|
|
Post by blossoming on Aug 11, 2010 11:51:12 GMT -5
do you have a hard time keeping your routine (once you've gotten it set up,  ) when things are changing all around you? i am in a pretty good place with my sq but am having construction done right now and boy, it's hard. i know regular people have a hard time when they're having construction, too. so, geeeeeeez. it's hard. i have to move things that were in such good tidy places out of their way. then i have to move them again. then i have to watch them set and pile up. only, i can't move them back because everything is constantly changing. for regulars, i think it's annoying. for me, i'ts like.......ai.......will i ever be able to return this stuff to where it goes once all this is done? i tell myself yes, but it's scary that even as my home is being reconstructed that the construciton may lead to its destruction! |
|
|
|
Post by AnnieOkie on Aug 11, 2010 11:58:09 GMT -5
I've not had to live through construction (bless you, my child  ), but I am living through moving into a new home. I have let maintenance slide a bit lately as I need to spend time doing other things. I pray that I will get back into my routines when we are settled in the new place. Just do the best you can and look forward to the time the work is done and all you have to do is think about maintenance. |
|
|
|
Post by DJ on Aug 11, 2010 12:07:10 GMT -5
i think something that's important for me is to adhere not to the hmmm not sure what the best word for it is. but the rigid structure of the routines but the intent of them. if you're having home reno done or you're in a hotel or anything is greatly changed "kitchen maintenance" will change too. if you're doing home reno it might mean tossing out the contractors bag worth of building debris in the morning as well as the paper plates from the night before.... when i'm in a hotel i still do 'kitchen' maintenance in the morning. it just means clearing out disposable cups, straightening up the tray i put my coffee/tea/snacks on. the goal and reason for the maintenance stays the same, the methods might have to change....
that mindset's helped me a bit. to focus on the reason. and the what works for me part. rather than the rigid adherence to one system. it's something i have to grapple with w/ the OCD and seemingly regularly shifting life circumstances so i don't have a freak out and lose any/all progress...
|
|
|
|
Post by blossoming on Aug 11, 2010 12:15:46 GMT -5
good luck with moving. i find that part of it is nice, in that there is a fresh start. but then there is finding everything and choosing places for it. still, though, the fresh start is nice. my house already looks nicer with the newer things that have been done to it. it is a very old place but with the fresh stuff being done, it helps a lot. there will still be lots to do, i am painting it as too expensive to have them do it. but hey i can't even afford the paint right now. . but by bits and pieces it does look better. to make sure i don't get into a whole shame thing, i remind myself that when your water is turned off all day, it's NORMAL to get dishes piled up in the sink, etc. EVERYONE'S house does that during construction. so, i guess that both shame AND getting out of routine are what i'm dealing with. at leas my computer is finaly working so i can tell you guys about this. makes all the dif in the world! |
|
|
|
Post by blossoming on Aug 11, 2010 12:20:28 GMT -5
yeah i know what you mean about keeping to the spirit of the routines. that is important. i still pick up hte ktichen, still take out the trash, etc. the thing that is freaking me out is that my stuff is turning into piles as i only have so much places to put things and i odn't have a lot of furniture, etc. to hide things in. or, i suddeny have to move a lot of stuff so it's a jumble. i feel like visually the piles are a trigger for me. writing this is helping me think about my thought process. . how meta is that. so, let me see. what practica thing can i do about this. okay. even though i have no container to store the batrhoom suplies in right now that they are in hte livingroom, i can at least make sure they are standingup right. and i can put my desk straight. those count. then i can check the mail so get out of the house for a bit. that would prolly help, too. . |
|
|
|
Post by blossoming on Aug 11, 2010 13:06:22 GMT -5
okay. THEY ARE GONE. i hve the rest of the day to myself. yeah.
i think one of hte problems has been that they've beeen here in general from seven am til late afternoon. so there has been no down time for me to even put what stuff back i could or at least better organize the stuff taht had to be kept out. so, not only today do i have some more time but also a place to put some of the stuff that had to be moved.
that helps.
plus just the time to decompress from having all the strangers around, even nice one, interupiting my routine.
it will start all over again tomorrow but hey for now................i'm golden
|
|
|
|
Post by blossoming on Aug 11, 2010 14:11:27 GMT -5
one of my things tonight will be to de sq the fridge. i've put the dishes in there a few times as it was just too much to keep seeing them in the sink. triggering sort of thing. plus there have been a number of spills by putting lots of weird things in there like that. so in a week it went from a well kept fridge to eeeeeeeek. tonight, i'll take care of half of it.
|
|
|
|
Post by eagle on Aug 11, 2010 14:55:35 GMT -5
Yes, it is harder to keep to maintenance routines when our patterns are disrupted.
