To ask is your house organised?

[Bathcubesfromthe80s]

I like to think im ahead of the game in terms of being on top of stuff
We never run out of anything
We have a good stock of things like batteries/ light bulbs/sellotape etc
I make sure we have everything we need eg I use an online clothes shopping service. I have parcel tape/bags/labels to return things
Online weekly food shops are booked several weeks in advance and bags stored in the car boot for click and collect
All my cupboards etc are organised
There is no clutter/junk pile
I regularly go through clothes and charity/ book items no longer needed/used
The loft contents are in storage boxes, labelled.
I have a supply of recyclable carrier bags for bagging and disposing the chicken carcass from Sunday dinner
If we don't need/use it then I get rid of it

I've not always been like this. Our last house was full of crap. When we moved I took the opportunity to sort the whole lot and I was ruthless !

I'm reasonably organised but that reminds me: I need to replenish my supply of batteries and light bulbs.

my home is a total nightmare we often row about it we run a few businesses from home including one where my partner has to take over the kitchen making a mess with his product I'm often out and when I am home it just overwhelms me I cannot see how anything can go as we need it ie my stock and his so if anyone would like to work miracles please come you are welcome

@Tumtitumtum

It sounds like you’re overwhelmed. If you want to be organised, then it’s ok to start small.

This is what works for me:
Take 1 drawer/space at a time.
Do not empty it out.
Grab bin and set timer for 6mins.
Remove things one at a time and decide whether it needs to stay, go, move elsewhere.
Don’t be precious about things and don’t worry about recycling/donating unless you have head space for it. The priority is to get rid of it.

After 6 mins, pause have a cup of tea/go on MN whatever for 5 mins and start again.

Not tipping things out means it’s easy to pause and come back to. Although you will probably need to do that with some drawers e.g. the bits and pieces drawer that everyone seems to have. But do it at the end rather than the beginning.

If you have loads of stuff and a weekend then get a skip and just go for it.

I make time for this stuff because it helps my mental health. I function much better when my environment is aesthetically pleasing and calm so I’d happily spend a days annual leave organising but as others have said being disorganised isn’t a failing and if it doesn’t bother you you shouldn’t feel compelled to be that way.

Single parent

And I am military level organised

And very happy about it too

My main thing is I action everything immediately.

Renewal reminder? Immediately research and renew
Need something for the children in 2 weeks time for school? I sort it immediately
Shoes outgrown? I immediately purchase online new ones and drop those off at charity shop as soon as new arrived

And so on

[quote PegasusReturns]@Tumtitumtum

It sounds like you’re overwhelmed. If you want to be organised, then it’s ok to start small.

This is what works for me:
Take 1 drawer/space at a time.
Do not empty it out.
Grab bin and set timer for 6mins.
Remove things one at a time and decide whether it needs to stay, go, move elsewhere.
Don’t be precious about things and don’t worry about recycling/donating unless you have head space for it. The priority is to get rid of it.

After 6 mins, pause have a cup of tea/go on MN whatever for 5 mins and start again.

Not tipping things out means it’s easy to pause and come back to. Although you will probably need to do that with some drawers e.g. the bits and pieces drawer that everyone seems to have. But do it at the end rather than the beginning.

If you have loads of stuff and a weekend then get a skip and just go for it.

I make time for this stuff because it helps my mental health. I function much better when my environment is aesthetically pleasing and calm so I’d happily spend a days annual leave organising but as others have said being disorganised isn’t a failing and if it doesn’t bother you you shouldn’t feel compelled to be that way.[/quote]
6 mins and then take a break?!

I understand the need for piecemeal but to reel get stuck in, I think you need to push yourself a little. I’d say half hour and then a break at least. But you may not want to because you will already see such progress

We're organised in some areas, less so in others, we never run out of anything, always have at least a month's worth of everything needed and have a huge number of lists and plans to keep things organised, everything has a place and we generally live by the "don't put it down, put it away" rule, helps keep things simple.
But I'm unorganised in life admin, so many appointments every month and I'm always getting them mixed up or not sure which hospital we're going to on whichever day. I have an awful memory so if wasn't at least a little organised I'd spend every day in chaos.

