My 5 Year Plan to a better life!

Thelaughingcat

Moving house is always stressful, especially if you’ve been there a long time and accumulated the usual mountain of detritus. It’s also expensive, and there’s nothing you can do about that, so I think you’re right to class this month as a write off.    

Last time I moved, I used some proper packing boxes for things like crockery etc, but also went to Tesco and begged for some of their cardboard as well.  Banana boxes are likewise amazing for books.  Even through lockdown, when I’ve had to send someone a parcel, I’ve just rocked up to my local supermarkets and cheekily asked to go through their cardboard cages.  Freecycle usually has at least one person who’s just moved and is offering their packing boxes too.  It might not be much but it all helps!

Hope the film was relaxing!

MuffinTops

Thanks Thelaughingcat.  The amount of detritus is very much as you say!  So much of it.

I'll keep that in mind with the boxes, thank you.  I've read other diaries too and can see that this is very common when people move. 

MuffinTops

I didn't achieve as much as I'd hoped this weekend.  The loft still isn't completely clear, but it's well on its way.  The last of the boxes up there are huge and in an awkward place!!  I did find some treasures - literally, with my childhood jewellery box.  I'd say 96% of what I find up there is rubbish, 2% is valuable and worth keeping and 2% is sentimental enough to keep.  This is things like photograph albums etc.  Of the sentimental things I'd say 1% will still get chucked eventually, once I've had a chance to properly go through everything.  I also found so many large lever arch folders of household account information, so I need to arrange to get those into the incinerator as soon as possible, hopefully this weekend.

Finances checked and not great, but I'm seeing my bad habit patterns so that's going to help me moving forward.  I buy a takeaway breakfast 🍳☕️ too often when I think that I have a lot of work to do and don't want the extra time spent cooking.  I'm also popping to the supermarket too often and spending a small amount but it's really added up this month.  The supermarket was literally the only place I got to be around people during lockdown which is why I think I got into the habit of going a lot.  Now I'm allowed to see people I need to stop that habit.  I also have a little addiction on one of their desserts in the supermarket 🍩 and have been picking one of those up every time!

I need to lose weight and started that this morning, so that should stop the ridiculous spends on takeaways and shopping desserts!!!  Thanks to Rosa's diary I've ordered some healthy meals from Cooks and they arrived on Friday so I'm hoping to only need things like veggies and top up breakfast items.  This morning I'm having 0% greek yoghurt with seeds, a few nuts and a lot of blueberries.  It's actually much nicer than I expected.  Lunch is soup (bought.  I'll buy a soup maker when I move if I keep up eating them.  I'm on the fence with soup at the moment) and then the Cooks healthier evening meal.  It's not perfect but a huge improvement on what I've been eating recently. 

My solicitor has chased up my buyers to see if they want me to break the chain and get their purchase sorted.  I'm now hoping they will but will have to wait and see what they say.

Lastly, I contacted a clearance company yesterday to book them coming to take away the rubbish and some furniture for me as I'm off next week.  They've asked for photos but as my stuff is literally all over the house (my house currently looks like an episode of Hoarders with all the bin bags and papers over the place) I can't get realistic pictures showing the amount to take.  I have offered to give them a list of items though.  I've also told them they won't need to come in and collect the rubbish as I can put it all outside my house on the day they'll arrive.  That was early yesterday afternoon and I'm still waiting for a reply.  I'll call them in the morning if I don't get a response today.  I want to use this company as I've used them in the past and was really happy with their price and service.

Phew.  I didn't realise there was so much to report from this weekend!  

Next weekend I'm likely to be out both Saturday and Sunday so I need to try to get a bit done through the week.  The problem is that my house is so flowing with junk that I'm running out of space to store anything I bring down from the loft before the clearance company can come.  Once I know they'll definitely come then I'll just have to find the room as it all has to go.

