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Life is more relaxed without Clutter

We all know this deep down, right? Last week I was seriously in a mess. I took more pictures and I was too ashamed to post them. I had a friend who wanted to visit and I put her off − not because she would ever judge me − but because I was judging myself. I sat down and cried and told myself and couldn’t cope. I’d been working all week, had two family birthdays, spent time volunteering for two…

When I watch those hoarder shows I wonder – how can people let it get that bad? Quite easily so I found out when the contents of my kitchen ended up in my bedroom. And they are still there! What shocked me most was how much a small heap of clutter totally stopped me in my tracks. I felt lifeless and tired. There was so much of it I didn’t know where to start. Every time my brain came up with a…

45 ways to cut clutter

Here are 45 ways to improve your home environment and help clear the clutter from your life forever. 1. Only keep items that are beautiful or useful. 2. Have a cooling off period before you buy anything. Wait at least a week before you make large purchases. 3. Try a month without buying anything else new, apart from food. 3. Give away an item a day – see whatishedtoday.wordpress.com for…

Making money from clutter – Vinyl records

So I’ve just spent half an hour under the cupboard under the stairs on the hottest day of the year in the hope that there was gold in ‘them their vinyl’ eg the records that had sat there for ten years. I had hopes of finding a Beatles record and what about those ancient Bee Gees records I had spotted, they must be worth a few pounds surely?

The collection of approximately 100 records had…

People matter not possessions

The terrible tragedy that has befallen the residents of Grenfell tower this week has shocked our nation. The harrowing stories of families caught up in the devastating fire has had me in tears on many occasions.

People have lost everything. Every possession and memento has been reduced to ash, but the one thing that unites survivors is that they are still alive, while so many others have lost…

Making money from decluttering

As Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall once sang – “Money’s too tight to mention.” This month I am in debt and I hate it. And I’m not evening counting the scary debt of my mortgage – let’s just not go there.  But in the short term, the debts that are worrying me most is my overdraft + credit card = problem debt. So I’m looking for solutions that fit in with my decluttering. Previously all junk went…

I was reminded me this week about the importance of time and the number of minutes we have each day – 1440. This actually doesn’t sound that many and once they slip by… they are gone! Goodbye time and hello tomorrow! No wonder Christmas seems to come around so fast these days. But what do we do about it?

Everyone has the same amount of minutes. Rich, poor it doesn’t matter. That’s your lot. You…

After a period of time out I’ve decided to quit monkeying around and get back to the task of decluttering.

I’ve been going through one of those times in my life just getting through the day without screaming at someone or something is an achievement. This has been pretty much my life since the last time I sat down and typed out my miss cluttermonkey blog..

You may remember I was moving in with…

Excuses and how to avoid them

I’m writing this feeling like I am the queen of making excuses. It’s so easy isn’t. I’d much rather watch TV than declutter or write my blog. I’m too old, too busy, too tired. If I spend time building my blog then I will miss out time with my daughter.

If I do this work now I’ll miss out spending time with my friends. And so the negative thoughts build up and the things I want to do don’t get…

Decluttering papers and a surprise find

Last night I started sorting through my dad’s papers and truly there is nothing more boring than other people’s bank statements. My little shredder was already quivering at the prospect of chewing through all that paper. Usually my shredder’s best performance equals about five sheets. Then it starts jamming and overheating and whispering under its breath “paperless billing.”

So there I was –…

Be careful what you focus on

They say what you focus on you will receive its called the law of attraction. And it’s true I focused on decluttering and now I have the mother of decluttering projects. This weekend was spent sorting out my soon to be bedroom. There were still the remains of my fathers possessions but now a year after his death I could finally see them as just things. Even objects that were familiar to me…

Anywhere can be a home

Today I had a bit of a breakthrough. I’d been struggling with my imminent move to my mum’s especially as I had just learnt my brother had found a lovely place by the sea. It seemed unfair that he had found a nice new just as I was moving to ‘hoarders paradise’, but at the same time it was good to see his life going forward after being on hold for so long. Suddenly my flat I believed was too small…

One way to forget your troubles is to do something different and take your mind off it – so last night, I did stand-up comedy again. I’d like to say – the more you do it, the easier it gets, but I’m not there yet. There’s nothing like standing up in front of group of strangers (and then attempting to make them laugh), to induce nerve wrenching, gut twisting panic. Still I was happy with last…

There I’ve said it! I’ve admitted it, I am terrified of change. Basically I’m imagining everything I’ve got to do to make the change happen and it’s terrifying. 

My change is this. At some point I have to move back to the home town to look after my 81 year old mother. To get to that point feels like I’m going to have to climb Everest wearing some high heels and a cocktail dress.

The truth is I’m…

The self-helper’s lament

I’m working on my goals but sometimes success seems very far away.  So I wrote this tongue-in-cheek poem to express my frustration.  If you’ve ever read a self-help book you may know where I’m coming from…. The Self-helper’s lament Come on Universe, where are you? I’ve read my self-help books from cover to cover, Listed my SMART goals, wrote my life’s purpose, I’ve consulted Carnegie, Robbins and…

A clutter free holiday?

Just come back from my trip to Butlins holiday camp – and next time I’m taking the train.  Partly because my Sat Nav took me via 120 roundabouts, but mostly because there is only so much you can carry on a train!  The British Rail luggage rack isn’t really big enough for the balance bike, the scooter and the sticky ball bats that never got used or the umpteen dresses that never got worn. I’ll…

Making time for family members

This week my 90 year old aunt was rushed to hospital with a suspected stroke, which led to me abandoning all my plans and rushing to her bedside. Fortunately she is less critical than we first  thought and now we are trying to look for answers about what actually happened.

A shock like this has made me appreciate the fact that I have a partner who took over looking after my daughter for the whole…