With Estrid being off I have had quite a lot of ‘spare’ time that would ordinarily be filled with training Estrid. I have filled this time with tidying, cleaning and now decluttering all my horsey gear. I had got to a point in my ‘normal’ and horsey life that I felt like I had too much stuff. I knew where everything was but it was hard to get to, I could find the right box but then the box was rammed so full I’d have to unpack it all to find the thing I was looking for.
So I embarked on a decluttering mission and essentially a stocktake of my belongings. I am a sucker for holding onto stuff ‘just in case’ or ‘maybe the next horse will need that’. I had synthetic stirrup leathers from 23 years ago……and for approximately 5 seconds contemplated keeping them or selling them as I didn’t want them to go to waste, before my sensible brain said ‘these will probably snap the moment you put weight on them, throw them away’.
So I tried to ask myself:
- Do you use it regularly? (If I answered yes and it was in storage, I had to have words with myself that actually if I did use it regularly it wouldn’t be in storage!)
- Does it do a task that can’t be done otherwise? (Useful for stuff that’s not in regular use but I do need, like clippers)
- Is it safe to use? (Goodbye 23 year old stirrup leathers)
- Is it irreplaceable? (I’ve been hanging onto red water bottle holders, as you couldn’t get hold of new ones. But I prefer navy, white or black, so the likelihood of me using them is slim. Now they are replaceable if my current ones break so I don’t need to hold onto the red ones)
It wasn’t a groundbreaking declutter as I had 19 items to sell and threw away 8 items. But it made me feel accomplished and filled a few hours. Thankfully it looks like Estrid is ready to be ridden again so I won’t have to subject you all to the various dull ways I’ve kept myself entertained anymore.
Beth Endurance 