Poorly house :(

Hi everyone

Like many people at the moment, we are poorly here. One cold closely followed another and it's not been pleasant. You get by but it's a struggle to be thrifty when the last thing you want is to cook a meal from scratch.

I did make some vegetable soup...

It was very easy! I melted a little marg and olive oil in a pan and chucked in a pack of soup vegetable mix. It's chopped finely and only 70p so worth every penny. I then added a chicken stock cube (reduced salt) dissolved in boiling water. I let it bubble away then blitzed it with my hand blender. This was perfect for Henry too! I added some of Daisy's lactose free cream to hers and double cream to mine...it makes all the difference. It was very comforting and so easy when you feel ill. The children loved it! 

I've tried to get as much veg into us as possible and even though I didn't feel like cooking a roast, we had pork on Sunday with extra veg!

Yes, and a shop bought chocolate gateau for £1 which did us a few days. 

As I was sitting down more, I decided to be productive and found an easy pattern for baby booties. I've knitted blue for Henry in this wool...

And a pair in lemon for my friend's beautiful newborn. 

Today is a new start for me and I've made big decisions to improve our lives. I'm decluttering properly this time...for good! I'm getting rid of the modern tat and concentrating on the vintage style I love so much. I've treated myself to a few  bits for the house and will show you when they arrive. For new things to come into the house, I have to clear extra so please join me as I transform our home into a better place. We should all do more of what makes us happy!

Thanks for reading.

Mandy x

Sewing Sunday...

Hi everyone,

Today is sewing Sunday. Although I would love to be cutting bits of fabric to make Daisy's first quilt, I have had to turn my attention to my clothes. Some are literally falling apart! My first thought was to throw out a pair of trousers that are really bad, but actually they would do for gardening. I'm not a keen gardener as you know, but I do need old clothes to wear when I'm tidying up and pottering in the garden. So, I have decided to sew them up and keep them a bit longer.

I have a basket that is full of clothes that need mending...a simple case of replacing a button or repairing a hem that's come down. Nothing too difficult and I need to just get on with it! When my mending is done, then I'll get back to the quilt preparation. 

Have any of you entered Frugal Queen's fabric giveaway? I have Froogs! Such a generous gift to the lucky winner...fingers crossed!!

Changing the subject...

I have been decluttering today. I donated a lot of stuff recently to the charity shop and we've had another collection bag through the door. Today I have filled a very large box with videos and clothes for the air ambulance charity shop. It'll be collected tomorrow. It makes me feel so good to be rid of unnecessary possessions, decluttering stuff does really declutter the mind. I am definitely succeeding in this area. I have changed...gradually the hoarder in me is disappearing! The house is so much easier to clean too!

Back tomorrow with my meal plan. Thanks for reading,

Mandy x

Carboot sale bargains...

Hi everyone and thank you for your comments :)

We went to our local Carboot sale this morning. I picked up some fantastic bargains for Daisy...

I picked up eleven books, all in really good condition for the total of £3.40. Some were only 20p each. All of Daisy's favourite animals and characters are in this collection and she loves stories. 

Pooh bear toy was £1. I tried to get it for 50p, but the lady wouldn't go for that because of the battery!

This puzzle is perfect for Daisy because she can gar the pieces easily. It was 50p.

This lovely little hand knitted dolly was £2, but I think it was worth that. My knitting is very basic! 

Daisy loves dogs and this is really cuddly. It cost me 50p and needs a good wash!

Piglet was 20p.

These little sets are perfect for Daisy. She loves to make marks and you can see the pooh bear theme going on here! These were 50p each.

Daisy is really into anything Beatrix Potter at the moment. This was a 10p video and yes we do still have a video player!

Finally I picked up these clothes from the same seller. I paid £3.75 altogether. There are two dresses (one is baby gap) and two tops and two bottoms.

My total spend was £12.45. I only pay what things are worth to me and I put many things down again! Having said that, I paid less than what I would charge for some of my purchases. Even supermarket children's books and clothes are becoming expensive. Daisy has at least one new book a fortnight from asda and some kind of clothing. By buying at boot sales, I can reduce our expenditure. She loves to play outside every day so it's not worth me spending a fortune! She has clothes for playing in and some for best. Everything gets used, played with, read or worn and then sold on. This turn around will keep the clutter under control. I have only kept a few things for any future grandchildren we may have and Daisy's special things for her memory box. 

