Debt free by 40 -- 19 Months and counting

Ciaerda

Hi Steph I think it is that time of year when you have an urge to spring clean I go through it every year my hubby gets annoyed as I want to decorate and sort everything out, I think it is because winter has gone hurrah and yeah spring is on its way everything outside is new and fresh...and my house does not look so new and fresh if you know what I mean.

I know that you listen to Dave Ramsey’s podcast which I do to (I think he is brilliant makes me lol all the time) and I have also been listening to Organize 365 podcast, it is very American but she has done the whole house over 40 weeks and broken it down so that you tackle 1 task a week for 40 weeks. Like I said it is very American and I would love the amount of rooms this lady has but it is done in size-able chunks so you don’t feel so bewildered.

Housework as my mum always says "it will be there tomorrow" and it always is even when you do it I found this website to tackle each room in 15 minutes it does work
http://housekeeping.about.com/od/timesavingideas/a/15MinuteClean.htm

It has a 15 minute clean up routine for every room and I know this seems silly but I do set a timer and see if I can beat those 15 minutes, it is like a little game.

Keep going Steph you are doing really well and you might not be clearing that debt as fast as you had hoped but you haven’t added to it which you probably would have in the past so your habits have changed so it is only a matter of time.
Take care x

baglady1

Hi Steph, The Konmari method is fab & I really mean it. No overload with emails etc. The little book is good but being MSE you will be able to pick up the principles in no time. There is a thread on this forum & several on another forum I am probably not allowed to name but is celebrating an anniversary around this time. I never really believed it but having less stuff means easier to tidy & incredibly a lighter mind - yes it's true. So give it a whirl. Have to run as I need to wash the car this morning - lovely autumn day hereabouts. Cheers baglady1

baglady1

Sorry I meant to say above that you won't need to buy the book as there is enough info out there to pick up the principles. Therefore very MSE! < wanders off thinking must check post before pressing button>

StressedSteph

Verbatim wrote: »

Good luck with the B&B job. Be wary of the inlaws. I recall you feeling your children had been passed over and you felt a bit used by them before? Perhaps wise to be "too busy" sometimes or get them to babysit in the hols!
I managed to fluff the flylady emails sign up, perhaps no bad thing as I don't get the hard sell, so just refer to the web pages for ideas. The best thing for me has been keeping " hotspots" clear. Having cleared various surfaces around the house I remove items from them daily so they can't build up. I don't clean as per her weekly /monthly schedules and think if tidy the place is 99% "there"!
I'm always so pleased to see you've posted Steph. As you know I'm one of your biggest mse fans! How are the lambs? Polytunnel seedlings?
Keep on plodding as Beanie would say. You ARE getting there.

Morning Verbatim,


Yes I have to be very wary of my Inlaws. My FIL's lady friend is very manipulating and will very quickly have me run ragged. I seem to go through phases where my better side wins and I pop round more often and agree to help with errands etc and then after a while I feel used and over burdened and then I back off and totally disappear. I need to somehow find that middle ground as my FIL is a very sweet man, but a total doormat for his lady friend. I timed it better yesterday going round an hour or so before school pick up. This meant that she couldn't take over my whole day. I must remember that tactic for next time.


Thank you sooooo much for your nice words Verbatim, I didn't think I had any fans let alone you being my biggest :D


This forum is like therapy for me so its just a constant dribble of thoughts out of my head, didn't for the life of me think it would be a decent read


Have a great day...IT's FRIDAY !!!! :T

Ciaerda wrote: »

Hi Steph I think it is that time of year when you have an urge to spring clean I go through it every year my hubby gets annoyed as I want to decorate and sort everything out, I think it is because winter has gone hurrah and yeah spring is on its way everything outside is new and fresh...and my house does not look so new and fresh if you know what I mean.

