Getting out of my comfort zone

gilligansyle

It rained on and off until about half 3 but it looks OK now. I found out today that the contract in Cheshire is definitely finishing at the end of this month, so will only have the Shropshire money after that. Not really a problem as I've only been doing a few hours anyway. I'll go in on the last day, and go out for lunch.

House really looks like a bomb's hit it, so must knuckle down. As FW says, 'eat the biggest frog first' but mine is always the ironing and I forget other stuff; so today I've blitzed the wardrobe again. Things that don't fit (and never will again!) in charity bag, some stuff that was bought when I lost weight is being kept as an incentive. And I thought I'd already de-cluttered. And I really should clear out books, even though it goes against the grain. I've tried putting them on green metropolis etc. but most of the ones I'm willing to get rid of are actually trash, so may have to either do a car boot, or just give them away.

I picked up a book with knitted toys in the market today, so may give those a go. I used to make them for my nephews, and preferred it to clothes.

se999

I've had a major wardrobe revamp. I'm surprised the wardrobe clearouts are needed so regularly too, you think you've got it sorted, then it sneaks up on you, and it's not necessarily due to buying too much, clothes do wear out or your situation and lifestyle and fashion changes and it doesn't work.. I do have a section of wornout favorite clothes for around the house/gardening/diy/camping though - not to be seen in normal circumstances I think also fashion changes are coming around so quickly now, that it's probably more worthwhile to try to store nice pieces for when they come back.

On decluttering, with moving house a lot, I found it good to have boxes at the bottom of the stairs, and sorted things into bin/recycle/ebay & amazon/carboot/keep. It did make it easier to decide if things were worth keeping when you had boxes/categories to put them in.

Being self-employed for you time is money though, so unless DS is willing to subcontract the ebaying/amazon etc., it can be time and cost effective to just drop things off at the charity shop.

There's lots of free knitted toy patterns on the internet, also I've not tried it but there's lots of free crochet amigurami patterns supposedly you can knit them too, but not found them yet. The MSE knitting thread is good too.

Sorry to hear that the contract is finishing, hope some new opportunities crop up to replace it.

Karmacat

Doing the books has had an amazing difference for me. I used to have the equivalent of eight full height bookcases and that was after two other previous declutters, about 15 and 30 years ago.... now, I have four. And I just don't have the space here to have any more. I'm determined not to use the loft for storage, because I know I won't go up there, its just not my thing. Its a pain to give it all away, I know, but for the rubbish stuff, I really don't mind - or heavy books that aren't rubbish, that would only sell at a loss online.

Mind you, this weekend its free listing on ebay - so I'm be trying to sell some trading cards, a weird Buddhist CD, quite individual stuff like that.

I've seen *loads* of free patterns on the net for toys, plus little deccies and sweet things. Do I have your email addy? I don't think I do... if you pm me with it, I'll email you what I've downloaded....

gilligansyle

Well yesterday I *really* blitzed the kitchen. Normally I tidy it, but this was serious; I moved things out and around etc. Created lots of worktop space, which in a 9x6 kitchen is really valuable. So thats given me the incentive to keep it tidy and moved on to the 'hot spot' that is every surface in the back room.

Then we took Mum shopping to Asda; not sure I fancy doing that again; it takes sooo long as she doesn't do her list in any sort of order, so we had to go up and down every aisle to make sure we didn't miss anything out. I started having my shopping delivered to save time, and now spend longer in the supermarket than I ever did! I think I'll go back to getting her shopping with mine, and then take her out just to get 'extras' or clothes. I just about got back in time for my grocery delivery and I'd been out for 3 hours.
Had the house to myself last night as DS was Dj'ing at a 21st. He came home with money, so he was happy, and today is his birthday, so we've had a nice day. Cooked him a full brekkie, then we went out looking at laptops, came back, had lunch, and he's chilled with his new computer game. He's out again tonight with his mates and I'm cooking steak and chips for tea.

KC - thanks for the patterns, have printed some out and will see how easy they are.

There are lots of things in the house that need getting rid of, but are too big to be cost effective to put on Ebay - for example flight cases - for putting record decks in. Postage would be too high, so they'd need to be collected and it wouldn't be worth the hassle. Or maybe I'm just lazy.

Karmacat

Hiya! I hope some of the patterns are useful for you .... as to the ebay stuff, put it on there at the next free listing weekend (there's one just gone) and make a note for pickup only - you never know. But if you're lazy, then its no go :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: :kisses3:

gilligansyle

Hi KC
I'll get DS to do the photos and stuff ready for the next free listing day, but unless someone fairly local wants them....

Also will need to check the Ebay thread about how it works with paypal etc. if buyer collects (?)

Off to Zumba in a minute.

se999

If it was me on buyer collects and they'd paid on paypal rather than pickup in cash I'd want to scan copies of their photo ids and signatures on receipt of goods to prove they'd really collected. It sounds so awful to have to think so carefully about it, it would be nicer to be able to just trust people more.

gilligansyle

Hi se

I think that's one of the things I'm thinking about, but will check out the ebay threads as I think there are funny rules.
I was really tired yesterday, I don't think I've been sleeping very well, not really insomnia, just not restful sleep. I found myself struggling at the end of the journey yesterday morning. So I forced myself to go to Zumba when what I really wanted to do was sleep.
Got back and watched the programme about facial reconstruction, amazing work. Then I started watching Shawshank Redemption, but fell asleep(!)
Meetings all day today, need to try and get a feel for how long this contract is likely to be realistically. They told me end of May, but more likely end of June, which was fine; but more and more things keep cropping up and I need to know if they are within this time frame or additional to it. Mainly so I can start getting my CV out to agencies etc.

Looks a bit brighter outside, so hopefully will be able to go for a walk tonight.

se999

I think the main problem is that ebay I think insists of paypal always being offered as an option, and that makes it easier for buyers to get their money back if they do a claim. But the ebay thread has the experts there. I've not sold on ebay for ages though, so you probably need some more upto date info. If there really is lots of stuff, why not do a garage sale, we did a house clearance one when we left our last house, just leafletted the nearby streets as we'd left it too late for a newspaper advert etc.. It was actually really good fun. It turned into a mini-street party, with people discovering who they'd lived on the same street with for years.

Karmacat

If you sell an item to be picked up, via ebay, then try to get them to pay cash. There are stories of unscrupulous buyers who pay via paypal and then reclaim the money - and even if you have a picture of them driving away with the goods, complete with their vehicle registration number, ebay takes their side. I got this one the wrong way round recently when I was selling some of my sister's stuff, but luckily none of them were scammers.