I am still working hard, assessing every corner of our home...decluttering what's not needed and moving things to a more appropriate place when spaces are not working well for me. There is still too much stuff out and on show (which makes cleaning take longer) and I need to make space to store these things away. I still have clutter hotspots and dumping ground areas...the kitchen table and utility room work surfaces. I would love to post photos of these areas clear and tidy...perhaps that should be my next challenge to motivate me to solve the problem??? Fingers crossed I can achieve this very soon X

Another issue that I have faced this week is simply having no desire to cook. I have cooked, but not enjoyed it and found it a huge chore. I'm not sure why but I need to snap out of it! Does anyone else ever feel like this?

How's your week been?

Mandy x

Decluttering update...

Hi everyone 

Just a quick update to continue my challenge...

58). Book - Daisy doesn't like it...Carboot

59). Leggings - Daisy grown out of...Carboot

60). Pj bottoms - Daisy grown out of...Carboot

61). Vest - Daisy grown out of... Carboot

62). Top - Daisy grown out of...Carboot

63/4). 2x knickers...Daisy grown out of...Carboot 

65). Baby toy - Daisy doesn't play with this now... Carboot

66). My pj bottoms - these are too long and trip me up (not safe) but I love the gingham fabric so I've already cut them up to recycle.

There will be more done this week!

Hope you all have a good week 

Mandy xx

The great big declutter...day 6

Hi everyone,

Been busy tidying and cleaning while decluttering. We're also spending a lot of time outside playing!

The chickens have started laying again!! So happy because this means more baking. We get through a lot of eggs...they are an excellent source of protein for Daisy as she's lactose intolerant and doesn't eat dairy foods. She does have special lactose free cream cheese, hard cheese, soya milk and butter, but eggs are a good extra and she loves them. 

Daisy is going through a growth spurt at the moment, so more of her things are heading for the Carboot pile. 

48). Bunny leggings-Carboot.

49). Navy leggings-Carboot.

50). Denim shorts -Carboot

51). Fleece sleep suit-Carboot.

52). Fleece sleep suit -Carboot.

53). Fleece hoody-Carboot. 

54). Underwear-bin.

55). Underwear- bin.

56). Slipper socks- bin.

57). Alice in wonderland DVD- it's the modern version and way too scary for Daisy to be watching for a long time! We didn't like it when we bought it anyway so it's going to the Carboot.

Hopefully back with more exciting photos soon.

Thanks for reading,

Mandy x

The great big declutter...day 5 (catch up)

Hi everyone 

Yesterday I was so busy. I did do some decluttering but didn't find time to write a blog post, so it's catch up now and I will hopefully post again later with what I've been up to today.

Sunday morning was all about laundry. I am so happy to be hanging out my washing! I got all caught up and tackled a mountain of ironing. Meanwhile my lovely OH took Daisy out on her new super trike. 

We had a lovely Sunday roast. Beef is a rare treat for us. Then it was outside in the garden to play. Daisy just loves the freedom of being able to run around safely. 

Then her auntie and uncle came to visit (as they do every weekend) and we all sat out in the garden until it got chilly. 

Tea, bath and bed for Daisy and I watched the last episode of Call the Midwife. I will miss it :(

Right...decluttering news...

While doing the laundry, I found clothes that Daisy had grown out of last week. They have been washed and ironed ready to sell at our first Carboot.

There is quite a lot here, stacked up, mainly vests.

31 - 40). All vests that Daisy has grown out of. Carboot pile.

41). Baby knickers - as above.

42 - 44). Leggings - as above.

45). Baby shorts - as above.

46). Pink top - as above.

47). Old socks (mine) off to the bin.

So hopefully I will hit the half way mark later today. The airing cupboard is next, but it will be a case of recycling there as I reuse towels in other ways around the house.

