My home is a mess

gilly1964

First day back and I am shattered, but have tomorrow off as owed time:j

Got home tonight, DS was hoovering, OH was cooking dinner, only thing I had to do was play with pup :j:j

I am having an early night but will catch up with you all tomorrow

x

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi all

Nice to hear from you FW, hows the job going? Yeah I have lost important bits of paper too before. With my husband being self employed, us both doing voluntary work that involves paperwork and me doing work from home we have lots of bits of paper!

Wow 23lbs weight loss is great McCulloch, well done.

Emms, love the "more shipwreck than beach-hut" statement! I know where you are coming from. One corner at a time, thats my kind of progress too.

Have promised my son an afternoon out tomorrow. He has got a full day in hospital on Wednesday and an appointment at the GPs in the morning so I think an afternoon at the beach, a pootle round the pound shops and some fish and chips on the seafront would do us both good.

My kitchen tap appears to be leaking. It needs replacing really but I am hoping my clever hubby can coax a bit more life out of it. Arent taps ridiculously expensive? Kitchen floor needs mopping but it can wait. Hubby took the plinth off the bottom of the cupboards and I refused to look behind it!!! Many years of grime under there and I dont want to know.

Ah well Pjs on and my book I think. Hopefully DS sleeps better tonight.

procrastinator

alec_eiffel wrote: »

Good work deciding on your basic tasks for the day.

The one thing that leaps out from you post is an all or nothing perspective. X is like this becuae y has to happen and that canlt happen until z. So nothing happens. Until things are ideal there is always a work around. Relying on plan A generally ends in disappointment and that's what leads to things being left.

In terms of the dusty clothes. If they're dusty it sounds like you're not wearing them if they're hanging about to get dusty. So why make work for yourself now by rewashing? If they just go back to being stored where they are now they'll just get into the same state along the line. Is ther somewhere you can put them if you don't want to get rid of them? A vac bag, suitcase, box, big laundry bag..?

So true about the excuses and circles but how to stop, must work on that. I keep meaning to put some of the clothes into empty suitcases as some are summer/holiday things. Will do so tomorrow when OH out.

Today I have cleaned sink, hob and drainer, and bathroom. Re bed making, I never make it as I like it to air so every morning I turn back the duvet so it folds half back and leave it like that to air and only have to pull it back at night to be made. I do love clean sheets so it is changed regularly.

sonastin

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

My kitchen tap appears to be leaking. It needs replacing really but I am hoping my clever hubby can coax a bit more life out of it. Arent taps ridiculously expensive? Kitchen floor needs mopping but it can wait. Hubby took the plinth off the bottom of the cupboards and I refused to look behind it!!! Many years of grime under there and I dont want to know.

OMG - tell me about the price of taps!!! We've just done new kitchen and utility room needs doing properly soon - cheap nasty e-bay tap in there atm. OH went to B&Q a couple of months ago and the taps were on offer - he picked up one for another project *really* cheap (£100+ down to ~£35! :T) He sent me back later to get one for utility room. When I got there, there were no signs of this particular tap. Somehow it had been mis-signed when OH was there so they "fixed" the price it came up at the till (~£75) to match the sign. By the time I arrived, they'd fixed their mistake, the sign was nowhere to be seen and I decided the cheap nasty e-bay tap will do another few months :rotfl:

Plinths in the new kitchen have been "sealed" with some sort of clear plastic capping. On this basis, I am *never* looking under there because I want to believe the capping will leave it immaculate under there. OK so there's a path under the D/W and fridge but I'm going to stick to my beliefs

alec_eiffel

procrastinator wrote: »

So true about the excuses and circles but how to stop, must work on that. I keep meaning to put some of the clothes into empty suitcases as some are summer/holiday things. Will do so tomorrow when OH out.

Today I have cleaned sink, hob and drainer, and bathroom. Re bed making, I never make it as I like it to air so every morning I turn back the duvet so it folds half back and leave it like that to air and only have to pull it back at night to be made. I do love clean sheets so it is changed regularly.

How to stop? Just stop and do something else.

Look at things in a fresh way, stop looking at what you can't do and look at what you can do. Ok some things are rubbish and maybe you think doing something for the time being until you can have the ideal set up seems like a waste of time because you'll have to do the job twice. But is it more of a waste of time and energy than feeling stressed by the state that things are now, is it more of a waste than allowing your stuff to own you instead of you owning it. Is it more of a waste than not having to think about this stuff all the time whenever you want to do something?

sonastin

alec_eiffel wrote: »

How to stop? Just stop and do something else.

Look at things in a fresh way, stop looking at what you can't do and look at what you can do. Ok some things are rubbish and maybe you think doing something for the time being until you can have the ideal set up seems like a waste of time because you'll have to do the job twice. But is it more of a waste of time and energy than feeling stressed by the state that things are now, is it more of a waste than allowing your stuff to own you instead of you owning it. Is it more of a waste than not having to think about this stuff all the time whenever you want to do something?

I agree with alec eiffel entirely but the important bit is the first line. The second paragraph tells you how to improve the domestic situation but the first line tells you how to stop stressing about it. If you can just get on with sorting something in the house, however temporary, then the house will get better.

But if you really truly can't face wasting the time on doing the job twice and you're really not in a position to do the full permanent job yet, stop staring at it wishing it was already done and go and do something else entirely. Accept that its not yet time to change the house and go out and have a ball instead.

