#4 - Hoarding, Sorting, Organising, Friendship, Understanding. All On One Thread.

[Solo]

Are you a hoarder? Are you in a mess, untidy, disorganised? A bit lazy with housework? Are you are ill and not coping with the housework? Are you totally overwhelmed? Are you are emotionally attached to items for whatever reason and can't let them go? Are you unable to just ask someone in for a cuppa at a moments notice or do dread the meter reader asking for access?
Do you find yourself nodding whilst reading any of this? If you have a combination of any or all of these things or something completely different, please come and join us. There is no judging. We have something in common here and we have a common goal. We share our ideas and we share our disappointments no matter how big and our celebrations no matter how small. We cheer one another along and drag the drowners from the depths of despair.

Join us; we don't bite! Welcome to thread number 4.

I'm still trying to keep up with everyone's updates but nothing is being done here till next week. The house is an absolute tip, the kitchen is a health hazard, I have mounds of stuff to tidy/ put away... but I have very little spare time and even less energy

I think once the DC are finally back at school it will take me so long to get everything clean and tidy again that it'll be the Easter holidays and time for them to wreak havoc again!!

Oh and it's AF week too and I feel terrible. As you can tell, I'm not getting very far with sorting things out at the moment...!

Girding myself to do another hour this afternoon. I think something looks a bit different!

Clara hope you feel better soon.

Poor you Clara, I try to just survive in weeks like that...in fact this week I'm "achieving" very little, but it isn't the end of the world...DD is happy enough and occupied which is a comfort, and I enjoy small pleasures like a nice mug of hot tea after a cold walk and snuggling up with someone or something!

Had a stressy morning, entirely self inflicted because a workman came round so I had to tidy things, but I feel better now they have gone and the thing is dealt with. DH bought some delicious sausage rolls too.
I found myself getting very upset when I emptied the kitchen bin all over my foot and the floor, because of no bin liner etc, get so angry with myself for incompetence but it is all sorted and I realise what a storm in a teacup my housework related emotions are.

Anyway, small success yesterday was dusting my bedroom surfaces, and collecting up rubbish, not much but just enough there to lower the spirits.
Today when I have the strength I will hoover up there. The hoover has gone half way up the stairs to ds2s room near loft stairs. Half the battle is just carrying wretched thing. I now have two Hoover's to avoid this issue but it ended up in DDS appalling room. So appalling that she decided to do hoovering for first time in a month. Usually late at night but still.

Will return when I've done the hoovering in my bedroom.

Forgot, also managed to shake out the cruddy sofa cushions and dog blankets this morning.
Keep safe Clara and look after yourself

@Nettleskeins you are doing so well! I think it was you who posted a picture of your study? It was such a lovely room - one to be proud of.

Thanks.
Ill do the other quarter of my study when it is tidied and then there is the sofa area....with paper piles under it
But all in good time..

Nettle

Sounds like you did well.

I was going to declutter more when I returned from a long walk. Alas, I did some yoga instead.

More tomorrow for sure! Also have a couple of admin jobs that have arisen from the clutter so will do those. No work tomorrow so no excuses!

@Nettleskeins yes, surviving is my only ambition for this week!! The DC were hideously squabbly today, I was utterly shattered, the house is a pigsty... roll on next Monday, is all I can say.

It's AF week as well and I couldn't go too far from home due to flooding - curse you perimenopause! - I have spoken to the GP about it but there's not much they can do. I'm thinking about job hunting again soon but don't know how I'd cope when I'm basically incapacitated for two days every four weeks

@LunaHeather I keep trying to do yoga with the DC, but they just don't have the patience for it!

I've had some flooding recently with my period. It has started to get heavier, so I'm getting a Mirena next week. I know some people don't get on with the Mirena but I'm hoping it'll help me have less bleeding.

My DH has far too many tshirts, and of course a couple have holes. He won't get rid of any. But I've been quietly folding up one or two and stashing them away, just so they can be removed from the gigantic laundry pile. I'd prefer him to just have maybe 7 nice t shirts and rotate them, but I'm not quite there yet. I don't know if he's noticed some aren't around anymore. I wouldn't chuck them out without talking to him though.

Hello to a new joiner.

Anyway, I've put a bedsheet on to wash today. I was glad to have forced myself to do it while we have some sunshine to dry it today.

Yesterday I did a heap of laundry. And it dried as well. I'm terrible at never putting clean laundry away though.

I'm trying to maintain the few areas I've tidied recently. I feel in a good head space.

I've never tried TOMM I'm not great with schedules and I end up beating myself up for failing! Tiny steps is best for me and celebrating tiny achievements!

Ugh, flooding. Such a horrible feeling! My menstrual cup has helped a huge amount with that (I can actually forget I’m even on my period for a few hours at a time).

I’ve not managed any decluttering lately.

Hello everyone and welcome @LunaHeather! 🤗

Your conversation about TOMM (which I haven’t heard about before… oops!) made me curious! How similar is it to the FlyLady Cleaning Method? I find the latter quite regimented, too, and it sometimes underestimates how long the chores may take. So I’ve decided to implement only parts of it, not the whole lot.

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl I’m sorry you’re struggling so much! 🥺 Did the GP at least recommend some iron supplements?

Two weeks since my last update… there's been no decluttering or deep cleaning on this end 😞

But this week is the first week when I’m testing the FlyLady’s Basic Weekly Plan which I’ve tailored to suit my personal circumstances. I’ve chosen Thursdays to be my Clothes & Footwear Care Day + Pamper Day which means that my tasks for today (in addition to my morning and before-bed routines and everything else in between) are as follows:

• Mend clothes and fabric household goods
• Shoe care (clean, polish, and apply protector and deodoriser sprays)
• At-home beauty treatments (hair mask, face mask, manicure, pedicure, etc.)

