BOY MY MIND IS FRIED THIS TAX SEASON - WHAT WILL HIT NEXT?

 Okay, as I just added to last week's post which apparently – though I remember posting it – was never posted and has been sitting as draft.  

For some reason I seem to be getting hit a lot lately with crazy things.  As I have mentioned I am an accountant and it is, of course, “tax season”.  As the daughter of two accountants I grew up with tax season so I am accustomed to dealing with same.  I was helping my father making photocopies when same was relatively new in the 1960s – to give an idea of what I mean – First the original and the paper to be copied were run through a slot in the copier where the original was copied onto the paper.  Then the 2 papers came out of the machine.  The copy (and, yes, sometimes we ran the original through by mistake and that was a mess) was then inserted into a different slot in the copier where it was run through the chemicals to make the printing appear on it and fix same to it.  The copies came out wet and had to be hung up to dry – and it all smelled terrible.

I am down to a handful of clients who I prepare individual tax returns for and even less business clients (and two of those are my husband).  The clients I have are mostly my dad's clients, (dad having passed on some decades ago) some started with him in the 1960s or 1970s. The returns are fairly straight forward as they are all retired long ago – nothing to tease my brain.  So while preparing the tax returns takes time and I have to make sure that I have all the info from each client, it is not a brain busting matter to prepare the returns (add instructions, etc.)  

I belong to an embroidery chapter of a national embroidery club.  I serve as Treasurer of same.  The renewals for this organization are due by the end of May, so every year renewals overlap tax season – but I am used to this by now.

So far, so good.

I am also the Treasurer of our reenactment unit. This is not normally any sort of problem or situation during the main part of tax season as dues to our national organization from members,, as well as the dues to our unit, are collected in January and February and the dues to the national organization must be mailed by me to them by March 1.  This year, however, the national organization decided as long as things were quiet due to the pandemic – it was the time to redo their membership records and how they are managed on their end.  As a result they pushed back renewals into later in the year – yes, they are also due the end of May.  But to make things a bit easier, since our unit basically did nothing, the board voted to roll over paid dues from 2020 into 2021.  So only those members who did not renew with unit in 2020 have to renew now with the unit and only those members of the unit who belong to our national organization (and we do not require members to belong, so only about half of our members do) have to renew now.  

I have been working on tax returns – have all done except one friend who always files late (years late) and one client who always asks for an extension – and our return, of course, though our return is actually almost finished – I need the mileage on our car odometer to calculate business use of the car last year and we will get our car back on Friday.  

Forgot to throw that in – our car has been at our mechanic for over 2 months.  He actually gave up early week and husband went looking online and found the same odd problem we have and what people did – so the mechanic was finally able to fix it – but two months ago I did not think to take the mileage off the odometer and will not have it until we get the car back this Friday.  

I went to file extensions for the client who needs them while I was still waiting for information from the other clients last week.  I found out that the tax software I am using has a problem with our state and the forms are not fileable (my practice is too small for me to be able file for clients online).  So, I have had to take the copy of the return as I get it from the software and then fill in the state forms by hand to be able to use them.  This did not happen with a return I had to prepare for a different state so it is related to this state's returns not a general problem.  This was not a big deal, but it did take more time.  

I had to send a couple of weeks ago emails to both organizations for renewals and I am currently waiting for the renewals to trickle in from both groups.  

It doesn't matter how much I have systems for getting things done on time when things go awry elsewhere.  Plus of course – Easter and Passover dinners for husband and myself, as well as husband's birthday.  This is one heck of a spring for me, and I have to work hard to juggle it all this year.  

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -

Chances are that whatever one's plans are and how well they are organized something will go wrong.  Hopefully nothing goes wrong in a major way that cannot be adjusted for.  The comedienne Gilda Radner used to say on “Saturday Night Live” - “It's always something.”  

Oh, did I mention that our shower drain is backed up and we cannot use it until we clear the pipes, we still have to figure out what to do about the poison ivy in the backyard that we ignored last year and it grew all the way from the back of the house to the front – including onto the house, and we could not mow the backyard due to same and still have weeds the size of trees back there...

