Trimming the Storage.. (and the stored!)

                                                                                            

 I thoroughly enjoyed the trawl through all the books and files on the study shelves and they soon emptied out quite amazingly.

Month 2 - Bite 27

This is the result of the before (well one of the bookcases anyway)

and after... Notice the difference?

Well, once the shelves were much liberated we looked at them carefully. For a small room they were taking up rather a lot of height and making it feel a bit enclosed. New storage on a smaller scale was clearly called for. New storage did I say? Well today's task, which we're both very pleased with was re-purposing the old using brute force (in the lifting stakes) and a saw... A surprisingly short time later the shelves were transformed and re-stacked with the lesser quantity of books and voila! the study also feels much lighter and airier. Instant reward...

Month 2 - Bite 28

You know there's a movement towards mindful pursuits and peaceful creativity? Lots of colouring books and apps are now available for calming the thoughts and destressing. However in sorting out all the pens and pencils I've found a new mindful pastime. Today's task was to check all those items of stationery to see which needed throwing. Boy, trying out all the pens to see if they were dried out or working was soooo therapeutic that I'm thinking of starting off as a new 'thing'. Go on try it....

Month 2 - Bite 29

Now I know that I'm writing this in February and that Bite 28 would be the last of the month if I was 'doing' one a day, but as I've said before I want to be able to revisit this at any time of year so two more bites are needed here!

Did I mention the fact that the bungalow is stacked with DVDs and CDs? No, well when it came to pulling them all out and looking the pile of them was enormous! I'm not sure how many hours (or perhaps years) it would take to watch or listen to them all... There are one or two favourites that have gone off to the car - CDs that is - as that's the only place to listen to them, but I'm pretty sure that most of them will go after one hearing. I did also discover a CD made up of all my favourite tunes so I probably will only need to keep that one and a couple of others. The films on DVD make up two collections - one which I know we'll never watch again having played them once, the other is a much smaller one of old favourites/classics, but having checked I find we can stream them all so there's no need to keep these either. 

The current task then is to find out the best way of getting rid of our surplus ...

Month 2 - Bite 30

Before retirement we both had ICT/Computers as one responsibility on our job descriptions. It's meant that there are loads of computer-y bits and pieces lurking about. I still have some files and programs on floppy disks would you believe? There's also a number of CD Roms with documents and photos on them. Unfortunately there isn't a piece of technology here that will read them! Today will see me ringing round to see if anyone I know has some tech that I can run them through to check what's on the disks before disposing of them one way or another. I'm pretty sure all the information and files are already on sticks or the external disk drive, but you never know!!! Then of course there will be the task of collating all of these into a single, easily accessible library... Could take a while......

Finding out some more...

 Month 2 - Bite 20

After the sort out of the airing cupboard I found out I was right.. Just because I'd reorganised it fairly recently didn't mean I knew exactly what was in there! Among the items were some items of bedding that I've already mentioned are on their way to the loft for a future project. I also found some fairy worn, but still serviceable towels that I'm sure there must be a need for rather than just binning/recycling. There was also a really thick beach towel that looked lovely, but when I looked the edge binding and the towel itself had shrunk at different rates...

It ties in a bit with examining all that sports gear hanging near the front door as there's a towel or two there which get used to protect the car seats from mud (from running), soakings (when diving off the tennis court during rain) and sweat (well sometimes with exercise you have to don't you?). The towels we're currently using aren't that thick or absorbent so it's time for sewing machine action...

The beach towel needs cutting in half and hemming so that it can rise into its new life as two seat covers to be kept in the car!!

Month 2 - Bite 21

Having been busy with all the listing, sorting, decluttering, cleaning and so on now is the time to pause and do some wider finding out about where useful information can be found. I'm no expert so it's time to start consulting some. This won't involve any extra money going out, but does mean I'll have to spend some time online.

Today I'm going to concentrate on researching who takes what! The airing cupboard and coats collection got me thinking. Where can the excess items be best distributed? I mentioned the local library and its donations rail, but who else needs the spares that aren't actually good enough for sale?

On with an internet search to find homes for the growing piles of 'stuff' that I want to clear - towels, coats - you name it - time to find it a home!

Month 2 Bite 22

Bit of shopping needed in the food department. Although I'm pretty good at combining tasks to limit my journeys picking up essentials on the way to and from other locations there's plenty of room for improvement, especially as the weather is improving. So, it's off for a reasonable shop on foot. Of course carrying the booty home requires some thought so that I can actually lift it, let alone walk home with it all intact so time to search out my rucsac to help with the task. 

You never know I might end up fitter too!!

Month 2 - Bite 23

Armed with that list of service details, car insurance renewal dates and so on some research is needed here too. A session with the laptop to read up about deals and to sign up for newsletters that will help. The reliable Mr Martin Lewis is the first stop on my list with moneysavingexpert.com along with moneymagpie. Settling down after that for some reading and note taking to make sure I'm making the best of my necessary expenditure.

Month 2 - Bite 24

Now that list of household tasks and scheduled maintenance.... Firstly it's the day to defrost the freezer. Ours is rather old, but working fine. Having done my manual reading homework I now know that keeping it un-iced up will help with its efficiency so that's what today's task has to be about.

Month 2 - Bite 25

From food to laundry... The manual on the iron was enlightening. I guess I always knew that it due to the time to heat up and cool down there's an efficient order in which to iron, but in an attempt to constantly keep up I'd overlooked the fact that batch ironing, like batch cooking, maximises the use of electricity - just as full loads for the washing machine are better than lots of little ones! Reorganising when I wash and iron should make this both more economical and environmentally friendly too!

Month 2 - Bite 26

The last major bit of investigation before I go into information overload was into the manuals for all the varied rechargeable devices - phone, tablet, toothbrush - you name it I've read about it. Now I know where I've been going wrong with charging all these items. I've got a list of which need charging at a particular point to prolong their battery life and so most of them are no longer subjected to short, sharp bursts of firing up!

Phew....

Out of Sight, But On the Mind

 Month 2 - Bite 16

The voyage of discovery into the loft actually turned out to be quite enjoyable! It was really easy to dispose of plenty of 'stuff' lurking up there. I hadn't realised that, even though I couldn't see it, I had been wasting brain space wondering what was up there and beating myself up about not dealing with it.

I was about to flatten the boxes ready for the recycling collection when I had a new idea. There were plenty of craft supplies, odds and ends of knitting, some drawing books - in fact all the kinds of things that are expensive to source when you want some odds and ends for children's projects. I've organised these into one big plastic box along with some unopened kits and other useful bits and pieces as they are just the things to pass on. I could have bundled them all up and deposited them onto my niece ready for the holidays, but why should I gum up her house when I could send them on a slow release in a nice little box, school break by school break? I'll photograph and get to this as time goes on so you can see how it all works out.

One of the boxes contained all the paperwork I've been keeping from when I was self employed. Some of it I still need as it's not the requisite six years from the date of the relevant tax submission, but some of the receipts and records are now well past their 'save until' date so I spent a happy hour shredding, tearing and recycling until all the excess was trimmed.

Month 2 - Bite 17

Having brought a pile of the old pictures and frames down from the loft there's been a bit of a sort out round the house. We took a good look at one or two pictures that have been up for a while and decided that it was time to refresh the displays we've got up. One great picture that acts as a reminder of some wonderful holidays was looking a little tired in its frame. As luck would have it one of the frames we brought down had a worn out and faded print in it, but was exactly the right size for the beach picture that needed a freshening up...

We also had a couple of pictures with rather dark frames that were okay for our last place, but didn't do the paintings justice now. One in particular was painted by a relative and we didn't want to lose it. They'll both be reframed to give them a new life - better than trying to buy something new and yet they look like new works of art.

I'm also going to reuse some of the free standing frames for a creative sewing project or two.

                                               

Finally we uncovered one or two that deserved wall space which we've got as after we moved and put them in the loft we've had building work done which allows for them to be displayed. We'd sort of forgotten about them so the search through the frames was a real bonus in uncovering these hidden gems!

Month 2 - Bite 18

Spending time in the loft rather reinforced where all the heat in the house escapes to! Having already improved the insulation recently it has definitely helped with the efficiency of the heating system. The research into when we have the boiler on and how high the thermostat is set along with using the radiator thermostatic valves better have certainly reduced our energy use. However, we were both sure there were other savings to be had so.... from today there are two new regimes.

Although the heating is still on a (revised) schedule the hot water is not. From now on it goes on for an hour when the first of us is up and about. That gives plenty of hot water for showers and so on in the morning. Then, if needed at any other time, it can be triggered for half an hour as and when necessary. In addition we've decided that as soon as one of us feels that it's well warm enough and voices it, then the heating goes off until it no longer feels comfortable! Let's see if that cuts down our useage even further.

Month 2 - Bite 19

The little piggy bank by the front door is doing pretty well from pocket emptying when coming home, but is also benefitting from a further search around the house. The sports bags we keep by the entrance needed a prune as they often have change floating around in them. Firstly there were the coins for lockers that used to be necessary, but since changing sports' clubs they are no longer needed. Then a dip into the bags uncovered other coins - for court lighting machines for example. Then there were the parking coins kept in the cars - very largely any parking now gets paid by card - you get the idea. Time to complete the hunt throughout the house for any odd pence lying around to add to the stash!

