Some drawers are more prone to getting random crumbs falling in them than others. The drawer that sits below our raised chopping area in the kitchen is the perfect candidate for this.
As I opened the drawer this evening, it occurred to me that it’s also underutilised, as it has many sections and I don’t use them all properly.
Although I had a really busy/productive day at work as well as a full evening cooking dinner and apple pie for dessert, I still had some energy left for one piece of decluttering. This drawer is what I chose for today.
Drawer before decluttering
I took everything out, wiped it around and only put back what we actually use. Just like when I sorted our other drawers a few weeks ago, there were so many random items in there that when I placed everything back, I was left with a couple of empty sections.
I looked around the kitchen to see what tends to get left out on the sides and decided to use the spare sections for pens, scissors, food bag clips and a tap measure. Let’s see if this works and we manage to return these items back to their place after we’ve used them. This is the final result.
Drawer after decluttering
It feels lovely when opening it now (sorry, I do get excited about the simplest of things).
One third of the year gone and I’m feeling quite good about my decluttering journey. I have some thoughts for my additional monthly summary post which I will share tomorrow.
After a quick ‘me time’ walk this morning before the rain came. I then made myself a cup of tea and had a quiet ‘me time’ breakfast.
I don’t know about you, but I only tend to use certain cups in our tea cupboard. The others are used by everyone else or guests. I’ve noticed recently that it’s getting a bit difficult to fit all the cups in the cupboard. I’m also not comfortable putting the clean cups in there with the rim facing down as I felt that it needed a good clean.
I have a lot of different teas in the cupboard which I haven’t sorted through for a while. I wasn’t sure what was lurking at the back.
The decluttering part
So, as part of my daily decluttering challenge, I decided to give the cupboard a bit of love and attention. Here’s the ‘before’ photo.
Tea cupboard before decluttering
The cleaning
I first took everything out and gave each shelf a very satisfying wipe. The shelf with the sugar on it felt very crunchy as I wiped!
The cups
Before putting everything back, I decided that four cups could go into the charity bag, as they were small ones that came with Easter eggs many years ago. The girls use bigger mugs now.
The teas
I then went through the teas. I didn’t expect to find many teas out of date, as I drink so many different types and I’m always refreshing them. I did find a few individually wrapped ‘freebie teas’ which went into the bin as they had no dates on them. I was disappointed about the box of ‘Pukka three mint’ tea which was five months out of date; I didn’t know that it was hidden at the back of the top shelf. I don’t even remember putting it there, but it had a shiny silver bow on the top of it so it must have been a present. Would anyone else drink out of date individually wrapped teas that had been in a box (I’m sure I’ve done it without realising before)?
The finished cupboard
It only took me about half an hour from start to finish.
Tea cupboard after decluttering
I can see all the teas at a glance now and there is ample room for cups and mugs.
We noticed a few ants downstairs yesterday evening so I put some ant powder down by the front door. Thankfully there were no more ‘alive’ ants 🐜 when I got up this morning.
I never did get around to finishing decluttering the hallway a couple of weeks ago, so made this task top priority on my written list today. I moved everything out and into its place and swept and mopped the whole of the downstairs flooring. I felt so pleased with myself when I’d finished. It rained most of today and it was quite cold, so this was a perfect job to get done.
Just like yesterday I tried to avoid multitasking and managed to tick things off more or less in the order I’d set myself. It really worked for me again today and I got about ten things done including exercising, making some phone calls and writing this blog.
My girls made a tasty lemon drizzle cake whilst I was busy with other things which was lovely of them. I enjoyed that after dinner this evening.
The progress that I’ve made over the last couple of days have made me feel a bit more organised which is good.
I don’t know about you but even though we’re home every day, the days feel like they are whizzing by.
Today I knew that I had to take things slower as it’s been a bit overwhelming the last few days. I usually pride myself with my multitasking skills but today I decided to slow down and do just one thing at a time. There’s nothing wrong with multitasking – I just think that there should be pockets of time when I don’t do things that way. You never know it might soon become the norm.
Today I went with a visual to-do list on a piece of paper, and then prioritised the items. It included some of those 15 minute to dos that I mentioned yesterday. One task in particular gave me a sense of relief when I ticked it off.
I also spent a bit of time familiarising myself with the new Microsoft To Do app (I had to import everything from Wunderlist the other day as it’s closing down soon). I usually like to work things out for myself, but today I had a look online for some tutorials to see if I could get any quick short cut tips. Some of the reviews were saying that the app is not as good as Wunderlist which got me looking at alternative apps, until I suddenly realised what I was doing. I was falling into the trap of being unnecessarily sidetracked from what was on my written to-do list.
