This week's tidying has been a bit out of whack due to daughter's work routine being at home. However, I finally got myself onto the vacuuming today and I can't believe how much hair our cats shed!! Glad to be rid of that!
I also rearranged some of the spare bedroom cupboard as I was putting away the Christmas decorations. Things looking a bit better in there at present. I've also removed the heated throw for Cheery husband to decide if he wants to keep it or not, he hasn't used it for a while, so maybe not, but I have a fear that he'll want to hang onto it!! Oh well, I've done my best to identify what is possibly able to be passed on or tossed. I can't do more than that!
I have a whole stash of cleaning products which I rarely use, partly because I am lazy, but mainly because I have a refillable spray bottle containing white vinegar and a few drops of Stardrops. I think there was once a third ingredient but I forget what it was. It works well for most purposes.
Our son boxed up the books from all three bookcases in his room, and put those boxes in the newly floored loft storage area. We got rid of one of the bookcases, and our son's desk, to create a space big enough for my husband's desk.
We are currently moving furniture around in our son's room to get the room properly clean. Then my husband's desk moves from his bedroom into our son's room, and my husband will start putting the books he took home from work into the remaining two bookcases.
Plan A was to empty my husband's bedroom, get the hole in the floor repaired, the walls repainted, put down a new carpet, replace all the furniture, except for the bed, with new furniture, and finish off with new curtains and a new lightshade.
However, my husband now says that he'd like to skip the "walls repainted" bit, do everything else, and then choose the colours for his wall once the new carpet is down and the new furniture in. At that point he'll move the furniture back out to get the room painted.
It is, of course, his bedroom. And if he thinks he'll struggle to visualise colours until everything else is in situ then I suppose it is fair enough. I am sitting on my hands.
Someone is coming to measure up for the new carpet today. I might casually mention that we'll be repainting after the new carpet is down, and see if they say anything.
I use ordinary white vinegar for cleaning too, but mor recently a stronger "cleaning vinegar" has become available which is good for really tough cleaning jobs.
@Cheery Gardener I remember reading a book where a character commented thar they vacuumed up "enough cat hair to knit a whole new cat".
The piles of music are now sorted into folders, so I know which folder to look in, though I still need to sort within some of the folders. I was able to take a small amount to church for choir use. Then I needed to clear the table so the folders are ( literally) shelved for now. Job not quite done.
Today the Christmas Tree and Garland were packed up into a new Christmas tree bag which I purchased online. I also bought a wreath bag, but it was out of stock(drat) and my money was refunded very promptly, which made me happy.
However, the bag that arrived is large enough that it has stored the tree, the front door wreath and the garland that goes around our big window. Ready to be put into the roof space, packed up compactly and all together, I feel as though I am winning today.
To add to my rejoicing here, husband has hung in a nice group 3 cross stiches I made many years ago and 4 ribbon embroideries that he has bought me as gifts at various times. We've hung them above the bed in our guest room and it looks nice and welcoming. The wall was large and a dull whitish-grey and having a bit of colour really lifts it!
@Huia, Yes, in my view you can never have too much cross-stitch. I am certainly glad I learnt how to do it, even though I was turned off for many years by having to do it when I was in 2nd class - we had to learn on gingham placemats.
@North East Quine that sounds like a phenomenal amount of success and I hope the new carpet and possible painting work out well ( in which ever order they are done, though my order of operations would be paint before new carpet.)
I did some painting just over a year ago and mostly concentrated on the tiled areas. I just went back to admire the new wall-hangings in the bedroom and realised how shabby the walls now look. For now I've shut the door and walked away, but think I can feel another attack of wanting to paint walls coming on!!
I have booked a painter to come before the carpet goes down! It made zero sense to lay the new carpet and then attempt to freshen up and repaint the skirting boards afterwards.
Now he just has to choose colours. The room currently has three walls painted magnolia and one wall painted a soft green. The new carpet is going to be cream, so I'm guessing the new colour scheme will be similar to the old.
This morning I have written a new comprehensive To Do list, ranging from urgent, routine, to one-off. It now has 9 ticks ( routine tasks, so will recur).
