Cleaner in Hello.

I’m not one for making new year’s resolutions, as I’m the worst person in the world for sticking to them.
But this year feels different. Losing loads of stuff in the flood felt like a massive catharsis. I’m still thinking of all the lovely things I did lose (leather sofa, box full of Rob’s baby things, photos, tumble drier, record player, drum kit, 90% of all my crafting things, SNES with games, tools, Christmas tree and decorations, amongst a load of other bits and bobs) and it’s just suddenly hit me this week that I’ve been trying to convince myself “it’s just stuff”, but stuff like the photos and Rob’s baby bits can’t be replaced. I have my memories, but it’s not quite the same.
But hey, what you going to do about it? We’re all here, we’re all alive. Dad lost loads of home videos too, stuff from when me and Shellie were kids, when I was pregnant with Rob, him toddling about etc. That makes me sad.
So this has inspired me to do....something. I need to declutter. I need to lose weight. I need to save money. Key word for 2016 is “cleaner”.
I’d like to look into buying a property at some point in the near future. Now that John and I are both earning full time wages and Rob has left home, means we can look at saving some money.
As much as I love this house by the river, I’ve seen what it can do and I’d like to move higher up. Ideally into our own property. I hate moving house! In order to do this, I need to streamline and save some money.
So mantra number one: do I really need this thing? I’m so bad at buying shit, simply because I like the look of it or think I might need it in the future. Now I ask myself “do I need this thing?” I’ve done it several times already since Christmas, picked something up and put it back. It’s not as if I’m frivolous with my money, I’m not into shoes or handbags or designer gear. I have simple tastes, I’m just a terrible hoarder.
I’ve started doing my food shop at 7pm when they reduce prices of fresh stuff and I’m getting one for now, one for the freezer. This way I don’t need to go shopping as often and won’t be tempted to pick up crap as I’m going round the supermarket.
Yesterday I had a massive clear out of clothes. Five bags for the charity shop, two bags for the bin. Problem is, John and I are alike in that sense. “Oh, that’s so pretty, it has a lovely design, let’s keep it, even though it fits no one…maybe Eleanor can use the material to sew…” But yesterday I was ruthless. It’s gone. My room is far from tidy, but it feels a whole lot better now. Even the baby blankets, which we both ummed and aahed about, have gone to charity. No point keeping stuff like that.
Step one towards a cleaner, more sleek house.
My friend Anna is my inspiration. She does massage and alternative therapy from home (no, I’m not about to start putting crystals on my chakras or anything like that rubbish!) but you walk into her house and you’re instantly calm. She has very few nick nacks lying around, just the odd affirmation or sea shell. Her rooms are clean and bathed in low, warm light. There are no artificial smells, no dust gatherers. Every time I go to her house, I can feel myself instantly relax…It’s like being in a nest.
That’s what I’d like my house to be like. It’s hard with kids, like, but I’d like to get close at least.
Also, I’d like to start eating cleaner. This goes alongside saving money too. Convenience foods are expensive. And with my stomach issues (which are still on going.....I must remember to make a follow up appointment with my doctor), I’ve found that eating food with less additives hurts my stomach less. I could really do with starting a food diary to see what causes the pain.
I’ve been reading this food blog and I’ve found it inspiring. One of the main culprits for my stomach pain is red meat. This blog is focused on just eating fruit, veg, herbs and spices. That’s it, very few jars, bottles or packets, no dairy or gluten, just veg and seasoning. I’ve been so uninspired when cooking veg, steamed or in a soup mostly, that reading this and all the exciting things you can actually do with a bag of spinach and a parsnip has made me want to try new things. I did buy myself a little hand held chopper thing so I could chop spices and garlic without making a mess.
Because I need to lose a few pounds too, I’m hoping that by cutting out processed foods and a lot of red meat, I’m going to be successful. I haven’t started with the food kick yet, there are still chocolates and other noms lying around the house. As soon as they’ve gone, I can start in ernest.

Last updated January 04, 2016