Clutter be gone! I now need a blimmin' rest.

Well that'll teach me to be more careful with my money and all the stuff that comes into our home from impulse buys and random gifts.

My arms feel like they're ready to drop off.  My feet detached themselves hours ago and my back is distinctively telling me that it is still there.  And it is never pleasant when one's back muscles begin to heckle!

Today was the day that the big event finally arrived.  The Big Huge Summer Declutter organised by BBC Radio Suffolk and EACH's Treehouse Appeal to raise money for a new children's hospice.  My goal was to turn up alongside 600 other participants to lay out my pitch at the biggest car boot sale that I've ever experienced.

I know many people love car boots sales, but personally I have never particularly warmed to them.  It's the early starts and bargaining over 10p here and 5p there that truly test my patience.  So today really had to be worth the effort, which is why I pledged to donate all the proceeds of our pitch to the Treehouse Appeal.

Of course I could have just donated our unwanted stuff to the charity shop.  That would have been much easier than getting up at the crack of dawn and sitting in a traffic jam in Ipswich, before being rained on and sunburnt within a matter of hours.  But that wouldn't have given me the lesson that I very much needed today, which was the kick up the backside in discovering the real value of  the stuff with which I - along with the help of others - have been cluttering up our home over the last decade.

And yes, it's no coincidence that the amount of clutter we've accumulated is in direct relation to having had two young children. Most parents will recognise the routine:  birthdays; rainy days; hobbies; keep them happy days; boring days; cheer-up days; keep-up-with-the-Jones days; guilty days and Christmas.Then there's all the stuff they make at schools and clubs.  But the more one acquires, the harder it is to keep on top of, especially when the kids really love their belongings or you don't want to offend someone by selling or giving away an unwanted present, or if you've paid a huge amount of money for something that is no longer needed or wanted.  Then there's the case of not having time to keep on top of your stuff until it begins to cripple your free space and your sanity!

Although many might regard car boot sales as a celebration of reuse, I can't help see them as a cathedral to discards and obsolescence.  The setting is perfect for the average buyer, as there are plenty of bargains galore with the opportunity to snap up essentials and luxuries for great prices.  However, for the seller, it's a wake-up call to see something that once cost £25 -  and which remains in perfect condition and still in trend - disappear into the distance for just 50p.

Don't get me wrong, I've not got any gripes over such transactions.  It's certainly not the buyer's fault that I was daft enough to pay through the nose for something I've hardly used and I really quite like seeing people enjoy their bargains.  If I was that bothered about recovering the cost I'd opt for eBay. And it has to be said, that convenience-wise, if you're missing the organisation gene like me, the advantage of car-boot sales is that a whole load of stuff can be taken off your hands within a matter of hours without the effort of nipping backwards and forwards to the post office.

No, the lesson from today was to continue to be mindful of the impact of every acquisition that comes into our home, whether it's bought brand-new or as cheap bargains, or even gifted or donated.  Even if something is free, it can still  remain under-used and unappreciated and left to age in a drawer waiting to be dealt with.  In such instances, I'd be better off overcoming my clutter bug nature and declining freebies, letting others put them to good use instead.  Likewise, with clothes and books being my particular weakness, it's perhaps time to reconsider what I really do actually need.

However, with all that said, I'm pretty pleased that all those presents we've bought ourselves or have been given to us by friends and family, were today converted into the princely sum of £75, which will help EACH build its much needed hospice.  If I'd just donated the items to the charity shop, I'd have no idea of their worth and their contribution to the fundraising goal, but at least now I know we have helped to pay for a few more bricks or some furniture. 

So for someone who doesn't normally do boot sales, this was a real worthwhile day indeed.  And even better, they'll get more cash from the remaining stuff that hadn't sold, which we left at their collection point on the way home. 

Now that's what I call a useful car boot sale!

And the satisfaction of leaving with a virtually empty boot.  Now that is totally priceless.

Huge thanks to my very own King of Declutter, Mr A, and our two helpful children today.  It's thanks to their contribution that we were able to make this happen.

Getting ready for the Big Summer Declutter!

