Making the Most of a Second Lockdown Birthday… That Year Went Quickly!

Posted on April 8, 2021 by Sandra Madeira
Lockdown birthday no. 2

I turned 52 today and have enjoyed a second lockdown birthday. Not many of us can say that we’ve had two consecutive lockdown birthdays, but although they are not exactly growing on me, it’s lovely to spend it with the people I am closest to no matter where I am.

Yes, it would be nice to be away somewhere; however, being at home with a family that spoil me and even getting a little bit of time to myself to write (one of my favourite pastimes), is something to be grateful for.

What could be better than this…

  • We all had yummy pancakes for breakfast courtesy of my husband.
  • I received phone calls from family and friends wishing me well and singing happy birthday to me.
  • I watched Aladdin on Netflix with the girls.
  • We had a light lunch followed by delicious cheesecake (made by my daughter).
  • I sat in the garden enjoying the warm sun. It was a bit breezy at times but when the sun is out, I just can’t resist it. Even the birds sang to me – I’m sure they were singing happy birthday 😊.
  • I had a late afternoon walk in the sun with my daughter.
  • We had a takeaway curry for dinner.
  • I got some great presents… candles, a mini handheld printer, slippers, a journal, chocolates, vouchers, bubble bath, a book about growing roses, and two different types of blossom trees which are going to arrive next week.

I’ve always wanted a blossom tree and my wish has come true. I usually watch them flower in other people’s gardens, and I’m so looking forward to having my own.

All in all, it’s been a lovely relaxing day!

Until next time…

Sandra

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Hours of Clearing Clutter and Practising Tai Chi

Posted on April 4, 2021 by Sandra Madeira

As most of my readers know, I have a messy garage which I call my cluttered hideaway and as there’s so much stuff to sort out, I go in there to reclaim some space and get ‘clearing’ out of my system. I also have another good reason to be in there this week… to make room for Rentokil to comfortably walk around the edge nearest the house.

Yesterday I had a day off from the garage and spent some time resting and sorting through some paperwork and old notebooks in the study. I love the room now particularly when the afternoon sun pours through the window. I sit at the desk every morning and evening to write, plan, read etc. It’s an amazing space. I had a long video call with my friend yesterday and she commented how tidy it was looking. It was lovely to catch up with her and we had a laugh.

Roast lamb for Easter

Today my husband offered to cook the roast lamb and I didn’t hesitate take him up on it. He enjoys cooking and I enjoy not having to cook so it actually worked out perfectly. He always slow cooks the lamb and coats it with herbs and garlic and it tastes amazing. All of the hours that the lamb was cooking, I spent in the garage.

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An Update on the Mice and the Clutter

Posted on April 2, 2021 by Sandra Madeira

I can’t believe it’s been over a week since I’ve written anything. I’ve started many posts but not finished them as I’m in the middle of a lot of things including starting a couple of new and exciting self-improvement projects (more on that in future posts). Work has been very busy too and I’m so glad that it’s the Easter weekend and I have four days off in a row.

More mice

The man from Rentokil came round last Thursday and the first thing he found was another mouse in the loft in one of the traps that I’d set. He disposed of it and then went about putting bait boxes up there, more traps, and some tracking gel. We asked him to check if there was a way they could get into the house or be coming from the garage.

I’d spent a bit of time the day before he arrived making some space for him to check the garage; however, I felt a bit disappointed when he said that he couldn’t get to the wall that is connected to the house. All the work I’d done making space had been a bit pointless. It hadn’t even occurred to me that he’d need to check the wall that connects to the house (makes sense when you think about it). I said that I’d clear space near the wall before his next visit.

He did find small gaps in a couple of air blocks outside where they could be coming in and possibly be climbing up through the walls into the loft. He’s going to fix these openings for us on his next visit. Another task he gave us (me) was to check the loft every couple of days and call him to dispose of any that we find. He had to swing by yesterday to take one away for us.

Clearing space in the garage today

I felt quite motivated this morning knowing that it was the start of a four day weekend. After having a lie in (sooo good) and a leisurely breakfast, I planned my day. I wanted to spend a big chunk of it in the garage moving things away from the wall nearest the house. It sounded easier than it actually was and I did get a bit disheartened after 30 minutes so I called my mum for a chat and to get some inspiration. It really helped talking through with her what I was trying to achieve. The sun came out at that point so I opened the main garage door and started taking the larger items out so that I had space to move boxes around.

