Decluttering: Kitchen Items & Phone & Computer

Kitchen Items

There are a few sections in this category but I had already decluttered most of them when I was first packing up these boxes. There was a few storage containers I definitely won't be getting rid of and a box of kitchen items (which also had some knick knacks in it) for me to go through.  As this mainly contains items I usually use on a daily basis and so there wasn't too much going, so I was surprisingly pleased with the items I did manage to get rid of.

Phone & Computer

Apps

Last year the phone I had been using for about three years died.  And not in a 'oh by the way I'll be gone soon so you might want to save some stuff' way, but in a turn myself off and never turn back on again way.  I decided to not bother getting a new phone as I wanted to look at my contract in the new year and just brought a cheap second hand one to tie me over.  The thing was, it didn't have a lot of storage or memory and that meant I had to be very selective about which apps I put on.  It gave me an opportunity to really look at what I used regularly and which apps I didn't use at all.  Now that I've changed my contact and have a new phone I only have on it the ones I really use.  If I find I stopped using any of them in the future they will go.

Stored Media

I'm not really a photo person anymore and very rarely took photos with my phone (I'm not even entirely sure right now where i've put my camera).  However, during my course I took a lot of photos of the work I was doing and the landscape I was working in.  All of it was taking up precious storage space, but I wanted to keep a number of the photos as I reminder of what I can do.  So, I've actually used my Facebook account for once and uploaded the photos there.  I can now delete everything off my phone and SD card to free up precious space.  All pictures I don't want to keep have been deleted.

Email Inbox

This area has taken quite a while to do, in fact more than a day, and that’s because I have so much in my email account.  The reason is probably because I just shuffle my emails into their set holder or delete them without really paying attention to what I’m doing or how much time this is taking.  I’ve really taken my time on this one, unsubscribing to emails that I no longer read (still have a few to go in this as and when they pop up) and going through my email folders deleting emails or even the folders that are no longer necessary or useful.  I think this will be an ongoing thing in the future and should, hopefully, now take a lot less time then before.

Subscriptions
I’ve never really had a lot of subscriptions so this wasn’t one I had to do too much work on.  The biggest issue I have is trying to read all the information and magazines these subscriptions produce.  There were two that I pay for myself, which are more memberships rather then subscriptions, to the RSPB and the Bat Conservation Trust.  I am keeping these but have asked both of them to make me as paper free as possible with only emails instead of the usual magazines.  Of the two that were gifts I am keeping the subscription to BTO (again paperless and email based) and have stopped the BBC Wildlife magazine subscription, not because it was bad but because I just wasn’t finding it easy to find the time to read it.  It was basically a waste of a gift and that seemed a shame.  I don’t have any other subscriptions so that was it.

Path Work - Glen Luibeg

So my life as an Upland Path Worker has finally begun and I've decided I wanted to keep a record of the work I do as a reminder when I'm older.  To begin with I'm going to start with just a basic overview of the work being carried out, but will probably get more in-depth as I get back into it again and feel comfortable. 

I was meant to start a few weeks earlier but the weather, namely the Beast from the East, meant that we weren't able to get out until the 10th April, but what a difference it feels like being outside rather then being stuck in an office.  The company I am working for predominantly works on carrying out path maintenance rather then actual path building, which still entails building stone structures, but these are just incorporated into the existing path as sort of upgrades.

For these two weeks we were working on a path located in Glen Luibeg on the Mar Lodge Estate (a National Trust for Scotland estate) which leads to Sròn Riach.  To get to this path we walked from Derry Lodge over the footbridge and then turned left, following the path (ish) through a boggy area and then along the main route.  The path then splits and we carried on following the Luibeg Burn.

Before

After

Our main aim here was to clean the existing drainage features that might be full up with debris, and therefore not working properly, and add in extra features to help maintain the surfacing of the path.  This work mainly entailed adding step rises to sections to act as an anchor, holding the surfacing on the path, and slightly reducing the steepness of the path making it a much more walkable footpath.  Additional waterbars were also needed in some locations to help cancel the water coming from the hill off the path.

Before

After

Drainage to keep water off this section (can you see it)

There was also a section where the path was so boggy this needed to be removed and resurfaced, along with a very simple feature added to drain the water away from that location in the future.

Before

After

Another major work (which I only really helped with at the end) was to help sure up an existing crossdrain where the water had worn away the earth on the exiting section.  Whilst this wasn't an issue right now it would mean that the end of the crossdrain could collapse in the future, ruining it's effectiveness.

