De-cluttering

It happens every year but most years I ignore it or our lives are too busy and well yeah, cluttered to do anything about it but not this year! 5 bags of stuff to the charity shop, a run to the tip and two full bins.

You see what happens is that I make our annual trip to the States and have a fabulous time catching up with family and friends. In the background while all the fun stuff is happening my senses are working without me really initiating anything, and they are seeing bigger houses, more space, different ways of organising things and then that knowledge gets played thru every room in our house. The solution is always the same. Too much stuff. Things without homes? Clear out. Clear out big time.

As I said I can normally side step the urge to sort and it generally diminishes after a few jet lag driven days. Not this year. So I started as soon as I got home. 5 days later and I had moved mountains. I was exhausted and the house? It still looks as crazy and well........ lived in as before. I have had at least three strops with the family about all that work and nothing to show for it.

And I am realising that five days of clearing will only begin to undo five and a half years of gathering in this house. The same way that I am realising to de-clutter my life and find the things that are really important to me is going to take time to. There are things we do because we need to and that is fine. There are things we do because we like to and that is fine. It is the things we do that we feel we ought to. These regularly need a bit of sorting thru.

As maladjusted as ever....

or at least I am committed to try and be.

Today a friend gave us a huge bag of eucalyptus leaves. I had questionned the gift as we clearly do not have a Koala living as part of the family. The response was something along the line of, seeing as I was into making my own soaps and stuff. Yep challenge set! A quick search round with the help of Mr Google and I was crushing leaves in the food processor and putting them in the slow cooker with some olive oil to gently simmer for six hours to make eucalyptus oil. And the result? Well, my better half had to tip the results into the brown gardening bin as I gagged any time I lifted the lid of the pot. He said the smell was OK. I beg to differ. My gag reflex is not that sensitive. I do now have lavender oil on the make and I will let you know how that turns out in a month or so when it will be ready, or not, as the case may be.

I hauled home a huge box of baking soda from our recent trip across that large pond so tonight I measured and mixed and produced shampoo, conditioner, bathroom scrub and rinse, kitchen scrub and general cleaner. All good stuff. I know this because I have been using them for two years now.

And during our trip, (from which we also hauled home a stand for beer butt chickens (2) and a giant cupcake tin, more details on both to follow) I took time to consider my whole thinking on this maladjusted thing. It has always been about more than cleaners and failed attempts to concoct with natural ingredients. ( I have only just thrown out the grape jelly gum/glue/ car reinforcer for those who do read this blog in any kind of detail; not that I am expecting anyone to still be there after this length of break!) I am still committed to my initial challenges but will over the next while be exploring a few more, maybe some a little deeper, a little more intense, and there should still be things to laugh about along the way.

Now where is that Koala, we have some leaves left....................!