messybessy
New Member
Joined: October 2008
Posts: 40 
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Post by messybessy on Apr 11, 2009 16:47:44 GMT -5
Well I am going to attempt to clean this house again. The last time I got a little square cleaned up and that was it. That square has dissapeared under a mountain of stuff. I really think I need to go about this a different way that will be more of an instant gratification than just a tiny square.
I will post before and after pictures after I get 1 room cleaned. I have a bunch of "totes" that I can stash stuff in until I figure out what to do with it and maybe keep them mouse free.
I am going to start in the living room as this is the first room you see when you open the front door. At least then I won't be stressed at opening that door and trying to keep people from seeing inside my mess.
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Post by Little_Ninja on Apr 11, 2009 17:28:06 GMT -5
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Post by annieblue on Apr 11, 2009 17:29:32 GMT -5
Hi Bessy -  First of all, CONGRATS on getting that square cleaned previously!  That more than anything tells you IT CAN BE DONE, woo! Great idea to start in the living room! It is where I started, & even though it is at back of the house rather than right off front door, it is still the room in which I spend most of my time & it has made all the difference. Gives me a nice cleared out place to relax after working in all the other areas. A lovely gift to yourself. And you deserve it, you really do.  I would say, as is so often said here, start with the obvious rubbish, the stuff that can go STRAIGHT into trash bags & get it right out the door. That will give you some instant gratification to begin with. And then while stashing things in those totes, TRY REALLY HARD to discard every single unneeded thing as you go along. Make quick decisions, don't handle anything very long at all, ask yourself, "Do I TRULY love this, Do I TRULY want to live with it for the rest of my life, just HOW MUCH valuable real estate in my home do I want to exchange for this item?" Even the teeniest tiniest item takes up real estate, & we run the risk of keeping stuff forever when it gets stashed in a tote. Trust me, I had a tote tower of 25 or so totes FOR YEARS in my front room, all from one giant "store it now to get it all contained" binge. DISCARD, DISCARD, DISCARD as much as possible BEFORE it goes in those totes! Best to you in this. You've done it before, you CAN do it again. I promise. How about in the first days you shoot for one more cleared square each day? And remember it is a process, not a marathon. Keep at a steady pace, but don't run yourself ragged to where you get burnt out.    
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Post by annieblue on Apr 11, 2009 17:37:48 GMT -5
Oh, I also meant to say: PositivelyPickles told us about "contractor trash bags" that you can get at Wal-Mart. Woo, I finally got a bag the other day.They are HUGE, like up to 5 feet tall, & SUPER INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH. So you can use them to toss out REALLY LARGE, HEAVY, BULKY items like CHAIRS & such!  And who DOESN'T need a package of those on hand?  |
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messybessy
New Member
Joined: October 2008
Posts: 40
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Post by messybessy on Apr 11, 2009 18:02:28 GMT -5
My problem is, I tend to clean in spurts, then I sorta get distracted and it gets messy again. Today I slept most of the day as I took a stronger than normal pain pill for a torn rotator cuff last night. It really knocked me out and I didn't get up until 3 this afternoon. Well the pill is still working and the pain is decreased somewhat so I can work on my day/evening off from work. I work nights so I will be able to stay up tonight to hopefully clean. Too bad we don't have a chat room here so I can have someone with me when DH goes to bed. I need someone to prod me along sometimes  I have gotten DH to help me a bit since I can't do a lot of lifting and moving things around. I even started a free cycle box for things that really are good but I do not need. I have told myself that if it goes in the box, it belongs to someone else and I am to leave it alone. Tonight I think I will declutter the computer desk while I am taking my breaks and crusing the site. Right now I am picking up obvious trash and moving the other stuff around. |
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Apr 11, 2009 19:00:56 GMT -5
Too bad we don't have a chat room here so I can have someone with me when DH goes to bed. I need someone to prod me along sometimes We DO have a chatroom here!!!!! You have to be logged into the forums to see the link. See the row of buttons across the top that say: home - help - search - members - calendar - profile - logout - chatClick on "chat" to get in. (If you're stuck, there's additional information on Technical Help forum here, see thread called "entering chat step by step".) - |
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messybessy
New Member
Joined: October 2008
Posts: 40
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Post by messybessy on Apr 11, 2009 19:22:16 GMT -5
Too bad we don't have a chat room here so I can have someone with me when DH goes to bed. I need someone to prod me along sometimes We DO have a chatroom here!!!!! You have to be logged into the forums to see the link. See the row of buttons across the top that say: home - help - search - members - calendar - profile - logout - chatClick on "chat" to get in. (If you're stuck, there's additional information on Technical Help forum here, see thread called "entering chat step by step".) - Thank you for that wonderful news. I will stop in tonight to see if anyone is on. |
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Post by zinnia on Apr 11, 2009 19:51:15 GMT -5
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Post by yellowhouse on Apr 11, 2009 21:19:22 GMT -5
:-*Bessy,
You can do this!!!!!
We know how overwhelming it can feel sometimes. Annieblue has some good advice...just take a deep breath and take it one step at a time.
We are rooting for you!!!!
yellow
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Post by Meme on Apr 11, 2009 22:55:44 GMT -5
good for you to start again and yes- living room also will be your best start- my room for folks to come into is the kitchen and I finally have it under control and it feels so good to go in there and it is now easier to maintain also- we all fall down and we all can get up again- I find that I have to go past the square also and I did the same- packed most things up and then did the cleaning and then put back what could of should be in there- I also find it is motivating to keep clean when it is mainly clean and less clutter to have to move- only kept my house plants and things that will go in dishwasher if they get dusty or greasy- Miss Ashley is hard on my kitchen as she tends to use high heat and no lids- she is in training-  |
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messybessy
New Member
Joined: October 2008
Posts: 40
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Post by messybessy on Apr 12, 2009 5:08:00 GMT -5
Well my well laid plans sorta changed. I didn't stop cleaning, I just cleaned a different area. The kitchen is DH's domain and hes no better than I am when it comes to cleaning up. I wanted him to knotice I had done something while being up all night. I bagged up 3 bags of trash, including 2 old coffee makers that had died several years ago. I have no idea why we were keeping these but they are gone now. I found 2 counters and the sink. Ran 2 loads of dishes through the dishwasher and tossed a baking pan that was too disgusting to clean. It was a cheap metal one so DH won't be too upset. I even washed one corner of the floor just so there would be a clean spot on it. It didn't really make sense to wash this because it is destined to be torn out soon but I wanted a clean spot.
I will be paying dearly for this cleaning spurt but at least I got something done. Betamethasone makes the pain of a torn rotator cuff go away about 3 days after you get the shot, it also gives you tremendous energy and you can't sit still. I got a deep shot in my left shoulder on Thursday and it kicked in last night. I am going to try to get DH to go through some of his stuff in the kitchen to see if there is anything he can do without so I can put some other more important stuff away and free up the now clean 2 counters.
I also bagged up 3 bags of trash from the living room even though I didn't actually do any cleaning in it.
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Post by 60isolderthanithot on Apr 12, 2009 11:11:11 GMT -5
Great idea -start at the door. Relieving that stress is a good motivator.
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Post by def6 on Apr 12, 2009 11:29:05 GMT -5
Dear MB,
Congratulations on cleaning the square the first time and congratulations for begining again. Also, I think it's great that you continued to do work even when working in your chosen area wasn't possible. These are great strides!
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Post by valor on Apr 13, 2009 7:49:21 GMT -5
Yay Bessie |
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Post by messyjedi on Apr 13, 2009 9:27:54 GMT -5
Go Bessy, go Bessy! Great job on "digging in"! You can do this!
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