Yes, my house IS a mess!

[goblue2539]

So...Feb. 18th is the new target date we all have to get it in order.  I like that!  

I don't.  Means I'd spend all my time trying to clean house for my mom's birthday.  

[housewife2k]

So...Feb. 18th is the new target date we all have to get it in order.  I like that!  

I don't.  Means I'd spend all my time trying to clean house for my mom's birthday.  

At least Chinese New Year is a variable date, so it wouldn't be for her birthday every year 

[VorFemme]

DeHubby and I were shooting the breeze and I "brainstormed" an idea about rearranging the entire upstairs............basically gets us an extra "guest room" by putting the tv and futon in the front bedroom where it can be used by younger visitors...........we're having a wedding in the area this summer and an extra guest room that is PRIVATE might come in handy.

He likes the idea.

That room currently has my sewing machines, laptop, cutting table, printer/all-in-one, and a large stash of fabric in it.  Cleaning it out will be a challenge..........

I am postponing the issue by making graph paper floor plans of all the rooms with furniture cutouts to see if what my brain (and mouth) shot off can be turned into reality based on available space.  Why move the REAL furniture when graph paper cutouts are so much lighter?

And if the graph paper cutouts overlap - why try it with real metal, wood, and glass furniture which reacts BADLY to being stacked, squished, and dropped?

Gotta remember NOT to shoot off my mouth unless I am ready to do the sweating.............

On the other hand - painting, a bit of small plumbing repairs, and such would result in a MUCH more useable upstairs.  DeHubby got here and had the movers put stuff in the first room they came to - so the house is NOT arranged the way I would have wanted to do it..........

But I have loved playing with graph paper floor plans since junior high school..........

[housewife2k]

DeHubby and I were shooting the breeze and I "brainstormed" an idea about rearranging the entire upstairs............basically gets us an extra "guest room" by putting the tv and futon in the front bedroom where it can be used by younger visitors...........we're having a wedding in the area this summer and an extra guest room that is PRIVATE might come in handy.

He likes the idea.

That room currently has my sewing machines, laptop, cutting table, printer/all-in-one, and a large stash of fabric in it.  Cleaning it out will be a challenge..........
----snip----
But I have loved playing with graph paper floor plans since junior high school..........

I love playing with graph plans as well. Also, my entire sewing room is currently in the basement, as of yet, not set up. My goal is to get some shelving put in so I can more easily go through my fabric and patterns. I also make scale paper cutouts of any self made pattern, then tape it together, to make sure what I see in my head works on fabric...just like with the floorplan, so all my "paperdolls" need a shelf, too.
Then, even though I am cleaning and organizing now, we are moving around the kids rooms at the begining of march. We cannot de it any sooner, because my sister is staying with us right now, so hopefully, it won't mess everything back up.

Oh, and have I mentioned the number of her guests that comment on the house? Her guests who have no kids, no pets, and live in a one bedroom, rather sparsely? AAARRRGGHH!

[caranfin]

First, don't answer the door. But if you feel compelled to answer, say "I'm sorry I can't sit and chat, but I'm right in the middle of a big reorganization." Then sit down next to a pile and begin sorting. In fact, keep an empty box or basket nearby so, no matter when someone shows up, you can sit down to sort (real or not) and completely ignore them. 

[housewife2k]

First, don't answer the door. But if you feel compelled to answer, say "I'm sorry I can't sit and chat, but I'm right in the middle of a big reorganization." Then sit down next to a pile and begin sorting. In fact, keep an empty box or basket nearby so, no matter when someone shows up, you can sit down to sort (real or not) and completely ignore them. 

I know this was probably not quite the right thing to do, but after having someone knock on my door about 15 minutes ago, I pointed to the garbage bag I was getting ready to take out and said "Fraind-how great to see you! I'd ask you in, but I'm cleaning, all three kids are sick, and it's just not a good time, but would you mind dropping this in the dumpster on your way out?"
All visitor spots are near the dumpster, I was frazelled, as I am dealing with two in daipers who don't feel good, and a whiney 5 YO. Friend actually said no problem, and called me just now to see when a GOOD time to getogether would be.

[CreteGirl]

Friend actually said no problem, and called me just now to see when a GOOD time to getogether would be.

See, you gotta teach these people to make plans in advance.  In my book, don't even call first, and then come over.   Call a few days in advance, and pick a day that's convenient for both.  Don't call and say you will be over in an hour...no you won't!

[hobish]

I don't know what I'd say, because all my friends who I consider close enough to me that they're allowed to just walk into my apartment without knocking already *know* that I'm a slob, and if anything, they'd probably say something if they thought the place was too clean, lol.

My house is pretty much the same. There is one friend who had started getting a snarkiness about it, "Ohhh, it actually looks kind of good in here..." and you could just hear the "for once" that wasn't spoken. Hmmmmm...wonder why i haven't called him lately?

[Midnight Kitty]

I have my religion thank you, I do not need to be told all about yours when I didn't ask you for it.

My dad welcomes the door-to-door religious pushers.  He invites them in, then explains that, in the interests of fairness, he will be happy to listen to whatever they want to say as long as he gets equal time to say whatever he wants to say.  I don't know if anyone has taken him up on his offer.  He can entertain me for half an hour on almost any subject, but his favorites are probably the environment, amateur astronomy, and religion.

I wish I inherited his sense of humor.  I remember coming back from church on a Sunday morning dressed in my Sunday best and being intercepted on my way up the driveway (this was years ago in a different home) by Jehovah's Witnesses.  I was in no mood for another sermon when I just came from church so I blew them off.

[gjcva1]

i love the old saying:  if you come to see me, come any time.  if you come to see my house, make an appointment.

at this time in our lives, the hubster and i are getting rid of a lot of things we don't use.  so at any given time, if you come to our home, you might find a pile of things in the living room that we are comtemplating getting rid of.  it ain't permanent.  you don't want to see such piles, let me know you're coming, and i'll tell you not to, until we're finished.

[Lisbeth]

I wouldn't let unannounced guests into my home.

If they ring my bell or knock on my door, I'd say, "I'm sorry, but as I wasn't expecting you, my home is not set up for receiving company right now."  Then I'd offer to meet them somewhere.

[housewife2k]

I wouldn't let unannounced guests into my home.

If they ring my bell or knock on my door, I'd say, "I'm sorry, but as I wasn't expecting you, my home is not set up for receiving company right now."  Then I'd offer to meet them somewhere.

I realized that some of my friends think my house SHOULD be clean all the time, because of the three boys. The same three boys who contribute greatly to making the mess, but getting them to clean is pulling teeth. I need to use "My home is not set up for company" maybe adding that the boys have their legos/magnetix/building blocks all over.

[RegionMom]

My husband and son really go for the graph paper lay-outs, also. But I have to SEE it in 3-d. 
Yes, it may fit on paper, but the  xyz piece just does not look right next to the whatever else piece of furniture in real life. 
So I do every now and then haul all the furniture around the house and DH just rolls his eyes.
I guess that is my way of clearing clutter--hard to move furniture with all the stuff on it, so we purge every now and then. 

[oogyda]

My grandmother had a plague in her entryway that read:

Come in, sit down,
relax, converse.
My house doesn't always
look like this.
Sometimes, it's even worse!

I had a cross-stitch sampler that read:

Cleaning the house while children are growing,
Is like shoveling the walk while it's still snowing.

I passed that one on to ODD when she started having children

[Suze]

We have two around here somewhere (yep, I love clutter and it loves me)

My house is clean enough to be healthy
and dirty enough to be happy

and

My house is protected by killer dust bunnies