COVID 19 #29 - SECOND VACCINATIONS IS WHY I DID NOT POST LAST WEEK - THIS GETS WORSE AND WORSE - IT WAS NOT POSTED LAST WEEK!!

 Okay, now I have not posted in 2 weeks.  My apologies I posted the following last week, at least I thought I did.  It was held a draft and never posted, though I swear I posted it and saw it on the blog.  My GREAT apologies.  When you read this week's post, it might explain why my brain is turning to oatmeal and I only thought I posted -

 Two weeks ago I apologized for posting a day late.  Today I apologize for posting an entire week late.  Last Thursday my husband and I got our second vaccination.  I normally post late Wednesday night to me – early Thursday morning to everyone else.  This was the first time (I think) that I did not post for entire week.  My husband is very nervous about a number of things, two of them being medical matters – especially those which involve him getting a ”shot” and another being doing things one does not normally do.  So going to get a Covid vaccination at a chain pharmacy, even though we had done so for the first one, is high on his list of things to be nervous about.  Last Wednesday evening was spent “packing” for the trip to the pharmacy and “hand holding”.  

We pack to go just anywhere – even these days for a trip to the supermarket.  We over think and over pack most things in life.  Doing anything away from our house (even before the pandemic) involves planning and packing.  If there is a possible problem or situation that one of us does not think of – the other will.  

Pack?  To go and get a shot at a pharmacy?  Yes. Understand that we wanted to make sure that we didn't catch the corona virus from going to get our vaccinations.  

First – papers – Our first vaccination we had downloaded and filled in the information/questionnaire which the pharmacy had its vaccination page.  The pharmacist (a wonderful, understanding, nice woman) had been handing us the blank questionnaire forms to fill in when we went for our first vaccinations, but when she we had them filled in, took our filled in forms and told us to take the blanks she had to use for our second ones.  (Our thought in filling in the form in advance was to spend less time out of the house and in the pharmacy and lower our chances of coming in contact with Covid – or anything else – from those in the pharmacy store.)  So we filled in the papers again the night before our second appointments.  (We also kept kept scans of both sets of forms, just because it something we would think to do “in case”.)

We had needed our driver's licenses and medical insurance cards the first time – not sure if we need them again.  We again put each set of license and insurance cards in a snack sized zip bag.  Easy to take out and hand to the pharmacist and not need to fish our wallets out of our pockets.  After the cards were given back – easy to put them back into their bags and then let them sit a few days at home before taking out of the bags.  This second trip we also each put our vaccination record card into the bag with our license and insurance cards.  

The cards in their small bags were put into the larger gallon sized zip bag that we our completed papers into.  This way when we were at the pharmacy, everything we needed was in one bag – that if we wanted to we could just toss out afterward or could use to keep the papers together on our way home.  

The papers were all assembled and put in the bags on Wednesday night (instead of posting to you).

Second – clothing -  since it still cold weather, my husband is wearing his long sleeved shirts and I am wearing a sweatshirt over my tee shirts.  But, we had to be able to uncover our arms.  I had pulled a short sleeved shirt out for him when he went for his first shot and after it was washed, put it in his closet (as opposed to where it had been with his stored short sleeved shirts) for him to use again.  I did not wear a sweatshirt (tee shirts are short sleeved).  We did each wear a winter jacket – but while each one of us had their shots, the other one could hold the jacket of the one getting the shot and then switch for the second person to get their shot.  

Third – clothing for when we came home.  We each brought down a shirt, jeans, and socks so that when we came home we could take off same that had been worn when sitting in the chair at the pharmacy to get our shots and toss it in a clean garbage bag for awhile to let any virus picked up somehow from the chair die before we touched it.  (Right now, a week later, the clothing is being washed in my weekly laundry.)   

