Summertime 2026

PennysIntoPounds

Some shelves taken down and moved

Some boxes of books packed

Some little bits moved to build

greenbee

Well done PIP. I've packed up a bit more of the office and utility room. I'm trying to have a bit of a sort out as I pack (primarily so I don't put something I need regular access to into a box and then can't locate it.

My mum came over, and we put shelves in a cupboard (something that I've been putting off for well over a year), having cut out felt to fit them. I just need to stick the felt down with double-sided tape to stop it moving, and work out what to put in there. The felt is primarily to cover up where there was previously felt… and hide how tatty the inside of the cupboard is! I also lined the drawer (which had a roll of lining paper in it that I'd forgotten about.

I should probably put some of the stuff from the kitchen that I don't use much in there, so I can put other stuff in the kitchen - either from the utility room, or from the kitchen cupboards I need to empty.

PennysIntoPounds

Well done you @greenbee. I do like a lined drawer, proper classy that is 😁

Floss

Definitely second the use of banana boxes when moving - they have rigid corners and are the perfect depth to take DVDs or paperbacks stood spine up.

GB, I once lined a drawer in green baize, the CoD had been bought S/H by my parents in around 1972, and I acquired it in 2005. It's now residing in Youngest & lovely daughter-in-law's Victorian end terrace.

greenbee

@Floss - apparently felt was much cheaper than baize (my mum was near the fabric shop, so she sourced it). It's navy, and looks lovely, and we have masses of it as it was a roll end (and she didn't actually bother to take measurements before she went 🙄).

Am struggling to keep on top of things, let alone make progress, so in addition to watering and hopefully getting a few more plants in the ground before they die, I'd like to get the felt taped down so I have the option to start putting things in the cupboard, and the curtain wire up on my bedroom windows as a minimum.

I could also do with roasting some veg for the week ahead, in particular the next batch of bolted onions I harvested yesterday.

Rhyddid2026

I picked the last of the garden fruits yesterday so will try to do something with it later today. I wish I'd written down how I made vimto jam last year.

I've bagged up some rubbish in my alleyway and put a pile of wood scraps on the patio to break up for kindling.

I've also put my white towels on a hot wash because some of them were smelling very stale. I've probably used and washed the same 2 or 3 for the past few years. They dried overnight!

I've also done some work work to battle the backlog. Gross used of a weekend but had to be done.

greenbee

I have not done enough today - garden has been neglected, and I have two bags of muntjac to process and freeze for pet food. But I've moved various things around and put stuff from the office and utility room away in other places.

Tomorrow the priority needs to be a decent walk for the poor dog, watering the greenhouse and checking the newly-planted stuff (plus planting or composting the rest of the stuff in pots), processing the muntjac, and rearranging the bit of the kitchen that the dog has taken over to fit more furniture in as part of emptying the utility room. And making a start on taking down shelves in the office, maybe taking one of the desks and the chair out to the workshop. Not just reading chic lit.

Baileys_Babe

@greenbee said:

Not just reading chic lit.

I find my choice of reading material and whether I would rather read a book or on a screen a good barometer of my physical and mental health, but occasionally it's I reading a very engaging book 📚

PennysIntoPounds

So hoping you meant to write 'chic lit' @greenbee, you have absolutely done enough today if you've being perusing your literature in slouchy tailored pyjamas whilst enjoying cigarillos and cocktails

I must go to pawnbrokers tomorrow and flog some unused silver, I know silver doesn't sell for much but better money in my OP pot than things sitting around I don't use, grateful as I am for their existence. Have been putting off this job for ages so will be extremely pleased if I can muster the fortitude to do it. Thank you everyone for keeping our OATs threads going so I have the extra impetus needed!

Rhyddid2026

I did not do something with the garden fruit. That's an urgent task for tomorrow.

I did break up the wood for kindling, by stamping on it which was very satisfying.

I bought some cheap matching black pots and potted up the stuff on my kitchen windowsill. I've been meaning to pot up my nans Christmas cactus since 2021. I also cut off and dug up a small clump of chives from the garden (the garden clump is massive) and potted those so I have fresh chives in the kitchen and don't have to walk outside.