Bathroom- Exhaust. Drains.

{Daily Task}- Using the brush attachment, vacuum the dust from the exhaust fans and drain in your bathroom.

A good task! We recently blew an enormous amount of money on our 1960's bathroom and turned it into the glamour-puss it is today. DH found an extractor fan cover which is gorgeous and doesn't have an exposed vent... yippee!

We also haven't really got a drain, it is a channel which runs the length of the bath/shower and is filled with river stones. These are vacuumed lightly every week but they do get filthy... it takes about 2 hours to clean them all properly! After the last clean, DH declared that it would be cheaper and easier just to replace the stones when they got dirty, so that's what we do. Twice a year we pull them up, stick them in the yard and replace with all new stones... costing a mere $30.

For today's task I have vacuumed the vent and gave the stones a brush over with the vacuum. Sorry the pictures look a little blurry, I have been playing the the new settings on my camera and haven't figured out how to use them properly.

See you at the next task!

Umm, Day 3?

Ok, so maybe it's not day 3 but I guess I couldn't be the Disorganised Housewife if I actually posted on time each day!

Now, I have a few daily tasks to catch up on so I will just label them under the room they are occurring in. Today will be flooded with posts to compensate.

Other than not blogging since Wednesday I have actually been pretty busy. I had so much washing to do and during winter it just takes such a long time to dry that you only just finish putting away the last of it before the next batch needs to be washed again.

I've also had three very sick people in my house (not me luckily) and I have been undergoing some medical tests to deal with some joint pain I have had for years.

I have discovered that I am probably only going to be able to post on Tuesdays and Thursdays as these are the days that baby goes to daycare.

Oh, and in other news... I have 1 follower!! Hurrah!!

Day 2

Dear Blog,

So, I haven't received my daily newsletter and tasks from The Organised Housewife but on facebook she has supplied a task for the day; dust the top of your fridge.
Umm, have you seen the top of my fridge?!?!? The dust is the least of my troubles! I gave it a crack anyway and the results have been interesting to say the least! Firstly it took me a very long time to "clear" my fridge of all the things that call its top home. The next bit was not so bad, the actual "dusting". It wasn't so much dusting as scraping a few years worth of dust mixed with airborne cooking grease away from its surprisingly shiny surface. I don't usually tend to use chemical cleaners where they aren't desperately required but my handy Spray and Wipe bottle was in full swing on this little task.

Once I had dusted my fridge as required by her Highly Organised, I was filled with a great sense of accomplishment. This was quickly crashed by the view of the items on my kitchen floor. What is all this stuff? Why was it put here in the first place? How can I dust/scrape a cardboard box?? You'll see in the picture that there aren't actually too many things up there but why are they there at all? Of course I remember putting them there but that doesn't mean it's my fault, does it? But then, low and behold, I opened the mysterious white box from atop the fridge and it was full... of goodies!!!! Well, they used to be good. Fortunately the wine, olives and olive oil were all good! Yay, free wine!

Anyway, my plan of attack for the other irritatingly displaced items is to wash them all (groan) and see if they'll fit in the cupboards... but what about the dog treats?? Help!!!
I didn't manage to get much of the serving wear into the cupboards but a few pieces have been cleared. I have put the dog treats in a Tupperware container, feedback on a better solution would be great!

Yes, we have a pink kitchen, it is the best kitchen in the world! I hope you enjoy the photos of this deceptively simple task...

End day 2

Time to set some goals

Over the next few months I'd like to use this blog as motivation to complete some goals I have set for myself. These including the care and organisation of my house and family but also some self-improvement.

1) Lose some weight.

I used to work in retail and managed to keep a pretty trim figure because I was constantly on my feet running from one end of department store to the other. I then decided to get a "grown up" job sitting at a desk Monday to Friday 9-5. This resulted in a rapid gain of weight (13kgs in less than 12 months) and a drop in my self confidence. Then I fell pregnant and had a beautiful baby and stopped working outside the home. The result? I am 20 kgs over my goal weight. I have been going to the gym intermittently, walking daily, eating terribly... basically I'm not getting any better.
So, goal one is to fit 1 hour of strenuous exercise in to my daily routine.

2) Get creative.

I used to paint, draw and write a lot when I was a younger adult. Then life got on top of me and I just didn't see the point in doing anything that I couldn't be the best at. After having my baby a year ago I have dabbled in making a few things and they have been very therapeutic and I'm dead proud of them. I'd like to knock out a few paintings, maybe make some clothes for the kids and start getting my sketching mojo back. So, that's goal number 2... I'll post proof on a weekly basis I think... I don't have too much time to do something everyday.

3) Get this house organised.

