KonMari 2018 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

GreyQueen

I take it gently, kittie, I don't charge around once I'm up there, always take time to rest between tasks and to chat to the lottie pals.

Been up there this evening but only for an hour. Weather has been scorching today but predicted not to last. It was insufferably hot at 4 pm but clouding and cooling by 6 pm and I shouldn't be surprised if there was some rain overnight.

I took advantage of the dry weather to knock some more earth out of uprooted grass clods and to fork through some of the cleared space (which is functioning as a drying platform for the new clods, the rest of the plot is 2 ft high in lush grass).

Progress is being made and a robin came to help me out by nipping up any grubs which came to light, I just love it when they do that.

I have cheated for the second year on the trot and bought a punnet of leek seedlings from the local shop. I did this last year when germination failed on the ones I sowed from seed and had a super crop. At £2.20 for the punnet, it's barely any dearer than a seed pkt and without the aggro.

Now I've just got to clear some ground to get them in asap, Plot1 is nearly under 100% cultivation and Plot2 is a whirlwind of activity where they'd be in danger of being trampled atm.

Bought down two plastic bottles inc the one described yesterday and they are now in the recycing bin.

Karmakat, I shall look at the pondweed site another evening but thank you for that. Don'tcha just love the interwebulator?!

Re the blackberry suckers, I uprooted one and its source was a bit of dead-looking wood less than an inch long, they are amazingly persistant but you do eventually win. Keep pouncing on them and the roots will run out of energy. I used to walk the spud patch with gauntlets on, once or twice a week, and haul about three dozen of the suckers out every time. Grow like triffids but come up fairly easily.

I have random bits of brambles on Plot2, not great patches, but little bits dotted around. It is a great pleasure to deal with these as they used to grow through into Plot1 and caused scratches and Language. Now Plot2 is mine, I can go after them properly, mwah ha ha!

PollyWollyDoodle

I have several words for the little suckers. Some of them begin with 'B' but none of them is 'Bramble' or even 'Blackberry'!

My garden is infested with them, as you say they will regrow from a tiny piece, they lean over and root from the tip and it's a never-ending battle. Persistence wins in the end - I dig out as much as I can, and if I can't get to the roots I cut off as much growth as possible on the basis that it gives it something else to think about!

You are an inspiration GQ, hearing what you've achieved makes me want to get on with my garden. The half-hour a day I'm aiming for is definitely paying off.

GreyQueen

PollyWollyDoodle wrote: »

I have several words for the little suckers. Some of them begin with 'B' but none of them is 'Bramble' or even 'Blackberry'!

My garden is infested with them, as you say they will regrow from a tiny piece, they lean over and root from the tip and it's a never-ending battle. Persistence wins in the end - I dig out as much as I can, and if I can't get to the roots I cut off as much growth as possible on the basis that it gives it something else to think about!

You are an inspiration GQ, hearing what you've achieved makes me want to get on with my garden. The half-hour a day I'm aiming for is definitely paying off.

Thanks, hun.

It's so easy to look at an overgrown lottie plot/ garden, and lose the will to live. I absolutely get that. I took on Plot1 in March and also Plot2 in March, nine years later. It would have been better for me if the outgoing tenants hadn't renewed the previous autumn, so I would have had the previous 6 months to peck away at the task, but you get what you get. And get on with it.

I've likened gardening at this time of year to spinning plates; you get one area OK and several other areas are out of control! You get them sorted, and the original area has gone feral, it slows down about September........:rotfl:

I remind myself that Plot2 is exactly half the area of Plot1 (collectively they're 450 m sq) which was equally horrible when I got it, and that I know exactly what I'm doing, it's just sweat equity (and cussing, never forget the cussing ) from here on in.

My Dad has said many at time; Just because you can't do it all, doesn't mean you can't do a little.

He was specifically talking about gardening, but it applies to all fields of endeavour, and particularly to kondo-ing, in my opinion.

Feeling that the Room of Doom or Cupboard of Doom or Loft of Horrors is an insurmountable task? Reach in and grab just one item. Drag it out, make a decision about its destination and get it there. Next time, grab one more and repeat until the space is sorted. Unless you have a Narnia in back of your cupboard or loft or shed, you will eventually get to the end of it.

Hope everyone has a great day, I'm working office hours but counting the hours until I can get back onto my plots, yayyyy!!!!!!!!

[Deleted User]

GreyQueen wrote: »

My Dad has said many at time; Just because you can't do it all, doesn't mean you can't do a little.

I like that quote, very true and better a little than nothing

I need to re-do/sort my store of bedding, I could not lay my hands on various cotton items so have decided to use my silk put-away items from the past. Might as well get the benefit, rather than my heirs but a job for later in the year, no point looking for jobs when there is plenty to do as it is

silvasava

Like your Dad's quote GQ - same style as my elephant one DH & I back on the boat today. Yesterday he sanded the coach roof and we washed it off, masked it up and repainted. Takes a while cos of the shapes but it dried quickly so I could take off the masking tape - looking really nice as the old paint was weathered and worn. Down again today to do the deck which will be even more fiddly because of all the fittings. She's beginning to look really smart now
Came home and earthed up my potatoes, checked the greenhouse and watered some plants while DH sanded part of the drive that he'd power washed on Sunday - he'll finish it this morning while I have a horse spittle appointment - it's all go at the moment but have to make the most of this glorious weather while we can - at least it keeps us active!!!

wort

Slinky--- re the clematis, gardeners world last year showed carol klein. Taking cuttings it looked really easy , I meant to get around to it. She simply took off a piece, stripped a few leaves off and stuck them in a pot seemed simple.
You might find it if you Google.
Just did
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05c6b8r.
:j

Siebrie

I picked white dandelion heads last night until the bucket was full. I have enlisted the 2 pet rabbits to help me, by moving their cages around the garden, every day in a new spot. They do an excellent job at eating dandelion plants!


Houseclearing/kondoing paperwork is full speed at the moment, because I have misplaced 2 documents I need on Friday! DDs and I need new passports, and the forms where DH and I give permission for them to have passports have gone missing! I have sent them in via scan, and they were accepted, but I need the originals when we go there on Friday.


It's quite a hassle to get Dutch passports when living in Belgium..... the Dutch embassy in Brussels no longer renews passports, so you have to apply in Breda, Luxembourg or Paris. There are a number of forms to fill in and send in beforehand, then when all is approved, you have to apply in person (including children). They do have an option to send the new passports to you via special courier, though; if you don't want to waste another vacation day picking them up in person (including children). DDs have dual nationality, and if we don't renew their Dutch passports on time, they loose their Dutch nationality....

Emptynester

Please forgive a lurker popping in but might the missing documents still be with the scanner?

Siebrie

Thank you for helping! No, after scanning (at work) I put the docs in my workbag (that I clear out every day, à la KonMari) and I know I would need to re-fold them, as I folded them in quarters to put them in my bag, but would have to re-fold them into thirds to put them in the envelope with the other docs at home. I know that when I cleared out my bag at home I told myself to put them away (in our safe, which is in a hard-to-access place) immediately, but something came up and I didn't.... There is a place where I put stuff that needs to go to the area the safe is in, so that I only have to make the trip once, but the papers aren't there, either.

PollyWollyDoodle

Sleep on it - it often comes to me the next day. You wouldn't have idly laid them down anywhere, it'll be a safe place, just not the usual one.

My problem is that I can usually picture the missing item clearly in, say, a white envelope. Searching for white envelopes produces nothing, and when they're eventually found it turns out they were in a brown envelope after all ... so be prepared to go through everything. They've got to be somewhere in the house.