Time To Clean the Inside of the Conservatory Windows

Posted on April 1, 2020 by
Clean conservatory windows

Since the conservatory was cleaned a couple of weeks ago, I haven’t really felt the benefit when looking through the windows because the insides were so dirty. So, I found some spray and a clean cloth and gave them a wipe down (not a job that gets done very much at all in this house).

It’s amazing how much brighter the whole room looked afterwards.

Adding a bit more decluttering

Whilst cleaning the windows on the other side of the conservatory, I had to move some magazines and papers out of the way, so I took the time to sort through those as well – most of which got recycled. Slowly, I’m turning this room into a much more pleasant working environment.

Hope you’ve all had a nice day and not worrying too much about the current Coronavirus pandemic. I know that I have followers all over the world so I just hope and pray that you and your families are all safe and well wherever you are.

I cannot believe that it’s April already. I have my ‘March Decluttering Reflections’ post in draft, so I will send an update to you all this evening or tomorrow.

Until then…

Sandra

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Pottering Around the Garden & Attempting to Sow Seeds

Posted on March 31, 2020 by

I can see the garden every day now whilst I am working in the conservatory, so I popped out there at lunchtime today and trimmed a bit more of the hedge (that I started on the other day). I then decided to plant some seeds that I bought recently. I’ve been keeping back some plastic food trays for this very purpose (instead of recycling them). The overall plan is to add a bit of colour to the garden once the seeds germinate and bloom.

I started with the Whirlybird Mix which looked like pansies on the packet. I had no idea what to do, so had to follow the instructions. The last time I planted seeds was in my parents’ greenhouse when I was a child. The first thing I did was add compost to the tray, flatten it carefully and then sprinkle it with water. I scattered the seeds onto the compost.

Whirlybird seed mix

Next on the list was to cover the seeds with a little bit of compost. I then put some cling film over the top of the tray and placed it in a warm place… I chose the conservatory.

I also had a pack of geranium seeds that I bought online. There were only seven seeds and they were so tiny. I used a separate tray for these.

Geranium seeds

Both trays are now in the conservatory and I will check on them daily.

Waiting for the seeds to grow

I do have some other seed packets as well but I’ve saved that joy for another day.

Until tomorrow…

Sandra

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Day 90 of Decluttering: Cutting Hair out of the Vacuum Cleaner Brush Roller Doesn’t Take as Long as You Think

Posted on March 30, 2020 by
Full brush roller

The poor vacuum cleaner needed a bit of love and attention today, so I got some scissors and cut away the long hair and other materials wrapped around the brush roller. I do this about once a month otherwise it gives off a horrible burning smell.

Here it is all clean and it only took about ten minutes. It looks as good as new don’t you think?

Clean brush roller

90 day checkpoint

I can’t believe that I’ve been decluttering and introducing mini systems around the house for exactly 90 days. It’s harder to focus now that everyone is at home; however, I’m still making good progress. I’m getting positive comments from the rest of the family too.

Until tomorrow…

Sandra

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Feeling Motivated to Declutter and Clean the En-suite

Posted on March 29, 2020 by
Cleaning the bathroom

I’ve been longing to get to the day where I have enough time and motivation to declutter our en-suite bathroom. Today was that day and this was the embarrassing mess that I was faced with…

I took everything off the shelves and placed them into an empty washing basket.

Then I sorted those items into the ones that I wanted to display and those that needed to be put away. Here’s the transformation…

I still need to find a place for the items that I didn’t put back. To be honest, I’ll probably just squeeze those into the cupboard under the sink for later sorting. That’s a job for a other day. It’s all about baby steps.

We have to remember that we’d never do anything if we planned to do it all in one day.

Until tomorrow…

Sandra

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Slow Down and Do the Vacuuming Mindfully

Posted on March 28, 2020 by
Vacuuming the stairs

Now we’re at home all day, I’m trying to fit in the housework around the rest of the family. Whilst vacuuming the stairs (something I don’t usually like doing as my handheld contraption isn’t working) I had this urge to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n. What was the rush today?

Just like that, I changed the speed at which I was pushing the machine. I wondered why I hadn’t thought of this before. I have always rushed cleaning; trying to fit it around my working hours and cutting many corners (not ideal). I have never actually taken the time to get that piece of clinging fluff off the stair carpet, I just huff and puff and pick it up with my fingers. Today, I just went over the area slower, and low and behold all the dirt disappeared into the machine. Magic!

I’m going to clean slower as me more mindfully from now on. Hey, I might even do a better job.

I must add this bit in to show my girls’ appreciation… they actually said ‘the carpet looks so nice and clean’ and I got a thank you for cleaning their bathroom sinks the other day. Yes, I know that they could help, and they do sometimes, and will more in the future; however, right now, I’m enjoying the mindfulness whilst cleaning. With spa music in my ears today (sometimes it’s Mama Mia Here We Go Again or something else upbeat), I appreciated every minute.

Until tomorrow…

Sandra

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Declutter and Clean in Small Chunks… Don’t Try and Tackle the Whole Room

Posted on March 27, 2020 by

It doesn’t take long to clear and clean one area. Faced with this mess in the main bathroom today…

Before decluttering

….I removed the basket of could-be-clean-or-dirty-clothes-I-don’t-know and then threw all of the unused and empty bottles that were around the sink into the bin.

After wiping down the surfaces, sinks and shelves and organising the rest, I was left with a nice tidy area.

After decluttering

It only took about ten minutes leaving me more time for other things.

Until tomorrow…

Sandra

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A Simple Way to Unclog a Plug Hole

Posted on March 26, 2020 by

Those who are following me will know that I don’t know much about drains but I’m certainly learning by buying different tools and knowing who to call if it’s a bigger job.

Today I decided I couldn’t leave this particular sink in the en-suite any longer. The water hasn’t been draining properly for a while so I decided to try this new tool that I bought from Amazon for £1.31.

Small drain cleaning tool

Here’s how it went…

I unscrewed the plug and pushed down the drain cleaning tool. What came out was way more than I thought.

Unclogging the plug

Although not a nice job, it’s a very satisfying one.

It motivated me to clean the bathrooms, and mop the floors.

Previous posts on drains…

Decluttering plug holes

Yippee! The Kitchen Drain is Now Unblocked

Until tomorrow…

Sandra

Amazon link

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