234 - Walking Trousers
I ripped the knee out of my trousers when I tripped on Boxing Day.
228 -233 6 X Books
One new and five second-hand
227 Jumper from Toast
It was in the sale and exactly what I was looking for.
226 - Small kitchen bin
215 - 225 Assorted Christmas Presents
215 - Wooden Box
I am easily influenced.
214 - Sink Protector
My new sink had a little rust mark on it!! Not good.
213 - Dish Rack
Suitable for a wooden worktop.
212 - A Coat
I have spent two days deciding whether or not to buy this coat. Decision made and coat is now hanging in the hall cupboard.
207 -211 5 x Balls of Wool
I am knitting some very small Christmas presents.
206 Winter Weight Duvet
Given to me by TB. Too heavy for him and just right for me.
205 - Book
Another lifestyle book about simplifying one's life.
203-204 IkeaFreezer Bags
I love these.
202 - A very expensive blanket
I justified this by making the decision not to buy a new winter coat.
200 - 201 Two Bottles of Essential Oils
See previous entry.
199 Epsom Salts
I am very suggestible.
198 Shirt
I needed something new for a party and this was in the sale.
194 - 197 Selection of Books
193 Packet of plastic envelopes
I bought these while on holiday but forgot to list them.
192 Coasters
I bought four but counting as one item.
191 Book
I bought this a couple of weeks ago but forgot to list it.
190 Pinafore
I bought this online from Toast.
189 - Jars
I am counting these as one item as they are so small. Jars for decanting toiletries into.
188 - One Fitbit
I have wanted one of these for ages.
186- 187 Two Bars Soap
I bought myself a present
185 - Small Suitcase
Carry on luggage here I come.
183-184 Small paintbox and paper
182 - Print
I got another Peter Yates print.
179-181 Three Books
178 - Black Dress
If you go shopping in the sales you end up making unplanned purchases to state the bleeding obvious.
177 - Pillow
176 - Skirt
I needed a summer skirt for work or that's what I'm telling myself.
174-175 Two Small Glass Bottles/vases
Very cheap and one has some very realistic imitation flowers in.
173 - Denim shirt dress
I bought this from Toast and it was far too expensive but I justified by telling myself it is a dress for all seasons. (I also bought a pair of PJs in the sale but as I threw away a pair they don't count)
172 - Tee Shirt
This was a freebie which I had to wear for a work event
171 - Small Rucksack
169-170 Two Books
167-168 Two sets of pastry cutters
166 - Pair of shorts
I think I must have been having some kind of temporary insanity fit when I bought these. They were cheap and from M&S.
165 - Pair of Red Shoes
These remind me of the type of shoes my mother wore once she was over 70- ho-hum.
164 - Water Spray Bottle
I bought this rather than buying a new iron.
163 - Packet of Coloured Pens
I may be doing some colouring in.
160 - 162
Three books.
158 - 159 Two Teeshirts
I bought these in TK Maxx and both are from the sports range.
155 - 157 3 Books
154 - Large Kitchen Book
This was given to me by the company from whom I'm going to buy a kitchen.
152 - 153 Two Small Succulents
150 -151 Two Bras
149 - Stripey T-Shirt
I will get rid of two t-shirts to make up for this.
145 to 148 Shirts x 4
OK this is not how a minimalist behaves but I have got rid of so many clothes I actually need to start buying stuff. All from Uniqlo.
144 - Hornsea Coffee Pot
Charity shop find although was not particularly cheap.
143 - Book
I went to a book launch so I had to buy the book.
142 - Cashmere Cardigan
I bought this last month and forgot to list it.
140 - 141 Trousers and Shirt
I bought a pair of quirky and v. cheap trousers from Uniqlo and a less cheap shirt also from Uniqlo.
139 - The Duhks CD
138 - Box of Candles
It's hygge all the way here.
136 - 137 Two Books
I got quite a lot of tokens for my birthday so I bought the latest Marie Kondo and a novel.
129 - 134
Assorted birthday presents
128 - New lamp
I have needed a new bedside lamp for ages.
127 - Plain Black Trousers
Sensible trousers for work.
126 - Pair of Shoes
Sensible (the only kind I every buy) shoes for work.
110 - 125 Assorted Christmas Presents
108 - 109 Two Storage Jars
Kilner jars are always useful.
