Fireplace Next

The Fireplace is my next cleaning project. It has been neglected since our last fire in late spring, about 3 months ago! The dust buildup is at an extreme level and I just can't stand it any longer. The Christmas tree hid this area for a few weeks, but there is no hiding it now.

I have been putting this off because I find it really difficult to wedge myself between the fireplace and the wall and reach the back corner - but after some yoga maneuvers and deep breathing, I managed to squeeze myself over and down into the abyss.

After the initial sweep out from around the back I noticed that there was still the remnants of our last fire in the firebox. I had initially thought the door was just dusty, but when I opened the door I found the firebox full of ashes and a half charred log - so I had an unexpected clean up of the inside of the firebox to do. 

After I had emptied out the ashes I gave the walls a wipe down with an all purpose cleaner, wiped down the outside of the firebox and mopped the floor with the same. I then gave the carpet around the hearth a vacuum and I was done.

The top still looks a bit dusty, but I wiped all that away, so it is more the colour of the firebox. I would like to put some product on it that would bring out the black, but I need to get more advice on a good product to use and that is obviously not flammable. Still I'm pleased that the job is done and that I can move onto the next task. 

Cleaning the Cooker

 Next on my list of cleaning missions was the gas cooker.  It was pretty greasy and disgusting.

I had to remove the burner covers to clean underneath. The largest burner had baked on nasties, so I used oven cleaner to loosen it. I had to spray it on, leave it for 20 mins and repeat to remove the worst parts. The rest of the cook top was not as challenging. I just sprayed on an all purpose cleaner then wiped it off after a few minutes and the grease just lifted away.

This is the finished result. Not perfect, but much, much better. Almost too good to use and dirty again. I must do a better job at doing a good wipe down after each use to prevent the build up.  

I'm really pleased with the result. 

Before and After - Cleaning Success

I have a few outstanding cleaning jobs that I have been procrastinating on this week. It has been so hot and dry - out here in the country it has meant serious issues with dust and flies. I'm sweaty and exhausted, but I'm ploughing on with the housework, one task at a time. My first task on the list was cleaning the bath in the kids bathroom. It was marked with streaks from the bath toys, stained with food colouring from some adventurous bath play (I like to colour the bath water some nights for fun) and lastly coated with a nice crust of dust blown in from the garden just outside the bathroom windows. Here's how it looked before I got out the elbow grease.

It wasn't pleasant, it fact I had been showering the kids all week to avoid unnecessary contact with the bath!

Now it's the shower that needs some attention, although not nearly quite as much as the tub.  Here are the after pics.

It's a thousand times better. Now all I need to do is go through the bath toys and work out which ones leave marks in the bath and oust them. I had to use Jif, a cream abrasive and slowly scrub the marks away with light circular strokes. It is probably not the best product to use on an acrylic tub, but there wasn't really any alternative, other than leave the marks there. I washed the dust and food colouring away with Handy Andy an all purpose cleaner and I was a bit naughty using a mould killer product on the grout. There was no mould, but I find this product is excellent at eliminating most marks and soap scrum. I spray, leave for 10 minutes and then wipe off. It is probably a bit hard on the tile grout and silicone sealer around the bath, but I use it sparingly and wipe it off after a short time with no scrubbing, so hopefully it doesn't do too much damage. Nice to have a clean tub for now :-)

Laundry WIP - An Organising Success

The key to organising success in our laundry has been factoring in WIP.  That is the 'Work In Progress' element.

I actually share a laundry space with my mother-in-law and her husband who live with us in a self-contained space which was formerly our large double garage.  Their space neighbours the laundry and it is our one common area in the house.  With a family of 5, I wash most days while Mother-in-law does washing only two mornings a week.  I try to make sure the facilities are free for her set days, but it doesn't always work out that way, depending on whether the kids have generated a mountain of dirty washing from playing outside or going swimming.  I always have laundry on the go - at some stage in the process.  That is why I set up a laundry holding system with laundry baskets and shelving to hold laundry WIP (laundry in various stages in the process).

This system relies on me emptying the machines once they have finished their cycles, but it also means that if I don't get around to emptying the machines and Mother-in-law wants to use them, that there are still basket(s) free for her to empty out the machine and use it right away.

Once upon a time I used to have 2 laundry baskets that were always full of washing to fold sitting in my lounge or bedroom and a tonne of washing backed up to be washed.  There was no where to hold clean washing ready for the dryer if the dryer was in use, so it would sit in the washing machine until the dryer was free.  It was not the most efficient use of space or time.

