I had a spill on the top part of my microwave, which is mounted over my stove. I am too short to reach it. I must wait until my son comes on Monday for his weekly visit. The microwave was in the house when we bought it. As it was brand new, I left it, but I sure do wish I had a counter one at times like this. Also, a bit uncomfortable lifting liquid things in and out.
Our house in Fredericton came with an elderly microwave on a shelf above one of the kitchen counters, and I could only just reach to put things in and take them out.
Feeling a bit pleased as I finally went through a cabinet which has display doors at the top and filled in doors at the bottom. The display part is fine and I love it because it has reduced the amount of dusting needed by about 80%.
However, the bottom section has not been good. It contains spare cutlery, colouring stuff for visiting kids, recipe book overflow and a number of very small sized books. A tiny Jane Austen quotes, some elf help books and a small book on camellias which was my Mum's and others. These don't sit nicely on the shelves and take up too much space, so I found a tidy little box to put them in which allows me to flip through them front to back and they aren't sliding around on the shelf.
That has meant more space on the shelf and I've transferred some books from the bedroom to the extra shelf space and just rearranged a tiny bit to make all much tidier and accessible. I might also be able to adjust the shelf heights and get some more books in, which I would love, love, love as we never have enough bookshelves.
Thanks @Puzzler, I am glad to report that at the Swedish shop at the weekend, I got another magazine storage box, great for Cheery son's medical folders and another nylon-y divided box which I also put to good use in the messy display cupboard. I think I'm finished with that now and quite satisfied with my efforts!
Hurrah! The bin men took my recycling away! (even though it was in non-standard boxes)
All I need now is for the proper recycling bins to be delivered.
Today I am experimenting with Claude AI to help me tidy. I told it I wanted it to help me with my messy living room. To begin with, it told me to get a bag and put any rubbish in it, so I did that with some obvious rubbish, and then I explained that with lots of things, I can't tell if they are rubbish or not.
So then it was telling me to make three piles, for keep, throw away and maybe, and divide my things into the piles. I told it this was too overwhelming, because my house is very messy and I struggle with executive functioning, so I need tiny steps, one step at a time.
So then it told me to just look for one item and pick it up. I picked up a box of teabags. It told me how to decide what to do with it, and I took it to the kitchen, and also found other boxes of teabags along the way, so I put them all in my teabag shoebox (which I created when ChatGPT was helping me). I also made a cup of tea to drink, and did a bit more tidying away of little things and then told Claude, and it asked if I wanted to rest or do more. I wanted to do more, so this is how I have been tidying today. I find one thing to pick up, and I pick up a few more things along the way, but there is no pressure or overwhelm, because what I've been asked to do by Claude each time is just to pick up one thing.
So this is very helpful, though my living room is still incredibly messy. I am also realising that a large portion of my mess is books, journals, coloured pens (especially fineline pens - my screen name reflects my favourite pens!), carrier bags, and boxes of teabags. Every time, I find more books and more boxes of teabags.
Breaking things down into small modules of activity is certainly a good approach. I tend to notice everything all at once, so I need to school myself to do things in a logical order - ie do the thing first which best enables the next thing. So say in cooking, grate the Parmesan first, even though sprinkling it on the dish is the last action. Or in gardening, tackle one small area, weed, dig and plant, rather than trying to do all the weeding (impossible task in any case) before putting stuff in.
Yes, I definitely need it broken down into tiny chunks, and I also seem to need another person, even a robot, to be prompting me, as a sort of centre to return to.
Yes, I definitely need it broken down into tiny chunks, and I also seem to need another person, even a robot, to be prompting me, as a sort of centre to return to.
@fineline - Thanks for your post. I had come across a similar technique years ago, but had forgotten it. I have a messy house so I need something like this to get me tidying again.
I have a friend in another city and sometimes we both commit to tidying at the same time, encouraging each other with text messages. It really does help.
@fineline - Thanks for your post. I had come across a similar technique years ago, but had forgotten it. I have a messy house so I need something like this to get me tidying again.
I have a friend in another city and sometimes we both commit to tidying at the same time, encouraging each other with text messages. It really does help.
What you really want to encourage each other is to invite each other for lunch/supper/whatever - that'll get you tidying!
Yes, I definitely need it broken down into tiny chunks, and I also seem to need another person, even a robot, to be prompting me, as a sort of centre to return to.
Worth a try. I'm tidy now thanks to my ADHD coach years ago.
I need it for cleaning. My house is never clean as, now that I'm retired, I don't have a cleaner.
Goodness - I love it! After a good chat with Claude I have my first step. 🙂
✓✓✓
This is what we arrived at -
So your new routine is:
Walk into kitchen
Vacuum kitchen skirting boards (2-3 minutes). Wipe them with a damp cloth.
