We'd love a tiny house. How about you?
Showing posts with label Cleaning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cleaning. Show all posts
When Rome was sacked, did it look like this?
This is a very sad and depressing video that hits the nail of the crisis we are in square on the head. It's about a half hour long, but very well worth your time.
What Quest?
I've not written a lick about cleaning up any aspect of my life in a while.My taxes this year sit undone after filing an extension. My house is filled with packed boxes from a move. My list of things I "need to do" is larger than the list of things I've done by so much I can't even fathom the tasks at hand. People have shot horses that are in the kind of shape that I'm in.
To wrap is all up, I work more now than I ever have - Somewhere near 16 hours a day every single day of the work week and a good 6 hours a day on the weekends.
While on the first real day off I've taken in months, this weekend I read a blurb about quests:
"It is not a quest if it does not take your life to accomplish."
It was then that I realized that my quest to simplify my life is over and a new one had taken it's place.
Work is taking my life.
Work must apparently be my quest.
This is pretty effed up.
...
..
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Homework
Random thoughts:
Taxes are coming.
I need to assemble all my tax information. (you do too)
I have yet to finish cleaning my house.
Some "home"work is required - building a new kitchen on the other house, fixing the countertops in this one, new stairs, deck, etc. Big expenses, but really, really need to get this monkey off my back. We've decided to move into the other house instead of renting it out. It's just become too difficult to take that route.
That being said. I need to figure out what and how this affects on my taxes... Obviously this is a conversion of an investment asset into a personal asset, but what is the value? Or is it a conversion? Can I "live" in investment property?
Oh, and I need to get hold of the plot of the investment property as well. There are way too many bushes, trees and to quote Monty python, "Shrubberies" that need pruning or removing.
Like I said, "Home"work.
Taxes are coming.
I need to assemble all my tax information. (you do too)
I have yet to finish cleaning my house.
Some "home"work is required - building a new kitchen on the other house, fixing the countertops in this one, new stairs, deck, etc. Big expenses, but really, really need to get this monkey off my back. We've decided to move into the other house instead of renting it out. It's just become too difficult to take that route.
That being said. I need to figure out what and how this affects on my taxes... Obviously this is a conversion of an investment asset into a personal asset, but what is the value? Or is it a conversion? Can I "live" in investment property?
Oh, and I need to get hold of the plot of the investment property as well. There are way too many bushes, trees and to quote Monty python, "Shrubberies" that need pruning or removing.
Like I said, "Home"work.
Progress is good
Tonight, I've gone through the last if the boxes in the Office/newly minted bedroom. I've kept more than I thought I would based on size alone, but overall, I've probably thrown out or plan to ebay/donate more than I've kept, so I feel pretty good.
Of course, there is still a lot of work to do in this room. The ebay pile has to go online this weekend to test the theory that ebay will be worthwhile for getting rid of stuff.
I also have to go through some of the boxes that I've put off until later (some three hundred discs that I chose not to individually load at this time ;-) and a huge box of photos. The photos will be fun, they range from my grandparents to old girlfriends to childhood friends. My hope is that someday, I'll be able to digitize all of these photos so that they can join the rest of my photos in my iPhoto library.
Does anyone know a good service that would do this automatically? This has to exist somewhere.
Of course, there is still a lot of work to do in this room. The ebay pile has to go online this weekend to test the theory that ebay will be worthwhile for getting rid of stuff.
I also have to go through some of the boxes that I've put off until later (some three hundred discs that I chose not to individually load at this time ;-) and a huge box of photos. The photos will be fun, they range from my grandparents to old girlfriends to childhood friends. My hope is that someday, I'll be able to digitize all of these photos so that they can join the rest of my photos in my iPhoto library.
Does anyone know a good service that would do this automatically? This has to exist somewhere.
Cleaning out the closets
Last night we ran through most of the required "closet cleaning" and changing it from storage to somewhere that we might be able to put clothes.
So far, I've been going under the following model:
1. Set aside a pile for Ebay items
2. Set aside a pile for tax deductible items
3. Fill as many garbage bags as possible.
4. Shuffle everything else.
Ebay: My first go at determining the value of the Ebay items has left me with the belief that Ebay will probably bring little to no return on most of the items that I'm assuming have value, so I'll probably re-adjust what goes in that pile significantly.
I'll probably start having the laptop running in the room from now on so that I can check value as I'm sorting through the items and make sure that I'm not wasting too much time.
Tax Deductible: The tax deductible items are also piling up and so far my research has only given me a little hope that this will add up for me. I do have several computers, laptops, programs and such that will hopefully give me a pretty good deduction.
Trash: So far this category is the big winner. Sue and I have filled 6 full sized trash bags and one smaller bag with things that are going straight to the dump.
Shuffling: as we are digging through the detritus, we are uncovering things that I've needed for a while but could not find, things that really need attention and things that are worth keeping. My hope is that we will eventually go through this pile twice to make sure that it is as small as possible.
I think the progress is going well for now and I'm happy overall with how this effort is making me feel. It's like a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders.
