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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for your top simple organisation tips that work

109 replies

caninecalamity · 03/01/2023 22:51

If you're a naturally organised person or a procrastinating nightmare like me who has somehow managed to change, please help. I need you. I was also going to start a thread on cleaning tips that work after using a tip about cleaning my wood burner glass with ash that worked! I've had a tumultuous 2022 and facing change this year and Im looking to turn over a new leaf on my house and life. I think I might be another undiagnosed ADD person - I spent all 2022 chasing my tail, never knowing if it's PE day/ non uniform day etc and with a heap of laundry / overflowing junk drawers/ ad hoc meals and spending too much on top up shops etc.
i listened to a declutter podcast tonight felt for the first time that change might be possible with small steps. I managed to do my son's clothes without it feeling a bit effort which felt a big win. I just need to charity one bag and put others on Vinted. If anyone wants a mix of medium men's clothes look out on there soon! I've also done two bedroom tidies using the TOMM app. This might be enough for now tbh but was also thinking of ordering greeting cards for next 6 months - think I read that on here and seeing if I can find a meal planning app
Mental load is all on me - DH will offer to go to shop "if you make me a list" or run errands "if you tell me what needs doing" and I'm exhausted.

OP posts:
FlowerArranger · 07/01/2023 23:55

JesusHeKnowsMe · 07/01/2023 23:47

When I grow up...I wanna be just like @TicTac80 !!!!! Jesus Christ you have your shit together!!! I can only dream...

Floors are mopped last thing at night (they're all wooden floors or quarry tiles, so dirt really shows up).... Last thing at night, I give toilet and sink a quick clean.

😱

HappyGrumpyDoc · 08/01/2023 01:56

This will never, ever happen in my house I'm afraid. I can't even imagine mopping or cleaning toilets etc at bedtime. I guess different strategies suit different people though.

Fairislefandango · 08/01/2023 09:00

The number one thing I always learn from this kind of thread is that many MNers seem simply to be willing to spend more time doing housework than I am. I'd absolutely love an immaculately tidy, sparkling clean, fairly minimalist house, but I'm way too lazy to ever actually achieve it. I've tried all the apps and methods, but they all require too much time!

Now that I've gone back to work full time after years of part time, the only way to keep things acceptably clean is for all four of us (me, dh, 2 teen dc) to divide the 4 main tasks (dusting, hoovering, mopping, cleaning the bathrooms) between the four of us. We each do one at the weekend. Everyone does their own washing and changes their own bed.

Miala · 08/01/2023 11:07

Always, @Fairislefandango. Horses for courses. But I always take some ideas away too.

It's the tidying that gets in the way of this stuff every time. I think we do just need to spend more time doing it every day.

thecatsthecats · 08/01/2023 11:48

Fairislefandango · 08/01/2023 09:00

The number one thing I always learn from this kind of thread is that many MNers seem simply to be willing to spend more time doing housework than I am. I'd absolutely love an immaculately tidy, sparkling clean, fairly minimalist house, but I'm way too lazy to ever actually achieve it. I've tried all the apps and methods, but they all require too much time!

Now that I've gone back to work full time after years of part time, the only way to keep things acceptably clean is for all four of us (me, dh, 2 teen dc) to divide the 4 main tasks (dusting, hoovering, mopping, cleaning the bathrooms) between the four of us. We each do one at the weekend. Everyone does their own washing and changes their own bed.

I agree - and I actually think that planning and sorting out the housework is an unnecessary task.

We both wfh and now take a scattergun approach of half an hour a day each of shit-sorting on top of work. Then we chill out. Stuff gets done, and if you see it or need it, do it. Don't fanny around making lists or planning it.

hennylovespens · 08/01/2023 13:59

I'm definitely not in a position to be handing out house work and organisational techniques but I am slowly improving and in a similar boat.

•Skimming the first half of a couple of mari kondo books and the whole does this item spark joy? Or is it necessary? Test. It helps with both the guilt of feeling like you ought to hold onto something and helps you hone in on what you like which helps prevent recluttering.

