I've had the worst of times - now for the BEST of times!

peaceandfreedom

Morning people -this is how I did yesterday:

• [STRIKE]Tidy up the kitchen
• [/STRIKE][STRIKE]Do some more laundry
• [/STRIKE][STRIKE]Do a couple of hours in the garden
• [/STRIKE][STRIKE]Sort out my knickers and socks drawers a-la KonMari[/STRIKE]
• Sort out my stock of seeds and order new seeds

I didn't do exactly the jobs I intended to do in the garden because as soon as I stepped outside, DH thought this was a perfect time to rod the drains - much as I love the outdoors, I really did not need it accompanied by the lush smell of sewage :rotfl:.

So I took myself off to the front garden instead - our nice front bed with all the bulbs coming up now looks pristine.

So does my sock drawer - like something you'd see in a shop, frankly, I love it and keep opening it to admire it. Same with lots of other places, I've become a woman obsessed .

Off now for some breakfast and a large mug of coffee before starting work. Have a lovely Monday everyone .

tattycath

peaceandfreedom wrote: »

Morning people -this is how I did yesterday:

• [STRIKE]Tidy up the kitchen
• [/STRIKE][STRIKE]Do some more laundry
• [/STRIKE][STRIKE]Do a couple of hours in the garden
• [/STRIKE][STRIKE]Sort out my knickers and socks drawers a-la KonMari[/STRIKE]
• Sort out my stock of seeds and order new seeds

I didn't do exactly the jobs I intended to do in the garden because as soon as I stepped outside, DH thought this was a perfect time to rod the drains - much as I love the outdoors, I really did not need it accompanied by the lush smell of sewage :rotfl:.

So I took myself off to the front garden instead - our nice front bed with all the bulbs coming up now looks pristine.

So does my sock drawer - like something you'd see in a shop, frankly, I love it and keep opening it to admire it. Same with lots of other places, I've become a woman obsessed .

Off now for some breakfast and a large mug of coffee before starting work. Have a lovely Monday everyone .

Hi. :wave:
Well done on yesterday's list! :T
I haven't ventured into our garden yet-it's desperately in need of some tlc.
I can relate to being like a woman obsessed though... My clothes have never been so organised.
Also, this year for some reason, I am obsessed with cleaning, decluttering, tidying. Whereas I used to hate housework and managed to find lots of things to do that involved as little housework as possible...since the 1st (and I don't make resolutions) I've been obsessively cleaning and tidying and keeping on top of the washing etc!
Right, must get on.
Hope you have a great day!

peaceandfreedom

tattycath wrote: »

Hi. :wave:
Well done on yesterday's list! :T
I haven't ventured into our garden yet-it's desperately in need of some tlc.
I can relate to being like a woman obsessed though... My clothes have never been so organised.
Also, this year for some reason, I am obsessed with cleaning, decluttering, tidying. Whereas I used to hate housework and managed to find lots of things to do that involved as little housework as possible...since the 1st (and I don't make resolutions) I've been obsessively cleaning and tidying and keeping on top of the washing etc!
Right, must get on.
Hope you have a great day!

I won't lie - I hate housework as well. But just think how much quicker and more pleasant it will be when everything is already all organised, tidy and free of clutter :j.

When it's all done I reckon I will work out a housework routine that can be done in a half-hour every evening and a couple of hours at the weekend. Leaving me free to potter in the garden to my heart's content .

Life's too precious to spend loads of it doing stuff you don't want to do - this year I intend to spend a lot less time doing things I bladdy hate doing.

jwil

peaceandfreedom wrote: »

• Concentrate on discarding things first, don't worry about where to store things yet. If you discard properly you will end up removing bags and bags of stuff from your house - probably 30 bags in the first go.
• Hold each thing in your hands and decide if you want to keep it or not based on whether or not it 'brings you joy'. You can interpret the 'brings you joy' bit any way you like.
• Sort things out in categories rather than locations - if you do it by location e.g. one drawer at a time, all you do is end up moving stuff from one place to another. Instead, get everything of one category together in one room and sort it all out in one fell swoop.
• Don't go buying lavish storage solutions - you probably already have more than enough storage. It's just that you've got way too much stuff.
• Be kind and loving to your possessions, even the ones you are about to take down to the tip. Thank them for their service to you.

There's some interesting thoughts there. I like them all except the sorting 'categories' bit. I prefer an area. There's stuff scattered all over the place in our house, so if I had to sort a category, it would probably take a whole day to find things!

peaceandfreedom wrote: »

So does my sock drawer - like something you'd see in a shop, frankly, I love it and keep opening it to admire it. Same with lots of other places, I've become a woman obsessed .

I do this when I've cleared something. I have to keep going back and looking at it

tattycath wrote: »

Also, this year for some reason, I am obsessed with cleaning, decluttering, tidying. Whereas I used to hate housework and managed to find lots of things to do that involved as little housework as possible...since the 1st (and I don't make resolutions) I've been obsessively cleaning and tidying and keeping on top of the washing etc!

