September challenge - halfway!

This post is part of my September challenge. I am organising/decluttering one small area of my home each day for the month of September. 

I've been doing my daily decluttering challenges, and it's working well! Sometimes I do two if I'm feeling impatient or bored, or my challenge for the day is too easy.

I wanted to update you on progress, because my flat is getting way too full of the stuff that I'm getting rid of, I'm running out of space for it! 

The original post is here. But let's pull the list over and cross out all the ones that are done! The ones in blue link to posts about those areas.


1. Bathroom shelf (we keep toothbrushes, mouthwash, floss etc. on here)
2. Bathroom cabinet (extra shampoos, shower gels, lotions)
3. Cupboard under the kitchen sink
4. Food cupboard (we only have 1 to store all dry goods/groceries)
5. Cereal and tea shelf
6. Cutlery drawer
7. Kitchen counter (main counter)
8. Kitchen counter by window (lots of random things end up here)
9. Beauty products (lotions, medications, hair products etc.)
10. Floor of the wardrobe
11. On top of the wardrobe
12. Pyjamas
13. Sides of the wardrobe (can you tell things are crammed into every crevice in my flat??)
14. Suitcase full of clothes (that I boxed up when I started Project 333)
15. Crate of clothes (also boxed up due to Project 333)
16. Linen cupboard (also where we keep lounge wear, hoodies etc.)
17. Bedside table
18. Winter clothes box
19. Hallway - small storage cubbies
20. Hallway - Top 3 large shelves
21. Hallway - Bottom 3 large shelves
22. Books in the living room
23. Paperwork
24. Dropzone (where we dump our stuff when we come in the house)
25. Sewing box
26. Sentimental/keepsakes box (yikes! I'm most scared of this one)
27. Junk corner (random things accumulate here)
28. Junk bag in the study (leftover from previous organising)
29. Craft shelves in the study
30. Box of DVD's and books

That leaves 12 areas for the next 12 days to tackle, and then my flat should be looking a whole lot less cluttered! Can't wait! 

Next I will show you the pile of stuff that is currently on it's way out of the flat.






Yep. I'm still in shock. That HAS to be a car load. One less car load that we'll have to move next time! (as long as I can stop it creeping back!). I also took a suitcase full of random stuff to the charity shop this morning!

That big pile includes:

2 laptops
3 big bags full of clothes/linens etc. one destined for the tip.
a whole lot of CD's
Lots of office supplies and stationery
Cleaning materials that I stopped using and swapped for my own home-made one
3-4 pairs of shoes. My clothes really belong in another post!
some books
and some stuff from the kitchen we don't need. 

I will feel so much lighter once all of this is gone. There might be more to come in the next 12 days, because the challenge isn't finished yet! 

I'm already thinking up the next challenge for October :D


I have to say I think challenges like this are great, because I actually get things done. I spent ages and ages just thinking and writing plans about it. 

Have you been stuck in the planning stages with a project? Maybe now is the time to set yourself a challenge for the next month!


 

4 reasons to use a thrifty green cleaning solution

When I moved to my new place 3 months ago, I decided I didn't want to use chemical cleaners in my kitchen. I hate the smell of them. Really strong cloying smells give me a headache, and they can't be good for the airways. I mean all-purpose cleaners from the supermarket, Flash and all those. Furniture polish is particularly bad. ugh. 

So I made my own, with some very basic ingredients. Here's why:


1. It does a better job of cleaning my surfaces than any chemical based cleaner I've tried.

2. If it gets into food preparation (i.e. because it's on the surface), it is perfectly safe. No poisoning or such things going on. 

3. It's cheaper to make than any of the store-bought cleaners.

4. It's super easy!



Here's how:


You will need:

1. An empty spray bottle (if you don't have one I think they'd be pretty cheap to buy from a pound shop. And you can use it again).

2. A bottle of white vinegar (from 49p in Tesco). The brown stuff might stain things!

3. A bottle of concentrated lemon juice. (40p up I reckon)

4. Tap water

5. (optional) Your favourite essential oil - lavender and tea tree are antibacterial so they would be good choices.


These ingredients will make approx 2.5L of cleaning solution, all for under 1 pound (2 if you need to buy the bottle). NICE!!



Here's how:

1. Take your empty spray bottle and fill it about a 5th of the way up with white vinegar. The bottle in the pic is 750ml - go to the white line. No need to be exact here (I'm guessing 100-150ml vinegar)

2. Then add probably about 3-4 tbsp of lemon juice. I never measure it, I just glug some in. 

3. Fill up to the top with water

4. Add about 10 drops of essential oil if you want (I don't).

5. Close the bottle and shake it up!


If you don't like the smell of vinegar, add more lemon juice, or more essential oil to satisfy your nose. Personally, I don't mind the smell, and it dissipates pretty quickly. 


The benefits:

• It's green and won't harm the environment
• It's super cheap and easy to make
• It cuts grease better than any product I know (even the ones that claim to on the bottle). For super-duper greasy stuff (like cooker hoods) use a solution of hot water and soda crystals - do wear gloves though as it can irritate sensitive skin. Then you'll discover the real colour of your appliances! :) 

That's it!  SHAKE IT UP  and clean away!!


