This time of year inevitably comes with an urge to scrub and get rid of all of the things. Or at least it does for me. I’ve written about decluttering and downsizing a good few times, so this is a roundup of my favourite blogposts that [for me] have worked until this day to keep me organised and less hoardery. I figured I’d share it ahead of this month’s bank holiday weekend in case you need something to do to burn off a few chocolate calories or just want a valid excuse to hide in a storage cupboard for a few hours …
THE BASICS – my original spring decluttering blog post from 2014 is the best place to start. I write about my top 5 tips for staying motivated while decluttering and following through with your plans.
THE BASICS 2.0 – the following year in 2015 I wrote 5 more tips on decluttering to give you an extra boost if you’re feeling overwhelmed, as well as touching on the mental health benefits of decluttering.
THE EARLY BIRD – since writing about it in 2014, I’ve done my 10 minute morning tidy routine every day since. You may prefer to do it at night before you go to sleep [that’s what she said], but either way, 10 minutes of tidying a day will keep you on top of things and in the long run with save you time and energy. Admittedly, now that Cora is here and keeping me on my toes, our apartment isn’t as tidy as I’d like. But I’m learning to try to be less hard on myself but I still do manage to keep most of our apartment tidy, otherwise it will get out of control.
DAY-TO-DAY – my two tips for staying organised on a day-to-day basis and it’s something I strongly think everyone should practice; using an agenda and organising your email inbox. To this day I religiously use both every day and find them a huge help.
EXTRA READING – a few years ago I interviewed Sarah Reynolds of Organised Chaos for Image Interiors & Living and we got way too excited about organising and how being tidy and organised can help improve your mental health. You can check out the full article here – Cut the Clutter: six steps to a calmer, cleaner, happier home.
Today I’m sharing my second installment of “embarrassing repairs I’ve made, but I’m sure I’m not the only one with this problem so I’ll share how I fixed it“. The first installment being how to repair a flatwoven rug.
As any cat owner will know, cats have a natural urge to sharpen their nails. I would like to take this opportunity to say our apartment is not tore up from the floor up. It is not shredded and covered in cat scratches. I have zero tolerance for those things. It’s a case that Juniper chose to pick one of our dining room chairs [seen as the farthest right chair in this post] in a place that we don’t see. This is the worst damage they’ve done to date as I’m usually pretty on the ball. I’ve gotten Juniper something else to scratch since, so let’s not get too mad at her. She is after all, adoraballs and just doing something natural.
But should you also have a furry friend than enjoys using leather furniture for target practice, do not fret. You are among friends. There is a way.
What you’ll need
– curved manicure / fine scissors or nail clippers
– leather shoe polish to match
Step 1 – using a fine or curved pair of manicure scissors, trim the stringy scratches off the leather. Trim them as close to the leather as you can, without cutting the leather itself. This is where I find manicure scissors and / or nail clippers very good. Take your time. The more detailed you are, the better it will turn out.
You’ll end up with something like this …
Step 2 – once you’re happy with your trimming and you’ve cut the loose scratches as close to the leather as possible, it’s time to add the shoe polish. As the scratches are a much lighter colour than the leather, make sure to mush the polish into every part of the scratches. I did this in a circular motion. I didn’t have to do many layers and the shoe polish quickly covered the damage. Allow to dry for a couple of hours before use*.
No, it’s not a perfect finish. No, I’m not a furniture restoration expert, but I have repaired a couch or two in this way over the years and it’s worked a treat. I repaired the chair to the point that it is unrecognizably scratched, unless you point it out.
I do however know that the only way to prevent this from happening again is to make sure your cat has cat-friendly items to scratch and to keep an eye on what areas of your home they are choosing to scratch in. Our girls have their recycled cat scratching post and Toshi occasionally has a good go at our basket, which I’m okay with for the moment. I also trim both our cats nails every two weeks to make sure they don’t do too much damage.
*ADDITIONAL NOTES:
– the shoe polish I use doesn’t rub off once dry [I used the W5 series shoe polish available in Lidl]. I didn’t buff it, but just let it dry. Please be aware that some polishes may rub off, so follow the instructions on your polish accordingly.
To conclude this post and to hopefully cancel any ill thoughts you may have towards her, here’s Juniper doing what she does best – exposing her fluffy belly and softer-than-clouds paws. I dare you to get mad at that face.
You know when you meet someone for the first time and you feel like you’ve known them your whole life? After geeking over charity shops online the past couple of weeks, Sadhbh* of Where Wishes Come From so graciously offered to give me a tour of ALL OF THE Bray charity shops last week. We met on Main Street in Bray and spent the entire afternoon shooting the breeze and touring the best second hand bargains Bray has to offer. Entertainment, great company, and it snowed. It was a pretty epic afternoon.
As Sadhbh so expertly advised, we started our tour at the McDonald’s [which is one of the top 10 McDonald’s in the world, if that’s your kind of thing] at the top of Main Street in Bray because that way, you’re walking downhill for the rest of the shops. That’s my kind of route.
Without further delay, onto all the second hand and charity good stuff –
10. Cast A Ways – excellent selection of second hand and shabby chic furniture
11. Vincent’s – a great variety of clothes and knick-knacks. I couldn’t resist a print of the Welsh countryside from here
12. Florence Fortune’s – it was unfortunately closed the day Sadhbh and I went, but we spent about 5 minutes with our faces pressed up against the front window. If you’re in Bray, you have to go to there.
We took our time wandering from one second hand store to the other, rummaging through all the bargain bins, and were finished in under 2 hours. But this route could easily be done in half an hour if you were on a mission. And dare I say it, the Bray charity shops put the Dublin ones to shame.
It would be a shame to not share a picture of my most prized possession from said route – the TraXedo. It’s a mock-tuxedo tracksuit top. Behold …
In case you were curious as to how it works, the bow-tie is velcrow and detaches on the right hand side for ease of access. As it says on the cuff – TraXedo; when smart meets casual. I promise, I will try and get a photo of husband in it later tonight, so be sure to check later. This was by far the best 3.50 I’ve spent in weeks.
We retired to Dockyard No. 8 on Bray Harbour and warmed up with the most epic of seafood chowder. We could have sat chatting and eating for hours, but unfortunately I had to cut it short to get the bus home.
I had an amazing afternoon and if it weren’t for my knowledgeable, cool and hilarious tour guide, I would have been none-the-wiser to all that Bray had to offer. Thank you again, Sadhbh xx