At last - permission to get rid of old toys

I've just spent the last three hours immersed in a job that I've been avoiding for months, the task of decluttering Little T's bedroom.   Oh the joys of negotiating with a 6 year old over which toys can be extracted from the floor and offered to a new home, let alone tidying away lots of annoying little bits and pieces that have become separated from each other over the years that have gone by.

But at last we've got a box full of kids' stuff to sell at the Radio Suffolk's Big Summer Declutter car boot sale that's taking place on Sunday for EACH's Treehouse Appeal which is raising £3,000,000 for a new children's hospice in Ipswich.

I'm really looking forward to this event and have already got a fine collection of stuff that I pulled together when I started to declutter the house at the beginning of the year.  My pitch has been booked for months and I can't wait to get down to Ipswich on Sunday and see how much I can raise from the proceeds, all of which I'm planning to donate to the Treehouse Appeal. It's my choice to donate the funds, it's not an actual requirement of the car boot sale.  However I'm not sure if I can convince the kids to do the same, parting with their stuff will be tough enough!

Anyway the declutter's not over yet.  I haven't even ventured into the loft yet but can't wait to get the loft ladder down.  Can you tell I'm starting to really enjoy this process?

So, if you're in Suffolk and looking for a fun event on Sunday, do pop along to the Big Summer Declutter and come and say hello.  It would be great if you end up booking a pitch yourself.  Set up is at 6.30am, with sales starting at 7am and going on until 3pm.  During the course of the day, there promises to be lots of entertainment too,  BBC Radio Suffolk will  be broadcasting live and auctioning off the Ashes to Ashes script that I managed to acquire from the production company and Nik Kershaw will be on-hand to officially open the event.  It will be brilliant if EACH manages to break through the £1,000,000 milestone as a result of the day!


So, please pray for good weather and if you fancy coming along, more information can be found at the BBC Radio Suffolk website.

New bags and new blogs!

Showing off my new bag with eco-designer Kresse at the Bury St Edmunds Eco Fair

If someone offered to sell me a piece of old fire-hose, I'd probably turn them down in an instant, but a gorgeous bag made from condemned fire-hose that would otherwise be buried in landfill, then that's a different story indeed.

And that's how this story begins, with me becoming a proud owner of a stylish bag made from rubber hose that was once used to put out fires across the UK.

The designs are the hot property of Elvis & Kresse (Eako), a very progressive eco business that turns industrial waste into luxury sought after accessories.  I first discovered them while researching gifts for a Recycle Now article last Christmas and couldn't wait to find out more.  Although decommisioned fire-hose is at the heart of many of their products, the designers also create fabulous accessories from other materials too, including waste coffee sacks, scrap sail cloth, used air traffic control flight strips, repurposed opticians' boxes,  reclaimed pewter, parachute silk and decommissioned office furniture textiles.  Even their packaging is made from reclaimed or end of line materials.

It was a real delight to meet Kresse and James who are the people behind the business and to have the chance to find out more about their plans and the fabulous opportunities in store. The Fire Station proved to be a wonderful setting to demonstrate the value in reusing such materials and what's great about their business is that they contribute 50% of their profits to the Fire Fighters Charity too.


Stocking up on lovely and useful accessories must have been the key thing on my mind on Saturday, as I was also tempted in the direction of the Onya Bags stall to pick up a roll-up back-pack made out of recycled bottles from Dan, who looked quite at home at the Fire Station with his VW Feuerwehr camper van.

After my little spot of retail therapy I also partook in some heavy reuse action myself, which involved five firefighters and some hydraulic machinery.  It was both terrifyng and exciting, and you can find about it at my new personal blog here.

That's right...it's a whole new blog, revealing all sorts of mischief and musings that currently feature in my life.  With so much happening at the moment, sometimes a girl just has to take a break from the bin and you could say, it's got off to a bit of a "cracking" start.  To see what I mean, just follow the link below:

http://anythingbutrubbish.blogspot.com/2010/07/five-firemen-and-blogger.html

And after reading the tale, if you're tempted to help support the Firefighters who risk their lives to save others, it would be great if you could make a contribution to the Fire Fighters Charity at my justgiving page that I set up for the Eco Fair.  I'm appalling at trying to get sponsorship, always preferring to give than ask, but I've learned this is a cause worth nagging for,  So if you can spare a couple of quid, please pop over to www.justgiving.com/buryecofair, where your kindness will be much appreciated.

