The Organiser UK www.theorganizeruk.com: August 2016

22/08/2016

How to find five minutes to recharge ,when you live with pre-schoolers.

Kids come in all shapes and sizes with amazing little personalities . I happen to have been blessed with two very noisy ,very active, funny little kids , with larger than life personalities .Whilst this makes our day crazy, hectic and somewhat frantic , I wouldn't have it any other way , However I often find myself needing time to recharge my batteries over a cup of coffee which hasn't gone cold .

Like most kids mine are constantly demanding food , or stuff , or help with .....(fill in the blank ) , and of course my time and attention . This can result in the simple task of unloading the dishwasher taking a good 45 minutes to complete.

It is also quite clear that spending a full day on a family day out does not satiate my kids longing for my attention when we get home . It's seems the more attention they have the more they need .

So how do we find five minutes in our day to gather our own thoughts and to breathe ?

Well , you could try nipping to the toilet ... Oh wait no, not an option as it is always a family expererience, as soon as you leave the room your little shadows urgently need to go and are so desperate they can't wait until you've finished !

How about having a shower ? Well, with one child on the toilet and one trying to clamber into shower with you, this is not a satisfactory option .

How about when we are cooking the tea , surely we can get some quiet time to think here... Oh wait we have to fight off the six thousand requests for drinks , and the "how long is tea going to be? " on repeat .

So by process of elimination I have come to realise that taking full advantage of the five minutes in your day between when you put the kids to bed , and the first time that they get back up again is the best time to enjoy uninterrupted bliss !

Labels: attention, children, kids, parenting, personalities

21/08/2016

Why you should get rid of the "junk drawer"

We've all probably got one or have had one ... The "junk drawer" aptly named because it's the drawer where you stick all the stuff you can't be bothered to put away . You use the excuse that you need to keep it in this drawer because it's "handy" . Not so handy having to dig through reams of other junk when you need it though.

Let's examine the typical contents of the junk drawer.

Tape measure .. Should be in the toolbox .

Phone chargers .... Should be at the charging station .

Sticky tape ... Should be with the stationary.

Pens ... Should also be with the stationary .

Nail clippers .... Should be with the nail stuff.

Random keys ... Should be on the key hook.

Random cables ... Should be in the cable box .

Hair bobbles . ... Should be in the bedroom

Medicine .... Medicine cabinate

And so forth and so on ....

Everything residing in your junk drawer belongs somewhere else in the home .

Tip it all out and go and put it all away . No more trying to organise the junk drawer, just put it all away.

Now , use the newly empty drawer to get something off your counter tops or surfaces and out of sight.

Labels: click point, clutter free, decluttering, junk drawer, Konmari, living with less, marie kondo, mess, organise, space, stuff, the life- changing magic of tidying up

19/08/2016

The dreaded road trip with the kids .

I've just compleated a two hour road trip with the kids which after numerous stops has in fact taken nearly four hours in total . I suppose we were lucky to actually get out the house after the curious incident of the lost sandals, the refusal to get dressed , a refusal to go for a last minute wee, the refusal to eat breakfast , and the "I'm not coming " incident . However after a two hour delay in getting out the house and a refusal to put the seatbelt on , we eventually get in the car , armed with packed lunch , a kindle , and a drink . How hard could it be to get from A to B ?

Before we get to the end of the cul-de-sac someone has knackered their kindle , the elder child snatches it away to "fix" the problem and proceeds make it worse, waving it in my face to "fix" as I'm on the motorway .

First stop at the services to fix the said kindle .

"Does anyone need a wee while we are here? " I ask, "No" is the surly reply from both my children .

The four little words ever parent dreads on a motorway,

" I need a poo" causes us to stop at the next services, whereupon we all pile out of the car and deal with another refusal to get back in the car and put the seatbelt on .

It is belting down with rain , visibility is hideous, and the traffic is dreadful . The "how long now " question has been asked a zillion times and I'm having to stop myself from telling my four year old that it's his fault we are not there yet . I'm told off for putting the wrong filling in the sandwiches from one child and the other one moans about her juice being too weak . I'm thirsty hungry and my feet have gone numb. One child is too hot , the other child is too cold.