I've recently bought two jumpers that I love. They're flattering and comfy and make me feel great. Why do I then own another 8 jumpers that don't make me feel like that at all? I've kept a few practical ones but most are in the charity bag now. I'm definitely more wary of what I'm bringing into the house and where it will go. Even things I like, if I've owned it for several years and it's never the thing I actually choose to wear there's no point hanging onto it.

•Places for things really helps, especially visual. Hooks for school bags/ book bags where you can see them and where they go when not in use. Hooks for keys by the door.

•Year view wall planner where everyone can see it.

•Use phone calendar and reminders. Get a notification that tomorrow DS needs PE kit. (You can set recurring reminders)
Try and put things in as soon as you see them - school trip letters, appointments.

•Pigeon hole for each person in the house where their mail/ important docs can be dumped quickly & a file to sort into every now and then.

•This year I'm trying journaling which I barely have time for but think I'll soon find I don't have not to. It's not fancy or ornate but just a look at the week ahead. Meal plan. Jobs (also day/ month)

•The other thing might sound awful but when doing a big declutter i have to ditch all thoughts of eco mindedness. (Which is half of what gets me into such a mess.)
Don't send to a charity shop stuff they will then have to throw away for you (this is a pet peeve.)

Olio and freecycle/ trash that are brilliant but if something has been sitting waiting to go out for months just charity shop or chuck. Get a bin bag or a skip and go for it. Sometimes you have to get past the mental block and the fewer processes to overcome the better.

Try and live like William Morris "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

melj1213 · 08/01/2023 16:12

Systems and routine are key to being organised.

I have a 5x5 kallax unit when you come in my front door. The top row has boxes where we keep practical stuff - bulbs, torches and candles/DIY tools/First Aid stuff/batteries and electrical stuff like extra cables and power banks/general random junk. The middle column I then use for decorative stuff in two cubes and then the bottom two are stuff like hats/scarves/gloves/ umbrellas/shopping bags etc that you always need on the way out and then DD has two columns and I have two columns for stuff.

One of my columns is for daily stuff - shoes in the bottom two cubes; anything I need to take out with me the following day (eg books to be returned to the library; parcel to take to the post office etc) in the next one up; my daily hand bag in the next one and my gym bag in the top one. The other 3 cubes I use for admin - one is for mail to be dealt with, whether that's letters that have come through the letter box or letters from DDs school/extra curriculars; one is for stuff I need to keep but don't need to do anything with (eg bank statements, annual council tax statement or policy renewals) that I just dump in a storage box and then sort through a couple of times a year and file into long term storage/shred as appropriate and the last is for recycling - so junk mail/take away menus/ opened envelopes etc so that that stuff doesn't ever enter the house to be left lying around; I open mail in the hall, it gets put in either one of the keep cubes or straight into the recycling box, that way there aren't piles of post randomly everywhere.

DD uses hers where one column is for school stuff - her school bag/lunch bag and water bottle/any extra curricular supplies/shoes - and the other column is stuff for her clubs - flute case and sheet music folder for both flute and guitar/work book and folder for Spanish class/dance bag for dance class/drama stuff for drama class. All the club stuff lives there permanently so when she comes home from class, unless something needs washing (in which case it gets washed and put back immediately) everything goes back into the relevant cube. Her school stuff has to be there before bed every night. She has a whiteboard with her weekly schedule on the wall in her room so every night after she finishes her homework she brings her school bag down along with anything that needs to go to school the following day and it goes in the relevant cube; her lunch bag and water bottle goes on the shelf with everything packed except her sandwich/fridge stuff (which live in a specific place in the fridge) so all she has to do in the morning is add that to her lunch bag on the way out. I can just glance at the unit and see if there are any gaps but it's just second nature for us both to put everything in the unit before bed so stuff is ready to just grab and go in the morning and there's no looking for sports kit/lunch bag/permission slips etc on the way out of the door.

