Onwards and upwards

 Whisper it softly - I’m making progress…. Okay not a lot of cleaning has been done, but I have caught up with the washing and ironing I mentioned last week. The freezer is now defrosted and I’ve got most things tidied away.

Time to start decluttering and organising room by room. I’m beginning with some quick and easy wins. The bathroom has to be first on the list, that also includes the toiletries I’ve got stashed around the house!

The bathroom cabinet isn’t too bad so won’t take long. There are some opened tubes and bottles that seem to be well past their sell by dates so they’ll need thinning out first.

Then attention can go to the spare bottles of hand cream, moisturiser and shower cream that are lurking in my wardrobe for storage. It’s time I worked my way through these - I’ve been ‘saving them’ as special treats to use at the right time - well, I’ve decided, that’s now. So I’m going to use them up by putting them one at a time in the bathroom and then, just like my new approach to my chores list, I’ll concentrate on finishing one before looking at the next.

Finally, I need to check my drawer with cosmetics, facial moisturisers, nail polish, etc. on opening three of the polishes I’ve been able to ditch them pretty quickly as they were almost solid! Then I checked on a tinted moisturiser. I’ve tried using it for a few days and have decided it definitely doesn’t do anything for me - so that’s gone too. There's some other potions and lotions that fall into this category so out thry go too.....

I’m happy with how it’s going so I think I’m due a treat…. I seem to have accumulated some face masks, hand treatments and a foot pack (you can see from the photo that it was a Christmas present!). I can kill two birds with one stone by using them up over the next week or so to clear my stash AND give myself a treat too…

Very fetching ....

Here goes!

Catching Up

 I feel like I've been chasing my tail a bit.. In fact I thought I'd been away from here a lot longer than is actually the case, it's still too long though..

It's been quite a time of it of late, various 'stuff' both stressful and enjoyable and sometimes both at the same time!

With a final big, fabulous family happening at the weekend a chink of light has appeared in the timeline of getting stuff done. We were all involved in some hefty work  to prepare my sister's garden for the celebrations - hence the bunting. It was initially not so much for decoration as to cordon off part of the newly dug project. I was, though surprisingly happy with it.

SO now it's time to catch up. As usual I've done myself a mega, impossible to finish list that looks quite like all my posts from soooo far back. I even re-read the one about helping my friend to get cleared up after her husband ran off with the au pair. I was about to embark on one of my 'hit every area at once' campaigns when I paused over my morning espresso and read.

I can't even remember the name of the article/book I was reading. It was one of those 'get yourself sorted/declutterd/organised' ones. This, however, was in 52 steps. On reading the first part of it I recognised myself starting, once again, with 'I do that already' or 'that's a simple step' hit me with another so I can do it quicker. This suggested a slower pace. A get one thing in place before you move on.

I know - there's lots of advice like this, but I'm usually pretty efficient in completely ignoring it!

This time I'm trying to rein in the rush for outcomes in order to make it sustainable.

I'm going to do the same with my catching up.

I've realised I can't write or make or create when my brain is chock a block full of urgent things that need to be done. I also know that my brain can't clear itself if my surroundings aren't orderly. This means I need to start right back at step minus one to get life back under control (cue hysterical giggling). 

First I'm onto the 'set one task a day and don't attempt anything else from your list until that's done'. At the moment it's working.... My first task was to take my impossible list and prioritise those items that are both urgent and important to complete this week. 

So far I've caught up with the washing, started trying to eat from the freezer to empty it for defrosting, completed the finances (Monday was payday so that's one thing I always do) and nearly finish the ironing (that's next once I close the laptop). I also wanted to restart my SubStack and this blog as a way of focusing my brain forwards.

Phew! Will this plan work? Who knows? it's worth a try 

so onwards and upwards - I'll let you know next week how I'm getting on and what I'm planning to do next - planning is top of the list for the weekend!

I know I can get my focus in - I  made bunting after all.. well I was particularly pleased with that. It was both urgent and important at the time - I had  not, however, realised that it would bring something meaningful to the table.

