Put away your purse & become debt-averse

foxgloves

And hi to everyone else. I've got 3 loads of laundry dry this morning, baked bread, made garlic pickle, had a good tidy up & as soon as the delivery that I'm waiting in for arrives, I intend to pop down to the veggie garden to pick some fresh salad & to water & feed the tomatoes & other fruiting stuff. I'm pleased to report that finding 22 items to declutter today has been very easy. Honestly, I am in no way a hoarder - I couldn't live in such chaos - but I am wondering why I ever kept some of this random stuff. Anyway, I'm waving goodbye to the following today:
* 1 x plastic laundry measure leftover from a stain remover product test I did for one of the survey sites.
* 6 x jam jars.
* 3 x plastic snack boxes which no longer have lids, so are pointless.
* 1 x sheet of sticky jam labels which aren't sufficiently sticky to adhere to a jar.
* 1 x very out of date tub gravy granules. I am not actually that fussy about using OOD stuff, actually, but am more than happy for these to be binned, as I don't like the very salty gravy they produce - I think they must have been bought for some or other diet plan & then left sitting in the larder.
* 6 x skankerous glass tea-light holders taking up half a shelf in the shed. Now in bottle bank bag.
* 1 x even more skankerous tea-light from same shelf, which may have been used as a mouse porta potty.
* 1 x lone terracotta pot 'foot' - absolutely pointless.
* 1 x badly fretted garden cane.
* 1 x local newsletter, as I had noted the single bit of info I needed.
Well, still no phonecall to give me 30 mins notice of my delivery, so I will make a cup of tea & read my book until then. Just in case I don't get the promised call after all, I don't want to miss the delivery by being at the far end of the garden, so I can't go & talk to my courgettes until then.
Take care all. Do keep hydrated in this very hot weather & remember that it can make us feel very tired. I'd love some heavy metal thunder, actually, & a bit of a storm, but I think we are on the wrong side of the country for such excitement.
F x

Elnora32

Thank you for the welcome.

I'm sorry about your Mum and Dad - I know what a difficult time it can be. I'm sure you'll finish your novel when the time is right and until then your writing juices are getting plenty of practise and flowing well.

I didn't sort out the hairbrush because it would take ages and I didn't have time! The watch strap is calling.

Elnora

HairyHandofDartmoor

Your impressive de-cluttering continues! Your tecnique seems very effective.

I'm sure your creative flow will return when you're feeling less shell shocked at losing both your parents so close together. That type of thing tends to knock the creative mojo out of you, but I'm sure it will return when you're ready.

foxgloves

You're right there, HHoD......you just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other - if it wasn't awful enough hospital visiting & not knowing if today would be 'the day' , there is then all the funeral arrangements to sort out,all the official stuff, house clearing, legal stuff, etc. You don't really have time to think about anything else. I'm starting to feel more like my old self now, though the end of July anniversary of Mum going into hospital made me feel sad, as she never came out again, I've got some nice garden seating ordered - I've wanted some for ages - & I think it will be a perfect place for sitting out & doing some writing. That's my plan, anyway!
F x

foxgloves

Greetings Campers,
Oh my days, it's hot! I don't 'do' high temperatures & am predicting that I will be wilting by 3pm today. Luckily I've got most of my jobs done this morning, so will be able to sit in the shade with my book shortly. I've done today's declutterings too - 23 items today. Such silly little things, but very satisfying to get shot of:
*1 x container of used postage stamps - all packed & addressed to send off to charity.
* 1 x watch!! Hurrah! Finally mended. No longer sitting on my dressing table looking at me accusingly. Mended. Took very little time. Currently got a peg on it to clamp it together, but it's looking good so far. So decluttered back into use, as should hopefully be wearing it again by tomorrow.
* 1 x glue. (See above!) I did manage to squidge out sufficient to do the mend, but it has set into a strange semi-malleable jelly which would be impossible to spread over a bigger area & frankly, it was ready for the bin, so that's where it's gone.
* 1 x letter. Re-read it over my morning coffee. No need to keep it any longer.
* 1 x duplicate optician's reminder.
* 1 x empty printer ink cartridge posted back to supplier in one of their Freepost recycling envelopes.
* 7 x books of charity raffle tickets.
* 1 x sheet free address labels which occasionally come with the above. I needed one of these the other day & had no idea I even had any, so they have been decluttered into my writing paper/envelopes box so that they can be used.
* 1 x out of date membership handbook.
* 1 x local Yellow Pages.
* 2 x out of date events brochures.
* 1 x booklet about how to make free plant fertilizer from comfrey. I know how to do this already. recycling bin.
* 1 x instructions for making a hanging bird feeder from half a grapefruit, wooden skewers, string & raisins. Forgot I even snipped out & kept this. Am half way through making one as I type, as had a nice pink grapefruit for my lunch. V simple indeed. No need to keep the instructions.
* 1 x old cat treat jar. Was looking very grotty, so have replaced with a better one.
* 1 x magnetic knitting pattern row marker. Free gift with a magazine years ago. I just can't get on with it. It doesn't seem to fit any pattern I've got and it falls off at every opportunity, or slides downwards to trick me into thinking I'm on a different row. Bin!
* 1 x large plastic bottle saved for taking drinks on picnics, etc. We both have our own water bottles, so no longer necessary, esp not for the amount of space it takes up in the cupboard. Recycling bin.
And that is today's list of items. I must remember to add up how many I'll have got rid of by the end of the month. Well, I'm not feeling any cooler.....I think I'll get these beans trimmed & blanched for the freezer & finish my bird feeder, then I shall make a cold drink & go & sit in the shade with my book.
Take care all,
F x

