Circular Organizing

Months ago, I bought all new storage canisters for the pantry.  They've been sitting in their box on the floor of the pantry for ages.  

Most days J. plays golf, I proclaim 'I will tackle the pantry today'.  And then I don't.  

I wanted to move some small appliances out of the pantry and made room on shelves in the utility closet (which is mammoth) so I open the utility closet doors and realize just how much reorganizing that space needs before I can move anything from the pantry into that closet.  I think 'well, it's a lot of cleaning supplies - I can move those to the garage'.  So I head to the garage - which has a gazillion issues that we are miles from tackling - and I think 'great, I'm stuck again'.  

I did move a bin of pet stuff from the utility closet and that sent me on a boondoggle - setting up a cat toys.  Then reorganizing the cupboard in the kitchen where we keep pet stuff.   Twenty minutes later, I still don't have the bin from the utility closet into the cupboard where we keep the pet stuff.  

It goes on and on. And I feel so overwhelmed with not knowing really how to begin, I mostly don't.  

But today - thanks to J. being home and him helping me - we were able to make some progress.  We had huge amounts of room in the laundry room cabinets and even though that is space I am reluctant to use because I cannot reach any of those items once they are in the cupboards above the washer/dryer, J. moved a bunch of seldom used cleaning stuff from the utility closet into the cupboard over the washer and dryer.  Huge help.  That cleared almost a full three shelves in the utility closet - so we started moving small appliances to that shelf from the floor or lower shelves of the pantry.  

I ran the dishwasher to get the pannini grill accessories and grill plates clean.  It's running again full of the old Tupperware canisters and other storage bins that will likely be boxed up and donated to the charity thrift shop.  It's really hard to let those things go - classic Tupperware is a thing of the past (though you can order from their website). I know I could try to sell them and likely make some cash - but I never feel comfortable doing that.  I don't like people showing up to pick things up and I don't like using any site that requires an online payment.  Our new neighbor used Facebook Marketplace and has sold a bunch of stuff they don't need using that site - but I am not convinced it's worth the effort.  We can always use more donation write off so I lean towards that.  

It's just hard to let things go - even when I know we don't need them anymore.  

I took a trouncing at Atlantis on Wednesday and as my cash dwindles, I realize that the hardest part of all the big wins I've had is when the big wins are minimal.  I need wins to keep playing at the level that generates big wins - and it's not happening lately so it's been hard.  

I will have extra play money starting in August (thank you, Social Security and a retirement budget that doesn't 'need' those funds to live on at the moment) so I'm looking forward to that.  

I'm going to use the electric pressure cooker to cook pork ribs tomorrow for dinner.  We had planned that for tonight but the kitchen is a disaster at the moment with canisters everywhere so J. drove to the south part of town for Panda Express.  I'm nervous about using the "Instant Pot" but I know if I can get more comfortable with using it, our meal options will drastically improve.  We're trying to eat off the freezers and there's lots of pork roasts, ribs, etc. - things that are so easy to cook in a pressure cooker. 

This morning, J. sent me a picture of a tiny bird on the sidewalk just outside our dining room window (in the backyard).  Then he said 'please come to the patio'.  I did but was still in my PJ's (tank top and boy shorts) so I didn't go outside all the way.  (There were golfers and I'm not hanging out on the patio in essentially underwear.  Ever.  Even when there aren't golfers but most especially when they are).  The small (baby) bird had hit our dining room window.  J. said he appeared to be in shock - he was moving, hopping and eventually flew to the fence.  But then he dropped to the river rock and stayed there awhile.  He moved a couple times - I got dressed so I could check on him - and eventually flew to the wood fence and hung out there for a bit.  Then he was gone.  So we think he was OK.  

B. is in New York having the time of his life.  He's been sharing pics and using Facetime to share the fantastic views.  We sure want to go and spend time with him there and we will make that happen ASAP.  Hopefully, he can plan a long weekend off in the Spring and we can get there for some family time and sight seeing.