Name your nemesis. - Page 2

[ktmama]

My dh.

[ParisApril]

My mortal enemies are my husbands renos. Don't get me wrong, I love the finished product but the mess getting there I hate.

[CariOfOz]

Originally Posted by ktmama

My dh.

Ain't THAT the truth!!!

Just to update.. the bedroom is still looking good The computer desk, not so much :S I've done a little but I'm still not totally decluttered.. the patio hasn't even been touched as it's been raining/storming here and the rain flows right through so it's pointless to clean until it stops :

[mrspineau]

My inlaws! They live with us (only for one more week though!!!!!!! ) and they are so messy. My husband and I are both neat freaks and compulsive organizers. They'll try to help me with chores by say, doing the dishes, only when they put the dishes away, they'll just put them anywhere. its like they dont know where anything goes or even look to see where things might go, they just put like glasses with dishes, or even cutlery in the cabinet with the glasses instead of in the drawers, etc. lol its actually kind of funny in a way, although can make more work for me later!!

[Tangled Hill]

Originally Posted by mrspineau

My inlaws! They live with us (only for one more week though!!!!!!! ) and they are so messy. My husband and I are both neat freaks and compulsive organizers. They'll try to help me with chores by say, doing the dishes, only when they put the dishes away, they'll just put them anywhere. its like they dont know where anything goes or even look to see where things might go, they just put like glasses with dishes, or even cutlery in the cabinet with the glasses instead of in the drawers, etc. lol its actually kind of funny in a way, although can make more work for me later!!

They sound like our new roommate! He sticks things anywhere. It's cute. I'm just happy someone is helping out a little, but golly, it takes a while to get everything back in order once he's finished.

[lafemmedesfemmes]

1. the dining table-- it's the catch-all for everything when we walk in the door.
2. my computer desk-- when i finally declare war on the clutter on the dining table (about once a month), all the mail/papers that don't have a home at the end of it, wind up on my desk.
3. the top of the entertainment center-- it's just a mess of recently-watched dvd's and videos, small stuff i don't want to lose but can't put away immediately, "oh gawd, get it away from the toddler" stuff, as well as the permanent home for my keys and cell-phone. i can't stand it.

christina

[CariOfOz]

Originally Posted by CariOfOz

Ain't THAT the truth!!!

Just to update.. the bedroom is still looking good The computer desk, not so much :S I've done a little but I'm still not totally decluttered.. the patio hasn't even been touched as it's been raining/storming here and the rain flows right through so it's pointless to clean until it stops :

Responding to myself. Bedroom still in good shape (but haven't made it to clean & sort thru my jewelry and junk yet).. and I CLEANED MY DESK!!!!! : (ok so this was prompted by spilling coffee on my keyboard.. which is now starting to stick ) but it is done!

[NicaG]

-tops of dressers in our bedroom. always a jumbled mess
-fireplace mantle. dh uses it as a dumping ground

[sagemomma]

checking in. i can see the top of my pantry, i got rid of the basket that was there so the temptation is gone, i have a 2 slot letter sorter and a matching cup for pens and scissors , thats it. tommorrow i will tackle the fridge top .
keep up the good work ladies

[Drummer's Wife]

oh, are we supposed to be de-cluttering these areas?

good for you that are, mine keep getting more crap added on.

[nolansmummy]

I'd say kids rooms are terrible-always, and i'm sure that is a given for most parents w/young kids.

Our small desk in our dining room- it starts with just my school books, then a newspaper, then the mail- then a water bottle, then a place to play with toys. The tiny drawer is our junk drawer- anything goes in there. Batteries, lego pieces, other random stuff that needs fixed.

On top of our desk in our office- bills, paperwork, schoolwork, toys, agh.

so cmon ladies what is your mortal enemy when it comes to keeping an organized home? and how can it be defeated?

Really, the answer to this is dh, and my kids, and i guess the only way to defeat them is to move out

[mamabearsoblessed]

I have a few

~ the buffet in the dining room
~ the top of the microwave in the kitchen
~ the bed in the guestroom

~ and my dresser

and... and... and....