Focusing on recycling
Tomorrow is the day for the recycling bins to be collected so getting everything into the green bin and box was one of my priorities. It was all just sitting around outside the back door looking unsightly. I had a lot of cardboard to flatten, papers to sort out and fit in, and we’ve almost filled the plastic/glass/tin bin in just two weeks. It will be a good feeling when I hear the truck arrive in the morning, as I’ll have empty bins once again.
A Productive Day
I didn’t get everything ticked off my list today but I’m okay with that. I usually overestimate what I can do anyway. Don’t you just love it when you feel like you’ve had a productive day and you can reward yourself with a cup of tea and a few squares of your favourite chocolate.
I really struggled to write anything this evening. I’ve done loads today, but couldn’t get any sentences out in any particular order to write about any of it. I always start a blog with the title and then the writing just flows, but even that wasn’t helping. I started three or four posts with various titles and eventually stopped and went to brush my teeth.
Whilst I was brushing away I thought about how I feel like I’m pedalling backwards at the moment, so started a new post with that exact title in an attempt to inspire me to write. It worked.
My day was actually lovely until I started stressing
I’ve actually had a very good day. My daughters told me last night that they fancied coming out for a walk with me this morning. It was a lovely fifty minute walk together in the early morning sunshine. We didn’t go out until around 9am so there were a few more people out exercising than I was used to. Nevertheless, they all kept their distance. Although it’s very necessary in these unprecedented times, don’t you think that it all feels very unnatural, having to cross the road every time you see someone coming the other way?
After the walk we had breakfast and then I spent some quality time in the kitchen with my eldest. We shared the dishwasher duties and then we peeled potatoes together in preparation for dinner. We laughed at a few episodes of friends whilst we were working away. Dinner was roast chicken which I haven’t cooked for a while and it was very tasty.
I sunbathed in the garden this afternoon and did some reading and meditation. We then skyped my mum and dad for an hour which was so lovely.
Then I had this feeling that I hadn’t done anything productive and went into the garage to flatten some more boxes and make some space. I returned back into the house after twenty minutes and that’s when I started to feel overwhelmed. Little things were starting to annoy me and I felt like I was trying to do too much. It was yet another mealtime and the stuff was all still there in the kitchen from lunchtime.
My lovely girls picked up on my anxiety and helped tidy up whilst I made toasted sandwiches for everyone.
Time to take control
I was reading an article by Jack Canfield on Twitter yesterday on Everyday Positive Thinking and I signed up for the pdf guide to read. In the guide you have to find the page that matches how you are feeling and read the actions underneath of ‘things to do now’ and ‘things to do later’. What I’ve just noticed is that the way I was feeling yesterday sent me to a different page to the way I’m feeling today, which gave me different actions to take.
Yesterday I was feeling overwhelmed with too many projects so I worked out that I need to prioritise and work out what I want to work on and just get on with it. Trust my instincts. Don’t try and do everything. Long term I may need to reassess my goals. This evening I was feeling stressed and anxious as I have a lot of ‘incompletes’ so I need to listen to my body, do some deep breathing and practise self-care. Long term I need to break things down into smaller steps and clean up things that I haven’t finished.
It’s perfect timing that I have the next couple of days off work. I’m going to try and finish things that I’ve started as well as knock items off my ‘to do’ lists that take fifteen minutes or less, as they are also really playing on my mind.
I wasn’t planning on doing anything in the garage until after I’d decluttered most of the house; however, due to Covid-19 and not being able to give stuff away or sell it at the moment, I needed to make room for charity items.
Making a start… or not
I stood there and had no idea where to start. This is very unlike me as I usually get straight into action and know what I need to do. I was frozen to the spot.
I switched focus and watched an online video on my phone about productivity, processes and lists (which wasn’t relevant here but it gave me a few ideas for other projects). The video then automatically moved on to other videos (as it does) and eventually I stopped and pressed play on my current audio book for inspiration.
I can’t remember at what point this question popped into my head but it rang true and started me thinking… If this was someone else’s garage what would I do? My answer was that I would throw away or donate most of it because I wouldn’t have any attachment to the items. I stepped over a few boxes trying to think how I was going to make space, when I spotted one area that I could start with. My motivation was back! So, making a start I…
Moved some boxes out ready for recycling
Moved the unwanted wooden shelving to the side and used it to pile stuff on that was in the middle of the room
Tidied up a bit
Unrolled the half rolled up carpet to the end.
Swept the leaves and other dirt out of the space.
I stopped after I could walk easily down the middle. Here are the before and after pictures of the middle part that I attempted to tackle…
Before tidying the middle partAfter tidying the middle part
I was pleased with my progress today. Tomorrow I’m planning on collapsing even more boxes and looking at what I can physically throw away in order to make some more space.
