Delegation.....Thats What You Need!

Some of the jobs that need doing in my home are not things that I could be bothered would be able to tackle myself.  We have long wanted to have our drive block paved and to generally spruce up the front of the house.  Obviously we have concentrated on improving the inside of the house and apart from a new garage door I've done nothing since I bought the house in 2005!  Does it notice?

We also have realised that our landing banisters aren't very safe now that Sophie is on the move......

Look at that perfect child sized gap, a direct route to downstairs!

We have decided to investigate the cost of replacing these with spindle style banisters, again something we wouldn't attempt ourselves!

This week I'm setting myself the task of actually making the calls to make these things happen, being disorganised and promising myself to 'do it tomorrow' doesn't seem to be working!

Another call I made today was regarding my kitchen cabinets.  The kitchen is not really very old, It was fitted about four years ago and almost immediately the doors started looking a bit worse for wear, I kept meaning to follow it up but never got around to it and they got worse!

Yes that is the laminate completely separated from the door!

A few days ago I saw an advert for the company I bought it from stating a 15 year guarantee on their kitchens so popped into the local store and got the number for their customer service centre
The lady I spoke to was really helpful and said that I'm still covered by a 5 year warranty (for the doors) so she is sending out a form for me to detail the damage and they will replace the doors.  I'm not sure if we will replace with the same doors as I'm not convinced of the quality but we are hoping we can pay the difference and choose something else.  I'll keep you updated!

If you could delegate any job in your home what would it be?

Lots of Love xxxx

Stolen Time....

I'd love to say the week long gap in posts was because I'm spending my time flying ahead with lots of lovely decluttering to tell you all about but unfortunately that is not the case!

On Monday night intruders broke into our house while we slept, fortunately we were not disturbed and knew nothing until the following morning when James' car was missing from the driveway.  A few easy to grab items were missing from the house but the worst thing about the whole incident is what they left behind.  A feeling of uneasiness in my own home.  Yes we have changed the locks and are having an alarm fitted but The fact remains that they were in our home when our daughter was asleep in her room.  I'm trying not to scare myself and the police have assured us that the car was the target and the other items were just chance. 

Focusing on positive we have had a scare but no one was hurt and we can replace the stolen items.

This post is to ask you all, that while we are all busy decluttering our homes remember to look at your house security to make sure the things you do value remain in your possession! 

I'm now even more motivated to continue what I have started, partly to try to rid myself of this feeling of violation and partly because in the back of my mind I'm thinking if the stolen items were put away they may not have been taken.

Sorry for the grim post but I really wanted to share in the hope that I could prevent the same happening to any of you.

I'll not let these cowards keep me down though and I'll be back next week, we have lots of plans so its going to be a busy week!

Lots of Love xxxx

Getting on Top........

Things haven't been going the way I planned recently!  I would have expected to have shown you a finished kitchen by now but it's been slow going and I'm giving it the final clean today so will be sharing on Monday so be sure to pop over for a nose!

While time hasn't permitted me to get into any major jobs I have been concentrating on keeping on top of the general upkeep of the house.  I didn't want to concentrate on decluttering the kitchen while the rest of the house went into decline!  

I really feel as though I'm building some good habits already, I'm so organised with the laundry and dinners that James keeps asking if I'm OK!!!

 Lots of Love xxxx

Learning To Fly..................

After reccomendations from 3 bloggy friends I finally found my way over to FlyLady and immediately signed up to recieve a daily digest!

Thank you LissyLou, Laura @ Domestic Doris and Tracy @ Mad About Bags I think this will really help to keep focused and I just had to say................

Check out the shine on that!

 Lots of Love xxxx

Oh Baby........

They might be small but they certainly bring a lot of accessories with them! 

Our kitchen has no less than 3 dedicated 'baby' cupboards.  Recently I have noticed that, as Sophie grows, there is less and less 'stuff' we use from them, yet they are getting messier and messier!

The food cupboard

Sophie Doesn't really eat 'baby food' anymore so, bar a few emergency meals and her cereal, cleared and tidied.  I gave the items that Sophie won't eat to a friend for her baby.

Before:

And after:

The 'milk' cupboard

Before:

 What a mess!! I haven't even looked on that top shelf for weeks! 

 

After:

Bibs and bottles

Most of the things in this cupboard haven't been used for months and months, the bottles and teats and muslin squares are no longer needed, after throwing away anything below par I popped the rest into storage.  We also bought some new bibs in the sales so anything stained or grubby looking went!

Before

After:

So far so good!

Lots of Love xxxx

Old Mother Hubbard the Update...........

Last week I set myself the challenge of using up the contents of our bulging food cupboard and freezer and so far so good!

Remember this?

Well here it is now.....

Much better, out of date items gone, like with like and most important, I know what is there!

After checking the freezer and fridge I compiled a menu for the week and the following shopping list:

Butternut Squash

Broccoli
Mushrooms

Tuna in spring water

Cheese sauce

Garlic bread

Orange juice

Sunday

Fish cakes with mini jackets and broccoli

Monday

Lamb, roasties and roast vine tomatoes, there was enough meat left to make Sophie 3 portions of her fave lamb casserole too!

Tuesday

Chicken katsu curry (and yes I made the curry sauce myself!)

I also turned this....

Into this......

 Wednesday

Beef chili with grated cheese and potato wedges

Thursday

Gnocchi with tomato sauce (served this with garlic bread but forgot to cook it so we ate it after!)

So there you go a whole weeks meals and there is still enough for more meals!
The challenge continues!

Lots of Love xxxx

Where To Start........

When I planned to declutter the house I gave myself just 3 rules:

1. One room at a time.

2. One cupboard/drawer/area at a time.

3. Never try to do more than can be done in the time available

 

I didn't want to set strict rules or put pressure on myself and figured that I would gradually, as I got into the process of  letting go, find my way.

I have decided to start with the kitchen.  My 'Mother Hubbard' challenge has meant that I've already made a start so it seems natural to continue. 

Without further ado let me introduce you to my tiny kitchen (no quick tidy ups, I promise!)

As you can see it really is a small room and if I'm honest isn't in that awful a state.  The usual kitchen 'trouble spots' apply here.  There are a few 'dumping' areas where receipts and leaflets collect and the cupboard under the sink is home to a wonderful collection of cleaning products!

Enough chat lets get going!

Lots of Love xxxx