Narnia could be in there, but you'd have trouble finding it...

 Month 2 - Bite 11

I did brave the clothing stockpile and remove everything from it's hiding place and was even more surprised than I thought I'd be by how much I had!

The shoes were the first for examination. Those on the shoe racks were fine, they are all in regular use and essential - you can't wear furry boots on the tennis court and the trail running shoes don't match any evening dresses if you know what I mean?

Then I turned my attention to all those in the coat cupboard.... how could I have forgotten two pairs of boots or the shoes I used to wear to work. Now don't get me wrong, I don't have shoe shopping sprees and many of those in the cupboard are around ten years old (some older). I guess, because I have so many they never got worn out! 

Now I know that there's all sorts of clever, clear box storage systems that enable you to see instantly which shoes are where and all that, but himself came up with a simpler free method. He's coloured coded the original shoe boxes to match the shoes within so I can see at a glance what's where!

I have extracted two or three pairs of shoes from the stocks and the plan is to wear them to destruction and then select others to repeat with before I buy any others. It's amazing how much less I seem to need in all departments now I'm not out at work and fronting training sessions where eye catching colours and a variety of outfits were useful aids!

Month 2 - Bite 12

As I mentioned in the title, my wardrobe could be a good location for a hidden country! It's now far more organised after it's sort and clean, but just like the shoes bears witness to a previous lifestyle which called for differing outfits for various bookings. Having bagged, disposed of and so on I am still left with plenty of things that still need sorting. There were a few running repairs, dodgy buttons, loose hems which were quickly fixed. I did contemplate throwing away a pair of jeans that I've recently replaced because (wait for it) they were too big!!) They also were getting a bit thin in places.

I changed my mind though once I'd seen an online tutorial showing how to slimline the jeans and I'm going to have a go at decoratively fixing the thin patch too!

One of the discoveries I made when I had to work away from home and look presentable straight from a travel bag was the joy of non-ironable dresses! I still possess a few, but no longer need them for work - they don't really fit the bill for holiday travel either. They have joined the wear them to destruction shoes...  These I will wear over an over till they bite the dust as around the house, lounging about stuff. They are easy to wear and are ready as soon as they have dried from the washing machine eliminating the need to brandish the iron - a win-win in terms of time, effort and electricity.

Month 2 - Bite 13

If I enjoyed rediscovering new shoes, it was a s nothing compared to delving into the bag store! Again I've got one or two that I can use till they disintegrate and have negated my urge to buy any more for ages! I also pulled all the carrier and shopping bags out of their various nooks and crannies and decided to organise them more effectively. If I can save those 'oh heck' moments when I realise I haven't a bag with me and have to buy one while out shopping it's got to help both the environment and my purse...

One of the best things I learnt way back at the beginning of lockdown was how to fold plastic carrier bags into neat triangles held fast by one of their old handles. It's a great trick and now I've made sure there's one in my coat pocket and another in my handbag. It's easy to remember to take bags when I'm doing a planned supermarket shop - it's those other incidental times that I get caught out - well, hopefully no more!

                                          

Month 2 - Bite 14

Finally there's that spare drawer I managed to clear. My plan is to do a wear it once process. I've done this in the past with particular items of clothing - I did a big clear out of old jumpers this way and it worked a treat. It's quite simple. I wear something, launder it and then fold it down into this drawer. I'm then not allowed to go back to it till I've worn everything else in that line. It means that I have to make serious decisions - if I am faced with something because it's the last suitable item and I really don't want to wear it, then it needs to go. It also makes me try everything and decide on its fate. Okay so the 'occasion' dresses that I may not have a call for on a while can be exempt, but again, how many do I need? Also it's time to face that 'only for best' mindset that leaves certain clothes unworn because they are being saved and to ask 'saved for what'?

 

Once I get to an almost empty wardrobe/drawer situation I can repeat the process putting everything back knowing it's all been tried and cleaned and is suitable for keeping!

Month 2 - Bite 15

Back to the paperwork... I did gather together all those expenses that only crop up on a regular, but less frequent occasion. Some I can do little about - the TV License for example or Council Tax. Others are going to need some investigation. Time to go through the diary/calendar and mark up a date two or three weeks before any renewals. This should flag up the need to check comparison websites and negotiate new annual contracts with plenty of time to spare, rather than arrive at the Car Insurance renewal reminder and find that time doesn't allow for a thorough investigation of the best possible deal.

Finally, a spring time lift.

