Hi all.

Throat is mostly better, energy level is a little better. Aches and pains, wondering if I'm dealing with a mild case of mono. (Read that it can range from severe to asymptomatic)

Wishing I had some good solution for Anony, that living situation sounds very hard.

Mil brought me a little dresser to add to my hoard. It is currently in the basement waiting for me to return to purging and organizing.

I am noticing that a lot of the focus here is on cleaning. Sometimes I wonder if I focus on cleaning and organizing as a distraction - "if I can just make it look good, I don't have too much stuff."? I still have too much stuff.

Dh saw my screen last night and he said "are you reading a hoarding site?" I said "I'm participating in a hoarding support group." And he asked " for, or against?"

Anony how distressing wish i had your answer.i had a large hole in my dinning room and we were getting all sorts of stuff that was not to be getting from outside to inside.
I couldn't keep water from seeping .
but i just had a tarp on the floor and a large tub to catch it.

but i eventually got tired of the wind coming through and stuffed the hole 4x6 foot with plastic grocery bags between the joists and other things .
then got strong masking tape and taped them in long strip overlapping them till they were in a 6x6 bandaid.and carefully put it over the hole.
It was not a fix. But it kept all the rotten wood insular ions and other junk that accumulation there for 100 years. Into that area. It was impossible keep the house heated with such allarge hole so I made a temp barrier .

My cleaning tips for the week .
I use scratch pads on my glass plates. I buy 3M. Two kinds
green for glass and metal and blue for non stick and plastics.
I cut each pad into three strips.
then as it wears out cut each strip into 3 pieces
every trash day I throw out one of the pieces.
Before I do I find the worst mess the requires a scratch pad .
a mess that will ruin the the pad. So that's when I use it a b d then toss. I've been doing this for a about year.
I've even used the non scratch pads on my car to get tar off.
and on shovels to keep them in good condition.

Cheese seems to be the worst for ending a scratch pad from the sink. And I started dedicating those for cleaning out trash bins that have mold in them .

when my wife became ill. She only had energy to work and come home and sleep. I have never been the housekeeper. Forgive me that expression . When i had to step up and do it all. I realized that was very lazy. I mean i knew. But i didn't realize how much i was neglecting . And how difficult it would be to get it all done. Before i could just clean in a routine way. I finally settled on the all completed method i described in the last post. In that way i wasn't having to manage tasks . i do have check lists. But t g ey were more helpful getting the tasks out of the way that too big to considered weekly cleaning.

At first I still had about 60 things on the list . But after three weeks of spiraling from area to area the task l I at dwindled to 25 and by week 5 was gone.

Of course it was helpful to move into a clean slate.
and purge alot before it had the chance to become a deep unorganized hoard.

So now it's the little things .
Like getting under the fridge.
behind the stove.
Thing is since I'm not cooking 3 days a week.
and I'm grilling outside 2 days a week.
Cleaning the kitchen happens mostly Instantaneously as I go. So when I spiral into the kitchen I get to spend more time working towards perfection cleaning.

that's a extremely far cry from whom I was 3 years ago.
but then I could come home and find 30 dried on pots pad and plates and bowls piled in the filled with food. Whish is a departure from the way the kitchen is used now.

i also unplug the refrigerator. For about 8 hours a day.
and that's while im running the air conditioning.
Keeps the electric bill low.
i keep freezer items in a cooler inside the freezer.
and those frozen plastic ice packs in the cooler.
if i never open the door sometime the ice tray is still frozen solid.
I live so close to the grocery store of major chain. I try to keep nothing in the fridge except on Thurs fri and sat.
.
with line of strategy. The bare minimum fridge is very easy to clean. The microwave is easy to clean because I have one of those steamy things that creates moisture. And since I clean it once a week it's a minor chore.
Leaving the stove. Oh god the stove is a stove.
sometime I skip it and move on. Because i don't bake very much. And grill my meats outside. Mostly the stove top and clean immediately as I go.

so then it's time for the floor. Thats where most of the scratch pads go to die. My wet vac is positioned between the car and the kitch. I fill the sink with my cleaning liquids.
And bail out the waters on the floor as needed. As I mop.
I use a squeegee to collect dirty water towards the wet vac and suck up the floor water. Then use a towel to finnish drying up the floor. So that non of the water or dirt the water loosened remains.
I spray the sanitizer bleach water. 1 cap of bleach in 1 gallon of water and pour into spray bottle. Thats what I spray on the counters and the floors. .
windows and doors open to vent.

