My Mortgage Free Mountain - A 7 year expedition to climb to the top

craftingmad

Morning.

The sun is shining and my mood is good  

Sorry I had no time to post yesterday as I was working at the cafe and chippy. I started at the cafe at 9.30am and was supposed to finish at 1.15pm but it was so busy so I ended up staying until 2.30pm and then managed to come home and grab a quick bit to eat and drank lots (Baileys reminders really helped me to remember) before heading back off for my 4 hour shift at the very busy chippy. By the time I got back home and had dinner (courtesy of free fish, chips and sausages from said chippy) I was ready for bed! 

No work for me for the next two days so I'm hoping to blitz the bedroom and get close to finishing it over the next 48 hours. It already looks much better (even though there are piles of things all over the floor currently) but I'm determined to get rid of the clutter so we can live much more simply to help ease my overwhelm. 

The annual scarecrow festival is taking place in a village close to ours today and tomorrow so I may treat myself to a little mooch around in the sunshine after I have dropped our son at work. I must resist buying anything from the garage sales though. I DO NOT need anymore clutter in the house (they always have a really good book stall and books are my weakness but I will try hard to not even look). 

Other than that not much planned again so I shall take the day as it comes and hopefully have a MSE kind of long weekend. 

Here's my list but in all honesty I am going to focus mainly on decluttering and relaxation so not sure how much I will actually achieve (if anything)

So today I MIGHT:-

1. Play on Mistplay (126 points target) - 2 points so far   
2. Watch videos on WeR8
3. Sort and declutter more of our bedroom - showed daughter pile of clothes which were hers and in our room and things I no longer fit in to see if she wanted. Resulted in a small pile of keeps for her, some new items with tags to try and sell and one and a half  black sacks filled ready to donate to the jumble. Also went through a wash basket hidden in the corner and clothes in wash basket ready to be rewashed and put away     
4. Get two loads of washing dry outside - two loads outside and drying beautifully in the sun  
5. Pay in cheque from Royal Mail on banking app - DONE will declare the £11,10 when it has cleared  
6. Pay in chippy wages earned last week 
7. Enjoy the sunshine at the scarecrow festival - could not get parked anywhere so visited a local craft fair instead and loved looking around the stalls and chatting to fellow crafters. It was very soothing for my soul  
8. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get some more orders 
9. Write and schedule rest of social media posts for May
10. Design business card for neighbour (freebie so she can wait if I don't get time)
11. Post in three FB groups to hopefully get some interest in my items
12. Give prices for stickers following on from enquiry  
13. Check free postcode lottery, winadinner and freeemoji - DONE not a winner  
14. Complete Prime Opinion survey
15. List something on FB Marketplace
16. Finish colour cube type idea
17. Create a new item to sell using clipart from membership
18. List something on Etsy to help refresh my shop 
19. Create an item from the teddy bears I bought for 50p each a while ago
20. Take a course from a paid membership
21. Research Etsy gift mode and tweak listings to see if this will give me extra exposure
22. Look at SEO report from website and make small improvement
23. Finish tidying craft room
24. Action one thing on my business growth list
25. NSD - failed again - I had to pop out and get more fabric conditioner for the washing  

Baileys_Babe

craftingmad said:

Baileys_Babe said:

When driving him to school is prearranged I might have different rules as I can see why it is important to get the course work there safely.

Do you charge him £5 each occasion or is it for the week if you have had take him at least once? Do you need to up the figure? He is also earning his own money. Or could you restrict something else, like a curfew or limit on how much gaming he does?

I currently charge him £5 each time I have to take him in as it is a 20 mile round trip for me which takes me on a good day an hour and fifteen minutes and on a bad day if lots of traffic 2 hours. 

He isn't really into gaming and he uses his phone and computer for college course work so it is quite hard to take anything away really. I would never leave him short of food but I hoped that having to use his own hard earned wages would give him the incentive to get up on time but it appears not.
I'm hoping next week will be better    

Taking your son to school takes a big chunk out of your day, even when the traffic is good. Sorry I have no further suggestions on how to encourage him to get the bus.

Good to hear your hours were increased for a change and that you remembered to drink plenty of fluids, your body will thank you.

Enjoy visiting the scarecrow festival, they have one near my parents and that is always worth a visit.

craftingmad

Baileys_Babe said:

craftingmad said:

Baileys_Babe said:

When driving him to school is prearranged I might have different rules as I can see why it is important to get the course work there safely.

Do you charge him £5 each occasion or is it for the week if you have had take him at least once? Do you need to up the figure? He is also earning his own money. Or could you restrict something else, like a curfew or limit on how much gaming he does?

I currently charge him £5 each time I have to take him in as it is a 20 mile round trip for me which takes me on a good day an hour and fifteen minutes and on a bad day if lots of traffic 2 hours. 

He isn't really into gaming and he uses his phone and computer for college course work so it is quite hard to take anything away really. I would never leave him short of food but I hoped that having to use his own hard earned wages would give him the incentive to get up on time but it appears not.
I'm hoping next week will be better    

Taking your son to school takes a big chunk out of your day, even when the traffic is good. Sorry I have no further suggestions on how to encourage him to get the bus.

Good to hear your hours were increased for a change and that you remembered to drink plenty of fluids, your body will thank you.

Enjoy visiting the scarecrow festival, they have one near my parents and that is always worth a visit.

Thanks Baileys. It's certainly a hard one and I will have to have  along hard think about how I can get him on the bus on time each morning! 

I'm hoping I will actually get to the scarecrow festival today. Fingers crossed x

craftingmad

Morning all.

Another beautiful sunny day already here on the Broads so once again my mood is good and I'm raring to get things crossed off my list.

No plans yet again but I am hoping to actually be able to park at the scarecrow festival today and take a mooch around along with doing more of our bedroom. Who knew the room held so much stuff!

So today I MIGHT:-

1. Play on Mistplay (126 points target) - 27 points so far   
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - DONE 6 videos watched for 40p  
3. Make up and print off postage label for Nail planner for Etsy order before funds are deposited to my bank - DONE will post off on way to taking son to work as will be driving past  
4. Sort and declutter more of our bedroom - wash basket on blanket box sorted through and clothes put away
5. Get two loads of washing dry outside - one load on washing line and other going round in machine  
6. Put away the clean clothes mountain currently in our hallway - sorted into piles so everyone can put their own away. Just got two laundry baskets of mine to find space for in my newly organised bedroom - no wonder I had so much room! 
7. Enjoy the sunshine at the scarecrow festival - DONE enjoyed a lovely hour walking around and I was really good and resisted buying anyone else stuff they wanted to get rid of (including books) - I'm very proud of myself  
8. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get some more orders 
9. Write and schedule rest of social media posts for May
10. Design business card for neighbour (freebie so she can wait if I don't get time)
11. Post in three FB groups to hopefully get some interest in my items
12. Give prices for stickers following on from enquiry  
13. Check free postcode lottery, winadinner and freeemoji - DONE not a winner  
14. Complete Prime Opinion survey
15. List something on FB Marketplace
16. Finish colour cube type idea
17. Create a new item to sell using clipart from membership
18. List something on Etsy to help refresh my shop 
19. Create an item from the teddy bears I bought for 50p each a while ago
20. Take a course from a paid membership
21. Research Etsy gift mode and tweak listings to see if this will give me extra exposure
22. Look at SEO report from website and make small improvement
23. Finish tidying craft room
24. Action one thing on my business growth list - updated meta tags on three products on my website  
25. NSD - DONE  

Jessy103

Hi crafting,

On the getting DS on the bus issue, can he not just catch the next bus? (Sorry if you have already addressed that). I know it would make him late but if he then has to explain why he's late, would it make him more responsible for his actions? 
It certainly worked for me when I was younger, I now hate being late to work or anything because I don't like confrontation 🤣

craftingmad

Jessy103 said:

Hi crafting,

On the getting DS on the bus issue, can he not just catch the next bus? (Sorry if you have already addressed that). I know it would make him late but if he then has to explain why he's late, would it make him more responsible for his actions? 
It certainly worked for me when I was younger, I now hate being late to work or anything because I don't like confrontation 🤣

Hi Jessy103,
Sadly we live in a small village so there is only one bus in the morning and one bus home in the evening so getting a later one is not an option  
I really love living here but it can be frustrating sometimes due to the lack of public transport, amenities etc. 

craftingmad

Morning all,

A quick post from me today as I am at the cafe from 9.30am - 4,30pm so have to start getting ready as soon as I have hopefully got son out the door for college on time. Luckily hubby has day off so if he doesn't make it again then he can have the joy of the school run instead for a change  

I really enjoyed my leisurely day yesterday. I feel very relaxed and rested and ready for the day ahead. 

Good news on the Burger King job - my 5 hours a week have switched to a Sunday so I have the hours back and they still do not involve late nights  

I don't think I will have much time for achieving anything other than work but I'll add my list and take it as a challenge to see how much I can achieve

So today I HOPE I WILL:-

1. Play on Mistplay (126 points target) - 167 points thanks to a 50 point new game bonus  
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - DONE 6 videos watched for 40p  
3. Post off nail planner as totally forgot yesterday - DONE  
4. Sort and declutter more of our bedroom - hubby went through a drawer of his stuff while I was at work and threw most of it out so that's a bonus for me as I didn't even have to do anything today and its still tidier  
5. Put away my clean clothes mountain currently in our hallway
6. Cafe shift (7 hours) - DONE I also came home with 4 slices of victoria sponge cake and two huge croissants so an added bonus  
7. Transfer Etsy earnings into OP savings account - DONE £145.46 transferred  
8. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get some more orders 
9. Write and schedule rest of social media posts for May
10. Design business card for neighbour (freebie so she can wait if I don't get time)
11. Post in three FB groups to hopefully get some interest in my items
12. Give prices for stickers following on from enquiry  
13. Check free postcode lottery, winadinner and freemoji - DONE not a winner
14. Complete Prime Opinion survey - spent 15 minutes completing a survey which should have been worth 83 points only to be kicked out on last question and got 3 points instead Completed another survey for 55 points so 58 points in total added today  
15. List something on FB Marketplace
16. Finish colour cube type idea
17. Create a new item to sell using clipart from membership
18. List something on Etsy to help refresh my shop 
19. Create an item from the teddy bears I bought for 50p each a while ago
20. Take a course from a paid membership
21. Research Etsy gift mode and tweak listings to see if this will give me extra exposure
22. Look at SEO report from website and make small improvement
23. Finish tidying craft room
24. Action one thing on my business growth list
25. NSD - Failed as had to go to Lidl to pick up curyy sauce. On plus side I checked hubbies app and he had 50% off beef mince so I bought 4 lots of their 750gm steak mince for just £2.50 each which saved us £10 I also got a free bakery item (65p) and 15% off cucumbers which saved me another 53p  

~FlowerPot~

morning Crafting,

Im very pleased for you that the BK hours have moved to a sunday with no late end. excellent!

have a good day

FLowers x

craftingmad

~FlowerPot~ said:

morning Crafting,

Im very pleased for you that the BK hours have moved to a sunday with no late end. excellent!

have a good day

FLowers x

Thanks Flowers - hope you have a fantastic week x

Baileys_Babe

As your hubby is at home today have you discussed what he is making for dinner tonight?

Glad to hear your BK hours have been relocated to a time that works for you.