Sort it out Mrs!
Feel better by organising your shit!
Why do we sort everything out before moving, but still move with tonnes of unnecessary junk? I'm pretty sure I am going through bags full of clothes, dumped in our storage, that I had earmarked for the tip or charity shop, before we moved late last year and yet here they are again!
It's mystery that starts with my husband not listening, I guess lol!
Bugger!
I mentioned on some social platform some weeks ago, that we haven't yet organised our bedroom and it is indeed a mess. Unwilling to decorate this rental or buy expensive furniture that probably won't suit the next house, I've set myself a small budget and started shopping on Amazon, mainly for value, speed and convenience. I've always found Amazon a bit hit and miss, but I'm hopeful that it all comes together in the end. If nothing else this ex army wife is very good at making a silk purse out of a sows ear!
We had some storage created by a carpenter before Christmas, but I still haven't gotten round to sealing the MDF and then painting the cupboards, its just one of those faffy, horrible jobs I am trying to avoid at all costs. Painting them also means I will have to use a ladder as the cupboards are so tall and I really don't trust myself!
However, my mind is set on sorting out our bedroom and making it both functional and as pretty as it can be given I'm not painting the room. At the moment my toiletries sit on the mantle piece and I dry my hair downstairs! At 53 I really should have a dressing table and mirror, I do of course, but in France!
Not much use to me there!
We bought rather expensive open clothes racks when we first moved in, but they are rather too bulky for the room and to be honest, I'd rather our clothes not be on show, it's all too messy for me. So this weekend they need to go and we need to shift the bed into the right position. I'm very much looking forward to not bashing myself on the fireplace, as I get out of bed each morning!
So in readiness for the mini make over, I've had a BIG clothes sort out! Truly, I've been meaning to do it since we got here, but I also put it off, bit of a theme here eh! The issue was, once we had the storage built, I realised that I never even opened the wardrobe doors even though it housed 80% of my clothes. The reality was that the clothes inside the wardrobe were never going to be worn! I just don't know why I hung on to clothes that I don't like, never will like, won't wear, don't fit and some items still had tags on! I've always just worn a few much loved pieces to death and ignored the rest.
I made three piles, clothing I like enough to keep, clothing fit for the bin and clothing to go to AGE UK. I'm sure someone out there will love the unworn, deep green, Ralph Lauren gown! I really hope it does get worn to some fancy 'do' one day and the wearer enjoys my stupidly impulsive buy! Once I got going I couldn't stop and now I've earmarked furniture to be shifted about, sold or giving to charity. Watch out family, if you sit too long you to may end up being moved on!
Kitchen next, I mean who needs five sets of mismatched cutlery?
So the clothes racks are going and the sofa my husband plonked in our bedroom is going to be sold or stored, whichever comes first. Bertie spaniel will be livid as he commandeered it as his go to bed! Our dining table is going to be moved into the big lounge which no one uses! We had squeezed it in the kitchen but now its getting its own grand room! I'm just going to make a breakfast nook in the kitchen and at least we will be able to walk round the tables finally!
It's tough renting as there's a lot of 'making do', so I'm really looking forward to actually planning a room from scratch one day. Once 'The French Wreck' is sold we can start looking for the forever home again and I'm going to insist we don't ship stuff for the hell of it! Honestly, I'd rather start with an empty room and do the big stuff first and then do the whole decorating and accessorising thing after! Oh well!
I also recently bought myself an XL linen press, mainly because ironing is a chore and honestly since we got here, the ironing pile has really not been attended to, it's kinda breeding, spilling out of cupboards and shouting at me for action. I'm not much of an ironer these days, but I do like nicely pressed bedding and shirts of course. The scruffy bed look isn't for me and also the bedding was everywhere! I really needed to press it all and match up the pillow cases with their quilt covers again and my goodness I feel really good for getting it done! Today, I have a bit more to do and then I'm tackling the pre holiday clothes washing. Linen clothes are monsters to iron if too dry, so I'm going to enjoy battling with both the weather and the steam iron today.
Who even am I?
Organising this house has become my number one priority, tidy house, tidy mind and all that! Just need some chap muscle to help move some bits around. Meanwhile, back at the homestead, he is battling with weeds, especially in the walled garden. A month ago we tried to clear the jungle green house out and we should have known better. It really needed strong weed killer applying first. Anyway, we went ahead and the spores off the thistles took flight around the garden, of course they did! The result is that now the whole garden is covered in beastly spiky thistles. Also the recent rain has fed every living thing on the old farm and the greenery is now on steroids!
I'm still battling with my love/hate relationship with social media, but I have made one positive change and that's to turn off the 'likes' on my insta account or at least I tried. I just don't want to know anymore. I'd really rather interact with folks that I like and who like me. It's such a toxic, unhealthy environment this 'like' thing and frankly I'd rather have comments, real interaction with my followers. I've definitely achieved my goal of cutting down my time spent on social media, using the 'get in get out' method. Post and run! I go back at some stage to check on comments, but other than that, I'm filling my precious time with writing and NOT ignoring life and chores around me!
The TO DO list is endless, every corner, nook and cranny of this house needs my attention and he really needs to pay some attention to the barns, which are full of packing boxes and bags of unidentified 'stuff'.
Whilst I am still very much in pre holiday mode, we are waiting to find out if and when he has to fly off again! Super inconvenient but thats life, well our life anyway. He's promised me it will happen and so I will just keep having my nails done until it does. He's also had a couple of nervous breakdowns over tax time in France. The often 'lost in France' accountant has lost a lot of pertinent information, namely receipts my dear man didn't keep copies of! Ouch. Lots of lessons re learnt, T'is life.
Life is sure more expensive here in Blighty with 10% inflation expected soon and life betwixt France and Uk is odd to say the least! I promise to blog about how the 'half life' is going very soon but for now, remember when one door closes, take it as a sign that you were going the wrong way and it wasn't for you.
Gumption
D x