Week 21: Magazines & Newspapers

Monday: Read Organized Home Challenge #21: Magazines & Newspapers

Done.

Tuesday: Declutter or donate old magazines and create files for ideas (or use Pinterest)

We really have very few magazines.  There's probably some in the guest room. I'll declutter them when I tackle that room.

Wednesday: Recycle old newspapers

The only newspaper we get in the free one that's delivered. Most of the time it goes straight into the recycling pile, unread.

Thursday: Declutter or stop catalogs

Already done.

Friday: Declutter and properly store personal memorabilia

I'm trying to think what I have that could be considered 'personal memorabilia'. My wedding dress?  A few items of my children's baby clothes?

Saturday: Continue to declutter and properly store memorabilia

Still struggling.

Sunday: Declutter/shred/file paper piles

This is a task I can get into! The Beloved has a huge shredder at work, and if I make a pile he can take it to work, shred and dispose.

Cold

This is the time of year when I start suffering with my dogdy joints again. Warmer days means shorter sleeves, and no socks/tights. However, it leaves my wrists and ankles exposed and this can lead to cold ankles/wrists, and therefore cold joints. Cardigans and socks cause me to over heat.

Today, I finished (as much as I can) socks for the Elder Offspring. It won't be until she is next on my little island I can measure her feet and fine tune the length of the foot. A three needle cast off has been used to secure the stitches, and when she nexts visits I'll fit the socks to her feet.

In a spirit of wanting to use us the leftover year, and also trying to prevent cold, sore joints, I've cast on ankle warmer socks. On 2.75mm needles, using 4ply yarn, I've cast on 64 sts and worked in 2x2 rib. The idea is to make something similar to yoga socks, but just covering the ankles and part of the instep. This will provide warmth exactly where isn't needed on the ankle and foot without causing me to overheat.

The challenge will be to create something similar for my wrists, but that doesn't make me look like I'm wearing sweat bands for tennis!

Busy, busy, busy

My last day at work came and went, and I was still finishing off items I wanted to complete. I was able to complete the various tasks, but it took a great deal longer to go through almost 9 years of files and ditch the things no longer needed, back up the website, and backup all files. Just after 9pm on Thursday I handed back the keys for the office and a list of passwords/accounts. Also on Thursday I cycled 15 miles.

Friday brought a whole day of doing nothing! I napped twice, and was still able to get a good night's sleep. During the day I hung out one load of laundry and washed a second lot, and I made dinner. That was about the sum total of work done.

Today, I'm off to Manx Yarnies and lovely Sweet Ginger Emporium. My work colleagues have given me a leaving gift of vouchers for Sweet Ginger. There is one thing I definitely want to buy, 50cm of thick black elastic! I'm having problems with trousers being too loose and threatening to fall down. My life is happier with secure trousers. What else I'm going to buy is anybody's guess. 

Oh! I know!  A metre of yellow fabric to add to a jellyroll of blues to make a jelly roll race quilt, and some fabric to make a border for the rainbow stripe quilt I'm going to make. At some point in the future, there will be backing fabric, and batting to buy too.

Week 20: Filing System

Monday: Read Organized Home Challenge #20: Filing System

Tuesday: Declutter current home filing system

Wednesday: Continue to declutter papers in binders/file folders

Thursday: Set up home filing system (use these suggested file categories)

Friday: Create file index

Saturday: Continue organising filing system

Sunday: Declutter/shred/file paper pile

My brain doesn't have any spare space for decluttering at home just now. I', too busy trying to get everything done before I finish work on Tuesday lunchtime. However, a great deal of the paper work listed above is in the dining room, and I will be tackling that room this month. 

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike

Yesterday saw 15 miles completed by bicycle and 1.75 miles on foot. Despite all of that cycling, the view remained the same, my bedroom. Walking gave a much more picturesque vista, Port Erin in the sunshine. It is a beautiful little village.

This morning I had time to fit in two cycling miles before work, and this brings the grand total to 1 mile swum, 54 miles cycled and 15.75 miles walked, or 50% complete! 

Eating Healthier

Since challenge to declutter recipe books, way back at the end of January, I've been trying to include healthier, tastier meals in our rotation of recipes. This has been working.  When I started taking steroids to clear my lungs I had a funny taste in my mouth. It's as if I've been eating saccharine tablets. It's a known side effect of the steroids. I have been unable to taste anything bitter or sour. It's weird having Earl Grey tea with lemon, and it tasting sweet.

