Is it possible to learn to be a tidy person?

[oldfashionedgirl]

I have clutter and the house is never properly tidy. I think I am messy by nature but it stresses me out! I have more stuff than I have room for but get attached to things.

I just want to be one of those people who are naturally tidy!

No but you can learn how your brain works and try to work with it rather than against it.

Decluttering does really help especially if you feel like you're drowning in stuff. Pretend you're moving and be really ruthless. Think "If I was having a total new start, would I keep or chuck this?" You can donate/sell stuff that is too good to throw away. If you're keeping it "just in case", ask yourself how difficult it would be to get hold of something like that if you needed it. If it's not difficult then get rid of it - the money you'd spend on buying one in the unlikely event you need one is not worth more than the space you'll save by getting rid now.

Then see if you can identify problem areas - for me I dump shit all over my desk because when I'm on the computer I'm too lazy to get up. That sounds awful and of course the obvious answer is "Just get up you lazy cow!" but that doesn't work for me in practice. So instead I need a place for the things that accumulate there - I put a little bin near my desk and rubbish goes straight in there rather than being left in an overflowing pile. Documents "to be sorted out later" go in one, visible, tray and stuff I've done goes in a folder. Discs have their own place, glasses have their own place, I have a pen pot and a "random small things" pot, stuff DS hands me I've started saying "No don't give it to me, put it " and the main thing that gets left is dishes and cups etc but now they stand out so I'm more likely to notice and move them.

Similar for laundry or whatever is an issue. Stop bemoaning the fact that you're not doing it "properly", think of a solution which will help you, if not do it quicker, keep it tidier while it is on its way to the correct place.

I have become MUCH tidier since I started tutoring-there is no better incentive than having people coming to your house every single evening!

I'm also messy by nature, but I can't stand dirt if that makes any sense? So whilst is never let my home get grimy and filthy, I'm a hoarder and seem to always have loads of clutter about.

I sometimes have a massive tidy up and throw out but not very often. And then it's back to square one again. I'd love to wake up a tidy person.

I think it took 2 years to go through our whole house and get rid of all the crap. DH's old computer magazines all went as he hadn't read them for years, I was ruthless with toys/clothes/ornaments/furniture/old bikes
/shoes/bedding/equipment/DIY stuff. These days I'm constantly loading stuff into the car boot so I can dispose of it or return it to its owner.

The trick is not to let crap infiltrate into your organised tidy space. So if we are given a load of clothes for the kids, i'll sort it out straight away and bag unwanted things, putting them in the car boot and the next day recycling them.

I think you can learn tidier habits, but If you're naturally messy the tidy habits probably won't come easily.

I am instinctively tidy, in that I won't allow surface clutter to hang around for long before finding it a home. Nice storage is key here too-we have a lot of stuff (I have three young children, pets and a messy DH!) but because I'm naturally inclined to tidiness (and am the SAHP so home during the week to keep on top of things) the house generally looks pretty clean and clear.

I think not letting things build up is also key - I do a couple of washes a day, never let the washing or ironing pile build up, once it's dry it's folded and aired and/or ironed, and straight back into drawers. Same with washing up-I always run a bowl of washing up water before I start preparing a meal, wash up as I go, wash the rest of stuff then dry and put away and wipe down surfaces as soon as meal is over. And so on and so on.

But the thing is, I do all this because it would stress me out more not to do it, if that makes sense. If it didn't bother me, clutter and mess would build up within the hour! I find cleaning and clearing and tidying quite relaxing and therapeutic if I'm honest. But I'm not sure I could have learned to be that way if it wasn't my natural way to be.

The key is to do it every day not leave it and do it one hit every week as it gets overwhelming.

Please let me come to your house in a non stalkerish way and declutter for you! I'm ruthless allow only one medium box for sentimental crap per person and all other things if its its not worn or used between 6-12months its out for charity or bin!

I was a hoarder of everything including every drawing my child did my loft was huge and full, having moved around alot i realised how much useless shit i had and how expensive it was for removals