Project Mortgage Neutral Begins

Suffolk_lass

ajmoney said:

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.

Haha, so you also have the perfect justification for sitting in the garden, maybe with some field glasses to identify any passing birds, and a book to read or radio to listen to, while you evaluate your options and make notes. Perfect!

ajmoney

I am finding it too cold to sit in the garden so I haven't done that yet but I have walked out there every day.  I attempted some weeding yesterday but I feel overwhelmed by it as I don't always know what I am doing so I am doing small bits in the hope that eventually they will all meet up and the bed will be done.

I haven't done any other cleaning, I kind of ran out of steam but I do wipe around the bathroom daily and the kitchen is wiped down after each meal so I am by no means living in a pig sty.  I am going to use today to clean the kitchen and make sure everywhere I spent time on this week is in the same state.  Tomorrow I will start work on the rooms that didn't get cleaned last week.

I started following a beginners running plan when I started working from home and today it comes to the end with a 5k run.  I am going to go out in about an hour in the hope not so many people are out and about.

savingholmes

Glad you are getting out walking or running. You sound like you are keeping on top of the cleaning really well. Shame you can't come and do mine!

ajmoney

I have cleaned the inside of all the windows apart from the main spare room and have cleaned the small spare room today.  I will wipe around the kitchen after dinner and then all rooms will have had sort sort of clean this week apart from the main spare room...guess which one I am going to tackle tomorrow!  I need to put stuff in the loft first and I can't face that today.  I had wanted to sort the loft first but it just means I am putting this room off so will deal with that some other time, probably once we can do tip runs again.  Once the stuff has been relocated it won't take long to clean the room and I will be back to rotating around the other rooms in the house again.

It seems nice and warm in the house so I am going to see what the temperature is like outside, if it is warm enough I will go out with my book.  I have already had a wander around the garden, it is great to see all my fruit trees with leaves on what I think might be flowers for blossom.  It was definitely a good move getting the huge tree taken down last year, I was concerned that the gardener pruning the trees the other week might have affected them but it doesn't look like it.

Suffolk_lass

We pruned a load of fruit trees this spring just as the buds of new growth were forming - it stimulates the tree to heal the pruning wound and protect itself and a bit of putting it under pressure makes it produce better fruits so it can protect itself from death by producing off-spring. With the blossom yet to come the energy of the tree will go into these rather than the tall vertical no-leaf stalk like "water sprout" shoots you see on trees that have had their height reduced. Don't worry, it sounds like he did the right thing.

ajmoney

I have done my practice for the morning, it wasn't as productive as other days so mixed it up a bit. Maybe later I will do some more but only if I have the enthusiasm for it.
I have all the stuff ready for the loft so I am going to do that before lunch so I can't put it off any longer. I have put the things for the charity shops back in the wardrobe until it can be dealt with.
Off to deal with my nemesis then lunch, clean that room, meal plan and then food shopping.

ajmoney

Things have been put in the loft and the room has been cleaned which means my whole house has been cleaned in the last week. The bathroom and kitchen are the only rooms that haven't been cleaned to the same level so I will attack those next. I have all the doors open to every room, proudly displaying my hard work to...well me because no one else can see. At least when we can travel again I won't have much to do if anyone visits.
Here is a question to try and challenge my view of cleaning, basic cleaning in your house (weekly or whatever) how much do you do? My problem is I don't feel a room is clean until I have got everywhere but clearly this isn't practical when I stop working from home.

Suffolk_lass

Now there's a question. As an example I clean the bathroom with one part every day - just 5-10 minutes - yesterday I cleaned the washbasin properly rather than just wiping it down. The day before I scoured the inside of the shower cubicle, removing all the soap scum I could and polishing the chrome. Then I sprayed it with a Kilrock gel spray to ensure there is no build up of limescale on tap fixings, shower boarded walls, glass or the nozzle of the spray head, rinsing it off before bed (it smells a bit caustic). Today I will do the toilet and sweep the floor, tomorrow I will do the bath and wipe all the surfaces, and the floor with a damp cloth. Then the blind and window, then the mirrors and cabinet. It just gets a full do if someone is coming but otherwise I know it isn't a disaster but probably not all up to standard. I do the same approach with the kitchen and downstairs loo, and the utility area.

DH does the dusting and vacuuming and sweeping elsewhere. We are about to turn out range off for the summer and that will get a thorough clean and this year the chimney will be swept above the register plate above it, that needs reattaching, so we will remove the covers and be really diligent about cleaning the top and all the ovens and doors - then come autumn it will just get a wipe-over before it is ready for winter again.

Hopefully that is a flavour. It isn't my favourite thing

juliejim

I try to follow TOMM (The Organised Mum Method) - not very well half of the time but that is 30 mins on a different room Monday to Thursday and then 30 mins in a focus room on a Friday plus 15 mins which is the same every day. You could have a look at the website.
My house needs a total declutter and I have got rid of quite a bit but I still seem to have more stuff than the house wants to hold!
Jue

savingholmes

When my cleaner was coming she did our 4 bed house in 3.5 hours. We put the odd bit of bleach down the loo and try to keep on top of the kitchen in between visits. Shame she can't come right now....  oops..... not changed our routine much. Got DS or DH to clean the kitchen or bathroom occasionally. The problem with cleaning is that most people swing one way or the other - overboard - OCD like attention or under-cleaning, immunity building like us