DeCluttering and Cleaning up

[LadyFoot]

I've used FlyLady before. She sends a crap ton of emails, so I usually sign up for her "basic" email level and only until I've gotten my clutter back under control. It's free, though, and is really helpful to get a home clean by breaking it up into manageable chunks.

[alotofyarn]

Our biggest problem is paper. And the kitchen table. And I can't get hubby to put things away for the life of me. Somehow it never clicks that an empty sink means he should probably put his dishes in the dishwasher. And we have a growing stack of crap that comes home in his pockets. I've been doing a little better with clutter since we hired a cleaning service, since we need things to be picked up for them to clean properly, but we have a lot of work to do. I've also actually been home with a napping baby, so I've had time to pick things up, but I imagine that will go away soon. So, in other words, I have no ideas, I just know that we need to get better at this too.

[Ladybug]

Living with four kids is a sty. At our family New Years Day dinner DH and I told them it was a family resolution to start cleaning up after yourselves. I'm so tired of cleaning up the same mess over and over.

On the one hand my kids are super crafty and creative. I have every craft supply ever conceived and produced within the past decade. I have labeled containers in a craft amoire. No dice. They still end up strewn all over the house. One the one hand, yesterday they made puppet stages with curtains that actually draw back and started writing plays. Today it's the characters and puppets. What mother wouldn't be proud? Only I'm chasing them around like a banshee to clean up after themselves. It's taken all the joy out of it for me.

Rant over.

It's always a balance between getting myself upset and fighting with them, taking things away, etc. and just letting it go. I realize I'm not always teaching them the best self care habits, but sometimes it's not worth the mood that it puts me in. I dunno.

I look at those "family friendly" homes in magazines and want to rip them out. It's all a big lie. Or they have a housekeeper. I would hire a housekeeper in a heartbeat if we had the cash. I wouldn't even see it as a luxury, but a necessity for this crew.

[Vishenka69]

I agree, "family friendly" magazine shoots are a joke. I also totally sympathize with trying to maintain sanity and keep a clean house while living with 4+ kids. We had 6 kids at the house for 3 hrs and I'm still dealing with aftermath days later.

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[PrincessFiona]

You guys are awesome. I have read here and feel both validated and enthusiastic about taking some small steps to clear my sanity! I'm thinking of printing this thread out for myself!

Kris

[Deebs]

The best thing I have learned from having teen babysitters, who are honest? Messy houses are everyone's dirty little secret. Yes, some people are messier than other, collect more than others, are better organized, but on the whole, if you walk into someone's house unexpected, there is a mess somewhere (even Monica from "Friends" had "the closet). It makes me feel better when my house is clean and organized, but I beat myself up much less often than I used to when it isn't.

[SuzySunshine]

We've only been in this house 20 months and the amount of crap, boxes, etc in the basement are killing me! We don't go down there other then DH's office so it has become the junk space. I told DH I'm buying 1-2 shelving units/month until it is organized. If we don't need it its going in the trash or being donated. I still have at least one box that hasn't been unpacked since we moved in!

I decluttered/reorganized the kids playroom right after Christmas. It still gets messy but they understand at the end of the day or the end of the play session they have to help me put it away and I don't really do much. But if I sit with them and keep them organized they will clean it up.

[PrincessFiona]

The best thing I have learned from having teen babysitters, who are honest? Messy houses are everyone's dirty little secret.

True. I love that Zoe's 7 year old friend always tells me how messy her house is. LOL. The front entry way and living room are always spotless. She told me, their huskies have chewed almost all of their furniture downstairs in the family room and have accidents regularly. She actually made a comment about my house being clean one day (I HAD cleaned it though). It made me feel so much better .... and not in a snarky way ... just in a 'thank God other people have animals that have chewed furniture and messes in their house' kind of a way. It makes me feel less like my pigsty is the worst one out there.

Since I started this thread, btw, I cleaned our small living room and decluttered it. I'm happy with it. I also decluttered in the laundry/mudroom. I'm leaving the decluttering in the kitchen. It's too big of a job. For now, I'll keep it picked up. I'll have to go a drawer at a time in there as suggested. My next move is Thomas and I's bedroom. That's on the list for today!

