One shitty job a day - mission to get all the crappy tasks done this year

[Shittyyear2025]

I'm an eternal untidy person. I don't see my own clutter. I've tried HARD to find a routine that I can get engaged in, signed up for COUNTLESS get yourself organised apps.

I saw a video yesterday about getting one shitty job a day done. I think I can manage one shitty job a day. So far I cleaned the lounge carpet (over yesterday and today, bad back and heavy furniture) and I've painted a door that's been off it's hinges and propped up against my hall wall for maybe a year.

I reckon one shitty job a day (or for an hour towards it say, after work, longer crap jobs can be done at the weekend) I can do. I can finally finish decorating the kitchen. I can finally finish painting the landing/stairs/hall after the ceiling collapsed in Autumn 2024, I can sort out the front garden one job at a time (hell, I can even get rid of the ironing mountain and charity shop everything I no longer wear for an hour a day).

Anyone want to join me? Or any tips for starting AND STICKING WITH domestic routines?

Jumpers are now away, as are a few other unused sports clothes. Thanks for the inspiration

Finally took some "that'll be useful one day" garments and sold them. Only £100 income but a big bag of space achieved!

Sorry for the delay @CherryRipe1 , yes I do de-list then re-list on Vinted fairly regularly! If an item has got a few favourites I usually reduce the price a bit first and leave it for a couple of days to give the people watching it time to be notified about the reduction in case that pushes them into buying/offering, then I remove and re-list afresh so it goes to the top of the algorithm. I can't bear the thought of underselling something 😀 so I'd rather pitch higher then reduce, then I know the item has found its level.

My mother is a veteran knitter, she started at 11, is now 71. Says she's been avoiding sewing up for 60 years 😀

She has some huge storage units in her spare bedroom with massive wicker-style baskets that pull out full of pieces of knitting - I often tease her that by the time she gets things out and sews them up the item has gone out and come back into fashion three times over 😀 ( <rummages around> "Oh look Mum there's a batwing sleeve here that you knitted in 1984, they're popular again at the moment..."😀)

Still slowly at it here! So chuffed with the motivation from this thread: two big “corner piles” in my room are much clearer now and the previous dumping areas of the office are much less full. Even cardboard boxes are slowly making there way to the actual collection point in the garage, pre DH taking them to the tip. They are only small jobs but oh the improvement! Thank you OP & everyone

This is so great to hear @CleanSkin! I think it's the small tasks that make all the difference tbh.

I wish I'd found time to keep updating the thread as I've got loads of those little tasks done and now I can't remember most of them! Sold all three sun loungers that were cluttering up my shed so that's cleared some space and earned me some money (still virtually no eBay or Vinted sales @CherryRipe1 so I've done the delete and re-listing thing...)

New MacBook is here and that's enabled me to have something of a digital declutter by which I mean I haven't actually deleted the 95% of stuff I don't need but have just moved the critical stuff over to the new machine and that will have to do 😀

I've got a load of admin tasks sorted like applying for a passport for DD, what a palaver that was. And I'm doing well at planning to sort things and taking step 1 (such as ordering a limescale product for the kettle) but not quite so well at executing the task planned (hence it's still sat on the breakfast bar waiting to be used.) Also still battling the need to find places to put things temporarily whilst I sort out the place the thing is eventually going to live in...that's an ongoing vicious circle as I never have time to fully sort the final resting place for anything, so it all just goes on a merry go-round in the house 😀

I've made a deal with myself to try and read more so I have used some clearing time to do that as it's good for the soul I think. I've also given a bit of time over the sitting in the sun as that was a welcome novelty and that could be it until next year 😀⛅

Onwards and ever sideways...

Hey that’s great @NoExchangeBeforeChristmasThen
We must compare photos of Step 2 (things-bought-but-not-yet-used 😄) I take your breakfast bar of descaler raise you a utility cupboard Nikwax wash tube! (Photos cos I’m not making a list, that’ll be too intimidating )
Reading is a superb thing to do, I’m a great fan - trying to link it as a reward for when I fix xyz, thus ticking two items off with one action.
I have to go downstairs now, can’t quite bring myself to put away a load of laundry first - can do that tomorrow morning - but there’s definitely going to be a few bits that I can take to the recycling bin & tidy up A Corner a bit.

Hope you all get some fun, and possibly even sun, as well as doing shitty jobs this bank holiday x

ETA - buying a new MacBook is a bit of an extreme move to solve the digital mountain, but it achieved the goal so 10/10 for creativity!

Finished sewing a new Roman blind for my bathroom window. I started it three years ago, when the bathroom was redecorated. I've just had it decorated again.

Anyway, it all looks very nice.

Bag of clothes to a kerbside collection
Bag of clothes to go out tomorrow to Charity Shop
Cleaned the skirting boards and banisters rails in the hall (every time I go upstairs I think they could do with a clean so I got a microfibre cloth, spray bottle and a thin brush and sorted it .
Loads of washing done .
Washing machine on its monthly cleaning cycle (dishwasher needs done too)

DH did the garden which is a bigger win but I did ok .

