The minimalist quiche

[educatingarti]

This is a new thread to replace the minimalist journey one which is nearly full!

Arti your space sounds fab . Your work stuff is justified in staying. Same as dh has to legally keep some paperwork for so many years relating to the business. Eventually when the loft is cleared it will be archived up there.

Mommi. We own our property. When dh and I got together and decided to buy, it was just before the prices fell . We would lose nearly half what we paid if we were to sell at present. We are hoping to rent somewhere, and rent our house out. But we are settled in a lovely village, with a dd who started school here in September and who is thriving there. We love the ethos of the school so currently feel we have to sacrifice a bigger house until one comes up in the village we can either rent or afford to buy.

I'm hoping my work makes me redundant soon (I know, weird). As that will give us enough for a deposit providing we can move our mortgage/get a new one.

I know I should get rid of the toys really. Especially the ones I know won't get used as they are stuffed up in the loft, out of sight out of mind. I shall eBay or carboot them all anyway to recoup some money. Anything which doesn't go this way will go straight to the charity shop (I keep telling myself this as last time I brought a couple of boxes home. And they are still in the loft.)

Bathroom has been cleansed today. Should be master bedroom but we have issues with drainage so the tide mark was horrific! Thankyou Cillit bang for making it a much less painful job :)

Sokmonsta and MinimalistMommi* I do love my living space and my work. I see so many children who have lost confidence in learning and it is really good when you see them begin to believe in themselves and that they can do maths or whatever again.

Sokmonsta Ikea produce such useful stuff. Will the children's unit work as a room divider when they move into the bigger room?

MinimalistMommi I really really REALLY recommend my washerdryer to you-I had a crappy Indesit that died and replaced it with the AEG L75480WD which I love so much, I've been known to stroke it... It's a Which Best Buy, it's about half the price of a Miele (though still stonkingly expensive at about £630), the drum is massive so you can wash and dry a whole load without having to take masses out for the drying bit (8kg for washing and 6kg for drying which is much, much bigger than the rest of them), it actually dries properly (sounds bizarre, but most washer dryers don't) and in general is the best thing I think I've ever bought for the house. I promise I don't work for AEG!

Just popping in to say how much I'm enjoying reading this thread and how inspiring I've found it.

Our small three bed semi was creaking at the seams with too much stuff but I'm gradually making in-roads. Have charity shopped, chucked, recycled or given to friends lots of clothes, books, toys and even unwanted toiletries and dh had made start on some paperwork.

Have quite a few boxes of toys and baby/toddler equipment in the loft but have booked a table at a sale for the end of March. Anything I don't sell there will be given away or charity shopped that same day.

Despite having got rid of hundreds of items big and small I've only just scratched the surface. Every cupboard and shelf is full and we have three sheds and a full loft.

12 years ago in my late 20s I returned to UK after working abroad. I moved into a shared furnished house. I had 2 suitcases of clothes and shoes, some bedding, a bag of documents/paperwork and a small box of books and ornaments. I could easily fit all my worldly possession into a car.

minimalistmommi I have a washer/dryer from John Lewis which I think is Hotpoint but was waaaay cheaper than that one. I also bought one slightly marked off the shop floor and that can save £100-150. I would contact them and ask them to let you know if they have any like that as the savings can be quite significant.

We also have a really small house and one of the bonuses is having a small mortgage. I'm on the verge of resigning from my well paid, part-time permanent job which I know sounds crazy but it's just not working out. Knowing that we can afford to live on my inevitably reduced salary in my next job and DP's lower earnings is so reassuring.

Sold about 35 items on eBay last night and things are still going on discogs - we have nearly £1500 in our PayPal account so I think our two weeks in Spain this summer are nearly covered. There's still more stuff to sell and charity shop but I'm still getting that lovely feeling when I open the cupboards knowing so much stuff has left the house.

Did someone mention a china site upthread? I can't find it. Got a vintage children's teapot which was gifted to us to get rid of.
I'm beginning to spend more time yearning about decluttering than actually doing any. Need to find my mojo!

chinasearch.co.uk/ They don't have my china listed though :(

Ah, thanks Mrspennyapple. Vintage not required but I may be able to get rid of an old M&S set on that site. Persuading DH will be an issue as it did come in handy having spares at DS's head wetting party. It's trying to decide how often those occasions are and whether they are worth a shelf in the cupboard or not. Granted said shelf is too high and virtually inaccessible by me, so I am erring on the side of keep for that reason.

Back into the tidying/decluttering this morning. Two eldest off to school/preschool. Homestart here for the twins. Two baskets of ironing to put away and several bags to go in the loft. As well as vacuuming up dd's bathroom 'frost' - talc as she wanted to make it white like outside!!

Even if they have it listed they still may not want to buy it! My stuff is listed but they didn't want it!

Did very little in the way of decluttering yesterday, but I did do a full day's work! [grin} I find it hard to fit too much in around working.

I may try and list one or 2 bits on ebay if I have time today.

It feels so refreshing getting things done. I've put several bags up in the loft, got a bag for rubbish on the go in our room. I've put the children's clothes away and have ours in piles to go when I can locate some more hangers. I've tidied out my side of the wardrobe and taken out some stuff to go to charity shop, I've even vacuumed in it. Currently working on dh's side but he really needs to sort out some of his older t shirts.

