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Post by fireweed on Mar 9, 2010 21:06:53 GMT -5
Hi Everybody,
I have a problem. I have a hopeless case of laundry and a hopeless case of dishes.
I haven't had every single dish washed since July 2007.
I don't even know when I've seen the floor of the bedroom. It's covered in laundry. The kids room too. There is no place to put all the clothes.
Anyone have any suggestions for how to start? I don't have a dishwasher.
Thanks.
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Mar 9, 2010 21:30:54 GMT -5
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Post by fireweed on Mar 9, 2010 21:34:05 GMT -5
HAHAHAHA you made my day CL/SS! Thank you!
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Post by 7sweetbabiesgranny on Mar 9, 2010 22:52:28 GMT -5
Anyone know of the thread on this? I'll look around. I'd throw the whole bunch out, maybe time for new set of dishes. 4 babies grannie
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Post by Butterfly on Mar 10, 2010 9:43:25 GMT -5
I agree with 4sweetbabiesgranny. If you've got dishes that haven't been washed in 2-3 years then you obviously haven't been using them and have more than you need. So, I'd save myself a lot of work and just throw most of them away. Keep the ones you use most often and/or the ones you like the best and get rid of the rest. Same goes for the laundry. If you've got so much that it covers the entire floor then you most likely have more than you need. Throw away everything but what you or the kids have worn in the last month plus any out of season clothes that will truly, honestly be worn often in that season. Since you will be left with just what you really use, unless you bring more in without discarding, you will never be in as bad a situation again so maintenance will be much easier. Now, if I could only take my own advice regarding Xmas ornaments. Why is it so much easier to give advice than work on my own problems?
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Post by xievajohnson on Mar 10, 2010 9:49:42 GMT -5
I love the funny! A long while back I had one with a picture of a couple. They are shopping and one holds up a sweater and says, "Wouldn't this look nice on the floor next to the dresser?" I can't remember which cartoon it was, but I've never forgotten it. I've got endless dishes and laundry, too, so all I can share is hugs, not ideas.
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Post by xievajohnson on Mar 10, 2010 9:52:38 GMT -5
Wow - Butterfly. I wonder if I am ready for that step. Just throw out dirty clothes and/or dishes as they are!
I don't think it has ever occurred to me. I've always felt as if they have to be clean first. Come to think of it, it's a pretty odd belief.
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Post by Arid on Mar 10, 2010 10:37:07 GMT -5
I read what she posted differently.
She didn't say that she hasn't washed ANY dishes since 2007; she said that she hasn't had all of them done at the same time since 2007. (At least, that's how I read it.)
I had all of my dishes washed up at the same time probably about five times in the past year. Now, mind you, I wash dishes just about every day. I wash some of the *newest* ones and some of the *oldest* ones. It's just that it is very seldom that I manage to get *ALL* of them done at the same time!!
It's kind of like cash flow: money comes in . . . money goes out. . .
My supply of dirty dishes is never-ending.
Arid
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Post by Butterfly on Mar 10, 2010 10:41:28 GMT -5
...A long while back I had one with a picture of a couple. They are shopping and one holds up a sweater and says, "Wouldn't this look nice on the floor next to the dresser?... !
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Post by Butterfly on Mar 10, 2010 10:43:56 GMT -5
I read what she posted differently. She didn't say that she hasn't washed ANY dishes since 2007; she said that she hasn't had all of them done at the same time since 2007. (At least, that's how I read it.)... You're right. But, perhaps she could still make her life easier by getting rid of a lot of them?
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Post by fireweed on Mar 10, 2010 16:32:05 GMT -5
Thanks! Some good ideas! And people in the same boat, well not surprising this is SOS! I was reading a book by the Organizer Lady yesterday and she mentioned the "Swiss Cheese" method where you just jump into a task and do a little here and there. That seems to be working with the dishes, I do a sinkfull them let them air dry and come back later. The laundry is a monster though. My kids friends come over and leave their clothes and I don't know whose clothes are whose. I've gotten kind of hard nosed about it, I figure if I don't hear about an item after awhile it's off the the thrift store! It's just too hard to try to figure out who's clothing belongs to who, especially since I have three sons all about the same size.
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Post by Evelyn on Mar 10, 2010 17:01:17 GMT -5
You can probably find lots of helpful hints & so forth by searching for "Dishes" or "Laundry" (there's a lnk to the "Search" box just below the page header, right underneath the "a" in "Squalor.")
For the laundry, could you maybe use a laundry marker to mark the tags of the boy's clothes with their initals to help you tell them apart? (OTOH, my mom solved this problem by teaching use how to use the washer and dryer for ourselves about the time we were tall enough to reach the dials. She'd still wash our clothes for us if we wanted, but only when she had time - and as a mother of four with a full-time job, it could be a while until she had time...)
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Post by CaringFriend on Mar 10, 2010 19:48:51 GMT -5
It's just too hard to try to figure out who's clothing belongs to who, especially since I have three sons all about the same size. I read a great idea for solving this very problem and I'd like to share it with you. I never needed to use it since I only had 1 child. This mother had 3 or 4 sons and passed clothes down the line as the oldest grew out of them. Her idea was to put an X on the tag of the piece of clothing being passed along to the 2nd. child. When he outgrew that, it was passed down to the next one and she put an additional X on the tag, so that it showed XX. Passed down again, add another X and have XXX. The oldest son had no Xs on his labels because they weren't needed. By using this system, the children could easily sort the laundry after it comes from the dryer, making one less job for you. Mothers come up with the cleverest ideas!
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Post by fluffernut - now Jannie on Mar 11, 2010 16:26:04 GMT -5
My house is a mess. Piles of magazines and books, I'm behind on paying my bills, but the one (two) things I am proud of are my laundry and dishes. I keep on top of those 2 chores. I generally run my dishwasher and clothes washer once a day.
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Post by CaringFriend on Mar 11, 2010 16:34:50 GMT -5
....I'm behind on paying my bills.... Are you behind on paying them due to clutter or finances? If it's clutter, you may want to try this. Before I got my mail/junk mail/catalogs/magazines under control, I used to pull out the bills, put them in a Ziploc bag, and put the bag in my purse. The next day at work, I would take care of the bill during my lunchtime or break time. It's easy to find and take care of 1 bill each day by doing that. I made that a habit until a better solution came along.
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