Combined clear-out

I need to clear 30 items today to get me up to date, and the plan was to take 10 per area. I was pretty sure that the trolley in the hallway would provide rich pickings, and I was correct. Add to that just one box from the storage 'closet' and I had more than enough.
Top row: A carrier bag full of Swiss holiday bumf, a couple of letters from 2002, an empty sweet tin, and 15 dressmaking pattern books.
Middle row: 2 cat blankets, a mouse mat and wrist rest, the packaging from a CD player kept in case it didn't survive its 3 year guarantee period, a 1995 road map book of Spain, and a Bodum caffetierre box containing odd candle holders and candle ends.
Bottom row: A stray piece of slightly crumbly foam, 2 sets of wooden splints, a package containing 8 webbing splint straps, 2 rubber turniquets and 4 glassless picture frames.
Quite a good haul, you must agree.

I had intended to clear out Bracket's collection of pointy acorns, conkers and wing nuts if I couldn't meet my target, but as you can see, he is still a happy hoarder.

Nondeclutter Days

Monday and Tuesdays are always reserved for living rather than housework, so I hope to play catch-up tomorrow. In the spirit of the game however, while sipping my afternoon tea, I have re-sorted-out a box of stamps that were zip-locked into countries of origin into zip-locks according to subject matter.

Declutter Day 3

Yes, I know it is the same date, but I haven't got time to declutter and blog, life's too short! This morning it was the turn of the second bathroom. It doesn't get used much for ablutions as such, but the lavatory gets used because it is the closest to the living room, and I use it as a wet room and water source for craft related activities. There is always a reasonable stack of varied reading matter in there, and it is also a convenient place to put the odd bottles of toiletries that come under the heading of not very much wanted gifts.

So what has gone? A smallish stack of El Pais Sunday supplements and a timetable for the steamships on a small Swiss lake, to be recycled. Works for Win 95 Made Simple, a hard back book, a plastic snowman full of bubble bath and a bottle of bath salts to go to the Dog Shop, and a water spray that no longer sprays to go to the rubbish bin. I will admit that I removed the clear plastic tube from the spray before I put it in the bin.

So what have I learnt about myself so far? That things that other people discard on a daily basis are things that I have to make a special effort to get rid of. Maybe it will become easier with practice.

Declutter Day 2

I thought the bedroom would be fairly straightforward; raid the knicker drawer and the job would be done, but I didn't take into account that I had a clear out in the underwear department just before Christmas. I did relinquish my hold on two M&S bras that have never fitted properly; They can go in the clothing bin at the recycle point. Bossman encouraged me to throw away all my laddered tights with the promise of a batch of new ones. The odd ladder doesn't bother me as I am usually in trousers, but I now have a small free corner in the top drawer. I added a pair of his socks that had small holes in the heels to the pile, but shall leave a thorough investigation of his sock drawer for the second round. I couldn't really see anything to part with on my bedside table, but in the spirit of the game, I have reduced the bedside pile of Guardian crossword books by one. Have I done the right thing? Will this be a coveted first edition one day? I opened the wardrobe, couldn't face the thought of sorting through clothes, but I did remove three belts at random from the inside of the door, and added a pair of shoes that I wore last year for painting. A quick tot-up came to more than ten items, but nevertheless, I added a bald nail file and a balding baize pouch that at one time must have held an item of jewellery. I could get used to this....

Declutter Day 1

Our bathroom seemed an easy place to start, seeing that if I had problems finding ten articles to dispose of, I could always resort to checking cosmetic bags. So what have I weeded from the cupboards? For the bin; an almost empty conditioner bottle, an empty travel hair spray, a stray bottle top, and two non-elastic hair elastics. For the recycle bin; an electric curling tong with half of its teeth missing, and a geriatric electric toothbrush. The floral extravaganza at the rear is a hot water bottle cover from a bottle that gave up the ghost in the middle of the night not so long ago. I shall wash it and put it in the box to go to the dog shop at the end of this exercise, together with the nail varnish, unopened but not quite the right colour. The two white soap roses at the front are destined for my friend Marlene. She was flicking through the Avon catalogue the other night and got quite excited when she thought she had found just this very item. After borrowing my specs to read the small print, she was disappointed to find that they were plug-in night lights. As her memory is just as good as mine, but she is far more tactful, I'm sure that the fact that she gave them to me five or six years ago won't be mentioned.

I can hear you now saying, what about that blue toothbrush in the photograph? It was taken off my hands by Bossman, who needed just that very thing to get the rust out of the bottom balcony rail before he welded in a new section. So you see; you never know when something might come in handy.

Note: Calpe has two charity shops. The Red Cross Shop that only takes clothing, books and knick-knacks, and The Dog Shop, as it is known, that takes anything apart from large electrical appliances and furniture.