Messy Moms help thread (dads and others too!) - Page 2

[OkiMom]

I haven't read through much but I have to say I have issues with clutter. Keeping the place clean is ok, keeping the cupboards clean.. ugh not so much. I have a goal of getting everything organized before the baby comes in February. I know theres a ton we dont' need/use because well, its been sitting in the cupboard and I have no clue about it. If it was important I would know about it right.

[Oceanone]

Love this thread! I agree with your "it's ok for other people, just not messy people" philosophy. Knowing my limits, keeping it real. It's so true.

[p.s]

Originally Posted by clutterwarrior

You know what Geargirl...you should seriously write a book on this subject! ... I found myself reading every word, and wanting to keep reading!

yes!
but please keep posting here too!

[Theoretica]

I'm in the middle of this huge "I will WILL WILL stop the clutter NOW" thing, and I agree 100% with what you're saying GearGirl!

NO GARAGE SALE.

PERIOD.

Yeahhh that is SO me!

I'd like to add a 'chapter' if I might?

If you are holding on to 'important' things that are 'worth something'...

give yourself a deadline. NOOOO not a six MONTH deadline, but a 24 hour deadline. As in-you have 24 hours to get this listed on Craigslist, or it goes in the trash.

I said trash.

I didn't say 'donate bin'

I said trash.

I know. I Know. I KNOW.

Trash is bad. Donate is good. BUT...."Donate" is akin to "Garage sale". It's a good idea that we NEVER EVER DO, now isn't it?? I mean really now, if we were going to ACTUALLY donate all this stuff we'd have done it by now.

So either sell it. Now. This weekend.

Or ditch it. And breathe a sigh of relief that more clutter is GONE.

I'm on a deadline this weekend to sell about 5 things on craigslist, or they go to the curb Monday. Yes, there is a huge possibility that I'll get too busy and not be able to get it listed tonight/tomorrow. Then I shall sob silently in my CLEAN SOON TO BE OFFICE SPACE (that is now decluttered) while I mourn my loss of potential funds. And I'll be ok, because they aren't getting me any money sitting in my space now are they?

I'm subscribing, because clearly GearGirl is already married so that's the closest I can get to professing my adoration for this thread.

[IsaFrench]

please keep on posting, this is helping me too !

[mazajo]

So glad I found this thread, this is exactly what I need right now! I'm eager for an assignment of the day, I like assignments!

[GearGirl]

A really brief assignment:

Part 1: If you are not making your bed it starts today. Yes, sure, why make the bed if there are more pressing things to do. That's what I thought until I had to start making the bed to show my house, and it really gets you motivated and only takes a few minutes (not like keeping the sink clean, which we all know might require emptying the dishwasher, re-filling it, and then cleaning.) So, we will start with all the beds in the house. Make them. If your kids are old enough, make them do their own beds. You can teach them if they need to learn how.

Part 2: Dining room or the place you eat. Clean anything off of your table and the surrounding flat surfaces like buffets, you need to be able to eat in this room. Get rid of anything that does not belong in this room. So if you are shoving old bills in the buffet find a way to store, shred, or otherwise get rid of this. Recycle old magazines or catalogs, even stuff you might want to buy holiday presents from. You can visit their website, you don't need the catalog. If you need to remember the name and item make a Holiday List (preferable on a device like a phone). Get rid of anything you don't use like old napkins, place mats, burned down candles, whatever you are hoarding in the room you eat in. When you have cleaned out this room or area of a room then do the floors in this area with a broom or vacuum and wipe down the tables and your newly cleaned surface. Plan a meal at the table with everybody and enjoy!

[GearGirl]

More on papers and bills, sorry if I am repeating but this is important!

