My home is a mess

jpscloud

Thanks Emm and huge hugs for you and all our messy buddies! I couldn't put it better myself re. the support when feeling overwhelmed.

I love the first footing ritual, and every family seems to have their own take on it - ours is to have bread, coal, salt and a lit candle. Can't remember what the salt was for, but the bread was for food, the coal for warmth and the candle for light.

Blinking flip, the fireworks are very noisy - they're letting off those earthshaking ones that sound like a T-Rex footfall.

Buffythedebtslayer

I left the loft at 10.30!

I survived but I am in no way finished. However I I stopped to see in the New year

So Happy New year my lovely gorgeous entirely supportive Messy friends. Fantastic thread with fantastic people x

Love you all LOADS

Buffy

wanting_to_be_tidy

Hi

Is it OK to join you? My New Years Resolution is to get the house sorted out to the point where I don't come up with a never ending stream of excuses as to why people can't come to stay and even put them off coming in for a coffee without at least 3 hours notice to hide the worst of it!

I figure I need to spend at least 30 mins a day to get into some kind of routine, but generally life gets in the way of this. I also wondered about some kind of weekly routine to ensure things don't keep getting ignored. It's just me, OH and a dog here so should be straightforward, but we have too much stuff, v little storage and no idea how to keep a house tidy and clean!

Have got off to a good start today though, have hoovered throughout, done the DW and the washing up and dusted so it's looking more like a home and less like a hovel! Also Xmas decs are down, and nearly all gifts have been found a home.

Happy New Year to all
WTBT x

hopefulmoneysaver94

Hi Messies

I do hope all are feeling well today, Massive hugs to you Emms!!

Motivation this way is dead (even with the excitement of the new year!!) But i'm going to drag my self out of bed, get dressed and pristine (love that word ) to put some laundry on, and find some where to put the dry clothes..Then I've got to take a load of wood (old desk and bed frame ) Down to the rubbish, Then there isn't a whole lot to do if OH would let me clear the wardrobe...:think:

What's the beautiful ladies resolutions then? If I may ask

alec_eiffel

Just nipping by to say wish you all a happy new year.

Bexterragga

Happy New Year Messies!

Hope you all had a nice time over the past few weeks, I was working over Christmas and I've not really had time to pay attention to the house! I had yesterday and today off though, so I have started on a few things. But the task seems so enormous right now!

Welcome Wantingtobetidy I'm sure you'll fit right in here!

Looks like I'm tidying up the living room because Annie is on and it's my favourite film ever!!

Have a good day Messies

Emm-in-a-pickle

Hi Messies! Happy New Year again...ok, I DID say it already but that was last year!

Welcome, Wanting to be Tidy. I often blame `lack of routine` for the state the house gets into, but I`ve been having a Deep Think today, and there`s much more to it....

Buffy, glad you emerged from the loft in time to see the new year in!
Alec E - good to hear from you, we missed you! X
Bearcub - I totally understand about your DD2 WANTING to cook for her OH. If your efforts are appreciated, and you are allowed to `experiment` on them a bit it`s a pleasure to cook for those you love. As long as you`re allowed the odd disaster and CBA day!!
Hopeful - the start of a new year is a good time to be honest with oneself, and realistic, so I`m not a big fan of new year resolutions, but as I said earlier I do feel it`s a good time for a Deep Think...

The Deep Thinking of Emm.....
Right.
Rather than compile a `to-do` list I need a `WHY??` list.

1) WHY is my house so cluttered?
Because I don`t get rid of stuff that should GO, also because I buy too much stuff that I don`t really need or use. It`s ok having a good stockpile of stuff you need and WILL use, so don`t let`s throw the baby out with the bathwater here! (I have FOUR slow cookers, different sizes/shapes, and they all get used.)
Answer -
I just need to be MUCH firmer with myself when shopping.
I need to start with getting rid of stuff that I know I don`t want (that`s a lot of stuff, without even considering the stuff I think I just MIGHT want to keep/use..)

