Name your nemesis.

[sagemomma]

as i look at the top of my fridge and pantry i wonder....does everyone have an area that no matter how much they clean and organize is always dysfunctional? i mean really how can i get rid of having a catch all??? i have 2 small kids so i do admit sometimes i just need a high place to put something and don't really go back to put it anywhere else .
so cmon ladies what is your mortal enemy when it comes to keeping an organized home? and how can it be defeated?

[Collinsky]

My whole house is my nemesis... seriously, there is no place that ISN'T a catch-all.

I think the advice is (generally) to have a touch-once rule - once you touch it, you put it where it goes, no exceptions. Nothing gets put down somewhere with the idea that you'll put it "where it goes" later.

Which is all well and good, but not working out for me. There are a surprising number of times that something is either set down rapidly on the nearest available surface in a hurry to rescue a toddler off a counter. And then it's just left there....

Honestly, I don't even think I'm to the point that rules like this CAN be applied consistently. I'm not sure everything has a home, for one thing. I'll get there (and my kids will stop being one and two at some point! )

[Limabean1975]

A few spot, but the #1 dumping zone here is the top of the microwave. And now DS can stretch up to reach there, so we need a new dumping zone for untouchables!

[AngieB]

I have 2 spots..

#1 is my computer desk any papers, magazines, art projects, broken toys, etc. get put there.

#2 is the top of mine and dh's dresses anything that doesn't have a home is stuck there, lots of clothes are piled on top instead of putting them away (that would be dh).

[Peppermint Leaf]

My DH & my DS..... they leave a trail behind them .. and dont put anything away .. but its my fault if they can't find it:

DH has a bad habit of coming in and dumping whatever is in his hands onto the kitchen counter . and just leaves it there

[kirstenb]

The ledge in between the front hall and the living room. It is right by the front door and all sorts of items end up there. DH's little gear, things I don't want DS to get to, keys, mail, etc... No matter how often I clean it off stuff always ends up back there.

[SAHDS]

My bedroom.

I don't know why or what it is but I can never keep my room 100% done. My entire house will be spotless and organized, not a thing out of place, but my room will have folded piles of clothes on the bench, books on the nightstand, papers on the dresser. UGH. I'm also never in there so it's easy to forget about it until it's time to crawl into bed. By then, I don't care.

[CariOfOz]

1. My computer desk... it's a giant black hole of crap! If the kids are naughty with something it goes up on top of the desk, if it needs fixed..on top of the desk.. if I need it handy...on top of the desk

2. My bedroom.. this house has very very little storage so stuff ends up migrating into our room when it has no home.

3. The back veranda.. omg the crap my kids find and leave all over it!!!!

[supervee]

Kitchen counter. I switch between having a catch-all basket there and refusing to put any container there for dumping stuff (but it still gets dumped there).

[Caneel]

1. one particular corner of the kitchen counter where DH dumps his crap. Everyday a mountain of little scraps of paper, each one encoded with very important numbers and notes, appear every time I turn my back.

2. the bathroom, which is full of dirty clothes (we have 2 built-in hampers, go figure...)

3. the "office" room which is nothing more than a dumping ground.

[KaraBoo]

family closet
DD's room
Living room

[cera]

ugh, my sewing/craft/excersice/computer room (problem enough inthe name alone!) Iam sitting here now hoping for some inspiration to dig myself out, lol.

[scrapadoozer]

I have lots. I'd have to say the top three are:

1. The counter in the dining room.
2. The top of the dryer.
3. My computer desk.

For months I did not allow myself to put anything on the dryer. Lately I've been back at it again. It's not too terribly bad at the moment though. I am thinking I should go clean it off now.

[IncaMama]

i have many places. the washer/dryer, my computer desk, the upstairs hallway (laundry!!), the kitchen counter, and the linen closet.

[Zannah]

Originally Posted by CariOfOz

1. My computer desk... it's a giant black hole of crap! If the kids are naughty with something it goes up on top of the desk, if it needs fixed..on top of the desk.. if I need it handy...on top of the desk

lol I can totally relate to this! I've organized and reorganized my desk so many times it's not funny. It just seems to catch all the crap in the house. If you're looking for something at my house, chances are it's on my desk. Anything from superglue to nail clippers to UNO cards to crochet hooks.

The top of my microwave used to be the catch all for our mail but I recently kicked that in the butt by making myself go through the mail as soon as I brought it in. Seriously, I would just pile it up there until it was falling off. It was terrible.

[Tangled Hill]

Living room closet (it's tiny - not sure what to do with it)
Top of the turntable (cds get dumped there regularly)
Top of the fridge (and the dust - THE DUST!)
Pantry (it's just so small, it feels forever cluttered)
Son's desks (okay, this one isn't surprising - and not one I'm going to tackle by myself)

Before yesterday, I would have said our garage, but we spent the day cleaning it out, and I'm so happy!! It's not immaculate or anything (it is, after all, a garage), but it's functional and open, now. If we wanted, we could park cars in there! (You just can't even imagine what a huge change this is....) :

The only thing I know to do to make a space work (and I'm quite guilty of not doing nearly as well as I should with this) is to make the space both functional and beautiful. Make it one of those spaces you love to walk by. A little area of your house that makes you smile. I did this with my clothes closet a year ago. It was one of those closets you open the door a crack, throw something in, and hope it doesn't fall back out. But, since I made it into a beautiful dressing room (it's about 5' X 5', I think), it has stayed perfect. Every day. Now, if I could only do that with the rest of my house! :

[slsurface]

Originally Posted by Peppermint Leaf

My DH & my DS..... they leave a trail behind them .. and dont put anything away .. but its my fault if they can't find it:

DH has a bad habit of coming in and dumping whatever is in his hands onto the kitchen counter . and just leaves it there

Sounds like my house too! I hate that every time I make bread, I have to first clear all DH's junk mail that he didn't deal with!

The other dumping ground is the office closet. Everything eventually finds its way in there! I am constantly doing battle with the clutter in there.

[Drummer's Wife]

one part of a kitchen counter. right under the stereo, everything seems to get dumped there: keys, bills, cell phones, kids school papers, etc., I know it all has to go somewhere but it builds up and drives me crazy.

Even more annoying is the Niche we have near the entryway. These are common in NM homes, and are decorative with a shelf and lighting-- meant for flowers or something special/beautiful. It seems like it ends up being a catch all place for whatever is in your hand when you come thru the door. I'm guilty of it myself, it's jut not much space behind and in front of the vase and it looks so ugly when there is crap on it.

[OakBerry]

I'm glad I'm not alone with the messy computer desk, mine is a disgrace.

Our kitchen table also gets piled up.

[KyleAnn]

We have this built into the wall three shelf cubby thing-a-ma-jiggy in our kitchen....I have all of my teapots dispayed on the shelves but you'd never know it. It's full of mail, junk papers, ds's homework, notebooks and anything dh can dump on it-wallet, keys, work phones, sunglasses, ipod, pens, etc.
I look at it everyday and it makes me so annoyed...