Does anyone need the chromed letter 'M' from the bonnet of a 1963 Triumph Vitesse? The car went on to a new life - so to speak - about 46 years ago, but when the letter fell off I thought I'd better keep it in case it came in useful some day. It might, you know.
...
More current is the fact that as of yesterday our kitchen consists of four bare walls and three pipes sticking out of the floor, everything else having departed in two truck loads with some being converted into firewood. The challenge will be deciding how much of the cluttery stuff we can throw out or donate before the contractor finishes the work. The old fridge has never looked so clean in its life, and is going to a Good Cause.
I find that in my dotage I am getting less sentimental and finding that I can throw out almost anything apart from my old railway books. The Acts and Proceedings of the General Assembly were among the first treasures to go.
Does anyone need the chromed letter 'M' from the bonnet of a 1963 Triumph Vitesse? The car went on to a new life - so to speak - about 46 years ago, but when the letter fell off I thought I'd better keep it in case it came in useful some day. It might, you know.
I won't mention it to Mr Nen. He'd probably add it to his collection.
Does anyone need the chromed letter 'M' from the bonnet of a 1963 Triumph Vitesse? The car went on to a new life - so to speak - about 46 years ago, but when the letter fell off I thought I'd better keep it in case it came in useful some day. It might, you know.
...
I know someone with a Herald, but I don't know if he needs an 'M'
Cheery daughter has been out of town on holidays this week and I've been surprised how much easier this has made my life. She works shift work, so I often postpone tasks that might be too noisy or are in rooms near her. So this week has almost been like spring cleaning. Vacuuming when I feel like it, scrubbing the main bathroom. Mopping floors and for once I feel like things might be improving.
Mind you, Cheery husband still hasn't taken down the Christmas tree and moved it back into the ceiling, but as long as it's back before my Aunt visits in February, we will be OK.
Nothing better than an empty house to get stuff done. I hate tiptoeing around other people when they’re having their beauty sleep, especially as the compliment was seldom returned in the days when I worked all nighters ( not for last 20 years thank God)
The house is tidy-ish after marathon messy dinner last night ( thanks to #2 daughter who cleans up as she goes). Thank God no Xmas tree to take down or any other visitors anticipated.
Yes, all our Christmas stuff is stored in the loft. Nothing else is allowed in there 🙂
This is the plan for our new house, if our intended move happens. Possibly the suitcases as well. That's all that was ever kept in the loft of the house where I grew up - a small 3-bed semi with, for some years, five people in it.
It's been a busy week of sorting and shifting stuff here. Lots went out with the bin collections, I took a bag of assorted things to the charity shop and Mr Nen did a trip to the tip with a carload of wood. He collects wood as well as car parts.
I finally got round to investigating the Mystery Cupboard in the kitchen (I've only lived here for 6 months!) It's high up, so I needed to get the stepladder out - but it turns out to be quite a good sized storage space. For some reason, the previous lady had hidden her Sky Box up there, which I have taken out for disposal (not sure how to do that yet). I've now filled the cupboard with craft supplies that I rarely use, and that's emptied another plastic tub that I can get rid of!
So good to read of the progress everyone is making. Today we've made a tiny bit ourselves. Christmas lights outside have been packed away. Garland and tree are both down and back in the ceiling. Cheery husband has installed some mdf to make some flooring to hold various "useful" boxes, so makes storing the tree nice and easy.
I have yet to take down the Christmas quilt, which is still hanging up and I have a few odds and sods of various textiles to pack away. I think I have mistakenly thrown out the shoebox which I use to store the plastic angels which sit on various flat surfaces. I am sure I can round up another one if I have a scratch around. Hopefully all finished and packed away by the end of tomorrow.
A moment of sadness in decluttering. I found the instruction booklet for a Sony CD player which is to be consigned to recycling, currently awaiting the next collection day.
( Our local authority collects small electrical items placed on top of the blue recycling bin).
It has a label on it indicating ownership by Mr Puzzler. After re-reading the booklet and doing another check I made the final decision that the CD player no longer worked. As I removed the sticky label, Aled Jones on Classic FM played John Rutter’s The Lord Bless You and Keep You, which was played at Mr P’s burial.
