OK look I've tried, or at least I've tried to try, but it ain't happening...how can I get my house in order?

[ColumboGetsMedievalOnYourAsses]

Most of my worries and problems all seem to centre round the fact that my house is a disaster zone and could be mistake for a midden.

So - stressed as can't have people round as house is too messy. Can't have DS playmates round, house too messy. Can't open the door while the neighbours are walking past, you get the picture.

I am actually a neatfreak who gets stressed by messy home environs, but the last time my house was tidy (and not just stuff chucked in cupboards before the in laws get here tidy) was four years and a house move ago. I don't know why, just somehow the worse its got the more paralysed I've become. I do the usual cleaning up after DS throws mashed potato around and the dishes and everything, it's just the accumulation of STUFF that's the problem.

I like the idea of Flylady, but I need results quick.

I've been trying to declutter with not much success.

Has anyone on here had a terribly messy cluttered home that they sorted and decluttered, did it work, how long did it take, were you ruthless etc etc.

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You need to work on one bit at a time

I am currently sorting my house out and had a huge pile of dusty books

sorted them out, put a box in the hall to take to Age Concern

one
job
down

next I tackled the understairs cupboard

etc etc

don't think "of ffs, I have a huge house to sort" think "today I will sort out that shelf"

eventually it will work

you need to sort it out if it is affectying your lives so much tbh

I think with flylady you can get long lasting results. (but I am a follower )
By doing a little bit every day you haveen't knackered yourself or thrown it all in a cupboard, you have actually gone through it and decided what to do with it.

she does something called a 21 fling boogie. once a day you should get a bag and remove 21 things from your home. decide if it is going to the charity shop or just in the recycling but remove it.

you will find that after a week or so of doing it every day it is harder to find 21 things you want to get rid of.

She also suggests you start really steadily, by forming habits that keep your home clean and tidy at the same time as decluttering.

DON@T sign up for the emails unless you want to be nagged about your home. (if you do they are great) you get alot of emails every day.

I take 80% of flylady and leave the rest.

Good Luck.. Go clear some stuff!!!

toys: clear out any broken ones/baby stuff

paperwork: put in huge box and work through it 10 mins at a time, I grap a load when I get some spare (ha!) time and just file it away. The pile will decrease in time

clothes: shove in cupboard (on a previously cleared shelf) until you can be arsed to ebay/give away

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It sounds like you need some help
Have you got a dh/dp who is off for the long Bank Holiday weekend? Maybe you could do some of it together?
Agrree with OO it needs sorting if you aren't having other kids and friends round

You see it's that all or nothing thing, I have the same attitude problem
It's really hard to be motivated to do half a job, but a whole job and perfect result is impossible with kids I feel.

I am gradually getting better. Got a cleaner 2 hours a week that really helps. worth every penny! I keep trying to clear the public areas and keep them clear.

But I am a bit resigned to not having a loverly home until all my small beasts are up a bit. (sigh)

It does indeed need sorting! I know it only too well. I do have my own friends round because I know them well enough so I am not so bothered. And tbh it is tidy quite often, it is just the last few weeks that we've reached critical meltdown, mainly due to DH buying loads of flat packed shelves and half unpacking them and leaving mountains of cardboard and displaced books etc from our old shelves all over the place. Did I mention he only got round to putting up one or two of them...?

Oh yeah, the joke is, we agreed we were going to get a cleaner, but the house is too messy for the agency to send someone out to assess it. I've been trying to sort the house out for the cleaner since September