Day 51: 15 Minutes Until Midnight…

I haven’t done any decluttering this evening and I’m not likely to either as it’s 15 minutes until midnight. I popped into the kitchen to get a drink of water and was faced with this:

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Day 50: Repeating Decluttering Steps

As I moved the washing basket and other items from the bed and back to the ironing board this evening (a reverse of this morning when my husband ironed his shirt) I thought about how the ironing board was clear a few weeks ago (13 Days In Decluttering Mode).

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Day 50: Is it Worth Trying to Sell Unwanted Items Online?

When I sorted out the shoe cupboard the other day (61 Pairs of Shoes and 4 Cans of Paint), I left a pile of shoes and other footwear to be ‘dealt’ with (sell, give to charity etc). They’ve been cluttering the corner of the dining room since then, and have been really annoying me.

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Day 49: It’s Recycling Day, Yeah!

Recycling bins

Although it’s not the nicest of jobs, I do like it when this fortnightly event comes around when I can put all of these three bins out at the same time. As all of the recycling leaves by the back door, it really does make the house feel lighter somehow. My usual routine goes something like this…

  • The indoor food caddy gets emptied into the almost full orange bin outside
  • I look around for any stray plastics, glass and paper, which includes a quick run around the house (particularly bedrooms)
  • I rip up all of the cardboard that has arrived over the last two weeks, instead of my old routine of just storing them in the garage (which was where I was about the put the one below just in case I might need to take the fan back!)

So, did last week’s step work?

When I wrote the blog Does ‘Emptying the Bins’ Count as Decluttering? a week ago, I introduced a new little step and asked the rest of the family to start putting plastics and paper in the separate sections of the pullout bin in the kitchen. I’m pleased to say that most of the items have ended up in the right bins (although I did have to move a couple of plastics from the non-recyclable bin this evening).

It’s going to take everyone a bit of getting used to, but we’ll get there in the end.

Until tomorrow…

Sandra

(Author of https://mywritingnotebook.com)

Posted in 2020 Challenge, decluttering, Getting organised, Household chores, Inspiration, recycling, working mum | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Day 48: Is it a Clutter Problem or is it Poor Decision Making and Time Management?

Letting go of the pretty dresses and skirts

I don’t hoard on purpose. I don’t collect things or have an urge to keep going out to buy things. What I do actually do is avoid making decisions about the stuff that I do have.

This year I am getting better about the time management side though. I am carving out daily time to tackle the unwanted items and blogging about it (which gets me writing every day – something I am very passionate about).

Some days I do just ten minutes decluttering and ten minutes writing, and some days I do more. It all depends on what else is happening. I’ve learnt this week not to put pressure on myself to do it. And not let anyone else put pressure on me either.

My excuses in the past have been:

  • I can’t make decisions about everything, so it’s going to take years to go through it all
  • I don’t have enough time to get rid of all of this stuff
  • I’ll only move it to another room for future sorting, so it’s not worth making a start
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Day 47: Shiny Taps Again

ecover limescale remover

My friend told me about the ecover range of products, which are apparently more environmentally friendly than some of the other cleaning products out there.

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Day 46: Stress and Clutter on Your Shoulders

Stress and Clutter on Your Shoulders

I had a bit of a lie in this morning being the weekend. My lunchtime meal with my friends had been cancelled, so pottered about the kitchen, moving my body as I knew that it would ease the aches and pains around my head and shoulders. I’ve been getting these sorts of pains for years and I’m usually quite good at preempting them by relaxing just in time.

Not this time; it sort of crept up on me as I finished my work on Wednesday evening. As I closed my laptop, that I’d been hunched over for a few hours, I felt the niggly strain in my shoulders and ignored it. All I could think about was getting some decluttering done that evening and the next morning.

I got up Thursday and ignored my body telling me to relax and decluttered the plug holes in the bathroom and did some cleaning (as I couldn’t have a bath until I’d done that – there’s always something to stop me relaxing). I did have a relaxing bath but not as soon as I neeed it. Now the pain has lasted for two days which is standard for me when I ignore it.

Your body knows when you try to trick it.

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Day 45: I think I’ve Earned a Day Off From Decluttering

It’s been 44 days since I started my challenge to take decluttering seriously and make small daily improvements around the house. Some days I’ve gone over the top and worked myself too hard like yesterday, so I gave myself permission to avoid it today. My head and neck felt tense giving me a horrible headache.

Today was a family day.

I started the day with a bowl of porage and slice of lemon in water.

I did ten minutes in the gym followed by a relaxing session in the steam room, jacuzzi and sauna, which eased my head and neck-ache a bit.

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Day 44b: Decluttering Plug Holes

Using a metal sink unblocker to de-hair the pipes in the bathroom

I didn’t expect to have to do this today, particularly on my day off, but oh well! I thought that I would clean the girls’ bathroom as that’s the only one with the bath in it. That way, I could have a nice relaxing bath later after my decluttering session.

I noticed that the water wasn’t draining properly. Then I recalled that the girls had mentioned this to me a few times, but I kept putting off looking into it. They have long hair, so I knew that there was probably hair down the plug.

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Day 44a: On A Day Off To Yourself…

…some people would relax and put their feet up or go out and do something fun. Not me, I am decluttering. And I love it ❤️.

What would you do if you had a day off to yourself?

Check in later for updates…

Sandra

Posted in 2020 Challenge, decluttering, Fun and relaxation, Getting organised, Household chores, Inspiration, working mum | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments