One of the biggest obstacles to decluttering is surprisingly simple - we don't want to throw things away. Often, it's not because we're emotionally attached to an item. It's because we hate the thought of it ending up in landfill. We know it still has life left in it, and we'd much rather see it reused, recycled or passed on to someone who can make use of it. Recently, Ruth from Ruth Bagnall - Organised Living and I have been experimenting with different ways to responsibly r

What do the words jumble sale make you think of? For me, they instantly transport me back to childhood weekends in church halls with my mum. I can picture it perfectly - parquet floors, green cups and saucers, white plastic cups filled with squash, and plates piled high with biscuits. While mum browsed rails of clothing and tables of bric-a-brac, I’d make a beeline for the book table. Recently, Ruth (Ruth Bagnall - Organised Living) and I decided to run our own jumble sale at

The evenings are still gloomy and cold but leaning into February, its initial darkness and eventual hopefulness, is something we can enjoy. And... it's a perfect time to declutter your books. I love books. I love the look of them, the feel of them and the smell of them. I read a lot. I probably get through a book a week and there is no way I could store that number of books so I have an e-reader for my daily reading. The books on my shelves are books that I can pick up with a