We stop at the next services for another wee.

A drink is spilt on the duvet in the back seat , the child who's duvet is wet starts crying .

We have another zillion questions about how far it is , a complaint that the tunnel is too dark .

We reach our destination , I open the caravan door, I am told off that there is no electricity, and no water , I have yet to step over the threshold .

I have read many many articles with tips on how to make a road trip with kids easier . Apparently if you put little snacks in little containers for them to thread, or give them a pack of eye spy travel bingo cards to look out for it keeps them quiet for the full journey . Not even Mr tumble sitting next to my kids in the backseat would prevent the complete and utter chaos which ensues as soon as we pile in the car , the sun however is now out .

Labels: car, caravan ., kids, kindle, parenting, poo, road trip, school holidays, services, wee

16/08/2016

Picnic time .....quick tips to pack an easy kids' picnic

My kids love a picnic and , as we are out most days during the summer holidays I have invariably got one strapped to my back .

Let's start with the kit ,

Blanket. Can also double as a table cloth . I have one with a handle so the kids can carry it .

Rucksack. I use one of these if I'm not able to go back to the car afterwards so I'm not lugging about the cool bag .

Cool bag . I use this for the beach or for anywhere where I can pop it back into the car .

Icepacks. I have these fabulous ice pack drinking bottles from IKEA which you fill with juice and freeze , they keep you food cool and kids drink as they go along . (Click the link for example)

Facecloth soaked in antiseptic . I find this gets dirty hands cleaner than wipes and smells cleaner too. Also handy for after dinner cleanups or for scraped knees . Keep sealed in a ziplock bag.

Wipes if not using the facecloth .

Ok that's the kit started let's get to the food. .

Give everyone their own bag . Give everyone their own little bag with a wrap or sandwich , packet of crisps and a cereal bar included. My kids love having their own bag and it subdues the initial panic of grabbing at the sharing food .

Food to share. I always include chopped up vegetables , carrots or cucumber with hummus, cherry tomatoes and olives as a bit of a healthy side these usually get wolfed down but I'm not too worried as my kids have lots of fruit and veg at other mealtimes and snacks .

I always have punnets of grapes , strawberries or raspberries , whatever I have in the fridge really .

Other rotated staples are sausage , cold meat , cheese, picnic eggs, quiche and pork pies . I just grab whatever I have in .

Yogurt. I would much rather not take yogurts but if my kids really mither I will pack the yogurts that come in tubes which I've previously frozen so they stay cool.

Tupperware. I only use ziplock bags and punnets which are easily disposed of ,so the rest of the day is not spent lugging empty Tupperware around , my rucksack is then empty for the jumpers , hats and sunglasses that my kids usually throw at me to carry .

There's no secret to a good picnic but if you've got a well stocked fridge and all your other accessories ready at hand you can literally throw everything in a bag in a few minutes and you're good to go .

Labels: children, cool bag, crusty bread, drink, eat, food, fruit, holidays, ikea, kids, living with less, national trust, picnic, school holidays, tupperware

14/08/2016

Four quick strategies to stop kids bickering.

If there is one thing people don't warn you about parenting it is the bickering , fighting and tittle-tattling which starts from the moment they open their eyes until well after lights out .

"He poked me ",

"she looked at me",

"she said I smelt of ponies"

"he said I'm not Batman" ,

"he kicked the cat ",

"no I didn't".

You get the drift , the arguments so ludicrous you can't begin to sort them out, the whinging and whining and overall mithering . So how do we get some sort of truce during these long summer holidays which sees our kids thrown together for hours on end .

Get them out for at least part of the day.

It sounds obvious but get them out of the house if you can , I signed myself up for a National Trust membership which helps get the kids out into the fresh air . Throughout the holidays they have activities for kids in most of their locations , my membership costs me approximately £7 per month and I use it at least once a week , this covers a family of two adults and three children .

