Things that have gone – 20

My decluttering continues in the background. I have sold and given away a few more things.

1. Vintage skirt
2. Vintage dress
3. Free gift from Boots
4. Clothes rail (Yes, I’ve managed to downsize my clothing that much that I can let go of my additional clothing rail!)
5. Handheld vacuum cleaner (thought it was worth a try on Freecycle, but was not powerful enough to bother with)
6. Cardboard boxes
7. Sewing thread case
8. Old pram mattress

I’ve also cleared out a storage box and an old lampshade, that if no-none wants on Freecycle – will go to the charity shop.

Stay tuned for my next update!

I got rid of 15 pairs of shoes!

I don’t feel proud about that title, let me tell you. But I have continued my serious declutter. I am certain that I still own more than 15 further pairs of shoes and that number also needs to decrease. However, this is a MASSIVE step forwards for me and it’s truly been enlightening – look at all these shoes I had and there was absolutely no way I could use them all. Let’s just say that these 15 pairs that have gone are the ones that have had the least use, or even that I no longer wore at all. I don’t have pictures of them all, as I only started saving my images recently. Here is just a fraction:

I calculate that I have put £157.45 (gross figure) back in my pocket. Considering that only 2 of the pairs I had owned from brand new (and both of those were bought at around 70% off), I calculate that I am in profit despite my careless ownership. None of the other pairs cost more than £10 second-hand and most a lot less! However, that is not an excuse for me to go and buy more!

It might be optimistic, but I hope that I can one day get down to around 6 pairs of shoes. I’m envisaging:

1. Knee high boots
2. Ankle boots
3. Trainers
4. Sandals
5. Work shoes
6. Smart shoes

And really that would be more than enough! But I will admit that I have a slight weakness for shoes, probably more than anything else. Still, I can try.

MySupermarket Website & App

Today I’m going to talk about MySupermarket which has a website and an app. This is an absolutely fantastic site for those in the UK, as it basically compares prices on almost every grocery product you can think of, in most UK supermarkets. (For some reason, Coop refuses to participate which I think is a shame). I use this site ALL the time, to make sure that I am always getting the best deal on the things I need to buy. You will find me tapping the app whilst browsing the supermarket- handy if you see a product and think it’s a good deal, but want to check! A lot of the time I buy own brand products, but you can even compare those. However when it comes to comparing branded products this site is such a time & money saver! No more travelling from store to store!

Just go to the site, select the supermarket you’d prefer to shop at and search for your product. It will tell you the price at that store and compare it to every other shop. You can instantly see if you’re getting the best deal. You can even put your whole shop in and see where would be cheapest for you. It even lets you split your basket, so you really can shop smart! You can either print off your list and go to the supermarket, or send you items directly to your preferred on-line store.

They also offer cashback and voucher codes from time to time and the full details of how this works is available on the site. Personally, I’ve not used it yet. I’d love to hear what you think of it, if you do use it. This website saves me a whole heap of cash throughout the year, so I hope it’s useful to you too.

Clearing out clothing

Well, in my minimalist journey- it feels that the time has come to tackle the wardrobes, cupboards and drawers that hold my clothing. I have decided finally, to follow much of the advice I have read. So, I will be turning around my hangers to see which items I actually am wearing. I have also decided to make a start on getting rid of some stuff by getting rid of items with holes in or marks on. Those clothes I have kept for painting, when in fact I am sure I could find something old enough to paint in. And painting happens in different seasons, so I really don’t need to keep shorts and t-shirts, trousers and jumpers! All those just-in-case items need to go!

I have just sold a pair of boots that had seen better days, but were really nice and still had life left in them. I have bought myself a needed replacement. So, from now on I will try to practice the one in, one out theory too. Here are the old faithful boots that I have gone.

In other news, I have also gotten rid of around 50 books, here are just some of them! The Pratchett collection that was my husband’s. They have found a wonderful new home, as a birthday gift to a fan via eBay.

After this, I plan to tackle toiletries and make-up and throw out the items I have that I know have been open too long.

I’ll keep you posted!