When you are going through old papers and bills on your road to de-clutter, what do you do? There is a ton of personal information on these, so it can be hard to just toss. My rule of thumb is to toss credit card solicitations after ripping it up, and just toss anything that just has my name and address on it. That info is out there, so for me it would be stupid to protect it. I'm a little crazier with bank statements and stuff like that. At first I was saving this stuff to shred and even bought a shredder. Shredders require organization, new pieces sometimes, and a time commitment. Thus shredders are clutter to those of us who are messy. Say NO. Instead, treat these bills the way you would treat your photos. Get a bin, label it with the year with a huge sharpie, and drag it back into the recesses of your storage area. Fill with anything that you absolutely can not throw in the trash. Find a big truck that shreds while you watch and when your bin is full shred it. Have a smaller bin for past tax stuff you have to keep, this is different than bank statements and the likes that you can get from the bank and don't need to keep. Whenever you see a papers accumulating add to your bin. Do not under any circumstances shove in drawers or elsewhere. Do not use more than one bin for each year or you are saving too much. If after a certain number of years (is it three for taxes???) you still have your bin from 3 years ago then shred the whole thing without looking. Make as much as you can electronic to avoid getting these things in the first place.

On daily papers and receipts. If you really are going to return something have one place (like a purse) to keep receipts. Otherwise toss before they get into your home. Stand by a trash can and clean out your purse. For Holiday gifts and such where you need to keep a copy try a gift receipt and wrap it with the present. Otherwise keep it all in one envelope and get rid of it right after the holidays.

DO NOT SAVE SCHOOL WORK AND TESTS!!!! Admire, smile, comment, throw away when your kids leave the room. They will have new work next week for you to see.

[GearGirl]

Originally Posted by Theoretica

I'm in the middle of this huge "I will WILL WILL stop the clutter NOW" thing, and I agree 100% with what you're saying GearGirl!

NO GARAGE SALE.

PERIOD.

Yeahhh that is SO me!

I'd like to add a 'chapter' if I might?

If you are holding on to 'important' things that are 'worth something'...

give yourself a deadline. NOOOO not a six MONTH deadline, but a 24 hour deadline. As in-you have 24 hours to get this listed on Craigslist, or it goes in the trash.

I said trash.

I didn't say 'donate bin'

I said trash.

I know. I Know. I KNOW.

Trash is bad. Donate is good. BUT...."Donate" is akin to "Garage sale". It's a good idea that we NEVER EVER DO, now isn't it?? I mean really now, if we were going to ACTUALLY donate all this stuff we'd have done it by now.

So either sell it. Now. This weekend.

Or ditch it. And breathe a sigh of relief that more clutter is GONE.

I'm on a deadline this weekend to sell about 5 things on craigslist, or they go to the curb Monday. Yes, there is a huge possibility that I'll get too busy and not be able to get it listed tonight/tomorrow. Then I shall sob silently in my CLEAN SOON TO BE OFFICE SPACE (that is now decluttered) while I mourn my loss of potential funds. And I'll be ok, because they aren't getting me any money sitting in my space now are they?

I'm subscribing, because clearly GearGirl is already married so that's the closest I can get to professing my adoration for this thread.

Right back at you!

Sometimes I drag something from my garage out to the driveway so I can bring it to sell, post, photograph. Then I leave it out there and then a spider gets on it and I spiders so getting rid of it becomes a lot easier.

[melissel]

Don't have the time to read the whole thread right now, so I'm subbing to come back. You've inspired me already, GearGirl!!!

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

oh this thread is awesome! Thanks for all the tips GG, This got me back into ds's toyroom today and he helped me go through everything and we got a sack full of stuff to donate. I did really well last month and got rid of quite a bit after a yardsale (yes I do follow through with them), but I still brought about 6 bags of clothes to donate afterward. This great fall weather has gotten me motivated again and I want stuff out of here! I am not so much a messy person, as messy doesn't bother me, I sometimes wish i had a hint of OCD in me to make the clutter and unkept house make me bonkers, although when preggo i do feel that come out in me a bit, like now. I just keep thinking we have too much of everything, I never thought we had too many dishes until our dishwasher broke last month and i've been stuck handwashing, and now i think we have way too many.

I still have quite a bit of months before #2 arrives but I want this place cleared of as much clutter as possible before then!

[butterflies]

I this thread GearGirl!

We have pretty much come to the same conclusions about kids toys. We're finally at the point where the kids use what they have, just about everything has a bin, and I think we'd all be content if no new toys come into the house for a long long time. I'm going to steer relatives towards art supplies, etc for Christmas-- things that get used up.

And all this explains why my kids room is actually pleasant and reasonably organized while the master bedroom is still a wreck.

I'll be reading for more inspiration!

