Things you do without really asking yourself why?
Discussion
Has it ever occurred to you that there are things you might do in your life, but when it comes down to it, you can't really say why you do them? You've just always done them, or your mum always did?
When we bought our first house many years ago, one of the first things I did was to call one of the three window cleaners who'd stuck their card through the letterbox once they saw the "Sold" sign go up and booked a regular visit. When we moved to our next home, I did the same. A few years later, we had a loft conversion and a single storey extension.
About 4 years after that I was looking out of one of the bedroom windows - in the loft and above the sloped roof of the extension - and suddenly thought "this hasn't been cleaned in all the years since it was fitted since the window cleaner can't get to it and it's absolutely fine, so what the hell am I paying a window cleaner for???
I reckon we've now saved over a grand in the years since I cancelled the window cleaner, who I'd only originally booked because I just figured that was what you did!
Anyone else had this sort of sudden enlightenment moment of realising you're doing something on a regular basis and you've got no real idea whether it's justified?
When we bought our first house many years ago, one of the first things I did was to call one of the three window cleaners who'd stuck their card through the letterbox once they saw the "Sold" sign go up and booked a regular visit. When we moved to our next home, I did the same. A few years later, we had a loft conversion and a single storey extension.
About 4 years after that I was looking out of one of the bedroom windows - in the loft and above the sloped roof of the extension - and suddenly thought "this hasn't been cleaned in all the years since it was fitted since the window cleaner can't get to it and it's absolutely fine, so what the hell am I paying a window cleaner for???
I reckon we've now saved over a grand in the years since I cancelled the window cleaner, who I'd only originally booked because I just figured that was what you did!
Anyone else had this sort of sudden enlightenment moment of realising you're doing something on a regular basis and you've got no real idea whether it's justified?
I pay £3.50 each week for the wheeley bin cleaner to clean whichever bin it is that week and the food bin. 99% of the time I have the pressure washer out cleaning the cars, so I could clean them myself. He didn't turn up for 3 weeks over Christmas and New Year and often when there is inclement weather, yet I always seem to owe him the same amount.
vikingaero said:
I pay £3.50 each week for the wheeley bin cleaner to clean whichever bin it is that week and the food bin. 99% of the time I have the pressure washer out cleaning the cars, so I could clean them myself. He didn't turn up for 3 weeks over Christmas and New Year and often when there is inclement weather, yet I always seem to owe him the same amount.
A few of my neighbours have this bin cleaning carried out, I purposely cleaned mine with a bottle of bleach and a hose while the guy was cleaning theirs. mickk said:
vikingaero said:
I pay £3.50 each week for the wheeley bin cleaner to clean whichever bin it is that week and the food bin. 99% of the time I have the pressure washer out cleaning the cars, so I could clean them myself. He didn't turn up for 3 weeks over Christmas and New Year and often when there is inclement weather, yet I always seem to owe him the same amount.
A few of my neighbours have this bin cleaning carried out, I purposely cleaned mine with a bottle of bleach and a hose while the guy was cleaning theirs. Our window cleaner's job is very noticeable, the only downside at the moment is that within a few days of his visit there are strong winds blowing all sorts of dusty rain on the windows so they're ready to clean again!
Our house was generally pretty manky when we moved into it, thanks to the previous occupants, and the main rubbish wheelie bin was absolutely grim.
A few weeks after we moved in, though, the wheelie bin cleaning men came round and gave us all in the neighbourhood one free clean, plus a card through the door so we could sign up.
Result - bin nice and clean, and because we use bags and aren't a bunch of slovenly grotbags, it's still perfectly presentable 11 years later!
A few weeks after we moved in, though, the wheelie bin cleaning men came round and gave us all in the neighbourhood one free clean, plus a card through the door so we could sign up.
Result - bin nice and clean, and because we use bags and aren't a bunch of slovenly grotbags, it's still perfectly presentable 11 years later!
Shaoxter said:
People dump their rubbish straight into the bin without bin bags? Isn't that just asking for all sorts of nastiness to grow in them.
