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Housekeeping

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Original poster

how do i get organised and get rid of the hidden clutter

48 replies

LadyVictoriaOfCake · 24/10/2007 16:35

i am at SGKats house and we are discussing our hidden cluttering way. we both hide things in cupboard and it all gets shoved in till bursting point then sorted out.

i am very envious of clutter free homes, how can i achieve this. is it possible with three children under 10. where do you put all those home work sheets etc. what about filing bills etc.

how do i stop filling my house full of crap.

what do i do about all the junk mail, and cataloguesb that come through from places like boden and john lewis.

do you all have secret basements full of crap and unfiled paperwork?

OP posts:
stleger · 24/10/2007 16:45

My MIL keeps it in cardboard boxes. Very tasteful! I need to find a key to open a padlock on my side gate, if I had no clutter it would be easy. (How is Peter, and the babies?)

ScaryScienceT · 24/10/2007 16:53

I have tons of unfiled paperwork! It's my project this half-term to fix it (and unearth my tax return). I think the key thing about paperwork is just to file what you have to. Don't keep every single statement if they have no purpose - they only clutter up your files and get in the way of finding things you do need. I don't keep homework sheets - but if I did, I think a ring binder would be the best place.

Everyone has their own way of doing things. I think I like to pick a small space and do it thoroughly. DH, OTOH, likes to do a superficial job on the whole room. Together, I think it can be effective. We just have to do it more often!

Flylady has a couple of good techniques. One is to set a timer, and do as much as you can in the allocated time, eg 20 minutes - nothing too onerous. The other is to throw out 27 things.

Original poster
LadyVictoriaOfCake · 24/10/2007 16:56

can i pay someone to do it for me? lol.

OP posts:
hana · 24/10/2007 17:00

I have lots of paperwork I have to sort out as well (doesn't everyone?!?)

I am pretty scrupulous though about junk mail and catalogues - I hardly get any and when I do I call the number up and ask to be taken off their lists. put things somewhere as soon as they are opened

also I only keep keep bills for about a year then they are binned - I do keep bank statements though for several years.

all the girls have their own big boxes for special things from school, artwork, etc etc

ScaryScienceT · 24/10/2007 17:06

They are called life coaches, LVC - but you have to put in some effort still

stleger · 24/10/2007 17:07

I keep old bills for 2 years, no idea why.

sparklygothkat · 24/10/2007 17:12

lol its the cupboards that I stuggle with, I have a huge cupboard under my stairs, which is dangerous to open.. its packed with crap.. my house looks clean and tidy, but noone sees in the cupboards..

stleger · 24/10/2007 17:16

I have a walkin airing cupboard like that... My neighbour made theirs into an ensuite to get rid of it.

FrayedKnot · 24/10/2007 17:21

No one with a clutter free house has clutter free cupboards

They just have more cupboards than stuff

You can devise some sort of system to hide your clutter in, though

hana · 24/10/2007 17:21

everyone has cupboards like that and they are lying if they say otherwise! might be under a bed or in the loft...or in a drawer.....lol

fizzbuzz · 24/10/2007 18:27

I hate hate hate clutter, and dp loves it I regularly de clutt wardrobes, but his are full of crap which spills over into rest of house

We currently have a cupboard full of LP records which he never ever plays, so there is no where else to put other crap.

He also has a massive cupboard full of tangled cables, which all attack you as you open the door. I can't bear to look in there.

I bin all bills after 6 months and the house is still full to bursting of other peoples' rubbish.

It drives me insane

NineUnlikelyTales · 24/10/2007 18:43

Re junk mail - ask each company to remove you from their database, and sign up with the Mail Preference Service (which you can do online) so you won't be sent more. Then make sure every time you give your name and address to a company that you tick the box that says NO to mailings from them.

As to being clutter free, well I am not qualified to give advice on that subject. If I wanted to be clutter free I would have to divorce DH, as he is the source of it all not DS. Seems a bit drastic though.

