A Productive Saturday

Yesterday, was probably my first productive day of this year, in that I got caught up on quite a few tasks that have been neglected over the festive period.  First on the list was doing a bit of online banking and checking up on my expenditure over Christmas and New Year, as I hadn't had access to my account whilst on our travels.  It felt good to be able to pay a few bills, check off receipts of money I'd spent whilst we were away and calculate my budget for the remainder of the month.  It wasn't quite as desperate a picture as I'd imagined, so I'm hoping I can stay within it.

I managed to post a birthday present off to Australia for my nephew. The card will have to go on Monday, as they didn't have one suitable for a male, so it might be a little late. Alternatively, I might need to revert to my Moonpig account and send a card via their website.  I also had a few parcels to send off to customers of my small business, as I had sold several things over Christmas and New Year, which was a good start.  It feels strange to get back to it, after nearly 3 weeks away.

One thing I did do today, was to pay some money onto Little Bird's school lunch account and order some new items of school uniform. Unfortunately, a couple of items had either got damaged beyond repair, had acquired stains that were impossible to remove or had mysteriously disappeared (only to reappear later in the day, despite my having thoroughly searched  for them and given up!)  I wasn't best pleased at having to order more, but sometimes you've just got to swallow the cost and get on with it, to make sure they turn up at school looking presentable. At least once I've ironed her existing school uniform tonight, I know she will be all set to go back and throw herself into a busy new term.

Following this, after lunch I had promised Little Bird that I would help her go through her bedroom and have a thoroughly good clear out, ready for the year ahead.  In so doing, we managed to collate a huge pile of things to take to the charity shop next week. Since we last did this job, both of us have become happier to let go of more things that were no longer used or played with.  Some things, however, we still couldn't quite part with for sentimental reasons, but progress was made.

I can't deny that this particular activity was partly motivated by my 'Get tough with stuff' challenge for 2015 and it has already  helped me meet my target for this month, when combined with some things I put aside before Christmas to go to the charity shop. My other motivation was finding room to store all the new items she has received for Christmas and is yet to receive for her birthday later this month. December and January are quite accumulative months in this household as far as Little Bird is concerned, although I am getting better at buying her less but better quality as she gets older, which helps.

In the process of our clear out, poor Little Bird's wardrobe has now been decimated and is looking very bare. In addition to creating my own capsule wardrobe this year, I need to buy her some new clothes, as she has grown out of the majority of the ones she had.  It really is a priority in the next few months.

We managed to get part way through the clear out, which took us about 3 hours, before we both started feeling too overwhelmed to continue. We'll be resuming and hopefully completing the job today.  I do need to find a new storage solution for her crafting equipment, of which she has lots, as she's quite a creative child and is always finding new crafts and activities to get involved in. I'm hoping to find a small inexpensive set of drawers to keep it all organised and off her desk top, where it is currently preventing her from using the space for her homework.  I can't wait to get the job completed and for her have a much better organised space to enjoy.