I didn’t have time to blog yesterday. Busy Saturday with the family which was great. We went to Knettishall Heath in Suffolk which is near where I grew up and had a picnic, a lovely long walk with the dog and ended with an ice-cream. Knettishall Heath is one of my favourite places to visit. Beautiful countryside with plenty of space for the children to run around, an ancient tumulus to scare them with stories of ancient warriors buried there, a river to splash in and lots of wildlife to spot – we heard a cuckoo which was both happy and sad: This was the first my 3 children aged 8 and 6 had heard despite living in the countryside in Norfolk. When I was young I can remember hearing the cuckoo every year. It was a sign of the approaching summer, like the return of the swallows.

Anyway, yesterday I managed to get rid of my 17 things – they are:

A child’s coat, 3 waterproof rain jackets, a pair of kids overalls, 3 waterproof splash suits (all outgrown), a pair of inner soles which had been kicking around for ages, a non-slip bath mat, an unloved vase and a magazine rack – 12 items to the charity shop.

2 old bags (no, not 2 grumpy old ladies) actual old, worn out shopping bags – thrown away.

Some more odd socks – I bet I find the matching ones to most of these now -, a worn out tshirt and empty inkjet cartridges – 3 things recycled

Total = 17.

Today I have a load of stuff ready to go:

To the charity shop; Some swimming armbands, a swimming float, 3 coats, a pair of plimsolls and a bag of lampshades – 7 items

I have sold the bike trailer via a local website for rehoming unwanted things. – £35 to my charity collection.

I have thrown away; a holey hat, an odd glove, a pile of floppy discs with rubbish on them and a pile of out of date business cards. – 4 items

I am now off to the local recycling centre with the above charity shop stuff (they have one on site for things worth selling) and also a computer monitor, printer and speakers which don’t work. I’m also recycling into the roadside collection bin a pile of Next catalogues (can only just lift them so goodness knows how many there are and a pile of old newspapers. 5 things recycled.

I also have a name tag attaching device and some little attachments which I have given to my friend who uses the same type of tags for her child’s clothes. Unfortunately, my sensitive little flower says they are “too lumpy”.

Here is a picture of my living room looking quite minimalist…..