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Wednesday 16 January 2013

The One With All the Tester Pots

Tester pots. Little pots of goodness. They promise so much don't they? I have gone, quite literally, over top with them.

My living room wall looks like it has some sort of wall based skin disorder. There are patches everywhere with my carefully written labels next to them in pencil. They all have fantastic names such as Jasmine Shimmer, Lilac Echo, Morning Light, Orchid White.

© afewthingsfrommylife
Oh to be a Dulux name thinker upper (I am 100% sure that is the title on that person's business card) or even better Farrow & Ball, never before have paint names entered such weird realms. How fabulous to arrive at the office, take out a well worn copy of Collins Thesaurus, or perhaps an online version in our modern times, and start flicking through whilst thinking:
"How many different ways can I describe cream?"

As that is basically what they are. My living room is covered in cream splodges with different names. Sure Lilac Echo does indeed have an echo of lilac, in the same way that homeopathy has an echo of actual medical science, but they are all basically cream.

I am so original it hurts.

Cream is ideal because:
a) it is light, we live in a mid terrace house so light is at a premium.
b) it goes with everything, we currently have burnt terracotta (red) sofas which are a nightmare to match anything to.
c) should the need to go mad with colours take us when we are old (I am thinking purple and not just an echo thank you very much) it'll be a good base.

So for now we are firmly entering middle class conformity and having cream.

Now I just need to decide which cream, Buttermilk looks good on that wall but Natural Wicker looks good over there.....

If you have a natural tone (cream) which did you choose and why?

Monday 14 January 2013

Spring Cleaning

Decluttering and spring cleaning go hand in hand like ice cream and a Flake, like summer and hay-fever, like always getting a cold on the first day of holidays [feel free to insert your own simile of choice here.]

It is very hard to do one without the other quite simply. I know it may seem rather ironic to be talking about SPRING cleaning when the UK has just had yet another dumping of snow (and boy doesn't my FB feed know it) but strike whilst the iron is hot. Getting started is the hardest part.

As readers of this blog know we are taking on a lot of work. Not only are we decluttering, but also decorating at the same time.

In hindsight I do not advise this. Much better to sort one out before the other but as it is we are in the midst of spring cleaning.

The weekend was spent scraping the walls in the living room. Small tip for everyone here. if decorating please consider the poor sods who buy your house afterwards and do the job properly. Varnishing (yes you read right) over lining paper is never a good look and even worse to remove *sobs quietly into the much needed glass of wine*

Due to this we have been set back yet again but never fear! We have a solution! it comes in the form of sandpaper and realizing that that wall (luckily the only one affected) is going to be covered by bookcases so it won't matter that it's not 100% perfect like the rest of room. It'll be fine, no it will be, no it will, it'll be fine (if I say it enough times I might even convince myself).

My next task is to
a) get better. I have had another CFS crash brought on by a virus, my temperature at the moment is hovering between 39 and 40.5. How am I typing this you might wonder, ah well that is thanks to marvelous voice typing technology. It's not perfect admittedly but it means the bulk is done whilst I lie back and groan softly into my pillow. I will proof read it later when feeling a bit brighter.

b) call the plasterer to get a quote for the ceiling. We are hopefully going to use the same chap who did our kitchen work as he did a brilliant job in there and he knows the, ahem, eccentricities of our house and how the previous owners bodged  did things.

One thing we did though was to get a lovely laundry bin (I know rock and/or roll) for our daughter's room. This is part of the teach a 3 year old how to declutter strategy. It might work, it might not but it's a lovely little piece of furniture that will be well used in her room.

Saturday 12 January 2013

The Wonderful Support of Friends

It cannot be overstated. I have an absolute cracking group of gals (say the previous in a 1950s boarding school mistress voice, think Joyce Grenfell) who are keeping me on the straight and narrow with my decluttering journey.

I run everything past them and they're not sick of it (yet, well they might be but they're too polite to say so. Scrap that they would definitely say so!) One of them asks if every new thing I buy is clutter as I am now in the habit of crying CLUTTER! if another mentions clearing out, another keeps me laughing with her (quite frankly) insane ramblings, plus her daughter is hilarious. The Scottish contingent (as I think of them) regale us with how things work above the border (we all work in a similar field) and laugh at us when we complain of things that only effect England.

