Home-♥-Loving

I am miraculously now into my third week of Home-Loving and although I don't exactly look forward to the 2-3pm hourly slot, the visible results are motivating me to keep going with it. Whoop-whoop, go me, go me, go me!!!!! My Declaration of Intent ie writing it in my Home Diary is surprisingly effective at keeping me on track and I am sticking to my schedule like a very well trained sticky thing. I wear my apron to perform my daily decluttering/tidying/cleaning, and I find that stripy socks also help make me feel spritely and not too serious. Can't be too serious about tidying and cleaning, that would never do.

This week Flylady instructed me to go forthwith into Zone 4, so I'm working my way around The Master Bedroom. I started on Monday with the top of the chest of drawers, a notoriously hot-hot-hot clutter spot. I cleared it with one fell swoop of my arm, whoosh!!! Two hundred and twenty five objects fell off the top of the drawers and onto a tray. 225!!!!!!! It was hilarious, the top of the microwave was nothing compared to the top of the bedroom drawers.

But now as you can see it is all tidy, I even buffed up the surface with a duster and some polish and blessed it with a wee vase of garden flowers.

This afternoon I tackled the bedside tables and under the bed. Oh my. The dust was inCREdible. I am so so so glad that nobody was there to see it excepting for Little B who thankfully cannot yet use words to convey what he saw to anyone. It is our little secret. I decluttered and sorted, vacuumed and polished, stood back and sighed with satisfaction. It's working!! I am slowly but surely feeling a peaceful vibe easing into each room I give my love to.

I stood on the windowsill to shake the dusty duster out of the open window and had a rush of affection for my sweet little back yard down there. It was a bright and blustery afternoon and the washing was flapitty flapping on the line.

I am keeping on top of my laundry, fitting it in to each and every day just as Flylady tells me to do. A load goes on at night, then in the morning it's ready to either peg out or sling in the drier, depending on weather conditions. It's not so hard.

I wonder if you find all this talk of dusting and decluttering a bore??? I really hope not. I'm keeping my real-life friends and neighbours up to date with it all too. I give them a daily run down of what zone I'm in and what I'm doing/intending to do in the zone whether they want it or not. Everybody I've talked to this week knows about the 225 object show down, it raised some incredulous laughs. I do fear that I am not Good Company when I'm this way out, but I find it hard not to talk about things that are occupying my mind.

I'm still finding time to carry out the sort of Home-Loving that really floats my boat though, the pretty stuff. How could I not??? I bake (fruity flapjacks yesterday), light candles, plump up my hooky cushions, stroke my blanket collection and arrange fresh flowers. Market dahlias this week look.

It's totally fantabulous to walk into the room and be greeted by these beauties. Aren't they just......so Beeeeeeeutiful???

And on that pretty note I'm going to love you and leave you and go and partake in a spot of bed appreciation. I'm marvelously good at that.

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Edit to add ::

re the 225 items! For those of you who asked.....most of them went in the bin, including the 27 dirty elastic bands, the 3 cray fish claws, the rabbit skull and the 43 bits of paper. All the other stuff was put back where it belonged (various tools, hairslides, jewellery, money, birthday candles, lego etc etc). What really amazed me was how many of the objects that were on the top of the microwave were also on top of the drawers. For example, golf balls, allen keys, marbles, paper clips, batteries, broken beaded jewellery. In both hotspots. Life is quite bizzarre here at number 24 sometimes!

 


 

 

Comments

[Carol]

I realize I'm late in commenting on this entry....but I somehow missed it earlier...Hmmm! Must have been that section of my afghan/bedspread that kept me busy at the time...

I would LOVE to use this plan to declutter and clean this CHAOS ridden house. T's son showed up today - quite unexpected because he has NEVER just shown up at our door! I was SOOO embarrassed!
My problem is that T can't seem to stand a clean, uncluttered surface! If I clean off the coffee table in living room, the next day, clutter suddenly, mysteriously reappears! If I pick up all of his dirty laundry - which is always left on the floor on 'hidden' side of bed (can't be seen unless you walk around the bed), the next day there are mysteriously re-appears starting the very next day!
And on and on. Well, I'm here to declare - I'm going to TRY again...let's see how long it takes to be all UN-done yet again!
I do hope you were successful in your endeavor.

[Sylvia OLeary]

I don't remember the 225 items but I do remember the top of the microwave which amused me..... a little like the instructions (alledgedly) to prepare one's worksurface before installing a new microwave oven:-
Spread a little honey on the worksurface, scatter some oatmeal and a sprinkling of frozen peas and place the new microwave on top of the lot.

[Bronchitickat]

Those Dahlias! One a traditional Knock-Your-Eye-Out pink & the other, specially comparatively, Quite Tasteful. Tastefully coloured Dahlias, what will they breed next?

