Monday’s Six, and Unfortunately, the Backlog

Monday’s Six:

1. Clean off/out the washing machine.
2. Get one of the comforters cleaned.
3. Desmudge the kitchen cabinets. 11:10 a.m.
4. Get the rest of the popcorn in the canister. 11:30 a.m.
5. Find the leather cleaner for the couch and chairs in the living room. Clean a chair, if found.10:30 a.m.
6. Mop the laundry room floor (fill in).

BACKLOG:

Friday

• Find something to do with the extra eggs.
• Make pepper jelly.
• Figure out a new way/place to store the yarn and put it away.
• Look at the stored snow tires. Need new ones? In the budget?
• Make cookies with the frozen oatmeal.

 

Thursday:

• Empty my desk, again.
• Cut more sage and other such from the garden. Kale Fri. 10/13, most of the rest of it 10/15. Need to pull some tarragon and that’s it.
• Make up/try the Naval Academy brass polish.

Wednesday:

1. Clean off DH’s desk.
2. Cull books from one “holding pattern” bookcases. Either they’re out or they stay!, in process Thurs. a.m. (I did the 1st shelf.)

Finish laundry room clean up.

Tuesday:

• Weed the brick path around the veggie garden, edge it. in process, 1st quarter done 1:30 Fri., 2nd quarter and 1/2 the 3rd done Sunday.
• Move the lumber which needs it from the shed so it can be put away in the loft.

Monday:

• Put family photos in the album. Can’t be done. Photos located, album missing! 

Friday:

• Examine winter coats for flaws, etc.
• Do the last gather of flea market materials, last market is Saturday 10/14 date changed to 10/21

Thursday:

• Put ice scrapers in the cars, examine and see if they need replacement?

Monday’s Backlog:

• Clear stuff from my car and run a vac through at least part of it!.

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Friday’s Five & Backlog

I did something which shows me how things are different these days. Yesterday I gave away brand new packages of lunch bags and staples, to two different businesses. The lunch bags were given to an antique store who uses them to wrap china and glassware. The staples were given to the antique store where I have a booth.

In both cases, I have more than I think I’ll use in a reasonable time, without them.

I use about 1/2 package of lunch bags a year for drying herbs/spices. (And I reuse them sometimes too.) I had come to the end of a package and bought some, thinking I was out. When I went to put it away, there was another new package! I sure didn’t need another 50!

The box of staples came from a box of shop office supplies. I thought I’d folded in or deleted extras from the shop’s supplies long ago, but I found a box a few months back filled with labels (mostly tossed), the box of staples, and a few miscellaneous pieces. When I cleaned office shelves last week or so, I realized we had 2 complete boxes of staples, more than we’d likely need until oh 2050. I don’t expect to be alive or wanting staples by then anyway!

Previously, I would have kept them; in fact I did. These days? They’re clutter I can get rid of easily, and that’s great!

Friday’s Five:

1. Find something to do with the extra eggs.
2. Make pepper jelly.
3. Figure out a new way/place to store the yarn and put it away.
4. Look at the stored snow tires. Need new ones? In the budget?
5. Make cookies with the frozen oatmeal.

Much of this is dealing with food, obviously. Partly because farm day was yesterday. But it’s partly because the other chores in/out are so far behind. I have to cook no matter what else happens most of the time, so this is an “easy” way to get the list pared down. If it’s a cheat, it is — sue me!

BACKLOG:

Thursday:

• Empty my desk, again.
• Cut more sage and other such from the garden. Kale Fri. 10/13, most of the rest of it 10/15. Need to pull some tarragon and that’s it.
• Make up/try the Naval Academy brass polish.

Wednesday:

1. Clean off DH’s desk.
2. Cull books from one “holding pattern” bookcases. Either they’re out or they stay!, in process Thurs. a.m. (I did the 1st shelf.)

Finish laundry room clean up.

Tuesday:

• Weed the brick path around the veggie garden, edge it. in process, 1st quarter done 1:30 Fri., 2nd quarter and 1/2 the 3rd done Sunday.
• Move the lumber which needs it from the shed so it can be put away in the loft.
• Work on grading the last pile of dirt.Fri. 1 p.m.