Basically we may eat of any surface in the kitchen.
I use the same techniques in the bathroom but never eat the the bathroom. Unless offered a 10,000. Clean is clean im not crazy.

well that all for now. Thats how I use the scratch pads .
cleans dishes, refrigerator, microwave, stove, and floor.
the grill and bathrooms. Other tables in the house.
Pads Seem like such a minor thing but it's like the glue that keeps me on track...

I think I may skip the whole spiral clean next week. And revisit my art supplies I set up for my daughter. I think I would enjoy making givingv it more functionality.

I'm so stuck on adobe concept and the flying bike.
but realized its the tools that create them that I need to focus on.
So its nice to have an engineer and an architect as long term friends to have conversations with. But if it's not in a drawing my verbal skill aren't quite articulate enough to get down to what matters. . where the art I can point right to it.

Good morning! Have done the dishes and changed my sheets. Doing a little worrying about washing tomorrow--hoping washer hog is still MIA. Seeing seamstress today for drape project. The fabrics heavy and I need to carry to my car. Going to bring mom with me as it will be a nice ride and she enjoys running errands. She won't be able to do the stairs in the woman's home but the woman said we can talk by the car.

I hope to do a little around here before jumping in the shower.

Anony/-that sounds so scary. I'm so happy you are trying to keep your sense of humor. Good idea re writing down your contacts from your phone! I too don't want to change phones and despite being eligible for an upgrade for nearly two years, I want to see his long I can keep this one! Please stay safe and be careful. Of course I worry.

SubC, Tillie is right. Stressful times generally signal an illness for me. Congratulations for getting through the visit and rest as much as you can.

Tillie, the weather is not cooperating with you. Iced tea is likely your best defense right now. I also find watermelon very cooling. It has been cool here. Yesterday had done humidity and the walk home from work was taxing. Today back to low humidity.

Big social day yesterday. I met a friend for lunch and a different friend for dinner. Good to spend some time out like that. In between I did manage to stop by mom's with some dinner for her. Today was brother day and it went very well. I fell asleep once I came home. BF is working tonight. I think I should do some puttering!

~Hello, Happy Homers!~
Yesterday, we had hard winds, then a huge rainstorm, so i was battling with my partial tarp-roof, then rain poured into the livingroom onto my music cds, bringing disgusting insulation & filth from inside the ceiling all into the cases of my favorite music. Its a battle of balancing what is left of the integrity of the roof every time i walk across it to work on the tarp, and it letting in more rain. Then my phone started wigging out, saying the wrong time, then wrong day & year, etc., so i had to write down everyone's contact numbers & emails, etc., in case it breaks completely....i dont know how most people love to get a new phone, because that is an enormous stress for me!!! Way worse than my house leaking...unless the ceiling caves in...thatd be scarier than a new phone...i know im weird...ha ha
SubC, the electric & plumbing for an earth bag building is a good question? Hopefully, its not too tricky?
....im just trying to remember to be grateful for having a home with most of its roof & walls there, and having food & a car & some money & my kitties & people that can help....and all of y'all's kind words & support & suggestions...♡

Good Morning Everybody 🙂
"CLINK!"

