My home is a mess

Baileys_Babe

bearcub wrote: »

BB, very impressive, especially as you've managed socialising too! :T Oo, coffee cake! Any left?

Very little cake left and what is left is only because we are trying not to have large slices.

DW hokey cokey today but no laundry as it was cold and raining and we did plenty over the weekend so I just need to do it occasionally to stop it taking over the house.

I've hardly been in today what with taking the children to one on their local groups this morning, spending an hour this afternoon at the surgery waiting for dd to go in for her booster injections, I don't think it was as traumatic an event for her as it had been for ds nearly 4 years ago, as when we returned home he gave me a blow by blow account of what happened to him including we had eaten doughnuts for pudding that night (when he said I remembered, but otherwise I wouldn't of known). I then did some more admin for local youth group. Took son to youth group, collected son from youth group. I have since put the porridge to soak for tomorrow and confirmed we have enough bread for Tuesday.

Jacksmummy-1979

Started the big clean out today... made a start on the kitchen and a suitcase full of clothes that has been stashed under my bed for ages....I've managed to give a few bits away on freecycle, a bag of clothes for the charity shops rag bin and I've made £55 selling a few bits on a Facebook for sale page I go on...sooo pleased cos that is a good amount to put towards Christmas,... will be continuing the big sort out tomorrow so hopefully will make some more much needed pennies ..x

alec_eiffel

laurel7172 wrote: »

Hi all

Have been lurking, but utterly dispirited regarding the house.

Well done to those surviving the new term/bedroom deprival/new shift patterns/new cats/new sleep patterns (Gillybean!) and I'm pleased your son is getting support, YL, even if he isn't At least he has the energy to complain...:D

*Still* working on those blasted walls, but only slowly and increasingly painfully.

What with the new responsibilities on top of the old ones, have been going to work at 7am to keep on top of everything there. Should take me less time when I've done everything a few times, I hope. I was in before the head this morning...:o

But the payoff is...I'm teaching most of the day tomorrow! I'm so excited! Wish me luck! :j

(PS-I have always considered the shiny sink a bit of a con, as when I'm struggling, I'd have to do a sink full of dishes to get to it. And I never dry dishes...I can't afford to do jobs that will do themselves.)

With the shiny sink thing, Marla the flylady totally accepts that most people will have a ton of dishes to do to get to this point and says to put them on the floor if you have to do get the sink shiny. I think the point of it is pretty much symbolic - it's a small job that is pretty easy to do, is something you'll almost certainly see every day but is literally a bright spot in what might otherwise be a dump. The whole system is based around the idea that doing something is better than doing nothing and a lot of tiny tasks eventually join up to create something big even if each task seems so tiny at first that you don't think it will make a difference.

Although the flylady thread on here totally baffles me and seems to take the really simple system and make it complex with all the levels and things the actual system really can work. I think it takes a little bit of faith that someone else has been there and come out the other side and going along with things that seem a bit daft. But it did change my life so I know it works. As I've said before either here or on the hoarders thread I've gone from having stuff everywhere and rooms that were inaccessible to having a nice house that I'm not ashamed to say I'm the housekeeper of. Were it not for flylady I wouldn't be in that position.

Emm-in-a-pickle

Hi Messies.
Welcome Different Corner. "Once I even start I feel better" - I identify with everything you said (except for attempting the Flylady bit!) but especially that bit about starting.
I think though, that by analysing WHY we don`t keep up with things, WHY we don`t stick to mealplans etc., and recognising what goal is realistic for us as individuals, (and what is not) is actually a pretty good start! I`ve never thought of the `shiny sink` thing, but I`d say my equivalent is the `clean towels`. I am almost OCD about having a load of clean towels. I have plain red ones & plain white ones, they`re on an open shelving unit on the landing, and just to walk past them and see the stash is comforting, I never let it get low, I take a great pride in the white ones still being white, and always wash used ones within a day or 2 of use (even though they aren`t going to be needed unless a muddy rugby team called in for a bath!!)
Yet it doesn`t bother me that the rest of the landing looks like a dumping ground and the bathroom may look like a hog-wallow. My towels are nice...
There, I`ve confessed!
WFF, life`s too short for ironing, really! Soup-making, that`s more like it...
Re kids` birthday parties....that`s another great thing about being a grand-parent!
Gilly - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ((HUGS)) Hope you feel better & enjoy your dayxx
Bearcub - Happy Birthday to your OH too, 2 cats is a fine pressie!
Laurel - your house may be a bit neglected while you`re concentrating on work, but I`m so glad you`re happy with your job. I would rather feel that way than be miserable at work then come home to a tidy house. I`m happy to report I`ve had a brilliant couple of long-days, job satisfaction ++, and now I`ve got TWO days off I actually feel like tackling my domestic chaos - well, some of it...
Plan-
I`m going to spend the next 4 hours doing stuff - a basic tidy/ Henrying/rug-shaking in LR, some basic tidying in bedroom, plus a couple of WM loads. I`m going to have to nip out to local shop for milk bread and Pepsi for ham-cooking, but all the rest will be in 20-minute timer bursts. Whatever I`ve not done by 5pm is just too bad!! I will then put a duck in the oven (for tonight with a still-fresh farm-shop cabbage & roasties) the ham in the slow-cooker (for future reference) and Sit Down with OH, a wine box and catch-up on i-player!
Drags self off to set timer...

