Can't stand seeing clutter . Is anyone like this?

[Lichensclerosus]

I hate seeing clutter on the sides. Whether its the front room kitchen or bedrooms im very much things should be hidden away .
This sounds horrible i know but Im really struggling with seeing my childrens toys ,pictures, lego, pens all sorts of stuff on their sides of their bedroom my eldest has just got a desk for her room the stuff that she wants to keep on top of it it is really bugging me.
I shouldn't feel like this as its there rooms. They keep there rooms tidy but its the stuff that bugs me help how do I deal with this

My son is the same. I've had to really "let go" and lower my standards somewhat.

I hate clutter also. Still have pictures and plants.
Its from growing up in horder like mess at parents

So far it’s fairly controlled with toddler. All his toys have a home that’s hidden in cupboards or baskets with lid when he goes to bed. I don’t mind toys out when he’s awake and playing, I just couldn’t relax with mess everywhere in the evening or as soon as I wake.

I bought him a little desk recently for craft. Has build in large drawer so all paper bits and crap can be swooped inside clean. Then a tidy pen thing for pencils, rubbers etc all semi organised.

We generally are minimalist now though, so don’t have too much of anything.

We're aiming for minimalist. We have family photos and beautiful original paintings on the walls. But we don't have pens and papers lying all over the place.

We have a chest of drawers and a wardrobe. But they're not crammed full/overflowing onto the floor and chairs.

Our home is very personal, and comfortable and not at all like a hotel. But is tidy with clear surfaces and drawers and cupboards which are not filled to maximum capacity. The only exception is my 8 year old's room. He is good at decluttering but he loves a lot of things and likes to be able to see them.

Yup! Annoyingly, no matter how many times I declutter the house, it never feels any tidier! 😭😭

I hate clutter too but shut the door to the mess of their bedroom. If I find their mess anywhere else I put it in their bedroom.

I have always liked a mess free house. When I was growing up I shared a bedroom with my messy sister. She took after my mum who wallowed in clutter, and I took after my neat and tidy dad.

I resolved the mess problem by getting a big cardboard box and putting my sister's clutter in it so that our bedroom always looked reasonably tidy.

I honestly don't find it difficult to keep my house tidy. It isn't clinically tidy, just tidy in a way that I would never feel embarrassed if we had an unexpected visitor.

I am the same but you do have to grit your teeth and let go when it's other people's space. Your children deserve to do what they want with their rooms as long as they look after their belongings and don't trash the place.

When I was little I was very precious about all my little trinkets and treasures and took great care lining them up to display them. If anyone had made me tidy up and hide them away I'd have been heartbroken.

Yes, I leave DD's bedroom alone when she comes to visit, but I "muck it out" when she goes

Does anyone think when they are visiting anyone how they would tidy their house?

Yes me!! I have a 1 and 4 year old so have had to really work at this…it makes me on edge and uncomfortable to see a messy room. I’ve had to work hard at being comfortable with clutter in the lounge and kitchen in kids holidays but at soon as they are in bed I tidy everything back to its place to within an inch of its life 😂. Sounds awful but even Christmas presents (which is a terrible time of year for clutter) get chosen while I’m thinking ‘where can I store this’. My 4 year olds room has a tendency to look like a bomb site within 5 mins of her being in it, I try and leave it in the hols but I WFH so as soon as she’s at school I’m in there tidying on my lunch break! I find massive toy boxes and under bed storage is good so out of sight out of mind. Just got back from in laws their house is sooo cluttered it makes me cringe 🙄😂🙈. I wish I was more comfortable with mess, I don’t know where it comes from but equally don’t understand people who are comfortable to live in clutter

Mum? Is that you?

Absolutely yes. I have a clear out regularly to slim down the crap! I'm a teacher and I have been known to tidy up the staff room because people just leave things lying around 😂. I've been round to friends houses before where there's just stuff everywhere, every shelf and surface is full. I get the urge to throw some of it away!

Yes yes yes!! Can't stand it. I have to force myself to enjoy all the Christmas decorations we have up... (they're very pretty but a bit cluttery) and then bask in the emptiness on Jan 5th 😀

I deliberately arranged the playroom furniture to minimise the clutter that can be seen in there when you’re standing in the adjoining room. And I encourage the dc to keep their bedroom doors closed during the day.

I hate clutter. It is worse than actual dirt.

How do you clean then ?
I also provided storage, draws and wardrobe for kids / teens.
Took 2 mins to pop the odd toy or clothing away each evening.
Just self respect , even for teens.
My ds would have a friend round as a teen. They would Take over the living room and every inch of the floor would be covered. But when they left - you could not tell anyone had been there.
Miss those times.

When the DCs were small and there was stuff everywhere when they went to bed, DH would happily clear a space on the sofa and put his feet up. How he could chill like that in chaos I’ve no idea. It just didn’t bother him.

Kids come with clutter, who knew?

@BigSandyBalls2015 haha my DH does this, he was about to sit down and eat our dinner in front of the telly and there were toys out, I have no idea how on earth he can do that? 😂😂

You are my soulmate.

I do try not to meddle too much with my DC's rooms and possessions, but sometimes I do feel quite overwhelmed by all their stuff, especially at this time of the year when nearly everywhere feels so cluttered. I love the bareness of January if I'm honest!

Please try not to impose your impossible standards on the people who live with you. If you really cannot stand reasonable "clutter" (I'm not talking about hoarding here) then you should live on your own. Why should your preferences trump everyone elses?

Yes and the more stressed I am the worse it is, our house has virtually no clutter, I think visitors must think we are weird

But that goes both ways! Your impossible standards are others norms and vice versa.

@LindorDoubleChoc i don’t impose my standards on my young children, at meal times and while playing they can make as much mess as they want (which is hard for me to watch!) but everything in the house has to have a place and I tidy up when they go to bed. It works both ways as well - lots of children grow up in very messy, cluttered dirty houses and there is a study somewhere that it’s bad for their mental health…pretty sure my hatred of clutter might be a reaction to growing up in my parents cluttered house - my mum had some mental health issues so often housework was just left and I was a bit embarrassed to bring friends round. 🤷‍♀️

Just chill a bit. Our neighbour has a young child and their house has not one speck of clutter or personality or life that a child exists there. It's pretty sad from my point of view.

No. Having an entirely empty immaculate home and having a home hoarded with trash are two opposite extremes. No one with normal standards should be forced to comply with what one extreme person wishes. It's about compromise when you live with others, even if they are your children.