If it's raining I usually take them both swimming . The more energy they have burned off the happier they seem to be . I find boredom is a massive factor in the niggling . My kids love a bike ride or a walk , or a paddle in the river with fishing nets .

Let them battle it out themselves.

Ask them to sort it out themselves . I tell mine that if they can't be kind to each other they will both have to go in time out . This tends to stop the tattling in its tracks .

Make them repay the unkindness

When one of mine has been hideous to the other I make them apologise then do something nice for their sibling , such as get them a hot chocolate or breakfast .

Encourage play .

When my kids have less TV and screen time , they naturally radiate to role play which in turn keeps the day peaceful.

And of course a garden full of slides , paddling pools , water hoses , trampolines and bikes helps too.

You might find some of these tips help but more than likely if your house is anything like mine you might get an hour or two of row free time !

Labels: children, holidays, kids, living with less, national trust, paddling, play, simplicity parenting, tattling, time, toys, tv

13/08/2016

How to banish visual clutter.

Every day our brains are trying to process billions of messages , trying to define what is important , what needs action , what to dismiss , what to leave to later.

The television , iPhone and laptop all add to our already overloaded overstimulated brains.

Newspaper headlines, adverts, books , clocks , shop windows, road signs and consumer products all bombarding us with instructions to follow .....or not .

Some of us may have extra visual clutter in our homes having added words such as "bathroom" "love" or "home" to our ornaments .

I wonder how many times a week we unconciously read the label on our shower gel, toothpaste tube, washing up liquid or moisturiser.

Marie Kondo in her book "spark joy" suggests we protect our homes from the visual clutter of the outside world and encourages us to remove labels wherever possible from products we use daily .

As a mother of two young children I figured this would be almost impossible for safety reasons, but off I went to give it a go .

I started with the hand wash as even my four year old knows it's soap . To my surprise it felt better not to have " 3000 mint leaves were loving squeezed into this bottle" screaming at me everytime I walked into the bathroom . The process then became addictive , once I started I couldn't stop .

The other eye opening lesson for me was, when I peeled the label off my expensive moisturiser it looked no different than any other brand and I was annoyed at myself for being drawn into their consumerism and advertising . I immediately began to change the way I shopped for luxury products which were once a weakness of mine , and it felt good.

The upside is that no one has washed their hair with conditioner yet as far as I'm aware but you never know in our house !

Labels: bathroom, click point, clutter free, label, living with less, marie kondo, minimalism, moisturiser, products, space, visual clutter

12/08/2016

Ready , steady , declutter.

Ok today we are going to go big.
Go to the place where you keep your coats .
We all have that coat which we just don't wear, the colour doesn't suit me , it's too dressy , too big , too tight coat , which lurks in our wardrobe making us feel guilty about the money we spent on it . It might even still have the tag dangling ready to haunt you each time you open your closet . Donate it and someone else will love your coat . Take it out of the wardrobe and see how nice the space is where it used to hang . Your other coats and jackets will hang better and be more accessible after this space consuming lurker has gone !

Labels: coats, decluttering, discard, donate, guilt, living with less, marie kondo, minimalism, organise, purchase, stuff, the life- changing magic of tidying up, tidying up, unwanted, wardrobe

11/08/2016

Paperwork.... Let's take it from Mountain to molehill .

I say molehill but I really mean mouse hill. Let's get that paper mountain down to one folder .

Ok panic ! That bloke is coming in five minutes time , you know the one , the one who drops in without any notice to look at every utility bill, reciept, letter, or bank statement you've got neatly filed in chronological order . He visits so often that you have to make sure you keep every little scrap of paper which has ever been popped through your door which has your name on it .

I'm fourty eight years old and he has never ever been in my house to check my stuff and I'm assuming he never will . I've actually only ever needed bank statements backdated by six months for my mortgage and utlility bills backdated for a passport or car purchase all of which can be printed in seconds from your computer. I shredded everything else dating further back than six months except a few essential papers. If you are self employed you may need to work out what you need to keep . Court documents would also be kept. So what did I deem worthy of a place in my file?

