Nacktschnecken omlet Cube

[Couperwife]

does anyone else take on other peoples junk because "it might be useful"?

 

well, we have done this, so i was the proud owner of 15 baby formula tins keeping the back room full, so yesterday they went in the recycling

 

i decided that i was no longer going to take on other peoples junk cos im fed up of being untidy

 

im now sorting through my clothes that no longer fit me (im losing weight...if i dump my "too big" clothes, then i cant put the weight back on...cos i cant afford new clothes )

 

im sorting through my wool (anything that i dont look at and drool over is going to the "knit and natter" that mum goes to...)

 

and im sorting through my shoes, and buying clear plastic boxes for the shoes i love, the shoes i dont love are going to the charity shop...

 

i might need a large glass of wine when this is done

 

cathy

x

[The Dogmother]

That sounds good Cathy

 

I am pretty good at turning away any clutter, but returning from holiday and putting my stuff away has made me realise that i need to have a wardrobe clear out at some stage.

 

I have told The Boy that we WILL be clearing out the garden shed when he is up this weekend... I have some new shelves to go in there which will help with the general organisation, but I shall be ruthless with everything else.

[Couperwife]

aaaaannnnnnnnddddddddd breathe

 

so, 2 bags of rubbish (bin bag size)

 

2 bags going to charity shop (freebie charity bag size)

 

1 charity baggie full of wool

 

and i can now move in my front bedroom

 

ive also glossed the wood in the little bedroom and painted the radiator

 

im tired!!

 

cathy

x

[Plum]

So strong Cathy I'm very impressed with your actions and DMs good intentions. The boy may find other things to do.

 

Got to motivate myself again, under the bed and the garage are my blind spots and will need a tough mind to clear. Have other people got loads of bits of wood left over from run building that may come in useful with screws sticking out of them that won't come out? I do love wood.

[Olly]

Well done Cathy! And yes, other people's clutter is fatal - be strong-minded, and if you are accepting it just so as not to hurt their feelings, put it straight in the bin/charity bag when you get home.

 

I finally did some filing at the weekend, not all of it, and realised that the filing cabinet needs a good turn out!

 

Query - what would you do with an old, but working computer? I was going to Freecycle it, but a friend said that it's too risky and I should destroy the hard disk and bin it. That seems such a waste, it could be useful to someone I'm sure.

[Couperwife]

I would destroy the hard drive. i know its difficult, but some people are very good at getting data off a formatted drive.

 

good plan giving the pc away though,

 

cathy

x

[Snowy]

2 boys bedrooms decluttered! It helped that one was at grandads so couldn't start playing with stuff I've put out to freecycle

4 lots of toys gone on freecycle (2 already picked up!), several bags of rubbish gone in bin and half a ton of empty lego cardboard packaging gone in the recycling bin

We've got rid of several PCs - we take the hard drive out and smash them, it's the only way!

[Charlottechicken]

Wow! Some serious decluttering going on here

 

Well done Cathy, sounds like you are having a right old time, isn't it great to find the floor under all that clutter!

 

I'm becoming a little more discerning in the charity shops, buying only what I need. Bought a fab teapot on Saturday, to replace the broken coffee pot, but put back lots of items of clothing on the pound rails, and left them there!

 

Today I have been strong and thrown out a load of cardboard for recycling, I was keeping it 'just in case'

 

I have a week off work next week and will be attempting some loft clearing. Him indoors has promised to put TV aerials in the bedrooms. Looks like I'll be spending money again, but this time on aerial cable and a new strip light for the loft.

[The Dogmother]

Well done guys

 

Snowy, if you take out the hard drive (and destroy it) then the pooter casing will be recycled at most local recycling centres/tip.

[Olly]

It was me, actually! (I've been mistaken for Snowy before on a dark night )

 

The point is that I'd be destroying a potentially useful computer, it's not just the recycling aspect, but this could be used by a student/charity/whoever - it works fine, just a little slow and old now and I've decided to replace it with a laptop which does the same and more but takes up less space.

 

I've got an acquaintance who does computer repairs, think I'm going to see if he can use any of it.

[The Dogmother]

That sounds a good idea Olly (sorry, was speed reading ) I asked my techie friend when I was ditching an old PC last year, I had taken out the HDD but he said that the actual machine was worthless as all the parts would be obsolete. It's worth bearing in mind that even if you erase the HDD, the files and data will still be retrievable if someone with know-how was so inclined.

[Charlottechicken]

Just booked a bulk waste collection for my old mattress and some other large bits and bobs I found in the loft, and I've picked up most of the glass from the broken striplight (had my miners headlamp thingy on, looks silly but is rather good)

 

Haven't been to any charity shops this weekend, so feeling virtuous, although that means I haven't made any donations either

 

I've got a week off work now so am hoping to do some serious house clearing. Top of the list is the bookcase, I really do need to ditch some of those books

[The Dogmother]

Well, They Boy helped me with a massive shed clear out yesterday, lots of stuff went to the tip, some went on Freecycle, others were lined up on the front wall with 'Free, Please Take Me' signs on them (most of those have gone. We have put up some shelves and it looks pretty tidy now and I can get in the door for the first time in ages. I need to organise it some more but that's a marathon job over.

