A Simpler Life 2018

Mrs_Salad_Dodger · 9 January 2018 at 11:11PM

Cottage_Economy wrote: »

I'll be joining you guys this year.

For the first time ever, I couldn't think of anything I really wanted for Christmas. I already have too much stuff. Never had that happen before. Then I took a look around and realised that there is stuff stacked everywhere.

All I want to do is read books, knit and garden in my spare time so why is there so much other stuff??? I work from home and wear the same 'favourite' clothes so why do I have drawers and cupboards bursting at the seams??

Where did all this stuff come from????

I started this week and got rid of four boxes of books to go to Ziffit totaling about 40 books and I have another ~30 books to go.

Eyeing up the chest of drawers, particularly the underwear drawer, for a clear out. That is a veritable horror story.

Welcome CottageEconomy,
I think ‘stuff breeds’ either that or we get ‘stuff blind’. Hopefully this thread will help us both in our decluttering. I am looking forward to the day when the only decluttering I need to do is food & weight!

There is another thread that might interest you - 2018 - No Clutter To Be Seen.

Good Luck

Mrs SD:)

moneyistooshorttomention · 9 January 2018 at 11:19PM

No children here/never have been - and everything but everything gets shoved in the washing machine here at 40C - sink or swim. It's always "swum" so far:rotfl:. Only exceptions being stuff that feels too delicate to machine wash at all - and those (very few) items get hand-washed and then shoved in the washing machine just to rinse them.

But it's true I just don't use white. I have one white teeshirt and can't remember when I last wore it (though I know it was literally years ago). As I got older - bedding swopped from Marks & Spencer polycotton-I-think-it-was in patterns/colours and went via a very brief detour of cheapie sheets (soon realised just how fast they wore out) to present day sheets.

The present day sheets are more "traditional" coloured (ie more cream type colours) and made of cotton. But they arent ironed (even the eco ones of them) - they're clean and I'm the only one that sees them these days so:cool:

Towels are coloured too - so ditto - straight in the washing machined at 40C.

Handkerchiefs - if I have a cold (sits and tries to remember the last time that was the case.....hmmm....hmmm...) I use paper tissues, as I find them more hygienic/less hassle personally.

All round my attitude to housework is that I want things clean/tidy - so I will do what a clean/tidy man would do. If a man wouldnt do it - then I wont either. My attitude to housework is summed up as "Regard it as a salaried job - for which I dont get any salary. But do the "time and motion study" bit on it that a boss would do - in order not to spend any more time/effort on it than I find reasonable".

Yep...I've just bought one of those little robot vacuum cleaners to that end as well. I never did resolve the issue of how to stop having to put the "pipes" back together again several times per room on average on the Henry Hoover and wasnt prepared to spend "fiddling with pipes" time as well as hoovering time whenever it needed doing.

ginnyknit · 10 January 2018 at 12:18AM

This sounds like the place for me. I live a relatively simple life since I retired to look after my poorly hubby. I spend days in peace and quiet, make things, baking things and trying unsuccessfully to get rid of 34 years of detritus.

I grow a lot of fruit and some veg, bake and jam make but still not quite there with what I hope to achieve.

Blue green I have eco eggs and am quite happy with them although we don't have heavily soiled clothes like those with children. They came with a little tube of the most amazing stain remover which is to date undefeated.

I also collect coffee grounds Greyqueen and I'm sure the insects in my compost bin get caffeine overdose when I add it because they seem to run around awfully fast.

I have set myself the task of using up all those odd bits of yarn into blankets this month and have 3 in varying shades on the go plus I'm down 3 carrier bags of yarn by doing it.

Christmas was low key as usual as Hubby only managed 2 hours out of bed but that suited me. My entire tree was done in homemade decorations this year apart from special old ones and I ma slowly moving my DD towards the same. She seems to be moving towards a simpler life after getting rid of the chief problem - her partner - with an autistic child and a partner who wouldn't help was getting wearing for her. Once she finds a better house with more than a dolls house sized kitchen she will be able to get more organised and thus live more simply.

Roll on the rest of this year! A year of simplicity please.

maryb · 10 January 2018 at 12:51AM

I have a fairly simple rule for laundry. If it touches either end of your digestive tract, directly or indirectly (ie tea towels) it gets washed at 60 degrees. Everything else 40 or 30. So bras and socks don't get ruined by being put in a hot wash but other underthings do get washed at 60

dND · 10 January 2018 at 8:26AM

jackieblack wrote: »

Erm... All viruses are antibiotic-resistant, antibiotics only work for bacterial infections. Anti-virals are used for viruses (under certain circumstances)

:TThank you Jackieblack, I should have said bacteria.

