22 months to work, dig, tidy and declutter my way to debt freedom

peaceandfreedom

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

My wee front garden is okish. The back is so overgrown by weeds that my rhubarb hasn't thrived at all this year. I need help!

You just got to get started on those weeds, rip them out and then keep them under control.

Now if only, I could follow my own advice .......:D

peaceandfreedom

Just a quickie because it's late and I'm knackered again. Another spendy day, mostly on food and also a few quid towards a present for someone at work.

Did some pottering about in the garden and some very boring housework.

Apart from that, nothing to report and all is well .

peaceandfreedom

I've had a nice weekend but I'm feeling VERY low today .

You know, one of those days where you feel very bad about so many things in your life, think back over all the mistakes you've made, wishing you could turn back the clock and do it all over again but better, wishing you had the lovely life that other people seem to have ......

I know this kind of navel-gazing does no good whatsoever but I can't seem to help it sometimes. The only cure is to stop thinking and start doing stuff, it takes my mind off things and helps to make me feel a bit better. I also know that this kind of low mood doesn't last all that long if I ignore it.

So today, as an initial Kondo-plan, I'm going to:

• Clean the kitchen.
• Clean the bathrooms.
• Finally clear out those utensil drawers that have been begging for a clear-out for some time.
• Get started on clearing out the garage :eek:.
• Stop tormenting myself over the past - I can do nothing about it.

So, just need to get started - have a lovely rest of the day everyone .

in_need_of_direction

We all have those days and you're right, you do need to work or at least move yourself out of them. Even if it's just to clear one thing off your list. Take care.

peaceandfreedom

So, of my things to do:
[STRIKE]Clean the kitchen.
Clean the bathrooms.[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Finally clear out those utensil drawers that have been begging for a clear-out for some time.[/STRIKE]
Get started on clearing out the garage ....NOPE
Stop tormenting myself over the past - I can do nothing about it....I'm trying .

Other stuff added on:
[STRIKE]Start clearing out paperwork.
Tidy and hoover bedroom.
Incinerate pile of old paperwork already gathered.
Tend to the plants in the greenhouse.
Laundry
Little bit of freelance paid work.[/STRIKE]

Found an old 'workbook' today where I'd written down some stuff about my life, what I was unhappy about etc.

Some things have improved (work and money being the main ones), many things have not. The journal was written in 2006 - now if that isn't food for thought, I don't know what is. Clearly, I am rubbish at sorting out my life .

Off now, hopefully I will be my cheerier tomorrow.

Rowan_moon

Peaceandfreedom :hello:

Cheer up chuck you are a work in progress like the rest of us. I'm very inspired by your posts

I hope you don't mind me popping in here for advice and the occasional prod in the right direction. I'm a beginner gardener and this is my second year of growing food I a greenhouse. I love it, but oh when you garden organically EVERYTHING want to nosh on your plants.

I also need to do a budget and have just bought the Marie Kondo book so de cluttering is on my agenda too.:j

peaceandfreedom

Rowan_moon wrote: »

Peaceandfreedom :hello:

Cheer up chuck you are a work in progress like the rest of us. I'm very inspired by your posts

I hope you don't mind me popping in here for advice and the occasional prod in the right direction. I'm a beginner gardener and this is my second year of growing food I a greenhouse. I love it, but oh when you garden organically EVERYTHING want to nosh on your plants.

I also need to do a budget and have just bought the Marie Kondo book so de cluttering is on my agenda too.:j

Hi Rowan moon - thanks for visiting my diary and cheering me up. You will be pleased to hear I'm not such a misery-guts today .

Whether you garden organically or not, little beasties want to eat your lovely lush plants. The idea of gardening organically is to encourage other beasties to eat the ones that are eating your plants. Or you can sometimes just deter them, or divert them.

For example:

• Encourage birds and hedgehogs in your garden, to eat up some of the slugs and snails.
• Plant marigolds alongside tomatoes - their strong odour deters whitefly, greenfly and blackfly. They attract hoverflies which in turn eat aphid grubs.
• Marigolds planted in the soil outside deter nematodes.
• Plant nasturtium as a sacrificial crop - they will end up covered in blackfly which means there are fewer blackflies to attack your main crops.

My view is that organic gardening keeps the garden's eco-system in better balance - once you start scattering chemicals about you are upsetting the natural balance in the garden.

But you are right - they are a lot of bugs around this year. Although I have a large crop of nasturtium, some of my runner beans are still getting attacked by blackfly. I've been out numerous times in the dark with my torch to ruthlessly despatch slugs. They seem to be perfectly capable of scaling a 3-ft high sunflower to munch on the flower-head at the top! The greenhouse plants are all doing beautifully, but there's not enough sunshine yet to ripen up my tomatoes.

I went to bed sooooo late last night, I'm going to have an early night tonight, but will watch Great Ormond Street on BBC2 first .

jwil

Hope you are feeling a bit more chirpy now P&F, you are doing so well.

And as for sorting out life - it can't all be done at once. You're doing well with money and work, so maybe the other things will fall into place in the future.

peaceandfreedom

jwil wrote: »

Hope you are feeling a bit more chirpy now P&F, you are doing so well.

And as for sorting out life - it can't all be done at once. You're doing well with money and work, so maybe the other things will fall into place in the future.

Hi Jwil - I think I have reached an acceptable level of chirpiness again .

I am not sure about things falling into place - I think I will have to bludgeon things into place . But for now, I'm just going to keep plodding on, trying to enjoy each day as it comes.

peaceandfreedom

So, what can I report today - not a great deal but let's see:

• Have just harvested a rather gigantic round green courgette and some medium-sized yellow ones.
• Have my first almost-red tomato.
• Tasted my first home-grown cucumber today - 'twas a bit bitter if truth be told :cool:.
• Have been told I will get back some expenses from work that I wasn't sure were claimable :T.
• Almost paid for parking at work today but then changed my mind.
• A nice NSD today.

Not much else is happening, I'm off for an early night again if possible (which for me, tends to be any time before midnight).