The one group of foods I could taste has been vegetables. For the past month our consumption of vegetables has sky rocketed. I don't think this is a known side effect of steroids!  

With the increase in lung capacity, increase in vegetables, and increase in exercise (IronMay), this seems the perfect time to look at my diet and be more purposeful about it all.  My desire it to retain the increase in veggies, once my taste buds return to normal, and to keep up the 30 minutes of exercise a day too. (On today's shopping list of 40 items, 24 are fruit and veggies!)

I'm going to visit my GP in two weeks, and I've decided to keep a food diary during these two weeks.

Butternut Squash Pasta, mark III

We have perfected the recipe to meet our taste buds!

Ingredients

a little oil

1 medium butternut squash

200g green beans

1 heaped tsp chopped garlic

50g pine nuts

pasta (gluten-free fusilli)

4 Tsp Waitrose blue cheese dressing (or mayonnaise)

150g  Stilton cheese

handful of cherry tomatoes 

Method

Heat a saucepan of water. 

Remove the skin and seeds from the squash. Cut into cubes. Add a little oil to a frying pan and sear the squash. 

Add the pasta to the boiling water.  Whilst the pasta is cooking, top and tail the green beans, and cut into thirds. Also cut the Stilton into cubes and the cherry tomatoes into quarters. Cook the pasta according to the time on the packaging. Two minutes before the end of cooking, add the green beans. Add the pine nuts to the squash and toast. 

Drain the pasta and green beans. Add the garlic to the squash and pine nuts, and cook for two minutes.

Toss the pasta, green beans, Stilton  and squash mixture with the blue cheese dressing. Scatter the tomatoes on top, and serve.

This is delicious hot, and equally good cold.  

Next time I make this dish I shall remember to weigh out the pasta and record it!  I'll also take a photograph and add it above.

Life Continues Apace

Whilst swimming today, I started having problems with cramp in the muscles by the balls of my feet. When I got out of the pool to stretch and stuff, one of the life guards came over to check on me. He gave advice on  a better method of stretching, and asked "When did you last drink?"  

He explained many people don't realise how hard they are working whilst swimming, and they need to replenish their fluid supply. I drank about 750ml, and finished my swim. After the swim, I finished the litre.

I have always been so tired after swimming half a mile, and I'd thought it was because I had just swum half a mile. It's not! It's because I was dehydrated! Half a mile done, and I'm feeling fine and dandy, not wiped out at all. It's a revelation to me.

At work, decluttering, re-ordering and completing work continues. I'm looking forward to Tuesday afternoon when it is all over.  Getting all the work done I want to get done, before I leave is the goal. My desire is to leave it all in a state where people can pick up various aspects of the work and be able to start work. 
Oh, and the IronMay triathlon is 42% done! 

Declutter Hiatus

I have six days left at work, and my energies are going into ensuring (as much as possible) that there will be a smooth transition for the people who are picking up my duties. It's leaving me with little enthusiasm for decluttering at home. Although, yesterday I removed five items from the Clutter-haven, then dining room. Some things were simply in the wrong place, and two could be put into the rubbish bin.

Week 19: Receipts and Tax Documents

Monday: Read Organized Home Challenge #19: Receipts & Tax Documents

Done.

Tuesday: Decluter old receipts, and then organise ones left

Wednesday: Create receipt organiser for purse/wallet

Thursday: Gather old tax records into one place and file or declutter, as appropriate

Friday: Create personal tax organiser for current tax information

Saturday: Declutter/shred paper pile

Sunday: Declutter spring decorations

The only spring decorations we use are chocolate eggs and fresh flowers.The eggs somehow take care of themselves, and the flowers are disposed of when they are past their best.

Apple Coleslaw

There is a cabbage in the fridge that needs to be used up soon. This is phase one, apple coleslaw.

Ingredients

1/4 white cabbage

1/2 small onion

1 red apple

1 syboe (spring or green onion)

Dressing

2 Tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 Tsp wholegrain mustard

1/4 tsp chopped garlic

1 tsp sugar

50ml oil

Garnish

chopped parsley

Method

Finely cut the cabbage and the onion. Grate the carrot.  Slice the syboe. Keeping the skin on the apple, cut it into a fine dice. Discard the core.

