Buying a home and knowing nothing!

[Deleted User]

GQ I had one of those retractable washing lines in my kitchen at my previous house and it was brilliant.True I did have a 14'x14' kitchen so plenty of room to pull it out. I could get virtually my whole washing on there on a Monday morning (back then (1970s) Mondays were wash days ) and I would do the washing ,then bake some rock cakes for the children coming in from school.I'd hang up the washing and shut the kitchen door after I had removed the cakes from the oven and leave the oven door open so all the heat would rise to the ceiling.The wash would be almost ready to iron by tea time .My youngest DD says her memories of coming home from school in the winter was the smell of cakes, and washing drying on the line in the kitchen.Stuff left overnight to dry was definitely dry by Tuesday morning and ready for ironing.If there was so much as a hint of wind it would be outside on the washing line though
Its suprising how much we do automatically at times and never think of how or even when we actually learned our skills.Housekeeping ,like cooking, is mainly common sense and we all learn by our mistakes.As previously said no query is daft or silly and no one is born knowing exactly how to do things.
I still menu plan on a Sunday morning for the coming week and have a permanant pad (usually old cut up Christmas cards etc or envelopes )by the kettle in the kitchen to put down what I have run out of for shopping. I also try to shop around every 7-10 days that way i don't impulse buy In fact I am due to do my last shop of the month this morning.
I too hate to see pegs on the line My late mum always said its lazy to leave them out there and wastefull as they end up breaking I bought the best quality wooden pegs I could and they have lasted me for years, I personally don't like plastic pegs at all.
Old worn out clothes make excellant dusters cleaning cloths etc,or even buy a couple of old towels from a CS and cut up for cloths for cleaning I have around 6 old terry towelling nappies that I use for cleaning my windows They get boiled and are very old and soft now My children are now 45 +47 so I have made good use of them over the years . My late Dad used to clean the windows with metholated spirit and scrunched up newspapers.Mind he was a chemist so the meth was quite cheap for him to get hold of. I still use windolene on my insides of the windows and the window cleaner comes every four weeks to clean the outsides.

Bigjenny

Another good guide for washing is, if you wear it on the top hang it from the bottom, if you wear it on the bottom hang it from the top. I find this is good for most things.

I must admit that I hang my sheets over the line so that the hems are at the bottom, no out of shape sheets to try and iron.

EllanVannin

I don't post here often but am a longtime lurker and can honestly say you have come to the best place for advice. If these Ladies and Gents can help they will!

Get to know your neighbours. In some areas over here people can be quite friendly. A good neighbour could help sometimes by getting your washing in if your out and they are at home or taking in a parcel for you from the postie.

I too live a small Manx cottage and the size can be quite hindering. The key is to keep it uncluttered, I would love to say that I have mastered this but I am still learning too after being in my own home for 7 odd years. It's especially difficult when your trying to do work on the house and living in it too.

Regular trips to the charity shop can throw up some bargins even though I do agree that they can be expensive. The amenity sites are also handy for the odd thing. One thing to think about is your furniture. Flat pack is handy for small houses but not quite so good on quality. Small houses can mean small narrow stairs, so be sure to measure first before trying to squeeze a wardrobe or something up those stairs.

If I were you I would be thinking about the layout of the house and the move before you start getting stressed about how to clean the place. Take it one thing at a time.

As long as you have the basics everything else will come. It doesn't matter if you use 6 or 60 pegs on your washing at first once you get settled and get a routine you will get better at it. Practice makes perfect as they say!

If the house has a decked area, this could be used for putting out airers for dying washing instead of a line, until you can get sorted.

I know we don't have the benefit of aldi or lidl over here but we do still have the benefit of yellow sticker (reduced) items. I find that shopping after work is helpful as they are reducing items that are going out of date or first thing in the morning before work. M & S is good for this, especially on a Saturday, and veg will keep long after their best before date if stored correctly.

