Last day at work

I am being made redundant and today is my last day.

I'm not asking for sympathy. I'm actually pretty pleased about it. I have not always been happy working here and I have occassionally looked for something else while wondering if I was doing the right thing (good hours, good pay, comfortable environment) and yet something was never quite right for me.

I'm seeing this as an opportunity to move onto something better suited to me, to move closer towards my goal of starting my own business (this may still not happen until my kids are in school but at least I will soon have a bit of time to think about it, to work on my projects, write my blog etc).

It doesn't quite feel real for me just yet as I sit at my desk (with not a lot to do, if I'm honest). And my mind is swirling with ideas of what I will do. I want to feel like I have a purpose and not just meander from one day to the next, watching daytime TV and doing housework. So I've decided that the best thing is to make a list of things I want to achieve while I'm off, how I want to spend my time. I will have no children on Monday and Wednesday mornings and all day Friday.

When I have the children at home with me I want to:

• Have more structure in the day
• Plan trips out, playdates & fun things to do
• Spend more time in the garden (weather allowing)

When I don't have them with me or when they are being quiet (yeah right!!), I want to:

• Look for another job (ok, "want" probably isn't the right word - "have to" would be more appropriate!)
• Write my blog more regularly
• Work on organising projects (I will elaborate later when I've thought about what jobs in particular I want to do)
• Do creative things (card-making and suchlike)
• Become better at staying on top of the housework
• Organise my digital photo archives (put all on ThisLife website - I'll be posting a review on here when I finally get around to that)
• Organise "hardcopy" versions of photos - order photobooks and prints and put them in scrapbooks and albums.....

That's all I have for now.

Card-making

Here are some cards that I made while I was off work a month or so ago:

Crafty Project: Decorated Picture Frame

This is a project I did back in June for my mum's birthday present but never got around to posting about it:

Here is the only picture I could find of the frame before I started working on it. I'm gutted I didn't take proper before pictures. This is a habit I'm struggling to get into.

Before:

Here are the after photos. I first painted the frame. Pale blue on one side and pale pink on the other side. Then I used some of my endless supplies of craft supplies to decorate it. Here are the after shots:

I really enjoyed doing this. It was like therapy for my mind. And my mum was really pleased to get something so personal.

FlyLady Fail / Bag Packing score!

OK, I admit it. I've completely fallen off the FlyLady wagon. I haven't even LOOKED at my Babysteps pages. I don't even know what day I'm supposed to be on.

One thing I did do over this weekend though was to pre-pack the kids bags for the whole week ahead. I put the stuff into plastic bags - orange Sainsbury's bags for my daughter and white and blue Tesco bags for my son. I work Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays so I just needed 3 bags for each child. I used the HomeRoutines app to track what each bag had in it. I would put a screen shot up but my on/off button on my iPhone is not working.

So in the morning (or the night before if I get round to it) I can just get the bags and fill them up from the plastic bags (which I labelled with post it note stapled to the bags so I can use them again).

I've always wanted to be more organised when it comes to getting the kids ready in the morning. And this feels like a much better way than repacking the bags (running round the house 3 times a week packing spare pants, nappies, etc). Now I only have to do it once per week. Much more manageable. I guess that's what organising is all about. Finding a system that works for you. Now if I can just STAY on top of the laundry.....

Fly Lady Babysteps Day 3

Today's Fly Lady babystep instruction is:

I didn't do the first one first thing this morning. I didn't have time for a shower so just threw on yesterday's tracky bottoms and the first vest I could get my hands on before I had to get the kids dressed and head to drop my son at nursery. When I got back after I had a friend come round to visit, I managed to steal 15 minutes to have a shower. I did a proper clean up job - shaved legs, washed and conditioned hair.... brushed teeth and got dressed - in jeans and a top. I felt SO much better.

Number two I've just made a start on. My kitchen had become a tip again so I've cleared surfaces, filled dishwasher up (after emptying it), washed up. I have yet to put washing up away and empty and clean and shine my sink. But I'll get to it.

Fly Lady Babysteps Day 2

Today's FlyLady babystep was "get up and get dressed to lace-up shoes".

I was a bit confused because a) it was a work day so I had to get dressed up and b) I don't have any lace up shoes. Not that I wear for work anyway.

I understand the point of it. Its so that you feel ready for the day. I often feel rather sluggish (at the moment) because I need to lose at least half a stone (a stone if I'm being optimistic) and so when I'm not at work I am living out of tracky bottoms and baggy t-shirts. I don't feel like I can get dressed up in nice (if practical) clothes because I'd be uncomfortable and I HATE being uncomfortable.

I need to shine my sink before I go to bed. My dinner isn't ready and I'm shattered after driving to Heathrow to pick up my in-laws. I'm not 100% sure that that sink is going to be shined before I go to bed.