Now I have a shelving system next to the machines that can hold 3 full laundry baskets.  This means that a can leave my laundry on the shelves until I am ready to deal with it - one basket at a time.  I can get another load of washing in the machine if the dryer isn't quite finished and I don't have to bring dry washing into the house and dump it out to free up a laundry basket. The washing is contained and I don't feel overwhelmed by piles of washing to be folded when I'm busy with the kids or other chores.

I recently introduced a further two (white) baskets.  These are available for extra heavy wash days. They are easily stacked away under any of the other baskets when not in use, while giving me extra leeway when chaos descends on the laundry.

I have intentionally used the 3 middle shelves of the 5 tiers for practicality. It is not easy or practical to lift baskets of laundry up to the very top shelf or from the bottom shelf, but I have still made the most of these spaces. The lower shelf stores laundry powder and a small rubbish basket for dryer lint etc. the very top shelf stores dog grooming equipment and bedding - as I really only use this once every couple of weeks.  

This is my laundry system and it is working so well, I just thought I'd share my success.

Mission Completion

I have filed each and every document in the remaining stack of paperwork. The result is not a pretty system, but I have followed the 'like with like' principle and I have done it using only existing folders and boxes to store everything.  The system is set up in the corner of our kitchen area opposite a wall painted with chalkboard paint.

Firstly, I have a tray to cope with inwards mail. The mail can be sorted into clear plastic pocket files (bills to be paid current projects and I have a receipt file to hold all the loose receipts that make their way into the house).

I have used a basket that originally came to us as a Christmas hamper full of food to house more folders. The folders are the newly created 'household organiser' and 'household finances' folders. These are works in progess. I am building a selection of templates to help me with routines, planning events, goal setting and keeping track of our finances.   

Next I have a recipe and takeaway menu folder which I have used for many years and is regularly used.  There are some spare folders I have stored here aswell, just in case I need more resources for anything that comes up.  The magazine holder stores my note pads, compendium and felt pens I use regularly.   The whiteboard calendar above and a fabric covered notice board (out of shot) help us keep order to daily life. This is the first half of my system.  The second half looks like this

 It sits in the bottom of the hutch dresser in our lounge. It was already housing some of our paperwork, but I cleared out some other miscellaneous stuff that I had been storing and now have a dedicated space for paperwork.  The top left corner is the kids area for artwork, profile books from preschool, activity books etc and I have their certificates and bank statements separated out in folders for each child.  The top right is our property area - we have a lot of house renovation paperwork for a project we recently completed, so that has to stay for now.

The bottom left is Hubby's zone for his club and school paperwork and bottom right is a concertina file with our annual paperwork (where bills paid etc. get filed) and a pocket folder housing our operating manuals for the home.

Sadly, I have been unable to label everything because my labeller is on the blink, but I am hopeful that if I get the folders and boxes labelled ASAP I will be able to recall where everything is at a glance and keep the system working smoothly.

Time Files

I have been working on the remains of a massive paperwork purge (a small stack of files and documents) for the past 2 weeks now and they are starting to wear me down. 

Hubby and I had managed to file most of the past 2 years of household documents in the bonfire pile and some documents we need to keep in ring binders. Now it's just the nitty gritty - manuals, receipts, and some kids art and momentos. It's this stuff I am really struggling to find a home, it doesn't fit neatly into binders and it is likely to be kept for a while, so it's been a case of how and where to store it.

I'm ready to just dump it all in a box and slap a label on it, but I get the feeling if I do that, then it will get thrown in the storage shed never to see the light of day and never to be found - like when I need to find the receipt for the chainsaw or the instruction booklet for the home ventilation system.

I need a better system - a storage solution and a place to store these documents in the house. Oh and the other thing I need to solve this dilemma is - it has to be free. I have no budget for this project and to top it off my trusty labeller is not functioning, which is a real bummer.  I do like a nice neat label :-(

I'm not giving up on this project. I refuse to let the stack of paperwork win. I will have a brainstorming session and come up with a plan of attack for tomorrow. I can't let another week pass with that stack taunting me!

Craft Nook

I have been wanting to create a craft space since we moved into our house about 18 months ago. Almost all my craft supplies have been stored in our storage/shipping container out of sight and out of mind for that entire time. Digging it out and sorting through it all was a bit of a mission, but I have done it - sorted, purged, put away, stacked and labelled. 