The crafty bunch keep me inspired as to new projects, and the one with the bonkers mother in law is just fabulous. Then there are my fellow gingers, we get on like only red heads can.

What can I say girls? Ah that's it I fucking love you all and stop being so... well you know ;)

And with that I wish you a hearty Plano Ne xx

Operation Fish Tank

That's right friends today is the day where the built in fish tank (I know right) is going!

We bought this house 7 years ago this summer, it was a bargain and is a nice little house. The problem with it was that the previous owners worshiped at the altar of 70s tack. Not even kitsch just tack. There was faux brickwork in the living room, faux brick chipboard on the walls and the aforementioned fish tank. At floor level, where you can't actually see the fish.

Nancy
We did use it for a while (my husband loves fish and always wanted a tank) and I had a group of 3 Angel fish called Nancy, Drew and Ned but it soon got obscured by our furniture so neglected. Now it's going and I couldn't be happier.

Well I could. TOP TIP: if at all avoidable declutter without your significant other. If me and Mr Bug get through today without a divorce it will be a bloody miracle. I am much better at this alone but the big jobs do need two of us.

Still we are making good progress so far, even if the ever pessimistic Mr Bug thinks we aren't, I am focusing on what we have done.

The fate of the fish tank is to be Freecycled and the brick work taken to with a sledgehammer, so satisfying believe me, nothing like a good whack on something you hate having in your house (that does not include pessimistic husbands).

As I type I can hear the gravel being removed and dark mutterings from the husband. I meanwhile am researching light fittings, well I can't do anything until he's finished faffing around with the Tank of Doom™ (as I am now calling it). My motivation, my get up and go has disappeared today. Like I said I'm better at this alone.

Freecycle is an excellent way to get rid of your unwanted items quickly. We have donated many things to our local charity superstore but some items are so speacialist they need someone to actually want them. Freecycle is great for this. My advice when using this system is to read between the lines of the emails you get. I have some hard and fast Freecycle rules:
  1. A please and thank you go a long way. Manners cost nothing.
  2. Please, when possibe, try to use punctuation and grammar. I'm a stickler for these (trained English teacher) and I am well aware of the problems facing those with dyslexia but I have often found those who have dyslexia are much more likely to make sure they do use correct grammar etc.
  3. Txt spk will get your request deleted. Simple as, you are a grown adult write like one.
  4. I try not to do a first come first serve basis. Many people who immediately request something are looking to sell the items on. I'd much rather my items help someone out than line someone's pockets. 
Oh the tank is cleared! Off to lug it into the garden, such fun!  

Thursday 10 January 2013

Decluttering with a Child part 1

I am trying to introduce Squig (her nickname since 2 days old as she's never still!) to decluttering.

It's a challenge, let's put it that way.

We have all the games for tidying up time but in terms of actual decluttering her toys this is harder. She has accumulated a mass of plastic and tat over her short 3 years. Puzzles with pieces missing, freebies from magazines etc are a staple of the detritus at the bottom of her toy box.We are drowning in her toys.

I have two options basically.
  1. Do it when she is in bed, without her knowledge and hope that she won't notice (she will).
  2. Enlist her help somehow.
I am leaning towards 2 because I want to bring up Squig with a decluttering mindset, I don't want her to get to her thirties and have the massive job to do in her home. I want her to see decluttering as normal, as desirable and through teaching her I'll be teaching myself. Plus children are often more aware, more intelligent than we give them credit for. I have no idea why she loves yellow dusters so much but boy does she know when I sneak one or two of her massive collection into the wash without her knowing. She is fine if she has seen them go in but do it without her knowing and all hell breaks loose.

Knowing my luck the day I get rid of the free toys on the front of her Peppa Pig magazine, that are broken and she never uses, will be the day she decides she wants them. The decluttering decisions need to come from her (with my guidance of course).

I know she can do it, I have seen her at nursery having to make choices and decide which should stay and which should go.

Wish me luck, this is a blog post I will be returning to often!

Storage Solutions

Good storage is key when decluttering. Take note of that first word. Good storage.

Our house has lots of storage but very little serves it's purpose and isn't easy to work with. We fell into the classic trap (usually hits half way around Ikea for most people) where we were seduced by pretty little boxes, in lovely colours. The trouble is they weren't the right size for what we wanted and in the end of got so overstuffed they buckled and now the lids don't fit.

Our storage actually makes our clutter problem worse because it is so unfit for purpose.