Every Sunday evening I sit down and organise for the week ahead. This is when I take anything from my "admin cube" at the front door and put it in the diary or confirm it's already diarised and then file/bin the actual letters. When DD is with me (I share 50/50 custody with ExDH so she's here every other week) we do it together after dinner, when it's just me I take 20 mins with my diary in front of the TV. If there's anything for DD then ExDH and I have a WhatsApp chat we use just for DD "updates" and if we get letters for events etc then we take a photo of the physical letter and add it to the chat, that way we both have a copy (eg a letter might come to my house for an appointment happening on ExDHs week so he needs the info) and also so we can refer back to it without having to have the physical letter lying around at one house or the other. It isn't like a formal meeting, we just sit and discuss what's coming up that week to make sure nothing is forgotten.

I take my diary and make sure everything is diarised for the week. I have a diary where the week is on one page and the other side is a notes page so I can write everything - appointments, to do lists, notes, meal plans, shopping lists etc - in one place.

On Sunday evening I go through the upcoming week, any appointments are on the diary page and then I add in anything I need to do on specific days (eg if I need to order a repeat prescription I put it in a specific day rather than on my general to do list so I know it will be ordered in time to collect before I run out) and then general stuff just goes in a general to do list to be done as and when I get a few minutes. I try to add a few declutter tasks every week but they're little things eg sort top drawer in bedside table; go through pens and bin any leaky/empty/dried up ones etc

I also schedule in two weekends every year to do a deep clean - I tend to do one at the end of March and one at the end of October - where I take two days to do a proper "spring clean and sort". On those two weekends I book nothing else in and just focus on the house. I use those days to move furniture, clean the oven, wash the cushion covers and generally clean everything, pull wardrobes out and sort all the clothes for what's to be kept and what's to be donated (I switch out the bulk of my summer/winter wardrobes on those weekends so in March I put away most of my heavy winter stuff and on October I put away all the summer dresses and sandals, anything I haven't worn that season goes on the charity pile) etc. I also get DD to go through her stuff and get rid of anything broken/damaged; donate anything she doesn't use or has grown out of and generally organise her room.

Because that time is booked in and an event in my diary I find I respect it more than when I just say "Oh I'll do XYZ one weekend" and then put it off because I have agreed to do something else.

Original poster
caninecalamity · 14/01/2023 20:32

melj1213 · 08/01/2023 16:12

Systems and routine are key to being organised.

I have a 5x5 kallax unit when you come in my front door. The top row has boxes where we keep practical stuff - bulbs, torches and candles/DIY tools/First Aid stuff/batteries and electrical stuff like extra cables and power banks/general random junk. The middle column I then use for decorative stuff in two cubes and then the bottom two are stuff like hats/scarves/gloves/ umbrellas/shopping bags etc that you always need on the way out and then DD has two columns and I have two columns for stuff.

One of my columns is for daily stuff - shoes in the bottom two cubes; anything I need to take out with me the following day (eg books to be returned to the library; parcel to take to the post office etc) in the next one up; my daily hand bag in the next one and my gym bag in the top one. The other 3 cubes I use for admin - one is for mail to be dealt with, whether that's letters that have come through the letter box or letters from DDs school/extra curriculars; one is for stuff I need to keep but don't need to do anything with (eg bank statements, annual council tax statement or policy renewals) that I just dump in a storage box and then sort through a couple of times a year and file into long term storage/shred as appropriate and the last is for recycling - so junk mail/take away menus/ opened envelopes etc so that that stuff doesn't ever enter the house to be left lying around; I open mail in the hall, it gets put in either one of the keep cubes or straight into the recycling box, that way there aren't piles of post randomly everywhere.

