Any good housework prioritisers out there??

[NotDead]

Hello I have a terribly untidy house that also needs some DIY but am getting stuck on prioritising. .

Heres what I need to do (long)

Bedroom
untidy :( piles of washing and clean stuff.. places for it to go but never manage to sort
tiling *yes) on wall needs some grout
hole in plasterboard wall
floor and surfaces need dusting/sweeping mopping etc

bathroom
EVERYTHING needs a clean.. shower especially
grouting needs finishing
door needs to be rehung

staircase
needs new bannister
shelves need cleaning and reorganising

kitchen
needs nearly everything thrown out
cluttered and annoying
also serves as storage fot diy stuff..grates on me and makes me feel depressed
kitchen floor laminate is coming up and needs new one
some kitchen cabinets missing doors

living room
cluttered and needs big clean

hall
far too much hanging on walls.. leaves it dark and a bit 'serial killer'
piled up mail
sweep and mop
needs stuff reorganised

I haven't really done housework since a family death and it is just getting on top of me.. so I ignore it but its wearing on me

I just don't know where to start or how to change my habits.. if I start one thing it stresses me out so I end up doing partial everywhere and never have either clean or finished house.

at the moment I am thinking.. as always.. tidy then diy but then I know I will never get to the diy..help!!

any ideas??

[Parsnipcake]

Have you looked at flylady.net? It's a housework/ attitude changing website than can be very helpful for people in this situation. The general idea is to just work for 15 minutes at a time, decluttering and eventually cleaning. It's amazing how much you can do in 15 minutes! I tend to do 3x 15 minute sessions and then have a 15 minute break. I would really recommend thee website, it's as much about dealing with emotions as well as actual cleaning

[NotDead]

sounds good. sadly I seem to make more mess in 15 mins than I can tidy up..don't know how

I suppose I can?t work out what will make me feel better.. when I tidy up I get so annoyed and self-critical because it reveals how bad I've been so I know I creare my own block but I just can't stop it ..sigh..

its partly because I am only doing it for myself.. I find tidying so lonely..

[DiaryOfAWimpyMum]

I would probably choose to do a room or 2 rooms per day.

Ie. Bathroom, re-grout hang door, good clean up - 1 day

Organising clothes in bedroom - 1 day

Kitchen - 1 day

Pretend you need to move out in the next 3 weeks and have a day off in between de-cluttering if you have to, I had a massive de-clutter before moving here and I find it quite easy to keep this house tidy and I am not a tidy person.

[DiaryOfAWimpyMum]

Can you get a cleaner in to help you?
Or even a friend?

[xTillyx]

It's very easy to let things get on top of you. If I'm ill my house goes into chaos.

You really need to start with getting the bathroom clean in my opinion. While you're upstairs put all the clothes away and tidy the bedrooms. Ignore the DIY for now as you can't possible do it without a clear space to work with.

Throw out the stuff in the kitchen and give it a good clean.

Then it's basically just hoover all rooms and mop the ones that's need mopping. That's what I'd do for now just to make sure you're house is clean, then you can start to declutter and sort the jobs.

[Wineandchoccy]

Do you live on your own or is there DH/DP or children to help?

I would do living Room and bedroom as a priority as that is where you probably spend most of your time.

How good are you at DIY? If not very good I would de clutter and clean each room and then get a handyman in to do the DIY.

[mrspink27]

If you are local I would love to come and help (if not too stalkerish!) BUT if not I would start by spraying shower and sink, putting bleach down the loo and then by making a coffee.

While kettle is boiling put a load of washing on and then go through the piled up mail while you drink your coffee. Ditch everything you dont need and action immediately anything that needs addressing.

Next - go back to the bathroom and remove anything that is surplus to requirements into a box/basket or black bag. Any out of date stuff, anything broken or that you dont use... throw it out. Make quick decisions - its a yes no thing - no time to agonise. Be realistic. Then clean the shower, loo and sink and vaccuum. (Ignore the DIY) which have been soaking in spray and bleach

Bedroom next - again bag for clothes which you dont wear or need throwing out. A basket for dirty stuff and a basket for anything clean. Again - go through quickly. Clear all surfaces and have a large bag for rubbish/recycling and a box for clutter. Again - quick decisions. I find if you pile everything onto the bed you arent constantly bending down! Once floor is clear, vaccuum and then wipe over surfaces.
Reward yourself with clean sheets to sink into at the end of the day! (Again ignore the DIY for now)

Atleast now you have - addressed paperwork, cleaned bathroom and sorted clothes/bedroom.

Have a big box/charity bag in the hall and as you go about the house and find things which are just taking up space and you dont need want or love put them in the box and DO NOT TAKE OUT!!!! Chuck away anything which is broken or cant be repaired!

In the hall way... is the stuff which is hanging pictures or coats etc...?

