I need help to find and keep my bedroom floor (currently under a pile of 'stuff')

[EdwiniasRevenge]

Ok.

Current scenario.

Small bedroom, with a double bed in. Between thw bed and my window is enough room to walk. Except floor is covered in junk:
Jumpers that need to go in thw divan drawer that I can't get to.
Kids toys and 'stuff' that has fallen off my bed at various times. I climb over my bed to open thw curtains when I can be bothered.

Floor between end of bed and wall is just wide enough to walk, except I have a huge bag of paperwork and more 'stuff' completely covering the floor.

Between my bed and thw fitted wardrobes to floor is patchy (I do need to walk over this area to get to thw door). It currently has a variety of clothes and 'stuff' on the floor.

Why?

I get undressed at night and throw my clothes on the floor. Some (underwear) are dirty. Some I may wear again (eg jeans if I have only had them on for the evening)?
I take the washing off the line and put it in a pile on my bed. I move the pile to the floor at bedtime. I get up in the morning and rummage through the pile for clothes. Or force my wardrobe door open knocking pile over.

I now have a heap of clothes. The clean clothes are merging with the dirty clothes.

I tidy up downstairs. Bring up 'stuff' that needs to go into the wardrobes, put onto bed. Move to floor at bedtime....etc.

I can pick up the mess and deal with that but it only lasts a couple of days.

I don't want to live like this any more. I need a system/solution.

How do I stop cluttering my small bedroom floor?

I have started to put clothes straight on hangers as I take them off the line, which helps but still need more ideas.

[TheSilveryPussycat]

Hi Ed. My system ran just like yours for years. It was, as it turned out, good enough

I am a bit more organised now though. I will have a think.

[TheSilveryPussycat]

I suspect all the organised people are out enjoying the sun!

I will happily wear the same clothes 3 days in a row - I am a right messy bugger anyway - except for daily change of knickers and socks.

I have experimented with having a floordrobe - well, baskets of clothes that go together. Not entirely satisfactory, even though I have the room. I have a small walk-in wardrobe, but somehow it doesn't help as much as one might think.

[Roshbegosh]

Lazy, yes you are. Just sort it out and chuck the rubbish away. Get on with it instead of procrastinating by trying to find an easy way. Make a start.

[EdwiniasRevenge]

Thanks for that.

I have made a start. Because of mental illness, however, it is very very difficult for me to work in more than 15minute bursts at the moment. So it takes a while. But I am doing it.

What I asked for help with was suggestions as to how I can keep my floor clear. Now I know the obvious is to not put clothes on the floor etc. But how do I put that into practice once I have it clear?

[talkingnonsense]

Could you have a chair or basket for half worn clothes? And a laundry basket, perhaps in the bathroom, for dirties. Clean clothes go away straight away- of not enough room in wardrobe, put winter clothes and occasion clothes in suitcase or storage under bed. Do not allow kids toys in your bed, unless chdn under 2!

[EdwiniasRevenge]

I do have a stool for half worn clothes. But at the moment I can't get to it...and has quite a few clothes waiting for repairs/ironing on (I only iron a handful of things). I guess I could deal with that and reinstate my half worn stool.

I have a laundry basket in the bathroom, but get undressed in the bedroom.

I have recently started to get into more of a routine withy laundry and as part of that have been putting smaller amounts away more regularly by putting straight on hangers as I take it off the line/airer.

I guess I have just got back in a pickle as the recent hot weather has seen me doing lots of extra washing, bringing it in late at night so not putting straight away (kids already in bed so can't get to their wardrobes) and I haven't worn my half worn jeans for ages so have put them to wash.

I found some over the door hooks in tesco today for a pound so am going to try using those on the front of my wardrobe for my half worns....

