So in Part I, I had finished with knitting and was about to sell the equipment online. As mentioned, I got a buyer but I sent the stuff to the wrong county. (Well, the two counties are the same, but they have different names.) Joyfully, An Post righted my wrong. So here, in more detail is how the sale went.

After a tweensy bit of meerkat research, I realised there was a market for knitting goods on a classified ads website. Much props styling and photography ensued. I got the photo and composed an ad. My wool collection, needles, pattern books, crochet hooks and stitch holders were offered for €19, collection deal.

I was quickly offered €15 for the wool and books to be posted. Wow, somebody wants the wooly bit of the deal for most of the money, I thought. Another bid came through - €10 to collect everything, ‘Ha!’ I thought. I would later realise that the bidder had assessed the situation perfectly.

Fastforwarding a few seconds, I accepted the €15 offer. The buyer didn’t want one of the pattern books, which the other interested party bought for €3. I fitted the collection of said book neatly into my plans for the next day. Then said plans changed.

On Monday, the parcel weighed in at €8.25 for postage. In a white padded envelope that cost €2. That was probably an avoidable outlay; a brown envelope would have done it. It was mostly wool, after all, bagged in thick plastic. But the forbidding post mistress had come up such a fetching envelope. She seemed to know and mock the futility of it all.

So to recap:

Outlays:
Knitting goods: irrelevant (but good money, once upon a time)
€8.25 postage
€2 envelope

Other costs:
Approx. 3 hours
Mucho headspace

Income
€15
€3

Net profit: €7.75

I also have a bunch of needles left, though I gave half of them to a knitting enthusiast who was in my house shortly after. THAT was wonderfully immediate.

So, on balance, purging the knitting stuff was mildly traumatising.

Part III will deal with hobby clutter and online selling. Meanwhile, I’m processing.

Let's face it - lotions are better at creating clutter than they are at busting wrinkles. We hold on to them for the following reasons:

- They cost a bomb
- They were a present
- They have goo in them, so they can't go in to the recycling too readily.

Body cremes are a popular gift, but a gal's or guy's lotion of choice is subjective. One man's catastrophe is another's Clinique. Many of us house unsolicited moisturisers or bath creams, often lacking a brand name. It is even tough to use posh perfume spin-offs. We also acquire brand-ish samples. These tubs and tubes clog up our surfaces and don't give much back. Often it takes minutes just to figure out what part of the body they will transform. Personally, I don't even moisturise my body - it takes way too long.

Over Christmas, I worked with a client and we hit upon some good ways of bringing your potions into line.

1. Pour lotions you will not use into a large lidded vessel (as per picture) and recycle the original packaging. This 2 litre vessel is coming with me to future sessions. If it does not turn into the elixir of eternal youth, I will see if I can leave it in the paint section of Ringsend Recycling Centre (watch this space). This may seem wasteful, but on the road to becoming a low-impact person, there are certain corners you can cut.

2. Write an 'F', 'H' or 'B' on cremes for the face, hands or body respectively

3. Don't collect samples - use what you have at home. Sachets will go quicker than tubes.

Bags comes in many shapes and sizes: plastic bags, paper bags, sports bags, school bags, bag-for-lifes, suitcases, gift bags, handbags, totes, bin bags. Although if you are male, you may just have a man bag. Or a pocket.

Generally more bags come into a house than leave it. We keep a bag of boutique-y paper bags so that we can package stuff which we are lending or returning. But let’s be honest – that don’t happen very often. What does this mean? Everybody – "clutter". Our best advice - recycle 90% of your bag of bags.

Bags often HOLD clutter – the present you didn’t quite give someone?  Last Saturday night’s lipstick and receipts? The knocker you plan to return, somehow sharing a bag with some confetti? Bagged clutter is stagnant clutter. Unbagged clutter is active.

And bags HIDE clutter. They are bulky. Just think of the measurements. A stray bag usually measures at least 1.5ft x 1ft. Remove your bag of bags from the wardrobe and what do you find. A half bottle of champagne and the black top which you are missing.
 
The only bags you need are a clutch, a tote and a few plastic bags. There will be more convincing in the New Year.

Meanwhile, Merry Christmas to my readers and a top 2015.

The Central Bank is aggrieved that people are taking coppers out of circulation. Retailers hand them out as change and they are never seen again.

Their grievance is understandable; it costs 1.7 cent to make a 1 cent coin and 2 cent to make a 2 cents coin. Where’s the cents in that?

Lots of people have a copper hoard. Men are particularly allergic to shrapnel and regularly dump coins of many denominations here. But is our relationship with coppers a bit dysfunctional? Don’t the pennies make the pounds?

One is reminded of the biblical lady who lost one of her coins and swept the house until she found it. Nowadays, we would be more likely to just hoover it up.

Here are some ways to release your coins and other money clutter in your house:

Euro coppers
1. Coin machine. Bring your coppers to the machine in one of my supermarkets which jingles them around and gives you a voucher or cash. It takes 10c from every euro for itself. It’s transfixing to watch, however. 
2. The Bank. The bank changes unmixed coins that are bagged as follows: 

• 1c x 100 (€1) 
• 2c x 100 (€2) 
• 5c x 100 (€5). 
• 10c and 20c - €10 worth
• 50c and €1 - €25 worth
• €2 x 25 - (€50)

They have to be placed in special money bags, which can be collected in advance. I suppose you could also stick the coins in containers and bag them in the bank. This task can be delegated to a child – he or she will love it.
3. Er, spend them. In the newsagent, the cinema, the candle-stick makers. Self-service checkouts can be force fed coppers.
 
Punts
1. The Central Bank. The Central Bank is a bit like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Nobody ever goes in and nobody ever goes out. I just presumed they made chocolate coins there. However, they can help you with your money clutter. Punt currency will be exchanged at a rate of £1 for €1.26. This includes notes and coins. This is done at Dame Street and the service is available Monday – Friday between 10am and 3.30pm.

Foreign coin
1.Ditch before you leave. Give them to a staff member or stranger in the airport if necessary.
2. Keep a foreign currency purse if you go to a place regularly. You can also put travel/loyalty cards in it.
3. Donate - in charity boxes at many banks and in The National Gallery and similar institutions.
4. The bin. If you have a stray centime, or obsolete currency from a winetasting trip to Valladolid in 2001, just bin it.

Antique coinages
1. The Central Bank. Pre-decimal Irish currency is still being changed in The Central Bank. The coinage used in my self-portrait (above) consists of pennies from the 1960’s and other cool decades. 240 of these bad boys will get you €1.26. See CB opening times above.
2. Valuation. James O’Brien from The Old Currency Exchange says that there are decent supplies of the original pound currency. However, certain coins are highly collectable. For example:

• 10p - 1992. Valued at €8,000
  
• 20p - 1985. Valued at €15,000
  
• Florin - 1943 Valued at €15,000
  
• Half crown - 1943 valued at €1,000

The Central Bank is so bothered by the copper situation, it is considering taking 1 cent and 2 cent out of play. The Finns have already done so. At least this would end ‘odd’ prices – €1.99 etc.

Meanwhile, you don’t really want a clump or scattering of money in your house anyway.

Like any other clutter, use it or lose it, peeps.