 

The shed roof is pretty rotten though - the wood under the felt has rotted in places. It is pretty old I guess as it was there when I moved up here nearly 20 years ago. Rather than stripping off the old roof, I am going to buy some Onduline and lay that over the top if possible; that should buy the structure a good few more years.

[Charlottechicken]

Crikey, a shed clear out, that's a job and a half!

 

I've just been spurred on to further decluttering after watching the programme 'the hoarder next door' on Channel 4 last night, frightening

 

Off to the charity shops again tomorrow with more junk I feel

[The Dogmother]

I have another bag waiting to go, and loads more which needs sorting but not enough time to do it in still, it's a long weekend, so hopefully I'll find some time.

 

Ebaying stuff is going well now I am in the swing of things, and I'm really enjoying it.

[Charlottechicken]

I really must get back into selling on ebay. I've got too many pairs of brand new opaque coloured tights for starters, and I know they sell quite well. I'm also saving up bits of really nice clothing that I've had enough of, and no longer have the space to store (had to make room for OH somewhere ).

 

Taken a couple of bags to the charity shop today, although I unfortunately did manage to bring home a M&S t shirt for OH, and two fitted t shirts (one M&S) for me plus a very nice M&S knee length skirt. I have just thrown out a few skirts though, and am gradually replacing my old baggy t shirts with proper ladies fitted ones Only spent £5.25

[Olly]

I decided to tackle the 'shed' end of the garage today, I have a three-shelf pine unit which ostensibly holds chickeny things but has got cluttered up, and I'm sick of having to clamber over things to get to the feed bin, and having to lift the mower over lots of obstacles. I'll skip over the incident with the half-full tin of wood preserver ... anyway, the shelf unit now has two empty shelves, and I have discovered a number of things that I didn't know I had, including two brand-new-still-in-wrapper Ikea clear shower curtains (which must predate the WIR two and a half years ago), a brand new bottle of purple spray which I don't even remember buying, and some Citricidal which I don't recall either!

 

On the downside, I am embarrassed to tell you how much I threw away - seeds and bulbs which were ruined by damp/mouse damage, various garden products ditto, plastic wheels which I had kept (why?), my old Brabantia kitchen bin which could have been Freecycled when I first put it in there but is now dented and paint-stained. I also found a dead mouse .

 

I now have a shelf full of chicken products, I can get to the feed bin and the freezer, AND reach the mower ... nowhere near finished, but I can't tell you how good it feels!

[Charlottechicken]

Well done, Olly I'm still thinking about clearing out the loft

 

When I cleared out a wood shed a while ago, I found a nest of mummified rats

 

I do think we need to know about the incident with the half-full tin of wood preserver though

[Olly]

Ok, here goes! Yesterday I had 15 minutes to spare, waiting to be picked up by a friend. I thought I could usefully use it (in FlyLady style!) by running the mower quickly over the back lawn, which is very small. I lifted the mower out of the garage, put it on the lawn and then noticed some brown footprints on the path (must admit my first thought was 'eugh - which hen did THAT! ) As I lifted the mower out, I had knocked over a half-full tin of fence paint, and I'd managed to tread in it and walk it on to the (pale, newly laid last year) patio and path.

 

Huge puddle of brown gloop on garage floor, stains on the patio slabs, fence paint all over my shoes and jeans, and of course the hens were still free-ranging - my 15 minutes was spent on my hands and knees scrubbing the slabs in case it stained, and trying to contain the mess in the garage. I just managed to get the hens back in the run and change my trousers before my friend arrived, I had to leave the rest of it to sort out when I got back. And I can still see some brown marks this morning I hope it will scrub out, as due to the hosepipe ban I can't really use the pressure washer!

 

The moral of this story is: if you let clutter build up, you will end up spending time on sorting out mess instead of doing things you want to do. And the lawn still needs mowing.

[Charlottechicken]

Oh dear, Olly

 

Good moral though! OH has just put up a new light in the loft for me. He is not too light on his feet at 16 stone, and managed to stand on lots of my clutter in the process. Nothing was broken and no-one was injured, thankfully. Today I have spent 2 hours up there clearing out. I have one very full bin bag so far, and have erected a new shelf unit, which I found lurking in the junk

[The Dogmother]

That sounds like progress Claire

 

I made £100 through selling unwanted stuff on Ebay last month, just listed another load for this month... am loving this!

 

There's so much to be done both inside and out; I am almost wishing for a wet and non-busy weekend so that I can sit up in the attic room and go through the boxes of stuff, but then there's so much which needs doing outside.....

[Charlottechicken]

Forth Bridge syndrome, Clare

[chickencam]

We are always fighting a losing battle at this time of the year with the allotment and garden and house and exams etc...

[lillybettybabs]

I want to sort our attic out but we have mice up there at the moment,

i sent the cat up there but he just clattered around and meowed to come down - next step

could be Fran the mouse killer hen!

[LolaLayla]

I have a load of clothes that just seem to keep moving from room to room. Mostly things YS has outgrown. I keep toying with the idea of putting some on ebay but I am not very technical I have bought things without problem so I suppose if there is an account set up things should be straightforward I really must get tidying again