We continue here to be All About The Sorting and Mr Nen is tackling a lot of historical paperwork (eg, probate stuff for my mum and my brother, both of whom died over 10 years ago) and doing some consolidation. I fluctuate between thinking we're doing really well and feeling overwhelmed by all that still needs to be done.
Another poignant moment in one of the hymns at church today, expressing ideas and sentiments which I closely associate with Mr P. Some eye leakage had to be quickly overcome. These things hit you out of the blue.
An additional hug from me @Puzzler. I didn't have eye leakage but felt glum this morning when listening to a radio segment about the tennis. My MIL loved tennis and would have been glued to her TV, a happy/sad memory both together.
Today's tidy house has been wall and cornice washing. I discovered some tiny magic white sponges under the sink and Cheery husband told me he had a big one that I could use. I've removed a lot of grot from the cornices and washed the walls with sugar soap. I can only do it for about an hour and then I'm ready for a shower, but there is progress.
I've also used the magic white to clean up a couple of favourite paintings inherited from the parents. The paintings were grimy from cigarette smoke, but a quick go over with the sponge and they are much brighter and cleaner, as are the frames (one is painted) and the linen-ey type cloth between the wooden frame and the paintings look much cleaner too. Well worth the effort!
Infuriatingly I found 1 Christmas decoration still hanging in the lounge and Mrs Santa's washing line in the laundry, They'll be going away tomorrow!
Pegging away at the sorting and reminding myself that every bit that's done is something achieved, even though there's still so much more. I found myself watching some cleaning videos on YouTube this morning and the person doing it said something like, "If a thing's worth doing it's worth doing badly because you grow and learn from mistakes." Which was quite a nice thought to get away from that mindset that it all has to be done perfectly.
Recycling day tomorrow - the bags and bins are bulging .
I am decluttering my needlework stash, mainly fabric with more than 14 holes to the inch as even with the special glasses I use I make so many mistakes that it's no longer enjoyable. Fortunately the library system runs "declutter your stash days". No money changes hands, but it means usable supplies don't go to waste. If I get to the stage when I can no longer stitch I hope to be able to donate my stranded cottons to the library system so any other crafters can benefit.
Another go at decluttering yesterday, in time to almost fill the blue recycling bin. But a drop in the ocean.
One thing I can’t bring myself to get rid of is a load of brochures from tourist offices, stately homes etc of places we visited on holidays. It’s unlikely I ‘ll go there again, so it’s just nostalgia really.
I have booked a Useful Chap to come and put some shelves in what was once the airing cupboard but became one of Mr P’s wardrobes. I am going to store my tubs there. They mostly contain nostalgic items, plus estate files etc.
i gave my bedroom a good clean yesterday, but didn’t get as far as my wardrobe. Probably time to declutter some shoes and handbags.
I have bitten the bullet and hired the young woman who mows my lawns to help me clean my house. Both my heat pumps gave up the ghost and I need to clear the floor around them so they can be removed and one installed in the front room. My problem is that I can't yet do too much bending or lifting without annoying the scar tissue from the hysterectomy.
Then I thought of Rose (brilliant name for a gardener). We have had steady rain for a weeks and no gardening has been possible. So I asked if she could help, which she has agreed to. I am so grateful to her.
If she is OK with ladders which I am not, I will ask her to replace one of those heat bulbs in the bathroom too.
One thing I can’t bring myself to get rid of is a load of brochures from tourist offices, stately homes etc of places we visited on holidays. It’s unlikely I‘ll go there again, so it’s just nostalgia really.
How about photographing them and having them put into one photobook?
I was wondering if you could put the brochures (or even just the bits of them that matter) into a ring-binder, lever-arch file or box file. Or, if there's really a lot, a banker's box?
At the moment the brochures are filed under broad locations in my filing cabinet. I’m happy to leave them there, and browse occasionally, and they will be straightforward for my family to identify and dispose of in due course.
I have shoe boxes and tubs of other memorabilia, somewhat sorted ie For my family, For Mr P’s family, Of No Interest (= don’t waste your time going through this stuff). Essential legal and financial paperwork is quite separate and in my filing cabinet.