Reciepts , I kept only reciepts for purchases such as bikes , watches or anything insured .

Manuals I got rid of everything except stuff like the boiler / heating to pass on to the next owner. I did have a major panic when my newish cooker broke down and I'd tossed the manual but a quick google soon brought up the online version enabling me to fix it within seconds.

What else I do keep ? Birth certificates, passports , medical documents, vets documents, bank books , I.D . Mortgage documents and insurance policies. This is all kept in one folder.

I have another A-Z file which I keep reference material in , ie leaflets for places to visit , business cards , things I may need one day , however this is fairly empty as most of this information is online .

I also have a "tickler" file which I use and check daily for school stuff, party invitations , weddings, bills to pay , birthdays etc , so nothing important is missed.

My filing system is so easy and simplified it allows me to deal with stuff immediately , by either shredding , or filing after opening . (Unless it's the school holidays when you'll find a pile so high you could skydive off it)!

I have a recycling bin in my porch which the junk mail goes straight into rather than it entering the house.

This system works for me , it was difficult letting go of years worth of organised paper hoarding (all of which had moved house with me about ten times) , but after realising I had a cabinate full of paper which was never ever going to be read (unless I died) ,it felt great to shred it all. But it did take me approximately four days to get through it all .

I'm organised now because there is nothing to organise! If you asked me for something, I could find it within seconds . I hope I've not missed anything in this inventory . You will , if you choose to simplify your paperwork, find your own comfort zone regarding what you want to keep or need to keep for the inland revenue, there is no right or wrong with simplifying it's all about finding your click point .

Labels: a-z, bank, decluttering, documents, filing, Konmari, living with less, marie kondo, organise, paper, reciepts, shred, the life- changing magic of tidying up

The art of not bringing any more stuff into your house.

There are generally two ways stuff comes into our houses . It is given to us or we buy it . We are often given stuff we don't need and we often buy stuff we don't need. The Minimalists discuss in their podcasts that approximately 90% of the things we have purchased are unused and discarded after approximately a six month period , this is staggering.

So how can we control this urge to buy more unwanted stuff?

Take a good look at the stuff you throw away.

As you are simplifying, look at each bag of stuff you discard in monetary value, think of how many hours at work you spent to earn the equivalent amount, try not to cry !

Take a look at the size of the stuff you throw away.

Take note of how much space those bin bags of unwanted items take up in your room before you take them out of the house, that space is the equivalent amount of space you've just created.

See your new purchases as future junk.

If you're going in for the kill on an impulse purchase the possibility that it will be donated within 6 months should be enough to stop the impulse and for you to walk away and pause for thought.

Remember it is not a bargain.

It is only a bargain if you were going to buy it before it was reduced. If not it is more than likely another costly mistake .

Think about what makes you happier.

What has more value to you , the item you've been craving , or the money in your pocket and the space in your house ?

Say no to other peoples unwanted junk .

Don't let that unwanted pile of junk over your beautifully Konmaried doorstep !

Labels: discard, junk, living with less, marie kondo, minimalism, minimilists, purchase, space, stuff, the life- changing magic of tidying up, unwanted

10/08/2016

Ready , steady , go !

Let's take a little trip to the kitchen , have a look around , what do you not use , what have you never used ? What did you think would be a fantastic gadget, pan , cup , jug, bowl but you never reach for it when you're cooking or prepping . What's lurking about taking up space , what item do you have to move to get to the stuff you really use . Pick one item big or small cheap or expensive that you don't use that has served it's time and stick it in the donate bag , and enjoy the space .

Labels: click point, clutter free, decluttering, discard, donate, home, house, Konmari, living with less, marie kondo, minimalism, space, stuff, the life- changing magic of tidying up, tidying

09/08/2016

Marie Kondos' life changing magic of tidying up .

