My Tireless Retirement – Week 181

 

Hello my friends!  I woke up last Friday morning feeling incentivized (determined and optimistic) and decided the best way to combat melancholy is to work on some goals and plans for my future.  It is hard to feel blue when you are excited.  I have come to realize that I have much to be excited about and that, with anything, whatever “this is” is only temporary.  This too, shall pass.

 

I headed into work Friday morning with patience and compassion intended while my BFF headed back to Colorado, his home base.  I ended up having a wonderful day at work.  I love my Friday co-workers and the crowd that comes in to play pinochle and line dance.  The atmosphere is typically upbeat and loving.  It is a great vibe.

 

Everything fits with room to grow

Last week I headed back into the garage and did some rethinking and redoing of the camping supplies storage pods.  I quickly realized after forgetting that I had put some things in the dishwasher that I had underestimated sizes.  A quick trip back to Wal-Mart and I came home with two more of the larger containers, which happen to stack much better than the two smaller ones sitting on one large one.  Now everything fits better with a little bit of growing room, which for me is perfect.  I have plans to still use the two smaller containers for other camping and travel related items.

 

A friend of mine bought me this shopping bag to use for camping 💖

Along with the two new containers from Wal-Mart I stopped into the feed store on my way home and picked up a heavy duty bucket and a Gamma lid to use as the shower bucket.  Inside I tucked my USB powered shower, some toiletries and laundry washing supplies and the first aid kit.  I also chose and added a pop up shower tent to my Amazon cart.  I plan to use that not only for showering out in the wilderness, but also to house the portable composting toilet I made.  This is solely to protect the bears from having to see my bare butt.

 

Over the weekend I got out the hedge trimmers and the pruners to spruce up and trim the next door neighbor’s row of hedges that extend way over the property line onto my driveway and parking area.  It took me a solid three hours to get those beasts trimmed and all of the debris cleaned out that had collected amongst the branches.  Using a tarp to catch the majority of the debris and trimmings saved me as far as the final clean up.  I filled up the trash wheelie bin and two paper leaf bags full of stuff.

 

Another birthday present showed up on my porch last week, this one a complete surprise.  It’s a mini K cup coffeemaker and there were two boxes of assorted K cups to go along with it.  On my birthday trip we had talked about how nice it would be to just pull off to the side of the road and brew a fresh cup of coffee to enjoy as one takes in the scenery.  We talked about it quite a bit and how various things could be packed in which to do that, including a camp stove and a kettle or even a mini 5 cup coffeemaker to use with my solar generator.  Knowing how I not just love my coffee, but I really LOVE my coffee, once he got home he placed an order and then texted me to go outside and get my package when it was dropped off at my house.  I was so excited, but even more so that I am fully supported in my future plans and endeavors.

 

I worked a few hours Monday and Tuesday and enjoyed dinner out with my colleagues Tuesday evening.  I headed out Wednesday morning on for a solo overnight campout to test the new stove as well as the coffeemaker and enjoy some peaceful time in nature.  I headed off to somewhere I hadn’t been in ages and it felt absolutely amazing to spend time there and recharge my batteries.  The stove worked great and the coffee was really good too!

 

Mission accomplished!

It was a really great week and exactly what I needed to pull myself out of the doldrums.  Being out in nature completely alone with no cell service I was completely unplugged from the world and all of its incessant nonsense.  I once again found myself wading in the river and marveling at the beauty surrounding me.  That night as I lay in bed gazing up at the sky filled with stars I felt so much closer to God.  The noise in my head evaporated.  I was surrounded by His glory and I was incredibly grateful.  I now know I need far more days just like that.

 

 

Getting Things Done! Summer 2025

 

I have been a very busy girl and I am thrilled with everything I have accomplished so far this year, especially over the spring and summer months.  Once my houseguests left I started out by printing off a fresh copy of my semiannual housekeeping checklist and in six weeks I busted my way through it and was able to completely reset my home.  Using stain I had in the garage and part of an old rag I touched up the stair treads and they look so nice now.

