My home is a mess

jpscloud

Oooh I love nasturtiums! I must get some in before it's too late. Mind you with this weather nothing's growing much anyway, it's so cold.

I have had blossom on my cherry tree this year! Not masses, but enough for about twenty cherries if it sets and ripens. I've bagged the whole tree in horticultural fleece in the hope of ripening the cherries and keeping the birds off it (it's all mine this year, they can have some when it gets bigger!) because I heard the birds can strip it even when the cherries are still green.

I worked my way through quite a lot of the washing mountain today - very odd behaviour for me on a Saturday, but I can walk into the boxroom again (for the first time since last summer!) rather than having to scale the foothills. It'll cost me because I've had the gas central heating on all day and used the DriBuddy a lot as well - worth it though, getting it all dry even when the weather isn't cooperating is very satisfying.

Emm-in-a-pickle

JPS - Getting lots of washing dry is great - till it comes to putting it away! Well done on being able to access your boxroom though.
Messy Status Report
LR - was ok, till DS got home today!
Kitchen - cluttered up again. DS had a snack, and I`ve go stuff out for making mince curry tonight...
Downstairs loo - I re-did the washbasin sealant, and it looks great! I keep going in there to look at it. Used masking tape (tip gleaned from u-tube) on he tiles & sink so I got a straight line with the sealant stuff. Only trouble is it looks brighter than some of the grouty parts now....
Upstairs - still ignoring upstairs, for now.
Garden - nothing done there either. I`ve bought some new hedge shears, anoher planter bag, and some Chard seeds, but done nothing with them yet.

Car-boot yesterday was a nice day out, much walking & looking at stuff, didn`t buy much. Today I went into town again, much walking around. I`m back to my `normal` gait & pace again (OH says I trot! I say I just don`t dawdle) but I have to admit, I am tired. Just going to get this curry made, then I shall grind to a halt!

Hope you all have a decent week. x

alec_eiffel

Morning all,

After a not all that productive couple of days I got up early (for me) today and I've done the dusting, a couple of loads of laundry, some ironing, swept the floors, put the dry laundry and washing up away, cleaned the worksurfaces and done a bit of general tidying and pulled out a couple of weeds in the garden.

Have a good day everyone.

gilly1964

Just a quick post from Bangkok

I am now Mrs gilly1964:j

Our day went fantastically

Catch you all next month xxxx

sonastin

Morning folks - well I suppose afternoon now but I have no idea where the morning went! Or last week for that matter. We've been down in Hampshire cleaning up the mess left by OH's last tenants. I felt really guilty that we were evicting them due to the messiness of their lifestyle but oh my, they really were bad. And unwilling to take responsibility for their lifestyle choice too. I mean, I'd like to think that all of us on this thread would be prepared to admit and pay for any damage that was caused as a result of our messiness. These tenants aren't prepared to admit to messiness, let alone accept the consequences. We're getting professional cleaners to sort the place out before the new tenants take over but I still spent 2 days going over the place to make a start on recovering the situation. The bit I find most frustrating about their denial that the place was still a mess was how much cleaner I got the place with nothing more than a damp cloth in most places, and the odd dab of cream cleaner! And I know most young children go through a phase of drawing on the walls but every surface I cleaned - walls, doors, radiators, skirting boards, in the lounge, hall, both bedrooms, bathroom - had some sort of primary or fluorescent coloured marks on them. I don't think there was any attempt to teach them that it was wrong and only a half-hearted attempt to clean it up. And the kids weren't even that young!

Still, we got to meet the new tenants and they were making all the right noises. New-lady-tenant sounds like she wouldn't have time to be a fly-lady because she'd be too busy cleaning! If she's only half-way telling the truth, she'll keep the house way better than I could ever hope to.

And the other up-side of our adventure was that OH didn't nag me about doing any cleaning in our house once we got home! I've had an extra couple of days off work and we've been weeding the garden and playing the hugest game of tetris trying to stack firewood in the woodstore so the garden is looking much tider even if the house is sorely neglected. Only 2.5 more days to the weekend and its another long weekend so I might be in a better mood for cleaning by then!