We all at sometime wish our homes were just how we want them . For many of us that would include a clutter free space filled with things we love . Wardrobes which hold only clothes which fit , are comfortable , our style and all of which we wear . Bathrooms which feel airy and spacious . Kitchens always immaculately ready to prepare our next meal in . Children's rooms which are tidy and clutter free. Living rooms which feel a spa like tranquility. And finally a serene bedroom ready for a peaceful nights sleep .

It is finally possible to achieve this click point in your home even with a busy family life , and what's more it's possible to maintain this click point for life .

Marie Kondo in her book The life Changing Magic of tidying up takes us through the stages of each category and shows us how to achieve the click point in each area . What makes this book different from any other decluttering book ? Firstly you don't focus on what you want to discard , only on what you want to keep , the benchmark for this is ,it must "spark joy ".

Secondly it will change the way you shop .. Massively. As you work through the catagories the difference in your home is so clear to see, that you never want it to return to how it was , therefore you see each item you are purchasing compleatly differently. For anyone wanting to change their space for the better "The life changing magic of tidying up " is the book for you .

Labels: book, changing magic, click point, clutter free, discard, donate, home, Konmari, life, marie kondo, space, tidying

Ready, steady, go!

Let's play !

Look around the room you're standing in (your home obviously) is there is anything you don't use,

don't like, don't need or don't want ?

Is there anything which just irritates you , for instance the candle you can't bear the smell of, the unwanted gift ?

Donate or discard one item that doesn't float your boat.

Keep the donate box handy for our next ready steady declutter ! Now enjoy the empty space (no matter how small) that your discarded item has created.

Labels: book, clothes, decluttering, discard, donate, house, junk, minimalism, stuff, the life- changing magic of tidying up, tidying, unwanted

08/08/2016

Ten easy steps to declutter the kids' rooms.

Remove all children from the vicinity!!
Having tried all various methods of including my children in the process of decluttering their zillions of possessions, my conclusion is unless you want to have a donate pile the size of a pea , you are better off making the decisions on your own . My kids have never missed anything I've donated . The exception to this rule is clothes , which I've found they generally are pretty accurate and less sentimental towards.

Look upon the task as a gifting day.

If you think of the people in your life who would benefit from all your unused toys , clothes, prams and games it's easier to be more assertive about letting go . If you know it's going to be loved, pass it on !

If it's broken bin it .

This is a no brainer, if it has lost a pair or if it is broken, bin it ... Don't look back !

Remove the sentiment .

You may get teary eyed at a bag of first clothes or a little ride-on car but the memories are in the moment not in the stuff, even if the stuff is no longer there the memories will be .

If it's itchy bin it.

It cost you a fortune , you love it , it's itchy, your child hates it , bin it . ( donate of course !)

If it's never been played with bin it

It cost you a fortune , they begged for weeks for it, they've played with it once , they've owned it for over a year. Donate !

Even if you think they are too young for it , in my experience they never touch it !

Cull the paperwork .

Try to keep a sketch pad for art and a bound book for writing in bedrooms so when it's tidy up time your kids are not shoving handfuls of used loose paper into already overstuffed drawers. Pads are also less overwhelming to tidy up .

Make sure everything has a home.

Rooms are easier to keep tidy if everything has somewhere to live . Kids are keen to put stuff away if it's easy to stash. The less stuff ( clutter) they have the more care they take of their treasured possessions.

Keep floors clear of stuff

With the exception of train or car tracks , keep floors and surfaces free of clutter in kids rooms , this trick encourages them not to just drop stuff on the floor but hang it up instead , without you having to tell them .

Get it all out of the house as soon as possible .

Run, run , run as fast as you can to the charity shop, because if those little fingers see that unworn itchy jumper in the charity bag , your life will be a living hell for the rest of the day !

Labels: children, donate, kids, kim payne, living with less, marie kondo, mess, minimalism, simplicity parenting, stuff, tidying, tidying up, toys, unread books

07/08/2016

The vegetable smuggler (How to sneak those vegetables into your kids day)

For most of us busy parents getting a healthy balance of anything is a struggle but getting fruit and veg into our kids is a particular battle . Here are a few tricks I use to get my kids to eat as much fruit and vegetables as is humanly possible throughout their busy day .

