Free Cycling

The weekend was not as productive as I had planned. I actually got nothing done! I had hoped to rearrange the hallway to put the wardrobe on a different wall but turns out it doesn't actually fit on the wall I wanted to put it on and looked stupid on the others. I also have about 30p in my bank account right now because last week I booked the flights for our holiday later this year, so no purchases or shopping trips either. All in all a quiet-ish weekend, housework Saturday then a night out for my sisters birthday, leading to a hungover Sunday with a trip to the climbing centre to attempt to sweat out the toxins then a sneaky kebab to replace them in the evening :)

I also spent the weekend attempting to get rid of our desk and desk chair. The ones I moved out into the hallway to get rid of 2 weeks ago. It looked like this for a week

Then like this for 2 weeks

It was a pain in the butt and I had hoped to get rid of them pretty much immediately via freecycle as stuff usually gets snapped up quickly. I know 2 weeks isn't actually that long to have some surplus furniture around, but we are limited on space. Certainly when we had a larger place and stuff could go into the garage or attic or spare room things hung around for longer than that before I got round to getting rid, but in a small place every square inch counts!

I listed the desk and chair on the Monday after the weekend of swapping the tables out (2 weeks ago today) on Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury Freecycle groups. I had someone email me Tuesday interested, I said it was still available, after much emailing back and forth and sending photos etc it turned out she didn't drive so was trying to find someone to bring her, by the time she admitted this it was Saturday. I gave her until the Monday to sort something out then said I was going to have to relist it on Freecycle as I had been waiting almost a week for her, but if she did find someone to let me know. I've never heard from her again so am assuming she didn't. I'm not sure if she was expecting me to offer to deliver, but I don't have a car either so it wasn't an option.

Relisted it Tuesday last week, someone else emailed me, replied to them that it was available and when could they collect, no reply.

Another person emailed with days and times they could collect and then arrived on time to collect on Saturday, much more what I expect!

This is the first time I've had such a palaver getting stuff collected! I've had no shows in the past and people generally being unreliable/rude and that's just some people for you, but I've never had to send so many bloody emails to sort out giving away some furniture for free!

So it made me think about some guidelines for using freecycle and what to expect...coming Wednesday!

Office to Dining Room

OK dining room makes it sound grander than a hallway we use as a room but I switched around our office at the weekend, getting rid of the desk and trading it for a table.

I shared this in progress photo on Sunday

Sunday morning I managed to get the room completely empty and ready to reassemble. When reorganising a room like this I find that for me it works best to empty as much of it as possible and then piece it back together again, it helps you to rethink the layout. I also gave the floors a good clean while there was no furniture in here. I left the turtle tank in there as it's pretty heavy and bulky and I was doing this on my own (why do I choose weekends Tom's working to get productive??), I just put sofa throws underneath it so I could slide it around easily and without scratching the floor.

Can you spot all the furniture pushed into the hallway in this photo? I'll freecycle the desk and desk chair and if there's no takers they'll go to the tip (anyone interested let me know)

I had emptied the desk completely, the stuff on the shelves under the tank are the only things that were kept in the desk I thought we might still want access to like sellotape, pens, batteries, paper etc. The rest of the stuff from the desk like photos, installation CDs for various things, envelopes and stationary we rarely use went in a small ottoman on top of the wardrobe in the hallway (all 3 are now full after this kitchen reorganisation)

I had a suspicion that where we had the turtle tank wasn't the best place for it, as it was on a short wall but facing into the longest part of the room, if that makes sense? This room is pretty awkward as it's a small room with 4 doors into it and it's an irregular shape, with a random change in wall depth on the long wall (you can see it in the left of the photo above) and also the living room door juts out into the room, this photo is taken from the hallway door, the bedroom door is first on the left then the living room is actually a bit larger so the wall comes out into the room

So I set the table up where the desk had been and it looked like this

Not good. When the benches were both tucked right under they were just about out of the way of the bathroom door, but if someone was sitting at the table it would be in the way, and if you pulled it out to seat 2-4 people the door would be completely blocked. I'd had an inkling that the tank might be better in that inset part of the wall, as the wall with the bathroom door on is the narrowest part of the room so not the best place for a table.

