My home is a mess

alec_eiffel

grousescot wrote: »

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.

Hi,

I would say to grab a couple of bags, your shredder if you have one and the recycling box and get cracking. You'll need a chuck away, charity/give away bag, and a pile/box/something for needs to live somewhere else.

With the clothes, I would say to not be tempted to get everything out of the wardrobe and stick it onto the bed because then you have to finish it and sometimes it just doesn't work like that. Open the door and go through the items - chuck what needs to go into the charity bag, anything that shouldn't live in the wardrobe either put it into the bin bag or onto the "lives somewhere else" pile. Decluttering the wardrobe is the best way to getting the clothes you do wear in there!

Don't be afraid to get rid of things, if the bookcase needs to go then let it go! It's worth no less to you at the tip than it is cluttering up a room when you just don't need it.

Everything else you talk about just seems to be a thing where a two minute do once a day would keep it going. I treat my dining table as another shiny sink (apologies to those who are so offended by the concept :rotfl:). It sounds daft but in my mind I have defined it as a dining table i.e a place to eat not a shelf, a letter rack, a wardrobe or anything else, so whenever I walk past it I can see if I need to move something off it. It's like the idea when you're at work, if you've ever worked in a hotel or somewhere like that, never go anywhere empty handed. Just doing things one thing at a time chips away and helps to keep things going without thinking you're cleaning and tidying all the time.

In terms of the wooden cupboards, the scrubby side of a normal washing up sponge and a bowlful of warm water and washing up liquid plus some elbow grease should do the trick to get the greasy stuff off.

Just to add - I don't shine my sink.

Emm-in-a-pickle

Where is everyone..?
Grousescot, welcome aboard....I`m sure the other Messies will be back soon!
Re dining tables, we have a foldaway thing with folding chairs that fit inside, only gets used for special occasions, which involves moving funiture around LR.(No dining room, that`s now DGD`s room for when she`s here. OH & I usually use those padded lap trays, DS always eats in his room, by choice...it`s one less area of flat surface to keep clear - when we do use the table we have to clear it straight after to fold it all away again.
Re greasy residue - baking soda wipes are quite effective for clearing this.

I just did an early shift then called in at Mr M`s on way home. Lots of YS bargains, and a couple of YS `takeaway` Indian meals so will chill out tonight. Another early tomorrow then an actual weekend off (like normal people!)
Hope all Messies are having a decent week so far..

Gillybean103

Has everyone fallen off the face of the earth lol

Quite a nice day here. Washing drying on the line.
Have emptied the DW
OH has put 2 photo frames up in the dining room
Cleaned the living room.
Tackled cleaning one of the metal Venetian blinds that I've been putting off forever, it wasn't as bad as I thought!
Cleaned the white woodwork
Now going to tackle the dining room before little lady wakes up them will Hoover the floor later on.
Tempted to do a bit of baking, but we will see how it goes later on.
Will also wipe down the kitchen when I've cooked.

bearcub

Afternoon Messies.

Good news about the weekend off, Emms, and about time, too! Must have been quite hard at first to have your dining room taken over as a bedroom.

It sounds as if you're getting back into the swing of things, gillybean. How nice to have such a cooperative baby!

No, not fallen off the earth at all, just a bit occupied one way and another yesterday. I did call in and read some posts, but didn't have time to post myself. I've spent a lot of time on the phone in the last couple of days, some good news, some not-so-good news. We were called by OH's cousin's wife to say that OH's aunt was in hospital, very poorly. Didn't hear anymore, until my Mum called a friend, to be told that the aunt had passed away. That wasn't unexpected, but the fact that OH hadn't been told that, or about the funeral arrangements, was a bit of a shock! Seems that another much younger cousin, who seems to have some sort of problem with us, promised she'd let us know, but didn't.

Much, much better news, though, is that all sems to be going well for DD2 and her bf. Bf's 'family problems' have been sorted out, and he no longer has to kowtow to his dad. They have put in an offer for a very nice maisonette, and the offer's been accepted. She now thinks she's got to grow up, but I told her I haven't, so she needn't. :rotfl:

The cats have been darlings until today, when the ginger has been particularly restless, so I think they're going to start wanting to go outside soon.

