11. Get study ready for family visits

(<---- my camera's batteries are still refusing to behave in a battery-like fashion, and so I've resorted to using the camera on my phone. It doesn't have very many mega-pixels, so the photos aren't very good. Then again, the quality of photos I've been taking lately with my camera camera aren't very good. I blame the camera, because I'm a bad workman. I couldn't find an 11 for the picture to the left, so I fashioned one out of some pencils, because pencils look like ones, right?)

I know technically our family visits started last week with Nurse Rachel coming to stay, however she's a sister and therefore Doesn't Count, as she doesn't mind if it's a bit messy. The inlaws are arriving this evening to stay for the weekend, so the study needed to be made parent-friendly. We've somehow managed to avoid doing any tidying all week, and so have spent the day in a whirlwind of activity. Most notably:

- I spent ages this morning scrubbing between the tiles in the bathroom with a toothbrush, before cleaning the dust from behind the toilet, cleaning the bottom bit of the toilet, and scrubbing the floor. I was devastated to learn this was not a list item. But I did it anyway, and credit where it's due, it looks fab.

- I went through J-cubs chest of drawers and removed all clothes which he no longer fits into, and folded all the rest of his clothes so it's easily accessible, rather than just thrown on a pile on the floor.

- We put the empty boxes which the Christmas decorations were in back into the loft. This is the first year that we haven't been able to store them in the box room, as it's now a nursery. Awwww.

- Jamie cleaned out the study of all miscellaneous boxes of tat, and tidied up what was left.

- I made up the futon, cleverly saving time by ironing the sheet and duvet cover once they were on the bed. If you don't do this already, you should. It saves time, is easier than trying to control a duvet cover on an ironing board, doesn't get wrinkled again when you put it on the duvet as it's already on, and nicely warms the bed for your visitors.

- I folded the guest towels, as Anthea Turner taught me in her 'How to waste your life away be a perfect housewife' show.

- I cleaned the study windows (the window cleaner helpfully turned up yesterday so the outsides were done).

- We're still in the midst of tidying downstairs, I just needed to take a break and thought I'd write this before we have to go to Tesco. So I'll pre-emptorially (I don't care if that's not a word, it should be) say:

- Did a big Tesco shop.

Here's a picture of the study (again, taken with camera phone, sorry), looking beautiful and shiny and visitor ready:

Day 11 - Mission complete.