[spotty_dog]

DH did some ambulance ride-alongs in residency that made him really open his eyes to how NOT terrible our house was! At least until the next day when he was back to nagging about the mess, LOL. He also has been shocked by visiting his own friends' houses...even the childless ones. Life happens, you know? And houses reflect the amount of living that's going on IMO.

I'm working on the kids' playroom today. OMG Lego minefield and booksplosion. We're starting by putting everything that has a place, in its place. Everything that doesn't belong in the playroom at all, goes right outside the door to be sorted and distributed through the house in a separate step. Once the floor is clear enough to sweep I'll do that, then make the bins and shelves a tiny bit neater. Then if I still have energy DS and I are going to re-re-think his Lego organizing system. (Right now he has shoebox size clear plastic boxes for each color of Lego, but he's complaining that he can't find small and rare pieces. We have a tackle box for storing these things, we just need to figure out a way to arrange them that makes sense.)

I think I've posted this here before but I love the "Like Mother, Like Daughter" blog and its totally sane view of the Reasonably Clean, Fairly Neat, and Comfortably Tidy House. (All her posts tagged Reasonably Clean House: http://ourmothersdaughters.blogspot....0Clean%20House)

[OrionGrad]

I HATE clutter in my house. Seeing it makes me feel trapped and anxious. Now that DH and I have been living together for 10+ years I think I finally have a system to clear his crap. I bought him a pretty box/canister for the desk where he can put things from his pockets, folded up notes from work, etc. He has one desk drawer that he can use to store larger crap (journals, papers, etc.). When those spaces get full he gets 3 warnings over the course of a few days. If nothing happens then the box/drawer get dumped out into his closet. Literally dumped. The same with crap I find around the house. I can close his closet door and not think about it, and he eventually has to get around to cleaning it all out (once every other month or so) when he can't find/reach his regular clothes. We both know what to expect, so it's not like I'm being "mean" by dumping crap in his closet. YMMV, but this system works for us.

[Phoebe]

I HATE clutter in my house. Seeing it makes me feel trapped and anxious. Now that DH and I have been living together for 10+ years I think I finally have a system to clear his crap. I bought him a pretty box/canister for the desk where he can put things from his pockets, folded up notes from work, etc. He has one desk drawer that he can use to store larger crap (journals, papers, etc.). When those spaces get full he gets 3 warnings over the course of a few days. If nothing happens then the box/drawer get dumped out into his closet. Literally dumped. The same with crap I find around the house. I can close his closet door and not think about it, and he eventually has to get around to cleaning it all out (once every other month or so) when he can't find/reach his regular clothes. We both know what to expect, so it's not like I'm being "mean" by dumping crap in his closet. YMMV, but this system works for us.

+1 on the reactions to clutter. DH keeps everything but just shoves things in any storage place so the house looks neat. Clutter and mess are a hotspot for him, but he lacks organization and we can never find anything due to his "stacking" tendencies. I like a place for everything.

[houseelf]

True confession?

This is the top reason we don't craft. I can't stand that shit around the house, so we just don't do it. My kids have been denied the crafting experience!!!! (sob)

We do have a shit ton of Legos and sports equipment, however. It's ridic.

[SoonerTexan]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1388805940.781620.jpg

Count me in the not into crafting or craft supplies group. The. Crayons. Are. Everywhere.

[SoonerTexan]

Oh yeah, I painted that room in Nov

[BonBon]

I HATE clutter in my house. Seeing it makes me feel trapped and anxious. Now that DH and I have been living together for 10+ years I think I finally have a system to clear his crap. I bought him a pretty box/canister for the desk where he can put things from his pockets, folded up notes from work, etc. He has one desk drawer that he can use to store larger crap (journals, papers, etc.). When those spaces get full he gets 3 warnings over the course of a few days. If nothing happens then the box/drawer get dumped out into his closet. Literally dumped. The same with crap I find around the house. I can close his closet door and not think about it, and he eventually has to get around to cleaning it all out (once every other month or so) when he can't find/reach his regular clothes. We both know what to expect, so it's not like I'm being "mean" by dumping crap in his closet. YMMV, but this system works for us.

I think I'm in love with you.