 

I did an amazing amount of decluttering again this year, even decluttering some of the really hard sentimental items that were filling the closets in the two extra bedrooms of my house.  I sold some of my Pyrex collection and added the proceeds to my savings account, took four loads to the thrift stores and even placed several items on the FREE table where I work.  In the process I was able to empty a ton of boxes and plastic bins.  The boxes were then decluttered and the bins were reused for organizing the items I kept.  

 

I have gotten rid of even more stuff since I took this picture

Next I moved out to the garage where the goals was to clear, clean, declutter and reorganize it for better function.  I was able to add a lot of items, mainly cardboard and boxes, to the recycle bin over a period of six weeks as well as the trash bin and my donation pile.  After a good sweep and wipe down I was ready to reorganize all of the shelves.  Now it is much easier to find the things I need whenever I do a project.  I have used up a lot of the items I already had on hand like sandpaper, a replacement dryer vent cover, some interior paint and a can of spray paint as well as some of the bubble wrap and priority mailers I had squirreled away out there.  I dropped off glass jars and bottles at the recycling collection bin located at a local supermarket parking lot and I took several items from the garage to the hazardous waste collection site.

 

The failing dryer vent cover on the exterior of the house was finally replaced.  It was a simple fifteen minute job and once it was done and marked off the list I was glad to have it completed.  I had picked up the replacement cover over a year ago and it was patiently waiting for me in the garage.  It was definitely one of those tasks that I questioned putting off for so long.  ??

 

I cleaned and reorganized my long term food storage (LTFS) area in the downstairs bedroom.  I found several items I knew I wasn’t going to use up anytime soon so I made up a couple of bags to give to two of my co-workers and brought in another bag of items to set out on the FREE table.  Once I was done I had it all clean and organized so the oldest items are in front of the newer items and will get used up appropriately.  I am now quite settled with the variety and quantity of the things I have in there.

 

Our entry way as well as the upstairs bathroom’s wainscot were in need of a refresh so I got busy with a bit of spackle I had in the garage to fill in the gouges and imperfections and then repainted those spaces using leftover paint also in the garage.  While I was at it I went through the house and touched up any places that needed it so now my walls look great and are all nicely maintained.

 

Fresh paint makes everything better!

"Hey!  I think you forgot something!"

I wasn't able to get back outside and get the deck staining project completed but I'm okay with that.  It will keep until next year, but I was able to get the living room and hallway carpet cleaned and refreshed which was a big item on the list for this summer.  This is the second time I've cleaned the carpet I was very pleased with how nice it turned out and that even after seven years the carpet is wearing well and still looks good.  Proof that a no shoes in the house policy and regular maintenance works!

 

With the deck sanded and stained I decided to give the outside of the chicken coop a refresh as well with the same stain.  Then I moved the new chickens in with the old and after a bit they all seemed to settle down and get along.  Since I have determined this is going to be my last batch of chicks I went ahead and decided to declutter the brooder and all of the chick feeders.

The pear tree in all its glory

The apple tree did not produce at all this year, but the pear tree did.  Not the bumper crop I got last year, but enough to enjoy for fresh eating and to share with others.  I had pruned both trees quite a bit in the fall so I wasn’t surprised with the smaller yield of pears and unfortunately a storm took off all the apple blossoms before any of them got pollinated.  Hopefully we’ll get apples next year.  On the other hand my garlic harvest this year was absolutely pitiful.  I bought bulbs at the feed store last fall and they were expensive!  The year before, I bought organic garlic bulbs at the grocery store.  The organic garlic did so much better and they are way more affordable so I am going to plant that again this year.  Also, my rhubarb did really great this year!  I put up four quart bags into the deep freezer to enjoy this winter.

 

Fixed some boo boos & cleaned the exterior!

Scrubbed & cleaned the interior!

I cleaned the engine bay!

Getting the Subaru maintenance finished, thoroughly cleaning its stinky interior and making some minor repairs has been an ongoing project since I bought the car in January.  Replacing the damaged driveshaft and U joints was a bigger job than I was willing to take on so I had my mechanic take care of it for me.  Now that all of this has been completed I am left with a reliable daily driver (without a lot of money out of pocket) that I hope I will get to use for a long time to come.