[alemci]

it is difficult. our room is messy because i have a fold up crate of things i want to ebay etc and a chair with clothes which aren't dirty but I am not wearing but don't want to put back in wardrobe as I have worn them once.

fold up crates are good. try and put things away as much as you can. I put winter clothes in underbed draw and high cupboard.

in fact i will go now and put some of the washing away which is in the utility room with a piled high shelf.

[nancerama]

Baskets!

Laundry basket or bag, plus a toy basket. DS regularly drags toys into our room. I have a wicker basket in the corner and toss them all in there when I make the bed every morning.

If you're a PJ wearer, why not get ready for bed earlier in the evening and veg out in your pjs until bed time? That way you're more likely to hang up your clothes when you get changed. I find if I get ready for bed actually at bed time I chuck my clothes on the floor because I'm just too knackered to do anything else.

[hardbeingme]

this sounds a lot like my room, my problem is piles of clean washing come in and stays and tidying up the rest of the house everything gets dumped in the room no one else goes in. Even when i do tidy i just don't seem to have a place for everything, there's piles of books too as i don't have a book case for me and the rest of my books are in the loft (which is itself a disaster!)
watching with interest i want a grown up room!

[EdwiniasRevenge]

I do normally get pjs on earlier.

Maybe a laundry bag hanging from thw front of my wardrobeto put dirty undies in might help...

Clothes I do normally take to the bathroom basket straight away if they are ready for washing. I guess I get more lax as my floor gets messier.

[Thurlow]

Baskets for dirty laundry and a chair for worn once and can wear again clothes here.

Obviously it's much easier to keep things more organised once you've done the big tidy up. Do you have someone who you could ask to help bribe to sort through things in one go to get the floor clear?

I get undressed right before bed. My laundry basket is next to my clothes chair, so I find it easier to get undressed and chuck stuff at the right pile.

But I'm like you, once things get into a mess it seems easier to cope with the mess rather than sort it out. And as long as you know where everything is...

[Inncogneetow]

Have a de-clutter session; get rid of things you don't like, don't wear, don't fit. Then make sure everything you have left goes neatly into the storage you have, if not get rid of more. Be ruthless!

If you bring in a pile of washing late at night and can't put it away, then why not leave it downstairs and deal with it tomorrow.

If you have space, you could get a small free-standing rail for half- worn clothes. Or just be ruthless. In this weather you don't actually want half worn clothes lurking around for days and days. If you have no need to wear said item again in the next two days, then put it in the wash. If it is suitable, then wear it the next day. Be strict with yourself.

Have a major tidying blitz, then make a pact with yourself not to go to bed until you've restored order in your bedroom. Keeping on top of it as part of the regular routine is the key.

[EdwiniasRevenge]

hard that is exactly me.

The rest of the house is prioritised for tidying. Eveerything that doesn't have a home gets 'we'll put it on mums bed treatment'. Which becomes my floor at bedtime.

Taking clothes hangers out to the washing line definitely helps the piles of clean clothes though.

[Secretswitch]

Oh dear, this sounds so much like my bedroom! The rest of the house is tidy as I can't stand clutter everywhere! I really want my bedroom to be my sanctuary. My plan is to set timer for 10 minutes. In those minutes I will focus on doing one task eg, clearing out a basket of laundry or sorting through box of out of season clothes. I am setting goal of doing this daily. If I have extra energy I may do it twice..

[antimatter]

Where is your cupboard?
Can you put into your cupboard clothes you know you won't need to iron?
When was the last time you sorted through all your tops and trousers?

[LEMisdisappointed]

oh Ed! When you find a system to sort out clothes and bedrooms please let me know or come round and do mine for me

[Dilidali]

Ok.
Start with deciding the night before what you are going ro wear the next day. Hang the outfit complete with knickers/bra/socks/accessories on a hanger that lives either on your door. Easy to grab on your way to the shower , no more pile rummaging.
Your challenge should you chose to accept it, will be for the next 30 days! Do not brush your teeth if you haven't 'done the hanger'.

