drfilthbag

[drfilthbag]

You're Not Going to Dig That Mine

Decluttering is really hard, physically and emotionally; sometimes in subtle ways.

It's obvious why it's hard to get rid of a book your favourite aunty gave you (even if it's a bit water damaged), or the first thing you made in pottery class (even if it's not very good). But there's another kind of emotional barrier to getting rid of things.

Sometimes we see potential value in a thing, and it feels bad to throw that away.

But if you are not going to do the work to make it good, and you can't ask someone else to do the work, you need to give yourself permission to dump it.

This post is brought to you by me throwing away perfectly good lego. No one I know wants a box of random lego enough to take the time and effort to wash it of construction dust. I've washed lego in the past, and it was a *lot* of work.

I still feel bad about it, but I was never going to dig that mine, or do the work of finding someone who would (also real work!), so now it's in landfill. And I no long feel bad about it sitting around here, so you win some you lose some.

[drfilthbag]

Make Your Bed

You make the bed for near-future you. Not for the you who gets into it at night, but the you who walks past it during the day. Going to your room to get/do something feels just a shade easier when the bed is a smooth flat surface.

[drfilthbag]

The Sisyphean task of getting hairs off a wet bathroom counter

[drfilthbag]

Find The Discount Version of The Job

I wanted to make space for a new appliance by moving and rotating a piece of furniture. I knew the whole thing was going to involve multiple side quests, and I didn't have it in me to do all of them.

I almost gave up on the job, but then I realised there was a discount version that would do in the short term. I could move the furniture over, but not rotate it. I created enough space, and left all the side quests for another time.

[drfilthbag]

Make a Clean Spot

I have a small, self-contained area that's easy to clean that I use every day. Making sure to clean it regularly is great for forming habits. On a bad day I can clean just that area. But on a better day it inspires me to do a little more.

[drfilthbag]

is it pointless to make your bed?

[drfilthbag]

this is another of my favourite youtube channels. Carla has a series called Declutter With Friends where she goes to a friend's house and helps them get rid of things. She often has great advice. In this one, talking about getting rid of things associated with treasured memories, she says:

It's really important to not make decisions from your past self but to make decisions from your future self.

[drfilthbag]

astonishing how good it can feel to get some chores done sometimes. you’ll be sitting there like damn i am some type of horrid little smeagol like creature who should be crushed to death. but then you do some laundry and you’re like wrow. im actually gods most fuckable soldier.

[drfilthbag]

Learn to recognise the "clean up" feeling

I've often said that I don't notice mess, and it doesn't really bother me. But that's not exactly true. I often don't consciously notice, and I rarely think "this mess is irritating", but it does get under my skin. I am happier in a clean place.

This morning I got up and my table was a mess. Dishes and hobbies and rubbish, everywhere. For whatever reason I noticed myself getting irritated and frustrated by it, and I channeled that into making *some kind* of difference.

The table isn't clear, but those dishes are in the dishwasher and the rubbish is in the bin. And the effort I was able to put in (because I noticed) did make a difference.

[drfilthbag]

Insufficiently careful with Barkeeper's Friend (oxalic acid cleaner).

My lungs: why do I have chemical burns? You should cough about it.

[drfilthbag]

Clean the sink first

Did you ever watch a kid do a task and think "gah, you're being so inefficient!" They hold something in one hand, while they traipse back and forth lifting things with the other.

I've been trying to see the wisdom in those things kids do. To refuse the pressure to be more productive and maximise something or other. As a result I've noticed a category of tasks where I put off doing it now, because I'll need to do it again soon.

This morning I was about to do some washing up, and the sink was dirty with spilled soup and whatnot. Nothing rotten, but not clean. Normally I'd think "well there's no point cleaning it first, I'm about to make it dirty, I'll clean it after" (and then not clean it after). But this time I cleared everything back and washed the sink first.

Doing the dishes was so much more pleasant in a gleaming sink.

Do recommend!

[drfilthbag]

Coming at things from a slight angle

I like hoovering (vacuuming), because it's a great way to make a noticeable difference quickly. Well it is when you have pets, anyway.

I've recently discovered that a great way to hoover rugs is to take off all the attachments so you just have the bare end, then hold it at about 30 degrees to the floor. If anything is resisting getting sucked up you can kind of scratch at it. I find this sucks up more dirt, *and* it doesn't pull up the rug.

This discovery brought to you by hoovering on my hands and knees because doing it standing up was too hard.

[drfilthbag]

Having a clean home, a warm bed, and a sense of security is truly the biggest blessing. That is enough to be content especially in the world we live in today. We are rich is ways we don’t realize.

[drfilthbag]

I've been working on my kids' bedroom for months. Today I got the floor clear enough to wash it.

Blitzing never stuck, but this time their room has been getting steadily better. It's been on an upward trajectory since I made this post and I'm so excited for them!

Slow and steady wins the race

Don't try to blitz a room unless you're working in a team. Blitzing is the crash-diet of cleaning. You exhaust yourself, the effects don't last very long, and your lasting memory from the experience is bad enough to put you off doing anything about it. Chip away at your housework, and allow your mind to fixate on the thing that's annoying you most today and deal with that.

If you get in the habit of regularly improving your space, you'll keep going once it's "done", and maintaining it will seem easy compared to the long road to getting it done.

[drfilthbag]

Another Day

Bad, so bad, my dishwasher smells, so bad.

[drfilthbag]

One of the most important things I’ve learned as a Real Adult™ is the importance of a job half done. 

Today I did a load of dishes, wiped off my stove, and swept the kitchen floor. Did I do the best job, or finish every dish? No! My stove still has that caked on caramel that I need to bust out an SOS pad to take care of, one of our big pots is still sitting in the sink, and somehow a kitty kibble unearthed itself while I was wiping down the stove (?? how??).. but the kitchen looks a LOT better. It’s once again an inhabitable, usable space.

Parents, bosses, teachers, even my own self, harp upon absolute perfect completion of a task as the be all and end all of a job well done, but god damn, my kitchen isn’t terrible because I took the time to improve it. Little steps, especially when you’re struggling, are important. They mean a LOT. They are a sign that you won, if only in that brief moment, and they make getting all the other stuff done so much easier later on down the road.