In the summer we changed the kids' beds for bigger ones, it was that time already, the lasts for years toddler beds had not really lasted all that long at all and they needed more space.
So I moved the stuff out of their rooms and we changed the beds. So far completely normal. What I didn't do was put all the stuff back again. I only put back their very favourite toys. I wanted to see what would happen. They haven't missed a thing. As long as there is lego, ponies and make believe food, they are happy.
I must confess that the toys are still sitting in my room. I still need to take the next step and send them all to charity or the tip.
Today this article popped up on my FB feed and it reminded me that I need to keep going with the great declutter. The big problem now is that I can do kitchen ware, clothes and cheap paperbacks easily, the big hurdle is going to be the crafting stash. It will probably take a few reminders from friends to make that one happen.
The really interesting thing is going to be whether the big clear out results in a happier and more together woman at the end of it all. Watch this space.
http://www.mother.ly/life/how-getting-rid-of-stuff-saved-my-motherhood
Thursday 5 January 2017
Wednesday 4 January 2017
Low price bath cleaning
Cleaning the bath is a job that I don't enjoy and that is putting it mildly. I am just a bit short too reach the other side comfortably and give it a good scrub,at least without getting soggy myself.
So what I do is....
Have a spare plastic body scrub flower in the bath, a different colour to any you may use for yourself.
Have a bottle of super cheap shampoo or washing up liquid.
While bath is still warm after use (or rinse well with warm water) , give it a goôd scrub with the shampoo and scrubby thing.
Rinse with cold water.
The secret here is that soap scum comes off much easier when warm or hot.
If you don't want to use shampoo or washing up liquid then bicarbonate of soda, worked into a thick paste on a washing up scrubby sponge works well too. Warning, bicarb can leave bathroom with powdery, gritty streaks. If that happens, wipe down with vinegar.
This does leave bathroom smelling a bit like fish and chops but has probably killed as many germs as expensive household cleaners only with non of the pollution, cost or skin rashes.
So what I do is....
Have a spare plastic body scrub flower in the bath, a different colour to any you may use for yourself.
Have a bottle of super cheap shampoo or washing up liquid.
While bath is still warm after use (or rinse well with warm water) , give it a goôd scrub with the shampoo and scrubby thing.
Rinse with cold water.
The secret here is that soap scum comes off much easier when warm or hot.
If you don't want to use shampoo or washing up liquid then bicarbonate of soda, worked into a thick paste on a washing up scrubby sponge works well too. Warning, bicarb can leave bathroom with powdery, gritty streaks. If that happens, wipe down with vinegar.
This does leave bathroom smelling a bit like fish and chops but has probably killed as many germs as expensive household cleaners only with non of the pollution, cost or skin rashes.
Monday 2 January 2017
Why the cleaning tips?
It must be said that the art of household management is not popular, sexy or appreciated. Every day we are bombarded with media and cultural messages that tell us that time is too precious to waste on cleaning. Phrases like, "just a housewife," and "only a cleaner" combine with magazine images of perfect women giving us advice on how to raise children, have a career and fit in gruelling hours at the gym to present the idea that cleaning is beneath us. I have yet to see a "perfect man doing house, jobs, kids and image" style article despite the fact that many men do just that.
This has lead to two problems. Most importantly it has made it culturally acceptable to pay cleaners a pittance and secondly it has lead to stay at home adults being written out of the economic structure of the country. Housework doesn't count as a skill to be proud of because an adult that stays at home to look after relatives, do the cleaning, cook the meals isn't paying tax. They are not contributing to the economy by paying tax so they are fair game to be victimised as lazy scroungers.
Well personally I would like to see every cleaner and bin man on the City of Westminster go on strike. If the powers that be had to live with mucky toilets and smelly, over flowing waste they might start to value the people that clean up after them. If there was no pharmacist to run to with their cold symptoms they might start to value the power of a home made hot toddy. If the low paid kitchen staff all got flue they might start to realize how long it takes to make a fully balanced meal from scratch every day.
I am not advocating strike action but I am suggesting that we need to start thinking about our own home skills as important. We should value those skills because each and every skill we have means that we are able to do something for ourselves. The economic system wants and indeed relies on us buying ready prepared food, buying expensive and harmful cleaning chemicals that will make our lives easier, wants us to spend, spend, spend on the latest gadget to make our lives easier. In the process this creates job, pays tax to the government that we all benefit from.
It also makes us dependent on companies that move those precious jobs to other countries. It makes us need big multinationals that peddle harmful cleaning chemicals under one name and soothing hand creams under another.
Worse that all of this though, it gives the impression that some basic human skills are not important, not needed and the people that employ those skills for the good of others can be ignored, paid badly and generally undervalued or forgotten.
