ironing

I have chucked out all the folded unironed clothes in the bathroom cupboard and placed this huge pile of clean items in the second largest bedroom, and set up my ironing board and steam iron and made a start of getting it all sorted and de cluttered and ironed. I don't mind ironing as I have good equipment, its how do I fit it in with all the other things I can do during the day... like baking the bread, making the meals, taking the dogs out, visiting the charity shops and generally being occupied not to say anything about the time I need to put in on my own business... Where do the other people get their time from? It has been a long time since I  did a whole lot of ironing, as with the children no longer at home, its just me and the husband... but I swear I have more washing and ironing to do then when all the five kids lived at home!! The washing machine grinds its way daily, the pulley up on the ceiling comes down and the clothes go up to air and dry, and then they are taken down and stuffed upstairs in the bathroom. With my latest word discipline ringing in my subconscious ears, I know I have to make a start on this pile and that I will be so happy when its all back on the shelves neatly piled up and ready to use.

Sometimes its just the sheer hugeness of the task that puts me off.. but I have decided that it can all be tackled by doing it each day for one hour.. I turn on the radio and start to iron and its quite therapeutic listening to the radio, either discussions or plays, or indeed sometimes its classical music... that hour soon goes, and the pile gets higher and the awful mess gets smaller.. I have been on this plan just since Monday and I think I should have all the items back in the cupboard by Sunday which will be marvellous..  I am certainly not the worlds best housekeeper.  More big picture me, but I do like a tidy house and see the things all put away... trouble is by the end of the week, the counters are all full again and need tidying away.. but that's just a routine that needs to be re established.. putting everything away immediately it is used..

As I live in an old Georgian Rectory, the rooms are large, and there are lots of places to store things... so  this means I put away things that I know are useful, and then don't think about them again until I need them, then I find I have forgotten where I actually did put them.. I read somewhere that Mrs Rose Kennedy, used to make to do lists, and would pin them on her front so she could read them and do them that day... seems a bit obvious but she kept on top of things like that.. not sure I would get on with wearing lists, but if it worked for her OK. 

I do make lists, then forget to take them out with me**
For instance I make lists to do for the shopping.. having written them and read them, I leave them invariably on my desk... however as I have read them, I do get mainly all the items I wanted, so perhaps that's not a bad thing.

Ironing has been a bone of contention for me for some time, since my ops I have not been able to sit or stand for any length of time and so the cupboards became jangled up with things that needed ironing and I was only doing the clothes that needed ironing specifically for using.. how dreadful is that!! Now with my new regime, I shall be in charge again, and as we all know, being in charge  and on top of things , is the best feeling in the world!!