107 - Large Jug
A present I gave to my mother that is now returned to me.
106 - Framed Photo
This is a picture of me that hung on my mother's sitting room wall.
105 - Vintage Cake plate
Cake plate - some stuff from my mother's house which has been stored at my sister's flat.
102 -104
100 tealights and two boxes of candles.
99 -101 Three Books
98 - A Pair of Slippers
My Christmas present to myself.
97 - Large Roll of Brown Paper Wrapping
96 - Rita Hosking CD
The first CD I have bought this year,
95 - New Curtains
I have had the previous curtains since1997. I stopped liking them in 1998 but have lived with them ever since.
94 - Television
My television was 9 years old but the freeview box stopped working and I decided it was time to upgrade.
93 - Postcards
I have bought a lot of postcards this year.
92 - Leggings
I have joined a yoga class and realised that I had decluttered my old pair.
91 - Cashmere cardigan
I have been planning to buy this for ages. Hello winter.
90 Book
This is the book by TNMA that I have been meaning to buy for ages.
88 Print
I bought this last month and forgot to list it. I am very pleased with this purchase.
87 Fridge Magnet
Present from Japan
86 - Perfume
L'Eau d'Issey from duty free.
85 Large pine cone
Picked up on the camino close to Santiago de Compostela
82 - 84 Portuguese Camino Momentos
Shell, credencial and compostela.
81 Grey Cardigan
I tried to buy a skirt while I was on holiday and ended up in H&M which is so cheap but did not sell skirts.
80 Sake Cup
Gift from Japan
79 Small Notebook
I really didn't need this but I want a new notebook for my camino journal.
78 Guidebook to Portuguese Camino
Getting excited now.
76-77 Two T-shirts
I have disposed of so many old t-shirts I needed to buy some new ones.
74 -75 Two Paintbrushes
I bought these because I'm sure I've thrown away the old ones.
71 - 73 Three cardboard boxes
I brought these home from work as I have to empty some cupboards while work is carried out in my kitchen.
67 - 70 Four glasses
I bought these from the museum shop at Louisianna in Copenhagen. They were very cheap and lovely.
66 - Wooden Dog
Small Tim dog from Bojesen. I so wanted this.
61 - 65 - Packet of Plastic Folders
I bought these from Hay.
60 - Selection of postcards
59 - Fridge Magnet
Very tasteful.
58 - Tourist leaflets from Copenhagen
I am counting this as one object and I don't care if that is cheating.
57 - Book
I got a nicky french from the telephone box library.
56 - Raincoat
My raincoat is around 12 years old and very tatty. This one is very plain and hopefully will last I will not be buying another one for at least ten years.
55 - Book on Running
As one of the authors is a long time blog friend I had to buy this.
54 - Foot Cream
My heels are in serious need of pampering.
53 - Dress
I bought a dress in the sale in Cos. I shouldn't have but I did.
52 - Papers From My Mother's House
When I was in Ireland my sister gave me a little bundle of papers which my mother had kept - postcards I sent her and photos.
50-51 Two books
I am collecting virago books and there were two in the telephone box library this morning. I will need to make a deposit to make up for this.
49 - Chanel No.5
48 - Art Fund Book
I was expecting a card but it came with this book.
47 - Pair of Stan Smith Original Sneakers
OK I admit it I'm weak. God knows how long this list would be if I wasn't trying to restrict the stuff I bring into the house.
45 - 46 Two White T-Shirts
Essential items of clothing which need replacing every year. I don't feel guilty about these.
43-44 Two Tops From Uniqlo
I blame That's Not My Age and Belgian Waffle for reminding me about what good stuff you can get in Uniqlo.
41-42 Two Kilner Jars
They were cheap and there might be some jam making in the offing.
40 - Book
Old, slightly damaged book.
39 - Poole Saucer
I bought this along with a book for a pound. How could I say no?
38 - White Cotton Top
This is from Muji and reminds me of the kind of thing Mrs Watts, our PE teacher wore in the 1970s.
34-37 Four Books
I went a bit mad in the LRB bookshop.
33 - Small basket
This was very expensive but I believe it is a work of art. I used the money I earned doing the count. At least I will have one positive thing as a result of the election.
32 5 x Postcards
I couldn't resist buying 5 postcards at the Ravilious exhibition - counting this as one item.