Before

After

There wasn't a lot of rock that was easily accessible in this area, but thankfully some stone had already been airlifted the year before.  We still needed to work on collecting the cobble and grit needed to secure the stone structures and improve the path surface.  The grit did turn out to be relatively easy to find, though very hard graft with a number of burrow pits being dug and filled up again.  Nothing like a good bit of digging in a hole.  The grit looks quite obvious now but after a good bit of rain (thankfully something that happens regularly here) itlli then looks more in keeping with the rest of the path.

As always the hard work is more then compensated with the chance to see and be surrounded by wildlife on a daily basis.  Like the little fellow i almost stood on pictured above whose species I have not been able to find - if you know please let me know below.  I also got to see what I am guessing is a Common Lizard, a number of Black and Red Grouse (tis the season for lekking), and some geese flying over though I didn't get the opportunity to actually identify them. So this is the start, I hope to write about it more in-depth in the future but I just wanted to start with a very quick post about it.

I hope this will be something enjoyable to read.

Search engine Ecosia

I use search engines all the time. In fact, with the event of the smart phone, I basically search every little question that pops into my head which I used to just leave and then forget about.  I'm not sure that's a good thing, but searching information has definity become something I do regularly.  I used to use Google, but recently I have found another search engine that adds a little brownie point to every search you do.  It's called Ecosia and they do tree planting.

Ecosia is a search engine you download and then you use it in exactly the same way that you use any other search engine.  The difference with this search engine is that they use the income they generate from the search ads that appear to plant trees.  You can learn a little more about why they decided to spend this money on tree planting rather than other projects on their website, but they see them as being 'nature's high impact home remedy' and the reason for this mainly boils down to six things.

• they are the most biodiverse ecosystems on land
• they help protect the soil from erosion
• they help clean the air
• they help local people by providing healthy food and sustainable products
• they provide water security and prevent both flooding and draught
• they play an important role in the fight against climate change

The one thing I love about this search engine is that you get to see just how many trees you've helped plant every time you do a search.  Don't get me wrong, this doesn't search as well as Google, but the difference in the two search engines is not big and definitely not big enough to justify not using Ecosia instead.  I've now also installed it onto my android phone as well.  Definitely worth the change and almost gives a justification to my constant searching.

Goals 2018 Update #1

So I'm going to be honest, I didn't do as well this quarter as I had hoped.  If imI honest the start of this year has been a lot more stressful then I was expecting and some other things have had to take priority.  That being said, I still have reaching my goals a good go and I still have the rest of the year to make up for where I feel back.

Minimising

This is one area where I have actually done pretty well on.  If you follow my blog you'll know that I've been working on a version of Pick Up Limes '30 Days to Minimalism'.  Through that I've managed to reduce my items from what would have been three car loads to what would now fit in one.  And I haven't stopped there, if I'm no longer using an item anymore or no longer feel an attachment to it it goes into the donation pile to be given away when there's enough items. 
I have also reduced my purchasing whilst making sure I actively use the items and products that I have.  One of the positives has been realising the number of books I had which I hadn't actually read, making me realise I really needed to put time aside each day to read.  I've really been enjoying this and it has been great to have this little 'me time'.  Whilst I don't think I will ever go back to having the amount I had, having a small studio flat has definitely helped me keep my things at a minimum.

Healthy Eating

Now this is an area in which I've really struggled.  As I said before, this quarter has been quite a stressful three months and I am someone who does still do a little bit of comfort eating (not going to lie about that).  I also find that when I'm stressed I find it a lot more difficult to make the healthy choices that I should.  I'm still drinking fizzy juice pretty regularly, but I have managed to reduce the amount of chocolate, biscuits, and ice cream I eat pretty significantly.  As ice cream tends to be my go to when I'm upset and am a little proud of myself for that.  I have also managed to make most of my meals from scratch, which has been much healthier and cost effective and has meant that I've already started on the next stage.
So what's next for this goal.  I haven't done as well with reducing the processed sugar in my diet as much as I had hoped, but there's still time and I will keep working on that for the next few months.  As I've already started cooking from scratch most of my meals I'm going to take that even further and only allow myself one processed meal a week.  I don't have a fridge or a freezer at the moment and I don't know if that's going to be a hindrance or a help.  I guess we'll just see what happens.

Finances

I done a good job at making a budget and roughly keeping to it.  This is still a learning curve for me and so I've had to tweak it here and there to make it more realistic to what i actually need.  But it has been a good way of learning where I overspend unnecessarily and where I can and need to reduce. 
The main issue I've had has not been starting the job I'm going to be doing for the rest of the year and so not having a realistic idea of how much money I am going to have.  Because of that I've been concentrating on the essentials and reducing costs where I can.  Once I have a better idea of what my income will be and what I can do with the rest of my money.  The next stage for me is to start working on my whole budget with a realistic income in place and start the process of researching the best pension scheme to be on for my age and income.

