Please help me sort my house out!

[elprup]

My house is an absolute mess. The kitchen sink is full of dirty pans, the cupboards have loads of sauces/tins etc that are years out of date, the surfaces are dirty, the oven is filthy and the fridge is in serious need of organisation.

The dining room and lounge are covered in dust and the floors are filthy. There are piles of crap everywhere (I even have Christmas wrapping paper from last year stuffed in a corner!) The bathroom fixtures are covered in limescale marks and the sink is dirty. The bedrooms have become the unofficial storage areas for all the junk that I don't know what to do with.

I have family coming round on Saturday and the house is a tip - I'm so embarrassed. I'm working during the week so no idea how I'm going to get it in a decent state before they arrive.

Of course, I've just finished work and am sitting on Mumsnet when I could be making a start. I'm just so tired.

A cleaner's not an option due to budget constraints unfortunately.

What can I do?!

Whilst you’re sat on the sofa, or in bed, make a list and delegate some tasks to your DH. I suggest the bathroom is his job, for instance.

Follow these rules:

1. visibility first (why are you cleaning inside cupboards with so much else to do, you maniac?)

1. Go clockwise in a room (so you don’t flit about and if you need to stop you know where you’re up to)

1. Set a timer, take breaks.

Jeez, I would just clear the dining room table, I mean clear it. Lay the table. Actually, maybe clean the guest loo and sink too.. New hand towel. Make it as easy as poss for yourself for the meal. Your guests should be well happy you're hosting and to come to see you. If they think it's too messy for them, they may suggest taking you out for a meal next time, or even help with some tidying. Works for me.

1. visibility first (why are you cleaning inside cupboards with so much else to do, you maniac?)

That’s the problem - if I do a job like clean a room, I have to do it properly (like 100% deep clean) or not do it at all. It’s like one extreme or the other with me - ridiculous I know!

I’ll keep checking back here as I hopefully make progress if that’s okay. It’s really helping keep me motivated!

I’ll keep checking back here as I hopefully make progress if that’s okay. It’s really helping keep me motivated!

The motivation is that you won't be living in a shit pit. It really isn't hard to do this.

organising the rest of the kitchen cupboards tomorrow and cleaning the (quite frankly disgusting) kitchen floor.

This is the problem! Why on EARTH are you reorganising kitchen cupboards when you have disgusting floors? And piles of last year's wrapping paper lying around?

Concentrate on basic cleaning and decluttering. Then you can colour coordinate the cupboards. All the "oh that's just the way I am, I'm such an all or nothing person" - this is a choice you are making.

I agree with PP (sorry!). Organising the cupboards can wait, saying you're an all or nothing person is a cop out - organising the cupboards is just easier than dealing with disgusting floors or a dirty bathroom. (I'm saying this from experience as it is exactly what I would tell myself)

You need to focus on the big ticket items, get all the floors clean and your house will immediately look better.
Bathrooms next, no one wants to clean themselves in a dirty room.
Guest bedrooms (if you're short on time for this weekend, leave yours for another time)
Living room, tidy it enough to make it habitable, but deal with everything you touch. The rule is, if you pick it up, it either gets a home or gets binned.

Your guests don't need to walk into a show home, they're not walking around with white gloves inspecting every corner! And definitely don't let your partner get away with doing nothing - he's lives there too!

@elprup - you are doing what I do. If you can't do the job perfectly, it doesn't get done at all. You need to stop doing that.

Tackle the superficial appearances first. I see you've done the dishes. Great. Ignore those cupboards.

I found the easiest thing to do is get some boxes - any cardboard box will do - and clear surfaces of crap. Everything that doesn't need to be on the dining table, coffee table, worktop, bookshelf, put it in a box and
, given you have guests coming, store them somewhere out of sight. Garage, wardrobe, wherever you have space. Even if it's a spare room and shut the door when guests come round.

Next clean your social spaces where guests will be. So vacuum and dust lounge, dining room if you are going to be using it, entrance way. Guest toilet.

Once your guests have been, tackle the house as a whole. Clean, clean, clean. Ignore those stored boxes.

When your all clean, go back to those boxes. One at a time sort out what's in them, whether it needs to be thrown away, put in the right room or if you're not sure, put it back into storage.

I'm the worlds worst procrastinator and I've found the pit of sight method helps me as I can keep on top of the rest of the house once it's tidy. Although I started watching Marie kondo on Netflix and she has inspired me more than organised mum or fly lady ever did.

If you're going to follow a programme, it's ok to take the best bits of several and make it work for the rather than following one way religiously and finding you're not enjoying your home.

The motivation is that you won't be living in a shit pit. It really isn't hard to do this.

Well, that clearly hasn’t worked so far - otherwise I wouldn’t be posting on MN!

I’m actually looking forward to finishing off the kitchen tonight - then it’ll be onto the dining room next!

I'm the worlds worst procrastinator and I've found the pit of sight method helps me as I can keep on top of the rest of the house once it's tidy. Although I started watching Marie kondo on Netflix

That makes a lot of sense actually. It’s stuff like the pile of unwanted books I have in the dining room. I want to get rid but feel guilty throwing them away because they’re books! What’s Marie Kondo’s take on that I wonder? Wish I had Netflix!

