h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well you know what they say?

'Cleanliness is next to impossible.'

has done the living room, dining room and stairs and decobwebbed everything downstairs. I baked a cake

I need to deep clean the bathrooms and get rid of loads of half used and out of date lotions and potions. Also, I have so much dust that has now invaded the nooks and crannies of cupboards and so on that I need to buy a vacuum. Dusting, sweeping and mopping seems to be just moving it all around the house.

I've written 'buy a vacuum' on a piece of paper next to 'buy new sun umbrella' as the two I have are well past their use by date.

I also need to go through my wardrobe and drawers to throw out all those saggy clothes that I no longer wear. I know what will happen if I do that though - it will turn my bedroom into a resemblance of a jumble sale - I will lose interest in the task half way through and then I will either live with heaps of discarded clothes, or if visitors arrive - then it will all get stuffed back into empty cupboards.

I need to be a better housekeeper.

I've not been cleaning much, but I did get some unplanned energy, and have cooked a meal, made cardamom crinkles (like cinnamon rolls, but not cinnamon, and not rolled...) put seeds in pots, and folded some laundry. That lasts can count as some cleaning I suppose.

Quite scary, to be honest, I'm not used to being so busy when there are books to be read, and hootoo to play on.

I've been turning out wardrobes and cupboards and B has been ferkling around in his loft but this is mainly because we've had some work done so have had to move stuff around, and once you start you might as well reorganise. We're quite ruthless about letting things not pile up though - living in flats does that to you, as does having two children who keep growing bigger and acquiring more toys. There's not much room for letting the stuff take over before it gets totally out of hand and I can;t be doing with that.

Anyway, can't say I go in for a big Spring clean, I sort of trundle around the place doing a proper clean up of this room or that cupboard or those technics like the Forth bridge. However, I have just done my annual Spring balcony cleaning and planting session (we seem to have acquired another bike. Perhaps they bred over the winter?) and I must say the windows need cleaning, so that is probably up next.

Hoovered front room today, did three loads of laundry, swept bedrooms bathroom landings and stairs, mopped kitchen and utility room, recorded a song, cooked a lot of bacon, cleaned the toilet and main bits of the bathroom, threw out a ton of lodgers collection of pointless empty cardboard boxes, made beds, beautified myself (a basically impossible task), cooked biriani for dinner, cleaned inside fridge, cleaned kitchen, hob, oven worktops etc... but Ido that most Sunday's anyhow I need to do some proper cleaning soon, starting with the spare room Friday or Saturday, as there's a guest on Sunday, and the spareroom was used a few days ago for a renivation project on an 1960's pair of Celestion speakers...
problem is, half the bits of the house I clean, never clean up... the kitchen floor has historical stains on it, which date to the early 70's if not before, thanks to the previous owner, and which don't budge... and the wooden floors seem to have had a bit of a falling out over the years with their ex-close friend, the varnish...

I don't really spring clean - well I do I suppose - its just an on going thing from @1980's...

However I have just spring cleaned my toaster! After getting fed up of all the crumbs that were continally assembling beneath said toaster, I suddenly remembered that it had a tray underneath that was supposed to catch the crumbs!! So, that was it - the tray was full!

I carefully began to remove the tray and...well...you know those drawers we all have? The ones that are ram jammed full of those things that are too important to throw away but haven't really got a home? You know, plastics bags always come in useful and that spare pair of rugby boot shoe laces and of course the cats worming tablets...you open that drawer and can never get it shut...

Well, I was pulling out this little drawer - and it was stuck. Tight. Held with invisible magnets. So I did what any normal person would do and gave it a good yank.

I am now having to spring clean the kitchen as well which is now festooned with a rather liberal covering of toasted bread crumbs...

The cat just watched and walked off .....

Lesson: always empty the crumb tray in the sink. It contains crumb accidents!

Now you tell me!!

The best thing for mopping up breadcrumbs is a piece of .

I've done some of the outdoor tidying up: emptied last year's pots, cut back stuff that's died back over winter and did my first mow yesterday

Spring means I start cleaning my windows again, the kitchen one gets done most often so I can view the garden better

Decluttering is an ongoing task here, have 2 charity bags of soft toys ready to take to the hospice shop

Lanza - "buy a new sun umbrella - it's past its date"

Does that just mean your parasol has holes in? Or does it get grumpy and refuse to work more than a 35 hour week?

The dark blue one has holes in it and the pale cream one is badly stained with the constant sand fall we get here.

ps I am back in England now and the sun is out here. Parents have a cleaner, so the normal cleaning is taken care of. Maybe it is time to sort out my 'winter wardrobe' and send a load of stuff to the charity shops.

Yes i believe we're at a record here in that we've had four days of sun - thats our year's sun in one block

I'm trying to remember where I stashed the summer hats and sandals. In winter I go through the same process with the woolly hats and scarfs and boots. I still haven't found the boots, although I may be forced to admit that I left my nice spring/ autumn coat somewhere rather than put it away somewhere. You'd think I'd have a Place by now, wouldn't you?

I have rather Too Many Boots, at the minute, but it was AyeBee's fault! (you can relax, 2legs)

I did have:

1 pair plain brown boots with heels - for wearing with dresses (bit too wide in the calf since I lost weight, but....)

1 pair flat black boots with fur trim - for tucking jeans into.

1 pair stretchy black boots with pointy toes and heels - dressy.

Said AyeBee was decluttering, and offered me a pair of flat brown ones with buckle detail (lovely!)

But she also included in the package a pair of chunky ankle boots (which my husband loves and says look very cute with tights and dress, a la biker chic), and a pair of leather black pointy boots with heels. These are VERY similar to my existing pair of heeled-black ones, but I'm not sure I can bring myself to get rid of them. I might hide them in the back bedroom and see if I actually ever wear them.

And since my last soe count was over 40 pairs, I should really have a bit of a cull there.

.....following on from my enforced spring clean of the kitchen due to a plethora of toasted bread crumbs....

I have just found at the back of a cupboard a pack of 3 easy cook noodles dated....

BBE: December 2008



Don't tell Mum

You know she has an account of her own?

Mum's the word!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time for a name change again!!!

Rosie-the Wlonk!

Ooooh! Another member of the family?