Having a Back Up Plan for those unplanned events

If something is not working or something has cropped up that needs your attention, then do it. I plan, plan and plan. It is good to have a back up plans if something has not worked out and is good to be flexible. 

When you planned to do a some shopping but you get a call from your child's school that they are sick then we have to assess and of course we have to put our children first, but always have back up plan, like back up idea for meals for the week. It is always, if you like them is have a tin of beans in the cupboard and you can freeze bread. We have pasta and a sauce which is good and easy. If suddenly the oven breaks you have tins of food, like I like Tin Curry's, soups and a block of cheese in the fridge. Milk, Eggs and crackers. Princes is always our choice when it comes to tinned produced and Heinz and no this post in not sponsored but these companies. if they did then I'd oblige. 

It is good to have games on hand, like a pack of cards, board games or DVD games. There are games you can download and use, if it you had planned to go out but the weather has changed. It is good to have days where you can all watch a film together and have a cold foods to hand, like club sandwiches, with pieces of fruit and I love carrot sticks, sliced pepper and tried gluten free tortilla style chips (crisps) and sliced pitta breads. You can get brown or white pittas or wraps. 

This can be a back up if you planned a BBQ but is raining. Living in the UK you never know at times and food that you can freeze if your fridge goes example, goes faulty. 

It is good to have blankets and thick duvets if the heating stops working and mobile fans for when it is very hot, but you have no air conditioning. If you have a cool box if your fridge breaks down to keep food cooled and buy bags of ice rather making ice cubes depending on where you live and how clean you tap water is. 

If you lose your Oyster card then make sure you have a cash your bank card stored on you, separately from it and can still travel. If there are issues with the train then check to see if you can get the bus instead or if your car has an issue if you can use public transport where your heading. See how much it can cost in a taxi. Use Black cabs as they are licensed.  

It is good to have some sort of back up to reduce worry, it may be more cost affective and that life is full of unpredictable events and you have a your phone on you fully charged if you are stuck somewhere, money to pay for a call or when my mobile stopped working whilst in the Science Museum the Customer Service desk let me use their phone to contact my mum who I was meeting. 

I hope these are good ideas and that you have a good half term. It i the last week of term and then it another set of school holidays.

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Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X 

Getting Organised 2025

I like to cover this because my Organisation habit have changed, as I see bags that I need to clear out and store them somewhere. I have been making plans. I have kept some of my sons work at school that he has been bringing home and not sure what to do with them. I feel sad throwing them away. Getting organised is something I have always battled with because of keeping things. 

At the moment I am sorting out my room in Epsom. I have used under bed storage and it sorted out a place for my PJS and some clothes. My husband ordered me some hangers to hang more clothes up and then it is stripping my bed and I have got a second hand cabinet from my mum and step dad and will have a bedside table again which I have missed. This has place to store bits and a draw too.

I have file boxes which is good for storing papers and ordered ring binders as  I used one to store letters and school reports and so going to use these new folders to make him a new one and go through his older folder. 

When it comes to getting organised I like to check out Pinterest for organisation ideas and the room I have is small, so can't store too much. 

I have suitcases that have bits in and once I have cleared the storage in the closet then these will be going in the shed, this will make more space. The one question I ask myself is "When is a good time to get it done?" #I will answer do it now and I have got to sort the top of my closet.

Many would probably say "Do it in one go". For me, this makes me dread it. This is why I do it one bit at a time and small changes is helping me make sure it is done for bigger changes, such as a room is my own little nest and will make me love it more.

It  is good to have a room where it is functional and hung up more clothes yesterday. I have easy access to them, my underwear and socks with bras and leggins. I am trying to get out of wearing leggins all the time, so will be wearing more trousers and dresses. Yet practical. I play many sports with my son and I do Parkrun and see my son play rugby on Sundays.

I have a ruck sack which stores all that I need and this comes with me I travel to and from my home in Wimbledon. The black one I have I take when I once a week go to a coffee shop to write and picking up shopping. I would like a better place for them. 

The one thing I have done that has made me be vigilant is go through my finance each week and stuck at it and so careful with my money. Unsubscribing from retailers and other companies I no longer interested in. This includes Youtube and need to go through my photos again. 

I use Notion, Notebook, google calendar and diary. Really helps me stay on track. 

Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X

Having Simple Systems to stay organised to reduce waste

Hello and welcome! I love systems that help me to get each day tasks done and I make sure I have planned my week for Monday using Notion, my everyday Project Planner notebook and in my diary and like to write it down so it stays in my brain and when thinking of ideas to grow my content to make sure that things are done. 

Tip#1: Set a place where the bits you need for the day is easily accessible and where your main room is. 

Tip#2: Have your everyday items in the room spend most of your time in. Ours is the Living room. We make sure my sons school clothes are there for my son and  can put his uniform on and not make it a scavenger hunt.