Never cleaned my bins, if they get really dirty you could always just break it and ask the council for a new one
Yes. I know this because once my neighbour took the wrong bin in, told me that we might as well swap back next bin day and I got it back absolutely filthy. Food all over it and a dusting of the contents of the vacuum cleaner.Never cleaned my bins, if they get really dirty you could always just break it and ask the council for a new one
vikingaero said:
I pay £3.50 each week for the wheeley bin cleaner to clean whichever bin it is that week and the food bin. 99% of the time I have the pressure washer out cleaning the cars, so I could clean them myself. He didn't turn up for 3 weeks over Christmas and New Year and often when there is inclement weather, yet I always seem to owe him the same amount.
I’ll bleach and jet wash mine once a year. That’s plenty. Everything that goes in our bin is already sealed in a plastic bag. In any case, food waste (also in bags of the decomposable variety) is in its own separate container. Sometimes people come past and ditch the detritus from their Greggs breakfasts into our bin, which is better than on the pavement, I suppose, but it makes me angry.
The idea of putting loose garbage into the bin reminds me of those old films where someone falls into the dustman’s lorry and emerges covered in fish bones and cabbage leaves.
The idea of putting loose garbage into the bin reminds me of those old films where someone falls into the dustman’s lorry and emerges covered in fish bones and cabbage leaves.
dave123456 said:
Yes. I know this because once my neighbour took the wrong bin in, told me that we might as well swap back next bin day and I got it back absolutely filthy. Food all over it and a dusting of the contents of the vacuum cleaner.
Similar story, always had a nice clean bin, use bags and give the bins a rinse myself every year. One collection day one of our neighbours pinched ours and the one we were left with nearly made me physically sick and I work with stinky bacteria for a living! The bottom of the thing was about an inch deep in live maggots and the rest of it was just covered in what could have been and probably was a mix of food waste, s
t, vomit and diseases Ebola would have been scared to mess with. No idea which neighbour it came from as everyone in the cul de sac seemed nice normal tidy middle class folk, tidy gardens, clean cars etc.
I had the council come and take it away and give me a new one.
As for the thread I’m quite logical and efficient and tight with money so can’t think of any myself. Probably some things I do with DIY, working on cars or computers that are unnecessary steps but I don’t do them knowingly.
Wife on the other hand. Will religious spend 5-10 mins doing neck stretches before bed, not for my benefit unfortunately
but in the aid of not waking up with a sore neck and migraine in the morning, still gets regular migraines so think the whole neck thing is an absolute waste of time. Also has an ungodly amount of cleaning things and routines that take up half a weekend and make no appreciable difference to just wiping a wet cloth over. I think I blame Mrs Hinch for this though as it wasn’t a problem in our old house before Mrs Will discovered instagram. She also won’t eat lamb because her mum ate it once and felt a bit queasy so wife and her sisters all think they are genetically allergic to it or something, but have eaten it with no drama when it has been given to them and told it was just pork or something like in sausages, kebab, bbq.
We have 2 bins for waste, one for garden refuse and one for general waste, the garden waste goes straight in the bin and the household waste is of course in plastic bags, thought that was the norm.
Surely it's only the garden waste bins that get cleaned out or am i being a tramp, where's that council thread?
Surely it's only the garden waste bins that get cleaned out or am i being a tramp, where's that council thread?
mickk said:
We have 2 bins for waste, one for garden refuse and one for general waste, the garden waste goes straight in the bin and the household waste is of course in plastic bags, thought that was the norm.
Surely it's only the garden waste bins that get cleaned out or am i being a tramp, where's that council thread?
Do you not have a rycling bin. That's the one at our house I clean regularly Surely it's only the garden waste bins that get cleaned out or am i being a tramp, where's that council thread?
cliffords said:
mickk said:
We have 2 bins for waste, one for garden refuse and one for general waste, the garden waste goes straight in the bin and the household waste is of course in plastic bags, thought that was the norm.
Surely it's only the garden waste bins that get cleaned out or am i being a tramp, where's that council thread?
Do you not have a rycling bin. That's the one at our house I clean regularly Surely it's only the garden waste bins that get cleaned out or am i being a tramp, where's that council thread?
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