So where do you keep stuff then?

[OhFuck]

I mean stuff like handbags, DC's bags, DP's bags, lunchboxes, the huge bag of stuff for the toddler group which you haven't got round to sorting out, the library books, the bike helmets, etc?

Cos it's all over the floor, the kitchen table, the sofa and the windowsill here - and other people's houses don't look like this!

Sounds like you need to make a trip to a certain Swedish home furnishings shop My house looked a lot neater after equipping myself with storage/bookshelves, the odd shelf, and hooks for bags of gear, handbags, etc. (There's a lot of ETC.)

We have big piles of crap on top of the fridge, next to the piano, in the utility room, spare room...

Lunchboxes - kitchen cupboards. Bike helmets - in shed with bike. Handbags - cupboard under stairs. Library books - ds's on his desk in playroom, mine on bedside table.

Having said that, there is a pile of things on the kitchen worktop which just don't belong anywhere else. And dh has a pile on the hall table, which includes his post (which he opens but hardly ever bothers sorting out) and various other junk he just leaves there.

spare handbags-in drawer in bed

kids bags in crate in hall

lunchboxes in kitchen drawer

library books (well school reading books) in a special rack in the kitchen where all homeowrk etc goes

A place for everything and everything in its place

[wails] But I haven't got room for any storage to store them in!

Although I do have a rather large larder type cupboard which is full of, er, a breadmaker (which I only use when it snows and every other bastard buys all the bread) and a juicer (which I never use and I think cost a lot of money ) and some junk and enough carrier bags to kill off a good few acres of rainforest.

I need to get it together.

I have been really good today, interspersing vigorous housework with MN relief breaks, but I fear something more brutal has to happen!

There's always room in places like under beds for those small plastic boxes that you can use for storing things like handbags.

It helps to cut down the amount of stuff, if you have time to tackle this, especially in the kitchen if your cupboards are bulging and there's no room in your drawers. There's usually a lot of junk in any given drawer unless you keep at the culling and make decisions (keep or throw out?) as you go along.

"A place for everything and everything in its place"

and like mathanxiety, culling. Lots of it.

Dont keep more than 3 carriers bags, you will never use them.
DP used to keep every last one until one day I very OTT screamed at him asking wtf he ever thought he would need them all for?!

Ikea will solve a lot of these woes as well.

You could free up cupboard space for other stuff by using the insides of doors.
Lakeland have a set of wire shelves that hangs over the door, and places like Homebase have individual shelves to screw inside the cupboard door.
If you keep things like spice jars, cereals, sauces etc here, you'll have space in the main cupboard for bulkier items.
No one needs a breadmaker. It takes 10 mins' kneading to make dough if you absolutely have to.
Maybe the useful bits of flylady might be a place to start?