When I was putting clean washing away I saw my main drawer for tops was in a muddle, so I sorted it ( not on my To Do list). I counted over 30! That doesn’t include my thicker jumpers, blouses or fleeces, nor a few summery items, but does include T shirts I might wear as base layers. Some items are many years old, only 4 were bought in the last year. I am donating just one item to the charity shop. The others all have a role.
Last month, I preached a sermon on when John the Baptist was asked what people should do in repenting. He answered if one person has two shirts, s/he should give one away. Well, that gave me impetus to clean out my closet today. Not giving away half my clothes, though. About a third.
One problem I have with giving away clothes, though, is how for-profit companies, will snap them up for a song and then ship them in bulk to underdeveloped countries to sell them to distributors who will dump them on the local markets. This will depress the chances of clothiers there to make products that are more suitable for the locale.
However, I know my closet rack is not growing as much has it had been.
I just hope my clothes will help someone here--I would be okay if they would be shipped to the LA area, though.
Is it possible that any of your local charities (I don't know where "local" is for you) would be arranging special collections of clothing to be sent to LA?
I would be interested to know if you are able to take up @Piglet's suggestion @Gramps49. I know is Onz when there is a major disaster people are often encouraged to give cash as that's what people need when getting set up again post disaster. Sometimes too cmmunity groups are left with a large lot of clothes/furniture that no one has used and they have to dispose of at some expense.
Back to the tidying issue, I do have the same concerns you do when donating clothes, that they won't be taken up locally. Our church has a bin for a specific charity and I donate to that knowing they have shops in our diocese that take the items.
Tidying has stopped here, just to have a breather, and to assess what might be the next project to tackle, other than dealing with stuff that's not my own!! I have noticed though that when I'm working on a big task that I sometimes let other things slide and I need to remember to do those things, today will be to dust all the stuff on the walls, mirrors and paintings. I'm currently sitting on my bed and can see 5 that I can't remember when I last dusted them. I might need a to do list like @Puzzler, or to follow a room by room approach to try to go over each room once a week. I'm pretty good with the vacuuming, not so much with the dusting.
Wow, Ruth, I'm assuming your application for new premises was accepted and your move will soon be in progress! Very glad you've been able to find a suitable place so quickly and sending good wishes for your move!
@Cheery Gardener That's what I am seeing here too. Charities are asking for cash donations because they can supply the most pressing needs quicker. It also helps to boost the local economy if those needs can be bought at LA outlets.
However, I would not be surprised if we might see LA refugees--people burned out of their homes--begin to look elsewhere for residency. If some end up here, I could see helping them locally.
That sounds like a wonderful way to be able to help @Gramps49. I can't imagine the trauma of the event and then needing to relocate to somewhere where I know nobody. Friendly assistance is a real boost to morale and recovery
I have found my hole punch! Just a couple of days after buying a new one, of course.
(Mr P had several, which I had sent to auction in a stationery lot. ) It was in the garage, hidden in a box containing parcel tape, various glues, packaging.
Since my son took the former hi-fi units away there is room to move, so I was able to do a bit of sorting on a slightly warmer day.
I cleared out my kitchen food storage containers. I purchased a matching set of new clear ones. Some of my old ones were my mother's, and I am 86. LOL. They were odds and ends Tupperware, empty cheese containers, glass jars, and such. The main problem was most of the old ones were solid plastic, so you could not view what was inside, and I would forget what was what.
The clear out of my husband's bedroom has started. I have a wardrobe in it and today I went through all my shoes.
The hole in the floor is being fixed at 8am Fri 31 Jan, so the carpet will have to come up on Thurs 30 Jan, so all the furniture will have to be out by Wed 29 Jan. The room is being painted on Mon 3 Feb; the NE Man has to choose colours by Mon 27 Jan.
Last month, I preached a sermon on when John the Baptist was asked what people should do in repenting. He answered if one person has two shirts, s/he should give one away. Well, that gave me impetus to clean out my closet today. Not giving away half my clothes, though. About a third.
One problem I have with giving away clothes, though, is how for-profit companies, will snap them up for a song and then ship them in bulk to underdeveloped countries to sell them to distributors who will dump them on the local markets. This will depress the chances of clothiers there to make products that are more suitable for the locale.
