GrreatTeacher

Joined

• started 32 topics
• posted 2,671 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by GrreatTeacher

• 
  21

  Last Day of Chemo

  by azor in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  today is the end of my son's 3 -1/2 year treatment for leukemia.

  we had a small party at the hospital with nursing staff and a few friends.

  it has been a great day with the exception of getting walking pnemonia from his sister.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  GrreatTeacher

  This is such good news! I wish him luck in martial arts and baseball. Those uniformed pictures that look like baseball cards are so precious!
• 
  29

  EXJW's in Mensa?

  by Luther bertrand in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  any exjw's or faders out there in mensa?

  any online groups for this niche?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  GrreatTeacher

  Yes, one of the current thoughts on autism and savantism is the bandwith theory.

  They use so much brain power/ bandwidth in these very specualized abilities that there's little left for abstract things like social skills or emotional skills.

  Their brains are incredibly overconnected in some areas which produce these amazing abilities, but leaves little room for connectionc to social and emotional brain areas (ie the amygdala).

  In other words, the brain can only compute so much and extraordinary usage of certain areas leaves no room for development of other abilities.

  But, evolutionarily the deficits might be worth the extreme intelligence in other areas.
• 
  36

  I have too much crap!! How to declutter/dehoard.....

  by Muddy Waters in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  some areas of our home are very nice, tidy, clean.

  and other rooms are just junk and clutter and clothes and papers.... omg.

  and now that we are getting older, we realize that we face a time of transition -- and this is hard to cope with too, as we believed the lie that we would never get old, etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  GrreatTeacher

  Also, with the photos. I have boxes and boxes of old ones, bought scrapbooks to put them in, but they are still empty. Now some of our photos are digital and they are neither displayed nor easily accessible. I have lots of photo frames sitt>ng around with multiple photos under them. Christmas photos from christmas cards, relatives' class pictures. This is another area I am in over my head.

  Then there's old VHS recordings of our wedding, baby showers, wedding showers, vacations. Then a little hi8 recorder from when my son was little, and now little sd cards everywhere. It's a huge task to think of transferring everything to digital. I really want my wedding video transferred. That's important enough to take the time to do.

  Should I transfer all my cds to a digital format to save space? What about my old tapes? Do I even still have them? Tough calls.
• 
  36

  I have too much crap!! How to declutter/dehoard.....

  by Muddy Waters in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  some areas of our home are very nice, tidy, clean.

  and other rooms are just junk and clutter and clothes and papers.... omg.

  and now that we are getting older, we realize that we face a time of transition -- and this is hard to cope with too, as we believed the lie that we would never get old, etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  GrreatTeacher

  Good info on digital scanning. Yes, I am awful on purging and organizing digital files. We crash computers at my house and then lose flash drives and forget passwords, and, oh, it is sooo bad.

  But, it's a good direction to shoot for. Work is forcing a lot of things to happen sans paper now, so I can see digital information manipulation in my future.

  But, I have to disagree on the shredder. I'm definitely on team burning barrel. It's literally completely gone when you're done, has lovely ambience and you can even cook dinner during the process if you roast hot dogs and marshmallows over the open flame. Some things just provide a much better analog experience!
• 
  36

  I have too much crap!! How to declutter/dehoard.....

  by Muddy Waters in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  some areas of our home are very nice, tidy, clean.

  and other rooms are just junk and clutter and clothes and papers.... omg.

  and now that we are getting older, we realize that we face a time of transition -- and this is hard to cope with too, as we believed the lie that we would never get old, etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  GrreatTeacher

  Yes, I would think moving a lot would help to keep the clutter under control.

  I just can't part with my university stuff. Heck, I still have all my math notebooks from high school with perfect handwriting. Each class from community college is in a color-coded folder and each of my university level classes has its own binder, labeled by section number on the spine.

  It's neat and orderly and I have the space for it, so is it excessive? I refer back to it enough that I feel justified in keeping it. And, knowledge is important to me, so it feels important.

