Decluttering and selling stuff

 
Last month, as part of my mission to declutter the place, I went through my wardrobe. I realised I hadn't worn most of the clothes in it for at least 2 years, if not longer. And the rest got worn all the time, in rotation.

 A lot of the (now) unworn clothes either

1. no longer fit me or
2. no longer appeal to me or
3. no longer are suitable to my lifestyle (a number of smart suits - I only need one or two for funerals and smart meetings - not more!)
4. are in materials which I can no longer wear (mainly poly/cotton mixes and some all wool tops)

or a combination of all the above!

I used to attend lots of balls and award dinners every year but have not done so for 15 years - so lots of posh frocks have been taking up space since then, beautiful, but unworn. To be truthful I can't remember the last time I wore a dress - 8 years ago? I just don't ever dress up like that any more.

So - I had a ruthless clear out and lots of the items in my wardrobe have now gone to be sold or to the charity shop.

And as we have now moved into the new bedroom I have had to transfer a lot of stuff into there which gave me the chance to declutter some more.

Four bags later!  I have a lot more space and a set of clothes which I can wear for tidy trips out and all my garden/hen clothes ( ie everyday wear) are in two drawers rather than scattered in several places.

Much easier to work out what I want to wear, now!

Cute chick flicks :)

Nutmeg has been teaching the chicklets to dust bathe ( and nearly buried them a few times!)

And Blackie caught a worm - almost as big as him/her. S/he ran around peeping with excitement and fell over it a few times :)

Sleep, or lack of it

For the last few months I have found difficulty in getting a good night sleep - I fall asleep OK but then wake up frequently and find it hard to relax and go back to sleep

I am in no more pain than usual, I am no more worried or depressed than usual and I was finding this an issue before we moved into the new bedroom, so I don't think it is that - indeed the new room is darker and quieter than the old one - and a lack of dark and quiet HAS woken me up, in the past.

So when I was contacted by a company working with bed manufacturer Silentnight and asked if I wanted to try out a sleep accessory I was interested. Last year Silentnight carried out some research which showed that only 25% of all parents are getting a good night's sleep. So they decided to dig in even deeper and find out if various sleep accessories can help you sleep better. Do they stand up to the claims that their manufactures make? Can they make you relax before bedtime? Do you feel more refreshed in the morning after using them?

I agreed to take part and filled in a sleep survey to establish how well (or badly) I sleep, normally.

I then was sent a random product - in my case a pillow spray. We had a bit of a hiccough with the first spray as it contained Tea Tree essential oil, which Compostman is very sensitive to - and when I used it on my pillow the first night, it made him itch!

So I was sent some John Lewis pillow spray as a replacement and I will try  it out over the next couple of weeks. It smells lovely :)   I am keeping a sleep diary about when I go to bed, how I feel, how well I slept - that sort of thing.

I'll then write a post with a review of the pillow spray and how well it works and, as I have been researching sleep tips I 'll  share any which I have found useful.

Wish me luck :)

Sunset

 Stunningly show stopping sunset

A bad back and chick antics

Life has got a bit harder this weekend as on Friday evening I somehow "did something" to my back and by Saturday am could hardly walk - a shame as I was due to be on a Master Composters stall in Ross all day - which I had to cancel :(

I hate letting people down.

But I managed to hobble to see what the chicks and Nutmeg were up to, which raised a smile on my face :)

Cassi Cat got a bit too interested and Nutmeg chased her away

And then Nutmeg found the newly cleared raised bed, full of lovely, dry, compost. A giant dust bath!