Anyone tried the clutter box method?

[Tootingbec]

I recently read a book by Shirley Conran that I found at my mum's called "Superwoman". Basically a housekeeping manual written in the 1970's with the motto "Life is too short to stuff a mushroom". Fab book - all about how to do the minimum of housework.

Anyway, one of her suggestions is to keep your home tidy when you have a family is to have 1 box where any unidentifible crap that people leave lying around gets chucked into. The idea being that a) you keep the place looking clutter free and b) the offenders get so arsed off with having to rummage through a pile of crap to find their whatever, that they stop dumping stuff everywhere.

My DH and step daughter are really untidy and I am sick of doing the martyred tidying/heavy sighing thing with them - quiet frankly it is their look out if they can't their gloves/mobile phone charger/violin music etc etc.

Has anyone adopted this idea and has it worked?

ho ho

I have 8 of these 'clutter' boxes. I eventually bought a storage unit to 'house' them in.

methinks I missed the point

No, but when I'm tidying I'll often grab a tray from the kitchen and dump everything of DSs onto it and put it on his bed. But we don't have "unidentified" clutter as we pnly have one DC. It sounds like a way of dealing with stuff if you can't tell whose it is. But if they don't care its missing, you may have to then get everyone to go through it regularly or it will expand like Laurie's!

I have up boxes and down boxes that sit at (suprisingly enough) top and bottom of the stairs for things that are on the wrong floor
They are utterly brilliant for keeping the piles of crap from mounting up

And now I do the 7 things thing I find I put stuff away from them too- well have started to anyway :)

Whats the 7 things thing?

Oh sorry ellie4 its the new Flylady thing for 2011- I really am very boring about it

It used ot be set your timer for 15 mins, but her new thing is to do it in 7's
So put away 7 things, throw away 7 things, spend 7 minutes doing something etc etc
It works for me cos it is a small number and so I dont put it off, I just do 7, and if I have time then 7 more and even 7 more after that.

So with it I have forgotten about 'emptying the basket' and just have a crack at putting away 7 things from it IYSWIM? Makes you setep away from perfectionism- which can hold you back from trying- into saying 'you know what? 7 things put away is better than none'

I had a clutter box just for toys because of all the random little bits of toys then don't really go with anything or have a home (like the free toys you get at mcDonalds and things from party bags). They all go in one toy box. Funny thing is my kids loved that toy box as it is so random and interesting.