78 - 69. 10 more toiletries used up!

Day 20 - Bye bye Cleapss

68. - 67. 2 toiletries used to wash a laundry load.

66. Blue bedsheet which never fitted the bed properly and used to constantly annoy us. I did think of re-purposing it but it's too synthetic and stretchy so I think I'd have needed an overlocker to cope with it and I do not have one of those!

65. - 63. 3 computers from the attic that DH left on the drive and were quickly taken!

Had another awesome day at Cleapss. I wish I could go there every day!

Day 19 - Cleapss Peeps!

62. Grace Cole Lavender Polishing Foot Scrub, all used up and thrown away.

Had a lovely day on a Microbiology course at Cleapss at Brunel University. We dissected a rat, poured agar plates and trialled amylase-starch reactions under buffered and unbuffered conditions at pHs 4, 7 and 9. It was a great opportunity to ask questions and I learned about Pasteur's 'swan neck' and why you shouldn't put agar plates in the fridge!

And I've got another course at the same place with the same lovely teacher to look forward to tomorrow :)

Day 18 - Money Saving Expert (MSE)

61-53. 9 toiletries thrown away because they're too old to use or that I really hate and will not use and cannot repurpose!

I joined the Money Saving Expert forums the other day and am doing the "No More Buying Toiletries" challenge. I don't want to buy anything until next year. So I've inventoried most of my toiletries, I haven't done make-up or nail items yet but will do them next weekend hopefully. I've found 73 items so far and have thrown away 9 of those and brought 6 travel-sized bottles of shampoo/shower gel downstairs to repurpose for small laundry loads/delicates/ washing and blocking knitting :)

I'm also keeping an eye on my groceries budget. I have spent £247 on food so far this month which seems an awful lot when it's only feeding me, DH and two cats! But toiletries, loo roll, magazines etc may have sneaked into the trolley so I will have to keep those separate now and control my grocery spending for the rest of the year!

Day 15 - Voting

52-42. 11 balls of yarn - karma'd on Rav.

I went to vote at about 7:30 pm and met two little boys trying to carry a mattress down the road. I offered to help and carried it with them to a patch of grass where they played on it rather loudly! It was one of the boys birthday (age 12) so I gave him and his friend a bar of chocolate each. My good deed for the day :) I just hope they don't come knocking on my door wanting more chocolate and money and who knows what!!

Day 11 - Handbags at noon!

41. French Connection PU handbag, broken and (very sadly) not fixable :( - thrown away.

Day 3 - Attacking the stash!

40 - 38. 3 Yankee Candle wax tarts - karma'd on Rav.

37 - 36. 2 balls navy blue acrylic dk - karma'd on Rav.

35 - 34. 2 old Yankee Candles that I was going to recycle and make into new candles but never got round to it - thrown away.

33 - 32. 2 Yankee Candle Votives - karma'd on Rav.

31 - 28. 4 balls purple acrylic dk - karma'd on Rav.

Day 2 - Off to the charity shop!

27. Old key that fitted my old bike lock - thrown away.

26. Green ladybird print shirt - donated.

25. Grey shirt - donated.

24. Black striped shirt - donated.

23. Grey Papaya size 14 jeans (too big) - donated.

22. Black Papaya size 14 jeans (too big!) - donated.

21. Pyjama bottoms, worn out and no tie - thrown away.

20. Pyjama bottoms, worn out - thrown away.

19. Pyjama t-shirt, worn out - thrown away.

18. Dark blue Atmosphere cardigan, really bobbly and misshapen - thrown away.

 17. Pair of grey gloves, worn out - thrown away.

16. Brown and orange scarf, worn out - thrown away.

15. Fluorescent yellow jacket, worn out - thrown away.

14. Black Warehouse coat, worn out - thrown away.

13. Green scarf - donated.

12. Black stringy Halloween cloak - donated.

11. Size 14 M&S black trousers  (too big!) - donated.

10. Skiing glasses - donated.

9. Handpainted box - donated.

8. BN Mug with shoes on - donated.

7. BN Mug with cars on -donated.

6. Lipsy dress - donated.

5. French Connection jumper - donated.

4. Toiletries bag - donated.

3. McDonald's Toy - donated.

Back to the Start - Decluttering for the future!

2. Old, ripped pair of jeans belonging to DH - thrown away.

1. Old, ripped handbag of mine - thrown away.

I've decided to start my crusade again! I've been shopping far too much and the house is looking cluttered. My target is for 365 items by June 1st 2013 :)

1170. Flat bed scanner - rag and bone men.

1169. Mirror - rag and bone men.

1168. Small blue fan - rag and bone men.

1167. Glass top coffee table - rag and bone men

1166 - 1165 2 carrier bags full of craft stuff, loads of stuff! - freecycled to local youth club :)

1164. Dark blue card which I'm never going to use - recycled.

I've re-discovered freecycle! Hopefully today I'll be freecycling a big black bag of clothes plus a small bag of car boot items.

1163-1162. 2 crappy knitted bags - thrown away.