I woke up earlier than usual to the birds tweeting outside and the delicate sounds of my eldest teen unloading and loading the dishwasher. It was very sweet of her 😊. She was back in her room when I went downstairs for my walk so I left her a thank you note.
I walked for 45 minutes today; longest walk since the beginning of lockdown and I really enjoyed it. I focused on the beauty around me. These are the best photos from the selection that I took…
The beauty of the outside
The tidying up bit
I was working in the conservatory this afternoon when my husband commented on the table next to me and said ‘all of the can go in the bin can’t it?’
Table before decluttering
… to which I said ‘I’ll sort it out’. You’ve never seen me move so quick, ha ha, before it all went in the bin. At least it’s another spot decluttered.
Table after decluttering
The takeaway bit
It’s been a loving sunny day again here and the weekend is forecast to be just as warm. As we’ve all been working hard this week my husband suggested ordering a pizza. Our first takeaway since lockdown. Let’s see what it’s like.
I’m enjoying my morning walks more and more each time I go out. I try and fit it in every couple of days for 15-20 minutes just to get an evergy boost and improve my mood. I might even start to make it daily. The rest of the family aren’t interested in coming with me; maybe in time they will. We could be in lockdown for a while according to the news updates.
Being outside gives me the open space that I need… there’s so much of it out there and hardly anyone about. It’s very freeing, helps to clear my mind and gives me a break from the clutter I still have around me at home.
What have I decluttered today?
This pile of papers etc which have started to accumulate again…
The pile keeps getting moved from the table to the stool and back to the table again. It’s growing and I’m not going to let it get any taller; it’s going to be tackled now!
I slept better last night by going to bed a bit earlier. Let’s see if I can beat that and get to bed even earlier this evening.
For some reason I didn’t have a very restful sleep last night; I was wide awake from 2.30 until 5.30am. Tried all my usual tricks to help me sleep: meditation, deep breathing, listening to calming sounds… almost drifting off each time. I was just thinking about getting up and starting the day when something I tried must have worked. Thankfully I didn’t have an alarm set and wasn’t working until the afternoon so woke up naturally at 10.20am. It was so bright in the room when I took off my eye mask (so pleased that I put that on).
My husband had been lovely and put a cup of tea by the bed at 9am which had obviously gone cold, and my daughter had been helpful and done the dishwasher. I’m thinking of having a lie more often!
Mowing the lawn
Oops, not sure if my wildflower seeds blew all over the garden when I planted them in the borders a few weeks ago (as there’s nothing growing in the borders yet… might be wrong). Although I knew that they were probably weeds, they looked pretty on the lawn but it was time to mow them away. It didn’t take long and then I sat outside for a while before work.
I’m tying to relax and wind down this evening so that I have a better sleep tonight. I might also try getting my daily blog posted a bit earlier in the evenings, which might help with the wind down.
I think I need to do a bit more exercise as well. How are you all doing with your new exercise regimes?
I would consider myself to be a very patient person; however, there is always room for improvement in order to grow as a person, don’t you think?
I was cleaning the main bathroom this morning, focusing mainly on the windowsill and bath when my husband came in to ask me a random question. After answering, I mentioned to him that one of the bath tap covers had come off a month or so ago and would he be able to fix it ‘at some point’. I followed up my request with ‘but not now as I’m in the middle of cleaning’.
Messy bathroom windowsill and broken tap cover (bottom left)
Sometimes he likes to do things straight away and most of you will probably think ‘how lovely’; however, it’s not lovely when you are in the middle of cleaning the bath and about to decluttering/wiping the windowsill. He said that it wouldn’t take long, to which I thought that even if it took a couple of minutes I would still have to stand there with my rubber gloves on in the flow of cleaning and switch to DIY assistant getting him the tools he needs etc.
An opportunity to practise patience
I stopped what I was doing and waited patiently. I got him the screwdriver, held tap parts, and watched him puzzle over why the tap cover wouldn’t grip the main bit (that’s the best way that I can describe what I saw) . It probably took about twenty minutes, and it’s now all done to which I was very grateful.
I had to rinse round the bath again afterwards. I then cleaned the windowsill, recycled unused bottles, and wiped around the window/tiles etc.
Clear windowsill and fixed tap
I suppose the lesson I learnt today is that by practising patience, I got an old outstanding job done quicker than planned.
It’s been another busy day but the pace was better than the last two days. I tried to have a few more breaks in between working. There’s a lot to do every day; I just need to be a bit more patient with myself and remember that no one is measuring my progress apart from me.
