Comments On Article: How Do We Cope?

I forgot to add the other 2 photos. 

Kasia A,

First, I think it's important to consider whether your children are making the mess, vs. do they clean up after themselves as they go, as well as they can in such a cluttered space? Because it's really not fair to make a teenager clean up after a disorganized parent, and quite common for children of chronic hoarders to reach a point where they refuse to even try anymore.  Even something that sounds simple, like clearing up after dinner, is not simple when the sink and counter are too full to move anything to. If that's what's going on please consider helping your teenagers find a healthier living situation until you can get things under control.  Perhaps they could go stay with your parents or one of their older siblings for a few months.  

However, if it's their mess they won't clean up, that's a whole different story.  It's your job as a parent to teach them some responsibility.  You say they "won't" help, but will they help if you take their phones, TV, or other favorite addictions away? Will they help if you refuse to drive them to fun events?  Will they help if you stop buying their favorite junk foods until the kitchen is clean enough to cook and eat a healthy meal in?  

"Won't help" isn't something to just accept as a parent.  It sounds like they're either lazy entitled brats who are plenty old enough to learn some basic life skills, or they're the victims here, and are so depressed by their living situation that they feel defeated.  Either way it should be a huge red flag that there are bigger issues at stake here than just the messiness of the house.

Edit: We posted almost at the same time.  Nice job on the sink!  And your dinner looks good too:)  My opinion about the bigger situation with your children still stands, but I didn't want to seem like I was ignoring the progress you made on the kitchen today.  It is a great first step on the housework.

So with the children their rooms are a mess. And that’s all their mess. I don’t go in their rooms. 
The rest of the house is everybody’s mess. Everyone just leaves things after they’ve used them. 
My parents wouldn’t agree to have the children there for several reasons.  My sister lives there and they have 4 cats between them and no spare bedrooms. My 17 year old is autistic and that has caused some pretty big arguments in the past including her shoving my Mum near the stairs and yelling at my Dad when they were helping us move in to this house 2 years ago. My daughter won’t help at all. I asked her to put the dishes away 4 hours ago and she hasn’t come out of her bedroom. My son does help a bit but he has to be asked several times before he will do it. I don’t like to ask him to do everything but if he doesn’t do the things I can’t especially on high pain days then they just don’t get done.
Taking their phones away doesn’t help, in fact the daughter has been known to call social services and complain about things of if I try that. We’ve had a social worker a few times and things actually improve but then they decide they’re not needed anymore and it goes back to how it always is. She doesn’t like me ( she has stated this ) and hates that I am not able to do things. I am at a loss with her. 

 My 3rd child has a sleep disorder and also fibromyalgia and spends most of the days sitting outside or knitting. I am not physically able to do everything. 

Yes I’m sure the state of the house contributes to them not wanting to do things but they won’t help me with it and I am so overwhelmed that I don’t know where to begin. 
Today I’ve done 2 loads of washing, washed dishes, cleaned the sink and I’m making dinner and my back is already painful and my energy is so low I am yawning. I hate being so useless!!! 

Thank you so much for this post. It brought tears to my eyes. I needed to hear someone say there are still good people in the U.S. who care about people in the other countries around the world. I live in Ontario Canada and all that is going on is very distressing. 

Kasia A, That is good that  you cleared the sink area, it looks nice.  

I do agree with Tea S about children will give up trying when living a hoarder parent, I probably should have said that myself. I have a family member now that her daughter is completely depressed and stays in her room because of her mothers lifestyle. If it is you or all of you, it does not matter at this point, somehow you have to push through this no matter how many times you have to step over that line. I know that I have been at the point a couple of times in my life to where it changed from clutter to hoarding.   We all make mistakes, but then we forgive ourselves and fix the mistake.  

Many of us have health issues and have to find new ways to do housework.  I have been going through this myself with Charles mother's house and a much bigger mess that what your pictures are showing.  It has not been easy and starting is the biggest problem but once we get rolling  we make progress.  Please do not stop because this is becoming a health issue for all of you. 

This is a matter of learning how to fit into the space that you have.  You will feel so much better when your home is clean. Keep in mind that I do understand, do not hold on to whatever caused you to get to this point.  It is not easy to see it unjumbled but you will because I can see the possibilities and I feel that you want your home cleaned up. One thing for certain is that we it will only get worse if we don't get it cleaned up.  

