dh's comment - why do we have to have piles of stuff on every surface in the house?

[tiredandgrumpy]

Maybe this should be chat. dh really isn't a tidy person, he just feels able to criticise the state of the house. I do try to stay on top of things, but am getting really fed up of picking up and clearing up after him. Am very tempted to clear all his stuff off the surfaces, stick in a bin bag & present to him for sorting. Only problem is that said clutter probably contains several important docs which cannot be binned/ignored for the next year. If I sort the clutter out before bagging the rest, then surely I'm giving in to him anyway?

Help! What do other people do to keep the clutter at bay, without becoming complete slaves to the family?

We have the same problem. At least DH is a little bit sympathetic as he has seen my parents' homes and there is not a spare inch of flat surface visible in either! Our problem is that we just don't have enough storage, and it's not worth getting any while we're renting.

My ideal solution though, is that we have an office-style filing system, with an in tray, an out tray and a pending tray. What does help is that I open all of his mail (except the personal stuff), so I deal with paying bills, checking pension statements, and that kind of thing, and then I don't have to wait for him to be free to do it with me. Obviously DH has agreed to this though, it's not something to do unilaterally if you like staying married.

Wicker basket in the hallway, everything left there gets put in it, wicker basket beside DH chair, chuck everything in there, same beside mine (must admit mine is usually the one overflowing.

Theconfusedone - that would only work for us if you had a house sized wicker basket .

I'm a mad declutterer, DH is too lazy to chuck anything away - you can see the problem. Divorced my ex for being a hoarder - sounds harsh but if I tell you he kept his bus tickets to gigs as well as the entry ticket stub, paper cup from his drink and programmes, you'll appreciate he drove me nuts!

I buy cardboard storage boxes (with lids) from argos. I put all the stuff from a particular pile into a box, and label it with the geographic location (eg: pile of papers from chair next to window in living room, or pile of stuff from halfway up the stairs etc) together with the date, and stack it somewhere safe for "sorting" later.....

After about a year you can probably chuck it or shred it, but thats another story.

Dh is self employed and as yet does not have an office and as yet has NEVER done any filing. ?He also has an addiction ot buying medical textbooks. Our house is tiny with NO storage space, there are piles and piles of crap important documents all over the place. He doesn't see it or care that it impacts on our quality of life. If I object he says what can he do, he is so busy working that he has no time
How do I deal with it? I pile up the books as neatly as possible and I buy big storage boxes and put all the crap into them and then stack them.
When he gets his office they will all be moving there.

Am loving the thought that it might be because we're educated that our house is a state.

Am actually very glad I haven't just swept everything off the side as dh finally got round to clearing one pile last night and found his passport! OK, so it's sat on the top of the microwave now rather than its proper home, but I guess it sort of proves my concern.

Thank you all for tips and support. The Argos boxes sound good - many of our piles are clutter that have just been 'tidied' from one place to another so at least they might keep them looking a bit more presentable.

I have the same problem. We just start new piles. I thought it would be better when my husband got his own office, but he wouldn't take his stuff there as he didn't want it 'cluttered up'. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!