How can we stop becoming 'old' as we age?

Your business sounds like a great idea Rinky and your post made me think of a small take away place I saw at the Railway Station in Melbourne, which was situated as people hurried past to catch their trains. It was called Grab A Bite, perfect name in a few short words telling you exactly what they did. I think names for businesses are really important. The Clutter Consultant is good, Declutter Your Home is another or Declutter for Space and Declutter for Life. I am sure there are some clever GNs who could think up other names.

Ana I have a confident feeling that I know exactly which make & model of car you are referring to. Whenever I find I am behind one (usually in the morning, on the way to work) I say aloud, to no-one in particular, 'Oh no! Not a bl***y blankety blank !' Cautiously driven, indicators used only at Christmas, driver in their own little world ('Now then, I must remember to get the dog some biscuits, and I wonder if that salmon is still on special offer. Oh! and I must go to the bank afterwards...' ), and they pootle along happily and I get no relief until they turn off at Asda. Yup! 9 times out of 10 they turn off at Asda. Good grief!

Rinky If you have a Kindle and are subscribed to EreaderIQ (which emails you daily with what's free on the amazon Kindle site) there are usually a couple of books every day on how to declutter your house and life. If these people find it worthwhile to write about it, there must be a market.

I could use a clutter consultant right now, Rinky! But I'd have to clear some stuff before I let anyone into the house.

Just mentioned something along those lines on the housework thread, Rinky .

Re getting older and setting up a business: I have lived in lots of places and insist on storage that works. Can't stand 'making do'. Doesn't have to be expensive - just do the job!

I despaired not long ago when a client of mine was about to spend £30,000 on an extension because they had 'no room' for anything. I tried to suggest better ways to utilise the space they had which was significant, being a four bedroom four reception room house for four people but to no avail and they built the extra two rooms!
I figured I could have sorted their problems for £2000. Huge amounts of space wasted round the walls.

I actually started doing some work to set up a few years ago but life intervened as it does. Name I came up with was The Clutter Consultant. Would anyone think this a viable way to diversify and give me a new interest as my ability to massage wanes. All comments welcome.

I like your attitude, moved re the killer heels , and I'm sure I've changed in some ways, but not fundamentally. DH1 used to say I was very unpredictable. Never thought so myself, but then I knew what i was thinking when he didn't

Anyways , DH has just come in , so I"m off to be with him .

Talk tommorrow .

You're too cryptic for me, Nonu...

Ana ,, or even because !!

Just bercause

ANA x

ohh , such a sweetheart .

All I say is please God preserve me fromm becoming a crabbed old woman.

I can just see you both, like galleons in the breeze....

Move. we will go with our 4inch heels wherever the wind may take us .X

Thanks Nonu for you good wishes. I'm still feeling rubbish today but am back home so will cough in my own bed tonight!

Bags although I think some basic traits will never change, life's circumstances can change us quite a lot. Phsychometric testing is only considered valid for about 18 months as after that it is quite possible we have changed, which I think is great. I don't want to always be the same and therefore predictable.

Also, I must defend my killer heels against the suggestion that they are bad for the back. I had polio and have one leg shorter than the other and the resulting scoliosis and was told never to wear flat shoes as the high ones help my back to cope. No sympathy please, I'm used to it and it doesn't hurt so I never let the medics anywhere closer than just looking!

One way we can stop ourselves from becoming old as we age is to avoid saying the sort of thing I came out with last week.

I suddenly found myself saying, on two separate occasions, to young family members who were spending a lot in the sales:

'Have you won the pools?'

Blank looks of course.

I don't know where it came from because I haven't even thought of Littlewoods for years.

For me it's a shopping trolley on wheels, they make me cringe. I can remember my granny having a wicker one which she used to pull along when we went shopping. Some older ladies used to pop their Pekinese or Yorkshire terrier dogs in them, horrible yappy little things grr.

Where I live (semi-rural, quite a lot of retired folk) there is a certain make of car that a lot of the old people seem to drive, and I just dread getting stuck behind one doing 35mph on the 60mph bit of our road...I won't name names, because I know at least one GN member has one, but I would rather give up driving completely than own one of those!

A beige zip up jacket would signify that I had truly given up...have told Fh to shootme if I ever suggest buying one!

Hi Soop, Grannyknot, Jo5 and Rinky, what fun you all are and so encouraging. Sold my first item today and I love networking with others.
You should be in my coffee group, very naughty but we meet most days till we get thrown out at 12am. Go for that knitting Grannyknot, you should see how popular it is on Craftybums and Folksy ( google it). Getting a job offer just like that is brilliant.
I love this site and also use it for snippets for our local Age UK newsletter. Hopefully it encourages people to log on.
Bye for now Mads

Being new to Gransnet and reading the comments "everybody seems young to me " it's just our bodies that are older. So to work on that as much as possible !

Congrats, Mads...I wish you the success you deserve.

I love that song Grannyknot

This thread reminded me this morning of the Frank Sinatra song my lovely mother would sing to us growing up, I see I was 5 when it came out

Young at Heart www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTcmCxqOE_s

Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you
If you're young at heart.
For it's hard, you will find, to be narrow of mind
If you're young at heart.

You can go to extremes with impossible schemes.
You can laugh when your dreams fall apart at the seams.
And life gets more exciting with each passing day.
And love is either in your heart, or on it's way.

Don't you know that it's worth every treasure on earth
To be young at heart.
For as rich as you are, it's much better by far
To be young at heart.

And if you should survive to 105,
Look at all you'll derive out of being alive!
And here is the best part, you have a head start
If you are among the very young at heart.

You're business looks great Mads. Found you on facebook too. Glad you managed to slip that ad in without the buggers beady-eyed ones at Gransnet HQ noticing. Well done.

Good luck with the business.