12 week turnaround

So much has happened since my last visit to this blog. I've expanded my chicken flock, invested in an Eglu, refurnished the main bedroom (and even built my own flatpack furniture!), decorated the middle bedroom, decluttered and re-homed more things and had the house re-roofed. Phew! There's probably more but that's all that springs to mind at the moment.

The middle bedroom went from this...

...to this!

Despite my efforts, there still seems to be so much to do, so i've decided to mix it up a bit and see how much I can turn things around in the next 12 weeks. I'm not going to give myself a to-do list as it'll be so huge that i'll feel like giving up before I start, i'm just going to focus on turning things around one step at a time. Whilst the main focus is reclaiming my space, i'm going to apply the 12 week turnaround to my life in general and make time to enjoy long-forgotten hobbies and maybe discover a few new ones along the way! It feels exciting to be on the brink of something so fresh and unplanned. I wonder where i'll be 12 weeks from now?

Hetty, Betty and more decluttering

Sadly, Anais and Lily have recently passed away - I think as ex barn hens they were just 'egged out' and exhausted. This left Violet wandering around the huge run on her own and looking rather sorry for herself so i've got her a couple of new friends, a couple of bantams named Hetty and Betty:

At first there were fireworks as Violet chased them around the run, ensuring that they knew that she was the boss. I brought out extra feeders and drinkers, lifted them into the coop for the first couple of nights and by the end of the week she had accepted them as part of her flock. As you can see from their barely visible combs, they're only young so i'm not expecting any eggs from them until spring, but they seem happy and quite clucky in their new home.

I've also got another, rather exciting, new addition to the run coming very soon, but i'll save that for another post...

On the 'housey' front, I spent yesterday morning decluttering the cupboard underneath the stairs. I've found a few old coats that i'm going to drop off at the charity shop tomorrow and i've managed to finally organise my tins of paint and painting supplies from my 'decorate two bedrooms in two weeks' challenge in August (yes I do like to put the pressure on). I also got rid of two bags of junk that were lurking in there, recycling what I could, and I also discovered a bag of hay from my guinea-pig keeping days (over 2 years ago!) which i've rehomed in the shed ready for when I build my no-dig raised bed in the spring.

Today, i'm hoping to keep up with the decluttering vibe that's currecntly enthusing me by cleaning out the cupboards under the kitchen sink. I'm sure i'll find more junk, but hopefully some useful things too!

Photo Reflections Day 7

It was my first day back at work today and nothing could be more lovely to come home to than a homemade crumble. I made this yeasterday to use up a load of fruit that had seen it's best days, i'm pleased I did, it was lush! Perfect for a chilly winters night.

Sometimes you just need to begin

I'm slowly clearing the clutter from my life. I've donated some bits and pieces to charity and am in the process of ebaying the other 'stuff' and yet I still get the feeling that i'm not really getting anywhere. I'm still feeling stuck. I'm off work at the moment having being diagnosed with labyrinthitis and i'm aware of the general untidiness around me. It feels like a mammoth task to tackle, especially when you're feeling off balance, but I just need to remind myself that if I deal with a tiny bit at the time then I will get there - sometimes you just need to begin. So that's what I will do, today I will declutter the living room table, i'll take the books and magazines and return them to their shelves, recycling what I no longer need, and in the process of decluttering i'll feel a teeny bit happier within myself.