KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

maryb

GQ have you tried caustic soda? Not as scary as its reputation as long as you are sensible with rubber gloves, goggles etc and it shifts things that ordinary washing soda won't touch

GreyQueen

I have used caustic soda once, about 30-odd years ago, but am a bit chary of it due to a relatively-recent experience at the parental home.

The folks' bathtub and hand basin shares a drain pipe and the back got blocked and they ended up using caustic down it. It sat in the pipe under the floor and ate its way thru that and started dripping thru the ceiling of the kitchen below...........! They had to have the floorboards up to get a new pipe laid and it made an ungodly mess of the kitchen ceiling, as well as costing a pretty penny.

Such fun.

There are several small access hatches into the block's plumbing just outside my flat labelled Rodding Points and the contractor can blinking well rod them on Tuesday, a process which will be safer, imo, if there isn't caustic in there. I'm convinced the blockage isn't in my own flat's plumbing but further down the line in the block's drainage system which is all embedded in the concrete outside.

Gawd knows what's down there, could even be a limescale build-up, we're classified as a very hard water area and pipes do get severely furred. Have seen some of them elsewhere with the bore reduced by 50% or more.

MMF007

Another top in CS bag! There are 4 or maybe even 5 more that I am almost certain will go on Tuesday when I have time to do the sparks test
Also found a few xmas decs that can go. Not sure how CS will feel about that but will offer them.
Finally, a box of pot pourri that was getting on my nerves is also in CS bag! It still smells nice but the box is quite big and takes up too much room.
So rather than be niggled by it, I am releasing it

I did a good tidy of the multi purpose room (AKA the back bedroom ), including my cleaning supplies cupboard, and all looks well. I have a very small pile of papers to sort - stuff relating to my former profession that I thought may be useful if i wanted to freelance - but a year has passed since I 'retired', and so has the urge to pursue previous career :rotfl: I shall give them careful consideration but am 99% certain they will be sent to the woodburner of doom.

Month end invoices were quickly despatched by email, along with scanned receipts, and the hard copies filed. I am quite proud of my FEW neat files. Will sort out DH's and my tax returns at the end of May, no urgency and I have a busy few weeks, so I have set aside a little time then.

Feel organised and ready for the week ahead!

PS - I have often thought about how much an item costs per use, before buying (to justify purchase), or when it goes kaput. I cannot say i have actually worked it out to the penny but I do enjoy a rough calc that indicates some favourite items have cost only pennies per week because they have lasted a long time. It also makes it easier to bear when they finally cease to be, if I have had my money's worth out of them :rotfl:

GoingToDoIt

Don't get me wrong, I like a good drain-clean but please be cautious with caustic soda, if anyone is using it. I know a lady who sadly lost her husband - he was overcome by fumes from CS, when using it to clean drains in a poorly ventilated area. This was only 2 years ago.

[Deleted User]

I also thought of caustic soda but didn`t say as I think it is too dangerous, could well be blocked from flowing down and the fumes would travel up to GQ

PollyWollyDoodle

My elderly friend lives on the ground floor of a block of flats for over-60s. Someone in the block had been flushing wet wipes down the loo and it caused a blockage and then a break in the external sewer pipe. My friend's carer lifted up the lid on the loo one day to find a large rat in there! :eek: The resulting work has cost everyone in the block quite a lot of money. Unfortunately people often disregard the advice - as with fat down the sink - and cause problems for everyone. I hope you don't have to pay for it, GQ

Siebrie

My dd2's birthday and parents' visit help me kondo all sorts of wombled food: 2 frozen cakes that I got for free, frozen grated cheese from a block that was leftover after a company breakfast, biscuits, crisps, wine, and juice that I was given or free-after-rebate. At this rate, the freezer will be ready to defrost tomorrow

Dad has been digging out dandelion roots from our lawn. I think he did five times 15 minutes, spread over the whole day. It hardly shows, but I'll try and keep it up, surely we can win this battle against the weeds!

[Deleted User]

we had rain, 10 mm overnight and it was the right type, not hammering down. :T As soon as the weather is ok, I will be going to put some wind shading in, the poles need to be pushed down and it is clay, so got to do it while wet. Has anyone ever grown celeriac? my seeds are showing no sign of sprouting. They are in the house

Its about time I did some wool kondo, as in knitting. I have a part done sleeve, it has been sitting there for over a months

polly, similar happened at my last home, leasehold with pumping stations. Someone persistently put wet wipes and cotton buds down the toilet and the pump was continually getting jammed, with backing up to the closest properties. Utterly selfish behaviour

I needed to buy stone wash for my sensitive floors, had to get it online. £3.99 postage if I bought one but free for five. This is what causes build up, naturally I bought five and did have space to store them. One reason for me to like amazon prime is the fact that I can buy one item at a time and no extra postage, prime is wonderful for the fire stick alone

BettiePage

DH has slowly come round to the vague KM concept that I'm currently using (please don't ban me!), but I really wish I could get DS (22) on it. He flatly refuses to go through any of his stuff.

Any tips?

Clytemnestra

Bettie - this might be too big a step to take, but what worked for my son was to redecorate his bedroom. We moved everything out, and when the room looked really nice he realised he didn't want to put all the old tat back in it, and went through everything, getting rid of a lot. He was rather younger than your son though (14).

It is difficult when they insist that everything is precious.