Operation: Clear floor

Decluttering, minimalism and money saving

[operationclearfloor]

Small steps

I’m aiming to spend 1 hour a night doing *something* before I have dinner and ease into my usual nighttime routine of doing very little aside from Netflix/Youtube videos.  Last night I...

- pruned the tomato plants we have in our garden that were very overgrown and kept getting battered by the wind

- broke down 3 of the cardboard boxes that I had unpacked over the weekend and stuck them in the recycling (but I’m a bit gutted now as we forgot to put the recycling bin out on Friday so now we have almost 2 weeks until it’s collected again and it’s absolutely HEAVING)

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If I unfollow you because you're on a diet, please don't take it personally. I used to have an eating disorder and find diet culture especially difficult, I need to not read those posts.

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This goes for me too - I am currently having therapy (finally) for my binge eating disorder and as part of that I limit as much as I possible can can kind of diet/food talk where the focus is on calories or changing your body shape. I also avoid before/after pictures because it is (IMO) really unhealthy to see yourself and others as “befores” Plus also, diets are just there to make someone else rich and the actual long term effectiveness of any of them is pretty much 0.

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Back on my bullshit

and by that I mean, hi! I’ve realised that I’ve been letting some stuff slide. That includes spending too much money on stuff that isn’t ultimately useful, letting clutter get on top of me and generally being a bit of a slug when it comes to feeling alive, creative and happy.  So I’m going to start making some more posts here for personal accountability.

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Wednesday slump

I need to make myself some simple goals that I can work on over the next week or so - Write a letter & send package to E - Make this no-knead bread recipe  - Finish the ribbing and cast off the second sock of the socks that I started last autumn (they are based loosely on this pattern) - Get my inner tube changed on my bike (a friend put on my new road tyres at the weekend but they are SO stiff that the inner tube ended up getting punctured in the process) - Do the reading/writing I have about compassionate letter writing for therapy

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February

So far this month I would give myself the following scores;

Work life - 8/10

Home life - 5/10

Fitness/therapy - 8/10

Budgeting/money - 2/10 Maybe my takeaway from this is that there are only so many plates I can keep spinning at once (and maybe that’s ok?)

I’ve been working hard in therapy and I’ve also started a journal again which has really helped to clarify some of my thoughts and where they are coming from.  On Sunday I cycled my first sportive which was 28 miles (and that’s about double length I had cycled in one day previously) I haven’t been going to the gym as much as I hoped but I’m also not going to kick myself too much about that. Budgeting has been a bit all over the shop. Expenses kept popping up that I wasn’t expecting (mainly stuff like extra kit I needed for this bike ride and stuff I had to pay in advance for the ride in the summer)  I haven’t been very good at NSDs either. I haven’t felt very motivated for it when I was also trying to be very “on” at work and make sure I did stuff like make my deadlines, check off all tasks on my must-do lists and study for exams.  Home life has been a 5 just because I have felt a bit stuck a lot of the month and I haven’t really done much with my spare time, just watched a lot of Netflix and played stupid games on my phone.  

The upside to all of this is, the more signs of spring approaching I see, the more my energy levels are picking up.

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Goodbye January!

How did I do with my goals?

-        Have 10 NSDs (No spend days) = TICK! Managed 16 in total

-        Train in the gym twice a week (or less if I do outdoor cycling session) = NOPE – only managed to go 4 times. I was mainly thwarted by a combination of being ill and the weather being SO cold

-        Read 3 books = TICK! I read 7 books in January

-        Do at least 1 new zentangle square = TICK!

-        Finish the socks I started knitting last year = NOPE – but I did make some progress on them

-        At least 1 Duolingo lesson each day = NOPE – I forgot on a couple of days annoyingly.

It was a rougher month than I was hoping for to be honest. I was struck down with a bad cold and that kicked my ass both physically and mentally.  I did manage to get a few things done though including celebrating my 8 year anniversary with my partner, drum lessons, some progress at work, hanging out with pals and trying to be kinder to myself when I can’t be 100% the person I want (yet)

[planningto-flail]

Nice things

Tea made for you just right

Jigsaw puzzles

Hand knitted socks

Lemon balm

Books

Bees in your herb garden

Chickens hopeful for treats following you around

Homemade bread with butter or jam

Someone you love appreciating the gift you made them

The smell of coal smoke from canal boats

Repairing something and being proud of yourself

Starry nights

Making biscuits with your favourite pastry cutter (My favourite is fox shaped)

Cozy blankets

Soft lights

Your favourite mug

Boardgame nights with friends

Birds

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This list is so lovely. I want to make my own - maybe in a paper journal with a nice pen.

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Somewhat obsessed with this song at the moment.  Listening to and reading about Cardiacs while I have been ill has been helping me feel less wrung out.

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Finally got around to uploading my 1secondeveryday video that I made last year

It reminds me how much stuff happened last year 

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Sick day

Been at home in bed for the last day and a half. I’m trying to get better quickly as I am working as a team leader at graduation tomorrow and don’t want to have to pull out.

