July Declutter

 

13th - 15th of July

30 items of rubbish removed from Offspring's bedroom

July declutter

 

1 hot water bottle
4 cuddly toys
1 jacket
4 toiletry items

July Declutter

1 cookery book
1 pair of shoes
1 packet of biscuits
3 new spools of thread
4 partially used spools of thread

July Declutter

Eight items from the linen closet were decluttered, along with two items from the Offspring's bedroom.

I realised there's quite a number of rooms that have now been decluttered. Done so far are the front entrance hall, the bathroom, the shower room, the loo, and the back vestibule.  Although the back vestibule is where the charity donations and items to be disposed of at placed before they leave the house.

It's also rather lovely there's not much more to go in the bedroom. I don't think there's much to go in the kitchen either, but there's quite some organising to do in there.

The places that need most work are the dining room, the guest bedroom, and the Offspring's room.But for the moment, I'm just going to be happy five areas are decluttered, and everything has a place.

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The hexagons for the Temperature Blanket now total 62. Only another 31 to do this month. If I keep up the pace of 2 hexagons per day I'll have to cut back to one per day in December. But, I can use the extra crochet time to start edging the hexagons and joining them together.

July Declutter

 

5 produce items ( moved from the fridge to the compost)
5 more toiletry items (thank you, Offspring)

And now the fridge and shower room are looking quite a bit better.

July Declutter

8 items of clothing (4 worn out, 4 donated)

2 toiletry items decluttered from the shower room (thank you Offspring for the declutterings)

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Not much of anything else has been happening. I caught what the Beloved had, and I'm now suffering with it.

July Declutter

 

A further 10 paper patterns are going out for recycling. I had not realised quite how many I had collected.

The forty items decluttered have not take up much space at all. However, it's a good start, and it tidies up the space a little more.

July Declutter

7 dressmaking paper patterns

1 reproduction of a painting 

1 children’s book in Italian

1 pair of trousers

At work, we are sometimes able to take home some dressmaking patterns. I've found myself collecting an number of them. So far, I haven't made a singe one of the patterns!  It's time for a cull.

When we were in Ireland, many years ago, I bought a reproduction of a painting from one of the museums in Dublin. At the time I was swithering, but the desire to have a tangible memory of the visit won out. The reproduction was bought, even through I was not in love with it. 

This poor print has languished in its transport tube since then. It's time to let it go, and to remember to only buy art I love, or that provokes joy. The giraffe in the entrance hall makes me smile each time I see it. That's the sort of art I need and want in my home.

July Declutter

Decluttered:

3 balls of yarn
3 bottles of juice
4 cans of fish

Why yes, I did venture into the kitchen. How did you guess?! The food and drink have been donate to the local food bank. There's no sense them sitting on my shelves when someone else could have use of them.  

It's time to start making regular donations to the food bank. 

July 2024 Goals

After a huge lull, I'm back to making goals for my life.

This month, I have a few goals:

1. to eat better

2. to declutter 10 items each day

3. to make 62 hexagons for my blanket

4. write or research every day.

Yesterday, I found a chapstick, and 9 items from my crafting space. The chapstick was put in the rubbish bin today, and the crafting items were taken to the shop this morning. This evening before dinner, I sorted out a tube of expired handcream, and 9 more crafting items. These will follow the same fate as the items I sourced yesterday.

Food-wise, lunch was leftover chicken risotto, and dinner was chicken and spinach pasta, a small jelly, and also some yogurt and granola. This is a huge improvement on yesterday.

No hexagons have been made, but writing has been perpetrated.

Decluttering the Dining Room

Now my study/craft room has been decluttered, it's time to sort out the dining room. My dining room looks nothing like the one pictured above. It is a mess, a big mess, but the mess is being reduced. The Beloved is on holiday next week, and we have planned to paint the dining room. This requires the room to be decluttered and tidied. The following week, we have guests over.

