KonMari 2018 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

greent

I'm currently working my way through a large stash of hotel shampoo/ conditioner/ shower gels - various 'brands'. I've grouped all the matching ones together and am using them up before moving onto the next 'brand' Some are nicer than others, but all are doing the job of washing me/ my hair so are great as far as I'm concerned I do have my usual Tre5emme to move onto after, but I keep getting given more hotel stuff by my mum so it's been waiting for months - I just see it as money saving :)I don't use the body lotions which she gives me - I pass these on to a women's centre. Some are really nice, but I have plenty enough of my own (received as gifts) to get through (It's something which I use quite slowly)

maddiemay

Having now bought a lovely new pair of snug and warm outdoorsy type winter trousers, I hope that this weekend I will make time to try on my old ones which are now miles too big after unwanted weight loss over a couple of years. It has been an expensive time, but I am now reconciled to my new weight as I seem to have stablised and be able to keep all the newer stuff:D

As the OH of a guy who has been cycling for over 60 years and still rides 90-100 miles per week average, may I please chuck in a couple of things about second hand cycles.

If something has been unused for a number of years it will probably need new tyres and/or inner tubes, brake and gear cables, brake blocks and possibly attention to the gears. All easily attended to if you know your way around bikes or are handy and use you tube vids, but could well end up costing quite a few quid and even more if you have to take it to bike shop to get it done, all something to bear in mind, and would not recommend buying something unseen.

If you have such things where you live it may be worth calling personally into the bike shops and enquiring if they ever take in folders as part exchange, when they sell them on they should be checked over and be safe.

I noticed yesterday that someone locally was offering a ladies and a gents bike on freegle and pointed out some of the things that needed doing, Karmacat and Debsnewbudget, if you use this platform it might be worth asking if anyone has a folder to dispose of. Unlikely to find a Brompton or a Bickerton, but there are lots of cheap and cheerful ones around, and yes generally the larger wheels the better the comfort level:D

VJsmum

Today we have been clearing out the [STRIKE]office[/STRIKE] study ready for decorating.

Without much thought or effort, I have thrown out an old briefcase (no use for donation as it really is tatty), and a roll of wrapping paper for a baby girl. The last time anyone I knew had a baby girl was 13 years ago . It is so horrid, dirty and crumbled, it has gone straight for recycling.

I have earmarked some books that can go.

The biggest win is that OH is prepared to let all the open shelving go. We are replacing one set with !kea wardrobes, so everything will be behind doors and the other (rather industrial looking) set will be replaced with something decent. :T. Once the wardrobes are in, one whole shelf of this shelving will fit in there.

On the downside, I wasn't prepared to let OH climb the ladder to try to refit the ridge tile blown off in the wind. It was VERY high and VERY wobbly. So that means the expense of a roofer - but better that than a dead, or disabled, husband... He did go up but it was just not sturdy even with me 'footing' it and, when he came down to fetch something, I walked away saying I wasn't prepared to be party to it - he didn't dare go up after that.

Fen1

VJ: very sensible.
Undertakers cost a heck of a lot more than roofers.

VJsmum

For the sake of one ridge tile, we are now having installed a complete dry fix system for £400:eek: (to be fair, I bet it would have been £200 just to get someone up there)...

But it means the things can never fall off again... :T

It seems the positive deluge of money leaving our account continues however.

But, yes Fen1, as you say cheaper by far than a funeral

GreyQueen

Woke up at 5 am all excited about my 'new' bike like a kid and have been playing with it on and off during the day. OK, playing means removing the grot of ages, I reckon the darling hasn't been cleaned for about 20 years. You can certainly see where you've been.:rotfl:

Yes, it's very true that you need to watch out for tyres/ tubes when buying 2nd hand bikes. If bikes stand around, these things perish with age, although that can be mitigated somewhat by keeping tyres inflated by pumping them up once a week or so. If you have to store a bike for some time, it's better to hang it up or, if that's not possible, stand it upside down on its seat and handlebars. Perhaps with a drop-cloth over the top of it as well.

2 x new tubes and 2 x new tyres can easily double the cost of a new old bike. The ones on mine are pretty good, not as great as the stolen bike's ones, but decent. Barring unforeseen circs, they should be good enough for a few years, although if I get a puncture, I'll have the tube replaced. I am a low mileage cyclist, principally using the bike to shuttle to and fro my allotment at evenings and on weekends, and to drag the groceries home. It would take me years and years to wear out bike tyres.

I've even discovered a term of the 'bay and 'tree for a bike which has been found stored; a barn find. I've also seen folding bikes very cheaply, sometimes 1970s Ralieghs. With all folders, there is a tradeoff between the ease of folding and the overall lightness of weight and the cost. If you want to have a bike you can carry one-handed onto a train and unfold in seconds, you're talking serious spondulicks and Br0mptons are about the same price as I used to pay for secondhand cars. I have seen old folders with change from £100, sometimes under £50 as some people have had them to accompanying caravanning holdidays and they have seen little use. Sonething like that sounds as if it would meet Karmakat's needs.

