Has anyone ever actually transformed from lazy slattern with serious clutter problems to uncluttered, lovely house type person.

[thatlldopigthatlldo]

I'm so in the zone now. Am working through a list of areas that need sorting and i'm about half was through.

But will i manage to keep the house that way?

Inspiration please.

[ClareMarriott]

Remember to reuse, as most homes already contain all the products needed to make up a good organizing system so you don't end up with more " stuff " so reuse any baskets or boxes or folders. Next, reduce so think about how you shop as you are bringing stuff ( and its packaging ) into the house. Look at what you already have and see whether you can use what you've got. And then recycle . Good luck Clare

[thatlldopigthatlldo]

i know what you mean. i'm wrestling with myself about buying a storage unit for the kids art and crafts stuff. if i can avoid bringing more stuff into the house i will.

i wish i'd been keeping count of the number of bags of crap that have left this house in the past 2 weeks. i reckon about 20-25 bin bags of junk so far.
and i'm only about half way through.

[PoshPenny]

Well I think we would now pass for "normal" in some rooms at any rate. The kids bedrooms though are another story...

[sparkle12mar08]

I've managed it three times now...

Lasts for about four months each time and then the little things start to slip and before you know if you're back to the same old position of fire fighting all the time but never actually getting anywhere. It's very, very hard to change your fundamental nature, and harder still to do it whilst you've got kids in the house making the normal mess that kids do. I hope it works better for you!

[WillSingForCake]

Me! I used to be very disorganised & lived in mess and clutter. Once DD was born I decided I didn't want to bring her up in chaos so changed my ways. Didn't happen overnight - I gradually implemented new ways of doing things, and got really strict with myself with tidying, cleaning etc. It has made my life so much easier & I'm a lot happier too, I used to get so stressed and upset because I could never find anything.

[thatlldopigthatlldo]

i've been reading a book called 'clutter busting' which explores the psychology behind all the crap I have.
it's really helped me to see the actually value of all the things and why until now I've had a need to have it all around.

yesterday i let go of some things that I thought were important.
one was a little wedgewood pot taken from my gran's house when she died and given to me by my dad. i realised that every time i looked at it i was reminded that she didn't love us, couldn't care less infact, and that she was nasty manipulative alcoholic. Why on earth i felt the need to have it as a memento to remember my gran by I don't know. it's now gone!

the other significant thing was my old 'blankie' from when i was a kid. i enthusiastically showed it to my DS who loves all things cuddly and he flinched at the horribleness of this raggedy old bit of cloth with holes in it. he looked 'disgusted'. suddenly i saw the object for what it was. just an old cloth, that once gave me comfort but had served it's purpose and was now pointless. it's gone too.

i know these are small things, but if these can go, then so can the 10 tonnes of pure crap with no signicance.

[ParsleyTheLioness]

Me too! I am a lot better than I used to be. I did buy a dedicated storage unit for the craft stuff, which keeps it better organised.

[mawbroon]

I used to have terrible clutter everywhere but have managed to turn things around.

That old saying about "a place for everything and everything in it's place" is SO TRUE!!

[MrsMiniversCharlady]

Yes, my house was a pit until about three years' ago. In fairness there were too many people in too small a house, but that wasn't the whole story - I was also just a bit lazy about tidying up.

When we extended the house we spent a huge amount of money and I just realised that it was stupid spending so much if I carried on living in a pig sty We redecorated the whole house and as each room was beautified I resolved to keep it looking that way. It's not always pristine (there are 6 of us, and both adults work full time!) but it's 100 times better than it was before and I never panic when people 'drop in' any more.

[Rhubarbgarden]

I used to live like a pig, till I briefly shared a flat with a friend who was immaculate in her living habits. I remember marvelling at how when she sat down to eat her dinner, she had already washed up most of the cooking preparation stuff. Meanwhile I'd be eating a pot noodle because I couldn't be arsed to wash up my plates from breakfast. Partly I was shamed into following her example, and partly I wanted to. I learnt to tidy as I went along, never moving from one room to another without quickly checking if there was something that could be taken with me, and never starting a new activity until I'd cleared up after the last. I do it without a moment's thought now. It's just getting into the habit. And once you've lived tidily for a while, you won't want to go back to scruffy ways because the sight of a discarded coffee cup becomes an irritant and has to be dealt with immediately. I'm practically OCD now, but if you'd seen me in my younger days you'd never have believed it!

[IAmSheWhoMustBeObeyed]

Marking place hoping for inspiration.

[mawbroon]

I recently put out 7 big bags of kids toys to the charity shop, leaving hardly any toys. And you know what?

They don't even miss them!

