A Week of Household Chores and new Dustbin Regime

Those things you do not necessarily want to do but need to do to keep the household running.  It has been a week of necessary chores here, in a week where I have not been firing on all cylinders.  

I had a bit of a backlog with washing again and have concentrated where I can on this, in the past week.  That is when I remembered to deal with it.  My memory is a bit unreliable just recently and I plan on doing specific things and then by the time I have realised it is a good couple of days further on.  I hardly use my mobile these days either (which I think is perhaps not too bad a thing in the longer term), but it does mean that often if I do get a message or a call I am late to receiving them.  Must try and do better in the longer term.

There has also been some ironing although there is more to do on that score!

Equally the dishwasher has also been on quite a bit.  I am careful what I put into the dishwasher and overall it does help me a lot, although at one point I would not switch it on because of the cost of running it.  However it is needed here and so I am running it when I have a full load.  Some things I do not under any circumstances go through the dishwasher.  It is however brilliant for cleaning my preserving jars and having them warm and ready for filling up when in preserving mode.

All my flours have arrived from the different Mills that I sourced them from.  My first batch of storage buckets have also arrived and I will order some more in next month to hold other items such as porridge oats and sugar that I store in-house.

I am looking forward in the coming weeks to start making bread again.  I really am looking forward to this, but everything needs to be sorted in the kitchen and the dining room before I start playing.  I am formulating a new routine in the kitchen.

I have started a new Sourdough starter utilising Rye flour which I understand is extremely good for making an active starter. We will see how we get on with this attempt.  Fingers crossed and toe's plaited.

Nationwide a new recycling policy has been brought into play and in some instances extra wheelie bins will be added to the bins already in use to try and simplify what can and cannot be recycled more easily. 

Apparently the new rules and regulations if not adhered to could include the bins not being emptied.   We cannot afford that in this area. Please look at your own Council's website to see what the changes are for your area.  For the best part the purpose of streamlining and adding extra wheelie bins should standardise the system across the country.  In the circumstances for the past ten days or so I have actively been researching the differences.  It has been a bit of a learning curve, and in some cases confusing.  There are a lot of changes and items that once were allowed to be in the general bin are now not going to be allowable.  Cat pouches are not recyclable and need to go into the general bin.  Other cat food containers are recyclable but the lids are not.  Bottles with slip covers on them such as Coca Cola bottles etc need the slip cover cutting off. Used tin foil now to go into the Recyclable bin.  You therefore need to take particular notice of what the carton or drinks containers indicate on the back of them.

As our recycling bin needed to be sorted out as temporarily when we had a lot of rubbish our bin had been used to store general rubbish and thus our recycling bin has not been used. All our bins are stored in the front garden as we struggle with getting the bins down the passageway and then getting the bins into the back yard.  Entryway is just too tight.  A few years ago we therefore slabbed an area in the front gardens in order to store the bins.  We did not want to do this with it being the front garden.  It was however necessary. 

When it comes to the recycling, in the past our neighbour has put any recycling in his bin.  However in view of the fact that he and his wife are moving to a retirement home from early April, and we suspect that the Landlord will do the house up, I decided in my own inimitable way, that it was about time that this was sorted so that I could have ours back in play.  I needed assistance with this and G emptied the bin for me.  I have since then been bleaching out the bin and getting it nice and clean in readiness for putting the recyclables into the bin for collection. As with the black bin, once the collection has happened, I will now clean the bin weekly.  Our collection day is a Wednesday for both our black bin and our recyclable bin; however this happens on alternate weeks.  This week is the recyclable one and the food waste one.  I therefore have all the recyclables in the clean wheelie bin.  There is still a lot more to go in, but at least am over half-way through with it.  This is all part and parcel of the new routine for basic jobs throughout the week.  More of that later on, it is however slow in practice due to the fact that I am gradually sorting out the necessary basics a bit at a time.  Will get there eventually.

I also swept up the front garden path and washed the front windows.

I am also looking in to setting up my own composter/compost heap down the garden.  This is something that I have been thinking about as I think it will enrich the soil I do have available to me.  Soil needs to be fed to produce the crops. I think it would be beneficial because really at the end of the day it is all about the soil being suitable for growing on and feeding plants; deficiencies can cause the plants not to grow properly.  I am keen not to buy in any compost; sadly will have to do this year, but will attempt to provide some of my own compost for next year.  I have ordered both ordinary compost 4 x 100 litre bags (still have two from last year) and four 50 litre bags of Ericaceous compost to start with for my Blueberries.  I have also ordered in some manure to dig into the soil.

I already have a water tank, but may add another.

I have also this week very slowly got to grips with the kitchen routine.  A new protocol has been put in place with the dishwasher.  G for the best part is in charge of filling this (being as I do everything else) kitchen related.  As he hates washing up so much!  This is his job early evening after his tea!  Will see how this goes. Not hopeful although at the moment he seems to be doing his part.

I have also bought into play on a daily basis recycling those items that can be recycled and dealing with them by washing them out and getting into the recycle bin out of the way.  Seems to be going well at the moment.

Happy days.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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