In the room with the washer, I can see that the first thing to do there is to remove all of those boxes and break them down and flatten them out for recycle or rubbish.  Then sort all of the fabric items into categories piles. Wash them up and fold them and put them where they go or whomever it belongs to. Clear the surface and the floor in that space.  Possibly this is the next space to go to because this area you can make some space by throwing out some thing, and starting a pile for donations. 

Start as soon as you can and get the boxes ready for rubbish for next week and then sort the items into piles. Keep in mind the table is next. 

On the series All Creatures Great and Small, when Seigfried asks where are my keys, or where is some other thing, Mrs. Hall will walk to the item and say, "It is here where it lives".  Everything in our home must have a place where it lives and when we get to that point, life is so nice.  By the way, I am not to that point yet but I am working on it.  

You cleaned your sink, you already started so don't stop.  :)  Grandma Donna

Thank you. I’m going to make a start on that area tomorrow.  I washed up after dinner and the sink is clean and clear again. I’ve folded the laundry from earlier and will take that upstairs when I go up to bed. I will post progress photos of what I manage to do if that’s ok?
I think there’s just so much that has built up over the 2 years with my health declining and my 3rd child moving in with all their things that the house just became so small. It was great when we moved in.  So much space. I’d like to get back to that. I want all the things to have their own place to live!! 

Kasia A, that would be wonderful to post pictures of your clean up, now you can start motivating me.  :)  Grandma Donna

Kasia A, You voiced a topic that a lot of us struggle with or have struggled with. So thanks for being brave and telling us about how you feel and what's going on! 

Dana K White has a YouTube Channel that is very helpful about getting rid of clutter. She also wrote some books. One I like is "How to Manage your Home without Loosing your mind".  :) 

A strategy that helped me was writing down EVERYTHING I got rid of. (I just put down the number not a description ) When we live with a mountain of clutter in every space in the house, and we tackle it little by little, we don't always see the progress right away and feel "useless" and not making any progress. For example, I worked on the top drawer of my desk. There were about 50 pens there. So I took a piece of scrap paper and tested each pen. If it didn't write, it went into the trash right away. When done, I had about 30 left. I only kept the ones that felt good to write with, the rest went into a ziplock bag to the thrift store. So on my list of stuff that I got rid of were 20 pens. By the end of the weekend I had 1000 items on my list but if you looked at the room you could only slightly see an improvement. What this did though was show me that yes, indeed, I got a lot done! Take before and after pictures, that helps too. (I hope this explanation makes sense.) 

I love Grandma Donna's suggestion that we do it all together!!

I'm posting a picture of my tiny kitchen table. I have a very small house with no dining room. This table is in the kitchen and I can't use it to sit down and eat. Some of the stuff is from cupboards that were cleaned out and the excess needs to be donated. Some just needs to be put away. Others I need to make a decision about. (Decision fatigue is a real thing and a lot of times behind clutter) There is stuff under the table too. So, this is my next area of cleanup. So just know, you are not alone. But each little bit you do will fuel the next little bit you need to do. :) 

Kasia congratulations on doing a great job with your sink and not only cooking a meal but cleaning up afterwards! 

Spaces can so quickly become overwhelmed when chronic health issues are present; don't beat yourself up, please, over having very low energy levels some, or most, of the time!

Perhaps, set a 5 or 10 minute timer on your phone or the stove for a task...and then sit yourself down to rest...and, if you're able, repeat :) Pace yourself...things didn't amass in a handful of days and you shouldn't overburden yourself by expecting to undo all in a very short time.

I'm guessing you don't have the energy to do battle with the youngest and also try to bring order back to your environment but I'm only asking if you might reach out to social services yourself to ask for assistance? with a support worker for getting the house back to a calm space? or even support in the form of ongoing counseling just for yourself, if not the other family members? 

In the UK, 16 and 17 year old are still considered minors? Does your youngest as a person with autism access support services already? 

