Apparently my house needs a good spring clean :(

[lostintransit]

Now maybe i should post in aibu but im almost sure im not.

We live in a small cottage. Solid fuel heating, shit weather 9 months of the year and the house has had a never ending list of things needing done. We have never relaxed for more than a couple of months without doing something.

Since moving in 4 years ago we have
-put in new kitchen
-had a baby (3rd dc)

• Put in a cloakroom toilet and whb

-painted every room -converted the attic into a playroom for the kids with a fixed ladder, velux windows etc -installed a woodburner in the bedroom -put up a new wall -taken down a wall -are currently putting a small extention on to replace old rotting bathroom/utilty area

So to get to the point my dad has been helping us alot, he is a builder and so does pretty much all our work. Dh and myself are the donkeys, doing the digging, painting (all the unskilled bits) I feel very lucky to have my Dad.

SO whilst i was out the other day my dad was looking for a small key and looked in our drawers in the lounge. They are our 'crap' drawers. Does everyone not have drawers that gather any crap that doesnt have a home?

My Dad mentioned today that our house could do with a good spring clean as our drawers are full of crap.

I know it might not seem much but im so tired constantly trying to keep my head above water in this house that it just felt like the straw that broke the camels back.

Tell me im not the only mother of three small kids with crap in her drawers

Bookbird.... I also have this situation. I could dust everyday but I dont. I like to think its because i have a life but in truth I just cant be bloody arsed. Its never ending!!x

lostintransit - where I keep my crap: in the bin . I really don't have that much stuff, I don't keep anything unnecessary and if something is necessary, then I find it a proper home such that it is organised and can be seen - ie not piled up in a drawer. Perhaps organised in a cupboard.

I went to a friend's house and she asked me to get something from a drawer and it was piled high with all sorts of crap - so OP it's normal!

I have a 5 bedroom house full of crap, might need to move out to a 2 bedroom in the near future for some extensive remodelling, hiring a skip will be in order. Oh, and we have a loft full of crap mostly left behind from the previous owner 6 years ago

Maybe you could leave out the keys your poor dad needs whilst he's putting in all that effort renovating YOUR house. Just sayin

growlithe - i did say i feel VERY lucky to have my Dad. Id be lost without him. Sometimes I wish he would visit and not do a job but he wont. He is just that kinda guy who likes to keep busy. FWIW I do everything i am physically capable of doing (along with less capable diyer dh). For example I would take down the walls but my dad will neaten up any mitres or skim some plaster work where i will tape and fill joints, sand down paint etc. He does the more skilled stuff. Im learning and i really really appreciate my dad I was just feeling overwhelmed by the chaos of diy and 3 young kids and drawers full of crap!

oh and the key was an allen key my dad reckoned belonged to our toilet seat to tighten it. It turns out you dont need such a key and tbh im not sure it ever existed! I fixed the seat with a screwdriver.

This post made me smile ! We have a crap draw and I think I could empty it all in the bin and not notice its gone, but then I would be rumaging about in the bin in case those batteries do work. and those tiny weeny christmas card pegs might come in handy and we might use that keyring one day and those candles...etc...etc! We also have an unaficial crap corner and a pile of crap in front of my wardrobe and some shelves and a box and one next to a box.... I am supposed to be cleaning the bathroom now but am procrastinating. I could do it tomorrow?

I have drawers full of crap.

However, and I know this is a bit maudlin and self obsessed of me but I'm going to say it anyways...my dad was like yours, couldn't pass a door without screwing the handle in or oiling the hinge, put down our flooring, did lots of stuff. This was only 2 or so years ago. Now he can't visit often because his hands shake so much and he can't do any. Of those jobs and as much as sometimes it annoyed me, I'd love it if I could have him being like my old, interefering dad who couldn't sit down until hed done something. Enjoy this time.

Beawheesht that made me well up. I see my Dad getting old infront of my eyes and it makes me feel so sad. He gets frustrated with failing eyesight and aches and pains. I know it comes to us all but its so sad.

Sorry I didn't mean to upset you, I think it just struck a chord with me cos not so long ago I couldve written that and now, well, lifes so different.

So sorry beawheesht. I can imagine how upsetting it must be for you. Cherish him as he is now. Maybe he would like doing something with you rather than coming round doing things. Im sure for example when my Dad becomes unable to do bits and bobs he'd appreciate a drive down to any marina to look at the boats and maybe some fish and chips in the car looking out to sea. Is there anything your dad enjoys that you could do with him?

The problem is we don't live close by so he used to drive up but can no longer drive and we can only go down at weekends occasionally due to kids/work/dog/cat etc. He can't go on the train easily, he falls a lot and has lost his confidence.

Sorry, anyways, how depressing!! He still loves seeing the kids etc and we're getting a dog tomorrow and he'll be looking after it (along with mum) when we go on our summer hols so he's chuffed to bits cos his dog died last year.

Thanks and sorry!

Don't be sorry. Just life isnt it, as depressing as getting old is. Hope your Dad loves your new dog! x

Even the most anal, neat freak has (at least) a drawer or two.
I can't remember the episode, nor can I link from my phone, but, when Chandler moves in with Monica and finally opens "the door to nowhere". Similar scenario to the MM sketch.

Our crap collection was so vast it had its own large packing box. The said box languished unsorted in the last house and was shoved swiftly in the loft in this one. I has retrieved from it the Doppler and the suade cleaning spray and am confident it will never be opened again.
My new kitchen has 2 crap drawers and a whole corner work top if crap which are all coming along nicely

Hell, I have open shelves full of crap. In my living room. They're not even nicely displayed shelves of crap. I also jave drawers and cupboards of crap and a whole room that acts as a floordrobe.