Changing Ways

I believe at my age I should be able to keep an orderly house. I think over the past months/years I have been guilty of what my mummy would have described as "treating this place like an hotel". I am getting to the stage where I am fed up of clutter and dumping things to deal with later. So this has to change but it seems oh so unsurmountable. So in a lightbulb moment yesterday I decided that the way forward is to break this all down into do-able chunks. So the task for today is to sort out the storage in the eaves where the Christmas decs live. Surely that is do-able. Saying that I have a friend coming round for coffee at 10.30am and then a friend for supper at 6.30pm and a mount of ironing to do and feet to descale. Sigh. No good moaning about it - that ain't going to get it sorted. Then when that is done I will work out which bit I will sort out the following week.

In a strange way I am quite excited about getting rid of crap - I know for instance that in one cupboard I have a "stones" set from M&S that I was given a few years ago that I really haven't looked at or had much interest in. If I recall correctly it is a big box with a small velvety bag and some coloured stones and a book on how to read them or something. I also have a plate painting set that has been there for so long I would be surprised if the paints hadn't dried up completely. I get given them as gifts (am I really that hard to buy for?) and they get put away for that magical moment when I will have time to study these and make my life brilliant from rubbing a stone and my culinary skills made even greater by displaying bacon and eggs on a hand painted small glass plate. I wonder what other delights I will come across.

I found a rather fab bargain in Boots-is yesterday. I have been fannying around trying to find some new "me" perfumes. I came across one of those wipe on sample strips for Secret Obsession by Calvin Klein in a mag and actually liked the smell on me. Whilst in Boots-is I found that a small bottle was about £28. Whilst browsing the display of half price gift packs I came across the one for Secret Obsession reduced down to £20. The pack contained a 50ml EDP bottle and some body lotion. I checked back at the perfume counter and the same bottle was £36. So I bought the gift set. Then in a moment on madness I opened the packaging last night and had a squirt and still loved it. You may wonder why it was a moment of madness so I shall explain. I have a "keep for best" mentality that I always want to break. OK somethings maybe should be kept for best but how do you decide when that moment arrives? I have a lot of lovely things "for show" because they are "for best" but I have to make a conscious effort to start using them. All that lovely Jo Malone stuff I have still in it's beautiful packaging is going to waste and I need to open it up and start using. The soaps, the candles, the creams, the bath oil. What am I saving it for? So that someone can inherit and enjoy what I stored and occasionally looked at? So it has to change ..... and I am going to work hard to make sure that it does.