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Originally Posted by aldensmom09  i just came across this thread and wow, what timing- we really need this!
my husband and i are both untidy people, i'm a packrat, and as a result the house is cluttered with TONS of unnecessary crap which makes tidying difficult and true cleaning downright impossible. i'm overwhelmed, and i think this could help! (though it feels like the house has to be at least "decent" before starting, and right now i'm battling a complete chaotic disaster zone, haha)
can't wait to get started! i'm on a mission now  |
It really doesn't have to be clean before hand, it will get better a bit at a time as you go. However, that will probably mean that the things on your list may take a bit more time to do (for instance, you may have to pick up your floor before you can vacuum it). But if you stick to it, the tasks will become simpler because its only been x days/weeks since you last did it and you've been slowly decluttering here and there.
I have been doing a few extra things along the way myself though, because our main problem is that nothing has its own place and we have so many things we don't need (that happens when you go from 2 people in a house to 5 within a few months). So one shelf/container/drawer at a time, I am purging and making a space for things that need to stay and NOTHING is allowed to go there that doesn't belong.
I've also got a few organizational tools to help free up some space or otherwise solve a reoccurring problem. For instance, SO is always complaining because I used his towel or used it for DS. Also, there was only enough space in our tiny bathroom to hang two towel bars (both of which fell down because our walls are so thin) so of course the towels either wound up on the floor, or the bed, or the bathroom counter. So, I went out and bought 4 hooks (they came 2 in a pack) with adhesive backing and 3 brand new towels in 3 different colors (our old ones were looking rough anyway). I put 3 of of the hooks up in our bathroom, one for each of our towels (I got aqua, SO got lime, and DS got yellow
). Now the towels are always hung up, and everyone has their very own towel. And all of the old grubby towels make good rags for cleaning up icky messes.
(Oh, and I know I mentioned there are 5 people here. My sister and her son are the other two people, but they have their own bathroom.)
Also, one of the best things ever so far for controlling mess and clutter has been setting up a space for my SO to put all of his things when he comes in the door. He always uses the same little book shelf, but then things are constantly falling off onto the floor (the shelf is just one of those shallow ones that hangs on the wall). So I took a cloth CD/DVD bin that was just holding clutter (it turned out to be the perfect width for the shelf) for his wallet, phone, little notebooks (he's a server and uses these to take orders) etc., and put a small bowl inside of it for guitar picks and other small things, then an old coffee mug next to it for pens (again, server gear) and the old bowl that matches it for coins (he's BAD about tossing coins everywhere). This also gave me a place to display the plate Bram made for him for his 23rd birthday and I just tucked it behind the bowl. Oh, and I placed that extra hook I didn't need for the bathroom next to his shelf for his belt or whatever else he needs to keep up with but I don't want on my floor.
So all of that was done with things I already had but wasn't using, except for the hook, which cost be about $1. Its been a few days now though and it actually looks the same!
Before, I could not keep that shelf neat and organized for more than 24 hours!
We made prayer flags out of tissue paper and then I strung them around the kitchen. The eye sees the fluttery colorful flags instead of the holes in the walls! Or at least, that's the idea.
Then I have to stop to break up toy drama, nurse the wee one, change diapers...Yikes!
Decluttering my desk would take 2 hours! I know that the longer I stick with things, the quicker my list will get done. Even now, on Fridays when I have to do the quick tidy in every room, it takes about 10 minutes total (if I skip the office). Last month that would have taken me an hour!
Thank you
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