As I've been doing the "busywork" required for this step, I've been thinking about possible steps that are required later that I may not have thought of. If you have any ideas to add to this list, please give me a hand.
1. Decide whether to keep my rental house, and if so, get a new mortgage that is longer term.
2. Decide whether to get rid of my older motorcycle.
3. Should I get rid of things that I might need again or should I plan on replacing them with better items if I ever do need them?
More tomorrow.
So far, I've been going under the following model:
1. Set aside a pile for Ebay items
2. Set aside a pile for tax deductible items
3. Fill as many garbage bags as possible.
4. Shuffle everything else.
Ebay: My first go at determining the value of the Ebay items has left me with the belief that Ebay will probably bring little to no return on most of the items that I'm assuming have value, so I'll probably re-adjust what goes in that pile significantly.
I'll probably start having the laptop running in the room from now on so that I can check value as I'm sorting through the items and make sure that I'm not wasting too much time.
Tax Deductible: The tax deductible items are also piling up and so far my research has only given me a little hope that this will add up for me. I do have several computers, laptops, programs and such that will hopefully give me a pretty good deduction.
Trash: So far this category is the big winner. Sue and I have filled 6 full sized trash bags and one smaller bag with things that are going straight to the dump.
Shuffling: as we are digging through the detritus, we are uncovering things that I've needed for a while but could not find, things that really need attention and things that are worth keeping. My hope is that we will eventually go through this pile twice to make sure that it is as small as possible.
I think the progress is going well for now and I'm happy overall with how this effort is making me feel. It's like a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders.
As I've been doing the "busywork" required for this step, I've been thinking about possible steps that are required later that I may not have thought of. If you have any ideas to add to this list, please give me a hand.
1. Decide whether to keep my rental house, and if so, get a new mortgage that is longer term.
2. Decide whether to get rid of my older motorcycle.
3. Should I get rid of things that I might need again or should I plan on replacing them with better items if I ever do need them?
More tomorrow.
Only ankle deep and yet...
It seems like it is taking forever to get through the first room.
We started cleaning in the bedroom. The thinking was that it is the highest room in the house, the farthest north, etc… Well, ok... We chose it randomly.
But, it was a good choice.
This room has not always been the bedroom. In fact, it has served as my office/storeroom for most of the last five years. Furthermore, for three of those five, my life and work have been so tightly integrated that I've literally been sleeping in my office.
There are at least 7 computers, three monitors, two full closets of junk and one rather large desk covered with everything you need to conduct business taking up far too much space where an otherwise perfectly good living space should be. Cleaning it up will be difficult, but certainly necessary.
Now is probably a good time to give you a little background history so I don't look like some kind of work-addicted freak.
I'm one of those Internet entrepreneurs that you have read about. It is even slightly possible that you have read "specifically" about me, I've been in a small stack of magazines and books on one topic or another ranging from type to interface design, though the likelihood of your having prior knowledge of my existence is minimal.
As comes with this kind of territory, I've always been a hard worker when I’ve chosen to work. I’ve also always been one to gravitate towards an entrepreneurial “opportunity.” When I come across one.
Three years ago, I signed on as Chief Creative Officer with a company called Sidereus Technology and have been putting in somewhere around 16 hours a day on average for the last three years in order to help build the company's technology and serve the clients that we've had. Furthermore, two years ago, I brought my girlfriend Sue to work for them as well. With both of us in the same company, we worked around the clock in hopes of things paying off big.
They say that life is what happens while you are busy doing other things - I say that life is what passes you by when you are working in the internets.
So, like I said… the room has some “stuff“ in it – Three solid years of stuff that we have just been too busy to sort through or clean.
We started cleaning in the bedroom. The thinking was that it is the highest room in the house, the farthest north, etc… Well, ok... We chose it randomly.
But, it was a good choice.
This room has not always been the bedroom. In fact, it has served as my office/storeroom for most of the last five years. Furthermore, for three of those five, my life and work have been so tightly integrated that I've literally been sleeping in my office.
There are at least 7 computers, three monitors, two full closets of junk and one rather large desk covered with everything you need to conduct business taking up far too much space where an otherwise perfectly good living space should be. Cleaning it up will be difficult, but certainly necessary.
Now is probably a good time to give you a little background history so I don't look like some kind of work-addicted freak.
I'm one of those Internet entrepreneurs that you have read about. It is even slightly possible that you have read "specifically" about me, I've been in a small stack of magazines and books on one topic or another ranging from type to interface design, though the likelihood of your having prior knowledge of my existence is minimal.
As comes with this kind of territory, I've always been a hard worker when I’ve chosen to work. I’ve also always been one to gravitate towards an entrepreneurial “opportunity.” When I come across one.
Three years ago, I signed on as Chief Creative Officer with a company called Sidereus Technology and have been putting in somewhere around 16 hours a day on average for the last three years in order to help build the company's technology and serve the clients that we've had. Furthermore, two years ago, I brought my girlfriend Sue to work for them as well. With both of us in the same company, we worked around the clock in hopes of things paying off big.
They say that life is what happens while you are busy doing other things - I say that life is what passes you by when you are working in the internets.
