Project Mortgage Neutral Begins

ajmoney

savingholmes said:

You are sounding positive today. Running, cleaning and gardening - well done you. I am managing the gardening...

Kind of, I am getting to the point of feeling overwhelmed by what I want I want/need to do.  I know I am most productive in the morning and with video chats coming in during the afternoon it is leaving me little time to do anything then and I also feel a little bit drained and sometimes low after them.  I am currently doing a bit of practice alternated with cleaning.  So far I have cleaned the porch (not on my list but I had planned to do it on Monday and it is connected to the living room so makes sense), cleaned a huge window in my living room and washed all the floors (kitchen, bathroom, porch) while the mop was out.  Back to practice now.

ajmoney

An hour of practice time and living room and dining room have been cleaned, the only thing I haven't done is move 3 big bits of furniture and cleaned inside the cupboards etc.  I think I probably put too much time into these rooms, especially the living room, but it is the one I normally put off and doesn't feel clean even when I have done it so it was worth it.  I have been thinking a lot about me and my perspective of the cleanliness in my house while doing this and am hoping I can move away from a couple of sticking points in the future.

Phone video chat with a friend at about 4pm so after a cup of tea I am going to sort these plants out and then go for a run.  If I find any spare time I will do some more practice but at least I have done some.

savingholmes

Well you are making your way down your today list. I am prioritising the garden and the in-house cleaning level at our house is shocking. In my defence we normally have a cleaner but even so. Enjoy your run later. I am hoping I may be able to go for a walk - my leg is still giving me gyp and seems worse today for some reason.

ajmoney

I didn't do anymore practice but did everything else I wanted and had managed an hour so it is better than nothing. I ended up putting the plants in pots as the upper flower bed needs too much doing to it first and the bit along the fence is solid, if they end up needing to be separated I will but for now I have run out of compost. Any tips on improving the soil? I am going to try and get a fork in the ground to try and aerate it but it will be tough. There seem to be lots of roots there but I don't know what they all belong to.
Today's tasks are
Practice
Bike turbo session
Clean the bathroom (giving myself an easy one today)
Spend a bit of time on the one border not done in the garden

savingholmes

I am more of a no-dig gardener - think cardboard over weeds and planting on top - if you can get compost. I've been able to get a delivery from a local  nursery.

ajmoney

I didn't do much of yesterday's tasks.  I spent quite a lot of time on the phone to most of the people I am responsible for in the afternoon checking they were ok and brainstorming ideas for things we can do while we are all separated, I wasn't just sitting doing nothing!  I did attempt to spike the ground with a fork as best as possible to start aerating the ground, I did some practice and went for a walk to the supermarket.  I didn't need much but Mr AJM was walking to get supplies so I topped up with milk and had human company for a bit.

I have 2 calls left to make this morning along with practice and a masterclass to watch.  This afternoon I am going to do a little bit in the garden but if the weather is warm I am thinking of sitting in the garden with a book.  As you will guess from my thread this is not something I do but I want to try and enjoy my garden too.  Over the months it will also give me time to see where I like sitting and the best areas for shade, protection from the wind etc for coming up with a plan for how to redesign the garden.  I may do some cleaning or I may not.

A_Frayed_Knot

I tend to plan things and end up doing something totally different.  No harm in that, so long as I enjoy what I am doing, it all gets done in the end.

I may go out and paint the rest of the wall bricks, but then see the grass needs cut so just do that instead.  It's all work/enjoyment and nice being out in the sun rather than indoors, just wish I had the weekend off.

Enjoy your day.

Suffolk_lass

That is a good idea - Xspender on here was going to move her patio and was planning to spend lots but has just done a bit of an overhaul for about £500, finding the sunniest spot to sit and relax was where it already is in the process

ajmoney

Suffolk_lass said:

That is a good idea - Xspender on here was going to move her patio and was planning to spend lots but has just done a bit of an overhaul for about £500, finding the sunniest spot to sit and relax was where it already is in the process

Gardener has already given me some ideas on this so I think I may have 2 patio areas in the end.  I need to try and work out the wind direction, how I might put some natural wind breakers in and how I screen between one of my neighbours; I can't really do that from inside.

savingholmes

Sounds like a positive day. Glad you had some company, some virtual brainstorming and some planning for the future. All good.