Not at the moment or ever if I’m being honest

I want to be.

@PegasusReturns thank you, the recycling thing is so useful!

I have a whole room full of things I don’t want but haven’t the time to seperate and charity, including all the crap ex left 6 years ago and all my sisters/parents (I bought the old family home), plus all baby stuff a friend says she wants but she’s 7 months now and still hasn’t been to see, I’ve even contacted baby banks and none of them need anything. So I think I’ll find a charity shop/sell it all. But there it still is.

One weekend and skip and I’d have another room…

@Clearlynotmyname I have always struggled to keep my house organised and tidy. My son is waiting for an assessment for adult ADHD and while reading up on the signs I realised I too may have traits of ADHD. I now forgive myself for not being able to do it

No, but I’m really trying to work towards it. It doesn’t come naturally to me (ADHD) but it feels good whenever I get a room or even a cupboard properly organised.

I’m heavily pregnant and home full time with a toddler who is v attached to me specifically, doesn’t sleep that many hours in 24 hours however I try and do naps, and gets into everything —so it’s definitely two steps forward and one step back — but we are definitely making progress.

I’m open to tips if anyone has any!

6 mins and then take a break?!

Yep. It’s a well researched phenomenon: no one is going to feel overwhelmed by 6 minutes of focus. More often than not the alarm goes off, you reset it and plough on but it gives you an easily achievable target.

It probably helps that as a lawyer it’s how we bill so I’m well used to recording 6min increments of time.

@Tumtitumtum get the skip.

Honestly letting go of the guilt of not recycling/donating has been the single biggest factor in getting organised.

Now my DC are a bit older and we generally have less stuff it’s easier to recycle/donate but when you have an attic or basement full, just dump it.

I’ve been slated on here previously for that approach but no one should feel bad at prioritising their well-being.

Yes it is - had a huge sort out after XH left and I'm happy with it, everything has a place. I'm really busy, single parent, full time job and university commitments.

I have got a freezer with plenty of stuff and supplies of everything else I might need food and toiletry wise. It makes things less stressful, for instance, I have currently got COVID, isolating as a single parent and I haven't got anything to worry about. Dinner will be homemade minestrone soup and bread which will do for the way I feel today.

Life with my spendaholic XH was always fairly fraught - there was so much stuff it used to fry my brain.

[quote Bathcubesfromthe80s]@TrudyRuby totally get you re the raay pack up. In the last house I was clearing the loft for weeks. When we moved house we were in temporary housing while inbetween buying our new house. All our belongings were in storage and its amazing what you don't need our miss[/quote]
Exactly the same too. Had 6 months between houses in a rental and we lived like we were camping. I enjoyed the simplicity!

I am very organised and my house is very orderly, but I am not sure what your point is? So what I want to say. I mean there are bigger things to be proud of, helping out at the food bank, caring for abandoned dogs, supporting a women's refuge. I am not sure what you are looking for by starting this thread apart from making unorganised people feel like crap.

@Fairylights25

I am very organised and my house is very orderly, but I am not sure what your point is? So what I want to say. I mean there are bigger things to be proud of, helping out at the food bank, caring for abandoned dogs, supporting a women's refuge. I am not sure what you are looking for by starting this thread apart from making unorganised people feel like crap.

I think you’re seeing shadows where there are none

I am very organised.

And yes, I’m proud of that fact.

Am I as proud of that fact to the same degree as I am about other more important things? No. But doesn’t mean I can’t be proud that my house is totally in order and I’m on top of everything.

It takes hard work, and that’s something to be proud of

My natural mode is seat of pants but over the past couple of years I've had a massive declutter and flirted with a few organisational methods and honestly things are so much easier!
We have places for everything, a shoe cupboard with a basket for each person, don't buy too much, not many ornaments, baskets in kitchen cupboards for categories e.g. sauces, baking stuff, etc and - joy of joys - a label maker. A board on the wall for TOMM tasks. And menu plans.
It's actually a revelation after having resisted organisation for so long!