Mix all of the ingredients for the dressing, then pour over the coleslaw. Mix well. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the top.

Four miles on my bike is nothing

I'm very surprised how easy it is to cycle four miles on my bike, even in comparison to this time last week.  Four miles is nothing.

More than four miles is sore botty teritory, but four miles is easy.

Why 'Declutter'?

Last night I was asked by a friend, "Why are you decluttering? What's prompted the change?" I wasn't quite ready for the question, and I stumbled around for an answer for a little while. It got me to thinking, 'why declutter?'

I wanted to declutter because I was aware I had too much stuff. Having way more that you need is bad from an ecological view point, but, for me, it has also been bad for my emotional state.  Too many things has led to mess, and mess has led to stress, and stress eats happiness. I want a happy, contented life, with little stress. I'd rather save my money than spend it on things I don't need.

As I look around my decluttered bedroom, I sigh with contentment. This is what I want, and for each room in my house. So far, we've done the laundry, shower room, vestibule, kitchen, understairs cupboard, sitting room, bathroom and bedroom.  

Part of my motivation in decluttering is to make our next house move so much simpler. My hope and desire it to move from this house into the house I am designing. I don't want to have to move tonnes of useless, unwanted stuff. I want to move the things we love and use.  Another part of the declutter is I want to renovate the current house, one room at a time. This will be so very much easier to do when the rooms are tidy and clutter-free! It's all working towards creating a house that will be easy to sell at the time we are ready to start on our new house.

It feels like it is time to have a good think about a functional description of a sitting room. When we are ready to start the process of house plans, I will have a wealth of images for the look of the various rooms, and also how those rooms will function.  The function will help determine room sizes and layouts. The images will determine the finishes, textures and colours.

Stationery Bike

I was coming to post my miles cycled and walked, and thought "Oh, I know. I'll use a picture of a stationary bike." Then a little idea dawned, I'll use a stationery bike instead. Searching Google for 'stationery bike' only brought up pictures of exercise bikes. Even 'stationery bike -stationary' brought only a few stationery related images. I suppose I was hoping for a visual pun, a bike made from items of stationery.

Anyway, 8 miles cycled and 1.5 miles walked. This beings the totals to 0.5 swum, 24 cycled and 10 walked. This is 27% completed, and I'm in 12th place out of 31. I'm happy with that.

Rest Day is over, and it's back to work

Yesterday was a rest day. Only half a mile was walked, and no decluttering was done. Today is a new day, and I'm raring to go again.

The shelves above Geek Corner have been decluttered, cleaned and tidied. They are now home to the Doctor Who collection. The waste paper basket has to be emptied and a wee, quick dust of the furniture, and the room is done!

I'm really pleased with how simple it has been to declutter this room, and how smoothly it has gone. Next up will be the guest room. I'm not looking forward to that space!

CDs and more CDs and even more CDs

We have so many CDs. And, today, the stacks in the sitting room have had a first decluttering pass. They all now fit into the CD storage tower.

This first pass has been a trifle tricky. When we were deciding which DVDs to keep the criterion was 'What you do want to keep?' We found that with CDs we were having a sentimental attachment to CDs based on our emotion responses to the music. Rather than wade through a sea of sentiment, we chose different criteria. The first was the goal of having all of the CDs in the sitting room fit into the CD tower. The second was to choose which CDs we no longer wished to keep. This was a far, far easier decision to make. Later on, perhaps in a few months, we will re-visit the CDs and see if are are ready to make any more decisions about what to keep and what to let go.

My main problem is I don't listen to CDs. When I want to listen to music I use youtube, or the music saved onto my Kindle. From a decluttering/mininalistic approach to stuff, this makes far more sense than having a physical object taking up space. The only CDs I actually listen to are Christmas ones.  At that time of the year I choose to put a CD on the CD player and listen.  But, I'm not quite ready to part with some of my CDs.

However, the sitting room is looking a little chunk tidier. The last thing to do is the set of shelves above Geek Corner. This will take about 10 minutes. The Doctor Who DVDs are staying, as is the Galileo thermometer, the Lego Mars Rover and the CD player/radio. The few remaining items will go into the box for the charity shop.

I'm all wet!

Strangely enough, swimming half a mile will make you all wet. Interestingly, it wasn't the swimming that was the hard part, it was getting dried and dressed again.