However, I know my closet rack is not growing as much has it had been.
I just hope my clothes will help someone here--I would be okay if they would be shipped to the LA area, though.
I need to buckle down and do my Marie Kondo stuff, and start doing the Un-F Your Habitat stuff as well. So far in the book, the principles are ones I’ve known since not only FlyLady (whom I can’t really deal with these days) but Daddy Vern. I do need some kind of direction though. Left to my own devices, I wind up trying to come up with stuff that doesn’t work as well as I imagine it would. Which room do you start with? Which part of which room do you start with? There are so many different moving parts… Hopefully the book will have a bit more on that. Definitely need to deal with dishes today though and maybe laundry.
Suggest you start with 20 minutes on dishes, with an alarm and some “treat” —a small short one—once that is done. Then 20 minutes on laundry. Small break/ treat (example, watch one short video). Then 20 on dishes again. You want to focus narrowly on what will increase your life safety, comfort and happiness the quickest and most obviously. And stay with a max of two alternating areas till done so you see quick results and feel pleased with yourself.
My suggestion is put a load of laundry in, and work on the dishes with treat breaks. No need to dry laundry and put it away today it can sit in the washer until tomorrow. Tomorrow, dry and fold. I find a timer helps in doing chores. Lamb Chopped is right on.
Absolutely re timers and such! 🥰 In my case, due to stamina issues, plus my foot issues (still healing, but at glacial speeds 🙄), plus the school stuff I must get done (adjunct professor at several different community colleges, all online, so I work from home and have much to get done), I’ll be doing work at the computer for like 16, 21, or 31 minutes at a time, * then say change the dressing on the foot, or empty the dishwasher, or fill and run the dishwasher, etc., then back to the computer. Currently tired and lying down for a bit—then will bite the bullet and start the process. I do have a batch of laundry in the washer now…
Today 16 or 21 minutes at a go might be best—I have a lot on my list. Change foot dressing, put ointment on the other foot, laundry, dishes, empty trash, plus getting that reading in… And more, plus of course the school stuff that is time sensitive.
* The extra minute means I can get up to speed for a full 15, 20, or 30 minutes
I wouldn't advocate leaving the laundry in the washing machine; if you forget about it, it will become Very Nasty after a while. Anyway, if you've got a tumble-dryer, then you're better just transferring it as soon as the laundry load is done.
Re: dishes, I quite often set the dishwasher going either before I go to bed or before I go out to work, and let it get on with it.
I wouldn't advocate leaving the laundry in the washing machine; if you forget about it, it will become Very Nasty after a while. Anyway, if you've got a tumble-dryer, then you're better just transferring it as soon as the laundry load is done.
Re: dishes, I quite often set the dishwasher going either before I go to bed or before I go out to work, and let it get on with it.
Indeed - our washing machine gets smelly if anything is left in it for even a short time with the door closed. I try to make sure I pull the laundry out as soon as the cycle is done and get it on the airers. I run the dishwasher in the evening after our meal and unpack it first thing in the morning.
@Lamb Chopped 's idea about a couple of jobs and 20 minutes on each with breaks is really good.
Had oral surgery this past week--two molars removed. Have been on a liquid diet for most of time since. One thing we don't seem to have enough of is spoons. We have to run dishwasher ever evening to replenish the spoon supply. This next week I will start on soft diet. Should reduce the need for spoons.
Regards: giving clothes to homeless shelter. That's what we did with my father's clothes when he died. Too late for mine, but we gave them to a church related thrift store.
About once a week I put in a load of wash when I am off to bed in the evening, and I put it in the dryer first thing in the morning when I wake up. It has never been a problem, and it gives me nice warm clothes to wear on a frosty day.
A lot depends on climate. Here in the humid river-bound Midwest, you get roughly twelve hours before clothes left in the washer start to smell musty. Elsewhere you might get longer.
I wouldn't advocate leaving the laundry in the washing machine; if you forget about it, it will become Very Nasty after a while. Anyway, if you've got a tumble-dryer, then you're better just transferring it as soon as the laundry load is done.
