Today is the day that I start to get this house in order!

[mogs0]

I have written a list of things that need doing and have allowed an hour per room before moving on to the next. My house is pretty small so I expect to get round all the rooms twice today and hopefully again tomorrow - the house is in a serious state and will definitely need a minimum of 4 hours per room over the weekend .

The tv is staying off until this evening and ds has been given the job of being my fetcher and carrier. I've asked him to help as and when I call him and he can play in-between (no tv, ds, wii etc) but he also needs to spend some time tidying his room.

I'm not expecting any replies, I just wanted to type this out to keep me motivated!!

I'll be back to check on you.

Get it tidy and KEEP IT THAT WAY!
It iwll make you feel so much better.
Now...be off with you woman!

Schedule some tea breaks in (time limit if necessary) otherwise you'll seriously flag later in the day

I second having breaks, really helps keeping me going. Just think how good you'll feel after - I've tackled our house this week and I feel so much calmer and more focussed now it's tidy.

oH AND PLAN SOMETHING NICE FOR THIS EVENING, LIKE A NICE MEAL AND A GOOD BOTTLE OF WINE.

Well, I've done my first hour in my bedroom and don't seem to have achieved a huge amount. I'm sure when I get back to this room later i'll get a lot more finished -I'll have to otherwise I won't be able to get into my bed!

Moondog - I saw your first post earlier and resisted posting in favour of making a start on the mess! I'm not sure if I'll have any evening left by the time I've finished my list but maybe I could treat ds and I to a Sunday dinner tomorrow as an incentive to get things done.

Fuzzy and chutney - I'm allowing 5 minutes on mn between each room/hour and have also factored in lunch break and dinner break.

Ds has spent the last hour lying down but I've sent him off to finish his homework and he has an hour until we tackle his room for an hour. I seriously need to train him to do housework, right after I've trained myself .

Right, next room...

Another hour gone! I'm going to do half an hour in ds' bedroom then stop for lunch.

Have started on my shit hole too on my 4th load of washing. My biggest downfall is putting clothes away, looks like a jumble sale in my room but I have started putting the mountain of clothes away...god it's so boring lol

I'm just having another 5 min break but would really like to stop now please! There is very little difference to when I started at 10am.

I have found 4 boxes of stuff that I collected to do a car boot sale. Do I admit defeat and take it all to the charity shop or attempt to eBay it or keep it until I get around to doing a boot sale?

I'm going to spend an hour in a room downstairs now for a change of scenery. I think I might do the bathroom next as it's the smallest room with the least stuff in it and is fairly straight already so I'll see speedy results!

If you get a friend to agree to do a sale with you and set a date it means you can give each other a push to get it done. Otherwise just give them to charity, they have been sitting for a while and it looks like the good car boot weather may have left the country early this year.

you may want to google the Fly Lady, good tips on keeping your house tidy by doing little but often and email reminders if you sign up.. (a bit spam like with the testimonials but I just delete most of them and only read the ones which tell you your daily/weekly tasks)

Keep going OP - you're probably at that "it looks worse before it gets better" stage - you can do it!

mogsO how has it turned out?
Are you feeling cleaner/tidier/more organised?
Hope so!

I've done my usual go-out-and-pretend-it'll-all--go-away-by-the-time-I-get-home. Unfortunately, it didn't go away. I felt absolutely shattered earlier but am not too bad now so going to try and get a couple of hours of tidying done.

I need to get into the habit of doing an hour of decluttering/sorting every day and I'm sure I'd get it all under control then.

I fear I am a lost cause!

Not a lost cause!
IME it always takes longer to actually do something than you think!
Keep at it!

my tips!!

let your kids use the tv/dvd for operation clean up as they will not keep interrupting you as much

remember the 80/20 rule - whatever you do dont get bogged down in the detail - dragging things from under beds, sorting out draws or makeup etc - you should be able to get 80% of the work done in 20% of the total time it will take to get the house ship shape.

maybe break it down a bit more, work in 20 minute bursts with 5 minute breaks or you will burn out!!!!

OP, Can I have some of your energy today as I'm feeling useless.

Take all the 'stuff' to charity shop. Keep making a pile (with it all being put straight into boxes and bags as you go) and then take it all to charity shop soon as you can.

Thanks for all the tips.

Lmp - the energy wore off quite quickly but I still feel like i'm in decluttering/sorting/tidying mode.

My reason for the big push last weekend was because I had someone coming to the house last Monday. She came and I was quite about all the stuff that is still all around the place but at least it was fairly well organised clutter .

I'm going to spend tomorrow sorting out some more stuff to take to the charity shop as it's probably too late for a boot sale now.