Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

I woke up this morning with absolutely no idea what time it was. Could have been ten o'clock but turned out to be half past five thankfully I got back to sleep, otherwise I'd've been struggling today.

Once I got up I had my usual half hour and a bit playing on my phone - not the best use of time but I do take a while to wake up, and I have to have a tablet half an hour before caffeine. Then I set the timer and did a series of fifteen minte blasts of cleaning. As usual when I do fifteen, this petered out (I wonder who Peter was? ) but I've got quite a bit done. I've now had lunch and am having a breather and trying to regroup.

So far today:

• all bins emptied and cleaned!
• General laundry done and drying on the line
• two small handwashing loads done and drying on the line (sunny day though not hot)
• bedding for spare bed freshened up in the washer as it's been sitting under papers for six months
• two cushion covers currently being hand washed
• healthy lunch eaten
• four assorted coffees drunk (mostly decaff)
• all junk cleared off spare bed... and onto ours.

Small wins:

• finished a bottle of hand washing liquid so only one of it in the cupboard now
• Bravely added two clean plastic peanut butter jars to the recycling - they may be useful but I DON'T NEED THEM!

Important things to do by tomorrow morning:

• go for bloods appointment
• walk with my friend
• clean the poor goldfish's tank
• Make the guest bed
• put the recycling bin out for collection. It's brimful.
• Tidy kitchen
• tidy lounge
• tidy dining room.
• clean bathroom

If I sit here too long I won't get these done so I'm going to put those cushion covers in to spin which will free the kitchen sink. Not enough time to clean the fish before my appointment so I'll attack things randomly till it's time to get ready to go out, then reassess depending how long I have to wait at the doctor's.

CRANKY40

Well....I've watered the garden, been to the supermarket for the house troll's sore throat things, emptied all of the bins (recycling bin day tomorrow), cleaned the cat's litter tray and made lunch. I'll get the hoover out for upstairs when I've finished lunch......probably. I've ordered 2 new black t-shirts from M&S online because I know I'll be grumpy if I go to the actual shop and can't fnd them. They're uniform for working in the cafe that my boss owns - I do cover from time to time when they're short staffed. Anythng rather than actually hoover, lol. 

Cherryfudge

LOL, well done for all those achievements! I'm currently doing anything other than clean the fish tank...

CRANKY40

We used to have tropical fish....well the HT did but guess whose job it was to clean the tank? I didn't like it much either. I did actually hoover all of upstairs which was today's target. I'm working now but Looked after Person is watching tv and eating his coming home snack so I have 10 minutes to myself.  

Sun_Addict

I have days when I think I haven’t done much but putting it in a list like you have makes you realise how much you have done. That’s some list for tomorrow 😮

Cherryfudge

Phew.

I've got a few things done: short session of gardening, blood test, bought groceries, cleaned fishie, got changed in time for my friend to collect me and another friend and the other friend's new dog at 4.30 for a very picturesque walk followed by fish and chips in the evening sun, back home for 8.30, took the recycling bin to the end of the road, did a bit more gardening, did the ironing, made the guest bed up, cleared the clutter off my bed, put most of the laundry away!

I think I need to wind down now and allow myself to do what I can tomorrow and not worry about things that don't get done.

Spending:
Entertainment £6.75
Housekeeping £13.91

I'm thankful for the lovely evening with my friends, a really pretty area and idyllic countryside, progress made on the house and garden and now bed time!

Cherryfudge

I've been awake since ten to seven and all I've done is a small amount of tidying so here's another list to get me moving. Auntie may arrive any time from eleven!

• Get dressed done by 9.40
• have breakfast done by 9.40
• recapture recycling bins haven't been emptied so can't do
• hoover everywhere
• clean bathroom
• clean kitchen
• dust guest room/open window
• tidy lounge
• tidy dining room especially the table which is a random mess!
• clean mirrors if there's time

Things I'm pleased with so far

• garden path is no longer disappearing under errant daisies (I gathered the ones that were making a bid for freedom and put them in a vase so they aren't wasted)
• hedge by gate is neat
• recycling bin will soon be back because already there's more to go in there
• fish tank is clean so fish is happy and will look good when lit
• bowls of fresh fruit on sideboard are both practical and pretty
• tea tonight is at A and H's so nothing to think about there!

I'll be back to update and try to keep myself focussed.

Cherryfudge

• Get dressed done by 9.40
• have breakfast done by 9.40
• recapture recycling bins haven't been emptied so can't do
• hoover everywhere everywhere except stairs which have been done but in a hurry so wouldn't bear inspection
• clean bathroom done by 11.30
• clean kitchen done by 11.30
• dust guest room/open window done by 11.30
• tidy lounge done by 11.30
• tidy dining room especially the table which is a random mess!  - done by 11.30
• clean mirrors if there's time - done by 11.30

I'm not sure when to expect them: they are a bit overdue but perhaps they've popped to the shops to give me a bit more time I now have a frothy coffee and a cleaner, tidier house.

It's made me aware that we haven't kept on top of things: DH has work and doing up the flat to rent out, I have work and the old house to clear. Of course we do get down time but that's down time! It's needed as much as the cleaning is. Things like the laundry, shopping, dishes, cooking, cleaning the bathroom, quick hoover round. these get done. It's the detail cleaning that's gone out of the window. I do know we have far too much stuff and a lot of that is mine so I'd better plough on with that as and when I can.

We are intending to drive back with auntie on Sunday then go straight to the old house for another onslaught so it won't be for a week, by which time I will most certainly need a rest!

in_need_of_direction

Well done on the amount you got done. G

Cherryfudge

Thank you IMOD.

DH and Auntie arrived about midday and after a light lunch I offered to walk into town with her then go our separate ways as she wanted to go to the market and some other shops and I just needed to refill some supplies from the eco shop and get a dessert from the supermarket to take tonight. I had quite a chat with the owner of the shop as it was just me in there at first. She is seeing a huge difference in footfall as a major employer is now largely WFH. The staff who used to used to pop in at lunch just aren't there any more. She also said people are tending more towards bulk buying, which I assume means fewer visits.

I bought berries, coulis and cream at the supermarket, having remembered we had plenty of meringues, so I made Eton Mess, then added a chocolate cake in case anyone preferred that. A made us shepherd's pie for first course and we had a good catch up.

I'm so tired now!

Spending:
Housekeeping £13.84

And tonight I'm thankful I got the clearing and tidying done and for Dh's supportive attitude over it! I'm thankful Auntie seems happy to be here and for seeing A and H. I'm thankful the colleague who was off long-term sick is now back, not just for their sake but also because it makes things quite a bit easier for the rest of us! I'm thankful the chocolate cake worked out and I managed to transport the desserts without ruining them and use some of cupboard ingredients to boot.