Puzzler, as always I admire your ability to categorize and simplify.
I am having a new heat pump installed. Both the other ones have died and need to be removed. This involves the company that's installing the new one first taking out the old ones. Thus 2 rooms need to be cleared to give access. I have asked the young woman who mows my lawns to help ( which means that at least she doesn't lose out financially due to Ark-like rainfall we have been experiencing).
Here the sorting has taken over most of the house, stuff all over the spare beds and the dining room piled high with boxes . I need to remind Mr Nen gently that we have someone coming to lunch tomorrow... that will be the last time we can entertain anyone here, if the move all goes through as planned. (No date yet.)
I'm really excited. R moved some stuff to clear the way and the heat pump people are coming tomorrow to take out the 2 non-working pumps and and putting in a new one that can both warm and cool the air (though not both at once of course. ) Cost to me will be $533 because of the area I live in and becuse I am an old lady.
I hope the heat pump installation will go well @Huia. Glad to know the cost to you is not too bad and more importantly that you will reap the benefits of having the new pump!
We have been chugging along trying to keep on top of the normal routine jobs. Today I gave the floors a good clean while daughter was at work and husband and son were occupied in the garage and garden. Good to have that job done.
I've also been in the laundry sorting through the microfibre cloths and giving them a wash and tomorrow I'll fold them all and get them away. They were building up a bit too much!!
I had wondered whether people tend to have a set weekly routine (or other timeframe) to keep on top of things. I'm a bit haphazard depending on other commitments and tend to work on things when they get too annoying to ignore!
I did my annual sort of the herbs and spices drawer today. It's about ten years since I started doing it every January so not too much to get rid of. It meant I could see what we were running low on and order some more. I even hoovered the drawer out put the herbs and spices back in alphabetical order. I might have been retired nearly ten years but I'm still very much a librarian at heart.
Oh... that posted earlier without my intending it to, and way before it was finished. What I wanted to say was this, in return to @Cheery Gardener's question about routines:
These days I surprise myself by being quite houseproud. I have a definite routine, which very much helps me keep on top of things. Washing up is done after every meal, and I have daily and weekly tasks.
I aim to give the whole apartment one deep clean and one surface clean a week. Linens are changed weekly, with the exception of hand towels and tea towels, which are changed twice.
Having once got the housework monster under control, I find it much more manageable if there's a definite plan for keeping it ticking over.
I did my annual sort of the herbs and spices drawer today. It's about ten years since I started doing it every January so not too much to get rid of. It meant I could see what we were running low on and order some more. I even hoovered the drawer out put the herbs and spices back in alphabetical order. I might have been retired nearly ten years but I'm still very much a librarian at heart.
Get up, shower, clean the whole bathroom.
Feed the dogs.
Empty the washer and dishwasher (which wash overnight due to very cheap electricity - EV car)
Hang the washing.
Walk the dogs.
Do stuff - depending on the day.
4pm clean out the wood burning stove and lay the fire for the evening.
Vac the whole house (because dogs)
Dusting, windows etc get done ad-hoc and when I'm in the mood.
Decluttering - 15 minutes a day since I started before we moved house. I have a one-in-one-out policy for all bought items.
I have ADHD so this routine has been very, very hard won!
Clearing the areas around the heat pumps so they can be removed has made me more aware of the mess I'm in. It's become worse due to the unexpected death of my closest friend and the recovery time from a hysterectomy late last year both of which drained my energy.
I need to develop a slow, steady plan to deal with it, but I'm a bit overwhelmed in working out where to start.