Is this helpful... I can go on.... I have helped several friends with issues like this...

[NotDead]

hey thanks for the advice.. don't know if I'm local to where you are! how do I find out without posting or outing?
sounds a bit scary but def worth doing..

Stuff in hall is 'useful' stuff.. but hall is really staircase too and its bags, ladders, a bike, some boots, some bags that used to have fitness kit in, a guitar case and.. well the list goes on.

am envious of young folk who just have a laptop and speakers..hmmph

[NotDead]

oh and piled up mail is a days work or more

[NotDead]

oh I see ref local.. over hundred miles sadly ..

[mrspink27]

One day at a time...

[HoneyStepMummy]

I'm very sorry for your loss

Some suggestions regarding the house:

Do the easier tasks first. Start off with opening and sorting the mail. Dump all junk mail into bin bag, everything that needs to be kept or addressed put in a separate pile to be worked on later.

Next, put away all the clean clothes you can. If you come across anything you don't need, be ruthless and throw into a charity bag.

Dust, sweep, and mop bedroom.

If you have the time or energy left clean the bathroom too. If not, do it the next day.

Then breakdown the bigger jobs. Allow a day or two for each room. It sounds like the kitchen will take a few days. Will you be doing the grout jobs yourself or will someone do it for you?

You will feel more on top of things once the bedroom and bathroom are clean. Don't overwhelm yourself, you can only do so much in a day.

[NotDead]

hi all thanks for the advice. . have discovered my problem.. I like making work.. perhaps I enjoy the state of never being finished somehiw.. followed advice to leave diy till housework done. . have folded all clean washing to categories and taken all rubbish..dishes.. etc from bed and bathroom.. and that meant.. fo a little while.. clear drying area and clothes pile BUT put two more loads on and now back to square one with that lot

nice smells of clean washing though and also put ironing board away and piled crap neatly so some progress.

this time did it without getting angry at myself so feel a psychological victory I suppose!

also chucked some irreparable clothes and mourned them a little.. and can now also follow the clean sheets treat which will be nice - last night was a bit 'use duvet cover as sheet as cba putting duvet in properly...

[theapricotmess]

You are not back to square one! You've made a good start.

I would give Flylady a go. It breaks everything down into chunks so you do a little bit every day. You don't have to follow it religiously, i never have, but i find it takes the edge off my house looking like crap and over time it has become quite a nice place to be.

[mrspink27]

Well done... Just remember "small steps". Have you thrown anything away today? Walk round the house and see if you can fill a carrier bag of stuff to chuck... set a timer for 5 minutes and dont let yourself be distracted. Remember its a yes no thing...no agonising.... no thinking too long. Stuff to chuck could be as simple as old newspapers/magazines, rubbish, empty/old bathroom/cosmetic stuff or bits of paper/wrappers etc....

About that paperwork... can you sort that into piles? Maybe junk mail to throw immediately... Utilities... Banking... etc... then deal with each pile in turn....

Is there anything in the hall that you could put away in the shed (if you have one?) ladders, wellies, bikes etc... Does the guitar case belong to a DC? could it go in a bedroom... empty bags in the cupboard under the stairs/storage/coat cupboard/charity bag?

Sounds like you have made a good beginning... and some days will be better than others...

[NotDead]

hello! everything is clean. washing up done everyday..sometimes several times a day..since Saturday.. keys always in bowl and some shelf dusting complete! !

its weird. I have too much energy now.. get bored easily and can't sleep! .

[SOTIRIA]

Mrspink27,
I really like your housework schedule. Do you have any more of these such as morning or tea time routines?

[evelynj]

Ditto mrspink-I'm thinking a schedule for whole house clean would-be great. I'm having baby 2 on Monday bt elcs & would love a list for dh to work his way through without me thinking & spelling out ever little job that needs done!

Surely there's a way to do everything in a cycle & then just return to the start? Or maybe there should be a 2ndary circle with wishful thinking things like cleaning windows?

[delasi]

Just to add that you're doing great and any progress is positive progress!

I know how you feel - we were pretty much in the same state when we moved here. I got so fed up and any work felt like I was just pushing the chaos around.

The top thing that helped me a lot, psychologically, was to focus on just one area and forget the rest.

Our bathroom is the smallest area with the least work to do. I did that completely as I wanted it ignoring the other work. I have been maintaining it very easily now for over a month - this was my first source of real motivation as I finally had at least one 'perfect' place in the flat.

I followed this with more rooms, each increasing slightly in size and work required. I seemed to get quicker with each, just feeling more positive and confident each time. I'd say we're now halfway to completion.

Good luck and know that you are doing great!

[ZingWidge]

shamelessly marking place for soaking up wisdom

[Seabright]

Another vote for the FlyLady system. Sometimes the website is a bit too "full-on" happy-clappy, American for me, but the system and the theory is good, it works and you can tweak it to suit you.