Be kind to yourself :)

edited for spelling 

Kasia A,  You wrote "I don’t have a routine for anything and I don’t know how or where to start. I almost feel like I need someone holding my hand every day and telling me what to do next so I can learn that way. " ... so if the corner of the room you posted about was mine, the first thing I would do is take a black rubbish bag and fill it up with all the obvious trash like empty boxes etc. Then I would remove all the items that don't belong in that room, even if you just pile it up outside the door in the hallway. Then take all the clean clothes out and fold it or hang up or whatever you need to do. Then load the washer with dirty clothes and start it. Last would be dust, sweep, vacuum or however it needs to be cleaned. And that corner is done! :) 

Michelle W,  I love Canada and the people of Canada, it is not supposed to be the way it is today. Americans and Canadians are friends and family and it is very distressing to us living here to watch what is happening and not be able to stop this madness.  I feel like this is a nightmare.  My Grandparents and Great Grands are from Canada.  When Charles starting getting closer to retirement last year, Charles and I kept talking about how we wanted to finally travel to Canada and visit the graves of my family and meet some of my living relatives. I have always wanted to do this but now crossing the borders are not safe and cost are getting too high for us to travel.  We miss the Canadian Snow birds (Canadian people that come from Canada, we call them snow birds). Our lake cottage I talk about here on my blog is walking distance from a beautiful campground and every year it is booked with Canadians that have traveled to get away from the winter snow. Canadians do not feel safe coming anymore and I don't blame them, it is not safe here. I have never felt so unsafe in my life, nothing feels normal anymore.

The citizens here still have friends and families all over the world and now so much is changed.  Know that we still have the same love and that there are more of us that care for others than those that do not.   Hugs, Grandma Donna

Sheila G

I have reached out but we’re not a priority. I figure if I can at least get the rest of the house looking better then my youngest son at least might make some effort to clean his room. My daughter on the other hand not so much and because she doesn’t really like me or communicate with me I don’t want to make things worse. We had a support worker twice but both times after a few weeks they’ve said we don’t need the help despite the very obvious clutter and mess. 

Tandi S I did manage to pick up some of the rubbish earlier but ran out of steam. It’s 8:35pm so I won’t get any more done today there however I did manage to tidy up 2 shelves of a bookcase as I could do that while sitting on my chair. I think that’s the hardest thing about the kitchen. I can’t sit down and do things. It’s constant movement. But tomorrow I will try and clear a bit more near the table so that I can actually reach the things on the table. I really need to mop the floor too and obviously can’t do that with everything there. It’s really nice to know that people here are supporting me.  I don’t have a lot of that in my life. My parents think I’m just lazy and don’t really understand chronic illness or that I have mobility issues. 
I’m adding a photo of my bookshelves that I managed to tidy up. 

Tandi S, thank you for comments and the picture of your cute table with your clutter on top.  We are keeping it real here. :)  Also thank you for your suggestions on how to clear away the clutter in Kasia's corner room, or that is what we are calling it that room.  Sounds like a good plan to me.  I have my own pile on my table right now filled with my gardening projects, dirty gloves, seeds, pens, mail and coffee cups.  :)

Yay Kasia!  The bookshelves are looking good! 

Thanks GDonna, I'm going to post a picture once it's cleared. It has a pretty Formica design on top in mint green that I just love looking at. 

Kasia A,  just a reminder work at your pace, not ours.  We will nudge and encourage you and some will jump in like Tandi and myself and clean ours too. Your bookcase looks cleaner than mine :) 

Kasia I'm sorry there isn't adequate support for you and your family

I have moved to a small town (pop 14,000) and it is much more peaceful than the large metropolitan area I lived in. I have a pair of messy barn swallows that made a nest on my front porch. The twigs & mud they dropped making a nest had to be cleaned up daily. I am not disturbing them as they need a place for their home also. I read some online news daily but strive not to get overly disturbed. The Serenity Prayer is a touchstone for me. I have a small backyard. My climbing roses are blooming & reaching for the trellis arch. I think the hardest thing to accomplish is the motivation to get started on a task. Once I get up & get going then I can see completion. I work part-time in health care & I see many who are in far worse shape than me even though I am older. My gratitude list also keeps my  mind on the positive side of things. Like most of the people who post here, I make use of what I have, don't spend $ on junky consumer items, and take care of what I have. Many spoke of house cleaning. I swept & mopped floors and cleaned the back patio today. I made pancakes w/ milk that had gone slightly off. Simple tasks that needed doing. I protect my serenity.

It rained most of the night and has turned very cool going down to cold overnight. I have already covered plants and spent most of the day inside as all week I have spent the majority of my time outside getting "stuff" done.

