Prosperous soul, mortgage neutrality & creativity Year 2

savingholmes

Thanks Flossy and Merlin

I agree, I need to avoid rushing in to things be that a house sale and purchase or future hours reductions.

I haven't got as much as I hoped done - but then I always have unrealistic expectations of what can fit in a certain amount of time and how much energy I have. I went swimming this morning and ate lunch there which was lovely and meant I could make the most of some glorious weather. I've booked for tomorrow and the weekend too. Hopefully I can create improved habits. I have tomorrow and Wednesday off to sort the house.

I've organised a grocery delivery for tomorrow - and thanks to my newly organised pantry cupboard I avoided over ordering.

I only really started doing any thing on the house after around 4pm. I have half filled a dustbin (just todaY0 -  mostly with shredded paper clutter. I'm taking D's 'look for trash first' maxim literally - and starting with that - as I am still overwhelmed by how much it feels there is to do. I'm hoping that by clearing the paper clutter - I'll have more room to put things away that matter to me. I will also feel more in control and organised - and hopefully will know where more of my important papers are. I found a really important document to do with my boiler that I'd need when I ever come to sell the house for example.

It is true - that even if you think you know what's in a box of papers you should look through. I've been able to shred lots of Ex's paperwork that was mixed in with mine. I've also got rid of some stuff dating back to - cough - 1997! I always felt I had to keep every payslip - and while I can tell some went on previous declutters there was a lot left. I came across some paperwork - that showed me getting one pay offer when they were busy discriminating against me while pregnant with DS - and a second much higher one dated a few weeks later when I left them case law and pointed out the error of their ways. I kept those two letters still... 

I've added a few more glass items to the donate pile too. Just having leftover cottage pie for tea. I added some Red Leicester to the top for extra flavour and it helped. I need to get back to it soon. I'm hoping that it will be like one of those makeover shows where everything comes together at the last minute - but currently that feels like a distant dream.

Hope you are all have a peaceful/fun start to the week.

beanielou

It will all come together 

savingholmes

Thanks Beanie

I've found a few more things to donate to charity. Some blankets.

I moved most of my art stuff to the newly decorated room. I have 70-80 tubes of 120-150ml paint plus around 12 500 ml pots of paint. I still have more than will fit in my desired containers... I'm going to give some to my cleaner I think. She and one of her sons love art and are good at it - so if I gave her a selection it would make them both happy. I haven't even finished gathering all my supplies from all their hidey holes yet - and everywhere I look there's another tube of paint, or paint brushes, tape or other craft item. In terms of volume I have so much!! It's a blessing on one level but on another it all has got too much. Roughly half is unopened and half opened.

I threw about 10 mostly empty tubes away.

So tomorrow I have a swim in the morning. Then I want to keep gathering and sorting through my art supplies and try to apply the container concept. A lot of it was in containers but one of them was a catch all box - that was bigger than the average suitcase! It's not that useful so I'd rather the stuff was in smaller containers so that it is easier to manage. 

Honeysucklelou2

Well done SH, sounds like you have made amazing progress. Keep in mind how it was a couple of years ago, so that you are able to remind yourself just how far you have come, in moments when it still feels overwhelming.  I’m finding the more that I declutter and clear, the more it is feeling like a new place and different to the marital home it was, somehow making it more our home and safe space.

jwil

Enjoy your swim today.

I totally understand the feeling of overwhelm, it's hard to make a start there.  There will be a tipping point where everything starts looking better all of a sudden, even if it seems to get worse and worse to start with!

Well done on not over ordering groceries due to your organised pantry - soon that will be many more areas.

EssexHebridean

Remind yourself of what a difference decluttering will make to your overall mental wellbeing, rather than focusing on doing it for the sake of valuation. Also - when thinking about prepping the house for photos think about creating space rather than "staging" it as such - empty surfaces give a much better impression in my experience of the size of rooms and the overall look of a place - and also mean that people aren't drawn into wondering if things aren't where they are because there is nowhere to put them away. I'd also consider asking agents for their views on whether it's worth getting professional photos done at your price point - not wishing to be blunt, but there is a point in the market where people simply don't expect professionally done photos, we are very much at it on both our selling and buying side! Interiors photography is a pretty specialist field and involves some fairly pricey kit to do it well - so does tend to carry a fairly high price tag. One thing I tried to do when we were getting our place ready was to look at photos on agents lists to see what jumped out at me as "they shouldn't have had that, like that!" - and then we tried to ensure those were dealt with. 