See you later,

Mandy x

The great big declutter...day 4

Hi everyone

Not much decluttering today:

29). Baby tights - Daisy has grown out of these. I will sell them at the Carboot sale.

30). Baby tights - same as above.

We have been in the garden for most of the day. Daisy has absolutely loved it! Our lovely next door neighbour gave Daisy a zebra scoot along and a smartbike. It's one of those that has a long steering handle and a sun canopy...a tricycle that you can push and steer. We were planning to buy one of these soon...now we have one for free! She wouldn't accept any money for them, so we will buy her and her boys a gift to say thank you. 

Daisy loved cleaning them with her little bucket and sponge. Then she splashed in the soapy puddle she made (wellies on). 

Next door have got lots of rabbits and Daisy watched them over the fence. So many new things to discover...

We had pork chops for tea (done as a roast) and treacle tart for pudding. Tomorrow we'll have roast beef and all the trimmings. I now have somewhere to put all my veg peelings...next door's rabbits! Our chickens love cooked veg but not raw. Their favourite is lettuce but they don't like cabbage. The rabbits had broccoli, sprouts and carrot peelings today. Tomorrow they'll be more.

My lovely OH has dug over the veg patches ready for planting and he collected plenty of worms the wormery the they are making next door. It's funny how the simplest gestures can make someone happy. I also think that sunshine makes us feel happier and more motivated.

Hopefully the weather stays lovely for a while! 

Mandy x

The great big declutter...day 3

Hi everyone

A boring update today! It does keep me motivated though.

18). Baby book - Daisy has grown out of this. I will sell it. 

19). Play suit and belt - grown out of. I will sell this.

20). Top - grown out of. I will sell this.

21). Top - as above.

22). Top - as above.

23). Top - as above.

24). Top - as above.

25). T-shirt - as above.

26). T-shirt - as above.

27). Shorts - as above.

28). Pj top - stained...Daisy eats her breakfast in her pjs and sometimes the bib doesn't catch it all! This is heading for the bin.

Some items are underneath so I could fit it all in the photo. 

I've also been cutting animal pictures out of a huge stack of magazines. Daisy now has her own scrapbook as she loves sticking. 

I'm glad to see the back of this week!

Mandy x 

Forgot the photo!!!

The great big declutter... Day 2

Hi everyone,

Just been through my make-up. I had a little try of everything to decide what isn't me now. 

I wear make-up every single day, even if I'm not going out. I always have. I don't wear much, but would never go without mascara! 

I've found 5 items to add to my declutter challenge. 

13). Hair highlighter - it's new but not the colour I expected when I ordered online. I will sell this.

14). Foundation - this is really old (I don't wear foundation now) and is going in the bin.

15). Lipstick - not my shade. I'll ask Charlotte if she wants it first...if not on the bin.

16). Another lipstick - same as above.

17). Blue eye pencil - Daisy wound it the other day and the actual make-up bit fell out. It's going in the bin, it's now empty!

That's it so far today...I may find other things on my travels around the house later. 

Thanks for reading!

Mandy xx

The great big declutter!!

My decluttering mood is back! I love a fresh new start...

Those of you that have been reading my blog for a while will know that I am a hoarder. I am getting better though...I can part with things now. 

I am challenging myself to find 100 things during this month that we don't need or use. This is achievable because Daisy is growing out of clothes and toys. 

Out Carboot sale starts up again at the end of March and we will do some selling in April. I already have a large section of the garage piled high with boxes of stuff to sell, but there are new things that I want to look out for and don't want to overload the house again. This means that decluttering is in order.

I have started with my wardrobe...

This is what I brought down from upstairs...

Obviously a few bits here are Daisy's, but mostly it's from my wardrobe.

1).  Red dress - brand new, bought for Christmas but it isn't me! I will sell this.

2). Onesie - it was a present, but it's way too long for me. I'm only 5' tall! I may cut this up to make a blanket for Daisy as it's fleece fabric.

3). Pink pjs - the elastic has gone and they are old and grotty in places. I will cut up the best bits for sewing projects.

4). Black spot pjs - the same again and these are really faded in places. These will also be cut up for fabric scraps.

5). Heart top - this doesn't fit me very well and I no longer like it. I will sell this.