Kasia A, I am so sorry you are not getting the support and help you need. But it does sound like you may have found some mojo.  Small steps and be proud of what you have done.  

When you get your table cleaned and clear, make yourself a cup of tea and sit for a rest and enjoy it. 

 I have spent the week cleaning up my messes from the winter....I have a bad habit of just shoving things into my garage and shed because its cold and I don't want to take the time to put them away properly and before I know it my garage, storage shed and equipment shelters are all a huge mess. Then my housework suffers because I have to clean all of these areas.....a snowball effect. Telling you this so you know you are not alone. 

Donna,

            Thank you for another fine and informative post!

Kasia,

          Thanks so much for sharing your photos. You are definitely not alone in struggling with this. Seeing your pictures and reading the comments spurred me on to get started on my mess today. Something I do when I want to get busy cleaning is put on a cleaning outfit. Many people have to wear a certain outfit or uniform to work. That is probably the only time they wear those clothes. So I put on a dress that I can work in, an apron, and comfortable shoes. I also put my hair up to keep it out of the way. That signals to my mind that it is time to clean. It might sound silly, but it works for me.

Becky Sue

Becky Sue k, looks good!

I'm pretty sure my kitchen sink area looked like that or worse this afternoon. But I finally told myself it needed to be done and that I didn't want to deal with it tomorrow.  Now I look forward to my clean counter & sink in the morning!

Kasia A.  Your sink looks great along with your shelves.  Be sure to take breaks so you don't get too tired.  My table is loaded with paperwork I need to handle.  I will try to work on my table while you work on yours.  I am a list person.  I love to make a list and then mark through items as I get them done.  

I have found a wonderful way to cope.  I have 2 outside dogs and one of them is sick and needs medicines 2 times a day.  When I feed the dogs I add the pills to the sick dog's food.  To make sure that the well dog doesn't get any of the pills I sit on the back porch with the dogs and this morning I ate my oatmeal while they ate their breakfast.  I live on a gravel roads there is very little traffic.  Sat with them for their evening meal too.  

I sympathise with you, Kasia - my daughter and her husband live in that kind of chaos and have realised it way beyond them - she suffers from a chronic auto-immune problem and he's a hoarder - in contrast my place is tidy, comfortable, but most things in the places they live in - and it's taken years to do just that.  

I doubt I've got anything left in the house to declutter as we've done it all but due to our age, my husband decided he had no further need for many of his tools, some of which belonged to my father so great quality and not the cheap junk you get these days - one son-in-law has had many things previously so this lot was offered to the other son-in-law - bear in mind that this family has been estranged due to my elder daughter deciding she didn't want to connect with us - but they live close by so it was offered with no strings attached and he has gratefully accepted the lot this morning.  Makes me happy that he's happy, makes my husband happy that he's cleared his shed space and also makes our son-in-law happy - under the circumstances, we're grateful for that.

As for cleaning up the mess, I agree with everyone else - and do follow the fifteen minute rule, allow yourself that amount of time to do certain things then take a break - then do it again and so on.  First things first is the disposable rubbish - get rid of that and you're halfway there.

Grandma Donna, your post was very moving. Australians have watched on in dismay over the happenings of the past year or so. However this dismay has turned to a mounting sense of dread and anxiety recently as we realise the implications that these current events will have on us as a country. We tend to think of ourselves as safe down here, at the bottom of the world. 

I think humanity as a whole is beautiful.  We must continue to be hopeful for a better world. 

Joyce I think it will take a few days to clear the table but I will definitely have a cup of tea when it’s done. 

Becky Sue K oh I'm so jealous of your double sink. I’ve always wanted one like that. So much more practical than a single sink. My sink regularly looks as full as yours so I’m going to try really hard and keep it clean from now on. 

Pam I’m hoping to tackle some more of that area today but I was informed late last night that I would be puppy sitting today for most of the day as my eldest daughter is at theatre rehearsals the entire day so I’m not sure I’ll get anything done at all. He’s a very clingy puppy and doesn’t sleep well in this house as he gets distracted by noise very easily. I like having him here for short amounts of time but when it’s an entire day it’s a lot to deal with, especially as I can’t really take him for walks. But I will try and get some things done anyway. 

