Fitting a quart into a pint pot!

Today was given over - well, in theory - to the reorganisation of Mum's wardrobe.  You know what its like - you move in and everything just has to find a home.  Now you want to make it work for you!  Throw in the fact that they used to have a large set of drawers each - now there's only room in the bedroom for one set - and that the fitted wardrobe is not the best laid out for their stuff and you begin to appreciate the problem.  Mum didn't want to have clothes all over the house (option 1) but neither did she want to simply go out and by more furniture.  Time to get thinking of storage options!

I have to admit that I have far too much stuff (don't look at my fabric stash for example) and have a real appreciation for those people who can minimise their belongings.  Wendy, for example, has a pair of friends who, upon retirement, sold everything and live out of a car - they spend their life on holiday or visiting friends and relatives - seeing the world!  I particularly like the Konmari method of decluttering where you throw everything of one sort (scarves etc) and stroke each one - asking yourself do I love this?  I know it sounds a bit new age but how often do we just reorganise something and re-position it - yet never use it because deep down we don't love it?

I mention this because much of the morning was spent in front of open wardrobe doors asking exactly that sort of question.  Not, I hasten to add, of dad's clothes (more than my life was worth - he was outside avoiding the cull)  By the time we had finished there were three large piles of clothes and accessories ready for a charitable donation.  I had only purchased a set of fabric hanging shelves for the wardrobe and a hanging door collection to store the much loved scarves (behind the bedroom door).  The "too large" IKEA drawers were repositioned, the old wicker basket doubled as underwear storage, fabric stash made into hanging baskets with the addition of a metal hook from the local hardware store, the spare IKEA fabric box doubled as a shoe store and fits exactly under the fabric shelves whilst an an old wicker basket hoovered up the bits and bobs that needed a safe home (foldable walking stick that was needed after an attack of sciatica etc).  All of this sounds quite dull but you cannot imagine the satisfaction of an organised wardrobe.  We were even able to find enough room for those clothes in that second set of drawers which now leaves them free for future guests to use - result!  I should also say that the plastic boxes are full of Dad's winter woolies - as I said - I am not that brave!



Surely that must be us finished now - right? Er, no - next in our line of focus is the enormous amount of Christmas related paraphernalia - but, given the heat, we've ft that for another day.  Needless to say I came home, via the Salvation Army recycling bin where three large loads were donated, and fell asleep for over an hour in the conservatory - not the best location in this heat!

Millie and Daisy?  Well they spent the day with me bombing around the garden and up and downstairs - let's just say that they enjoyed their sleep as well!