If the piles are a visual trigger for you, how about trying to cover one or two of them with an attractive covering? I have a very bright fabric that I used for awhile to cover a stack of crates in my office, so it wouldn't look like a pile of crap. It's not a good long term solution, but for the short term, it can really perk up your space.
I have also had to work some of my maintenance routines into my travels just to maintain the mindset. Dusting was the one I forgot to add to my daily routine, and I could have dusted the dashboard of my car, at least. So when I returned home, I totally forgot to dust for awhile. But I did do daily tidying, laundry (most days), cooking & clean up (yes, even in motels & hotels, I prefer to eat my own cooking), even wiped the sink after each use in the rented rooms, because it has become my habit to do so at home and I like how it looks.
|
|
|
|
Post by blossoming on Aug 11, 2010 15:16:07 GMT -5
that's a good idea. in hte past, i've stuck them in garbage bags which did work but didn't really help my shame issues. . i know what you mean about dusting. this area where i live now is less dusty than before, but i hate to give up my dusting routine as the routine of it seems as important as the actual utility. at some point maybe i can substitute an appropriate action. maybe regular bleaching for mold, . i know what you mean about a wiped out sink too. so, for tonight all counters cleared and part of dishes done. |
|
|
|
Post by messymimi on Aug 11, 2010 18:00:52 GMT -5
Dear Blossoming,
Could you get some free boxes, like the kind grocery stores get bananas or tomatoes in, and label one bathroom items, one kitchen items, etc? That way you would have one place to store things that go together, and you can stack them and cover with a fabric as Eagle suggested.
You could build a temporary routine around grabbing the bathroom box when it is time to go brush your teeth and such. Or grab the kitchen box when you need to go in there to cook.
Whatever solution you use, I hope the "ruination" of your routines is both brief and worthwhile when you get to the end result.
messymimi
|
|
|
|
Post by blossoming on Aug 11, 2010 18:10:48 GMT -5
thanks.  okay. i cleared and wiped off all kitchen counters. i put all dishes in one side of the sink and wiped out the toher. didn't actaully wash them but i seem to remember this counts. . i wiped off bathroom counter and top of toilet. i closed the lids on the shampoo, etc. i tidied my desk. i changed clothes. i made myself a cup of iced coffee. i walked around the house and admired the changes. for tomorrow i have to wash at least two things if not two outfits. when i saw things that were still to be mended as um like the hole where the floor meets the wall that i can see teh grass through, well, i thought gee in a few days that'll be taken care of. . it actually did not depress me as it truly is being taken care of. |
|
hopehope
Banned
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,815 
|
Post by hopehope on Aug 11, 2010 18:29:05 GMT -5
I guess I really do belong here, as I understand this all too well.
I have an alternate suggestion -- do you have a bucket or largish plastic bin?
you can partly fill it with water -- or water and a bit of dw liquid -- in the morning, before the water goes -- and put dishes in there, after scraping them, of course.
then you can feel morally upright -- plus your cleaning will be a breeze, once the time comes.
I make the bed in hotels. helps my head to do that in the AM.
ps -- also -- you can use this break time as a chance to substitute getting yourself in order in the day -- your head/spirit/body/thoughts.
|
|
|
|
Post by blossoming on Aug 11, 2010 18:47:30 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by success19 on Aug 12, 2010 0:26:40 GMT -5
Not construction - but I have so much to do in a small amount of time - should have done more sooner - so yes life is chaotic right now!
|
|
|
|
Post by yearning4order on Aug 12, 2010 0:56:43 GMT -5
I haven't had to live through construction, but yes did just finish a move and it was really really hard. It felt like squalor, although it wasn't. It was boxes.
It helped me a great deal to participate here in chat challenges, and when I got stuck to do what you are doing now--post about it.
|
|