And as for me, after such a hectic weekend, I know a pair of feet that are still in need of an emergency rescue.   So with a cup of tea in hand and a stool as a footrest, for the moment it's over and out!

Cool Eco Fair at Hot Venue

If you want to find a cool place to hang out in Bury St Edmunds today, then drop into the Eco Fair that is being hosted by the Fire Station, thanks to Fire Fighter Paul Turner who has worked so hard to organise the event.

Yes you heard it right and apologies to friends on Facebook for having to listen to me mention it yet again, but this it the place to be to find about all things eco today.  I first wrote about it some months ago, in this blogpost here and a lot has happened since then, with a whole load of groups and people signed up to attend today, including the www.welovelocalfood.co.uk who helped me with my Suffolk Diet, Dan from Onya Bags, trendy fire hose upcyclers Elvis & Kresse,  local growers Nowton Park nurseries, The Suffolk Climate Change Partnership,  Woodland Ways,  Bury LETS bartering group and Greener Bury, the launch of a local transition town movement. 

There will be lots to keep the kids entertained too, including dressing up as a fireman, building bird or bat boxes and some children's yoga.

As well as promoting eco awareness, the fire and rescue service will also be raising awareness over safety and the event will also include a demonstration of an emergency car rescue, featuring me being cut out of a car.  Note how casually I mentioned that.  I'm actually more terrified of being the guinea pig for that demonstration than I am of giving a presentation later today about the Rubbish Diet.

As a result I've set up a couple of sponsor pages to help me through it.  Although free to enter, the event is trying to raise money for charity and all the proceeds will be shared by the Fire Fighters Charity and the EACH Treehouse Appeal, to help build a new children's hospice in Ipswich. These are two charities that can't help make you feel lucky to be alive.  So it would be really great if you could sponsor my emergency car rescue on either or both my Justgiving pages that have I set up specifically for the event.  You can find them at www.justgiving.com/thatrubbishwoman (EACH) or www.justgiving.com/BuryEcoFair (Fire Fighters our Charity).  You know I hate asking for money, but boy do these two causes really need your help.

Well, I hoped this blogpost this morning would calm my nerves a little, but the butterflies are still there. So, if you're in Bury, it would be great to see you there today.  It's running from 10am -4pm. There's even going to be a showing of The Age of Stupid, which is another first for Bury St Edmunds too!

Love your Electricals and set them free for Recycle Week

So if your old man has reached the heights of being follicly challenged and doesn't know what to do with his redundant hair clippers or you're fed up of tripping over the broken strimmer in the shed, this is the week to go forth and show them the door for good.

Not "him indoors" of course, but his truckload of useless stuff!

Yes, it's Recycle Week 2010, which runs until 27th June, and this year's theme is Love your Electricals, encouraging us to finally part with our useless gadgets. That's anything with a battery or plug and could include broken toasters and kettles, old mobile phones or disused power tools, all of which could either be reused or recycled.

But did you know getting rid of this stuff is actually easier said than done!

According to a survey carried out  by ICM Research, many of us have deep-seated issues associated with ditching our electrical clutter and cling onto our wired smalls even when we no longer have a use for them.  No matter whether they are broken or have been replaced by a more recent model, we leave them lurking in attics, garages, cupboards and drawers.

Apparently we hold onto these items for both sentimental and practical reasons.  Indeed the results of the survey revealed the following feedback from participants.

• 40% feel too sad to part with an item they no longer use
• 41% hoped the item might come in handy some day, or that they might be able to pass them on to someone
• 23% feel that small electrical items seem too valuable just to throw away
• 29% hang on to them because they are not sure what to do with them

If this sounds like you or certain members of your family - and yes a few of mine come to mind - the folk at Recycle Now might be able to offer some timely assistance.

