Wednesday, 13 June 2012

Hi. Again.

(Credit)
Well, finally I think I'm back for good.

I've been studying and settling my elder son into college and it all took over somewhat.

The picture I've chosen to use for this post is called 'Be Free' and I felt it was very apt - I'm more free now than I have been for about 20 years, which is both scary and exciting.

While I've been away I've been thinking about what to do with this blog, and have some posts lined up about dealing with sentimental clutter, like photos and memorabilia, alongside some other decluttering projects.

I'll be back soon - and that's a promise!

Lemons xx

Saturday, 19 November 2011

What have you learned from a blog today?

Via




Well, I know you've learned nothing from me - I'm a terribly lazy blogger!

This weekend I've been trying to catch up with all the blogs I follow, and spotted this link to instructions for gorgeous ribbon Christmas trees on A Bowl of Lemons. I've added them to my (long) list of things to make ...

Christmas is coming, and it's time to think about decorations!

Lemons x

Saturday, 5 November 2011

Archaeological dig in number two son's bedroom!

My sons are very different. Number one son didn't fall far from the maternal tree - he loves to clear stuff up, tidy and declutter. Number two son tends to shove things into drawers and cupboards, so his room looks tidy on the surface, but a peek inside the nearest cupboard will reveal the truth!

So I was delighted this summer when he said he wanted to clear out 'some stuff' from his room. I think he was a bit taken aback when I arrived in his room with some black sacks, the vacuum cleaner and some cleaning supplies!

Going through his things felt a little like an archaeological dig - layers of artefacts from now (he's 16) back to when he was still in primary school! Including, much to his embarrassment, an S Club 7 CD! That'll teach him to declutter more regularly.

He didn't want pictures of his room on the interwebs, so there are no before or after pictures, but a lovely shot of the pile of cr@p we got rid of. Mostly it was donated, and the remaining was recycled as much as possible.


Happy decluttering!

Lemons x

Friday, 16 September 2011

I'm back - and I've decluttered my make up drawer!

Well, it seems that the Lemons family are finally getting themselves back on an even keel, after some wobbly months. So now I have a little bit more time to inflict my boring old blog on the interwebs!

While I've been away, I've done a few little decluttering jobs that I always mean to do, and don't always get around to. One of them is my make up drawer. I'm not a girl with a lot of make (I'm a natural beauty ..... NOT ha!) and I like everything to be at hand in the shallow drawer in my dressing table.

Here's a before - it gets all grubby and overloaded, as you can see.


And yes, that's all the make up I have. Weep for me ....

I took everything out - boy was there a lot in there!

I managed to throw away an old mascara, make up brush and a few lipglosses that I had acquired.














Then I cleaned out the drawer, and washed the little containers. I found these drawer organisers at Lakeland, and they still have similar ones in stock. They are plastic and you can link them together in different configurations. It's a good job they are plastic, as a lipgloss had oozed all over it ...

I put it all back in, organising it more logically this time, and ta da! One organised make up drawer.


Happy decluttering! x

Monday, 25 July 2011

Sorry, guys ....

.. but it's been a difficult and hectic time chez Lemons, and the blog has taken even more of a backseat than it did before.

I'll be taking some time away from the blog for a couple of months, until hopefully the Lemon family are back on a even keel. But I will be back - that's a promise (or a threat!).

In the meantime - happy decluttering!

Lemons x

Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Just one thing ...

   
Carlos Porto/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There are lots of decluttering challenges out there on the internet - '10 things in 10 days', '100 things in a month' etc. But I've found, when I'm losing my decluttering mojo, that 'just one thing' works for me. Just one thing each day that we no longer need removed from the house - whether it's the weird little screw you find in the drawer, the jumper you don't like anymore, the shoes your child grew out of a few months ago - I think most of us can find just one thing that we can declutter, however busy our day. At the end of the week, that's seven things and after a month ... well, you can do the maths!!

Happy decluttering! Lemons x

Wednesday, 4 May 2011

Ten Minute Tidy : drawers

I love tidying drawers - for one thing, they are beautifully portable. Most drawers will come out of the piece of furniture they are in, so you can plonk yourself somewhere comfortable to sort the contents - in front of the TV with a glass of wine, if you want. And secondly, they don't take long - for a little effort, you can be so much more organised.

I never wanted my blog to tell everyone how neat and organised they can be if only they buy a whole load of expensive 'storage solutions', so while I will add some links to drawer organisers from several UK companies, it's not hard to be creative, and use what you have. It is helpful to have some sort of containerisation going on in your drawers, particularly if you have lots of little bits and bobs, like jewellery, hair accessories etc stored in one drawer.They help you keep like items together (for example, all eyeliners in one place, all lipglosses in another) - divide and conquer is the rule of the day!

But you don't have to rush out and buy anything - you may have some little containers that work very well. Small baskets, plastic boxes like the kind you get from a Chinese takeaway or even sturdy packaging boxes cut down to the same depth - you won't see the printing on the outside if you slot them in snugly. You could always come over all Blue Peter and cover them with sticky backed plastic to get a uniform look, if it really offends you!

Pound shops often have small containers (which obviously cost about a pound!) that work well in drawers - Laura over at I'm an Organizing Junkie shows how well these kind of baskets work for her when she organised her junk drawer. For my make up drawer, which is wide but quite shallow, I found some interlinking drawer organisers at Lakeland which work well for me. Muji also have a gorgeous selection of acrylic boxes which could be used in drawers or small cabinets (like bathroom cabinets) - although I will admit they are quite expensive, particularly if you want a lot of them. The Holding Company has a good range of drawer organisers -  I particularly like their Clutter Buster Drawer Organiser.

I'm sure there is a drawer somewhere in this house that needs my attention -

Happy decluttering! x