Things that don't go in my bullet journal

Recently I wrote about how I've been trying out the bullet journal organisation system. I've been using my bullet journal for about two months now and I'm loving how well it's working! The system makes a lot of sense to me when it comes to planning both in the short term and long term, and it's helping me to keep up with both my daily tasks and my long term goals.

I appreciate how customisable the bullet journal system is, and I really enjoy both reading about and taking inspiration from ways in which other people use their bullet journals. But as much as I'm enjoying using this analogue system, there are some things that just don't work for me in the bullet journal format. 

Photo credit Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash

Long term calendar or Future Log

For years we've been using an Outlook calendar, because that's what we use for our personal e-mail. It works very well because I can sync with my husband's calendar and we will probably also add the children as they get older and more responsible for their own diaries. In my bullet journal I only work a week or two ahead, and because we have so many things in the calendar I would soon fill up a Future Log type page. So at the weekend I will go through our shared calendar and make sure that any appointments for the next week are added into my weekly pages, as well as adding them in as the week progresses.

Weekly shopping list

We use an app called Our Groceries which is brilliant for organising our weekly shopping list. Again it can be synced so that both me and my husband can use it, and it's sorted by category to make it easy to add to the online shop. If the list was in my bullet journal only I would see it, and it would be repetitive having to write out the same things each week. It also means I always have the list with me on my phone, as I don't usually take my bullet journal out with me.

Meal planner

I use the Notes app on my phone to keep a list of the meals that I want to make for the next few days, and I don't tend to allocate each meal to a day as I like to keep it flexible. I'm also using my phone to add things to the Our Groceries app and also to do the online shop. I do however have a long list of meals to choose from which is currently stored in Trello, but I may move that over to the bullet journal at some point.

Holiday packing list

I have a very comprehensive holiday packing list which is stored as a Word document on the PC. It covers all sorts of different holidays - self-catering, cruises, camping and so on - and when we are going away I print it out and cross through all the things that aren't needed on that occasion. I definitely wouldn't want to be writing everything that we need out on a separate page each time we go away!

Reading log

I do use my bullet journal to keep track of the books in my to be read pile. I find it very useful, and I enjoy highlighting through books as I read them and adding new ones to the bottom. But I don't use it to record my thoughts, star ratings or anything like that. Instead I use my Goodreads account to keep track of everything that I've read. This is mainly because I know that my bullet journal won't be around forever and I'll probably recycle it when it's full, so the Goodreads account lets me store that information for longer. 

Brainstorming

I have a rough notebook that I use for brainstorming - writing down ideas for craft projects and blog posts, general to do lists and so on. I'm finding that my bullet journal is filling up quickly enough just with weekly and monthly pages and so I don't want to waste all the pages with rough notes that are just going to be scribbled out! I might take out the best ideas and add them to my bullet journal if I think that I'll be referring back to them, for example a particular list of things that I want to work through.

What things do you find don't work for you in the bullet journal system?

Ways that I keep Christmas simple

Christmas can be a really stressful time of year, but I try to make things as easy for myself as I can, and over the years I've found a few strategies and routines that work well for me when it comes to keeping Christmas simple. 

I do enjoy decorating the house for Christmas, but I don't go overboard. We only have decorations in the living room and hallway, and after Christmas I pack away most of the odd bits and pieces. A few days later I take down my two garlands and then the tree comes down a few days after that. Spreading it all out helps to makes the packing away feel less of a mission.

We have a lovely artificial tree that I received to review a few years ago. It's a few years old now but still looks great. We are often away around Christmas so I don't like to have a real tree, and also I'm not sure that I could cope with the needles everywhere. Last year I watched a video of one of my favourite YouTubers taking down her real tree, and it made such a mess!

Photo credit Tj Holowaychuk via Unsplash

When it comes to buying presents, I try hard not get carried away with presents for the children. They usually get one large present from us, then a main present from Father Christmas alongside a few smaller gifts. These are things like books and toys as well as practical things like socks, hairclips or stationery along with some chocolate. I don't worry too much about spending exactly the same amount on each child at the moment, but that might change if they get older and develop more expensive tastes!

Luckily my wider family is very easy to buy for. We all have Amazon wish lists, and if we may not have chance to meet before Christmas we have them delivered straight to the recipient for wrapping. We all keep to a similar budget with just one or two gifts per person. 

Normally most of our shopping is done on Black Friday, just in case anything pops up on offer. It seems early, but the rest of my family are usually ahead of me! I try to buy as much as I can online, although there are always a few click and collect things that need to be picked up. 

Photo credit freestocks via Unsplash

Christmas is a time of year when it feels necessary to be very sociable. But we don't stress about seeing lots of family members on Christmas day itself, and we usually spend it just the four of us. Instead we spread out our family visits out over the weeks before and after. 

This means that I don't have to prepare a huge Christmas dinner, which I'm very grateful for! We keep things very simple with the food too. I buy everything prepared - last year we bought a huge box of veggies from Tesco which was brilliant. As well as being ready to cook they had different seasonings, like honey roasted parsnips, and they were very easy to cook as well as keeping us fed for three meals. It helps that we are vegetarian so I don't need to worry about the meat side of things. 

For the rest of the Christmas period I take some time off from the kitchen and we eat party food - cheese and biscuits, veggie sticks, fruit and chocolate alongside food that is easy to pop in the oven like garlic bread, home cook rolls, pizza and nachos. 

Photo credit Elena Mozhvilo via Unsplash

One thing that is difficult to simplify is all the school activities and things that need to be remembered, like donations for the school fair. I remember a terrible week pre-Covid where we had several things on each day and evening and it was far too stressful for all of us. Since then I've tried to cut back and only do the necessary activities like school concerts. Extra things like playdates and haircuts can be arranged for a different time.

I go through the letters from the school as soon as they arrive and sort out everything that is needed well in advance, like bottles for the bottle tombola, secret Santa gifts, food bank donations and so on. Then if I can I try to send it in early with the children so that I don't need to worry about forgetting on the day that it's due. 

On the big day itself we open presents with a bin bag handy for the rubbish (which I hold on to for a couple of days just in case anything ended up in there by accident!) I also like to get the presents either in use or stored as soon as possible - clothes in the wardrobe, books on the to be read pile, electronic devices set up and extra packaging put away. 

