Monday 29th December 2014 - Vim and Vigour

I've woken up today full of energy and zest for getting things done. It's a while since I've felt so "active". Maybe it's because I finally caught up with myself at last - I slept through most of Saturday afternoon and evening, and then all night as well...

Teaching music - at least the way I do it - is a very physical job. Lumbering into the school hung about with bags of sound systems, music books, instruments, then all the moving around, sitting, standing, singing, playing games, playing instruments, shouting (sorry, that happens rather a lot too - music is SUCH a noisy business). So it is not surprising that two things happen in the holidays - I sag with tiredness, and I put on weight, especially over Christmas (cake, mince pies, sweets, biscuits) and Easter (chocolate, cakes) and Summer (Cream Teas, Ice Cream, Strawberries and cream).

So, what to do with all this fizz and buzz?

I've written my thank-you cards using some zany stationery I got last Christmas - also a couple of postcards to friends

I've spent 2 hours marking music theory, sorting the class register for last term and setting up the register for this term

I've had a near miss with glueing a template into my Moleskine work planner ready for next term (good job I don't have chapped lips at the moment)

I've made mince pies and jam tarts, and eaten many of them too with help from family and friends

I've set up a Pinterest account, pinned a couple of things already (and locked up the PC visiting a some of the sites to follow up the "pins" - good ol' Norton, keeping me safe)

and found this amazing list of THINGS TO THROW AWAY - the idea is to deal with one item on the list every day. What a great idea! (I assume you throw away item 59 AFTER you have been to the wedding??). Watch out, all you scrips and scraps and bit and pieces - here I come!  Item 63 - the Kitchen Drawer seems like a really good place to start.

 

I've created a new page to chart my progress through the list! Right - off I go (I may be some time!)

116 Things to Throw Away

1. The other side of a pair of lost earrings
2. Scraps of wrapping paper
3. Cards people have given you with no sentimental value
4. Receipts you don't need
5. Ticket stubs
6. Socks with holes
7. Old t-shirts
8. Leftover change
9. Dried flowers
10. Magazines
11. CDs
12. Hair elastics that have lost stretchiness
13. Hair accessories you don't use
14. Shoes that don't fit or that you don't wear
15. Extra photo prints
16. Little knickknacks (designate a bowl and fill it)
17. Kitchen things you don't use
18. Cooking utensils you have two of
19. Tired bras
20. Scarves you never wear
21. Clothes that don't fit
22. Gifts you don't like
23. Old towels
24. Old makeup
25. Old toiletries
26. Old or unused hangers
27. Expired or sample-sized toiletries
28. Extra buttons
29. Expired sauces
30. Toys your pets don't play with
31. Expired medication
32. Dried-up nail polish
33. Bills you don't need to keep
34. Expired coupons
35. Old paperwork
36. DVDs you don't watch
37. Snacks your pets don't eat
38. Damaged clothing you can't mend
39. Stained clothing you can't clean
40. Old prom dresses
41. Scratched nonstick cookware
42. Old underwear or swimwear that's losing its stretch
43. Outdated electronics
44. Rusty jewelry
45. Stockings with runs
46. Pens that don't work
47. Clothing you've outgrown
48. Necklaces and bracelets with broken clasps
49. Cables and wires you don't use
50. Worn-out sheets and bedding
51. Empty or near-empty bottles of cleaning products
52. Old mending buttons for clothing you no longer have
53. Worn-out bath mats
54. Broken electronics
55. Purses you never use
56. Flatware, plates, and glasses that don't match the rest of your collection, plus dingy children's plates you no longer use
57. Old pillows
58. Worn-out shoes
59. Wedding invites
60. Save-the-dates
61. Wedding favors you don't use
62. Old wallets that you don't use
63. Broken kitchen equipment
64. Spare furniture parts you don't need
65. Furniture manuals
66. Boxes
67. Unused vases
68. Extra tupperware you don't need
69. Old mail
70. Junk mail
71. Travel brochures
72. Bobby pins
73. Old crayons or art supplies, plus markers that have run out of ink
74. Random containers and jars
75. Unused stationery, stickers, and sticky notes
76. Ripped denim
77. Old artwork or old children's artwork
78. Used and ripped envelopes
79. Broken or old iPhone cases
80. Old unused batteries
81. Extra and unused coffee mugs
82. Old spices
83. Address labels for your old house
84. Wrinkled ribbon and bows for gift wrap
85. Cards or gifts from exes
86. Frequent shopper cards you never use
87. Matchbooks
88. Old shopping bags
89. Old calendars
90. Old folders
91. Magnets
92. Clothes that are outdated or from college
93. Broken Christmas decorations
94. Christmas lights that don't work
95. Frayed towels
96. Expired food
97. Computer cords, firewire cord, etc. that you don't use
98. Old and outdated software
99. CDs for old computer programs
100. Old cell phones
101. Hand-me-downs that you're guilt-tripped into keeping
102. Freebie or promotional t-shirts you never wear
103. Old fortune cookie fortunes
104. Old bank statements
105. Old planners
106. Delete email subscriptions from sites
107. Delete emails you don't need
108. Delete unwanted music from your iTunes
109. Extra buttons that come with newly purchased clothes
110. Games that are missing pieces
111. Old schoolbooks you'll never use again
112. Papers you have backed up on the computer
113. Books you've already read and don't want to display
114. Cell phone covers you're over
115. Old manuals to electronics
116. Cell phone accessories you don't use anymore