Magazine clean up

 

There is nothing like satisfaction at getting things done! And quickly. As you know, our microwave went on the fritz earlier this week. Not that we use our microwave all the time, but well - we do. I like the microwave to make oatmeal, it's great for reheating leftovers, and I like to microwave my Magic Bag to use either just for the warmth or for an aching muscle. 

So, when it went, we needed action fast. Through the wonders of the internet, I researched (a little bit) about microwaves, and bought one, and arranged delivery and installation, all without speaking to a single person. Well, we had some webchats or texts, but that was it. 

The microwave was delivered in an extremely efficient and timely manner. Thanks, Goeman's Appliances. The installer was late, but well - it worked out, although I couldn't be there at the end as I was on a Zoom call. But DH was here. 

I snapped this photo when the installer went out to his vehicle for something. What a mess!!!

Installation in progress

But there was an even bigger mess on the floor after moving the stove out of the way. ICK!!!!

The mess under the stove

We only found ONE beer bottle cap and a plastic thing from the top of a juice container. It could have been a whole lot worse. Not bad, considering that stove had probably never been moved in 15 years. 

It's all clean now. 

And here's the new microwave. 

The new microwave

WOW --- not a whole lot has changed in microwaves, but the lights are LED, and they are BRIGHT—both inside and beneath the microwave. The time button is also much brighter, so it shows up in the dark. The best part? It's super quiet!! So quiet, I can barely hear the darn thing work. At first, I thought - it's NOT working. But it heated up the Magic Bag no problem. And my oatmeal this morning? PERFECT. Zero learning curve!

Yep - I'm a happy camper and glad that it's done. 

Now half of our appliances are stainless steel, and the others are white. Do I care?  It's so not a factor that I didn't even think about it when buying the new one. Our dishwasher is stainless steel.

I finished off my presentation yesterday afternoon, and I was excited about a totally free afternoon. I actually sat down and read for a bit. It was glorious. My Dad reminded me that I shouldn't get so busy that I don't stop and smell the roses. Well - I still walk a couple of hours each day, and I blog, and I do read every day, so I am busy, but I still get my personal time each day. 

I have many things that I want to get organized, and there isn't time to do it all. But I'm also on the hunt for a couple of specific embroidery files. Now when I purchased my first embroidery machine, it used a FLOPPY disk. The 3½" kind. Oh my - that was a while ago. 

Anyway, I dug out some of the floppy disks. 

Floppy disks for the embroidery machine

I happen to have a 3½" floppy disk drive so I can read them. I dug it out so I can hopefully transfer these files to my hard disk. Then the question will be - what do I do with the floppy disks? Keep them as a backup? I'll have to think about that. They are neatly stored in the box with the other machine embroidery CDs, so I may just put them back. But the key is to get all those files loaded onto the hard disk and into some kind of an organized program so I can readily have access to them. 

A floppy disk drive

Speaking of organizing, we chatted about magazines yesterday. Oh boy - that's a huge, cluttered area at my house. Actually, it could be a lot worse. It WAS a lot worse, but now, it's not bad. Most of them have been sorted by title and are labeled and stored on my bookcases. I have a couple of piles that are not sorted or not labeled.  

Bookcases with magazines

I got up early this morning and decided to tackle the end section of that bookcase. These two sections are the worse. 

Oh my -- look what I found. Do you think I really need FIVE copies of this magazine? 

Five copies of the same magazine!

I did NOT buy those five copies. These were complimentary copies, but why five? 

So I did a wee bit of rearranging, and I sorted. But only in the right-most section. I have a huge pile on the floor that still needs to be sorted. I would need more empty spots to put each one in their separate stack—something to contemplate tomorrow. 

A bit of sorting and organizing in the magazine area

There are also quite a few "one of" magazines that could probably be dealt with very quickly. 

WAIT A MINUTE -- it's 6:30, and it's LIGHT OUTSIDE!!!!!  WOW - spring is on the way!!!

