My home is a mess

short_bird

Buffy:
I'm worried so I'm going to be blunt. 2 suggestions:
a) Go and build the shed while your mum watches the puppies. Get your own stuff out of the way.
b) You need to have a serious talk about why the puppies aren't being trained by either of you as it's a recipe for more problems in the future. Which I know you know.
Dodgy hugs.

Emm-in-a-pickle

((HUGS)) Buffy. While your mum waits for her diagnosis (which I hope is not too serious, doesn`t sound it if it`s not being investigated as urgent) I really understand your frustration at losing your `window` to get things done. (My DS goes to stay at his GF`s up north and the place stays cleaner for a week or 2!!)
As Short Bird says, go ahead and build the shed. It`ll get you out of the house for a start. And it will give you a feeling of having got SOMETHING done.
Then get your head around plan b.
You may not get 2 clear months to de-clutter and clean, as you would do in your mum`s absence, but maybe her absence while you do stuff is part of the problem?
She just doesn`t realise what you do. Have that talk, and attempt to GO AHEAD with your plans and let her see the effort you`re putting in! (OK, there may be friction but it`s worth a go, and stick to your resolve!)
As for the puppies, I`ve had dogs all my life, and there are just some that will chew whatever you do (short of 24-hour supervision!), however good they are in other ways. They nearly always grow out of it though, it`s not just about training. I had a mongrel that was fully `clean` within 3 weeks of having him home, was famous in our village for his road-drill performances, but he once ate an ironing board while we were out for just a few hours!
Plastic boxes might actually be worth sticking with a bit longer to keep stuff safe from puppy jaws.
Take a deep breath, cheer up, and start having that talk!

Molly41

mcculloch29 wrote: »

Sorting out the summer to winter clothes is always a bit of a task for me.
I am trying not to be a hoarder and loads have gone to charity shops and friends but there is still more. It comes back to not having much to wear when I was younger, I'm sure, but neither did many.
I remember many of my school friends in primary school nearly 50 years ago by the clothes they wore nearly every day, and they weren't a uniform.
Carol had a kilt with a pin, Lesley an embroidered cardigan, Helen a thin cotton dress, Michael a Fair Isle jumper in browns, reds and blacks, Willie a dark blue V neck with a grey shirt underneath. They might remember me for a bright yellow sweatshirt style jumper or perhaps a brown cotton dress with orange and yellow squares.

This definitely resonates strongly with me x

Ellie83

Emm-in-a-pickle wrote: »

Ellie - you`re right about the fresh start & the clutter. When you pack things away for long enough you realize whether you really need to ever unpack them again! (that`s why I have a caravan of Doom!)
Have a good weekend Messiesxx

A caravan of doom? I would like to see that Actually, you know, I first really wanted a shed in the garden. But now we will wait. Fristly because they are more expensive than I thought and secondly because it'll force me to find a place for everything (if I had a shed, a lot would be "temporarily stored" in there... Yeah right )

Tomorrow I see OUR house empty and will spend the whole day cleaning it within an inch of its life I can't wait: a blank canvas!

sonastin

Gilly - great news! Really pleased to hear it.

Bexterraga - the only houseplant I've ever kept alive is a poinsettia that I bought as a xmas present for my gran. In the time between buying and xmas, it approached deaths door so I bought her something else. It has been surviving at deaths door for getting on for 3 years now! Plants bought in between went in the compost bin ages ago but this little fella is hanging in there!

Buffy - your story sounds familiar. OH's mother used to visit her sister in India every winter. The first time she announced she was staying home, OH moved out within the week. Pretty sure he'd have killed her if he didn't - he can't spend more than a couple of hours in the same room as his mother any more. If you're not in a position to move out (which from what you've said before, I know you're not) you need to address the issues with your mum rather than just waiting for her to leave the country. As the others have said, get on with the shed & have a chat about the puppies' training. Its time to find a way to live together which has to start with talking about the way you each want to live & finding a compromise you can both live with.


What's going on chez sonastin? Not a lot! Been away with work during the week over the last couple of weeks & away with OH at the weekends. Am sort of staying on top of the house on the basis that I haven't really been here to messy it up. Took the afternoon off work on Friday to put 5 loads of laundry through the WM and tumbly drier - Mt Washmore was twice the height of the laundry basket! Load 6 went in this morning and OH got it dried on the line :j (how sad that not using the tumble drier warrants and jumping smiley!) Load 7 will go in tomorrow or Wednesday by which time the dirty clothes will have filled the laundry basket again. Does it ever end?!

