Tidy up, tidy up, tidy up,.... does it EVER stop?

[pupuce]

That is how I feel.... and it is driving me insane.
Warning - do not post : It doesn't matter... IT DOES ! (to me )

So any good tip on how to keep house tidy? I have already moved the kids toys OUT of the living room... except puzzles.... I think these are going under lock and key as they are now systematically thrown on the floor for the sake of it (or making more mess).

I can clean and don't mind cleaning when tidy but I really spend my time putting toys and clothes back into cupboards, baskets,.... I am going mad.

HELP!

P.S. Again - no need to tell me that it doesn't matter... I tried and I end up depressed with the state of my house.

What gets me is that I spend as much time as I can muster tidying - and have no time at all left for this "cleaning" (whatever THAT is?) that everyone else seems to go on about on other threads.

I've steered well clear of those conversations...

LOL megg....

The TV threat won't work DS is not really into tele (occasionally for quiet time but otherwise is far to busy making a mess )

I do agree with Jodee..... Carry out the threat... I will actually.

Mess is like food and sleep - your kids will know you mean it when you actually mean it!

Me too Griffy, depressing isn't it?

Do think hard about your storage. Make sure everything has a 'home'. Insist everyone contributes to putting things away, and that toys are only played with one thing at a time.

We moved in summer, and have shelved a big wall with deep, open shelves. These have all their puzzles, games, toy boxes, Lego, etc., etc. So it's clear where everything is/belongs, they can easily help themselves. But they have to put it away too.

Yes, I threaten to throw stuff away too - and do occasionally if they make a big mess.

it's always been important to me that they tidy up after themselves, and if you keep working at it, it does pay off. DSs are 4 and nearly 6 and generally keep stuff pretty tidy.

Dh is the worst, he is really untidy, but I just dump his stuff in his study and shut the door!

It drives me mad too, when I've spent my precious few minutes before dashing off to work to clear the sides & put everything in the dishwasher, then I come home & it's just one big mess again.

Have you looked at flylady.net ? If not, try it... baby steps, everyone!

Lol at Flylady. I joined and then quit and then decided I needed to get sorted so joined again with a email address I don't use very often. So I just go onto this email address about once a month and delete about 3 million messages - I never read them, they are so preachy, and they irritate me.

Anyway - I had a HUGE tidy up today (We have company tomorrow...) and the house looks a million times better. I've just got to keep it like this now. Oh yeah - and clean on top of my fridge...

I used to sort things out and put them in carrier bags and hang them over the tops of doors so the kids couldn't reach them!

Both kids are pretty good at recycling now, so we sell stuff to buy new. All the Barbie stuff is under the bed in one of those low boxes and she has to put it away but she's pretty good.

We also have a houseful of tiny plastic dogs/cats and horses that I keep treading on.

pupuce I recently put some high shelves up in the living room (half a metre from the ceiling) and all the games/boxed toys are stacked up there. They only get them one at a time.
The house is still a mess, but less so.

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