The minimalist quiche

[educatingarti]

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

Hello, can I join this thread? Saw it mentioned on one of the main boards!

I don't like clutter but struggle to contain it from spreading in our house. I've been trying to sort it out a bit lately, managed to get rid of a few bags to recycling etc this week.

Welcome LLL!

Arti No one minds at all! Monday sounds an awfully long way off, I hope you make some progress with the Dr before then.

Sokmonsta Am I right in thinking you're paying for a storage unit to store, in part, other people's junk that they don't want cluttering up their own places? It's easy (for them) to say "yes, we'll keep it" if it's not actually in their house, in their way! I'd deposit the barrel back with it's owners, and send the clothes back to the person who lent them to you. Their problem, not yours.

I feel a bit of a fraud sometimes, hanging out on this thread, as the amount of decluttering I do is - ironically - minimal. However, keeping up to date here does keep me motivated, and helps me maintain the mindset of not accumulating more stuff.

Today I hope to take some stuff to the charity shop, it has been boxed up and shoved in the spare room, and I pretty much stalled at that point. Time it left the house, I think.

Oh, possible title for new thread: "Out with the old and in with - nothing! Adventures in minimalism continued." Is that too long? (Or just rubbish?)

I like it! Welcome LLL

Arti fingers crossed for DF, I hope you get through to his Dr.

Ponderosa I feel more positive when I can walk into the lounge/kitchen/bedroom and not need to move things in order to do something. I hadn't realised just how much the clutter was affecting me until I started clearing things out. That positive feeling effects everything from my time keeping to having things ready when I need to leave.

Oh, and two hours drinking tea with DM and DS isn't wasted time, that's quality time. Fact.

Not much more that I can get rid of now, if we do manage to sell OH will still work here so he'll use excess kitchen things, towels, bed linen etc. I am eyeing up the airing cupboard though as it's bulging and last week in a fit of pique I put the towels I'd just washed in the recycling box. I did eventually squeeze them in but it just confirmed to me that we have far too many towels

Was it Sockmonsta with the boxes of baby clothes? Just give them back, they may not have space but neither do you and they said they want them kept. I had a light bulb moment a few years ago, gave an expat friend some magazines I was finished with and when they moved on she gave them back to me. I remember her saying that their home goes into a 20 foot container, and they have no clutter. We are allowed to return things that have been lent to us.

Good thread title MrsP

We're sharing storage unit (business is paying for it as use it to store packaging/tools etc) with our friend. Who is also business partner.

But yes. Essentially we have stuff because he can't be bothered to pick it up himself. He sees himself as a 'free spirit' which is infuriating when you just need him to be sensible once in a blue moon. His argument originally was he was moving house, which was fair enough. But now he's moved and we still have the stuff. My twins are a year old now. I have no need for baby clothes. He is not going to be needing it again and ex wife clearly isn't as bothered at having it back as he implied.

Last year he left fish with us for 'a couple of weeks' it's a whole other thread (literally) but I rehomed them several months later and told him they'd died.

Mrs P - Frauds? You and me both at the moment. But I agree the thread does keep you inspired! I like the idea for the thread title too - will you start it?

I've managed to speak to Dad's consultant and they have reinstated one of his drugs but he wasn't that certain it was making any difference really.

His prognosis isn't brilliant. Dad's lost nearly all his swallow reflexes at the moment. He thinks that "his only hope" (consultant's words) is to get his shunt adjusted and see if that makes any difference. Otherwise we are "just waiting for a fatal pneumonia" and "not sure how much we want to fight for things if his quality of life is so poor". (Actually I'm not sure it is as poor as consultant thinks, however I am certain that Dad is unhappy being in hospital.)

Dad has a shunt to relieve excess fluid on the brain (normal pressure hydrocephalus) and there is a possibility it needs turning up ( his swallowing improved a lot once he had the shunt fitted last year!). Well - you would have thought that in such circumstances it would be easy to get him seen to do this....

But "shunt consultant" is 30 miles away from the hospital Dad is in at present and is on holiday till Monday! his current hospital consultant has spoken to the secretary and left messages. I've spoken to the secretary twice. She is adamant there is no one else she can speak to and it has to wait until shunt consultant is back on Monday. Then she will ask him whether Dad can be seen more quickly (currently has an appointment for 13 May!!) I've tried to explain to her how critical it all is!

On plus side - I've discovered a new charity shop literally 5 minutes walk at the end of my road. It's for brain and spinal injuries support which I'd like to support as it ties in with Dad's difficulties. So - once I get back to decluttering it will be very easy to get rid of stuff there!