Empty dishwasher
Sweep kitchen floor
Air all rooms
Make beds
Wipe down bathroom after use
Weekly routine:
Monday is my main cleaning day:
Every couple of weeks or so, do dusting. On non-dusting weeks, do one other occasional job
Deep clean bathroom
Wash towels
Surface clean kitchen
Deep clean floors
Tuesday:
Change one bed
Do two loads of laundry (lights and darks) if the weather allows it to be dried outside or just one if it doesn't
Wednesday:
Do second laundry load if not done on Tuesday
Do ironing
Thursday:
Deep clean kitchen
Surface clean bathroom
Surface clean floors
Do any outstanding ironing
Friday:
Change other bed
Do one or two loads of laundry depending on the weather
Saturday:
Do laundry if not done on Friday
Do ironing
I've looked around my house and decided the first step is decluttering. The Sallies have an op shop (second hand shop) at the local shops and I have some children's books and various nic nacks that are saleable. Also the city libraries run "stash swap" days where I can donate the cross-stitch fabric that is too fine for me to stitch easily and needles that are too fine for the fabrics I use.
I'm keeping my cottons for now but if my vision worsens they can be donated too. I hope that doesn't happen soon, I love my colours.
I've reassured Aroha, my cat that she's not on the decluttering list.
@la vie en rouge you make me feel totally inadequate!
My housework routines are very lax ones. When I worked I cleaned the house on a Saturday morning. That was about it. Then I got a cleaner, which gave me time to do other domestic chores. I still have a mentality of doing housework on Saturday mornings, but many Saturdays are busy with other things, so I try to get chores done on Fridays and Mondays. But there is only me, no children or pets or husband to make a mess.
I hoover twice a week, clean bathrooms twice a week but only the important bits. The term “ deep cleaning” is not in my vocabulary. Dusting might be about once in three weeks. I have few visitors, but I do have a good clean and tidy before they come. When my French conversation group comes here everything gets tidied away and then I can’t find anything. My most hated job is window cleaning. A window cleaner comes to do the outside once a month but I can’t recall when I last did the inside.
Today I have a completely free day and the weather is too horrible to go anywhere, so I had better tackle some of the areas that need sorting.
My husband is vacuuming as I type. We split up housework and vacuuming is in his domain. He does a very thorough job once a week. I clean the loos etc also about once a week and we clean and tidy the kitchen as we go. Dusting happens as and when.
Which reminds me I need to go and sort out the laundry, another one of my duties.
Tomorrow I have a cleaner coming- she's been cleaning for Beaky daughter number two for a while and comes highly recommended.
When we were both working full-time and lived in a bigger house we had a cleaner but since moving to our current house 14 years ago have done the cleaning ourselves.
Various health things mean it's harder to do, so we are trying out having a cleaner.
To be honest I'm a little anxious about it as I don't want to be judged for the cleaning hot spots we can no longer reach!
I've loved reading all the responses to my question and initially I had said my routine was a bit haphazard and I suppose it is, but even with that in mind, I still vacuum twice a week, splitting the house in half and each half done turn about,
I clean the ensuite and get Cheery son to clean the bathroom he shares with his sister, done weekly.
Cat litter is done twice a week and bin in the kitchen and bedroomss are emptied the day before the main garbage pickup.
Loos are given a clean at least weekly and more often if needed or when visitors are expected.
We have a large area of ceramic tiles and I try to do those when it's the least likely people are going to walk all over them while damp.
I wash clothes every day and try to leave the weekend free for Cheery daughter to do her laundry. I remind Cheery son to do his laundry after I am finished if there is room on the hanging rack for his things. We rarely hang things outside as the line is small and it's out of sight, out of mind with me. We have a large rail in the laundry and hang clothes directly from the machine.
I also do towels once a week and need to get Cheery husband to assist with bed stripping and making as I find those difficult to manhandle.
Dusting is never done often enough, but probably once a month. Fortunately most nic nacs are in cabinets, so it's not a lengthy task.
Today was a winner as I emptied the junk basket in the laundry. All odd socks gone, face washers folded properly and put away. So just a rag bag left there and not much else. I even ironed the napkins we used at Christmas and got those put away. Very pleased with my efforts!
Yes, they can wait - but my way they don't need thinking about and you can relax.
A list of tasks to do on 'automatic pilot' every day soon stops being a list and becomes part of the routine of life
eg vacuuming, dusting, wiping window sills - ot whatever your home needs to make you feel relaxed and comfortable.
Even if they don't need doing every day, just ten minutes a day, maybe one room at once, means they never become a job.