 

Along with all of those projects I was able to carve out a lot of time for some fun stuff too.  I’ve had a goal since retiring to really focus on using up what I already have on hand before buying anything new, particularly when it comes to craft and sewing supplies.  I was able to use up quite a bit of my stuff when I made things to fill up my gift shelf.  I like to give useful and consumable gifts so I made lots of decorated journals, note pads and some greeting cards.  I also made candle mats to go with candles I had bought on sale earlier this year as well as hanging dish towels to go with foaming hand soaps I recently picked up at Bath & Body Works with a gift card I had.  I also made myself a lot of goodies too.

I am absolutely in love with these shelf liners

And my aprons!

Santa Rosa Plum

The most surprising project, for me anyway, was to start rebuilding the area where the maple tree used to be.  In the spring my enthusiasm to get this done had waned, but by July I had found my mojo and a gorgeous Santa Rosa plum tree on clearance at my local Home Depot.  Just prior to making that purchase I realized I already had a lot of things in my yard to reinvigorate this space, I just needed to move a few things around.  I started by planting the tree and it just went from there.  It is still a work in progress, but so far I am quite pleased.

 

Looking back I’d say I was a very fulfilled and productive young lady and I am very happy with all of the progress I have made, not the least of which was, to get all of my end of life documents updated, signed and filed.  For me that was huge!  Super happy and relieved to have that all done!  So with that, I am ready to enjoy the Fall season with some downtime along with a little bit of relaxation thrown in for good measure.  It is going to be a great Fall, don't you think?

 

Decluttering The Hard Stuff

 

During the month of June I did another big declutter in my home.  Most of the items I went through and decided to let go of were ultimately the hardest decisions I have made so far in my decluttering journey.  These were the “just in case” items, the “someday I will use this” items as well as the super hard sentimental items that really can tug at our heart strings, especially when they belonged to someone you really love and they are no longer with us.

 

After watching loads of Youtube videos about minimalism and decluttering I knew when I went into this over two years ago that eventually my journey would lead me to this moment.  I started out by getting rid of the easy stuff, the stuff that I no longer wanted, needed or used.  If I wasn’t sure of something I kept that item and revisited it later.  A year later when I made my next pass through my entire house I found it much easier of a process and a lot of the items I had decided to keep but didn’t need or use, I now no longer wanted so out they went.

 

I then adopted a new routine that as I work my way through my housekeeping checklist I also declutter.  I also declutter whenever I feel the urge, as sometimes it just happens that I want to go through a drawer or a closet just to see if I’ve acquired something I don’t need to hang onto.

 

Once I had been steadily decluttering for about two and a half years I was finally ready to go through and address the hard stuff.  Because here is the thing – NO ONE ELSE WANTS OUR STUFF.  That’s the God’s honest truth about it.  Plus, we can’t take it with is when we go and whether you are a Believer or not, once we die NONE of it really matters.

 

I'm keeping only what is serving me at this point in my life

With that in the back of my mind I also had to ask myself the question of why I was keeping other people’s stuff, things my children had left behind, when they didn’t want it.  Memories and emotions of the past can be difficult because these are parts of our lives and those of the people we love most, but letting go of the stuff doesn’t mean we don’t remember or that we love less.

 

I let it go!!

Keeping it actually felt weighty, like I have had this overwhelming responsibility to keep and curate someone else’s possessions.  To what end?  When I die what will happen to all of this stuff?  Most likely it will end up in the trash.  That’s the real truth.  So I let it go and now someone else will actually have the opportunity to use it and enjoy it rather than having it in a box on a shelf collecting dust.  And I did it completely guilt free.

 

Even Jack is feeling relieved

So I encourage you to take a realistic look at your “hard stuff” and consider letting it go.  In the process you will most likely feel better and you will save your grieving loved ones the burden of doing it for you once you pass on.  I’m sure my children and grandchildren will appreciate that I did.