NST - Amazing Aperire

Good morning everyone

Great going with eh NSDs :T

Today is NSD No. 7

Hope everyone has a relaxing, healing, and blessed day

Fmess - you're like me. I have my bestie feeding the cats next week and I'm desperately panicking about getting the house tidy enough for her. Even though she comes over most weekends and sees what a tip my house is...
I'm thrilled to have made it to the end of term just about intact. I woke up stupidly early this morning but decided I will go back to sleep after I'm finished on here. Other than that, plans include getting caught up on washing and starting to think about packing for our break next week. Then ds football and my tutoring. I've had to bring loads of marking home with me, but I'm choosing not to think about it at the moment. I plan to relax and enjoy a sunny day...

I'm back on the bed resting. Beloved and DS3 have gone to a covention for the day. They left the house about 6.30am and I was already opening the curtains and window in their bedroom as they left. Did the same with the front room, put in a load of washing and brought breakfast back upstairs.

Just motivated myself to do a little more. Decluttering is happening, slowly. I keep pulling out a random pile of paperwork or going through a tray (some wooden, some cat litter tray size) and pulling out things to be discarded.

I have filled a paper sack since Wednesday so took it onto the landing. Put a plate, bowl and two empty cans from my room into a jumbo size 'bag for life' and have completely filled it with bottles and cans from their room. Made it to the far side of her desk and found the mini- dalek (bullet bin) was overflowing with rubbish - filled one of the bags their new pillows came in with that and random bits from the floor and on the desk. Got a broom and swept out most of the stuff from under their bed (couple of heavy items on the far side which won't budge.

Need to repeat the same in the front room but waiting for my back to stop aching first. Also want to do a trawl round the garden as there should be lots of 'past their best' items to go - I have more than enough large containers to cover the yard (when I can afford soil/ compost to fill them) and lots of small containers is not a long-term sustainable solution.

Planning lots of reading, sewing and watchng old films in between. Haven't had my bath as I may get very dirty at some stage, so saving it until the heavy stuff is done.

EE they like it the way it is, despite the chaos it causes. I am the one who can't stand it. Beloved is depressed and loves our 'no pressure' environment, DS3 does very little - unless I have proved I cannot do something (he's very good with lightbulbs, tall shelves and okay with moving stuff/ turning mattresses) but as Beloved said the other week, we can't actually call him lazy as he spends every waking hour working o the laptop on designing his little computer games he actually earns more than me. He went to bed for the day when the laptop was being mended as he was bored/ frustrated - I offered him mine but it would have taken him all day to download the software he needed and then any work would have had to be transferred back onto his laptop.

I usually manage to do the rubbish/ pizza box/ recycling round up fairly regularly but the longer they stay in one spot the further the tide of filth (book title pun) spreads and then bits of the room become too dangerous to venture into.

DS3 used to go to a meet up with fellow cosplayers at least once a month (weekly at some points) so I would just wade in, gather all the pots, washing, segregated the rubbish and recycling, fight my way to the wardrobe, put away the swords and clean clothes (did his wardrobes once and mended anything that needed mending and he was too terrified of disturbing anything that it stayed tidy for months). It's just easier and less stressful for us both.

Similarly , left to his own devices he would prefer not to use sheets, pillowcases or duvet covers (another job that is easy peasy for him) - as a compromise he is allowed one pillow without a pillowcase and I buy him fitted sheets as he prefers those.

He is a slob. I didn't do any different with him than the other two who are fairly civilised. None of it worked with him - his friends used to come in and clean for him if I said he wasn't allowed out until it was done or he would just say sadly that mummy had taken all his toys away (in the big black oxfam bag, when he had not moved them within the allotted time).

I was hoping Beloved would help civilise him -she did get him to wash bowls last week (but only one each as their takeaway had arrived) and she does bits now and then - she cleaned the cooker top when I had done the worktops and was willing to do inside the oven. I give profuse thnks for anything she does (although she hasn't got the hang of the recycling and puts everything in together).

They are fairly easy to live with generally (the 'no pressure' suits me as well as they aren't going to complain about anything that doesn't get done - I can put enough pressure on myself).

I would like to contain the mess but I also understand their need to 'nest'. It's something I do myself. If I were in the front room - not really room for me in there atm. I would take the books I was reading, my laptop, up to six pieces of embroidery, pills, purse (if I needed money or keys to open the door - DS3's key is available permanently atm), current notebooks, any papers I needed for phoning people/ paying bills, pills, hankerchief or tissues, extra layers, cup, 2l water bottles, small alarm clock if I needed to keep track of time and I like to be surrounded by my stuff.

When DS3 is working he needs his laptop, various pieces of equipment for drawing direct to the laptop. Before Christmas he was doing the background music for a game and now has a portable organ (only makes sound through the computer but makes 'noise effects' as well as music) so he takes up a lot of space all by himself (stuff on the sideboard, floor or chair to the side of him so that he can pick it up/ hook it up as and when needed).

To be honest any problems are of my own making (always the mother's fault) and I have lived with worse - my ex proudly boasted that Onslow from 'Keeping up Appearances' was his hero/ role model.

Off to do another batch of stealth tidying.