The magic of tidying

Yes @NatureLover I'm in Melbourne and not really looking to the heat. But I guess it will be good drying weather

I've shifted some stuff from the spare room to the living room so I can work through it. There's a surprising amount of shredding in old notebooks and diaries, it takes a lot of bin space! I'm starting to look forward to finding some of my old craft projects but that might be a while yet. I'm not sure where I stashed them.

@Dimity I can relate to losing stuff. Once I found my original birth certificate in a box full of trash! 😮

There's a lot of stuff I should shred, but I gave up and just chucked them in the bin. I still shred financial documents though.

I hope you can find your craft projects soon...

@NatureLover lucky you found your birth certificate. One reason I'm slow is I'm looking at everything before I discard it.

I've found where some of my craft stuff is, I stored it offsite. I might be able to pick it up next week.

I hope you can start on your boxes tomorrow as planned. I've got a bit bogged down but will take a bag or two to the op shop next time I go to the regional shopping centre.

---

@Dimity wrote:

One reason I'm slow is I'm looking at everything before I discard it.

---

@Dimity I absolutely have to look at everything before I discard it. Not just look at it, but process it and any memories associated with it. Even a single piece of paper. You're right, it takes ages.

I wasn't able to start my stored boxes yesterday and I cancelled my friend coming round to help me as I had a big upset in the morning. Hopefully start next week.

It will be good to get your craft stuff back. And every bag of stuff to the opp shop is a win, well done.

@Dimity I gave myself a day off yesterday after my stressful week. My aim for this week is just to keep the house neat till Friday when my friend comes again to help. I am out every day this week so not much time at home anyway.

What are your plans for this week?

Hi @NatureLover that sounds sensible. I've lost steam the last few days so my goal for this week is to get back to it and keep plugging on.

@Dimity I think it's OK to have a few days off... But I am impressed at how you keep plugging on.

@NatureLover I'm still trying to do a bit each day. Today I got more boxes from where I'd stored them. I sorted some bric-a-brac and pictures but am already having second thoughts on some. It's a process and sometimes I have to do it in stages. I'll be happy if I can keep chipping away at it... not sure that's the best way of putting it, as I don't really enjoy it.

@Dimity That's what I admire - that you do a little every day. Despite not enjoying it.

I don't enjoy it either, and I can't seem to make myself work at it every day. I tend to have to psych up and then do a whole chunk of it at once.

I understand about the stages. Sometimes I put something in the "donate" box, then get it out, then put it back, etc. Some items take more mental and emotional processing than others.

I'm not looking forward to getting down and dirty with the boxes under the house this afternoon. My friend generally stays for 2 hours, and afterwards I'm exhausted. The good thing is that those boxes are years old, so hopefully I can get rid of most of the contents.

Good luck with your work on it today...