Hi Subclinical 🙂
Happy the inlaw visit went well.
Stress lowers our resistance to illnesses.
Please take the time you need to rest and recuperate. (((hug)))

Hi CriticalMass 🙂
Hang in there and keep treading (((HUG000

Hi Anonymoniker 🙂
Good luck and best wishes with your plans! 😀

Hi Porter 🙂
Wonderful to hear all about how things are going there.
At the age your daughter is even if she were living with you, you would hardly ever see her.
At this age socializing with peers and establishing their own individual identity, separate from their parents, is most common behavior.
Are you still dreaming about taking off on that boat? ;D

Hi Tatoulia 🙂

Extended weather forecast for the entire next week is temperatures well above 100 degrees daily. 🙁

Porter, I'm really glad you are doing so well!

Anony, I googled earthbag homes. That is very cool! What will you do for plumbing/electric? Do you live where heating or cooling are an issue?

My in laws are gone. The visit was ok. My older dd and her dh were kind enough to come to dinner last night and provide entertainment.

Mil took two of my disposable containers full of leftovers and she says she can recycle them. Score!

I feel better emotionally, but now I am sick. It feels like the beginning of laryngitis.

Hi all .
I think last time I checked in I was reading so n e thing Joan was saying about family. About how wether she lives or dies changes their circumstances. About how they treat her more according to their circumstances than to in what way she may need support. Its been on my mind.

My wife family still won't let me see my wife.
It's so weird. I'm at a loss as to how we were a family and suddenly were not... im still paying the bills . Hard to ignore the bills. Only 9 months to go before I can move again .
my daughter stays in contact. But i can tell she's adjusting to her new lifestyle with her aunt. Theres no money stuggles. Her aunt never says no . Or makes her earn privileges. I can sense that about her I what she talks about.
I know she's happy. For that I'm glad, but as her parent I worry about how she'll be when her aunt is no longer there to make life so easy. My experience is so opposite, and I was so unhappy and alone. Its hard for me to understand sometimes what's it must be like to not struggle.
I do struggle . Even when things are routine I struggle.

So I can appricate my sis in law making a life for my daughter to focus only on study and not on the other struggles life can throw and hit us with.

I've been keeping busy. And losing a little weight .
I'm so settled into my fasting menu that i don't have to guess or think about it. But it means I sleep alot.
4 days I eat normally and the three fasting days a week I sleep from time I get home to time I go back to work.

How does that apply or be relevant to this board.
well. Since I sleep through 3 days. It makes less routinely cleaning. I don't make mess i mean just a towel and an outfit in the hamper.
So that leaves Tues and Thurs as active days.
and Friday and Saturday as active days.

I moved everthing i fo that makes mess i to a checklist on my phone. I grill on Fri and sat. So Thursday is my big day
even if i do nothing all week i can get my house in order almost to the point of minimalism. On Thursday when i have alot of food energy.

something deep inside me is fighting to keep up on the ckeaning. I used to be such a hoarder ckeaning almost never happened. Just tidy or straighten. But i couldn't get under thing to do very much cleaning. Now that it's me myself and i . I've arranged furniture in ways that make cleaning efficient.
However something I can't quiet wrap my head around or understand is why I get overwhelmed with feelings and distractions. See I dont clean just clean what needs cleaned but I clean everything and that includes what needs cleaned.. when i try to focus only on the unclean i get off track and put off and procrastinate. But when i use my personal approach. I have strong confidence in accomplishing it all to the all completed status.

my personal approach is the clockwise method.
my home can be thought of as a clockwise spiral.

