# Messier or tidier? Pandemic effects on your home



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

At one level, we're not having company over, there's nowhere to go out to, we're stuck inside, and many of us have more time on our hands. So by all rights, our homes, be they apartments, condos, cottages, or separate dwellings, _*ought*_ to be tidier, since nothing should be getting in the way of tidying up.

On the other hand, we're not having company over, there's nowhere to go out to, and we're stuck inside, so there's no visitors to clean up for, we know we can simply wipe up that spill tomorrow, and all of our messes are being made at home, rather than somewhere else.

I looked around this morning and realized there's a lot of stuff just laying around, that needs to be straightened up, dusted off, put away. It's starting to feel like an episode of "Hoarders".

So how have the various forms of pandemic lockdown affected your housekeeping? Do you think you've become tidier, messier, or stayed pretty much the same?


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## ol' 58 (Jul 12, 2019)

Tidier and fewer possessions. Some cleaning and purging in this house.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

The only thing that I'm having more in our house is gear, guitars, amps and everything else that comes with those two. LOL I have also taken over the dining room and turned it into an office.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Tidier AND in better repair.

With both my wife and I here all day every day things are cleaner now than ever.

And, lot's of things that needed fixing have been and are being fixed.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

No difference in my house. I've always been a bit of a neat freak so my house is pretty immaculate before and during the pandemic.
I have recently discovered the benefits of minimalism and have been working a plan on purging and living more minimalist. This might include selling a guitar or 2 or at least not acquiring anymore than I have. I haven't decided yet. But the purge has begun. Its a bit of a fight since my wife has a hard time letting go of things. We have a lot of junk in storage and closets. We have a plan of downsizing our house in 5 to 7 years in retirement so I would rather not have a lot of junk to have to deal with in a short period of time.
One thing I've been able to deal with in this pandemic is I have rid my self of all debt except the mortgage. Cars are paid, credit cards zero, etc.
I've also started attacking the mortgage with double up payments and exercising my right, in addition to the double up payments, to paying a yearly lump sum up to 10% of principal. In 4 years I should have an extra 70,000 paid off my mortgage. That gives me 2 to 3 years to deal with the rest before retirement. 
So funny thing I'm actually worried about the end of the pandemic. While this pandemic is on it is super easy to be so financially disciplined. I've accomplished so much fiscally during this past year and a half. It blows me away how much financial freedom I've gained.
Once the pandemic ends its going to be much harder to stay disciplined.
All this and I did buy 2 guitars near the beginning of this pandemic.


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

We're always tidy (that's usually my impact), but we've done a few long overdue major clean ups: pantry shelves, fridge drawers, the junk tray. And the garden hasn't looked this good in years.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

ol' 58 said:


> Tidier and fewer possessions. Some cleaning and purging in this house.


Same here. Like you, I tend towards being a minimalist and like to have things clean, organized and tidy.
It drives Mrs. Greco crazy...LOL


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

+1 @guitarman2 , get rid of that mortgage before you retire. Best advice I've ever heard from my financial advisor.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

guitarman2 said:


> Its a bit of a fight since my wife has a hard time letting go of things.


See post #7 ...LOL

Congrats on all that you have accomplished and for you plan for retirement.


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

Just 3 of us here but the kitchen is a constant mess and the dishwasher runs daily. A fair amount of clutter around but that's nothing new really. I have an old house that is low on storage space.


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

Tidier, a lot tidier . I was called lazy and dirty and I wanted to smack some respect into that brat of a man child. Like really we had issues last March and he wouldn’t drop to the point where there was no peace so I moved after almost a full year of it . The last two months have been so peaceful and if I see him it’s no big deal now


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Mikev7305 (Jan 6, 2020)

Way messier. I got three kids under 6 and with no school or daycare, and all three at home 100% of the time, there's never a chance to clean up without the kids creating another mess in the other room. My gear section of the house looks nice and tidy though, all 30 square feet of it.


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## oldjoat (Apr 4, 2019)

about the same ... maybe a tad bit tidier. 

the house got a clean up just before the pandemic hit


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Messy.










Tidy


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

Definitely tidier and cleaner, not that it wasn't before. I've been doing a lot of purging as well, which was long overdo. Sometimes purging is done in waves.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Actual words of CBC announcer:

"If there is one player who can skate with the Soviets, it's Glenn Anderson and and Marc *Messier*."


