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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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Original poster

Huge decluttering mission

27 replies

Edenviolet · 02/05/2014 22:07

So, Sunday and Monday are going to be my 'spring clean' days.

The house is a tip and I need to thoroughly clean and declutter as once again we are at the stage of only moving stuff from one place to another as everywhere is so cluttered and disorganised. I need to:

Get rid of 95% of dcs cuddly toys (we have about 500) and only keep those with sentimental value.

Get rid of all clothes that no longer fit me, dh and dcs and fold/organise the rest.

Completely declutter the huge built in wardrobe in dds room which is so full when I open the door everything will fall out. Do the same with the wardrobe and cupboard in ds room.

Change all the bedding.

Hoover, dust, clean everywhere.

Deep clean the bathroom and toilet

Help dd1 declutter and reorganise under her cabin bed (she has millions of trinkets, notebooks, pens etc it is a complete mess).

Clean kitchen cupboards, throw away out of date tins etc, and reorganise.

Sort through paperwork mountain, file and shred.

Make a start on the washing mountain.

Any tips? Iam dreading it but it has to be done.

OP posts:

Notcontent · 02/05/2014 23:17

I think that's too much to do in two days. E.g. Just organising the clothes will take half a day. You need to be realistic. Or maybe I am just slow!

Original poster

Edenviolet · 03/05/2014 08:12

It is a lot, but I'm so desperate to get it done! Got up early this morning as decided I'd do some today as well but dd2 not very well so its proving difficult.

OP posts:

4littleones · 03/05/2014 09:25

I agree it's too much. I have been decluttering and spring cleaning too but it's taking weeks/months. I must of started in January and although the house looks a million times better, there is still a lot to be done.

If you have 2 days I would choose one room and just concentrate on that. Your much more likely to produce long term results and not end up with half finished jobs. Also you can then spend time cleaning and decluttering at the same time and have a really good end result. If you end up finishing early, you can always move onto something else when you have done, but don't get disheartened if you don't.

itiswhatitiswhatitis · 03/05/2014 09:31

That is a lot I've been on a mission since January (but am decorating each room as I go).

It might be doable if you have one room you don't use much (spare room?) that can operate as a holding area for everything that need to go. That way you can clear you rooms then concentrate on getting rid of things. Alternatively I would go with just de cluttering and leaving the deep clean until everything is gone.

Original poster

Edenviolet · 03/05/2014 11:32

I just feel like I have to take the opportunity while I have it as dh is at home for three days to look after dcs while I get on!

So far I have filled five bin bags for the charity shop with cuddly toys, old toys and clothes. Now I'm going through dds wardrobe and decluttering the dressing up box and hopefully getting rid of lots of old toys.
I wasn't going to do much today but couldn't stop myself starting the tidying as am sick and tired of the mess!

OP posts:

newlark · 03/05/2014 13:15

Good luck - don't worry if you don't get everything done on your list but I hope it goes well! I have found when the whole house feels like a disaster zone that the flylady crisis cleaning aproach here helps - work in 15 minute blocks with a timer. Do 3 block on 15 mins in different rooms then 1 block off with a cup of tea/sit down. Just doing 15 mins in each room/on each task at a time keeps the mind really focussed and I found I got more done overall than if I tried to finish one job completely first.

newlark · 03/05/2014 13:16

3 blocks of 15 mins

specialsubject · 03/05/2014 15:02

BTW don't throw away out of date tins unless blown or damaged. Eat the contents!

better stock control in future, but you don't need to waste loads.

a common kitchen clutterer is herbs and spices; they DO lose flavour if too old so chuck. Resolve only to buy what you actually use.

that said, I had to move house to make myself implement this advice...

Original poster

Edenviolet · 03/05/2014 22:56

Well, managed to get 10 bin bags full of stuff to the charity shop and a lot of rubbish thrown away.
Sorted through dcs clothes and put all the clean things away.

Managed to change ds1 and dd2s beds but the house looks like a bombs hit it as I went through cupboards, pulled everything out etc and am planning on finishing tomorrow.
It doesn't seem much different but I'm hoping it will be easier to tidy and clean on Monday if I spend tomorrow decluttering as well.

OP posts:

4littleones · 04/05/2014 14:07

wow well done! I am going to keep reading here to inspire me. DH is away Tuesday to Friday this week and although I will have all the DC, I will actually be able to get stuck in upstairs as he is usually on nights so asleep when I'm doing my house work! which means my room is a constant tip!

WhoNickedMyName · 04/05/2014 16:30

How are you getting on today?