NineUnlikelyTales · 24/10/2007 18:44

Of fizzbuzz those flaming LPs. Why why why? We also have drawers full of tapes FGS. I am training DS up to ruin them on sight.

Original poster
LadyVictoriaOfCake · 24/10/2007 18:45

i just said to dh we ened to get rid of some kitchen clutter

juicer-doesnt get used

george foreman grill -doesnt get used

smoothie maker-doesnt get used.

and do you know what he said?

'i got you those'

OP posts:
lulu25 · 24/10/2007 18:46

fizzbuzz, the cables! what's that all about?

lulu25 · 24/10/2007 18:47

well i said to DP we needed to get rid of kitchen clutter

the only thing he could think to get rid of was the extremely expensive coffee machine that I bought HIM!

ScaryScienceT · 24/10/2007 18:56

We have two massive boxes of LPs. They came with us from the US in 1988 and were never opened because we didn't buy a turntable. They went back to the US, and then the UK again, all in the same unopened box.

I saw a USB turntable in PCWorld last year and suggested getting it (to record the albums onto MP3 format), but DH really lukewarm. I think he is worried that they won't live up to the nostagia, and he will know what I have always known - his musical tastes when he was at college were crap .

The tangled wires are mine. We have US and UK wires for everything imaginable. I won't throw any away. I was very smug when we went on holiday to the US this year and had all the right cables for my lappy, camera, phone etc.

fizzbuzz · 24/10/2007 21:20

LOL at well travelled but ne'er seen LP's. Wish we could do that, am sure could arrange for them to be "lost luggage"

thelittleElf · 24/10/2007 21:25

Set yourself a time limit with the decluttering. Say 30 mins, and try to achieve all you can in that time! You'll be shocked at how much you can do when you're waiting for a buzzer to go off

Get new folders and label each one with the name(s) of your child(ren), and use these to shore away homework/letters etc. Do the same with bills etc.

As for those ruddy magazines/catalogues/brochures....get rid!! Afterall....if you really want something you can order online

Wallace · 24/10/2007 21:29

sparklygothkat - don't you get visits from the cupboard police?

You know the ones? They usually come disguised as meter reading men...

curiouscat · 24/10/2007 21:40

I agree with the little elf about a file or box for each person's papers, but what happens when they're full? I spent a fortune a few years ago on lovely rattan baskets to contain our clutter and now we just have overflowing baskets and still can't find anything.

Our house is for sale so we had a major declutter and put stuff into storage. Kitchen things stored included pasta maker, juicer, George Foreman grill, slow cooker. Gave microwave away on freecycle. It's such a relief to be rid of it I'm not sure I'd really want them back now.

Maybe we're only moving house so we can get more cupboards to stash our clutter in

sparklygothkat · 24/10/2007 21:41

lol my meters are all outside so the cupboard police don't have to inpect my cupboards..

sparklygothkat · 24/10/2007 21:43

we moved last year and decluttered big style!! but we seems to have got it all back again..

thelittleElf · 24/10/2007 21:44

I have this rule i use. If i haven't needed it in the last 6 months, or it's paperwork thats more than 6 months old which has been delt with then it gets shreaded
If in doubt, buy bigger baskets

bookofthedeadmum · 24/10/2007 22:04

My dp is the organised one - I'm the pack rat. Having said that, in work my desk is a model of efficiency. Mainly as I bin junk on a regular basis! SOmehow I can't do this at home.

My dd has a drawer for her Brownie stuff and a bag for every activity: swimming, ballet/tap, football. Her school papers are kept in her bag which probably isn't ideal but then she is only in yr3 so it's not too bad as yet. I've bought those cheap-ish art portfolios full of her previous creations though and I've carrier bags of used school-books . I try to keep her clothes down to what actually fits/she wears - easier said than done. My own clothes need sorting too.

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