You'll get there - just keep taking one small step at a time. 

Sunshine_girl2

All sounding good with the mortgage you have chosen. Plus the holiday packing sounds like it's all coming together. Have a great time on your hols . 

MovingForwards

You're doing so well decluttering and tidying. The proposed stay / move encouragement has come at the right time in your life.

Make use of maps and 3arth to check out the immediate area as that could save money rather than the expense of going to viewings and immediately ruling a property out.

With the weekends away, if DD does move out take care away with you. They'll get to explore a new property, can look out at different views and when you're both back home the outdoor adventures will carry on. There's plenty of places that do allow cats, for a small fee.

Embrace the swimming and classes, use that as downtime and chill out. Can't have you running out of steam.

savingholmes

Honeysucklelou2 said:

Well done SH, sounds like you have made amazing progress. Keep in mind how it was a couple of years ago, so that you are able to remind yourself just how far you have come, in moments when it still feels overwhelming.  I’m finding the more that I declutter and clear, the more it is feeling like a new place and different to the marital home it was, somehow making it more our home and safe space.

Thanks HSL - I think you are right. 21 months ago I was laughing at Ex not even weeding and strimming or tidying before getting the house valued. I think the problem is I am trying to do everything at once in the house and the garden which isn't doable. My cleaner comes tomorrow and she will make a huge difference. My neighbour reckons the handyman will come tomorrow if he does that would be amazing. Tonight I need to keep wading through the craft materials - and try to make that room look good and hopefully hold what I want in it.

jwil said:

Enjoy your swim today.

I totally understand the feeling of overwhelm, it's hard to make a start there.  There will be a tipping point where everything starts looking better all of a sudden, even if it seems to get worse and worse to start with!

Well done on not over ordering groceries due to your organised pantry - soon that will be many more areas.

The swim was beautiful. I'm getting faster. I've booked to go again at the weekend. I'm looking forwards to the tipping point. The stuff I've done in the house - you'd have to know how bad it was before to see the difference... 

I don't know who mentioned love it or leave it - but that was a really good prompt. I was in a shop today and fell in love with some white hydrangea. I realised I'd buy it for staging my house but wouldn't normally buy it for me just to make me happy. I had that a-ha moment where I got how ridiculous that was. I bought two and some beautiful pots to put them in and they look perfect framing my front door. I also bought a couple of outdoor cushions - but may also use them inside. I bought more lobelia and begonias too. I spent £128 as I also bought compost and a few other things. I did however use birthday money towards some of it.

I'll see how I feel about moving once I've heard their valuations. Currently I'm leaning towards tarting it up for my enjoyment and potentially staying but we'll see.

savingholmes

EssexHebridean said:

Remind yourself of what a difference decluttering will make to your overall mental wellbeing, rather than focusing on doing it for the sake of valuation. Also - when thinking about prepping the house for photos think about creating space rather than "staging" it as such - empty surfaces give a much better impression in my experience of the size of rooms and the overall look of a place - and also mean that people aren't drawn into wondering if things aren't where they are because there is nowhere to put them away. I'd also consider asking agents for their views on whether it's worth getting professional photos done at your price point - not wishing to be blunt, but there is a point in the market where people simply don't expect professionally done photos..... 

You'll get there - just keep taking one small step at a time. 

I could get mates rates on the photos - and they are very good at style and staging what you have too. However, I'll bear it in mind. I've seen terrible agents photos and it makes a huge difference. 

It does feel like peeling an onion or probably more like a cabbage. Every time I think I've decluttered somewhere I see the next layer I still need to do. I have to laugh at the idea of not staging and just having empty space - as the latter would feel like a miracle in itself! Definitely a recovering hoarder... I have come a long way in the last few years but a long way left to go too. 

Sunshine_girl2 said:

All sounding good with the mortgage you have chosen. Plus the holiday packing sounds like it's all coming together. Have a great time on your hols . 

I think you thought you were on EH's diary LOL as she posted above.