We have a few boxes of stuff from a previous move. For the moment, these three boxes will remain boxed up and tucked out of the way. The writing table/bureau will also remain, but I don't actually want it.  It currently holds a load of old papers and crystal bowls etc. I've started work on the papers. A great deal more work is required. With the deadline of guests arriving, its decluttering will be left until after the visit.

When I'm done with the round of decluttering, additional items remaining the room will be the PA equipment for our ceilidh band, the dining table and chairs, and the piano. Items leaving will be a set of four chairs, my quilting stuff, and some random stuff destined for charity shops.

I found the dining table to be very useful for sewing and quilting. However, I make too much mess in there, and things pile up. It will be so good to have an actual dining room again. We have been eating our meals in the sitting room. 

Decluttering and Hatathon

This afternoon I shall see a huge difference in my study/craft room. Decluttering in the room is almost complete; there's a top of a desk to sort through. At lunchtime, we will be making deliveries at a children's charity with five boxes and two bags of crafting materials. In addition, there's two boxes of stuff going out to the rubbish bin. It's going to be a sudden, and very welcome improvement.

I'll be in there until Monday tidying and cleaning. It's going to look so much better.

In hatathon news, seven hats have been completed, and an eighth is underway. 

At the start of the month, I set out my plans to work to a cycle of finishing two unfinished projects, two projects from scratch, and then one brand new one. This has not happened! The hats have all been made from bits of knitting ripped back and re-knitted into something new. I've no idea where they fit into my scheme of things. Perhaps, it's time to just be glad that the unfinished projects are no more, and useful items have been created instead.

30 Day Declutter: Days 17 and 18

Decluttering continues, but I don't have a lot to say about it. It's more of the same. The only thing different from previous days have been finding felting needles and a holder. 

It did not take me long at all to decided on which items were leaving. The section that really took time was untangling yarn. I was at that for over an hour! 

More Crafty Bits

Who knew I had to many ribbons?!

Today's haul is: a baking tray (from the kitchen, not my study), beads, gold thread, a box, a tapestry, ribbons, 2 balls of yarn, felt, fabric, a scarf, fleece, lace, a shoe box, more beads and cotton binding.

The vast majority of the craft materials is being set aside for donation to a children's charity. When the study/craft room declutter has finished I'll go through the items again and gather similar items together. All the little containers of beads will be popped in a bag, all the yarn will be gathered, felt will find its fuzzy friends. This should make it a great deal easier for the person who will be unpacking the box.

The end is in sight! I haven't been horrified by the amount of yarn I have. In fact, I have been rather pleasantly surprised by how much I don't have! This is probably due to the various hat-a-thons. I am, however, surprised by how much fabric I have. There's a fair few quilts in my future. For the next 15-ish months, as long as more yarn and fabric leaves the building than comes in I'll be happy.

We have some family coming over for a few days in October. My study/craft room will be finished by the end of next week, I hope. The Beloved and I will move up there during the visit. I would dearly love to have a functioning, tidy dining room too.

Digging Deep Under the Bed

I've been digging deep, under the bed, pulling out boxes of crafting materials. Day 15's decluttering are: a sewing box, sheets of plastic canvas, a notebook, a lace making kit, 2 randoms socks (not a pair), braid, stars, a key ring, a tape measure, popper,s Aida, a scarf and couple of balls of yarn.

As I'm writing this, the corners of my eyes are prickling, a sure sign that tears are not far away. It's time to say goodbye to the sewing box, a blue and white basket weave in plastic, with a soft blue satin lining. It's dirty, dusty and broken. And it's so difficult to release. I've been thinking about it for at least 10 years, but finally, I'm managed to work myself into a place where I can let it go.

About 40 years, I received this sewing basket from my beloved Grandma for Christmas. I can't remember getting it, but it has been part of my crafting life for quite a number of years. Although for the last 10 it has tended to sit of a shelf, just gathering dust. It's broke, it's old, it either needs to be replaced, or thrown out.  But, it is the one thing that connects me most to my Grandma. To put it simply, I see it and I think of her.

