One of the downsides of writing a daily blog is that there's also a daily deadline. This means I'm often preoccupied during the day researching, fieldtripping, writing and editing, which can sometimes get in the way of other things.
So yesterday, with a tube strike curtailing travel options, I thought I'd stay in and get a lot of 'other stuff' done. I also decided not to write the usual time-consuming blogpost for publication on Friday as this would maximise focus and avoid procrastination.
Today's post is therefore simply a list of the stuff I got done yesterday, things I otherwise would have put off (again).
Morning
✔ add empty bottle of Becks and empty cheesecake box to recycling stash; fill another pink bag; take four bags of recycling down to the pavement during allotted two hour period
✔ unfurl new recycling bag and add Heinz beans can that fell out earlier
✔ hang up wedding suit; return suitcase to stash; return swimming shorts to drawer after hot tub excursion ✔ clean out chest of drawers; rationalise tie collection (not sure I still need 50); bin subfusc; return checked 1984 pullover to circulation; retire a dozen work shirts from rail to drawer; bin five shirts and a 90s sweatshirt; shift big jackets into spare room; clean bike leathers; reallocate shirts and jackets to more practical rails; return handkerchiefs to circulation; rediscover all sorts of t-shirts I tucked away last time I rationalised; attempt to work out a better place for the polo shirts to go; bemoan my lack of wardrobes and cupboard space ✔ look up location of nearest clothes recycling bin
✔ open water bill, sigh at water bill, pay water bill
✔ return bus map coins to tubs by door; remove birthday cards and file away; add double issue Radio Times to archive
✔ chuck cable case; chuck unwanted rail tickets
Afternoon
✔ try to communicate with letting agent regarding long-term issue; receive assurance letting agent will ring back; miss phone call four hours later; call back; discover letting agent has gone home for the day
✔ plant tumescent crocosmia bulb using the last of the 20 year-old John Innes compost; water plants just before cloudburst makes watering unnecessary
✔ make a start on sorting out my 'dealt with' paperwork pile; start piles for gas bills, electricity bills, bank statements, etc; spread these out across bedcovers; throw out unnecessary pages; extract at least a dozen letters urging me to get a smart meter; watch piles grow; start new pile for 'one-off letter from mobile phone company'; work down original pile through 2024, ah 2023, oh also 2022, blimey also 2021, sheesh also 2020; realise I haven't attacked this paperwork since the start of lockdown and this is why it's now such a massive task ✔ add sorted paperwork to appropriate files in filing cabinet; remove once-essential now non-essential paperwork from files; close filing cabinet with a feeling of job well done, only took three hours; stare admiringly at empty space on bedroom table ✔ pile of discarded paperwork weighs 3½kg, hell yes
Evening (this feels odd, I should be writing something for tomorrow but I am instead crosslegged on the floor sorting stuff)
✔ take pile of leaflets from places I have visited and sort geographically; bin plenty; realise this pile also goes back five years (although the 2020/2021 contribution is small for pandemic reasons); multitask sorting while watching TV ✔ add remaining leaflets to appropriate shoeboxes with relevant regional label; split 'Midlands' box into 'West Midlands' and 'East Midlands'; stack shoeboxes away ✔ flick through my 'to do' shoebox to see if there's anywhere interesting I could go tomorrow
