Still Simplifying - February

It's been a pretty similar month this month to last months efforts with regard to simplifying things here.  I've still been focussing on donating anything we don't use or want to keep anymore.  A few things left my wardrobe this month.  They'd been making me feel guilty every time I opened the door, for not wearing them more, but they weren't very flattering on me, so it was time for them to go.

I finally took a box and a bag of items to the charity shop.  The bag was full of Christmas decorations that I sifted out when we put everything back in the loft last month. The box was full of better quality donations that I've been hanging onto for a year now and just never got around to taking.  The sewing room feels a lot more roomy now they have gone.

In total, I managed to donate 74 items this month, which when added to last month's 62 items gives me a running total of 136 items so far this year. I'm aiming for 1000 items again this year, but I'm not too sure if I'll reach this target, as it is the third year running that I've tried to donate this many things. The previous two years I succeeded, but it is getting more and more difficult as I go through the process each year, which is a good thing in many ways.

With regard to my small business, I'm also simplifying there and trying not to buy any new stock.  I've still got so much stock that I need to sell and I'm making a concerted effort to do so.  I made a couple of sales this weekend and listed some more items that I'm hoping will sell pretty quickly, so progress is being made, albeit slowly.

Another aim of mine this year was to simplify an area of my life each month.  This month it has been my finances. I've cashed in the few Premium bonds I had, that I've never won a thing on in 13 years and put the money into a new savings account. The current chances of winning are being reduced anyway soon and as I've never won anything, I think it unlikely I ever will, especially with an investment of only £100. The only people whom I have known to win even small amounts, had thousands invested. I'd probably be better off buying the occasional lottery ticket. Anyway, I'm going to be transferring money into the new account on a monthly basis via Direct Debit at the beginning of each month, so I've made a firm commitment to starting to accrue savings.

I've also purchased some new shares in an attempt at investing for my retirement.  I'll see how they fare over the next few years and if they do well I may purchase more.  If not, I'll probably put it down to experience, although I'm hoping that I won't have to.

In conclusion, there has been progress this month, and I've been reading lots of financial and other self help books to spur me on to making more positive changes in the coming weeks. I'll keep you posted.