Being ill means that once again I haven’t made it to the gym more than once this week which is disappointing. I guess the way I should look at it though is that for the last....20 years, I haven’t ever really gone to the gym so compared to that, once a week is still an improvement.

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Struggling

I did my 10th NSD this month today which means I’ve already hit my target but I now plan to keep it up.

This week, it’s mine and my partners 8 year anniversary on Tuesday so we plan to go out for dinner after work and my drum lesson (using a 40% off voucher I have) but otherwise I am going to try and keep to NSDs while at work and at least 1 of my weekend days.

The reason I have said I am struggling is more to do with where my head is at right now. I’m doing ok with money but other stuff is hitting me hard. I have little energy and I’m stuffing to keep pushing myself at the gym (even when I am fully rested beforehand and I have days between sessions) I am also having eczema breakouts on my hands and lower legs and it’s making me feel terrible.

Lastly, I’m seeing loads of people online who are watching Marie Kondo on Netflix and are fired up to declutter. Where as I haven’t even watched the show yet because I know it’s beyond me energywise right now. I guess that is sensible but I still feel like I am failing.

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January - week 2

January is....going so far. I am actually feeling pretty positive about it all but trying not to get too ahead of myself and set myself unrealistic goals. 

I did a tangle last night (above). In the last week I have also finished reading 1 book and finally turned the heel on my sock (the part that required maths and concentration) so now I just have to carry on knitting the leg which is easy going. I only went to the gym once but had a pretty good sessions - did a 10 mile ride on the static bike in just under 40 mins (hilly cycle)

I managed a grand total of 5 NSDs last week which I am thrilled with.  This week I am aiming to add a few more to that tally. 

[operationclearfloor]

Hello January!

After somewhat of a hiatus, I’m back!

2018 was a really good year for me in terms of personal growth and motivation. Hopefully this new year can be more of the same.

One big(ish) thing for this year is that I’ve signed up to do the London to Brighton cycle ride in June. I have a fair bit of training to do to get me to where I want to be. I’ve read accounts of people just rocking up on the day with no training and getting through the ride but I’d really like to enjoy doing it and that means training.

-        Have 10 NSDs (No spend days)

-        Train in the gym twice a week (or less if I do outdoor cycling session)

-        Read 3 books

-        Do at least 1 new zentangle square

-        Finish the socks I started knitting last year

-        At least 1 duolingo lesson each day

I have been spending way too much lately (and it’s just been for the sake of it or boredom spending a lot of the time) so NSDs will help knock that on the head. The gym stuff is pretty self explanatory. I started my training in October but I’ve had a couple of weeks off over Christmas/New Year.

The zentangle is because I started this last year and I really enjoyed using that and also drawing some diary style comics to zone out and relax.  I want to finish up some projects I’ve had on the go so I’m aiming to get my socks finished. I’ve knitted one and I’m about to turn the heel on the second.

Later this year I plan on going back to Japan so I’m started duolingo Japanese study. I’ve been using Wanikani to learn Kanji on and off for about 2 years now but I’m struggling with motivation. Duolingo is a little more basic but I figure it’s better to have something easier and to stick with it rather than just keep stopping and restarting another.

I’ve brought some instant vegan cappuccino powder into work as well as some coffee syrup. I also have some maple and apple drink that I can have. I’m trying to avoid buying coffee at work so these are there as my substitutes.  I do plan on having a coffee with my old line manager when she is back later in the month after being off long term sick but other than that, I am going to try and limit myself to only getting a coffee on payday and not otherwise.

I’m going to post more later about where I am at with my new house and de-cluttering and also about some more general money goals for the year.

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We have a long weekend coming up and I need to spend some time sorting out washing and tidying my study and bedroom. It’s been so easy as I’ve been busy with work to just let some stuff slide at home.  

- Do some wanikani revision (It will soon be autumn and I am much better at focussing on my language learning when its autumn/winter)

- Bake bread and a chocolate torte to take to my friend's BBQ on Sunday

- Write at least one letter (I’m out of my letter writing habit and I miss it but I am feeling a bit overwhelmed about where to begin so I just need to put pen to paper and start)

- Change the bedsheets and put on clean pjs

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Happy birthday to this little tumblr of mine!

This last year has seen a lot of change.  Here’s some of the things I’ve done... - Brought a house -Got rid of over 1000 things! (no comments on how many I have brought in the meantime)  - Claimed back 2 lots of PPI  - Cleared my credit card - and as of last week - got myself a brand new job!

[budgetrealgood-deactivated20210]

“Repeat after me: My current situation is not my final destination.”

— THEVIBRANTMIND (via onlinecounsellingcollege)

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March reflections

Oh dear...I didn’t manage to stick to #minsgame in March but overall I got rid of 434 things.  A lot of it was just clearing out stuff at the old house (which we are now officially DONE with) 

TBH after a month of moving and sorting, I ended up taking March pretty easy. I let a lot of stuff slip, including my shopping (and tracking it) and I ate out way more than I intended. 

I did have a few wins though including getting £55 paid out in survey money for survey I've been gradually completing over the last few months. I also found some vouchers for M&S during the move which I thought had expired but ended up checking in store yesterday and they are still valid and have £25 on them!