Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

HairyHandofDartmoor

Fantastic news that you've had your operation and that it went well Elizabeth :T:j:T:j:T. I hope that you're pain free before too long . I hope your foot isn't broken :eek:.

We still have a lot of clutter in the house believe it or not. With five of us and working from home there has been many possessions collected over the years. I am making progress but there is still a way to go!

HairyHandofDartmoor

Today has been more de-cluttering! It does feel a bit never ending .

It doesn't help that stepdad has been giving me some of my Mum's stuff, so I'm sorting through that, deciding what to keep and then finding places to store it. I need to keep the family history stuff and I want to keep some things that remind me of her.

Today I've gone through my jewellery boxes and put aside five pairs of dangly earrings that are too big and no longer 'me'. The rest I've tidied up and reorganised :T. I've organised my Mum's jewellery too and put items I will wear in one box and items I just want to keep for sentimental reasons in another box.

I've decided that I no longer want plants on the kitchen window sill as I don't have time to water, prune them, etc. Instead I've put some colourful jugs there that belonged to my Mum and they look really nice. So I've washed two white ceramic plant pots and put them in the charity bag :T.

In addition to that I've gone through a big box of toys in the void and put most of it in the charity bag. It was mainly cheap plastic toys. I've kept some wooden swords and a few other bits, but most of it has gone and the big box is now empty and ready to store something more useful :T.

Not only that, I've spent half an hour in the office tidying up and getting rid of paperwork that's no longer needed :T as DH said the mess in there is getting him down (he's made the mess but seems incapable of tackling it :mad:)

I'm feeling quite pleased with myself because I've done all that and it's still only lunchtime . Going to stay with my sister and Dad and stepmum has inspired me to step up my de-cluttering efforts because their houses were enviably clean and tidy. De-cluttering is keeping me busy and stopping me from going out and spending money :money:.

This afternoon DH has agreed to do a charity shop run and pick up a few bits from Mr T. I want to persuade him to do a tip run at the same time as we have three cheap stackable chairs in the office that we haven't used for years and getting rid of them will free up some space.

HairyHandofDartmoor

I don't really know why we have so much clutter, I guess I just haven't done enough de-cluttering over the years . Because clutter keeps entering the house and getting rid of it needs to be an ongoing process. I'm not sure why clutter keeps entering. We must be buying it all, although some of it is presents or junk mail. A lot of it is things that are no longer used or relevant to our current lifestyle, but which we haven't got rid of.

Some rooms are fine. The living room looks tidy and reasonably uncluttered and so does the kitchen. But the office is a clutter disaster zone :eek: my bedroom is cluttered, and DS1 and DS2's rooms are AWFUL :eek::eek::eek:.

My plan is to do half an hour a day in the office because if I spend too long in there I get really stressed. It's all paperwork and computer equipment . DS1 has agreed to do ten minutes a day in his room with me (which is all he can cope with). And I'm working on my bedroom which is improving gradually.

I will feel a lot better when the house is completely de-cluttered. It will be easier to clean, less stressful and we can finally fill up those mouse holes!

BalanceBy50

Welcome back hairy. I have missed you and your posts. Tackling the clutter in your bedroom and Ds1's room in time managed chunks sounds like a really good idea. My youngest starts school in September and even though i am self-employed i am determined to have a day a week to myself and tackle my house. I think I will break it down into areas then hopefully we can clean through in a couple of hours once all sorted xx

HairyHandofDartmoor

Aww thank you Bb50 . I think that sounds like a very good idea to have a day to clean and de-clutter. You can't think clearly if the house is a mess as it will make you stressed. When you're self employed your home has an even bigger impact upon your mood.

beanielou

Massive well done on the decluttering HHD

HairyHandofDartmoor

DS1 and I have just spent ten minutes de-cluttering in his room and the result is a black bin liner full of stuff for the charity shop and half a bin liner of rubbish :T.

He didn't want to keep his Horrible Science collection so a big tin full of gooey body parts :eek: and a ringbinder have gone in the charity bag, plus various other items he's outgrown. I said what's in that cardboard box? He didn't know and it turned out the box was full of things he didn't want so the whole box and it's contents have gone :T.

The room is still a disaster zone :eek: (think of those tv programmes about hoarders) but if we de-clutter every day for ten minutes then it will soon make a difference .

HairyHandofDartmoor

beanielou wrote: »

Massive well done on the decluttering HHD

Thanks Beanie . The house should be a hollow shell by now but it's still full of stuff .

beanielou

Ooh I remember the horrid science thing :eek:

milann

It’s nice to go away but always good to be home again. Well done on the decluttering - I’ve just gone through a pile of paperwork which has mounted up in the corner of my kitchen worktop - most of it was junk mail addressed to dh - I’ve he can pile it up WHY can’t he pile it in the bin which is about an arms length from where he dumps them:mad: :rotfl:

I’m going to sort my drawer tops in my bedroom now - you’ve inspired me :beer: