Follow the Yellow Brick Road 2023

redofromstart

I have liked the idea of that 30 day clean book ever since @Seasidegal58 mentioned it, even if I get stuck on the spice drawer. The idea is sound even if the flesh isn't willing. 

SandyShores

redofromstart said:

I have liked the idea of that 30 day clean book ever since @Seasidegal58 mentioned it, even if I get stuck on the spice drawer. The idea is sound even if the flesh isn't willing. 

I'm enjoying owning it @redofromstart it doesn't take up much room but makes me feel 30 days away from being organised  🤣🤣🤣

It may have been from seasidegal58's thread, I've had it a while (bit more than 30 days whoops) - but thank you to whoever provided the details. 

redofromstart

I think seasidegal follows it once every year which is how I knew about it originally.  I have read it, just need to make myself apply some of it.

savingholmes

I think LWAP mentioned that book too. 

Well done on the OP.

SandyShores

Thanks savingholmes it felt good to make those overpayments, normally it would have just been absorbed and disappeared into general spends.  I saw an instagram post yesterday that said just one overpayment a year (i.e. an extra month's usual normal mortgage payment) could knock about 5 years off your mortgage which I thought was interesting.  So I put the figures into the MSE calculator - it didn't work for our 19 year mortgage, so I tried it some different figures.  It turns out just two overpayments a year on a 25 year mortgage will knock five years off your mortgage.  How amazing is that - and something I wish my younger self had known / been interested in

I'm not sure what day of the putting your phone and laptop away I'm on now, but it is becoming a really good habit. I have to admit to going on my laptop before sleep Weds night, just to check on MSE but it was only for a very short time and then was put out of reach.  I need to make sure it doesn't become a bad habit again though.  I'm starting to get into reading again and I automatically reach for my kindle when I wake up too early or can't get to sleep. I may need another plan for reading all of the non-fiction books I've purchased as I just don't think they are sleep inducing enough.  But I have made progress and now I've sorted them all into some kind of order it somehow feels more manageable.  

Work has started to creep into personal life a bit this week, so I need to start being mindful about this - its where it all goes to pot if I get too stressed.  

savingholmes

Congratulations - good that you are making new habits.

Well done on the OPs

SandyShores

Thanks savingholmes, its definitely becoming a good habit now and already my sleep quality is so much better.  It felt a bit odd at first, but its been worth it - I can see that my difficulties sleeping weren't being helped by having the phone and laptop in reach.  I've started reading novel number four and I feel calmer now that I've put the 14 non-fiction books aside for the moment (yes 14 including 4 on the kindle!).  

On the mortgage front I'm happy to report another £5 OP today, courtesy of one of my receipt scanning apps, totalling £2,223.35 in 2024 so far.  I feel I should have celebrated at £2024

Yesterday was a lovely day spent at the gym then out with family, only spends were travel and parking.  Exhausting but almost 20,000 steps so I'm feeling that achey but happy feeling today.  Lots to get on with though, so while I'm enjoying my cinnamon bagel (LO from the freezer) and coffee I need to plan.

Apple tree needs pruning, its starting to poke us as we come in the door.  This involves a sharp pair of secateurs and a mini saw according to the utube video.  There are a few other things to do in the garden like cutting back the rambling rose and clearing up some leaves.  I'd really like to add a circle of bark around the apple tree but the tree circles we've had before were way too deep - I could really just do with some kind of plastic ring that could sit on the top of the soil a bit like a hulahoop.

I've made a few v1nted purchases recently, including a pair of jeans from a well known shop for only a fiver.  I'd really like another pair in a different shade so may pop into the full-price shop later as they have a sale.  My late afternoon task will be adding lots of clothes onto v1nted.  But this will be after I've made the regular calls to check up on family.  Grocery-wise I think there are a couple of household bits I need so will need to make a list and pop in somewhere while I'm out - so:

• Garden centre - secateur and saw set.
• Jeans shop
• Grocery shopping
• Washing (between 11-4)
• Gardening
• Cleaning (see 30 day list)
• Family calls
• V1nted sales

Decluttering/organising and working towards my seven goals won't go any further than the 'daily' clean and selling clothes this weekend, but that's definitely enough to get on with.  

SandyShores

SandyShores said:

• Garden centre - secateur and saw set.
• Jeans shop
• Grocery shopping
• Washing (between 11-4)
• Gardening
• Cleaning (see 30 day list)
• Family calls
• V1nted sales

Update:

Purchased the secateur and saw set and have pruned the apple tree.  I've tried not to go too hard on it and hopefully have done it right - there were so many different utube videos.  It looks like I need to keep an eye on it this summer and then next year do another pruning - doing it in stages.  

Purchased the jeans and am very pleased with them - got a 20% discount too.  

Grocery shopping, washing and more gardening done.  Also dropped off a bag of charity shop items, and plastic bag recycling.

Sadly time has run out for cleaning, family calls and the V1nted sales - so I'll try to fit those in during the week.

SandyShores

I forgot to mention that a very small conifer type plant may have 'fallen' into my trolley at the garden centre so probably contributed to running out of time to do my chores.  Nice to get it planted in the ground as I had just the spot planned for it.  

savingholmes

Well done on the pruning. Could you get a large plant saucer and cut into it use that as a collar for the bark - or even those log or lawn edging type strips?