I was looking for a tape measure this morning and realise that my knitting stash is in a very sorry state. I really need to get the mojo to sort it out - I might even find the tape measure.
Good luck with finding the tape measure @Sarasa. They tend to be an item that goes walkies in this house even though we have multiple of them!
Whenever I clean out my cutlery drawer I feel close to my Mum who was a home maker of excellence. In years past I always compared myself to her and felt like a failure, but then she didn't work outside the home or have a sick kid, so probably a lot easier for her to be on top of things.
I won't name our brand of washer, but we have a 15 minute wash cycle on our machine, but I also do an additional spin to try to get as much water out of the items before hanging them up. When I used our top loader it took about an hour to run an ordinary cycle, so we've cut the wash time down by about half, which is great. There is also a 30 minute cycle, but I like to get up and walk to the laundry and do it manually, as I'd be spending too much time sitting, otherwise. Killing two birds with one stone wherever possible!
I have discovered I have what is probably a lifetime's supply of ballpoint pens, 7 of which are purple and 4 metal rulers with both imperial and metric measurements (important to me because although NZ uses the metric system cross stitch uses fabric that is woven in threads per inch).
Just this afternoon, I heard a crash coming from the driveway. I went out and found our rain gutter has pulled off the roof. I think it was because of the ice that had built up in it. I will call a repair man on Monday.
I hope the gutter doesn't cost too much to have repaired/replaced @Gramps49, bler!
Yesterday was coolish so I raced around, washing, vacuuming and general tidying to try to beat the return to warmer weather later in the week. I am pleased to say the battle with moths has reduced substantially having chucked away the rug that appeared to be a breeding place. Husband took it to the tip on Saturday!
Now to get Cheery son onto cleaning the bathroom, I am sure he has been "overlooking" this lately!
Now that my study is warm again I have no excuse for not sorting my paperwork and completing the reorganisation of the shelves.
I have also restarted on Mr Puzzler’s study, but I now realise that there is a lot of stuff in there that I shifted from elsewhere when the other rooms were being decorated. A new detailed list has been drawn up as a start.
The new deadline is the end of July, when the bookcases will be removed, but I can foresee my son getting impatient with my tardiness next time he is here.
I hope your son won't be impatient @Puzzler, I think you are doing amazingly. Your approach is methodical and you have worked through a lot of things, that is an achievement.
I had a friend whose mother used to make a to-do list and my friend thought she had ticked things off as she went, thus having a completed list at the end of the day. She found out later that she did not, Mum compiled her list at the end of the day and listed all the things she had gotten done. In many ways I think that's an encouraging method, as you can see what's been done each day and I've begun to adopt it.
Now I'm at home full-time, I find it helpful to do this because otherwise I have a tendency to think I've achieved nothing, but even the smallest of tasks takes time and I am glad to know that I have not frittered my day away, all the routine things are being ticked off and it helps me to keep motivated.
@Puzzler you need to do it at a pace you can sustain. I am always impressed by your approach which is much more systematic than my approach of doing what is irritating me most.
@Huia I fear my two month break has extended into almost four months and the impetus is lost. My ‘systems’ have broken down.
I have got very little else going on in my life apart from singing in three choirs, so I have no excuses, except that some things are very difficult to get rid of, some emotionally, some practically.
The fact is that I don’t actually need the extra room, when it is finally cleared and decorated. And how much of the stuff I want to keep is just going to be put in a skip by my children eventually.
Back on the house tidying at my place this week. Aged Aunt will be visiting next week and so I think a bit more than a lick and a promise is needed in the run up! Extra thorough bathroom cleaning to be done next week and a bit over the weekend with the help of Cheery husband - cleaning the venetian blinds in the bathrooms. One of my most unfavourite jobs!
I've already done the bathroom and laundry floors so hopefully just a quick vacuum for those to keep them under control. Our cat hair gets everywhere, particularly from Mr Longhair.
Cheery son has just done a huge favour by wiping the skirting boards for me, my knees don't like a lot of kneeling these days and so I try to save it for the garden and I've spent a few hours there this week, and am a bit stiff!