This is last night's shined sink - I was so pleased with it I put a picture up on my Facebook page:

Here is the FlyLady's instructions on How to Shine Your Sink.

Really its not JUST to shine your sink. You have to empty it of dirty dishes first. So you have to do the washing up and then dry up the washed dishes. And then clean the sink and then dry it with a tea towel.

It really does leave you feeling like you achieved something good once its done. Having said that, its 10.07pm and the worksurfaces are covered with clutter (only yesterday they were clear - this still amazes me: that I can spend so much time and effort tidying up and so quickly it all becomes messy again). Honestly, I don't think I'm going to get to it today. I'll do it in the morning (I'm thinking maybe this is my problem...). 

Help arrived

Since we returned from holiday (and indeed before we went) I had been feeling increasingly overwhelmed by all the clutter and mess and housework that needs doing in my house. It felt like everywhere I went I had to step over something in order to get to where I needed to go. OK, it didn't just FEEL that way, it WAS that way. It wasn't quite like one of those houses you see on Hoarder programmes but to me it felt that way because I just didn't know where to start and the feeling has been growing and growing and making me feel more and more overwhelmed - particularly since we got back from holiday (because of the unpacked suitcases and the pile of laundry that just keeps growing.

But today I was visited by 3 angels. OK, I haven't fallen over and hit my head. A friend and her 2 daughters came to visit me and help me clean and tidy my entire house. They arrived around 11am and didn't leave until nearly 3pm I think. They were like a 3 person hurricane (the kind that cleans up mess, instead of making it). They started with the kitchen, then the sitting room and dining room, then the hall and outside the front of the house and the downstairs loo, then upstairs to the hall, kids bathroom, spare room, kids room (after Lala woke up from her nap), then finally our bedroom, ensuite bathroom and Ben's office. Oh and my office. I'm so impressed. I helped too obviously. I didn't just sit and drink coffee while they did it all. I'm absolutely stunned, incredibly grateful. Speechless really. Well, not really speechless as I'm still talking/typing.

The thing that is wonderful is that now, all I need to do is try to keep up with it. I'm having a look at a site called FlyLady which is a site aimed at people (like me) struggling to keep on top of the chaos. She has a page called BabySteps which is a set of 31 instructions that you follow each day (a different one each day). I'm only just looking at it right now myself so I'll write more if and when I get to grips with it. There is also an iphone/ipad app that I have called HomeRoutines which has an instruction on its website for integrating the Flylady Babysteps into its app.

My friend has also texted me with a routine that will help me keep on top of it:

Monday - clean and tidy downstairs (put clutter away and clean kitchen)
Tuesday - vacuum and mop downstairs
Wednesday - clean and tidy upstairs (put clutter away, wipe surfaces and clean bathrooms)
Thursday - vac and mop upstairs
Friday - laundry (wash, dry & put all away)
Saturday - outside jobs
Sunday - chill out day

I may have to change things around to fit in with the days I'm at home. But I think this is a good structure to work around.

Sarah if you are reading this, I love you and I want to marry you and your kids!!!

Laundry

What is on my mind at the moment is laundry. 

My entire laundry system is in a total mess at the moment. Having just got back from two week's holiday in turkey we're not yet back in the swing of things (if we ever were). This is our current situation with regards to laundry:

As we are a family of four (two small children, one of which is only just toilet trained and the other who has just about (ish) got the hang of using a fork/spoon. So suffice to say that we get through quite a lot of laundry. 

Our washing machine is in the utility room/dog room downstairs just off the kitchen. We have a large laundry basket upstairs in the hall, but for convenience I also have a small basket in the kids room so that dirty clothes can be immediately separated from possible clean clothes that might have been got out of the drawers by the smallest child or just left on the floor by one of the boys (my son or hubby). I also DID have a cheap ikea laundry basket in the kitchen (sometimes it lived in the sitting room) and a basket in our ensuite bathroom, but the one in the kitchen got sat on by the dog (don't know how she managed that) and the one that I had in the bathroom was moved downstairs for something else - I think its now our shoe basket. Another challenge I have is that our plastic laundry baskets have both been chewed by the dog. 

I am dying to put in place a new shiny system to help me keep on top of the laundry which always seems to get me down. This is my plan:

1. Replace ensuite bathroom laundry basket with a nice wicker type one
2. Replace broken kitchen laundry basket
3. By replacement plastic laundry baskets (3 or even 4) - if they stack they would not get in the way
4. Convert area of spare room into laundry processing area
   • This would involve some kind of unit with spaces for drawers or baskets
   • The unit would also preferably have a flat surface where I can fold clothes

Here are some things I found on the internet that caught my eye and got my inspiration juices flowing! 

Source: houzz.com via Casey on Pinterest

Source: thebestpictureontheinternet.blogspot.com via Lilly on Pinterest

Source: nestegg.typepad.com via Antonietta on Pinterest