Hoarding...not just on TV

sjprmc01

Ooh yes, Sybil, he does the same thing with the cutlery willy-nilly. And just balances stuff precariously anywhere he can

The washing holds the same issue, he doesn't do it properly, he is banned from doing it, however if for whatever reason needs must, he is instructed to touch nooses clothes bar his own!

He cannot even seem to ahlf clothes properly they come back all creased and bunched up in a heap, he doesn't put things like socks and undies at the bottom of the clothes horse and larger items at the top he just chucks it on anywhere trailing on the floor or not! I've had to Lear to let it go at the weekends when I'm not there. I used to put the girls clothes out too as he seems perfectly able to pick an outfit for himself but loses that ability when it comes to them....maybe it's a man thing, I don't know. But I know he'd rather it looked on the surface of it clean and tidy whereas if it's not ACTUALLY going to be clean and tidy, I'd rather not start it! I think that is why I get so disheartened when I begin to tackle a bit of the clutter and realise its much more of a job than I thought initially, coz when it's sorted it has to be sorted to perfection

thriftwizard

I think that is why I get so disheartened when I begin to tackle a bit of the clutter and realise its much more of a job than I thought initially, coz when it's sorted it has to be sorted to perfection

Me too! I want everything to have a proper home, and be in that home when it's not in use. The only problem is I'd need an entire museum, complete with archives, lab & display cases, to keep it all in. Then, imagine hoovering all that space & polishing the display cases... aaargh, not for me!

But in our household, I'm the one who can tolerate imperfection in the washing up arena, though I'm quite fanatical about how the laundry's hung. The reason for that is that I'm actually very lazy & would rather spend 10 minutes hanging everything out straight, than an hour ironing after it's dried with creases in. I love the smell & general soothingness of ironing & am happy to sit down & do it (OH is outraged by the thought of sitting down to iron! "How lazy can you get?!") but hardly ever have to do any.

blossomhill_2

Hi Folks
It sounds like you're training your OHs not to bother ... just leave them to their life of "no rules for the housework" and you can get on with something else

Well it's a sunny old day so I have been thinking about doing some pruning - new gardeners make the mistake of thinking that pruning is about reducing growth, when actually it is about encouraging appropriate growth -

so I will think of my decluttering like that - by cutting out the old wood and anything that is taking over and robbing light and goodness, I am allowing growth in the right directions, to branch out, to resist windrock, to blossom, to flower, to grow, to bear fruit, to flourish, to reach potential

Good luck with your pruning today, especially those of you who can take a drawer of miscellaneous items outside and sit with your feet in the kids' paddling pool while you prune what's in the drawer

wannabe_sybil

Feel v tired - not sure whether the local cats were making love or war last night, but I suspect the ginger gentleman with the intact furry dice was once again making his presence felt. They woke me just enough so I didn't get the rest, but not enough to have the presence to go out with a broom (I've done that before and felt like I was in Tom and Jerry)

In the tiny bits I was doing yesterday I found that the huge pile of miscellaneous textiles were not actually a huge pile of miscellaneous textiles. There were a small pile of miscellaneous textiles on top of two large plastic boxes and I have no idea at all what's in them.

(:T:T:T look at me spelling miscellaneous - that word is usually written misc for a reason :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:)

So I am about to go and get them, and bring them to where I can see them, and actually attack them. Little bear is out with OH and darling father is out towards Mr S as apparently there is an offer on with Famous Grouse. I might as well get going.

Blossomhill - I think you are so right. It isn't about getting things perfect (which is a big deal for so many of us, and an impossible target, as well as completely unsustainable). It's about encouraging the flow of life and growth, which means getting rid of dead wood and getting rid of the suckers and weeds and getting rid of branches and shoots that while healthy will over all hinder flourishing growth (:T:T and an extended metaphor - I am on a roll :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:)

hugs to all

SpikyHedgehog

blossomhill wrote: »

Hi Folks
It sounds like you're training your OHs not to bother ... just leave them to their life of "no rules for the housework" and you can get on with something else

Well it's a sunny old day so I have been thinking about doing some pruning - new gardeners make the mistake of thinking that pruning is about reducing growth, when actually it is about encouraging appropriate growth -

so I will think of my decluttering like that - by cutting out the old wood and anything that is taking over and robbing light and goodness, I am allowing growth in the right directions, to branch out, to resist windrock, to blossom, to flower, to grow, to bear fruit, to flourish, to reach potential

Good luck with your pruning today, especially those of you who can take a drawer of miscellaneous items outside and sit with your feet in the kids' paddling pool while you prune what's in the drawer

I had a huge issue with the way DS1 washes up - wannabe Sybil's OH leaving the stuff dirtier than he found it sounded very familiar! But my best friend & I were talking about it & she agreed that her teenagers do the same, but she thinks of it as if they've washed up half the stuff acceptably enough, that's so much she doesn't have to do. Change your thinking! It helped me - I don't say he washes up much better but me changing me thoughts about it + making sure I give him the dirty glass/plate/cutlery and just looking at him if he says anything has helped.