MTxx  

MuffinTops

Clearance company have now confirmed date and time 😌, just not price yet.  I need to send them a rough list of what they'll be collecting, which I'm putting together today.  They can also do a computer data wipe so I can send all the things I want to get rid of to the one place now!  From there they'll be able to let me know the costs.  I'm beyond excited to get rid of all those things in the house.  Then I can get a quote from my removal company for the rest of what's here when I know if it'll all happen at once or if I sell before I buy.  If I sell before I buy the removal company will need to store my stuff when I complete that sale.

Regarding food and being healthier I've decided that my larger meal should be lunch.  This is because I finish work at 6pm and don't want to be eating too late.  So an evening supper of soup rather than a big dinner will be better for me.  Lunch of roasted veg lasagne is in the oven now.  I'm going to prepare some asparagus to have with it.  My stomach is already wondering where the junk food is.  Embarrassingly I'd often eat a packet of crisps while waiting for my food to cook, and I only really registered that today as I put my food in the oven. 🙄

bellevie

You are very busy! 
We were shocked at how much we had to move to found ourselves throwing lots then even a little more post move whilst we unpacked.
It'll all be worth while in the end.

Lunch plan sounds good, I keep attempting the same but it just doesn't work with DH wanting a huge meal when he gets home.

Thelaughingcat

Ha!  Crisps while cooking tea - now that’s a habit I recognise.  So easily done.  You’ll drop weight quickly sticking to the healthier eating as the bloat lifts, so keep at it!

I have a little mantra I tell myself when I’m realigning my eating habits back to being healthier again.  

One day is a good start.  

Two days is a commitment.  

Three days is a habit.  

I’ll go all day, telling myself the saying for that day, convincing myself I want to be able to say the next day’s saying more than I want junk food.  Then I translate it into weeks (to build a medium-term habit).  Then into months (for a long-term habit). After three months of eating well, any indulgence is pretty temporary!

Glad you got the clearance guys sorted, that must be a weight off your mind!

MuffinTops

Thanks bellevie.  It's nice to know that it's quite typical to actually have more than you think you do or will ever need.  I know I'll have lots more post move and I'm ok with that for now.

MuffinTops

Eating crisps while cooking a meal kind of showed me that I have no patience for things the Thelaughingcat.  I'm hungry so I have to eat NOW!  What's that about?  I like your mantras and I'll use them too.  Last night I kept saying that I needed to just go through one day of doing great to give myself a chance to lose weight and/or feel better.  I like that you've extended that to 3 days of mantra.  I have a feeling I'll need the day 2 one tonight.

MuffinTops

I still need to put the list together for the clearance people.  I've walked around the house looking into every room to find more things to get rid of.  It's quite hard because as I have a house like a bad episode of hoarders I've actually stopped seeing so many things to cope.  Things like the ironing board attached to the cupboard door that I don't want anymore, stuff like that.  I think I've got it all now though.

Yesterday I managed to completely stick to the eating plan I wanted to.  By 7pm I really wanted to sink my face into a large packet of crips, but I watched a film instead.  If I'd had a chocolate wafer biscuit I couldn't have guaranteed it's safety though, so luckily I didn't have any.  The chocolate I have here didn't call to me!

YNAB has been looked at and is still going strong.  It's all up to date.  The way it handles credit card purchases still confuses me, as it did when they first changed how credit cards worked on there. I get their logic, but it's just not working for me in what I'm expecting to see.  It's only month one though so I'm sure it'll become clearer as I go and get used to it all.

Right, onto the commitment of eating well on Day 2.  All going as planned so far.  I've got a meeting in 10 minutes and then I'll put my breakfast together of 0% greek yoghurt, seeds and berries.

Happy Hump Day to all!

MTxx

another_casualty

Everything seems to be going in the right direction MT😼
I can't remember if you're vegan or veggie 🧄🧅either way , it's much more healthier than my "diet " . Shouldn't take you long to sort things out once you're eventually settled .

You're doing well on the clearing up . On your own , it is more difficult . I remember in my last place and the loft . Me being unbalanced and the size of an elephant 🐘trying to get stuff down from a part boarded loft . Avoiding making large holes in the ceiling was difficult . 

Anyway , keep going .

I'll leave it there ..