Emm-in-a-pickle

Just stopping for a break - I think I deserve one!
LR & kitchen floors Henry`d & mopped, rugs shaken & turned clean side up. I notice that our Teggies (5 of them, inc 2 REALLY massive beasties) are all up in ceiling corners out of the way, intelligent of them!
Towels (!!) uniforms and smalls done, hung upstairs in back windows & doorways. It`s great tidying weather, sunny for motivation but lots of little sunny light showers to stop me going outside to sit and laze around - shame about not using washing line though. WM on again with Daftie-dog`s bed and her fleecy (Very Hairy too) rug, spare clean ones down & her bowls cleaned & re-filled.
Did a quick co-op dash, remembered the pepsi, now ham (Mr T special - 2 & a half kilo for £11, hardly any fat on it) in SC. Had to move log-basket to get large SC out of bottom of dresser, so ended up dusting dresser, cleaning hearth &mantelpiece. It`s cool enough that we might have a fire this evening, even just one log for the cosy feel.
I`m quite pleased with myself. (awards self pat on head & another ciggie...)
BUT- windowsill & computer area very cluttered. Sofa cluttered....
Next job - sort & take `upstairs` stuff off sofa & stay up there for a 20-minute go at the floordrobe, collect any upstairs rubbish before coming back down, then finish clearing sofa.
Drags self away from keyboard to sofa of doom....

grousescot

Hello

I wondered if you minded me joining you here. For some time I have been wanting/trying to get my living space into some semblance of order but with not a lot of success. It's just me in a 2-bedroom flat so any mess/clutter is down to me. I have Friday and Monday off from work as well as the weekend and I am determined to get something done so that I can at least have someone round without cringing at how things look (the CHAOS term is very apt!). Does anyone have any suggestions as to tackle things over this time?

In no particular order here are the things which are especially bugging me and would most like to get sorted first.

Living room/hall

Bits of paper seem to collect everywhere and I never seem to notice until it becomes a real mess and I do a binge clear out (junk mail, envelopes from non-junk mail, other random paperwork).
Table - I haven't used this to eat dinner from since I can't remember when. The surface just seems to gather stuff!
Pile of more random stuff in the corner next to the bookcase.

Spare bedroom - this has sadly become a bit of a dumping ground, stuff all over and around the sofa bed, biggest item a wall-mounted bookcase which I have no use for but seem to have been landed with for as long as I've been here for. Tempted to just dismantle and chuck it.

Bedroom - CLOTHES! That which I wear most often seem to spend more time out of the wardrobe than anywhere else. Some of them could probably do with being chucked as they're no longer any good or don't fit very well anymore. More random stuff on the bedside cupboard on the opposite side of the bed to the one I sleep on.

Bathroom - had problems with black gunge on the sealant around the bath/shower for years, I think it needs stripped off and replaced but if there's any way of avoiding this would be good to know.

Kitchen:

Worktops are still a bit cluttered although I have cleared this up a bit. Been trying to keep surfaces fresh and clean but there seems to be a greasy residue left especially on the wooden cupboard doors. I got some special wood soap recently but am yet to try it.

Throughout - it's all laminate flooring with could do with a serious sweep up and mop, once things are clearer.

