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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

The Problem with Purging.

(Say that fast, ten times.  It's fun!)  There are quite a few problems with purging, come to think of it.  First, there is the rule that, as soon as an item that you've been squirreling away for years leaves the premises, you will need it.  Then there is the larger mess that is created when you start the (apparently) smaller mess.  Then there is that darn lack of focus.  Speaking for myself, of course. 

I puffed myself up to a nice stressful level (it's the only way I can really do a good purge) and marched into my laundry/tool/gardening/feed room.  I deflated as flat as a pancake in a nanosecond.  I turned heel, coward that I am, and marched right out and shut the door.  I then did little, inconsequential things.  Purgettes or purgies, if you will.  About mid-morning I gave myself a good talking-to, dug up a spiral notebook, glasses and pen and marched to the cat/canning storage room.  After an hour of ignoring the actual jars and boxes by busying myself with reorganizing empty jars, I started taking inventory.  It was scary.  After three hours, working through lunch, I had four pages filled and still had three large shelves to go.  But my bones were creaky and I heard a lot of tippy-tappy toenails in the hallway - that, "OMG, MOM!  We gotta go out NOW!" kind of staccato. 

Have you cat owners (or, those of you owned by cats) noticed that anything you put on the floor is immediately laid upon?  Box, bag, paper, it doesn't matter.  I think I spent as much time moving cats as I did moving boxes.

While I did find some things I thought I was out of - mincemeat, although that's a guess since there was no label or date on the jars - there were a lot of mystery jars.  Lots.  And lots.  By then my brain hurt and I could not recall what year I decided to try peach pit jelly.  But I am pretty sure that those 12 little rosy-filled jars are PPJ.  Then there are the 14 half-pints of some dark jam stuff.  Ditto on the unlabeled/undated.  I reached far into the cobwebs (of my mind) to try to remember the last time I made jam.  2012?  2011?  1852?  Towards the end, I was scribbling down "? Applesauce?  Peachsauce?  ????"  I gave in and up, and will take up the last of it another day.  Sometime in the future.  Honest.

Besides Slim/Slom/Salami and the Plastic Bag Incident this past weekend, I also was greeted by Pepper the Cat Food Eating Dog, slinking out of the cats' room, trying to look nonchalant.  He failed.  He had managed to squirm his little carcass between the door jamb and the baby gate and had Hoovered up 2/3s of their dry food before I caught him.  Visions of pancreatitis danced in my brain.  He was not a happy camper for the rest of the day.  He drank copious amounts of water - which meant watching him like a hawk, as all dachshunds would much rather pee on your carpet than outside in the snow.  Or outside at all.  He's been on a prison diet of white rice and chicken broth for two days.  I'm surprised he's not gnawing on the furniture.  However, he does seem to have perked up and is back spinning for his dinner.  Never a dull moment.

19 comments:

MrsDuncanMahogany said...

Oh boy, sounds like you had lots of "fun" *ahem*. Never easy to purge, never easy at all! I am the owner of 4 lovely cats, and you are right, put something down they will either lay on it or throw up on it. I have learned one hard lesson, never leave important documents on anything when cats are around.....its not easy washing paper. Good luck with your next adventure!

jaz@octoberfarm said...

i feel your pain! i just finished my basement this morning. i am a liberated woman!

Susan said...

Mrs. DM - Hoot! Yes, they do their best to throw up - not on tile floors which are easily cleaned - but on carpet, clothing, paper (important papers). This morning I hung a little mirror next to my front door and, lo and behold! There was one perfect cat footy print right smack-dab in the middle.

Susan said...

Jaz - I can't wait to be liberated! I just hope I live long enough to enjoy it.

Sandy Livesay said...

Susan,

I'm so dreading working on the garage (hubby and son's place). We've worked on it before, and we only got 1/4 of it done. Made a nice pathway to the wash machine and dryer and some breathing room. Now it's time to get back in the garage and go through items stacked and tools misplaced. Hubby doesn't want me in there doing it without him present because he knows, I'll just get rid of most of the stuff (evil grin). Maybe we will get started in the garage sometime this coming weekend...............or maybe not, lol.....

In time, you'll get back to your cat/canning storage room, and become liberated.

Mama Pea said...

Canning jars with no labels?! I know, it's sorta like squirreling something away in a special spot so you will know exactly where it is when you want it. There's no way I could forget where I stashed it! Yeah, right. Just like there's no way you could forget what those special jars of that dark jam stuff really are. You know both hubby and I have been on the Purge Wagon around here for some time. Some jobs get done lickety-split and we feel so virtuous. Others seem to drag on for weeeeeks. Hang in there and keep at it. With all the help you get from your furry critters, you should be done by . . . 2020?!

DFW said...

Your organizing sounds a lot like mine. I have to be in the 'mood' & I better be near the 'pile' when the mood strikes my fancy or I get side tracked & forget what I was going to do.

Fiona said...

I went with permanent marker....sure that the jars would remain identified for all time....nope, I learned permanent markers are NOT what they used to be. I have some blurry labels from humidity issues in the back room and I have now taken to sending Ralph with mysterious deserts for his lunch at work! As to cats laying on anything they can....I packed one barrel with the closet of blankets/sheets etc...then I took a walk....came back and found the cat had decided the newly filled barrel was perfect for her afternoon nap..she was quite purrturbed when I picked her up and took her out of there...then I clamped the lid on! She spent the rest of the day sitting on the lid glowering at me!
Pepper tales are a delight...a children's book in the future?

odiie said...

"Purgette", I think I'm stealing that one. Purgettes sound so much easier than a whole purge. I'm going to work on one right now.

Unknown said...

Good laugh at the end of the day :)

Unknown said...

I have a small dog (who thinks she is a cat) and she will plonk herself down on anything i put down, including me. As soon as im horizontal, she jumps (with her bloody little stick legs that feel like needles) onto me, does the round about thing and goes to sleep. Sometimes on my head (she shouts). I could be on my side, back, front or upside down and she will find a way to be attached to me. Isnt love grand.

Susan said...

Sandy - The only good thing about my purging, is that I don't have to deal with anyone else's stuff but my own. And that's bad enough. I think you should just sneak in that garage and do small purgings.... :)

Susan said...

Mama Pea - Exactly! I will be venturing into unknown territory but there are always the chickens... Isn't it amazing that I don't get more done with all the "help" I have?

Susan said...

DFW - Twins separated at birth!

Susan said...

Fiona - Well, that cat was darn lucky you looked before putting the lid on! I don't know how many times I have inadvertently closed Kramer into the laundry room.

Susan said...

Odiie - Steal away! Let's try and figure out how many purgettes comprise a purge, shall we?

Susan said...

Nancy - I will have to say that they give me lots of laughs in between all the rest.

Susan said...

Lynda - I had to put my coffee down before I spilt it this morning, reading about your dog - hoot!! Yes, we do love them, even through the pain of little stick legs... :)

Jenyfer Matthews said...

Planning to do some purging soon myself ... juvenile print fabrics are mostly what I have in my crosshairs but we'll see what else I run across along the way. I am terrible about keeping cardboard boxes "just in case"... I purge them periodically and low and behold they just keep building up again!