but before you all take up arms against him in honour of Women's Rights I must point out that I did persuade him that I really really wanted it and if I am totally honest he does far more housework than me (on top of his very stressful fulltime job)
Our house is such a tip and I really don't do enough to keep it nice so I'm at the stage when any helpful advice would be very gratefully received. I also find it easier to do things if I can "read myself" into the mood - so reading about cleaning would make me want to clean (hopefully!!!)
At the start of the first chapter about decluttering there was this questionnaire thingy
Has she been here????And what does she mean "three of these boxes"? I ticked them ALL and some of them more than once!!!
I think my house may have given up on screaming and just accepted resounding defeat!
Anyway, always up for a challenge I decided to follow Missus Turner's advice and start with the hall - the smallest mess you'd think - so why did it take me a full hour to clear the clutter and give it a quick clean?
Here's why..................
this is just the childrens' clutter (there was plenty more including a still packed suitcase of the children's clothes from our two nights away in May!)
and these are the shoes that no longer fit or are in pieces but were still in the shoe box - also note the odd ones......... I always knew this family was "hopping mad"!!!!!! (really, really bad pun, I am hanging my head in shame here)
But look how nice looks now
- flowers and herbs from my garden, unpainted patches courtesy of Mr Locket who ran out of paint (only about 8 months ago!)and the long view
which almost shows you my lovely 1920s bannisters that were covered with panels when we moved in; and leads me to the main feature of my hall.....................THE QUILT WALL!!!!
(view as you come in the front door)
(view from the kitchen doorway)
(as I come down the stairs each morning - how lucky am I?)
so here are some photos of the wall as requested - in fact there are three because it is impossible to photograph all the quilts clearly in one shot - I may have to relocate "the wall" so I can get some better photos
(view as you come in the front door)
(view from the kitchen doorway)
(as I come down the stairs each morning - how lucky am I?)Anyway, back to the reason for my title. That hour of frenetic housework was clearly very bad for me as I woke up this morning feeling really yuk - headache, sore throat, earache, achey arms a weird hollowed out feeling inside and a total lack of interest in sewing(!) - all housewifely duties must clearly be suspended forthwith.
So I will leave you today with my first courgettes from the allotment
and if you were impressed with the productivity of my strawberry plants take a look at my friend Alison's
She had already picked 4 punnets worth and these were only the very best and ripest strawberries - her plants were still laden!
I picked about another 3lbs or more but they didn't look anything like these - more jam and scones need making I reckon.
So I will leave you today with my first courgettes from the allotment
and if you were impressed with the productivity of my strawberry plants take a look at my friend Alison's
She had already picked 4 punnets worth and these were only the very best and ripest strawberries - her plants were still laden!
I picked about another 3lbs or more but they didn't look anything like these - more jam and scones need making I reckon.
47 comments:
too much housework is bad for morale!
Your hall looks gorgeous and the quilts are fabulous
April xx
Ooo, I love the quilt wall!
Buying books like that are bad for you Lucy! If it's any consolation I also managed to tick every single one of those boxes. Hope you are feeling better soon!
Gina xxx
PS your hallway and quilt wall look lovely!
Yup! I'm another 'ticked 'em all' girl. Can't beleive that Anthea doesn't have at least one cleaning lady, so how can she can write such a book and present such a programme? It must all be lies and conspiracy to make us mere mortals feel inadequate and even ill. Poor you :o(
Your hall and quilt wall look gorgeous. Can't you position your sickbed so that you can lie and admire them all?
Oh Lucy - your house is absolutely no different to mine - and I can never get to the bottom of all my clutter either. To be honest the only houses of my daughter's friends which are perpetually mega tidy are those whose father is in the forces (we have a big Marines base near here) and I guess their mums have been used to military accommodation inspections. A friend of mine used to always say 'Life's too short to stuff mushrooms' I'd re-phrase that to 'Life's too short to tidy shoes, bags, coats etc' but on the other hans it is lovely when it is tidy. Sadly the rest of my family are as bad as me although DH would never admit it for one! We just have to keep chipping away at it and hoping for the best. If it's any consolation I would answer yes to all those questions too!
I ticked all the boxes, too.
In response to the comment, "Sorry about the mess," my lovely neighbour once said, "I came to see you, not the house."
I have a treasured lace bobbin which says, "An immaculate house is the sign of a wasted life".
That said, your hall looks wonderful.
Would you like to come and do mine?
I agree about housework and morale. It's amazing how quickly all your hard work and energy output can be undone by the children. It feels like a losing battle.
Hope you soon feel better.
I guess I need that book too, but then again it would just add to the mess *LOL*
Lovely quilt wall!! What a great pick me up. Hope you feel better soon.