6). Winter hat - I've got too many! I will sell this.

7). Pink scarf - same again, I don't need it! I will sell this.

8). Navy scarf- I had a new one for Christmas so the old one can go. I will sell this.

9). Black polka dot scarf - I don't wear this bug I think I may use it for a sewing project.

10). Polka dot top (Daisy) - this got stained from food. I bleached it bug it hasn't all come out. This will go into het memory quilt that I'm currently making.

11). Pink dress (Daisy) - this is stained but not really bleachable so it will also go into her memory quilt.

12). Pair of Daisy's tights - she's grown out of them. I'll Carboot for 10p...every penny counts! You can always find something for 10p at Carboot sales.

That's it so far. I think I'll hit my target this time. Tomorrow I'll target another area.

Thank you so much for all your supportive comments. I will reply to each one. Incidentally, I had 806 page views yesterday...

I now have some new followers too! Thank you frugal in bucks!!!

I hope I don't disappoint!

So happy to have blog friends...

So happy you care xxx

Mandy xx

Preparing for autumn and winter...

Hi everyone!

I know it's been a while, but like I said before, I'm not much fun at the moment. Each day brings more issues to deal with.

I am still preparing for the colder months ahead and have a photo to share with you. My lovely Charlotte went to a carboot sale on Sunday and bought Daisy a few bits for the colder weather. Auntie Harriet (my son's girlfriend) also went and bought Daisy a cosy fluffy dressing gown.



That's a shadow of me taking the photo at the bottom, not dirt!!!



I don't think I should take photos on the carpet, it looks disgusting here, sorry!

Anyway, now I feel even worse :-(

Charlotte bought her two coats (I think £1 each), both 9-12 months which are a bit big at the moment, but she will grow into them soon. Ashley and Harriet bought her the dressing gown (£1 I think) as I said, for cosy evenings after her bath and charlotte bought the book (20p) and cat top (50p) because Daisy likes the cat top Charlotte wears!

We went to Mothercare a couple of weeks ago and bought her a beautiful red duffle coat for the winter (£22 though), some tights, two pairs of fluffy slippers and fleece sleepsuits. Every little bit adds up, but she has mainly summer clothes at the moment and we need to stock up before it really gets cold.

I did an order online for Tescos and that came yesterday. I will show you that another day. I need to write a list of what she still needs and go carbooting! You can normally pick up clothes really cheap for babies that are hardly worn. Most babies grow fast (not Daisy) so the clothes look like new.

Talking of carbooting...I have been busy sorting, decluttering and pricing up items to sell.  I plan to go through each room in the house, deciding what isn't used or needed. I'm being ruthless because there is constantly new things coming into the house for Daisy and we need to make room. As she gets new stuff, some old stuff has to go. I want my house to be quick and easy to clean.

Meals have been homemade from scratch and thrifty but meal planning has 'gone out the window' while we deal with these constant stresses from our youngest.

Thank you to Jane and Frugal in Bucks for their care and concern, I have read your comments xxx

I'll be back with my Tesco haul and hopefully something thrifty to share.

By the way, we are trying to get up to Yorkshire for a holiday in a couple of weeks, but haven't booked anything yet. Any suggestions??? We love the Dales rather than the Moors. I know, I know, that's not thrifty, but we seriously need to get away from this stress and we have been saving since Christmas for Daisy's first holiday. If you can recommend anywhere to me, please leave a comment. 

Mandy x 

Making money from clutter...

Hi everyone!

Well yesterday didn't quite going according to plan because Daisy wasn't sleeping very much. She had two twenty minute naps which didn't leave me much time to get on with her room. I sit her on the floor while I'm pottering, but now she can crawl, she turfs out everything! All her neatly stacked blankets and clothes on the changing table shelves, nappies out of their stacker and clothes out of the box I have just sorted! She's having a great time while I follow her around picking things up. What I did manage to do, was to sort some more of her little baby clothes. I organised the vests and babygros by age and made carboot sale signs for them. Today I will put her outfits onto spare hangers and price those up too. That way, I will be ready in September to do a carboot sale without any other preparation - organisation is the key to making as much money I can for our home improvements. I know we won't make a huge amount of money, but I have to try as every penny does count when you're saving up for things. We really want to move, but the house isn't ready and it isn't just a case of painting. We need to save up for a new boiler before it gets too cold because we don't have much life left in the old one. If it was just us, we would go without, which we have done in previous houses, but I have Daisy to think about so the heating will be on low.