Fourth – laundry.  I do the laundry starting on Wednesday night and continue at night until all of it is done for the week (generally continuing on Thursday night, sometimes Friday night or even longer).  I am actually doing our laundry as I write to you – clothes first, then a load of towels. Last week I wanted to make sure that all of the laundry was washed and dried or drying when we went to bed.  I then fold laundry in bed when we go upstairs up for the night.  I folded the clothing/hung up his shirts before going to bed as usual and I knew if we needed towels they would be dry even if I could not carry all of them upstairs to fold on Thursday night (which neither of us could do).

Luckily the store was almost as empty (it had been completely empty of customers the first time) as the first time we went.  We had the same nice pharmacist to give us our shots.  She remembered us when we walked towards her (two old, short, fat people, overdressed for the weather) and everything went off easily.  (She did not need our insurance cards or ID this time, so I dropped them back into the larger bag.  She did need the questionnaire forms.  It all went off quickly and easily again.

When we had our first vaccinations husband's arm swelled and hurt.  Mine did neither.  This time the same thing with happened with his arm – but bigger swelling and more pain.  My arm hurt also, but I get the impression his hurt or more.  It took until Monday (4 days later) until I could lift my left arm all the way to the bottom shelf of the kitchen cabinets without feeling any pain.  And I had to deal with cooking and clearing up for Easter with it hurting.  

The dealing with the packing to go to the pharmacy along with sitting and keeping husband company the night before we went made me forget to post to you.  Then the ache in my arm and getting ready for Easter made me, well, forget completely that I had not posted.  

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Please go and get and YOUR vaccination when it is your turn.  I want to keep my readers as long as possible and I worry about all of you.   It was much easier around here to get an appointment at this particular chain pharmacy than at state or county locations or at either of these other two large pharmacy chain locations around here.  

Be organized and plan before you go.

COVID 19 #28 FOOD SHOPPING

 Another week gone by  - and I am a day late, my apologies.  

We went on one of our Covid food shopping sprees yesterday.  The shopping took about 3 hours and then wiping down and storing the items another couple of hours when we got home.  We last went food shopping in mid January on a similar adventure.  We have been doing our food shopping trips to a Walmart Neighborhood Market.  The Walmart stores around here are much smaller than elsewhere and have only small food departments not the large supermarkets that Walmarts have in other area.  Walmart has among their other chains, one called Neighbor Market.  These stores are supermarkets and pharmacies and what is normally carried in stores such as this – not the big assortment of items carried in their regular stores.  This particular Neighborhood Market is their highest grossing in the US and has been turned into a “retail lab” to find out why – I could tell them why without all the work of making it someplace I really don't want to go, it is the only Walmart supermarket in the bi-county area! The Neighborhood Market is 2 miles along the road from the local regular Walmart near us (where we get our prescriptions) – so it is sort of an add on to the local regular Walmart.   We did fill in bread and some items once or twice between January and now at our local Walmart when we went to renew prescriptions or needed something right away.  

When we started doing these food runs last May (2020)we were not as organized as we thought and yesterday's trip was actually the most organized and relaxed of all our shopping trips since we started staying at home last March (2020).  I am guessing that I have written about our first trip – by the time we were done shopping husband felt so bad that he had to wait in the car for me while I checked out – we later figured out it was due to his blood sugar having fallen from the (negative) excitement, his panic, and the sheer amount of running around we had done.  