It'll be St. David's Day soon so something for Mum is always welcome. Yes, Welsh Cakes and Daffodils will be in evidence, but this year I've made some daffodil coasters too! And in the best spirit of thrift, while the daffodil fabric is new, the backing came from some old serviettes that were the wrong colour for our dining room!!

Plastic, Fabric and Planning Ahead...

 I know, there's a bit of catching up to do!

I started off by thinking I'd leave it a few days so that I could report on the actions I'd taken, but then those few days became a few more, then I got caught up in a new project and some exciting finds and then... well, here we are about to try and organise my random thoughts into something coherent!

Month 2 - Bite 7

The plastic in my hidey holes has all been gathered up and trimmed... Having downloaded some of the cards as apps has not only saved on plenty of space, but has had the side effect of my using them more often. I no longer have to hunt them down, remember to take particular cards out, etc. I've also started to record when they save me money too. Fortunately the app I downloaded to record my spending right back at the beginning of this project allows me to enter this quickly and it's amazing how much is racking up in discounts and freebies now I'm making my plastic work...

Month 2 - Bite 8

I did consult with that list I made of all the dates and occasions needing presents and have started planning for them. Of course, this was all the more attractive a task when it led to some fabric and makes!

These bags are really easy (thank you YouTube) and are not only great for little presents, but also represent an environmental saving over wrapping paper. 

I actually got the fabric for all these fairy bags for £1 in a local market...

The next plans are for this to transform itself into Easter Bags for mini eggs and a bit of pocket money, it helps control the chocolate mountain that threatens to avalanche those around me too!

Month 2 - Bite 9

Now for something I'd been putting off.. really, you don't say?

Having gathered all those manuals and instructions together I've spent rather a long time actually reading them. Hidden inside are the gems of information that tell me what I ought to be doing to use my gadgets and machinery to their best advantage.

First of all I'm trying to implement the instructions about which are the most economical uses of each appliance, both for my pocket and the environment. I still can't get me head around the fact that the longer washes in the machine are better all round, but hey I'm not an expert. I'm also trying to only use full washes in order to limit the number I do.

Month 2 - Bite 10

The next on the list followed on from the audit of cleaning materials. It made me look closely at how often I use all those liquids and detergents. One of the best ways of cutting down has been to up the maintenance in line with the manufacturers recommendations. So, drains are now being kept clear, the freezer is properly defrosted and the washing machine is flushed through regularly. It's certainly saving time, effort and costs doing it this way rather than waiting for a major deep clean!!

Time for a pause before I launch into the fun and games of the clothes mountain.. oh, that other project, well maybe next time!

I'm still subscribed to what?! Taking account of it all..

 Month 2 - Bite 3

Next to tackle the accounts. I've made a list of the accounts I hold and have simplified them by closing one and putting all the contents into another that had a higher rate of interest. Then I took a long hard look at the amounts going out of my current account and have pushed on with cancelling some of the regular payments.. I mentioned the sports channel that I cancelled immediately - that's nearly £7 a month and so far we haven't missed watching it.

Now a long hard look at a garden scheme subscription and having chatted together we've decided that as we rarely visit the gardens in question it would be cheaper to pay on an individual visit fee - quite a saving this one - £58!

Next, membership of a craft guild that I haven't got back to after the pandemic and know that the timing of it makes it very unlikely that I will (and I can always pay a small visitor fee if I want to) - another £20.

Finally I have made myself look carefully at the magazines I read. One or two are unmissable in my book so they stay, but one hasn't been so good for a while so that's going too - yet another £40 a year.

Phew!

Excuse me if I get a little sidetracked now, but I finally got around to doing something I've toyed with for ages... 

With all the crafty bits I've got around I have dallied with the odd craft fair and even had a local shop stock one or two of my felt brooches, they've even gone on an online auction site too when I was getting rid of some bits and bobs. I've always wondered about an online shop and generally chickened out at the last moment. Now thought, I've taken the plunge with some of these...

and the odd card or two...

I'll let you know how it goes - after all some of this might reappear with another elephant once I look at raising extra cash...

Anyway, back to business..

Month 2 - Bite 4

The amount of electrical stuff I found once I did my power audit around the place was astounding! How did my family ever cope when I was growing up with only one socket in each room upstairs?

From today I'll be doing the 'power walk' every day as I know we're forgetting to switch things off, so from now on I'm on the prowl. I've already switched (sorry) to charging my phone and tablet just once a day rather than popping it on and off the charger. The laptop is no longer on constant charge and the TVs are off standby. Once I'd done a bit of research it would seem that more than one of the TVs still carries on using around a third of the power when I had thought it was turned off. That's the equivalent of leaving it running on full for 8 hours a day. No more, no more I say.