One key lesson I have well.. learnt so far on this journey is that you must declutter first, then buy storage.

Sounds so simple, so why do so many of us get it wrong?

We are sold so many storage solutions by stealth and also because we wish our home to look nice as well as practical. Why use a plastic container when you can have a leatherette one with little silver studs? (Yes those were the Ikea ones we got, I can see one now on top of the fish tank mocking me, although that one is actually useful as it holds all the fish food etc, the fact we don't have any fish anymore is not the point---) So we over buy (always) and find that what we have bought can't be used and so we end up tatty cardboard boxes littering the place in the stead of proper storage.

So now (drum roll please) my top key storage tips:
  • Declutter first. I cannot stress this enough, until you can see the space you are working with you cannot know what or how much storage you will need.  As an example, I was being wooed by a toy storage solution for our daughter's room. However having decluttered I now realise it would have been woefully inadequate for the type of toys we need storing (bulky Happyland toys). So now I am focusing on a less pretty but much more suitable solution involving big plastic drawers (similar to those used in childcare settings, they use them for a reason!) 

  • Make use of hidden storage. We have countless places in our home that are crying out for use as storage if we engage our imaginations. Just remember that storage must be fit for purpose and not just a dumping ground! Most bedrooms have space on the top of the wardrobe, space that could hold items that are used infrequently but not so infrequently that loft/attic storage is more appropriate. Now here nice looking boxes are essential, when lying in bed of an evening you do not want to be staring at untidy boxes, it will lower your mood.  
    On the top of my wardrobe currently is my wedding dress, boxed up in a beautiful box with gorgeous ribbon, most dry cleaning places now offer a wedding dress clean and presentation service. It is expensive but worth it in my opinion. It stays on top of the wardrobe as I don't want to consign it to the loft, it is a reminder of a very happy day and I like to look at the dress now and again. Also on the wardrobe are my collection of evening bags and scarfs that i wear occasionally to a big night out so can be put on the top out of the way.       

    • Easy access storage is a must in high traffic areas such as the hallway. Shoes, coats and bags are a major issue in these areas so having easy to use, easy to access storage will make things quicker and easier in the mornings and reduce stress. Go through all the shoes currently in your high traffic area. How many do you actually wear in the working week? The ones you need to find in the morning in the rush to get out of the door. On average British women have 20 pairs of shoes (some men may be disagreeing with this, my husband included but let's remember it's an average so some women will have more some less). Now 20 sounds a manageable number but consider are there more people in your house? My daughter has several different types of shoe and boot depending on the weather and my husband is King of the Trainers. Our hallway and porch are full to bursting with shoes and we find we are wearing the same ones day in and day out so why are the rest there?! 
    Here's what to do, take note of which shoes you actually wear on the most regular basis. These shoes need to be easy to access so will stay in the hallway/high traffic area in or on storage. A shoe rack might seem depressingly middle aged but they work! Assign each member of the household a space on the rack(s) and stick to it, if the shoes can't fit then that extra pair go elsewhere. The bottom of the wardrobe is a great place to store extra pairs of shoes but not all jumbled together. Pair shoes and box them, if you still have the original boxes then use those otherwise invest in some clear plastic show boxes so you can easily see at a glance which ones are which. 

    • Large pieces of furniture can be used to streamline your home. No seriously hear me out! Having large fixed pieces of furniture means that items don't move which is vital for knowing where everything is. Part of our redecorating plans include a lot of large pieces of furniture. Namely bookcases (I know we donated all our books last week but we have plans for the shelves!) and, thus proving I really am entering middle age early, a sideboard. Yes we are getting a sideboard for our hallway. Since the kitchen refit my husband has lost his man drawer so this will help that. He is having one so he can still have a bit of clutter in his life. It will also double up as a filing area for important documents. Which leads me nicely to...

    • Ignore my first key tip for paperwork. <a collective groan> I know but when it comes to paperwork you must be prepared. That is not to say you go silly and buy unsuitable storage but you must have a filing system ready to use. Filing systems can be great, they allow us to access information quickly and effectively. If they work. Cross referencing everything by your Aunt's favourite cats is not going to help. 


    There are key areas you must have files for:
      • Big financial areas such as mortgage information and bank statements.
      • Insurances, house, life, cat etc
      • Bills
      • School/childcare information (do check their bags regularly <blush>)
    Try to deal with paperwork as it comes through the door (I am terrible for this, everything gets dropped on the rickety hall table at the moment and invariably forgotten about) and file important letters straight away.

