Prosperous soul, mortgage neutrality & creativity Year 2

WelshmansDaughter

A grid approach may help. 

MovingForwards

Good grief you're clearing a lot and making good progress. Do take a photo of the 4th bedroom as people do count / check make sure all the rooms have pics; even if you move everything out just for the shot and shove it all back in after.

The house sounds very interesting and I love the balcony idea, it's something I would do too.

Hope your hand heals quickly and grab rest when you can. This heat, while not like last year, is still very draining.

savingholmes

Thanks Skint, Lucielle, WD and MF

I've done lots of shopping today - mirrors, pictures, lamp shades, plants, flowers, a new vase. 

The problem with ADHD brain is we set an appointment to make ourselves do something - but under-estimate how long it will take to do. I've also realised that normal people probably get ready first and then book the appointment... 

I've sent the lady a text to see if I can reschedule. If I don't hear back in an hour I'll ring her. I feel bad but I feel I'd be wasting my money as most of the house still has too much crap out. 

I hear what you say MF about 'just' but that under-estimates how much is still left to do. I've pretty much spent the whole day on the living room. I have moved the table and the mini cupboard out and rearranged one side of the room. Some of the crap that displaced - still needs to make it into a crate and into the garage... 

I think I can get the kitchen ready enough, the front room, my bedroom but it feels like the rest still needs a lot doing. The garden is looking good though. 

savingholmes

Thankfully she's not going to charge me for rescheduling. I've asked to put it back at least into next week. I've said I'll ask for a slot when I'm closer to being ready.

Hopefully by the end of today the front room will look how I wanted it to for years... 

Merlin's_Beard

Hopefully the house will be looking ready soon, sounds like you've done an awful lot even if you think there's a fair bit to do. Sometimes it is just a case of having to 'game' a ND brain into doing what you need it to do.

beanielou

I love the 15 minute thing.
I don't always stop but it gets me started!

savingholmes

Thanks Merlin

It's the first time I've had to do anything like this by myself too. In the past I had Ex and could cajole the kids into helping. The kids have now largely flown the nest so are not available... It's another 'first'. I'm trying to neutralise my house a bit - as I have a lot of my own art work - but some is more likely to work for staging purposes than others... 

I had fun shopping even if it may not have been the best use of my time. Things I'm keeping are:

• 3 sets of pretty soap dispensers £8 navy hand blown glass, £13 cut glass flower and £8 white and sparkle (twin with soap and lotion in)
• a round mirror tray £8
• 3 hand blown dark navy vases on tripods were £16 - now £4 each
• White and purple flowers £13 for 6
• A yellow cushion £11 (to hide the paint splatters on my chair )
• A misty forest picture £28.
• Ochre lamp shade £24.
• White bath sheet x 2, 3 white hand towels c£23 - purely for staging.
  
• Beautiful gold arch mirror - should have been £40 and got for £8 I couldn't believe it as it was the last one... I'd wanted that for a while.
• A desert plant in a grey pot £8
• Another plant For £6 - not sure what this was???
• Petunias £6 for 12
  
• A fake plant in a glass round thing with pebbles - looks real £8
• Large grey plant pot on three wooden legs. £20 
• Huge green (real) spiky plant £15
• Grey wicker plastic bathroom caddy £15
  
• Stainless steel kitchen bin (small) £18 - really happy with it.
• Pretty and large green and blue and purple glass vase £13
• Some command strips for putting pictures/ mirrors up
• Some lightbulbs

May not keep

• I'm unsure about a £20 green lampshade for upstairs - but I unwrapped the plastic so think stuck
• Grey bathroom caddy - £18
• Black plastic mirror (I'd bought 2) £8
• Some boxes to put DD's carp in so it's still on hand for her but looks pretty. £25 for the three
• Circles mirror - £42 - really pretty - but not sure if can hang safely and lack tools

Return

• Black plastic mirror - part broken £8
• Flower picture £30
• Silver 'vase' £25
• 2 soap dispensers at £6 each

Runs away and hides... Daren't add it up. Have money in savings though so refuse to feel guilty... Paid on CC for now while I decide what to keep and what to return. This is on top of the bedding spends earlier in the week (they transformed the room though so don't regret those either).

My living room is almost clear....

beanielou

You are doing so well.
Did you say you were off this coming week? 

savingholmes

beanielou said:

You are doing so well.
Did you say you were off this coming week? 

You are such an encourager!!! Thank you.

I'm not due to be off - but maybe I should book at least another day. My cleaner is at a funeral so not due to have help from her this week. Don't know if the handyman will come.

I've wiped the top of the shoe cupboard/open book shelf and put a plant on it in the navy glass with tripod that I bought and then arranged some other coloured glass pieces I already had next to it. Really pleased with that. I suppose in a way I'm trying to create '1nsta' corners / spaces to hopefully distract from the wider stuff that still needs doing ideally like re-decorating throughout. Don't worry - I'm leaving that one for someone else. I'll wait to clean and prettily arrange the shoes until the night before it will be ruined again anyway.

In my house audit though I found various places which I'd become blind to - where a hole had been filled in but not painted over and it was really obvious. I have all that kind of thing to add to my to do list ideally too.

DD hates change - and I think she'll struggle with the changes I've made to 'my' part of the house. I need to make more changes to her space too - but want to leave that to the last minute so that it doesn't cause arguments. Ex is also about to re-marry - so for her and DS there's a lot to deal with at once. Trying to be sensitive which is absolutely not my middle name.

savingholmes

Sorry I'm bombarding you all - my head's full!!

£25 went to my regular saver. That matures in a month - and I plan to use it towards this spending splurge.