Adventure wanted, but first we must rid ourselves of debt

jwil

Great news about the mortgage :T

AdventureWanted

DHs tax refund arrived in our bank account yesterday, so I've transferred £120 to DHs course Cc.

Spent a few hours yesterday tidying up my bedroom. It looks loads better, but there is still a large pile of clutter to sort through . I really struggle to find time to sort it all and even when I do the house never seems to get any better! DH and I discussed the house today and that it gets me down that it's always so cluttered. DH has decided he will pay for a self storage small room for a month so that we can shift the stuff out, do diy that needs doing and then sort it as it comes back in. It feels ridiculous that we need to do this to get the house sorted, but I am really looking forward to not looking at all the stuff for a while! DH is planning on sorting the garage out and boarding the loft so that we have more storage space (the lack of storage is our main problem). Really need to be strict with ourselves if we definitely do go ahead with it and make sure that the stuff gets sorted and not just left in storage or dumped in the loft! Going to start rereading the Marie Kondo decluttering book and hope that it helps change my mindset with some of the things I own. I struggle to not think of how much something has cost me and then either feel guilty getting rid of it or I want to sell it to get money for it. The end result is that I end up with a huge pile of stuff that I don't really want. Going to try and be better at charity shopping bits. Will be nice thinking that I'm helping others, just may have to not open the emails from the charity shop thanking me for the things that they've managed to sell for £x. In my heart I know that I would never have achieved that price selling something, but it's still a bit irritating thinking about the money I could have made!

Hope everyone's having a good weekend .

jwil

Getting over the value of things or feeling like I should get some money back is one of the things I really struggled with (and still do to a certain extent).

One thing that really helped me was really thinking about my 'vision' as Marie Kondo asks you to in the book. I skimmed over it the first time, thinking it's not really for me, and that I just want to have a house not full of stuff that I can keep clean.

Then I started thinking more about how I want to live, and what I want to spend my time doing, and that is completely different. If I have a spare day, do I want to watch the dvds I've been hoarding for years, or do I want to be out and about with the kids? Will I ever actually sit down and make that item, or is it just something that doesn't really interest me, but I bought it because everyone else is making stuff and I think I 'should' too. Spending that time really helped me decide what to keep and what to get rid of as much as whether the item 'sparks joy'.

Also remember to value your time when selling stuff. How much will you really gain by listing, packing, posting, dealing with numpties? What price is it worth achieving to make that hassle worthwhile?

In the past I needed the money and worked for every penny I could get from my stuff, now I don't so desperately need the money, I only sell stuff that is worthwhile.

It took me forever to change my mindset though and DH still hasn't got there yet!

AdventureWanted

jwil wrote: »

Getting over the value of things or feeling like I should get some money back is one of the things I really struggled with (and still do to a certain extent).

One thing that really helped me was really thinking about my 'vision' as Marie Kondo asks you to in the book. I skimmed over it the first time, thinking it's not really for me, and that I just want to have a house not full of stuff that I can keep clean.

Then I started thinking more about how I want to live, and what I want to spend my time doing, and that is completely different. If I have a spare day, do I want to watch the dvds I've been hoarding for years, or do I want to be out and about with the kids? Will I ever actually sit down and make that item, or is it just something that doesn't really interest me, but I bought it because everyone else is making stuff and I think I 'should' too. Spending that time really helped me decide what to keep and what to get rid of as much as whether the item 'sparks joy'.

Also remember to value your time when selling stuff. How much will you really gain by listing, packing, posting, dealing with numpties? What price is it worth achieving to make that hassle worthwhile?

In the past I needed the money and worked for every penny I could get from my stuff, now I don't so desperately need the money, I only sell stuff that is worthwhile.

It took me forever to change my mindset though and DH still hasn't got there yet!

Thank you so much for this Jwil. This is really really helpful. I never really understood the whole 'does it spark joy' part of the Marie Kondo book, but your description makes complete sense and thinking about how I want to spend my time off is much easier. Definitely going to read the Marie Kondo book (think I only got about half way last time and I did kind of skim over bits). Thanks again for your post - is nice to know I'm not alone in a decluttering journey!

AdventureWanted

Morning :wave:,

I've paid £57 off DHs course CC today. Can't believe we are almost at the end of October, this year is really flying by. Next month it's DC3s birthday and I really need to pull my finger out and buy her some presents! Then before you know it it'll be Christmas. I really want to do a reduced Christmas this year, but I do have a bit of an internal struggle with this.i know this sounds ridiculous, but as a child we always had lots of presents to open, so it always seems the norm that my Dc should have lots to open. The issue I have now is that they already have loads of toys that in reality they don't actually need any more. No idea what I'll end up getting them this year!