    Hopefully I will stick to my own tips!                                                                                                      

    Monday 7 January 2013

    Keeping momentum going

    So I have returned to work for 2013. This is the tough time for me. I mentioned previously that I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and decluttering combined with having a 3 year old and working will push my reserves to the limit.

    Therefore I have to be very careful about keeping my momentum going. My plan is this:
    • Little and often. Identifying areas that can be sorted in small chunks and making sure I do something everyday. My plan for tonight is to sort one of the boxes of random things we have in the living room after the kitchen refit.
    • Enlisting help. My husband has been bitten by the decluttering bug and even our daughter is starting to copy Mummy and Daddy by putting things in their proper place instead of discarding them as she goes.
    To do list app
    • Plan. I do love a good list. I make loads both at home and work. This time, however, I am using an app. This has the benefit of not only saving paper but also meaning that I don't lose said list. The app I have chosen is the Wunderlist app for iPhone. It's working well so far.
    • Allowing myself breaks. This, I feel, is key for someone with a fatigue problem like mine. As tempting as it is to go in all guns blazing that is counterproductive for everyone regardless of fatigue levels. Using strict timings helps in this regard and means I can achieve more over a longer period of time.


    How do you organise your decluttering whilst working?

    Saturday 5 January 2013

    Enough books to stock a branch of Waterstones

    Well maybe not quite but that is what it feels like!

    Today we started the mass clear out of books that we (I) have collected over the years. There were hundreds. No word of a lie. They have all been shipped off to the local charity superstore where Larry (fabulous name btw) gratefully received them from my husband, even as he rocked up bang on closing time with another two boxes!

    We have kept a few books back:
    • Children's classics that I want to share with our daughter as she grows up
    • Non-fiction reference books for art, science, natural world etc
    • Cookery books (as mentioned before the husband is a massive foodie so actually uses cook books, who knew that really happened?!)
    • My collection of Calvin & Hobbes books. Nothing will make me part from them. NOTHING
    Typically part of our redecoration plans include 4 massive bookcases to go along one wall, still it'll be nice to have the space.

    By George I think he's got it!

    My husband that is!

    Yesterday on returning from work he went to look at what I had done with some trepidation. I think he was expecting to find all of his things thrown away. Now that is something I would never do, the thought of someone doing that to my things without my knowledge is horrifying. What I have done instead is boxed up similar items and given him a deadline for the end of the weekend to go through the boxes and make a decision on the future of the items and if he wants to keep them he must store them correctly (for that read our surprisingly empty loft).

    And you know what, he has been inspired by what I achieved yesterday! Normally he can be quite a critic from everything to do with food (he is a massive foodie and does most of the cooking), music, art etc but he was genuinely impressed although his reaction was a little way off from the massive "WOW" my daughter gave when she saw her room! She is thrilled and it's not even finished yet, if ever there was more motivation to continue she is it.

    Spurned on by my efforts we have decided that it's finally time to decorate the living room. We had a new kitchen installed in the summer and my husband started to tackle our living room which was a shrine to 70s tackiness, it wasn't even kitsch it was just awful. So he started to rip off the ghastly chipboard, the builder got rid of the false lowered ceiling that anyone over 5'8 had to duck to get through (the previous owners were both small). He got at the faux brick fireplace with a sledge hammer and things seemed to be moving on nicely.

    But then, as always you only have to watch DIY SOS to see how common this is, things stalled. Then stalled some more and then stopped. So here we are in January, 5 months on from the initial building work and our living room looks worse than ever. We still have a built in fish tank to remove (I told you it was awful) and some more chipboard to take off the walls.

    We have set aside next weekend (in laws permitting to have our daughter over for a sleep over) to tackle this room and hopefully get lining paper up to paint. That is my realistic goal for 2 days worth. Mainly because the living room has, you guessed it, clutter! So while he can tackle the fish tank I will be applying my new decluttering skills to everything in that room. I know for a fact there is a charger in here for a phone that has not worked for the past 4 years. So why is it still here?!

    It is Saturday morning so I am cuddled up on the sofa with my 3 year old daughter watching the eleventy billionth episode of Charlie and Lola, well she is watching I am browsing Homebase's website searching for lining paper, more fun than you'd think!