After our third shopping trip I figured out that what we needed to do was to make TWO shopping trips at the same time.  First we go into the store and buy all the items we need which do not have be kept cold – canned and jarred foods, boxed foods, bagged foods, cleaning supplies, OTC medications, soap if we need, any office supplies and such.  We then check out and bag all the items – we have to bring our bags or buy paper bags from the store due to a change in law which went into effect in the middle of the pandemic and the paper bags they have are small.  I bring A LOT of bags and pre double bag them.  We take the bags out to our car, in this case our van as our car is in for service for over a month as they cannot figure out what is wrong, and our van is better for this anyway as it holds a lot more.  We then locked the van and took our cart and more bags back into the store.  We then bought all of the cold items – refrigerated, meats, and frozen items and then checked out again.  We even remembered to use 2 coupons for several dollars each – sent to us by a manufacturer due to a problem with a product a few months ago.  By the time we were done we had 16 double bagged bags plus 2 (not really) “gallon” pails of ice cream.  Amazingly we were not exhausted and not yelling at either as we have been on these food runs in the past.  Two good is that I drink as little water as possible with lunch as I don't want to have to visit the ladies room in a store right now and – husband finally realized this – he has to eat enough for lunch before we go to have enough glucose in system for his blood sugar not to fall while we are out.  We also go around 2 pm so the stores have smaller crowds in them – people working, children coming home from school etc then – easier to move around and almost no line checking out – plus not as many people means more space between us and them right now.

When we come home we wipe down most items with alcohol on paper towel.  I say most items as some items are double packaged – such as dry cereal in a bag in a box or fruit bars which are individually packed in a box – with these items we open the outside packaging and dump out the inner packages instead of wiping down the outer package and toss the outer packages right away.  It is an exhausting process and I came up a way to make it a little less.  Since I don't have to worry about canned and jarred goods being out as they will not attract bugs or other vermin, I leave the cans and jars in their bags and set aside the bags until later in the evening.

This entire process took us about 5- 6 hours this week not including later wiping down and storing the cans/bottles.  But we won't need to food shop again, other than some fill ins for about 2 months.  Why do we do this?  Well, we don't want to go out more often than we need to.  Hopefully by the time we need to do a full shopping trip again – it will be safer for us to do so, especially as we should get our second vaccinations next week.  

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

How organized are your shopping trips, especially now?  Do you buy only items which are needed (to be honest we were doing that  before “stay at home” came into being and I did not like it)?   Do you plan ahead to make sure that you don't run out of things?  Do you make a list as you run low on food and related items so you will know what you need.  (Since we started doing these food runs I actually inventory everything we have and make a list in computer spreadsheet than sit with husband to decide what and how much we need to buy of items – also since stay at home, I sort the list by, more or less, which aisle in the store the items we need are in – and print out the list of what we need to buy and take it with us.)

2020 INCOME TAXES

 Okay, no one wants to help me by letting me know what they are interested in.  

So this week - income taxes!  (Don't complain, I asked for suggestions.)

First, as of today those in the U.S. now have until May 17, 2021 to file their 2020 income taxes.  Does this mean that one should sit and back and put off doing their taxes?  NOOO.  Get started now.  The sooner you file, the sooner you get your refund.  (Okay, if you owe money you can wait until May 17, but if you owe money, you should file sooner as you may pay less in penalties and interest on what you owe.)

Second, this is a hard year to do income taxes – many people have less income than normal and/or are not sure about how to figure out what to do under the circumstances or what to do about the Economic Impact Payments you received – or didn't receive.  Various tax preparation companies have “free file” where one can file their taxes (if below a certain income) for no charge.  

Third, while IRS has given an additional month to file returns – no states have done so yet.  So unless you live in a state with no income tax  or your state follows IRS's lead in the coming days you may still have to have your IRS return completed on time (even if not filed) to be able to file your state return on time.  

Fourth, IRS is not easy to reach by telephone this year.  I have a client who has not yet received their refund from IRS for 2019.  They filed in October 2020 on extension and have long ago received their state refund, but not a peep from IRS.  I have been telephoning IRS for a couple of weeks now – on a good day I get a recording from IRS that their lines are too busy and to call back later.  On a bad day, I get a phone company message that the call cannot be completed as the lines are too busy.  I found a special IRS office which has a different phone number, what I am calling about does not seem to be listed as something they deal with – but I figure I have nothing to lose by calling them and seeing what they can do – so if I don't get through tomorrow on the regular line, I will try the special office's line and hope I get through and they can help.  

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK-
There is an old expression “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” This year doing taxes may be certain, but is harder than usual.