Emm-in-a-pickle

Hi Messies!
MRS Gilly - sounds like you`re having a good time on your travels. You`re not missing much here, btw, the weather is carp.
Alec E - getting up early the other day sounds like you just flew through all those jobs. I wish I could get motivated early in the day, but even when I`m up early I don`t seem to get the motivation till afternoon (if then, some days!)
Sonastin - sounds like you`ve had a pretty grim time of it. Cleaning up one`s own mess is one thing, even cleaning someone else`s to help them out (I used to quite happily tackle their kitchen sometimes when DS was with DGD`s mama and DGD was little, even when mine was just as messy!) But cleaning up after others in the situation you describe would make me thoroughly mad! Good that your OH appreciates your efforts though. It`s lovely to see a full woodstore, isnt it?

Messy Status Report.
I`ve had a rug & floor washing binge - dear old Daftie-dog has had an upset tum (I suspect due to DS feeding the cat since his return and not bothering to ensure Daftie-dog doesn`t snaffle it.) Total brown-out. Daftie-dog seems fine today, and I managed to get the rugs dried outside when it was cold & windy, but dry! Dettol lavender & orange flavour added to WM, found it in caravan stash.
Also slapped some colour on my hair, OH helped with the rinsing. First time since my op, I was beginning to look like a badger!!! I hate that job but am always glad when it`s done.

Yesterday OH & I went for a long wandery drive....ended up in Shropshire, had a lovely lunch in a proper old-fashioned truck stop. And a mug of tea that tasted wonderful and wasn`t stewed, nor served in a little teapot with a drippy lid! Think Little Chef...then think of the complete opposite. Very OS & MSE, clean, cheerful, and cheap.
Today, so far, I`ve been to farmshop, got lovely local new potatoes 69/lb, spring cabbage so fresh it squeaks when you touch it (I LOVE `chatty` greens!) and a load of big juicy pears 7 for £1.and generally stocked up fruit/veg wise to last a week or so.Then I`ve made HM stuffing for OH`s lamb hearts treat (I`m having chicken leftovers) . Also had to nip to Wilko`s to replace the steamer, as the old one died the other day, and this is a `must` for us. The 3-tier one was only £20, so not too bad.
Busy , but not de-messying so far.
Nothing done in garden yet, it`s cold & windy, but something sort of nagging at me like I should do something out there...weekend forecast looks better though, so I`m procrastinating again!

alec_eiffel

Hi Emm,

The longer I wait the less likely a job is to get done. If I get up and just start doing things then I find it easier. Plus, it was sunny which always makes things easier!

I saw a scan photo of my niece the other day. I think my brother is getting used to the idea of becoming a parent now. I thought my mum would be made up but she just seems very... nothingy about the whole thing. People never fail to surprise you!

Hope everyone has a good day. I'm just puttering about today doing a few bits and bobs.

sonastin

I've just realised I missed a whole page of posts!

So, congratulations to Mrs Gilly1964. Glad to hear things went off OK.

YL - I'd agree with Emms about the bear... if it stays in your DS's way, he might be more open to letting it go sooner rather than later. Or it might just start being loved again which is better than being stashed in a cupboard.

I've learned 2 things from my week off. Firstly, gardening is dangerous. I was expecting the scratches and scrapes and bruises to my hands and knees. I wasn't banking on the 80+ midgie bites that cover my legs and waist! I'm fully dosed on anti-histamine drugs and after-bite creams but the little blighters are still so bloomin' itchy. I've never really been one for spending time outdoors in the summer and now I know why!