I also make a plan for the Christmas food to make sure that it is all eaten before it goes out of date. We eat the leftover party food for several days after Christmas, so I make sure that we work through everything before the healthy eating begins in the New Year!

Finally I'm trying to be more relaxed about not having to do everything, every year. For example, for the last few years we had made a gingerbread house each year. Last year we were away for a bit around Christmas and I just couldn't face it - I make the gingerbread pieces from scratch so it takes several days to make and decorate the house as well as giving me a huge shopping list of ingredients. I'm hoping to make some this year as we have a little more time, but if we don't manage it we don't manage it!

What tricks do you have for keeping your Christmas simple?

Different types of decluttering challenges

I always find myself in September with a longing to sort out the house once the children are back at school. I find that a good decluttering challenge helps me to stay motivated and can make a big difference to the tidiness of my home, so I thought I'd share some of my favourite challenges below. Some of them I have tried in the past with great success, and others are ones that I definitely want to attempt in the future!

The Minimalism Game

I love playing the Minimalism Game, and I've done it several times over the years. It's very simple, you just discard the same number of items as the number of the day in the month. So Day 1 is one item, Day 2 is two and so on. It's very easy to start with, but it's pretty tough by the end! It also requires a certain amount of self-policing - for example do you count smaller items in a container as a group, or as individual items? A twist on the game is to play it in reverse, so that you get the most difficult part out of the way first thing. 

A certain number of items each day

This is the challenge that I'm working on this September. It's a variation on the Minimalism Game, but you remove the same number of things each day. For me, ten items per day is a manageable amount.

A particular amount of time each day

Set a timer, for example fifteen minutes or half an hour, and declutter as much as you can during this time. This challenge doesn't work so well for me because I get easily distracted and then panic that I'm not working efficiently, but I can see this being effective if you have a very cluttered house or lots of rubbish lying around.

A different area each day

Plan for this by making a list of all the areas in your house that need decluttering but try to keep it manageable, for example a cupboard or drawer at a time. Then work on one area each day. It's best not to be too rigid about it, and to keep the larger or more difficult spaces for days when you have more time.

Photo credit Elena Mozhvilo via Unsplash

A different category each day

This is the core of the Marie Kondo method and I find it works really well for me when I need to have a big clear out. Sorting by category means that it's easy to get rid of duplicates which might be missed if you are working on different areas at a time. It can be quite overwhelming and messy at times though, and you need to have the space to set aside an area for sorting.

Declutter the things that you don't use

This challenge works really well for clothing but can also be used for other items. Take out all your clothes, and only return them to the wardrobe or drawers once you have worn them. After a certain amount of time you will easily be able to see the clothes that you don't wear regularly and pass them on. Of course there are exceptions for seasonal items and special occasions, but it's a good way to remind yourself just how much you own.

Photo credit Sarah Brown via Unsplash

One item in, one item out

Every time something new enters your home, something else must leave. Ideally this would be something from the same category, for example a new pair of shoes or a book.

Join in with an online guided challenge

There are plenty of online challenges that you can take part in which can be very motivating and inspiring if you want to share your progress with others. Often there is an attractive printable calendar available for download.

My favourite challenges are run by Apartment Therapy, and they host regular free decluttering challenges using a daily e-mail to keep you on track. The next one starts on the 19th September 2022 and you can sign up here - Decluttering Cure 2022. You can also find the older completed challenges with links to the daily tasks, for example the January Cure which I did this year, or a previous two week Decluttering Cure challenge.

I hope that I've given you some inspiration for a September declutter!

Using the Marie Kondo method to declutter an older child or teenager's room

For a little while my teenage son's bedroom had been descending into chaos, so I decided that we would tackle it together at the beginning of the summer holidays and have a really good clear out and clean. I'm a big fan of the Marie Kondo method for decluttering and organising, and so I decided that we would use this method in his bedroom. It was really successful and his room looks so much better now,  so I thought I'd share how we used the method on his room.

The Marie Kondo method involves sorting possessions by category. You start with categories of items that have little sentimental attachment and can obviously be removed. The main categories are clothes, books and paperwork, and then you move onto the smaller categories which can be customised based on the sorts of things that you own. 

I came up with a category list before we started, and I also added things as we went along. I've shared our category list below, and I'll go into detail about each one.

Downloadable a printable version of the checklist

Before you start, if possible clear a sorting area and gather together large boxes, bin bags, and bags for charity donations. As you sort you will find things that belong to later categories or to a new category so it's a good idea to have somewhere to keep them. Prepare for a few days of mess!

We did the declutter slowly and worked on a category or two every day. I planned the next day's category in advance and where possible gathered the items together in my sorting area. That way we both knew what was coming up. If we had a busy day then I planned a smaller and easier category to work on. 

I also cleaned as we went along, for example pulling out the bed to hoover underneath and giving the window a good clean. As the room begins to empty it's a good opportunity to think about whether your existing storage systems are working, and whether you need to look at repurposing or purchasing new storage.

Clothes - For me this is the easiest category for children as it's really obvious which things have been grown out of and can be passed on. I also keep on top of it anyway - every time we pack for a holiday I take out the things that no longer fit! I take clothes that are still in really good condition to the charity shop, and those which are a little more worn to the supermarket recycling bins.

Books - Again I find this quite an easy category as children's interests change so quickly and they grow out of books. But I am also quite careful here as I've recently found myself re-purchasing some of my old childhood favourites! So I found Harry a large box for carefully chosen 'sentimental' books which he can keep in his wardrobe.

Paperwork - I tried to start with the least sentimental items of paperwork, so for a child this includes instruction leaflets for toys, schoolwork, old notebooks, certificates and all the random pieces of paper that end up lying around. Some of the paperwork can be dealt with in the sentimental category, for example photos, letters and postcards, diaries and journals. 

Bags and accessories - Hats and caps, jewellery, belts, ties and so on.

Stationery - I like to sort this into 'current' stationery, including school pencil cases and desk stationery, and 'spare' stationery for when this runs out. Make sure that the pens all work, pencils are sharpened etc. and there isn't too much excess in the spare category. 

Decorative items - Pictures on the walls, cushions, blankets, fairy lights, ornaments and trinkets.

Jigsaws and games - Always a satisfying declutter as the boxes take up lots of room! I included card games, board games and puzzle games in this category.