    Just to decide on what colours to paint the paper, I want a light, airy feel to the room but not cold either. What do you have in your living space?

    Friday 4 January 2013

    Day One: 6 hours and 1 injury later...

    I am writing this from my bed, those of you in the UK might look at the time and tut but there is a very good reason why I am here and not still decluttering so bear with.

    Following the advice in No More Clutter, I didn't jump straight into physically decluttering. A slow and steady pace is key, as we explored in the Hoarding Habits post there are many ways we hinder our own progress.

    So I started by doing a Clutter Tour of my house. The aim of this is to go around and open each door, yes even the cupboard that never gets opened because of the fear of an avalanche of papers (we all have one it's ok to admit it), and assess the needs of each area in terms of functionality and the ambiance you want for each area. So armed with my phone camera and my trusty notebook (new, I cannot resist stationery, although purchased before this decluttering journey started she says in hasty defense) I hit each area in my house. It was not a happy experience but nor was it utterly soul destroying which I imagined it would be. I noted down colours, ideas, and key words for each area to remind myself of what I wanted the house to be like.

    I decided that my main focus would start on my daughter's room. Well technically it's the spare room but after thoroughly rejecting her light, airy comfortable room (the one room that was, for a while, clutter free) she decided she wanted to move into the bigger bedroom. This had been the plan from the start but she hurried things along a little. One of the main benefits of her being in this room was the double bed. We were not blessed with a child who sleeps so co-sleeping is now second nature to us. We did decide, however, that we'd prefer her to stay in her room rather than coming into us, hence the need for the double bed.

    That room had become the general dumping ground. I mentioned in an earlier post about my hobbies? Well my husband is worse. In fact he doesn't have hobbies, he has fads. Hobbies last, fads don't. He gets into something, buys all the gear.... and gets bored thus adding to the piles of stuff in the spare room. Currently in there is a full size dart board, home beer making kits & bottles, electrician course materials and a thousand of odds and sods to do with computers (he works in IT). Not only do I have no clue about what these things are for I have a sneaking suspicion he doesn't other.

    So my key words for this room are: light, space, fun, toys, play, relaxing.
    Colours: white, yellow, pink, light blues

    © clippasafe.co.uk
    Her room needs to house a lot of toys so I have been looking into creative storage solutions but crucially it has stopped there, I have not gone into a mad rush to buy lots of storage without fully assessing what is needed once the room is cleared. I have bought one thing, which is a soft toy hammock to hang on the wall, this I find a brilliant idea and I cannot wait for it to arrive.

    One other major thing to tackle in this room is the colour. It is red. It's a red room and anyone familiar with Jane Eyre will know that's a bad thing. In a moment of inspiration (madness?) my husband decided that he would paint the room red, but leaving one wall white. A subversion of the feature wall almost, breaking down the societal pressure to conform with one wall of colour and three without, rebelling against the confines of the Dulux oppression.... no I can't pretend anymore, it's a sodding red room. The room is also North facing so as you can imagine it's always dark. So once the room is decluttered out comes the paint cans and it's going back to white.

    So what have I actually achieved today apart from an injury*?

    Well the room is 70% decluttered. I am recognising the success of that instead of focusing on how much there is left to finish. I have discovered that I am actually quite strong and perfectly capable to dismantling (for that read destroying) a bookcase and taking it to the recycling centre. I have cleared two car journeys worth of clutter to the aforementioned recycling centre today. I have made a potential £50 through Music Magpie clearing out all our old CDs and video games we no longer play. Well done me.

    What I am left with is our massive collection of books. As I mentioned before I am an avid reader of crime fiction. Our next job is to see whether it is worth using the We Buy Books website (please do comment below if you know of a better system) or whether they should just go to the charity shop. I am tempted by the former and making a donation to the charity instead of sending a lot of books they might otherwise struggle to sell.

    What do you think?
    ____________________________

    *said injury is the twisting of my knee. I had an operation on it 11 years ago to fix the problem of it suddenly giving way. Didn't work very well so is prone to twisting. I am now lying here with a fetching pack of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel. Decluttering doesn't get much more glamorous than this!

    Thursday 3 January 2013

    Hoarding Habits

    Habits, they are tricky blighters to break aren't they? If we think back I am sure most of us have had at least one habit that we have had to break, as hard as it may be.

