I had to get up early this morning as Ben the electrician was returning at 8am to remove the chandelier and my husband and I were going to try and help.

Also, the decorator was arriving at 9am and I had to get my daughter up and out of her room and remove her bedding, mattress and other items left in there.

It all went well, although it did take longer than we thought to remove the dusty chandelier. I tried to clean it with a long-poled duster before he arrived, but the dust was flying everywhere, so I just put on a facemask instead. It was a tricky exercise but Ben and my husband worked on a plan. First the bulbs and delicate shades were removed.

Straps were then wrapped around the chanderlier just in case! At one point I heard a loud noise and thought it had fallen but it had just slipped down after he had released the bolt. Ben was then able to disconnect the light and my husband and I took some of the weight of the chandelier and moved it across onto some wooden beams resting on the bannister.

I videoed the last bit on ‘time lapse’ on my phone, so if you want to see the 22 second video on Instagram, please click here.

The landing looks so much bigger and brighter now that we just have spotlights (installed yesterday)

The decorator’s first challenge is complete

The decorator worked on my youngest daughter’s room today. She did an excellent job and it kind of put our painting efforts to shame. We’re not professionals like her though 😀.

The door to the room is actually white now, not an off white/yellow colour like the other unpainted doors coming off the landing. The radiator and windowsill in her room is so glossy and perfectly shiny – the whole room looks amazing.

Perseverance with the Never-ending clutter

I got some motivating comments on my post yesterday… “such progress”, “I appreciate your efforts” and “you are a woman of perseverance”. I haven’t had a chance to reply yet, but thank you all for your support. I’m so determined to move forward every day; however, I do know that I mustn’t rush and I need to rest regularly.

What I must also do is realise that writing things down at the end of the day in this blog gives me a sense of release. I must recharge too which is where the self-care comes in. It’s all built into the pockets of my day. Stephanie Bennett Vodt in her book Your Spacious Self says the following…

“Writing down your experiences, dreams, synchronicities, ahas, is one of the most powerful ways I know to acknowledge and mark the shifts that are occurring in your life as you clear, especially if it feels like at first not much is changing”

Stephanie Bennett Vodt, Your Spacious Self

I always knew that writing in the evening releases the mental and emotional clutter for me.

I’ve been clearing the utility room this evening as the decorator is working on that tomorrow. I have so much in there that shouldn’t be in there and it’s all now joined the Christmas decoration boxes in the dining room. A good chance for more clearing!

Until tomorrow…

Sandra