Chickafinty ~ A Life in the Laundry

Purge!

Am getting rid of *stuff*.

Can't stand it anymore. 

Started small with the second drawer from the top in the kitchen.

I found:

• four defunct air fresheners for which the refills are no longer available
• a soup ladle that we used to have in the caravan.  We sold the caravan in 1983.
• a pair of chopsticks...no one in the family can use them
• a broken pasta server
• a potato peeler that I bought about three years ago...every time I used it it took the skin off my knuckles.  I never use it and will never use it, but I put it back in the drawer anyway.  It got chucked out.
• a cheese slicer thingy, and
• a grater that a) I hate and b) I've used once in about 10 years

It felt good to get rid of all this.

I purged the left half of the school cupboard, throwing left, right and centre.  OUT! went the Crafty Kids scrapbooking paper.  OUT! Went the cut up tumbling teddies borders from my room in 1995.  OUT! went about 6 empty tins and 7 egg cartons and a decorative jar.  OUT! went the faded numbers charts I made for Kinder in 1995.  OUT! went all but 10 of the posters I'd collected from the insides of the Teacher Editions of Lucky Book Club.  I have *never* used them, will never use them and so OUT! they went.  I salvaged the 10 that I will use.  OUT! went my classroom rules of 1999 on the Winnie the Pooh paper.  I loved them, but I have no use for them so OUT! they went.

The right hand side of the cupboard will be attacked today, while the kids work on their phonics and maths.  The pile of paperwork in the cane basket is going in the filing cabinet.  This, actually, is going to be the most difficult part of all.  You see, I have a vision.  In my vision, all the paperwork is neatly sorted into crisp, neatly labelled manila folders, in chronological order, with a new folder for each year.  Each folder wil be placed in a green hanging file with the label (made in my labeller) stuck on neatly.  The files (in chronological order) are then hung in alphabetical order over the three drawers of the filing cabinet.  It's a wonderful vision.  It has no foundation in reality.  The reality is that half the paperwork is stuffed into the manila folders, but it's not in chronological order.  The other half of the folders are on the floor!! becauseI was looking for a particular file the other day and just dumped the pile on the floor.  So far this week I've almost gone head over turkey three times treading on the pile, but they are still on the floor!!

I think I need help.

Dot Point

• school going well, especially in the reading department

• have too many books on my "must read aloud to the kids" list...at this rate I'll still be reading out loud when they're grown-ups.

• the laundry is (partly) under control

• the ironing is not

• neither is the folding

• I don't want to be 40 and fat.  I've got 13 months to do something about it.

• am supposed to be getting a new outfit for a wedding in 9 days time...am not feeling strong enough at the moment to cope with changeroom mirrors

• can't work out when I began the slide from slightly untidy to Stage One in three rooms and stage 2 in one room (yes, it's cryptic, no, I'm not going to explain)

• have come to a sudden realisation that this is NOT normal.  So how come it's acceptable.

• I need to stop whining and do something about it.

• The computer needs to go off for a season

Worth celebrating anyway

Homemade lunches 5/5

Homemade dinners 4/5

Homemade desserts 4/5

Take away dinners 1/5 (due to grocery shopping taking forever and it was too late to cook anything)

Take away desserts 0/5

Bills paid 5/5

*other* spending since payday $0...ok, so it's only been 48 hours, but that's still huge for us!!

So, it's not much and at face value hardly worth celebrating, but man alive, in the context of the way things have been for months, it's HUGE.

You have to start somewhere.  Embracing the inner sloth has been costly in more ways than one.  I'm not feeding or cherishing him anymore and one day life migth become so uncomfortable that he'll just push off for good.

Yeah.  Right.

Today the kitchen - Tomorrow...the world!!

I'm starting over everywhere.

Last night I planned a full week of menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Today I'll do some baking for snacks, morning and afternoons teas etc.

I'm cleaning out the fridge and starting anew there and in the pantry.  Anything that we're not going to eat can go in the Anglicare bin at church.