If you'd like some more green cleaning tips, post a comment! Also, Slow Your Home has some pretty good green cleaning advice! 

Quick post: Easiest, cheapest kitchen roll holder

I thought of this as I was walking to the park! 

You will need:

Kitchen roll, some twine or string, and a thinner cardboard tube (optional really). That's it!





Then decide where you want to put it - you need two points to attach your twine to. Attach one end: 




I live in a rented flat so I can't put nails or hooks anywhere (but you could of course). Luckily, there was a tiny gap between the shelf and the wall, so I threaded the twine through with a needle, and made a knot in it so it wouldn't fall down. 


Next, put your thinner cardboard tube onto the string. It will help the kitchen roll move more freely. I tried it without, and it's still ok (in case you don't have a thinner tube spare -I think mine came from a roll of baking parchment, cut to size). 

Then add the kitchen roll and attach the twine to the second point. Attach it in a way that allows you to easily remove it, when you need to change the roll. 

I did this:




I wrapped it round the shelf and tied a little knot in it. But not too tight so I can get it off when I need to change the roll. 

And voila, my new kitchen roll holder! For the cost of pennies!

One less thing that lives on the kitchen counter!

I'll share a post on the spice jars soon. I'm really happy with how this turned out! 

What thrifty things have you been doing? 

Sorting through the beauty products

This post is part of my September challenge. I am organising/decluttering one small area of my home each day for the month of September.


By beauty products I'm referring to all make-up, lotions, creams, moisturisers and medication that I own. 

I've recently become interested in the ingredients list on these products.  Chemicals. Unnatural names for unnatural substances. Something concocted in a chemistry lab. How do we know what these are doing to us?

One particular ingredient that has had a lot of attention are parabens. They are used in lots of products, as a preservative. These chemicals mimic oestrogen, and who knows what that might be doing. Alternatives might take some searching for, but they are out there. I found a good article that reviews some products made from natural ingredients. The GoodGuide has more in-depth analyses, but doesn't feature many products I find in the UK. 

For this little project, I started by collecting EVERYTHING in my whole flat that falls under the scope of this challenge. This is what I found:







The goal was to fit all of this into my two bedside table drawers, shown above, and the two lilac baskets which live in the top drawer of my dresser. I use the contents of those baskets every single day, and they are very accessible there. 

Then I sorted everything into categories. 






oh and my make up (why aren't there 5 picture collages?) 

I'll briefly outline what I got rid of from each category:

1. Hair: Duplicates of products that I use very rarely. I had two combs and two hair brushes. I only need one of each. 

2. Lotions: Any containers approaching empty and that had been open for over a year.  Anything that used to smell nice, but now smells off. You'll know. Anti-bac hand gel that attracts wasps and bees (lavender). I am phobic of wasps! 

3. Nails: I love painting my nails. I managed to get rid of 4 bottles  - the colours I won't wear anymore (black, bright red and princess pink). 

4. Meds: Anything out of date. I trimmed down meds for conditions we hardly ever suffer from.

5. Make-up. I'm not a big fan of caking make up on so it's an inch thick. I found an eyeliner that was more than 10 years old, and surprise surprise had parabens in it. I don't think they're supposed to last that long! Chemical breakdown + my eyes = not a good combo. 

In the end I managed to empty the plastic crate, so now I can fit everything in the two drawers and two baskets. Yay!

In future, there is a definite one-in-one-out policy in place. I will have to surrender something I have already if I want something new. That way, hopefully, the drawers won't overflow!

Also, every new product will be researched. If I buy less of them, I might be able to afford to spend a teensy weensy bit more to avoid the nasty chemicals. 


How do you feel about the synthetic ingredients?

Organising under the kitchen sink

This post is part of my September challenge. I am organising/decluttering one small area of my home each day for the month of September. 


The cupboard under the kitchen sink is home to all our cleaning materials, tea towels, spare cloths, and some random bits and bobs. It was looking very messy and disorganised! We have a very small kitchen so space is at a premium. 

Here is the before photo:

Nothing was organised in this cupboard. Cleaning products everywhere, bin liners scattered in 3 different places. I will point them out, using little stars in the next photo:

 

See them? 

I tackled this cupboard by first removing everything (except the paint box from the landlord)

Then I sorted everything into categories:

By the way, the photo above shows pretty much the entire floor space of the kitchen. 

I decluttered and organised one category at a time. I tried to remove as much packaging as possible. For example, I took all of our jiffy cloths out of 4 separate packets and used a plastic wallet to store them all. I took all of our sponges, and put them in an empty box I found in the cupboard.

I used boxes and containers I found in the house. I didn't spend any money for this project at all, and encourage everyone to make do with what they have already. My sponge box is just a box from my scales, but it's the perfect size for the job. The items in the cupboard are not on display, so function over aesthetics this time :)

Then I put everything back in the cupboard:

1. Cloths in plastic wallet and spare sponges/scourers

2. Cleaning products (I use white vinegar, lemon juice and bicarbonate soda for most things)

3. Laundry products

4. Bin liners (compostable, recycling bags, and black bin bags). Now all my bin liners are in once place woooo!

5. Reusable shopping bags. (I have more hiding elsewhere, this might become their new home!)

I also created some labels with card, a felt tip, and some sticky film (like laminating but easier) 




Now for the most exciting bit. Before and after shots! 

