We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
2014 - New Rules to Live By
Comments
-
Still haven't done the painting yet. I've had to move it to Monday due to unforeseen complications. That would be rain. It's so damp and mucky, I can't open the windows, and the dcs are sensitive to the smell of the paint. So next week it is. That might be easier with school back in session anyway.
I have gotten other things done. More paperwork done and dusted. I'm beginning to wonder why as soon as I get some done, I get more, as I've just been landed with another fairly substantial bit to do, but it involves research as well which will be an evening chore.
My monthly "spruce up the house" spend has been done. I try to use about £20 or so and do something small (or even a few small things, depending on the cost) for the house decor each month. If I didn't do this, either I'd spend a whole lot in one go or I'd just never get it done. Those little things add up! It's been responsible for a number of "spruce ups" around the house. Nice picture frames, new lampshade, new clock for the wall, and this month's purchase was lined baskets. Two sets of two, £8 per set. Lovely white with white cloth lining. They are now sitting on my long shelf in the dining room, which previously had all sorts of "stuff" littering it (stuff that is used frequently but when stored on the shelf looked all messy and cluttered). Now the items are arranged according to what they're used for and placed in the baskets. The shelf looks neat for the first time in years. :cool: The shelf is white but the texture of the basket and the grey wall makes them stand out. I may thread some red ribbon through the front of the baskets (just one, like a stripe, on each of them) to add a dash of colour and tie it in with the red accents throughout the room. Again, it's something that will be easily changed to a new colour scheme if I change it in the future simply by putting a different ribbon in it.
Errand day completed, and it was a bit chaotic. Glasses fixed (and already looking suspiciously bendy again), and that was the most important task.
Halloween tomorrow, but we don't do the trick-or-treating or pass out sweets. Our lights will be off, and we'll be relaxing as a family with an early night (hopefully). The dcs want to watch Strictly and are excited about the Halloween theme. :cool:
No plans for much else, really, other than a few sneaky minutes working on paperwork when I can. Next week is back to HE going over the Gunpowder Plot.Saving, decluttering and doing alright.:xmastree: :xmastree:0 -
Finally! First coat of painting done on stairway wall and upper landing. I will be finishing the edges over the next few days and then will see if a second coat is needed. It's looking good so far. Now to choose the carpet stair treads, as I have it narrowed down to about four at this point and am trying to decide which I like best. I'm waffling a bit on whether to go with a patterned one or a plain one. As the staircase is very grey and white, I am leaning towards a pattern to liven it up a bit without being too much. I'd like to avoid any specific choices that narrow the colour scheme too much, as I like being able to change colour mostly by changing small things, rather than something drastic like carpeting.
It's pretty clear that there will be no new carpeting in my living room for a few years. That's lower on the priority ladder right now, so I'll be getting an area rug to replace the old one that is looking markedly threadbare in places (and extremely scruffy, I'll admit!).
I wasn't going to paint the door frames right now as I had that down as an "after Christmas" job, but blast it, now that the wall looks better, it makes the door frames look abysmal! The hazards of DIY, I suppose! :rotfl: That'll teach me! I'd like to keep the carpet treads between £50-75, which will then leave me enough in my budget to get moving on the dining room flooring next.
I have bought some Christmas decorations, but I used money I had put aside for myself for personal spending, so it's within my budget. I did some shopping at Poundland, too, which helped. A wicker wreath at Hobbycraft for £3 is sitting on the dining room table at the moment, waiting to have some festive ribbon put on it, and that'll eventually go on the front of my fireplace. Just so nobody thinks I'm going to accidentally light up that lovely wicker wreath, it's well above the height of the candles that I place on a holder inside the fireplace on top of my electric "wood burner" heater. So neither heat source gets anywhere close enough to cause a fire.
A couple more stocking stuffers purchased and tucked away, as well as a couple books for presents for the dcs. Presents purchased for the few family members that I buy for already, so not much left to get, and then I can relax a little (until the wrapping begins!).
We've gone out for coffee a few times (Costa, but you have to splurge occasionally, right??) but now it's time to buckle down again and keep a close eye on spending until Christmas, as the heating bills will increase soon.Saving, decluttering and doing alright.:xmastree: :xmastree:0 -
The heater is now on for the winter. I put it on the timer initially for very little time, just to take the chill off, as it was getting pretty cold in the house. I've just had a thermostat installed, as I've been using the timer for years and while I've defended it's use for ages, as it kept the heater from running constantly, at the same time I have to recognise that it also meant the heater was probably running at times when it may not have needed to, simply because it was "time" for it to turn on.
So the new era of "The Thermostat" has begun.I'll be interested to see how this changes my heating bills, although to be fair it's been much colder now, so I'm not likely to get a wholly accurate comparison, am I? I can compare it to last year's usage (we're on a meter) which will be better than nothing, although I've no idea how much the cost has changed since last year.
