I excavated the mantlepiece yesterday... I had to to find the speaker wire that runs along it, because we bought a new TV (32 inches... who says size doesn't matter?!) and had to move the stereo. Sorted that out and realised just how much crud there was on the mantlepiece so that went into the sorting crate.... now there's just my Napoleon clock, a German carved Silver Birch nativity scene (which got covered in crud last Christmas and forgotten.. ain't I a slob?!) and a beautiful carved wooden sycamore leaf which holds various semi-precious stones, polished wood and other natural talismen.

The stereo had to move to another shelf so that got decluttered too... it's a slow process but it's working!

I've decided that February or March is going to be the 'Big Push' as far as the rest of the house is concerned... I'm hiring a skip and all the accumulated crap from the loft is being sorted, along with the garden which is going to be significantly pruned... I reckon that by then the birds will have eaten all the seeds but not yet started to nest. For the last 3 years, I've been unable to prune a certain bush because my little feathered friends keep nesting in it. Consequently, it's nearly 15' tall and getting out of hand.

On the other hand... December means finding somewhere to put the tree so another significant de-clut is in store. I just wish December were longer so I could get everything done!

LTS