For the latest Recycle Week campaign, they've partnered with the British Heart Foundation, who are accepting at their furniture and electrical reuse centres, unwanted electrical and electronic products that are still in working order.  And by dropping off your gadgets you will be doing your bit for charity too.

But if your gizmo is totally defunct and can't be fixed, don't lose hope as there's good old fashioned recycling to hand, where you can drop off your broken electronics at your local recycling centre and the components will be saved to create new products further down the line.

So if you want to find out more, pop along to the Recycle Now website for all the information you'll need.  And if you really do have issues separating yourself from your beloved broken bits, there's even an agony aunt available to lend a hand, a nice old lady with curly grey hair who comes with an interactive set of cheesy  content that will help keep you entertained while you ponder your declutter.

Now where did I put that portable stereo I last saw circa 2003?  It's probably hidden in the loft somewhere, which means I've got little hope of finding it even if I have until the start of London Olympics.  But if I did, there'd be enough material to turn that outdated piece of kit into 267 yoghurt pots and 11 steel cans.

Not bad eh!  Far more useful than dumping it into landfill.  And if this video is anything to go by Mr A had better keep a tight grip on his games consoles, as I can see myself heading straight to the jewellers armed with a screwdriver.

All this, plus news of a competition to win an Eco-friendly DAB radio is available at www.recyclenow.com. Right, on that note, I'm off to hunt out the old Playstation. A new gold ring, here I come!

Time for an ASAP pledge

Yesterday I received a call from Baglady.  Not just any old baglady but Shirley Lewis, the fabulous campaigner from Northern Ireland who's encouraging folk everywhere to live ASAP - As Sustainably As Possible.  And what better time to get involved as Baglady has just launched ASAP Pledge Fortnight.

The highlight of the awareness campaign is ASAP Pledge Week, which starts on Monday 14th June and leads up to ASAP Pledge Day when, on June 21st, children from Northern Ireland will take their pledges to the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont to ask politicians to join in and support living ASAP.

Baglady is asking you to be involved too, by sharing your ideas on how to live as sustainably as possible.  You just need visit her website and tell her what you are giving up and what you pledge to take up. It's that easy!

I'm going to join in and I pledge to give up using my car so much now that it's got fixed.  Yes, I seem to have developed a few inconvenient habits since it's come back from its MOT.   But it's not just about what I am giving up, it's also about what I intend to take up.  And for that, I pledge to help out a charitable cause which is in need of some extra recycling assistance. 

I'll share more information on that soon, but in the meantime, if you'd like to take the pledge too, visit www.bagladyproductions.org/ASAP-world/pledge and if you want to get your kids involved simply go to www.bagladyproductions.org.

The most rubbish hotel in Rome

So who wants to stay in a hotel like this?   Well, supermodel and eco warrior Helena Christensen for one!

Commissioned by Corona's Save the Beach campaign for World Environment Day, this pop-up rubbish hotel in Rome was created by German artist HA Schult to highlight the importance of preserving Europe's beaches. And it's built almost entirely from rubbish collected from the sands of our wonderful continent.

Although this two storey construction, which surprisingly can sleep up to 10 people, will only be in open until Monday 7 June, its message will last for longer.  The Save the Beach campaign is inviting people across Europe to report and nominate endangered beaches throughout the summer, by visiting www.coronasavethebeach.org.  The winning beach will be recovered and cleaned later this year by brewing company Corona.  Last year, website users chose the Italian beach  in Capocotta as the recipient of the Save the Beach clean up.

It's a shame I'm not in Rome for World Environment Day, which is in fact today.  I won't be off to the beach either.  I'll be digging my garden rather than the sands of Suffolk.  But next time I go, I'll certainly pay closer attention and pick up even more litter than usual.  And who knows, I may find enough to build a trashy hotel nearer to home.   Now, I wonder who I could get to stay in my hotel. Alas, knowing my luck it would be the Chuckle Brothers.  So while I ponder that malarkey, I'll leave you with a photo of the world's first ever rubbish hotel with its first ever guest.

Helena Christensen at the Save The Beach Hotel in Rome

More information about the campaign can be found at www.coronasavethebeach.org.