Monday:

• Put family photos in the album. Can’t be done. Photos located, album missing! 

Friday:

• Examine winter coats for flaws, etc.
• Do the last gather of flea market materials, last market is Saturday 10/14 date changed to 10/21

Thursday:

• Put ice scrapers in the cars, examine and see if they need replacement?
• Ship the box to the BIL, make up more boxes of things which should be shipped and get them sent! I think I did this, although I’m not sure. I cannot find the box anywhere!!!

Monday’s Backlog:

• Clear stuff from my car and run a vac through at least part of it!.

New Ideas About Cleaning

Aside from the PTSD, bad habits and panic attacks, as if that wasn’t enough, I’ve had one other major problem about cleaning up the house. No one ever taught me how! This means that no one ever showed me the “right” order to do things. I was taught at boarding school how to make a bed, clean a toilet or trash can, but not how to make a schedule or plan to cover the basics, regularly.

And, I admit, that doing anything regularly wouldn’t have happened anyway, because of the panic attacks. Cleaning is like writing a novel or any other longer piece, you have to keep slogging away at it I’ve found. Difficult for me, if not impossible for much of my life.

That said, I have discovered a few things:

1. Always clean more than you have to. That is, if the dishes are done and you have 1 item in the sink, find a candlestick or decorative something to clean too. This also applies to sweeping the kitchen, putting clothes away, whatever. Especially if the chores aren’t involved or big, add something minor. Cleaning the bath counter? Wipe down the box on the shelf, etc. etc. etc.
2. Hard surfaces, impervious to water are the easiest to clean; where soft surfaces, which absorb water are the hardest.
3. Clean the areas used the most more than others.
4. Clean the most obvious areas first. (I have [had?] a tendency to clean closets and drawers when the urge to clean hit me. Before I realized the clutter was what I needed to feel safe, it was dumbfounding to me that I could spend a whole day cleaning and you couldn’t tell. This is, of course, backwards from the way most people work. And that’s the reason why those “toss this” lists really didn’t work for me.
5. Find whatever works for you and run with it. I spent DECADES trying to use flylady or other cleaning plans, and couldn’t.  This caused more of the internal I’m stupid, flawed, and just screwed up mantra.  I figured “Of course this doesn’t work for me and it does for Mary or Jo. It’s me after all.” I finally accepted that I couldn’t adopt someone else’s plans, I had to come up with my own — in my 60s!

Thursday’s Five & a Smaller Backlog

Today’s Five:

1. Empty my desk, again.
2. Get insulation in the cavity of the new wall so it can be sealed.DH did this Thurs. evening!
3. Cut more sage and other such from the garden.
4. Make up/try the Naval Academy brass polish.
5. Work on the household journal. Thurs. 9:50

Wednesday:

1. Clean off DH’s desk.
2. Cull books from one “holding pattern” bookcases. Either they’re out or they stay!, in process Thurs. a.m.
3. Work on the marble table. Thurs. 9 a.m.

Finish laundry room clean up.

Tuesday:

• Weed the brick path around the veggie garden, edge it.
• Move the lumber which needs it from the shed so it can be put away in the loft.
• Work on grading the last pile of dirt.

Monday:

• Put family photos in the album. Can’t be done. Photos located, album missing! 

Friday:

• Examine winter coats for flaws, etc.
• Do the last gather of flea market materials, last market is Saturday 10/14 date changed to 10/21

Thursday:

• Put ice scrapers in the cars, examine and see if they need replacement?
• Ship the box to the BIL, make up more boxes of things which should be shipped and get them sent!

Monday’s Backlog:

• Clear stuff from my car and run a vac through at least part of it!
• Move the paint as DH and I discussed.Thurs. 10:10 a.m.

Wednesday’s Five and the Backlog, Alas!

Today’s Five:

1. Clean off DH’s desk.
2. Cull books from one “holding pattern” bookcases. Either they’re out or they stay!
3. Organize the mailers. 7:45 a.m. Thurs.
4. Take stray hangers to the laundry room. Weds., forgot to note the time.
5. Work on the marble table.

Finish laundry room clean up.

