I’m super organised and my house is always tidy.AMA

[Kitchenbattle]

Off the back of another thread I realised am ridiculously organised and my house is always tidy, always ready for visitors etc didn’t realise how tidy I was until I started commenting on and reading the other thread. So just a fun, or nosy AMA.
maybe there’s nothing to ask 🤣 thought it might be interesting though…

OP, I am fascinated by this thread! I could never live the way you do and am not even sure I would want to, but I do admire you (not least for the restrained way you have responded to people who just want to be unpleasant and criticise you).

I suppose it’s just who I am, it’s just my way of being. I’m not actually “trying” and thinking about it constantly, it’s just how i naturally work. BUT I can acknowledge that it’s not how everyone works and I know it can be hard for some. I suppose I just wanted to share a little insight someone else on here might pick one thing to implement or try and that might make their life a little easier in some ways. Every little helps I suppose. ☺️

The photos of your house remind me exactly of a family I know. Parents working from home with a child 10 and one 13 and a dog. The house is microscopically clean and ruthlessly organised. I know the dusting is done EVERY MORNING and a deep clean every couple of weeks. No outdoor footwear in house. Like you, very little in the way of clutter and ornaments.

The children are very sporty and active and have tons of stuff but most of stored (very efficiently) in the garage. Thinking about it, when they were house hunting the adjoined garage with a connecting door to kitchen was a non-negotiable. I can see why as it is used to syphon off everything that would otherwise make living in the house with any ease and maintaining their high standard almost impossible.

The key thing that stands out from both of you is the deliberation and amount thought behind it all. It does not happen naturally.

Outside storage, like a garage or shed can often be essential. All our activity things, like skis snowboard etc is stored above the garage so it is easily organised. We also have a pulley system in the roof in the garage that enables us to easily put the roofbox on the car and then can be loaded with whatever is needed for that weekend. And when we return home we can easily clean and store the gear. It never touches the house as all the work is done in the garage.

Absolutely! Pulley system sounds great.

At the risk of this turning into another laundry thread I feel obliged to comment that I am still astounded by how much laundry some people do! You can choose to do less, and iron less, and prioritise what you would like to have more time for instead. We were a family of four without a tumble dryer and I never did more than 3 loads a week, usually 2, except when doing cloth nappies which made a couple of extra each week.
Cleaning and tidying as you go is the way for me, I am naturally untidy but have trained myself to be much better. Teens/20s DC are still a work in progress, partly as I was less tidy and less fussy when they were younger, (single parent working full-time or nearly) so I didn't train them very well! DS still lives at home and leaves stuff everywhere but is gradually improving. His room is usually a tip and I don't insist on him cleaning it, but he does blitz every 2 or 3 months.
Now retired I have decluttered a lot, and tidy as I go a lot more too, leaving me heaps of time to do things I need to do and want to do.

I tried to go back and find the PP who asked about toiletries and storage in the bathrooms and I forgot to say. Sometimes it’s nice to use prettier containers for toiletries. So for my bath and my bubble bath, I use these containers. I can’t remember where I got the big jar, but the other two bottles are from IKEA. It just makes everything more easy on the eye. And can’t be done cheap enough.

OP wasn't rude. She's getting quite a hard time for being organised.

And for not doing an excessive amount of washing every week.

I have very much trained my kids to re-wear outfits. They’d happily wear a new pair of joggers and T-shirt and hoodie every day. During term time they’ll come home and change into house clothes (jogger and T-shirt or in winter if not going out they have massive onesies in a variety of styles), these then are reworn for most of the week. They’ll only wear them for 3-4 hours maximum, sometimes only 2 hours due to sports or other uniformed activities.

I also get a minimum of two days out of my outfits, I’m largely housebound so no one sees me. Trousers I might do three days, I rarely wear jeans but they get 8-10 wears before washing. They just get put away unless I drop something on them.

Shall I horrify you by how many days I wear a bra for?! 😆😆😆

Nice! I love decanting things too.

Love a winter onesie- my daughter has a fine collection of these.

My nemesis is Coats. We all seem to own lots of coats and jackets, and no where to put them.

Any tips please?

Coats aside from the one being worn live in wardrobes. Currently worn jacket (rain jacket, denim jacket) are hung inside our under stairs cupboard. Winter coats are all upstairs in wardrobes. At some point they’ll get switched over. If I want my rain coat or denim jacket I’ll wear it and then put away again.

I store a lot of them in my wardrobe. I always have a coat in my car too (and it stays there) we are getting a unit built under the stairs soon to store them in too. But again…declutter, have one coat per function
so
1 raincoat
1 black coat (dressy one for funeral’s etc)
1 super warm coat
1 long dressy coat
1 trench coat
and so on…if you can have multi functional coats then even better!

I know 🙄

Its ridiculous

The problem with washing is that everyone's needs are different.

When I had 2 small, hyperactive boys their clothes weren't washed because they were smelly but because they had food and/or mud on them. But it wasn't a hassle cos their clothes were small.

Now they are bigger their clothes take up more space in the machine and need washing cos they smell (they are still very active and sporty).

We've just spent 3 years living in the Caribbean. At certain times of the year we were dripping with sweat when not even moving. No clothes could be worn more than once. Sheets and even mattress protectors needed washing at least once a week.

DH gets particularly hot and sweaty at night. Even in the winter his pillow case needs washing twice a week. His sports clothes stink. But strangely his other clothes can be worn more than once.

Precisely, I did more washing when mine were 4-8 because of food spills, paint etc. but now that that aspect is (mostly) gone I mainly wash when things smell etc, I wash dds sports stuff every week because they stink after training and matches and even if they don’t stink I know she has been sweating.

And as for fresh pjs….
I just couldn’t justify that unless I was really really sick or having night sweats every night.

and also, who has that many pyjamas? They must be a pain to store above all the other things painful about that situation. I literally have four pairs of pyjamas, and one of them is a long sleeved pair with pants. Most of the year I wear T-shirt and shorts.

Still completely rude and unacceptable. My comment still stands.

You're entitled to your opinion. 👍

I think you’ve hit the key to your success

My husband isn’t and has a lot of “stuff”. After 37 years of marriage I’ve had to let go of trying to change him and to lower my standards. He’s not as bad as he was but having a tidy and organised partner is the key to your success

5ft 2- 5ft 3 and I weigh 9 and half stone so that gives me a BMI of 23ish…I’m 40 and I’ve had two dc…not that it actually matters. @MissScarletInTheBallroom

No…I’m the key to my own success…🙌🙌

I was talking about the poster I was replying directly to (who mentioned her height, weight and size).

@MissScarletInTheBallroom

nope, deffo size 10 on bottom half. Top half I could may be get away with a size 8 but I have big boobs so most of the time. Maybe it’s just the way I like to wear my clothes? Not skin tight.