Large toys - Playmobil sets, dolls houses, marble runs and so on.

Construction sets - For my son the majority of this category was Lego, also KNEX, Meccano, and magnet activity sets. 

Action figures and dolls - Also the accessories that go along with them like bottles and clothes.

Small toys and collectibles - Figurines like Pokemon toys, Shopkins, LOL Dolls and I also included trading cards. If you are getting rid of these then it might be worth looking at whether it's worth selling as they may have some value.

Completed craft projects - This was a surprisingly large category. Pottery painting efforts, sculptures from school and various other creations. Luckily much of it was no longer wanted!

Soft toys - Possibly the toughest category! But I found that putting stuffed animals together in one place really helped to see just how many there were. Our school loves to take these as donations for the soft toy raffle at the summer fair.

Sentimental - All those precious things that are much harder to part with, although my son was much more ruthless than I expected. I found that we had different ideas about the things that would be sentimental to him, so I had to let him take the lead! It could be photographs, ticket stubs, holiday souvenirs, postcards, gifts from friends or relatives, journals and so on. 

Extra categories - All children are different and you are bound to come up with extra categories as you go along. For example - toiletries and makeup, computer games and gaming accessories, DVDs, sporting equipment, badges, craft supplies.

Photo credit Kenny Eliason via Unsplash

For me the most difficult part of the tidy is getting rid of the excess items. There are lots of options - passing things to a younger relative or friend, selling, donating to a charity shop or recycling for example, and ideally it should be done as soon as possible. I like to at least get things neatly packed up so that I can grab a bag or two to take to the charity shop or deliver to a friend when I get the chance.

Just one last thought - when it comes to decluttering with children I think that the age of the child makes a huge difference. With very young children I think it's best not to really involve them, and instead I would just do the decluttering myself. Many of their possessions are ones that they've been given and they outgrow things so quickly. 

But older children have many more things which are sentimental to them, and things that they've specifically requested as gifts or chosen and purchased with their own money. So I think that using the Marie Kondo method works really well with older children and teenagers. I also think that regular decluttering is a really good habit to work on while they are younger so that they learn to keep on top of things, and hopefully they will remember this method so that they can use it in the future.

Category list background credit - Alessio Soggetti via Unsplash

How I got on with the Minimalism Game in February

One of my Ten Things to do in 2020 was to play the minimalism game at some point. I've completed this month long decluttering challenge several times over the past few years and I always find that February is a good month for it. Not only does it give you a start on the spring cleaning, February is also a shorter month so you don't need to find quite as many items to declutter!

To take the challenge, you need to remove the same number of items from your home as the number of that day in the month, one item on the first, two on the second and so on. You need to make a few decisions - will you count shared items towards the total? Does a bag of smaller items count as one item or many? Do you count accessories that go with an item separately?

I'm a very list oriented person, so I kept track of my progress using a card within my personal Trello organisation system, making a note each day of what I'd decluttered. Yes, I'll admit that sometimes I got a day or two ahead of myself, and it took me a couple of days into March until I had found my final items, but I'm still going to count my #minsgame as a success!

Because I'm fairly decluttered already, this challenge is always an opportunity for me to hunt about in the backs of drawers and cupboards. Needing to get to my total also gives me the extra bit of motivation to pass on something that I've been umming and ahhing about.

Mostly things went into charity bags (I filled two big bags), into a pile for a garage sale that we'll hopefully be taking part in this summer (if not they'll be moved on at a later date!), into the recycling or into the bin.

There were some things that were easy for me to get rid of and some which I struggled with at the time, but now that they are gone I know that I made the right decision.

I've definitely noticed a difference in my surroundings, my bookshelves are tidier, my surfaces are clearer, and I've freed up lots of space in cupboards and drawers. The minimalism game isn't something that I can play that often, but I'm definitely going to attempt to give it a go once a year or so!

Photo credit Samantha Gades via Unsplash

How to Break up with your Mobile Phone by Catherine Price - book review

Recently I've been reading How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life by Catherine Price (affiliate link), and it struck such a chord with me that I thought I'd share my thoughts about the book here.

I've written many times about my relationship with my phone, taking part in Scroll Free September and so on, but it was reading this book that really made me understand how addictive smartphones can be, how they are designed to keep you scrolling, and the impact that this has on your life and your relationships with those around you.

The slim book is divided into two halves - The Wake Up and The Break Up. The first half of the book is fully designed to shock and scare you. Very early on you are encouraged to take the Smartphone Compulsion Test, 15 questions about your smartphone usage. You can take the test for yourself here - Smartphone Compulsion Test. As the author agrees, it's a dramatic test, and the vast majority of people will answer more than 8 questions with a 'Yes' and discover that they qualify for psychiatric evaluation. But it doesn't mean that it's not useful in making you think about how you use your phone.

The Wake Up section continues by discussing topics such as how phones are designed to addict us and the tricks that are used by app developers to do so, how your phone affects your attention span, messes with your memory, causes stress and anxiety. It's a frightening read, as it's designed to be, and it definitely gave me plenty to think about. My children are getting to the age when they will be getting phones soon, and I'm going to make them read this section before they get one!

The second half of the book - The Break Up - is a 30 day guided plan to create a new relationship with your phone, and I followed it pretty closely all the way through. It's a simple plan to follow, and it doesn't require much of a time investment each day. In fact I had already taken some of the actions required, like turning off notifications and using a tracking app.

The plan eases you in very gently, and it really encourages you to think about your relationship with your phone. For example, what you love about your phone and what you don't love, what changes do you notice in yourself when you spend a lot of time on your phone, and thinking about why you are reaching for your phone at certain points during the day or when you are experiencing various emotions.

One of the key parts of the plan is to have a Trial Separation, a full 24 hours away from your phone. I must admit that this is something that I didn't do. It fell over a weekend when we were very busy with my son's birthday treat out, and it wasn't possible for me to turn my phone off completely. I would feel very anxious without access to my phone at any time in case of a family emergency. But I made sure to only use the phone for calls and messages.

I found the plan a lot easier to follow than I thought that I would. I do use my phone for many useful things throughout the day - my shopping list, camera, the FitBit app and so on - but I was astonished to find how much I noticed the time that I wasn't spending on my phone.