I think you did the right thing starting with the clothes. I bet the charity shop were made up with you! I always find clothes the worst thing for cluttering up the place - the whole "hmm I might wear this again, it's worth hanging on to even though it doesn't fit/it's lived in the ironing basket for six months/I haven't worn it in years".

We've recently moved and had a massive de-clutter before we did, but even now as I'm unpacking boxes I'm still chucking/charity bagging loads of stuff. I'm determined to be ruthless and have a good declutter every six months or so from now on.

DearPrudence · 04/05/2014 16:49

Good luck with the mission. Don't lose heart if you don't get it all done.

The best tip I read on here was to get rid of 10 things every single day. If you're really busy you can open a kitchen drawer and chuck out 10 little things in about 2 minutes. Other days you might go for a shelf in the wardrobe. I often found myself doing loads more than 10 items but the main trick was to do it every day.

Original poster

Edenviolet · 04/05/2014 21:03

Tried to do the blocks of 15 mins today so did 15 mins in each bedroom, made beds, dusted shelves,curtain rails, skirting boards and neatened up then had a break.
Did four loads of washing and tidied and decluttered two drawers in the kitchen.

Dh hurt his back after lunch so the rest of the day was spent looking after dcs I he could sit down but at least I'd got a few things done.

OP posts:

newlark · 04/05/2014 21:41

Well done Hedgehog - that sounds like major progress!

chocolatespiders · 04/05/2014 21:56

Really impressed
I am meant to be doing similar but finding it hard to motivate myself. The 15 min blocks sound like what I need.

Original poster

Edenviolet · 04/05/2014 22:16

I even managed to get dcs to help, well dd1 and ds1 put some clothes away for me which really is progress!

I'm hoping to get a lot done tomorrow ,it had really got to the point where we couldn't ever find anything and I was holding on to stuff for no good reason. A few bits I wasn't sure about but now its gone I feel a lot better. I estimate I need to get rid of at least another 6-10 bags of stuff (old toys, broken things and just things we no longer need) before it will be noticeable.
I think the kitchen will be where I concentrate tomorrow as there are two cupboards full to the brim of rubbish, old lunch boxes, bags, pots and pans we don't use and lots of trays. We Have too many tea cups too and dd2 s medicine cupboard needs reorganising.

OP posts:

SlatternMissesherGrumpyCat · 04/05/2014 22:50

Well done. You have achieved loads.

Original poster

Edenviolet · 04/05/2014 23:00

Its hard as it still looks a mess, probably because I've been emptying drawers etc and sorting out so nothing is in the right place yet.

Hopefully tomorrow I can spend the morning decluttering a bit more then the afternoon putting things where they should be and tidying up.

OP posts:

4littleones · 05/05/2014 07:41

Hedgehog that's the problem really isn't it? Feels very unrewarding at times. But I am sure it will look amazing when it's done.

Busymumto3dc · 05/05/2014 08:42

Yesterday I cleaned out my worst and largest crap cupboard! It felt good!

Also cleaned and defrosted freezer and threw out all the stray peas that were rolling around in there

littlegreengloworm · 05/05/2014 08:47

Well done hedgehog!! Following this as I am a bit of a decluttering addict. Have gutted my whole house out but new aby.. Tonnes of stuff creeping back in.

I would definitely recommend having a day or two where the house is put back together again or it will get you down. Maybe work up until six tonight, including tidying after and forget about it until Wednesday.

Nishky · 05/05/2014 08:50

Inspired to get off my butt to declutter my own nightmare of a house. Thank you

Busymumto3dc · 05/05/2014 09:28

I have just cleared another cupboard! Only a small kitchen one this time though but have discarded all out of date meds and sorted through random tat

Original poster

Edenviolet · 05/05/2014 12:18

Done a lot more in dcs rooms this morning. Ds1 had a four drawer plastic storage unit, it was full to the brim but the plastic had split so I sorted through it and got rid of everything except the toy cars he still plays with, they are now in a box under his bed and the storage drawers have gone.
Sorted out a box with all the hats and scarves etc too and put away the big winter coats sothe hallway looks a lot better.

OP posts:

WhoNickedMyName · 05/05/2014 14:33

Inspired by this thread I've sorted my kitchen baking cupboard, I've binned all of the nearly empty packets and cake tins that have seen better days and I can actually see what's in there now.

Also sorted a cupboard that was full of Tupperware boxes and random lids, lots of which didn't fit, so they've gone on the recycling pile.

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