Ooh, you domestic goddess, you! Immaculate hall, home-grown courgettes...Anthea would be proud :)
Oh and the quilt wall is looking FAB. How many more are you expecting?
housework - yuk! in our house we have three piles of stuff, hubby's(spare bedroom) mine (kitchen table) and sons (his bedroom - I just close the door and my eyes!) luckily I don't take after my mum, her house is immaculate, shoes off , washing pots as soon as you've finished a meal, she used to fuss about the house when my Dad was still alive and not spend time together, now he's no longer with us she has all the time in the world to do the housework, alone :-( ....time once spent is gone forever
Josie x
Your hallway looks beautiful. I love Anthea's program, and it puts me in the mood for cleaning, but then it's on late, and I can't possibly get the hoover out at 9pm.
Have you tried FlyLady? she asks if you are suffering from CHAOS (Can't have anyone over Syndrome) I've still not managed to grasp the concept-craft comes first. LOL I have a creative mind, not a cleaners mind.
Your hall does look lovely Missus. I think you should build your strength up before tackling any more housework!!
You quilt wall looks fabulous :)
Hope you're feeling better.
xxxx
Well done with the de-clutter, but don't overdo it you don't want to strain anything I suggest you rest now until 2010. Maybe then you could have another go at it.
The quilts look stunning and even with the patches the blue on your walls is fab.
Keely x
Oh Lucy! You're SO funny!!! The hall now looks spectacular and in the event it gets messy again, you'll have these pictures to prove it. And the quilt wall is stunning -- how fun to see all the quilts together!
Years ago I had a fun housecleaning system where I wrote all of my cleaning tasks on index cards and rotated them so that I did just a little bit each day. (When the home computer came along, I wrote a little program and I would get on the computer each morning and it would tell me what to do -- ok, so it was REALLY a long time ago -- you were probably still in diapers LOL.) Anyway, it worked pretty well. Now that the kids are pretty much gone though, I don't do housework anymore LOL!!! Hope you're feeling better!
Oh! And Love that wall color!!!
I had that book too. I loved the TV programme but even AT its to having a team of gardeners and cleaners. The book was a bit of a let down, I thought. I left it around for weeks and it didn't do any folding, ironing, cleaning or cupboard sorting. Pah!
If Anthea Turner didn't appear such a smug bleeping person, I might be more inclined to read her book. Because I'm messy. Very messy. Not dirty, just untidy.
Your hall looks fabulous! x
firstly i must say your courgette is way ahead of mine! so far i have about 5 mini ones and no signs of getting any bigger yet! and when i say mini, i mean mini!
your quilt wall looks absolutely amazing, what a lucky girl you are!
as for housework, pa, i have a little wall hanging which says, life's too short for housework' and that says it all for me!
well I ticked everyone of those boxes too!! and worse still, I have a job as a bleeping cleaner!!! shame my own home never looks as nice as the ones I get paid to clean, but that's probably why, no one pays you or thanks you for cleaning your own. Well I think your hall looks fab and no one would notice the clutter anyway as they's be too busy looking at your amazing quilt wall.
Hope you're feeling better soon, it's probably the lovely summer weather we are having that's making you ill!
Your wall of quilts is fantastic, far better to be crafting than doing boring housework! Although I must say I've got the book and have read it but that's about as far as I got!
I too ticked all the boxes. It must be that us creative tyes have other more interesting things to do than colour coordinate our sock drawers.
The quilt wall is looking great - and I'm sure seeing it everyday will soon perk you up.
I'm trying to grow tomatoes but still at the flowering stage so a while yet before we can make ketchup!!
Oh, there is sooo much more to life than house work... but sadly there comes a time when it must be done. I think I ticked nearly every box on the questionaire too! I have a dream of what my house should look like.. then.. I have a dream of the next craft project.... Need I say more???
Just to confirm Lucy, Housework is definitely bad for you!, but someone has to do it. The Hall looks FAB! That quilt wall is just magnificent. I was interested that your kitchen must be upstairs. Just remember, "Rome was built with little bricks" - just take one section at a time.
Hey the cover of that book is cute!! Love your quilt wall....what a lovely thing to see when you come down the stairs!....my mum always used to say if the floors are clean the house looks clean....well not so cluttered I think she means there....and I find it's true - if you pick up stuff off the floor the room looks much better.....hanging stuff on a coat rack is a bonus! LOL.....my son's sock drawer has heaps of odd socks...must be living in the same place as your odd shoes! ....and I ticked most of those boxes...I guess some of us live in the real world with kids/dogs/cats/hobbies/fun....and others clearly don't! I don't enjoy reading anything that makes you feel somehow inferior because your house doesn't look like a show home 24/7....but the cover is cute!!
My DH is ex-army, everything has it's place and has to be just so. He does most of it though. Except my craft room, that's my domain and it gets messy, then I clean up, then it gets messy again. I only clean if I really have to!
Quilt wall looks fab, how many more to go?
