Fix my bedroom, please.

[holyshowofmyself]

I am a prolific poster but I have namechanged for this because I am sooooooo mortified.

Five years ago DH & I extended our house and built ourselves a beee-yooo-tiful new bedroom, walk-in closet and en suite. It was like something in a boutique hotel.

Today, it looks like a squalid hell-hole. Here is what's wrong with it:

1. along one wall is DD's old mattress which we were keeping for DS2's 'big boy's bed' which we haven't bought yet.
2. the tub chair in the corner is now invisible (really) due to a mountain of clothes of mine, some of which are winter clothes I haven't worn in months, also random stuff like outgrown bobble hats belonging to the DCs.
3. under the bookcase is a sort of mesh of cables, leads and chargers for stuff that I don't even remember what they're for, iyswim.
4. there are papers and magazines all over the floor.
5. there is a pile nearly as big as DS2 (who is 3) of unopened bank statements etc.
6. the cream carpet is covered in a sort of horrible webby mat of mohair from the mohair throw, interwoven with mine and DD's long brown hair.
7. the bedlinen is fundamentally clean, but has old faded bloodstains from when DH had his wisdom teeth out and bled all over it.
8. in the corner is a big bag containing lovely new replacement bed linen which we agreed we wouldn't put on the bed until we'd 'done something' about the room.
9. the walk in wardrobe.... the dust, the dust, the dust.

10. the en suite is as appalling as you are no doubt envisaging.

It makes me want to cry whenever I see it, and I've got to the stage where even when my mum comes to stay I won't let her in there.

The rest of my house is reasonably OK, but this room is so badly beyond my control that I don't even know where to start to fix it. And because with three kids and two jobs I have hardly any time, I know that I'll never have a clear run at it so I don't ever even start.

Please, please, please perfect housewives, please help me sort it out. Is it any wonder we hardly have sex anymore?!

Oh, Ive been gutting my house last few days and it feels great

If I were you, I would start by getting a black bag and putting all the clothes off the chair into it. Next time you are watching tv, sort through them while watching, and then fold and place in a box and mark it clearly. Refill the bag with outgrown clothes.

Dump all magazines and papers into a box and then dump all into recycling bin.

Can you move the mattress somewhere else? Can it fit under your bed? I stored a spare mattress down the side of dds bed, effectively making it into a little sofa for her. She loved it!

Prob not advisable, but I would get another box and dump everything else off the floor into it, leaving the floor clear to vacuum. When you can see your lovely cream carpet you will feel a million times better. Then sort through the box when you can.

For long term, do you have a nice basket or something that you can put all the newspapers / mags into? Invest in some heavy duty storage bags for your winter stuff in summer and vice versa.

BTW, I know its tough and overwhelming. Last night I was determined to take a day off and spend it all outside in the sun...but instead ended up decluttering my potting room and sorting decent storage for the toy storage. Its mighty addictive!

Do you live near me, I'll come gut it for you?

I think you need to tackle one thing at a time so you can see the progress and get DH on board - could he sort through the pile of paperwork whilst you do the tub chair over a few evenings. Glass of wine in hand as an "in it together" thing.

Sounds like our bedroom!

My old flatmate, or many years ago, used to say ''one drawer at a time'' i.e. don't see it as one big job but take small steps.

What's the easiest thing to start with? Maybe the pile of clothes? Sort out things to send to charity shop, put winter clothes into washing basket, etc.

Could the matress go under a bed until needed?

Throw away all magazines, file paperwork. etc, etc

Just try to concentrate on one thing at a time both in the bedroom, bathroom and wardrobe.

I'm tackling mine next week, once the dcs are back at school.

Good luck

How much time do you spend on MN could you devote half of that to sorting?

Is DS2 ready for his big boys bed yet?

DS2 probably is ready for his bed, we just can't afford it yet!

And yes, CarGirl, I take your point about MN. No valid excuse.

I keep telling myself it will be OK in September when they're all at school, but I fear it won't be!

Anyone know how long I'm meant to keep stuff like bank statements, P60s etc.?

Agree that doing one task at a time is the way to go, and easier to do if you share it with DH and drink nice wine at the same time.

Perhaps when one or two larger heaps of stuff are sorted then make it time to replace the bedding, that will give you a boost and will make the room look much fresher straight away.

If its too much then pay a clutter bod to do a couple of hours with you...

Agree that doing one task at a time is the way to go, and easier to do if you share it with DH and drink nice wine at the same time.

Perhaps when one or two larger heaps of stuff are sorted then make it time to replace the bedding, that will give you a boost and will make the room look much fresher straight away.

If its too much then pay a clutter bod to do a couple of hours with you...

whoops sorry bout that

Why not just give DS2 the mattress on the floor for the time being and add the rest of the bed when you can afford it? If your son is anything like my daughter he'll spend a lot of time falling out of it to start with anyway, so the closer to the floor the better!

Holyshowofmyself. Welcome to my world. Our bedroom is very similar although we moved into our house 4 years ago and our room is the only room that hasn't been touched. I would love to have it gutted and decorated. The previous owner decorated using a tribal effect wallpaper and my DH can see what looks like an erect penis in the pattern !!!! It has become a dumping ground for clothes. Electricals that we don't use (2 t.v's / freeview box/dvd/video/chargers and arials) camping gear (on top of wardrobes) Every now and again I gut it and clear allsorts but for some reason it doesn't stay tidy for very long (hang my head in shame) We should meet up and cry on each others shoulder

Pannacotta love the wine idea. Will have to try that tomorrow

P60s and tax stuff should be kept for 6 years... so if you make any claims against tax (self-employed?) then you'd need the bills/recepits for these too. Bank statements - there is no obligation to keep- I would keep 3 years to be on the safe side.
I keep all my paperwork in A4 cardboard wallets in magazine folders high up on top of the computer cupboard. Each bank account has a separate wallet, each bill too (eg BT, water, council tax, gas etc), each insurance, all the car documents etc etc. Even if you don't open the statements, you can just shove the envelope into the correct wallet once a month, so you know where it is when you need it (I check my accounts online, so paper is just back up really)

Paperwork is the bane of my life though

Have you really only one set of bed linen?
What do you do if it's in the wash? Or 2 minutes before bed DCs vom on it?

When it's time to wash the bedlinen, it gets taken off, washed, tumble dried & returned in the space of one day. Guess we've just been lucky with the vomit thing.

tinkerbellex... we could meet up and commiserate with the wine, there's an even better plan! pmsl at your phallic wallpaper

Could we swap children???

holyshow I could have written your post! Our house is generally cluttered but can look reasonable in quite a short space of time, our bedroom however is a disgace

Would you like to do a mumsnet bedroom clear out thread? start with the papers/magazines, then the bedside table etc?