Blackcats

Evening all. Today's drawer was obviously planned in the dim and distance past to be my hair dressing drawer .... i de-cluttered empty hair spray, de-tangling comb which had obviously fought the good fight and lost as it had very few teeth left. Broken hair dryer. Congealed mini bottle of hair conditioning mask. Then randomly broken tweezers, replacement rollers for foot dry skin machine except I can't find the machine but I think they will be reunited soon. The thing that surprises me is the decision making process that I must have gone through in purchasing and storing these items. I also took some smart workwear suits to the charity shop as I just don't need to wear this type of clothing any more. I counted my blessings that the days of black suits have passed now. I mostly work from home now.
Ps - I've never been tempted by bean sprout farming but it's good to know that I should stop myself if I ever start to waiver in the garden centre.

foxgloves

Great on the continued drawer-decluttering, Blackcats. Yes, I know what you mean about the decision making process. I do chuck stuff out on a regular basis, but this current challenge has made me question why certain items survived previous culls. Re hair stuff, as you mention. Why did I decide on probably multiple occasions to keep 2 ineffective products which I never use? I can only really put it down to my post-LBM resistance to wasting things. Both the products in question have now been emptied down the sink & the bottles put in the recycling bin. The plastic spray mechanisms & tubing couldn't be recycled so have gone to landfill. So I wasted firstly my money as both purchases were unnecessary, wasted the products because neither added anything positive to my hair routine, & have thus polluted the planet with plastic which wasn't even of any benefit to me before I disposed of it. Makes you think, doesn't it?
F x

foxgloves

And today's declutterings took place & were as follows:
*15 small pieces of plastic waste from the new area of garden we have recently 'acquired'. This is a bit of a saga, as is the plastic waste, which like lots of other rubbish was thoughtfully left by the previous occupant. Determined to get on top of litter-picking it, as we have a lot of birds visiting our garden.
*2 x postcards
*1x leaflet for stately home we're unlikely to visit this year.
*1x out of date TV guide
*1x eyeliner brush. I prefer kohl pencils & won't be buying pots of gel-type liner again.
*1x odd shaped piece of metal which has been in my in-tray for over a year because I don't know what it's come off. Sussed it! It's the corner from a magazine file box. Re-fitted. Took seconds.
*1x pair shiny new garden snippers gifted to me, but have been sitting on the shoe rack for 3 weeks. Decluttered to my Very Useful Tool Basket in the shed.
*1x glass tumbler. I thought I'd taken all these to the charity shop last week, but found another one.
*1x large half bottle bath bubbles found at back of cleaning cupboard. Now decanted to two vintage glass containers in bathroom to be used up.
Must just go & be jobber's mate for Mr F, as he's about to start waving a drill around.
Cheers all,
F x

foxgloves

Oh my days, but it's hot! I managed to get almost all my jobs done first thing so as to be able to melt into a pathetic soggy heap later.... & it's definitely imminent.
I have not abandoned my declutter challenge..... 25 more items dealt with:
*1 x duplicate mortgage letter.
*1 x large sheet corrugated card, now recycled into moisture mats for Worm composter. Can't believe I used to buy these.
*1 x roll of small pieces of baking parchment which I saved to use for lining small tins, etc, rather than wasting. realistically, there are no baking tins that small.....well, there are muffin tins, I suppose, but even then, some of these scraps are odd shapes as they are remnants from bigger tin linings. It's annoying me just thinking about them, but they are now in the recycling bin.
*1x tiny free bottle hot chilli sauce which has been lurking in the pantry for months. Have used it on Mr f's packed lunch for tomorrow.
*1x flowerpot found behind compost bin. Decluttered to shed where it should be.
*1x old water filter jug without a lid or indeed any of the necessary apparatus for filtering. Bin.
*1x kitchen hand towel. Strangely this has been manufactured from a fabric utterly incapable of drying a human hand. Now in ragbag for car polishing.
*4 x grotty plant labels which have been on the conservatory windowsill for ages awaiting action. Plant names now transferred to 4 pretty pieces of broken pottery, which are now serving again as up cycled plant labels.
*2 x old craft stamps I don't use.
* 5 x tubes dried up glitter glue.
*2 x small pots random beads. Added to bead tin.
*1 x lace trim from vintage pillowcase, which I thought about 4 years ago, that I might use to trim another. I won't.
*1 x stray freezer bag now put with the others so it gets used.
*1 x metal initial for use with sealing wax. I remember buying this, aged almost 15, on a school exchange trip to Germany & last used it when I was a student in the early 1980s! I wouldn't bother with the faff of using it now, despite still enjoying letter writing (I always had penfriend as a child).
*1 x knitting pattern I'll never knit.
*1 x free sample body scrub with which I intend to treat my feet tonight!
And that, dear readers, is another 25 pieces of clutter dealt with.
I also gave my desk a tidy ready for tomorrow, which is my Big Budget Day. Hoping it'll be a little cooler so that my brain works.
Oh, & in these insane temperatures, can you believe I've just cast on a pair of socks for a Christmas present? Gorgeous yarn, but it really does feel incongruous sitting out in 33 degrees knitting winter socks!
Hope everyone is surviving. Do drink plenty. And remember that gin doesn't count as a fluid when it's as hot as this.
In frugal sisterhood,
F xx

maryb

Gin doesn't count???? Ooh noooo!!