Emptying the loft is hard work but very satisfying. You can definitely break a sweat and it’s great exercise with the multiple trips up and down the loft ladder and stairs in order to get the stuff out of the house.

Yesterday I put on my protective goggles and face mask (due to allergies) and emptied quite a bit of the loft which consisted of items that we’d put in sealed boxes up there over the years and random items that the previous owners (13+years ago) left all over the place. Due to the fact that we have limited boarding in the loft, it was all crammed in and difficult to access therefore I’d forgotten what we’d put up there.

Part way through clearing, I found a few offcuts of carpet which the previous owners left. It’s the carpet that we’re about to replace around the house so that can go! They felt quite heavy when I tried to move them yesterday so my husband is going to help me tackle that one today. I also spotted a three drawer bedside cabinet in the corner which I definitely didn’t put up there – not sure how I’m going to get it out without taking it apart. It’s in good working order so it might be worth keeping it up there to store bits and bobs in.

Luckily, the loft is not as full as the garage so not really much to go through but it was just awkward to get to the stuff as I needed to balance on the joists in order to get to certain areas. Our loft hatch was made larger length-ways last year and it made me feel very nervous when I was balancing on joists near the opening.

A trip to the tip today

After many trips from loft to garden yesterday, I ended up with a full patio of boxes, bags and random items ready to sort out.

From this I made a pile for the tip which I have booked for this afternoon and the rest went into the garage for later sorting (stuff that’s worth donating or selling). I’ve left the many vacuum bags up in the loft for sorting another day – these are full of baby clothes, sheets, blankets, maternity clothes and so on. The plan is to check the condition of these items and donate the ones worth donating.

Exciting next steps

This clear out is in preparation of getting the loft boarded; a long awaited decision that I’ve procrastinated about for quite a while. I made a decision a few days ago to go for the company that were very reasonably priced (Loft Storage Room Company) and they are adding top up insulation and also removing the old water tank stand and empty water tank, and existing boards free of charge. The job will then consist of adding new boards down the centre and shelving each side. I will be able to finally store things properly and have a way of accessing them easily.

No one at home is quite as excited as me in getting this next step done but I cannot wait! For this reason, I couldn’t get anyone enthusiastic enough to help me yesterday and had to yell from the loft a few times when I was trying to pass something heavy down. Apart from that I just persevered on my own and got what I needed to get done so that I had enough stuff to fill the car for the trip to the tip today.

Emptying the loft is just part of the programme of work that I’ve been managing at home over the last 18 months or so. It all started with 10 minutes of daily decluttering and blogging about it. It then morphed into something that is changing our living space for the better. The progress has been a bit slow at times due trying to also juggle work and home life… and then there was the pandemic… but we’re getting there.

Until later…

Sandra