DFW but my house is a bloody mess and getting me down :-(

Butterfly_Brain

Don't knock yourself out sweetie, we have all been there in one form or another.
You work, have a toddler and another babe on the way - you are not superwoman, none of us are.
Have you told your OH how you are feeling? Because you really need him to share the joy, yes I did say joy of creating your first home together.
You just have to come to terms with the fact that you won't be able to have everything brand new straight away. Anyway I wouldn't advise it because children are like little wrecking balls, so it would be a total waste of money.
Housework will outlive you so enjoy your children's younger years because they grow so quickly and it would be a shame to miss out for a few cups in the sink or a bit of dust here and there.
When our two were small we had cave drawings up the stairs and in the bedrooms :eek: So I just bought cheap white paint and did the whole house in white and just added colour with throws, cushions and cheap rugs.
Are you an only child? If not will your brother/sister help you out? Or do you have a close friend who can help?

Do you have a local re-use centre near to you? They are great for picking up cheap pieces of furniture.
I avoid Oxfam they are much too expensive.
B&M and Home Bargains have some great bits and bobs at reasonable prices.

As others have said you can pick up some good stuff from freecycle, car boot sales and charity shops.

If there are black scuff marks on the lino they can be removed with a pencil eraser.
Have you tried to repair the book cases with some glue and a few screws?
As for the fish tank :eek::eek::eek: never ever in the kitchen!

I am another who would love to know where you are x

Butterfly_Brain

Have you thought about potty training your DD?
You really do not need two in nappies at the same time.

Valli

I have flashed through the thread so this may have been suggested but NCT (National Childbirth Trust) Nearly New Sales can be a brilliant source for s/h baby equipment & clothes.

Other than that - litle and often If it's rubbish chuck it and as has been said - eat an elephant one bite at a time.

Valli

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

You just have to come to terms with the fact that you won't be able to have everything brand new straight away. Anyway I wouldn't advise it because children are like little wrecking balls, so it would be a total waste of money.

tell me about it - I'm an expert with all sorts of glue - DS skilled at damaging stuff - mind you
Q. Who would give a small boy a golf club and a golf ball in the vicinity of a greenhouse?

A. Over-indulgent grandparents!

auntymabel

Try Preloved Some of the stuff is free. If you have trouble sleeping cos of the light you can get those travel things you put over your eyes - usully come into poundland around this time of year. Or do what I do and use the sleeve of your dressing gown or other item of clothing.

http://www.preloved.co.uk/

valk_scot

snowleopard61 wrote: »

I resorted to recording the hairdryer on tape to avoid wearing it out!

I recorded the hoover. Trouble is though this was back in the days of audio cassettes and I had to be very sure to creep in to turn the tape over every 44 minutes, lol.

Katgoddess

How are things going? x

mmummy21

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Trying to write a long reply with the little one awake if proving near impossible. I just wrote a whole page full and she popped over a pressed escape or something and I lost everything!!!!!!

I am so happy with all the suggestions, replies and support I got. You MSE's are amazing! I am so happy with everyone and would like to thank each of you individually.

Things are going pretty well actually.

After I posted my message I switched the laptop off and had 2hours before my daughter woke to spend on intense cleaning. I finished the living room! Well, sort of! I hot-washed and tumble dried two old throws I had for the dog and covered the sofas and popped our cushions on top and they actually look okay! Definately shabby chic but bearable. Better than stained, holey and flat! The rug just won't clean up, I tried again but we *should* have a slight surplus this month (our budgeting month ends 14th March) which means I can buy myself a new rug from Argos for £30. I dusted/polished the whole room, put the toys back in the little one's room, cleared the clutter off our display unit and sorted one of the drawers. We do have curtains so will have to manage without blinds for a while yet. I haven't spoken to oH about the CDs yet.

I managed to clean the kitchen. I scrubbed the units, lino and did all the dishes and stuffed the washing pile into the corner so it looks neater. There is still LOADS of washing - maybe 5 loads? But hopefully I can get through it today and over the weekend. I cleaned the windows and the windowsill too. My kitchen and living room actually look okay when they are really clean. OH really doesn't want to swap his fishtank for a smaller one - it's his dream. So it's still on my kitchen table until we can afford a stand. If I can clear my sister's baby items from our cupboard we can at least move it in there until we get a nice unit/stand to put it on in the living room.

The bathroom is finished too! When OH got home he sorted the washing and put it away with the little one while I scrubbed the bathroom. Then the next day he got sent home from work cos of a powercut, didn't tell me, and when I got home he surprised me with a completely finished bathroom! I'm not too keen on the colour - I bought "Peach Blush" thinking it looked a nice creamy pale peachy pink but it's actually quite orangey/yellow. It doesn't matter though it looks clean, finished and shining. I hunted out all the pink accesories I could find in the house (including an Ann Summers gift box, some pink gift bags I'd been given for my daughter and we already had a pink toilet brush, towels and mats. OH also put up an old net and we pinned it back with a pink hairbobble and a nail which actually looks ok! It needs a picture but I found a blank white canvas leftover from Christmas presents and I will get the little one to paint a pink picture with me (we even have pink kids paint!)

Oh! And my hoover is fine! I took it apart and it was blocked by the dog biscuits I'd tried to hoover up. I cleaned all the filters out and it's got great suction again. Think if I replaced all the filters it would be good as new but I'm not going to bother as there's other parts broken. The bit the holds the belt on is snapped off (and can't be replaced) so OH has attached it with a cable tie so it works perfectly but if you turn the hoover to a certain angle it makes a horrific noise. We are getting used to it though and manage to avoid the noise 99% of the time. I reckon we can get another 6 months out of the hoover.

The bedroom I haven't even looked at! It needs a huge clear out (great idea to think about the anything I wouldn't struggle without in a fire) and a set of furniture. And a blind before the baby comes along. It'll be July and I don't fancy 5am starts!

I have to go and get ready as we have the little one's MMR jabs this morning but I shall be back on later, would like to reply to more of the posts on here. And get started on my diary again!

phizzimum

well done m21, you've done so much!

hope your DD doesn't feel too grotty after her jab

Jumper09

Ah, I know how you feel. My house is better than it was but still I look round and think 'how can I live like this?' Almost everything you wrote about your situation, I could have written about myself. However, as I said, things are getting better. The key is to think positive. I am one of the least positive people around but even I have learned to do it. Don't think about what you haven't done and can't do. Change little, tiny things and celebrate that. At first, you will think 'what's the point', but then, you will feel so much better and more positive that one thing will lead to another. Feeling negative only keeps you stuck and deenergised. Make it about how you are compared to how you were...not about anyone else. And don't make the mistake of tying up your own self-esteem in how your house is. You don't want to make it better so you feel better about yourself...you want to make it a home YOU enjoy living in. And perfectionism has to be out. Once you accept housekeeping is a constant process, and you won't ever feel everything is sorted BECAUSE THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE, you'll feel better.