WHAT WORKS IN ORGANIZING FOR ONE PERSON DOES NOT WORK FOR EVERYONE - WHAT ARE YOUR PROBELMS OR SOLUTIONS?

 How about some of you write an email to tell me some of your problems with getting organized and declutter or something which you found helpful or a problem that you have.  I know that some of you are reading my posts – it would be nice to get some response.  

I know that the blog wanders a bit for one about organizing.  When I wrote early posts I ended up discarding what I wrote – does anyone out there want a list of “I put 3 dinner plates on the bottom shelf of one of my kitchen closets with two utility dishes on them and our two lunch sized plates on the top of the stack.”  or I keep my good china in the cabinet over my stove set up so I can easily pull out 2 plates, 2 bowls, 2 cake plates, and one coffee cup and saucer”?  

I though not.  I sort figured the process of working on trying to get organized and what I do is more interesting than lists of where I put what.  

Let's face it, we all know the basics – get rid of excess stuff, find a place for each item you keep and put everything its in place.  But in real life does that actually work?  

One online organizing group which I am on, often has a post saying to make sure everyone in the house puts their dirty dishes in the dishwasher to make it easier.  This presumes that one has a dishwasher (not everyone does) and that it is used.  We have a dishwasher.  The first one came with the house when we bought it from the last owners.  Husband insisted I should use it, so I did.  My mom always said that the dishwasher does not clean as well as a person – she was right, it could not even get the newsprint ink off the dishes and such from when it was packed to come to the house.  

The dishwasher died a few years on.  Husband convinced me to buy a new one and we used it – I spent a lot of time rewashing dishes.  That dishwasher died in steps – first the interlock died (the device that lets the dishwasher know it is locked and it is okay to wash the dishes) I would lean a chair on the door of the dishwasher to keep it locked and in position for a number of years.  One morning I came downstairs and the dishwasher was full of water – the pump had died.  I bailed it out and dried it.  I turned it into a drying rack for hand washed dishes – not good as I had to keep drying it out from the dripping that went on.  It is now used to store some large items which do not fit into cabinets.

Husband pushed me to buy a new dishwasher.  I went looking.  After a year or so I found one liked, I was ready to buy it.  Then I read the reviews of dishwashers.  It was not rated well and it seems that the newer dishwashers work differently and often dishes need to be washed again.  So I did not and do not plan to buy a new dishwasher.  For two people who normally only eat 1 to 2 meals a day at home – do I really need one?   Even now - when we are eating 3 meals at day at home due to Covid and staying at home – it takes rather less than 10 minutes to wash the dishes, pots, etc after each meal.  

So, if I had my husband put his dirty dishes (a plate, maybe a bowl, and silverware three times a day and a glass also at night – we leave our glasses on the table during the day and reused them) in the dishwasher – I would have to wash the dishwasher also.  I clear the table after we eat and wash the dishes, etc – no big deal.  

Everyone and their problems in organizing are different.  Fixed rules do not apply other than the general idea of trying to have less stuff and putting it where it belongs – both of which vary person to person.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

What problems do you have?  Do you consider your problems in getting organized and decluttered to be large or small?  What suggestions can you offer others about what you have done. 

WORKED ON CLEARING UP OUR STUDIO SOME MORE

 Sorry for the delay in posting.  We managed to get appointments for our first Covid vaccinations during this past week and it diverted my time and attention.  (We are both in our late 60s.)

Last post I was talking about working on clearing out our studio.  I worked on the area behind my work table.  (Husband and I each have 5 foot long table and the tables touch along the length – this gives us a 5 foot by 5 foot table if we use both together for larger projects.)  Items which were normally on top of my table as well as items that had recently been put on my table – craft projects from when I was young that I had brought from my family home when it was being – all had to be moved off of the table when I needed it for the food storage.  The items were not sorted through and ended up on the floor in front of the table as well as on my chair and on top of the items on the small side table to my main table.  (They make an L together.)  It has not been easy to get to the far end of the table where items such as spare plastic bags – sandwich size, gallon size, and similar as well as some of the less other less often needed items are stacked.  I should also explain that under my work table is the storage for a lot of the inventory we made and take to craft shows when we do same so that space is not available for storage for anything new.  

