Good Stuff Going On

In the past week, I've been working on my house and garden. And I've found it very uplifting to get rid of the old and bring in new when I've needed it.

The old VCR has been unplugged and put off to one side and my digital television has been plugged into the antenna... and it's cleared a space for a new turntable (as my old one has stopped working - well, okay, it keeps on pulling the arm back to the rest position and refuses to play two or three times before playing a vinyl. And then, halfway through a vinyl it'll pull the arm up and pull itself back to the rest position again... so yep, it's not working anymore). I've talked to my older brother about it, and he's offered to find me a nice new/old one for my birthday! Yay! I'm looking forward to that! 

And then, a few weeks back, Dad and I went to 'Spotlight' and bought some new lace for my bedroom window. Well, yesterday, I got around to replacing the old, tattered lace - which took me around half an hour to do - and now the old lace is in the bin and the new lace looks so good! 

I did try to go three for three, by attaching the back and arms section of the wash table in my room, but the screws were way too long - oh well, never mind. Can't win them all, right? 

But last week, I went off to Life Line and dropped off two big boxes off goodies to them - yes! They're open and able to accept donations; not furniture though. But I told them I did Glen-20 everything before I closed up the boxes. They were so grateful I did that. 

It's been a good week - despite the protests in the city - as we are trying to avoid a second wave of the pandemic. Anyway, I hope you're going well with your decluttering; just like I am. Everything is looking good at my place too. Drop a comment and let us know how it's all going at your place.

Holidays

I've been on a week's holiday; and just returned yesterday - Saturday. It's been a good week, and I've gotten myself straight into cleaning out immediately.

Isn't it funny in a strange kinda way when you go on holidays when you come home, and you just can't stand your house? I think it's because you take only what you need with you, and when you return, you find it so much easier to throw out what you no longer want anymore.

Well, I did just that last night, mere hours after unpacking. I had filled a rubbish bag with crap and tossed it out. I have a second bag filled and it's by the door. And now, there's a box from this morning's fruit and veggie run too by that door too. I'm doing really well so far. I've also got to fill up the rubbish bag from upstairs to throw out what's in the bins upstairs - which I didn't get to fit in the bins last week.

Otherwise, while I was down the coast, I wrote out a few lists of what was needed to be done when I returned home; and now I'm back, I'm hoping to get it all done by the time I have to take off again next year. 

So, how are you doing with your decluttering? Okay... this is December's decluttering. Now, if you jump on YouTube, you'll be able to follow Peter Walsh's 30-Day Challenge and he'll help you get jump-started in your big decluttering challenge again next year. I do mine each year - and it's a great way to get into decluttering a house really well. Why not have a go at it? 

Goals Reached!

Yay! I've been working hard on a few things lately and I'm so proud of myself! But I haven't written in here lately because I've been taking part in the National Novel Writing Month... a big thing for a writer like me. With that, I'm going really well. 

Over the past year, I've wanted to buy new pillows for the bed - European Pillows - and today I finally went out to Big W and did it! They look wonderful and stylish. And the best thing was that they were on sale; so were the covers!

I also got in and sorted out one of the shelves in the hallway to the kitchen and threw out three glass bottles and moved a lot of things off one of the shelves. This was to make room for my recipe books from under my sink for my baking trays and mixing bowls - which are sharing space with my Corningware.

With Christmas coming up, it's really kicked me up the butt to get in and clean my house in a huge way. I'm looking forward to doing this in a major way due to my folks helping me out next year with my house - while I help my brother and his family with their house. You see, I've been asked to house sit my brother's place on the other side of town. Of course I've jumped at the opportunity, and this means I have to finish cleaning out my house. 

The filing cabinet will be remove from my house soon, and I'll be using a good, sturdy table from my storage for the computer until I get a new desk. 

And you know, I really can't wait until this home office really takes shape - even though it began to take shape in September when I moved a bookcase and my Grandpa's Writing Desk around and put his diaries into a box to make it easier for me to get to them. There is still a lot to do in this room. 

