Sunday!

I'm free! 

Yep, the two days stuck at home have freed me up to get in and do some of the nitty-gritty things around the townhouse I normally ignore and put off.

Over the past two days, I have gotten in and done some serious work and sorting out around the place: 

Friday:

Woke to a dreadful earache, so headed off to the doctors, and found it was beginnings of a cold; so the doctor told me how to 'nip it in the bud' as it wasn't developed enough for antibiotics. The earache is gone and I'm feeling better! 

Once home, I got out into the back yard and looked at which plants needed to be pulled out and tossed out. This left me with 3 extra pots which I could recycle - not a bad thing really.
Then, I pulled the solar lights out of the garden, turned them off and pulled one of them apart to find out if I could replace the batteries in them - and I can! So, I'm going to buy new batteries and install them, and then put the lights back outside with them switched off so they can recharge.
I got into the home office and tidied up some one area of it - the hand-written notebooks mainly - and found where all of my pagan spell books were hiding. 
The kitchen towels were all put away and then I put out the rubbish and I sat down and pulled out all of the oil-based bags from the bag-holder in the kitchen, put them into a bag to take to Coles for recycling. Then, I put my fold-up bags in the bag-holder so I can grab them when I need them. This freed up one drawer in my living room!

Saturday:

I polished up the phone seat between my living room chairs. This meant I had to clean it off and organise the crap on it too! Then, I polished the piano too... both things look just gorgeous!

I put away bath towels, hanging clothes, sleep wear and warm clothes from the wash basket.

Ripped and burned music from cds - tried to do the same with some music on my computer, but it didn't work out... will have to look into why that's not happening.

I wrote a chapter of a new book I'm working on, edited 2 chapters and then made a pizza from scratch.

Today? Well, I still have some sorting out in the home office to do, and then other things to get ready for this week. But getting in and doing little things when I was forced to stay home was something I didn't think would work out; but it did. 

What did you get up to this weekend? If you had to stay home for two whole days, what would you get done? 

The Home Office - At Long Last!

I've been promising myself for yonks to get in and work on the home office for ages - over a year actually - and today is the day!

Last week, my Dad came over here and complained that the floorboards were creaking too much for his liking and imagined all my books crashing through to the kitchen - and it was because there was too much weight on them. So, I'm going to sort through some of the major stuff, move the tables around and fill up a book bag for one of my Bookcrossing friends interstate. 

First off, before I touch it, I'll photograph my office... then I'll empty it out and photograph it again and move the furniture back into the places I want it to be. This will be after I've sorted through the things I no longer need or want anymore. 

This will take a few hours and I'm happy to take this time; and I've only got a few minutes to go until I take off out of here and do it. Wish me luck in how it'll look in the next four or five hours! 

So, which place are you tackling soon? Is it big or small? Is it something you've been putting off - like me? - or something on-going? Let us all know and keep us posted about your success with it. 

In With The New...

In the last few months, I have begun to really refine the way I've been doing my decluttering. If I seriously don't need it, it gets donated or thrown in the bin. 

And yes, I feel so much better for it.

Yesterday was a great day for this. 

I posted off a 5kg bag of books to the Northern Territory! Yep, I parted with about 10 books and sent them away - and for a person who collects books that's a big deal. Next pay, I'll be getting another 5kg bag and sending it off to Victoria... same deal, fill the bag up as much as I can and then post it off! 

Yep, this kind of decluttering of the house just makes me feel great! I'll have 20 less books to worry about and about 2 feet of space around the floor of my home office! Doesn't that sound wonderful?

Sure it does.

Well, I was online yesterday, chatting with a friend of mine and we came to the decision to go window-shopping at op-shops. So, we got ourselves organised and I picked her up (as she doesn't drive a car) and we were off! 

After a sight-seeing tour of a local historical house, we hit a Life Line Super-Store (these places have everything from clothes to beds, furniture to electrical goods - they're wonderful to go to) and she was looking for a small mixing bowl. However, she didn't find what she was searching for.

But I found a few small things for my place. I was mainly looking for a sandwich press; as mine has been making strange sounds since I dropped it accidentally last year (and I hesitate to use it). So, seeing I didn't find it, I thought it wouldn't hurt to look at other things. I came home with a lovely phone seat, a large flat-side bowl, and a teapot-cup with a matching saucer. 

Yeah, so much for window-shopping.

Anyway, we popped by my place for a cuppa and some water (as it's been hot here in Brisbane) and to drop off my goodies; and I wanted to get the phone seat installed into my house. Then, my friend asked what I was going to do with my old set of drawers I had, put to one side. I said I'd donate them... unless she wanted them? Squealing she said yes! So, after cleaning them up, we got the drawers into my car and relaxed a little.