Swimming half a mile, and walking 2 miles have been added to my Iron May totals. They are now at 0.5 miles of swimming, 16 miles of cycling and 8 miles of walking. This equates to 22% of Iron May, and we're only on Day 4!

There be dragons!

The sitting room decluttering/tidying continues. We have a dresser (cupboard in the bottom, and shelves on top).  This, along with the Lego box, have been decluttered, tidied and cleaned. On the largest shelf is a television, above that a dragon The Beloved made last weekend, and then a couple of framed pictures. Angels used to inhabit one of the shelves. They are in the process of being relegated to the Christmas decorations box.

I've decluttered a few things.  The Beloved and Younger Offspring will decide on the rest. Currently, it's tidy, ordered and clean. 

The areas left to do are the shelves above the Geek corner, and about 150 CDs! But that's tomorrow.

An Eighth of a Triathlon

Sixteen miles on a bike, and six on foot, this means I've completed an eight of the triathlon!

My feet are complaining a little and saying "Only one mile at a time, please." My bottom is asking for similar considerations, "Only four miles at a time, please." It's weird having body parts that talk to me. 

More DVDs!

The stack of DVDs by the DVD player was decluttered first thing this morning, and the 'keepers' put away.  This leaves the Geek Corner (Star Trek, Babylon 5, Doctor Who, Battlestar, Buffy...) This will be was tackled this afternoon after work. I'm really not expecting to see much of a reduction in these DVDs. These are the ones we watch and re-watch. 

The only problem with starting with the DVDs is the majority of them were in drawers or in cupboards. The work has been done, but there's nothing to see on the surface. It will be good to get onto the shelves. That's where outward signs of decluttering will become visible.

Feel the Burn

I need to remember to wear 'twin skin' socks each and every time I go out walking. I wore them yesterday and had no problems with my feet at all. Today, after walking about 30m the soles of my feet started to tingle and I was feeling the burn.  This is not a good sign. When I go walking, it's time for twin skin.

Anyway, that's the first mile done today. And, I managed to put on socks without dislocating a toe! That's a real improvement.

The Second Sideboard Cupboard

Work has started on the second cupboard of the sideboard. It's another DVD storage area. I have taken out the DVDs I want to keep and have slotted them into the coffee table chest. 

During my declutter, I found we have two copies of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and also two Disney VHS tapes.  The tapes have been put in the rubbish bin, and one copy of Priscilla will make it's way to a charity shop.

The others will have their turn later today in selecting the items they want to keep from that cupboard. I am finding 'select the things you want to keep' results in more items being disposed of than 'select the things you want to get rid of'. 

Once the DVDs have been decluttered I'm going to need to look at re-organising them. I think all of the films will fit into the coffee table chest.  The sideboard can be used for music DVDs, documentaries and stand up comedy.  The bookcase will be sci-fi corner, and be the home of the various television series we have.

----

It was strange on Saturday when we took our donations to the charity shop. One of the women started opening the bags whilst we were there. As she 'oohed' over figurine I had a moment of remorse. It would have been easier if they had waited until we left before opening. However, it was the emotion of a moment. I'm not missing it at all, and I'm loving, absolutely loving, having a tidy, decluttered bedroom.

Week 18: Bills

Monday: Read Organized Home Challenge #18: Bills

Done.

Tuesday: Create a routine for a weekly paperwork session

Not needed. As the bills, statements and paperwork comes in it is dealt with straight away.

Wednesday: Create a monthly bill organizer, which includes automatic payments (either paper or electronic)

Not needed.

Thursday: Create file folders for paid bill stubs

In my Big Book of Bills and Statements there is a section for all of the paper bills we receive. 

Friday: Opt out of telephone solicitation calls

It is illegal to cold call, either on the door step or by phone, on the Isle of Man.

Saturday: Organize email folders for electronic bill paying

I don't think we need this. As we have internet banking we already have a record of bills paid.

Sunday: Create command center for family information

We already have this more or less sorted. There's a calendar in the kitchen where we write down events we are planning on attending, and we talk about what's coming up over dinner.

Iron May has started!

Top of the Leaderboard!

That's my first day of Iron May completed. The goal is to walk 1 mile each day, cycle 4 miles and then once a week swim half a mile.

I might have managed the first injury of the completion too. I dislocated one of my toes whilst putting on my socks this morning! Thankfully it was a minor setback and the toe was relocated without incident.

