Summer Project Review - Part One

This past summer holidays, I made it my mission to "sort out" my second bedroom.  Because the people who built these flats decided that "people don't need or want any cupboards outside of the kitchen" (not true), there is zero storage, apart from a very small coat cupboard.  Which is only big enough for storing coats and a hoover on the floor.

As a result, the 2nd bedroom became a dumping ground.  Because, like every household that's established for long enough (5 years now in my case), you accumulate "stuff".  Things like wrapping paper, Christmas decorations, sellotape, printer paper, mugs, envelopes.  All things that you need at certain points through the year, but all of which take up space and require storing.

And of course, my line of work comes with its own clutter.  Those puppets you use for circle times, those resources you spent time and £'s to produce can't be thrown away, those costumes you wear for World Book Day, those teacher manuals and children's books.  All have value and have to live "somewhere".  Not to mention all the day-to-day stuff that you carry to and from school every single day.  All that stuff takes up room.

So...  The summer holidays was going to be the summer of "sorting".

First I started with a 6-drawer unit that mostly held art resources and scrapbooking stuff.  I was big into scrapbooking 5/6 years ago.  But for a long time I didn't have anywhere to store it, and so got out of the habit.
Then when I did have room to store it, I thought "hurrah!  I'll use it!"  Then it sat, basically untouched for 2 years...  So I went through all the drawers and sorted everything into 3 piles:

1:  Things From The Past - Old birthday/Christmas/thank you cards with meaningful messages, old notebooks, things from secondary school eras.  Not things I particularly love, per-se, but things that tell a story from the past.  I'd feel like I was throwing away a piece of history if I got rid of these things.

2:  Things That Are Crap - Part-used sticker sheets, dried up pens, empty & unattractive notebooks, ugly things in general.  These all went into a bin bag to join the great landfill in the sky.

3:  Things That Someone Could Love - I filled a large supermarket fruit box with arts & crafts supplies.  Then donated the entire box to Adele's younger sister Louise, who loves all that sort of thing.  About 3 weeks later she gave me a sweet hand-made thank you card.
So, OUT:  A whole box of stuff I didn't want.
      IN:  One thank you card.

Already my burden on the floorboards is lighter.

Those 5 empty drawers are now used for excess food storage.
You see, when it comes to food, I have my hardcore favourites.  And not always the most expected of things.  Possibly one of my most favourite foods is a tinned chicken curry from Tesco.  It sounds many shades of awful, but is possibly one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.  And now I have it at least once a week.  Sometimes more.  It takes 10 minutes to prepare (most of that is rice cooking time), so I eat it usually on a Thursday when I don't get home until nearly 7pm.  It's the ultimate in ease and tastiness.
But then I worry!  What if Tesco stop making it?!  My delicious and easy tea will be goooooone!
So now, quite often, when I eat one, next time I go to Tesco, I'll buy 2 to replace it.  Or if it comes up on special offer, I might buy 5 or 6.

So now, a whole drawer of this unit is devoted to tinned curry.  ;)

Another drawer has toilet paper in it (it was on special offer).  I have my favourite brand (Andrex Quilted if you're interested!  You're not, I know), so when I know I need more in the next month, I watch out for it being on offer.

Another 2 small drawers have Quavers in.  I love Quavers, have done for many a year.  I have flirtations with other brands, like Monster Munch, Walkers Hoops & Crosses, or Wotsits, but it's always Quavers I come back to.
Things like Quavers are MUCH cheaper to buy in bulk and have a decent shelf-life.  So when they are on offer, I stock up.  But those 40 bags of crisps have to live somewhere...  So now they have a home in a drawer unit.

Another drawer is mostly empty.  It only contains (I just went to look), 2 boxes of boil in the bag rice, and (randomly) some beef gravy granules.

And so, a drawer unit, filled with stuff I neither needed, nor wanted, is serving a useful purpose again.


This is such a nerdy post...

Join me tomorrow for part 2!  The Wooden Cupboard and the Other Plastic Drawer Unit.