I know that you listen to Dave Ramsey’s podcast which I do to (I think he is brilliant makes me lol all the time) and I have also been listening to Organize 365 podcast, it is very American but she has done the whole house over 40 weeks and broken it down so that you tackle 1 task a week for 40 weeks. Like I said it is very American and I would love the amount of rooms this lady has but it is done in size-able chunks so you don’t feel so bewildered.

Housework as my mum always says "it will be there tomorrow" and it always is even when you do it I found this website to tackle each room in 15 minutes it does work
http://housekeeping.about.com/od/timesavingideas/a/15MinuteClean.htm

It has a 15 minute clean up routine for every room and I know this seems silly but I do set a timer and see if I can beat those 15 minutes, it is like a little game.

Keep going Steph you are doing really well and you might not be clearing that debt as fast as you had hoped but you haven’t added to it which you probably would have in the past so your habits have changed so it is only a matter of time.
Take care x

Hi Ciaerda


Thanks so much for your post. I think you are right about it being Spring and wanting everything to look fresh and clean.
I never thought I was a hoarder, but I do allow junk to accumulate on all the surfaces. Bits of paperwork, kids odds and ends, it drives me NUTS!!!. Definitely got to simplify what I have lying around, be abit more ruthless, then I think the cleaning will be so much easier.


Ooooh I will check out that Organize 365, I luuuuurve Dave Ramsey and I also have an unhealthy fascination with Americans, so I love the over-effusive gushing way they talk and the accents. So that podcast sounds right up my street.


Something you said at the end of your post really struck home with me. You saying that even though its tough at the moment, the one thing I haven't done is add to the debt at all, and you are right., and of that I should be proud I suppose. The debt is only coming down £500 per month atm, but all interest is frozen and I am sure things will pick up as we get into the summer when I can make bigger payments and get rid of it. I must remember to seethe positives, not just the negatives. Thank you xxxxxx

baglady1 wrote: »

Hi Steph, The Konmari method is fab & I really mean it. No overload with emails etc. The little book is good but being MSE you will be able to pick up the principles in no time. There is a thread on this forum & several on another forum I am probably not allowed to name but is celebrating an anniversary around this time. I never really believed it but having less stuff means easier to tidy & incredibly a lighter mind - yes it's true. So give it a whirl. Have to run as I need to wash the car this morning - lovely autumn day hereabouts. Cheers baglady1

Hi Baglady


I have managed to unsubscribe from Flylady......Phew...


I wouldn't mind if the emails were constructive things telling me to clean the toilet, but most of them were marketing emails trying to get me to buy cleaning products, which as a devoted MSE'er that is very annoying.


I looked up the Konmari book, but I think I was really looking for an app or a website that I could follow and I think I have found one. It's called HomeRoutines and its AMAZING!!!!.
It is very much like Flylady, but it is set out in sections
Morning Routine
Daytime Routine
Evening Routine


It also has Weekly Tasks and "Todays Focus Zone" which changes every day.


You can edit it completely to make it fit your own life and set up, as I added "Feed the Lambs" etc


So this morning I worked my way through my morning tasks, checking them off as I went, and I achieved loads more than I normally would. Think its because I am such an avid list maker, its really nice to be checking things off a list on my phone.


I'm so sad hahaha


I will report back in a week or so and hopefully have a sparkly house hehe

Eager_Elephant

StressedSteph wrote: »

Me and the Agnus Castus is still smiling though. Guess I can only do the best I can, nothing more, nothing less.

Hope you are all well.

xxxxxx

That is exactly how I think we I regularly take my AC - when I don't take it I am the mardiest person I know:rotfl:


This week I used our spare car for work as DH had to travel quite a few miles for a training course - under the seat I found a Valentines teddy bear in a bag addressed to DH:eek:
Now given his history this made me :cool: but before AC I would have been :mad:


On the journey home I kept really calm and all I could think about was that if he had a new girlfriend, he could move out and I could live here in peace and quiet with the kids and animals:rotfl:. I wasn't even bothered!!


