My house is a disaster area and I don't know where to start

[MotherOfGremlins]

There is so much that I need to do - may I post here so I've got some sort of accountability please?

First thing is clutter busting - things don't have homes because there is too much stuff. This is a DIY issue because I need to put up some shelves in the shed and as pathetic as it is when I'm a fully grown woman, I've never done it before.

Eventually I'm going to move through changing my kitchen cupboard fronts, stripping wallpaper and re-doing, painting white woodwork, laying laminate throughout downstairs, sorting out the floorboards upstairs and laying vinyl in the toilet /bathroom, replacing bathroom lights, putting a cat flap in an awkward door, lots of flat pack furniture building and curtain sorting out, and then looking at the garden.

This is what comes of thinking that my DH is telling the truth when he's been going to get around to things for 15 years.

I've had enough, I need to grow up, put my big girl pants on and figure this stuff out.

Hi! I love interior design and DIY have you ever watched The Great Interior Design Challenge? It’s really inspiring and shows how much impact you can make through colour, etc in just 24 hours. There are episodes that deal with specific rooms (e.g. kitchen!!) that might be worth checking out for ideas and tips?

There’s also a brilliant woman on Instagram whose name I can’t remember, she is doing up her house herself on a shoestring and it’s amazing... will add it when I remember her name.

Do you have a style you like OP? It might be worth getting some inspiration, settling on a look you want to go for and work out how you would get it in each room. Will help you decide what will need to go, what needs to stay and what can be repurposed. Furniture can be repainted/refinished to fit other rooms, but you would need to be quite organised. Also helps (for them and money) if you can bulk buy what you need, rather than going each time.
Might help get you really inspired if you put together a quick PowerPoint and then tackle one big thing that you can transform—like a sitting room wall. Any way your children would be able to paint, etc? And if there is a lot of stress about stuff going, can the stuff head to their rooms/storage in shed as an interim solution so you can get started?

Good luck!

So the plumber is coming tomorrow to sort out our valves (not a euphemism) and fit a new shower.

I've signed up with Screw Fix (we have one in our town, so click and collect it going to be great), watched a few YouTube videos on how to reseal the bath and am going to make that the first item to attack DIY-wise because our bath seal is currently grotty and bleach has not fixed it. I'm going to do it even though DH has put me off it for years saying how hard it is.

I need silicone sealant, tape, gloves, a smoothing whatsit or my finger, a razor blade for getting the old stuff off, a bath full of water and for everyone to leave me alone for a bit. Any guesses as to which one will be tricky?

Decluttering wise, I'm starting with the box room. I'm going to order a midsleeper with decent storage for my DS(5) who is very excited to move into his own room again. At least that's what he says - various attempts over the years have seen him return to our bed.

So declutter anything that doesn't belong in there (including getting rid of furniture that isn't fit for purpose), put up bed once it arrives, enjoy own bed once more and have actual area to put things belonging to DS.

I think this can be started before he returns to school, but I'm not going to push him to move in there immediately because change is hard and I don't want to cause him to hate the idea.

I'm also going to order a cabin bed for DS(10) because I've found one with great storage for him as well, and he needs a new bed.

Flat pack furniture holds no fear for me - screwing something to the wall is a different matter, and I expect I'll get to that soon...

Look up the Cramer Fugi kit. Can get it on amazon with a scraper blade for around 18 quid. The silicone tools really are great. Not the cheapest but it will look good! Get a gun to squirt it round, then took it off, wiping the excess onto paper.

What do you need tape for?

Well done! Sounds like you've got off to a great start OP. Good luck with the bath seal

Regards your door bar you need to lift it completely smooth carpet and refit, it’s a 5min job.
Invest in a decent battery drill/driver.
I have always done my DIY, gardening and decorating, saves a fortune and gets down to my standards.
Make a list by room, there’s advice about everything online, you can do it!!

To add; boot your DH up his lazy arse and get him moving or chuck him and his shite out, your house will look remarkably better without him lying about farting and taking up space lol

Good for you.

One thing I did last year was to throw, recycle, donate 10 things every single day. It quickly makes a difference

Has no-one mentioned Marie Kondo yet? I failed to follow through all of her programme but what I did do was so helpful (and god I love my folded items in drawers!)

More useful than a razor blade for the bath sealant is a sturdy craft knife/Stanley knife. A lot safer and you will use it for lots of things (just be careful opening parcels with it!)

I have autistic kids who hoard all sorts of stuff. We keep it confined to their rooms. Ds2 went through a phase of putting all (and I mean all!) his stuff on my bed (never dh's side) so dh installed a lock to keep him out.

Mari Kondo was a game changer for my friend

@crumpet

Has no-one mentioned Marie Kondo yet? I failed to follow through all of her programme but what I did do was so helpful (and god I love my folded items in drawers!)

It sounds like we made it to the same 'level' But yes the clothes folding is a game-changer

@MotherOfGremlins

So the plumber is coming tomorrow to sort out our valves (not a euphemism) and fit a new shower.

I've signed up with Screw Fix (we have one in our town, so click and collect it going to be great), watched a few YouTube videos on how to reseal the bath and am going to make that the first item to attack DIY-wise because our bath seal is currently grotty and bleach has not fixed it. I'm going to do it even though DH has put me off it for years saying how hard it is.

I need silicone sealant, tape, gloves, a smoothing whatsit or my finger, a razor blade for getting the old stuff off, a bath full of water and for everyone to leave me alone for a bit. Any guesses as to which one will be tricky?

Decluttering wise, I'm starting with the box room. I'm going to order a midsleeper with decent storage for my DS(5) who is very excited to move into his own room again. At least that's what he says - various attempts over the years have seen him return to our bed.

So declutter anything that doesn't belong in there (including getting rid of furniture that isn't fit for purpose), put up bed once it arrives, enjoy own bed once more and have actual area to put things belonging to DS.

I think this can be started before he returns to school, but I'm not going to push him to move in there immediately because change is hard and I don't want to cause him to hate the idea.

I'm also going to order a cabin bed for DS(10) because I've found one with great storage for him as well, and he needs a new bed.

Flat pack furniture holds no fear for me - screwing something to the wall is a different matter, and I expect I'll get to that soon...

Well done OP. I can't tell you how empowering and satisfying I've found DIY. My efforts are occasionally wonky but overall I've done better than I thought I could

If you have space outside, hippo bags can be really good for slower DIY projects