I don't have a large family but I do have a little house. We live in the most gorgeous 1919 Federation cottage in a great suburb a few minutes walk from the city of Perth. It is ideal living. Except for the old house issues that anyone in an old house will understand. I have no storage. The house drops dust like there is no tomorrow. There is not very much natural light and each room is its own entity with its own door... no open plan throughout the entire house. Luckily we have finished renovating so there is nothing else that needs to be done. Also, I live with a hoarder, he is a 36 year old hoarder of everything imaginable. My laundry (one of the only rooms with cupboards everywhere) stores power tools, painting things, spare rags, old (possibly useful one day??) light fittings, one million keys and the list keeps going. So, my goal is to organise everything from both girls' rooms to the dreaded laundry within one year. Now that might seem like a decent amount of time but there is also the next goal...

4) Get a job.

Now, not too many housewives are supposed to have a full time job but this one needs to be working. The main reason is financial but there is also the emotional reasons. I loved working and having the freedom to just go and do things if I wanted to because I had the money to. I also get a little overwhelmed if I have lots to do and lots of time to do it in... I work best under pressure! It can take me two days to clean the house if I don't have a reason to but I can get the same stuff done in 3 hours if there are people coming over!
I have been doing a bit of casual work and the compensation doesn't meet the output, I have been mystery shopping because of my extensive retail experience. No more of that for me now... this housewife wants to have a reason to fit into her old Cue suits and hit the big smoke.

5) The Organised Housewife Challenge

Now, the reason behind the blog. I want to follow her daily tasks and yearly organisation tasks for 1 year and report back on everything to you. You know what? I am most worried about this one (oh, and the weight loss) because I already just assume I can't do it because I'm not an organised person. Hence the blog... a way to gather my thoughts and watch my own progress.

Falling at the first hurdle

I think that choosing a Wednesday for my start day was poorly thought out. No one wants to do the dishes on a Wednesday night!

I had very few goals for yesterday other than to get the washing done so that P would have her uniform for today, and wash the dishes before bed. Not hard really. Think I could do it? Absolutely no way! The uniforms were washed but only because at 11.30 pm I remembered that every single item of her clothing for school was in the washing machine waiting to be switched on and I felt guilty that she might have to go to school once again (it happens a bit) in dirty clothes! After starting my blog and completing my mystery shopping assignment for the evening the dishes just got left.

Why must the dishes be done?

The Organised Housewife hates having to wake up to dirty dishes and I have to say that I agree with her. They just put a bad taste in my mouth knowing that as well as the myriad other things I have to do today, I now have to do things from yesterday too!

Why didn't they get done then?

Well, other than the reasons mentioned above, otherwise known as I couldn't be bothered, I had run out of dishwasher powder so the dishes needed to be hand washed. I know there are plenty of Mums out there that manage without a dishwasher every day but when you have been used to having one for the last six years you just don't know how to function properly without one! Now, I know that I could have just popped down to the shops to get some more but that too is firmly placed in to "too hard basket"! It isn't shopping day so I flat out refuse to go just because I didn't better calculate how much dishwasher powder I'd require.  

So, have they been done?

No.

In the beginning

Well, I have decided to start my blog. This has been a quick moving idea as I only just thought of it the other day but I thought I must get a move on with it before I never do it (this is an issue I come across a lot in my life, just not doing things!)

Blog Outline:

I have been an  admirer of The Organised Housewife and her wonderful blog. I love getting my newsletter updates, my daily tasks, hit and tips, meal plans etc. But, I read them and then might attempt a few bits and pieces but at the end of the week I have essentially got no further into my organisational utopia than at the beginning of the week. My plan is to try to live my life, week by week, by the helpful hints of The Organised Housewife and then let you all know how I go! Hopefully this will be like an interactive diary where I can tell you how things went, what worked and didn't work for me and hopefully you can share how you are going with your mission to be a domestic goddess.... or simply your attempt to get the pantry in some kind of order!

Dedication:

Right now I am writing this without any followers so it's pretty easy for me to say that I will continue to write until I have heaps of commenters and followers. Realistically I have to balance writing with my baby, my ten year old and my partner... along with any of the tasks The Organised Housewife sets for each day and... ummm... maybe trying to have a life too!

The Plan:

Want to follow along with me on my journey to organisational bliss?? Well, first bookmark my page. I know there is not too much here now but you never know... this could be HUGE! Secondly, sign up for The Organised Housewife's newsletter so you can follow what I'm doing and give things a go for yourself. That way we can get together and discuss how we went. Now, I am very new to blogging and thus unsure of the etiquette for blogs so I haven't requested permission from fellow blogger but here is where you'll need to sign up... www.theorganisedhousewife.com.au

Then, I guess we wait and see where this takes me.