Secondly, cleaning is addictive. I think the reason I don't start is because I know that once I do, I can't stop. OH had to tell me to stop being so thorough in the rented place because we didn't have time for me to do everything in so much detail. Even now I keep stressing that the professional cleaners won't have done the bits that I saw but couldn't get to! I have been resolutely not looking at my own house at all for the last week because I'm afraid that the same cleaning bug will take over and I'll be going at the grout with a toothbrush before you know it. There's much better things to be doing in life than cleaning grout with a toothbrush and I intend to spend my bank holiday weekend doing some of them!

Have a good weekend everyone...

Emm-in-a-pickle

Afternoon Messies!
Dark, cold & windy, but its only 3.30, great start to the holiday weekend, eh?
Alec E - you hit it there "it was sunny" - lately here we`ve had dull mornings and sunny bits in the afternoon! Re the scan photo, I`ve had several of these (DD has 5 children, DS has 1) and, to be honest, they all look like baby otters to me! Thankfully, they all looked like real babies by the time they arrived. Maybe your mum will get more excited nearer the time.

Sonastin - re the itchy bites, have you got any calamine & witch hazel cream/ointmtnt? Superdrug used to do one which was the ONLY thing I found ever worked for me or the kids, we seemed to attract mozzies & midges for years, and that stuff really stopped the itching. I haven`t needed any for a few years now (? I don`t taste good anymore!?) and our Superdrug store is closed down, but there are still others on the market with these 2 ingredients.
Re cleaning being addictive....I WISH!!
OK, I do get some `bursts`, like a couple of weeks ago when I polished up all my pans/roasters, and when I blitzed the kitchen walls, but I go at it like a daft thing on a roll, then run out of steam and grind to a halt, and stay halted for days on end...
I do admit to having THOUGHT about cleaning grout and grotty crevices with a toothbrush...I`ve even got a cheapie poundshop pack of toothbrushes in my cleaning stash (the sort you wouldn`t want to put in your mouth) but they`ve been untouched for a few years...
You`re absolutely right though, there`s more to life than cleaning yourself to a frazzle, scrubbing at everything - it`s your home, not an operating theatre! Sometimes it`s quite nice, too, to have a Messy patch and get the mood to blitz it - so you can really see a difference after your efforts.

Messy Status Report -
Kitchen - sink & worktops cleared/cleaned, floor still horrible but it`ll keep.
Oven - 2 roasting tins full of roasted veg for zapping into pasta sauce for tonight.(DGD in residence so it`ll all get eaten!) Big lump of ham cooked in applejuice & cooled to hack at to go with carnivores` pasta....with the next few meals/snacks in mind, do you see why I`m NOT doing the floor yet?!
The New Steamer....it has digital controls, and I, as a technophobe & confirmed Luddite, haven`t quite yet got the hang of it. I managed to steam some new potatoes last night, but after a couple of glasses of wine, and purely by chance, after several unsuccessful goes at setting the thing. I shall persevere, but not tonight.
LR - not bad. Will look better soon as I just paused to light the fire.
Upstairs - Henry lurking in spare room of Doom, gave me what I swear was a reproachful look when I went in there earlier. I feel well up to hoovering now, but just not got in the mood.
Hopefully better weather expected for Sat/Sun - have a good weekend all.x

fpcat

Yesterday I cleaned, dusted, and switched furniture around in our 2 sitting rooms, cleaned and picked up the kitchen and cleaned quickly the bathroom. I then hoovered around, using the junk vac instead of fetching my Henry from upstairs, which would have taken only half as long as the old one took. I emptied its bag, and then recleaned the kitchen as I emptied the bag near the sink as it was too windy outside. Today I have put the washing away, and cleaned the bedrooms. I've also sorted books for CS. I took a cuppa to DH working in the basement and said I didn't feel like doing any cleaning (any more cleaning I meant) and he had the bl...y cheek to say 'I noticed'. So I've worked for 2 days and he hasn't even spotted what I've done! I was struck dumb, so missed all that opportunity to say 'sweet' things to him if you know what I mean. I am therefore going to take the w/e off and move into the attic next Tuesday, as far from him in the basement as I can get. Have a good w/e all, make the most of any good weather.