[sumea]

Lucy - i have sometimes seen your little mousey(often just peeping) in your photographs and keep meaning to tell you that i have her twin on my bedside table :o) my daughter popped her into my christmas stocking as a surprise a few years back and i love her! i just adore her sweetness and soft, flowery babycord dress. i also have dear Elspeth and Cath's books. the others you have there look mighty intersting too. one of the things i love about your blog is that you share your gorgeous, cosy and much loved (it really shows that you love it lots) home and your creativity shines from every corner. it's a real treat for us readers and your writing is so natural. i often want to tell you how much your blog means to me and can never quite find the right words. i just hope you will continue for many years to come and that you might one day write books too :o)(that is if book writing is your cup of tea, i think you would be perfect for it and you already have a lot of friends here who would rush to the shops to buy them). writing a blog isn't easy and doesn't come naturally to eveyone.. i was cr*p at it,lol. but i did enjoy the photography bit. you are bloomin' amazing at photography too! multi-talented is what you are :o)

...here's to the brilliant future of Attic24!

with warmest wishes xxx

sumea

[Lindsey O]

YAY! I love FlyLady!! What a fantastic new way of looking at our home, isn't it?! I'm loving my home, rather than SLAVING away to pick up after someone else or myself for that matter. Best wishes to you and your home!

Happy Home Loving!

- LO

[Denise]

I have been haunting your blog for some time and have always admired and crushed after your crocheting abilities and color-sense. Now you are 'doing flylady'! I love it. I have followed her for years!

[Samantha]

Please do keep posting about this! I've sort of fallen off the fly-lady wagon but reading about your success has me wanting to try again!

[barbara]

thank you lucy,
i'm feeling less alone!!!! you're mangaging, so maybe i will be able to do the same. i look around in my home and i get depressed. the kids and my husband are out. there are so many things to do, too many and i don't know where to start. send me some of you're energy.
thank you again,
barbara

[SaraLou in Corpus Christi, Texas]

Oh, I had to laugh. I have yet to decorate for fall - hard to do when its 100 outside! But, talked with my mom today adn now I ma inspired to not only decorate but get back on the "FlyLady" bandwagon! Love, love, love your blog!

[Jude]

I love this idea. The top of my wardrobe, the drawers under the bed int he spare room, my little person's cupboard, the drawers in the coffee table, the drawers in the dresser by the front door... My work is cut out for me.

[Twiggy]

I feel I must have a go at the flylady system, I am drowning in a sea of clutter !!
Well done you.
twiggy

[jeanette]

Carry on with your declutering, it is inspiring me to do the same. My children are a lot older than yours and the youngest has just returned to university for her final year, and has taken much of the junk and clutter back with her, so with your inspiration I am trying to de clutter too. I am sure that I can beat you with the chest of drawers in the bedroom, but I keep putting that off until we redecorate. Reading a few more of your wonderful posts might encourage me to start sooner.

Thanks for all the cheerfulnes that you bring to my life.

[Sheryl]

The top of our bedroom drawers ALWAYS has golf tees dotted all over it. Drives me crazy. You are inspiring me to go and clean them off........tomorrow :). I can defiantly relate to this x

[Tina @ Squirrel Acorns]

I love these posts! Very inspiring and makes me want to set aside some time too. That dresser top is so pretty. I want my dresser top to look that way! Maybe I'll go do it right now...

[Katie]

Thank you for introducing me to the Flylady - I am feeling calmer and my house is looking better after only 24 hrs lol :) I may finally have found a way to slow down the damage done by my 3 boys whilst I am hiding from them knitting or quilting!

[eva]

There is something called a Junk Drawer, where all those doodads go, thereby leaving visible surfaces clear. You just gotta know how to hide it.

[tammy pell]

Especially loving the sock clothes line. Visit my clothes line if you like.

[chairo]

I must say that your chatting of de-cluttering and such is certainly NOT a bore. I find it just as inspiring as all of the wonderful crochet things that you do. Unfortunately, I do not get to be the stay-at-home-house-mate, so I shall have to make time to de-clutter during the weekend or evening times. Many thanks, Lucy for being so cheerful and fun!

[Ruth]

It's nice to read of a house incredibly similar to mine - golf tees, hairbands, lego clutter most surfaces and I too am on a mission to get the clutter under control. Keep up the good work! x

[Jennie]

I love cleaning! I love all the pretty colors and freshening up and love of home. I love hearing about how others are enjoying their homes and the caring for of their families- it is all inspiring! And good!

[Patsy]

OOPS! That should be #24 not $24....

[Patsy]

Lucy, how does your husband like the new lifestyle at home? And the kiddies? Have they encouraged you or made any comments about the changes at $24? How about writing about that in one of your future posts? Thanks so much. Love all the hooky stuff. That's what first led me to your site.

[Christen]

So I decided it would most likely do me well to take part in FlyLady's plan. I am officially a FlyBaby. Can you believe that what I think, so far, will be the hardest task is to get dressed every morning? There are days (I stay home with my recently-turned 3 year old), that I don't ever get out of my pajamas... which means no shower either. ... Do I lose respectability points? :) I can see how it will make me feel better about my days. I hope I can do it. You're inspiring. Please keep us posted! I'm not at all bored by the details.

[Hyla]

Gorgeous flower pictures!

[Rachel Mackin]

I love reading these posts, it's really making me think about housework in a more positive way! Thank you! I'm going to to try my best to de-clutter. XxX