Clutter crunch day three

So today's wee clutter jobs are... The sewing boxes.  Everything came out onto the floor in the large box first.  Some bits of fluff in the bottom, gone.  Several reels of lurex thread will never be used so will be donated to a craft group.

And despite having a number of old zips, saved from old clothes, none are the right length for the two pairs of trousers that need zips.  There is a great one for a sleeping bag and well worth keeping given the price. 

So two zips are on the shopping list and the sewing project on my 'to do sometime' list.  Those two pairs of trousers are really worth repairing but have not been worn for a couple of years as the zips will not stay up.  I thought I needed more trousers till the sewing box reminded me about those ones that are not wearable.  So a quickie, sixty second de-clutter of sewing box number one has saved money.

There is more space in the box after letting go of some stuff and I now know what is in there.  And I just remembered there is a half finished skirt on top of the filing cabinet, so that is another job worth doing.  Sometimes I have taken clothes to a repair shop for new zips.  It only cost me £8  to get trousers repaired that cost £40 new and I don't

often find good trousers in charity shops for some reason.

Sewing box number two contains mostly reels of thread.  And I got some really cheap ones in a charity shop. But how many reels of pink thread can I use in this lifetime?  Have let go of a couple of them and that wee box now has a lid that shuts easily.  It surprising how much difference a small thing can make.

Clutter in your handbag, rucksack and car

Does it really matter if you have a load of bits and bobs in your bag or car?  To get started, clear it all out of the car or bag and make a pile. Then you can sort through everything.  And you will soon know!  I really didn't think this needed doing, but as it was only a sixty second de-clutter, thought I might as well go through the stuff.  That's the power of the sixty seconds, it unblocks because hey, it will only take a minute...

First, I discovered I had a nifty car booster for a flat battery.  I knew I had the compressor but had forgotten about this wee thing, which means you can jump start without another car to help and without lifting the bonnet. Oh, and the spare coat and wellies I keep in there for winter emergencies were in the house and I had forgotten to put them back in the car!

So a quick tidy of the car, which took two sixty second de-clutters in total (one for the boot and one for the car interior) and I was all set for the winter weather.  I added some more screen wash in a bottle and a blanket too.  And now I also know the spare tyre is inflated correctly and have even added a few snack bars for emergencies.  Amazing what organising the car does for your bad weather driving confidence.

So inspired, I moved on to the handbag, or wee rucksack in my case.    First thing was the mini torch I keep in there, which had a flat battery, so I put that right. And how exactly had so many bits and bobs accumulated,  left over from previous trips?  Three tubes of mints when one will do, a phone charger that I had been hunting for, which had somehow tucked itself into a corner, umpteen paper serviettes saved in restaurants.  These have now been added to the tissue box.  A pair of gloves too many. And there was the tiny pen knife that should have been in the bike bag, I had been looking for it everywhere.

  Another sixty seconds was all it took to sort those things.  Potential future hassles have been avoided and life actually feels better.  Partly because I am feeling rather smug I suspect!  So yes, it is well worth sorting out your bag and car and takes all of three minutes.

You will notice too, that a couple of lost things that turned up during this process.  De-cluttering the car and bag sooner would have saved all that hunting time.  The more you keep on top of clutter, the less time is spent looking for stuff.

Shopping in your own cupboards/closets

Many of us in more affluent countries speak of de-cluttering and having too much stuff. The trick of course is to not buy it in the first place and put the money in a savings account instead.

That is how you build up an emergency fund (3-12 months living expenses) then have a fund for luxuries and extras and finally a 'retire early' fund.

We have decided to trim our spending again. It crept up when we had a larger income, as it does. That is the main reason it is how much you spend/don't spend that will get you ahead of the game, not how much you earn. Once you earn £15,000 per person that is. Below that more income does tend to make a difference.

I decided that I would rather do something I loved and earn less.  So now I teach spinning and weaving and write books.  I have let go of my other income stream.

I looked at a recent book written by someone who spent on nothing but essentials for a year. She still paid her basic essentials which came to £1800.00 a month. That is more than we live on anyway - and I suspect more than a lot of you do too.

So I have been shopping in the cupboards.  In other words, when I think I need to buy something I consider what we have that might do.

Our duvet was too small.  I was going to buy another but remembered there was an old smaller one insulating the hot water tank. So I cut a strip off and sewed it to ours.

I needed a watch but then hubby remembered he had an old one and now it is mine.

I have been using up food that has been in the cupboard for a while. The dried fava bean soup is utterly delicious and i am going to make hummus from them too.

I had been buying frozen berries to put on porridge.  The home grown ones ran out months ago. Then I remembered all that rhubarb in the freezer and am eating that instead.

We will have different snacks instead of crisps etc.  Rhubarb and custard. Fried potatoes or home made oven chips.  Crackers and cheese.  Soup. All far more nutritious of course...

 The goal is to spend no more than £10 a week on groceries.  We can feed ourselves very well on very little money and have lots in the cupboards.   Below is the fava bean soup.