Hi, Your quilt wall looks inspiring. I ticked at least half the boxes. I'm sure if I lived alone most of my house would be showroom - after all I only use my bedroom and the craft room. ;-) Everytime I move around the rest of the families part of the house I pick something up and clear something. I guess that means I haven't taught my family properly. One place I insist on being tidy is the bathroom. I just can't stand that being messy. Your sickness reminds me of the one I had and still have - it looks like you might have to wait until 2010 to do any more!!!! Cherrie
You must feel good now you have had a bit of a tidy up. Your hall way looks amazing and that quilt wall is just fantabulous! Hope you are feeling better soon.
i'm so honored to be part of yr famous wall of quilt!! and i hope the book really works!lol :)
Lucy, has no one ever told you that you cannot be creative and tidy! So worry not, enjoy each day and if someone breaks their leg coming down the stairs tripping on something they left there! Well what can you say!
Your quilt wall is fantastic, so fresh and cheerful.
You made me feel so guilty I cleaned the fridge .. hahaha, well the kids had eaten everything in it anyway! I hope you are feeling better. The hall looks great and so does the quilt wall. We have some paint patches too.. that are 11 years old
Isn't that how a house should be?? We're all chronically untidy in this house, but it falls to me to clear it all up, which I fail to do on a regular basis. I think my friends actually appreciate going into a house that's "lived in", nobody's comfortable in a smugly tidy house!
Love that quilt wall, what a great reason to get up in the morning.
Julia x
Well housework definitely got everyone talking!
I could tick all the boxes too but next week it will be just like Anthea would like to see it - I hope and pray anyway. All pristine ready for Mum and Dad's visit.
The hallway looks fab now you have tidied and the quilt wall is fab. Just think of all the dust they can collect LOL.
Your Big Sis Ally who has not left a comment in years (slight exaggeration)
PS Can I have some of your strawberry jam?
oh wow - the quilt wall looks amazing!
I laughed at the missed splodges of paint on the walls, we have one like that on our stairs. And half a hole (is there such a thing?...I mean it's half filled with filler, then I got bored).
I don't trust Anthea Turner....remember the weirdy chocolate bar wedding photos? Hmm....
Locket, I'm afraid I was too horrified yesterday to leave a comment when I first read your post. Yes horrified. You made your poor lovely Mr Recycled Pocket spend money that will go into the purse of that self-satisfied witch? Oh the shame!
CK sometimes tortures me and has that programme on when I am in the room. I go a funny shade of red and then have to start getting all offended. He is a very bad man.
Lovely Quilt wall and the produce from your allotment looks delicious. I love your scones in the previous post, i wish i'd been at your house for tea that day. I need to have some cooking practice over the holidays to try making some Gluten free scones and cakes for Em. Puddings/cakes are very limited at the moment. Jane x
Lucy, your quilt wall looks fabulous! Who cares about clutter on the stairs when you have a wall like that to look at!
i ticked most of those boxes too - oops, and we've got missed patches of paint. love the quilt wall
lisa x
Be careful you know they say housework makes you ugly ;) I just explained to the Dh he soesn't want an ugly wife. LOL!
Your quilt wall is wonderful.
Housework is sooooo boring, I'd have had to tick all the boxes too. Your hallway and quilt wall look great
Twiggy
Amazing quilt wall, can I use your blog for inspiration? I have the biggest, barest hallway wall that I don't know what to do with. I think I do now. Wow. How do you hang them? Yummy strawberries too. Julie.
What a great post!
The first thing I thought when I saw your very first hallway photo was "wow I love that banister"! How cool that you found them!
In all seriousness though, do you think the book is working?
Oh and courgettes and strawberries, my fave.
Not together though, that would be wrong.
Oh wow!!! You have done an amazing job! I *LOVE* that corner coat rack/shelf thing!! Fantastic! I've never seen anything like it and now I want one!! I also *love* your quilt wall! It's sooo beautiful :-)
Ruth xx
I just love your quilt wall those little quilts look great.
I did see in a shop yesterday a sign saying "Housework never killed anyone, but why take the risk". I recognise the time when other people's houses looked far tidier than mine when my children were younger. Now they have grown and left home there's no-one now to blame for untidiness than DH and me!
Regards
Sue
ooh I want your hallway, I really do, even when it's messy!!
The quilt wall looks fantastic!
I want that book too! Anthea Turner really make me laugh, bless her.
I also think I'm very bad at housework. In my defence I am out at work during the day so whilst Mr Monda is working from home, he tends to do a lot of the cleaning during the day. He is really very good though and he often washes the dishes - my most hated job, whilst I sew.
Your quilt wall is looking fab.
Monda
X
Well, I'm impressed with your hallway!
How funny to read this, I have just signed up on the FLY ladies website (see my blog from a few days ago), I find it quite hilarious but at the same time it is giving me lots of hints and tips and I am getting soooooo organised! I do hope that one day it will be visible...
Petra
Hi just found your blog and was reading away quite happily when I came to the pic of your quilt display. I had to say it's just perfect...........if my hallway was decorated like that I wouldn't even notice the odd shoes (I also ticked more than 3 of the boxes on the questionaire)
Your quilt wall looks fantastic! Who cares about clutter! No one will see it once they look at that gorgeous wall!
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