It can seem daunting but is exciting, congratulations and good luck too you! :j

theoretica

You might find something like this flat mop useful for frequent going over the laminate, faster and quieter than a vacuum. They pick up hairs fine when dry, or use wet to wash the floor - a vacuum is not the best thing if the dogs have put muddy footprints on it.

(Link to Lakeland to show what I mean, though mine came from Lidl at much less cost!)

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/21400/E-cloth-Deep-Clean-Mop

Farway

Deleted_User wrote: »

Don't bother ironing or dusting as life is too short.

Good advice, don't iron towels, sheets or underwear for instance, may need to iron shirts for office

Susan1962

Nothing much to add as there's been so much good advice already. Just try to keep to simple routines if you can, the more complicated, the more there is to remember and the more chance of forgetting something!

melanzana

As long as the bathroom and kitchen are clean, the rest can be done as you have the time.

Drying the washing outdoors is an obsession with me. And because I have a sheltered south facing garden, even in the depths of winter, a sunny day is a good day for it!

Best of luck to you, it is a great feeling making a nest for the first time. I recall that so well, but my standards have slipped over the years, but no one minds, least of all me!

Must visit the sloblady thread now, hangs head.....

Manxcottageonthehill

Thank you everyone, I do so much love reading how everyone does everything!

@lamewolf – Thank you, the other half says we will have to get a dehumidifier just encase the bathroom turns out to be damp! I used to always have tissues in my dresses, till one day the other half put a wash on, he was forever trying to get rid of the tissue, it went everywhere. I’m now a cloth hanky kinda gal lol!

@Goldiegirl – Thanks, he is super good but I really want to be able to learn these things myself and in a weird way, make him proud that I’ve actually learned to do something, yes it’s just washing and ironing for now but still, it’s a skill I will always know.

@janb5 – Oh dear, sorry, I never realised! I copied my post from word (I’m awful at spelling) so it must of just copied the font ect over. I do hope its ok now.

@Greyqueen – Thank you, you are seriously amazing with your knowledge! Golly I never noticed on the bedsheets, I ironed them all last night (that was hard in itself but seriously gratifying cannot wait to sleep in crisp sheets!). Might have to get the other half on bedsheet fixing! We use a retractable one at the moment, as it’s just easier, I understand on the sagging though, your have to really get it tight and even then you need one of those stick things to take the weight of the washing! I sadly don’t think we will have the space for something out all the time. Yes no bathroom window! Once we are in we’ll be able to find out suitable places to hang items, I do want to try not to, to stop the house getting damp!

@EllanVannin – Thank you, it’s lovely to find a fellow Manxie!! I’m super excited. The cute little place will need a lot of work to get it to a suitable standard, were looking at doing all this ourselves (fingers crossed) thankfully we only own a bed, a wardrobe (which won’t fit lol!) a very small loveseat, a couple of odd pieces here and there and a lot of craft stuff! We’re hoping to make it as clutter free as possible, we are quite simple in everything so apart from the Welsh dresser I don’t expect us to gain much. Never thought of the yellow stickers, might have to get into a routine of popping in when I take the dog for his afternoon/evening walk.

@theoretica – Thank you, just had a look. I will be in the market for something like this as I can knit a mop end for it, instead of using disposable ones

@Melanzana – I can see myself getting obsessed to, I’m forever looking at the met office to see how the day is turning for tomorrow to see if I can put a wash on.

janb5

Hiya,


Don't leave your dog when you go shopping- there is so much dog napping going on. Unless the locals are safe and trustable! Thanks for altering the font-really made a difference!


Ignore above comment is you are ok! xx

SmlSave

I'm one of the no ironing crowd so can't give advice on that but I'm a champion hanger-uper and clothes folder so it all looks tidy (hang clothes like you want them to 'set')

Neither do I change the bedding weekly, monthly is more like it as we wear pj's and don't have mucky jobs. Nor do the clothes get separated when washed, not even the cloth nappies unless a poonami had occurred!

Have you started batch cooking your favourite meals, it's great to have freezer food handy.

A tip which took me an age to find out is how to microwave rice. Double the kettle boiled water to white rice, 10 mins in the microwave and perfect rice everytime