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10 March 2014

(slightly unwilling) Spring Clean

Landlord's inspection again. Tis a very good anxiety trigger, especially since they're the council and think that poor people can't look after themselves have a "greater duty of care". Ie they object to mess. And four kids produce a lot of mess.

Because I'm anxious and struggling with feeling overwhelmed at allowing someone into my home for the express purpose of judging me, I have been doing crazy things like cleaning door frames, organising the tops of the wardrobes, and going under the kids' beds to see what they've stashed under there in the month or so since I last pulled everything out. Anxious cleaning is a near miraculous thing. I can't actually remember the last time I cleaned inside the air vents (I probably never have in ten years in this house).

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Parents who do not lift their sofas to look underneath? I understand. Folk who don't ever buy products to whiten their tile grout? I'm on the same page. Adults who have roughly their own weight in laundry to get through? I feel your pain. I am not naturally neat, and neither are any of my children (so far). I love our warm colourful welcoming friendly home, but I have plenty of little piles of junk that I don't even see on a day to day basis - I'm really rather clutter-blind.

Anyhow, two days to go, and the house is under control. A tiny part of me says, "It's nice, let's keep it like this!" - A bigger part says, "Yeah RIGHT!" - And the biggest part still says, "We're happy, healthy, and busy living our lives and learning and DOING things, and it's nobody elses's business if there is a pile of dishes on the sideboard or clothes on the floor." No part of me is going to manage to say that during the inspection, though. I might be rather cross about the whole rigmarole, but the anxiety is still in charge as far as challenging policy goes.

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(And if you think this means that I have Done All the Laundry, then you have never seen the size of my laundry pile...)

Oh look! A tour around my almost-but-not-quite-tidy house (yes, my carpet is always that colour... this is as good as it gets around here, friends! If piles of dirty dishes, and general clutter offend you, look away now!):

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8 comments:

  1. LOVE your house, just like mine :)

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  2. Viewing your own house through other peoples eyes is no fun especially when it is your landlord. Sadly a few tenants with messy houses are likely to be neglectful and then all other tenants are tarred with the same brush. Hope your inspection is over and done with without any mishap this time :-)

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  3. Hope all goes well, in fact I am positive all will go well! What they will and should see is a busy happy maintained property.

    San xx

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  4. you have to have landlords inspect your place?? Ahh I would hate that!! I'm not a clean person either. Thankfully I've never had any need to worry, as far as i know they don't do inspections like that around here. We only have to worry once we're in the process of moving out (like we are now. oi!) and I don't think your place looks THAT bad. It looks lived in. Good luck!!

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  5. Yep, our laundry pile is *massive*!! Adding to the concern is that in the next 1.5-2 months I have to strip wash *all* the size 1 nappies (and there are a lot of them!) preferably on a sunny day! If we can possibly manage it, I am going to get people in to do a deep clean of the whole house before this baby arrives, because I *know* it's not going to get properly cleaned for a good while afterwards! Really hoping cleaners aren't desperately expensive!

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  6. That's a lot better than my hose right now Arwen, and I only have two small people! One of them is very small, and that's my excuse...

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  7. I'm sure I did a pretty long response to this post but ack...its either disappeared into cyber space or yep...my last brain cell has got up and left :(
    All I basically wanted to say was I would come and live with you any day. Your house is a fun, cosy, wonderful rainbow nest that I would love to snuggle in. Oh and also sending love and luck that all goes well x x x

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  8. Inspections are stressful - although if we were to have one the landlady would be forced to confront the damp and the fact that we are still sleeping downstairs :(

    Hope it went well (and I have a feeling we likely have a washing pile to rival yours ;) )

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Penny for your thoughts? :)