Organizing/de cluttering success (please share yours too!)
sloedjinn
9 years ago
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talley_sue_nyc
9 years agozzackey
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Share your successful pond maintenance routine...
Comments (10)300ga stock tank pond, 3/4 buried in the ground (5'x5'x28"). ~1000gph submerged pump goes to a 60ga DIY skippy-type filter with scrubbies, rocks, and lots of plants on top. Water flows out and down a small stream back to the pond. Six 6-8" goldfish/comet/shebunkins and 1/2 a dozen babies. Spring: Raise the potted plants from the bottom, re-pot and fertilize. Drain ~1/2 the water and clean out any debris on the bottom. Put the plants back in and start up the pump. Fill the skippy and put plants back in it. Buy new oxygenator plants. If the water turns green add prefilter of quilt batting or window screen to pump. Clean once a week for a couple weeks until the plants get growing and the water clears, then remove. Summer: Prune plants and remove yellowing pads as necessary. Remove string algae from the stream once in awhile. Watch so the watercress doesn't plug up the skippy outlet :) Feed the fish 2 or 3 times a week. Fall: Stop feeding fish when water temp Winter: Just before the first snow or hard freezing pull the pump, clean it and store it inside. Drain the skippy and flush it with the hose (this is the only time I 'clean' my skippy). Leave drain plug out for winter. Add air stone and tank heater to pond. This year I'm going to cover 2/3 of the pond with plywood or foam board. Fish stay in it. I have clear water except for ~ 2 weeks in the spring. I try to keep my fish load low and have lots of plants. I rarely have much string algae, my fish seem to like to graze it down. I have a 2nd pond a bit smaller with a 640gph pump and a 1/2 whiskey barrel skippy that I remove all plants and fish from and let freeze for the winter (it's a liner pond and only 18" deep). Otherwise maintenance is the same....See More'Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui'
Comments (14)I was on a Feng Shui binge for a few years and it " worked" for me. Later I found Fly Lady and I think Feng Shui and the Fly Lady concept are very similar when it comes to organizing. I liked Feng shui better because it gave me some deeper reason to clean. It is selfish but sometimes cleaning to make the family run smoother did not do it for me. Cleaning for the family, was like dieting for health. I want to diet to look skinny and I wanted to clean for fortune and good luck and all the goodies like a great career that Fung Shue promised was around the corner. Feng Shui at that point in my life helped me get into cleaning. But darn it, my bathroom has been clean with the seat glued down for years, and I am still waiting to win the lottery. I think, Fly Lady and Feng Shui both believe that when you see a big mess, you are prone to dropping to your knees crying over it. Feng Shui says all your energy is being zapped out of you and the placement of the mess is an indication that some area of your life is going bad also. The Fly lady says all your energy is zapped and this feeling is leading you to believe you are a chaotic failure. Both agree if you pay a little attention to these areas you can re-energize and go on to lead a successful de-cluttered life. For example, You wake up in the morning and the sink( Far North) is full of dishes and the kids are eating something off the table (Northeast) and you forgot to put the stuff on the stove ( east) away so all the leftovers have to be thrown out. And all the family shoes are piled next to the door. It means in Fly Lady, if you lace your shoes you are less likely to crawl back in bed and pull the sheets over your head because you can not easily kick them off. Feng Shui means youÂre family is suffering, your marriage is on the rocks, you donÂt deal with issues and maybe your dog even thinks your a drag. Both advocate that you can get a handle on all of this mess. Your family will function better, you will be able to accomplish more stuff and you will be happy. IÂm glad you posted itÂs a wonderful raining Sunday to clean Uhm or instead I will pull out my Feng Shui books to get me motivated and pop over to the Fly Lady site to remind me how to break things down and clean in baby steps. Maggie...See MoreI'm de-cluttering 'Indifference'
Comments (21)Some of my most loved and wonderful possessions are the dingiest most worn items of all. My office chair is an awkward cumbersome unlovely thing to look at, but I sigh when I sit in it, as it has the best lumbar support of any chair we've ever found. Sure, I wish it didn't look like it does, but it's because of it's shape that it feels so good, and so I love it. I have a paperweight that has huge sentimental value to me, and it's totally useless as a paperweight. But it's more like an icon or totem. My kids don't want it when I'm gone, they'll probably bury me with it, LOL, but I won't part with it till then, because to me it is just beautiful. Just now I came in from gardening with DH and with these posts in mind I asked him about some plants that are thriving but that I realised I find kind of boring. They were from cuttings from my sil, and were just there to fill in the gaps. I was thinking of not filling our spaces with indifference, and asked DH if he'd mind if I pulled them out and replaced them with cuttings of plants we love. His comment, "Why not... they've never done a thing for me." I know we use that term a lot but I've never thought of applying it to "stuff". I'm going to add that to my indifference slogan.. "do you do anything for me?". Love hearing everyone's thoughts on this....See MoreYAY!! Made progress with cleaning and de-cluttering today!!))
Comments (58)Today "should" be Day 16---- Day 10 (October 17th) was the last time I posted here, so have a lot of catching up to do! Key phrase "self discipline"....I have been allowing myself to become side-tracked for the past few days and don't want to lose myself in this, so have come back to the boards for motivation. It's Tuesday (trash day)----the box my neighbor was to pick up a week ago Monday went out to the curb before bedtime last night. No wonder we've been friends for so long! LOL! She is into the procratinating mode too! But.......like I warned her before, if it IS NOT picked up on Monday night it gets kicked to the curb. Since I have been away for a few days and not checking in like I was doing before, things have gotten off track for me at home. No way to go back and explain what's taken place each day now as I don't remember what excuses I had for not doing my 15 minute routines. Anyone that has been following my posts here might recall that I was working on my tiny bathroom decluttering and cleaning. This job was started but not completed! During the times I did not post on the boards, things however were accomplished at home. We tossed an old radiator (had a short in it) from my dad's room, as well as the neighbor's box of goodie AND a huge trash bag of "junk", not to mention I started de-cluttering the bedroom (can see progress now). Still in the "de-cluttering and fluttering" stage, which means going from room to room with a trash bag in hand. Sometimes I don't always allow myself to see the trash from the functional items, or end up putting on the blinds because in my heart I'm not wanting to part with the item. This is why it takes so many trips with the bag in hand (fluttering)...LOL! What I view as being something necessary one day is viewed differently the next, so it's an on-going adventure for me. Since my father passed away last Thanksgiving, I am saving his room for last as I catch myself pondering over everything in there. This energy needs to be focused elsewhere for now (our living space to be exact). Today is Day 16-----I have to keep in mind my 15 minute routine and just do it! As I've stated before.....you can get a lot accomplished in 15 minutes and it also serves as a starting point since getting motivated is generally hard for me to do. There is still hope!! I have not lost the motivation...just took a break to deal with other things that needed my energy and time! BTW, at least I don't have to backtrack and redo anything that has already been accomplished! WOOT! Rules were laid down and now being followed both by me AND my DH! He knows that the mess causes stress=) Just wish he'd learn rinse the bathroom sink after shaving! Hate scouring anyone's stubble droppings! Will post results later in the day>>>>...See Morecamlan
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