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## jfk911 (May 23, 2008)

Well I have 4 kids so its pretty much stayed the same, we never really had people over and always and always constantly cleaning ha. However i did have time to clean out the basement after 10 + years so that's a bit cleaner.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Honestly, not much different. My wife is pretty tidy about everything, and I'm selective. My office/studio is a rubbish tip (always has been), but my guitars and vinyl collections are immaculate! (always have been)


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

messier...but I was already way down that rabbithole before the pandemic 
I had planned to tidy/organize things, and some small efforts in that. but its so easy to get distracted and put things off.

Things like halloween, xmas, bdays seem to be an excuse to mess things up even more by "decorating" which ends up sapping precious energy you might have used to make actual progress in tidying.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

A little messier due to me. Started to do my amp repairs and cap jobs in the main living room since more light and big TV. So have lots of amps, chassis plus cap and resistor cases lying around taking up lots of room. Plus have more guitar and basses out at the moment which is starting to be an issue.

The wife has taken over the dinning room table for her puzzles... keeps her busy.

Did just finish cleaning the entire kitchen mind you. Would just need to put my stuff away to be normal.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Somewhat messier and substantially dustier. With four adult sized humans under one roof all day every day, there is a bit more clutter and a whole lot more dust (mostly dead skin cells). I also don't have students coming and going, so there is less incentive to tidy up or vacuum/dust. There is an outside chance that I will be allowed to re-open on Tuesday, so I've started chipping away at the worst of it.

Our living room is the exception - it is much neater than usual - partly because all of my guitars are now in my basement "studio" and it also seems to be the family meeting place, when we're not watching TV.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

overall, things are better. More time to deal with everything. My shop even got cleaned up for the first time in about 10 years. We did a lot of work outside this summer, (on our own place for a change) so we're looking good. Staying busy, and purging stuff I'll never use.


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## hollywoodcrash (Nov 14, 2019)

This is an awesome question because it proves I'm not alone in having a _way _messier condo. Way messier. Can't win on the tidy front.


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## Stephenlouis (Jun 24, 2019)

Both depends on which rooms, the kitchen has never looked worse, I eat at home all the time now and love to cook, but hate to clean, when things were wide open I ate out 2 or 3 times a week and cooked easy stuff at home, ( low mess) now I cook messy stuff that tastes great and only purge the kitchen of my mess every couple days. the living room looks great though.


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## fogdart (Mar 22, 2017)

I always preferred Lindross to Messier.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

way messier


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

We moved and our basement isnt really unpacked. Main floor is good, tv could be dusted.


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## TheGASisReal (Mar 2, 2020)

I have consumed a great number of edibles


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## TheGASisReal (Mar 2, 2020)

Oh right, and I'd say my living space is less cluttered, but not quite as _clean _as during normal times. I'm working from home, and I find staying inside so much to be quite taxing on my energy levels. As a result, I am less productive with chores.. The bulk of my energy goes towards work, and practicing drums.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

fogdart said:


> I always preferred Lindross to Messier.


really?


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Twenty nine is not a huge sample, but somewhat as my original post suggested, current circumstances seem to have pushed folks in two different directions, with some not descending into clutter, and others less so. And yes, I would imagine that having young ones at home is going to be a bit of a dividing line. Not always, but understandably often enough.

Carry on.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

Because of people getting rid of things at cheap prices, maybe a bit more crowded. Some of the projects take up a bit of room.


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## mawmow (Nov 14, 2017)

As a retired couple, having few visits at home during cold season, we act as usual.

As we are preparing to downsize because we will move from house to a big 4 1/2 + condo (by the end of April or middle of May), we had to make some inventory and offer many belongings to relatives... that already came to fetch some things.


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Our house was always clean but now it's REALLY clean!

We had some rough time in the last months, some health related problems in our close family put a lot of stress on us. My wife like to clean and purge when she's in that bad mood. We did every room in the house.
I think we made 2 or 3 trips to the ecocenter and we have like 5 boxes ready for Salavation Army.

At the end, we have less stuff unused and it feels great. We even sold our car. Pendemic helped us to get a tidier version of ourselves!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

mawmow said:


> As a retired couple, having few visits at home during cold season, we act as usual.
> 
> As we are preparing to downsize because we will move from house to a big 4 1/2 + condo (by the end of April or middle of May), we had to make some inventory and offer many belongings to relatives... that already came to fetch some things.


