House has done a death spiral into chaos. Accountability unspiralling thread. Do join!

[frenchonion]

In short, my house has nosedived into an absolute bomb site. I have a few hours this afternoon to make a start on rescuing it, but super struggling with motivation! Thought maybe plonking it all down on here might help get me going. Do join with your own tales of owning this housekeeping shit! A mn pal or two to chat to along the way would be ace. Jobs 1-3 for me... 1) Clothes and washing. Clothes everywhere. Need to restore the system. 2) tidy my room. I'm not sleeping in it tonight either so the bed will stay made! And 3) Gather aaallll the dishes that have migrated into funny places thanks to three semiferral DC who think nothing of putting a cup on the edge of the bath or using a spoon to scoop out their bloody bloody pots of slime and leaving it to solidify on there.

Hi, can I join in, Have been completely floored by a cold all weekend, so the house is complete disarray. Am currently doing as break clean ups, ie swept sitting room floor during an ad break, washed plates and bowls during another one. Going to do cups and glasses during the next one.

DH did manage to do some gardening over the weekend (my efforts there were limited to harvesting broccoli and pulling up 2 of the 4 broccoli plants - as I then had to transform that broccoli into soup for freezer and today's lunch!).

I managed to use up some of the egg mountain by making 2 trays of lemon drizzle cake - mostly for the junior sailors, but some for home and some came into work today.

I put away my clothes from the hot press and tidied 2 drawers. And I cleared another section of the spare bedroom.

I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but I also had Cubs on Saturday morning, and spent all day yesterday at the sailing club (last day of junior training - that I am responsible for - and last day of the winter sailing series, that I am racing in, trying to learn how to sail properly). So I really didn't have a lot of time at home. Followed by helping DD with her homework and doing the ironing (DH had sorted and folded all the clean clothes already).

Today, I left the house with the dishwasher running, dinner for tonight in the oven with the timer set, and a load of laundry in the machine which will be washed by the time we get home. I only have 1 more load to wash in the basket, and to change the towels. And I will work on organizing the more management end of my Scouts paperwork for an hour after my course tonight (last week's paperwork was all about organizing Cub activities and programme resources - I ignored codes of conduct, GDPR requirements, Group Council minutes etc temporarily by just collecting them all into another large pile).

Slightly late to the party but hoping I can still join?!

Got lots going on lately and my mental health has taken a bit of a nosedive. Doing a few things to try and help - looking for a new job, starting to exercise (first workout tonight!) and a declutter.

House is good on the surface but needs a going declutter, mostly kids stuff. My job for today is to organise the 3 drawer tower that my eldest uses for arts and crafts, and hasn't even opened for 6 months! I'm condensing all arts into one drawer and then using the other two for other toys upstairs (thinking a dolls/accessories drawer and maybe a 'bits of other plastic' drawer). Hoping her bedroom will look tidier and more organised for it 🤞🏻 youngest DD is in that room now too so it just feels cluttered and messy all the time. Need to go through all the kids clothes drawers too today.

Wish me luck!

Right, still very slow to get going today but I did another stint in the DC's shared bedroom. Sorted out DS1's clothes and made a start on DC2's - hoping to do a bit more on this after tea plus make the beds which are airing atm. The difference from yesterday morning is amazing. Other than a small pile for the charity shop which I will bag up later, there is nothing on the floor at all. Still need to clean the windows and get new blinds & curtains sorted.

Kitchen still looks OK from the weekend, washing up is sorted, 2 loads of laundry dried / hanging to dry and a third on currently plus tea is underway. Just sitting down pre-schoolrun to sort out some school / life admin.

Still going slowly at Casa Adora, but I did clean bathroom sinks today, also a shelf in the shower where bottles had been left. I’m struggling due to muscle spasm following a dislocated shoulder so not much is getting done unless DH does it between work/garden/dogs and visiting his father. MIL passed away recently so he’s away almost as much as he home recently. Very concerned about FIL so house work is understandably not top of his list.

I'm doing enough to stop the house getting any worse but still not really making a dent to gain any ground.

Even the weekend is a struggle to get time in. I've looked at calendar and due to weddings and birthdays, our next free Saturday is 27th April!

But DD is about to start nursery so that will open up some more time.

In the meantime I'm trying to stick to the One Touch rule. Meaning I put things away the moment I am finished with it.

I'm also going to copy the poster above and do quick jobs in ad breaks. Guess that doesn't work for Netflix though!

Towels are in the washing machine, will be ready to hang on the line when I get home. Yesterday's 2 loads are split between the clothes horse and tumble dryer (that got halfway through this morning before we left so I will finish it when we get in) and should both be dry tonight. And I sorted another small pile last night in between the other chaos that is Monday's in our house......

Good job BiddyPop! That does sound like a lot of washing!

