Due to the nature of my work, I see very little daylight hours at this time of the year and in particular the lead up to Christmas as I work 12 hour shifts (nights). However, I'm not being idle......
The garden shed was always my domain. Everything had it's place! I don't quite verge on the obsessive but it was always the family joke that nothing was out of place and please don't laugh - I have even been known to vacuum the floor. As a child my son was always taught to put his things away neat and tidily - it's always easier to find things next time if they are put away, I would tell him. As he grew up, the collection of bikes and other outdoor play equipment have gradually been replaced by work related paraphenalia, boxes of obsolete game console 'stuff' and heaps of car parts for a car he no longer owns! His junk has been a bone of contention for some time now. I think he had a bit of a rebellion thing going on! Things came to a head a couple of weeks ago when I was looking for a sealant gun. Who knew something as small and simple as a sealant gun would cause such a furore! As I reached up to where the said sealant gun was stored - a rather precariously placed set of brake discs fell on my foot! Ouch! A few choice expletives later - I hobbled back indoors. That was it! The final straw! I'd had enough of manoeuvring myself around the Alloys, the tool boxes, a ginormous sub woofer, to name but a few! An ultimatum was issued - 2 weeks or I'll get rid of if all myself. Knowing that I'm as good as my word he got things sorted and most of the 'junk' is now gone. Thank goodness for Friends, Gumtree and Ebay!
My foot? - bruised but nothing broken, thankfully. Considering I had my slippers on I got off lightly!
My shed has been liberated! That was the good news. The bad was that I found part of the floor had some water damage. I can see no obvious point where the water is seeping in, it was probably caused by the flooding last year. These blasted floods continue to haunt me despite the fact that I was putting all that behind me. It's nothing major but it needs looked at. After much deliberation I thought it best that I raise the shed. I'm going to give up part of the deck - it makes sense and the cost involved in raising the shed on blocks will go towards a small patio nearer the house. I am generally the only one who suns them self up there and along with my nieces who use it as a dance stage - It's very under used now. Rome wasn't built in a day - these things take time and will get my full attention when I can afford more time. Regular readers might recall that I complained about not having a tree in the garden- the moving of the shed might allow room for one so long as I can source a reasonably narrow growing specimen. I'll have a better idea once the shed is away.
Before I can move the shed I need to empty it first. It's not a large shed but nor is it small. At 10ft x 10ft it's capable of storing quite a lot of 'stuff'. I've gradually been doing that as and when I find a little time. A neighbour has kindly offered to store some of the bigger things in their shed and the rest will find a temporary berth in the house. I've had to promised (with my fingers crossed behind my back, that is) that no spiders will come along with it all. Odd though that no one seemed afraid of those spiders when they were depositing all their junk!
It's not only the insides that need clearing. There is a little area round the back that has become a bit of a dumping ground over the years. Judging by mess, I really could be considered a bit of a hypocrite.
As well as piles of black plastic plant pots, there was a few forgotten half empty bags of compost which have now been spread on the borders.
A stack of old plastic patio chairs probably last used around the turn of the millennium in my old garden. A selection of decorative wooden planters, also from the old garden. Those were a set of 4 but the bottom 2 had all but rotted away - a few hundred wood lice are enjoy what is left! The chairs will more than likely go to the dump as they are past cleaning up but the planters will come in handy. I can also see a large zinc planter but can't quite reach that yet! That will go to my friend who gladly rehomed the others a couple of years ago.
Some wooden edging, in need of a little repair but might be recycled elsewhere in the garden. I bought that edging on a whim and to be honest never really liked it. I was glad to see the back of it 
when the front driveway got a makeover. Speaking of the front drive - the left over blocks from that job were also dumped round the back of the shed. A clutch of garden canes in varying sizes lay scattered around the ground. They were once stored neatly in an old section of drain pipe but it had cracked in half. They now form a temporary piece of garden art! Handy perches for the birds too. I do need to move them though - I've almost lost an eye once or twice as I've walked by. Sandbags that were issued to us back in 2009 - the sacks have almost rotted at the base. I'm presuming that I can just mix the contents into the soil. If you know or think differently, please let me know. Sections of willow trellis and countless off cuts of timber that are really too small to do much with but were kept just in case. What was I ever going to do with a 12 inch length of 4x4 fence post? Everything bar the proverbial Kitchen Sink! How on earth did I manage to cram so much into such a small space?
Everyone has a little space like that, right? I'm guessing most of us have, I can't be all that unique, can I? What do you do with your 'stuff'? Are you a hoarder or a recycler? The time has come for me to impose the same restraint as I do inside the shed. I know it's a bit early for New Year Resolutions but that will be mine and hopefully not too difficult to keep!
I wish you all a Happy St. Andrews Day and a good weekend!