The "1/2" is a bit of a regional thing that you may have to explain to non-Québecois.  Outside of Québec, dwellings are usually described in terms of "bedrooms" (i.e., 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom,etc.).


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

mhammer said:


> The "1/2" is a bit of a regional thing that you may have to explain to non-Québecois.  Outside of Québec, dwellings are usually described in terms of "bedrooms" (i.e., 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom,etc.).


Really?
I just learn something! Thanks for the head's up!
To surf on you explanation, I was also surprised many years ago when I learned that french people describe their apartment in square meters!


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

4 1/2 is a 2 bedroom apartment in the Province of Québec, measurements are also appreciated when shopping.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Messier?


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Baby Lindros is still not liked down here...

Messier for me !


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

My wife is still going in to work, so I have taken over household cleaning duties. So I would have to say messier.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

BlueRocker said:


> Messier?
> 
> View attachment 350261


Funnily enough, when I first read the post title, I thought, "Who is Tid-yay?"


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

KapnKrunch said:


> Actual words of CBC announcer:
> 
> "If there is one player who can skate with the Soviets, it's Glenn Anderson and and Marc *Messier*."


That is why I checked out this thread!

We have been rid of our four messy, stinky, angry, hungry sons for many years. There is just herself and I now! Both of us can cook, clean and enjoy a clean palace. We have acquired 3 grandsons in the last year and a half. We are deemed caretakers of these hoodlams due to childcare issues with their parents working out of town and nights in essential services. This meets the provincial COVID criteria. When the young man that turns 1 tomorrow stays overnight I have to put the house back on the foundation with heavy equipment. I call him Taz after the Bugs Bunny character !


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Probably about the same


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I'm sort of a neat freak and I find clutter distracting and stressful.

My wife does Molly Maid sort of work and has a list of regular clients for whom she does light house cleaning. For about a month or more she has stopped doing even that in compliance with efforts to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

So, yes, with both of us here and her inclination to clean....

It's tidier here now than any time I can remember.


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## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

Clean house = clean psyche.
Less physical junk = less emotional junk.
Less emphasis on stuff = more emphasis on self.

There’s nothin wrong with a functional mess or a hobby that involves things instead of people.

I do find it to be useful to start with a tidy space. I personally hang up cables and line up mic’s on stands and unplug amps and put guitars in cases after use. I’ll hang up tools and put things in their place before and after setting out to complete task. Something about treating spaces in the house as designated facilities makes me respect the task that I’ve set out to do more than if I live like Sherlock Holmes with no linear distinction between start and finish.

I try to dress the spaces I inhabit for the lifestyle that I aspire to have and it can serve as an intrinsic motivator.

The outside of where I live looks like a pack of wild whores would live here. And it serves its two primary functions 1. Nobody breaks in 2. I don’t increase the curb value of a house that I don’t own and my lease along with it.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I was on my own from age 17. I learned that avoiding a mess is easier than cleaning up after one.

I also learned that if you can't avoid one, the easiest way to clean up after a mess was generally immediately after you made it.

Simple things like making a pot of pasta for lunch. The pasta is sitting in the bowl and is probably still too hot to eat.

If a person rinses out the pot and utensils used in boiling the pasta immediately after plating (before eating) , it's like nothing, takes a few seconds.

Let it harden because you fell a bit lazy and you cause yourself extra work.

That and just learning to pick up as I walk through a room, ie, be a part of the solution instead of part of the problem.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

BlueRocker said:


> Messier?
> 
> View attachment 350261


Next Gov general? Did the CBC, and the astronaut, how about a hockey player?


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## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

Milkman said:


> I was on my own from age 17. I learned that avoiding a mess is easier than cleaning up after one.
> 
> I also learned that if you can't avoid one, the easiest way to clean up after a mess was generally immediately after you made it.
> 
> ...


Amen!! I actually hid all of the plates and cutlery from my ex so that we only had one set each and were forced to clean by hand immediately after eating and after 1 week she immediately saw how much easier life is without a mountain of dishes with dried resin on it.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Always12AM said:


> Amen!! I actually hid all of the plates and cutlery from my ex so that we only had one set each and were forced to clean by hand immediately after eating and after 1 week she immediately saw how much easier life is without a mountain of dishes with dried resin on it.


