The Reluctant Housekeeper

A home and style blog for the lazy and spoonless

[reluctanthousekeeper]

I’m a real adult now. Grouting renewed! #ufyh #reluctanthousekeeper #beforeandafter #cleaning #adulting

[reluctanthousekeeper]

Happy Gotcha Day Lacy! Four years ago we brought home a timid barkless dog, now transformed into a rampaging bundle of confidence with the loudest bark in town! Happy 6ish birthday Woofles, love you! #gotchaday #birthdaypup #rescuedog #rescuedogsofinstagram #rescueismyfavoritebreed #staffyx #bulllurcher #wearetherescued https://www.instagram.com/p/B3ZFmd-AQFJ/?igshid=1osuq6qb91jwo

[reluctanthousekeeper]

12 weeks after starting #mykonmari, 6 weeks after completion & this is what my underwear drawer looks like. My home has never been this tidy, or this easy to keep tidy. It feels like a weight has lifted #konmari #konmarimethod #thankyoumariekondo https://www.instagram.com/p/BvqoDQWglnY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1nqqxlsgx0j32

[reluctanthousekeeper]

Wedding dress before/after - transformed using #dylon #olivegreen #machinedye - this was always the plan but I was too chicken to do it. Unexpected #mariekondo side effect - decided it needed to be done if I was to keep it, so it didn’t matter if it was ruined! I’ll write a blog post about it soon! https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu52EA_AWqw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=3of80tp91f60

[reluctanthousekeeper]

Konmari Kitchen Komono #2

For phase 2 of the kitchen komono, I tackled the other two miscellany cupboards.  The under sink cupboard and the (hopefully titled) baking cupboard.  In the latter, I had tried to combine all of the baking tins and other equipment, but (as you can see below) it wasn’t really working.

After I pulled everything out of the cupboard, and discarding quite a few unused baking tins (I had duplicates, I have a bundt insert I had never used, I had cookie cutters that just didn’t work properly) I realised that they would be better off elsewhere.  Having made space in the pan cupboard for the baking trays last time, I set about making space for the cake tins and other baking paraphernalia in the same cupboard.  This involved removing all of my electrical kitchenware, which it turns out fitted perfectly into the vacated cupboard.

Pans and plates had already been whittled down to the good stuff, when I started Konmari before, so I just needed to rearrange them.  I condensed them all into one cupboard, with our everyday plates on the top, and our special occasion-ware on the bottom.  We use all of our plates on the regular, not just for guests but to make a Sunday Dinner, or a special meal feel a bit more special.  We have everyday plates because a) we’re clumsy and b) I really love all of them, but don’t have full sets of anything.

Next was the under-sink cupboard.  Even with the baking trays removed it was a MESS.  I pulled everything else, threw out all of the almost-but-not quite finished cleaning supplies, the hundreds of damp rags and the cutlery tray which we didn’t use. 

I then sorted the remainder into like-things and put them back in the baskets (which were already there!  Buried and collapsed!).  Laundy liquid, diswasher tablets and everyday cleaning sprays are at the front for ease of access. 

All this took much less time than I thought, so I had time to go through my kitchen drawers.  I was pretty ruthless with them, chucking out excessive duplicate tools, but they actually weren’t in too bad shape.  Our cups I had already been through, and we didn’t have a problem with glasses (they had been naturally whittled down by clumsiness). 

I am so much happier with how my kitchen works with these cupboards sorted out.  Now all I have left to do is food cupboards, and I will have a fully functioning kitchen!

[unfuckingmynest]

there are a lot of tips people pass around to reduce waste. reuse egg cartons, repurpose old tshirts, mend or repurpose holey socks, reuse glass jars, fix broken things, save scrap fabric for patches. it’s awesome if you do those things! those are great ways to save money and reduce your footprint.

if you find that you don’t have the energy or time or skill to do those things, you do not need to let those things build up in your home. throw them out. i just got rid of a grocery bag full of old underwear and socks that i have been hanging out to for years bc i thought i would get DIY minimalist eco socialist solar punk on them, and then i never did. i am holding on to broken furniture that i haven’t touched in years, and i’m getting rid of it this weekend.

if all your good intentions to be DIY and decluttering and reduce reuse recycle are gathering dust, you have permission to let go. you have permission to simplify your life! the damaged product that you don’t fix is as worthless sitting in a box as it is going to the trash if you aren’t going to fix it.

if you do end up getting the bug, more things come in glass jars. more socks get holes. we live in a really disposable economy. you’ll get the opportunity to get crafty again and you dont need to hold onto a years long backlog of “things i will get around to”

[reluctanthousekeeper]

Ditto selling and donating things. Use the easiest ways to do this. If something’s not fit for sale or donation, or can only be donated/sold in a super laborious way, it’s ok to just trash it. Your local tip will divide things up for recycling. Putting things that should have gone in the bin years ago, all at once might seem like a massive waste, but sometimes it’s necessary. Give yourself a break.