I started going through the mess behind my table.  I found items to be donated – forgot about them in the year since.  I found items I made while still living at home and put them in the bags that were holding other similar items.  I have to figure out what to do them.  One piece, which I had embroidered as a gift for my parents' fortieth anniversary and has come back to me, is framed and I had husband hang on the wall behind my chair in the studio – it had been on the floor in the dining room and I had been afraid that one of us would trip and put a foot through it.  I have to decide what to do the other pieces.  Most of the others are not framed and were never finished into anything.  These days I often finish pieces by basically making a small quilt of the piece so it can be stored easily in a drawer, as well as easily taken to an embroidery demonstration when I do same.  

I can now walk all the way to my small side table – the next mess to deal with as things have been tossed in it's general direction (and not always making the distance) since the area was blocked.  I had taken a plastic holder which has open storage of thread spools on it to get a spool and when I put it back – I missed the spot and the spools fell on the table and the floor.  I can now get my chair out and go around and clear up the floor around it and deal with what is on the small table.  

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

When it is YOUR turn – do go and get vaccinated for Covid.  We all need to do our part to reopen the world.  I know several people who have died from it – including a young woman – a teacher – in her twenties.  

My sisters and I have not been able to see our 91 (92 end of the month) year old mother since last March.  Last year my sister went to see mom for her birthday and found the doors to her assisted living residence locked.  There was a cart outside with a note that no one was allowed in and if one had anything for a resident to leave it on the cart with their name and apartment number and it would be given to them.  So mom's cake and gift and left.  My sisters have seen mom – from the outside of a fence with mom seated on a chair inside the fence a distance away.  I have not seen mom as we are not going out except for necessities in over a year.  

We need to get vaccinated so that families can be together again – mom's time left with us is limited and we do want to see her  - in person – again.  We also need to get vaccinated so young people just starting out in life have a life ahead of them and so that children do not think how we must live for now is normal.  

WHAT A DIFFERENCE HALF AN HOUR OF CLEARING THINGS UP CAN DO

 I have probably mentioned that my husband and I are crafts artists.  One of the reasons we bought this house is that there is a family room off of the kitchen through a large squared off arch. I could cook dinner while working in our “studio” and we could (back then) turn the kitchen TV around to watch it from the studio.  Of course like every other room in a house it becomes a mess and needs organizing – again.

Early last year I had been working on clearing it up – and then Covid-19 hit.  I stopped working on the room.  I ended up bringing my sewing machine into the kitchen to sew our masks – and of course the patterns and fabric for it were dropped on top of paper cutter on one end of a storage dresser near the entrance to the room.  It had already had my various embroidered and sewn items from when I lived with my parents tossed onto my worktable – along with projects in progress.  

When the room is maintained it serves its purpose well.  We can easily get to supplies, tools, books, magazines and storage. But when it is not maintained – well, you know that how it is.  

We were doing okay with the room basically usable and then this past Thanksgiving was approaching.  I wanted – no, needed to have Thanksgiving in the dinner as normal. In addition to wanting to make it as normal (and as nice) as possible, we need our kitchen table clear to be able carve the turkey, put things we will need for dinner and so on.  But when last May we had ordered food delivered we had no place in our small house to store the canned, bottled, jarred and packages of food in the quantity we had purchased it. Our dining room table was covered over with towels and the canned, bottled and jarred items were put on the table.  Food in packages was put into very large plastic containers on the floor and smaller ones on the table. There was no way we could have Thanksgiving dinner in the dining room as it was – but where to move it all – especially the items on the table?  

Of course, they could go on my work table in the studio - if was cleared off of course.  So I did a quick job of clearing items off of work table – some, such as husband's sewing machine, were pushed onto his worktable, others stacked on the chair I use at the table and items put on the floor.  My work table chair area backs to a wall with with some storage, so there was not a lot of room there.

