My home is a mess

laurel7172

Oh, no.

Not MBUs

I've never thrown out a pair of curtains, ever.

And my sporadic attempts at ruthlessness always backfire.

I charity-bagged an expensive luggage tag I was given ten years ago, not long ago.

Don't use them. Horrible things. If somebody wants my address to burgle me while I'm gone, they'll have to open the case to find it. But I was packing for DS's school trip to China yesterday, and the school says he should have a luggage tag...argh!!!

Actually, I was making DS (13) pack his bag, and I'm afraid I lost my temper after five hours. I may not have the housework gene, but I do have the packing gene, and I can pack for a week away in ten minutes. (What's to do-chuck clothes, toiletries and camera into a bag?? How do people spend days on this?)

Anyway, I had to make him a luggage tag, which involved getting out the box of different-coloured papers, the laminator, the cutter, the hole punch and the ribbon box. Most of which were under other things. Do you know how many opportunities that is not to put something away??? :eek:

And I'm supposed to be back at work this morning, but instead of dropping him off at 9am, I now have to go in at 10am for a 90 minute final meeting!!! What on earth?????????

ARGH!!!!

(And I'm being brave but a little bit wobbly about my 5'8 baby going so far away from home anyway )

GreyQueen

Way back in the dark days of 2010, my council announced that Shoebox Towers, and the rest of the inner city, was going to have the bension of alternate weekly collections for household waste.

I'm a keen, lean green-machine and was very pleased. I think the reason the rest of the city had long had these things was that they have gardens and places for wheelie bins and we flat-dwellers were on weekly black sack collections and most blocks like mine have nowhere to put communal recycling bins or wheelies (S.T. is obviously an alias, but a well-chosen one).

We got the recycling calendars, we got the recycling bags, we got the food caddies and it all started in January and went pete tong in weeks. It wasn't resident resistance, it was the blimmin' contractors. So, we had a To The Residents letter saying that we'd had all our new toys by mistake and they wanted them back and we'd be back onto our old plan of weekly black sack collections on Tuesday.

Weekly on Tuesday. Yeah, right. First week it was Friday, next Monday and might be Monday or Tuesday at random, according to the phase of the moon, I assume.

:mad: This is leading to clutter as I have a plan to rehome various things via Freecycle which involve a pick-up from my bin cupboard whic I can't safely do until the bin men have been and with all the Bank Holidays (normal collection day + 1) I could be having rubbish collected on almost any day of the week. So my clutter is indoors until they deign to come.......aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhh!

P.S. I put the recycling calendars into the on-street recycling bins, smiling wryly.

P.P.S no matter how many curtains you store you never have ones of the right size. S'true, I've done it for years. Belongs to the same law of physics as toast falling butter-side-downwards.

Buddingblonde

Well I am up and about and I have :-
Got the dishes from yesterday in to soak
Got my second washing on
Hoovered the living room and kitchen
Made my bed
Opened the windows and doors to air the house

I seem to be more productive when I know I should be doing something else eg studying! At least this way the house looks passable.

Good luck everyone esp Laurel who sounds like woman on the egde this morning. x

Buddingblonde

Grey Queen - sounds like you are a woman on the edge too - have a cuppa and a biccie and plot revenge!

GreyQueen

Buddingblonde wrote: »

Grey Queen - sounds like you are a woman on the edge too - have a cuppa and a biccie and plot revenge!

S'OK, BB, I have had chocolate for First Breakfast (am about to fry leftover potatoes for Second Breakfast) and have another pint of tea. I have had minus 5 hrs sleep (kept awake until 4 am by bad neighbour) and am a bit loopy. Hey, and I work in customer services, so gawd help Jo(e) Public.......:rotfl:You have a good day now, thinking of me stumbling over bin bags of carp in my hall and muttering Bad Words................;)

imataloss

soupdragon10 wrote: »

Laurel - have you tried putting a line of cat flea powder on the thresholds to deter the ants? It's something I tried years ago which seemed to work for me. Possibly a thin line of biological washing powder/liquid. Anything that will interfere with their scent marking really.
QUOTE]

I agree with this. We bought a can of flea spray from the vets. It`s the spray you use twice a year around the edges of rooms to keep fleas away. We also found it had the added benefit of keeping the house free of ants.
We used to have a major problem with them before we discovered this.

imataloss

One load of washing ready to hang on the line. Have another three piles on the bathroom floor waiting to go into the machine.
It`s dull but breezy here today so it may dry on the line.
Plan today to do the hoovering and empty the cupboard above the bed.
It`s where I store jumpers, scarfs, glove etc. I know they need sorting, throwing out or sending to charity shop.
Also know that I have two lovely presents stored in there from when I left my old job nearly 7 years ago. One is a pair of crystal wine glasses and the other a silver mirror compact. Must get them out and use them.
Good luck everyone.

jackieglasgow

I too have a washing on the line and one in the machine, I am meeting an old friend today and have three hours to do some housework, get dressed and get there, so I am going for my shower shortly (kids and OH were hogging this morning) the whilst my hair dries I shall endeavour to do some more clearing upstairs, and put the charity shop stuff in the car, which I plan on delivering before said meeting. That's the plan, but the sun is shining outside.....

poorbutrich

Purpleclutterbuck wrote: »

My outlaws dropped in unannounced on saturday and father outlaw said some hurtful comments about the mess - I was fuming:mad: and I felt so yukky _pale_that I had to make myself calm down - I thought about you lot- it just wasn't worth the pain and stress so thankyou peeps for helping me get over it quickly

I feel your pain :beer:. My F-I-L went upstairs with his trainers on (we're a 'shoes off upstairs' household :rotfl:) He walked in a load of mud into the spare bedroom and then pointing at it, asked me when I last hoovered!!

rigsby1967

Arrg, i seem to have lost my motivation somewhere along the line :mad:, I think the last time i decluttered was on Thursday. Friday i went to work, Saturday was a family wedding, Sunday went to see Brother, sister, and mum, Monday was working again, and today i have not been up long and am going to a friends house later for a catch up........how do i manage at getting my motivation back after a busy long weekend?

Well done to all you managing with the decluttering :T.

rigs