I’ve just unraveled a sleeve

I found it in a box holding stuff from 2004. Yep, you read that right. 2 0 0 4. The box has been on top of the pantry without me ONCE going in it for a good year….or more. So I FlyLady-ed it. I got a couple of things out, but the rest went straight into the bin…and I better take the bin out. Whew…I could hear the rubbish man.

a quest!

I was looking for the matching undies of a set this morning, and of course, while in the drawer looking I made a bigger mess than was already there. So, being on the Flylady kick, I decided to haul everything out and sort through it. I went by this motto - "if you don't love it - GET RID OF IT!"

Point 6 on the declutter page says this - What to declutter? Things to ask yourself as you get rid of your clutter:

* Do I love this item?
* Have I used it in the past year?
* Is it really garbage?
* Do I have another one that is better?
* Should I really keep two?
* Does it have sentimental value that causes me to love it?
* Or does it give me guilt and make me sad when I see the item?

There were a lot of undies in there that I don't *love*, haven't worn in MORE than a year, are really crap, and I have plenty more..and lets not mention the ones from when Tyler was a baby....some 12 years ago!


Next on the master bedroom declutter list is the shoes.

And find the undies I was looking for!

quote

I found this on the Facebook page - "Thank you Flylady. Sometimes all we need is for someone kind to point us in the right direction and say "start here"." - and for me it is quite true. I have a LOT of stuff. So faced with 'where to start' was mind boggling, and the frantic rush to get it 'all done.' (I wonder how much of that expectation is still due to the 'Saturday is clean your room day' motto?) I can still *see* what needs doing, and that, for me, is better than NOT seeing it. Its a work in progress. For now I am happy that I don't have to move things off the arm chairs for guests, and I'm not embarrassed by the state of the sink. Not that the sink was ever revolting, but you know, dishes from yesterday are not a good look.

Todays task is the baseboards in the bathroom and replenish office supplies. I don't need office supplies, so after the baseboards are done, I can do something else. Maybe return the upholstery samples to the spare room and work on that box.

*edit*
Ugh, the bathroom base boards were filthy! you just wouldn't credit it!




And that is just from under the sink! Definitely not a place you would expect to get so bad! I'm going to ask on Freecycle for a bit of marine paint for the baseboards around the bath. They are shocking.

Ooh...Fly Lady has photos.

desk

Todays mission was to totally clear your desk.

So I did.



I like it. Its so fresh and clean looking now.

I washed the bit of carpet in front of the kitchen floor yesterday, just coz I could. I've been here almost 7 years and the carpets weren't cleaned before I moved in, and the definitely haven't been done since!

Let me tell you...it was filthy. It was barely a metre square patch that I did, and I am STILL grossed out (coz its still not REALLY clean, I just did the tops of the pile). I'll be pulling my finger out and hiring a carpet cleaner I think. I can afford it after all! Though, waiting until the house is sorted might be a better idea :s

Also on the Flylady kick, I am utilising the car bucket as a bin. I keep running out of plastic bags. The bucket will be going in the spot where it is or on the door step everyday for me to put things into. When its full, it goes into the regular bin. Mrs Next door gave me some black and gold carpet powder yesterday. I dont even need to take the lid off it to know I'll never use it, so that's gone straight into the bucket.

bathroom missions

Flylady's missions are done. Not that I HAVE a bathroom vanity :P I help the decluttering along I took the screen doors outside. Daughter has been gone 8 months, so they definitely don't need to be indoors any more!

I have also put the bag of pony poo outside. No it didn't stink.

Next to go out today is the Arum Lily and Lilacs that Ramona gave me

Flylady mission

Fly Lady's missions for today, bathroom light switch and door handle and the right side of your computer. All done!



Also got rid of the extraneous paper in a couple of places. I really do not need to keep the C'link forms or shopping receipts from 6 months ago.

I will be able to change the table cloth on the 'desk' here soon. Then I get to find something to replace it. Good fun huh?

Better run the vacuum over the floor before I go to the Drs.

housework

Yeah, I'm still slack at it :P This morning however, I tidied up the miscellaneous dvd's and videos that looked messy. Most of my dvd's and videos have a home, but these are either copied movies, ones I dont like enough to add to the collection, or documentaries that dont 'fit' with 'movies' or on the shelf. Now the extraneous docos are sitting on top of the dvd player, in company order (ABC, BBC, Readers Digest and Time Life) What can I say? I'm a bit anal about these things.

Of a morning I have been getting up and MAKING the bed. Sometimes if I've been overly hot in ned I flip it back until I have been to the loo, but I still make it. Last night I got back up at 10pm to fuffle around a bit until I was properly tired, and had to make it again. Couldn't leave it. Not sure if this is a good thing or not.




The new picture helps. Must find the one by Maia and hang that.

After looking through the Fly Lady's site, I have picked and chosen things that suit ME. Keeping the sink clean and tidy is one of them. A couple of weeks ago the Facebook page gave us a link to the Fly Lady calender. I added that to my Windows Calender, and then worked out how to import that into the Google calender, for which I have a gadget in the side bar. This tells me at a glance when I could be doing inside of sitting here being bored waiting for someone to start chatting. Today we are still in the Kitchen. Tomorrow is Bathroom and another room. I might make that the Laundry..at least until I get brave enough to get into the spare room.

Then at the start of this week, there were Missions. I've made these tasks for the Google calender. One was to clean the taps. Another was to deal with the rubbish bins. The bin one was on the wrong day for me, Monday vs Friday. But I could have switched them over. Happily, when you have completed tasks the calender lets you tick them off! (I want to get a bottle of bleach and actually fill the bin up with water and some bleach every Friday now.)

As a result of this, I am actually looking forward to seeing what next weeks missions are!

As she says...baby steps. For now I am pleased enough that I make the bed when I get up, and shine my sink before bed.

Ooh...pictures of someone elses mess. And you know, reading everyones little stories on the Facebook page...my place isn't as bad as I thought! or at least...I'm not the only one.

I'll get there. :)