DH is away all this week, so I'm hoping to be organised and get some jobs done around the house.

jwil

AdventureWanted wrote: »

Thank you so much for this Jwil. This is really really helpful. I never really understood the whole 'does it spark joy' part of the Marie Kondo book, but your description makes complete sense and thinking about how I want to spend my time off is much easier. Definitely going to read the Marie Kondo book (think I only got about half way last time and I did kind of skim over bits). Thanks again for your post - is nice to know I'm not alone in a decluttering journey!

No problem. It took me a long time to realise that but it made a world of difference in deciding what to get rid of. There is a lot in the MK book which does seem a bit 'out there' but it works for me. I appreciate it wouldn't for everyone.

The 'spark joy' thing - I do make sure I handle everything, as that does spark a reaction on some things - either uncomfortable or great, but also it's not just about that, it's something making your life easier - a potato peeler is never going to spark joy but the ability to make yummy roast potatoes will!

AdventureWanted wrote: »

Morning :wave:,

I've paid £57 off DHs course CC today. Can't believe we are almost at the end of October, this year is really flying by. Next month it's DC3s birthday and I really need to pull my finger out and buy her some presents! Then before you know it it'll be Christmas. I really want to do a reduced Christmas this year, but I do have a bit of an internal struggle with this.i know this sounds ridiculous, but as a child we always had lots of presents to open, so it always seems the norm that my Dc should have lots to open. The issue I have now is that they already have loads of toys that in reality they don't actually need any more. No idea what I'll end up getting them this year!

DH is away all this week, so I'm hoping to be organised and get some jobs done around the house.

I'm struggling with the same - I like seeing loads of presents but the kids don't really need loads more toys. I always wrap up lots that they need as well so it bulks it out.

AdventureWanted

Hi,
It's been a busy week. Had friends over a few days running at the beginning of the week which was really lovely, but busy and the moving clutter before their arrival was frustrating and a bit stressful. Looking forward to the day when friends coming over doesn't mean a manic rush round to get the house looking better!

Yesterday was stressful as DC3 had an allergic reaction to something. Luckily it was hives and not a worse reaction, but still scary. DC1&2 had swimming lessons and after we had a quick drink & cake from Costa as a treat. She didn't have anything unusual to eat or drink at Costa but between getting in the car after swimming and arriving home 40mins later she'd come out in hives on her face, thighs and wrists. Had to nip to the pharmacy to see the pharmacist & buy some antihistamine medicine. Annoyingly had no cash, so had to buy plasters & paracetamol to get the balance over the £5 needed to pay by card . Must remember to keep an emergency £5 or £10 in the car. Luckily DC3 is feeling better now, but there's that worry that it may happen again, especially as I have no idea what made her have the reaction in the first place.

Money wise we've paid £43 to DHs Course CC. The balance on this has dropped in to the next thousand bracket (£4ks). Is lovely dropping in to the next bracket. Cannot wait until it's cleared, which hopefully will be early next year.

Watched a Christmas film with the Dc last night and DC2 told me she's going to ask Father Christmas for a puppy this year :eek:.

jwil

How scary with the allergic reaction. Hope all is ok now.

AdventureWanted

Morning,

DC3 is over her reaction thanks Jwil. Was all very odd, as she was fine in herself when it happened, just had these hives come up. Keeping my fingers crossed that it won't happen again.

Over the last couple of days we've managed to pay £100 off DHs course CCs. Only a couple of days until payday .

We recently bought a orchard toys game from the charity shop, which when we tried to play it found it was missing a piece. Luckily I found out that you can get replacement parts for orchard toys games for free on their website . I'm so pleased. Ordered the bits and they turned up within a couple of weeks. Its a shame I didn't realise this earlier in the year as I chucked out a game that was missing some bits.

AdventureWanted

Morning,

Have checked bank accounts and updated ynab. Have transferred £20 to one of DHs course CCs and £2.17 to the other of DHs course CCs. The £2.17 rounds one of the cards down nicely - would have done more but there's no more money until pay day tomorrow!

Grocery budget is over again this month. Think I may have to accept that prices have increased a bit and this is the new budget figure . Although think I can get it down a bit. This month it's £392.44 spent (includes any toiletries (excluding the WGAC toilet rolls which comes out of a separate ynab account), laundry products, etc). DC1 is now eating the same amount I do and Dc2&3 eat pretty much the same, so no idea if this is a reasonable amount for 5 (possibly still more like 4.5 people based on amount eaten!). I've been pretty pants at meal planning this month and we've had shop bought (cheapy) pizzas too often. Will try extra hard with meal planning next month and see what the grocery bill is like at the end of the month. Don't like having to increase it, as it means I don't have that extra to throw at the debt!

Today the DC have got Forest school. It's pretty cold here, so going to need to make sure we're all wearing lots of layers. Looking forward to it though as it's so peaceful there (even with loads of kids running round!).

Hope everyone has a good day .