Having decided on bunting it couldn't a)take a long time to do as time was tight and b) cost a lot either. On looking at the general fabric stocks in the loft (clearing that will take a lot more time and far better focus - but I have plans) I found a number of items that were the right weight and content. There were a couple of the toddler quilt covers that my sister sorted out from her airing cupboard as the children are now well past the toddler phase and a school uniform dress that all three girls have worn. Both of these weren't in a good enough condition to sell online so had been parked in the fabric stash to make 'something' rather than be thrown away. Then there was some of an old skirt of my mum's and curtains from our old house and finally some of the fabric given to my sister when she moved that I made into garden bench seats.

In my ribbons basket I found a number of lengths of bias binding from old projects, some ribbon I bought for next to nothing in a sale with no idea of what to do with it and a streamer of multi-coloured ribbon from a circus twirly thing that one of my great nieces had thrown out. I set to with the pinking shears to cut triangles then sewed then onto the ribbons and binding.

Lo and behold bunting for the family celebration with the added advantage of the fabrics telling a story in  a way. Bunting with real meaning - meaningful bunting... now there's an idea ... or perhaps not I can feel the tug of a distraction away from my catching up project. Still, I'll hold that thought - meaningful bunting for parties, weddings, end of term balls, birthday celebrations.... nooooooo - I'm almost off again.

Come on Susan, focus, focus, focus.... we'll see!

My Pollyanna Year

 A Happy New Year - if rather belated!

Last year was rather challenging in so many ways that kept me away from writing…. Not all of the year was that bad, but there have been some difficult times so it’s nice to turn the page for the annual fresh start….

Here’s the last sunset of 2025 to gaze on …. So many things have happened, but the sun still sets and rises so it’s all good in the end…

I had thought that 2026 would be my year of consolidation ready to move forwards, but then I thought that last year. I am more sorted than before and now think it’s time to crack on with creating an even better time to come.

I’ve started the regular routines of organising and setting things to rights. Taking down the decorations and dealing with the Christmas cards always make me feel like the new year is well and truly started.

Having saved and dated the close family cards I’ve cut the rest up into handy list sized blanks, made a note of everyone that sent cards, taken any ideas or attachments that might be reusable and recycled the rest.

This year I also got to the local food larder where all the goodies which might otherwise be wasted are available free. I was spurred on to do it by my niece who had already garnered the giveaway veggies, chopped and prepped them, then froze her stash for later.

I’ve copied her with chopped carrots and swede…

Sliced and par-boiled parsnips and am feeling a bit smug about my bulging freezer contents!

Anyway - consolidation then. I realised that it doesn’t sound so exciting and a bit ‘stay in one place-ish’. But I don’t feel like it’s negative - more a way of giving myself a platform to push off from. Then I realised what was missing from my nice, sound, solid, productive sounding year … it just didn’t sound like me!

When I was little there was a film called Pollyanna (starring Hayley Mills I think). The main character was a girl with a positive spin on most things and a stubbornness in viewing the world through rose coloured glasses. At the time one or two adults started calling me Pollyanna- it seems that I tended to try snd see the bright side of things. Even one of my teachers did it.

Over the years it’s cropped up now and again. What was a rather endearing quality in a child can wear a bit thin though I guess. Finally, a very obnoxious boss I worked with who was incredibly negative snapped under the weight of me looking for a speck of sunshine in some hard work situations barked about my ‘Pollyanna attitude’.  It was a great compliment to me although it wasn’t supposed to be.

I still try to keep this tendency up, although I don’t think I’ve recognised it of late or valued the effect it has on my outlook enough!

So this year, even though I want to sort out my belongings, organise myself and do some about the new business I mentioned wanting to start many months ago, I think the Pollyanna me needs to head up the operations.

It’ll be less boring, mundane or ordinary and encourage me to enthuse and be interested in all the many projects that my brain will want to fidget around.

From now on I need to ask myself in any situation- what would Pollyanna do or think to make the most of the year’s opportunities?

I’ll finish with the last of the Christmas mince pies from 2025 …. Or is it the first of 2026? Now what would Pollyanna say?