Re: dishes, I quite often set the dishwasher going either before I go to bed or before I go out to work, and let it get on with it.
Yes, I don't generally leave it in the washer. The dryer is another matter, LOL!
My old washer used to have a delay start option, it had some presets but you could customise too, which was great. More recently we changed from a top loading to front loading washing machine to speed up the process. It used to take nearly all weekend to do the washing on the old machine.
I try to wash every day, just using a short cycle and most things hang on a rack above the laundry bench, I have a longer hanging space on an adjoining wall. Straight from the washing machine to coat-hanger to rack then into the wardrobe the next day. It helps that the laundry is on the warm end of the house. A friend asked me if we ever had a problem with mould in the room, but it has never been the case.
For a while when daughter was young, husband had to work in a city 3 hours away. from home. Things were full on getting home from work of an evening, getting dinner and her bathed and ready for bed and daycare the next day. I used to go home for lunch and put a casserole in the oven. Then when we got home I concentrated on her until bedtime. Then when I sat down to watch TV, if there was an ad break, I would do one short task. It might be put nappies in the nappy bag, or pack her lunch bag, or put bread in the toaster and teabag in the cup for breakfast and make sure the kettle was full and ready to go, select and lay out clothes for the morning. Spending 2 or 3 minutes on tiny jobs made me get through my tasks without feeling as though I had to give up my favourite shows. Long story short, doing a job then having a reward, like a podcast, or a tv program, or reading a couple of chapters of a book, helped me to get stuff done and not feel as though my life was overtaken by jobs. Main cleaning was left for the weekend when husband was home, and we scraped by, though after 6 months we were both totally exhuasted (not the toddler though!)!
It's always busy at ours on the day before bin collection and I imagine that it is the same for everyone else too. This morning has meant a clearing of the fridge, empty kitchen scraps into the worm farm, giving the cats fresh litter and disposing of the used stuff, that's quite enough for me before lunch, as well as doing a load of washing. I still have to do the final additions to the recycling bin, but will do those just after lunch and that's me done for the day. On to reading and watching!
I had thought I might dust the doll's pram things today, but I've decided to hold those over until tomorrow. It's going to be a cooler day and I can take everything outside and dust it there rather than mucky up the house with dust. I think that's a preferable solution.
I'm very late reporting back, but I did finally get onto the doll's pram cleaning. Took it and the contents outside this morning, along with a clean towel to put the toys onto, a sticky roller to run over them, a paintbrush and a stiff brush.
Ran the sticky roller over every teddy and doll to get the worst of the grot off. Then a brush with the stiff brush to make the teddy's fur nice and tidy. I used a paintbrush to clean around their eyes and remove the dust. One of the teddies has had their dress removed and it's been washed as has some of the pram linen which is hanging out to dry.
Before returning all my clean cuddlies I cut some lavender and placed it in the bottom of the pram (to deter moths) and then put a clean tea towel in the bottom of the pram to cover the lavender and for the toys to sit on. All nice and fresh and the only victim of moths appears to be my koala made of kangaroo fur, I've packed him away in a self seal bag with some lavender. That koala must be nearly 60 years old, so it made me a bit sad to see all the fur falling off, but necessary to try to kill any remaining moth eggs and to preserve him as best I can.
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I also rearranged some of the spare bedroom cupboard as I was putting away the Christmas decorations. Things looking a bit better in there at present. I've also removed the heated throw for Cheery husband to decide if he wants to keep it or not, he hasn't used it for a while, so maybe not, but I have a fear that he'll want to hang onto it!! Oh well, I've done my best to identify what is possibly able to be passed on or tossed. I can't do more than that!
Our son boxed up the books from all three bookcases in his room, and put those boxes in the newly floored loft storage area. We got rid of one of the bookcases, and our son's desk, to create a space big enough for my husband's desk.
We are currently moving furniture around in our son's room to get the room properly clean. Then my husband's desk moves from his bedroom into our son's room, and my husband will start putting the books he took home from work into the remaining two bookcases.
Plan A was to empty my husband's bedroom, get the hole in the floor repaired, the walls repainted, put down a new carpet, replace all the furniture, except for the bed, with new furniture, and finish off with new curtains and a new lightshade.