The North East Man is due home later today, having been at a conference since Sunday. The house is visibly tidier than when he left, but I haven't achieved as much as I hoped. Most of the improvement is achievable because I don't cook anything which involves more than one pan whilst he's away, which means I don't have much to clean up after cooking. I've been living off pasta /pesto, soup with oatcakes and cheese, non-cook veg, such as slices of cucumber and peppers, fruit and hot chocolate. I haven't eaten meat since he left.
I'm feeling less stressed because the place is tidier and healthier because of the lighter eating.
There ought to be a way of sustaining this, but I can't work out what it is.
I have laminated the chart for my next cross stitch project project and gathered all the threads and the scissors. There is also a new pack of shiny needles at the ready.
BUT
before I start stitching my new project I have to tidy the kitchen and wash the floor.
Since he left at 5am on Sunday I have spent £2.25 on chocolate and a £5 donation for a bowl of soup at church, and that has been my entire food expenditure. I have eaten practically everything in the fridge, and I've been putting the fridge shelves through the dishwasher as I clear them. I've been like Pacman. I even created a pasta sauce by mixing mayo, mango chutney and a chopped up floppy cucumber. I can't remember when the fridge was so clean.
We have a church thing on tomorrow, and I have a Tesco delivery coming tomorrow night to replenish the fridge.
I've decided the kitchen floor will keep until a cooler day when I've checked the temperature first. I did about a third then realised today's maximum is forecast to be 27C.
My floors are still glaring at me and I might do them today, as it's a bit cooler and predicted to get hot again. I'll leave until a bit later though as otherwise people will just walk all over them - so inconvenient!
I had a fit of madness last week and gave the bathroom floors a good going over, still holding up pretty well! I have a little bit of dusting and vacuuming to do in anticipation of visitors at the end of the week.
Just heard that Master Plummer major and his family are coming over from California in July - Hooray. If we start tidying now the house may just be fit to receive them by then!
Had a long overdue audit of the cupboards. Found - as you do - packets stretching back almost a decade in some cases. Also, extraordinary amounts of sugar (given that I don't bake to speak of).
The packet stuff has been binned - not so much that it was Off as that, if I haven't used in the last 3,4,5+ years am I likely to in the future?
Swithering over a tin of condensed milk (2017) and rice pudding (2023).
After taking many carloads of computery stuff and associated electrickery to Greentec (a blessed company than makes such things go away) for friends whose house needed to be purged of such stuff, I looked around our own house... I would never throw out defunct computers, computer cables, transformers, power supplies, electrical hardware etc because you never know when they might come in useful. The response to that is that you should keep just one power cable, just in case. The metal recyclers will give you pennies, even for the wire, because of the cost of extracting the copper, but Greentec will take everything; light bulbs, batteries and all kinds of stuff that looks as if it might once upon a time have had some electrons in it. So it is that an astonishing amount of space has been freed up and the boxes are ready to load in the car. OK - I did hang on to just a few very small things that might just come in useful one of these days.
Apart from nearly new stuff that was eminently saleable, our old kit has gone to a local lady who recycles and refurbishes items, mostly laptops and phones. She began during lockdown, giving them to schoolchildren to do school work at home, but has continued, reaching her 1000th item this week. She will now sell items for a small charge to help fund cables, batteries etc when she needs to buy them. She does this in memory of her father who died very early on from Covid. She works full time as well.
Today the “public” bits of my house are beautifully clean and uncluttered as I had my French group here today.
That's the kind of recycling that appeals to me. I don't know of anything similar around here, but due to the nature of the area - universities, 'high tech' industries - there is a glut of used equipment, so at least the components are returned to the raw materials supply stream.
I love the recycling of computers and their parts @Puzzler and @Stercus Tauri . I took my Dad's laptop to a group that refurbishes computers for provision to those who need one but can't afford ones from the shop. Dad had barely touched it, so I hope it became useful for someone. In our city there is an e-waste section at the local waste management centre which all goes for recycling/stripping back to the raw materials.
