Making Good Use: Housekeeping

I'm not the world's greatest housekeeper and often let things slide until they become so noticeable that even I can't miss the fact that something or other needs tidying or cleaning. Several completely different things have really been driving me mad lately - neither of which were tasks I really relished doing but, needs must etc, and I've finally got round to doing one of them and am halfway through the other.

First up was the dreadful state of the loo!! Despite very regular cleaning there has been a humungous build-up of limescale which has made it look really grungy. I've tried all sorts of preparatory cleaners to try and shift the marks but nothing had worked. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered an episode of 'How Clean is Your House?' that mentioned tackling such stains with a wooden spoon.

So, with great reluctance, this morning I armed myself with old rubber gloves, an old wooden spoon, a brillo pad, a J-cloth and a small glass jar and proceeded to scoop the water out of the loo. Not a pleasant task it has to be admitted, but not as bad as I'd been fearing. Next up was a good old scrub with the wooden spoon and some cream cleaner and, as if by magic, the limescale began to come off. Half an hour later and the loo looked almost as good as new. I doubt I can stop the limescale building up again as we live in a very hard water area but for the time being I'm well pleased with the result.

The second housekeeping task is much cleaner, if a tad heavier. It's housekeeping only in the sense of tidying up and double-checking all the books I've got listed for sale on Amazon and which are stored in the large bookcase in the dining room.

For a long time I've had my suspicions that some of the books stored there are no longer listed and that some of them should be removed for sale anyway. It's a slow process as it invovles carrying armfuls of books up and down stairs so that I can check them on the computer. As I feared, a whole load have been taken off Amazon but, on a positive note, I've also found a couple that weren't listed for sale which now have been. I've also been amending prices - usually downwards - in the hope that I'll actually sell some of the blighters. After all, they're only gathering dust where they are!! And don't mention dust to me as there are plenty of areas in the house that really do need a serious dust down. I'll leave that joyous task for another day!