    Was yours biting your nails as a child? Stopping sucking your thumb? Changing food habits? Drink or smoking?

    Each habit has it's own challenges to break and some are undoubtedly harder than others.

    I have tried, and failed, to completely quit smoking. I managed it when expecting my daughter (and for quite a time afterwards) but I ended up smoking again. 1 or 2 a day but none the less still partaking in a destructive habit. One thing at a time though and my focus now is on hoarding habits.

    According to Kay there are ten typical hoarding habits. These are habits and beliefs that stand in the way of becoming clutter-free.

       1.    Procrastinating. Oh I can procrastinate better than Hamlet. We CHs know how it starts, good intentions, abandoned NY resolutions and those free times when one look at the spare room has us hurrying away for another task/cup of coffee. Momentum is the key to beating procrastination. No more putting things down "just for now" or putting things off "until tomorrow". No more dumping things in the spare room instead of dealing with it there and then.
      • Habit breaker: Spend no more than 5 minutes doing one thing you have been putting off. It might be putting your bag where it needs to be instead of dumped in the hall or paying a bill or even just opening the post. Go on, do it now. 

    Right that is my work bag in the right place and the paperwork inside sorted ready for my return to work on Monday. My biggest worry is that this blog will become part of my procrastination but I’m going to work hard to prevent that.

        2.      Having an all-or-nothing attitude. Holding on to everything no matter what. Do you really need that copy of the Radio Times from 1992? Really? Once you realise that it is ok to let go of items look critically at your collection of dry-stone walling books and think “Is this absolutely essential in Central London?” 
      •  Habit breaker: Find one collection that is beginning to take over your home. It could be anything from shoes, bags, books, DVDs, complete Sylvanian Family collection etc. Put it in a charity bag, no go on seriously, now sleep on it overnight. If you don’t wake up at 3am in a blind panic because you have to have the 3 copies of Bryan Ferry’s Bête Noire then leave them there for another day and see if you can’t add some more to the bag.
         
       3.   Treating all possessions as equally valuable. True hoarders attach value and meaning to unimportant items such as old newspapers, junk mail, odd socks etc. your true valuable items are therefore lost under a sea of junk. 
      •   Habit breaker: Start separating the clutter from your treasured possessions. It won’t hurt I promise. Find and bin the following 5 things; an old/rusty/mismatched piece of cutlery, socks that have no pair/holes/elastic that has gone, shirt/t-shirt that will never be white again, out-of-date magazine/TV guide & one take-away menu you will never use/has out of date prices.
               4.    Being easily distracted. You set aside a good amount of time, no child to distract with wanting to play with Playdoh. You set to work, everything is sorted. You tackle the first area and find the camera charger you have been looking for so you go and find the camera and plug it in, oh look photos from Auntie Joan’s party last month, oh no who took that one?! Oh I must send that one to cousin Clara, where is the laptop….? Before you know it the day has gone by, and the mess is still there from when you first started and you’ve achieved no decluttering. In fact the mess is worse than before, so you shove it all back vowing to sort it another day (see point 1).
      • Habit breaker: Set a timer. Choose between 5-15 minutes depending on how you are feeling and when it goes off make sure you are still in the same place doing the same decluttering task.

               5.    Sabotaging your efforts. Believe it or not CHs find a variety of ways to undermine any efforts to declutter. This was a real eye opener for me. Often there are deep seated emotional reasons attached to clutter and staying cluttered. Here are a few examples:

    a.       Focusing on how much there still is to do rather than being pleased with what you have actually achieved.

    b.      Being overwhelmed with shame, apologizing to others and calling yourself names such as lazy (whoops see first post on this blog) or slovenly.

    c.       Throwing away essential things to subvert progress. Giving away your only thick winter coat in January so when you are shivering with cold at the bus stop you think “See I knew I shouldn’t have bothered decluttering, look what it has done”.

    d.      End up making things worse each time you try to declutter. I think every CH can relate to this one.
      • © www.1stinflowers.com
        Habit breaker: Complete one small decluttering task. Choose between sorting out your work bag, bedside table or one shelf on a bookshelf. Do not stop until it is finished. Look at what you have done, you should be proud of that, give yourself a pat on the back or even a hearty HURRAH! Small reward time, a relaxing cup of coffee or bunch of flowers is my suggestion.