[UptownZoo]

Oh, yeah, we have lots of those. The worst is the surface that's at the bottom of the stairs, where they curve. So it's the height of a kitchen counter if you're standing on the ground floor, and it's right in front of the freakin' front door. So people drop everything there as they come in the house, plus things they plan to take upstairs next time they go up there, etc., etc., etc. But it's right in front of the door, so it's the first thing you see. : It's almost always a huge cluttered mess w/in an hour of me clearing everything off of it.

Then there are the end tables in our living room, which are always covered in books, abandoned drinks, and mail. The worst is the closet under our stairs. It's officially my laundry-sorting closet, but it's everyone's favorite place to stash stuff when they don't know where it's supposed to go.

[sarahwpen]

Originally Posted by 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! )

OH man. I am so there with you.

I know that it will get easier the older they get. I don't even expect to have a CLEAN house anymore. I just want it functional! It is really starting to get to the point that it really kind of seems like maybe it is bigger than just the mess. I start to think that I must have something wrong with me to have such a hard time keeping up with "regular household chores". It really sucks when there is no one there to remind you that you are only one person and you can't expect that you would be able to undo the mess that the other 4 in the house spend all day making in just a few hours and then have time to do other things and expect that things will be where you left them when you come back. It seems like the more i try to conquer the clutter and mess, the less and less rational of a person I feel like.

[2lilsweetfoxes]

Pure exhaustion by the time I get home from work. I'm a morning person. Ask me to do anything after lunchtime and you are likely to get a blank stare.

--The entryway. People just drop their bags and coats and shoes right by the door. I'd like to get some nice hooks/cubbies/baskets or something.

[Miss Information]

Nemesis #1 Fatigue
Nemesis #2 Apathy (well, I don't want to be apathetic, but sometimes it gets hard to battle when I clean up the same messes over and over again)

[medicmama]

I have 2, well maybe 3.

The bench when you first walk in the door, it's there and it gets dumped on. backpacks,coats,gloves,stuff like that. I even have a basket system that contains each kids stuff. Shoes go in the bench,jackets on the coat rack,hats,gloves,whatever in your colored basket.....It's not working!!!!


Next is my pantry....GRRRRR! I hate it. it is very deep(40") and things get lost.
we have ordered new pantry cabinets and this should solve my issues. I hope.

Finally is my bathroom closet. that does not contain anything that belongs in the bathroom.I have the stuff that does not fit into my kitchen. Bread machines,food processor,griddle,platters and such. as well as my holiday things that dh likes to decorate with. I hope that the new kitchen layout will free up the existing pantry and become my new storage for the kitchen stuff and I can store towels and such in the bathroom.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by Collinsky

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

That's what I was thinking.

The worst, in order:

1) The desk beside my keyboard. I pay the bills online, then leave them sitting there. The filing cabinet is full, and I can't bring myself to clear it out often enough. The pile is about 6" tall.

2) The "sideboard". This is a huge unit that my ex brought home. I keep planning to get rid of it, but it does come in handy. Currently on top of it...the CD rack, the hedgehog's cage, ds1's juggling equipment, some of dh's bicycle tools and bunch of dd's workbooks and colouring books. Most of that is supposed to be there...but the almost foot high stack of miscellaneous loose papers aren't. We're overdue to clear it off.

3) The fridge. I keep vitamins, a few medicines, a pack of Q-tips, my sewing kit, my tea tree oil, some xylitol mints and gum, etc. up there. It's always chaotic and things are always falling off.

4) The freezer. I'm doing my best with this, but...ugh. It's a flat, open surface, just inside the front door (I'm in a townhouse with a slightly odd layout). I drop my purse there. DS1 drops his hoodie and his shirt (he takes it off a lot) and sometimes his messenger bag there. It just collects crud. The pile isn't that bad - but we need to be able to open the freaking thing!!

5) The end of the kitchen counter...open recipe books, unopened mail, my current book, the newspaper, etc...

*sigh*
Okay - now I'm just depressed.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by sarahwpen

OH man. I am so there with you.

I know that it will get easier the older they get. I don't even expect to have a CLEAN house anymore. I just want it functional!

And....:

[Theoretica]

The top of my dresser in the bedroom...it's a clutter magnet :

My desk :

The pantry...everything 'food-ish' gets tossed in there. Once it's organized it's a disaster in a few days. :