If your house has ever got seriously out of order … and you have managed to get it back under control …

[Scatteredthoughts522]

Can you please help and advise? This question is for people whose houses have got really bad in certain areas - not hoarder level but I can imagine it getting that way if I don’t intervene now - but who have managed to rein it back in… .

I am facing a situation where I need to get back on top of my large six bedroom house. The ground floor is just about ok. I can invite people in. Apart from the utility and garage which are in a bit of a state.

The upper floors, apart from the bathrooms, are a disaster though and getting worse. And I hate this feeling of not being on top of it!

My physical fitness is limited atm following an accident, a bout of depression, and another health condition, so I can’t physically do a lot in one go. I am not young either!

What is required is a major all hands to the deck clear out of stuff before I can deep clean but realistically atm I don’t have the capacity for either.

So my question is … has anyone honestly managed to get back on top of things by doing two hours focused decluttering and organising a day?

Is it possible? Or am I whistling in the wind? The reason I ask is that I have a cleaner for two hours a week but can’t afford any more help atm. I work for four hours a day so thought of doing one hour before work and one hour after work until it gets done.

Thanks for any thoughts. I am at my wit’s end with it all and desperately need to be back in control.

The mental part is the hardest bit. Are you ready to reduce the contents of your home by half? It usually does need to be half. You might need to deal with mental elements around getting rid of things. But if you prioritise getting your space back you get around the blocks of i might need it later/I should sell it etc.

As you have limited energy I suggest looking up A Slob Comes Clean. She has a five step method that allows you to do it bit by bit. It's a slower path to total success but it is much more likely to succeed.

I think the trick is to do the two hours but also do not fall into the trap of adding to other clutter.
If my own behaviour is anything to go off - it’s more effective to have a bag or box of things tha physically leaves the house - just doing the sorting/piles step isnt helpful. Have the number of a charity collection available and be ruthless with what’s for the charity vs what’s for the bin.

Yes

Focus on one room at a time
Plenty of binbags, strong ones and a skip if theres junk
Piles
Keep
bin
Chazza
Sell

Make a cup of tea,put music and a timer on
Only do your hour, otherwise its overwhelming
Lifechanging !

I think the key is to actually get items out of the house daily. So reserve half an hour or whatever to go to the charity shop/tip.

I have had some success with the Marie Kondo method, if a category feels to daunting break it up. So rather than sorting out all the books sort out the cookbooks only that day.

Don’t forget your actuallybwheelie bit and chucking stuff in there too!! At the need of the week before it’s collected see how much room you have and squeeze in a few bags.

Thank you this gives me hope Jamfirstnotcream!

Also, stupid though it sounds, I hadn’t thought of focusing on one room at a time as I was going to focus on all floors, then all surfaces, then all cupboards and wardrobes.

Did you start with the worst first?

I have had success by not looking at everything.
I say to myself I am going to start here, and pico something - anything up.
After I have started, I put on music or a podcast and use that as my time limit.
I use bin bags and try to be as ruthless as I can with what I really need to keep.
Although from a waste perspective I would be better to donate, I find that donation piles add a lot of clutter, so I tend not to do that very often.
Everything else I put in piles to put away - each room a different pile. The last 5 mins (or more if it is a lot) is dedicated to putting everything away.
Also, I take the hoover and cleaning spray with me, so I am cleaning at the same time. This may not work for everyone, but I find it helps me fell real good about what I've acheived which motivates me to continue.
Also, don't go over the time limit as you can burn out quite easily.
Finally, I have also invested it storage boxes. Expensive, But I have done it slowly, a few boxes at a time. It helps keep things under control after the clear up, if everything has a proper place to go.
Good luck!

No I started in the kitchen and worked my way up the house.
That way I could retreat from the mess to a nice tidy living area

And thank you so much for all of these really helpful replies!

I am getting the message from you loud and clear that the decluttering and physically removing stuff from the house is what I need to focus on first. And also to stop more stuff coming in! Which are just the clear pointers I needed as it’s so overwhelming if I stop to think about it too much!

