If you're an organised person how do you do it?

[atticusclaw]

I literally feel like crying. The house is a tip and never seems to get any better, the garden is a jungle, I can never find anything, the DCs never have what they need for school, there are always a million jobs to do and we haemorrhage money.

Is there a solution to life?

[SJBean]

Storage and tidying up everything at the end of every day is our way of keeping Things in order. Don't know what else to suggest. Have a place for everything and put everything back in its place at the end of he day. If you can stretch to it invest in a dyson cordless vacuum so you Hoover little and often and do little bits of cleaning as and when - the bathroom whilst the kids are in the bath for example this avoiding the dreaded 'big clean'

[atticusclaw]

I wouldn't mind but I have a cleaner. And a roomba! There's just always tidying to be done and things are never were they should be.

[atticusclaw]

where

[Philoslothy]

I am not naturally organised but give the appearance of being so, my house is tidy, things get done on time.

I get up early and hey exercise every day,5 this keeps my energy levels high. I have a rota for cleaning/ running the house and every evening make a to do list for the next day.

I never leave a room empty handed.
We have plenty of storage so everything has a place.
We declutter about three times a year.
We have a meal board, each week someone picks a meal they want to cook and from that we do an online shop.
My wardrobe is organised into outfits.

[overmydeadbody]

never stop doing things. Ever. There is always something to do, so do it! That's the only way I manage.

Oh, and do things straight away.

[mummaduke]

Cleaner once a week for big jobs/ironing
Pick up house every evening
Dishwasher on/kitchen wiped down nightly
Laundry at every spare opportunity

[Philoslothy]

I have a roomba, very handy . I actually have two !
I clean the younger children's bathrooms while they are in the bath.

[Philoslothy]

Our utility room is a huge help.

Each child has their own ironing basket, so if I should ever fall behind their clothes are easy to find. There are 7/8 of us here. They also have their own shelf where their ironing lives, they know to visit the shelf daily to collect their laundry or in the case of the older children do their ironing.

[Onlyconnect]

I make sure kids' stuff for clubs is on a shelf in a bag so it's just a case of grabbing the bag when we leave for ballet, swimming or whatever. We sort out the stuff as soon as we get back. I think never leaving a room empty handed is a good tip too.

[Lifeisforlivingkatie]

Cleaner twice a week, one day for deep clean and the other for ironing and tidy up, I keep on top of the kitchen. Cook and freeze some meals. Ideally ay before cleaner is due

[Purplecircle]

My sister is an organised parent of 3. She re packs bags for activities once the stuff is dry. Eg swimming costumes/swimming towel go in each child's swimming bag, ditto taekwon do and dance class. She makes the kids keep toys in their bedrooms as much as poss and they take things back upstairs at bedtime.
She puts washer and dishwasher on at bedtime without fail, and empties dw and hangs washing out/on airer while kids eat brekkie
Her system works 90% of the time! usually fails when DH is left in charge!

[atticusclaw]

DH and I have just discussed and concluded that we can't do it unless we sell the children.

I can't see us ever getting on top of things. Everyone else's life seems so organised. We will never be organised. There are not enough hours in the day to deal with work stuff and home stuff.

[Decanter]

Yes I agree with overmydeadbody. Never ever stop doing things. I literally do not sit down apart from mealtimes when I'm at home. I'm constantly decluttering, sorting laundry, wiping down, putting away. Constantly. I'd say that the single most effective use of my time is decluttering, as when you have less, it takes less time to tidy and is easier to give things a quick wipe over. Declutter everything from toiletries to clothes to plates and glasses, toys, pens etc. Start small and be prepared for it to take a good few months but it will start coming together. Good luck!

[atticusclaw]

We definitely have too much "stuff". I could start with the playroom. The DCs are 7 and 9 and really don't need the toddler toys that are filling up the cupboards.

DH thinks we need more cleaner time. We have a cleaner twice a week for 2 hours each time but the house is large. Maybe its not enough.

[MelanieCheeks]

Keep a big desk diary on the kitchen table. Write in it everything that needs to be planned for- money for school, etc. you could try recording what you spend each day in it too.

[atticusclaw]

paper diary might help.

Is there a solution to paperwork? Its everywhere (not helped by the fact that I work from home)

[blueshoes]

I was thinking that your dcs might still be very small but at 9 and 7 they are the same age as mine.

It sounds like you need to start with a massive declutter. You should not have their toddler toys with you. What about their clothes and shoes? Do you regularly sort out the ones that are outgrown and need to be thrown away?

[RoganJosh]

Is you cleaner actually spending that time cleaning? Or is she having to tidy/move stuff.

Four hours a week is a lot of cleaning so I'm wondering if you need a big declutter and to look at your storage.

We make sure we tidy downstairs quickly once the children are in bed every night which helps our sanity a lot.

[RoganJosh]

Or are your expectations too high? How much time a day or week are you spending on not finding things? A minute in the morning each day (which I'd consider normal, the odd shoe or school book), or is it more?

When it comes to forgetting things, I have started a detailed calendar with everything written on, inc what's for dinner. Once a week I make H sit down with me and I talk through the coming week. Just talking it through reminds me of things and throws up places I've booked too much.

[sharond101]

Lists for everything. Do a job as you see it as needing done then it doesn't seem such a big task. Tidy immediately after use, then not alot to do at the end of the day. Keep your receipts and write down a log of everything you spend and what on for a month and you will soon realise the frequency of your spending and where it was unnecessary. I did this for January and February an only then realised I was visiting a supermarket almost everyday and since stopping that habit have reduced our bills. Plan for as much as possible the night before. Lunches packed, breakfast prepared, table set, clothes out etc

[HermioneWeasley]

If your house is large do you have a room which is a study? If not, coukd you carve out space for office stuff - desk, filing cabinets etc. that would mean all the paperwork is at least contained.

[EATmum]

I try to be organised but fail most of the time. Things that help are meal planning, having a fabulous cleaner and shouting at the kids until they do their part.
But the thing I'm most excited about is that DH and I are taking a week off together in July and de-cluttering the house! I strongly suspect that less stuff = less fuss. I'll keep you posted ...

[atticusclaw]

I do hate wasting stuff and so I keep things on the basis that I'll give it to family/friends. So for example kids clothes, I have loads the boys have outgrown on the basis that I'll give them to DSIL but I very rarely get around to it. Similarly kids shoes and toys, it seems a waste to throw them all away when someone could use them. I guess I need to bag it all up and take it to the charity shop.

I work in the dining room because its warm and the wifi signal is better than anywhere else. That doesn't help the state of the house. I have an office but its in a separate building and its cold.

4 hours cleaning does seem like a lot but the house is big 400 square metres. I think we probably need more. Plus the cleaner does spend half of her time on her phone.

[RoganJosh]

That is big, 4300ft by my quick google.

I guess it comes down to whether you think cleaning is the problem or whether it's more of a clutter and organisation issue. What could the cleaner do in more time than she is?

[RoganJosh]

Giving stuff to charity is a very worthwhile excercise as you're donating to charity (even though the person buying may be a well enough off middle class bargain hunter).

Could you try 'a bag a day for 30 days?' It's a vague 'thing' if you google.