The key is making it as automatic as cleaning your teeth. It takes about 30 days
(If I sound like a coach it's because I had a wonderful coach about ten years ago who helped me enormously. Before that I was sinking in piles and cleaning confusion with no excuses - retired, kids grown up etc)
Oh I see you didn't mean one specific thing every day, you meant something off a list.
I really ought to do five things off my To Do list every day ( unless I have Something On ) but I can guarantee that not more than one will be housework, unless it is a designated housework day. I just don't think it is necessary.
Mind you, today is one of those days when I have left undone those things which I ought to have done, and done those things which I need not have done.
Daily jobs: make the bed, empty the dishwasher, chase the laundry (put a load on, move a load off the airers into the airing cupboard, put what's in the airing cupboard away), clean the toilets, wipe down the bathroom (shower, tiles around the bath, shelf). I can't do the whole bathroom in one go ( @Boogie is Superwoman) so the bath gets a scrub and the floor gets a clean maybe once a week.
The kitchen is kept wiped down as I go, and cleared as constantly as possible. I frequently clear the sink and ten minutes later find a glass or a plate or a mug in it or next to it. Mostly, now, instead of stressing about it I just deal with it. One of my most recent things is, if it takes less than a minute just do it, don't obsess about who left the mess and why.
Mr Nen has a friend coming over tomorrow afternoon to help him get some things down from the loft. I asked what things. More car parts, apparently .
Comments
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More current is the fact that as of yesterday our kitchen consists of four bare walls and three pipes sticking out of the floor, everything else having departed in two truck loads with some being converted into firewood. The challenge will be deciding how much of the cluttery stuff we can throw out or donate before the contractor finishes the work. The old fridge has never looked so clean in its life, and is going to a Good Cause.
I find that in my dotage I am getting less sentimental and finding that I can throw out almost anything apart from my old railway books. The Acts and Proceedings of the General Assembly were among the first treasures to go.
I know someone with a Herald, but I don't know if he needs an 'M'
Mind you, Cheery husband still hasn't taken down the Christmas tree and moved it back into the ceiling, but as long as it's back before my Aunt visits in February, we will be OK.
The house is tidy-ish after marathon messy dinner last night ( thanks to #2 daughter who cleans up as she goes). Thank God no Xmas tree to take down or any other visitors anticipated.
This is the plan for our new house, if our intended move happens. Possibly the suitcases as well. That's all that was ever kept in the loft of the house where I grew up - a small 3-bed semi with, for some years, five people in it.
It's been a busy week of sorting and shifting stuff here. Lots went out with the bin collections, I took a bag of assorted things to the charity shop and Mr Nen did a trip to the tip with a carload of wood. He collects wood as well as car parts.
I have yet to take down the Christmas quilt, which is still hanging up and I have a few odds and sods of various textiles to pack away. I think I have mistakenly thrown out the shoebox which I use to store the plastic angels which sit on various flat surfaces. I am sure I can round up another one if I have a scratch around. Hopefully all finished and packed away by the end of tomorrow.
( Our local authority collects small electrical items placed on top of the blue recycling bin).
It has a label on it indicating ownership by Mr Puzzler. After re-reading the booklet and doing another check I made the final decision that the CD player no longer worked. As I removed the sticky label, Aled Jones on Classic FM played John Rutter’s The Lord Bless You and Keep You, which was played at Mr P’s burial.
We continue here to be All About The Sorting and Mr Nen is tackling a lot of historical paperwork (eg, probate stuff for my mum and my brother, both of whom died over 10 years ago) and doing some consolidation. I fluctuate between thinking we're doing really well and feeling overwhelmed by all that still needs to be done.
Today's tidy house has been wall and cornice washing. I discovered some tiny magic white sponges under the sink and Cheery husband told me he had a big one that I could use. I've removed a lot of grot from the cornices and washed the walls with sugar soap. I can only do it for about an hour and then I'm ready for a shower, but there is progress.
I've also used the magic white to clean up a couple of favourite paintings inherited from the parents. The paintings were grimy from cigarette smoke, but a quick go over with the sponge and they are much brighter and cleaner, as are the frames (one is painted) and the linen-ey type cloth between the wooden frame and the paintings look much cleaner too. Well worth the effort!
