My home is a mess

dibuzz

Thank you Emm
You are right, I feel guilty about the state of the house (luckily I never have visitors) but don't have the motivation to do it.
I managed to get through a basket of ironing earlier by watching Midsomer Murders and having a break when the adverts were on.

grousescot

Some baby steps here although it did take me until this evening to finally take them.

Reasoned which room made me feel worst about it's messy state - my bedroom. Picked over the horror that is/was the floor with a carrier bag in hand and disposed of a whole lot of scrap paper and other junk. The dust that this revealed was so bad I swept it before hoovering (all my floors are laminate). It's a small thing but just how it looks makes me feel a whole lot better. There is still the dump that is the space between the bed and the wall but I'll tackle that later.

I have no idea how all this clutter built up but I'm determined it won't do so again.

Tomorrow the next disaster area to be tackled is the other bedroom which is effectively a study and therefore an ideal location for clutter to develop.

(Dinner was steak and gravy which have been subletting my freezer for months and months so that's decluttering of a sort too!)

sonastin

Work is so stupidly busy at the moment that every waking minute seems to be taken up with working. I didn't get to leave the office until after 7 on 2 separate days this week so decided to rebel this weekend and do "normal" stuff instead. How sad has my life become that cleaning the bathroom has actually turned into the thing I turn to when I'm rebelling from work?! I'm ashamed to report that the bottom of my shower screen was decidedly "mossy" when I cleaned it - truly revolting. I cleaned the bathroom a couple of weeks ago but must have forgotten to do that bit! I also cleaned the oven, but that's no achievement - involves removing oven shelves, switching to self clean mode and then coming back several hours later to wipe out the residue! Lots of laundry done too but its not all been cleaning. I also got to spend a couple of hours with each of my grandmothers. Maternal gran lost her younger brother earlier in the week so she wasn't doing so well but we went out for a wee walk (100 yds down the road, but an achievement for someone in her state of decreptitude) and she felt much better.

As for laundry sorting, OH and I developed a far more interesting way to sort it earlier this week. I've been putting a load in to wash first thing and he's hung it out & brought it back in each day. It all ended up in a huge pile on the bed when he was doing the vacuuming on his day of cleaning so we had to put it away before we could go to sleep. I chucked a pair of his pants at him when he was trying to fold a t-shirt so he threw one of my shirts back at me and it ended up as a game of who could hit the other one hardest with their own clothing, and who could retrieve their own items from the others side of the bed before it could become ammunition. Made the whole sorting & putting away thing much more entertaining! - I highly recommend it... but only if your OH is as bad at throwing as mine!

Emm-in-a-pickle

Hi Messies!
McCulloch & Dibuzz - WHY??? (Ironing) I honestly do not see the need to iron. It started off with `just iron what is necessary`, then moved on to `make sure it ISN`T necessary`, which meant not scrumpling up creasable stuff while waiting to wash it, just rolling/folding the items, and taking stuff out of the WM as soon as it stops. Now, I don`t iron anything at all, and haven`t done for years!
I can`t help thinking how much time/electricity/guilty thought I must have wasted before.

Grousescot, I think we tend to let clutter build up more in the rooms that aren`t seen by others. Then we don`t seem to even see it ourselves till it reaches Critical Mass, and that`s when we start to feel bad about it! I know I felt bad about my bedroom for ages till I had to blitz it when the boiler needed repair, and I am also determined not to let it slide back into chaos like that again.

Sonastin, well done getting so much done when work is so hectic. The clothes-throwing sounds fun - I have to chuckle at the thought of trying that with OH though, poor man would just stand there puzzled and horrified!!!

Not much done here today, just a basic `tick-over` tidy of kitchen & LR. Mrs next door (quiet side) & I were both putting bins out early for tomorrow, so I asked her in for a coffee, and to meet new Littly-dog. - we don`t usually see much of each other but made up for it - 2 hours chatting with Littly -dog on her lap, all very informal & cosy!

Lleucu

Some things I have learnt about mess busting from the tasks with my neighbour:

1. Make a short term list and tick off items it makes me feel better
2. Fabric absorbs smells, washing and drying outside helps
3. Decent washing powder and a hot wash does a better job than the sachets of washing liquid
4. The yard broom did a brilliant job at cleaning the lino
5. Dust and vac ceilings and walls before washing
6. A clean flat mop did a good job on ceilings and walls.
7. Grime and dust forms a brown sheen on all items including woodwork after a while
8. The steam cleaner has a scrubbing attachment brilliant for baked on dirt of woodwork
9. Getting the bacteria and dust levels down is crucial
10. Trips to the dump are so therapeutic and less junk = more space :T
11. If you have not used or worn something for 2 years get rid of it

Now must really tackle my unruly garden, sort out ailing car and make some attempt to get on with some (paid) work.

dibuzz

Emm-in-a-pickle wrote: »

Hi Messies!
McCulloch & Dibuzz - WHY??? (Ironing) I honestly do not see the need to iron. It started off with `just iron what is necessary`, then moved on to `make sure it ISN`T necessary`, which meant not scrumpling up creasable stuff while waiting to wash it, just rolling/folding the items, and taking stuff out of the WM as soon as it stops. Now, I don`t iron anything at all, and haven`t done for years!
I can`t help thinking how much time/electricity/guilty thought I must have wasted before.

I only iron my eldest son's shirts and pants for work.

Finding it hard to get motivated today, Ive been up since 5 and apart from youngest's packed lunch and walking the dog I've not done a thing.

YORKSHIRELASS

Good advice there Lleucu. I have cleaned the oven this morning as it was filthy and it feels so good seeing it all sparkly!

Emm, sounds like you are slowly getting back into it at work. Nice that they are so understanding. I start my new job tomorrow and I am very nervous. Its been a long time since I had a job with regular hours, its going to take some adjusting to!

Well going to take doggie for a walk next, DS2 back to school tomorrow so I am just letting him slob out in front of the telly/laptop. Going to pootle around and get a bit of housework done this afternoon I think.

Emm-in-a-pickle

Hi All!
Lleucu, some of the items on your list I hope I`ll never meet!
Your neighbour must feel so much better for your efforts, Bless you!
YorkshireLass - Good Luck for tomorrow!
Dibuzz - next step is train your DS to do his own!
Have a nice evening all. x

jpscloud

Hi messies, reporting in on the Dr appointment - I needed a stronger inhaler, so I now have a preventer as well as the reliever. I'm seeing the positive side, because the Dr agrees I've probably had asthma at a level that affected my energy levels without me realising it for quite some time. Hopefully with these inhalers I'll be able to move more and get fitter.

Back at work today but just a training day, I have tomorrow off and then back to the usual mayhem on Weds! It was really nice to see my colleagues and I've really missed the kids too so looking forward to a lovely much-appreciated lie-in tomorrow, then seeing the kids on Weds.

Haven't read back much yet, hope everyone is well and happy.

snookey

JPS glad that the gp sorted you out. Try to pace yourself at work though as I bet those children take a fair bit of your energy.
Yorkshire lass good luck with your new job. It will be nice for you to have adult company. You have also reminded me about my oven which needs a good clean.:o

Iv nothing to report on the housework front as Iv been out trying to sort out ds bank account for uni:mad:. Not the best of day to say the least.

Bought some storage for dd room for putting her books under her bed. Lets see if this works as its usually empty box ,messy floor.

Hugs to everyone and to those who did housework well done.