Once you break the circle, its easier to face the task at hand. Even if you're breaking the circle by accepting the status quo, you'll feel revitalised and ready to do something about it. I find the best way of doing those jobs that I'd rather put off is to "take myself by surprise" with them. I might say "s*d it, I'm not going to worry about the dishes piliing in the sink, I'm going to sit down and enjoy watching this (very crappy made for daytime TV usually) movie". Dishes go out of my mind, the movie isn't spoiled by the stress of thinking I need to do the dishes and then when the adverts come on, I might just get up and run a bowl of hot soapy water. Next ad break, a couple of plates get washed. By the end of the movie, kitchen is clear and I wasn't even planning on doing the dishes. Might not even finish watching the movie if it was that sort of really-bad-daytime-tele-anything-is-better-than-washing-up sort of distraction movie!

Emm-in-a-pickle

Hi Messies. We`ve all gone quiet again....
Sonastin, I just can`t bear watching stuff in the daytime (even on I-player) but any old rubbish drama on radio or tape does the same distraction job for me!
Messy Status Report -
Again, after the last 2 mad days at work I`ve felt today I was definitely not going to do much. Home late, supper late, got up late but still tired this morning.
There are definitely 2 categories of housey stuff for me -
1.Basics - ticking over, not letting things get any worse.
2.Put-offs. These may be Basics to some folks, but currently not to me!
Lately, I HAVE managed to shift a couple of chores from the 2nd category into the first, like leaving the sink & worktops clear at night (however late I`ll force myself..) and wiping the downstairs washbasin (the most used) every morning. Doesn`t sound much, but it is for me. I cook every day, but have been know to leave the aftermath for a day or 2 till recently! There are still lots of `Put-offs` that need upgrading to `Basics`, but at present I`m pleased if I can at least maintain these little recent improvements in my routine. Baby Steps!
Today I`ve had to nip out for bread & milk, but also got 2 large chickens £4 each at Lidl (one for DD, I`ll take it over tomorrow, via farm shop). I`ve made a curry for tonight, and cleaned the hearth ready for the fire. Bit of tidying, washed a couple of dog-rugs, and that`s it. Tomorrow I shall try to do better!

alec_eiffel

Ikwym about basics. What are my basics now weren't always. I started the dehoarding, getting organised "journey" in 2004 so have been fine tuning things for a long time now! For the first little while my minimums were to make the bed and wipe the worksurfaces, it took ages to bring the other stuff in.

farmerswife75

Hi all!!

I can't believe that it's half term next week!!! :eek: I was intending to get loads sorted after the summer hols but things haven't quite gone to plan!!! Ooops!!

No work for me at the vets this week, i've been farming instead! Although i did pop into the surgery to check up on a kestrel that someone brought in last week, the vet wasn't expecting it to live but it has survived and has gone to an animal refuge to get better.

Hope everyone is ok!

J
xx

bearcub

Afternoon messies!

So much gone on since I was last on here!

Very well done, McCulloch, on losing all that weight! That is truly impressive. :T

What a shame about the price error - or the correction of it, Sonastin. Yes, taps are a ridiculous price, but our plumber told us that the difference is due nowadays to the fact that some taps can be easily repaired ie the expensive ones, and others can't. Our bathroom basin tap is a chunky mixer, and was pricey, but exactly what I'd pictured. When I showed the plumber a photo of said tap in a catalogue, he said it was fine, then showed us a number of others that are extremly difficult, if not impossible to repair if they leak. It's all done to take more pounds out of our pockets, I'm sure.

I so agree about concentrating on what you can do, alec e and procastinator, rather than on what you can't. OH and I used to work with disabled youngsters - both learning and physical - and that was our basis for everything we did with them, or encouraged them to do. It didn't do Sophie Christiansen much harm! And, if it works with people who are disabled, how much more should it work for those who have no disability?

Emms, I hope your job's not wearing you out, but your enthusiasm is wonderful! :) Sorry to hear that Dafty Dog isn't so agile nowadays.

FW, it's so lovely to hear you taking such an interest in your job!

Anyone heard from Cat recently?

Chez Bear, all is tickedy boo, I'm pleased to say. Since the weather turned damp and colder, the cats have decided that indoors is definitely preferable or, sometimes, that going in and out, in and out etc ..... is huge fun - for them. As a result, vacuuming isn't getting done as much I'd like, but the carpet isn't quite as deep in shavings at the stables yet, so things aren't too bad. OH and I managed to get out into the garden yesterday for a while, pulled out bedding plants and some others that were taking over, and cut back some bigger plants.

Mum managed to hurt her back, just bending down to straighten her slipper, and was in agony for a couple of days, so we were helping her out more than usual. Amazingly, she still managed to cope with the weekly visit to the hairdresser, which our DD2 found hilarious.

Talking of the latter, she and her bf have now exchanged contracts on the maisonette they're buying, and should have the keys on Monday. They can't wait, as their landlords have been a total nightmare in the last couple of weeks. For the last year, J and W have complained about a leak in the shower, and nothing was done about it. As a result, the bathroom floorboards have rotted. Suddenly, with 2 weeks of the tenancy to go, the landlords have decided that repairs have to be done NOW! :mad: I'm very pleased to say that J and W have said 'no' very firmly, with the letting agency's agreement.

I watched Dawn French on tv a couple of night's ago, and that, and a story I've recently finished reading, have pushed me to carry on writing a story I started a while ago. It's getting rather absorbing!