First of all I'd like to begin by saying my kids do actually enjoy fruit and veg but sometimes if we've had a treat filled , hectic, grab a sausage roll type day, I might feel they might need that extra boost .

I do tend to play to my kids personalities , I noticed that whenever there is a shared plate of food out they virtually scrap to get their fair share , now, whilst I'm not condoning bad manners , I will use it to my advantage . So before the main course is served I put a plate of raw vegetables , peppers , carrot , cucumber, tomatoes and olives in the lounge and I walk away . If I mention this plate of vegetables to my lovely children the most definitely will refuse to eat them , so the trick is drop and go . By the time the main course is ready the plate is empty .

I absolutely love my nutribullet in my quest for hidden vegetables. I blend up a mixture of any raw vegetables which are in season with a hand full of spinach put them in a zip lock bag in portion sizes and freeze ready for soups , stews, and pasta or curry sauces . My partner will not eat any vegetables at all , however for the past fifteen years he's been having them at every single meal I've cooked him without knowing it .

These pouches are great for using up veg before it goes to waste and also for the convenience of dropping into the slow cooker . It saves many hours of preparation and chopping too .

Everyone knows the benefits of a fruit smoothie, mine became easier to fit into the day when I discovered you could freeze a packet of fresh spinach ( it ends up like a packet of crisps ) and also bananas (peel and wrap in cling film) making it a doddle to serve one up for the kids at breakfast using frozen berries. I also add a spoonful of super greens (kids blend) for an extra boost and they've not noticed a difference in taste ... yet .

And finaly home made soup with crusty bread is always a hit in our house , I do find that kids enjoy it blended rather than chunky , and my daughter takes a thermos of it to school with some crusty bread in the winter.

I also have as much fruit visible when possible as I've learnt from experience that if my kids can see it then they immediately want it . Individual snack bowls full of fruit and veg and olives also work well through the holidays as the kids are in control of their own snacking , which prevents them from constantly mithering me for food all day long.

If anyone has any tips on how to get my daughter to eat mushrooms or my son to eat lettuce then please let me know ! I'm always looking for extra tips if you'd like to drop me a comment below or follow me on Facebook or Twitter

The Organiser UK

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Labels: crusty bread, drink, eat, extra boost, food, fruit, kids, kids enjoy, minimalism, raw vegetables, school holidays, simplicity parenting, veg

06/08/2016

Why meditate?

They call it "the monkey mind" when our brain just can't stop jumping from one thing to another , thoughts unable to slow down and control themselves . The constant barrage of worry and overthinking continually invading our thoughts and sleep , rendering us unable to focus on what's happening right now .

Meditation or mindfulness allows us to calm the monkey mind . As little as ten minutes a day can help us start to feel less agitated , and generally calmer in our day to day lives and allows us to think more clearly .

When I was younger I used to do a yoga class and although I really enjoyed the yoga I couldn't understand why I got more benefit from the bit at the end where we were guided into a five minute meditation . (I was unaware it was guided meditation at the time ) . Years later I stumbled upon some guided meditations and realised that is what I'd experienced at yoga .

Guided meditation is a great start for beginners, as the narrator guides us through several techniques such as focusing on the breath, body scan , (which is learning to relax every muscle in our body from top to toe) and guiding us through a relaxing scene such as a beach or garden . There are also guided meditations to help us with sleep , anxiety , anger and many more situations . After a while of practising guided meditation you will probably be ready to move on to quiet meditation in which we practice concentrating on the breath and allowing our thoughts to come and go without engaging with them . We can choose to meditate for as long or short a time as our lifestyle dictates, however the more we practice meditation the easier it is to sit for longer periods of time.

The beauty of meditation is , that no matter how busy your life is you can really feel the benefit of even five minutes a day . Even with a stressful job , busy family, it is an do able practice .