Now the craft nook is not the prettiest space, I have not invested in pretty office furniture or storage. I have used pretty much what I already (apart from the compartment organiser boxes) which I bought on sake at Briscores with a gift voucher I got a Christmas.  There are no windows to gaze out of and I have to share the space with our Dog 's sleeping crate (believe me I tried to find another space to move it), but it is the only space available and I am quite excited to be claiming it as my own. There are some pluses to the space, it is somewhat of a dead end, so it is not a space that kids are running through and I can kind of hideaway from everyone and everything to work on my craft projects.

My only concern is, this space is probably at its full capacity and doesn't allow me to introduce new supplies or projects.  This does mean however that in order to start new projects I must commit to finishing my current projects which I am fine with. This year is going to be all about getting things done and if I need to set myself up for success.

One final thing I'd like to do to improve the space for now is to sew a cover to hide up the dog crate.  Ultimately a peg board wall and/or a painted chalkboard wall would be awesome but for now it's just fine.

Lost my Mojo

After my mammoth effort on Sunday, I lost my mojo on Monday and today and my productivity has been low. Progess is still being made, the essentials have been looked after, but it has been much slower going. I think it is due to late nights, early starts and just being plain exhausted. I want to get the most out of each day but I need to be careful to look after myself and make sure I manage my time wisely.  I am actually thinking about keeping my current sleep pattern of 12:00am to 6:00am (not nearly enough for me) and adding in a 15 minute morning meditation as well as a 45-60 minute power nap between 1:30 and 2:30pm. I'm not sure if it will add up to enough but  there may be the opportunity to squeak in an extra hour or two on weekends. I'm going to give it a try for a week and review it after that.

First Day Back

My twins are back at pre-school and hubby is back at work, so it's me and my school age daughter at home - ah peace and quiet - for the most part. I got through a huge volume of work yesterday which has given me a head start on my housework, but this morning I have to get my bearings and make some to-do lists so that I know that I am focusing my energies in the right areas. One given is the mountain of washing I have to fold after a mammoth effort to get most of the washing through yesterday.  Wish me luck!

On the organising front, I have several projects on the go - a craft nook in our void at the end of the hallway, the paperwork bin, which has been purged and is sorted ready for filing into a folder (thanks to hubby for the help on this one) and closet reorganization (only the basics started). What needs to happen is the completion of these projects and a clean slate for routines and habits to grow on.

Organising R&D

I have been doing some research into getting set up for a productive and organised 2015 and I've realised that while I have made quite a bit of progress on setting up my current systems, I really need to step it up and take my organising to the next level. Pintrest and Utube have given me stacks of ideas and projects to get on with once the holidays finish and I will be looking to re- organise our wardrobe, linen cupboard, bathroom cabinets and kitchen draws. None of these areas is terribly disorganised, but they are still fairly cramped and in need of  a little love and attention! Watch this space...

I'm also working on a family binder to combine all my plans, schedules and routines in one place and lastly I have a mountain of paperwork to file and decide how to tackle going forward (that one has been procrastinated on for quite some time I can tell you).

I read an article the other day that mentioned that clutter is just stuff that is waiting for a decision to be made about it. When I attack a pile of clutter now, I try to work with that philosophy in mind. I ask myself questions like: Is this something I wanted to keep? Does it have a home? Can it be donated? Why have I still got this thing? Make a decision about it now - don't defer it! Clutter is definitely a reflection of our state of mind, if our brains are cluttered to the point where we can't make effective decisions then our homes will also suffer. Maybe the first step in decluttering should be to meditate and mentally prepare for the huge volume of decisions to be made. Purging possessions is a huge mental stress and it can cause us to give up the process before we even give it a chance. Maybe if we purge some of our self doubt, anxiety and apathy we would stand a better chance of purging the clutter which has so many negative impacts on our lives.

Hello 2015!

Holidays are so blissful -  late nights, sleeping in, relaxed meal times and menus, family outtings, friends coming to stay, camping and working on projects around the house.  All my routines have slipped, I am behind on housework, meal planning is non existent and I'm not confident about the level of hygiene in my kitchen and bathrooms, but I'm okay with it - for now. I know that the holidays will soon come to an end and as disorganized as I have become  over the past week or so, I know that I have the systems in place to pick up the pieces and get back on track when the family's back to their normal schedules.

I have managed to plan a short time ahead for upcoming birthdays and picked up some discounted presents in the after Christmas sales, which I have wrapped and stacked away.  It isn't as much as I would have liked, but it is a start and I will build on it more in a few weeks.