Focusing on Simplifying my space update #1…

I don’t know about you but getting ready for work in a morning has to be a very smooth operation and it often feels like I am a contestant  in that well known game of Beat the Clock.  I hate to be rushed in a morning and my  preferred style of  getting ready is ‘Beautify and Stroll’ rather than ‘Primp and Scurry’ quite amusing terms I once saw in a magazine.  However I do find myself often primping and scurrying rather than strolling due to a lack of organisation.

So to help me in getting ready on time everything I need has to be in the right place.  My morning routine is very simple so it easy to stay on automatic pilot until I am fully awake.

However, there is always room for improvement and I am hoping that as my Focus on Simplifying develops my routines will become so streamlined I can sail through the day.

Of course getting up and getting ready in the morning really begins the night before when I should (note the should!) make sure my bedroom is tidy, my clothes for the next day are chosen, my bags packed, my To Do list printed, and any other errands I have to do are noted and prepared for.

One other important task is to estimate how much time I need working backwards from the time I want to leave the house and then set the alarm clock accordingly allowing for 3 snoozes before I have to get out of bed.

Organising my beauty essentials

One way of making my morning routine simpler has been to reduce the amount of clutter in the bedroom starting with my dressing table drawers.  I have been through them item by item and identified those I use everyday and those that I may only use every now and then like foundation cream and anything that I found I hadn’t used has been put on the out / use – up / charity pile. 

As I sorted I also cleaned not only the drawers but the items themselves which always adds a nice sparkle.  So I am really down to the basics now – no rummaging around and nothing in here that isn’t used at least 20% of the time, in fact I would say that 80% of the contents are used 80% of the time.

Drawer 1

In the top drawer I have my skin care, makeup and fragrances –

•  face cream 2 for daytime and two for night time

• Nivea for really dry patches

• Cuticle massage cream from the Sally Hansen range

• foundation creams

• sponges, cotton wool and towelling headbands

• everyday makeup – mascara and lip sticks / gloss

• makeup brushes and pair small scissors

• eau de cologne and deodorant

Everything is neatly laid out and ready to go and kept in a series of Muji containers with a small flat box of Kleenex tissues perching conveniently on top.  I also keep my Thyroxin medication to hand in here as taking my tablet for the day is the first thing I have to to do when I wake up.

Drawer 2

The items in this middle drawer are less used – perhaps weekly rather than daily – I keep

• much reduced selection of nail polish

• cotton buds

• small emery boards in case of a quick repair to a snagged nail.

 

This is also where I keep more specialised creams for occasional use – I find I prefer keeping them here to the bathroom cabinet as this is where I would apply them at night.

• Calendula

• Tea Tree

• Traumeel

• Arnica Gel

• and essential oil mixes for massage

I also keep my ‘Sunday’ Thyroxin in here (which is a lesser dose) and needs to be kept separate from my main dose.

I have also a collection of eye make up and blusher cases for special occasions and a mini massage roller and soft skin brush.  Again everything is contained in the clear perspex containers from Muji with movable sections.

Drawer 3

The bottom drawer is where I keep my hair styling bits

• soft rollers for a bit of bounce

• hairdressing scissors

• brush and comb

• travel hairdryer

• extra rollers hidden away at the back.

The brushes just rest neatly on top of the tray which was from Ikea.

       

My main stock of creams are kept in the shower room cupboard and bulky paper goods such as tissues and cotton wool in the airing cupboard – this keeps my drawers free of unnecessary duplicates.  I like the ever increasing minimal look of the drawers and feel that this is probably is as far as I can go.

Of course there are always the annoying bits and pieces that do not fit into the drawers and I have 3 of these

• hair Mousse

• fine pump style hairspray

• Aveeno body lotion in a pump container

None of them are particularly appealing in respect of the packaging design, they do not co-ordinate in anyway and are not a pretty addition to my dressing table top and until I can come up with a solution I just have to live with them.

There are only a few days left in February and I am finding that I am not able to declutter at any speed and this months focus may just spill over into next month.  This week I am going to concentrate on the office.  After focusing on our finances I realised there are a few systems I want to change so that the finances are easier to track.

To read about my grocery spending and see what I bought this week click here and it will take you to my other blog Re-routed.

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Financial Focusing update #3

Todays Financial Focus task was to use some of my reward points and vouchers (N0 7 on the list) see the Focus 2014 tab above and click on drop down menu – January.   This will be an ongoing task as I have got quite a few for different stores.

After posting my mums birthday card ready for Sunday I had a quick sprint down to Boots tonight after work as I was desperate for a new mascara and  lip gloss.  I had a £3 off No7 coupon to use and I found there is a buy one get one half price offer on make-up at present plus I also had a coupon from the Advantage card machine giving me an extra 100 points.  So I got my goods for the bargain price of £13.25 rather than full price of £20.