Infuriatingly I found 1 Christmas decoration still hanging in the lounge and Mrs Santa's washing line in the laundry, They'll be going away tomorrow!
Recycling day tomorrow - the bags and bins are bulging
One thing I can’t bring myself to get rid of is a load of brochures from tourist offices, stately homes etc of places we visited on holidays. It’s unlikely I ‘ll go there again, so it’s just nostalgia really.
I have booked a Useful Chap to come and put some shelves in what was once the airing cupboard but became one of Mr P’s wardrobes. I am going to store my tubs there. They mostly contain nostalgic items, plus estate files etc.
i gave my bedroom a good clean yesterday, but didn’t get as far as my wardrobe. Probably time to declutter some shoes and handbags.
Then I thought of Rose (brilliant name for a gardener). We have had steady rain for a weeks and no gardening has been possible. So I asked if she could help, which she has agreed to. I am so grateful to her.
If she is OK with ladders which I am not, I will ask her to replace one of those heat bulbs in the bathroom too.
How about photographing them and having them put into one photobook?
I have shoe boxes and tubs of other memorabilia, somewhat sorted ie For my family, For Mr P’s family, Of No Interest (= don’t waste your time going through this stuff). Essential legal and financial paperwork is quite separate and in my filing cabinet.
I am having a new heat pump installed. Both the other ones have died and need to be removed. This involves the company that's installing the new one first taking out the old ones. Thus 2 rooms need to be cleared to give access. I have asked the young woman who mows my lawns to help ( which means that at least she doesn't lose out financially due to Ark-like rainfall we have been experiencing).
We have been chugging along trying to keep on top of the normal routine jobs. Today I gave the floors a good clean while daughter was at work and husband and son were occupied in the garage and garden. Good to have that job done.
I've also been in the laundry sorting through the microfibre cloths and giving them a wash and tomorrow I'll fold them all and get them away. They were building up a bit too much!!
I had wondered whether people tend to have a set weekly routine (or other timeframe) to keep on top of things. I'm a bit haphazard depending on other commitments and tend to work on things when they get too annoying to ignore!
These days I surprise myself by being quite houseproud. I have a definite routine, which very much helps me keep on top of things. Washing up is done after every meal, and I have daily and weekly tasks.
I aim to give the whole apartment one deep clean and one surface clean a week. Linens are changed weekly, with the exception of hand towels and tea towels, which are changed twice.
Having once got the housework monster under control, I find it much more manageable if there's a definite plan for keeping it ticking over.
This job is on my list for tomorrow 😊
Get up, shower, clean the whole bathroom.
Feed the dogs.
Empty the washer and dishwasher (which wash overnight due to very cheap electricity - EV car)
Hang the washing.
Walk the dogs.
Do stuff - depending on the day.
4pm clean out the wood burning stove and lay the fire for the evening.
Vac the whole house (because dogs)
Dusting, windows etc get done ad-hoc and when I'm in the mood.
Decluttering - 15 minutes a day since I started before we moved house. I have a one-in-one-out policy for all bought items.
I have ADHD so this routine has been very, very hard won!
I need to develop a slow, steady plan to deal with it, but I'm a bit overwhelmed in working out where to start.
Every morning (or as close to it as possible):
Empty dishwasher
Sweep kitchen floor
Air all rooms
Make beds
Wipe down bathroom after use
Weekly routine:
Monday is my main cleaning day:
Every couple of weeks or so, do dusting. On non-dusting weeks, do one other occasional job
Deep clean bathroom
Wash towels
Surface clean kitchen
Deep clean floors
Tuesday:
Change one bed
Do two loads of laundry (lights and darks) if the weather allows it to be dried outside or just one if it doesn't
Wednesday:
Do second laundry load if not done on Tuesday
Do ironing
Thursday:
Deep clean kitchen
Surface clean bathroom
Surface clean floors
Do any outstanding ironing
Friday:
Change other bed
Do one or two loads of laundry depending on the weather
Saturday:
Do laundry if not done on Friday
Do ironing
I've looked around my house and decided the first step is decluttering. The Sallies have an op shop (second hand shop) at the local shops and I have some children's books and various nic nacks that are saleable. Also the city libraries run "stash swap" days where I can donate the cross-stitch fabric that is too fine for me to stitch easily and needles that are too fine for the fabrics I use.