Perhaps it's a bit "head in the sand" but I don't look as closely at the cost of specific things, such as gas, electric, and petrol. These are things I must have, so instead I focus on how much I am using of these things and try to keep the cost down by using less as much as possible. Keeping the thermostat on a lower number, for example, or making sure electric items are switched off when not in use. Planning all my errands on one day per week, so that I'm not driving around multiple days during the week (and yes, I've been rather lax about that this week!:o).
At least now I feel warm, which is nice. And with one child that doesn't feel the temperature changes or understand that he is too hot or too cold, just gets upset, and another child that doesn't like the feel of clothing on him much so tends to be wearing vests and padding about in bare feet, I need to keep the house an even, comfortable temperature. There's still encouragement from me to use jumpers and socks and such to keep warm, but it can be a losing battle (as I found out last winter) when they just don't always get it.
I have not yet attached the thermostat to the wall. I'm a bit baffled as to where to keep it. I've been told the main hallway in the downstairs, but the temperature fluctuates quite a bit there as the main door opens into that hallway, so often it is quite cold. Wouldn't that prompt the heater to run much more frequently? I considered the living room, as that's the room that has the most use, so really would like the temperature in there to be more constant. More decisions. :rotfl:Saving, decluttering and doing alright.:xmastree: :xmastree:0 -
More paint purchased yesterday so I could complete the hallway/landing areas. It looks so much better now. Then the doorframes will need to be done or it just looks scruffy against the new paint. :rotfl:
I've retrieved all the Christmas decorations from their storage place, and slowly been sorting through them. A few things needed to be binned, but most are in good shape and ready to go. I've started putting them up little by little. I like to see the decorations take shape slowly, and then the tree goes up last. If the children had their way, the tree would be up today.
Massive chunk of paperwork finished today, so I am relaxing tonight. I'm so thankful it's done and out of the way! One moderate sized bit of paperwork and a couple letters, and I think that's it on the paperwork for the moment. Fingers crossed I can complete it this week. One letter I'm postponing as I truly do not know how to address it or compose it properly yet. It's a work in progress, I suppose, and I'm not quite ready to finish it.
I have a package to send to some family members, so I need to get that completed. I've ordered in a few things to add to it, and those items should (hopefully) arrive in the next few days, so I can get it posted as soon as possible.
A friend is coming over to help fix my shed tomorrow as the roof needs repair. Tomorrow is a busy day already, so I'll probably be exhausted. No painting for tomorrow as there's just no time. So many things to do, so little time to do them!Saving, decluttering and doing alright.:xmastree: :xmastree:0 -
Christmas tree is up. Decorations are up in the house. Most of the Christmas presents are purchased, including those that needed to be sent which have actually already been posted to their destination as of last week. I'm feeling dreadfully smug about it all, which means I've missed something. i don't know what it is yet, but it will surely come to light soon, and knock me right off my smug little pedestal. Isn't that always the way? :rotfl:
I think (I need to double check of course) that I've purchased almost all of the food for the roast meals for Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day. As you can probably surmise by that statement, I am using most frozen items. It's a necessity in my house. With two children with SNs, I cannot just trot off to the kitchen for ages doing prepwork and cooking. It's pop out to the kitchen, toss something in the oven, set the timer, then back to the other room to supervise the chaos.
Gifts are purchased and tucked away, as I said. Elf stuff is loosely organised, and craft stuff to do with the dcs is put aside for weekends and days off school.
I do need to plan an outing to see Father Christmas in town, as the dcs have specifically asked about it. I was wondering if they felt too old for it, but obviously not as they're asking.
Hopefully a few more DIY things will be completed in the next week or two, but dismally, it's looking like dining room flooring will have to wait until January. I really wanted to finish it, but my older son has been having some dreadful problems with his asthma over the last two weeks and the last thing he needed was loads of dust and dirt being stirred up by flooring being done. Between that and a zillion appointments and meetings that have popped up in the meantime, I've been frustrated at the scheduling that keeps me from working on things. I need a clear few hours to do some of the things, otherwise it's just an exercise in futility where by the time you get everything out and get started, it's almost time to start cleaning up. Multiple appointments in the middle of the day have put paid to that on quite a few days.
So I'll do what I can, without putting any pressure on, and enjoy myself over the Christmas holidays without feeling badly about anything I didn't get to. It's all about enjoying yourself and making your life better, not worrying over it endlessly.
Looking forward to the holidays already...Saving, decluttering and doing alright.:xmastree: :xmastree:0 -
Happy Christmas!
