Morecambe

The great attic makeover

It took a long time but at last we have converted the attic to a useable bedroom. Before and after.

 

 

 

Cadbury's Creme Egg

Found in the attic. This Creme Egg is approximately 37 years old, based on when the box it was in was packed and sealed up.

Wardrobe De-cluttering

Still the de-cluttering goes on. During the summer's massive de-clutter session we filled two skips with items that were not fit for charity shops. I did take plenty of things to the charity shops but why on earth had we hung on to two skip fulls of things that, in the end, were not even good enough to give away for free? 

I made an attempt at de-cluttering some of my books. Some of them I released on BookCrossing and some I registered on Read It Swap It but of course swapping doesn't reduce the quantity as you exchange one book for another. Most of the books in piles that I had designated to give away seemed, somehow, by their own volition to make their way to new homes around the house or even back to their original shelf.

More recently I finally got around the thinning out my wardrobe. It sounds ridiculous but the wardrobe was packed so tightly with clothes that I actually had nothing to wear because everything was crumpled with the crushing or was not my current size. Don't most women have several sets of clothes in different sizes that sometimes fit and sometimes don't? Or is it just me? Anyway, I decided to try absolutely everything on and store, give away or dispose of anything else. Somehow I gathered an audience to this endeavor. My Daughter parked herself on the bed and chortled every time something didn't fit - so that was a lot of chortling - all the time trying to snag my purple shoes that she covets. It was revealed to me that I now probably have more pairs of pyjamas to wear than actual clothes. My Daughter was amused that I actually hang my pyjamas in the wardrobe and kept calling me Mr. Monk. The cat just made herself comfy in a storage box.

 

Hornsea Pottery Rare Breeds

  Years ago I worked at Hornsea Pottery in Lancaster, when it was an actual pottery and leisure park. The pottery has gone but the site is still a leisure site and antiques market. At the time I worked there I was into patchwork quilting and when we were all made redundant and most things were being stripped out I must have salvaged a box of "rare breeds" leaflets to use as patchwork papers. They have lain in the attic for all these years, forgotten about until now. I was very strong with myself and have put them in to the paper recycling box - I never did finish my patchwork quilt and I don't see myself getting time to do so anytime soon. I realise that all this hanging on to things is a type of fantasy. An imagined "maybe one day" world where I will have time to read all those books, paint all those pictures, sew all those quilts, stitch all that cross stitch and knit all those jumpers. I reasoned with myself that if I ever did have a need for some patchwork papers there will be plenty of paper about and why risk using some that might transfer ink. If you want to read the leaflet in more detail (fellow Hornsea Potters, you know you want to) click the images.

The decluttering continues, but the end is in sight.

De-cluttering the attic

I've been de-cluttering the attic again and have posted an entry about it over on Knitting By The Sea. I don't think two skips will be enough. A part "before" picture with things pulled out and piled up in the process of purging. This is just a fraction of the space. Coming soon, a glorious "after" picture.

In this one you can just make out the opening revealed in the second false wall, scary stuff as the space runs the entire width of the house. They are a bit blurry as my camera packed in and I had to deploy my camera phone.

Villa Mirabilia

There were a few thumping noises coming from the attic this morning. I knew it would be the cat blundering about like a hippo and went up to see what she had knocked over. She had been clattering about in a corner and on tidying up I found this, that has been patiently waiting to be framed for years and years. If anyone happens to wander by this blog and can recommend a framer either on-line or in the Morecambe and surrounding area I would be very grateful. 

Long Term Storage

Last time I decluttered the attic I was very pleased with myself for jotting down notes of where things were stored and within what. I even drew a map of the attic and cross referenced it to the lists. It came in very useful when I found my daughter and her friends stood up there with no idea of where to start looking for the jigsaw they had a sudden yearning to do. I checked the book and they were soon gleefully discovering lost treasures ranging from five piece wooden jigsaws from babyhood to thousand piece photo mosaics, once attempted and swept back into the box. Over at Unclutterer there is an article on how to create an inventory of long term storage which puts my scrawlings to shame. By long term storage they mean things you store around the house that you rarely access, if ever. They say "Shoving boxes into a room and closing the door on them is called hiding, not storing". We've all been guilty of that.

Bathroom make over

Our bathroom certainly needed the renovation. I'm embarrassed by how horrid it was before.

How to fold a T Shirt

I finally got around to decluttering my wardrobe. I become so disheartened when you put nicely ironed garments in the wardrobe and they immediately become crumpled because there are too many clothes for the space. I knew I needed to discard and relocate some items to make for better hanging room but it wasn't until I came up with the idea of folding my T shirts and putting them in a newly decluttered drawer instead of hanging them that I really got to grips with the task. I love my new found skill in T shirt folding. Whether this means that I will also be going around with creases from the folding remains to be seen.

VideoJug: How To Fold A T-Shirt In 2 Seconds - Explained

Cleaning with Baby Products

Occasionally I get very itchy patches on my fingers, so itchy sometimes they bleed. In the course of trying to find out what triggers the attacks I learnt that I was allergic to nickel, so I always use gold sewing needles. More recently I discovered that the new fashion for pens with soft grip barrels triggered a rash, so I hoard pens and pencils at work that I don't react to and keep them squirrelled away in a pencil case so that no one takes them and no dust settles on them overnight. The warehouse next door to my office houses various chemicals and I figured that a certain amount probably finds its way into the general everyday dust in the office.I always use baby wipes to clean my desk etc. with as its more convenient than putting gloves on, wetting a cloth and so on whilst still answering the phone which is guaranteed to ring as soon as your hands are wet. I know there are wet dusting wipes available but I use baby wipes because I don't want to trigger the itchy rash. Now I find that there are all sorts of cleaning uses for baby products - Cleaning with baby products. I was particularly interested to learn that you can use baby oil to clean chrome as my new bathroom has many chrome fixtures and fittings and I've become a bit obsessed with only using the mildest soap to clean with in there for fear of damaging any surfaces. Not a bad thing but its always nice to have alternatives for that extra sparkle.