Tuesday:

• Weed the brick path around the veggie garden, edge it.
• Move the lumber which needs it from the shed so it can be put away in the loft.
• Sweep the front door landing (outside). Noon Weds.
• Work on grading the last pile of dirt.

Monday:

• Put family photos in the album. Can’t be done. Photos located, album missing! 
• Work on new cleaning: laundry. Weds. 2 p.m.

Friday:

• Examine winter coats for flaws, etc.
• Clear off the dining room table again. In process. More work done Sun., but not complete! More work Tues. Done Weds. 7:20 p.m.
• Do the last gather of flea market materials, last market is Saturday 10/14.

Thursday:

• Put ice scrapers in the cars, examine and see if they need replacement?
• Ship the box to the BIL, make up more boxes of things which should be shipped and get them sent!

Wednesday:

• Organize/Cull the cleaning products 8:10 a.m. Thurs.

Monday’s Backlog:

• Clear stuff from my car and run a vac through at least part of it!
• Work on the fabric storage again: cull and neaten. Thurs. 8 a.m.
• Move the paint as DH and I discussed.

Tuesday’s Five & the Backlog

 

Tuesday’s Five:

1. Weed the brick path around the veggie garden, edge it.
2. Move the lumber which needs it from the shed so it can be put away in the loft.
3. Clean another section of the sun room’s quarry tile. 7:30 p.m.
4. Sweep the front door landing (outside).
5. Work on grading the last pile of dirt.

Monday’s Backlog:

• Put family photos in the album. Can’t be done. Photos located, album missing! 

Work on maintenance: desk/bath counter and new cleaning: laundry. Bath done noon, Tues. desk done 6:00 p.m. Tues.

Friday:

• Examine winter coats for flaws, etc.
• Clear off the dining room table again. In process. More work done Sun., but not complete! More work Tues.
• Do the last gather of flea market materials, last market is a week from tomorrow.
• Work on the household journal.Weds. 11:30 a.m.

Thurday:

• Put ice scrapers in the cars, examine and see if they need replacement?
• Ship the box to the BIL, make up more boxes of things which should be shipped and get them sent!

Wednesday:

• Organize/Cull the cleaning products

Monday’s Backlog:

• Clear stuff from my car and run a vac through at least part of it!
• Work on the fabric storage again: cull and neaten.
• Move the paint as DH and I discussed.

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What’s not on this list: 4 or 5 loads of dishes, peppers steamed and frozen, recipe ready. Other peppers chopped and frozen. Roasted a chicken with veggies for lunch. Picked and sorted the chicken bits at dinner: carcass to stock making, picked meat some of it for dinner, veggies + stock + flour, milk, and seasoning = chicken goulash (dinner). DH put away the food after dinner, I did another load of dishes. Three loads of laundry, put the comforter back into the duvet. Took the cat to the vet. Went to the hardware store. Bought gas. Deleted about 1,000 unread promotional emails. Pulled a replacement crock out of the attic and some books to sell. Forgot! Tutored my student too.

 

Monday’s 6 & Last Week’s Backlog

It’s nice to see that I managed to get one day’s worth of chores done (Tuesday) finally, but there are still 10 more items which are undone! It’s raining as I type this, and that will further put off outdoor chores.

1. Clean the cat food bin.10:30
2. Inventory the filters, make sure there’s the needed amount of the right type.12:30
3. Clean the drawer with rolling pin, etc. 11:00
4. Put family photos in the album. Can’t be done. Photos located, album missing! 
5. Inventory/examine/clean the items in the umbrella basket. Move seasonal items no longer needed to attic or other secondary storage.11:10
6. Work on maintenance: desk/bath counter and new cleaning: laundry.

Friday:

• Examine winter coats for flaws, etc.
• Clear off the dining room table again. In process. More work done Sun., but not complete!
• Do the last gather of flea market materials, last market is a week from tomorrow.
• Work on the household journal.

Thurday:

• Put ice scrapers in the cars, examine and see if they need replacement?
• Ship the box to the BIL, make up more boxes of things which should be shipped and get them sent!

Wednesday:

• Organize/Cull the cleaning products

Monday’s Backlog:

• Clear stuff from my car and run a vac through at least part of it!
• Work on the fabric storage again: cull and neaten.
• Move the paint as DH and I discussed.