The biggest single thing that worked for me - and for many others according to the case studies in the book - was deleting the social media and news apps from my phone. When I knew that there was nothing on the phone that I could scroll through mindlessly, the urge to check it faded completely.

To my surprise, the days suddenly began to feel so much longer. I had plenty of time to carry out my daily tasks, and one thing that really picked up was my reading. I've read an astonishing number of books so far this year! And I've been able to concentrate on them fully, no reading a few pages and then picking up my phone to see what's new. I've also been working on my craft projects, and spending more time one on one with the children, particularly at bedtime.

In addition, I discovered that although I spend a fair bit of time at my computer as part of my work, the urge to check Facebook had faded even though I had put no restrictions on my use of social media from the PC. I had got into the habit of opening up another window to check social media when I got bored with what I was doing, but I found that I no longer needed to or wanted to.

Having completed the 30 day programme I really do feel that my relationship with my phone has changed incredibly. It's not that I'm having to concentrate on not using my phone, I just don't feel the urge to pick it up as much as I used to and I'm perfectly content to leave it in another room where I can't see it. I'm really hoping that I can keep it up, because I think that it would be very easy to slip back into old habits. So I'm recommending this book to everyone, and I'm keeping it handy by my desk to act as a reminder to continue being aware of my phone usage!

If you are concerned that you may be spending too much time on your phone and are missing out on the real world, or you are concerned for someone else in your life, I would absolutely recommend giving this book a read. 

What minimalism means to me

Keeping on top of decluttering

I declutter clothes every time that I'm packing for a holiday, everything else several times a year. Both mine and those belonging to other people. I always have a charity bag on the go which I can drop off easily at the gym collection point when it's full. I try not to keep the things that have outlived their purpose or that don't make me happy.

Giving everything in the house a home

And returning it to that home when it's finished with.

Keeping the loft empty

All that we have up there is the Christmas decorations and a very few empty boxes for things that we might want to sell in the future.

Being surrounded by the things that I love

All these things combined mean that as far as possible the things that do surround me are the things that I want there - books that I love and will re-read, decorative items that make me smile and have a personal meaning, appliances that I use regularly. Nothing important to me is hidden away where I can't get to it.

A simple system for housework

I recently reviewed The Organised Mum book and it's been a game changer for me when it comes to keeping the house in order. Little and often is definitely the way to go, and by making the effort to do that little bit every day, over time I like to think that my house stays fairly tidy and clean.

Not being too fussy about the washing

We don't have many clothes, but I still seem to do plenty of washing! But I always put it away as soon as it's dry, and because our wardrobes and drawers are in pretty good order (apart from my husband's, but that's his business!) it's a lot easier to put things back where they belong. I only separate the white school shirts, with separate loads for bedding and towels just because they fill the machine. I don't bother with extra products like fabric softener or stain removers (unless it's really needed), and only a few shirts get ironed.

Not having many clothes to choose from

I tend to wear the same sort of thing most days - jeans and a t-shirt or jumper depending on the weather - with dressier clothes for special occasions. Because I declutter my clothes regularly, all the clothes in my wardrobe are ones that I am happy to wear. So I don't spend ages deciding what to put on each morning.

Keeping a clear schedule

Both for myself and for the family as a whole. We don't do too many clubs or after school activities (which suits the children very much too) and I don't have many regular commitments. I like to be flexible and make last minute plans, and I also like having the day stretching out before me to fill as I wish.

Photo credit Eric Rothermel via Unsplash

Having a simple make up routine

Which basically means rarely wearing it, and not on a day to day basis. As I get older and more haggard perhaps I should up my game in this department a bit, but apart from attempting to hide the dark circles under my eyes I don't do a lot more.

Keeping to a meal plan

I don't mind cooking, but I don't like having to decide what to cook, and I worry about having everything that I need on hand. So I stick to a simple repertoire of meals that I can cook easily without too much fuss, while also attending to homework and general child care duties. Luckily the rest of the family are also happy to eat the same favourites over again.

Not having reminders around me of things that need to be done

Like piles of washing that need to be put away, letters that need to be actioned, or dirty plates that need to be washed.

Not forgetting about my digital life

This is just as important I think! I sort through e-mail regularly and use a filing system to keep only a few in my inbox at a time. I have unsubscribed from most mailing lists. I have notifications turned off on my phone, apart from calls and texts, and I keep my apps to a minimum. The photos from my phone are backed up regularly, and digital photos are stored by year, subdivided into holidays, and backed up to the cloud. I probably could do more when it comes to cutting down screen time, although Scroll Free September has been a good start!

You can see more of my thoughts on minimalism here - Minimalism

Marie Kondo doesn't want you to get rid of all your books

I've written before about Marie Kondo and how much I enjoy her books. Although I've never felt cluttered enough to complete an entire Marie Kondo festival, I definitely use her techniques when it comes to arranging my home. In particular I follow the essence of her method, which is gathering and decluttering items by category rather than by room or storage area.

Related post - Working out my own interpretation of Marie Kondo's method

I've always loved reading, and I've always loved buying, collecting and displaying books. Fortunately I've always also been good about passing on books once I've finished with them. Even books that I've bought new, if when I've finished them I don't feel that I'll want to read them again I'll pass them on to either friends or family, or to the charity shop.

Earlier this year, after the Marie Kondo documentary was broadcast on Netflix, people got very cross at the suggestion that Marie Kondo advises that one should keep fewer than 30 books. I don't remember this quote featuring in the series (although I'm happy to be corrected if it was!) and I didn't remember it from the books either. All I remembered was her opinions about which books to keep, and how important it was to really think about the books that truly deserve a place in your life.

I had a look through Kondo's first book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying, and found the section that this 'quote' comes from. Under the sub-heading 'Books to keep - Those that belong in the hall of fame' where Marie Kondo discusses books, she says "I now keep my collection to about 30 volumes at any one time, but in the past I found it very hard to discard books because I love them."

So she is most definitely talking only about herself, and saying is that 30 books is the right number for her, and she emphasises everyone is different when it comes to how many books you want to keep around the place. I definitely have more than 30 books, but every book there is one that really does spark joy to me, and when I look at my bookshelf it makes me feel happy, not overwhelmed by a mass of books that make me feel guilty because I've not read them.