Now, I told you this story because there's a great meaning behind it. When I buy something big - like I did with the hall stand - I make sure I get rid of the items it's replacing. The hall stand I bought replaced 3 pieces of furniture; that's right 3! The phone seat has made it easier for me to find my remotes and keep my lounge area tidier than it has been, plus it's lighter and easier to move around and clean. 

So, now for the weekend challenge:

Look around your house and find something you've bought to replace something. Have you given away or sold that other item? If not, now's the time to do that. Offer it up to family, friends and online... see if you get somebody wanting it. Or if you don't want to wait, take it to your local charity store and donate it. 

However, if you already do this? Here's another challenge: pick a sink in your house and get underneath it. Pull out everything there and figure out what isn't being used, what's out of date, what's a cleaner and what's not. Get in and clean the shelves properly; and then, put like items together and toss what needs to be tossed. Then the next time you go under that sink, you won't be wondering where that item is, you'll know. The best thing to do is to go and buy a cleaning caddy for your cleaning products and keep them in that caddy... I've done that and it's the best thing ever! I have also begun using a lazy susan under my kitchen sink; which keeps all my detergents in one spot as well.

So, there you go... two different challenges to have a go at. Do one, or both, and enjoy your weekend! 

The Plans of Mice and Men

As with a lot of plans, not everything this week has turned out the way I planned. My sofa-bed didn't end up being picked up by any charity I had in mind. Nobody wanted to buy it or take it off my hands for nothing. And I couldn't just leave it outside my unit/townhouse complex (as that's illegal in my area). 

Nope. I thought the Browns Plains Smart Tip would take it off my hands... but oh, was I in for a surprise there! 

Dad and I arrived there and the guy at the weigh station asked if anything was wrong with the lounge and we said, 'A small tear.' he said, 'Nah, they won't take that, it has to be dumped.' 

I mean... what????

Aren't we supposed to be trying not to adding to the landfill? 

As you can well imagine I was mad as all hell after we dumped it. There wasn't anything wrong with the lounge... just that 20cm tear in the top of one of the arms. How pathetic can it get?

It's taken me over 24 hours to really get over this. I've never felt so let down over how society's ego can be so big over a tiny tear in a 30 year old lounge. Exactly what do they expect me to do, spend $3,000 on it then sell it for $300? I don't think so!

Well, today, I slept in because I felt so exhausted and had had nightmares about all the fruit'n'veggie places I visit normally being filled with oranges and lemons (things I can't eat) and a city burning down while I stood by and watch and everyone else panicked, screaming and running around me. I woke up exhausted and didn't want to get out bed.

When I got some of the housework done, I looked at my Donation Box and found a lot of the things in it could be donated, some of the things in it could be recycled and a little could just be tossed in with the general waste. Once it was all sorted out, I packed the car and went off to the local Vinnies and donated it all... yes, I felt better. Then, I found 2 pairs of jeans, a work basket, a lovely set of coasters and a gorgeous decanter... all up, I spent $24. Not a bad day at the Vinnies at Underwood. I could have easily bought all the craft gear there... as there was a deceased estate of it all there sitting on a table.

But I'm trying to keep my craft gear to a minimum; and I'm more looking at collecting oil paints and brushes than glue gun glue and beads. So, I was good today. 

Charities Are Fussy

Today I was supposed to have my sofa-bed taken off my hands by Life Line. But when the guys showed up, they took one look at it and said no, they can't take it. It was because of the tear on the arm that's been there for 15 years. 

I couldn't believe how fussy this charity was being. And I thought the Salvation Army was bad, when they sent me a criminal to collect my unwanted goods - seriously, they sent me a guy fresh out of prison to collect my old bedroom suite; and he rejected it because he hated it.

Anyway, the guys from Life Line suggested the Salvos and I said not them, and told them why. They were shocked that such a reputable charity sent out a criminal to collect things - let alone drive a truck! - and I told them when I complained to the supervisor of the Salvos, they took the driver's side! These guys couldn't believe how badly I was treated... but still they couldn't take the lounge; that it would end up at the tip. They then suggested Vinnies.

After they left, I had a little cry. 

You see, this lounge has been on gumtree, Facebook and I've offered it to all my friends and relatives... but nobody wants it - especially, I don't want it. So, I called up Vinnies and now, they don't want it, all because it's got a tear in the arm. 

There's nothing else wrong with the lounge. The bed in it is fine, the foam in the seating is in good condition, there's a cover and throw cushions that go with it... so why would there be a problem with any charity being so fussy that they don't want a lounge with this tear in its arm. It's from age, not anyone taking a knife to it. 

So, when you're decluttering and you find something might be a little defective, be careful about who you donate it to. I tried all the big charities with my sofa-bed. They wouldn't take it because it was old - not because it was worn out. This is no excuse to reject something a person no longer wants; and it causes more stress on them. 

Now, I really have nowhere to go with this sofa-bed. I really feel lost. What the hell am I supposed to do with it when no charities I know will take it off my hands?