In other news, I've managed to keep the floors and bathrooms clean in anticipation of Aged Aunt's visit. I have a horrible corner with indoor plants that aren't thriving, so that spot has all been tidied and cleaned and I even found a couple of rogue moths, so they were squished and disposed of. I think the China doll plant has lost the battle to live, so I'll toss that and we'll try again with a new one, hoping we can defeat the aphids next time.
I even managed to put my hand on the family tree I did at school, so I could pump my Aunt for more family info and scribbled a couple of notes on it. Today, I have to return it to it's proper home, so I can find it next time I want it!!
Further to the cupboard clearance, it seemed a crime to waste so much packaged stuff. So I've tipped it all together in a large carrier to take to the garden. I imagine a mix of seeds, nuts, lentils, coconut, cous cous, barley, prunes and apricots would appeal to your average bird/squirrel/fieldmouse?
@Firenze I don't know whether your out of date things appeal to your local wildlife, but they sound really yummy to me!!
I'm planning on some floor cleaning this morning, so some of the chemicals might wear off before we have a great nephew visit on Saturday. I'm making a list of toddler proofing to be done today!! I am grateful that Cheery husband has just come in and discussed how he might help with that when he gets home tonight.
Toddler proofing continues this evening and I've removed some dead plants and planters from the family room. Lego flowers have been moved onto a high cupboard and vacuuming will commence shortly. After dinner I morph into a famous chef and will do lots of prep for tomorrow's lunch. I've tidied away all my baking mess from this morning and run the dishwasher. Trying to get ahead of the game!
Well done @Cheery Gardener ; it sounds exhausting but I hope by getting ahead you can enjoy your visitors when they come. We have visitors in a couple of weeks' time - they've been once before and are, shall we say, high maintenance. The spare room is currently full of stuff that's being sorted and I've told Mr Nen (more than once) that I'll need his help to get it guest-ready.
I don't know if this has been asked before, but I am wondering if anyone has hired a professional organiser to help them with their home. I think I need this because mine is so messy and it's too overwhelming and tiring to tackle by myself, and I was wondering if people have advice about how to find a good organiser person.
I don't know if this has been asked before, but I am wondering if anyone has hired a professional organiser to help them with their home. I think I need this because mine is so messy and it's too overwhelming and tiring to tackle by myself, and I was wondering if people have advice about how to find a good organiser person.
My 86 year old friend has hired a professional declutterer/reorganiser and considers it money well spent. He intends to live out his time in his own house, and this is good preparation. I have to say that so far, it has just given him more space for his many activities.
I don't know if this has been asked before, but I am wondering if anyone has hired a professional organiser to help them with their home. I think I need this because mine is so messy and it's too overwhelming and tiring to tackle by myself, and I was wondering if people have advice about how to find a good organiser person.
Thanks @Doublethink - I had actually come across that site in my googling, but I didn't know if it was good, so it's good that you are recommending it.
And it's good to see you all. I can find it hard to keep up with this site (part of the general theme in my life of being disorganised and overwhelmed!), but I do like it when I'm here.
Comments
Many non- cutlery items had sneaked in + crumbs.
All tidy now 😊
Doesn't it feel great? I love that feeling of clearing out.
AFF
Whenever I clean out my cutlery drawer I feel close to my Mum who was a home maker of excellence. In years past I always compared myself to her and felt like a failure, but then she didn't work outside the home or have a sick kid, so probably a lot easier for her to be on top of things.
I won't name our brand of washer, but we have a 15 minute wash cycle on our machine, but I also do an additional spin to try to get as much water out of the items before hanging them up. When I used our top loader it took about an hour to run an ordinary cycle, so we've cut the wash time down by about half, which is great. There is also a 30 minute cycle, but I like to get up and walk to the laundry and do it manually, as I'd be spending too much time sitting, otherwise. Killing two birds with one stone wherever possible!
Oh, the joys of homeownership.