There are a few apps I've found helpful when pressed for time , one of which I use regularly is it's a free app which offers a timer and thousands of free guided meditations to get you started. Give it a go ... If I can do it with an 8 year old and 4 year old it can't be too hard . And if meditation sounds like too much trouble just try breathing for five minutes a day because that's pretty much all there is too it !

insight timer meditation app

Feel free to leave a comment for me or ask a question below .

Labels: breathing, guided meditation, living with less, meditation, minimalism, minutes, monkey mind, school holidays, stuff, thoughts, time, yoga

05/08/2016

How to switch off and slow down .

What have you always wanted to do , write a book, take up golf , be a blackbelt in martial arts, run up a mountain , keep in touch with people more, volunteer for a charity? If there's something you've always wanted to do but find you've not got the time to do it , maybe you have .

We have found ourselves sucked into the technology black hole, the age of the selfie generation where people contort their faces into an unrecognisable form to post to other self obsessed selfie takers in a never ending battle of the selfies .

The Facebook , Twitter, snapchat , Instagram generation where we can't even go out for a meal without posting our food , our first drink of the evening. We can't scale a mountaintop without making sure everyone knows we were there.

The gaming generation which sees games so addictive people are unable to tear themselves away long enough to eat with the family.

The era of the television which bombards us with hundreds of thousands of adverts, which we can live pause, rewind , repeat......

It's easy to say switch off, but how and why ?

Be yourself , smile in photos , that duck face pose is going to be excruciatingly embarrassing in ten years time , chill out ,be you .

Eat with the family , enjoy your food and drink uninterrupted by photos , texts, calls. Go where you're going without worrying that everyone knows you're there.

How is another matter altogether . Give up one thing at a time , get rid of the Facebook app or whatever it is you feel you'd like a break from . Put your phone in a drawer and leave it there for a few hours ...untouched.

Watch the programme you want on TV then switch it off. Have a no phone in bed rule and stick to it.

Turn off notifications for everything . Try leaving your phone in the car or at home when you go out . Find some time to switch off.... And enjoy .

Labels: digital detox

04/08/2016

A potty full of rainbows.

There are certain times when life can't prepare you for being a parent ... You know the ones , the first time they smile at you , when they hold your hand ,when they're scared, the first time they make you laugh .

Then there are the times that are so off the scale that you wonder what sort of little person you're living with.

This week my four year old had been pottering about with me downstairs , nothing unusual about that as he is my little shadow and is usually found no more than three foot away from me . I went into the kitchen to empty the dishwasher leaving him playing with his Lego . After a few minutes he went upstairs announcing "I'm going for a poo" . I carried on with the dishes . An unusual period of silence ensued but I thought I'd give him a little space .

After a while I decided to call him from the bottom of the stairs and was hit by a gust of indescribable

stench .

Up the wooden hill I went to find him dripping in an unidentifiable watery substance , upon closer inspection it became apparent it was in fact poo.

Poo he had watered down with a full beaker of water ,(in his potty which he uses at night as he's got a new bunk bed) , stirred it up to make the correct consistency to enable him to dip his Jessie dolls woollen hair in and use it as a paintbrush. He had painted his wooden kitchen inside and out, all the floor and walls and as I walked in he was scooping it out of his potty with his frying pan ,into his tea pot and pouring it into all his little cups . The cat had managed to sleep through the whole sorry affair and thinking back had probably been in the grips of anesthesia. I failed to point out that this incident happened approximately three minutes before we needed to leave to pick up my daughter from school, I did the best I could but most of it had to be left till I returned.

Some would say he was showing his creative side with his potty full of rainbows ... I on the other hand am wondering if I should bring back all the noisy toys .

Labels: decluttering, kim payne, living with less, mess, minimalism, poo, potty, simplicity parenting, wooden

03/08/2016

The book hoarder.

I was a book hoarder. I had books everywhere , stuffed under the bed , shoved in the wardrobe , in the car , anywhere I had space basically . Everytime I passed a bookshop the chances are I'd buy a book.

I would be offended when people advised me to get a kindle, unable to understand why anyone would not prefer the physical version. I was a book snob . I judged people by their bookshelves and assessed their personality by the book they were reading on the train or the beach .