I also have to clean out my wardrobe again - seeing I've begun buying dresses which fit me at op-shops and stopped wearing dresses which don't suit me anymore. But that will be done in the new year. 

So, how is your place going? All good I hope. I have reached some major goals, and set new ones to reach as well. I hope you've done the same as well as the year draws to a close over the next month. As December comes around, I'd love to hear from you all to hear of your achievements, and how far you've come in your decluttering story. 

Weekend of Decluttering

This weekend just gone was something which was unplanned for me. I turned the computer off on Saturday afternoon, turned around and looked at the office and realised that that afternoon was it: I really had to find the floor of my home office!

So, over 3 1/2 hours, I pulled apart one bag and a milk crate of junk and threw out 3 rubbish bags of crap I really didn't need, sorted out my writing and bank statements and medical stuff into individual piles and found that part of my floor. I even found room for the step ladder I've had stuck in the living room for this room; and finally brought that into the room!

What a great thing for this to happen!

I felt exhausted but great!

Then, I walked out of the room to be confronted with the big bags of shredding I've had stored here... and realised I just had to get them over and done with. So, I phoned my folks and asked if I could use their shredder (as mine had bit the dust a few years ago when it ate a piece of plastic and burned out its engine by accident). They said yes, but not that day. 

So, on Sunday, I went over there to find Mum wasn't feeling so great. She'd spent the night coughing, coming down with that virus going around, and so Dad and I organised my shredding morning away from their side of the house and I spent about an hour going through one bag. It felt wonderful to do that! 

Now, to get in and work through the rest of my office, sort out what needs to be shredded, what needs to be tossed out and what I really do need in this place. 

How is your organising going? Have you found your mojo again - or are you still working hard and fast through some of the Weekend Challenges I set last year and early this year? 

It's All In the Planning

Decluttering does work well when it's planned... and with my garden and its facelift, I had been planning that for around 2 months. 

So, when I walked inside the back door and realised my home needed another facelift, well, of course, this meant I'd be tossing out things in a big way... and also replacing some items with more sturdy items too. 

Even though my house is full of items which I've hand-picked from op-shops, I still go through it from year to year making sure I use those picked-out items. Sometimes if I find something I no longer use, I give it away; and you know? I don't miss it. 

This seems kinda cold, I know, but really it's a good thing to do around the house - in not particular order - to keep your place in good working order.

I mean, look at what I did with my books earlier this year. I cleaned them out in March and gave away 40 books! Yes, I gave them away without thinking about it... but I also gained just as many. This was something I had to do with the place to make it work out well. But, still I'm struggling to store the books where I need them. 

My art area is in great need of a make-over now. And by October, I'll have enough money set aside to work on it. Just like I planned ahead with the garden facelift, I have to plan ahead with any kind of facelift I do with the house. You see, I don't have a credit card, and don't wish to have one either; as I hate being in debt to anyone or any bank. It hasn't really worked out the way I thought it would... as I can't for the life of me get a home loan. Sad but true.

Anyway, not having a credit card means I don't have to be worrying about debt or paying off things all the time... or money. I plan head better for things that's all. And when you have the luxury of planning a few months in advance, you can sometimes come into your next part of your project with clearer eyes and a better idea of how it's going to work out. This is because you've given yourself the time to plan.

A Couple of Weeks

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post; and I must apologise for this. I have been cleaning out and looking at what needs to be done to fix up my place to make it better over this time.

However, I've also been working hard on my garden - and it's really coming along well. But I don't wish to bore you with the details of that until the time is right.... yeah it does get boring when one thing is talked about.

I have been working on the art area again, as I have been given two sets of plastic drawers from Oma's house and they're really coming in handy to store all the little things which need to be put away. In turn, that frees up the space on the bookcase in the hallway to the kitchen.

