Moving away from routine

A lot of your routines go out the window when you’re in the process of moving house. Among the first things to go are all your good intentions. This isn’t helped by the fact that this particular move of ours seems to have gone on for months (a long settlement) so our cupboards have been half empty for ages and the spare room has become an impenetrable maze of boxes. On the upside, the cats seem to think it’s a purpose-built playground, even though they sniff warily each time a new box enters the fray. (Wait till they meet Shirley - the dog we’ve named but don’t actually have yet and who will become incredibly useful in our food waste campaign).

So, as the kitchen cupboards are nearly cleared out, out too have come the excuses to “pop to the pub” for dinner, pick up some takeaway or have a glass of wine, a cheese sandwich and forget the horror. I mean to say, what can you cook with four knives and forks, a couple of teaspoons, two coffee cups and a colander (I’m not sure why that’s still there when the saucepans and everything useful have disappeared).

We realised quite quickly that weekend shopping and meal planning had become redundant under these circumstances so we’ve solved the issue of food waste by simply not buying any. I’m quite enjoying the hiatus because it’s a little like a holiday from your everyday routines. Okay, you have to pack but cleaning can quite genuinely go out the window because, really, what’s the point? And since the kitchen’s not seeing any action there’s really nothing much to clean anyway.

In the meantime, we dream of moving day, getting organised, pottering in the garden, having a shed and all the accessories of semi-suburban living you miss out on when you’re been in an apartment for years. Never did I think I’d be so excited by the thought of a washing line! A new house means you can make new routines, which will keep us amused  … for a while anyway.