KonMari 2018 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Siebrie

DD1 is away at camp, DD2 is on the sofa nursing her foot (she stepped on a dead wasp two days ago and now has a streptococci (sp?) infection), so I finally tackled the hard to reach areas of the attic. Ideal moment, as most of the stuff for Africa has gone, all the holiday stuff is on the landing, and NO interruptions.

Binned:
2 pram rain covers (youngest is 8)
remains of six roles of Laura Ashley wallpaper (at least 16 years old; I was very disappointed by the quality at the time, as it discoloured within a month!)
3 ikea chinesy hanging room dividers/roll-up ricepaper curtains
pram mattress (mice had nibbled on the pram :eek:. And again, youngest is 8..... .It's just the bassinet part, as the wheels and seat have been given to friends two years ago. We just couldn't reach the bassinet.)

To ragbag:
Two baby sheets

To recycle park:
Two chandeliers (old, damaged)
Bag for life full of metal bits
Bassinet
Wooden child's chair in pieces
eta: the cd's I mentioned earlier, and a dancemat.

To dds' toy selection: new-to-them construction toy I was given by a colleague four years ago, but couldn't reach Littlest Pet Shop items have been returned to the attic for now.

Igamogam

Finally go to CS this morning with 2 large shoppers full of books and 2 bin bags of 'mixed' items........loads to go stiil!

Slinky

Pooky wrote: »

We've moved! Cor blimey we picked the wrong week, it's far to hot to do anything! Our poor removal men were really flagging. So far there's a few bits of built in furniture that we've ripped out ready to dump, the carpet in the master bedroom will be coming up tomorrow and a few bits I've unpacked that just don't fit will be heading to the CS tomorrow when we pop past.

Feels like home already though, (even though we've had a blocked loo, no water pressure and can't shower as the seal has gone around the bath)...1st world problems eh?

We're still unpacking boxes, slowing down a lot with the weather and lack of space to put stuff now. Had somebody come and take away a washing machine we put on facebook free earlier. Somebody else is having the old fridge freezer, and a casette deck is going tomorrow. I thought I'd got a taker for a bed and bedsides cabinets we want to sell, but they've changed their minds.


So far we've had the electrician out as we had something tripping but we couldn't identify what was causing it. Turned out to be an adaptor for a radio. Today we had the rat catcher! OH spotted what he thought was a rat under a bush in the garden, and I spotted it, or another, yesterday morning. Rat catcher has left us with a trap in a box. Thinks it's just one or only a small number, coming under the fence and drinking at the pond. We've been thinking the pond should go, and we're now concerned about the cat catching Weils disease through drinking the water, so we think we're going to have to empty it out and fill it in before we let her out. Oh, and I've had some computer issues, got somebody coming tomorrow, which is just as well as I've stupidly just got caught by some clickbait on my main computer.... Turned it off and disconnected it from the net until the chap comes tomorrow.

Slinky

Have just spotted a rat going into the area near the bush. OH will be despatched shortly to take a look.... Don't think it's the one I saw, it looked skinnier.


Our neighbours keep caged birds in a garden aviary, I'm guessing that could be an attraction.


ETA No luck so far.

GreyQueen

That's a bit pants, Slinky, but an aviary would definately be an attractant. You might have more luck spotting the rat holes than the actual rats. Probably a job for a pro. Do you have a cat or cats? The presence of kitties seems to keep rats wary and even an aged cat like my parents' Wild Thing takes enough young 'uns to keep the rat population at low levels and suitably nervous.

Slinky

We had the professional rat catcher in earlier and he recommended one of his traps.


Yes we have a cat, but having only just moved here, she's not allowed out yet. I'm concerned about her bringing one in through her catflap... she's brought us mice and birds in the past. We want to get rid of them before we let her out. This trap is a back breaker which the chap said is far more humane than poison.

GreyQueen

Ahh, yes you've got to keep the cat in until she is properly homed.


I've not personally known cats to bring rats indoors, although I have mice and birds and spiders and moths. I think a rat is a bit of task for cats and they tend to deal with them and not play with them when alive.


Saw a You Tube once of a cat who had a full size rat in a suffocating bite hold to the neck, in the same way that cheetahs suffocate prey they've run down but don't have the jaw power to kill easily.

greenbee

My brother's cats bring in rats. They had one living in the kitchen for a while... it chewed through the wastepipe to the kitchen sink (they discovered this when they took the plug out and water landed on their feet).

I must patent my cat flap with facial recognition... it would lock if the cat had anything in it's mouth. Or friends with it...

GreyQueen

:eek: OMG, would freak if I had indoor rats, your brother's cats must be proper little brusiers.


I've read something somewhere in the past few weeks about a new type of catflap which doesn't allow the cat to carry prey indoors with it. Don't know how that would ever work but I suspect they'd be a market for it.


One cat we had used to steal food from neighbours' outside meals. Just to leave around on the floor like trophies. She had pizza one time, and I knew someone who saw a pal's cat come in with a stolen yorkshire pud, comeplete with gravy inside it, looking very pleased with her 'kill'.:rotfl:

Slinky

Oh good grief no. We back onto a pub garden..... can you imagine what we could be being brought back if she were so inclined. Fortunately there is a 10 ft high wall between us and them which I think is probably more than she will want to tackle.


No success overnight, I think we need to reposition the trap.