But I'm looking at replacing that with a larger one which will store everything which is leaning against the walls and blocking the way in a big way. This bigger one will be my birthday present to myself. Sure it will take up more wall space, but it'll also be a good thing for me too. I'll be able to get rid of that thin bookcase and spread out my books on art, shift any blank canvas' I will be using soon and store anything needed on top easily. Not a bad purchase really. 

I've got a few things to do in the next day or so in the way of donations. I have to get in and donate at my local Vinnies and then drop by to a Life Line Super Store and look around to see if they have any second-hand shelves (big metal ones are what I'm looking for). And if they don't, I'll drop off to Bunnings and see how much they are there... and see how much I have to save to get a set there. 

Yes, this will be a matter of me not spending up big on anything for a while; but it'll be worth it to save up on space. 

So, over the past couple of weeks, I've been cleaning up, cleaning out and planning. I know planning doesn't seem much; but it means I'm looking into working more on the house and how I store things. So, do tell, how is your decluttering journey going? Mine has slowed a little, but planning does that to the journey. 

I've Been Away

I've had a week off just last week because I've been in hospital for day surgery - and man, that takes it right out of ya! My Mum stayed overnight and then the simplest things wiped me out... from the grocery shopping (thank goodness she was there to drive me!) to just making the bed and putting away the wiping up.

So, I must apologise for not updating you guys last week. But I did say I was cleaning the house big time for Mum stay... and that was the reason why.

Well, a few days before she did, I donated a big lot of things to my local Vinnies and scrubbed the house as clean as I could get it. But I'm looking at making sure I get more things out the door soon again and make another donation to Vinnies of some clothes I don't wear or fit into - no matter how nice they look.

Then, I have to look at which VCR collectable tapes are to be either sold or donated - and see how much money they'd be worth and sell them. It's now time to get rid of them. 

Mum has noticed that I do need more space - another room for my art and craft gear, and has said that I have 'some stuff!' but she has noticed that I do use everything in the house; which is a good thing. Not only am I an op-shopper, but I also declutter the things I no longer need and buy in op-shops what I want in my house. But I do need more room as well. 

Ironic that I have been decluttering for so long, and yet I still need room to make up a proper house. It's mainly to entertain and make it so my place is easier to get around in... that's all. 

So, what did you get up to while I was away? More decluttering? Or have you op-shopped like me after you donated your unwanted goodies? 

Oh Man, I've Been Bad!

There's been a good lot of weeks where I've gone well with my decluttering. But over the past few weeks, I've just been the biggest collector of crap, so much so I'm ashamed of myself!

I've got books, artwork, canisters, mugs and other things I really shouldn't have around the place and they're all sitting in bags in and boxes awaiting for me to do something with them! 

I mean, oh my god! My main mission statement of this has fallen apart!

And you know, this does happen from time to time with even most devoted decluttering queen/king. They fall off the decluttering wagon and they have a bad lot of days and weeks and the place is a complete mess for around a week or a month and then? Then, as quickly as they have mucked it up, they tidy it up!

The unwanted gear is donated to the nearest charity store, the floors are washed and vacuumed, the wardrobe is tidied up again, the bedrooms are cleaned and the living room and kitchen are back to looking their best.

There's nothing wrong with being a badass with decluttering at times and having the house being a mess - and having it in the inbetween mess at times. I mean, you have to have the place look like tornado has gone through it while you're reconstructing it to make it look its best, right? Well, of course it's not going to look its best when you're decluttering or reconstructing it into a new look.

And when I've been bad in every sense of the word, I know I'm not going to have too much room in my place. But once it's all tidied up and put away, it looks like it did before - nice, neat and tidy. 

Well, that's until the next time I bring in something to make it messy again. 

Your Turn!

Okay, I've been talking about this journey I've been on for a little over a year now, and it's been fun. Many things have been organised, thrown out and donated.

The Weekend Challenge has become something of a success for both you and me.

And now, I think it's time for you all to jump in and let us know how you're going on your journey. 

Are you jumping in with both feet and being the organising queen/king of your house? Or is it a little at a time - and you're feeling a little as though you're bogged down with it all? 

