De-cluttering

Semi-stuffed spare room

Stuffed garage (now even more stuffed) 

It's quite ridiculous, now that I can see how much clutter we've been keeping up in our loft. So many things we just couldn't bear to part with: children's precious toys, favourite old books, boxes of cards and letters from yesteryear, school and uni texts and notes, back-copies of Top Gear... And then there are all those things that might come in handy one day (and they really might, so we can't possibly throw them away). There are chairs, some of which don't even need fixing to be useful, numerous pairs of curtains, and then there are those bits of wood we've acquired: some sapele that used to top the quite remarkable 1970s 'rustic' brick construction that once framed the gas-fire in the sittingroom, and several lengths of teak that were almost stair-treads from a 1970s power-station, but which turned out to be surplus to requirement. Well, you know how it is. I'm sure everyone's loft is hiding stuff like that. Oh yes, and don't forget all those boxes of Christmas decorations, not to mention boxes and boxes and boxes of... well, just boxes. 

So this was Weekend 2 of the great clear-out. The spare room and the garage are filling up with stuff to be kept and stuff yet to be sorted.  Oh dear! So much precious clutter! I can see how the next couple of weeks will be spent. Yesterday was charity-shop day: boxes of books, VHS videos and audio cassettes were sent off on their travels. Today was dump day: mostly empty boxes, but also a load of glass panes that the previous owner had left as a somewhat dangerous surprise up in the loft. And we've put a load of Dymo tape and the amazing 1970s chrome Dymo label-maker on Ebay.  (James has had fun testing these – the child of the high-tec age fascinated by some thoroughly low-tech gadgets.  It calls to mind the hours he and his sister spent playing with my Dad's old Olivetti typewriter.  And that's another of the items that comes under the heading of 'precious clutter'.)

Meanwhile, because the company we have contracted to do the fabulous conversion have finished their previous job early, work – of a sort – has already begun. Andy, who is 'ours' for the next goodness knows how many weeks, has been very relaxed about all the clutter still up there, accepting that we thought we still had another weekend in which to empty the loft, and he was kind enough to bring down a box with him every time he emerged last week.

Plenty of room at the top

So far, all that's happened up there – apart from the clearing – is that Andy has begun the very laborious job of marking out where he has to cut through joists in preparation for the insertion of the massive RSJs that will be going in when the job proper begins. But you can see what a big space we'll have (and the image is from the hatch, so it shows only two-thirds of the loft area; there's one-third as much again at your back).  You have to use your imagination quite a lot at this stage.  I'm not sure whether I am more daunted than excited right now.