Not just that.

It prevents the sink from becoming a storage area as opposed to a cleaning station.

We have a dish washer, but even so, it seems to take an ongoing effort to keep the sink empty.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Milkman said:


> Not just that.
> 
> It prevents the sink from becoming a storage area as opposed to a cleaning station.
> 
> We have a dish washer, but even so, it seems to take an ongoing effort to keep the sink empty.


3 teenagers at home and this is the biggest issue.. they're learning but it's slow going. 
They now make supper some days but cleaning up as you cook escapes them so every measuring cup and mixing spoon is thrown in the sink.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

tomee2 said:


> 3 teenagers at home and this is the biggest issue.. they're learning but it's slow going.
> They now make supper some days but cleaning up as you cook escapes them so every measuring cup and mixing spoon is thrown in the sink.


When that light bulb goes on above their heads and they realize that the easy way out is to clean up as you go.......

Well, my kids moved out before that happened, LOL.


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Milkman said:


> When that light bulb goes on above their heads and they realize that the easy way out is to clean up as you go.......
> 
> Well, my kids moved out before that happened, LOL.


Guilty as charged! I took me a long time to realize that.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

i live alone, and i discourage visitors. i couldn't care less what people think when they come in here. the pandemic hasn't changed anything here.

this is my unwelcome mat:


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## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

cheezyridr said:


> i live alone, and i discourage visitors. i couldn't care less what people think when they come in here. the pandemic hasn't changed anything here.
> 
> this is my unwelcome mat:


I feel the same way.
I have zero ambition to keep up with the who’s of whoville.

But I do keep my enclosure organized.
If anything I do it even harder because I know it’s not for anyone but myself lol.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

cheezyridr said:


> i live alone, and i discourage visitors. i couldn't care less what people think when they come in here. the pandemic hasn't changed anything here.
> 
> this is my unwelcome mat:


Exactly what is your grievance against mosquito repellent?


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Any good tips on staying organized?


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Our house has stayed the same for the most part. Three boys turned to two when our oldest moved out on his own for the summer which cut down a little on the amount of stuff thrown into the sink and left till someone handles it.

My wife is one of the super busy people that cleans everything all the time. I am the opposite, but I grew up taking care of my brothers and sisters full time and did enough work by the time I was 13 I was ready for to be a little lazy. Living in group homes for a few years after taught me how to do a thorough deep clean so when I do get on it I can get the job done right.

We seem to have a ying and yang that works. One thing I learned after 20 years together is when she asks me to do something I jump up and do it. She doesn’t ask a lot of me and bed time seems to be a lot more fun more often when I don’t procrastinate her requests. I always found it funny how closely tied together those two things can be.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

mhammer said:


> Exactly what is your grievance against mosquito repellent?


you may not make ALOT of jokes, but when you do, you make it count.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Thank you, good sir. Much appreciated.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

tomee2 said:


> 3 teenagers at home and this is the biggest issue.. they're learning but it's slow going.
> They now make supper some days but cleaning up as you cook escapes them so every measuring cup and mixing spoon is thrown in the sink.


Nothing wrong with leaving things out until the job is done be it cooking or working on a vehicle. Why wash more than once.....wastes water and soap among other things. Same as why put parts and tools away until you're finished with them. I worked with a guy that did that....put each tool away when he was finished with it only to have to go and dig it out again a short time later. Same thing at the end of the day. He'd spend a fair bit of time putting stuff away and then getting it out again the next morning. It was a real pain especially if you had to take over for him.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

Apartment is a mess, car is a mess, I'm a mess. Got worse since the lockdowns.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

cboutilier said:


> Apartment is a mess, car is a mess, I'm a mess. Got worse since the lockdowns.


Well, if it helps, you're not the only one.


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

The same. House work is mood dependent for myself; I will add that I seem more motivated after a bowl of herb...anything boring is more interesting after a bowl.


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## Jim Wellington (Sep 3, 2017)

House work isn`t a problem, but I seem to be less motivated in keeping my workshop organized. I also am making little oversights on projects, finding the mistakes when I do my last check. I guess Covid has me distracted in some manner that I cannot clear out.


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