I took the bike straight from the bike shop I bought it from to my regular guy, who has been servicing and repairing my bike for donkey's years. If anyone brings my stolen one to him, he has promised to 'arrest' it. The new one will be serviced on Tuesday and he's digging around his shop to see if he can find and 2nd hand brackets which fit my lights (the lights lived in the flat, the brackets were permanantly fitted on the stolen bike and are Somewhere Else now).

I have to say, some good things have come of the theft in respect of the many kindnesses which have been shown me by friends and acquaintances in respect of hunting for it and general moral support. This has been truly heart-warming and has made me feel humbled. I have also realised that just about every cyclist has been a victim of cycle theft, some poor s0ds more than once, and the upset of it lingers for a long time.

I also was thinking about how it's a good job kondo-fever meant I hadn't dicarded the random stuff I have been using to facilitate bike cleaning today; old rags, old toothbrushes, the tarpaulin protecting the hall floor from drips, the foam kneeler pad and various other bits and bobs which would have been an expensive PITA to acquire but were within feet and which I knew exactly where to drop my hands on.

I even have wet & dry paper for when I'm ready to rub the rust spots off the frame, and will only need a small can of black paint to touch in a few areas. Just call me Mrs Smug from Smugville.:cool:

catshark88

Have sorted my books (Kondoed them, but now putting them into some sort of order on the shelves). I have about 15 Alexander McCall Smiths! Most of the No 1 Ladies detective agency ones and some others. I know I enjoyed them and they’re a quick read, so I plan to read them once more, then CS them. I won’t take them when we move though, so there is a natural deadline.

I find that costing the shelves that I will need to store things on, is great for focussing the mind re what can go!

Karmacat

Fen1 wrote: »

Folding bikes. Are you looking for how compact it can be? How heavy for carrying? How quickly for folding/unfolding? How long are your journeys, and what terrain?

Pretty much the gold standard is a Brompton, but don't ask the price. You can get second hand Bromptons on the web, but I would be very careful about their provenance. All the Brompton owners I know jealously guard their bikes, and they would have to have an earth-shattering reason to give them up.

If you don't need something as fancy as a Brompton, then there are quite a few cheaper brands out there. You pay less, but the bike might not fold as neatly, or be heavier to carry. However, if you aren't lugging it about for daily commuting, then a cheaper bike might well do.

Great summary, Fen, thank you. I'm retired, and I live in a small town so it would only be for cycling locally - the library is 25 minutes walk away, and so is the leisure centre. Currently, I don't use either of them (ebooks only for me) and I'd like to. A village on the other side of a tiny nature reserve just by me has groups I'd like to go to, and it's the same sort of timing. As I get healthier, maybe I'd cycle out a bit further along the bridle paths? Not sure about that.

silvasava wrote: »

Karmacat - I know a lot of caravanners and boaters use folding bikes - might be worth a look on one of their websites?

Good point - I'll check, thanks for that.

maddiemay wrote: »

I noticed yesterday that someone locally was offering a ladies and a gents bike on freegle and pointed out some of the things that needed doing, Karmacat and Debsnewbudget, if you use this platform it might be worth asking if anyone has a folder to dispose of. Unlikely to find a Brompton or a Bickerton, but there are lots of cheap and cheerful ones around, and yes generally the larger wheels the better the comfort level:D

Hi Maddie - I'll try that when I'm ready, thanks. People are good about understanding wanting to experiment, and not making a financial commitment immediately.

GQ - wow, £50 for a good'un? Yes, something at that level would definitely meet my needs. Between ebay, gumtree and freegle, I've got a chance, surely

GreyQueen

The thing about bikes is that you don't need to shy away from them just because they're old. Even if old is 40+ years. There are bikes still on the road which were built in the 1920s. Bikes are like trigger's broom and can keep on almost indefinately with modest amounts of maintenance and mostly inexpensive replacement parts.

Plus, an awful lot of bikes, countless millions of them, are idling away their years in garages and sheds totally unused for decades and are thus not getting worn out. Sure, rubber parts like tubes, tyres and brake blocks will eventually perish, moving parts need oiling, the whole thing runs better with a tune up from an experienced bike mechanic, but basic bike maintenance is do-able by amateurs.

If you ask around, you often know someone who has an old bike they'd be happy to give away, if they knew someone who wanted one. A style of bike that was as common as muck, much commoner than folders, is the so-caller shopper's bikes. Smaller wheels than standard, step-thru frame and a carrier on the back often with a rectangular bag and a basket on the front. Cheap, easy to ride, not likely to be popular target for thieves.

ETA; this is a shopper type bike;


They've got them up on gumtree from £20 each. Mum used to have one -gave it to a relative in the end.

VJsmum

Ooh I used to have one of those. Great little bike.

Trouble is modern bikes have so much better suspension and gearing...