How do you clear up?!

[NewMamma21]

Along with work & an adorable but whirlwind toddler I feel like I’m swimming in a never ending pool of stuff.

I don’t mind toys & books being around but we seem to accumulate piles of stuff everywhere (clips, pens, paperwork, things that should be in other rooms etc etc). I’ve tried having baskets or trays in rooms to put all the random stuff but they just seem to fill up & then more piles appears elsewhere. If I clear one surface another becomes full.

We do clear outs every so often but I struggle every time (growing up always being told I can’t get rid of things due to various reasons) which I know means there is more to clear through again the next time. I find it hard to decide what to keep & what might be needed.

I also like to be organised so things end up sitting around until I can sort them properly. I am wondering if it’d be better to just shove things in cupboards & drawers willy nilly so the place at least seems tidier & emptier.

any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

Literally get rid of 75%

sounds mad. But you can’t keep tidying ‘stuff’

ie pens. Unless your a calligraphy artist most people don’t need more than 10 various pens/ pencils. Plus a pot of toddler crayons.

again toddler books everywhere. Time to cull. Have a book shelf for them, get a max number say 30. Everything else donate. Anything too old for him, box up and into loft for later.

Yep, you need to get to a place where what you have has a home and then it falls into place. Once you manage this I pick up everything in a room that needs putting away and put it in one place - say a rug - then put it all away at once, not in dribs and drabs/one at a time so all the kitchen things to the kitchen etc. Also little and often, don't let it become a huge job because few of us can spare the time or the energy. Good luck

I find laundry baskets used to be good for gathering anything that didn't belong in a room. You then need someone to put it away (strategy often falls down at this point). When the kids were little, they did learn that it was better to put something away rather than having to search through The Basket.

Paperwork no longer a problem now so much is online, but other things like pens, I do have in every room - some in a drawer in sitting room, few on my desk, couple in a kitchen drawer. Same with scissors - pair in every room.

Thank you for the replies.
I’ve only just figured out how to find the threads I’ve commented on / created again.

I think @Caspianberg you are right, I need to get rid of lots of stuff which I find so difficult to do. I’m starting to look up tricks to help with that & aiming to go room by room on a clear out mission.

@Roystonv little & often is key I think. If it gets too much it feels daunting & I want to avoid it.

@Cynderella i have scissors, pens etc in each room & they all have a home to easy to keep tidy. I also have allocated a box / basket for ‘stuff’ so it at least isn’t sat on the sides. The tricky bit now will be making sure to clear through the box / basket & throw or put away the contents regularly enough.

Same here, it’s a WIP for me but:

Massive declutter - we all have too much stuff

Storage and homes for things that have minimum friction - much easier to chuck things in an open box, than open a draw and put them in a draw

I find both a slob comes clean (great basic principles for those of us who struggle) and the organised mum method (little and often system) are good

Boxes to stick random stuff in do just make it worse. I’ve tried that too.

also - is your partner doing their fair share?

Glad to be of help.