I've been a bit like this since Christmas. I did a good bit of tidying in some areas before Christmas, and I'm really making an effort to keep on top of things better than I was before. I'm trying to realise that a couple of minutes regularly means I won't have to spend hours doing the same job once in a blue moon.

I'm not sure I'll ever be accused of 'obsessively' cleaning though :rotfl:

peaceandfreedom

jwil wrote: »

There's some interesting thoughts there. I like them all except the sorting 'categories' bit. I prefer an area. There's stuff scattered all over the place in our house, so if I had to sort a category, it would probably take a whole day to find things!

Indeed - it may well do. But Marie Kondo's argument is that you can't properly see what you've got in a category until you gather it all together in one place. So you can't decide what to keep and what to discard. People are usually amazed at how much stuff they've got once they gather it all together. (Though I know you are well aware of how much stuff you've got.)

As an example - I had 21 pairs of sporty ankle socks - which I hardly ever wear :rotfl:. I have got rid of a lot of the tattier ones and ones I simply don't like. I can tell you I had no idea I had so many pairs of these. Granted, I wear them a lot more in the summer than in the winter but by no stretch of the imagination could I need 21 pairs.

jwil wrote: »

I'm trying to realise that a couple of minutes regularly means I won't have to spend hours doing the same job once in a blue moon.

Never a truer word was said - but it's keeping to it that's the problem - before you know it, two weeks have passed and the bathroom is a disgusting grimy mess again, which is particularly galling as you personally don't ever set foot it - you will have noticed I am talking about me again not you .

If only, if only I could stick to a routine. But one day we'll crack it, Jwil, we WILL .

tattycath

Routine? Routine? What's that then? Lol
I randomly make lists every day of jobs that need doing and have no set rooms or set jobs-apart from sweeping laminate and vacuuming carpets! Lol I also do other cleaning stuff but I definitely don't have a routine. Let's hope I can crack this routine lark too!

jwil

peaceandfreedom wrote: »

Indeed - it may well do. But Marie Kondo's argument is that you can't properly see what you've got in a category until you gather it all together in one place. So you can't decide what to keep and what to discard. People are usually amazed at how much stuff they've got once they gather it all together. (Though I know you are well aware of how much stuff you've got.)

As an example - I had 21 pairs of sporty ankle socks - which I hardly ever wear :rotfl:. I have got rid of a lot of the tattier ones and ones I simply don't like. I can tell you I had no idea I had so many pairs of these. Granted, I wear them a lot more in the summer than in the winter but by no stretch of the imagination could I need 21 pairs.



Never a truer word was said - but it's keeping to it that's the problem - before you know it, two weeks have passed and the bathroom is a disgusting grimy mess again, which is particularly galling as you personally don't ever set foot it - you will have noticed I am talking about me again not you .

If only, if only I could stick to a routine. But one day we'll crack it, Jwil, we WILL .

That's true - I suppose I manage this by decluttering in stages. If I was only decluttering as a one off, it makes sense. But the reality is, I go back and do more at different times. Things I thought I needed I don't, so I can get rid of as and when.

What you say about the bathroom does apply to me too

tattycath wrote: »

Routine? Routine? What's that then? Lol
I randomly make lists every day of jobs that need doing and have no set rooms or set jobs-apart from sweeping laminate and vacuuming carpets! Lol I also do other cleaning stuff but I definitely don't have a routine. Let's hope I can crack this routine lark too!

I don't ever have a routine. In my old house, I used to allocate Friday mornings to give a nice clean before work so that it was good for the weekend. I'd love to be able to do something like that again, but there's just so much stuff in this house.

jwil

P&F

What have you done? I am appreciating the beauty of carrier bag samosas and ranger rolling little jwil's clothing.

I am not impressed :mad:

:rotfl:

peaceandfreedom

jwil wrote: »

P&F

What have you done? I am appreciating the beauty of carrier bag samosas and ranger rolling little jwil's clothing.

I am not impressed :mad:

:rotfl:

Ha ha you have caught the bug!

Don't ranger roll tooooo much though - it tends to make things very creased. I only ranger-roll things where this won't matter, like micro-fibre cloths. And possibly I will ranger-roll some things when I pack a suitcase for a short trip.

I have had a very busy week and haven't posted much on here. I am off out into the garden now though to make the most of the little bit of sunshine. Lots to do.

Will be back later, have a good day all .

tattycath

peaceandfreedom wrote: »

Ha ha you have caught the bug!

Don't ranger roll tooooo much though - it tends to make things very creased. I only ranger-roll things where this won't matter, like micro-fibre cloths. And possibly I will ranger-roll some things when I pack a suitcase for a short trip.

I have had a very busy week and haven't posted much on here. I am off out into the garden now though to make the most of the little bit of sunshine. Lots to do.

Will be back later, have a good day all .

Hi :wave:
I've had a busy week too.
Been stripping walls this morning.
We are just going out to find some door handles.
I must have missed something...I have no idea what samosa carrier bags are, or ranger rolling??? Lol
Hope you have a good day too.