  I do need to get rid of old materials and lesson plans from the old curriculum which is a lot of sorting. It takes sustained mental effort to scan each paper and make a decision on it when the piles are very deep!

  But, yeah, I need to fire up the burning barrel!
• 
  36

  I have too much crap!! How to declutter/dehoard.....

  by Muddy Waters in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  some areas of our home are very nice, tidy, clean.

  and other rooms are just junk and clutter and clothes and papers.... omg.

  and now that we are getting older, we realize that we face a time of transition -- and this is hard to cope with too, as we believed the lie that we would never get old, etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  GrreatTeacher

  So, telling me that you like to buy more than one of things, for instance, multiple books about something that interests you gives me some good insight.

  Lots of times collectors are indecisive when trying to sort things because they can imagine more than one category for an item. So, how to sort it? Should the yoga book be put on the bookshelf or with the yoga materials? Should the photography book go on the bookshelf or should it be a coffee table book because of the beautiful photos?

  The key is to decide whether or not that is true for a particular item and then make a conscious decision one way or the other. Maybe the yoga book goes on your bookshelf (in the self-help section!), but the photography book stays out for all to see.

  Also, when sending an item to the bookcase, you realize that it's full, you might decide to put it in the donation box. Particularly if you've sorted your books and realized that you have a dozen books on yoga. Look through them all, consider their age and quality and purge 8 or so of them, keeping the newer ones and the ones that are better quality or have proved most useful for you in the past.

  Keep in mind that it's better to have fewer, but nicer things.

  If something smells of mildew, get rid of it. If it is old and in poor shape and you have a nicer, newer one, get rid of it. If you simply have enough of a category (maybe craft supplies?), it's okay to get rid of anything in excess of the amount that you have available storage for. (Teachers would love donations of craft supplies. They often purchase these supplies with their own money!)

  There is space for items that you have emotional attachments to. For instance, handwritten recipes, collect them in a small scrapbook or recipe box and keep them in the kitchen. Old schoolwork and drawings? See if you can purge half of them, then put the rest in a scrapbook. Put it on your bookshelf or display with pride. If it's hidden away, its memories are not being respected. Other small objects can be stored in decorative boxes or chests. Just choose the "keepers" carefully and don't exceed available and appropriate space.

  Papers are a problem. I have a problem in this area. Teachers collect lots and lots of papers and supplies. Also, I tend to keep old financial papers because I don't know what's safe to get rid of and what's not. There's always that stray medical bill that you get that you've already paid and you need proof for. But, I do have strategies.

  First, mail comes in and is sorted standing over the trash bin. Most of it gets tossed, bills go in my bill basket and anything that needs to be filed goes on top of the filing cabinet.

  Right now I am working on cleaning up the files. I'm sorting like files together (ie. medical or financial) and going through the individual file folders. Some can be tossed completely, like payment records for old cars. This is slow going. My goal, however, is to take what used to be a paper-strewn office and turn it back into a bedroom. I'm putting a small bed in there where I can escape to when my husband snores. That is my motivation. I did pay someone to help me get started, though. She came in, started cleaning and sorting and I threw away a lot of stuff. Once you could move around the room, I felt like I could keep going. I still get anxious walking by that room, but as I reach a milestone, I reward myself. I just bought myself some curtains for this room which makes it look better, which encourages me to do more.

  Once you hit the point where things are nice and tidy, there's so much incentive to continue to keep it functional.
• 
  36

  I have too much crap!! How to declutter/dehoard.....

  by Muddy Waters in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  some areas of our home are very nice, tidy, clean.

  and other rooms are just junk and clutter and clothes and papers.... omg.

  and now that we are getting older, we realize that we face a time of transition -- and this is hard to cope with too, as we believed the lie that we would never get old, etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  GrreatTeacher

  Let me tell you my latest MIL the hoarder story.

  She called my husband last night and told him to come over right away. She sounded sheepish, knowing my husband would give her hell once he got there and found out what had happened.

  We got tl her apartment and found broken dishes all over the floor and counters in her kitchen. She had stuffed her kitchen cabinet so full of dishes that the weight finally brought the whole cupboard down off the wall!