That's interesting,thanks for the tips, I'm loathe to sell stuff too cheap too! I still haven't bitten the bullet & listed on Vinted, however I sold quite a few things on eBay all of a sudden, I'd sell one thing, pack it up then another would sell, or I'd get back from the post office or Evri shop then need to pop out again & made over £100 in a few days. Lucky both are near my home. I think people are possibly waiting for payday before purchasing. It's gone quiet again! Well done on your endeavours, getting rid of 3 sun loungers must have
made a lot of space.

The new MacBook purchase was essential, my old one was 10 years old and virtually had a crank handle instead of an on button...😀

I have NikWax in the shed - that survived the recent shed cull though god knows why as I can't remember the last time I used it😀

Today I need to cut to size the huge mats that I bought in Ikea to line the inside of my Pax drawers. Hitherto they've been propped against the treadmill in my office, which can't be used as a treadmill as it has upon it a) a pile of clothes that haven't as yet found a home in the new Pax, and b) a pile of filing for the cabinet that hasn't been filed because of said Ikea mats in front of said filing cabinet blocking said treadmill.

You get the gist 😆

It's definitely feast or famine on eBay/Vinted, I find the same, one thing sells then others do. It's like one sale kicks it into action somehow. I blame everything on "an algorithm' 😀

It's made loads of room thanks, just need to re-organise what's left to fully benefit from the increased space

I've started doing this a bit - if I see something that needs sorting I'm trying to do it there and then if feasible, rather than adding it to my long mental list. Cleaning the cutlery drawer the other day was a good example, instead of opening the drawer several times a day and thinking "that needs tackling" I just did it whilst waiting for DD's hot chocolate in the microwave. It's a good way to just get small things done so the Small Things list doesn't become too onerous 🙂

So I've finally got rid of all the cardboard I don't need from the garage, got rid of the last of the tiles from the kitchen and a little tidying up in the garden. I'm going to sort out the lounge curtains on Monday. I'm finally getting my kitchen mostly finished next week. There's still more but I'm waiting on trades.

All I want is this house finished. It's not going to be fancy or full of stuff because I can't stand that. I want it plain and easy to clean.

I cleaned and re organised one of the cutlery trays (got two - one is the regular set knives.forks.spoons/serving spoons , one is random cutlery )
I was smug each time I opened the drawer but no-one else noticed .
Oh look how tidy this is . they just gave me a look , that I was a mega praise hungry needy sort .

When the DC were little I cleaned the bathroom sink/toilet while they were in the bath -it wouldn't go down at all well now they're in their 20s

In my family, if you have cleaned/tidied something, it is perfectly normal to demand that everyone comes to worship the newly tidy space. I think it's encouraging.

DH has spring cleaned two bags of clothes from his wardrobe so they can go off to recycle/charity shop this week

I made Foccacia bread and made sure everyone admired it . ( I am indeed needy for praise)

Ikea mats were cut to size and installed on Saturday - tick.

I finally got through a pile of receipts yesterday, filed the ones that needed to be kept, shredded the rest. Repaired the receptacle that I keep them in whilst waiting for said sortage which should be completed monthly but hasn't been done since Christmas and which as a result had bulged to bursting 😀

Am determined to tackle the stuff dumped on that flipping treadmill today!

Definitely get that treadmill tidying done today @NoExchangeBeforeChristmasThen & we will praise you accordingly!

Speaking of praise, VV WELL DONE @70isaLimitNotaTarget - making focaccia is truly admirable! Did it all get eaten or have you saved yourself a bit?

I’ve batch cooked this morning (DC returning from uni shortly) and managed to use a few ages jars & tins that I discovered at the back of shelves. I also tidied up said cupboards as I went along, hence feel rather virtuous 😇
(Knackered now so time for a quiet read & a cuppa. )

I emptied, cleaned and restocked the fridge this morning. Had lunch then sat in the sun.

Tomorrow will do the pull out larder.

I washed the windows and the door and pulled all the weeds that were growing right by the wall today. And I just planted my sweetcorn, courgettes and runner beans in a trio, let’s see what happens there.

Yesterday I cleaned the fridge, which was long overdue.

Thanks for reminding me about the fridge, @BuddhaAtSea 🙄
Have you grown sweetcorn before? Is it worth the effort & the space that they take up?!

I potted-on my sweet potato slips today (left a few days too late, I fear) then as my hands were mucky (which I hate, but was too lazy to find the gloves) did some tidying of pots & boxes in my potting shed. Found a peony root that had avoided being planted so it was definitely worth the effort!

No, I haven’t, but even if nothing comes out of it, I’m thinking it’ll make a good pole for the runner beans 😂.
I hate doing the fridge, but it makes me happy when I open it now.

I need to share with you about a v v shitty job:
I finished a fiendishly complex form on behalf of my DM 😊
It’s taken many days, loads of backup documents and much stress, but I have submitted it!

I sorted out junk in my garage today and tomorrow a nice man is coming to remove it all for me.

So that's half a shitty job. The other half is tidying what's left.