Month 2 - Bite 5

I did apply myself to the food task last month and although our sugar mountain has only marginally decreased (mainly, in my defence, because I went and bought more to make marmalade) much of the other stuff has been well and truly diminished. In fact, today I went off and did a 'big shop' because we'd almost run out of store cupboardy bits. 

I've even applied myself to recipes for using things up - hence our new 'favourite' of pasta bake.. don't know why I haven't gone for this before.. it was prompted by a surplus of mushrooms of all things!

Would you believe we've still got some Christmas chocolate stocks left (they'll be gone in the next day or so), but it has brought it home to me how much we had lying around.

Month 2 - Bite 6

Speaking of Christmas - I'm still enjoying my Christmas bathtime goodies (thanks Juds). It's been great not to have to buy so many of the toiletries I usually need, just by checking on what I've got. I also had a look at some other items while I was having my bathroom sort out. There were some rather old lotions and potions that are probably lacking in oomph now they are aging a bit. I found some sun cream that would have been fine normally, but seeing as the recent situation has rather got in the way of holidays in strong sunshine it never got used. There were also some lipsticks and glosses that no longer suited me (not sure one or two ever did to be frank!). Having checked out whether they would do me any harm I've used them up as moisturiser (the sun cream) and lip protection (although some of the older stuff definitely went into the bin). Now I can even see what I've got as well as have space once I actually need to replace them.

Elephant Number Two - Time to take action

So, elephant Number one has been satisfied (for now). There's still a fair amount of information to gather to guide my steps in improving my financial situation, but now's the time to take some action following what I've discovered so far.

This month I'm going to assess everything I've researched so far and see where there are immediate actions I can take. So say 'hello' to Elephant Number 2 - the start of the action month.

 

Month 2 - Bite 1

Right back at the beginning of the month I started recording everything I spent. I found a really simple, free app and downloaded it. It was super simple to keep my spending recorded and as a result I have, hand on heart, kept a record every day.

The app also gives me a breakdown of where the money has gone so I can't disguise any terrible truths. Today's task is to have a good look at those figures and see if there are any surprises in the spend totals. 

To be honest I was expecting the car and food/groceries spends to be higher - some of that will be, of course, because there was still Christmas food to polish off!. The craft total though was more than I had intended. I've taken a good look at what was bought and have to say I CAN justify (most) of it. The sales during January meant I was able to stock up some fabric in particular ready for a new project - well having a go with an online shop really. In addition I did buy some shiny new tools - a dinky little iron, an ironing mat (I want to do some quilting) and a special tool for putting in popper closures. 

Also I'll add, as part of my defence, I paid for the tools with the vouchers I got for Christmas so I think I can be forgiven...

The fabric I've got should cover Valentine's, St. David's Day, Mothering Sunday and Easter for a variety of cards and presents so that's okay in my book too...

Actually I've already done a Valentine's Card and was pretty pleased with the result. (It's okay the recipient doesn't read this!)

It's also a bit of an experiment as some of the cards I make will be going into my shop should I ever get that organised.

Month 2 - Bite 2

This task follows on from the first in that now I have a proper picture of my spending it's time to draft out a budget. This is early days as no two months spending are going to be exactly alike - the presents bill for July/August will be insane as so many of my family have celebrations then!

I'm also keeping up recording the spending as a way of checking where I am. I'm also finding that for the odd impulse urge, the fact that I'm going to the bother of noting it is making me not spend... Using laziness/prevarication as a financial tool may be novel, but it seems to be working for me.

I'm also adding into the recording incidents of saving, so if I get a discount or money off I'm recording those with a view to putting the same amount into another account for a bigger purchase later on or maybe even a treat... who knows?

Month 2 - Bite 3

Revisit my box.

This has grown rather as I think I was over-hopeful that the first box I chose would be big enough. Today I'm going to tackle the box. I know it'll take a little longer than some of the initial tasks as it means looking through all the paperwork in it, but it does give me the chance to prune out anything I no longer need (proof of posting receipts for things delivered successfully three weeks ago anyone?) 

I've also got a plastic folder/book/file. It's the sort with see through sleeves and I found it when doing the loft task!. While I'm going through the box I'm going to like sheets of paper together, all the bank statements in one sleeve, credit card ones in another and so on to get it all neat and tidy. 

I wish I could bin some of these month by month, but as I'm still not six years away from retiring from self employment I need to hold onto some details for the taxman. There will be some pieces of information and documents that I'll need to hang onto (err passport anyone?) so they can stay in the box.

Right - better get on with it, bring on the shredder and rubbish bin....