I confronted him in a calm manner, he says one of his elderly residents left it on his door handle on Valentines Day - I am annoyed because he did not tell me at the time and now it looks like he hid it although he says he put it on the back seat and it must have fallen on the floor.
He thought that he could bring it home for the dog whereas I think given the history he should have chucked it away and I would never have known or he could have told me straight away.


So now we are in limbo land - does he have a new girlfriend or not??
I am shocked at how not bothered I am :rotfl:

Eager_Elephant

I am also Kondoing everything - I love her so much!!


I have read up to the clothing section in her book and am doing my clothes gradually as my bedroom is such a tip, I have got rid of loads of stuff that does not bring me joy and it is helping with housework because I keep wanting to tidy everywhere.


I have some annual leave coming up and hope to have finished the bedroom by then - even DH has asked me to Kondo his drawers. I haven't even told him he has too much stuff!!


Hope you get on with the app you have found - it sounds perfect for people who like lists.

debtfreewannabe321

What is this Kondoing? I am going to look, my house is not a total disaster area but if I leave it for just one day I feel like it's too much to catch up sometimes and then I leave for a few days and it ends up being too much then :rotfl: and then I have to spend (waste) an entire day cleaning the house to get back into a routine! Will go check this kondo thing out....is it on the app store?

EE sounds to me like DH is telling the truth, I reckon he would have thrown it or hidden it better than that if it were from a GF (having lived with a liar and cheat myself i've learned to see how they work!) Well done you for being so calm! xx

Eager_Elephant

Marie Kondo is our great leader - she has a book which is brilliant. A bit mad but she talks a lot of sense. I got the book from Amazon in paper form but they do a Kindle version.


This the thread on here - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5146700


I also follow the thread on another forum for 'mums'


It really has changed my life and I haven't even really got started. I like the way you have permission to get rid of things that don't bring joy. I am guilty of keeping all my clothes just in case - I think it comes from being poor when we were growing up.


When I confronted DH he didn't do his gormless look for ages which means I am thinking up an excuse, he actually just came out with it so I am siding on the fact he is telling the truth but that tiny bit of me thinks he isn't.

StressedSteph

Morning Guys


Hi EE, Gotta love Agnus Castus, you may have removed your hubby's vital organs if it was for the AC :rotfl:


I reckon he is telling the truth, but if it were me I would probably keep a little eye on him for the next few months, Like DFW said he would probably have ditched it or if a girlfriend new he had a wife then she wouldn't buy him something tangible like that, she would know he couldn't take it home or anything.


I wouldn't worry


I must admit that I don't obsess about my worries nowadays, I seem to be able to see the brighter side of annoying things I have to do. Such a refreshing change.


I might check out the Kondo method on this forum see if I can run it alongside what I am already doing. It sounds a little more spiritual than my app but the app really seems to be working so far. I am loving it and the house is already looking more organised and I am feeling better for seeing an improvement.


Every day has a different Zone, Yesterday was the Lounge & Home Office zone, which is perfect as our little office area is in the lounge. I spent a good few hours completely tidying the office area including the drawer etc and managed to get a full bin bag of rubbish :eek:.
I didn't completely finish the lounge area but I feel good, because I know next Friday the Lounge Zone will come up again, but this time I won't have such a big job to tidy the office area so can tackle something else in that zone.


I reckon if I can stick to it for at least four weeks my house will be uber organised. I just need to commit to it and keep going. I am always glued to my phone so I am hoping as it is an app I will not forget to do it all.


We will see.


My balance transfer is all sorted. Just have a small £10.66 to pay off the Co-op card which I can then close and minimum payments are set up on the Barclaycard to make sure I do not pay late and lose my 0% interest until March 2016.


The sun is shining and life is good :T

tootallulah

Hiya Steph, hoorah for the sun, your positivity and the end of the Co-op card, you are always making progress.

I a off to investigate Kondoing my house is definitely in need of it.