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

HairyHandofDartmoor

Today I'm going to carry on de-cluttering books. I think I'll find it therapeutic. DH has also said that we can go and buy a plastic shed today .

I've already got twelve carrier bags of books and two rucksacks of books in the hall waiting to go the charity shop. So I thought we could drop them off and then buy a shed on the way home. I still have more boxes of books to look through, but I've emptied three plastic boxes already which we can repurpose for other things.

Yesterday we had some relatives pop in for coffee before they drove home, so I cleaned the bath, shower and sink before they came and DH hoovered and tidied up a bit. So that is a few less jobs to be done today .

Dorastar

Sorry the weekend was tough and not made better by relatives either. I know what you mean about a good clear out. We are at the end of a very long term so there is only one room in the house that I would say looks decent enough for anyone to visit (the downstairs bathroom!) Up late today but plans to go through each room and get them at least tidy today!

HairyHandofDartmoor

jwil wrote: »

I'm tempted by the fence myself!

Well done on the decluttering. I love books, but now I have got rid of the ones I don't love, I feel so much better. I've got rid of thousands, but now I just admire the ones I've kept as they bring me joy!

I hope today has gone as well as it can have xx

I agree that if I just have the books I love then I'll get more pleasure out of those.

redofromstart wrote: »

Sadly not. Our house is stone, and is dry lined so there is a gap between the stone and the plaster, The mice live inside the walls and in the loft. When it is really bad you can hear them going up and down inside the bedroom wall :eek: Every so often you see a cat sat patting the wall as they can hear the mice but not get to them. I'd poke the cats into the loft but you can't get access to half of it as the chimney blocks the middle, and I worry that some fluffy idiot would refuse to come down.

I hope today was ok.

I am in awe at your exit of books.

Our mice are running around the living room and kitchen too :eek: so the problem is quite urgent. Hence my mad de-cluttering.

WannabeFree

Sorry the weekend was so tough.

Take care

x

HairyHandofDartmoor

Dorastar wrote: »

Sorry the weekend was tough and not made better by relatives either. I know what you mean about a good clear out. We are at the end of a very long term so there is only one room in the house that I would say looks decent enough for anyone to visit (the downstairs bathroom!) Up late today but plans to go through each room and get them at least tidy today!

Thank you Dorastar. I've been neglecting the house a bit in the term time too so I'm raring to go with the tidying and de-cluttering which will then make it easier to clean. Good luck with your tidying .

HairyHandofDartmoor

WannabeFree wrote: »

Sorry the weekend was so tough.

Take care

x

Thank you Wannabe. I'm just so thankful it's over.

HairyHandofDartmoor

I've found a few more books I don't want. I now have sixteen carrier bags and two rucksacks in the hall full of books :eek: :eek:.

DS3 was passing through the hall on the way to the shop and he expessed total amazement at how many books I have . DS3 also suggested I might want to warn the charity shop in advance that about a thousand books are heading their way :eek:.

He makes a good point and we have raised him well . So I think I'd better ring the charity shop and ask how many they could cope with. Luckily there are lots of charity shops in the town where we live, so we could spread the joy around a bit!

I feel quite tired and achey now. There are still more books to look through, but I think I'll leave that for another day! I'm in a de-cluttering frenzy at the moment. It's probably a displacement activity but it needs doing.

I also looked in the bathroom cupboard and found two full boxes of Laxido that were out of date so I chucked those away. Even DH has been infected by my de-cluttering frenzy becuase he threw away two empty bottles of aftershave the other day :rotfl:.

teapot2

Hi HH, sorry to hear how emotionally draining the weekend was but you have survived it and can hopefully move on.

A decluttering frenzy is definitely a positive displacement activity, well done on efforts so far. I think spreading the books around different charity shops if thats possible is a good idea.

Did you know you can take out of date meds back to any pharmacist for disposal? I usually do that as I don't want to put them in with the household rubbish.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Now that I'm earning a little bit of money on a regular basis, and assuming DH can bring in enough to pay the bills, I'd like to save up for a few storage items to improve our lives in the house, save up for motoring expenses, and also save for emergencies. I earn £180 a month after deductions, so If I was to save £50 a month for storage, £50 for motoring expenses and £50 a month for emergency savings, that would leave me £30 a month for frittering.

STORAGE
The storage I'd like to save up for includes:

-A triple wardrobe
-Three lamp tables with storage included
-Sideboard in breakfast room
-Built in storage under the attic stairs

If we bought a triple wardrobe then DH and I would have more room for our clothes and we could put our double wardrobe in DS1's room as he doesn't have a wardrobe. The lamp tables would be used as individual coffe tables for me, DH and DS1 (as the only regular users of the living room). If we had a sideboard or small dresser in the kitchen room we'd have somewhere to store our best plates, tableclothes, placemats, etc. The area under the attic stairs is a dumping ground for clutter and if we had built in storage with doors to hide the clutter if would become an amazing storage area.

SAVING FOR BILLS
If I could save £50 a month for motoring expenses then that would build up into a nice pot over time.

SAVING FOR EMERGENCIES
If I saved £50 a month for emergencies then that would also build up into a nice pot over time.
I could either transfer it over to my new Mr T online saver account, or I'm slightly tempted by the idea of premium bonds. The main reason I would consider premium bonds is that it would make it harder to spend them. I feel that having premium bonds and having to actually sell them to get the money would put a psychological barrier on the way of me or DH being tempted to fritter the money away.

HairyHandofDartmoor

teapot2 wrote: »

Hi HH, sorry to hear how emotionally draining the weekend was but you have survived it and can hopefully move on.

A decluttering frenzy is definitely a positive displacement activity, well done on efforts so far. I think spreading the books around different charity shops if thats possible is a good idea.

Did you know you can take out of date meds back to any pharmacist for disposal? I usually do that as I don't want to put them in with the household rubbish.

Thank you TF2 . I'm just so glad the weekend is over.

I am pleased with myself after my de-cluttering efforts, although slightly embarrassed at how many books I acquired but I think buying the books was a displacement activity after my sister died, and at least they were all bought in charity shops and not new. I can see now that I have far too many so my new displacement activites are de-cluttering and my job at school .

That's a good idea re the Laxido. I'll fish them out of the bin and we'll take them to the chemist next time we go.