It’s 9am here and I’m going to have breakfast before I get ambushed by a hyperactive Italian Greyhound whose greatest desire is to lick my entire face. I’ve added a photo of his cuteness so you can see my problem. This is how he likes to sit. 

Today’s plan of action : 

Clean up the bags on the floor near the table and anything else on the floor 

Sweep the floor once it’s clear 

Mop the floor 

Make sure the sink stays clear 

I will post photos of the table area later today once it’s done. 

Kasia A - puppy looks both adorable and challenging! I think finding a way to involve them in each thing that you do is probably the only way. Your comment about the double sink made me smile - I have somehow always had a double sink everywhere I've lived but I'd love to have a (large) single sink. That seems more practical to me! It is way too easy for me to let stuff accumulate in the second half. Sometimes I take a deep breath and move it all onto a towel on the counter. Come back later and it is magically so much easier for me to just put it away! I like the drainboard/draining rack you have, and having the window over the sink is so nice. In my house my sink looks over a bar-height counter to a doorway and a wall so I really noticed in your picture how lovely it is to have natural light there. 

I have been unwell all year so far, multiple medical procedures, fevers, etc. (all related and I should be fine soon!) Another procedure coming up this week. Working full time through all of this somehow. As you might imagine, cleaning has fallen a bit by the wayside! My hope for today is to tidy the end table next to my end of the couch (an avalanche of medical papers, books and miscellaneous stuff), change the bedding and vacuum. Looking forward to roasting a chicken for dinner - good leftovers - and hoping to have the energy to bake a very simple apple cake.

Kasia, 

Your grandpup does look very clingy, I think he'd get even closer if it were physically possible, lol.  And what a sweet face.

Maybe you could get your son to take all the empty cardboard boxes outdoors and break them down for recycling.  That seems like a very minor task for a 16-year-old, and might be a bit too physical for you.  It would be a quick way to create some room to work on other clutter.  

I have been going through my house and selling all the things I don't use or want and have made $938 since February, and another $200 at my garage sale yesterday. This is a lot of $1 and $5 items that added up. I splurged on a Vintage Singer Featherweight sewing machine that I have wanted for years. They are usually over $600 and a local shop had one for $350. Then Friday a girl in our quilt guild had a quilt quality fabric sale with proceeds to go to an organization that makes pillows for people going through chemo. It was well priced, so I stocked up with 4 bags of fabric and a few quilt books, one on how to knit. 

I have been canning like a madwoman. I've pulled out meat from the freezer and canned ham soups one week, ground beef meals the next, and I canned beef stew with some roast and stew meat last week. I dont have a lot of chicken in my freezer so I am watching for a sale to can Chicken Cacciatore and chicken soup when I can find a good price. I am also putting in an order for 25# ground beef with the local farm I buy a side of beef from. She has been selling me ground beef between my side of beef purchases. 

I have tomato and pepper plants ready to put in this week. I direct sow the rest. I waited to make sure we didnt have a late frost. 

You all have motivated me to share my guest room that has become my dumping ground. We had a garage sale Saturday, then my husband and I organized the garage shelves. Some items that were out there got brought in and washed and I dumped them in this room. I got out garden seeds and made a big mess. I have a pile of stuff that belongs to my daughter I found throughout the house when getting ready for the garage sale. She doesnt live here. I have a couple of boxes and pile of bags i had for the garage sale I didnt need and they need to be disposed of. A 20 lb bag of potatoes i bought for my canning recipes. The closet has pillows that need to go somewhere else, and a tote at the bottom with beans I need to seal in glass jars. Lastly, I have Christmas sheets on the bed in April! My son came home at Christmas and I made the bed and he slept upstairs so I didnt take the sheets off since they were not used. We are going to move this bed to another bedroom and the other bedroom set in here and make a space for a desk and a place where my husband can come play his guitar. So, this week I am cleaning it up and will show my progress. 

Holly D please bottle some of amazing energy and I'll be first in line to buy some :)

Your home has lovely items (Green Chest, I'm looking at you) and I'm looking forward to see your photos when the dust settles

edited to remove grammatical error and to add that the pup in Kasia's photo has such a sweet face 

Sheila G, I am looking at Holly's  beautiful quilts, the mirror and look at that bed!  This afternoon I am going to tackle our guest room that has become a hold all the stuff room this year.  Notice that I have not posted any photos of that room this year. Lol We gotta keep it real!