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Jane - Hi, nice to hear from you. Decluttering is a slow process as I have years of collecting stuff to sort out and old habits to break.

Any home improvements cause disruption to the daily running of a home, but bathrooms and kitchens are the worst. My OH is a builder, so I have lived in many a building site in the past! He put an extension on our current house, but then we ran out of funds and so the rest of the house has been neglected. Your bathroom will be worth the wait in the end!

I have had my own home since I was 18 and my first washing machine was a second hand twin tub and a little spin dryer that moved around the kitchen floor! When my first baby, Ashley was born, I bought my first proper washing machine and that lasted me ten years. Since then (he's 23 now) I have got through a few until we went a bit dearer and bought our current Zanussi one. This is on at least once a day, so it has to be good!

I haven't looked at AF in a while because I have been doing Frugal Queen's challenge to use up what we have. The chicken marinades sound like good value, it's nice to have something different for a change.

Daisy is getting faster at crawling every day and is into everything!

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Sara - Hi, lovely to hear from you too! We bought a travel cot/playpen a while back and we keep it in the living room. Daisy will sit in there and play for about twenty minutes. Now she wants to get down and crawl everywhere and explore! She also has a walker, but that's not safe when I'm ironing or when the oven is on. I have to iron when she's asleep now.

Hubby has been back at work a week now and getting much better, thanks. His medication is making him feel sick all the time and made his mouth really sore, so he's trying to reduce them as of today.

We bought all Daisy's clothes for a 6lb early/tiny baby before she was born because she didn't grow properly in the womb. At her 20 week scan, they said hopefuly she could make it to 23 weeks and still be growing, if not she would be born and stand a better chance in special care. Every week after that was a bonus because the detailed growth scans were showing that she was still slowly growing. The hospital took over her care from the GP and midwife and she was well monitored. They initially predicted that we would be lucky to get a 3lb birthweight, which ended up as 5lb in the later stages of pregnancy. She was exactly 6lb in the end and just escaped special care. The staff said she was the smallest baby they had on the ward for a long time. All of the 6lb clothing was way too big when she was born though. I bought handmade premature cardies off ebay which actually fit her. She was very small. She continues to grow slowly on the 2nd centile, weighing 17lb a few weeks ago, but it's fine because she is growing at a steady rate for her.

I am keeping all of her first premature size clothes to show her just how small she was. Apart from a few special things, the rest is going...we need to think of the future now.

I tried so hard to sort out her nursery yesterday, but as I've already said, it's a slow process.

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markdebby - Hi and welcome to my blog! I hope you had a nice day with your grandson.

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Thanks for reading and commenting,

Mandy x

Dealing with someone else's clutter!

Hi everyone!

That someone else in the title is my youngest daughter. She hasn't lived with us since Christmas but the house and loft are full of her stuff. She stays with friends and calls herself 'homeless' even though we have a spare bedroom here and her bed! The fact is that she doesn't like living with us (even though her beautiful baby is here) and really doesn't get on with her sister now. She can't afford a flat (done that before and failed) because she is totally greedy with money and just spends it as she gets it. I musn't grumble, as she came to visit for the afternoon this week and bought Daisy a bottle of baby juice and some snacks that are too old for her (in the cupboard for when she's bigger now). Last time she came she bought her some bedtime nappies. We have simply asked for her to start paying back what she owes for Daisy's shopping, little by little. We both know that we will never see a penny from her, sad and very selfish.

On a happier note, Daisy is crawling!!! Exciting, but hard work because she is into everything... now the house needs sorting fast!

So far...

 I have sorted a kitchen drawer that contains my linens and Daisy's bibs, muslins, face cloths and cling film etc. It's much easier to find things in there now and I have kept it tidy.