I scooted the tank over and set the table up in the other corner and voilà, fits perfectly!

Sorry this room is so hard to get good photos of, there's little natural light an it is so small and awkward that I can never get a shot of the whole room! Anyway I hope you get the idea...

After refilling the tank and putting the room back together it now looks like this

The baskets under the tank are just for now, I want to get 4 matching storage boxes for these shelves to hold turtle food and the remaining stuff from the desk that I thought we would want easy access to. The cat litter went in the cupboard under the tank along with the tray liners, bin liners for emptying it etc. 

Our new little dining area, the table fits so well in that corner, like it was made for it!

Coasters, I made 6 of these last year, 4 are in the living room with actual words on and these are made from the excess tiles I had left over.

The benches tuck away underneath pretty well so when not in use can go out the way. I might even attempt a DIY sewing project (I cannot sew so it might be laughable) and do some seat cushions. You can see part of the old computer hidden away underneath the bench above. I dismantled it and the screen, printer, keyboard and mouse are all in the entrance hallway stored away but within easy access and the cables are all still plugged into the back of the computer so it can be easily set back up if needed, although I don't know how often that will be.

My idea is that when working on the laptop for short times I will just sit on a bench, but if I'm going to be working there for a while I can move the bench and sit on a dining chair instead. We have 4 stacked in the hallway and a chair with a back is more comfortable.

The litter tray is still in here as I couldn't find anywhere else to put it, but it can easily be scooted into the bathroom when we are eating (don't want to have to look at that during dinner!)

All in all I'm pretty pleased with in, well actually I am totally in love with it and am sat there writing this post now! We are yet to eat there because there were some bolts not included with the table that we need to attach one last part, the bit that goes between the 2 legs to keep it stable. It's still a bit wobbly without that but hoping to go and get some bolts and get that attached asap. 

A reminder of what it looked like before

There seems to be so much more space in here and it seems lighter without the tank in the corner, which is a bonus in a room with no windows!

Friday inspiration post tomorrow, I'm presenting an award at a ceremony tonight to the apprentice of the year in the category that I won last year and absolutely terrified of speaking in front of that many people so as you are reading this I'm probably pacing the flat practising, wish me luck!

Freecycle strikes again

Tom was going to pick me up from work Tuesday to go and get the engagement ring resized, and as most times when I have him and the car at my disposal I had some furniture for us to collect...

Also we got some compost and plant pots, garden update coming soon as it's looking pretty good, especially in this beautiful weather :)

I said back in this post that I would like to get a multi purpose table for the office, something we could use as a desk but also to eat at. We do use the desk but only rarely (the printer could live anywhere as it's wireless and most of the stuff in the drawers and shelves of the desk could go somewhere else or go in the bin!) so we really do not need a proper desk just somewhere to sit with the laptop. I would love to have a dining table again as I'm sick of eating every meal on the sofa, don't get me wrong we will still do that sometimes but since we've lived here I've not done a proper Sunday roast as we have nowhere to eat it.

So I've been keeping an eye out for a very specific table - A smallish size rectangular table, large enough for 2 people to eat at, seating 4 would be a bonus. It needed to also have room underneath to store the printer and desk things when we are not using them, so couldn't have a large pedestal or be too narrow.

I didn't see anything that fit the bill in my price range (low haha) and after casually looking for a few months thought I'd put out a wanted ad on freecycle, and I got one!

This is the photo of it set up from the catalogue

Also see the catalogue here, rrp £199 reduced to £99, and we got it for free! The lovely lady who emailed me said they had bought it for extra seating at Christmas and now don't need it any more.