So, like I said… the room has some “stuff“ in it – Three solid years of stuff that we have just been too busy to sort through or clean.
Day two and three
The "first step" aspect of this quest is going well. After having lived in a way that has made me unable to devote any time to maintaining my personal space for so long, my thoughts were that the task ahead was probably insurmountable. But it's really fulfilling to see the progress and that makes the work much easier.
As they say, the journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step.
I've been taking pictures and hope to post them so that you can see the progress as it happens. I know that at this point, it looks like someone cleaning thier house, but stick with me... there is so much more to come.
thanks,
Don
As they say, the journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step.
I've been taking pictures and hope to post them so that you can see the progress as it happens. I know that at this point, it looks like someone cleaning thier house, but stick with me... there is so much more to come.
thanks,
Don
"First Post" and reason for being.
Did you ever look around and realize that you just have too much crap in your life? I mean... loads of it. Everywhere you look filled with things that you now realize do nothing for you other than holding down the crap that sits below it?
Well... this pretty much describes the picture of the house that I now sit in. I'd like to say that it isn't my fault, but that wouldn't be the truth. Oh, I have my excuses... lots of them. I'll even entertain you with them over the next few posts, but the bottom line is that I let this happen.
What I'm deciding to do about it now is somehow slightly different than usual... Usually when I get this feeling of dread, I move some stuff and move some more stuff and maybe things get cleaned up a bit and I generally forget about the overwhelming mounds of unnecessary things and settle back into a calm day to day world where the amount of stuff that I have seems acceptable...
Today, this task will be handled differently. I’m starting this blog about the experience and holding myself responsible to the task at hand by sharing it with the world.
What does cleaning up my life mean?
I think it means more than just spring-cleaning.
I think it means finding out everything unnecessary and eliminating it… Further, I think it extends to repairing and improving my house, my mind and my body. Take this a step further and you will find the need for repairing old friendships and becoming a better person.
My mom did all of this right before she passed away.
I’d like to start sooner…
First off I will need a mission.
Obviously the first item on the list is easy… Get rid of the crap.
But the list is longer than that – As I said before, I have my reasons for getting to this point. And I will need to identify and rectify those problems as well if I’m going to even hope that I can make any “gutter cleaning” stick for more than a short time.
So, lets fill out the list.
1. Remove from my possession and house any item that does not serve an identifiable and valuable service. (I’m sure that I’ll have to narrow this down sooner or later. For now, this will do.)
2. Convert as many of those items to positive income, or when that is not possible, to a tax-deductible donation or genuinely needed non-deductible donation.
3. Discover and repair all broken items or problems in my home.
And of course, the really hard ones will follow those.
4. Figure out what causes the malaise in the first place and stop as much as possible of the malignant behavior.
5. Fix any personal damage I have caused to others.
6. Re-kindle old friendships that are worth having.
I think that is enough for now. It’s a good mission start, and while it is a bit of a challenge and does seem a bit daunting at first, I think that if taken in stages this could be done without as much effort as one might think.
Wish me luck.
-Don
Well... this pretty much describes the picture of the house that I now sit in. I'd like to say that it isn't my fault, but that wouldn't be the truth. Oh, I have my excuses... lots of them. I'll even entertain you with them over the next few posts, but the bottom line is that I let this happen.
What I'm deciding to do about it now is somehow slightly different than usual... Usually when I get this feeling of dread, I move some stuff and move some more stuff and maybe things get cleaned up a bit and I generally forget about the overwhelming mounds of unnecessary things and settle back into a calm day to day world where the amount of stuff that I have seems acceptable...
Today, this task will be handled differently. I’m starting this blog about the experience and holding myself responsible to the task at hand by sharing it with the world.
What does cleaning up my life mean?
I think it means more than just spring-cleaning.
I think it means finding out everything unnecessary and eliminating it… Further, I think it extends to repairing and improving my house, my mind and my body. Take this a step further and you will find the need for repairing old friendships and becoming a better person.
My mom did all of this right before she passed away.
I’d like to start sooner…
First off I will need a mission.
Obviously the first item on the list is easy… Get rid of the crap.
But the list is longer than that – As I said before, I have my reasons for getting to this point. And I will need to identify and rectify those problems as well if I’m going to even hope that I can make any “gutter cleaning” stick for more than a short time.
So, lets fill out the list.
1. Remove from my possession and house any item that does not serve an identifiable and valuable service. (I’m sure that I’ll have to narrow this down sooner or later. For now, this will do.)
2. Convert as many of those items to positive income, or when that is not possible, to a tax-deductible donation or genuinely needed non-deductible donation.
3. Discover and repair all broken items or problems in my home.
And of course, the really hard ones will follow those.
4. Figure out what causes the malaise in the first place and stop as much as possible of the malignant behavior.
5. Fix any personal damage I have caused to others.
6. Re-kindle old friendships that are worth having.
I think that is enough for now. It’s a good mission start, and while it is a bit of a challenge and does seem a bit daunting at first, I think that if taken in stages this could be done without as much effort as one might think.
Wish me luck.
-Don
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