What are we going to do with all these magazines? 

1. SORT them by title. 
2. Get rid of duplicates.
3. Decide if you can get rid of a particular title or whether you really want to read it.
4. Find a place to store them - in boxes, a bookcase, or wherever. But they must be neat and easy to find. So if you put them in boxes, LABEL them with the title. Sometimes, it best to get things out of sight, so you're not overwhelmed. 
5. Of those you want to keep, do you want to read them and then keep them or read them and get rid of them? 
6. Start with those that you want to read and get rid of. Find a time each day that you can spend a few minutes reviewing/reading a magazine. Find a place to put those magazines, so you don't forget - the bathroom, the night table, the kitchen table, your reading chair. 
7. Make it a habit to read a magazine - EVERY DAY. 
8. What to do with it when you're done? If there is a pattern or an article that you want to keep, SCAN it with your scanner and save it on your hard disk as a PDF. You can create a filing system to sort them or save the documents and tag them. I don't know if you can tag  PDFs, but I'm going to check it out.  
9. When you are done with the physical magazine, put it in the recycling or donate to a friend ONLY if that friend is interested. ASK FIRST!!!
10. Think twice before you buy another magazine. I have no problem buying, as long as you are reading them. 

I found a "few" older magazines that I could probably get rid of fairly quickly. Those will get put into a separate pile, and I'll try to deal with them a bit at a time. It would make good summer reading in the gazebo. Those days are rapidly approaching!

But the important thing is to get them organized so that you know what you have when you do read them. I'm currently reading Cloth Paper Scissors STUDIOS magazines. I had sorted that stack. They are ones that I don't want to keep, so once I'm finished, I have a home for them. I'm on my second title since I started the organizing thing. Yes - it's going to take a long time depending on the magazine. Some are filled with articles, and others are filled with patterns. The ones with patterns only will be a snap to zip through. BE RUTHLESS. 

My love for magazines developed years ago when I started working. I worked in the head office of a large bank and didn't really know anyone. I was terribly shy (I KNOW!!!), and so on my lunch hour, I'd wander the streets and check out the shops, including the newsstand. I've bought a LOT of magazines in my time, but not always to read. Those captions on the front are so enticing! I'm learning to say NO, but it's been hard. The pandemic has really helped!

I also managed to work on my Summer Moon quilt. I got a good part of the third section (columns 5 and 6) together. It would be great if I could get the top finished this weekend. That's my goal because I have another quilt that has to go on the wall. 

I also spent the morning at the computer and made excellent headway in the paperwork that needed to be done. That was a huge weight off my shoulders. There's more, of course, but there are only so many hours in the day. I'm OK with that. 

I have one class and a meeting for the ENTIRE weekend. How did that happen? It's not that I don't have anything to do, but no urgent things because of a deadline. 

OH -- when I was at the grocery store the other day, I ran into Pauline. Well, she recognized me and called out my name. When was the last time you were recognized, or you recognized someone while out shopping!!  Good to see you in person, Pauline!!  

I'm off to do errands this morning. I hear that our area is finally coming out of lockdown on Monday, but my normal shopping area has been open for a while, and I need to get some stuff. I have a list, and I'm excited!!! I'll be in and out as I need to get home as there are quilts to quilt, a class to teach, and quilt tops to sew together. 

I'm so excited that it's getting light in the morning. When does that time change happen? But at least, it'll be light later into the evening! Spring is coming!!! Now, all we need is a bit warmer weather. The last couple of days, the wind has been quite cool, but that hasn't stopped me from walking. I'm still out regardless. Got to get that fresh air, got to clean the cobwebs from my brain. The apple has fallen far from the tree in that respect as my mom has NOT been out of her apartment in over two years. Not even to go into the hallway of their building. Not even on the balcony! I would die!

Well, it's time to get the day started!!! I'm off to find out what time the stores open. 9 AM!!!!

And if you're wondering what the decluttering task is today? It's a continuation of the magazine thing. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!!