I don’t wear very much makeup, a little mascara and a quick swipe with a lip gloss to protect my lips from drying out this weather and thats about it.  Foundation is usually for parties and posh do’s so it lasts ages.

I also treated myself to a hair cut tonight- a bit of a trim and a blow dry and I feel like a new woman, at least it should cut down the drying time in the morning before work.  My hair gets very static in the winter and the hair dryer makes it worse.

Cost of haircut £22 plus £2 tip for Becky (the trainee).  I never know how much to tip these days – I think £2 is reasonable do you?

Had I arrived home earlier I would have plunged my tired and aching feet into a warm bubbly  bowl of water and given myself a luxury home pedicure too – but the reality was that I decided to go back into town to Sainsbury’s for a few fresh veg and necessities for the weekend and so didn’t get back home until after 8pm.  As it was getting quite late I sensibly picked up a reduced Pizza to have with salad.  My grocery spend was £30.19 and  I used £30 of my reward points to pay.

My spend today

Cash 

• Lunch at work £2.55
• Giving to Homeless x 2 on route to car £1. 40
• Snack packet buttered Soreen £0.59
• Tip £2
• Hot Choccy treat £1.8
• £0.19 towards sainsbury’s shopping

Debit Card / cheque

• Hair £22.00
• Boots Mascara and Lip Gloss £13.25

Reward Points

• Sainsbury’s £30.00

for a grocery shopping breakdown you will need to link through to my re-routed blog but give me a day or two to get it back up and running!  It will need a bit of an update – and yes it is on the list to do asap.

So that was my Thursday – how was yours?

From one bin to another…

I am so excited at my new ‘find’ that I can’t wait to start packing.  These are pop up Laundry bins from Primark in a washable Nylon fabric. I decided on all white but they are available in a range of colours and they come folded up in their own handy little bags and once set free spring into these even handier open-topped containers.

This solves my problem of transporting bedding, towels and clothes from home to our beach cottage and transporting the dirty washing back again.  I should be able to pack the clean stuff into these 3 bins and then sort the washing ready for when we return.  They should travel well and are far better than suitcases, boxes or those polypropylene bags.

Before I go I would like to say thank you to the people over at the  Rio Rosa Mosqueta Natural Rosehip Oil blog http://naturalrosehipoils.co.uk/  for their lovely comment.  It is my favourite oil – I can definitely recommend it – my skin has been so much softer and smoother and the scar on my neck from my Thyroid operation is fading well.  I am hoping that with continuous use I will see a good result soon on my ever increasing wrinkles!

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Waste not… want not…

My ‘use up’ box

Below are the oddments of beauty products from decluttering my cupboards back in February and that for different reasons I am using up at the moment.  I have put them together in a Muji container on my dressing table so that I do remember to use them as I can’t bear to waste things even when I am not too happy with them.

The Umberto Giannini Shapely Body Mousse has been great it is the only aerosol I allow myself as they are not very ‘green’ but I haven’t found a natural mousse equivalent yet.  However, when I went into Boots recently for another can I couldn’t find it.  Their range now is different and all I could find is ‘Sex Bomb Massive Hair Mousse’ in an all black container – well Umberto I actually liked my pale green one with the shiny chrome top and as I cannot fit it into my drawer I am very particular about the items I have to display on my dressing table and shiny black just does not fit with the decor!.

The cellulite oil although quite nice I have already replaced with a bottle of Weleda Birch Cellulite oil that I have seen recommended in a few health magazines now and thought I would give it a try.

The tiny pot of Protect and Perfect Night cream came as part of one of those free promotional gift bags.  It is amazing how long they last and I am hoping it will last me to the end of the month.  I quite often buy the Neal’s Yard Frankincense Nourishing Cream to use as a night cream – it has excellent reviews and leaves my skin very soft and moisturised.

I bought the Bio-Oil after I had surgery to remove my Thyroid in 2008 to try and help the scar around my neck to fade. It does work quite well however I do prefer the product below – Rio Rosa Mosqueta.This is completely natural and I thought worked even better than the Bio-Oil.  I bought the Rio Rosa oil discounted from a health food shop that was sadly closing down and as soon as I have used up all the Bio-Oil so as not to waste it I will definitely buy another bottle.

The Weleda Natural Citrus Deodorant is one of my favourite buys.  I do not use it everyday as it is a wet spray which takes time to dry and quite different to the usual deodorants but I love the fresh smell and the reason it is in my ‘use up’ box is because I decant some into a small handbag size bottle to keep with me when I need to freshen up.

So there you have it my small attempt at being thrifty – I always feel quite delighted with myself when I have squeezed and scraped every last drop out of the jar or bottle.  It is a bit like using up all the left over bits of veg in the fridge and turning them into a delicious soup and gaining an extra free meal.