DD uses hers where one column is for school stuff - her school bag/lunch bag and water bottle/any extra curricular supplies/shoes - and the other column is stuff for her clubs - flute case and sheet music folder for both flute and guitar/work book and folder for Spanish class/dance bag for dance class/drama stuff for drama class. All the club stuff lives there permanently so when she comes home from class, unless something needs washing (in which case it gets washed and put back immediately) everything goes back into the relevant cube. Her school stuff has to be there before bed every night. She has a whiteboard with her weekly schedule on the wall in her room so every night after she finishes her homework she brings her school bag down along with anything that needs to go to school the following day and it goes in the relevant cube; her lunch bag and water bottle goes on the shelf with everything packed except her sandwich/fridge stuff (which live in a specific place in the fridge) so all she has to do in the morning is add that to her lunch bag on the way out. I can just glance at the unit and see if there are any gaps but it's just second nature for us both to put everything in the unit before bed so stuff is ready to just grab and go in the morning and there's no looking for sports kit/lunch bag/permission slips etc on the way out of the door.

Every Sunday evening I sit down and organise for the week ahead. This is when I take anything from my "admin cube" at the front door and put it in the diary or confirm it's already diarised and then file/bin the actual letters. When DD is with me (I share 50/50 custody with ExDH so she's here every other week) we do it together after dinner, when it's just me I take 20 mins with my diary in front of the TV. If there's anything for DD then ExDH and I have a WhatsApp chat we use just for DD "updates" and if we get letters for events etc then we take a photo of the physical letter and add it to the chat, that way we both have a copy (eg a letter might come to my house for an appointment happening on ExDHs week so he needs the info) and also so we can refer back to it without having to have the physical letter lying around at one house or the other. It isn't like a formal meeting, we just sit and discuss what's coming up that week to make sure nothing is forgotten.

I take my diary and make sure everything is diarised for the week. I have a diary where the week is on one page and the other side is a notes page so I can write everything - appointments, to do lists, notes, meal plans, shopping lists etc - in one place.

On Sunday evening I go through the upcoming week, any appointments are on the diary page and then I add in anything I need to do on specific days (eg if I need to order a repeat prescription I put it in a specific day rather than on my general to do list so I know it will be ordered in time to collect before I run out) and then general stuff just goes in a general to do list to be done as and when I get a few minutes. I try to add a few declutter tasks every week but they're little things eg sort top drawer in bedside table; go through pens and bin any leaky/empty/dried up ones etc

I also schedule in two weekends every year to do a deep clean - I tend to do one at the end of March and one at the end of October - where I take two days to do a proper "spring clean and sort". On those two weekends I book nothing else in and just focus on the house. I use those days to move furniture, clean the oven, wash the cushion covers and generally clean everything, pull wardrobes out and sort all the clothes for what's to be kept and what's to be donated (I switch out the bulk of my summer/winter wardrobes on those weekends so in March I put away most of my heavy winter stuff and on October I put away all the summer dresses and sandals, anything I haven't worn that season goes on the charity pile) etc. I also get DD to go through her stuff and get rid of anything broken/damaged; donate anything she doesn't use or has grown out of and generally organise her room.

Because that time is booked in and an event in my diary I find I respect it more than when I just say "Oh I'll do XYZ one weekend" and then put it off because I have agreed to do something else.

This sounds amazing and right now totally un achievable for me. I feel so overwhelmed just reading that. My brain can't let me do the rational thing of thinking " let's pull that into chunks and pick some". My brow went "your hall is too small for a Kallax so you're doomed. This is not a criticism at all. Just an insight into my stupid, addled brain.
I've jus cleared my knickers drawer out though. So, small wins? I hope. I'll re read your post and try to adopt what I can though as you seem to have it NAILED

OP posts:
CornedBeef451 · 15/01/2023 16:59

I'm tired just reading the post from @melj1213. It sounds amazing but I lacked the energy to even read it all.

Well done sorting your knickers! You just have to keep on at it in little chunks and things will improve.

We've recently moved house and I'm struggling with going from one bathroom to 2 1/2.

It's a very first world problem but I keep forgetting the other bathroom exists as only the DCs use it. Still trying to figure out how to remind myself it's there and actually needs to be cleaned.

I'm planning on teaching the DCs to clean it but working up to that!

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