Cluttered house… losing my mind

[saffronsunshine]

So I have a 3 year old and an 8 month old. We live in a small house. There is stuff everywhere, all the time. We end up shuffling sideways to get past things or into another room. There is always something to move to get to what we need. How do I make this better? The baby almost pulled the toy kitchen over on himself this morning and it has pushed me over the edge. Advice please!!!

Bless you. It's hard for people to start to declutter without kids! Grab a bin bag, carry it with you as you're chasing your kids and pick up any rubbish and stuff that is broken. From there go through yours and the kids clothes same thing- anything that doesn't fit or is broken out in the bag. Once you've done that you will probably have the bug. If not watch the minimalism documentary on Netflix that's what kicked it off for our family

Focus on one room at a time. Find a place for everything or remove it from the room. Make a pile outside of things to take to the tip and have a box of things to donate. And a pile for sell if you have the time for that. It'll take time but it'll work if you stick to it. Do it now so everything has a place before Christmas

Do you have anyone who would take the kids out for the day? (Difficult if still BFing, but even just a few hours). Then you (and any other adults in the house) just blast tidy. Get rid of any outgrown/broken stuff.

Can the toy kitchen be secured to a wall?

What exactly is it that you are trying to get passed in the hallway?

One step at a time.
Take an area in a room and think very critically whether you still need every item. If not get rid.
Make sure you are using every scrap of storage effectively.
Can you swap out any furniture for something that stores more stuff? Ie, change plain coffee table to one with drawers.

Don't try to do this all at once. Take it slowly so it doesn't become overwhelming but set yourself a target - 10 mins a day or whatever is realistic.

I am in the same situation and fine this is the only way I can do it.

Box up what you don’t use on a daily basis. Sort clothes and pack away into winter summer etc. Can you make use of an attic for out of the way storage? As said keep a bag hanging up to put in charity donations. High up shelves on the wall to keep things away from kids. With kids the clutter only gets worse so start at it now. Facebook good for selling on toys, kids clothes, anything you don’t need or use anymore and people collect so easy!