  There was an amazing amount of unnecessary dishware there. She lives alone. But, she sees things she likes and buys them. She likes lots of options. She has mugs for this kind of coffee maker and mugs for that kind of coffee maker, mugs for tea, mugs that microwave well and mugs to go. There were bowls for cereal, bowls for soup, bowls for taking leftovers hom from potlucks, bowls for the grandkids, bowls for holidays, etc. There was plenty of Tupperware, but also washed and saved bowls, packages, etc from grocery products. There were stacks of plastic cups from fast food restaurents that she had saved. This all felt necessary to her.

  Fortunately, most of the stuff broke, and there was still plenty of dishes left, so I walked her through the task of reorganizing things once my husband reattached the cupboard to the wall.

  First, is any of this trash since we are already taking the broken stuff to the dumpster? She let go of the fast food drink cups.

  "Is there any of this stuff that you don't use very often that we can put on the top shelf?" She let a good set of dishes go up on the top shelf where she couldn't reach.

  "How about we put the plates on the bottom shelf since it is sturdier?" She agreed.

  "How about we put the mugs and glasses on the middle shelf where you can still reach them?" She agreed.

  When space was filling up, she suggested that we could put duplicate items away in other cabinets. I relented in order to keep the new arrangement organized.

  This is the type of thought processes that you go through in order to keep things neat and tidy, but she can't do it herself. She needs me to walk her through things.

  I have no doubt that within a year, the cupboard will be all stuffed up again. Hoarding is a durable disorder.

  She hoarded up the giant 4 bedroom house she had before this small apartment. The insurance company dropped her policy because the house was in such bad shape. Then some of the hoard caught on fire and the house burned down. She lost everything.

  She started anew in a small subsidized senior apartment and it is extremely messy. She has to keep it somewhat in check though because the management does checks every 6 months. Her daughters come and purge and clean every 6 months, but it gets just as bad again. She's taken to hiding stuff in her car before their cleaning visits so she can keep things she wants.

  It's extremely frustrating to deal with on a continual basis.
• 
  36

  I have too much crap!! How to declutter/dehoard.....

  by Muddy Waters in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  some areas of our home are very nice, tidy, clean.

  and other rooms are just junk and clutter and clothes and papers.... omg.

  and now that we are getting older, we realize that we face a time of transition -- and this is hard to cope with too, as we believed the lie that we would never get old, etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  GrreatTeacher

  If you're just a random acquirer and things do not get put in their place, you might not realize how much of one type of item you have.

  As you are sorting it might be helpful to put things of one category together temporarily so you have an idea of just how much of one type of item you have. Then, ask yourself, "How many of these do I actually need?"

  For example, I like candles and candleholders. I store them all together in my "Candle Department" now. As I tidy, if I find misplaced candles, I return them to the Candle Department. If the candle area is full, then I know I need to purge.

  Also, if I want a new item, I know I must get rid of an old item. That's how you stay organized: One in, one out.
• 
  36

  I have too much crap!! How to declutter/dehoard.....

  by Muddy Waters in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  some areas of our home are very nice, tidy, clean.

  and other rooms are just junk and clutter and clothes and papers.... omg.

  and now that we are getting older, we realize that we face a time of transition -- and this is hard to cope with too, as we believed the lie that we would never get old, etc.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  GrreatTeacher

  Have you kept these things out of sentimental attachment? Have you just impulsively bought things you liked without considering space constraints at home? Is it difficult for you to organize things? Are any of these things valuable? Are you ready to purge but just havent had the time? Are you selling your home?

  More details would be helpful. My MIL is an actual hoarder and I have some experience here. You may not be a clinical hoarder, but just suffering some disorganization. These would require different approaches.
• 
  29

  EXJW's in Mensa?

  by Luther bertrand in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  any exjw's or faders out there in mensa?

  any online groups for this niche?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  GrreatTeacher

  Ah, the border of intelligence and madness.

  Autism with savant abilities. Linked genes. Has madness remained evolutionarily because of linked genes with high intelligence?

  Interesting stuff.