Messy house. If you've overcome yours..

[Nefbachmorf]

and have kept it clean and relatively tidy for longer than two months, please come and talk to me. Tell me how you did it.

Tried Flylady years ago, didn't work for me.
Have dabbled with TOMM and would consider giving it another try.

Im just going round in circles not knowing what to do first or how to establish good habits. (I do find being tidy and getting organised a big challenge).

After letting the house get into quite a state because of my mental health, my family came over once I was discharged from the hospital and over the weekend, we cleared so much clutter it was unreal! We completely went through everything, organised all the cupboards, got rid of a LOT of rubbish, and since then, its been much easier to manage and ive kept it going pretty good for the last couple of months.

I've never had a messy house even with children, I don't leave it all to build up, I do a bit after work everyday be it putting things away, paperwork, ironing whatever.
There should be a place for everything and anything you don't use should be chucked out.

I married someone who is neater than me :o

I realise that's a bit drastic!

Did have some success with Marie Kondo method. However, I never managed to finish it. Keep meaning to give it another go. I do think this method would work because it's very helpful the way it's set up.

You need to declutter. I mean seriously declutter. Then make sure everything has a place to go. If there is no place for it to go you need to rethink what you need.

^this

One room at a time. Be absolutely ruthless. You don't need 2 of anything, toys that aren't played with/missing pieces/take up too much room need to go. Clothes you haven't worn for a year, same with shoes, kitchen stuff, towels, bedding, everything. If you have anything like cd's or DVD's you don't really need them nowadays.

Once everything has a place it's so much easier to tidy and keep it clean. But I still have to declutter monthly as I can't keep on top of the stuff the kids bring in

I'm about halfway around the kitchen now & the space in the cupboards is great.

Only slight disappointment is that with the cupboard doors shut, it looks no different

Mine is mega untidy. The depressing thing about having a clear out is knowing it's going to look worse, a lot worse, before it gets better. I bought the Kondo book and lost it in a pile of stuff for a couple of months, that's how bad it is!

DH is a boarder line hoarder, DD1 has proper trouble with organisation (one of them is diagnosed, the other doesn't think there's a problem). And I have an issue with motivation!

What helps, like someone else, is knowing someone is going to pop around. Covid has stopped that.

But at the moment we're packing to move, so right in the thick of the chaos!

I got rid of a huge skip full of stuff I got rid of tons to charity shops i rehomed loads via freegle I STILL have a house full im so upset with myself that despite all my hard work it looks no better mybd8dter came over and asked when are we finishing the decorating? I said last Christmas obviously 🙄

"My sister"

MJMG2015 he's just a messy year who has been told many times it just falls on deaf ears . He has about a million books and cds and so takes up spaces with bookshelves and CD towers etc so every room looks cluttered I could cope with one or two but he has four!! Anyway the worst part is piled up clothes that never get put away we have too many!! And things shoved into cupboards I just really need to De clutter the audio book idea is one I might give a go!!

*messy twat that should say. Auto correct fail!!

My friend shared this video with me recently, and then I bought the book and it's totally changed my attitude to attacking clutter/tidying the house. It sounds so stupidly simple, but the idea of tidying without making a bigger mess in the process had never occurred to me.

I do a little bit of something - even a tiny bit is better than nothing - whenever I have a few minutes and I'm seeing massive differences to the feel of the whole house. My DH is changing too, and we're working on the kids

@zatarontoast

I find watching cleaning videos on YouTube to be very motivational. I can't believe I'm writing that

I love putting on a video where someone is tidying and talking about it (no music)... it makes me feel a part of something and not just stuck at home... (a bit like posting on an online forum, I suppose)

• everything in the house has to have a place (tidy and easy to place and take out). If there’s too much to go in the cupboard, it will never be tidy.

*i have a 'home' for everything and am trying to teach the dcs to put things back in the right place (it’s as easy to put it in the right place as it is in the wrong place...)

*ive done Kondo, now looking at Swedish Death cleaning [schock] it gets easier each time.

I’ve cracked the tidying... it’s the cleaning I can’t stand (the drudgery of wiping surfaces again...)

I used to be really messy years ago, but my house got broken into and I was so ashamed when the police came round to do finger prints (yes it was that long ago)😊 that it was instant shock and I tidied up and have stayed relatively tidy ever since!

We have a small house, so we have a place for everything and everything in its place. I do a load of washing every day, get it dried and put away the same day. Tuesday's is bedding, Wednesday's is towels, everything else gets done on the other days. That way it never gets overwhelming. I regularly tidy out clothes and anything that has not been worn for 18 months is taken out of the house.

When my son was small his toys were put away at the end of every day. Since he was about 4 he has always put his own clothes away. Now he's older he keeps his own room tidy, I poke my head in once a month to make sure he it's keeping it tidy.

Dishwasher emptied & Washing up is done everyday and the tops wiped round and everything put away, bins emptied on an evening. 10 minutes tops.

I always straighten cushions in the living room, tidy any throws and put any pots in the dishwasher, before we go to bed. It takes all o f 2 minutes and feels much better coming downstairs to a tidy room.

The loo and sink are cleaned everyday. Beds are made everyday.

I follow TOMM and our house is so much better for it, can't recommend it highly enough.