Related post - My Marie Kondo approach and Sparking Joy

I also found another quote in that section which I really loved - "The moment you first encounter a particular book is the right time to read it. To avoid missing that moment, I recommend that you keep your collection small." It's so true - when I spot a book that I want to read I want to read it immediately, not put it at the bottom of a to be read pile and lose that enthusiasm.

So which books belong in my Hall of Fame? I actually shared a blog post about my fiction bookshelf a few years ago, and more recently I shared a list of the books that I can read over and over again. Some of them are rather battered and scruffy copies, but they have definitely earned a place on my bookshelf.

Photo credit Nick Fewings via Unsplash

So don't be put off the Marie Kondo method if you think that she wants you to get rid of all your books, her advice really is excellent and will help you to think carefully about the books that you do want to keep, however many that is, and your reasons for doing so!

Related post - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo

Marie Kondo, and managing without things that you've decluttered

I'm constantly organising and decluttering my home. Even though I like to think that I'm fairly minimalist, I'm always on the hunt for things that are unnecessarily taking up space and can be moved on. I can honestly say that there are very few things that I regret getting rid of, but that doesn't mean that there aren't a few annoyances.

Related post - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo

For example, in my recent blog post Decluttering 100 things in a week I listed all the things that I'd removed from my home, including some plastic food trays with separate compartments which went in the recycling. Then a couple of days later we were given a huge Lego set with many, many pieces which needed to be sorted. The plastic trays would have been perfect for organising some of the pieces, and I was so cross that I'd thrown them away!

But then I remembered a passage that spoke to me from Marie Kondo's book Spark Joy:

"I have bid farewell, at least temporarily, to countless things that didn't bring me joy and, to be frank, the absence of a discarded item never caused a catastrophe. There was always something in the house that would serve as a substitute." - Marie Kondo - Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying.

She describes how she discarded a chipped vase, only to need it the very next day. Instead of going out and buying a new vase she covered a plastic bottle with cloth to use instead, with the bonus that it could be recycled and removed from her home once finished with.

Photo credit - NorWood Themes via Unsplash

It's so true, whenever I've found myself missing something that I've decluttered, I've always been able to find an alternative. And when I'm debating over whether an item deserves it's place in my home, I find it easier to let go of it if I imagine what I would do if I didn't have that item. There are very few things that you can't find a substitute for, and they are definitely the things that spark joy.

In the case of the Lego sorting trays, I remembered a stack of plastic cups that I bought for parties years ago, and I started putting aside plastic food containers and the punnets from our fruit and veg, all of which can be reused or recycled once finished with.

Related post - My Marie Kondo approach and Sparking Joy

Now I just need to get the children to build that Lego set so that I can have my dining table back!

Attempting a more minimalistic approach to blogging

I write quite a lot about my minimalist aspirations on this blog, and so I thought I'd share how I attempt to carry that over into my blogging - both my blogging process and the way that I approach what I publish on my blog and social media.

Not many gadgets

I don't own much blogging equipment. I have an iPhone which I use for both photos and videos. I take photos outdoors or using my homemade light box, which is a large cardboard box painted white with tissue paper sides and top - I don't own any special lighting or backdrops. Most of my work is done at my desk using a desktop PC. The only blogging thing that I pay for is Tailwind, alongside my domain name. I don't buy props for my photos or special outfits for the children, and I don't pay for a theme or any special apps.

Turning down review products

I don't do nearly as many reviews on my blog as I used to. Not only did I start to value my blog and my time more, I also became uncomfortable about promoting products that I wouldn't buy just to put a smile on child's face for a few minutes.

I'm offered a lot of toys, plastic collectables and so on. While I know that the children would love them, I also know from experience that they would become clutter very quickly and it feels like such a waste of resources. I try to avoid buying these types of toys myself, and it feels wrong to promote them on the blog.

I'm reluctant to accept products for review that duplicate something I already own. It feels a waste to accept something just for the sake of it just because it's 'free'. Although I confess I do have difficulty turning down books and craft materials!

Social media

I struggle with my relationship with social media. On the one hand I want and need to be active across several channels - particularly Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest - but on the other hand I know how easy it is to get sucked in, and I'm frequently berating myself for losing minutes and hours to mindless scrolling.

I would love to be able to log in to each social media account once during the day, post an update or two and spend a little time interacting. But when you post an update it can take a while before people see and interact with it, so it's difficult to avoid the urge to check back in shortly after to see if anyone has replied to a tweet or commented on a photo.

Once logged in, I find it very easy to get distracted, and it's definitely not something that I've mastered. One thing that helps is to get up and do something else when I feel the pull towards Facebook or Twitter - even just getting up to fetch a drink or put something away can be enough to break the urge. But there's definitely more work to do here!

Aiming for quality not quantity

I used to publish a new blog post almost every day. Some of my early posts are very short, just a picture and a short paragraph. While I enjoy looking back on them, I now much prefer to write more meaty posts. I aim to publish a new post three times a week, and attempt to post fewer 'filler' posts - I prefer to publish nothing that something for the sake of it. I would like all my posts to add some kind of benefit to the reader - whether that's a craft inspiration, some helpful information about a destination, or just something to enjoy reading. I do hope that I usually succeed!

Photo credit - Goran Ivos via Unsplash

Using a feed reader for other blogs rather than subscribing by e-mail

I don't subscribe to any blogs by e-mail. Instead I follow them through a feed reader, currently Feedly. I scroll down the list and remove the posts that don't interest me, then set aside some time to open up the ones that I want to read. I follow quite a few blogs this way, and I find that by checking in a couple of times a day I can keep it under control.

That's why I've never set up a personal blog mailing list for my own blog (although the option is there to subscribe by e-mail via Blogger). I don't think I have many e-mail subscribers, but I like to think that at least I'm not sending unwanted content to many people's inboxes.

Scheduling and planning

I have an editorial calendar system for my blog which works very well for me. It means that I can space out my content to publish a variety of different posts, and it means that I can work on posts well in advance when I have the time. I feel a lot more creative when coming up with new ideas if I'm not scrabbling about at the last minute. I've recently been working on some Halloween content for later this year, and it feels good to know that when the time comes I'll relevant posts all ready to go. Of course I do leave gaps for spur of the moment posts, and sometimes those are both the quickest to write up and the most popular!

