Tidying Up and De-cluttering

What do you really want to get rid of and why?

  This is your stuff. You may love it even if others do not. Do not be pushed into getting rid of things you would prefer to keep.

 

Clothes

  If you cannot close your wardrobe door and drawers this is time to say 'goodbye' to those ancient garments that you never wear because you are too fat and they are past it.

Throw away anything that has holes in or smells.

Better,clean stuff can go into those bags that charities put through your letter box or take them directly to a charity store.

 

Food

Stale biscuits, herbs and spices labelled pre 2018 and anything in the freezer or cupboards over 5 years old (and that is pushing it) must go.

 

Books

  Keep them, when family and friends borrow them do not ask for their return.Do a little research on finding out what they are worth on Amazon.You might be surprised and  make a little money selling them.

Photographs

  Keep them. Buy a good quality photo album,label and date them .This will form the basis of a family history which is entertaining  to bring out at family gatherings.

 

Personal Collections

These can be very decorative,they are your memories.There is no harm in a carefully arranged clutter. If your kids do not like it too bad. I have decided that I shall just die and they can order the skip.

                                                           

Two Hour House Cleaning Check List

                                                     

Cleaning is Cool

There is an obsession with house cleaning at the moment influenced by the Netflix series based on Marie Kondo's The Life Changing Magic of Cleaning Up.
I trained as a Home Economist back in the 1960s , a time when women were expected stay at home and devote their lives to house cleaning, cooking , bringing up baby and having a hot meal ready the minute your man walked through the door, all on a tight budget.There was about enough time for the occasional coffee morning or afternoon tea with a friend but  the daily clean was a dominant occupation of many women's lives. For a long time my job as a home economics teacher was to train girls to carry on this tradition .
Nothing wrong with the cooking part ,but constant cleaning, forget it.

My House Cleaning Check list- you should be able to do this in 2 hours.

•  No fit adult or child over 10 should expect another human being to flush away their poo from the loo , clean up their spittle and toothpaste from a washbasin or make their bed.
• Nag kids and partners until they understand this.

1. After breakfast put on a load of laundry,garments only on a short programme.
2. Put the dishes from breakfast into the dishwasher or wash by hand. 
3. Wipe kitchen surfaces.
4. Collect all trash in one large plastic bag and take out.
5. Collect all the towels from the bathroom(s).Spray  and wipe bathroom surfaces ,clean toilets.
6. Put first load of laundry to dry and replace with towels or linen on a hot wash.
7. Dust  main communal rooms if necessary and vacuum the floors.Open the windows while this is done.
8. Fold the dry laundry

Stop after 2 hours. Make your morning coffee, sit down , take a break and enjoy you clean home.

 Additional weekly jobs 

Mop the kitchen and bathroom floors. 

Check the fridge for stale food and wipe clean.

Vacuum stairs and bedrooms.

  Cleaning products for kitchen and bathroom floors

 Buy cleaning products that are fit for purpose and a large supply of soft cloths.These are some of my favourites.
This stuff is brilliant ,it cleans floors rapidly without the need for buckets and hot water.It is hard to find in supermarkets so I sent for the three pack as soon as I start to run out.



                                        



The bathroom 


                                         

                                                                                     

 Flash bathroom cleaner is great for a daily swipe around the toilet,washbasin and bath.Finish the shower with a good dose the shower spray while it is still wet after you have used it  and it will dry clean.
I live in a very hard water area which causes deposits on taps and shower heads. Use  Viakal  once a week to clear these annoying deposits.

Follow the instructions on the containers and only use the cleaners for the purpose for which they were intended. 

The Kitchen

                                                                                      

Use a degreaser like Dettol Power on kitchen surfaces, Flash for floor cleaning.

                                          

Communal room surfaces

   Specialist surface cleaners for wood, leather and glass give the best results.
     I have tried many spot carpet cleaners and prefer Dr Beckmann with the brush attached.




                                                                   


A daily cleaning routine will help you keep on top of things and mean that on difficult days you can leave things until you have more time.A tidy house makes for a calmer family.
 

Coffee and Cake

So good to sit in the warm kitchen when the temperature outside is below freezing and enjoy the remains of the Christmas cake  and a cup of coffee.

                                          

                                 

The Cake

Grandma's War ,No Sweets or Chocolate

There were virtually no sweets or candy for civilians  during WW 2 owing to the absence of sugar and the difficulty of importing cocoa beans.The troops deservingly seemed to have access to some of these things .When my father came home on leave from the army he would open his kit bag and share the stuff that he had saved up and we had all tiny amounts of Mars Bars and Fry's Chocolate Cream .Sweet rationing continued until well after the war.
No wonder my age group still love these treats. I will remember them while I  have an expensive trip to the dentist on Friday.


                                     

                                                                    

                                       


                                          

Grandma's War -Snoek

The loss of the fishing industry owing to enemy attacks on fishing boats and the mining of beaches meant an absence of the cheap but tasty and nutritious fish like herring and mackerel from the UK diet.

Desperate to replace this the government arranged for cans of a fish called Snoek to be imported from South Africa.

I remember being given this in a fish pie at the kindergarten that I attended and was thoroughly told off because I was unable to eat the vile smelling grey mush that  made me retch.It had this effect on many people and remained on the shop shelves eventually being renamed and sold off for cat food.