My house is out of control AGAIN

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mike got so bad I had to hire a personal organizer to help. So much better now. I’d consider it. I could never have gotten through everything on my own.

That said, I would pick one area to try to clear so you have a staging area. Then you can use the one clear space to sort through other stuff. Be very aggressive in throwing stuff out. Or donating. Don’t overthink it. Just get it out of your house. You’ll feel better after. If you need more storage, have that put in. Everything needs a home so you need to make the homes.

The only thing worse than doing this myself would be to have someone standing over me doing it and I have to pay them?

I used to work as a personal organizer. I didn't stand over clients. They'd give me an area and I'd organize it. Here are all your book, organized by category, here are all your toys that are not broken and have all the pieces, here are seven years of old calendars - can we throw them out, here are three carrot scrapers - can you pick. your favorite and we'll donate two? Here's all the stuff I think is trash - do. you agree? You have six sets of markers and four are full sets - can we toss two and donate two?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recommend Dana K. White and her no mess decluttering method. Only thing that works for me. She has books and videos on YouTube.

+1

Yes, so much more manageable than the Marie Kondo method: you can stop declutterring at any time and come back to it without having pulled out everything in a category into a huge overwhelming pile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same. I think you're doing it right, it's just that it's a lifetime, ongoing process. I have 3 kids and a dh, so there's 5 of us constantly bringing things in. And basically I'm the only one organizing and getting rid of things (dh is great, but this is not a chore for him because he's a hoarder at heart. He has other chores).

What helps me the best is migrating around my house, sorting closets and drawers weekly or monthly. It seems little but makes a big impact. No longer do things get hidden in my dining room cabinet, or the junk drawer, or the linen closet. And this frees up room for other things.

My hardest thing is that my kids are at different ages and different toys. So I have to save my oldest dd's clothes for 6 years. And I don't get rid of my older kids' toys when they outgrow because my youngest would like them too. This does save me a lot of money and effort. When I change out clothes for the season, I just pull out the next size up for my youngest.

For junky kids toys that come from goody bags and prizes, I let them play a little bit with them and then when I find them laying around, I have a bin I put all those in. I use them for pinata stuffing or I offer it to teachers for their prize bins.

What I so. Each week I focus on a room or an area. How much time it gets is determined by what else is going on, but I make a point of finding moving items to where they live and finding a home for those that are homeless, doing some kind of cleaning that wouldn't get done regularly. Throwing out stuff, fixing something that's waited to be patched, glued, whatever for eons. I grew up messy and one discovery was that if I got a closet or cabinet or drawer tidy it wasn't that hard to keep it that way, and when other things are a shambles it's pleasurable to open a storage area and see it nice and tidy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need A) one big, ruthless purge (if it’s as bad as you say, pay an organizer to help), and B) better systems.

This is what works for us:

For B, you need B.1) a habit of regularly purging problem areas and B.2) everyday maintenance.

B.1: Once a month tackle one problem area (e.g., coat closet, garage, linen closet, your own drawers/closet, kitchen, play room) so that each gets done at least ~2x year. If you stay on top of it, this takes no more than 2 hours and can be knocked out in a weekend morning.
B.2: Every night ensure the main living areas (kitchen, living room) are tidied before you go to bed. Dirty dishes in washer, drying rack cleared, counters cleared and wiped, couch cushions straightened, toys and blankets put away. Make beds every single morning before you leave the house. Clothes get folded and put away as soon as dryer is done. Kids out of season / too small clothes pulled out before going back in drawers and put in a bin dedicated to this. All trash cans in house emptied on trash day. Bathrooms wiped down and counters cleared on trash day. Vacuum 1x/week (forces clearing things on floor). This takes each adult ~15-30 mins total each day; kids expected to contribute!

This is how we do it with two working parents and never feel overwhelmed. You can do it OP!!

How do you do all this if you one parent is unable to help with household chores due to the nature of the job and you have 2 kids who make a mess everywhere and leave clothes and stuff all over the place. I keep putting them away and they come back every damn week. I get overwhelmed and exhausted and stop picking up and then there are piles of things to sort through. It seems neverending.

[Anonymous]

I do really well with lists because I feel accomplished checking things off.
I agree with one room at a time but if that’s overwhelming do a list.
So kids room:
Sort through drawers
Clean off top of dresser
Organize closet
Sort through bedside table
Organize bookshelves

It’s broken into 5 steps.
Have a throw away pile ( take trash bag into room with you)
And a donate pile. Make a plan when you’ll drop stuff off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recommend Dana K. White and her no mess decluttering method. Only thing that works for me. She has books and videos on YouTube.

+1

Yes, so much more manageable than the Marie Kondo method: you can stop declutterring at any time and come back to it without having pulled out everything in a category into a huge overwhelming pile.

Another +1. Get the audiobook of “Decluttering at the Speed of Life” and listen to it while you work on a room—it’s like Dana is there with you, giving advice as you go.

[Anonymous]

We struggle with this - I think it is just a season of life (we have 3 kids and although past the baby age, we still have toys, books, sports equipment, etc). I focus on having the first 10 feet when we walk in the door being clear - it makes it feel so much nicer. Do a purge when you have a few hours free to organize that space, then declutter daily in 5 minutes or so. I put the kids’ stuff in piles to be put in their rooms.

Every night my husband and I make sure the kitchen/family/dining room is tidy. I saw someone online call it “closing shift” and it’s similar. Basically the kids have to pick up their stuff before they head to bed; I put away/toss any leftover clutter, fix the sofa cushions, etc, my husband clears and wipes down the kitchen counters, starts the dishwasher, etc. It only takes about 10 minutes max and makes it so much more pleasant to come downstairs in the morning.

On the weekends I try to do a closet/drawer/storage area - we have a permanent space in our dining room for donations. It is not ideal, but makes it easy to place things and when it gets too big I drop the batch at the goodwill. I can’t do a seasonal purge/cleanout - it gets too overwhelming.

[Anonymous]

Try Fly Lady. It's daily routines and weekly routines plus decluttering 15 minutes a day. After a while it becomes a habit and easier to keep the house up. The main thing is to get rid of things that don't have a place. I've taught my kids that once they run out of space they have to trash or donate things before they get more.

I listen to podcasts while doing my daily routines so it feels like me time.

[Anonymous]

I love the Toss App. Once a day you open it up and it suggests one small area to clean up. Sometimes it is as small as a sock drawer. Takes a few minutes. And I feel accomplished. Sometimes I end up doing a bit more because I have time, but other days I do the bare minimum. After about a month or so you will definitely start seeing the impact. But you won't be overwhelmed.