It has been another busy day down the shop. Myself, Ella and Pat, were the only ones in. So, it was a battle to keep the ship afloat! It didn’t help that all the clothes were in the wrong order, so we spent ages sorting the clothing out. I managed to get the stock room hoovered, spray mopped the shop floor and the hourly toilet checks! Hooray!!!!! (With so many volunteers in and out, our poor toilets get a right bashing, thus the hourly checks.)
I’ve been having yet another sort out!
One of the jobs that really needed doing, was the reorganising of the cleaning equipment I have caddies under the counter in the kitchen, which wasn’t really the best place for it. Most of the equipment is kept in the Wash Room, so I thought that this would be the best place to keep everything. (The cleaning chemicals have their own dedicated cupboard BTW, which is very neat and tidy)
To enable this, I needed to move stuff out the caddies downstairs. These were full of all sorts and need properly sorting out. However, this is a job for another day…. I emptied what was in the caddies and put the contents into stack and store boxes, which got put into the “Junk Room”. Don’t even get me started on the junk room… That is a right “dumping ground”, for all sorts of stuff and you can’t hardly get in there. There is just about room, to get inside the door! This is another project and something I need to tackle. However, I have no idea what we are going to do with all the stuff piled in there. I think I will have to speak to Bethan on Tuesday and try and work out with her, what we are going to do and how we are going to do it. I think some of the stuff came from the old BHF Furniture and Electrical Store, which was just a few doors up and had to close, after the Nail Bar next door burnt down (on Boxing Day 2022) and caused severe damage to the BHF Store.
It may require us to get a man and a van to shift it, when we have a mega sort out. However, that’s going to be expensive, so I don’t know how we are going to sort it. It could be classed as a fire hazard, so I will highlight it to Bethan and see what she suggests. I am sure if we put our heads together, we can find a way to get it sorted. If we can sort it, the other caddies and the downstairs tub vac, could be put in there.
Back to the sort out…
I was able to get sorted, once I had freed a couple of caddies. These came up to the washroom. The Toilet Rolls, Blue Paper Towels and the Hoover Bags, used to live in it’s own plastic box by the sink. However, with the sink right by it, the loo rolls used to get rather soggy. Now the blue rolls, cloths, toilet rolls and hoover bags, all have their own caddy, which keeps everything so much more orderly. It means we can quickly access something, if we need it, without having to take everything out the box. Plus, the loo rolls and the blue paper rolls, cannot get wet any more. 🙂
Lucy will be impressed with what I have done, when she comes in tomorrow morning.
As a continuation of this project: I want to get some clips put on the wall, which will hold the mop and vel mops against the wall. I also want to get in the corner, where the cardboard is. This has various bits used in the shop and can be moved to on top of the lockers, with the other signage. I will have to lift of everything that’s on top first, to be able to do this, but it’s doable. I will be able put my tub vac there, once the corner is cleared. I also need to seal the fate on our broken hoover pole and send it to one of the massive BIFFA Bins. If there’s space, I may also put the ladder at the side of the lockers too. However, the Tub Vac needs to also fit in there, so that may not be possible. A Plan B for this,is to lean the ladder against the wall outside the toilet. This is where the mop and bucket used to live. (But it now lives behind where the tub vac currently is)
Once this was done, I was able to scrub the floor, where the old caddies were and put the bins back under the kitchen counter. It looks much better and the floor is much cleaner too. While I was at it, I attempted to remove a stain from the carpet in the walkway, using the steamer. Whether it worked or not is another question – I will find out tomorrow.
The final job, was to drag the wheelie bins out. This meant donning a High Viz Jacket and dragging the bins from our shed, into the yard at the back. BIFFA come tomorrow to empty the bins, so I will wheel them back in in the morning.
The end of the day was fun. I left and forgot my phone and then Ella and I almost spent the night in the shop, as her key jammed in the lock and it wouldn’t turn! Only kidding about the all night thing… I could of gone out the fire exit at the back, should we not of been able to get the key out. I will give the lock a spray with WD40 tomorrow!