       6.   Multi-tasking. Sounds like a good thing right? Wrong! When it comes to decluttering focus is what is needed. It may feel weird, even indulgent, to focus on just one object/area but that is what you MUST do when decluttering. It’s the only way it works. Trying to tackle too much at once is a recipe for disaster. Remember Rome wasn’t built in day [feel free to insert own cliché of choice here] and as such your domain will not be decluttered in one either. It is much better to spend a dedicated 5 minutes than a disorganised hour trying to declutter whilst dealing with a busy household, phone calls and trying to load the dishwasher. Trust me on that one.
      • Habit breaker: Find a quiet time of day (mine is when my husband is putting our daughter to bed) and practise five minutes concentrated decluttering. You’ll be amazed at what you can achieve. My baking cupboard (remember all my hobbies) is now organised and old, out of date ingredients chucked.

    Courtesy of amazon.co.uk
              7.   Wanting clutter to sort itself out. Oh how we all wish for that. I am a major Harry Potter fan, I mean seriously obsessed. It’s not Apparition or Qudditich or any other spell I crave. What I want is to sort my house out with a wave of a wand, one swish and flick and socks are folding themselves, plates cleaning and clutter be gone. Ahhhhh how I would love that. As it is, being a Muggle and all, it cannot happen so I’ve got to pull my finger out and knuckle down.
      • Habit breaker: Let go of the magic wand (in my case 100% real, along with my genuine Gryffindor scarf) fantasy that clutter will sort itself out. IT WON’T. Start using these tips, slowly slowly catchy monkey [again insert clichéd phrase of your own choosing here]

             8.    Putting other people first. You know that old table you have in the hallway? It’s under the pile of post, pictures from school/nursery and 4 umbrellas? Why do you still have it? It doesn’t match anything does it? What’s that? Oh I see Great Auntie Henrietta gave it to you when you moved and in order to not offend her you have kept it despite your heart sinking each time you see it. Awkward situation certainly but be honest, tell her you are reorgainsing and it won’t match anymore and offer the table back. Don’t fall into a guilt trip about such items.
      • Habit breaker: Find one unwanted gift (hey we’ve just had Christmas at the time of this post should be easier than in the summer months) you can’t stand. Feelings of disloyalty and being uncomfortable are normal so maybe start with those socks that play the National Anthem each time you stand up (no really genuine present a friend of mine received from his Grandmother). As you put them in the charity bag, deep breath and reclaim your right to only keep those things your truly love.
              9.     Acquiring too much stuff. This is totally us. Me and my husband have moved countless times in the past few years, with each new house (be it student or not) came new items which then got moved into the new place etc. We have roughly calculated that our tiny, mid terraced house currently holds about 4 houses worth of stuff. That was before we had our daughter who has, of course, added a ton of stuff on top. We are nearly at drowning point. Add in my hobbies and an ever growing child who needs new clothes every 30 seconds (what it feels like anyway) we need to stop this tidal wave of adding to the clutter alongside the actual decluttering itself otherwise we’ll be clearing one lot to replace with another. Not good.

      • Habit breaker: If you always overbuy magazines, cosmetics or DVDs this week choose one product, whichever is your worse overbuy addiction, and don’t buy any. Sounds simple but it will be hard but do it, you’ll be ever so proud of yourself (as will I) and you are on your first step to stopping the influx of clutter.

              10.    Blocking the flow in the home. This is a huge problem in our house. Clutter can form a physical barrier to moving around. Our hallway, for example, is a gauntlet of coats, bags, shoes, unopened post and discarded shopping bags. There is a rug in there somewhere, but I couldn’t tell you what it looks like as it’s been so long since I saw it for more than a fleeting few seconds. I’ll ask my husband as he hoovers, he might know…. Apparently it’s striped in natural hues (yes he did use that word, I despair sometimes). Reclaiming the space not only allows the flow to be restored but also raises the spirits, coming home to a clutter free space is incredibly uplifting.
      • Habit breaker: Come one we are going to tackle the hallway. Remove all coats and bags and hang them up where they should be. Next all those pieces of junk mail and free newspapers into the recycling. Unopened post into a tray/box to be dealt with during your quiet time (see point 6). Now go outside and come through the door again. See how nice that feels?




    Golly that was an extremely long post. Well done if you made it through and 10 points to Gryffindor for each habit breaker you successfully tried today.
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