@elprup I'll be joining you on this. I've mostly got things under control but our kitchen floor is driving me mad (any tips on deep cleaning lino? It gets cleaned quite regularly but seems to retain dirt deep down) and my dining room and spare room need decluttering.

I'm going to get rid of all my books, I love books so much but I use my kindle now so they're going to the charity shop to actually be read. That brings me joy so Marie kondo would be happy.

That’s the problem - if I do a job like clean a room, I have to do it properly (like 100% deep clean) or not do it at all.

Well, you’re telling yourself that. But you could choose to change it. Good enough is good enough. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Books - MK says if you bought them and have read them, pass them on so someone can enjoy them too. If you haven’t read them, be honest - you’re probably NOT going to read them, the joy was in the choosing but it turns out you weren’t that excited about them after all, so move them in. She is extremely unsentimental about books!

Op when you see clutter on surfaces and floors you become inefficient because you overwhelm yourself and find it hard to see immediate progress.

Make the floors and surfaces your priority. Cleaning them and clearing them. Everything else will fall naturally into place.

The all or nothing approach isn’t sustainable. You need to trick your mind into breaking things into bitesize otherwise you will always be a procrastinator.

Doing surfaces and floors isn’t about being fake about your clean home. It’s the fact these places are going to be used and touched the most and seen the most and so they need to be easiest to clean and organize.

The cupboards are contained and so can be done in the order that you like.

If you feel you can’t put things in their “home” because your cupboards aren’t clear, then put the stuff in boxes for now until you get through the cupboards

Good luck

@Treaclepie19 it’s strange - I had an old Lino floor in my last place and had exactly the same problem. No matter how often I scrubbed it, the water would always come up dirty, even though it looked clean to the naked eye! Really bizarre.

I have a lot of books on bookshelves and they’ll be staying. I just need to get rid of the ones I no longer want. I will try sticking them on Freecycle as I don’t have time to go to the charity shop - plus they’ve got a limit on how many books they accept at my local one! If not they may just have to go in recycling

Well done for getting on with this op, its much better to get it sorted now than when you are panicking that you are going to have all kinds of people (midwife, health visitor, family, friends) coming around to see your new baby

I echo the others saying sorting the cupboards is not a priority. I like to imagine I'm a triage nurse in a&e when I'm getting ready for visitors (it adds drama). They wouldn't insist on clipping a patient's toenails as well as fixing their broken leg.

@elprup thank goodness its not just me. I've been feeling so disgusting!
We're going to replace it at some point because it was here when we moved in but we just can't afford it right now.

@Treaclepie19 Haha - I thought it was just me until I read your post!

I like to imagine I'm a triage nurse in a&e when I'm getting ready for visitors (it adds drama). They wouldn't insist on clipping a patient's toenails as well as fixing their broken leg.

Very true

@elprup did you ever manage to get it clean?!

@Treaclepie19 never! The water was always dirty, even if I scrubbed it then did it again an hour later. It did look clean though, so I just accepted it in the end!

Now I have a tiled floor and if it’s clean, it’s clean!

@elprup 😭😭 Well, I'll have to get saving to swap it. It makes me miserable!

All or nothing is another way of saying you're a perfectionist and perfectionists are not the people living in 'perfect' houses, they are the people living in a shit tip because if they can't do it perfectly they won't do it at all. Trust me, nobody can do it perfectly. Perfect is the enemy of good. And done.

How are you getting on this evening?

Quick update: I’ve managed to finish the kitchen and lounge! I’ve got rid of quite a bit of clutter and both rooms are practically sparkling - well, as much as a 15 year old kitchen ever can be. It’s incredibly satisfying!

I’ve got to sort the dining room tonight, and will then spend tomorrow focusing on the bathroom, which needs a really good scrub and declutter (the cupboard is absolutely full of old toiletries, tiles, paint...!) I’m not going to have time to sort the bedrooms so will just close the doors - no one is staying over thankfully so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Once the house is fully sorted I’d really like to start following the TOMM method - I definitely don’t want it to get in this state again, as it takes an absolute age to get it sorted. I’ve had to book a day’s holiday from work just to clean.

Honestly to have a visitor ready home at all times would be totally living the dream.

Well done @elprup. Quick tip to help tomorrow's bathroom clean easier. Spray white vinegar over limescaled areas before bed and will be easier to clean in the morning. Plus stick some bleach down loo before bed so will be sparkling white in the morning.
Another fan of TOMM-the app is fabulous 👍.
You got this! Hope hubby has noticed xx

Have a look at the TOMM method. Start with the messy house bootcamp and then maintain with the weekly jobs. I spend 45 minutes broken up throughout my day and it's made a HUGE difference. Theres an app too so you can tick off your jobs as you do them. I have two children, one of which is 8 months. I felt I was constantly 'doing' something but never getting anything done. It's been an absolute game changer for me.
Also second the comment about having a basket at the top of the stairs. I put anything that needs to come down in there and once I bring it down and sort through it I'll leave it downstairs and pop things in that need taking up.