I'm going to sort out and dismantle the desk this weekend and hopefully get this table up in time for roast dinner Sunday :)

New Art

I liked the look of this canvas on top of the tank in the office

But because it was hand painted and not sealed or wipeable I was worried it would get a bit damp on top of the warm tank (you can see in the picture above the water steaming up the tank a bit) so I took it off and was looking out for something to replace it.

I then got Groupon email a few weeks later with an offer to get a large world map art canvas for £35 (rrp £160) from here

I love maps, especially in an office space as they look very grand but I didn't want anything too dark as this is a small room with no natural light, so these were perfect as they are art prints of world maps in text, paint splatters, words, music notes etc all in the shape of the world map. I've not ordered self assemble canvasses before but this was actually very easy to put together, I just laid it all out on the bed stuck the bars down as instructed and then cut the corners. The hardest part was rolling the bars in to tighten the canvas as I would roll one and the one opposite would unroll but I was doing this on my own so I think it would be pretty straightforward with 2 people.

Here it is, I like that the background is white so it's a splash of colour in here but not too overbearing. I was torn between this and this other one but wanted to keep the background as light as possible. 

We have put the candles and photo frame back up on the tank in front of it that are on the desk below, we can still open the lid to the tank enough to feed the turtles with the canvas and the candles etc on there and just have to take it all off to clean the tank.

Some details, it looks pretty cool in person and as it's a print we're hoping it will be able to be wiped down (So far when I do the dusting I just run a cloth over the bottom of it) but if it does show any signs of getting a bit damp I think I could seal it with some spray sealer.

That's our new addition in the office, hoping to sort out a new desk at some point but it's pretty far down the list (After all the bedroom furniture). I'm leaning toward getting a table that we can use as a desk and also to eat at, as since I got my laptop I don't use the desk so much but it would be nice to still have one and we miss having a dining table.

Bed Browsing

I'm torn between a few styles of bed, I'd like a traditional one in dark wood to match the wardrobes, or a fabric covered one with a tufted headboard, or maybe one with a shelf or thick headboard like in this post. I've been having a browse around and the ones that have stood out are these.

I like the neutral colour and headboard of this one, it could look great with white bedding or you could jazz it up with some bold colours.

The colour and style of something like this would go with our existing furniture, but I'm not sure if it would make the room feel a bit oppressive having all that dark wood in it

Something with a simple shape like this might lighten it up, I like the detail on the headboard

Or the sleigh style but in a lighter colour

I do also really like the idea of a grey bed

And whatever we end up getting I'd love to have something like this behind the headboard or built in to it

That's the few styles I'm looking at right now, by the time we buy one it might well be different! What do you guys think, any preferences?

Second Ottoman

We got another hamper for the top of Toms wardrobe

We put all the smaller stuff in there that was in the wardrobe in the hallway, like Toms remote control car, his telescope, board games etc. It leaves a bit more room in the other wardrobe for larger stuff like suitcases, cat carriers and the Christmas tree.

The bedroom is starting to come together a bit more, I want to get a new bed at some point and get the room into a more simple style as at the moment we have lots of different styles of furniture in here and although I like an eclectic mix of furniture and accessories (not the 'all from the same catalogue' look) this room looks chaotic and mismatched at the moment. The new wardrobes help and they kind of go with my little chest of drawers and the trunk, but the old bedside tables and the bed look so out of place. 

To be honest it would only take a few purchases to get this room looking more finished but they are large buys that we need to save up for or find second hand or cheap. When we have the furniture sorted and I can see the wood for the trees in here I want to get new bedding, artwork and either a new mirror or revamp my current one. I love to have an ongoing project though!

More Accessory Storage...