I know we're talking about adults here, but everyone learns to wash up in some way. If your parents teach you how to wash up well, that's how you do it and if they teach you how to wash up 'badly' but you've not thought about it, that's also how you'll do it.

I've trained the girls at work to take the washing up bowl out of the sink & get the gunge out of the plughole... I was shocked that I had to teach adults how to do this, but am teaching them how to wash up well without saying 'OMG! I can't believe you don't know how to do this yet! How did your parents not bother to show you these skills?!'

I've not yet tackle the issue of rinsing as this is subjective - personally, I believe that you should put the washing up in hot soapy water and scrub it as needed then rinse with clean hot water. I do expect the washing up done like this at home though.

I know having 2 people wash up the same stuff isn't apparently very MSE if you're using 2 sets of hot (or tepid...) water & 2 squirts of washing up liquid. But making sure our loved ones develop the skills of washing up is jolly Old Style.

wannabe_sybil

Five bags of shredding documents, most from before little bear was born. There is so little you actually need to keep! Obviously some stuff needs to be kept, but not all.

Three bags of magazines. They were old knitting magazines, and I just decided that rather than have them in a pile I would work through the projects I had started and then if I wanted a particular pattern I would actively seek it out. I know I will lapse and get more knitting magazines. I had given a load to the local knitting group and I was asked to not take any more and I don't know when I will get to the charity shop - so out. I felt a bit blasphemous, like swearing in church. On the other hand, it felt liberating.

I feel rather good about it all.

I have a stack of History Today magazines. I will read through them again by the end of the week (no extensions) and then pass them on to someone at darling father's church who likes them. They are a bit harder to get hold of than knitting magazines, so I feel that they are worth making an effort to pass on.

As for OH - he does what he likes. I work round. There is no point in me saying anything to him at all apart from 'good morning'. I want to do better for little bear, and I am teaching him bits as and when.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Afternoon!

I'm currently sitting on a tram with a tin of posh paint for the kitchen. Started the morning with clearing the kitchen surface as I made schnitzel for two last night and whilst it was lovely, it required six plates, frying pan, flour, egg and breadcrumbs. The mess was spectacular.

I may just mask up a couple of walls today. It's too hot.

GreyQueen

Afternoon. It's 31 degrees outside, I checked it on the interweb. I'm lurking indoors letting the washer take the strain.

Living room nets and curtains - done and rehung. Bedroom curtains going thru washer now. I've decided to move my Autumn Cleaning forward a few weeks (normally in Sept).

I do Autumn as opposed to Spring Cleaning for various idiosyncratic reasons of my own. I moved in to this and the home before in the middle of Sept and one year on is a good place to hang those things which need doing from time to time but can easily get lost in the shuffle. Also, being a gardener, I'm far too busy on the lottie in spring to faff around indoors doing extra cleaning.

I shall also have out the washer and the cooker and fridge to clean behind and under (and how the heck does stuff get under there?!) and will have the exit pipe off the washer where it joins the sink outlet and remove any crud which has accumulated. A couple of years ago the washer wouldn't pump out and after I'd checked the obvious like the trap, I checked this pipe and it was crudded solid with what looked like putty but was probably washing powder residue welded together by limescale. Talk about a nasty niff, too. _pale_

I'm going to do some files too, but treating myself gently as I don't much care for such heat and am a bit poorly anyway, but I'm catching up on my reading. The vampires won out over the zombies in the end..........:rotfl:

Keep on, keeping on, and remember, proper hydration is soooo important.Preferably Pimms.

cherie1122

32 degrees here in London - far too hot for my liking

I advertised books and packing boxes on Freegle earlier today and it seems that boxes are in high demand so they're being collected this evening (when it's cooler)

Nobody seems to want the books - I tried taking them to the local Charity shop but they have too many so don't want mine. I've put them in the boot of my car so at least they're out of the house.

This week I've taken three bags of clothes to the clothing banks and one carpet to the local dump. I am being quite ruthless and it feels good.

I don't post very often on here but read everything and am looking forward to a tidier home.

short_bird

GQ: I'd blame a cat, meself.