Then along came the kids and my days of curling up for hours with a book came to an abrupt end . I'd just about manage two pages before waking up two hours later to crawl into bed. Unfortunately my book addiction didn't stop with my reading and my collection of unread books continued to grow at an alarming rate.

So unread books were the first to go , I decided that unless I had rushed home and read a book straight away it's unlikely I'm going to read it at all unless it's a reference book .

Cookbooks were next, they all were donated ... Everything is available on the internet so that was an easy decision for me .

Next was the books I'd read , this was not so easy , out of the hundreds of books I had , I'd only re -read a handful of them , those were the only ones I kept , the remainder I donated .

Reference books .. I kept the ones we used ,nothing else , this too was relatively easy.

Now I have a collection of Dickens hardbacks, a handful of reference books , the few books I've re-read

And a couple of childhood books . However my hoarding days are not over , I now have hundreds unread books on my kindle (which I eventually decided to try .) I do prefer a physical book after a visit to the bookshop but do like being able to read in the dark, and of course to have an invisible library stuffed to the rafters .

Labels: book, collection, decluttering, kindle, living with less, marie kondo, minimalism, reading, reference books, unread books

01/08/2016

How to simplify with a partner who isn't on board .

I've been asked this question many times. How do I get my partner aboard the decluttering train ?

Well there's a simple answer ... You don't .

Unless you want the wrath of the hoarder who's precious six year old ticket stub you threw away to be permanently etched onto your eyeballs , then I suggest you keep your sticky little fingers off their stuff!

I truly believed that my other half was to blame for the clutter in our house . I was miffed at all his stuff which was keeping me from living a streamlined life .

After decluttering using the

Konmari method it became apparent that his stuff was a tiny proportion of the stuff we had .

This method sees you work through every single possesion you own in a particular order (starting with clothes) . You pile everything on the bed and hold each item , if it brings you joy you keep it , if it doesn't you don't it's as simple as that . I only kept approximately thirty percent of my possessions , everything I owned I loved and it made me happy . With that came space and clarity, Serenity and tidiness . Then as the house was always tidy people naturally kept it that way , putting away their own possesions instead of dumping them on the empty surfaces. Anything that was left lying about only took seconds to tidy up .

I learnt that if I keep my stuff in order everyone else does too .

Please feel free to comment below .

Labels: decluttering, house, living with less, marie kondo, minimalism, stuff, the life- changing magic of tidying up

How to cull your wardrobe without the guilt!

I'd like to address all the clothes we have never worn .You know the ones ... The "when I'm thinner " , the couldn't resist bargain , the stuff people have given us , the brightly coloured fun item , the fur item , the too short skirt , the too long jeans , the itchy jumper and so forth and so on . Look at the list ... How many are hanging in your wardrobe as we speak ?

Why are they there ? Guilt ... Big fat stinking guilt .

"But it cost me a fortune " I hear you cry . Yes it did.

"But I'm going to diet " really ? Well, if you do you'll most probably want treat yourself to something new .

"It was my sisters" yes and she didn't like it enough to wear it either.

Everytime we open the wardrobe doors these items are silently making us feel guilty.

So , we made a mistake , we bought an ichy jumper, long trousers , hideous floral dress, brown woolly tights. So ,we put on weight .. Who hasn't ?

It's no big deal !

I'm not saying we should get rid of stuff we love , but just the stuff that makes us feel bad .

The organising guru Marie Kondo tells us that the thrill of purchasing the item at the till means that the item has done its job , it made you feel good at the time, therefore it has served it purpose and it's time to let it go. I found this advice invaluable in giving myself permission to get those items out of my house without feeling guilty especially the designer items with the price tag still attached .

It's amazing how differently I shop now too.

Let me know how you get on in the comments below .

Labels: clothes, decluttering, guilt, guilty, jumper, living with less, marie kondo, minimalism, minimilists, stuff, the life- changing magic of tidying up, tidying, wardrobe

The Organiser UK www.theorganizeruk.com