and as it winds inward from room to room. I also clean each room in the clockwise pattern. In this way it includes everything. Skips nothing. No chance to abandon or neglect clutter. As move from room to room i have a cart. It holds 8 large tubs and as i move from room to room downstairs it gives space to collect what needs to go out to other places.
The tubs i have are labeled.
Basement, bedrooms, yard, car, kitchen, bathroom, supplies, OPP. It seems to work in the vein as a little mess is ok but alot is unacceptable. The cart is the only thing out of place and the house is normal and minimalistic. It used to take week to get through each and every area. Now only 5 hours.
I think because I'm so on top of it.
Back porch, yard, car, front porch, living room, dinning room, kitchen, bathroom, dressing room laundry, basement, closets, bedrooms.
What I get help with is washing dishes .
my mom offered to help me clean my house. I cannot tell you how happy I was when my mother in law was no longer in my daily life. But the thought of allowing my mother back into my daily life makes want to primal scream.
But i do want to keep things in check. I give her my sunday clothes and my flatware. It makes her happy and I have less to do . So don't judge me! Lol.
that only leave my work clothes and my glasses and plates.
I only have large beer mugs. This is what I can fit my hand into. And I story them in the freezer. I get no complaints from anyone . And for those whom have trouble with the large mugs I have Styrofoam cups. I just throw way.
leaves only my pyrex bowls and pie plates. Because they are glass I see wether they are spotless or not. If one breaks I can replace at $3 . My dishes aren't beautiful, but they are clean enough to pass any thorough inspection.
I've spent only $6 on replacements and have 24 of each bowl, pie plate, and sauce cup.

My weekends are now filled with card games.
Its very efficient to clean up after. When im done i lite a cinnamon candle in the kitchen and a coconut candle in the bathroom. .

I'm sorry i haven't been posting latley. I'm sort of not as stressed and needing to vent and seek support.
So I don't feel compelled to seek the support. But i know my history. I may doing well now. For the last 5 weeks ive been in complete control and getting to the point of all completed. But for the last 35 years I have been a hoarder and rarely cleaning . So I know it might be wise not to go off too long from my peers.
So I happy to say I'm doing well on my own. Not financially. But as far as keeping house . I doing very well for now.

Thanks for the drive-by, CM. Keep treading--right by your side. Anony, glad that your ideas are starting to crystallize!

~A Happy Hello to all!~
CM, i dont know what kind of 'treading water' youre doing, but i hope things stabilize soon?!
SubC, i am quite certain your food bank can manage without you for one day! Take care of your needs! And all the best with the inlaws?!
~Thank you all for you suggestions & support!!!~
Im pretty sure im not going to take my friend's trailer. Instead im just going to focus on doing a small earth bag home(thats my plan for now) and my friend who helped me with the tarping i will hire to help build the earth bag home! Ive got an ozonator inside for the mold, etc. and it should be fine till i get the new building! Im excited! Earth bag homes are cheap, strong & go up quickly! This feels much better than messing with bringing another trailer here. Thank y'all for your encouragement about making that decision! Im feeling very inspired & enthused & relieved! 😀
~♡~I hope everyone has a fabulous day!~♡~

Right now just treading water... Hope everyone is okay.

Sending you support from afar. Remember YOU need YOU too. Sending you much love, SubC.

Anony, I am glad your house is wrapped and that things went well with your friend! Maybe she can help some more. Support is good.

I skipped the food bank and my class yesterday.

I have a make up today. I want to go. Mostly because if I don't go I will be home when my inlaws arrive. the motivation to avoid them is the first thing all week that has pushed through the apathy.

I also skipped the food bank. Dh said "but they need you at the food bank." And I cried.

Hi 🙂

Hi Anonymoniker 🙂
Happy you like his brand of humor. 😀
Glad it's got the tarp on keeping out the rain.
Spray something stinky like ammonia on the tarp to deter the cats.
Keep doing what you have been doing concerning your life & home.
You spend a lot of time thinking about and evaluating things and finally come to the conclusion as to what is best for you.
Don't stop, you know yourself better than anyone (((HUGS)))

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
WAY TO GO!!!! for sweeping that kitchen floor! 😀
I keep the teeny tiny kitchen & bathroom floors here "OK" by sweeping daily (tracked kitty litter) and spot cleaning up anything that gets on them.
Sure, they could stand a good old fashioned scrubbing/mopping right now but they are not mortifying. 😉

nice video

I like this Lady and think she would fit in well here on the message board.
Even younger people could gain a bit of knowledge/insight from her.