Tom remarked the other day while we were putting away clothes how he has his wardrobe to store all his clothes and I have my wardrobe, chest of drawers, the old bedside tables in the corner (my underwear, tights and socks are in them), my shoes in the trunk and my bags and belts under the bed. For someone who doesn't buy clothes that often I have a lot of them and I definitely spread them out! So I've had a clear out of the wardrobe, and I also noticed that actually my shoes took up only about half of the available space in the trunk, so I thought it would be good to get all my handbags and belts into here as well and have all of my shoes and accessories together!

The only problem is the space that was left was high not wide so I needed to layer my shoes, but the box from our old laptop fit perfectly on top of the bottom layer of shoes

 Then I put the shoes I wear more often on the top

The storage box my bags were in while under the bed fit perfectly next to them

Then I put the lid on and laid my belts on top

I moved this picture off the turtle tank as I was worried about it getting damp (it's been replaced by a wipeable print that I'll share picture of soon) and put it on here for now, although eventually I want it to go over the bed once we have agreed with the landlord where we can put some picture hooks (yay things on the wall finally!)

Voilà!

And there is an actual space under the bed now, how long do we think that will last?

Wardrobe Contents

I said back when we got the wardrobes I'd share what was inside them later, so this a little post on their contents at the moment.

In the wardrobe in the hallway is currently this

It's pretty much the contents of the ottoman and trunk that were in the hallway, now both in the bedroom, plus anything else from under the bed that I could fit in here! It will get a bit more organised at some point as we want to get another ottoman for the top of Toms wardrobe, then the smaller stuff from here will go in that and leave room for larger items. 

The hallway does looks so much better once the doors are closed though 

The bag hanging on the front of the wardrobe is full of shopping bags, the idea is it will remind me to take them with me, however I still keep forgetting them! I used to always keep them in the boot of my car but now I don't have have a car any more I'm finding I never have one when I need them. The chair moved out here because it didn't get used in the bedroom and we had a space in here, so it can be used for sitting on while putting on shoes and hopefully down the line (once we can make this room a bit more appealing) for reading as all the books are in here

There is still this corner which is a bit cluttered but once that box is sorted out (it's full of miscellaneous cables and electronics that we just need to sort out) and I sort out the baskets then it will look a lot better in here.

I also put these smaller boxes on top of the wardrobe that came with the ottoman in the bedroom, they don't have much in them yet but I'm planning on putting stuff from the kitchen in one, and maybe putting all the scarves, gloves and umbrellas that are in the bookshelf by the door up there in summer and replacing them with suncream, sunglasses etc. 

The wardrobes in the bedroom are laid out a bit differently to our last ones, both are forward facing, Toms has shelves and a tie hanger. He put all this jeans, shorts etc n the storage boxes in the bottom.

Mine is also forward facing but has 2 hanging rods and little shelf, which has my swimwear in that basket and my sun hat, also my jeans, PJs and knitwear in the boxes underneath

As I said in the last post, the wardrobes do have a bit less space in the than our last ones, but we were due a clear out any way. This suitcase is full of clothes to get rid of

That's the contents of the wardrobes, next on the to do list in the bedroom is new bed, new bedside tables and a move around of the furniture to balance it all out a bit.

Bedroom Progress

After the new wardrobes arrived the bedroom looks so much better already

 We will get another ottoman for Toms wardrobe at some point I think

Although there is still a bit too much clutter on this side for my liking Under the bed looks better, we swapped the bedding out of the ottoman that's on top of my wardrobe for things like Christmas decorations, empty boxes and other stuff we aren't going to need very often. Because I can't reach into the ottomans it has to be things in there I can wait for Tom to get!

I also moved this canvas off the top of the tank in the hallway onto the trunk

This side of the room looks a bit bare and the other side looks a bit cluttered so I think I might move some things away from the window to balance it out a bit more at some point. The thing leant against the radiator is a guitar stand that apparently doesn't work very well so I'm going to see if Tom might want to get rid of it, the pile of frames underneath the radiator I'm hoping to find places for in here, and the thing on the radiator is Minty's cat bed

It's not exactly pretty but she loves it :)