If you're feeling the latter, that's okay. At the beginning of this, I felt as though I couldn't let anything go - but then I had to because I wanted to make room for new things and ideas for my own place. So, it was a necessity for me to get rid of a whole lot of things before I added anything to my house. 
And yes, it does look like World War III started up in your living room, home office or bedroom at first. But once you get past the fact that you're gonna have to make a bigger mess to clean the out the junk room or other rooms, it does get easier. 

I'm not saying I don't get overwhelmed - I do! This is why I have a great friend to help me out when I know I'm going to get overwhelmed. It takes a good person to know when you're going to get overwhelmed on a project. 

Other than that, how is your decluttering going? Have you made any progress on your more difficult rooms? If you think they're going to be too hard, just take it one drawer, one closet, one glory box/hope chest at a time. It's the smaller things that make the bigger things a lot easier to deal with once you need to deal with them. 

So, please do touch base here and let us know what you're up to with your decluttering projects. We'd love to know how you're doing, if you need some help or if you'd like to impart something you've found useful in your decluttering progress. 

The Basics

You know it's not just the big declutters that make a house tidy. Nope, it's the normal clean-ups that do the greatest things around the house as well.

Like making sure the rubbish goes out every day to keep the bugs and cockroaches out of the house. Cleaning the kitchen sink to keep it nice and tidy every time - as well as the benches so you can use them anytime you wish.

Then, there's the laundry - doing it in small loads so you're not stuck with a huge lot of it and wondering how it got to that stage is a good idea as well. 

I call this stuff the basics. 

It's the ordinary things which keep a house running like an well-oiled machine and make it feel as though there's no effort to what you're doing to keep it feel like it too.

Personally, I keep a shopping list on my phone through the Playstore called 'ShopShop' and it's free! It's a great thing to have and I make a list when my pay is about to come in. The thing to do is to only buy what you need, not what you think you need... so yes, go through that pantry and the fridge and make sure you have enough pasta, sugar and cereal before going out and buying too much of it all; and thus wasting your money.

I've gotten into the habit of making my bed at around 2pm or so. It's so my bed is aired out during the day (no matter what the season) and it's ready for me that night when I do want to sleep in it. 

But really, there's a hundred small habits I've gotten myself to do over the past few years, which I've stuck by, to keep my place running better and to make my life easier. 

What habits have you picked up and utilised to make your life easier? If you think they're useful, please do share with us in the comments below.

Repairs After Storms

On Sunday evening, we had a huge storm hit Logan City and the electricity was knocked out for over 24 hours. We got it back on in the early hours of Monday morning, but it's Tuesday now, and we're expecting another storm tonight.

So, it might be as big and bad as the last one... we don't know yet.

I've had to do some small repairs to a fence and tie up my Frangipani in my yard as the side fence I worked on isn't as stable as it seems.

However, today, it's impossibly hot; and so the decluttering I was hoping to get done may have to wait until it cools off. I'll see how I go with the house when the storm arrives, but this afternoon, I might get in and do a bit of tidying up first, so I'm not tripping over things.

But that's the thing with decluttering around a house, or a townhouse, you have to remember that when you have a place, you're not just cleaning it up, you're caring for it. 
I've been caring for this place for 15 years and in the last decade, I've learned a lot about how to get in and care for it in much the same way as my Dad cares of his own home. It's very important to not only look after where you live - no matter whether you rent or own - as its appearance is a reflection of how you feel about your home. And the more you care for it over time, the less you have to spend on it in the long run when the time does come to sell it. 

So, what have you been doing to upkeep your home on the outside to keep it looking great? Seeing mine is in a townhouse complex, it's a simple matter of making sure it looks its best in the Winter months (as they're the best months to work on my place) and so when the Summer months come around, which is our storm season, the place is sound. 

Getting My S**t Together

Okay, okay, I was downright lazy last week - nothing got done.

This past few days, I jumped in feet first and got things done. 

