innocent_lex: (Default)
I've been meaning to sort out my study for months. Seriously, months and months. I decided to do it today because there was an accident on the motorway so I couldn't go to the garden centre and I didn't want to waste the keenness to do something. Anyhoo...

There are two large sets of shelves in my study, plus one cupboard, plus a couple of tall sets of shelves. From that description, you'd think my study is massive but it really isn't. There's enough room for me to get to the desk, sit down, and sometimes get things done. The problem is that all of these shelves and cupboards are full of stuff but I genuinely didn't know what that stuff was and I could never find things I needed (assuming I even remembered I owned them!). So what did I discover? Bearing in mind I've so far only done one big set of shelves and the cupboard, I'm doing pretty well:
  • 3 old laptops (which weigh a tonne) plus one netbook and one router
  • 3 old mobile phones
  • 2 palm pilots with accompanying gadgets and gidgets
  • A lorryload of cables and plugs
  • Two sets of speakers, three sets of earphones and two bluetooth earphones (which I don't think work)
  • Two big rechargeable torches whose plugs I've been searching for for years and still can't find - bin 'em
  • A bunch of multi-port USB ports
  • Two spare keyboards, various mouse mats and a brand new mouse (handy!)
  • Two portable CD players
  • Christmas, birthday, thank you and various other cards, plus wrapping paper
  • Pens, more pens and whole boatloads of other pens. Most don't work.
  • Post-its. About 20 decks.
  • Paper and photo paper for the printer
  • Ink cartridges for the printer
  • Various recovery CDs for various computers I don't use any more
  • A couple of spare backup drives I'd forgotten about completely
  • A lot of plastic boxes that are now empty of the crap I'd been hoarding in them
So I have divided the spoils into stuff I'm keeping due to security reasons (computers, phones, etc), stuff I'm recycling, stuff I'm chucking out, and stuff I actually need to use. I have 5 completely empty shelves so far.

And another bonus? I had been looking to buy a new set of shelves to go in the gym because I didn't have anywhere to put stuff. Turns out if you dump all the stuff you don't need any more and organise the stuff you do, you miraculously find space. Who knew?
innocent_lex: (Default)
I've spent the day sorting the house out ready for having people round on Boxing day, and listening to some excellent debates on podcast. If anyone's interested in listening to a whole range of debates, look at Intelligence Squared. Some are long (almost 2 hours), some are teeny tiny (a few minutes) but there's a podcast feed where you can get a big history of debates to download. Apparently you can also listen to live debates, which I haven't done yet.

Have just finished dinner (which was today's break, though a bit late - forgot about that whole food thing again), so now it's time to clean the kitchen and then move upstairs to sort that out ready for visitors! By the time I get to have my lovely relaxing bath later on I will be absolutely desperate for it.

Ow

Nov. 11th, 2010 05:47 pm
innocent_lex: (Default)
That's enough of shifting boxes around the house. Seriously. Ouch. I see a hot bath in my future. Right now, though, I can also see a lot more floor in the conservatory and in the back bedroom, so that's a very good thing. Also, I have more empty boxes. Huzzah!
innocent_lex: (Default)
Okay, so it never goes quite as you want it to, does it? I have to keep reminding myself: small steps are good. I still have a second coat to do in the hall, and woodwork, but all of the edges are done. All of them. Twice. I hate edging. I really don't have a steady hand, so no matter what I always end up getting paint where it shouldn't be. At least it's fairly pale paint so the bits of green on the ceiling won't show unless you're looking, and the bits of green on the woodwork will be painted over with gloss. Am now hot and sore, so that's quite enough for the moment.

My painting shirt has a history to it, though. It has all the colours I've painted on these walls since I moved in. That's kind of... yeah, not sure where I'm going with that.

Is it dinner time yet? Anyone have a butler I can borrow to make it for me?
innocent_lex: (dress down)
I know, anyone who reads this journal must think sorting out my house is like some kind of second career. But still, I'm making progress in small steps, and considering it probably took around 15 years to get into this position, taking months and months to get out of it is pretty good.