At least on that point - I can say wholeheartedly yes - that I have no issue in getting rid! I have reached one of those stages where my old life doesn’t fit me any more and I need to shed stuff. I don’t think 50% is an unrealistic aim either,

For example
Way too many mugs, all the odd,chipped, stained ones,smashed up for garden crocks and placed in a bucket in the greenhouse.
Nicer ones put in a box to take to work for the staff room
Leave matching nice ones
All redundant old kitchen ware in the recycling
Buy New shiny bins
Once you have done the kitchen and cleaned it get some flowers , lifts the spirits no end

Thank you, yes, the mental battle is hard! It’s not that I don’t want to chuck stuff out! I really do! It’s more wrestling with the enormity of the task and the anticipatory boredom of it! And I am daunted by the amount of time and energy it’s going to take.

But avoiding it is stressful too tbh!

Thank you very much for that recommendation! I will look it up!

Do your children still live at home Op. honestly if it is really bad get a skip. The stuff needs to leave. Local Facebook sites and sell slightly cheap/ free to collector
is good as people
come and
get it. But don’t delay to sell - give yourself a cut off every weekend and what hasn’t sold that week take straight to tip / charity shop.

there are easy wins too - clothes are often surprisingly easy to sort.

Also you wasted the money when you bought it not when you get rid of it.

Yes definitely one room at a time. And get rid of the stuff immediately to either the dump or charity shop. My mum’s mistake was always to sort
it into another room which just means you are moving stuff around. Try to be quite brutal.

it took me a year to half the contents of my mum’s house. At the end of the decluttering I paid for cleaners to deep clean the house over 2 days and then she could keep on top of it. But f you can afford to bring in cleaners for a day, it’s really nice and a good way to set a target date to finish the decluttering.

good luck

This.

One room at a time and make it finite.
Eg. The chest of drawers in your bedroom
Properly do the bathrooms.
Remove/bin everything you dont use /need etc.
Eg you have 7 bath towels... you need 4... pick the best 4 and bin the others.
3 half used germolenes. Bin 2 emptiest keep 1

If it doesnt have a home it leaves.
I had 15 extra lampshades at one point.... release them to the world!!!!!!

You can do it.
Once you get one nice space its motivating

Thank you so much for this very practical advice! This sounds do-able!

I can see that I will need to put mental blinkers on and just focus on the task in hand.

My worry is keeping on top of daily life while this is going on; cooking, laundry, kitchen and bathroom cleaning etc. But if I stick faithfully to the two hours a day it’s not going to get worse is it?

Noted about storage boxes thanks,

I like the idea of giving my kitchen a revamp like this thanks!

I’m going to watch thread. I have two big barriers, physical energy and disposal, but I still need general tips.

I am laughing at the 15 extra lamp shades but thank you! 😀😆. Great advice!

Wonderful! Wishing you lots of success with your project Ponderingwindow 💐

Let’s check in with one another from time to time!

Yes I think I can afford a one off big clean at the end of the process so that thought will motivate me! Especially if I save and don’t shop as much between now and then.

I gulped a bit at it taking you a year justintimeforxmas but I know that it all takes a lot longer than you imagine! Congratulations though; that’s a massive achievement! Your mum is very lucky to have had you doing this for her 💐

Thank you that’s really good advice and good to know anotheranonanon.

Noted about the selling time limit!

My adult children are in that coming and going stage! They are studying or working in their first jobs. So they have left home but are coming back for periods of time.

You need to break it down into smaller much more manageable chunks rather than thinking about it terms of how many hours you need to do. Eg identify discrete tasks like completely sorting out a really cluttered desk in one corner of the room, then perhaps tackle a big load of washing that needs putting away. If it helps start with 1 room and go in there with a piece of paper and pen and look around critically and write a list of all the tasks that need doing, break it down, eg pick up clothes off the floor, sort into washing basket and put away the rest, tidy up the messy bookshelf, take dirty cups and plate down to be washed up, sort through the big stack of papers.

Yes. One room at a time.
I'll get shot for this but I did not do the separating into different piles. I literally put everything not being kept into black sacks and took them to the tip.
If I did it again I might just hire a skip for a month or 2.

One room at a time is a good strategy, but if you only have half an hour you can still sort out a chest of drawers or a bookcase or a couple of kitchen units.

Don't overthink it. You either need it or want to keep it - or you don’t. If the latter, don’t waste time trying to decide Charity shop vs Freecycle vs Bin. Just bin it unless the item is truly valuable or useful to someone else.