The final bit to make a house look nice

[Thefinalbit]

House is okay. Wet Swiffer or Hoover every few days so the floors are clean. Wipe bathroom sink daily. Most stuff has a place. Hope you get the picture, it is not a terrible mess and we are not overly neat. We do have DC and pets.

But it feels difficult to keep on top of. Why is there always laundry waiting to go away, stuff on at least one of the tables. How do you keep on top of that final 10/20 per cent so the house is ready for a friend to come in without a frantic tidy round before?!?

My plan is to uplevel my decluttering.

@coodawoodashooda that is probably the only way forward. Wondering whether I am brave enough to walk around with a bag and bin every piece of clutter that does not have an immediate use or sentimental value.

Get rid of the kids was my first thought.

The best thing is to get friends who don’t mind a bit of clutter!

I love seeing my friends in their ‘normal’ state and would hate to think they felt they had to tidy up before I arrived. As a result I also get invited around more often, and invite them over more often as I don’t feel I need to make a huge effort before they arrive either.

It's exhausting constantly tidying up, but tbh if you want a neat house (and you have a dh who leaves papers everywhere and a cat who likes to trail litter and kids), you basically have to be constantly binning shit and tidying!

I've been systematically decluttering the house - if you sit still for too long in my house, I'll bag you up and drop you at the recycling centre! But I think reducing the amount of stuff that's actually in the house is the way to go, It's hard though - my older dc have moved out and they left loads behind that they didn't want to take but also didn't want me to bin. At some point though you just have to be ruthless and get rid.

What has made a bit of a difference today is calling DC back to pick up small bits of mess. Sending them back into the bathroom to pick up clothes and put them in the laundry basket, getting them to pick up a few books and gadgets left on the floor. They still leave plenty of mess around, but I want them to get in the habit of treating the house with a bit of respect and not sliding into bad habits. Embarrassed I tolerated it before and they didn’t even complain when asked.

It’s really having too much stuff, mainly. In too small a space.

”Too many” clothes, scarves etc.
Too many handbags (I’ve got 12)
Too many toys.
Lots of food in cupboard/fridge
Too many labour saving and cooking devices
Too many books (in my case)
Lots of random tekkie stuff (iPads, wires, plugs, speakers) though to be fair our TVs are flat now and we don’t have gramophone cabinets etc taking up space

I compare this to my mother’s home in the 70s and 80s eg. 2 handbags, no books, not much food. As a child and even a teenager I probably had 2 or 3 outfits. Friends’ houses were often basic, no cushions or throws, food was often basic and repetitive too (pork chops, potatos, vegetables) with very little freezer food.

In a way, it’s a function of more ‘wealth’ - at least for those who can afford stuff anyway (I only had one handbag till my 50s). So perhaps look on the positive side?

But I am always desperate to declutter! Ongoing massive paper declutter the last few days ….

Never leave a room without picking something up and taking it to its proper place.

Only invite your friends around within two hours of the cleaner’s departure?

Went to someone’s house recently, she’s got three kids aged 10 to 15 who are all mad (in a fab way)- house was like those ads you see for washing powder with white everywhere, no pictures up, bookshelf the neatest thing I’ve ever seen in my life- minimal everything. I was afraid to sit down and kept wondering if my socks had anything on them. Her and husband work ft but she said they’ve made cleaning and decluttering their hobby (she said the kids are too, they’ve categorised and boxed their stuff and asked did I want to see-their rooms were a storage person’s heaven!!!) and are starting to see the fruits of it all. Not for me but impressive!

Declutter as much as possible

Give everything in your house a ‘home’. i.e. a place where it should live. That includes clean, newly washed and dirty clothes as well as unprocessed and processed paperwork..

20 mins before bed walk around and put everything in its home. Clear the sink and wipe the benches down.

You will start to love the getting up to a clean house feeling so much that returning things to their ‘home’ will become a constant habit and there will no longer be a need for the ‘frantic tidy up’

In a way, it’s a function of more ‘wealth’ - at least for those who can afford stuff anyway (I only had one handbag till my 50s). So perhaps look on the positive side?
Thars really funny, I’d see it the opposite way, everyone I’d know that might perhaps have less money in the house has a full house, more ornaments and toys, furniture etc etc.

My friend is always saying about her family and how they’re always buying in charity shops, chairs and furniture, ornaments, jigsaws, books. She gives out about how much they spend because they’re both on disability and she pays some of their bills etc and they’re always saying they’re broke but I always say if they enjoy it They enjoy it and to be fair they don’t spend tons at a time, the stuff they find is being pretty much given away (fiver a chair- ornaments for 50c etc etc

Make everyone tidy up their own things. Kids put the toys away in the proper place. Things on the side/table? If their your, put themaway. If they're somebody elses, make them out them away.

Half the battle is having designated places for stuff - and not keeping things that aren't needed. I have an ongoing battle with my DH who will put things away neatly, but then I find a drawer full of random bits of paper including (but not limited to) empty envelopes, take away menus (we do have a designated place for up to date takeaway menus) advertising flyers, out of date prescriptions - you get the gist....

Things are so much easier now that we have decluttered and sorted out storage.
(And we have a storage pouffe where we can dump things in a hurry! 😁)

Declutter ruthlessly
Have enough storage( but not too much)
put things away when you notice things are in the wrong place
I used to go through with a laundry basket if house was messy
Then use the time waiting for kettle to boil etc to wipe down/ put away
It's great you've got DC into the habit of putting laundry in basket etc, putting their rubbish in a bin
These are all things they will need for independent living eventually.