Blog design

I've never been very good at blog design I must admit, and this is probably something that I could work on. My sidebar is a little cluttered. I do hope that it reflects a little of my personality though - I may be an aspiring minimalist, but I'm never going to be perfect!

Main photo credit Harry Cunningham via Unsplash

Some hobby ideas for minimalists

If you want to live in a minimalist home but also enjoy lots of hobbies, there are certain criteria for hobbies which suit a minimalist lifestyle. You need to be able to enjoy them without too much extra or specialist equipment, and preferably use things which you already have. They need to only take up a small amount of space while you are working on them, and it's nice if the finished product has a purpose, whether it's something that you can use yourself or something that you can give as a gift.

I've made a list of hobbies which I think work well if you consider yourself to be a minimalist - enjoy!

Reading - you don't need to keep every book that you read, and they take up hardly any space if you have a e-book reader. You don't need to buy books if you visit the library, and there are lots of places that you can swap books with others - with friends or on shared bookshelves at the gym, stations or supermarkets.

Gardening - whether that's in your own garden or growing herbs and pots on a windowsill.

Exercise - you can go for a walk or a run, do exercises using things that you already have around the home for weights, and find free fitness exercise and relaxation routine videos on YouTube.

Writing - either journalling in a physical book or writing a blog online, write articles, poems or stories.

Drawing - whether sketching with a pen and paper, painting or working with digital images.

Colouring - in an adult colouring book, or you can find lots of free pages to print and colour online.

Cooking and baking - you can share the results with family and friends.

Games - some board games take up very little space, or you can play hundreds of different games with a simple pack of cards.

Knitting or crochet - you can make lots of useful things like clothes and blankets for yourself and others.

Visiting a museum, zoo or other tourist attraction both where you live and further afield.

If you live near a larger town or city you may be able to find a treasure hunt or scavenger hunt, for example hunting down different themed statues or benches and trying to find them all. There are also treasure hunts that you can buy - we have used Treasure Trails successfully in the past.

Photography - you don't need expensive equipment, you can just use a smart phone. You can extend this into making videos - you don't need to blog to camera you can put together little videos of places that you've visited and enjoyed.

Puzzles - logic puzzles, crosswords, Sudoku and so on. You can buy puzzle books or there are plenty online to complete electronically.

Writing letters, postcards or e-mails to friends and family.

Geocaching - a fun way to explore your surroundings and discover new places. All you need is a smart phone and the Geocaching app. Find out more here - Geocaching.

Jigsaws - the do take up a bit of space while you are working on them, although they can be slid under a sofa or bed if you have a board for them. They are easy and cheap to find in charity shops, or there's a good chance that family and friends have some you can borrow!

Playing a musical instrument - small instruments like the recorder, ukelele or flute don't take up much space and you can find videos and tutorials online to get you started.

Learning about the world around you - learning to identify flowers and trees or using a map to navigate to different interesting spots. You can also learn constellations and look out for different astronomical events.

There are also lots of hobbies which product lovely things that you can use as gifts. For example soap and candle making, making bath bombs, confectionery making like fudge or peppermint creams, or making your own greetings cards and wrapping paper.

I hope that you find some inspiration!

Photo credit Daria Tumanova via Unsplash.

Decluttering 100 things in a week

As the end of the Easter holidays approached, I began to think about getting the house back in order. We were at home a lot, so there were plenty of half-finished projects scattered about, and we also shopped for new items which needed homes.

It was the wrong time of the month to play the #minsgame, so I decided to set my own challenge, and remove 100 items from the house over the last week.

I'm the only one in our house that does any kind of decluttering, so normally when I do challenges like this I often count items that belong to other people are part of my total. But I decided to be a bit stricter with myself this time.

These things didn't count:

* Things belonging to other people, I could only count my own possessions or household items that are exclusively for my use and that no-one else knows exist. I still decluttered and tidied other things at the same time, I just didn't count them.

* Things that I'd be throwing away anyway, like junk mail.

* Consumables that were used up during the week, like toiletries or food.

I must admit that I found the challenge very difficult! I declutter regularly and am often sorting through my things so there weren't many obvious things to remove. But here's what went:

Study - 3 packs of glue, 1 pack pencils, 2 sets of sticky dots, broken magnetic notepad, blunt scissors,
book, old squishy, pen, 2 USB sticks, 5 Ikea pencils, Lego cards, silly putty, craft kit, old map, patterned paper, tissue paper, foam sheets (25)

Bedroom - 4 jumpers, 2 pairs pyjamas, 1 pair of jeans, 6 tops, 1 lonely sock, 1 bra, 3 bits of fabric, 2 expired cards, low factor sun cream, razor stand, sewing kit, ear plugs, 4 pairs headphones, 1 box (29)

Bathroom - 3 expired bottles of medicine, 2 medicine spoons, 2 inter dental brushes (7)

Living room - 2 Ikea catalogues (2)

Kitchen - 8 colouring/activity books, shoe polish, wristband, shopping bag, sponge, ice cube tray, 4 shoelaces, filled up notebook, tube of dried up paint, plastic trays, tea towel, 2 cleaning cloths, pencil pot, 9 pens, plastic mat, science kit leftovers, big pile of dried up felt pens, broken pencil sharpener (37)

= 100 items!

Lots of these things were small, so you'd think that it wouldn't have made much of a difference, but I can definitely tell that things are looking tidier. Especially in the drawers where I keep my clothes - I've made some space and rearranged things so that I can see them more easily.

Doing a challenge like this is definitely a good way for me to keep on top of the little extra things that end up in the house!

Photo credit - Khai Sze Ong via Unsplash

Packing lightly for a cruise

When it comes to packing for a cruise, it's difficult to think how to pack lightly. With different dress codes to cater for, as well as days out and activities, you need lots of clothes. Alongside the very generous luggage limits (if there even is one!) and plenty of people to help carry your bags for you, it's very tempting to over pack. But if you can limit what you take on board there are many advantages - lots more space in your stateroom for a start!

Another big advantage is the flexibility to disembark when you choose. Generally on a cruise you will leave your suitcase outside your room on your last evening, and it will be waiting for you in the terminal at a specified time the next morning. We prefer to work to our own timetable and walk our luggage off ourselves in the morning when we leave, meaning that we need to be easily able to manage our own luggage.

