Not quite a horder - decluttering

I want 7 layer dip too! Is there a specific recipe you follow or products you use?

Madelyn's / Mominator's 7-Layer Dip

Layer the following ingredients in a serving container. 
I use my new Ziplock large rectangle container for easy storage, but use a large glass casserole dish for fancy events.

(denotes healthier options)

16 oz can of (fat free) refried beans

about 16 oz of guacamole (I use a brand name and then mash in a whole, fresh avocado)

about 16 oz of (fat free) sour cream 

about 8 oz of (part skim or low fat) shredded cheese (cheddar or taco or your favorite mix)

about 8 oz of sliced black olives

about 8 oz of sliced cherry tomatoes

about 8 oz of red, pink, or black beans (depends on my mood)

Serve with Tostito scoop chips

Scoop and enjoy!!

Notes:
I use fat free versions of refried beans and sour cream, and low fat cheeses. 
I mash in the fresh avocado to make the guacamole less spicy. 
Some folks have chopped onions as the last layer, but I use the red/pink/black beans instead. 

I'm making another batch tomorrow afternoon. I'll get a picture before hubby (and I) attack it. 

I had to clear out my parents almost 5,000 square ft. house last year as they moved into a 1,500 sq ft duplex in an independent living community. My sister in law told me something she heard in a widows' support group - as you go through things from the past and get caught up in the memories of each thing, first hold/touch the item and savor the memories. Then "release" the item (donate, throw away etc.) It's amazing how well that worked. By acknowledging those memories, you can enjoy the moment, reinforce the memories, and then not feel so bad about letting go of the "stuff". Touch and release.

I made a double batch of my 7-layer dip.

Discovered today that the dip also makes a great filling for burritos.

Close up of dip:

MuddlingThrough: I also go first for the olives!

Some things is easy to toss. I bought a brand new cordless stick Dyson vacuum cleaner on line this week and am excitedly waiting to receive it. With dark carpet and two cats, I unfortunately find myself vacuuming often. I’ve been putting small windfalls of money into a ”vacuum fund” for when the Dyson went on sale (which it did this week). The fund includes coins wrapped from our garage sale last year, a rebate from a lazyboy chair purchase, a few left-over bills I didn’t spend on vacation, ect.

The vacuum I currently use downstairs is going upstairs to replace the pretty-much-worthless one that’s up there so I brought it downstairs today, i started saying something derogatory about it to dh and then said, “No, this vacuum served us well for many years.” and I thanked it for its service! It’s sitting in the garage to be put out for trash day on Friday.

We had come back from vacation last Monday to a funny smell in the house. There had been heavy rains while we were away and many neighbors had flooding in their basements. 

We couldn't find any problems, but the smell persisted. DH finally found a 10' by 10' area of the finished side of the basement where the carpet was damp underneath. The seal of the window above had failed. The was a wooden table in the corner, and all four legs had a small, smelly patch of mold growing beneath them. 

This was DH's corner of the basement, he used to have an office down there. Now there is a lot of office and technical equipment cast-offs.

We rented a steam cleaner and spent 2 days working on the corner. We got it cleaned, although the black stain didn't entirely come out of the carpet. 

Now DH is sorting through his stuff, and lots of it is going out. We had to toss 6 reams of paper that got waterlogged. I was lamenting what a waste of paper and money. Hubby said maybe by absorbing all the water, the paper saved the carpet. 

We'll be spending the next several weeks sorting through this mess. 

Mominator--Wow, what a problem to come home to! Glad it cleaned up well. Got to wonder if the paper didn't, in fact, help the carpet! But what a mess to clean up.

JaBoo, Good for you with the donations. It is nice to have a more personal connection with the recipients.

Since it's still too hot to work in the basement, hopefully weather will cool off next week,I decided to switch out my table coverings problem is I tend to go with the seasons and I'm probably going to have surgery in October and won't be able to lift the tv or other heavy items to place the coverings for months so I did it today. 