I'm keeping my cottons for now but if my vision worsens they can be donated too. I hope that doesn't happen soon, I love my colours.
I've reassured Aroha, my cat that she's not on the decluttering list.
My housework routines are very lax ones. When I worked I cleaned the house on a Saturday morning. That was about it. Then I got a cleaner, which gave me time to do other domestic chores. I still have a mentality of doing housework on Saturday mornings, but many Saturdays are busy with other things, so I try to get chores done on Fridays and Mondays. But there is only me, no children or pets or husband to make a mess.
I hoover twice a week, clean bathrooms twice a week but only the important bits. The term “ deep cleaning” is not in my vocabulary. Dusting might be about once in three weeks. I have few visitors, but I do have a good clean and tidy before they come. When my French conversation group comes here everything gets tidied away and then I can’t find anything. My most hated job is window cleaning. A window cleaner comes to do the outside once a month but I can’t recall when I last did the inside.
Today I have a completely free day and the weather is too horrible to go anywhere, so I had better tackle some of the areas that need sorting.
Which reminds me I need to go and sort out the laundry, another one of my duties.
When we were both working full-time and lived in a bigger house we had a cleaner but since moving to our current house 14 years ago have done the cleaning ourselves.
Various health things mean it's harder to do, so we are trying out having a cleaner.
To be honest I'm a little anxious about it as I don't want to be judged for the cleaning hot spots we can no longer reach!
I clean the ensuite and get Cheery son to clean the bathroom he shares with his sister, done weekly.
Cat litter is done twice a week and bin in the kitchen and bedroomss are emptied the day before the main garbage pickup.
Loos are given a clean at least weekly and more often if needed or when visitors are expected.
We have a large area of ceramic tiles and I try to do those when it's the least likely people are going to walk all over them while damp.
I wash clothes every day and try to leave the weekend free for Cheery daughter to do her laundry. I remind Cheery son to do his laundry after I am finished if there is room on the hanging rack for his things. We rarely hang things outside as the line is small and it's out of sight, out of mind with me. We have a large rail in the laundry and hang clothes directly from the machine.
I also do towels once a week and need to get Cheery husband to assist with bed stripping and making as I find those difficult to manhandle.
Dusting is never done often enough, but probably once a month. Fortunately most nic nacs are in cabinets, so it's not a lengthy task.
Today was a winner as I emptied the junk basket in the laundry. All odd socks gone, face washers folded properly and put away. So just a rag bag left there and not much else. I even ironed the napkins we used at Christmas and got those put away. Very pleased with my efforts!
It? I am wondering which of the tasks mentioned needs doing every day? The only task I do daily is washing up. Everything else can wait.
A list of tasks to do on 'automatic pilot' every day soon stops being a list and becomes part of the routine of life
eg vacuuming, dusting, wiping window sills - ot whatever your home needs to make you feel relaxed and comfortable.
Even if they don't need doing every day, just ten minutes a day, maybe one room at once, means they never become a job.
The key is making it as automatic as cleaning your teeth. It takes about 30 days
(If I sound like a coach it's because I had a wonderful coach about ten years ago who helped me enormously. Before that I was sinking in piles and cleaning confusion with no excuses - retired, kids grown up etc)
I really ought to do five things off my To Do list every day ( unless I have Something On ) but I can guarantee that not more than one will be housework, unless it is a designated housework day. I just don't think it is necessary.
Mind you, today is one of those days when I have left undone those things which I ought to have done, and done those things which I need not have done.
The kitchen is kept wiped down as I go, and cleared as constantly as possible. I frequently clear the sink and ten minutes later find a glass or a plate or a mug in it or next to it. Mostly, now, instead of stressing about it I just deal with it. One of my most recent things is, if it takes less than a minute just do it, don't obsess about who left the mess and why.
Mr Nen has a friend coming over tomorrow afternoon to help him get some things down from the loft. I asked what things. More car parts, apparently