Sorting and decluttering...

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Living in a small flat, I need to keep on top of my decluttering. Even in a small space it is remarkable how quickly I seem to acquire an assortment of odds and ends that either need to find their way into suitable storage, or make their way into someone else's home (generally by route of the charity shop).

However, I've spent the last week or so engaged in some much bigger decluttering projects for my mother while I was on holiday in Sydney. My mother has some significant health issues with arthritis and has long had some difficulty reaching into the further reaches of her corner kitchen cupboards. So, by day 3 of my trip I was on my hands and knees turning up all sorts of treasures. By the end of my trip we had finished the two corner units, and also decluttered and re-organised her sideboard and linen press. My poor mother kept insisting that I should stop and actually have a holiday (I think she would have appreciated the rest herself)...I had to explain that sorting and organising really does make me happy, and so it didn't actually feel like a chore...(and I do appreciate that this is not a 'normal' feeling!). But given that I had spent the entire first day of my trip (after a 24 hour flight) in her garage going through in excess of 45 storage boxes of my own goods and chattels in an attempt to streamline what will ultimately be shipped to the UK, a small kitchen cupboard was light work.

We didn't quite get to finish all that we hoped, so I have a few more projects to 'enjoy' when I am back in Sydney again in the second part of the year - the laundry cupboard, the filing cabinet and the dreaded tupperware cupboard still await...