This post was not meant to sound so political but actually I think a lot of this needs to be said. If you find a job smelly or unpleasant then you should pay someone a lot of money to do it for you.
I don't like cleaning so I am prepared to spend time planning ways in which to make cleaning easier, quicker and cheaper. You make sure your phone and internet link are efficient. I think the same about keeping my house clean.
Please note, my house is not a sparkling clean palace,it looks like kids live there, with a crazy craft lady and a man with too many computer cables lying around.
There is dust, clutter and unwanted stuff, it is a work in progress. To keep your sanity you need to steer well clear of pictures of perfect houses and regard your home as a home and not a furniture advertisement.
This has lead to two problems. Most importantly it has made it culturally acceptable to pay cleaners a pittance and secondly it has lead to stay at home adults being written out of the economic structure of the country. Housework doesn't count as a skill to be proud of because an adult that stays at home to look after relatives, do the cleaning, cook the meals isn't paying tax. They are not contributing to the economy by paying tax so they are fair game to be victimised as lazy scroungers.
Well personally I would like to see every cleaner and bin man on the City of Westminster go on strike. If the powers that be had to live with mucky toilets and smelly, over flowing waste they might start to value the people that clean up after them. If there was no pharmacist to run to with their cold symptoms they might start to value the power of a home made hot toddy. If the low paid kitchen staff all got flue they might start to realize how long it takes to make a fully balanced meal from scratch every day.
I am not advocating strike action but I am suggesting that we need to start thinking about our own home skills as important. We should value those skills because each and every skill we have means that we are able to do something for ourselves. The economic system wants and indeed relies on us buying ready prepared food, buying expensive and harmful cleaning chemicals that will make our lives easier, wants us to spend, spend, spend on the latest gadget to make our lives easier. In the process this creates job, pays tax to the government that we all benefit from.
It also makes us dependent on companies that move those precious jobs to other countries. It makes us need big multinationals that peddle harmful cleaning chemicals under one name and soothing hand creams under another.
Worse that all of this though, it gives the impression that some basic human skills are not important, not needed and the people that employ those skills for the good of others can be ignored, paid badly and generally undervalued or forgotten.
This post was not meant to sound so political but actually I think a lot of this needs to be said. If you find a job smelly or unpleasant then you should pay someone a lot of money to do it for you.
I don't like cleaning so I am prepared to spend time planning ways in which to make cleaning easier, quicker and cheaper. You make sure your phone and internet link are efficient. I think the same about keeping my house clean.
Please note, my house is not a sparkling clean palace,it looks like kids live there, with a crazy craft lady and a man with too many computer cables lying around.
There is dust, clutter and unwanted stuff, it is a work in progress. To keep your sanity you need to steer well clear of pictures of perfect houses and regard your home as a home and not a furniture advertisement.
How to debobble a jumper
For a while now I have been trying to not buy things I don't need, to make my things last and generally take a step back from the race to shop our planet to destruction.
This week I learnt something new and realised how easy it is to fall into the, "I need that trap."
I bought a battery operated jumper debobbling gizmo. I wanted to give my old jumpers a few more months at least and they were looking very tatty indeed. My little razor type machine worked OK. It did the job and very tidily collected the fuzz so you could use it to stuff toys. However after one jumper it was going slower and slower. Time for new batteries. That was when my brain kicked in and reminded me that there was another way of de-fuzzing a jumper.
Use a razor.
Lay the jumper flat on a hard surface and gently shave the jumper. That is all there is to it.
On the plus side it is much quicker than the little machine, doesn't need batteries and doesn't fill my cupboards with more stuff.
On the minus side you do get a lot of jumper fluff all over the table or floor. Have a vacuum cleaner or broom on standby. Also, you might want to give it a good shake outside.
I know it might sound odd to keep fluff for stuffing toys but I can guarantee to always find a toys with holes and stuffing missing in the kids' rooms somewhere.
This week I learnt something new and realised how easy it is to fall into the, "I need that trap."
I bought a battery operated jumper debobbling gizmo. I wanted to give my old jumpers a few more months at least and they were looking very tatty indeed. My little razor type machine worked OK. It did the job and very tidily collected the fuzz so you could use it to stuff toys. However after one jumper it was going slower and slower. Time for new batteries. That was when my brain kicked in and reminded me that there was another way of de-fuzzing a jumper.
Use a razor.
Lay the jumper flat on a hard surface and gently shave the jumper. That is all there is to it.
On the plus side it is much quicker than the little machine, doesn't need batteries and doesn't fill my cupboards with more stuff.
On the minus side you do get a lot of jumper fluff all over the table or floor. Have a vacuum cleaner or broom on standby. Also, you might want to give it a good shake outside.
I know it might sound odd to keep fluff for stuffing toys but I can guarantee to always find a toys with holes and stuffing missing in the kids' rooms somewhere.
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