However, my husband now says that he'd like to skip the "walls repainted" bit, do everything else, and then choose the colours for his wall once the new carpet is down and the new furniture in. At that point he'll move the furniture back out to get the room painted.
It is, of course, his bedroom. And if he thinks he'll struggle to visualise colours until everything else is in situ then I suppose it is fair enough. I am sitting on my hands.
Someone is coming to measure up for the new carpet today. I might casually mention that we'll be repainting after the new carpet is down, and see if they say anything.
I use ordinary white vinegar for cleaning too, but mor recently a stronger "cleaning vinegar" has become available which is good for really tough cleaning jobs.
@Cheery Gardener I remember reading a book where a character commented thar they vacuumed up "enough cat hair to knit a whole new cat".
Today the Christmas Tree and Garland were packed up into a new Christmas tree bag which I purchased online. I also bought a wreath bag, but it was out of stock(drat) and my money was refunded very promptly, which made me happy.
However, the bag that arrived is large enough that it has stored the tree, the front door wreath and the garland that goes around our big window. Ready to be put into the roof space, packed up compactly and all together, I feel as though I am winning today.
To add to my rejoicing here, husband has hung in a nice group 3 cross stiches I made many years ago and 4 ribbon embroideries that he has bought me as gifts at various times. We've hung them above the bed in our guest room and it looks nice and welcoming. The wall was large and a dull whitish-grey and having a bit of colour really lifts it!
As I was gathering up small bits of paper I came across one I had written this quote on;
"Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible -suddenly you are doing the impossible."
I don't know where the quote came from, but it struck me as being very relevant to this thread,
@North East Quine that sounds like a phenomenal amount of success and I hope the new carpet and possible painting work out well ( in which ever order they are done, though my order of operations would be paint before new carpet.)
I did some painting just over a year ago and mostly concentrated on the tiled areas. I just went back to admire the new wall-hangings in the bedroom and realised how shabby the walls now look. For now I've shut the door and walked away, but think I can feel another attack of wanting to paint walls coming on!!
Is there any chance that he can be persuaded that he has NFI re home decoration i.e paint walls/ skirting boards first the lay carpet?
Now he just has to choose colours. The room currently has three walls painted magnolia and one wall painted a soft green. The new carpet is going to be cream, so I'm guessing the new colour scheme will be similar to the old.
When I was putting clean washing away I saw my main drawer for tops was in a muddle, so I sorted it ( not on my To Do list). I counted over 30! That doesn’t include my thicker jumpers, blouses or fleeces, nor a few summery items, but does include T shirts I might wear as base layers. Some items are many years old, only 4 were bought in the last year. I am donating just one item to the charity shop. The others all have a role.
They are saved by grace, not works righteousness.
(This is a joke, people).
One problem I have with giving away clothes, though, is how for-profit companies, will snap them up for a song and then ship them in bulk to underdeveloped countries to sell them to distributors who will dump them on the local markets. This will depress the chances of clothiers there to make products that are more suitable for the locale.
However, I know my closet rack is not growing as much has it had been.
I just hope my clothes will help someone here--I would be okay if they would be shipped to the LA area, though.
Back to the tidying issue, I do have the same concerns you do when donating clothes, that they won't be taken up locally. Our church has a bin for a specific charity and I donate to that knowing they have shops in our diocese that take the items.
Tidying has stopped here, just to have a breather, and to assess what might be the next project to tackle, other than dealing with stuff that's not my own!! I have noticed though that when I'm working on a big task that I sometimes let other things slide and I need to remember to do those things, today will be to dust all the stuff on the walls, mirrors and paintings. I'm currently sitting on my bed and can see 5 that I can't remember when I last dusted them. I might need a to do list like @Puzzler, or to follow a room by room approach to try to go over each room once a week. I'm pretty good with the vacuuming, not so much with the dusting.
However, I would not be surprised if we might see LA refugees--people burned out of their homes--begin to look elsewhere for residency. If some end up here, I could see helping them locally.
I've been thinking about you lots and I hope it all goes really smoothly!
We made good progress today. A growing stack of boxes has sprouted in the living room.
(Mr P had several, which I had sent to auction in a stationery lot. ) It was in the garage, hidden in a box containing parcel tape, various glues, packaging.
Since my son took the former hi-fi units away there is room to move, so I was able to do a bit of sorting on a slightly warmer day.
The hole in the floor is being fixed at 8am Fri 31 Jan, so the carpet will have to come up on Thurs 30 Jan, so all the furniture will have to be out by Wed 29 Jan. The room is being painted on Mon 3 Feb; the NE Man has to choose colours by Mon 27 Jan.
Good luck 🍀
Maybe contact local homeless shelters?
Today 16 or 21 minutes at a go might be best—I have a lot on my list. Change foot dressing, put ointment on the other foot, laundry, dishes, empty trash, plus getting that reading in… And more, plus of course the school stuff that is time sensitive.
* The extra minute means I can get up to speed for a full 15, 20, or 30 minutes
Re: dishes, I quite often set the dishwasher going either before I go to bed or before I go out to work, and let it get on with it.
It works for me, and the extra cost is worth the peace of mind. 🙂
Though it is what we do with dishes, given the number of mouths in this household.
Indeed - our washing machine gets smelly if anything is left in it for even a short time with the door closed. I try to make sure I pull the laundry out as soon as the cycle is done and get it on the airers. I run the dishwasher in the evening after our meal and unpack it first thing in the morning.
@Lamb Chopped 's idea about a couple of jobs and 20 minutes on each with breaks is really good.
Regards: giving clothes to homeless shelter. That's what we did with my father's clothes when he died. Too late for mine, but we gave them to a church related thrift store.
Yes, I don't generally leave it in the washer. The dryer is another matter, LOL!
Tariff?
I try to wash every day, just using a short cycle and most things hang on a rack above the laundry bench, I have a longer hanging space on an adjoining wall. Straight from the washing machine to coat-hanger to rack then into the wardrobe the next day. It helps that the laundry is on the warm end of the house. A friend asked me if we ever had a problem with mould in the room, but it has never been the case.
For a while when daughter was young, husband had to work in a city 3 hours away. from home. Things were full on getting home from work of an evening, getting dinner and her bathed and ready for bed and daycare the next day. I used to go home for lunch and put a casserole in the oven. Then when we got home I concentrated on her until bedtime. Then when I sat down to watch TV, if there was an ad break, I would do one short task. It might be put nappies in the nappy bag, or pack her lunch bag, or put bread in the toaster and teabag in the cup for breakfast and make sure the kettle was full and ready to go, select and lay out clothes for the morning. Spending 2 or 3 minutes on tiny jobs made me get through my tasks without feeling as though I had to give up my favourite shows. Long story short, doing a job then having a reward, like a podcast, or a tv program, or reading a couple of chapters of a book, helped me to get stuff done and not feel as though my life was overtaken by jobs. Main cleaning was left for the weekend when husband was home, and we scraped by, though after 6 months we were both totally exhuasted (not the toddler though!)!
Our tariff is 9p kw/h from 12 midnight to 5am. I put the washing machine on a timer.
(It's an electric vehicle tariff as we have an electric car but it applies to the whole house)
I had thought I might dust the doll's pram things today, but I've decided to hold those over until tomorrow. It's going to be a cooler day and I can take everything outside and dust it there rather than mucky up the house with dust. I think that's a preferable solution.
Ran the sticky roller over every teddy and doll to get the worst of the grot off. Then a brush with the stiff brush to make the teddy's fur nice and tidy. I used a paintbrush to clean around their eyes and remove the dust. One of the teddies has had their dress removed and it's been washed as has some of the pram linen which is hanging out to dry.
Before returning all my clean cuddlies I cut some lavender and placed it in the bottom of the pram (to deter moths) and then put a clean tea towel in the bottom of the pram to cover the lavender and for the toys to sit on. All nice and fresh and the only victim of moths appears to be my koala made of kangaroo fur, I've packed him away in a self seal bag with some lavender. That koala must be nearly 60 years old, so it made me a bit sad to see all the fur falling off, but necessary to try to kill any remaining moth eggs and to preserve him as best I can.