2) WHY have I kept thinking I `need more space` & looking at `storage solutions`?
Answer-
Because I`m a DAFTIE!! Over the years I have bought storage stuff SO THAT I CAN SQUEEZE MORE STUFF INTO THE HOUSE IN A BIT LESS SPACE.
I have actually been SO pleased with myself for stowing stuff rather than parting with it.
That`s where I went wrong in the first place.
I don`t need `more space`, I need a lot less stuff in the space that I have.
Years ago, when we were hard up, we didn`t have this problem despite not getting rid of `stuff`, we`d find some use for anything in the old thrifty `make do & mend` ways. Then when there WAS a bit of spare cash and we were able to buy things, the `might come in handy` mentality was still there as well, so the house got fuller.
Then DS came back home and all his stuff just added to the problem...
But let`s be honest, the problem was already here by then. I had discovered car-boot sales, Home Bargains, and Charity Shops....
Years ago, the house got Messy for different reasons-
Laundry build-up (old unreliable twin tub/watching every penny in the electric meter)
Now it`s nearly all clean stuff but too much of it!
Manky floors (various 2nd-hand/carppy vacuum cleaners and old carpets we couldn`t afford to replace)
Now it`s `Henry & I can`t find the carpet` in some parts upstairs.

Ages ago, I had better excuses. This week I have none.
I have some time off.
I have a few empty sacks and God Knows enough unwanted stuff to fill them.
I have car with petrol in, the skips are open tomorrow.
I`m now going to spend till 4pm making a start.
Laters...

TheDoolallyDilly

Good luck, Emm. I think you've hit the nail on the head with your thoughts on buying storage solutions (it annoys me in home magazines when they have features on decluttering which are bascially just how to store your clutter neatly!) - decluttering will always come first, then you can work out how best to store what you have left!!

Our houses are not that big, it's not going to be possible to keep everything!

bearcub

Afternoon Messies, and very Happy New Year to you all!

Welcome, wanting to be tidy. Any encouragement or tips on de-messing, just ask away - someone on here is bound to be able to help.

Good to see you survived the excursion into the loft, Buffy!

Emms, our DD2 has said that if she sits still for too long, she starts thinking, and that's never a good idea. What a wonderful 'thinking out loud' post, though. :T As I've said before, we generally don't have too much 'stuff' simply because our house is very small, and there isn't a lot of storage space, neither is there space for extra storage solutions - which, let's face it, rarely go with anything else we have, anyway. My only weakness is my card-making materials, but I do have a good clear out every 12-18 months, and offer anything useful on Freegle.

Today, we've had SUN! I was up relatively early for me, and got out the vac while the cats were outside. I've cleaned the bathroom, dusted the lounge, and thrown away bits and pieces that the cats played with over Christmas, and have now lost interest in. The WM is loaded for tomorrow, assuming the towels I washed yesterday are all dry then. I've put away most of the presents, so we can now see surfaces, both on furniture and the floor. I'm just going to wash the kitchen and bathroom floors. I feel positively virtuous. Oh dear.

Emm-in-a-pickle

Phew!
Welcome DoolallyDilly - I love the name! "HOME MAGAZINES" you said - well, I had intended to stop at 4pm, but carried on till after 5...filled a large (dog-food) sack absolutely choc-full of said magazines. Some household/some supermarket etc., but all kept because I had once seen some `shiny` recipe in those pages, and theere were even some very old `Family Circle` mags there.
The only time I`ve `referred` to them during the last decade has been when I`ve attempted to get rid of some - then I browsed a bit, got side-tracked...and they stayed! (And I added to the stash!)
I love trying a `new to us` recipe - but mostly I google the ingredients, or else I take notes/pause i-player to scribble when there`s something on that takes my fancy.
I won`t be parting with my own notebooks.
I`m going to approach a local 2nd-hand bookshop and start sorting my HUGE collection of cookbooks though.
Who did I think I was kidding?
I don`t believe in actually following a recipe anyway, unless it was a breadmaker one. Or cake - that`s why my cakes were carp, but we aren`t a cakey household so never mind!

Bearcub, thinking sometimes just brings on a downer, like a bit of a wallow around in circles. Thinking `aloud` and posting here does prod a Messy like me into a more positive frame of mind, and even, sometimes, Action!