I almost can't bear the state of my house.

[doggiesayswoof]

We have let it get into a real mess and it's steadily getting worse - we seem to be busy all the time (v unusual for me to be on MN because I always seem to be busy) yet we're not getting anywhere

DD and DS share a room which is a tip - toys get pushed to the sides every night hence nothing can be found

Bathroom and kitchen are dirty and cluttered - feels like they need scrubbed floor to ceiling day and we don't have time

Lounge is a tip - clothes drying, piles of unopened post

Our house is very small and we don't have room for decent storage

I vacuumed downstairs this morning and it already looks like it's not been done in a fortnight.

I hate this - I feel tense and stressed all the time and have spent ages with DH thinking about how to plan housework etc but it's the execution that lets us down

DH is SAHP and he is struggling (kids are small) - I cannot condemn him because I know I would be no better

I work FT and am permanently tired, come home every night to mess and laundry and DH really is trying

Have tried flylady and failed. Can't afford a cleaner.

Any hope?

I had another think about this on my way home, and I wonder whether we could help your DH with strategies for doing jobs with your DS 'helping'.

I don't know how old he is, but could he for example go into a messy room with your DH and play "find 5" - so he has to find 5 books, or 5 toys, or 5 things that belong to Mummy, and then when he's found them, your DH puts them in the right place.

Could they decorate the vacuum cleaner as an elephant and make a game of it coming out to suck up all the dust in the house for a dust bath? Etc etc.

DD has always enjoyed doing laundry (sorting clothes, pushing into the machine, pouring powder in the machine, turning the dial, etc etc) and we used to turn sorting laundry (which I hate) into quite a fun game where she had to say who everything belonged to, and then put it in the right pile.

I found that thinking up games and stories was quite fun for me as well - we had an entire story about being locked in a castle by a wicked witch who was could sprinkle dust on us and keep us in there, and if we could get rid of all the dust, she wouldn't be able to keep us prisoner (Yes, bizarre, but it kept us both amused while the house was tidied, and then we escaped from the house and ran off to get an ice cream)

Thank you all for your good wishes about the interview - I didn't get the job but it was a scary prospect anyway and I really only applied to get some experience doing an interview at a higher level. Which happened. I feel relieved to be staying where I am to be honest!

Mathanxiety your post has really made me think. For the first time in ages DH had a shower and got ready properly before I left this morning - we didn't really have enough time to do it and it was a bit rushed but we can adjust it tomorrow. I totally agree that he has to do this. I think it makes him feel much better all round.

My house is in a worse state than it was the last time I posted unfortunately but I am still determined to turn it round. We might have some rellies staying next month so we will need to sort it - that would give us the incentive that mathanxiety talks about.

I picked up a playmobil advent calendar for DD at the weekend and explained to her that we need to make space to display it properly in her room. She seemed ok with that. We'll be clearing off the top of her chest of drawers which has so much clutter on it.

I am envious of the ebaying mogs0! Good for you.

I haven't read everyone's posts and I have to go to a meeting but I will try and pop back this evening and read properly

Ah but ebaying is more of an excuse to hoard for me!! I stop myself from binning/recycling/charity shopping things because I could 'ebay' them but they end up in a cupboard for years while I get around to listing them. Well, until now that is!!

Keep at him in an encouraging way, doggiesayswoof. Habits are what's needed here. It seemed to me he was letting DS run the show -- nobody can be happy in a house where an 18 month old is doing the driving. DS will do better in the long run if you grit your teeth and put up with a bit of grizzling, while teaching him to wait a bit within reason while other people do what they need to do. I love the idea of roping him in and having him help with the tasks he might be able for. Maybe get him his own little sweeping tools or a toy hoover? At 2, my DCs all liked to think they were helping...

How's everyone doing? I borrowed a book from the library on Friday about de-cluttering!! Ds and I have been away for the weekend so haven't been able to do any tidying/de-cluttering but have read through half the book and feel I'm heading in the right direction!

Well, I managed to sell almost 30 items at the NCT sale which I'm really pleased about. Unfortunately the 2 largest items didn't sell, so they're still cluttering up my garage! Will try again though as I've still got loads of things to get rid of. Sorting through things has made me realise it's not viable to keep items I don't need any more. Some things have suffered through a few years of storage in the garage - smell musty and I had to throw away a bottle carrier as it had gone mouldy. I dread to think the state of some items if they had been left there many more years!

I've got loads more items I'm going to pass onto a local toddler group which will clear more space.

To be honest, on the surface my house doesn't look too bad. Ok, there are small piles of clutter here and there. The problem is when I open wardrobes, drawers and the garage as all the 'stuff' has been put in there! One day, I'll get organised!!!!!

Mogs - glad you're inspired by your book. Have you made any more progress yet?

Hope everyone else is getting organised!

Tessieb - well done at the NCT sale! Could your 2 big items go on ebay? Did you say one was a buggy? It might be worth checking completed listings for similar buggies to see how much they go for or if they're even selling at all.

I have the same problem with mould/mildew except mine is inside the house! I discovered another problem area this morning in the kitchen . Other than having big pots of silica gel everywhere, I'm not sure what to do about it. So my course of action at the moment is to sell everything before it gets ruined in this mouldy house!!

I have just posted 5 BIG parcels sold on ebay last night and feel very happy about that and have another load of things ending tonight. Now I must go and get some more things ready for ebay/charity shop/bin!!!

Anyone still here?

I've just taken a big bag of stuff to the charity shop.

I'm having a party on Saturday and will have lots of friends staying over which means I have to tidy the whole house instead of just the usual downstairs rooms!!

I also put 20+ items on ebay over the last couple of days with the aim to more a few more on each day. One small step closer to an organised house!!