What the hell is this?!?!

Tell me you have these? I don't mean tell me you have these exact individual items, but tell me that I am not alone in finding these piles of completely random, homeless crap with chameleonic blending properties scattered about my home.

I'll be quite happily going about my business and all of a sudden I notice something out of the corner of my eye - maybe it shimmers in the light. Perhaps a window is open and I hear the faint rustle of a carrier bag in the breeze. I turn... look... and find this!

A baby bath stuff container, car seat fabrics, pram cosytoes, old nail varnishes case, a top I meant to return ages ago and an IKEA Skubb box. AKA random pile of rubbish that falls just outside of my day to day perception.

These piles breed. I start by just putting the box there "for now". What's a box?! It's pretty neat and I will find a place for it soon anyway. Then I come across the cosytoes and car seat fabrics when decluttering a drawer and wonder where the hell I'm going to put them. I'll take them downstairs with me, but I'm not going yet so they can sit on the box and I'll take them with me next time I go down.

Eldest wonders in from wherever she's been playing and she's carrying the old nail varnishes box.  I have no idea where she's found it and since it's bedtime and Youngest is about to wee on the bed I chuck it onto what was once just a couple of things and is now a rapidly increasing pile of crap. To add additional bits such as the Skubb box and the top at a later time is easily done once a POC (pile of crap) is established in a room. After all, what's two more small things? Plus, I am going to find homes for it all in a minu.... "Eldest! Please don't stick your head into the toilet!"

What was I doing? I don't remember...

Soon enough the POC develops mystical cloaking powers. I can walk past this collection of assorted guff sixteen times daily and not even realise it's there. It doesn't want to be seen.

The POC pictured today got zapped. Each item found its way to a new home or ended up in the bin. I am smug about it, but I can feel the others. They snigger at me from the corners, but one day I will see them... and I will get them.

New Obsessions Needed

Okay, I need to think about something other than moving house. I don't think it's going to happen now, so I need to get my mind off it and use my obsessive tendencies for good. Obviously not being at work means my mind is working overtime on random things and I need to rein that in and concentrate on something that will help us. I have chosen the following subjects:     

1. New kitchen. Since we probably aren't moving it's time we looked at the 70's-esque food preparation area and decided what to do with it. We will save money until the end of the year, so until then, I need to get brochures, have design consultations, draw plans on my graph paper and generally obsess about layout/appliances/design, etc, etc. Yes. I did mention graph paper. We flirted with the idea of an extension to the house, so I got graph paper, measured the house and each room and made several detailed plans. Prior to that, we bought new bedroom furniture so I made a birdseye drawing of the bedroom and cut out little beds, wardrobes and drawers to scale in the choices we were looking at so that I could make sure we got the best fit for the room. Yes, I am a geek. I know this and I am not ashamed. Mock me as you will.

2. Weight loss. Having 3 babies in 3 years has really done a number on my body. I'm now 10 stone 10 and 5' 4" tall, which is not good. I want to get down to 9 stone, but I'll have to do it slowly so that I don't affect the breastfeeding. Basically, if I stop eating 20 biscuits a day and gorging myself stupid on jelly sweets and chocolate I should be a good way there!! I walk a few times a week when I take the baby out and about, plus the housework keeps me active (when I do it). So my lifestyle is quite a bit less sedentary than it was when I was working.

3. Decluttering / make spare cash. I am a hoarder by nature. I find it very difficult to let things go and have random collections of "stuff" in various stashes throughout the house. Mainly I hoard books, clothes, CD's, etc. I have started to sell my old books on Amazon and have received my first payment for £45. I'm listing all of my old maternity wear on eBay and there are tons of other things I have that I can sell as well. I sent off 4 old mobile phones to Envirophone the other week and got a cheque for £44 from that. I've been answering surveys online for a few pence and I'm due £50 for doing that. We collect 50p's and I have a copper jar too, which are up to about £55. Basically, maternity pay is SHIT and I need to be able to fund this new kitchen or house move somehow. If eBay hadn't made it a prohibited item I would so start selling photographs of my feet again!!! Now that was easy money!