28 - 31
Four novels. I went a bit mad in Waterstones. I will have to donate some books to the telephone library this week.
25 - 27
Stuff from walkthewalk - t-shirt, hat and bra. All a bit tacky but for a good cause.
23-24 Two Books
Another copy of Time Out Book of Walks - my fourth copy so far? I also bought a book about walking which was a mistake as it involves very little reading but lots of fey nonsense.
22. Packet of AAA batteries
I didn't need to buy so many but they only came in packets of 12 and my television remote controller had stopped working and I didn't want to be restricted to watching only BBC2.
21. A Hand Brush
I know I shouldn't have but I did.
20. A pair of shoes
I also bought a pair of really expensive shoes in M&S. Pale blue loafers which are either a brilliant buy or a terrible mistake. I haven't decided yet which it is.
19. Shoes
I have to go to a work event next week which involves a bit of dressing up so I had to buy some dressing up shoes. I bought a mega cheap pair from M&S. I resent having to do this.
18. Fridge Magnet
The only thing I bought in Istanbul. Fridge magnets are the only kitsch objects I now allow in my flat.
17 St Matthew's Passion Programme
Given free at the concert at the Barbican.
16 Denim Skirt
I did want to buy a denim but I hadn't planned to buy a mid calf tight one. Oh well.
15 A Pair Of Trousers
I didn't really need these but I was in M&S and I tried them on and they were very flattering and well, what can I say?
14 Dress
I feel quite guilty about this and must dispose of 3 items of clothing to make up for it. Another very plain dress but, but it was so cheap and will be very good for work.
13 Charcoal filters
See 12
12 - Mould Cleaner
Rock and roll! I went mad in Lakeland.
11 - Packet Of Large Plastic Envelopes
I bought these to parcel up the items I am planning to sell on eBay.
10 - A packet of 100 tea lights
This is one item. I don't care what you say.
7 - 9 Three small containers.
What can I say? I went to Ikea and everyone knows if you try to leave without buying something they send you back to go round again.
2 - 6. Kenwood Chef
I have wanted one of these for at least 20 years. I bought a second hand one which died after a few weeks. This was in a sale and was less than half price. I now have the problem of getting rid of the second hand one. I am counting this as five objects; bowl, mixer and attachments; spatula; spanner; recipe book; and blender.
1. Pot of Chrysanthemums
I thought these were better value than a bunch of flowers. They cost £3.50.
PC's are generally considered to be /less/ stable than Macs, though go with what feels most comfortable to you (visit the Apple store in ?Bond Street to try out some Macs) because the difference isn't that much to the regular user. You'll have to worry about viruses more on a PC.
Neither PC's nor Mac's have any group advantage in terms of space, it depends on the model. Is space important? Buy a laptop maybe? A LCD screen will save space over a big CRT monitor.
Macs do look nice and they are made by Apple. They have a different way of doing things though which may take some getting used to (again, visit the Apple store and see).
Decide how important a computer is to you and then allocate budget on that basis, to me a computer is near the top of my priority list so I'd never go for cheap.
You save your files and settings on the old machine by saving to a CD or DVD, something you should be doing anyway in the event something nasty happens to your current computer, then use the CD/DVD in the new machine to load in the data. There are many more ways to do this but this is the simplest.
You can clean the hard disk drive in a number of ways, they mostly involve downloading some software from the internet to a floppy/cd/usb stick and running it on your PC. Eg http://dban.sourceforge.net/
For reference I have 2 Dells desktops and an Apple iBook. If I had the money it would be 1 Dell desktop (running linux), a Apple PowerMac and the iBook, but I'm more than happy with what I've got.
Posted by: stephen | January 25, 2007 at 11:48 PM
I was going to say: buy a Mac. But it appears that the knowledgeable commenter spot has already been taken.
Posted by: Sandra | January 26, 2007 at 12:33 AM
my advice would be to buy a PC, (but only because that's what i know, so tha'ts not very logical for you...) and to buy it at a computer fair like the one in town on a saturday, (http://www.computermarket.com/cgi-bin/floorplan?vnu_id=18) they cost £1.50 or something to get into but they are generally quite a chunk cheaper than the shops...
but if the computer shop scared you then the computer fair will scare you even more, but there you go, that's my advice...
good luck
x
Posted by: longcat | January 26, 2007 at 01:16 AM
Just to muddy the waters, I can get you a discount model from that company I work for, and no, you don't have to ship it from Australia but frankly, I'd go to John Lewis and ask a nice salesperson there. I have both Mac and PC but I think you'd be better sticking to the style of doing things that you know.
