The OS Doorstep - a helpful and supportive thread in these tough times

Possession

Princess before Christmas I had good results using my local Facebook selling site. You do need to be OK with people coming to your house to collect, but no packaging or going to the post office.
Pooky good luck with your business, your work is beautiful!

System

have been reading along for an age and resolved to show my face this year so here goes.....

with this weather getting everybody down (and some poor souls flooded out) my thoughts couldn't help but turn to sunshiney days and the lure of the elderflower when I came across some fruit soda type drinks from the magic and sparkle shop - with proper ceramic tops and metal swingy bits to seal they are around £2.75 each I think - not cheap by any means - but the potential for reuse is an incredible lure.... and an even better bargain if they can be begged from others before they get put out for recycling....

grandma247

I put bread in the freezer during the warmer months because we don't eat it quickly enough before it moulds. I tried the fridge but the bread dries out. I usually half the loaf and freeze half.

grandma247

greeninkpen are the bottle a good thickness?
I tried out a well known make and had three break on me when I was bottling cordials.I was wary of them anyway because they did feel and sound flimsy compared to the jars.
I found three lovely thick bottles at winfields but they were the only ones left.

mardatha

It's a constant war in this house on many fronts hoarding is one.
He hangs to any old bit of tat saying "it might come in handy" -and what is worse is that he plonks it down, and 6 years later wants and expects it to be where he left it. Wee bits of bike wiring, bulbs, switches, odd shaped unidentifiable black plastic, nuts & bolts.
Then at one point we had 20-odd large yoghurt containers in the spare room, along with about a million bank coin bags, 2 broken breadmakers, and a pile of his tshirts that were too big. I chucked the lot and he was miffed.
We have matching chest of drawers and bedside chests, his n hers. His are full to bulging and the bottoms are hanging out... mine are tidy and half empty. Same with his n hers sides of wardrobe. It seems to be three quarters his and a tiny wee bit hers.
I'm very tidy although not house proud, need things to all have a wee home I can't live in a mess.

System

... having just moved from a family home to a teeny tiny temporary one, I am with Pooky on the decluttering front.... recognising the true value of things is the tricky part - most of it is just 'stuff' that can be replaced relatively cheaply/easily second or more hand if it turns out later it is needed after all - as the caretaker of family memories (and a lot of gear belonging to boomerang children) I had to make some tough calls, but once I got into my stride I found the whole process quite liberating..... I started with carboots, but never brought anything home unsold - it went straight to the charity shop so I began with a fresh load each time while making a bit and donating a bit. Selling online turned out to be barely worth it with postage costs and fees, so I ended up just gifting most other items like books etc away. I understand that financially it is not always possible when the pennies need to squeak, but sometimes just a bit of free time and a clearness of mind are the most valuable things of all.....

PRINCESSX87

Thanks for the advice so far, This place is like a tardis. I have no idea how anything is still staying put, surprised that the attic hasn’t collapsed.

As OH is a tiler, He works on many building sites. Everyday without fail, He will come home with something. His mother says often that OH is like his father. A magpie.

I sick of seeing screws, pins, bolts, spacers, ect hanging around because OH believes that we need them “one day”. Yet, When we have needed them, Because he cant remember where he put anything he goes out & buys it. Creating more clutter.

This place is clearly not insulated enough therefore everything in the attic & home is getting ruined. I was planning on buying a few of those storage boxes from aldi this week and having a good clear out then anything we’re keeping would be out in the boxes and in the attic tidy. But - OH is now telling me that the attic hatch is too small for the boxes and it wouldn’t work. I feel its more laziness than anything else.

I feel that unless we actually start making these changes we’re just going to fall back into the same patterns of being wasteful.
This is something I am NOT prepared to do….So please keep the advice coming.

Many thanks all x

System

grandma247 re the bottles - they seem fairly thick and heavy and of decent enough quality for a carbonated drink - the bottles are marked 75cl and with the drink made in France I reckon there is a good chance the bottles originate there too.... an overnight soak in the washing-up bowl got the labels off and I was even able to wipe away the printed best before codes etc so they look brand new - I am certainly going to give them a go if I can forage anything to put in them....

alfsmum

pX87 good luck with the decluttering. My OH sounds a bit like Mar's, always keeping a bit of this and that and expecting it to be exactly where he left it years later.....I think what they all need is a 'man drawer' as mentioned by Michael McIntyre in many of his shows.

Today I will be sorting through a big pile of Good Food magazines and copying any useful recipes then decluttering them to friends and family. Also a heap of jigsaws to go through, many bought from CS before Christmas. A couple we've done will be off to a colleague, a few we bought new will be advertised and the rest will be stored until we have time to do them.

Then I need to tackle the mug mountain. I have already got rid of several but they seem to breed.

Dd17's birthday today, cake is in oven and dd19 will decorate it when she gets back from Uni later. Need to pick dd17 (not officially 17 until 5.31 this evening!) from half day at college and not looking forward to the journey. Both the usual routes are closed because of floods so it will mean a very long way round with flooded fields all around. I don't like water unless I am at a very safe distance:(

Monna your day and your friend's house sound idyllic. You will need to visit the Island often.

I've never stored bread in the fridge but my Mum's carers always used to put the bread, cake and just about everything that wasn't nailed down in there. Part of health and safety training or just caution?

alfsmum

Welcome greeninkpen:T