Day 3 in the Debih Strike House

[debih]

Mmmm. I think I must have been tidying up without realising it as everything seems pretty okay.

L's trainers are in the middle of the lounge floor, along with Micks boots. Both girls dumped their school bags in the middle of the hall but all it took was a "have you forgotten something" and they moved them.

The kitchen is tidy (I had to relent there - that is my space and I can't bear it in a mess) but this morning I noticed that both girls put their dirty pots in the dishwasher (they must have really had to squeeze them in as no one has set it going since Monday).

There is a beer bottle sitting next to the sink rather than in the recycling box, we are very low on plastic glasses downstairs - I have a feeling that they are all in the girls bedrooms (but as I haven't ventured into either of them since yesterday morning I don't know) - I am saying nothing and will wait and see what happens one morning when we have completely run out. I don't use them so I won't miss them.

I did catch myself straightening the cushions up on Micks sofa - force of habit!!

The test is yet to come though as I am now off until Monday and although tomorrow I have a day of clearing out the cupboards in the dining room and cleaning the windows I know that on Friday I will be itching to start tidying up. And my parents are coming for dinner on Sunday - the first time in well over 2 years that they have been to the house (because of my dad struggling with the steps outside).

I will be interested to see what happens later. I am off out at about 8pm and I have asked Mick if he would sand down the window sill in the dining room so I can paint it tomorrow (he says I am rubbish at sanding down). He has said he will do it - I am not going to ask again. If he doesn't then I will do it myself in the morning and if it isn't done to his standard then he will just have to do it again himself.

[Workingman]

I love reading these posts.... been there, T shirt etc.

I know that on Friday I will be itching to start tidying up.

Don't do it! The weather is set fair for Friday, 20C in the afternoon.... you have a sunlounger, glass, ice tray in the freezer, bottle of something?

[debih]

I have an allotment WM that I am desperate to find time to get to so if the weather is good, I will take my packed lunch and go for the day.

[Kaz]

[Lozzles]

Go debih! Go debih! Go debih!

[meriad]

Go debih! Go debih! Go debih!

we seriously seriously seriously need that dancing girl back! but for now I'll join in the Go debih! Go debih! Go debih! bit

[Diflower]

I have an allotment WM that I am desperate to find time to get to so if the weather is good, I will take my packed lunch and go for the day.

Good plan

[debih]

Well, well, well. What a turn of events!

I went out earlier to fetch L from Guides. I tend to go much earlier than needed so I can talk Millie for a walk at the same time. Mick was out when I left but arrived home not long after from what I can gather.

When I got home I found that S had collected all the dirty cups from around the house; had, without my asking her, put away her clean clothes from the utility room and tidied her bedroom (she has a friend sleeping over on Friday so I guess that was the reason behind the room tidying but hey, I don't care - she did it without being asked). Someone had picked the swimming goggles from off the floor in the girls bathroom and put them away (probably never to be seen again but hey, they aren't my goggles so I don't care).

Mick was in the kitchen making packed lunches for him and the girls tomorrow - almost unheard of! And someone had put the shoes away that were lying in the lounge when I left. The dining room had also been tidied - school bags moved and the place mats put away (I asked the girls to do it after dinner and they ignored me so I just left them there).

L has asked me to help her tidy her room on Saturday. She has a friend staying on Monday evening and at the moment there is so much junk on the floor that I will never get the blow up bed in there so I said that her friend will have to sleep in S's room unless she does something about it. I have done a deal with her that if she brings me a cup of coffee in bed on Saturday morning I will give her one hour of my time to help her tidy up but if she messes about it will take longer than an hour and she will end up doing it herself (I know that once she has picked the dirty clothes and teddy bears up it will probably be a 15 minute job).

The one thing that is really annoying me is the amount of stuff being left on the dressers in the dining room and lounge. So tomorrow I am going to gather it all together and put it in piles on the stairs. I shall then tell the girls that I might hoover the stairs on Friday so I will assume that if there stuff is still there they no longer want it and I will throw it away.

Mick also has stuff there and I know the threat to throw things away won't work on him. So my plan is when I clear out the dresser and cupboards in the dining room tomorrow to make a space for me to just shove his stuff out of the way. So if he leaves things lying around long enough for them to annoy me I can just shove them in the cupboard out of my sight and then deny any knowledge of seeing them!!! He'll soon learn to put things away if he has to spend ages hunting for them.

This worm has turned!

[JoM]

Well, well, well indeed!! Here's hoping that it continues!

[Weka]

Excellent. Keep it up and they will too. Do the stuff you should be doing, and let them keep doing the stuff they should be doing. I think they have realised that enough is enough, but the trick now is to not slip back into the old habit of just doing it all.