, that I'm running on bare necessities for my personal use, while being in the middle of sorting out a house full of 40 years of living?

Hi @Smc

I have done composting in the past - now I don't have the space or it and I have spinal problems and think that could be hard work on my back

Also - although I grow herbs and some vegetables I don't have the use for compost but the thought of a worm farm could be fun

I had an ant farm once - all the ants kept dying and I had to be an adult before I realised they needed to have a queen ant to breed - and there really is no space in an ant farm for that

But I do have a use for a few food scraps - the kind ants like - eg bacon rind - I lay it on the ground where there are ants doing whatever ants do and enough gather for me to locate their nests and destroy them - I am winning atm but winter will shut them down properly

I like the idea of a worm farm - very small garden though and I have two large pots and several small ones - it would be really great to start off with new compost

My daughter is a horticulturist - I'll ask her about it - but I really don't have the room

Thanks though

Dec

@Owlunar, a worm farm can be as small as a PVC pipe. Maybe run this idea past your daughter?

http://offbeathome.com/worm-tube-composting/

Calling electrician tomorrow to book the job in @Former-Member so will ask him then, Hervey Norman called yesterday to say it had arrived so will pick it all up on the day he can come fit it. 😊

My family (childhood) house has just been sold. It's the house that Dad still lived in, before he died.

As @Smc mentioned, it's turned into a bit of a bungfight.

My sister in law got in Mum's ear, when it does not concern her - & she knows well that Mum (who has major anxiety) over-reacts to things said to her.

M told Mum to keep $350K aside for herself - so now Mum is keeping most of the entire amount ($500K) for herself.

This breaks Mum's promise to share the amount equally amongst 4 of us (siblings). It also means that Mum will now lose her pension (she knows this).

Mum & Dad were separated for 8 years, before he died (they did not live together) - but because they were not divorced, the house went to her (she has her own house).

Mum thinks nothing of breaking her promises, but this is a big one.

I could legally dispute it (apparently), but I don't have the money for lawyers - or the energy & determination to do that.

Adge