(a few minutes later...) Fabulous Fi has managed to pass me on the leaderboard. She has walked 2 miles. Each section of the challenge counts for a third of the completed IronMan. Whilst I have travelled farther, she has completed more. We both have had a turn at the top of the board.

(12 hours later...) Fi has swum half a mile, cycled 7.5 miles and walked/run 5. I have managed 8 miles of cycling and 2 walking miles. And, I'm just about falling asleep!  I can hardly keep my eyes open. I want to get up onto that bike and add another 4 miles before bed, but I'm so tired. Please, someone, anyone, tell me this is a marathon (literally, there's a marathon in it!), not a sprint.

A TIny Bit of Order Restored

The coffee table chest is no longer the TARDIS construction site. The stenciling and painting had been completed. It now in the dining room, drying for 72 hours before it can be used.

The coffee table has been returned to its function as a coffee table. There's four coasters, one in each corner, and the bowl made from recycled keys.

The top of the sideboard has also been cleared. There's a vase of flowers sitting on a tatted mat, and a box of tissues, and that's all.

Windows for the TARDIS

The TARDIS now has windows!  The text 'Police Box' will be added, I've run out of white fabric paint. The Beloved is in town this afternoon, and he will get some for me.

More Sitting Around

I've extracted all the DVDs I want to keep from the coffee table chest.  Now to ask the other two to do the same. 

The next item to be declutted is the side board.  Back in March a third of it was decluttered, the cupboard where the games are stores.  That section is looking good. There's two other sections, a set of drawers, and another cupboard full of DVDs. The drawers have been decluttered. However, there are a few items I don't know if I actually want to keep.  There's about 30 chunky, glass tea light holders.  There's also some fairly random stuff, and I haven't got the foggiest where they are going to go. Currently they are sitting in almost empty drawers. I'll revisit the contents at a later date.

I am looking forward to the time when we can simply stream any television programme or movie, and we no longer need to have a physical item.

It's done! The letter has been sent.

I've been thinking about this since Christmas. I've talked with my family and a few friends. And now it's done. My letter of resignation has been posted.

I've been in this job for almost 9 years, and it's time for a change. It's time for something different. There's a clear goal in mind, but I don't know if I will be able to get straight to it. It might take a bit of effort, but the effort will make it all the more worthy of pursuing.

Scrap the Guest Room, Welcome the Sitting Room

Facebook friends were asked to give opinions on which room should be tackled next, the sitting room or the guest room. The guest room is a storage place just now, but the sitting room is used each and every day, by each and every member of the family. The sitting room is okay, and I would not be ashamed if someone were to drop by unannounced. However, it could be better. It could be a lot better. The sitting room is the public face of the house.

Decluttering the sitting room is an easy win. There are very few sentimental items, but there's lots of media, mostly DVDs and CDs. After dinner tonight I invited the Younger Offspring and The Beloved, each in turn, to remove from the DVD storage chest DVDs they wanted to keep.  We took a few minutes and were able to declutter the first two drawers of the chest.  The unwanted DVDs have been added to the charity shop pile. We have completed this exercise a number of times over the years.  I dread to think how many DVDs we would have if we didn't purge from time to time.

The Guest Room - OH MY!

The Beloved has very kindly been carrying The Elder Offspring's sorted and packed belongings up to the guest room. My crafting materials have also been going up there too. Now that my bedroom is looking great, it's time to start eyeing up the next challenge, and the guest room is looking rather packed with challenges!

I was in there there first thing this morning, beginning the declutter in a very gentle way. Part of me is wondering whether it would be better to tackle the sitting room, a far easier prospect. The sitting room will not take long to do as it's already in a half way decent state. Might it be better to keep the guest room on hold for a few weeks? I have the last couple of weeks of May booked as a holiday. 

The Clutter Corner is no more!

Last night, we decided not to try to move the not-quite-dry TARDIS from out bed. A guest room is very handy for times like that! This morning, I woke up early and decided to tackle a box or bag from the Clutter Corner. Something was up, as I hit a groove and stormed through all of the boxes and bags. The rubbish has been bagged, the charity shop donations have joined the rest of the pile, the Elder Offspring's belongings have been boxed up, and my craft stuff is in bags. It's all ready leave the Clutter Corner. By the end of today, the only thing in the Clutter Corner will be the cheval mirror!