I've cleaned the bathroom today whilst giving DD a bath. (managed to rub snot in her hair so needed one)

And I've cleaned her play d'oh box and it's contents because it was littered with mouse poo. Oh and I've re-set the mouse traps.

I've reorganised the dining room/ playroom. The only problem is that I know have a giant box for art and craft and no where to put it!

Got to the bottom of the washing pile and have the dreaded job of folding everything up now.

Things are slowly getting done.

Am going to start in the sitting room this morning! Going to set a timer, it seems to motivate me more.

Making the most of a child free couple of hours. I've scrubbed the kitchen and reorganised the underwear drawer. Stopping for a brew then going to do some tidying.

The house wasn't in too bad a state today and then I left DP with the DC for half an hour whilst I had a shower..... the kitchen was trashed. He'd let them bring their play sink in there, fill it with water (from the proper sink) several times, slosh it all over the floor, bring the sofa cushions in and jump on them, etc etc.....

I told him that HE will have to clean it all up and HE can sort out all the washing (mountains of it!). He's made a start and then sulked off to bed. Well, it can stay there for all I care - I'm fed up of him thinking he can cause utter filth and chaos everywhere and I'll clean it all up for him, because him and the DC are 'having fun'.

How is everyone else?!

@RubySlippers77 I have a similar level of frustration with my DH. He loads the dishwasher every day, but if there isn't anymore room in the dishwasher he leaves it in a pile in the sink. Which then starts to smell, I tell him all the time just to wash up the last bit by hand!

My house is slowly getting under control, bathroom is sparkling. DD old clothes are ready to go in the attic, and down stairs is mostly clear. If only I could move into a bigger house with more storage!

Sock my DP's other favourite trick is to throw all the DTs' toys into their toyroom and just shut the door. I come downstairs having got them to bed and think wow, what a tidy living room we have! Er no, he hasn't bothered to put anything away and has just moved the mess from one room to another

Still, true to my word I haven't helped at all with the kitchen clean up. It was disgusting and still needs a good clean but the washing is 90% done. I could've cried when I saw it, he'd even let the DC drag in coats and clothes and add them to the mess - no idea why.

DP is off work tomorrow and was looking forward to a peaceful day pottering around and pretending to get jobs done. He was most dismayed when I informed him (yet again) that the Easter holidays have started and there's no school

Anyone else's house already an utter state a few days into the Easter hols?!

DP let the DC throw loads of stuff - their drinks, toys, cushions etc - into the (almost empty) cupboard under the stairs yesterday. I have left it for him to clear up. You'd think he'd have learned from the kitchen debacle...!

Why is he allowing that? Throwing drinks into a cupboard? Soaking the kitchen and allowing them to damage the sofa and soak their clothes? Just bizarre behaviour

IamMummy I have no idea. He thinks it's amusing to watch them running wild and then reckons I will clean it up as I do 90% of the cleaning and tidying. If it's an accident or normal play, fair enough, but allowing them to be deliberately destructive/ over the top? Not on. I send them out in the garden or take them to the park if they have waaaaay too much energy.....

He did clean it up today (he's learning!) and we did quite a lot round the house as the DC were at their GPs. Having a few days' holiday at home with the DC is hopefully making him see how impossible it is to get anything productive done with them both around!

Sounds like you have a good education program there for your DH, RubySlippers77

I felt like I hadn't been making much progress but DM commented yesterday that my living room and kitchen were looking really nice and tidy. (that sounds passive aggressive when written down but she knows how much I've struggled to get on top of the cleaning and this was a sincere compliment)

Got another full weekend coming up but I'm going to try and get DH to hang up a couple of pictures for me in the bedroom to make it look more finished.

Utter chaos here - both indoors and in the garden. And I don't even want to think about the shed.

Oh well, here goes... wish me luck!

I've had a name change, I used to be sock. I'm slowly getting through things here. I've got together loads of stuff to go into the loft/ charity shop. I've also cleaned the inside of the fridge, I'm feeling calmer already

Can I join?

We've all been down with various illnesses (sinus infection, colds, coughs, vomiting bugs) for about a month. The house looks like it's a tip.
Jobs:

1. Get all the bags for charity to the charity shop (currently hanging out in the hallway)
2. Get back on the laundry mountain. (track down all the stashes of dirty socks and put the clean clothes away)
3. Marie Kondo my wardrobe (drawers are done) and bag up any spare clothes for charity.
4. Clear the dining table - let us eat like civilised people again (rather than just pushing crayons and toys and random stuff to the middle)
5. Clean out the fridge.
6. Get the toys in the living room organised and in the correct place.
7. Clear out the stash of old magazines (think DH has hoarding problem)
8. Sort through the three shelves of cookbooks - surely some can go to charity??
9. Sort out the shoes - DH does not need 15 pairs of shoes downstairs. There's no space for anyone else! (3 shelves, each shelf holds six pairs of mens shoes - I share my shelf with DD).

Essentially make downstairs a home again.