The vinyl collection is halfway through being indexed.
The laundry is almost finished put away - and I mean all of it!
I've organised and reorganised myself for the markets this weekend (yes, this includes my float too!).
I've made sure I washed up every night before going to bed.

The house is beginning to look like a house again; after I've been sitting around and just knitting dishcloths for the market for so long. 

Now, it's becoming hotter here too... so I have to be careful about how much work I get done during the day; as the days are really heating up very quickly - quicker than they normally do at this time year - and so I'm up nice and early getting as much done as I can before I end up doing other organising things around the house.

This is best thing about getting the smaller things done during the day - like the vinyl collection; as it's just sitting and writing down the titles of the vinyls in the cool of my living room. But once that's done, I've got other things to do as well - I've got a Donation Box to fill, the shopping bags to organise (which ones to keep; and which ones to throw away) and the floors to wash as well as the normal chores (cleaning the bathroom and toilets and vacuuming. If the day cools off - as they've promised - I'll get the vacuuming done... if not, it'll have to wait for another day. 

So, how have you been doing in your decluttering? All good? In a week or two, I'll be uploading a few challenges to get us going in decluttering; and we'll see how far we get with them, okay? 

Good Planning

Along with good planning is the follow-through. 

I'm great at planning to do things, but sometimes, the following through takes time. It's not that I'm lazy, it's because I have other things going on in my life at the same time.

This is okay - it's how things turn out for most of us.

However, I've planned a lot of things lately, and they've become plain and ordinary things which have sat on the sidelines until I've had to get in and really do them at the last minute. This isn't okay for me. I don't like leaving things like that.

Well, this weekend, I'm hoping to get in and do more around the place which will help me work out next week. And like in one of my other posts, I did say that the devils' in the details, didn't I? It's the small things which turn into bigger things that keep us from getting on with our lives.

So, this is where all of this start to really stop us from doing what we want to do. 

I've got laundry to put away, a painting to wrap in cellophane, a vinyl collection to put into an index book (this is because it's ever-growing and I'll find it easier for insurance and legal purposes to have it all written down). Also, I have to get in and make the bed, vacuum and bedroom, clean the bathroom and toilets (yes, I have two) and then wash the floors of my house as well. 

Like I said, I've left things until the last second; which isn't a good thing. Oh well, it happens to everyone. I have got some planning organised - which is playing well for me. The dishcloths for the market are ready, and I've got the painting all organised, as well as my business cards - these are good things. 

So, how's your place doing? Is it going well? Or have you let it go a little like I have? This does happen to people from time to time. 

Hammering A Nail

Today is going to be a hot day, so I was up nice and early to get in and do some laundry and cleaning up around the house before the heat of the day started up.

I was up at 7am and pulled the sheets off the bed, stuffed them into the overloaded laundry basket and took it downstairs and put on the first load of laundry... then was back upstairs to open up the house, pull back the curtains and brush my hair. 

Then, I unlocked the doors out to the garden, watered the Frangipani cuttings in the yard and looked at my side gate - it really needed to be worked on, as it's got a broken piece on one of the palings. So, I searched through the long garden stakes I have sitting around and found a spare paling from the old fence the tradies didn't take with them, sized it up and knew it would fit! It wouldn't be a permanent fix, but it would do for now.

I hung out the sheets and put on the next load of laundry, organised myself to fix the gate and ate my first part of breakfast - porridge and pushed down my toast. Then I was outside hammering the paling onto the first paling already there. 

Sounds easy enough, right? Well, for those who haven't done this kind of thing before, it's not as easy as you may think. I have seen so many people stuff it up - and when I first did this, I realised that my Dad had had years of practice before I did this.

You see, I own galvanised fencing nails... bought them at Bunnings, as it's always good to have them on hand just in case you need them at some point in time. This is something I've learned over the time I've lived on my own and in my decluttering here. You're always learning how to do something - even if you stuff it up the first few times.