Can I join? Just read the whole thread nd started in on the original one too! I am a de-clutterer by nature but married to a hoarder who is the son of two super hoarders (my PILs house gives me panic attacks just thinking about it!)...example - I take very ugly picture which I hate off bathroom wall and put it in charity shop pile. DH removes it and puts it in his office, saying "but x gave us that, I'll keep it if you don't want it". It can be very frustrating to live with someone who literally WON'T let things leave the house without a massive sulk.
We have just had a conversation about the 100s of CDs, computer games etc which never get used but he can't bear to part with, now he is mooching about looking miserable.

You are very welcome Artemis

Sorry about your Dad Arti. Tough times
I'm glad you've got some RL support.

I cleared my desk recently. Today my bank statement arrived and even though it's Friday evening, it was easy to deal with it straight away because it was the only thing out of place on my desk.

Ponderosa, I guess that having less clutter on my desk has made me more organised.

I should probably be going electronic on bank statements but I feel out of control if I don't tick off my transactions. (Another fraud )

New thread here

It's lovely, come and look!

arti sorry things are so bad with your Dad, and nobody minds off topic stuff. I feel like we are a group of friends on here now.

Artemis, your dh sounds a bit like mine.

Although mine is coming round to the idea thst the house will look nicer with less stuff in it. My PILs are also hoarders, although in a very tidy manner.

Oh how exciting to come back after a couple of days and have 2 pages to catch up on !

Arti - So sorry to hear about your Dad - it sounds awful even without all the chasing Drs around.

Welcome to all the newcomers! Ponderosa I think having less clutter definitely helps you to be more organised with your time and your remaining things. I don't think people realise just how much time and effort is required to take care of so many things - moving them around, cleaning, stepping over, etc. When you start clearing all the excess stuff out of your life you do have more time and less stress. Your evenings and weekends become your own as you don't have to spend them taking care of your stuff. Even wiping worktops takes so much less time if you don't have to move piles of art / post / decorative jars. For me, if my house is a cluttered mess so is my head and I forget things and feel anxious.

I've been a decluttering diva the past couple of days. I went through my clothes and managed to fill a large Tesco bag for life of stuff I never wear. I also opened my box of shoes and got rid of half of those. I'm down to 3 fun pairs (one of which should go as I fall over in them. repeatedly. but they are red and I luurve them.) I also kept my hiking boots, running shoes, a pair of flip-flops, a pair of converse and my brown winter boots. That is it for me shoe-wise. I went through DCs wardrobes and donated everything that doesn't fit. The kitchen has been unpacked and organised. Nearly two boxes of kitchen gear gone to charity. DH even got in the spirit and put a few shirts in the charity box. All in six boxes to the charity shop. And two car loads to the tip. I'm moving into minimalism here!

Heavens arti. What on earth would they do if the consultant had only just gone on holiday? I hope your dad is comfortable and that for better or worse you can have him home soon.

Wendy - you've hit the nail on the head exactly how I feel at the moment. The clutter is creeping and my pnd is taking a dive! It's scary how easily the house can reflect how my mind feels. I've got laundry piled up everywhere at the minute as I'm trying to sort out clothes am stuck in a very demotivated rut I took a basket load to mil to iron. But there's still all the Dc's clothes to sort. I end up putting them in piles, get distracted and dh comes home and moves them all out of the way, but back into one bloody pile!

Still. Dc are back to school Tuesday so normal service WILL resume.

Sokmonsta Stop with the piles! Sort clothes at the source - each kids wardrobe / drawers. Take bag, stand in front of clothes and put directly into bag then directly into car for transporting to charity shop or to box labeled with size and directly to loft or wherever you store clothes for growing into. I have a drawer of clothes for DS2 to grow into. My kids aren't very far apart so I only have 1 size to store at a time generally (not the same for you obviously, but you get my point). Only do one at a time though and then enjoy the success. Put the piles back in the wardrobes and start over! It is so not worth stressing over and certainly don't overwhelm yourself. Little and often, little and often.

Hope you feel better.

Thanks Wendy. That's very sensible advice and I will listen! Have a few hours this morning to tackle so bits so fingers crossed it works

Good luck!

I managed to get a couple of bags sorted yesterday. So feeling slightly better. Also piled car up with clutter to go to storage ready for carboot/dts to be old enough for it.

Today's mission is getting to storage unit and emptying car, then tidying lounge/downstairs ready for visitors tonight.

While dh is entertaining I'm planning on doing some decluttering in our room.