Sounds to me you have too many clothes.
Get a binliner and toss everything you bought before your first child was born. That's all. If you remember the item from before kids, it's going. You deserve a new fresh start.

If you haven't already, buy a foldable basket for each of your family member. When you gather the dry laundry, chuck it in their own basket as you pick it from the line/radiator and then take the basket to their room.

What your messy bedroom does to your head is this: it reminds/reinforces the fact that you're in a mess.

[Dilidali]

Sorry, supervising the bath at the same time: the hanger can either be on your bedrom door or outside the bathroom door is what I meant.

[HollaAtMeBaby]

Throwing dirty underwear on the floor is DISGUSTING. Have some pride, woman! Get a mini pop-up laundry basket from Poundland and use it (or hang a bag on the back of the door if floor space is too limited).

As for the rest: is it easy enough for you to put things away? I find when I don't put things away it's because my storage for that type of item is inadequate/already full/non-existent.

[Chubfuddler]

Why are you storing clean clothes on the floor when you have a wardrobe?

Pick everything up off the floor so you can move about

Clean clothes - put them away
Dirty clothes - laundry basket
Rubbish/old papers - sort and store properly or chuck. If its important papers wilkos do an expanding cardboard file for a fiver. I keep bills, insurance certificates, my will, important stuff like that in one. Go paperless for as many bills as you can to cut down on clutter.

Do you iron? Are the clean clothes hanging around in the forlorn hope of being ironed? If you are likely to actually iron them now that you are getting sorted, get an ironing basket to put clean, unironed clothes in neatly folded. If realistically they are not going to be ironed put them away from the line.

Now the floor is clear can you get to the divan drawers or is the room just too small? If so you will have to find somewhere else for jumpers and out of season clothes (storage bags in loft?) otherwise they are going to end up on the floor.

Once it is clear it is easy to keep that way if everything belongs somewhere. My bedroom is spotless. I could not sleep well in a cluttered mess.

[TheSilverySoothsayer]

No, throwing dirty clothes on the floor isn't disgusting.

Picking your nose and flicking it is disgusting. Not washing said dirty clothes for weeks is disgusting. Going without washing yourself at all for weeks is disgusting. I have done all 3, the last two usually when I was in a depression.

Floor storage is fine sometimes, for all manner of things. So is deciding to wear the same outer clothing for 3 days in a row. So is having a wash instead of a shower or bath.

100 years ago many people had no choice but to wear the same outer clothing all week. In my childhood and youth (1950's-60's) one bath a week was the norm, and showers were a rarity.

[HellesBelles396]

It sounds so easy ChubbFuddler but getting started is so difficult. The longer a task goes undone, the moredaunting it is.

Coincidentally, Ed this week's flylady zone is the master bedroom and today's task is:

Set a timer for fifteen minutes. Return anything that doesn't belong in your bedroom to its rightful home stop when the buzzer goes. Do not make piles!

I usually have a binbag and a washing basket. Rubbish in the binbag, stuff for rehoming in the washing basket. When the washing basket is full, I head around the house delivering the items back to their homes then go back and refill.

Start at the right hand side of your door and make a circuit. Work from the top down so, for me, that's sort the top of the wardrobe, sort the floor in front of the wardrobe (inside the wardrobe happens wednesday or thursday can't remember which) sort the top of the dresser then in front of the dresser. Then past the bed to the windowledge and the floor under it. Past the window ledge to the pile of clothes in the corner, sort between me and ds, return ds' s to his room and mine to the pile on the floor (hanging and folding vlothes is tomorrow's job). And so on.

[HellesBelles396]

I fogot, stuff you don't use or is broken or the wrong size or you don't like gets binned (donated if poss).

Hi btw :)

[Chubfuddler]

I said it was easy to keep it clear and clean once it is tackled.

The op just needs to make a start. And to stop adding to it.

[SlatternismyMiddlename]

How r u getting on OP?