With the paling, this isn't my first rodeo in replacing a paling... so I know how to get it right the first time. I didn't have to take off the old paling, as it was just the bottom of the paling which was broken, I only had to have a paling long enough to cover it over. 

This is a temporary fix until I get a new gate.

So, seeing it had nails already through it - short ones - I hammered the ends back into the wood, turned it over and grabbed about 5 nails, stuck my foot under the bottom (which gives around 1cm space under the gate and enough room for it swing open and shut without grating the ground), then I put then nail about 1cm above the old nail and started hammering it through until it was attached to the old paling.

After this, I didn't need to have my foot under it anymore, and just had to hold both old and new palings in place with my hand with the other nail. This is noisy work. But once you get used to using a hammer - and knowing how far to swing back and how hard to hit a nail, you'll be okay. 

Tapping a nail 500 times gently bends it and you'll be there all day. Hitting hard - with your hand around halfway down the handle of the hammer and your swinging back to just behind your shoulder - will do the trick. Keep your eye on the nail, not your hand, and you'll be good, hard and concise. But if it does bend, tap it up or down depending where you need it go and keep hammering as before. DON'T TRY TO REMOVE IT!

This took me all of 10 minutes and just the two nails, to get done. But the first time I did this it took me around 25 minutes and 5 nails, because I had no idea what I was doing. With practice, it gets easier... but no less noisier. 

After this, I picked up any spare nails, put away my hammer and other nails into my tool chest and had other things that needed doing around the house. I had the mattress to clean (which has another 45 minutes to go with the bi-carb soda before I vacuum it all off) and then, I've washed 2 mason jars for a project I'm going to start this week too for Christmas. Well, that's all for now. What projects and things have you gotten into this week? 

More New Habits

In February, I wrote a post 'Developing New Habits' and said I'd come back to you and tell you about how I'm doing with these new habits.

Well, I'm going well. 

But it starts with baby steps. 

My new habits start before I even go to bed. I wash up everything from the day and put it on the drainer, wipe down the counters, the sink, and the kitchen table and then put away all the remote controls, turn off the television at the wall, throw out the tea from the teapot. Then, I put out the rubbish in the outside bin, put in a new bin liner, lock the doors, check that my alarm is on on my phone. 
I put away anything I have been using that night too. If I used a footstool and a rug, I put the footstool away and fold the rug and put it on top of it. Then, I straighten up the rest of the living room and the kitchen table. Anything on the kitchen table from dinner (salt'n'pepper, sauces, a spare fork or knife?), I put them away or wash them up (nope, I haven't emptied the sink yet). Once it's all done, I get in and make sure the cloth is spread out on the sink so it dries and the kitchen towel is over the items in the drainer.

When I go upstairs, I find that my bed was made during the day. Before the end of the day - before the sun goes down - I have to make my bed. I don't mean just pull the covers up and throw everything on there and pray it looks okay. I mean, pull the sheets back, the pillows off and make the bed complete. Then, when I go to bed, it feels fresh and lovely and I can go to sleep happy. It makes you feel great when you shuffle into your bedroom and you find a lovely, nicely-made bed greeting you; instead of something that resembles a teenager's bedroom - all messed up and turned over.

I've gotten into planning my meals as well. It doesn't take much; and it's saving me around $30 a week on my budget. I've been writing down only what I need to get on my shopping list and sticking to it. If I don't need to go anywhere, I just don't drive the car - the amount of petrol I've been saving is amazing when I've been walking places which are local too. Like the post office and to get the paper. 

More recently, I've had a Radio Silence Day. This was on 31st August and it was because this is the day Lady Diana passed. I was over in the UK when it happened and it really struck a nerve with me - and still does. So, what I've been doing over the past 10 years is having a Radio Silence Day on the day... but still it wouldn't hurt to have more of them throughout the year on particular dates. You see, on this day, I got so much decluttering done!
I did all my laundry, decluttered my vinyl collection, washed the kitchen floor, mowed the lawn, put away all the wiping up (which caused me to clean the entire sink with Gumption - and it's now nice and sparkling clean) and then I sorted out the price tags for a Pop-up Store I'm taking part in at a local gallery. Then, I ended the day with a great set of vinyls being played while I did some needlepoint and had a nice cool drink... now, that was a great and useful day. 