They are much happier and play far better with fewer toys to choose from. And tidying them up is a much smaller job

[ParsleyTheLioness]

pinot if you don't want to get rid of the toys, can you put them somewhere and 'rotate' them. Eg half of them in the attic at any one time, or whatever combination...

[ParsleyTheLioness]

It is interesting why we hang onto crap thatlldo which was the book btw?

[thatlldopigthatlldo]

clutter busting. letting go of what's holding you back.

on the slushy side of self help, but very motivating. it's working for me.

[ParsleyTheLioness]

Thanks That have added it to Wishlist, only to find that teenage dd has got 19 things on there already...

[Iheartpasties]

Oh I love threads like these. I have followed along with a couple and they have helped me so much. For me it has been slow slow slow, but steady! When I tackle something I am thinking about how I want the finsihed 'product' to look like and aim to get it looking like that and then I figure out a 'system' so that both me and dh agree on how to maintain that area. I hope that makes sense!!

I only have a small flat and we do not have much furniture at all, so i have been slowly slowly gathering storage bits and pieces, lots cheap and second hand. But it has meant that every cupboard and wardrobe (except one!) is all organised and lovely now when you look inside. Everything is in a box or basket and is easy to find and look at.

I will soon have my second child and I am hoping we can stay on top of things most of the time, so much better than 'swimming' through clutter and rubbish and mess all the time, which is very draining!!

Good luck to you, i have been feeling very good about my progress so far, even though it has been slow. I prefer it how it is now, so i hope you feel the same and then hopefully it will feel natural to keep on top of things.

[TheArmadillo]

I did - its not perfect but now if people pop round unexpectedly or even expectedly its always in a good enough state or nothing that a 5 minute tidy won't cure.

However I had to resort to moving house (twice), cutting off my family (obviously there was many reasons for this but they did like filling my house with crap) and getting help for my mental health problems (had to have a breakdown for this to happen).

Someone once said, if your home doesn't truly feel like yours then you will never be able to keep it tidy. I found that to be true for me. My family constantly invading my space and thinking that they had the right to organise it, decide on decoration, decide on what stuff to fill it with never made it feel like my home.

The most important thing I find now is keeping on top of the amount of stuff you have - I clear out at least one room (usually kids stuff) every couple of months. Once my storage is full I start getting rid of stuff. This gets easier the more times you do it. The less stuff you have also the easier it is to find what you need and to clean and tidy around it.

I also have a permanent 'stuff for charity shop' space where as soon as I realise something is no longer of use, it goes in there and once the space is full it goes to the charity shop.

[Paintyourbox]

Ooh marking place!

We have been de-cluttering for some time now, it started when I was pg and the nesting instinct kicked in!

At that awkward stage where it looks worse than when we started- we are moving a lot of things around and doing giant laundry piles for the charity shop and eBay. It has even influenced DP (a dedicated hoarder) as its liberating not having every inch of the house covered in "stuff"

[amillionyears]

I am getting there. Nearly finished.
Kids are here from time to time but not permanently,so thought it was a good time to really tackle it all. Cant say I was lazy or had a serious clutter issue, but the time is right to do it now. Refuse to go back,but things are easier now there are not several people coming behind you undoing things.
House is always ok now,rather than needing a tidy up in a hurry.

[IAmSheWhoMustBeObeyed]

Have managed to put up some pictures that have been lying on the floor for 5 months.
Am going to go through toys with DCs today.

[Inneedofbrandy]

I was a pig to until a couple of years ago. A couple of years ago my mum and stepdad helped me gut my flat, throw out loads ( even books sob ) and redecorate every room. Basically my stepdad did trips to the tip everyday at least once for 2 weeks. [hblush] I didn't bother to eBay or give it to charity as I knew I couldn't part with it unless I did it quickly ( like ripping a plaster off).

Now it has it's days ( think school holidays) but its never a shit tip again. I force myself no matter how tired or I'll I feel to at least wash the dishes and sweep the floors. The dc have to tidy up their toys every night to.

I once read on one of these threads that it's being organised to be able to be lazy and that's so true! Now I have more time to sit around and read books/MN because my flat is tidy and clean.

Wine helps a lot some evenings with you tube having my own mini rave! Also only one day a week where I properly clean and tidy, so every Monday I take out all rubbish, wipe down cupboards, polish, mirrors, mop ect and changing round your room furniture makes it feel nice and makes you want to keep it nice.

[fuzzpig]

Don't know if I'll ever get there! I am a hoarder and buy too much, our house is a tip and I feel so guilty.

However I think I have changed my mindset recently - I have just basically thought "fuck it" and am able to get rid of more stuff, and not buy as much either. However I now have a chronic illness (I think in a way that has helped me change my mindset as I'm realising how difficult the clutter is making my life) and it is very hard to physically act on my new enthusiasm. It's very frustrating!