The only things left to do will be to tidy up a small bookcase, and move a few random objects into their proper homes, oh and finish the TARDIS. I can see a fully decluttered bedroom being on the cards by the end of the week. It took for ever to get here, and then all of a sudden it's almost done!

Life without clutter de-stresses me. It feels as if I can breathe deeply again. 

A little floral construction

I was going to use the word 'arrangement', but that implies order and consideration. This isn't quite what happened. Flowers were cut to size, and stuck in a rose bowl.

At some point, at some time, I would like to have weekly sessions with a floral arranger and learn how to do this.  At this point, at this time, I'll just stick them in a bowl.  

Flowers are pretty. Look at the pretty flowers.

Constructing a TARDIS

The next desk chairs from Ikea were constructed on Sunday, and The Beloved was going to take their cardboard boxes to the amenity site for disposal.  I asked for a one week stay.  This was to give me a fair chance to use the cardboard in the making of the TARDIS duvet cover.

The Younger Offspring and I flatted the boxes and slipped them inside the duvet cover. The rest of the cardboard was used to created a very blocky outline of the TARDIS. Then the fun started with fabric paints (white and gold) and pencils.  We flicked away until there were little galaxies and a few constellations visible.  

The first layer of paint is now drying. Later this week, we will add 'Police Public Call Box' and some windows.

Where are my black trousers?

Where are my black trousers?!

Last night there was hail, and this morning it is distinctly nippy out. I needed to open up the woolly drawer and drag out a merino sweater to wear today.  I had laid out a pair of light weight black trousers, and had second thoughts. But do you think I could find my thick, winter trousers? Not on your nelly!

I've been through the wardrobe; nothing.  I've been through the out of season clothes drawer; nothing. The contents of the drawer have been emptied, decluttered and tidied. I wonder if my trousers have snuck off on a little holiday to the Noodle Bowl? I shall have a word with the Younger Offspring to see if they have spotted a pair of migratory breeks.

In other household news, the post recycled/filed as soon as it arrived, and five items have left the bedroom clutter corner for the 'take to a charity shop' pile.

Two more crates done

Two more crates of the Elder Offspring's belongings have been sorted and decluttered. With filtering and careful packaging, the remaining items don't quite fill one crate. Success! The crate and a folder of art work is now ready to be moved into the guest room for storage.

Mail Decluttter

The box by the front door that usually contains un-dealt-with mail, newspapers and flyers has been emptied. The vast majority of it was filed straight into the recycling bin.  The items kept were old bank statements belonging to the Elder Offspring. Those have been gathered into one envelope and the envelope put into the writing desk in the dining room. When she next comes to visit there will be a ceremonial handing over of bank statements.

Week 17: Organising Mail

Monday: Read Organized Home Challenge #17: Mail

Done.

Tuesday: Clear spot to hold incoming and outgoing mail and unpaid bills

There's a spot by the door for incoming mail.  It needs to be cleared on a regular basis.  As there's a post box just across the road from the house we put outgoing post directly in the post box.  Unpaid bills are handed directly to The Beloved.  He then pays them and returns to bill to me for filing.

Wednesday: Create a daily routine for organizing paperwork

Done.

Thursday: Create tickler file  for upcoming events/paperwork

Not needed.  Information is stored electronically, written on the calendar, and tickets kept in one location.  I can see how it would have been a great system to use in a busy house with little children, but is not required in our home just now..  

Friday: Create home paper shredder area for discarded paperwork

Not needed.

Saturday: Declutter junk mail

Not needed.

Sunday: Opt out of junk mail

Not needed.

A Slightly Smaller Clutter Corner

Three bags of stuff have been decluttered/sorted. One was a bag of fabric; this is being sent to the prison for prisoners to use in the craft room. The next two were artsy stuff  belonging to the Elder Offspring. The sketchbooks and painting have been added to a large A0 folder, and a bag established for canvases, new sketchbooks etc.

In addition to this, the bed has been made, the 'done' bit of the room has been given a very quick straightening, two loads of laundry have been washed and hung out, a third load is being washed, clean clothing has been folded and put away, the breakfast dishes have been washed, and preparations for dinner (chicken in red wine) have been started.

Bedroom Joy!

Last night, I went to sleep with a smile on my face, and I woke up this morning smiling!  My bedroom is huge! It's tidy, it's decluttered (apart from clutter corner), and I'm loving it. My bedroom is a place of peace, calm, rest and contentment. This is blissful.

