Summer of keeping busy

When beloved went on his travels on 1st June I made all sorts of plans to keep me busy for the 94 days he would be away. He will be back here in less than 48 hours so I thought a little look back at accomplishments might be in order. Of course there are always new plans as well and this is a good time to think of them as well.

De cluttering - well and truly successful in the sitting room,kitchen, bedroom and conservatory. Charity shops and Free cycle have really benefited from my enthusiasm. I have got quite a bit out of the attic too but still much more to come there.

Bring the conservatory into the house! - The conservatory was full of wood, tools building materials. Sitting there was like sitting in a builder yard. This is all now away but some things will have to come back as we carry on work with the guest bathroom.

Get the garden back to normal little more could go in the hippo bag and some sorting out is still required but not bad really.

Decorate the sitting room - Done and looking lovely. I rubbed own and varnished all of the skirting board. I panted the room a deep luscious cream (washable of course). I painted the picture rail in a deep aubergine colour, which goes with the main sofa. The chimney breast is the same gorgeous aubergine colour.

Better use of resources - The boys and I discussed how to cut done on our use of resources and how to be a little bit more proactive about it. Surprisingly successful. All computers are currently switched off when not in use. TV is never left on. Radio is still left on fir the bird in the day time but this is minimal as no moving parts. We have used the washing line wherever possible and ensured we don't use the washing machine or dishwasher until it is full (but not overfull). I have been practicing fitting as much as possible in the dishwasher without making it inefficient.

Shopping & eating - We have cut down a lot on cost of food and also there is less waste. Not sure if we can still keep that down with Beloved home as he is not a man who is content with beans on toast. That said he can be satisfied with cheaper food if it is tasty and filling.

So the challenge going forward to continue the better use of resources. The most difficult part of the challenge will be coping as the weather gets colder. We need to find the thick velvet curtains to go up in the conservatory before the cold weather arrives. We don't have internal doors in the house (except the bedrooms and bathroom)because it is a small house and doors make it feel smaller, so its possible we may have to hang heavy curtains over some of the other door ways too.

The next issue will be keeping the food price in check. I have pinched a copy of my friends shopping list and am updating it for us. This fits in with some minor meal planning (how often have I said this before....).

During September I want to get the rest of the garden sorted so that it is ready for veg planting in the spring - not a lot of room so this is going to be about veg in pots.

Last thing - carry on de-cluttering. Sort that attic out!