Now I know where everything is, and it's easier to put stuff back in the right place.

When I complete these projects, I get the satisfaction of crossing them off my list.


Has anyone else been organising under their sink? 

September challenge: decluttering one area per day

Sometimes, projects and ideas just don't work out. The best thing to do in those cases is to come up with new ideas, or refine the old ones. Last month, I started a project called 30 things in 30 days. I was attempting to find a way to continue with decluttering over a longer period of time, instead of taking the tasks in bursts and getting bored too quickly.

But, it didn't work because I wasn't motivated to do it. And that's ok. I found another similar approach, which involves writing a list of 30 areas that need decluttering, and tackling one area per day (read more here) It appeals to me more because the areas are distinct, and at the end of each day, I have organised/decluttered a specific area in my home. Result!

Each morning, I generate a random number, and then choose the item corresponding to that number from the list. I take before and after pictures of the area, and take pictures of everything that I'm committing to get rid of. At the end of the month I hope to have a collage of photos of all the things that have left the flat.

So far, it's working! 

Here is my list of 30 areas:

1. Bathroom shelf (we keep toothbrushes, mouthwash, floss etc. on here)
2. Bathroom cabinet (extra shampoos, shower gels, lotions)
3. Cupboard under the kitchen sink
4. Food cupboard (we only have 1 to store all dry goods/groceries)
5. Cereal and tea shelf
6. Cutlery drawer
7. Kitchen counter (main counter)
8. Kitchen counter by window (lots of random things end up here)
9. Beauty products (lotions, medications, hair products etc.)
10. Floor of the wardrobe
11. On top of the wardrobe 
12. Pyjamas
13. Sides of the wardrobe (can you tell things are crammed into every crevice in my flat??)
14. Suitcase full of clothes (that I boxed up when I started Project 333)
15. Crate of clothes (also boxed up due to Project 333)
16. Linen cupboard (also where we keep lounge wear, hoodies etc.)
17. Bedside table
18. Winter clothes box
19. Hallway - small storage cubbies
20. Hallway - Top 3 large shelves 
21. Hallway - Bottom 3 large shelves
22. Books in the living room
23. Paperwork
24. Dropzone (where we dump our stuff when we come in the house)
25. Sewing box
26. Sentimental/keepsakes box (yikes! I'm most scared of this one)
27. Junk corner (random things accumulate here)
28. Junk bag in the study (leftover from previous organising)
29. Craft shelves in the study
30. Box of DVD's and books 

Sheesh that felt long! I can also think of more areas that I want to add to the list! Some areas are easier than others, but I think it's important to have some easy ones on the list too, so as not to get overwhelmed by the difficulty. 

My aim is for this challenge to help me create a simpler, frustration free life. 

Anyone want to join me?

Catching up!

Hello again! 

I've had a wonderful couple of weeks. Embracing the opportunity for some time off. I don't have a job yet, but I mean time off from the job applications, normal routines, normal daily life. It's been refreshing to say the least.  

When I last posted it was four days before my birthday. Chris had told me that we were going away somewhere at the weekend for a birthday treat. I'd find out where when we got there - I was so excited! It's been a while since we've been away, just us.  

Bring on the photos! I'm getting so much better at having my camera with me, and better still, using it! 

On the road... to somewhere

I wonder where we're going? 127 miles left, M5 south.  hmmm. 

When we passed Devon, and got into Cornwall, my guess at first was Bude, but then we passed a turn off for that. Hmm. At another sign, I figured it out.....

EDEN PROJECT!!!! 

Yay!! I hadn't been there in a long time, so I was excited to see new additions and learn about the plants again. 

We saw some stunning flowers...

Most of the above are dahlias, who knew that they grow so many types? 

I found some poems. Poetry books kind of intimidate me, because I don't know where to start, having never read a poetry book. But I love finding individual poems in books, or out and about, like here. 

My favourite from the ones I found:

Giving the horse a smooch! Amazing wood sculpture!

We strolled around the Mediterranean biome - I felt like I was abroad...

..Found some pink furry things in the Rainforest biome..

..Tasted some delicious baobab smoothie. Yum!..

..And after all the walking around looking at plants, sampled some delicious local barbeque food. We thought it was a way better choice as my birthday meal than some overpriced curry in a noisy restaurant. It was delicious and so fresh!

WEEE man was a little jealous (he towered above us while we ate)

WEEE man is made from all the electrical stuff that a local company disposed of.. 


The day after we went to Fowey, and walked around. It rained a lot. Then when we were just about to leave, for the journey home, the sun came out! We got to have a lovely lunch in a park on the way back though. 

It was a lovely weekend, and I felt spoilt! A trip away was just what we needed.

Now I'm back to my normal routine, trying to find work, blogging and crafting. I've got a backlog of posts to write - coming soon! 

I hope you've all had a lovely summer!