Shiny Sink!

According to the FlyLady, order in the home and gaining control of housework begins with a shiny sink. So, having joined the FlyLady community... I now have a shiny, clean sink and a challenge to keep it that way for the next month...

Keeping Up Appearances

Well, the month of not buying 'smellies' is almost up and I have tried my hardest to stick to it - only buying 'essential' items, such as baby bubbles for our toddler son, and cleaning products for the home. Only item I have bought for myself, is shampoo.

Friday saw us use a babysitter for the first time - scary for TWO reasons...

Leaving our cherished 'baby' in the care of someone else is a big step.. however, perhaps more scary is overcoming CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) which is described by the Fly Lady http://www.flylady.net/pages/welcome_main.asp

Someone coming into your home and potentially judging it/you stresses me in a totally out of proportion way. I spent all day cleaning and by the time it came to the actual *going out with hubby* - I was knackered!

Have started de-cluttering again, bagging up the last of the baby clothes and will hopefully get the rest of the 'bric-a-brac' away to the charity shop this week - we have a guest staying at the end of the month, so actually need the spare room as somewhere to sleep - not a storage area.

Hubby also seems to be inspired, and did a few jobs round the house yesterday - hopefully we'll both have the DIY bug soon and can fall in love with the house again.

Seeing Results

Today was bin day, and as our bin only gets emptied every two weeks - it's usually quite full - today, it was about 2/3 full! So recycling seems to be having an effect, and it was nice to see our bin with the lid closed, alongside others in the street which were literally overflowing.

Bye Bye Baby...

One of the hardest aspects of the mammoth de-clutter process, for me, has to be getting rid of our Son's baby things. Everything from his moses basket, which I really struggled to part with, as I looked on it as being his first 'home'... the first place he slept after coming home from hospital, to his pram, baby bath, toys and for some reason hardest of all; his baby clothes.

Being a terrible hoarder, it was easier to stash everything away and ignore it - but sloooooowly... I am getting through it. His moses basket was Freecycled http://www.uk.freecycle.org/ his pram went to his baby cousin, baby bath and changing box (bath was well used but a changing box!? Barely opened, but something I read was a must buy) went to another baby cousin, toys and equipment were donated to the charity shop (who were extremely grateful as our local Oxfam does a roaring trade in toys) or given away to friends.

I know I must sound like a baby-shop-a-holic, but we simply didn't have friends or family with hand-me-downs, so we had to buy new. Being first time parents, we also didn't know what was actually needed and what was a mothercare sales ploy - so we shopped 'till I dropped' and our baby boy was brought home to a well stocked, well equiped home - and then didn't use half of it...

Now onto the baby clothes. The hardest to part with, but also the most difficult to decide what goes where. Firstly, I sorted through everything into three piles - Can't possibly bear to part with/Ebay/Recycle.

Did you know that over ONE MILLION TONNES of textile waste is sent to landfill sites in the UK alone. This is a startling fact and one I was not aware of until recently. I have always tried to donate unwanted clothes that were in good condition, while throwing the worn out items in the bin. Little did I know that even unwearable items or scraps of textiles can all be recycled in some way - so I will never throw out textiles again and would urge anyone to think before binning too.

This is a very interesting article, which although aimed at schoolchildren - it states the facts in an easy to understand form http://www.recycle2school.com/why_recycle.php

So, back to baby clothes... I sold a few 'bundles' on ebay, still have a few bags waiting to go - must organise soon! I also boxed up all the bobbly socks/vests/babygrows and these will go to a textile bank.

The can't possibly bear to part with items.... some will remain intact, treasured always and the rest are going to be turned into a 'memory quilt' which will hopefully become something of an heirloom.

It's also worth noting that at present, Clarks are collecting used shoes as part of their 'Soul of Africa' appeal. http://www.clarks.co.uk/careers/aboutushome/socialresponsibility

So, moral of this story - to be a bit more organised (and less sentimental) in future, and sort clothes as our Son grows, rather than hoard every single item for two years at a time!

First Challenge

I'm a bit of a tart. A cosmetics and toiletries tart that is. I have a bathroom cupboard groaning under the weight of all my make up, lotions and potions. Having a baby only made things worse, as I bought baby lotions and potions and the medicine tin quadrupled in content, with the addition of calpol, bottom cream and teething powders.

So... my first challenge is to avoid buying make up or 'smellies' for one whole month.

This might not sound like a challenge to some, but I am a sucker for shiny boxes and the promise of being uplifted, smoothed or calmed (be it hair, face or body) to quote a certain geordie lass; I'm worth it!

But no more. I'm going to use up what I already have, and get rid of the eyeshadows I've owned since the spice girls were at number one.

Apologies to any boots shareholders......

New Year - New Outlook

I'm not one for New Year Resolutions, but this year I have decided to make one BIG change - to simply be less WASTEFUL.

I began to de-clutter before the festive season (mostly in preparation for the deluge of gifts our two year old son would receive from friends and family!) but also for a more personal and potentially life improving reason.

Last year saw me struggle to accept, and deal with PND (Post Natal Depression) and I am positive that one of the factors that leads to me feeling overwhelmed and stressed, is the clutter that inhabits our family home.

I really do believe that a tidy home, leads to a tidy mind - or at the very least, some clarity of thought.

The mammoth de-clutter that began in earnest at the end of last year, was disrupted by a seasonal does of flu. Then came the festivities, gifts and more 'stuff' and now I feel like we have even more than before!

The book that inspired me to start de-cluttering in the first place was 'The Clutter Clinic' by Romaine Lowery - borrowed from the library, rather than bought I might add (rather smugly)

So... 2011 will be the year when I finally get a grip on 'stuff', and get to grips with being less wasteful - buying less, using less and recycling more. I promise to reign in my ebay habit, and to be a picture of serene organisation... living in a zen like state as I float around my tidy, spotless home...

Ok, so that's not going to happen - but I'm going to enjoy the journey, the voyage of self discovery that will be the war on wastefulness!