Wow, our house would have been sorted years ago if we just dumped everything rather than tried to sort it for recycling/environmental purposes. And we have actually already dumped a lot, but each time we do this I feel such guilt. There's no charity shops that's easy to get to for donations with 2 X full time jobs.

I admire your honesty Pegasus in pointing out it's the only practical way to get shit sorted - it's not easy to come out and say that.

[quote PegasusReturns]@Tumtitumtum

It sounds like you’re overwhelmed. If you want to be organised, then it’s ok to start small.

This is what works for me:
Take 1 drawer/space at a time.
Do not empty it out.
Grab bin and set timer for 6mins.
Remove things one at a time and decide whether it needs to stay, go, move elsewhere.
Don’t be precious about things and don’t worry about recycling/donating unless you have head space for it. The priority is to get rid of it.

After 6 mins, pause have a cup of tea/go on MN whatever for 5 mins and start again.

Not tipping things out means it’s easy to pause and come back to. Although you will probably need to do that with some drawers e.g. the bits and pieces drawer that everyone seems to have. But do it at the end rather than the beginning.

If you have loads of stuff and a weekend then get a skip and just go for it.

I make time for this stuff because it helps my mental health. I function much better when my environment is aesthetically pleasing and calm so I’d happily spend a days annual leave organising but as others have said being disorganised isn’t a failing and if it doesn’t bother you you shouldn’t feel compelled to be that way.[/quote]
Nooooo
I wasted years doing this.
Empty the bastard thing out.
Sort into:

Keep(put back)

Keep(somewhere else - put like things together so put the batteries and lightbulbs and fuses somewhere together, don't have batteries in an odds and ends drawer.)

Charity/sell (and only sell if it's worth the time and money to do so)

Bin

Agree with timer and starting with one drawer at a time though.

DDUW, thank you for saying that.

It is always the female feeling guilty and lazy about not having an organised house. By the time you have done a day's work at an office or wherever come home cook dinner, homework etc, there often isn't time to do all the organising/cleaning, particularly if dcs leave possessions everywhere. Also I would sit down for one hour each evening from 9 to 10 pm. I even tried cutting out this and continually doing tidying for this hour. After a few turns of this, I got very short tempered as well as feeling dizzy, so I had to continue taking my one hour break each eve.

I work fulltime and only started getting the energy to keep up with cleaning, decluttering as dcs got to 8 or 9 and weren"t following me continually. Also I got dizzyness, tiredness when dcs were younger, despite taking vitamins, eating well etc. I had to get up before 7am the 7 days of the week, had to bring dcs to parks, parties, sports at the weekend. I only got the basics done for years. I took annual leave to declutter or I would do this on my 'summer holiday'. It is very easy to get burnt out if you are working fulltime, continually minding primary age dcs and keeping on top of housework.

Even though dcs are older now and I can spend early evenings tidying and still take time to watch the news. However, I would never be smug and I don't broadcast this, particularly among people who also work fulltime and have younger dcs.

I know where everything is, does that count? I struggle a bit as I'm an untidy person who hates mess if that makes sense. I have recently got a cleaner and it helps me to keep things tidy as I know she will need to be able to clean stuff and can't if there's too much clutter.

Nope. House is in a constant state of disarray.

We have too much stuff so that’s the focus right now.

Things to be sold, move on to charity/friends.

Mostly my stuff because DH could never part with anything. I dream of living alone tbh!

No my house is very disorganised, I am bit overwhelmed by it, as need to do so much to get it back into some sort of order, but everyone is fed,clean and relatively happy most of the time.

I'm aiming for about 80% of your level of organisation. I like pottering round the supermarket, seeing what I might fancy for tea, popping into a greengrocer or a health food shop so definitely no online food shop here. I do have back ups of store cupboard basics, medicines, loo rolls etc though and a well-stocked freezer with batch cooked meals and "easy" food. I seem to be able to juggle the kids various activities with my work and cooking healthy meals pretty well. I fall down at the clutter though - too many drawers full of shite and cupboards of clothes that I will never wear. Old shoes and tins of paint under the stairs. Plus my cleaning is always only just about enough (hygienic and respectable but don't look too closely in the corners). I think if I could improve my motivation by another 5% I'd be much happier and less stressed.