Im feeling all decluttered after National Zero Waste Week

What a week!

I must have been absolutely out of my mind to suggest that I decluttered my kitchen for National Zero Waste Week. Nothing like pressure eh!

When I first mentioned my plans to my husband, he threw me one of his looks, accompanied by hands on hips, warning me that surely Id got the wrong idea.  That really, I shouldnt aim to chuck so much out during a week intended to slim our bin.

Having ventured nowhere near the far corners of some of the cupboards for... er... 5 years, he had a point.  I really didnt know what I would be up against!

But look!  The overhaul of the kitchen cupboards didnt impact on our rubbish at all. 

That small bin bag, pictured above, is the sum of our landfill rubbish last week, despite getting rid of a load of stuff!

If I had attempted the declutter five years ago, it would have been a different story.  Not least because I probably wouldnt have gone to the trouble of sorting it.

These bags full of unused baking equipment and storage containers would still have probably gone to charity.

But most of this junk, now destined for the reuse ecycling skips at the Household Waste Recycling Centre would have no doubt ended up in the bin! Thankfully, these days our local facilities include containers for broken hard plastics and small electricals, which helps tremendously when youre in the midst of a blimmin good clear out!

And as for this wonder drawer of mixed tat, my impatient hand would have dumped it all in a bag and got rid of it within minutes.

Instead, I set aside an hour to sort it properly, sending some random bits of plastic off for recycling and organising the rest of the stuff so it can be easily found and used.

Even the freezer, where our leftovers historically suffer a frozen death, received a visit from the decluttering hand, which helped to salvage a sausage casserole, a packet of mince, some fish, a dozen chipolatas and some bacon rashers,  This enabled me to happily avoid the supermarket for a week, using up what we already had.  I am such a lazy defroster and rarely plan ahead, the freezer proved to come up trumps as a right little goldmine during Zero Waste Week.  My aim now is to gradually work through the rest of the contents and relieve more space so that I can use it more efficiently.

But did I really achieve my overall aims last week?

Yes! I believe I did!  Working my way through this.

And creating much needed space in the cupboards to achieve this!

What pleases me most is that I am finally in control of the contents of my kitchen.  It took five days of sorting and clearing and no area has been left untouched. What helped me along were the wise words of a friend who reminded me that unwanted stuff left at the back of cupboards was just as wasteful as if it had been dumped into landfill. I am now confident that everything that I have kept will be put to good use. All the unused clutter has been rehomed and will no longer be wasted.

Of course my key aim was to create much longed-for space, so that I can put my creative culinary skills to good use again and be far better at avoiding food waste.

I can already see the return of the old me and I have been busy cooking up the random contents found lurking in the fridgefreezer. And having rediscovered a whole cupboard of flour to use up, benefiting from that space once more has really proved to be the icing on the cake!

I now wonder which room I should tackle next!

So thank you to everyone who left supportive comments as well as all the Twitter crew who cheered me along during the week. 

As well as having my head firmly in the kitchen cupboards, I have also been busy waving the flag locally in Suffolk for National Zero Waste Week.  Huge thanks to BBC Radio Suffolks Mark Murphy and James Hazell for giving me some much appreciated airtime.  And a major round of applause to Barry Peters, the editor of the Bury Free Press, for taking up the Rubbish Diet Challenge and doing a marvellous job for his own Zero Waste Week.

Well done to MyZeroWaste for an amazing awareness campaign for 2012. I was proud to support it.  For more information about what else was going on around the country, visit www,myzerowaste.com.

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So how did I fare after 2 years

Well, the ultimate test of my willpower and ability to stay away from those pitfall foods and manage stress shows is evidenced in the photos.  Im at my heaviest - 214 - and am rejoining my Ottawa clinic on January 5th.

Enough is enough!

While I have tried to restart a few times, the last two years were very stressful and active.  I left my job to start my own consulting business, and also work in a very emotionally charged field of anti-human trafficking.  Suffice to say, having the luxury to spend a large amount of time for myself and on my personal health needs was not front and centre.

However, enough is enough.

I had to bag up all of my beautiful clothes that I purchased when I reached my previous goal weight of 140 lbs/Size 8/10, give them away and over the last 2 years, replenish my closet with 12, 14, 16, 18 and the odd size 20 items.  It was heart breaking.  I was just elated when I bought gorgeous clothes from JCrew - received compliments from friend, family and colleagues - but it vanquished as quickly as it came.  Within 8 months I went from a 140 to 155.  Within 10 months to 165.  Within 12 months to 180.  And now, two years later, 214.  Holy s%&^*!

No - this is not me...

Even more depressing was trying to find a dress and look that is true to me for my nieces recent wedding.  My dress was a comfortable Size 20, but as I am my own biggest critic, it looked like a Macys moomoo with glitz and glam to deflect attention from my 40DD bust and wide-load butt.

In true form, the clinic made a courtesy call prior to Christmas to let me know that I still had a 2-week credit in my file.  I told them Id be in on Monday, January 5th at 9:00 a.m..

As my children are now 14 and 9 years old, my eldest is joining me for 3x weekly exercise and fitness activities as he is a fitness enthusiast, and my 9-year old aspiring Cordon Bleu chef will be helping me prepare and stay on track with my meals.

I learned a lot of tips and tricks the last go-round, so I know what works for me in the loss department.  Now, once I regain my goal weight, I will need to stop thinking that I can be left to my own devices and get serious about that slippery slope of sugar, carbs, alcohol and portion sizes for my metabolism.

Ive lost 2.5 decades to obesity and regret.  I think this year, for every pound I need to lose, Ill need some physical and ceremonial activity to free the fat back to their home - and not feel this sense of ownership to weight, obesity and regret.

This will be a real test of mental and lifestyle shift.

Heres to 2015.  By May 13th (my 47th birthday) I WILL be back to my 140 amazing weight.  A body remembers - I remember - so this is my personal pledge and resolution.

So here we go.

Do I regret having to be back here, starting from scratch again to relive (and reinvest) in losing unwanted pounds and reclaiming my healthy natural frame?  Yes - Im also chagrined.  However, thats life and my lessons learned.

H.

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