[reluctanthousekeeper]

Konmari Paperwork & Kitchen Komono #1 Tupperware Edition

Paperwork was super easy this time around, as I’d thrown out almost everything the first time round.  It was comforting to know that I hadn’t needed any of the stuff I’d ‘erroneously’ purged 4 years ago.  I emptied out our concertina file (which had got shuffled over time), and the drawer that had been serving as our inbox for a year.  Chucked out anything non-vital (almost everything) and put everything else into a box file.  I keep a letter divider on top of this (leftover from a previous tidying attempt) to serve as an inbox for anything that needs to be actioned.

I was super eager to start on the kitchen a soon as I reached the komono stage.  In particular I knew that the tupperware cupboard was in need of attention.  When we moved house last year, my mum was amazed at the sheer quantity of tupperware containers we owned - “why do you need all of this?” she exclaimed - and I explained how vital it all was, of course.

Fast forward a year, and every morning I am swearing as something topples out of the cupboard and into the dog’s water bowl.  I was finally ready to deal with the monster I had created.

First job was, of course, to pull everything out of the cupboard and take a look at what we had.  I separated it off into tupperware, other food storage and other cooking items.  My mum was right about the tupperware.  I started by discarding all the rubbish quality stuff - we had about 25 that we’d clearly been saving from previous takeaways, those with missing or warped lids (some of them weren’t quite as microwave safe as advertised).  I kept 2 medium and one large rectangular boxes, 2 each of the small and smaller ones handy for snacks and sauces as well as some character snack boxes and a book shaped lunchbox which I particularly love.

I then went through the other food containers and cooking equipment and made sure that I wanted to keep it all, nesting a round bowl, into a round tupperware, into a round cake holder to save space.  When I finished, I had a spare shelf, so I moved a bunch of other miscellaneous cooking equipment out of the pan cupboard onto the bottom shelf.

Now, the cupboard opens without anything falling out, I don’t have to ratch around for the “good” ones on a busy morning, and I’ve cleared enough space in my pan cupboard for the baking trays (which were living in the cupboard under the sink - don’t judge me!)

[reluctanthousekeeper]

Crafting St. Brigid’s crosses for #imbolc - no two the same #handmade #folkcraft #strawcraft #pagan #pagansofinstagram #wheeloftheyear #springiscoming -with @alastairreay https://www.instagram.com/p/BtYcBumgpa_/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=3pite5g12hf3

[anteatera]

Marie Kondo: “keep the books that spark joy. Go through them all, treat them with respect. If they no longer spark joy, thank them, and let them go.”

Twitter: “did y’all see Netflix’s new adaptation of Fahrenheit 451?”

[reluctanthousekeeper]

Also my BFFs Facebook this week!

[reluctanthousekeeper]

Konmari Lesson 2

4 years or so ago I read Marie Kondo’s Lifechanging Magic of Tidying Up and started to declutter my home. Unfortunately life got in the way, and that coupled with some confidence-crushing errors in phase 3 (paperwork) lead to my abandoning the process.

I had still managed to let go of a lot of unread books, along with condensing down my CDs and DVDs to manageable wallets of discs (from terrifying towers of stuff), which made moving house last year slightly less traumatic than it could have been.

It was still pretty traumatic though. We took 3 carloads of random tat to the tip, AFTER we moved. So now we’re all settled, and inspired by the Kondo’s Netflix show, we’re starting again.

Clothes and paperwork were a breeze this time around. I’m so happy to only own clothes that bring me joy, that it’s helping me move on through the categories. Books, well, books were harder.

The photo above shows all our books piled up. Compared to the past it was nothing, but it was still a shock to realise how many books we’d accumulated over time. We purchased two new bookcases, as ours had not survived last year’s move, and set to sorting. I quickly realised that quite a few of the books I’d kept because I might want to read them again, hadn’t been touched since last time. So I took my brain out of it and sorted the Konmari way, keeping only what sparked joy.

