Dont know how to get house tidy

[ManeNachger]

I am unsure what to do. We have a lot of stuff. Small house. What to do. Lots of books. Sigh. Storage, decluttering, usual, sigh. Arts and crafts. Books. Feel overwhelmed. Working on living room. Would pics help?

I'm the same. But we moved to a bigger house and thought great a place for all our stuff. But no...still stuff everywhere. I am slowly getting somewhere with the decluttering.its just general day to day junk lying around

You need to be really ruthless, get rid of everything that you haven't used lately. Bag it all up and drop it off at the charity shop, start with little bits at the time. Put on some music and get it all done!

Have your tired The Organised Mum Method? I haven't, but it seems popular. She works through a room a day, to stay on top of things over the week.

theorganisedmum.blog

I have lots of books and old drawing etc kids have done. I am not a hoarder but there are still a fair few. Will looo at that website in a sec.

Attempt one. This is one of three areas of books in the house.

Pic 2 of toys, printer, keyboard noone uses

You need taller bookcases or a serious/ruthless declutter. We have a one in, one out policy for clothes and books.

Stuff

Come to the decluttering thread. Very active and friendly,

Do you love books? I’d get rid of 50% of your books.

Scares me Joe although I can see why !

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/housekeeping/3298777-Getting-rid-of-one-thing-a-day-decluttering-challenge-Part-4

Houses can only be tidy with minimal stuff.

Two bags, one bin and one charity and clear it.

The bits you have left need permanent homes.

Hiya - same issues so these tools helped me.

Open a cupboard needing cleaned and if you haven't seen it in over a year (like books/she's etx) then box it and sell it or charity it.

Clothes are same as are shoes etc.

Paperwork unless important - shred it and bin it.

Old boxes, anything chipped, cracked, wobbly and needing repaired since 2+ years ago = toss it.

We just did this and our house us now sorted minus the attic which will be easy.

Out garage has just been done too - it's now empty lol.

Please check out the Kon Mari method and flylady's 30 day baby steps. Kon Marie is a genius in my opinion. When we have so much stuff that we do not need. Simply asking 'does this spark joy' is a great way to improve your space. Flylady is good for getting you daily routines in order. You do a little every day. I find I spend a lot less time housekeeping now.

OK. I do love books! Fear I may just buy more again. Also the kids may read them and they get older.

*as they get older

Yeah. Maybe I am just not ready for decluttering MK style... I havent read her actual book but lots of stuff about her online.

Get a good ereader (with e-ink or you wont like reading it) and buy new ebooks instead of physical ones.

1. Ruthless declutter - 3 piles: Bin (broken, tatty, missing pieces - don't fall into the trap of oh the missing bits will turn up, I'll fix it etc). Charity or facebook/ebay/ gum tree sale (good condition but not wanted/ needed/ duplicates). Keep.
2. Action step 1. So do a tip run/ charity shop drop off/ get stuff up for sale. Don't procrastinate as the mess will continue to build up.
3. Storage solutions for things you are keeping. Storage tubs/ boxes. Keep similar items together and neat. If things have a home you are more inclined to put them away and not just put them on the side.
4. Maintain. 10 mins morning and 10 mins at night to tidy. I turn it into a game with DCs- put some silly music on and blitz downstairs. Get a big basket for anything which needs to go upstairs. Take it upstairs and do the same there tidy g and filling the basket with anyrhing for downstairs. Turn it into a race. Can we do the front room before this song finishes. Tidy as we go, so if we at home for the day they don't go from activity to activity - tidy away happyland before we colour. Tidy colouring stuff away before lunch etc. Takes something like 90 days (I think) for something to become a habit.

I'm not perfect by any means! But if we go 2 days without tidying just find it so stressful not being able to find things and gets me down living in clutter

You do not need to buy her book really. I love youtube and there are lots of people showing you their journey and tips. Plus how to fold clothes. Yea Seriously! Since folding her way I have a lot more room in my cupboards and can easily see what I have.

I'm afraid you probably need to grit you teeth and get rid of stuff. Every few months, I go around the house with 3 bags: bin, recycle, donate. Anything that doesn't have a place or hasn't been used in the past year goes in one of the bags. Memories (stuff that I don't want to throw out, but is cluttering the place) get boxed and placed in the attic.

I started off cautious and terrified of binning something useful, but over time I've become absolutely ruthless.

It takes a lot of time, don't get disheartened! Just keep telling yourself that once it's done, it's done, and it'll all be so much easier in future.

I used to have exactly the same problem. I read Mari Kondo and it was an excellent approach to clothes, papers and books. I didn't do it strictly but enough to see that my Nana was correct with 'a place for everything and everything in its place'.

Everything needs a home, if it doesn't have a home it will move around randomly making your house look messy. You either need to create a home or throw away.

It looks like your sofa is off the floor, perhaps some boxes under there, have you got a coat rack or hooks? If not then get one with a shelf above for storage. Shelves over doors for things like bedding and towels if you don't have an airing cupboard. Hooks and baskets on the backs of doors are great too.

One thing I've learnt is that if a cupboard or drawer keep getting messy, I've organised it wrong. The items should be easy to put away properly, if they aren't you will have chaos again. It might take a few tries to get it right but that's OK.

I love decluttering and tidying now, it's really satisfying! I'm currently problem solving for another storage issue and that's also satisfying.

I second Dowager - The Organised Mum Method is amazing! All in little chunks so it's not overwhelming and she has a declutter/boot camp page so you can 'attack' your house then keep on top of it. It's not as scary as MK