This all worked okay for Thanksgiving… - for Christmas husband's weaving items including loom were added to what was stored in the studio - and Christmas…  and New Year's, but it has become a giant mess in the studio.  When doing some household sewing I had to lean over a good deal of the mess to get out a different color of thread – and managed to drop the holder on which all (well, mostly) the started spools are stored onto the floor – behind the mess.  Luckily I could read a spool of light gray and since it was a work item I was making, that was close enough to the light blue I needed.  

But this cannot go on.  It is one thing not to be able to use my work table, but not to be able reach and find the items I need is not alright.  But like everyone else I look and sigh and think  - oh my!

A couple of weeks ago I went to work on a laundry basket in our studio. It held various toys and other items husband's niece used to play with when she would come here one day a week for us to watch for her mom.  This is back when she was maybe 4 plus or minus – she is 19 now, she will not be playing these items again.  I went through the basket and sorted it out.  I threw out items which were, well, actually garbage even though she played with them - no, we did not give her garbage, but children, well they find items to play with which are not toys – for example, the first time she came for us to watch her it was just after my husband's birthday.  He had received a HUGE birthday card.  She loved it and carried and carried it around the house and drew on it – garbage – out it went. Some items are things we want to keep – such as toy train set of my husband's which she had appropriated, some stuffed bears and such.  They were put upstairs in “the teddys” room to find a permanent home.  The other items, mostly stuffed toys are not something we want and are not garbage.  They have been set aside so that when the corona virus is under control they can be donated as they are in excellent condition.  The laundry basket was washed and dried and put in the basement as a spare, well, laundry basket.  

This week I went to work on one corner of the room.  This corner has a bookcase with our needlework and sewing books, some related magazines, and the bottom shelf holds the cookbooks I kept after a purge of cookbooks about a decade ago (and no new ones added since),  It also has loose shelves – wire ones that husband uses to dry woven items on after he finishes them and wooden boards we use as shelves at craft shows.  Also stored on the floor here are a few plastic bags with framed cut paper pictures that my husband made and exhibits – though no exhibits in a few years.  There is room for all of this in this area while still allowing access to the book shelves.  But of course, until the area was cleared out of unrelated items which had been dropped there – the books shelves have not been easily accessible in years – the books and magazines which had been pulled out had been stacked on a Ellison cutting machine – so, of course the Ellison was not that easy to use as it could not be accessed.  Once the book shelf area was cleared out – the books and magazines were put away where they belonged.  The paper cutter mentioned before had also been moved to this pile (on the opposite end of the same dresser) to put our studio Christmas tree. It was put back where it belongs.  

In doing this I found a package of paper towels near my work table.  A mystery solved.  In January husband saw me replacing a used up roll of paper towels and asked how many more rolls we had (remember he thinks we use about 10 times more of everything we use) and I told him that we had at least 2 more rolls in both size sheets we have.  To me this means “we have plenty” to him this means “we are about to run out of paper towels any minute now”.  I reminded him that we had also bought a new package of paper towels, but of course could not find it when he asked where it was. So we bought a new package of paper towels – not the brand we like as it was out of stock – when we went out to pick up prescriptions.  As I cleared these items out of the studio I found the package of paper towels I knew we had bought under some of the mess and of course showed it to husband to show that I was right.  Both packages of paper towels are now in the basement in the area where we keep replacement paper goods.  

I plan on continuing working on getting the area around my work table cleared out so even if I cannot actually work there for now due it being a food storage area, I can at least get to and use the various supplies stored next to it in the corner of the room and under it without any problems.  

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

It is amazing how moving something for temporary storage can cause problems that seem huge.  In less than half an hour  of work last night, I now can access my bookshelves and books, can use our Ellison machine and our paper cutter, and made a big dent in the clearing away of items temporarily stored  and blocking access to supplies and tools.   A HALF AN HOUR!  That was all it took.  Can't wait to see what the next half an hour of clearing away stuff manages to organize and clean up.