Many of the discarded books are ones I love. I love books, I love stories. As a writer I have an appreciation for words. Words don’t live on paper though, they exist in the interaction between the reader and the page. These stories live inside me. I don’t need to keep the wrapper.

Some, like Harry Potter, I’ve chosen to discard because the copies I have are unwieldy and difficult to read. If I want to read them again, I can rebuy on Kindle or borrow from the library in an easier to carry format. Some, I loved but know I’ll never want to read again.

Now, as I type this I can see my bookshelves, and every title is something not just good but meaningful to me. They truly spark joy. By which I don’t mean they are all happy stories. They are important, they resonate.

And those books I’m discarding? Those stories going on to live in someone else.

[reluctanthousekeeper]

Morning dog walk along Commissioners Quay #quayside #blyth #commissionersquay #publicart #tallships #harbour #port - even in dreary weather this place is beautiful (at Port of Blyth)

[reluctanthousekeeper]

I made a thing #sewing #sewingproject #sewingmachine #amazonkindle #fatquarter #myfirstsewingproject #wonkystripes #craft

[the-lazy-housewife]

This pregnancy has been so tough on me. I’ve been neglecting house work.

The state of the before picture is embarrassing so I’m not uploading this photo to my main blog but here instead.

All those stains are from coffee. I don’t drink coffee so really I should have got my husband to clean that up! You can see that there’s still a stain from it in the second photo. So I need to figure out how to get that out eventually but for now I’m happy.

[unfuckyourhabitat]

Try a Magic Eraser, or a paste of Comet (powdered cleaner). A baking soda paste might work, too, depending how deep the stain is, but I think the Magic Eraser should do it.

[reluctanthousekeeper]

That is a fine selection of tea! Much approval!

[reluctanthousekeeper]

We had some cash left over from our wedding, and decided to spend it on some new IKEA shelves to replace our ancient cheap bookcases I’ve been using for over 15 years. I wanted to buy EXPEDIT shelves as our old housemate had them and they were super sturdy and can get extremely practical add ons for them including some folding fabric boxes I already owned and loved. When I got to IKEA I found out they had discontinued EXPEDIT and replaced with the slightly smaller KALLAX - after a bit of umm-ing and ahh-ing I went for the KALLAX and got the largest 4 x 4 unit as well as a smaller 4 x 2 unit to replace my three knackered old bookshelves. Assembling them was easy, and Mr. R didn’t need much help from me.

Our plan was to put the big one in place of the 2 downstairs bookshelves and the smaller one in our bedroom, but due to our very wide skirting boards and the layout of the bedroom we couldn’t get it to work, so that’s downstairs too, with us keeping the least knackered bookcase in place.

The smaller unit we placed on its side and filled with our board games and roleplay gaming supplies. This is acually great as the board games were in a teetering pile atop the wardrobe in the hall and the roleplay books were shoved in a vox. We actually have 3 empty boxes now which is great. We’ve also now have an actual TV table, instead of a makeshift one. Only £8.50 too, yay IKEA!

[reluctanthousekeeper]

Weeding the garden:

The gravel part of our garden has been overrun with weeds, and though the house is rented we do have a responsibility to keep it in reasonable repair so we have done some grunt work on it the last couple of days.

I should explain that previously I have attempted to clear the weeds with weedkiller but it had little/no effect, so we have decided to take drastic measures in the hopes we can now keep up with it with weedkiller!

This took me and my husband 5 or 6 20/10s to achieve the difference and we have plans to get out again to carry on once today’s layer of weedkiller has taken effect!

[reluctanthousekeeper]

Every day.  It takes seconds.  I can't explain to you why you should do it, for years I didn't see the point.  Then I started reading UFYH and thought this was something I could commit to doing EVERY day.  Sure, some days the bed looks better than others.  It's always made though.  Also: side effect: if I leave the house before my fiance gets up, it usually still gets done!

[therotund]

Adding cube shelves and baskets to transform this armoire into kitchen storage. (We found it on the curb 5 or 6 years ago and have used it as an entertainment center. Now the tv is mounted to the wall and the armoire is in the kitchen.)

[reluctanthousekeeper]

Repurposed to perfection!