The loft stuff has gone up and the talc has gone. Although I'm very frustrated that dd chose to do this in my newly cleaned, if not perfect, bathroom. However she can redeem herself by hoovering downstairs again tonight.

Off in to town soon to get drain unblocker and a few groceries, before resuming the decluttering.

Sokmonsta I know what you mean about it feeling refreshing. It's difficult to get a lot done when I'm working but I've managed to list one item on ebay!

I'm laughing at your daughter's creative impulses! But then I'm not the one who had to vacuum it all up! How old is your dd?

Lovely sunny day here, which I feel always makes me more inclined to get on with things.

I gathered together the Fireman Sam stuff and the lady who was looking is taking the lot for £40. I'm so pleased about that space it frees up and also the cash I'm getting for it.

I find I am really desperate to redecorate half of my house now. I want it to look all pretty.

I've not been one for moving furniture out but last night I spoke to DH about our coffee table in the living room. It is the big Ikea one with space for 6 baskets underneath. It has been useful whilst the DC were small for storing some toys in the living room but now I can store the stuff elsewhere and it will make the room look much more spacious. It is front of the window and I plan on putting the footstool (that is currently shoved in the corner in front of a bookcase) there to make a more social sitting arrangement.

The idea of losing furniture to gain some space is lovely. I have always been one to fill every space, but we just make the house look smaller that way. I am finding a whole new way of living thanks to this.

Yay- got rid of the side table and some kitchen stuff (a lady picked it up last night!) and have someone else coming to collect unwanted glassware tomorrow!

Only 1 bid on my eBay items though so have to hope they pick up soon.

I've only managed to list one item on ebay today - still - every little helps! Still amazed that people can make money selling unwanted stuff- I've only made about £10 on webuybooks so far!

Pictures of the mirror I revamped last week are now on my profile if anyone is interested!

Done very little here since returning to work, not helped by the carpenter failing to turn up to finish my son's room, having done half a wardrobe. (you know the cliche good, cheap, reliable, pick any two... this guy is very good, very cheap, and goes AWOL a lot. )

But have dumped about 25 CDs in the CD recycling and chucked out a dozen bits of plastic tat, and have lists of stuff to photograph and sell. My main problem atm is dd loves opening and emptying drawers and ds will then 'tidy', so anything within reach ends up anywhere!

Now, how many grobags does one toddler need? I got it down to single figures when I sorted out all the handmedowns, but suspect I have more than necessary even if she gets a d+v bug...

Need to dip back in here. After decluttering our bedroom somewhat yesterday I have come to a stop! Not helped by trying to think what to buy a 13 year old for her birthday.

Need some incentive to get going again before picking the boy up from preschool.

arti your mirror looks lovely!

I have about ten items on ebay, four or five of them have bids, but mostly just 99p bids. I'm not sure how cost effective it is selling things for 99p, there are only pennies left over after ebay and paypal fees. I figure that if I start them at 99p the listing will be free, and hopefully will attract enough bids to bring them up to a reasonable amount. Unfortunately it doesn't always work that way, and sometimes they just sell for 99p. But, as was discussed upthread, the money was wasted when I bought these things, not now. If I can get anything at all, it's a bonus.

I've also put some pre-pg clothes in the charity shop bag, and sorted through DD's wardrobe, bagging up too-small things. I found another bag of growing-into things though, thought we'd used them all up! So all the space I made in her wardrobe has been filled up again, but there are some nice clothes there which will hopefully get plenty of use.

Why did I have 22 medicine spoons and 10 syringes in my cutlery drawer?

I've found that with eBay too. I'd totally forgotten about the fees and then the bill came Apparently Feb is a slow eBay month. We have an old Sony gigajuke to sell but I think we'll wait until March after I found that out. I can't wait to reclaim that space though.

Impressive collection of medicine spoons! Puts my three to shame :)

I didn't know Feb was slow on ebay. Oh well, it can't sell if it's not listed, so if even some of it goes it'll help.

Thank you Mrs Pennyapple
I did enjoy making it and am particularly pleased that I managed to do it without buying anything!

Having a slow day today at getting on with things. I must do some more work!

How did you do it? I've been squinting at the close up of the frame. Did you use patterned paper, or did you paint the flowers on? I bought a 2nd hand mirror once with the intention of refurbishing it, but it sat there for two years and then I moved house and decluttered it. I'm full of ideas, but how many of them actually come to fruition is a different matter!

MrsP - I had an old calendar (2011 - I am such a hoarder when it comes to things that can be used for craft ideas!) with a picture for each month. They were Arts and Crafts designs so William Morris et al. I chose the designs in the colours I wanted (I think about 5 different ones) and cut rectangular pieces which I glued over the frame slightly overlapping each other using PVA glue - that's why there are different designs in small sections. Then I watered down some PVA glue to use as varnish and put a couple of coats on top of the paper. You could do the same thing quite easily with wrapping paper or pages from magazines too!

Hi all. Haven't posted much as have been at work all week and unable to do much at home - but am on the case for next week (and over this weekend!)