Make coffee ☕
That's it - keep it simple and consistent.
The coffee becomes your reward for getting that small cleaning task done.
Try this for about a week until it feels automatic. Don't worry about any other rooms or cleaning tasks right now - just focus on making this one habit stick.
Loving these different approaches to cleaning and keeping motivated. I think different approaches work for different people. For me it's just a list, but appreciate that it's not for everyone. Glad to read of people persisting and finding their best method.
No cleaning today, but more sorting and filing achieved. In particular I made an album of music and readings, tributes etc at Mr Puzzler’s burial and thanksgiving services and another of special documents relating to his life. I did not find it too difficult today, but probably would have struggled to do it sooner. I must next tackle the financial papers, and see what I can get rid of.
Apart from that, I am sorting my memorabilia into three tubs for after I die or go into a care home:
one relates to Mr P and is for my step-children to sort / keep/ throw
one is for my own family
one has memorabilia which will doubtless be of no interest to anyone else but I am not yet ready to throw out : school trips, choir trips etc.
I guess there will be stuff I read then destroy, eg love letters?
Yesterday I planned to switch out the closet from winter to summer clothes. I spent the time on the phone attending to other business matters, started putting away some art journals, and ended up spending an hour painting. I then noticed the dog needed a bath and gave her one. Went out to water my patio plants, ending up weeding and rearranging the patio furniture for better shade in the evening. I guess you can count some of that as working toward a tidy house, as well as washing the dog.
That ‘s OK as long as you haven’t got all the clothes out on the bed, ready for a swap over, done other things, then discovered them still there at bedtime.
Comments
However, the bottom section has not been good. It contains spare cutlery, colouring stuff for visiting kids, recipe book overflow and a number of very small sized books. A tiny Jane Austen quotes, some elf help books and a small book on camellias which was my Mum's and others. These don't sit nicely on the shelves and take up too much space, so I found a tidy little box to put them in which allows me to flip through them front to back and they aren't sliding around on the shelf.
That has meant more space on the shelf and I've transferred some books from the bedroom to the extra shelf space and just rearranged a tiny bit to make all much tidier and accessible. I might also be able to adjust the shelf heights and get some more books in, which I would love, love, love as we never have enough bookshelves.
I need to do similar sorts of tidying with various things.
All I need now is for the proper recycling bins to be delivered.
So then it was telling me to make three piles, for keep, throw away and maybe, and divide my things into the piles. I told it this was too overwhelming, because my house is very messy and I struggle with executive functioning, so I need tiny steps, one step at a time.
So then it told me to just look for one item and pick it up. I picked up a box of teabags. It told me how to decide what to do with it, and I took it to the kitchen, and also found other boxes of teabags along the way, so I put them all in my teabag shoebox (which I created when ChatGPT was helping me). I also made a cup of tea to drink, and did a bit more tidying away of little things and then told Claude, and it asked if I wanted to rest or do more. I wanted to do more, so this is how I have been tidying today. I find one thing to pick up, and I pick up a few more things along the way, but there is no pressure or overwhelm, because what I've been asked to do by Claude each time is just to pick up one thing.
So this is very helpful, though my living room is still incredibly messy. I am also realising that a large portion of my mess is books, journals, coloured pens (especially fineline pens - my screen name reflects my favourite pens!), carrier bags, and boxes of teabags. Every time, I find more books and more boxes of teabags.
I have a friend in another city and sometimes we both commit to tidying at the same time, encouraging each other with text messages. It really does help.
What you really want to encourage each other is to invite each other for lunch/supper/whatever - that'll get you tidying!
Worth a try. I'm tidy now thanks to my ADHD coach years ago.
I need it for cleaning. My house is never clean as, now that I'm retired, I don't have a cleaner.
(Why is it called Claude?)
✓✓✓
This is what we arrived at -
So your new routine is:
Walk into kitchen
Vacuum kitchen skirting boards (2-3 minutes). Wipe them with a damp cloth.
Make coffee ☕
That's it - keep it simple and consistent.
The coffee becomes your reward for getting that small cleaning task done.
Try this for about a week until it feels automatic. Don't worry about any other rooms or cleaning tasks right now - just focus on making this one habit stick.
So far we're going on maybe three days of this. It's working.
Apart from that, I am sorting my memorabilia into three tubs for after I die or go into a care home:
one relates to Mr P and is for my step-children to sort / keep/ throw
one is for my own family
one has memorabilia which will doubtless be of no interest to anyone else but I am not yet ready to throw out : school trips, choir trips etc.
I guess there will be stuff I read then destroy, eg love letters?