This only works because we are mainly clutter free and I really think that is key. I would strongly suggest the TOMM bootcamp if you are living in a cluttered home and be aware that you cannot do it all in one go. It has taken you months to get cluttered, don't be disheartened if it takes you months to get uncluttered. Making good habits is the way forward, why drop clothes on the floor when you can drop them in the laundry basket. Why leave a cup out when you can wash and put it away. Lots of little things make a difference, but it takes time.

I feel it’s a sign that I’ve found this thread as today I decided I’m ready to change the way I’ve been living. The pain of having too much clutter is now worse than the pain of decluttering.

I have ADHD and have had a period of bad mental & physical health. I’ve become a hoarse and am overwhelmed. But I think my mental perspective has shifted enough to try. Before seeing this I was watching The Home Edit on Netflix.

Some great advice here. I particularly like the advice to allow a week per room for decluttering. I definitely need that for my bedroom.

You need to organise, OP. Totally declutter and find a place for everything. Once this is achieved, keeping a place tidy is a doddle.

I was a hoarder. It was so bad at one point people had to intervene and sort it out. It only really changed when I learned to love my home and make it a space that was good for me mentally.

My house is not immaculate by any means, there are cobwebs and splashmarks on the skirting boards for example but it is clutter-free and clean at all times.

One basic rule I live by is to never leave a room empty-handed. If there are cups on the coffee table, move them to the kitchen next time you're on your way to the loo - you don't need to wash them up right away but at least they will be in the right place. When you've been to the loo, empty the wastepaper bin on your way out and so on and so forth.

If you need to declutter before you get to that stage, don't beat yourself up about making sure everything has a good home - if you don't want it, bin it. Leaving bags of stuff in cupboards destined for the charity shop or ebay just prolongs the process and lets everything build up more. You can focus on your eco-friendly conscience one you're back on your feet.

I have a timetable of household tasks on the kitchen notice board with different rooms for different days, carefully worked out around my other commitments to make it manageable and I check it every morning before I get started. Some things are daily like hoovering downstairs (dog). Everything has its own home and each room has a basket so I can temporarily put clutter in at the end of the day, ready to rehome the items on that room's 'day'. I've got a wicker hamper in the spare room where I put items for the charity shop and make sure that is filled as soon as something is suitable for it, eg outgrown clothes, used books and kitchen items that I don't use. Every morning all post and paperwork gets opened and either dealt with or put in my in-tray on my office desk. But if I don't stick to this routine things start getting messy!

A few years ago I married a very tidy and organised man who showed me that the 'place for everything and everything in its place' method really works. I am a convert.

The kids left home and took (most of) their clutter with them.

Oh and I've moved house several times in the last ten years and am ruthless about chucking stuff out.

@SmartPinkShoes That video is brilliant!

My house is tidy except for the man cabinet in the utility room. I’ve tried organising my DHs tools and DIY supplies but then he complains he can’t find anything. So now it’s just chaos. At least I have it contained to the utility room though.

I’ve got into a good routine now, the robo vacuum is a game changer as when the floors are clean we’re much more motivated to keep up to the rest.

The house did turn into a shit heap after DDs accident years ago though. We eventually realised we were never going to get stuck in for hours and sort stuff out, so we settled for small amounts each day. I ironed five items a day, while DH emptied and refilled the dishwasher. We both then took five items from the junk mountain, and either binned, listed for selling, put in the charity bin bag or found a permanent home for. Once the junk mountain was done, we started on one cupboard or drawer per day. It took a long tine. I won’t lie. Probably a couple of months, but we got there.

I’m messy by nature but it’s not good for mine or my dcs wellbeing so I try to stay on top of it.
Chores are so boring so I always put something on to watch or listen too. Sometimes it’s music, sometimes it’s an audiobook.
Look on YouTube for some good radio drama and audiobooks. I recently did loads of cleaning and decluttering while listening to Rosemary’s Baby, The Haunting of Hill House and The Magic Cottage (I’ve got a halloween vibe going on)
I also watch Buffy on my tablet while decluttering and cleaning the bathroom. It’s an easy thing to watch as it doesn’t need full concentration.

I’ve also made it a habit to make sure the kitchen is cleaned after every meal and the living room and hallway are tidied and cleaned every evening. The kids and dh help with this.
This means that I’m not playing catch up from the previous day and things are so much more manageable.
The thought of chores is always worse then just getting in with it.

I know we’ll be spending more time at home this winter and it’s much nicer to be able to relax and spend time in a fairly clean and tidy home.

I got a cleaner. She doesn't actually tidy up, but the knowledge that's she's coming every week and that she can't clean if it isn't tidy has forced me to change my slovenly ways.
Initially I'd do a mad tidy the morning she was due, but slowly I've adapted to just keeping the place tidy most of the time instead.

In addition to what everyone else has said, there’s a fb group called something like ‘organising for clutterbugs’ which was brilliant - basically working on the premise that different storage works for different people. That really helped me.

[quote SmartPinkShoes]My friend shared this video with me recently, and then I bought the book and it's totally changed my attitude to attacking clutter/tidying the house. It sounds so stupidly simple, but the idea of tidying without making a bigger mess in the process had never occurred to me.

I do a little bit of something - even a tiny bit is better than nothing - whenever I have a few minutes and I'm seeing massive differences to the feel of the whole house. My DH is changing too, and we're working on the kids

[/quote] Helpful video, thank you. Decluttering the bathroom at weekend. 😬