I’ve been living in this flat for just over 11 years, when I moved in, I made a deliberate choice not to buy everything I thought I wanted for the flat. In the first year I got a sofa and a table for the kitchen and it took me about 9 years to find the ‘right’ (right = chairs I like, that are right for the flat and that I can afford!) kitchen chairs and I still don’t have a proper wardrobe.

This year, how I live in and use the flat has drastically changed. I’ve been home all the time and even as lockdown restrictions are easing, I’m still working from home and likely to be for quite some time. At work we are talking about more home working even once the office is open because of the need for social distancing. In my office, where my team had desks for 16 people we now have space for 6, so there is going to be a need for more home working until there is a vaccine. My job is not hugely dependent on working in the office and I’m fortunate that I don’t share my space here, so I’m not a priority for going into the office once it’s open.

Also this year, I’ve been more aware of preserving the harvest from the plot and after the panic buying during March, I’m concerned about what Brexit is going to do to food supply and prices. So I needed to make some space for some longer term food storage because the white cupboard in the kitchen wasn’t big enough! All of this to explain that some changes need to be made in my living space.

The first part of these changes took place this week. I re-shelved the cupboard of doom, put more things in it and took things out of other places. I also threw a bunch of stuff out and have a huge bag for the charity shop.

Things are looking much tidier overall.

The next phase will be putting a desk in the living room and moving the chest of drawers (see below) into the bedroom.

For right now, the first thing is done and the flat feels like a different space!