SUMMER HOLIDAYS HOUSE BLITZ!

[fuzzpig]

Excuse me for shouting in the title :o

My house is utterly, completely hideous. As in, can't see the floor in the bedroom, no clear surfaces, can't find anything, falling over stuff hideous.

I've never been house proud but it's spiralled further and further as my mental health got worse, and then in 2011 my physical health followed :(

Apart from when I have flare ups of my condition(s) I have just about got used to keeping on top of the two biggest things, washing up and laundry. I am doing those now since DH started FT work a few months ago (he was unemployed due to being injured for a long time and is really struggling to adjust now). He does this on weekends and does the tidying up stuff but TBH it's like trying to bail out the Titanic with an egg cup. POINTLESS.

I seriously, really and truly can't handle this anymore. The mess is making me more ill and I'm totally disgusted that my DCs have to live with it. I just want to cry. Or burn it all (but then I panic at the thought of throwing stuff away).

Anyway. DCs are on summer holidays as of next Friday. I will hopefully be recovered from current virus as I REALLY need to tackle this. But I need to be careful as doing too much will make me more ill. I keep making the mistake of doing too much and then by the time I've gone to work as well, I've messed up the entire week because I've pushed my physical limit too far. I only work 12 hours but it's a very fine, precarious line.

I need some buddies for mutual support and motivation. HELP.

Gah, sorry the photos of my doodles haven't come out very clear. Basically lots of shelves and a couple of drawers that are currently full of random crap but need to become a specific home for something :o

Argh this is really testing my brain. I have never lived in a tidy home. Not even when I was tiny. My parents were/are hoarders too, I'd say worse than I've been but they had a huge house with spare rooms.

I don't actually know HOW to do this.

Well I managed to put clean beddin on and put away some laundry

I find housework and the like really gets me down these days and I am starting to think it's because so called dp appears to have decided to take a back step so I am doing the vast majority

Sigh

What a git. Can you start leaving all his laundry and stuff? Just focus on yours and the DCs.

Well done on getting stuff done today!

Why is the weather so rubbish, I want to dry my washing

I love my tumble dryer

Annoys me no end though for the non dryer friendly items which I hang on radiators and then dc3 pulls them off and throws the round the house!

His shit being everywhere pisses me off tbh I would rather not see it

I read a book (recommended on here but I can't remember the title) which said you shoudl start in your bathroom because of the Toothbrush Principle. Which is - you never lose your toothbrush because each time you use it, you put it back in it's place. So the next time you need it, it;s always there. So, you've already made a start, and just need to apply that to everything else. Bathroom is good to start with as generally there's not too much stuff needs to be there, and it doesn't get as much stuff dumped there as other rooms.

So, start with where your toothbrush goes, then toothpaste, then soap/flannel/shower gel/shampoo. Chuck out bottles with just a dribble left in them because you're never actually going to finish it (or do finish it if you're that kind of person). Same thing to medicine cabinet - things you need regularly need a place at the front, out of date stuff goes out. Where do you keep your spare loo rolls, do you need somewhere to store them? I ended up buying a cheap white wicker set of drawers to put in the bathroom to store loo rolls in, rather than having them sitting in a packet in the corner. Looks tidier, they now have a place to go.

Then you move on to the next room, and do the same thing. What do I do in this room, how often do I do it, what do I need, and where does it usually end up. If eg post ends up on a coffee table, put a basket there to put it in, then it has a place. Similarly with hair bobbles and brushes. Where do they always get put, make a home for them there.

I'm gradually working on different bits of the house doing this - I don't have a dressing table so in "my cupboard" in the bedroom I have spare contact lenses/packets of tissues/spare mouthwash at the back, the along the front of the cupboard I have everything I need in the morning laid out in the order I use it - so current strips of contacts then deodorant then face wipes then moisturiser then foundation. So as each thing is used, it goes back in it's place, and doesn't end up anywhere else. I also never lose my glasses as they always go back on the bedside table when i take them off.

I'm only organised like this in a few places though (bathroom/my cupboard/crockery cupboards/cutlery drawer) as the rest is still a work in progress . Getting rid of the Stuff is proving hard .

Aaaah tumble dryers. We did have a washer dryer but when it died we decided to only opt for a normal washing machine as the dryer bit was crap anyway. Saves a fortune in electricity I guess (trying to find the silver lining) but I do miss fluffy towels!

My dc are forever leaving toothbrushes on the bathroom floor. Grim

Thanks Leaping that's helpful. Starting in the (tiny) bathroom is a good plan.

I know I need to be much more on the ball when I've sorted somewhere, at KEEPING it sorted! I tend to lose all motivation, it feels pointless because everywhere else is so awful.

it's a Flylady thing as well - start with keeping a small place sorted, and the sorted-ess spreads.

Right, plan for the bathroom (hopefully next week if by then I can actually stand up for more than a few seconds )

Empty shelf (slightly odd shaped, wide tiled windowsill)
Throw away anything I'm not actually using - I've done this a while back but I could be even more ruthless
Clean shelf
Put used products on shelf
Empty 'medicine cupboard' (not actually used for medicines as you can't even lock it and it's under a heater ) of odd bits of random crap
Decide what's actually going to live in cupboard - I guess STs/tampons, spare toothbrush heads/toothpaste, erm...
Put stuff back in cupboard nicely
Take toys out of bath/sink - they aren't even supposed to be in the bathroom
Clean everything/wipe down/vacuum/mildew spray thing

Leaping hi! The book I think you mean is by Sheila Chandra and it's called Banish Clutter Forever - How the toothbrush principle will change your life
(And it did!) fuzzpig I think you'd find it really helpful too. She goes through what to think about, and how to go about organising & banishing clutter room by room.

Good plan to start with the bathroom. Do you have a smallish plastic tub/container that would home the bath toys? So you can just lob them in when bath time's over.

They aren't even bath toys just a few toy cars and animals that have been (mis)appropriated, and consequently need a damn good clean

Got to put the second uniform/work stuff wash on as soon as DH gets home, he will be ironing it all tonight. Will do normal wash after as current clothes on airer should be dry by the morning so I can air the wet stuff as soon as I'm awake.

I hope one day all this stuff becomes ingrained habit so I don't have to think about it!

Could you get away with just chucking them out? Remember the 'does it add value to my life?' consideration. Would the kids even notice?! Go on, let them go ( be brave!) instead of thinking about cleaning them.

Yey inroads being made on the washing. And DH ironing:)

He won't let me iron as I'm crap at it :o

And yes I'll throw the toys in the bathroom away.

Woo. You'll be fine! Do it now before you change your mind!
Then tell yourself how easy it was and how thats now (number) less things to tackle:)

Right

Determined to crack on today

However dd has decided she is going to be very demanding so how far I will actually get is a different story

How have you got on today, fuzzpig?

I got up all motivated to do some basic housework, but DH dragged us all out to an event at a village about half an hour from us. So I have had a great day, but my house still looks terrible Must get something done tomorrow

I have only managed laundry today. Feeling worse, wheezy and generally terrible. Trying to declutter in my head instead

Definitely don't feel bad, laundry is a big job!
Hope you feel better soon

I second the person who suggested a basket for hair stuff, maybe one would fit under the unit in your diagram or inside a cupboard?
Can VHSes go in with the DVDs?

I think your expedit/shelves look great and really organized! Is the stuff open or in baskets? If the stuff is open maybe getting the baskets that fit in the expedit would help?

In an alcove in the living room I have an old-fashioned roll top desk with 4 drawers below:
drawer 1: wrapping paper, tape, gift bags, jiffy bags to re-use, parcel tape, permanent marker etc.

drawer 2: small electric things (chargers, wires, wii remotes when we had them, battery chargers, electrical adapters, 4 ways not in use)

drawer 3: family paper work. I just use a clear polypocket (those ones with holes in that you're supposed to use in a ring binder) for each "type" of paperwork e.g. I have one for HMRC, one for payslips, one for each bank account, one for my mobile phone etc. I write on the polypocket what goes inside but to be honest you can actually see that at first glance anyway. All the polypockets live in a neat piles inside the drawer and about once a month week I put in any new paperwork e.g. bank statements etc

drawer 4: this one needs work. It has: unused cards, postcards and also all my card making stuff, some craft stuff, 2-3 board games and my camera. I need to make it a proper craft drawer and get rid of my other craft box.