My house is making me sad, angry and snappy!

[heavenlydevils]

My house is utter chaos. I know what I need to be doing to sort it out, I am not good at prioritising! (ie. Oven needing cleaning vs. Dishes needing washing - I'll decide the oven must be done NOW and leave the dishes!)

Storage is not a problem, getting my dh and dcs to use the storage is a problem, none of them tidy after themselves - I know i need to stop this, I do everything bar actually dress them or chew their food! I'm not exaggerating! Makes it worse that they are (in order of messiness) 10, 39 and 11! We just have too much mess and too much stuff!

So, now that my moan's over I am going to go and clean the kitchen and then sort out the food cupboards (mounds of food that no one will eat, Id like to start meal planning instead of just buying random food each week!)

All kicks up the bum to jolly me along or tips on making my life easier and my house more organised greatly received! I know number 1 tip will be make everyone pick up after themselves, I will, they don't ask me to do it, I just do it, they need retraining!

Forgot to say that dh is actually never really here long enough(very long, irregular working hours) so assigning him jobs doesn't really work for us (I could be waiting a week for something I could do within 5 minutes!) I need to get the house into a routine/state that is easy to keep on top of.

Take a look at the unfuck your habit thread - I have a DH who works away mon-fri and two messy kids, plus I work, and am studying for a diploma, so I feel your pain, but this has remotivated me and is nice and simple (so long as you don't mind a bit of swearing)

Definitely recommend doing a meal plan. I've printed off a load of these (the second one down) and sit down once a week and plan for the week ordering my shop as I go and collect the next day. Has saved me loads of time and I no longer waste a shit tonne of food and money every week.

I would be getting the DC's to tidy up after themselves more. What do you have that you could hold to ransom? Pocket money? time on the computer? Give them a list of things that is expected of them. If they don't do it, they don't get their reward. If you're problem is they have too much stuff how about suggesting they sort through the toys that they have outgrown/no longer play with that are still in decent condition and help them list them on gumtree/ebay. Maybe let them keep the profit or use the money for a family day trip somewhere?

the other thing that has helped me get on top of housework is list making. I now feel a bit anxious if I don't have access to a lined note book and pen. Night before I write down all the things I have to do the following day i.e appointments, collecting stuff from/going to post office, things I need to do on my lunchbreak etc. Then list the usual day to day housework and lastly one other task whether it's tackle a cupboard, clean oven, change beds. It took a few weeks to see any really difference but my washing and ironing baskets are empty 85% of the time rather than spilling over which they used to be and I no longer

I keep a large wicker basket in my wardrobe which I throw things into during the month that I no longer want/wear/use. Then once a month sort through it. Decide what to donate to charity, what to list on Ebay and what to just bin. Oh and I have a rule that if I say it's going on Ebay I have to put it up within a week otherwise I know it will just sit there forever.

Hope there is a few ideas there that work for you.

I echo list making too, I work 2 days but the 3 I am at home I look upon as a “job” and have a routine of things I do each day, sounds very boring but basic cleaning of my house and doing a couple of extra things each time does not take long because it is never that messy or unorganised. You can only keep on top of the daily chores if the house is in order to start with, so firstly take a look at the 40 day declutter thread, the idea of it is to spend a really short time each day clearing just one drawer or cupboard, obviously some days you may have more time than others and could do 2 or 3 in a day. Here:

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=www.mumsnet.com/Talk/good_housekeeping/a1766888-DECLUTTER-in-40-days-care-to-join-me&sa=U&ei=Zy0zUq-FJuSo0QW0xoGoCw&ved=0CAcQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNFymjX9Kx_aw9LxBJKsoXbo4RYC_Q" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.google.com/url?q=www.mumsnet.com/Talk/good_housekeeping/a1766888-DECLUTTER-in-40-days-care-to-join-me&sa=U&ei=Zy0zUq-FJuSo0QW0xoGoCw&ved=0CAcQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNFymjX9Kx_aw9LxBJKsoXbo4RYC_Q

I would also make the dcs tidy up and do chores in return for pocket money or time on laptops etc. Mine have to make their beds, keep their rooms tidy (I clean them but they have to clear the clutter off the floor so I can!) and also keep their bathroom reasonable (pick up towels, wash the sink out), they lay the table and clear the table too. Yes they moan and I nag but they know that they won't be able to do the things they want if they don't help .

I probably have lots of tips but would not want to scare you (very anal!!).

Thank you for your replies! Lots of good advice.

Had a free day today so kitchen has been completely emptied, cleaned and only things we like/need have gone back into the cupboards and drawers, everything else has been binbagged (4 of them!) and either recycled or tipped. Have two spare drawers now that where 'junk drawers' - junk that no one will miss!

Dcs were ordered straight upstairs to put school bags and things in their rooms instead of things being strewn all over the house and even a "would you like me to do anything else mum?" - no nagging required!

Will have a coffee now whilst making a list of the lists you've given and have a quick look at the unfuck your habit thread (swearing and housework go hand in hand!)

10, 39 and 11 is old enough to help !! If everything has a place then everything can be put away when finished with... Or it goes into the big bad box and doesn't come out at least a month ! Unless earned by extra tiding up and generally being good !! Works in our house ! :-)

Haha I like the idea of the big bad box! I put things that don't belong in the kitchen but were to be put away into a big canvas bag earlier. Doesn't have the same menacing 'I mean business' tone as a big bad box though! I definitely need a permanent BBB!

You could have a Big Black Bin Bag! I think it would be great if getting things back form the BBB was earned by vacuuming!

tee hee ! hope its working for you !