Do you have a relatively nice / organised home? Give me ONE tip - please!

[SatsumaBoogaloo]

I am tired of feeling fed up and hopeless with the state of my house.

I am now feeling like it would take a good few days work to get it to 'accpetable' let alone 'nice'.

One tip, please, to help me get on the way.

Have a great big clear out and e-bay the lot! Get loads of nice storage boxes and shelves and pack the clutter up. Be ruthless!!

Don't have small children
don't have teenagers
recognise that tidyness may do something for you but the rest of the family really don't get it
borrow my DP - the FABBIEST tidyer in the world AND accepts that he is mostly doing it for HIMSELF not for the rest of us

oh, and freecycle everything - MUCH nicer and more satisfying than taking it to the tip

Definately try flylady. My house was a bit of a pigsty before this and now its so much better

I am sorry to be ignorant but what is this wonderful flylady?

Shoes off at door.
Eating only at the table
Don't go to bed without tidying kitchen and doing dishes.
Take a whole day a month to do day long household blitz.

What do you do if you're out of the house all day but dh and ds are here running riot? I'm thinking about going all 50s salary man and saying "the house shall be tidy when I return, whatever state it has been in during the day".

Like that's going to work.

Crunchy nutter - and any others who are Fly-curious.....This explains Flylady better than I ever could. Really recommend it, its working for me, anyway.
bit more info according to Wiki

Put items away when you have used them

Label boxes / shelves so others can do the same

run a bowl of hot soapy water, washing up after a meal is much more pleasent when everything used in the cooking has had a good soak and half the job - emptying sink and filling it with water is already done

The FLY Lady site is great as i like everything put in it's rightful home and have gained a few ideas from there myself.

I am of the cans/packets sorted by food group ie all pasta togther, beans in a line persuasion

I can't give just one tip because for me having the house tidy and clean depends TOTALLY on two things;

Enough storage

and teamwork - by which I mean, get husband/children to HELP. You can't do it alone and there's no reason you should.

Blirz toys, books and clothes every 6 months or so, chilren quickly grow out of things, tastes change etc.

I keep a packet of baby wipes upstairs and down, easy to quickly grab one and keep on top of the dusting.

Keep clutter to a minimum so easier to clean.

Now then you LOT! Take heart! One day you will be one of those 'Mums' with the magic hands and heart ! You may not be running on tea though!! Maybe the householder has yet to be born .... but everyday counts !

My Gran says:
'Don't put it down PUT IT AWAY!'

I'd add, if you do have LOs. Have a 'hotspots' box in main rooms to put everything in that doesn't belong in that room and empty it at the end of the day (otherwise you spend all day picking up and putting away).

Another vote for Flylady!!

Despite my name, I am infact ruthlessly tidy.
I am a manic declutterer and not a day goes by when I don't chuck something out for the charity.

Don't try and buy storage for the crap you've already got...chuck half of it away.

Little and often is the best way to tidy - letting things get really bad requires a lot of time and effort to put right. Being ruthless with throwing things away is also a good idea: broken toys - out, unused toys - charity shop.

Some good tips here - might just visit the flylady site and put off tidying and cleaning for a bit longer

shack up with someone loaded and get a housekeeper

One of the best flylady tips (and by the way, it's much easier to do flybaby first, on the website too & an easier introduction) is to time yourself tidying a room or even just a drawer. Amazing what you can do in 5, 10 or 15 minutes. I try to be really rigid with myself & I get a lot more done in shorter space of time.

Would also agree that impossible to keep tidy if you don't have the 'structure' in place - if it's not easy to put things away in that they don't have an obvious home, you may need to invest in some storage. The rooms in my house where we have accessible storage (e.g. those fab trofast things from ikea for the ds's room) are easy to tidy & thus stay tidy.

I will have to look at this flylady thing as DH is always moaning about the general untidiness - two young kids dont help and he jsut moans but does not 'do'!

I would love to pay for someone to come and deep clean my hoiuse for me, so i ahve a good level to start from - we are having a family christening this weekend, so I am trying to do a room a day in the vain hope we will be tidy for the weekend!

I will watch this thread with interest!!

Make sure you do a general tidy up every night before bed - and never go upstairs without taking something with you that belongs elsewhere!!

thanks -picklepie! That explains a lot. It looks a bit like what I try to do anway but it's lovely to see so much of. Routine! Do any of you ladies follow the 'fly' tips and work? ( really am not trying to be nasty!) I have my home just how it should be now and it does not take long to keep it orderly, however it is the holidays and my Dh is the most untidy person I know! I am concerned thAt when I am back at work and really busy it may be a different story (I am TTC by the way so I am sure I need a detailed routine pre child or there is no hope after!)

wow, i always thought that people were just lazy or didnt want to tidy up, not that they actually didnt KNOW how to tidy up!??