I hope this isn't too long a post for a de-lurker. This is going to take a lot longer than a few days to rectify but my aim is at the start of next week feeling I've at least made a start.

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi and welcome grousescot. As others will say the secret is not to try and do too much at once but break it down into manageable chunks so you do actually achieve something!

Sounds to me like you have the same problem as I did when I first came on here. I simply had too much stuff. Nowhere to put anything away (including clothes) and its impossible to clean anywhere because you are just moving stuff around.

So maybe your goal needs to be clearing out. You need to have a long hard look at the things in your house that you just dont need and start getting rid of them. The night before bin collection morning find 10 things to go in the bin, every time you go into town find a bag full of things to go to the charity shop, every time you go past the recycling skips in the car take a boxful of stuff that needs to go.

Remember that it probably took a long time to accumulate this stuff and it will take a while to clear it but being able to put stuff away in cupboards makes sooo much difference!

You do need a plan though, if you start pulling things out of cupboards without any idea of what you are going to do with it you just get overwhelmed.

I hope this doesnt sound preachy - I have been working on this since I gave up work 18 months ago and I cant believe the things I used to keep (a cupboard half full of margarine tubs for example).

Hi to everyone else. Things to do before bed so will post again tomorrow. Start work on Friday so I need to get myself organised!

bearcub

Evening Messies.

Good to hear that Mia, you and OH are all doing well, Gillybean.

I'm so glad you had two really satisfying days at work, Emms. It makes so much difference when you know you're making a difference, doesn't it? Amazingly enough, it's pretty cool here this evening, too, but not quite fire weather yet.

Alec E, I hardly read any of the flylady thread before coming on here, but I'd be very worried if we had a shiny sink, as ours is a cream textured one! I understand what Emms says about her towels, though. With me, it has to be keeping the linen basket at a reasonable level. When it is, then I know I have the washing under some sort of control - which is considerably harder in cold weather!

Grousescot, welcome! First, don't panic! Second, remember baby steps. When you feel the whole house is out of control, baby steps may at first seem somewhat pathetic, but you need to know that you CAN get things done, and any progress towards the goal of tidiness is a positive step. Choose the room that upsets you the most which may well be the either the kitchen, because it seems unhygienic and almsot unuseable, or the bedroom, because you can't easily get to bed. After all, food and sleep are the most important parts of living. within whichever room, choose one thing that annoys/upsets you the most, and start to deal with that. Don't try to tackle a bit of this, then a bit of that, because you'll never feel as if you're making progress.

One thing comes to mind - paper. We keep a large bucket in the conservatory, just on the other side of the door from the lounge. We put bits of paper for recycling on the end of the work surface in the kitchen and, when one of us is going to the conservatory or near the door, we pick up the paper, and drop it in the bucket. When it's full, one of us takes it, and tips it all in the recycling bin. I've found where recycling waste paper is concerned, do it NOW is the thing!

wifefaefife

I'm back and ironing is away (with the exception of a few things) but at least the ironing board is no longer up. Emm I can't not iron, I just can't put things away not ironed, I'm getting better a doing less. The soup was yummy :-)

Yes things have got that bad, everywhere is a tip. I must concentrate on trying to do more on Thursday/ Friday.

I'm in bed thinking how I've been a little better at keeping the kitchen clean, when I realised I've not made the packed lunches for tomorrow. Ah well....I really need my beauty sleep. I think I need a timetable but not in a fly lady kind of way, do you get when I mean? I mean like spilt into hours or 30min slots.

7.30-8 showered and dressed
8-8.30 breakfast and get DD ready for school
8.30-8.45 faf around, moan to DD that she will be late
8.45-9 take DD to school
9-9.15 chat to school mums then go home

This is when I need structure from 9.30 till 2.30 i must not skive off. I'm busy Wednesday mornings and one other day ( either morning or afternoon) must include a walk and a cuppa with my friend. The thing is I've been shopping with my mum and meeting with lots of friends for cuppas, had a job interview (eek!) and lots of other things to tempt me away from cleaning.

Eyes are closing now, sweet and tidy dreams everyone

wifefaefife

Grousescot I've just read your post. I think you should bag up your clothes that are no longer wanted. One for charity and one for not so good stuff take to one o those cash fo clothes type places. Do not do what I have done and dump bags in spare room just incase I find anything else to go in them.