Now messies, I need some help on how to train OH to use the dishwasher. This morning, I had the machine open while I was filling it up with last nights dinner pots. OH actually lent over the open shelf to put his glass and his mug on the side rather than turning them upside down and dropping them into it :mad: I only noticed when I walked back into the kitchen with more dirty pots or we'd have had stern words there and then. Seriously, how hard can it be to load a DW??

Still, its nice having him home again... (for now :rotfl:)

gilly1964

sonastin wrote: »

Now messies, I need some help on how to train OH to use the dishwasher. This morning, I had the machine open while I was filling it up with last nights dinner pots. OH actually lent over the open shelf to put his glass and his mug on the side rather than turning them upside down and dropping them into it :mad: I only noticed when I walked back into the kitchen with more dirty pots or we'd have had stern words there and then. Seriously, how hard can it be to load a DW??

Still, its nice having him home again... (for now :rotfl:)

I found with my 2 men only sarcasm worked, I stood there with the instruction book looking puzzled.

Asked why?

Replied - trying to find the page that says this can only be loaded if your name is Gilly.

I very rarely load or unload now:rotfl:

gilly1964

Thank you all for your wishes - off to the docs this morning to see when I can go back to work :j


Updated -

Back to work on the 22nd - got to spend the next days on increasing mobility and can drive now

alec_eiffel

Hi everyone,

I've been working in the garden this week, planted bulbs and moved some plants, looks loads better and it felt good rather than overwhelming even though I know I could work out there all day for a week and still have a ton to do!

Have fun in the empty house Ellie

Emm-in-a-pickle

Hi Messies! I`m off now till next Monday afternoon, the sun is shining, and I`m happy.
(More of that later)
Ellie - Enjoy your blank canvas!
Sonastin - my `houseplants` are limited to supermarket growing herbs. I have 2 pots of Greek Basil, still smelling basily with sell-by date 10th August!! Good luck with your OH & the dishwasher, he must be more trainable than my menfolk if he`s got the `hang` of using a washing line & pegs!! (Excuse terrible pun)
Gilly - I`m so pleased for you, being able to drive again must be a huge boost too.
Alec E - glad you enjoyed your garden - that`s what they`re for.

Why am I so happy?
I`ve had deep speech with ward sister and OH, and decided to reduce my hours, by dropping 7 & a half per week to 30 hours. I`ll still be doing a couple of long shifts plus one short one, but there won`t be the `marathon` stretches. I`m amazed at how quickly & easily the matter was sorted, new hours start in 4 weeks. Also, in January the shift hours change for us to finish at 8pm instead of 9, which doesn`t sound much but will make a huge difference to us all. Another thing I`m very pleased about is that I`ll not be leaving the ward `short` as a lovely colleague who is part-time is able & eager to pick up the hours that I wanted to drop. Sorted!
I really love my job, and now I feel as if I`ll be able to keep at it longer without feeling it a struggle, the work/home balance thing, etc.
OH does not love his job, and is in the process of changing it. It`s early days yet, but if it goes to plan he`ll be doing less hours too, and on a lesser pay-scale, but having made the decision he`s already less stressed. There`s more to life than money, and we`re lucky to be debt-free and frugal types, and able to make these changes now. Hanging on any longer would be greed not necessity.

Sorry for banging on, but feel quite liberated by having made these decisions after months of pondering the pro`s & cons.
I`m going to make a chicken stew now for supper, we`re going to the pub for an hour to celebrate. And I`ll make dumplings when we get home. Bliss!

farmerswife75

Hi all!!

Emm - good news on the job situation!

Mr farmers birthday today, it was all going so well until we went to collect the dog from the vets (she needed an xray) and the vet told us that she's got a leg tumour and there's nothing they can do ! They said they'd be surprised if she lasted another month!!! Bit of a shock as we thought she had a sprain!! Anyway, we've brought her home and have to keep her comfortable, we are aware that we'll have to have her put to sleep at some point .

Tomorrow i'm going to change the beds and tidy in the conservatory, hopefully the weather will still be nice so i'll get the washing out on the line.

Hope everyone is ok!

Jx