I’ve also completed steps 5, 6, 12, 14 and 15 of the Control Journal building process 📓

In order to create detailed cleaning lists for step 6, I had to visualise each of my ‘zones’ without any clutter, and then describe what and in which order I would clean (FlyLady’s advice is to start at the ceiling and work your way down to the floor). I’m not at the stage of using my Detailed Cleaning Lists yet (need to sort out the hoard first!), but FlyLady still recommends making them, even at the stage of decluttering.

For step 12 FlyLady’s advice is to add a column ‘Who/What’ to each name in your address book. I've decided to store my contacts in my beloved Excel – its filter/sort feature allows me to find the contacts of a specialist, service provider, family member or a friend (these are the ‘who/what’ categories that I’ve decided to use) in the matter of seconds.

Step 15… wow, why didn’t I think of doing something like this before? Being blasé about a potential emergency or evacuation won’t prevent it from happening, and for years I was choosing not to be ready. Well, I am ready now! 👌 Err, almost… I still need to pack up an emergency bag in accordance with the FlyLady’s 11 Points to Preparedness for Evacuation.

Margo, I'm a ex fly lady fly lady failure.
There is a wonderful thread called the Fledglings.

The control diary was my undoing. But the missions were very good, and the whole decluttering process.

I don't "do" fly lady at all now. But her philosophy of jumping in has helped me. And of course the focussing on "you cannot clean clutter"!

It took me a while to realise that flylady is more complicated than I thought, for example the home blessing on Monday makes absolutely no sense if your house is upside down...hoovering alone and laundry would take five hours once you had moved stuff and put stuff away. in my house

Which all makes you feel much much worse.

But the good news is, no not the hoovering, but I managed to struggle to B and Q and buy a very big plastic pot to repot bay tree at front, and thus clear the large sack of malingering compost and the rest of dead leaves by front door. Also some seed packets, so I can make decision on reusing plastic pot clutter in greenhouse, AND force DD to share in gardening (she can plant some nasturtiums)
And some heartening spring bedding to add to tulip window boxes.
Finally going to chuck the tiny measley plastic window boxes that dried out so quickly and replace with small but chunkier terracotta ones I purchased just now.
Will post pic of one when planted

Thank you Cherry

I have not heard of Fly Lady but it sounds terrifying and certainly doesn't sound like it simplifies anything. My guess is all these systems are by people who enjoy cleaning?

Nettle sounds like you've done loads.

I only did 30 mins decluttering but it was a very productive 30 mins if you know what I mean. Definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel now. Won't be doing any tomorrow but will do on Saturday.

Re bag for evacuation, not sure what FlyLady is aiming at..but both me and my parents have/had health problems such that I had an emergency hospital bag by 18!

I carry quite a bit of stuff in my ordinary handbag tbh. There's always a snack bar, bottle of water - two if it's a boiling day and I have to use the Tube - and essential meds apart from asthma inhalers which are a given.

Fledglings!!!! check out the thread...all will become plain!

I think the fly lady scares me as well! I'll focus on more decluttering at the moment.

I've got a lamb joint in the slow cooker, I'd planned on doing it yesterday, so I'm just happy I've overcome my procrastinating. It's smelling great.

I remembered late last evening to hang out some washed towels, in the past I'd just leave them and then wash them a second time, again sort of procrastinating.

The repotting of a bay tree sounds like a big job, how'd it go? !

I don’t use flylady but know the theory. It starts small so to start with you just take on one task, shining your sink and from then on you keep it shined everyday. Then you can add another single step - can’t remember, maybe lay your clothes out before bed? So the idea is that you add one small thing at a time rather than doing too much as ok at once and then failing. I have not managed to stick with any of these methods, but have read widely and watched tons of YouTube videos

@Nettleskeins how does FlyLady compare to TOMM? Are they similar? What’s the key difference?

I can imagine the Control Journal becoming a stumbling block! I started to build mine on February 15th, and it’s still not finished 🤦‍♀‍ I must admit though, I am customising it a lot to make it suit my current life circumstances. And for now I’m definitely skipping the Weekly Home Blessing Hour and Detailed Cleaning Lists because these routines are technically impossible in heavily cluttered rooms. I also prefer to declutter and organise my items by categories (which is similar to the KonMari method), not by rooms (a.k.a. FLY zones). But when, one day, my flat becomes free from clutter, I will try the FLY zone approach.

Thank you for pointing me into the direction of the Fledglings thread! 🙏 I love how cute some of those ‘ta da’ lists are – it makes me wanna use 🍒 as bullet points for my lists from now on!

Fly lady also to ambitious for me, my sink is a perpetual disaster zone and will remain so until dd2 sleeps properly. Nothing of any use happening today, except a tiny bit of laundry. Aforementioned toddler was up for the day at 4am so that's my excuse. Bracing myself for dd1 going back to school on Monday. I'm happy, but absolutely dreading having to get up and out early again.

*too ambitious that should say.

Potting tree ongoing. I made some drainage holes in the pot and put some compost in the bottom...thanks for asking. Kneeling down made me feel weak and I had to retreat indoors!!!
Feeling v v weary today and doing tiny amounts but that is something.

Potting and repotting is hard work, I only ever do it occasionally at mum's.

These methods all sound nightmarish and make me even more committed to chucking out as much as possible. Worked 10 hours today but more decluttering at the weekend. I wanted to finish by end of March and barring illness etc that should be fine.