Gillybean103

Bear cub sorry to hear about you OH aunt, must have been a hell of a shock. Horrible cousin not to pass on the news.

Have finished all my jobs for the day.
I've got a big Venetian left to do but going to do that tomorrow as I'll have to move one of the sofas to get to it.

Little lady has woken up, had a bottle and gone back to sleep in my arms, so I'm sat for a while

bearcub

Gillybean103 wrote: »

Little lady has woken up, had a bottle and gone back to sleep in my arms, so I'm sat for a while

Aaahhh!

The aunt's death wasn't much of a shock after we'd heard how ill she was, but the illness had been very sudden. She'd only recently had a long awaited hip op, and was looking forward to going out and about a bit more. Tbh, OH and his aunt were never close, but she was his mum's sister, after all.

Today, I've cleaned the bathroom, and given the honeysuckle in the back garden a good haircut! I'm out at a meeting tonight but, hopefully, it won't take long as there's only three of us.

jpscloud

Welcome grousescot and sorry to hear that sad news bearcub.

Sorry I haven't been posting, I have been lurking but my woes continue with the fridge freezer having packed up for good.

I've known for a while that it was on its last legs, so I wasn't keeping anything expensive in there, and haven't had to throw much away as it was a small appliance anyway.

But I work full time and delivery of a new one is going to be a bit of a burger. I don't want to ask neighbours to wait all day, nor to see my mess at the moment! Can't ask family either as not practical with disabilities etc.

So it looks like I'll have to wait till 29th Sept when I have a free day (training day that I don't have to attend) to take delivery of a new one.

I have a larder cupboard (floor to ceiling, outside corner) in the kitchen which is cool at this time of year, so have stashed the flora in there for now and can get away without using milk (or using dried skimmed milk anyway).

Now, can I manage on packets and tins for 15 days? It'll be like camping without a mini fridge, I guess! I think I should be fine, I can get in some fresh vegetables every few days and have plenty of meals that can be got out of the cupboard - it'll just be difficult not being able to keep leftovers.

I am tempted to see if I can find a small or mini fridge second hand to tide me over but I really want to keep the money to spend on the new fridge freezer.

Hope everyone is well, sorry again for being wrapped up in my own woes!

alec_eiffel

We bought one of the really cheap mini fridges when we had the house rewired, just a 4l one it cost less than £20 but it was worth the cash. There was enough space for a bottle of milk and a couple of other bits and bobs. It was good enough in the pantry to keep things nice and cool so we could have breakfast and make a drink for the electricians etc.

Today I am going to deep clean the dining area, the internal doors downstairs and clean the kitchen tiles and the tops of the cupboards.

Have a good day.

Gillybean103

Afternoon!

Well I have finished cleaning the big Venetian blind in the living room, think I shall do it once a month from now on.

Going to clean the kitchen
Sort the DW out
Clean the cloakroom
Wipe down the woodwork in the hall
Hoover all of downstairs

Dependant on the weather I might wrap little lady up and walk to the shop for a local paper to see what's on locally this weekend and to the postbox. Then later on we shall walk to our friends for coffee.

Really want to get it so that there is no housework to do at the weekends and it just be family time

Emm-in-a-pickle

Hi Messies! Hectic morning shift but I got away on time. I have that `Friday` feeling, which normally means nothing to me.( POET`S Day, as well!)
Bearcub, that`s a bit harsh, OH`s cousin not letting you know about his aunt. Not the time for her to indulge in pettiness really! I`m glad to hear your DD & her BF are ok now.
JPS, isn`t it just typical how appliances conk out just at the most inconvenient time?!
Gillybean, you sound really organised there. Enjoy the pram pushing - I did! Only did it with DS though, as DD came to us pushchair sized so I missed out!

Last night`s `takeaway` curry from Mr M`s went down well, and only the plates to wash up so did `em before work this morning. Sofa still clear (surprisingly) and LR not too bad. OH is off too, so we`re nipping down to the pub in an hour or so, home early then I`m going to do a HM curry (by request, as OH said Mr M`s was lovely but mine are too! Bless`im.) make a fire again & watch the box.
Tomorrow I will make lists, and cut mine & Daftie-dogs` toenails. And probably wash some towels...
Have a nice evening all.xx