Moving...in the right direction!

Hello again...it's been a while!

We have been busy house hunting, packing, decorating and having fun with our 9 year old.  Our mental health continues to have good and bad days and we have strategies to cope which are often overtaken by events that are in pursuit of the better life.

The biggest change since that last time we spoke is that the house is not only ready to market , it has been on the market with Tepilo and HAS SOLD!  Woohoo!  And we are so proud of the achievements we have made in making it ready for sale.

We have decorated the master bedroom......

We had some paint left over from another room to refresh the white and some wallpaper bought 7 years ago.....we needed to replace some plastic trim above the window reveal which cost about £4 with mastic, some holes needed filling and that was it, elbow grease, furniture relocation and redecoration played the biggest part....all free!

Same for the second bedroom......

...except the paint was fine so all we did was fill some holes, wash the walls and wallpaper one wall at a cost of £20.

We had some cracked tiles on the bathroom floor so being very careful, we chipped out the old tiles and replaced them with some spares we had, this cost us elbow grease and a tub of adhesive grout.

The wallpaper in the lounge was lifting at the seams, so we pasted it back down!

We also filled a few holes and painted a wall.

In the kitchen we rubbed down and treated the worktop and had a good clean.....

And the same in the conservatory.....

...with the addition of one wall of wallpaper at a cost of £10.

Everything else was cleaning, packing and decluttering, mowing and trimming in the garden.  In fact we logged our spending (yep, in the faithful old spreadsheet) and to get it up to saleability cost us lots of graft but only just over £300.

In addition we packed as we cleaned.  Loads of stuff went to charity, recycling and the tip (most of which was also recyclable!).  For our packed stuff we waited until the last minute before the photos were taken and put it all in a Lok n Store where the rate was half price for the first 8 weeks.

Can I say, if you struggle with decluttering but have a good imagination, just imagine you are moving, you'll be amazed what you decide to let go!  We have thoroughly enjoyed living in a pared down house and having space to enjoy each room (especially the conservatory which used to be our business office!)  Who wouldn't with this view.....

So, we have an offer and things are moving ahead.  It isn't straightforward which is causing additional stress and anguish, but we are moving forward and that is the important bit.

When we know what is happening with our purchase, I'll update this, but I don't want to get ahead of myself as this is the third house we've tried for, and the second progressing offer on our house out of 4, it's not been plain sailing!

Hope not to leave it so long next time but who knows what life will throw at us in the next days and weeks!

Until then, take care.
Nora xxx

Fun for Free

Back in the 'how' of tightening our belts post, I promised to share some ideas on free fun....yes....fun doesn't have to be expensive!

OK, you can buy Merlin cards, Sky and Netflix, go on expensive holidays, buy designer brands.....but you can also do other stuff and have experiences that your children and you will still enjoy and have lasting memories from.

One of my daughters favourite things is a jar full of lolly sticks! Not just any old lolly sticks. Oh no!  But we have something like this one.....

Ours are pretty colours.....  And each one has on it an activity that she loves.

Cooking, games, foraging and walks, bike ride, time on Wii or PS, books, board game, bake cookies, DVDs.....the choices are endless, you know what your children like....go with that!

The ground rules are that the jar comes out in those dull moments and the activity has to suit the time available.  If we only have 20 mins, it's not likely to be cooking or Monopoly!  But we can fit in a quick game on the Wii, some TV, read a story or a chapter of a book or walk to the park for a quick play.

We love the lucky dip element of this....you never know what you're going to end up doing!

Hubby and I plan Date Night on a Friday Night, we cook a meal, try wine or cocktails and either watch a film or play a game, Canasta is one of our favourites....well, my favourite...haha!  Since my husband reminded me how it goes, I've beaten him every time!

We also do free advent calendars.

Little Lady may get a chocolate calendar from grandparents, so we like to do an alternative activity one.  It usually includes a trip to buy our Christmas tree, a nativity service, visits to Christmas lights, making gingerbread biscuits.

This year I have been putting aside Christmas stories & DVDs, and I'll be adding craft kits and cooking items for weekends when we have more time.  She'll get a numbered parcel to open each day with something to do, mostly these are gift bags that we save year on year and a free printable for a label, I like the ones with Bible verses on them that over the days tell the story of Christmas.

These are fun for the kids to do, but also fun to put together.  If you fancy giving it a go, there are loads of ideas over on Pinterest, like these.....

Activity Advent from All Things Simple

Book Advent by Here Come the Girls

Baked Advent by Butter Hearts Sugar

How about getting into the spirit of Christmas by giving to your local food bank with a Reverse Advent like this one......

...from The Mad House.

For any time of year there are lots of free things to do with children, these are advertised locally and there is this page too.... https://www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk/blog/free-fun-fun-family-days-out-that-don-t-cost-a-thing.  You can enter your area and find out what's happening.  And why not look out for craft events, they are quite often free as they are paid for by the sellers.

Don't forget that walks are free as are bike rides.  We have lots of lovely parks and countryside in the UK and also many of the Beeching rail closures have been made into beautiful flat trails for walks or bike rides.  Keep it cheap by taking your packed lunch and drinks.  You could also pick up a disposable BBQ as many parks will allow these.  Go to your local play park and take Swingball or frisbees, balls, hoops....you'll be amazed how many new friends your children will make with a few toys to share....we used to take a beach tent with us for shade and storage of our stuff out of the sun.

My daughter likes nothing more than being given some pennies and let loose in the charity shop!  She has found some nice clothes, games and books.  Or do the reverse, have a play day at home where you make all the puzzles you can find and the ones you no longer want can be donated to a charity shop in order to make room for buying new ones...or purging the toy shelves before Christmas or Birthdays.

We have so much in our homes and so much free stuff available in our communities, take a look and remember....do you want to buy that THING more than you want to buy time to LIVE!  The more you save, the sooner you can give up work and spend quality time at home.

Any ideas for free things to do  would be great, please leave a comment with your ideas, until the next time, toodle-oooo!
Nora xxx