It's been awhile, but now that Christmas Day is over, thoughts are turning to the New Year and the inevitable resolutions to do better in certain areas. I generally don't like "NY resolutions" as I feel it's just setting myself up for failure. I do, however, think that reassessing where I am in life and how I am living is a good thing, no matter where we are in the year. I guess NY is a good a time as any to re-evaluate things. So here are a few things I'd like to work on starting today.
1. Be more positive. I sometimes allow myself to get ground down by everything going on in my life. There are a lot of things that I have to deal with on a regular basis that are not very positive, and I need to keep things in perspective. I am generally a fairly positive person, and I like to look forward with high hopes, but various things have occupied so much of my headspace that I have found myself floundering and feeling stressed and upset a lot more than I'd like. So it's time to dust off that Pollyanna game, and look for the positive in things.
2. Be more financially responsible. Okay, to some extent I do this, but I could do so much more. There are some things I am not willing to change. For example, I shop at Waitrose for numerous reasons. They treat their staff better (financially, from what I have been told), the employees are friendly and tolerant with my children, and my children cope with the calmer quieter atmosphere in their stores much better than other supermarkets. I'm willing to pay a bit more for that. But there have been impulse purchases that weren't necessary, and sometimes I've been less than responsible with my money (takeaways comes to mind right away!!). So I'm going to limit takeaways to twice a month. I'll plan on one, but have one "wild card" for backup, just in case. The impulse buys will need to stop, of course.
3. Get out more. This is multi-layered. I need to get out more on my own, using the respite I've finally gotten implemented. I need to get the children out more and socialised as well as going places, both fun and educational. I need to book a holiday for us this year and be brave enough to go places again, now that my health is improving. I've been unable to go out on my own for so long that I'd forgotten how refreshing it can be to just be myself without the children for a few hours. This is important to do, for my own health and sanity. The children really struggle going places, and it can be stressful for me, but I think we need to persevere and keep trying, making sure to put in place any measures that will alleviate as much stress as possible for all of us. Perhaps this concern is being driven by a bit of cabin fever. The holiday is a huge goal. We cancelled last year's holiday as I'd been very ill and was concerned about going too far from home in case I had a relapse. I've had a nominal "all clear" from the specialist and should be fine to travel even a few hours away from home (provided I don't be ridiculous and overdo it!), so now we need to make plans for a holiday this year, as the children really enjoyed our first holiday 2 summers ago.
4. Finish the bannister on the stairs. :rotfl: Oh, yes, I had to put that in! I am determined that the bannister will be completed. Even if it takes me to next Christmas, I will do so! That and a myriad of other DIY projects in the house. I've been sidelined by illness this year, and still managed to get a fair bit done, so I'm hoping that the coming year will be a big change as my health improves even more.
5. Increase my physical fitness. Much as I'd love to put "eat healthier" here, my food intake is still very strongly tied to my illness and I'm limited. I will obviously try to eat as healthily as I can, within those boundaries, but I think just as important is increasing my activity levels. I cannot always take the children out places that provide exercise, and sometimes I just want solitary exercise. So this is a two pronged approach - I am looking at purchasing a treadmill that folds up. I want to start Couch to 5K and with one child with hypermobility and another that is struggling with mobility issues on long walks, taking them along on a long walk is not going to happen. With a treadmill, I can run anytime in house, no matter the weather, even if the children are home. I couldn't get respite regularly enough to do it every other day, which is the starting goal. The other "prong" is contacting a local agency that lends out tandem bicycles. I love riding a bicycle, but neither child can do so on their own. This would allow me to take them for rides separately. I can take one child during the school day, while the other child is in school, and then arrange respite for that child while I take the other child out for a bicycle ride. It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing, and I want them to know the fun of riding a bicycle, which neither of them have yet been able to enjoy. Again, this can only provide the benefit of improving my health, which is very important. I need to remember that allowing myself to get run down is not helpful to anyone.
6. Lastly, but still very important, get more sleep. I have one child that has very interrupted sleep, which of course affects me. But the time from 9pm until about 1am, when his meds have knocked him out, I am often awake, watching television, doing paperwork, browsing the internet. Yes, down time in the evening is important, but I can easily do some of that from 9-10pm and go to sleep from 10pm-1am. Some of it is due to insomnia, which I suffer from when I am stressed, but it's a vicious cycle, as I stress more when I'm tired. So I need to make more of an effort to get that sleep, and spend less time just "killing time" in an effort to have "down time" for myself.
And that's that. I'm not waiting until NY's Day to implement these changes, because these are not resolutions. These are things I need to do to be healthier and happier.
Best wishes for a Happy New Year. Looking forward to 2016. :cool:Saving, decluttering and doing alright.:xmastree: :xmastree:0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 352.1K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.5K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.2K Spending & Discounts
- 245.1K Work, Benefits & Business
- 600.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.5K Life & Family
- 258.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards