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

HairyHandofDartmoor

Last night we went to aunt and uncle's house for dinner. My cousin was there too and we had a lovely time .

Although our shed delivery was so last minute that we were a bit late leaving, we must have been the last delivery slot! But we now have a flat pack shed in our hall :T. We can have fun assembling that at the weekend :rotfl:.

This morning we dropped off another 250 (approximately) books at the same charity shop. Luckily a new volunteer was there or she would have been slightly gobsmacked if it had been the same one as before at the sheer number of books we were donating :rotfl:.

Then we went to Mr T and did our weekly food which came to £86 :eek:. It's too much but we're definitely spending more now DS3 is home, plus DS1 came with us which didn't help.

Since then I've been re-arranging the books I want to keep. We now have five empty large plastic boxes which used to contain books :T.

My next mission is to go through the rest of the clutter in the house, get rid of as much as possible to the charity shop and then put the stuff we want to keep in the plastic boxes in the void. I dread to think how long that will take :eek: but I still have Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, so who know what I can achieve.

I am feeling very pleased with the results of my de-cluttering frenzy. There's a lot more space appeared in our bedroom and a big box full of books has disappeared from the landing :T.

I'm hoping that by the time we've finished de-cluttering, we'll be removing mouse hiding places and making it easier to kill them off with poison, traps, etc.

In other news DS1 killed a mouse in the night :T :T :T. Yesterday there was a mouse that kept running out from beneath the sofa (cheeky so and so) and so before DS1 went to bed he set a mouse trap baited with a piece of bagel and left it in front of the sofa. This morning I found the trap had been sprung and a dead mouse was on the carpet :T. So we have one less mouse in the house :T.

beanielou

Great news on the ongoing decluttering.
:eek: to the mouse.

Seasidegal58

Hi Hairy. I've finally caught up with your diary. I'm sorry to hear about what happened last weekend on what should have been a reverential, reflective day.

How brilliant though is all your de-cluttering. :jI do think one can get a bit too reverential about books and cling to them unnecessarily for emotional reasons - if they're turning into a hoard that clutters up your whole living space and a goodly majority consists of paperbacks that you'll never read again, then gift these on to someone who may well take pleasure in them!:) I think you've done the right thing and you appear to be revelling beautifully in all your new found space!:)

Have fun with the shed and have a great Easter!:D
X

HairyHandofDartmoor

Thanks Beanie .

I feel completely shattered now and I'm regretting buying all those books in the first place! I've got rid of about two thirds of my book collection now and I'm considering whittling it down even further now as our bedroom still looks cluttered and messy. At the moment I feel like I'd rather have the space than the books.

Our bedroom is full of empty boxes now so it still looks cluttered, but once I fill the boxes and put them in the void then that will clear a lot of floor space.

I've run out of time and energy today anyway. DH and I are meant to be going out tomorrow for the day, but I've done so much today that I'm wishing I could stay at home .

I don't know when to stop that's my trouble. It's because I have this vision of a minimal uncluttered space that's easy to clean and makes me feel calm and serene. Despite working like a dog for days and days, our house still looks like a cluttered tip so it's a bit demoralising .

I know it took years to acquire the clutter, but I just want it all gone. I wish I could wave a magic wand. I need the clutter fairy to magic away all my clutter :rotfl:.

Anyway I think I'm just tired and need to rest and then I'll feel better.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Thank you SSG . I know I'm doing the right thing by getting rid of all the books. Someone else can enjoy them now. I just wish I hadn't bought them all in the first place :mad:.

Sunshine_girl2

You have done a brilliant job with your books HH , maybe have your day out tomorrow, the weather is supposed to be glorious.

Enjoy your Easter weekend with your family.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Thanks Sunshine .

HairyHandofDartmoor

The weather is looking sunny and beautiful today for our day out . We're meeting relatives somewhere.

I feel very tired this morning so it's just as well we're going out as it will stop me from de-cluttering :rotfl:. I seem obsessed with it at the moment!

I hope everyone has a lovely bank holiday Friday .

doingitanyway

Probably as well to have a decluttering break. Decluttering brings up complex feelings so a break in the sunshine is probably just what you need

jwil

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

. Despite working like a dog for days and days, our house still looks like a cluttered tip so it's a bit demoralising .

I often feel like this too

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

I just wish I hadn't bought them all in the first place :mad:.

You would have missed out on all those good reads though. Once they are gone, you know that in the future you'll be able to read a book and pass it on, having enjoyed it and knowing that someone else will enjoy it in the future.