Finally, for me the main reason that I like to pack lightly is because I find it far less stressful. You don't need to worry about what to wear if you only have a limited selection to choose from, and you are able to stow everything away tidily and not be tripping over things all the time.

So here are some tips for minimising your luggage if you are packing for a cruise:

It's tempting to take plenty of clothes, especially if you want to dress for dinner each night. I try to limit myself to one pair of formal shoes and one pair of smart yet comfy shoes that I can change into after dinner. I don't take a dress for each night, instead I recycle a couple of them - I generally only wear the dress for dinner so they don't get that dirty, and I'm sure no-one notices me wearing the same one again.

If you are on a longer cruise, or the cruise is part of an extended holiday, you may need to wash clothes while you are away. There will likely be a pull out washing line in the bathroom for drying. Many ships have self service laundry facilities on board, or if your budget stretches you can have your washing done for you. Once when we were on a two week cruise with Royal Caribbean there was a special offer for laundry at some point during the cruise which we took advantage of - such a treat to have the washing delivered back all clean and ironed!

You don't need to take towels - there will be plenty in your stateroom and for the pool. If you are cruising to a beach destination you are usually allowed to take the pool towels off the ship with you rather than having to take your own, although do check this with your cruise line. There will also be plenty of toiletries provided. For toiletries of your own that you want to take, decant them into smaller containers to save weight and space.

A good investment for travelling with electronics is a USB Charging Station. This allows you to charge many devices from just the one socket - really useful as there many not be many sockets in your stateroom and means that you can just take the cables and not the plugs. Check also which adaptor plugs you may need as they do vary - in our experience we've found both US and European (not UK) sockets in the room.

You don't need to take your own food, unless it's needed for medical reasons or you have super fussy children. There will always be snacks available somewhere on board, and you can also take food from the buffet restaurants and snack bars to keep in your room for later. There will also be room service, either free or at a low cost. My only exception would be a few chewy bars or similar (any food you take onboard will probably have to be factory sealed in original packaging) to take out with you on port days if you don't plan on buying food off the ship.

If you have children, you don't need much in the way of toys. Check the facilities on your ship - some have a toy library service and others will have open play sessions for children. There isn't much room for toys in the room anyway, so if you need something to keep the children busy in the room books and sticker books are best, or card games for older children.

A few extra tips for cruise packing:

Once you have boarded the ship, you may not receive your main suitcases until early evening. So you need to make sure that you have everything that you need in your carry on luggage. This includes things like essential medication and favourite stuffed toys, but also anything that you may need to entertain yourself on that first afternoon, like swimwear or books.

I always split our clothes and toiletries between suitcases. It's unlikely, but still possible, that your suitcase doesn't make it on the ship, and as the first day of a cruise is often a sea day it could be difficult to get hold of suitable replacement items.

You can read some more tips for light travel here - Packing light for family travel - some tips

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like some of my other posts about cruising:

Things I love about cruising

Cruising with an inside cabin - Pros and cons

Tips for cruising with small children

Packing lightly for a cruise

How to celebrate a birthday on a cruise ship

Craft project ideas for minimalists

I love crafting, but I also love having a house that isn't cluttered with craft supplies and finished products. I've shared a few tips in the past about combining minimalism with being a crafter, and today I thought I'd share a few crafts that are perfect for minimalists.

They need to fulfil several criteria:

1 - They don't need many supplies, or the supplies don't take up too much space
2 - They don't require too much space to work on, and are easy to tidy away
3 - They don't create large finished products that need to be stored or displayed

So here are some ideas for craft projects if you are a minimalist:

Sewing - You can sew useful things for the home (like cushion covers, curtains, tablecloths), or perhaps clothing for yourself and other family members. You just need to be careful to only buy fabric and other supplies for a specific project, and not just because you like it!

Cross stitch - As long as you can limit yourself to work on one project at a time then cross stitch supplies take up very little space and it's easy to pack away. I always buy a kit so you have exactly what you need for a project and don't need to purchase extra fabric or embroidery silks.

Seasonal decorations - If you use natural materials for crafting such as twigs or flowers, then your creations can be recycled or composted when the season has passed. You could decorate eggs for Easter, or make wreaths and other foliage decorations for Christmas.

Writing or blogging - You need very few supplies to write, and if you write or blog digitally then your hobby will take up no space at all.

Photography - Digital photography lets you take thousands of pictures and you only need to print out your favourites, which can be easily displayed or shared electronically with friends and family.

Card making - Cards are always needed for occasions throughout the year and a homemade card is much more personal.

Jewellery making - Jewellery making supplies take up very little space and homemade jewellery also makes lovely gifts.

Baking and cooking - You can get by with very little in terms of extra cooking equipment and get creative with different ingredients or cake decorating techniques!

You can avoid lots of finished craft projects around the home by working on commissions for people - maybe making quilts or blankets for others. Only of course if the person has specifically requested something, and decide in advance whether you are charging them for materials and/or time spent!

I'd also recommend buying kits for craft projects so that you aren't left with lots of excess supplies, especially if you want to try something new. Pass on supplies when you've finished a project, and try to work on only one or two things at a time so that you don't have unfinished projects all over the place.

I hope that you find something to inspire you!

Photo credit Rhodi Alers de Lopez via Unsplash

Title photo credit Tim Arterbury via Unsplash

How to keep on top of clutter

I try really hard to keep up with and reduce the clutter in our home. I've never done a really big Marie Kondo style declutter, instead I am constantly decluttering. Not necessarily because I didn't do it right the first time, as Marie Kondo would allege, but because being a family with young children means that many new things are constantly coming into the house and many other things are being grown out of or replaced. So I thought I'd share a few tips which help me to keep control of the number of things in our home.

I think that the most important thing is to have a place set aside in the home for things to pass on - whether that's to charity, to be sold (as long as you will actually get around to the selling part!), or to give to friends and family (once you've agreed that they want the items). I am very lucky that my gym has a collection point for charity donations, so I keep a donation bag on the go in the wardrobe, and drop it off when it's full.

Packing for a holiday is a great way to go through the clothes. Sort them by category - for example if you need seven t-shirts put all the t-shirts together and decide which ones you will take. Look carefully at the ones that you've rejected, and if there is a reason (too small, looking tattered, no longer like it) then get rid of it. It also helps you see what you've got too much of.