But, an object is just an object. It's not the box that's important, it's what Grandma taught me. I learned to knit when I was four. Everyone in my family could knit, and I wanted to learn. My Grandma had such patience, and she took me up on her lap and taught me. I remember one day I wanted to make clothing for my doll, and I asked my Mama to show me how to make 'proper hole, not the mistake holes'. She was too busy, and directed me to Grandma, who lived next door. Grandma showed me the art of making 'proper holes'.

Grandma showed me many other wonderful things - how to make pancakes, and ice cream, how to do 5000 piece jigsaws.  Grandma taught me the importance of listening. One day I was bursting with news, and ran into the dining room, "Grandma, Grandma!" I shouted. Grandma was in the middle of doing the accounts for my grandparents' business "One minute, Pet, and you can tell me all about it." And, sure enough, within the minute, she had finished what she was doing and was able to turn to face me. "Yes, my dear, what is it?" When Grandma listened it wasn't just any old listening. Like the knitting, it 'proper listening'. When she listened I felt I was the most important person in her world. She put down what she was doing, she smiles, and she listened, really listened. There were encouraging noises, little gasps when appropriate, and often an exclamation of 'Well! Would you believe it!"

Put a little broken, dusty sewing box in the bin is never going to be able erase those memories.  The gifts Grandma has given to me are part of who I am. 

More Stuff say "Bye Bye"

A large box of papers have been decluttered! These were papers boxed up when we moved into this house, 10 years ago. The box had not been opened!  A few of the papers should be kept, but the rest have been ditched. 

In addition to this, the following have said "Bye bye": needles, buttons, felt, fabric, ribbons, elastic, number stickers, skirt, trousers, and a music system. It turned out I hadn't quite reached the end of the books in my stuff, and a few books are leaving too.

More Books say "Bye Bye"

Bye bye books. It's so easy to accumulate books, and then fail to sort through them from time to time. I think that's my study cleared of books I no longer want. But, there another unopened box, possible from our move here 10 years ago. I should check that box and made sure.

30 Day Declutter Challenge: Day 12

The declutter today is mostly books, with a tape, CD and DVD. This takes the total for the month to 78. Some of these items are '1 book' or '1CD', and others are 'fabric'. This can mean 4 different fabrics, each over a metre in length. It's not an exact science. At its core it's a way of decluttering, not stock taking.

At some point, I need to start tidying! The Elder Offsrping's stuff is tidy, but I'm having problems working out how to categorise my crafting materials, and how to store them.

I think I need boxes for 4ply, double knitting and 'other yarn', and also patchwork cotton and 'other fabric'. It would be good to get my knitting needles, crochet hooks and patchwork templates gathered in a central location.

30 Day Declutter Challenge: Day 11

Leaving my study are: 3 cushions, a picture book, 3 balls of yarn, a stack of fabric, more ribbons and embroidery thread, felt and a small knitting loom. There's now two large boxes full of crafting materials, plus a large carrier bag. 

These items need to be leaving the house fairly soon as they are taking up 'valuable' floor space. The reality is the room is getting messier, not tidier. I need to see that I'm making progress. The boxes need to leave, and the decluttered items need to be taken from my study to the dining room, the place where we store stuff that will be leaving the house.

I've been finding balls of yarn that would be great for a hat-a-thon. These are being put to one side ready for October.

30 Day Declutter Challenge

Day 9's declutter didn't happen. This is the haul from Days 9 and 10. I'm still at the stage where things are grouped together. Wonder how long it will be before every individual item is being counted?

Felt, cellophane, crafting card, variegated threads, embroidery threads, ribbons, cream fabric, assorted rubbish, blanket, wash cloth, bag, sweater, rainbow scarf, red scarf, grey top, navy sari fabric, hessian, black fabric, and organza.