Congratulations, Anony! Good to hear that the friend's help was a blessing! I hope the tarp holds! My two cents is unless you can live in the trailer, you should skip it. Trust your instincts--

Tillie--we have been having easy, cool weather here. I don't even mind the rain. I wish I could sweep up your humidity!

Thank you for the mortification scale and I've given it some thought. It's my floors. It's the dust in the corners and the dirt. Today I duds weep the kitchen which was huge for me. Since the washer is in the kitchen, I concentrated on that. I would love to do something re bathroom floor. It is mortifying.

I'll report back later.

Hey there?! Coffee clinks to all! 😀
Tillie, i LOVE JP Sears! He is absolutely hilarious! And your 'mortification scale' plan sounds both funny & effective!
Tatoulia, im glad you have a washer to use till yours is fixed!
SubC, i have had that exact conversation with other people about me killing raccoons, when they were killing my cats! Good for you!
Sooo much is happening at once! My trailer is now covered by a tarp & its funny, cuz several windows are covered, making it darker inside, which oddly, makes me not see the mess in here as well, so its kind of soothing...how is that for weird?! HA! One concern i have is that my cats will scratch up the tarp, causing rain to come through, etc?!! The other thing that just came up is my friend who is moving in with her new boyfriend(after knowing him for about 2 weeks!!), has offered me her travel trailer, which is much nicer than any of mine. The thing is, im not sure i want to bring yet another trailer out here? After my years of acquiring so much stuff, im very...um...phobic(?) of any more stuff coming here...i know that isnt standard hoarder thinking, but its like a reaction from all of those years? The other thing is i dont know if i want to take on anything to take my time, energy, decisions, expenses and more adjustments, in addition to trying to build a house? As far as my other friend working out here, she was wonderful about it!!! She has been a total blessing!!! If she was horrified,she didnt express it...at least to me...ha ha The night before she came, i couldnt sleep, had awful diarrhea & was rally nervous, but it was fine! Great, actually! ...im soooo bad about changes....especially with my home....?!?!?

Good Morning Everybody 🙂
Ice tea :CLINK!:

Hi Subclinical 🙂
WTG! for pushing through and doing what you can.
I really hope this dark cloud passes quickly for you (((HUGS)))

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
So glad the building's washer has been available for you.
You have always been so good at keeping up with the laundry.
Please do not allow seeing your home through someone else's eyes to get you down.
Use this time as a way to reevaluate.
I always use the "mortification" scale.
As in "What would I be most "mortified" to have an unexpected visitor see about my home" and then I take care of that issue first to help reduce my anxiety and motivate me. (((HUGS)))

The weather these past few weeks has really sapped my energy and motivation.
So many things I should, could, would do...
But I know if I push it I will just be making myself sick.
So I will continue on doing the "necessities" for now.
The yardwork and harder housework will get done someday.
But for now I continue to just tidy up, do cat care related tasks, laundry and wait out the Summer extremes. 😀
Thank goodness for Netflix, Youtube videos, freezer pops and my evaporative cooler.

I've washed two more loads in our big washer. I hope that it continues to be free on the days I am home until mine is fixed. I also hope that we are able to fix mine.

I'm working and drinking lots of water to keep myself motivated today. I need to putter tonight!

SubC I am so sorry about your depression. We are here for you if you need to talk.

I have a lot of good options in the next few weeks regarding my washer. I will use them all, I am sure. If no one is using ours today I think I'll do a quick load.

I'm going to work on house today. After work, I'll put on some puttering music. Yesterday was an eye-opener.

Iced tea clinks to all.

Oh no tatoulia. I'm sorry about your washer, but glad you got your laundry done.

The depression is bad this week. I am fighting it. Yesterday I almost kept up with the dishes.

So far today I made dh breakfast and packed lunches for dh and dd. So today is pretty good.

I'm not sure I can face going to the food bank this evening though.

I have a class this afternoon. I am planning to go. Also to be on time. I was late Tuesday. I am almost never late.

