if my tiny house is a complete tip, with every cupboard in a mess, every room upside down....

[Numberfour]

where do i start to put it back together again?

i childmind from home and there are always tons of things lying around from paperwork to toys to high chairs etc.

i hate it being this way.

i reckon i need a good few hours on my own to sort it out. i have a 4 year old who wants my attention all the time when the other minded children are not here.

the mess is driving me nuts! where do i start????

Get stuff out before trying to put it away. Charity shop/carboot/eBay unwanted stuff and then try to sort the rest.

The paperwork all needs to be in files with only essential stuff being kept.

Stick the TV on for your 4yo

I like to start by walking round the house looking for stuff to chuck/give to charity, then there's less to put away.

I love a good tip run

To sort the paperwork, you could do a bundle each night after DS is in bed - agree you need a file for each category of things you keep - bank statements, mortgages, utilities receipts, personal documents, insurance policies. A small filing cabinet makes a huge difference.

And you could start with the main living area, so that you've quickly got somewhere presentable to relax in, and you don't feel bad when people drop in.

move house and start again?

I'd put all your paperwork into a box (it'll make your house look better immediately), put all toys in another box, put high chairs in the corner and pack away anything else you find. Then you'll feel better and can sort the paperwork into piles (bet you recycle two thirds of it), toys into the right place and so on.

Or, give yourself a time limit for each task, maybe getting your 4 year old to 'help' with mini tasks if he/she likes being helpful. If I give myself time limits I'm much quicker and definitely more focused (I write a list of what needs doing).

Good luck!

I live in a small house too so deeply sympathise.

What I try and do is do a room every day and then do bigger jobs in each room when they are tidy .....

That's good advice to not tackle it all at once. break it up into (very) small jobs or half hour slots, then it's not so overwhelming

Yes yes put everything from the floor into a big bag/box (or several) then sort one out at a time. What you really need is a place designated for everything.

So if you keep putting certain things on/in one cupboard and it is in the right place for those things, then make that the specified place to put them. Once you know where things go you are halfway there.

Second stage, once everything is in a box: take first box, surround yourself with a carrier bag for each room. Take things out of box, and place in correct carrier bag.

This is what I like to call designation.

You can do it all a step at a time if you are pushed.
Third stage: take carrier bag which has now arrived in its destination room, and sort all the bits from it into their correct place/cupboard etc.

At each stage if you have things that do not HAVE a room/place then keep them back in a separate bag for 'lost souls' and decide them another time.

Also have a small bag for crucial bits you find that you need NOW, put money, batteries, keys etc in it so they don't get mixed up in the jumble again.

The hardest part of sorting out is the mental work...making decisions re things and where to put them. That part can be mainly instinctual though, as I said before - if things tend to end up somehwere particular, then that's going to be the best place to keep them (leaving aside the ice lollies behind the radiator )

(that is my security device stubby, that any burglar who makes their way into my house is going to sigh in disappointment because the place has already been thoroughly turned over)

Also having furniture in the right place helps a lot - anythning you hate or don't use, get rid and enjoy the simplified space.

Do you have a 'holding' room for the bags etc you can't decide about/haven't got time yet to sort?

I find that is important - or at least a holding corner.

hi there, wish i had read this first, as i just started another similar thread. So glad im not alone.

thanks, everyone!¬

well, moving house is an extremely desirable though impossible option, so I will work on the other suggestions.

first, will buy a filing cabinet
second, will do a quick run around the house with a bin bag filling it up for the tip
third, bin bag run for the charity shop

then consider Next Step.

emyslou, i am going to have a look at your thread, too for other ideas.
how about we swap houses and sort each other's shite out? always more fun doing that!

i "did" flylady a while ago so reckon i should have a look at that again.

it is all a bit happy clappy kind of loving your dust bunnies kind of thing, but there is something to be said for waking up to a shiny sink!!!

Well I live in a bijou abode, with 4 kids around me trashing whichever room I've just cleaned and have finally given up and called for reinforcements.
I'm getting a cleaner to help me