So, I haven't managed to reach all my goals for this quarter, but I have still managed to give them a good go despite everything else that has been happening and I'm going to give myself points for that.  It is also only just the beginning and I have time to catch up. Things should hopefully settle down a little bit more now, giving me more time and energy to put towards completing these goals this year.

Product Use Up Update #3 and Other Products

I knew this month was going to be one of those slow transitional months, where your mainly just warring the product down rather then using it up.  But it’s also the last month I’ll have the opportunity to wear as much makeup for the rest of the year and therefore the last opportunity to really get through the stuff.  That being said I didn’t actually wear any at all this week when I was visiting family – ops.

Though the progress was slow I did manage to use up one product and that was the Neal’s Yard hand cream in Wild Rose.  There’s not too much to say about this product really.  It moisturises your hands and smells quite nice.  It’s possibly not as thick as I need it to be and a bit pricey to buy again, but Neal’s Yard is a cruelty free company and I do like the fact that a number of their products come in glass.  Now it’stime to start working on the Neutrogena anti-aging hand cream.

And now for the rest.  I have made progress on the Gosh Velvet Touch Matt lipstick in Plum, though not as much as I had hoped with it being the only lipstick I wore this month.  I am going to take a break from it as a lipstick in April, but I have noticed that it makes a very good cheek stain and will keep working at it as that.  There have been no change with the other lipsticks in this project.

The Living Nature eye liner in Midnight is another product I use everyday I wear makeup but which show little progress.  This isn’t a surprise with eye liners though as you never really need that much of them.  I’m going to do some more smoky looks in the future to try and get some more use out of this.  It also very blend able and I might experiment with it to darken up some eyeshadows.

I’ve only just started using the NYX Dark Circle Concealer Corrector in Light / Pale this month so there’s not going to be a big change between the start of the project and now.  It’s also not a product that is easy to layer so only a small amount can be used at a time.  Thankfully there was already a big dip in it so I’m still hopeful that I’ll finish it by the end of 2018.  It doesn’t supply the best coverage, but I’ll keep working at it.

There’s been a change in the way the roll ball part of the Pacifica roll-on perfume in Island Vanilla now works, similar to the Blood Orange perfume I had before, which means it now lets out more of the product.  Whilst there still hasn’t been a huge amount of progress I think it’s definitely going to increase now.  The scent is a little longer wearing in this fragrance and I do enjoy it, I just don’t like the applicator as much as I thought I would.

I almost feel like not bothering to put in the Barbara Day eye primer in this update, it’s almost a running joke now.  I use it every time I wear makeup but there is not an obvious progress.........yet.

I’m now using the Burt’s Bees hand salve a lot more now that I’m no longer wearing nail varnish, especially as I’m trying to improve the health of my nails after years of wearing polish.  However, you still need very little of this so it’s another product that’s showing very little progress and is in for the long haul.  I do think I will be able to get this finished at the end of the year.

The Argan Oil hair treatment is one of those items I keep forgetting to use.  My hair could probably do with this extra TLC, but it just keeps slipping my mind.  I need to find some way of reminding myself to use it, as so far everything else I’ve tried hasn’t worked.  Because of that there hasn’t been any progress since the last update.  Any advice on this please let me know.

One additional product I’ve finished this month which isn’t in the project is the Green People sun cream in SPF 30.  I’ve had this for a while now and as sun creams have definite shelf lives I wanted to make sure this was finished before that was up.  We haven’t exactly been having the right weather recently to be able to have much flesh so I’ve been mostly using this on my face.  Whilst it’s not specifically a face sun block it did go on really well, my skins didn’t react to it badly, and it actually made quite a good base for my makeup.  I have other sun cream I need to get through at the moment, but once that’s gone I’ll definitely look into the possibility of getting this again.  It is very effective, my skin seems to like it, and Green People is a cruelty free company.

The last product is the Lush Eyes Right Mascara.  I'm not really sure how I feel about this product.  On the plus side it uses more natural products, is vegan, and cruelty free.  However, the product is quite a wet product (though it improves a lot once it's dried out for about a month), did flake a fair amount throughout the day, and didn't really give my eye lashes the look I was looking for.  Basically with this product, if you just want darker, natural lashes, and don't mind a bit of flaking then this mascara is for you.  Otherwise, another mascara might be for you.