I love to regularly take part in decluttering challenges.  I really like playing the Minimalism Game where you get rid of the number of items that corresponds to the day of the month, and in fact I started it again yesterday. I don't always make it all the way through the month, especially if we are going to be away, but I definitely notice a difference when I've had a good go at it.

Notice the things in your house that you have too many of. This is different for everyone - personally I have a particular fancy for collecting hotel toiletries, cardboard boxes and candles. Make an effort to stop collecting, and see if you know anyone that could use some of the things that you have accumulated.

Make sure that everything has a home, and that it is returned to that home when finished with. Don't buy anything without knowing where it will go, whether that's something large like a new piece of furniture, or something small like a new pen.

Think about things that you are storing unused that could bring joy to someone else and consider passing them on. For example books that you have read or DVDs that you've watched. You'll always be able to find them again if you want to!

If you have a filing cabinet, every time you file a new bill or statement remove one or two older ones from the back. Whenever you close a bank account, sell a car, house or similar, go through the folder and keep only the very essential paperwork.

Get rid of things that have the potential to become sentimental as soon as you can. It's much easier to throw away birthday cards and the like a couple of weeks after the event than years down the line! I do keep sentimental things, but I think very carefully about adding to what I already have because I know that it will only become even more sentimental over time. I am to keep just the highlights rather than everything.

Photo credit Sophia Baboolal via Unsplash

I hope that these tips were helpful! Do you have any to add? How do you keep on top of clutter in the home?

Top image photo credit Ina Soulis via Unsplash

Sorting through some of my sentimental things

I love decluttering, and it seems to be a constant process in this house. There are always clothes that have been outgrown, toys that are no longer played with, old and outdated technology, as well as all the new things that come in. I also like going back through the things that I once thought were important to keep, and deciding whether I really need to keep them.

Recently I pulled out my old school work folders. Alongside the important exam and music certificates I've also kept yearbooks and programmes from concerts that I took part in and prize giving evenings. But I had also stored quite a few long essays from school and university that I decided it was time to part with. If I can't be bothered to read through them when I'm reminiscing, then when will I read through them? I only kept a couple of favourites that I remembered writing on subjects that interested me.

I'm quite glad that I've kept on top of old school work over the years, as it would have been overwhelming otherwise. It made me think about how much school work I keep from my own children - probably far too much that they've forgotten about already! I have some of my childhood drawings, but not too many, and that means that they are really special and I appreciate them when I get them out to look through. Like this picture of my brother that I drew when he was a baby, I would have been 5 or 6!

Something that I did struggle with was my old school reports. It's always fun to read the school reports of celebrities to see where they've been criticised for something that they later excel at. But I'm not sure that anyone else would be particularly interested in mine, probably not even my own children. I was a diligent student and the reports are good, but I didn't really enjoy reading back through them. Many of them I had to write a paragraph for each subject myself, and it made me cringe to read it back! So I kept my primary school report, which was excellent if I say so myself, and one from my last year at secondary school.

The next box that I need to tackle is my old diaries. I kept a detailed page a day diary for about ten years, and they are all stored in a box in the top of the wardrobe. When I was writing them, I imagined people in the future poring over them to learn all about my life. However I can't bear to look at them myself as I hate reading what I've written. I'm torn between wanting to make a big bonfire of them and thinking that I should keep them for posterity. They definitely don't spark joy as Marie Kondo would say!

What things have you kept from your childhood?

Things in the house I have more than I need of

As an aspiring minimalist, I'm constantly looking around the home for things to declutter. I'm generally pretty good at it, and I don't hang on to much once we've finished with it. But as I look around I'm always being confronted by the things we own that we have far too many of. Here is a list, which could also be titled 'things that should be decluttered, but I just can't bear to'.


Drawstring bags. Those simple bags that often come into the house as a freebie. My husband and I both use one to hold our swimming gear for the gym but other than that we never use them. I just can't bring myself to throw them away in case they should be useful.

Freezer packs. I have about eight in the freezer. Even in the height of summer when we are out for the whole day I only ever use about four in our largest cool bag.

Candles. I had a huge clear out of candles a few years back but I still seem to have more and more, and I don't ever seem to buy them. Some of them are big candles that I like to keep for emergencies (even though I've never experienced an emergency where lighting candles was necessary). Most are scented ones that I do like to burn but I'm paranoid about leaving them unattended, especially with children in the house, so I never seem to get round to using them.

Post it notes. Where do they all come from? I have packs and packs.

Moisturiser. I always pick up little tubes from hotels, I can't help it. They are useful for the gym and for travel but I have many more than I'll get through in a reasonable time frame.

Lanyards. Another thing that always seem to be given out for free and it seems such a shame to throw them away.

Cardboard boxes. I can't resist a nice, sturdy box. You never know when you might need it, for posting something, storing something, or for a child's craft project.

Bubblewrap. We have a big roll that we were left with when we last moved, and I save any that comes in parcels, it's such a waste to just bin it. I gave away a big bin bag full on Freecycle last year and it has just built up again.

Buttons. I love buttons. I have some sorted out in little pots by colour, then I have a large tin full of random ones. I do love buttons though.

Marbles and glass pebbles. We have so many marbles. Some are with the toys, some are in a decorative bowl, glass pebbles are in my craft drawer. Mia went through a phase of collecting them so I bought her a massive bag of coloured glass pebbles on Amazon, they are everywhere.

Scrap paper. When I was little the only paper we had for drawing was scrap paper, with 'writing on the back'. Our children are spoiled and they ask for the fresh new paper from the printer, the won't contemplate starting their artwork on a piece which has already been written on.

Suitcases, bags and rucksacks. We travel a lot and go on day trips so we have a large selection of luggage options. I've tried to cull them before, but each one serves a specific purpose so it's really difficult to find ones that we don't need!

Gift bags. I've never purchased a gift bag. I've never needed to, because whenever I've needed one I've always managed to find one in the house that suits the purpose. I'm not sure where they all come from as I don't get that many gifts!

Light bulbs. When we moved in to our house, every room seemed to have different light fittings so we needed a huge collection of different sizes and styles. Over the last couple of years we've been upgrading to smart light bulbs, but they are expensive so if we ever move we'll be taking them with us, meaning we need to keep a stock of old light bulbs to put back in.

What do you have too much of cluttering up the house?