A Meal we had to use up food we had Waffle with Maple Sauce, raspberries, banana and frothy cream

I am looking for some more storage and had a good declutter over the weekend, but going to use for the time being my suitcases to store bits in.  I have a stack of notebooks, as I write a lot and have a place that is easy to find and grab them once I finished with the ones I am using. I have journals, like a writing one and a personal journal and a Journal APP on my phone that I use a lot. 

It will mean the floor will be clear and making sure that if I want something ask myself: 

Will it fit into my system? Will it cause clutter? Will it reduce the pile? 

I write so having a good set of notebooks is a must but not to purchase anymore until I use what I have got and can serve many purposes. I like planning meals for the week and so today I set up a Meal Planner template on Notion aswell as a printable because I like to put the meals I plan to have the week stuck on the wall in the kitchen and if my laptop breaks or my phone I've got a back up system.

Each week I check the fridge daily and check to see what has to be used and plan meals around the items we have and check the food cupboards. 

There was a time where I'd buy spices but then never used them so had to put them in the bin, so I am quite aware of knowing that I am going to use an item up. I like to have tin vegetables, aswell as fresh and love fresh fruit and tinned. I like to have soups, pasta and things like noodles, stir fry sauces and do my maths when shopping. I am particular about some foods like I Heinz Ketchup, soups and spaghetti hoops and my husband and son like their baked beans. 

I also have systems for my son as he now is in charge of setting the table for dinner and I tidy the the table for dinner. 

Tip#3: Choose a day to have a massive declutter. This frees up space so you can set up systems and I have decided on Wednesday to have a declutter, as it is bugging me having so much.

I want to get my son a desk for his bedroom as he has a Keyboard which is currently on the windowsill and not used. We are going to, (my husband and I) go through his toy cupboard in the Living room and he has a stash of books that he has not read and never read and too young for him now and see if we can sell them or donate. 

I can organise his clothes and go through item that are too small and a better system to store his clothes, but the one thing I do is have a change of clothing in the Living room for my son to grab and put on. My son is a bit fussy about clothes as he doesn't like Polar shirts, but understands that he has to for school or anything top that has a hood. 

We did manage to persuade him wear a pair of jeans rather than tracksuit bottoms all the time but can make a fuss if it is new item and different to what is normally wears. I wonder how many parents can identify with that? 

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Many thanks for reading,

Carrie X 

Where can you reduce clutter in your life

So first off  I love notebooks, clothes and shoes...it feels good to confess. I bet there are others out there who read this blog, who are nodding. I have reduced it though and have decluttered. I use the one in and one out method and declutter one item at a time. 

Picture of the Garden when we were clearing out our shed 

When I declutter these are areas I start with. What's is to be used, can be donated or handed down to a family member, or to sell. 

When organising, it is good to look at what are the areas that you battle with the most. A great way is to ask for help. My mum is always decluttering and this is not just physical things, but like emails, subscriptions, documents no longer needed and tidy up my desktop on my computer or on my phone. 

It is good to go through your food cupboards and fridge. If there is a odour in your fridge? If yes then it is time to have a sort out and to help have a long lasting relationship with your fridge is by having a regular sort out and take note of food to be used.

Go through what's got to be used first, second and third and lay it out so the items that have a shorter life span is put at the top or front unless it is meat at which case, is placed at the bottom away from other items to stop contamination. Eggs don't need to go in the fridge but any dairy like butter, milk and cheese should be in the fridge and jams sealed, along with juices you bought from the fridge in the supermarket and any left overs food, like food that was in tins, left over meals and stock items in the freezer and helps to make the food last longer.

Then there is cleaning cupboards. Make sure the cleaning sprays and detergents are somewhere safely stored and where your kids can't have access to, depending on age and are properly sealed and are labelled and use different cloths for different areas and things used daily and this is not just cleaning cupboard, make the items accessible to you and if you have different floors in your home, you have items placed somewhere on each floor to save you time in keeping your home clean, in a safe place. 

Muddy shoes on a unused magazine or newspaper, near a door that leads to outside, like use the corridor or garage, to avoid the mud spreading into your home and when the mud falls off the shoes, boots on the mag and newspaper, you won't need to scrub the floor where they shoes are located and you have a bin or bucket to clean the shoes, boots and trainers with. 

The washing machines and Dishwashers, the less mugs, water bottles, utensils and serving equipment the less decluttering you have to do. I no longer by ornaments, they gather a lot of dust along with jewelry or glasses. Not saying we never have company but with less, the less you have to worry about. 

Something I tell myself when I see a nice mug or want another t-shirt or fancy kitchenware. 

I do a regular clean of the draws and we go through medicines that we have, place to store batteries and keys. Have the keys in a pot, draw or cupboard and again, easily accessible. It is amazing how you can accumulate batteries and keys. If they are no longer needed then take to be recycled. There are recycle bins for clothes, shoes and bags in some supermarkets. There usually in the carparks. 

So lets get ready for Spring and time to declutter. 

Many thanks for reading, 

Carrie X