[mkksmom]

I like this thread too. I never make my bed. DH and I have 2 different blankets and it never looks very nice. But I like my own blanket that he can't steal in the middle of the night. I think I'll make it for a week and see how it affects my mood.

My donation suggestion if you are going to donate, is to have a pick-up scheduled before you start decluttering on a weekend. The VVA will let you do this online in my area at scheduleapickup.com. I go there, select my date and the size of my donation. I try to pick 4-10 bags/boxes and that way I have to fill at least 4 by such and such date. I put it on my porch, labeled VVA and they come and take it away. They leave a tax receipt behind. I like it because it forces me to get it done. If I had to drive to Goodwill, it might not happen.

I also like consignment sales put together by moms and yardsales that are town wide. That's the only way I will do either of those things. I have to have a deadline. But really the VVA pick-up works best for me.

[lucky_mia]

I love this thread. It could seriously change my life. I have been decluttering but this is inspiring me to take it to a new level. I'm a messay person. I can't have a lot of stuff. I just can't. I just spent the entire weekend doing laundry nonstop which only tells me that we have way too much clothing for 4 people.

Keep going!

[Minky]

I've got one that's proven to be a bit controversial in my IRL circle of friends.

No coupons.

They work well for non-messy people. I'm sure they save money. But in our household, they become clutter. If I save them, I'll never clip them. Even if I clip them, I'll never use them. It's not a "habit I can get into." It's just more clutter.

[Theoretica]

I'm back to request a chapter on clothing.

And to remind GG of my growing adoration for her.

How does it feel to have your own fan club? LOL

[p.s]

Originally Posted by Theoretica

request a chapter on clothing.

yes! yes! ...chapter on clothing... yes! yes!

[beanma]

Originally Posted by Minky

I've got one that's proven to be a bit controversial in my IRL circle of friends.

No coupons.

They work well for non-messy people. I'm sure they save money. But in our household, they become clutter. If I save them, I'll never clip them. Even if I clip them, I'll never use them. It's not a "habit I can get into." It's just more clutter.

Coupons only work for me if it's 1) for a particular restaurant we like to go to and I put it in my coupon folder, or we print it off the web right before we go, or 2) for grocery items, if I clip it right then and put it in my wallet. Otherwise it will just gather dust somewhere. Sometimes the ones in my wallet gather dust, too, but I definitely don't hang onto any coupon mailers or newspaper inserts. I'll flip through really fast and if I see a good one I'll grab it. My co-op also has a coupon book at the store, so I can use those, but generally I agree. I am not a coupon clipper. Most of the time I don't want the stuff the newspaper inserts are offering anyway.

[melissel]

Originally Posted by mkksmom

My donation suggestion if you are going to donate, is to have a pick-up scheduled before you start decluttering on a weekend. The VVA will let you do this online in my area at scheduleapickup.com. I go there, select my date and the size of my donation. I try to pick 4-10 bags/boxes and that way I have to fill at least 4 by such and such date. I put it on my porch, labeled VVA and they come and take it away. They leave a tax receipt behind. I like it because it forces me to get it done. If I had to drive to Goodwill, it might not happen.

Genius!!!! I love the idea of committing an amount to a third party before you even start. I'll have to see if they do that in my area too!

Originally Posted by Minky

I've got one that's proven to be a bit controversial in my IRL circle of friends.

No coupons.

They work well for non-messy people. I'm sure they save money. But in our household, they become clutter. If I save them, I'll never clip them. Even if I clip them, I'll never use them. It's not a "habit I can get into." It's just more clutter.

You're so right. I keep trying, and I keep failing. I buy grocery coupons on eBay and plan to stock up on the sales, and then they end up arriving and sitting mixed in with the mail pile until the dang sales are over. So I wasted money AND created clutter! (Of course, that's not going to happen with the Tom's of Maine, GUM toothbrush, and Progresso soup coupons that are now zipping their way toward me, RIGHT? )

[Theoretica]

Originally Posted by Minky

I've got one that's proven to be a bit controversial in my IRL circle of friends.

No coupons.

They work well for non-messy people. I'm sure they save money. But in our household, they become clutter. If I save them, I'll never clip them. Even if I clip them, I'll never use them. It's not a "habit I can get into." It's just more clutter.

yes Yes YES!!!