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Create Categories When Making Decisions On Clutter

Posted on March 24, 2021 by Sandra Madeira

I’ve introduced categories when sorting through clutter before so it doesn’t feel like anything new; however, what I’m doing this time around seems to have the stuff flying out of the room at record speed. I think something is shifting in my brain. I have so much to write about, so I’ll try and be brief in this post and come back and expand on certain points in later posts.

A Quick Way to Sort Out an Overwhelming Mess

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Really Useful Boxes Make Me Feel Organised, and Tidy Rooms Make me Feel Calm

Posted on March 20, 2021 by Sandra Madeira

I found a few items in the study today that belonged with the Christmas decorations in the loft and because I had organised them so well when I put them away in January, I was able to locate the right box really quickly and put those items away. It was much quicker than last year.

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Discovering That There is Energy in Things and Spaces

Posted on March 18, 2021 by Sandra Madeira

In this week’s exercises in Stephanie Bennett Vogt’s book A Year to Clear, she writes about Sensing Energy in Things and Spaces. Day 71 is entitled “Not all spaces feel the same”. Days 72 through to 77 (today) are all about how we as energy beings are connected to everything and everyone. No wonder I get frustrated when there is so much stuff around me. All the more reason to have at least one clear space to go to.

After some reflection on my week, I thought I’d share my answers to the questions that are written on day 77.

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Looking Forward to Meeting my True Self

Posted on March 14, 2021 by Sandra Madeira

What would my day look like without clutter?

One of the first things I write in my planner every day under the heading of ‘What are you excited about today?’ is ‘Clearing more space’. That’s how much I want this; however, what would my day look like and what would I be excited to do if I didn’t have to clear space i.e. what am I aiming towards?

I think that this is an important question to ask myself because I have wanted a completely clean, clear and tidy house for years now but what would I do with my time if I had that? Maybe I would do more of the following… write in my journal, read, blog, spend time with the family, go for walks, go shopping (after covid!) or just spend time in silence with my thoughts.

I probably need to be focusing more on that now so that I don’t create clutter just so that I can get excited about clearing space. Does that make sense?

I’ve been listening to the Clutter Chronicles podcast for a couple of weeks now and as Mary (the recovering hoarder) is healing and able to let go of stuff, I can hear in her voice how different she is and she’s starting to detach herself from her belongings. I feel like I know her and I am proud of what she’s achieved. One of the things that she’s been talking about in the latest podcasts I’ve listened to (and I’m up to episode number fifty something now) is how to change your mindset. Once you’ve done that, everything else starts to fall into place.

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Motivated to do More Clearing

Posted on March 13, 2021 by Sandra Madeira

In my last post I mentioned a damp patch on my kitchen ceiling and the possibility that it could be coming from one of the two rooms above. Our plumber is going to use his camera to look through the nearest kitchen light fitting but can’t book us in until next week.

Before I knew that this was the approach he was going to take, I started clearing the study (room above) and put the sofa on its side in case he needed to check under the floorboards. We’ve also stopped using the main bathroom.

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Finding the Positives in a Negative Situation Puts You Back in Control

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Sandra Madeira

There never seems to be a quiet moment in this house. I finally have all the clutter concentrated in one room – the study – and can sort it at my own pace. Today I noticed a damp patch on the ceiling in the kitchen, right under the study. Why did this happen? Is someone trying to hurry me up?

My husband said “We’ll need to move everything out of the corner” pointing to the old sofa that’s wedged in the corner of the study and penned in with my boxes and other pieces of furniture. Whilst the words were sinking in, I started to blow it all out of proportion in my head, anticipating a mess in other rooms again whilst we pull up the carpet and floorboards etc.

I don’t know why I immediately thought that he meant now, but half an hour later he was asleep in the lounge and I joined another work call. I tried to put it out of my mind as I was too busy with work to think about it.

Looking at it from a positive perspective

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The Power of the Right Words at the Right Time

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Sandra Madeira

I was chatting to my daughter in the car this morning about how she was feeling about going back to school after almost three months of home schooling and not even leaving the house.

She said that she wasn’t worried as such, she just didn’t know how the day was going to go. She couldn’t see past the point of walking in through the school gates. She’s done this hundreds of times before, but today was going to be very different due to having to go through the process of the Covid-19 test.

Sometimes when we have no experience ourselves it’s difficult to come up with the right words. We had talked it through last night and as usual I encouraged her to think positively and imagine it all going well.

How Social media can sometimes have a positive effect

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