I have emptied, scrubbed and decluttered my fridge, grouping items logically so I don't have to search.

I have tackled my huge pile of ironing and done about a third of it while Daisy was sleeping yesterday.

I have started on Daisy's room - it normally looks beautiful, but I have stored most of her mummy's things in there because she told me she was going to collect them the next evening. She never came and there is no new house, so the stuff is still waiting for removal. She has no space where she is staying, so we are stuck with it. I am hoping that my OH will put it in the loft where the rest of her c*ap is, so Daisy can have her room back and we can finally move her cot in there and make her nursery beautiful once more. Yesterday I looked at Daisy's old clothes and sorted two boxes to be sold. I battled with my hoarder instincts because every item reminded me of her and what she was like back then. I coped... I have photographs of her wearing these beautiful clothes and my other children don't want me to save them for when they have children, so they are going to the carboot sale in September. I have still kept quite a lot... all of her premature/tiny/early baby clothes to show her just how small she was. We bought everything for Daisy's arrival, so we can sell it. Any cash raised from this will go towards our home improvements. We want to live in a calmer environment, surrounded by nature and wildlife and our our animals. We want Daisy to be able to enjoy this lifestyle too. Hopefully when we move, she will come with us and her mummy to start fresh and build a better life and a better future. So, I will keep some memories for Daisy, just not everything! We are keeping the moses basket, bedding, bath and stand etc for any future grandchildren we may have, but not the clothes now. It's a start...

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Taaleedee - Thanks for your advice, I will look into it again. The doctor didn't sign him off work anyway and he's getting better, thanks.

Alex - It was actually a pack of 4 eclairs! I only ate one though. I agree with you about budgeting being like dieting. Don't worry about rambling, I love reading the comments, although I don't get many now, just like before the lovely Frugal Queen linked my blog. I do have more page views than before, so people are still reading!

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My shopping arrived on Tuesday evening and a pot of single cream was split. It was refunded and I kept the cream. The driver actually refunded both pots, so the other was free! The shopping this fortnight cost a lot less than normal but I would still rather shop instore to pick my own fruit, veg and salad stuff.

Today we (Daisy and I) are off to continue sorting her room. She loves sitting on her blanket and playing with her toys, having the freedom to crawl and explore. My lovely hubby took the bed apart and moved it into the spare room last night, so we have space to move things around now. All the movement in there had disturbed a huge spider which had probably been hiding in the mountain of bags, and it appeared while I was in the shower (my daughter warned me before I left the bathroom). My lovely hubby hero removed it! I am scared of spiders and wasps...this time of year is an ordeal for me. Spiders like dark places to hide...another reason to declutter and tidy up!

Thanks for reading,

Mandy x

The perfect housewife???

Hi everyone!

Just lately I've been watching my 'The Perfect Housewife' DVDs when Daisy wakes me at 5am to feed and I can't go back to sleep because she's awake and ready to start her day! These dvds involve Anthea Turner teaching messy people how to be the perfect housewife. I have been in great need of inspiration and motivation in sorting out my own home. Since we found out a baby would be living in our house, we planned and prepared for her arrival. The house slowly filled with 'stuff'. Initially, everything went in the nursery and that was fine, but once she arrived, Daisy slowly took over the house! She has baby things in most rooms, which is fine, because they are needed, but everywhere looks cluttered because of the things I already had. The baby stuff has to stay, so my things have to go. I am a terrible hoarder and I find it hard to let things go, particularly sentimental memories. I am getting better as you know, but there are specific dumping grounds within our home which I want to sort and stop dumping!

The kitchen table - a have a fruit basket, s&p and table mats that should live here. In reality there is normally folded laundry waiting to go upstairs and a mountain of papers/post. I find it hard to carry laundry up during the day because I need to take Daisy with me, so I'm sorting this while she is asleep now.

The kitchen worktops - I need the kettle, toaster, bread bin, microwave, utensil pot, tea, coffee and sugar pots, steam steriliser and mixer out all of the time. In reality, the longest worktop is a dumping ground for what ever I have put there and not put away.