I am now looking at a table covering full of Christmas poinsettias and Christmas candles thatsvin a tapestry large throw  on my huge coffee table/tvstand ( it's a studio apt,things are used for double duty). 

That's nothing, I got an orange and green (Halloween!!!) giant granny square blanket with a white,black and red Christmas penguin tapestry throw one on top of that  covering my storage bench. The storage bench holds blankets and sheets inside  and I considered cleaning it out and getting rid of some but realized I use most of it either for my bed or as coverings so it's staying.

It's like my apt is confused.

Actually I'm gonna be confused it's still summer...

That's my attempt at decluttering at the moment. 

That and creating a workout corner with a container holding resistance bands,workout tops and shorts, yoga blocks,light weights, a wee towel and such.these days that corner gets more use then anything else in the apt. I also have a folded blanket on top to cover it when not in use so people who might come in don't see all that just a pretty blanket draped over something unknown.

Not a lot but I do what I can at the moment.

NativeMainer, I’m curious how much has been saved in the bottle, too. I’m keeping all the wrapped coins (and a few bills that got tossed in also) in a box till the bottle is empty, and I’ll let you know!

Muddling, I love hearing your story about the pretzel jar coin collection. Great idea to get a vacation souvenier to enjoy but not have to take care of!

All pennies before 1982 have a small amount of copper in them. So they might be worth 1.5 cents! Lol. It is fun to collect them as they are everyday coins you come across naturally. The wheat pennies are so scarce these days! I can remember seeing them always in change when I was growing up. I also remember the buffalo nickels and loved them and wish I’d saved a few of them back in the day. The wheats and buffalos fetch a little sum on ebay now and you’ll even pay more than face value for bulk pennies before 1981. Not that I’m interested in selling. I like the idea of passing along a small coin collection to my son and hopefully future generations. They take up very little space and will retain value. I have a handful of silver coins from late 1899s, early 1900s from my grandfather and love them.

Years ago we collected pennies in one of those giant water bottle/jugs. When we got ready to move, we went to pick it up, and the bottom broke off - spilling pennies all over the floor! From then on we made sure to use the plastic bottles LOL!

Muddling, My heart aches from hearing about your grandmother’s experience with break-ins. It is such a violation no matter the amount. One of our first apartments had an entrance partly obscured by stairs to the apts. above. I put a hanging plant out there to make it cheerier. It was stolen in a couple of days. I posted a small note there- can’t remember what it said but but some unknown person came along and put another plant there. That made a world of difference!

I am back in my home town which is a quaint little New England spot. My mothers family was one of the families who settled the town back in the 1600s. Several in the family are trying to off load family collectibles from generations before to me, but said no room to take or anyone to pass down to. I suggested the town historic society and have a few items for them myself.

I went for a tour yesterday which was great fun and got some ideas of things I may send to them to have in their collection for the duration. Something I have been trying to do for years but they are rarely open and never when I have tried to go.

Now to return and look for some of those items I can ship.....

On another de-cluttering subject, I am going through my safety deposit box and thinking about ways to pass down some family heirloom jewelry. I have a pocket watch my mother asked me to give to my nephew when he gets older that belonged to his great great fathers and is made from gold (so I am told). It does not work, but took it with me on the trip. My sister said it might be good to see if it can be fixed to actually run and agreed. So I decided instead to not give it to my nephew this time, but going to take it to an antique clock place in town I found last year to fix some other clock things and see what they can tell me about the watch. My nephew is going to come visit next year and think that will be the right time to give him the watch vs. this visit. I want a good hand off on this one!

I am pushing 60 and don't have children (nor does my sister) so I am looking more broadly now to pass along some of these family items to my cousins kids, nephew, etc. No need for me to hang on to all this stuff. Or they may go to the historic society in my home town too. The gold watch is from the other side of the family, everything else I have is from my mother's family who settled the town where I grew up. Time to pass along some family history to the ones who can appreciate things!