Valentines Day.

Hubby and I don’t send cards or buy pressies for Valentines day, but we do treat ourselves to a nice meal cooked at home, usually a big, fat juicy steak. Jasper, of course, doesn’t like to be left out so daddy makes sure that he has a steak too. I have never come across a dog as spoilt as Jasper but daddy lost his heart on day 1 and Jasper hasn’t looked back since.

De-cluttering

Having lost so much weight, I have lots of clothes which I have hardly worn and which are taking up too much room in cupboards, drawers, wardrobes, boxes, airing cupboard and several vacuum packed bags piled up wherever there is a little space. I got up this morning and decided to start sorting my stash into 4 piles;

• Ebay- Clothes that I would still be wearing if they were the right size.
• British Heart Foundation- items to donate that are still in good condition but which I wouldn’t wear now even if they were the right size.
• Dusters-usually old t-shirts and cotton work shirts
• Rubbish

It seemed like a good idea at the time but I am a bit of a hoarder and take the view that whatever it is,  “it might come in useful one day.” I found myself looking at a dress before putting it on the Ebay/donation pile then changing my mind because “it might come in useful one day” and it went straight back in the case/cupboard/drawer/bag. This went on for a while and my piles were very small in comparison to time spent. Feeling a bit defeated by my good intentions I came downstairs for a break and had a chat with my sister on facebook.

She referred me to  Marie “KonMarie” Kondo who I had never heard of before but after looking her up on the internet, this is remarkable. It seems that I must have been living on a different planet, she is so well-known.

KonMarie has written some very poplar books and is in demand round the globe. In short, her philosophy about decluttering is that “if the item doesn’t spark joy” dump it. She helps her clients turn their living space into places of “serenity and inspiration” and thinking that would benefit me too, I gave it a try.

Apparently in her book, “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying” which I have yet to read but is now top of my list, she encourages readers to put everything they own in a pile, clasp each and every object, then keep only those that ‘spark joy’, booting out everything else after thanking it for its service.

Strangely, it was like being given permission to get rid of things you don’t like, or just don’t “spark joy” anymore and my pile of get-rid items grew much quicker. It was a weird experience and I wonder why her philosophy works. Not that it matters, I just know that I now have more space and I feel less guilty about condemning some pre-loved items to the trash.

I still have some way to go but it’s a start.

Quilting

Hubby recenty told me that his mum had admired a quilt that I had sent over as a gift for friends of ours. Without any further ado, I knew exactly which fabric I am going to use for her quilt and which we will take over with us on our next visit to Iran. The fabric colours and patterns speak for themsleves so there is no need for anything more complicated than to sew the charm squares together and hand quilt each square with two circles. This is Moda fabric, Modern Neutrals. Moda make great quality fabrics and I have never been disappointed.

I was hoping to sit in front of the TV this evening and chill out whilst hand-sewing the quilt. Unfortunately, Jasper got hold of my cotton which I wasn’t looking. Something else to add to my shopping list.

So, that’s Day 2. I wonder what Day 3 will turn up?