I'll work on a couple of bags and boxes today, to make it even better. 

Even thinking about my bedroom just now is making me smile!

Bedroom Decluttering!

At last, at long last, I've made significant progress in the grand bedroom declutter!

The clutter is now all contained in one small corner of the room. It's a heady mix of Elder Offspring's old school books, crafting materials and unidentified crap. There's about 10 bags/boxes.The futon is currently being dis-assmbled, ready to be taken upstairs for the guest bedroom. About 8 bags of books and assorted items have been removed, as well as rubbish.

And it's gone. The futon has gone! The exercise bike has been set in place, and the laundry basket. Stuff has gone, and there's a huge, stupid grin on my face! I am so utterly delighted! I look around my bedroom and I feel calm and blissful!

Just noticed, one more thing. The Elder Offspring created a pencil drawing of a vase of roses. It's currently hanging above the bed. It would look even better over the fireplace.

So much clear, clean space. Uncluttered horizontal surfaces on which the eye can rest. Yes! This is my bedroom. This is the room I have wanted for ages. It's not yet quite finished, but it's taken a huge leap forward today.

Butternut Squash Pasta, part 2

Today's version is a cold salad.

It starts out with gluten-free pasta, and a handful of green beans cut into thirds. The green beans were tossed into the pasta pot two minutes before the end of pasta cooking. This cooks them, but keeps them crisp.

The pasta and green beans were placed under cold, running water to cool them. Then they were mixed with blue cheese dressing, a shake of garlic granules, a mix of butternut squash and sweet potato, chunks of Stilton, a few chopped cherry tomatoes, and the remains of the cashew and pecans.

The verdict is today's concoction is better than the previous one. The blue cheese dressing coats the pasts much better. The quantity of butternut squash/sweet potato is better, but the previous butternut squash that was heavily roasted tasted better. (I saw cubes of seasoned squash and potato bought that to use.) I would like more green beans. The nuts are good. I prefer the cashews and pecans to the walnuts, but we think it would be better still with toasted pine nuts.

Over all, this is a good, easy meal to make, and it provides happy face and happy tummies. It's quick, provided the butternut squash has been pre-cooked. In the time the pasta takes to cook, the veggies, cheese and nuts can be prepared. There's even time to do a little kitchen tidy too!

Inspired by: Butternut squash pasta

The original recipe called for pasta, goat's cheese, butternut squash, roquette and pine nuts. I had pasta, goat's cheese, and butternut squash, but not the leaves or nuts.

Today's version is gluten-free pasta, and fresh green beans cooked to al dente. Some left over cooked butternut squash (not enough), halved cherry tomatoes and toasted walnuts.

It is tasty, but needs less pasta and more veggies. The walnuts didn't do it for me, and I would have preferred the pine nuts. (Must put them on the shopping list!) But the green beans do!

Next time, I'll use a whole butternut squash, cooking it the day before and leaving to chill overnight. The pasta will be cold. There will be pine nuts too. Instead of using a soft spreadable goat's cheese I'll use crumbled Feta (must add to shopping list too). Oh! Stilton would be good too. Then the whole lot will the tossed with a light vinaigrette dressing.

How long to keep paperwork?

The time has come to start decluttering paperwork in our house. Currently it just gets dumped in the dining room, or in The Beloved's study. There is no organisation. Now I have a clear game-plan, and I shall be setting up folders for storage of the things that need to be stored.  The new system will start at properly at the end of the month, but I'll backdate my records to the start of April 2017 (the start of the tax year). 

A while back I decluttered a load of papers, and I need to do more. Once the new system is up and running, I'll return to the existing piles and declutter them according to the rules of the new system. 

One Year

• Bills, such as utility, cable, phone, and credit card statements
• Pay slips
• Bank statements
• Receipts (for many 90 days or less is sufficient). Exceptions - receipts for bigger ticket items should
• be stored with warranties or home inventory, and save those receipts needed for tax documentation

Seven Years

• Personal tax returns and supporting documentation

Indefinitely

• Loan documents, for the life of the loan, plus payoff statements forever
• Retirement statements (until all money has been distributed)
• Vehicle titles, and maintenance records (until no longer own vehicle)
• Warranties (until no longer own item, or warranty expires)
• Personal identification and records, such as birth and death certificates, marriage certificate, wills, passports, degree certificates