Okay I washed my sheets downstairs--nice, big clean washer. I am drying them up here. Usually one of the guys upstairs uses the washer all day and leaves his stuff in there for hours on end. But I haven't seen him in a while (not unusual) and I haven't heard his dog upstairs, AND his boyfriend sent me an email this weekend saying asking me to do something while he was out of town so I'm wondering if they broke up. They've been together a very long time, decades, so I'm not sure. But it was easy using the washer and I may run another load when I'm home tomorrow.

I just don't like one particular set of neighbors o know my business. They are a little insistent on stuff and so I try as much as possible to keep to myself here. I'm pleasant and willing to help out, I just don't want people stopping by. But I guess you must have known that.

Years ago there were a lot of young people in the building and I was young then too, and we used to have dinner parties at my house at least once a month. Either my downstairs neighbor or one of the upstairs neighbors would do the cooking here and we'd laugh and gab all night.

Well the washer isn't fixed and he doesn't really know what to say, but as he was leaving my boyfriend called and he had someone in his office who knew about washers, and the guy spoke with my person, and I've ordered another part. The repair guy is on vacation starting tomorrow, but the part won't be delivered by Amazon until August 2 at the earliest, so I will not fret about this now.

I am going to have to make some decisions re where to do laundry. We do have free downstairs but I never use it and I feel funny going down there. I can't explain it.

Oh well I lived through this.

Thank you for the support, SubC & Tillie. he is here now and I'm trying not to be anxious. I just want it to be fixed and I can go about my life doing laundry. He is putting in the part and we are both hoping that I've diagnosed it correctly; otherwise he's going to have to try to figure it out. A little concerned that he didn't want the power cut to the washer. It I'm sure he's unplugged it. Oh boy.

Kitty is under the bed.

Tillie it has been very low humidity here and very autumnal due to lots of rain. Today is sunshine and cool. Boy I love this weather.

Good Morning Everybody 🙂

Hi Tatoulia 🙂
I know that feeling (((HUGS)))
Try to remember the repair man is there to do a job and earn a paycheck, has seen worse, doesn't care just as long as he can get to what he needs to, to do his job.
And my fingers are crossed that this repair can be a fast & easy one. 😉

Hi Subclinical 🙂
WAY TO GO! with the one in/one out magazine! 😀
Happy you enjoyed that video. 🙂

Was going to do some watering this morning but looked around and the flowers are ok, don't need water yet.
So am doing some laundry right now then later will water the trees and lilac bushes.
Happy that the lower temps and higher humidity is making my watering schedule easier on me. 😀

Today I'm inclined to fool around on the Internet. I'll get moving soon though. My mom called and derailed my morning - not that I put up any resistance, I enjoy talking with her.

If you arable to sweep, don't worry about the repairman. Your house is fine!

I would needs clean up for at least half an hour before I could sweep downstairs.

I hope he can fix everything!

Ok I can either fool around in the internet or do some cleaning. Not as simple as it sounds. Just swept kitchen. Going to chest the counters. Then sweep hallway. Then we shall see.

Hello everyone!

I did nothing to prepare for plumber/electrician today and I cannot believe how simply awful my house is. I'm going to put some time in on the kitchen, since that's where my washer is. I really hope he's able to fix it. It's on a five year limited warranty and it's under five years but as I read through it, it appears I'm responsible for labor. So I'll see if my guy can fix it before invoking the warranty.

Very embarrassing to look at kitchen and house with fresh eyes today.

I loved "if meat eaters acted like vegans" (I'm a vegetarian, but not an evangelist. Although I did get up in somebody's face a little while ago and ask if she was a vegetarian when she went off about me killing the raccoons - she was not.)

The new issue of the magazine arrived yesterday and I recycled the old issue!

Sorry, here is a clickable link

clickable link

This is another Youtube poster that I enjoy just because I find him to be very funny. ;P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-mju_gW3c8