I am very fortunate where I live, in the countryside with just a couple of near neighbours and just over a mile from our small country town.  I have a beautiful garden, but it IS a bit of a challenge, but hey - I guess that keeps me fit.  I try to avoid the news as it is often upsetting or worrying - so ,any things beyond our control.

I have just cooked a meal which I regretted starting so late as there was a lot of chopping of veg etc to be done.  It is a new one to my repertoire, but has made enough portions for half a dozen meals - more if I make some cheese pastry and have it as a pasty filling, to then be frozen.  With the price of fuel (£192.9 here for diesel), I have to cut back on grocery bills and am heading towards the veggie options.

I try and find pleasure in every day, being creative, going for a walk, sewing something, baking.  Tonight I have a fresh blog from a Youtube lad I follow, so I am looking foreward to that. 

Kasia - oh how I wish I lived near you (clearly I have no idea where you live) but I would come and lend moral support.  I can say, when I get overwhelmed by jobs that need doing, I will tell myself, just 5 minutes and then I will come back to it later.  Quite often the 5 minutes lasts a good bit longer and I achieve quite a bit.  This particularly in the garden.  Sometimes I manage to "big up" job which when I tackle it, isn't anything like as bad as I thought it would be.   When my children were teenagers, if they had particularly untidy bedrooms, I would give them 24 hours to tidy up or everything on the floor was going in a black rubbish bag and put out for the rubbish men to collect.  That seemed to work!  It may do with yours too :)   If things from the tidy up your daughter did have ended up on the table, and they are not things you actually need, just pass on to a charity shop or bin.  One little area at a time.  Brilliant that you have your sink squeaky clean and tidy.  

Thank you everyone for your support.  It’s really helping me a lot. I keep thinking ok the ladies on the forum are waiting for me to post progress photos so I’m more motivated to do it. 

Jennie C I’m in Gloucestershire. That diesel price is shocking!! Hope it doesn’t go up any further. 

I’m feeling kind of worn out today. I have deposited Bean ( the puppy) back home. He was actually very well behaved today but even so he’s young so has lots of energy. Now I’m cooking dinner. I’ve done 2 loads of washing. Folded one. The other is in the dryer. Folded a bunch of sheets that were on the table. Found missing towels on top of the dryer. Got rid of some of the things on the floor. Took a cardboard box and sorted out the contents and put the box in the recycling. Swept the floor. It needs mopping but I will do that tomorrow. I am attaching a photo to show progress along with the original one so you don’t have to scroll back to see it. It’s not a huge difference but I can get to the fridge much more easily, and the dryer too. 

Hey Kasi, am waving to you from Suffolk and am so impressed with the progress you have already made.
I’m the worlds best procrastinator but find just taking just ten minutes a day to sort something always works for me, I actually copied a lady on YouTube  who uses an egg timer to do short 10 min bursts of activity and like others have said do often set it again to do another 10. 

Lainey T_2 thank you so much. I think I’ve been doing 5 minutes at a time but multiple times today. It’s frustrating when I think of how much other people could do and much faster than I do it but every 5 minutes helps right? I’ve managed to keep the sink clear for 2 days now which honestly is amazing for me. Tomorrow I will start making the bed in the morning too. 

Grandma Donna I’m a bit worried I’m going to be posting too much here with all the progress photos.  Please tell me if it gets too much. I don’t want to take over the entire post. Could we maybe have a decluttering thread so that the comments on your posts stay relevant? I’m finding it so helpful to post but I don’t want to be a nuisance. 

There is nothing new under the sun and God is still in control. I am reminded of these truths daily. It is also important to me to remember, it's not my job to convince anyone of anything but to try my best to speak the truth in love and to have courage. Courage I believe is a choice to do what's right, even when it's uncomfortable. I get up each day, grow as much food as I can, cook from scratch, clean and try my best to take care of the people in my home. I think it's important in this world we are living in with the internet etc. To protect our minds and keep our thoughts on what's real, infront of us to a certain degree, we can't know with certainty all that is going to or will happen, but we can take care of ourselves, the people around us and do the best with what we have and the skills we have. Those are some of the thoughts that go around in my head anyway, blessings to you all : ) xx

I see a Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt on the bed and several quilts on the shelves in the second photo.  Did you make the Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt.  I have one I have been working on for over 10 years.  I have some arthritis in my hands and I put it away when that acts up and then bring back out.  I am doing well now so I should bring it back out and finish the top.  I will never be able to hand quilt it though.  That was the original plan.  But plans change.