1161. Yankee Candle Tart burner - freecycled.

1160-1134. Tangle-free hot air brush, 4 DVDs, 2 photo albums, inflatable chefs hat, big black bag of clothes - freecycled.

1133. Brass look Mikey necklace - donated.

1132. Metal cross pendant - donated.

1131. Mixed bedding, about a black bag full - thrown away.

1130. Purple glass necklace - donated.

1129. Strawberry pendant necklace - donated.

1128. White Frigidaire coffee maker - freecycled!

1127. Purple plastic cluster charm necklace - donated.

1126. Red Rose ring - donated.

1125. Fake pearl necklace - donated.

1124. Box full of Cookie's (cat who sadly passed away last year) adoption stuff - thrown away.

1123. Chunky plastic necklace - donated.

1122. Knitted green headband, doesn't work well with my hair - thrown away.

1121. Smoke-free tangle thingy - donated.

1120. Grass printed oilcloth tablecloth, stained and ruined - thrown away.

1119. Claire's accessories pendant - donated.

1118. Some cardmaking items - donated.

1117. Driven to Distraction by Jeremy Clarkson - donated.

1116. Necklace with teal, pink and blue beads - donated.

1115. Personal Vendetta DVD - donated.

1114. Navy karrimor fleece, bad memories - donated.

1113. Necklace that I got on Rav but isn't my style really - donated.

1112. White scarf with silver thread- donated.

1111. Red CD holder - donated.

1110. Grey checked handbag from Primark - donated.

1109. Blue seagull print bag from Primark, not used for ages - donated.

1108. Old Warehouse Navy going out t shirt - donated.

1107. Pink crochet beach bag, not used -donated.

1106. Black GAP short sleeved wrap, old and itchy - donated.

1105. Onyx apple in box - donated.

1104. Pink Zara dress, never worn - donated.

1103. Black/white/pink Teatro dress I wore to Tania's wedding - donated.

1102. White H&M tops with big sleeves, unflattering - donated.

1101. Black Primark flat boots, very hard soles that are not good for me to walk in! - donated.

1100. H&M denim shorts, don't fit properly - donated.

1099. Silver chain that I've never worn - donated.

1098. Blue/pink patterned dress that I wore to Karl's wedding 2 years ago and not again since! - donated.

1097. Grey leggings - donated.

1096. Black wedge Primark flip flops, too big and never worn - donated.

1095. Broken clear pencilcase- thrown away.

1094. Green flip flops, dirty and too small really - thrown away.

1093. Si.ver metallic pumps, falling apart- thrown away.

1092. Teal crochet ballet pumps, dirty and worn out - thrown away.

1091- 1090. 2 vacuum bags, couldn't find the sealer - thrown away.

1089. Big bag of old tights that has been in the bottom of the wardrobe for ages and not worn for at least 2 years! - thrown away.

1088. Cool bag of Sean's, dirty and he's never going to come and collect it - thrown away.

Helping to clear out Granny's house has made me want to clear out big time!

• 1087. Green faux silk purse - donated.



1086. Purple chia stuffie - donated




1085-1084. 2 more books - donated.

• 1083. White gypsy top, too see thru! - donated.


• 1082-1080. 3 books - donated.


• 1079-1078. 2 pairs black leggings - donated.

• 1077. Pink small lacey acrylic blanket (knitted) - donated.


• 1076. Monsoon black formal trousers, too small - donated.


• 1075-1068. 7 knitted baby cardigans/jumpers and small blue knitted bear - donated.


• 1067. Pink brushed yarn lacey blanket, pram size (knitted) - donated.


• 1066. Big Blue Bunny (knitted) - donated.


• 1065. White Hennes top with big sleeves, unflattering - donated.


• 1064. Adidas grey jogging bottoms, unflattering and too long - donated.

1063-1060. 4 Rav parcels.

1059. Liz Earle Eyebright lotion sold on ebay.

1058. Book sold on Amazon.

1057. Purple, grey, black block high heeled shoes - sold on ebay.

1056. Get Cutie bowling print skirt - sent to someone on Rav.

1055. DKNY belt - sent to someone on Rav.

1054-1053. 2 Rav parcels.

A load of big, heavy books going to charity...!

1052. Consciously Female

1051. Too Posh to Wash

1050. The Work We were born to do

1049. No waste like home

1048. Pair of black patent plasticky loafers from Primark -donated.

1047. Small blue 2011 diary - donated.

1046-1042. Old make-up etc- thrown away.

1041. Navy Blue top/dress with white crochet detail - donated.

1040-1039. 2 pots of science putty - donated.

1038. Pair of brown sandals from New Look - donated.

1037. 7 items going to charity tomorrow; Bonjour Tristesse, 2 boxes floppy discs, history of our family book, blue acrylic jumper, adidas watch, tigger toy.

1030-1029. 2 pairs Primark pumps, yellow and pale turquoise, flattened and make me feet sweat too much - thrown away.

1028. Well loved dark green Converse baseball boots, cracked and smelly :( not salvageable - thrown away.

1027. 6 RAKS sent out since 10 December til today.

1021. 31 parcels sent to Rav people since 10 December til today!

1090. Holey pair of Darren's socks - thrown away.