I cleaned out the cutlery drawer in the kitchen as it was getting a bit grotty.  Have been putting it off for months and months.  It took (I kid you not) less than 10 minutes, start to finish, including washing up and drying the cutlery tray.

The saucepan and tupperware cupboards had better watch out...they are next in my sights.  The wobbly handled saucepan is for the chop for starters.

Am feeling renewed and re-energised.

Preparing the schoolroom I

1. clean bathroom

2. clean toilet

3. ironing

4. folding

5. laundry

6. ironing

7. folding

8. laundry

9. lather, rinse, repeat

10. bins

11. vacuuming

12. mop floors

13. deChristmas

14. plan for Preparing the school room II

A fabulous new find!

Long time readers will know that I have long sought after the Holy Grail of home management.  I have tried many of the online organising helps, I've bought e-books on decluttering, joined homemaking forums and yahoogroups, but to no avail.  They all lacked *something* and as I couldn't define what the *something* was, I couldn't find what I wanted.

Last week at Works for me Wednesday hosted by Shannon, one of the Mr Linky's pointed me to Motivated Moms.  There, on my computer screen, was what I have been searching for.  The PERFECT home organiser.

I have bought the week to a page printable chore list and it looks fantastic.  It's downloadable and printable and cost $USD8...worked out to be about $11AUD.

Satisfying

The threatened Colossal Clutter Cleanup has begun!

It started with our bed packing it in after 12 years and being replaced with an ensemble.  I emptied the master bedroom of everything yesterday and began a major spring clean.  It was so hot I could hardly breathe even with the windows open and the fan on.  I worked and worked and worked.  It felt good.

I:

• washed down the walls
• took down the curtains
• cleaned the vertical blinds
• washed the skirting boards
• emptied the wardrobe and cleaned/vacuumed the inside
• threw out three pairs of shoes
• filled two big garbage bags with clothes for the op shop
• filled two cardboard boxes with "clutter"
• dusted and polished all the furniture
• washed the inside of the windows
• washed all the paintwork

and I did it on my own.

Today we have filled another two garbage bags with clothes for the op shop and I am currently employed in emptying the boxes of clutter and putting everything where it belongs.  It's been a huge job, but the bedroom looks better than it ever has.  I am weary, but it is a good weariness.

All our clothes, shoes and bags are sorted and it just looks so good.

Now to repeat the process in every room. 

I am tired, but satisfied.

Countdown

So, now.

It is this week that I return to work.  There's so much to do that I really need to make a master list of all that needs doing between now and Thursday morning. 

HOME:

1. Empty washing baskets
2. Dry everything
3. Fold everything and put away
4. Iron any school related stuff
5. Clean bathroom
6. Clean kitchen
7. Clean laundry
8. Clean family room
9. Clean loungeroom
10. Clean study
11. Organise study
12. Clean master bedroom
13. Clean Ladybaby's room
14. Clean Chickabid's room
15. Sort out hallway bookshelf
16. Sort out Chickabid's bookshelf
17. Clean out fridge
18. Clean out fridge freezer
19. Tidy and sort chest freezer
20. Vacuum everywhere
21. Mop everywhere
22. Dust everywhere

SCHOOL:

1. Take casual form around the schools
2. Make appointment at beauty salon (for what it's worth)
3. Buy some jeans and a pair of black pants
4. Buy some more tights
5. Gather all BLMs together (Black Line Masters)
6. Collect a few multiage picture books
7. Pack basket
8. Cut up Good Work Cards
9. Cover Good Work Card box
10. Cover Prize box
11. Sort out prizes and load Prize Box
12. Don't forget tissues
13. Buy handbag size spray deodorant
14. Decide on recording format to leave for class teachers
15. Find letters confirming permission to do casual teaching!!...maybe that should actaully be number one on the list
16. Try hard not to panic.

REMEMBER Proverbs 3: 5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

Lost sight of that one this week.  I can only say sorry.

Nothing quite like achieving a goal!

Four days ago:

Today:

Declutter Goal #1 - Day 3

It's not the third day in a row that I have decluttered this room, but it *is* the third day.

After 60 minutes' work it looks like this: