a thread for making 2017 a cleaner, tidier and less stressful year?

[MyVisionsComeFromSoup]

I need to declutter, organise, deep clean, and potential redecorate the house as it gets me down. I love the principles of Kondo, but can't quite get the house to the place where I can properly sort one category at a time, so I need to chuck stuff from all the different areas first, before there's any chance of finding eg all stationery bits in order to see which post-its bring joy .

Less crap in the house will clear my head a bit, and let me focus on some health stuff (I'm about to be starting a treatment plan which will make me feel worse before I feel better I suspect), and making everything a lot calmer and more peaceful.

I meal plan and bullet journal sporadically, so I know I need to be more organised with that, I WFH part-time and have piles of paperwork which need clearing, and I really really need to cut down on spending and start properly saving to remodel the house (or move which seems a less stressful option as EVERYTHING in the house needs redoing from roof to floorboards via plumbing, electrics and plastering ). Plus I'd like to free up time and energy to do something about the garden.

Anyone else up for motivational nagging and bum kicking? Or alternatively just posting photos of beautiful minimalism for me to drool over?

Today I want to:
Dechristmas the sitting room
Tidy sitting room
Hoover
Light fire

Today I cleared out the entire play room. I tidied all the new toys away and binned all the broken and lots bits toys. I give it ten minutes before it's a kip again.

I am playing the minimalist game. You get rid of one thing on the first of the month, two things on the second etc. It has made a massive difference already. Read about it on here.

It remains to be seen whether I have shot myself in the foot today by being overly productive and getting rid of lots of things. I'm sure I'll find more things as the month goes on!

I deChristmased yesterday, and decluttered DD2 today (back to uni, not into the bin

Everywhere looks a lot clearer now, ready for tomorrow's big start. And I'm 2 pounds down on last week, probably because I ate all the mince pies the week before

Right - I've made 'the list' and have sorted out 1 drawer - baking stuff and the spices! Next on the list will be the home office area and then getting my travel bag organised for work trips. The worst part of the apartment walk through is the amount of deep cleaning that has to be done ( think skirting boards, dust collecting behind and under furniture). I'm back to work tomorrow so hopefully I'm able to have some evening energy to keep up the good work!!

Well done everyone, sounds like some good achievements!

I got the kids to take the Xmas tree down yesterday (love having an 8 year old - still enthusiastic to help, well, sometimes anyway... and quite able!) and was so pleased we'd made the effort to put it all in the loft... Then today saw the wreath still on the front door! Bugger!

Today I posted 2 ebay parcels and an Xmas swap one, quickly decluttered a stationery drawer. (As I've been away, so am catching up on the January cure - still winning over last year though, when I got the emails and did none of them!)

I took 2 small bags of stuff to the charity shop to get toddler some exercise, and getting lunch in a cafe. When I get home I need to finish tidying the living room before work tomorrow. So some progress, but lots more to go!

I'm planning on having a big session of tidying today. Hopefully I will find DH's watch that he's lost. And repair the damage from him looking for it (randomly scattered stuff everywhere... sigh).

I cleared out and cleaned the condiments and sauces shelf today - and coralled all the curry ingredients into one basket, all the chinese ingredients into another, and all the "other" stuff into a third. Discovered three bottles of cider vinegar, all out of date, but I've kept them till I get a minute to google what cleaning stuff you use cider vinegar for.

Three bags of rubbish, plus a load of recycling, and two loads of the dishwasher so far (I find that DD3 "loads" the dishwasher with about half the stuff, then "forgets" to switch it on as it's not full, and it's only when everything builds up on the side that I discover we're two loads behind. And I hate washing up at the best of times ).

And a meal plan for the next ten days now done, Mr Sainsburys is coming on Friday, and before that we can use up the remains of the Christmas overbuying. Today's final job is to check where the emergency candles and matches are, in case we do have power issues with tomorrow's weather.

I've been looking at the living room though, and have decided that I don't like any of the furniture we have in there - it's an awkward shape with recesses either side of a blocked up fireplace, and the sofa and chairs are a bit too bulky. I need inspiration, folks - where does nice furniture at IKEA prices that isn't necessarily IKEA? I do like the Skandi look though, plus I can get to IKEA fairly easily if bloody Southern ever stop pissing about with strikes so maybe that would be simplest. I need to find a room planner app thing I think.

How is it going for everyone else? Making plans clearing the head a bit?

My Soup - you have been busy! I haven't had a chance to do much recently as work had had to take priority, but my Bullet Journal is working well.

I also realised that when I take the DSs to their after school activity tomorrow I can run a whole load of errands which I haven't had time to do so I'll be off to the bank, the charity shop etc and that'll be another lot of things off my list!

We desperately need to get the house sorted as we're due dc3 in May and the clutter hiding in cupboards and corners is really getting me down.

I find it difficult to get started when my aim is 'sort out everywhere' or 'tidy the dc's room' because it just seems so overwhelming, so i've put the big picture out of my mind and i'm doing it job by job rather than room by room.

The only rule i've set us is that one thing/area gets sorted out (and wiped out/cleaned) every day, no matter how small.

So far we've done:
The cutlery drawer
The (small!) larder
My two make up bags (desperately needed doing even though it only affects me)
Our paperwork cupboard
Mine and dh's underwear drawers
The bathroom cabinet
The dc's bookcase

I have a list of at least another 20 areas that I thought of. Tomorrow is under the kitchen sink for me and dh is off on Friday so he's doing the top of the fridge where stuff has accumulated for some reason .

Just little things but i'm already noticing a difference and enjoying the order and de-cluttered look of various areas!

Bit late to join but this is my aim this year! I'm studying atm and find it difficult to concentrate surrounded by endless stuff.
I have started, so have a massive eBay pile. I'm hoping to sell some of this, combined with 2 months of no council tax payments to fund a new wardrobe, chest of drawers and lift up storage bed for our tiny bedroom! Must get onto that asap!

Today I have
Sorted mug cupboard
Got rid of the plastic plates, bowls and cutlery as dds are 8 and 4 so don't really need them
Sorted laundry cupboard
Sorted toiletries - there's one spare of each at least.
Written meal plan for next week.

For those interested our Tupperware is stored in plastic baskets on top of the kitchen cupboards - if there's no space something has to go.

I have lost the plot with following the January cure a bit, as I had a miserable week last week, but I did manage to get flowers for the kitchen (Morrisons have brightly coloured pussy willow branches! I bought 3 bunches - 2 bright pink and 1 lime green - and they look really nice in a glass vase. ) and it felt nice to treat myself as I wouldn't normally spend money on stuff like that for myself.

I also did the thing about setting a 30 minute challenge today for cleaning the bathroom (it wasn't today's challenge I know). It was in a state, but I bought cilit bang anti limescale and anti mould on offer today and wow they work well! I looked on the January cure website as there's a page that tells you what to clean in there - like grout and stuff!

It ended up taking an hour (i only know how long as 'd'h was complaining about the noise I was making scrubbing ) but I cleaned everything -walls, window & frame, shower screen, head and hose, floor! The bath literally changed colour where the cleaner had been, so it was obviously very effective (or cleaning was long overdue!).

It looks so sparkly in there now. I'm very happy, as whilst I wouldn't have sad it was depressing as it was, it certainly feels uplifting now. Especially the shower screen - all the limescale is gone and with the cleaner it wasn't really hard work either.

Tomorrow I'm going to try and do the fridge, as that was one of the weekend's challenges that I didn't feel up to (well, it was meant to be the whole kitchen, but that feels a bit overwhelming).

I've given up on the January Cure, but I did get copy of 30 Days to a Clean and Organised House as recommended on another thread (I have Kindle Unlimited so loads of books are free) and have done Day One of that, plus a chunk of day 2.

And, I dug out Evil Jillian's 30 Day Shred and have huffed and puffed my way through day one of that, I'm soooooooo unfit .

How is everyone else getting on? I'm finding actually making a start on things (JFDingI) is making a massive difference to my headspace, I'm much less stressy than I was a couple of weeks back, despite this being our busiest time at work. I have meal plans, I have a holiday budget spreadsheet going, I'm on top of paying bills (more or less), there's only half a load of washing in the basket (not looking at DD3 floordrobe though )

I need to do this. We were doing really well towards the end of last year but then had loads of stressy stuff ongoing - loads of forms to fill, appointments etc. So it's lapsed somewhat

@MyVisionsComeFromSoup - could you give any tips from the 30 Days to a Clean and Organised House please?

I've had a good week house-wise.

On Weds I cleaned the fridge (in and out), the fronts of all the kitchen cupboard doors and skirtings.

On Thurs I bleached round the bedroom windows where the condensation builds up and they get mouldy, and cleaned those windows too.

On Friday I started cleaning the bedroom (inspired by the January cure again). I didn't get much done, but cleared off and cleaned the top of the chest of drawers, put an orchid I got for Christmas on there and a few cute ornaments.

Oh and I'm still trying to get the voiles from the bedroom windows to stop being grey! I washed them with glo-white, soaked them in lemon juice and vinegar, then soaked in glo-white and they look no different! :( Unless anyone has any other genius ideas for cleaning them, I guess it's bleach next and then I need to admit I need new curtains. :(

Leeloo, Kim and Aggie used to swear by soaking nets in denture tablet solution.

Thanks @silenceoftheprams, anything is worth a try right now! I wonder what it is in denture tablets that makes it work. Will get some tmrw and report back.

I think it's because they are designed to dissolve bits of grot, and bleach things white?

I've used them for a net lampshade and it came up nicely.

Wow, ok having compared the ingredients in a million different washing things, I left the voiles to soak in milton, as apparently that's a mild bleach, then bought morrisons own brand stain remover (same ingredients as expensive small sachets but a tenth the price and Ariel bio - promised whiter whites and on offer) and it's now white again! Hurray!

I'd gone into morrisons for the denture tablets, but my mum was with me and thought it sounded crazy. I couldn't be bothered to argue and thought that with the other stuff I've got at least I could use them on other stuff if it didn't work, whereas denture tablets are a bit limited use.

Thanks for the advice though.

Is anyone still working on their house, or has everyone finished /got bored?

I cleaned on top of the wardrobes today - goodness they were filthy!

I'm still here and tidying! DH and I cleared the spare room on Sunday which was a tip and dumping ground. We've got rid of loads of things, put things away in better places and have decided how to sell a couple of bits (Stokke changing table anyone?).

I've even managed to actually put papers away in the family filing cabinet (I have a work one in the study downstairs) because there's nothing in front of it.

It's also a dream now to be able to get to the window to draw the curtains!

Well done everyone- keep going!

I'm still here and tidying! DH and I cleared the spare room on Sunday which was a tip and dumping ground. We've got rid of loads of things, put things away in better places and have decided how to sell a couple of bits (Stokke changing table anyone?).

I've even managed to actually put papers away in the family filing cabinet (I have a work one in the study downstairs) because there's nothing in front of it.

It's also a dream now to be able to get to the window to draw the curtains!

Well done everyone- keep going!

Oh well done @pigeonpie, it must be nice to have your dh on board. One of the things I had to do to clean the tops of the wardrobes was to clear dh's lego/electrical boxes off them! I'm hoping to stash them in the attic before he comes home today, as the room looks so much nicer without them there. Sadly there's still his (now clean) massive lego x-wing, but I'm pretty sure he wants that still.

I still have a long way to go. Your comment about being able to reach the curtains struck a chord with me, I cleared everything out of the bay windows for my cleaning frenzy last week, but stuff has snuck back to block a couple of the windows. I have to get to them every day to vacuum them(!), so it'd be nice not to have the irritation of shifting /climbing over stuff. Small goals...

My mum is staying at the moment though and she commented that the house is feeling clearer. I'm not sure if she's just being kind/positive though, as she helped me a lot with the house before Christmas?

Lots of stuff has gone though, so sooner or later it will improve if I keep working away at it. And I'm pleased I've done some big cleaning jobs - like the windows and surrounds, cupboards etc, which I never normally do.

It's the little things which add up @Leeloo2. It's taken us over a year to get to having just the spare room (and the bookshelves on the landing, but we're sort of ignoring them at the moment) to sort (bar the DSs rooms, but I'm afraid they don't count as they're old enough to be responsible for them themselves).

Last year we made the goal to have a new grown up sitting room and dining room which meant completely decorating and some bits of new furniture. We managed it and we're so pleased with the result.

This year's project is decorating the hall, stairs and landing (an easy job you might think, but we have a three-bay book case on the landing!) and we still can't decide on a colour!

Sorting a house doesn't just happen in a few days or weeks (unless you have huge amounts of time), it takes ages to accumulate all the clutter and so it will take time to decide what you want to keep and what you want to let go.

Your mum will notice the difference and I'm sure she meant her comments positively .

It is difficult to know what to do with Lego. Does the X-wing have to remain built or can it go in a box which it's easier to store and then he can have the fun of building it again in the future? Unfortunately, you do need to get your DH on board and making decisions about his stuff otherwise things do slide too easily and keeping it tidy ends up being just your responsibility - but the house is everyone's living space!

Keep it up everyone!

well done to everyone making progress . And well done to everyone who might be lurking, cos clicking on this thread means you've made a start, it really is the small things adding up.

So far I've managed to get an 8 inch pile of paperwork dealt with and filed, and it now has 14 things in it, some of which are other peoples, and one which is reference, but I haven't quite worked out the best place to put it yet.

Ok 30 Days book - basics are, you have three parts to each day - cleaning, organising and maintaining. Cleaning is wiping, dusting, scrubbing, etc, throwing away rubbish. Organising is sorting through and putting away, Maintaining is going back to what you've already cleaned and tidied, and making sure it still is.
Daily Cleaning Routine - bedroom - make bed, pick up clothes, clear bedside table, check floor, hoover if needed. Bathroom - wipe sink, shower, toilet, mirror, check floor, change towels as needed. Kitchen - dishwasher, empty and clean sink, wipe counters, put clutter in a pile to deal with later, clean floor if needed. Living Room - straighten all cushions/throws, tidy magazines, games etc, wipe table tops, put mugs/plates in dishwasher, check floor.
Day 1 will take much longer cos probably it's in a bit of a state, but Day 2 will be much easier because it's started out better ifswim?

Day 1 organising task is spice cupboard, Maintenance task is laundry - get it all done (if too much, plan on one extra load per day until you're on top of it).

Day 2 has Daily Tasks, clean fridge (take everything out, chuck out what needs to go out, wash shelves etc put it all back so you can see what's what); organise under kitchen sink; maintenance is spend extra time in bedroom (dust, change sheets, hoover properly).

Day 3 adds get rid of clutter onto Daily Task, Cleaning Task, Organising Task and Maintenance Task.

Everything is broken down into little steps, for eg she tells you which bits of the fridge to clean with what, and how to organise store cupboard shelves - most of it is stuff you already know (keep like with like), but she sets it out in a non-patronising way, and is v keen on home made cleaners and microfibre cloths rather than wipes.

Wow @pigeonpie, I like your goal of the year idea, that sounds like a good way to improve the house.

2(?) years ago I repainted our stairs and hallways. It was a bit of a labour of love as I was doing it when the kids were napping or asleep and I was painting over seventies style wallpaper which took a few coats. It looks so much better though, I did it in 2 colours (hard-wearing paint on the bottom and light reflecting paint on the top) with a painted stripe dado. The only thing is I can't find a carpet to match - i was going to get a brown/blue stripe, but the brown made the walls look orange! So I'd definitely recommend choosing flooring at the same time if you're changing that too. :) oops someone at door. Back later...