House is in chaos - where to start??

[mumclaire]

I am not a good housekeeper - I'm 4mths pg and have a 18mth dd. My house is an absolute tip - there is clutter everywhere and I feel I'm drowning under it all. I work part-time from home whilst looking after dd and as dd is frightened of hoover find it difficult to clean during the day. By the time dd is in bed and I've made dinner I'm so shattered I struggle to move let alone clean. DH is taking dd to visit mil this weekend so I have some spare time to clear up - where can I start?? what would you good housekeepers do??

Demolition?

Might be stating the blindingly obvious here, but what is bugging you most? Floors that need hoovering? Unsorted and unironed washing everywhere? Kitchen full of stuff that doesn't belong there? Hall full of stuff that needs to go to the tip/garage/attic? Pick one thing and deal with it, you will feel so much better.

Am off to take my own advice now. Think my hall is bothering me most!

Hmm. Am not a brilliant housekeeper but know how depressing it can be when clutter is everywhere.
Thing is, I rather enjoy cleaning, so underneath everything was pretty decent, just you couldn't see it for the clutter.

First thing first. What really bothers you?
I found oddly that the spare room annoyed me most because it had become a complete dumping ground. So I had a massive blitz in there and it gave me the impetus to carry on.

Also, we have just had a new kitchen and a loft extension, so seeing completely uncluttered rooms gave me a thirst for more! Still have too much stuff, but bought lots of storage boxes for the playroom and spent maybe an hour each day when dd was out and ds was having a nap just sorting through stuff.

Spent about a day filing and organising all our paperwork and now once a week file everything. Was immensely liberating knowing that I could access everything I needed to.

Also... and this is . Have roganised to have cleaners in once a fortnight. I found that that gave me the push to get everything in the right place, so that they could clean properly. Once it's done it's then important to make sure things don't slide again.

I'm happier with the house now, but it's still comfortable and lived in. Couldn't cope with living in a show house.

i always start in kitchen tops and everything on them then floor,then dining room,frontroom,stairs,bathroom then bedrooms.i clear everything off every surface and put in middle of room so ive got to sort it!im worlds worst cleaner though!my youngest ds goes to a cm 4 hours a week so i have motivation to do housework

hmm - think its my bedroom that annoys me most - if i can create sanctuary there then thats a start then probably study/work area. Must resist MN though!!
So those who are organised - how do you do it if you have a destructive and very active toddler about??

I am with you on the bedroom thing, mine is a nightmare!! Also with you being pg you should have a nice calm place to relax at the end of the day. Start in the bedroom and be ruthless at getting rid of the clutter. Then why not go around the whole house with an armful of black bin bags and just go mad collecting stuff for the bin, stuff for recycling/charity shop etc., etc., Once you start you will feel so much better.
I would advice you to join babysteps fly thread aswell, lots of mums on there with young children who will give you loads of tips i am sure

The bedroom is always a good place to start. As well as the kitchen. I just always feel better if my bedroom doesn't look like a jumble sale, everything hung up, surfaces clear and so on.
And in the kitchen, again it's about clearing the surfaces, moving stray items back into their proper place and clearing out any "junk" drawers that seem to accumulate all sorts fo crap.

I am the exact same as you mumclaire. My house is disaster, come down in morning and look around and think SHITE!!!!!!! There is so much stuff you don't even know where to start? I'm still trying to work it out - think I am missing the 'organised' gene. FLYLADY says that you can completely tidy your house to your hearts content but it will be thrashed 3 days later if you don't have a routine. I have no routine and my house is a disaster. If I were starting off I would start with the room you're in most i.e. for me its the kitchen. Good luck.