Kasia, gaining clear floor space is huge! I know when that happens for me I feel so much better and start to feel like I can get the space back in shape.

Kasia, It is okay to keep posting here this week until I do another post.  Then we can move it if we need to.   

I have a lot of beautiful hand-made quilts - made by both my daughters who are talented quilters, and the eldest one has her own online business with quirky animal and children's quilts as well.  Love my quilts.

Oh well done Kasia, that is a great start.  Don't overdo things though, as health issues have a habit of coming back and biting us on the btm if we overdo things.  I am not that far from you, as I'm over the border in mid-Wales.

I am looking at my kitchen table, which is covered in books and desperately needs a tidy, so that is today's first job.  I will also try and tidy my middle room.  When my husband was alive, we used to do Antiques Fairs together (our passion) and I have carried on in the 21 months since his death.  So I have a lot of boxes of things to sell in there which would be spoiled by being in the shed, plus crafting things which I have been working on over the winter - and there isn't much room to put away upstairs, where they should be.  Plus some furniture of my eldest daughter's, and a fold up tent, toys etc of my grandaughter.  Not a lot of room to move and no chance to get a new carpet laid (we moved here 5 yrs ago and the one in place was worn thin then).  A juggling act!  I will try and tackle that today too though the sunshine of a lovely spring day is calling me out to the garden as well.

Thinking of you.

Grandma Donna thank you! 

No update today as I have only been able to do a tiny bit as I had an appointment and then some bad news. Not photo worthy sadly.  I did manage to make dinner and keep the sink clean and do a load of washing. I put some shopping bags away that had been hanging around on the table for weeks. I also paid all my bills for the next 2 weeks. My back has been quite painful today so I decided to just potter around and do some small things. I did clean out the fridge though so I guess that’s good too even though it’s not visible clutter. I think I’ll be having a very early night tonight as I’m just exhausted. I will do some knitting before bed. 

Kasia A, just work at your own pace, I am sorry that you had bad news and I will keep sending you positive thoughts.  I had too had good intentions to do some sorting in the extra bedroom but did not because gardening took most of the time today but there is always tomorrow or the next day.  Just know that we are here to encourage and support you when you need it.  Grandma Donna

Honestly, Kasia, you got more done than I have on many days! 

hello everyone, this is my first post, I have been reading gdonna for such a long time just as I did Down-to-Earth.  I live in regional Australia.  It’s obvious that we are all very concerned about the state of things that are happening in our world.  Australia  has a total population of 27million people, compared to some we are small and far away. 
I find losing myself in vegetable gardening, knitting, reading  and family and friendships is the best way forward. Like many I’m finding all the news services give me no peace of mind so I no longer watch. Our kids, all grown and married think our home is old fashioned,we love it surrounded by memories of great times and those we love who have passed.  Reading all your comments is wonderful and you realise how small the world really is

Anne J, welcome to the forum, I am very happy to know that you have been out there reading along for a long time but now you have joined the conversations here on our forum.  I too am losing myself in the garden, I am happy to have the garden as a healthier distraction.  It is still too much sadness today, but my focus is on growing vegetables and that is a good thing.  

I am happy to know that you are here with us in the comments and welcome to our wonderful group of people from all over the world that have similar interest of living a simple life that makes sense.  Grandma Donna

Just came across your site and it is a real comfort. It is nice to see a like-minded community. Seems to me like being less dependent on this system that is clearly unraveling is the goal. Whether it is food, energy, or any other thing needed to live, if we can provide more for ourselves, we are probably better off. I am currently interested in the Russian method of dacha gardening. They use(d) permaculture techniques and despite a very abbreviated growing season, they can grow up to 90% of their own food on surprisingly small plots. 

I finished clearing out and straightening my guest room. I went through all my seeds and put what I am not planting this week in the outside refrigerator. Moved canning jars and put dry beans in jars and vacuum sealed them. Threw away bags. Put any miscellaneous items where they belong. I left the Christmas sheets in because we will me switching bedroom furniture between this room and another one in a few weeks and I will change the sheets and wash these then. 