Yes
Yesterday was coolish so I raced around, washing, vacuuming and general tidying to try to beat the return to warmer weather later in the week. I am pleased to say the battle with moths has reduced substantially having chucked away the rug that appeared to be a breeding place. Husband took it to the tip on Saturday!
Now to get Cheery son onto cleaning the bathroom, I am sure he has been "overlooking" this lately!
I did some tidying today, mainly because I had mislaid my wallet. When I found it I lost my enthusiasm for doing any more.
I have also restarted on Mr Puzzler’s study, but I now realise that there is a lot of stuff in there that I shifted from elsewhere when the other rooms were being decorated. A new detailed list has been drawn up as a start.
The new deadline is the end of July, when the bookcases will be removed, but I can foresee my son getting impatient with my tardiness next time he is here.
I had a friend whose mother used to make a to-do list and my friend thought she had ticked things off as she went, thus having a completed list at the end of the day. She found out later that she did not, Mum compiled her list at the end of the day and listed all the things she had gotten done. In many ways I think that's an encouraging method, as you can see what's been done each day and I've begun to adopt it.
Now I'm at home full-time, I find it helpful to do this because otherwise I have a tendency to think I've achieved nothing, but even the smallest of tasks takes time and I am glad to know that I have not frittered my day away, all the routine things are being ticked off and it helps me to keep motivated.
I have got very little else going on in my life apart from singing in three choirs, so I have no excuses, except that some things are very difficult to get rid of, some emotionally, some practically.
The fact is that I don’t actually need the extra room, when it is finally cleared and decorated. And how much of the stuff I want to keep is just going to be put in a skip by my children eventually.
Mainly Giovanni Gabrieli, also Andrea Gabrieli, Lotti and Schütz. “ The Glories of Venice”.
I've already done the bathroom and laundry floors so hopefully just a quick vacuum for those to keep them under control. Our cat hair gets everywhere, particularly from Mr Longhair.
Cheery son has just done a huge favour by wiping the skirting boards for me, my knees don't like a lot of kneeling these days and so I try to save it for the garden and I've spent a few hours there this week, and am a bit stiff!
I'm feeling less stressed because the place is tidier and healthier because of the lighter eating.
There ought to be a way of sustaining this, but I can't work out what it is.
BUT
before I start stitching my new project I have to tidy the kitchen and wash the floor.
It may take some time.
We have a church thing on tomorrow, and I have a Tesco delivery coming tomorrow night to replenish the fridge.
At least it's drying quickly.
I've no idea either. They'll be telling us next you're supposed to clean windows and ovens.
😳
I had a fit of madness last week and gave the bathroom floors a good going over, still holding up pretty well! I have a little bit of dusting and vacuuming to do in anticipation of visitors at the end of the week.
The packet stuff has been binned - not so much that it was Off as that, if I haven't used in the last 3,4,5+ years am I likely to in the future?
Swithering over a tin of condensed milk (2017) and rice pudding (2023).
Today the “public” bits of my house are beautifully clean and uncluttered as I had my French group here today.
In other news, I've managed to keep the floors and bathrooms clean in anticipation of Aged Aunt's visit. I have a horrible corner with indoor plants that aren't thriving, so that spot has all been tidied and cleaned and I even found a couple of rogue moths, so they were squished and disposed of. I think the China doll plant has lost the battle to live, so I'll toss that and we'll try again with a new one, hoping we can defeat the aphids next time.
I even managed to put my hand on the family tree I did at school, so I could pump my Aunt for more family info and scribbled a couple of notes on it. Today, I have to return it to it's proper home, so I can find it next time I want it!!
I'm planning on some floor cleaning this morning, so some of the chemicals might wear off before we have a great nephew visit on Saturday. I'm making a list of toddler proofing to be done today!! I am grateful that Cheery husband has just come in and discussed how he might help with that when he gets home tonight.
My 86 year old friend has hired a professional declutterer/reorganiser and considers it money well spent. He intends to live out his time in his own house, and this is good preparation. I have to say that so far, it has just given him more space for his many activities.
This might help.
Good to see you here @fineline!
And it's good to see you all.