Yep, a Radio Silence Day is a good idea. I will need another one soon to clean out the office and my wardrobe, as we come into Summer here in Australia. Well, what have you achieved over this time? Have you developed any new habits, which have turned into good habits over time? Do share with us all what they are and how they've helped you in your place and in your life of decluttering.

Making Housework Easier

When I first started decluttering my house, I thought I wasn't going to get anywhere! It was one step forwards, two steps back... and I felt as though I was always waiting for my Mum to drop by to help me get rid of things - because I didn't have a car at the time.

But once I had the use of a car, I was letting go of things left and right! The house started to go from feeling as though things were on top of me, to me finding more and more room where I needed it.

Then, in the past six months, I've brought the house right back to exactly what I want and need here and it's all just the necessities... all the beneficial things that are used every day... all the things that have place to live, have somewhere to be. And this is great!

All this decluttering has made cleaning my house so much easier. From getting rid of the lounge to cleaning out my wardrobe to cleaning out the laundry and making it easier to clean my bathroom, I've made huge steps in getting my house working like a well-oiled machine in every way possible.

This week, I tripped over my clothes hamper - breaking it beyond repair - and I hurt myself as I fell. But, yesterday morning, I tossed out the old hamper and went out and bought myself a new hamper. There was no hesitation. There was no 'maybe if I hang onto it and see if I can fix it'... I knew it wasn't going to be fixed by anyone; and there was no point in fixing it. So, out in the recycling bin it went. I don't feel bad about this; and really I shouldn't. 

This is what decluttering is all about.

You clean out your place. 

You don't feel bad about donating - or throwing out - your things, and your house looks cleaner, is easier to tidy up, and feels more like a place you love to come home to. And when you move house, you don't take crap with you... you take what you want with you and that's it. 

This is why I'm decluttering; so when I do move out of my townhouse, into a bigger house where I can spread out a little more, I don't need to clutter it up again. All the things are there to make my house into a home; and that's it. There's no junk, no bags of things for me to go through. What I have is what is coming into the home... I may have to tweak it from time to time, but there'll be nothing else to do. 

A House Into A Home

I've mainly talked about cleaning out and cleaning up a house in the best possible ways. And I know this has been on how to be brutal with yourself; how to be harsh and how to send off your unwanted goodies/stuff to your chosen charities.

But I haven't talked about how to turn your house into a home - not yet.

It's okay to look around the charity store. It's okay to buy something you really want there. The only thing you have to remember is this: do you have the space for what you're going to buy? Also, what kind of feel do you want for your house? 

For mine, I'm going for a 1970's kind of home, and it's getting there. Yes, it's got knick-knacks from that era everywhere, and I'm taking away anything that's 1980's and 1990's and sending them to the charity store. While I'm there in the store, I'm looking for 1970's gear to take my place right back into that era.

But my 70's era home isn't yours. 

Remember exactly what you're looking for in your mind for your place, your home and how you want to feel when you come home from the outside world. Your home is your retreat from out there... it's your place of escape and when you open your front door and walk inside, you should feel relaxed by your surroundings, not feel as though you want to run away to another place. 

When I arrived home, after being at volunteering for the afternoon, or art class in the mornings, I love to open the door and know that where I am is a good place. It's where I can relax, I can kick off my shoes and enjoy the space I've created through op-shopping. It's what I've done for myself through decluttering for over 4 years... yes it's taken time (a lot of time), but it's been worth it! 

And it's still going on - the decluttering - and I'm making sure that when I do finally move into a house, I take only what I need with me and not any junk I've been hoarding just in case. 

So, how are you going with your decluttering and changing of your home? I'm pleased with how far I've come with mine over the last 5 years... share with us how you're going; even if you feel as though it's getting nowhere.