The utility room - because this room is not a 'living' space, I tend to put anything and everything that does not have a home in there. It is constantly a mess! One corner houses my carboot pile, which hopefully will be reduced in a couple of weeks time. My beautiful worktops (handmade) are covered in ironing and more papers and the rest is junk and my sewing stuff.

The problem is that I don't put things straight away when I've used them and I seriously lack storage in this house. Our house is quite large, it's a four bedroomed detached 1970s built house with a huge drive and garage. The garage is full because my husband is a self-employed builder and needs to store expensive power tools securely. My washing machine, chest freezer and old fridge freezer are in there too. When I've sorted the utility room, the washing machine can be moved into it's space. The decluttering needs to continue to get more stuff off the worktops. The paperwork needs sorting and then dealing with as and when it happens - I find this hard. I am getting there... the last few days I have been throwing away things I have saved to do craft projects, because realistically I have Daisy to care for and I don't have the time. I would rather play with Daisy than make something to entertain myself and then creating more stuff to find a home for. On Sunday, I emptied two large drawers, which meant I could store fabric in there. I have decided that the best way forward is to do the necessary household task daily and obviously Daisy's routine, but when Daisy's asleep, I will tackle one small job a day and keep that area tidy from then on. My bathrooms are clean, ours and Daisy's bedrooms are clean and tidy too. Charlotte is in her newly decorated bedroom (Ashley's old room) and still has stuff in her old room. Hopefully a carboot will sort that and we can start work in the now spare room. This will be a guest room incase Alice comes to stay, but very minimal in furniture because I would like a sewing room! Then the utility room can become a laundry room! You see I have a plan but it's going to take time. My job is to declutter so I can tidy easier and then clean better - it makes perfect sense. OHs job is to create a space for me to house my sewing stuff. Charlotte's job is to empty her old room. It all sounds simple, but we are all so tired all of the time. Charlotte has a long day at work, travelling to Northampton. My OH works six days a week and gets woken every night by Daisy, and me... I should get off this laptop and declutter!!!

So am I the perfect housewife?... no, probably not ever, but I would love to be a good one, with a clean and tidy house, home cooked meals everyday and freshly baked bread and cakes. Then I will be free to  have some me time - learning to sew.

Are you the perfect housewife?

Thanks for reading,

Mandy x

I've completed my decluttering challenge!

Hi everyone!

On Saturday, Charlotte and I did a carboot sale. I took £35, but was selling a lot of my stuff at 20p or 50p, so you can imagine how many things I sold. I was up to number 50 on my challenge, so I'm sure I've made it to 100! It was too busy to keep track of what I sold, but a lot of empty bags came home. Today I've started to re-price my remaining items, cutting everything by at least half. We will do another sale in a few weeks to clear all clutter, selling at silly prices to just get rid of it. Anything unsold will be dropped off at the charity shop. I need to make money where possible, but I also want a tidy home!

I will also look around the house for more unused things!

Is anyone else decluttering at the moment?

Mandy x

The decluttering continues... the fabric stash

Hi everyone!

Well I've been so busy spending time with and caring for my beautiful baby grandaughter, that I haven't found time to blog.

I do have a little decluttering update to record:

50.  a large carrier bag of fabric scraps.

Yay!!! I have made it to 50!

When I no longer have a use for any textiles - clothes, towels, tea-towels, curtains (anything fabric), I reuse or recycle them like this:

• towels are cut up to make dog towels
• tea-towels make rags for cleaning
• curtains and bedding etc will be reused to make new items (I recently made two dog beds out of old duvets and duvet covers
• clothes are either sold on ebay or carbooting, or cut up to make patchwork.
• buttons are removed to be used for repairs or for craft projects
• ribbon, bows or ties are saved for crafting/homemade gifts

I have a habit of not throwing anything away because it may come in handy some day. My house was full of stuff that wasn't coming in handy! Slowly I am working my way through each area of the house, parting with stuff, and it feels good!

So, the fabric is still there (now cut up, colour categorised and ready to be used), but a lot less of it. Some bits I had kept were too small to do anything with, so they've gone now and it all looks neat and tidy.

Does anyone else recycle their fabric like this, or is it just me?

Mandy x