To much Daily Fail I think when it came to typing.:rotfl:

Bluegreen143 wrote: »

Really interesting discussion on cleaning/laundry/hygiene. You will be horrified to know that I don’t sort my washing and wash everything at 30 or 40 (except cloth nappies before we potty trained which I did at 60 - but now he only wears one to go to bed in and they are just a bit wet I chuck them in the everyday wash. We don’t use hankies but I do want to get some so maybe I’ll start sorting out stuff for a hotter wash. Never really thought about ironing tea towels and the like though I must admit I iron nothing (I’m 29 so in general my generation weren’t really taught anything about most basic home management skills. I don’t think my mum who is in her late 40s sorts her washing either).

Watching the adverts, I would do the same but the reserch done on where faecal matter :eek: turns up made me change my way of doing washing and cleaning. as per maryb.

maryb wrote: »

I have a fairly simple rule for laundry. If it touches either end of your digestive tract, directly or indirectly (ie tea towels) it gets washed at 60 degrees. Everything else 40 or 30. So bras and socks don't get ruined by being put in a hot wash but other underthings do get washed at 60

Same here maryb. I do also the laundry disinfectant, as well as not washing teatowels with underpants etc. With age:eek:/experience

I've come to finally realised there are no shortcuts. In general, we are sold veneer when what we need is solid wood.

Katieowl · 10 January 2018 at 9:04AM

I sort vaguely, all my tea towels get a hot wash, I refuse to wash my things with evil smelling man things, so my loads tend to be a mix of items, but I will do a pales and blue wash, and a reds, pink and purples wash. DS laundry is given a hot wash with disinfectant (muddy work clothes, and stiff socks yuk! Have been known to chuck the odd bit of dog washing in with his trousers :rotfl:)

Then I do separate loads of towels and bedding...I don't really have whites. Most stuff is washed on 30 or 40, we're all alive!

Littleskintdragon84 · 10 January 2018 at 9:07AM

Love this thread thanks for starting.
Im going to have a full read through when I have a chance your ideas will be invaluable to me and my family. :money:

I love simple living, spending on what you need and not what you want or what your friends,family adverts and tv tells you that you should have!

I have friends that shop constantly, and whose children's xmas presents pile would have probably left no room in Santa's sleigh for the big man himself! Said friend now has a huge pile of unopened, not needed toys in her living room, and is complaining that she has no where for them to go..... as if ill feel sorry for her!!

We've personally got a lot that we can do as a family to save money and live more simply, and I plan on making memories from now on,and not filling my already cluttered home any longer.

Cottage_Economy · 10 January 2018 at 1:19PM

I managed to simplify the whole present giving thing for birthdays last year by insisting on amazon gift cards. Despite initial protestations from friends and family about me having nothing to open on my birthday, they all remarked how easy it was to do and some have followed suit and now ask for gift cards themselves.

That way instead of being forced to think of yet more stuff I want for my birthday less than a month after Christmas, I can use the gift cards throughout the entire year.

A lot of the books I buy are often out of print and secondhand, so I can indulge myself. I know my family would refuse to buy me a book if it was secondhand and printed in the 80s, even if I insisted I wanted it!

SimpleLiving · 10 January 2018 at 1:25PM

Littleskintdragon84 wrote: »

Love this thread thanks for starting.
Im going to have a full read through when I have a chance your ideas will be invaluable to me and my family. :money:

I love simple living, spending on what you need and not what you want or what your friends,family adverts and tv tells you that you should have!

I have friends that shop constantly, and whose children's xmas presents pile would have probably left no room in Santa's sleigh for the big man himself! Said friend now has a huge pile of unopened, not needed toys in her living room, and is complaining that she has no where for them to go..... as if ill feel sorry for her!!

We've personally got a lot that we can do as a family to save money and live more simply, and I plan on making memories from now on,and not filling my already cluttered home any longer.

My sentiments exactly! Kids just don't need so much stuff. They don't cherish things if they have too much. One of my favourite presents as a kid was a small basket with fruit shaped soaps in, for some reason I have always remembered that pressie. I can honestly say I would prefer a nice bar of lavender soap than a designer handbag or [STRIKE]useless[/STRIKE] fancy chef kitchen accessory.

Littleskintdragon84 · 10 January 2018 at 1:40PM

Cottage economy - that's a great idea about the gift vouchers. I still haven't ordered my xmas present from my mother because I'm waiting for it to come down in price first! I refuse to let her pay the full price. Im a grown up I can wait...

Simple living - every xmas I ask for things like socks,shower gels, pyjamas and slippers. My list is the same every year. Everyone laughs, but I usually get enough shower gel to see me through the year!

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A Simpler Life 2018

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