Big Changes Around Our House

Richard and I went to Ikea today. As you probably know, I don't get out of the house much, so this was a big excursion. It was a beautifully sunny day, so I got out the sunglasses (as well as scarf and gloves) and we put the roof down on the car. I was so happy to enjoy the late autumn sunshine with Richard!

Our main aim was to find a cabinet or shelving system to hold the wine glasses that seem to be taking over the house. We have glasses of every conceivable shape and size - for different cocktails, spirits (cognac/armagnac, whisky) and wines - Sherry, Champagne, Chianti, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Sauvignon blanc, dessert wine and port! We were hoping to use the wall space above the sideboard in our dining room, but found something so perfect that we just had to move things to make space for it! The cello now has its own little nook under the stairs and the glass cabinet now lives between the fireplace and the piano (keyboard, really, but I call it a piano - wishful thinking!), where it looks very smart, don't you think?

Don't worry - we don't use the radiator

We also got lots of photograph frames for the photo wall in the study and for the hallway. You'll get to see them once they're filled with pictures and hung on the wall, but not before. I don't want to spoil the surprise for you!

Yes, I said 'study'. We are finally going to turn the laundry/junk room back into a study. Richard is going to get a desk and a filing cabinet, and we are going to reclaim the room. Richard plans to use it as a home office; I plan to use it for crafts. We'll see if those two uses can coexist happily together! 

Most excitingly for me, we got some storage containers to try to organise my medications, which were in quite a state. I haven't had the energy yet to put them to use, but when I do I think it might be worth a post of its own. So many medications, pieces of equipment (nebulisers, a capella, TENS machines), testing stuff (blood pressure, oxygen saturations, temperature, blood sugar, peak flow) and crutches, canes, braces, etc. It's hard to know where to store it all, especially as I need to be able to get to most of it easily.

I've looked online for storage ideas, but I realise that most normal people don't have quite the volume of medication that I have. A small slimline cabinet on the bathroom wall is just not going to cut it!

We've got some clever ideas that I'll show you once I've finished. Or at least once I've started.

Reorganising takes a surprising amount of effort on my part. I can't lift anything much heavier than 1L of milk (that's about 33 oz, for the Americans), so I do most of the planning in my head and then ask for help with the execution. My head is full of wonderful ideas, but it might take a little while to get there. Especially as Richard works long hours and I have a remarkable ability to end up in hospital when we do have time to execute my exciting plans. But I still believe that my plans will become reality one day.

Watch this space!

This post was written as part of NHBPM - 30 health posts in 30 days: http://bit.ly/vU0g9J