@Kasia, you are doing a great job. I see the space you made in the laundry area. Cheering you on. 

@ Sheila G- thank you, the green chest was a thrift store purchase and I love the chippy paint. My husband hates it. 

@ Grandma D- I have a very large collection of old quilts, plus I quilt. I'd say I easily have 40 or 50 throughout the house. I love the feedback prints most of all!

@CindyD W- I bought the Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt in Lancaster, PA, but it is not Amish made, just from the Amish area antique mall. It was $40! I hope you get yours out and work on it and enjoy seeing your quilt again :) 

Holly D,  your room is beautiful!  What a wonderful job you did cleaning up in there.  I see that you have some sweet potatoes ready to grow slips at the window.  That looks like a really good place to put them.   Your bed is so beautiful, I love the shape of the foot board with the curved sides, these old beds are so interesting.  Thank you for sharing  your accomplishments this week, very motivating!  Grandma Donna

I am a quilt maker and have one I should be working on right now, but the garden takes my time and attention at this time of year.  Holly - love the one on your bed.  I've made lots of everyday hexagon quilts down the years andmy first became the "poorly quilt" - used to tuck up my kids on the sofa when they were poorly :)

Kasia - sorry you had bad news and your back was so painful.  I had, ahem, a very lazy day as not feeling 100% due to a cold, but have taken myself to task again today and have just made the Scandinavian Apple Cake I meant to make a couple of days back.  Thinking of you, just putting a couple of things away when you can find the energy. I need to be planting the young Blackcurrant bushes I was given but it's blowing half a gale out there - though the sun is out :)

Grandma Donna - you are growing plenty in your garden.  I am trying to grow more this year - have planted 10 new Raspberries, one Blackcurrant bush and 4 more to go in.  Plus Garlic, Runner Beans started, Tomatoes being started at eldest daughters' as she forgot to bring me the seeds, and I will grow cucumbers again.  You can't have too many cucumbers!

Ericka - I've not heard of dacha gardening.  Will have to ask my neighbour who has a VERY productive plot and has gardened in many different countries (most of them hot though!)

Anne J - I am sure you are missing Down to Earth and a shame we don't have access to all the old helpful posts any more.

Pam - you must be so proud to have such talented daughters.

I "think" I am going to finally try and finish mending an antique late Victorian velvet quilt I have had some years.  It is not one I would use/display here so it needs to find a new home and I have an Antiques Fair on the horizon.  Watch this space.

Holly D I love how you have the quilts displayed on the shelf. As silly as it sounds, this has never occurred to me. I don't have quilts beyond a couple on beds, but I have many crocheted blankets and this has started me thinking! They are stuffed in storage bags under beds currently and I try to rotate them out seasonally on the couch, etc. but now I am inspired to figure something out with shelves. Lovely combination of furniture, colors and textures in that room! The chippy green paint is perfect :)

Good morning!

Holly Dyou pulled everything together so quickly! and how charming your spaces look :)

Confession Time: I've been walking by our range for weeks, or more probably by now, months, looking at the bottom storage drawer telling myself I should remove that drawer in order to give underneath a good cleaning--I finally did it today! and oh my word...enough dust bunnies to, I don't know, make a real bunny? I thought to myself I should snap a pic to share but...that wasn't going to happen:)) 

and? I have got to get the living room chairs onto the deck this week for a good Bissell-ing! I think Jed's (one of our doggies) chair is just about ready to be replaced it's so grubby; I've tried to use covers but he and his adopted sibling Riley are pound pups and they struggle with anxiety so...he eats them and then off to the vet we go for X-rays and meds to make sure he doesn't get a blockage :/   So it's an inexpensive chair from a charity shop ($25) they can hang out on (they have coolaros but prefer the chair...and Jed will eat the coolaro mat if left unattended for 15 minutes or more...and although they have thundeshirts, it tends to make Riley's anxiety worse and Jed will, again, eat his if left unattended whilst wearing it) and I waste no time having palpitations over it :) 

Happy Wednesday, y'all; it's a lovely, but dry day here in the mountains; we're desperate for rain! but still not hot yet, soft breezes through the trees, laundry out drying, some weeding done, watering some seed pots, and now I'm going to get back to rereading the Fairacre books by Miss Read again...the only thing that could be an improvement is if there was a hammock for the deck! perhaps for a Mother's Day gift  :)