Today was clearing out of space in the garage. This was space to clear so that I could get at the stacks of storage boxes and the shelves, not so that I could actually get into those boxes and sort them - box sorting upstairs is a priority. So, ticky for that.

Next is burning yet more papers, but the sky has just opened. The rainfall radar is telling me it's just a shower so I'll give it five minutes and then head out. I also have upstairs boxes to sort, but I need empty boxes first for that task so that I have places to throw things while sorting: keep; burn; throw out; undecided. See, there is some kind of method in there somewhere.

Tomorrow is painting, I think. I have to finish off the hall (edges and second coat, plus woodwork) and also the last bits in the kitchen (I know, should've done that last year). Just the garage door / doorway and the windowsill to do in there and it's all finished.

In other news, the birds are going through my bird seed a massive rate. At the moment there's a swarm of sparrows out there, about 20 of them. Usually I only get swarmed by starlings, which turned up on Thursday afternoon just after I'd refilled the table and ate the lot in about 3 minutes. Quite astonishing. I've discovered I can order direct from the RSPB, though, so have a huge bag of sunflower hearts arriving next week. Should last me a few weeks at least, but the local birds really do seem to have voracious appetites.

ETA: one hour later and I'm most of one box of papers down, only three to go. Paper takes a buggering age to burn properly! Am all hot, smokey and stinky. Blech. More of that tomorrow, I guess. Time for a tea break and then upstairs boxes. Target of 2 boxes properly sorted today.

Hot!

Jul. 3rd, 2010 08:11 pm
innocent_lex: (sleepy)
Have been outside in the garden burning old papers: bank statements, random letters, pointless photos, all kinds of crap that I don't need. The record was a set of stuff from 1986, but most of it was 1990 onwards. Just under two hours spent dealing with flames and smoke and bits of ash, and now I'm all stinky and hot and bothered. At least it was the evening so not in bright sunshine. Still, that's another three boxes of stuff gone and progress is being made towards a state of actual organisation. I'm satisfied, but also sore from lugging stuff around. Time for a lovely long bath.
innocent_lex: (writing)
I bought a garden furnace a while ago with the plan to burn a whole load of papers that have been building up in boxes. These are things that I would ordinarily shred as they have my name and other details on them, but with so much to get through I figured burning would be faster. Wow. Never done this before, and boy do it get hot! I've managed to get through about a third of a box today, which had to be done slowly because of the flames leaping out of the top of the thingy. Hmm. I may try some more later, but I'm pretty smoked and fingers just on the edge of singed, and even so that was actually very boring. Have tipped a load of water into the thing and will keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't suddenly spring into life again.

Going back to writing - much safer and more interesting.
innocent_lex: (sleepy)
After a short break, I'm apparently sorting again. I've filled 3 big bags full of rubbish and 2 full of clothes. This wouldn't be so bad, except it's all come from one room: my bedroom. I've done pretty well this time around, but I know full well that I can still afford to get rid of more stuff that's just been sitting around for years 'in case' or 'because it'll be useful one day'. I'm very close to the limit, though, where the only things to get rid of will be things that I don't wear or use but that I've kept for sentimental reasons. That'll be much the hardest barrier to cross.

What haven't I done? Pulled out the boxes that are storing things under the bed. Not because I can't face it, but because my back would have its revenge swiftly and decisively. After the week it's already had I'm not going to push it any further. A nice Lush bath sounds like the thing to soothe it, methinks.

Blergh

Dec. 14th, 2008 08:30 pm
innocent_lex: (Don't feel well)
Feel shitty. Still, have managed to almost finish making the curtains (just the tabs to sew onto the last curtain), cleared out the last of the rubbish, and hoovered more carpets. Plus spent the afternoon with visiting friends, which was nice. Feel shitty. I hate colds. Truly. At least my expectations were right about the sewing - it's really not hard to make curtains.

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