Posted by: incognito | January 26, 2007 at 02:25 AM
I think a Brillo pad would clean the hard drive quite nicely.
Posted by: Scooterdeb | January 26, 2007 at 04:58 AM
Or maybe that limescale remover you bought at John Lews.
Posted by: Scooterdeb | January 26, 2007 at 04:59 AM
Yes, stick with what you know. And decide how much you want to spend and stick to that, too. I've just bought three Dell laptops from their website, because I'd heard a lot of good things about the set-up. We're happy with them and with the service we got; but I did know what I wanted.
What exactly are you going to use it for? I don't think there's much difference between PCs and laptops reliability-wise; but a PC will give you more bang for your buck if that is an issue. However, I love my laptop and am posting this from bed - I wouldn't go back :).
There are various little software widgets around that clean the hard-drive to a level the FBI would be proud of. And you can get your stuff from one to the other either by networking them together (persuade a geek to do this for you) or by copying stuff on to CDs or a data-stick thingy and doing it manually. I haven't found an easy way to do this yet. (Although if memory serves, Dell did offer a service to do it for you - but I didn't explore it as it offended my geekyness).
Did that help, or is it just more confusing?
Posted by: Ally | January 26, 2007 at 05:07 AM
Mac design is just a whole lot cooler. That should clinch it for you. It did for me.
Posted by: David | January 26, 2007 at 08:01 AM
Could you borrow a geeky teenager from someone, who could escort you safely through the computer shop and also clean out the hard drive?
Posted by: Sandra | January 26, 2007 at 03:38 PM
Thank you all for the really helpful advice - having read it I'm just going to go and lie down in a darkened room. I may be some time.
Posted by: Ganching | January 26, 2007 at 08:23 PM
My last piece of advice is something I use alot, find someone who's opinion you trust in the matter and listen to them only. A lot of this is about personal preference and it's hard to filter all that, so find someone who'll make the right core decision and then just pick up their personal preference in everything else, until you feel confident to go on your own.
And visit the Apple Store.
:)
Posted by: stephen | January 26, 2007 at 08:45 PM
Dear Ganching
We have a MAC, it's all wireless and looks very cool but I'd wish we'd bought a PC. We've had lots of compatibility issues and after using a PC for so long I've never gotten used to the MAC.
How are you enjoying "Never Let Me Go"? It's such an intriguing story that I was gripped all the way through. "A Pale View of the Hills" is also wonderful.
Posted by: Therese | January 27, 2007 at 12:07 PM
Hi Therese - thanks for advice. Before I do anything I will visit the Apple store just to please you Apple tarts.
Posted by: Ganching | January 27, 2007 at 10:35 PM
ps I liked Never Let Me Go and was gripped by it though ultimately was a little disappointed by it (unlike Traybake who hated it!).
Posted by: Ganching | January 27, 2007 at 10:37 PM
There is a relatively easy way to transfer files, using Windows XP's "Files And Settings Transfer Wizard".
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/crawford_november12.mspx
You'll note I used the word 'relatively' in that sentence.... As a Microsoft Certified Professional (albeit with a job in social care!) I would be more than happy to smother you in jargon whilst ineptly fiddling with your Control Panel... However the very fact I am Microsuck certified should be as big a sign as any would need to point them Macwards!
Posted by: Rolpol | January 28, 2007 at 09:02 AM
I have a guy who came over and sorted out all the PC problems we had for a very reasonable fee. He can come in the evening and he is brilliant - if a geek, and very quiet. When you commit to the new gear and get it delivered he could come over and get you sorted. He probably could advise you on the purchase as well but you may feel you have enough advice already. Good Luck
Posted by: London sister | January 28, 2007 at 11:17 AM
Laptops are great, they don't take up much space and they are mobile. For what you will be using a computer for you won't need an expensive or flash model.
Personally, I use a Mac and I love it. Any new computer will require doing things a different way, so perhaps a Mac will not be as big a change as you might think.
If familiarity is important stick with a PC, and if style is important go for a Mac.
Posted by: Zoe | January 28, 2007 at 12:55 PM