Messy house pictures- I need the embarassment

[cdmaze]

Christmas day is at my little house this year- so- I've got to clean this place up. So, for motivation- I've taken "before" pix and hopefully next week I'll post "after" shots.

Plus- you can use these pix to feel better about your mess! Mines PRETTY bad. Off I go....

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...e/DSC02617.jpg
the kids room...and yes- I have purged many toys already...

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...e/DSC02618.jpg
My laundry room...loveley...

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...e/DSC02619.jpg
the master suite...

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...e/DSC02620.jpg
My hutch and the stairs up to the bedroom...

I need a kick in the butt!

[PumpkinSeeds]

Now get to work!

[sedalbj]

Holy moly! You have work to do, is there a box of trash bags in there somewhere?

[mamajama]

Mine's similar

You and I have some work to do!! Let's get movin'
One room at a time!

[guest9921]

I can relate with the clothes.

Unfortunately, we have far too many clothes for our storage areas. Though, we tend to keep them in bins rather than on the stairs - but if we had older children - I'm sure we'd start keeping them on the stairs. Hah.
I remember doing that as a kid.

Enlist the help of your kinders.

I do one Major cleaning sweep every two weeks or so.
And then we pick up all of the toys, once or twice a day - depends. Also, Ive had to promise to keep my art area clean every two days.

Organized chaos isn't that bad, as long as everything is clean and healthy.



Good luck on your expedition. I know you can do it.
How brave of you to post your pics though, what a great motivator.
(Mine is usually the inlaws coming over. )


s

[CountrylivinmomtoB]

Wow, goodluck. Your house looks similiar to my parents house. I know you can do it. I've tried helping my mom, but it's a lost cause, so I gave up. She just can not throw anything out, or get rid of anything.

Did you grow up in a house with a lot of junk? As a result of growing up in a house that was messy and cluttered (but not dirty, my mom cleaned all the time, just moved the stuff to clean)...I am a little messed up in the head because of it!

[kathirynne]

Lol

I love that there's a Coors box in the laundry room.

Thanks for the motivation.

Now, let's all get moving!!

[fek&fuzz]

eek. that makes me stressed out just to look at it, but also jealous that you have so much fun ahead of you in organizing/purging.

I'd best get moving on my own cleaning up...

[traceface]

I like the slanted ceiling in your bedroom, I think you could make that space so cozy and relaxing once all the stuff is out of there.

Maybe if you do that first, make it completely pure and decluttered, the enjoyment of one clean area will inspire you to continue.

[philomom]

Start with the laundry room , its small enough to finish in an afternoon. Do your bedroom next, its your blissful retreat at the end of the day. Do the kid's room last. Why? Because they will have gotten used to your progressive neatening through the house and will be more willing to help make their room beautiful.

Your house is your home, your haven. For your kids its the base of all their memories. Do you really want them to remember their life looking like this? Do you want the home they create with their partners in life to resemble the state of yours right now? Get busy making that house a home, dear! Good luck.

[ShannonCC]

I can relate. BTDT Parts of my house used to look at that. (actually, parts still do but mostly little bits like my computer desk ) My 8 y/o's room currently is pretty bad but that's because I decided it's her room to do with what she wants and I'm not nagging anymore (I told her I'll help if she wants but she said "I like my mess" )

My big suggestion is to get rid of stuff! Do you have A Goodwill or Vietnam Vets or some other organization that will pick stuff up from your front porch? Click my blog link, on the right I have links to both of them and you check out if they pick up in your area. Or do you have a thirftstore where you can just drop off huge amounts of stuff at one time? Otherwise how about freecycle? Not piece by piece but "lot of kid's clothing, size X, must take all".

Getting it OUT is the fastest and most lasting solution. The house will be pretty for Christmas, you might help some people in need to have a good holiday themselves AND you'll be able to keep up better when the guests have left and the holiday is over

[HollyBearsMom]

I wouldn't even know where to begin!! I think the pp is right about starting w/ the smallest room first so you can get a sense of accomplishemnt Maybe that will keep you motivated?

[Penelope]

Yeah, we've had those days! Take it one room at a time, mama, starting with your bedroom, so you'll have a nice, clean place to rest when you're done.

When you get fed up, stop and close your eyes and envision your nice clean home! (While you're at it, could you envision my house all clean too??)

[RiverSky]

Unfortunately, my DD's room looks like like your child's bedroom. For some weird reason, she can't seem to keep it clean. I will do a major cleanup in there and put everything in its organized place and yes, there is a place for all of her million toys and pieces of toys, but for some reason, she will manage, within one day, to tear it completely apart again, playing. It's very, very depressing, actually.

Some of your other pictures are similar to areas in my house, too, and yes, I find it very motivating to see that I'm not the only one. Thank you!!


Off to do some cleaning....

[Lovenest]

YIKES!
That makes me stressed just looking at it.

Now this is what I would do.
Start with your kids room.
GET RID OF ANYTHING THEY DONT NEED!
Go to target or somewhere and pick up:

canvas or wicker baskets for toy sorting
Over the door organizer for toys or other things
Get a hook for the ceiling to hang that IKEA dragon somewhere else
Look for some hook baskers to hook onto the bottom slats on the bottom of the loft bed.
Maybe a stuff animal corner net
Looks like that fold down hamper isnt cutting it.. maybe something more sturdy so you dont have clothes spilling out everywhere.

As for the rest of the house looks like you just need to do some major decluttering. Get rid of stuff you do need/use. It seems like there is clothing EVERYWHERE!?

For the laundry room I would grab a sorter that stands like for the kids room but bigger. Get some baskets for sorting and put them on the shelving you have. Can you put a shelf above the washer and dryer for storing laurdry soap and cleaners so the tall shelf can be used for other things you may want stored in there.

Do you have a coat rack if you dont have room get some pegs for the back of your front door or on a wall near there. Also a basket for hats and mittens etc.

Thats all I have right now! Good luck!!!

[spsmom]

hey, we have that wooden castle!!!!

[SleeplessMommy]

You need many many shelves and pegs!

Here is a "game" if you like. Work on just one area at a time, fixing it up. Your goal is to have your husband notice the cleanup when he gets home.

Also, you can train the kids to pick up their stuff, by temporarily dissapearing things that get left on the floor.

[mamaley]

I think it's neat that you posted your pictures. I know when my house is really messy, I get so overwhelmed by it all.

I encourage you to keep these two things in mind while you're cleaning:

1. Progress, not perfection.
2. Any thing I do for my home blesses my family.

I think sometimes we see how far we are from having everything "perfect" that we get so overwhelmed and don't stick with cleaning it, or even get started. I'm speaking for myself here but I think it applies to many of us.

Also, I'm not naturally a clean, neat, organized person. I love it in other people's homes, but some things that seem common sense to people who are organized are things that I would never have thought of on my own (or, at least i hadn't at that point!).

So one thing that helps me...when I start cleaning, I go through either my whole house, or one room at a time focusing on 4 things: putting dishes in sink/dishwasher (cups left around the house, etc); clothes in hamper; toys put away; trash thrown away. Dishes, clothes, trash, toys. That simple! As you're doing this, don't be afraid to throw away or put things in a give away box rather than putting them somewhere. I know that right now, there's probably not a "place for everything, everything in it's place" but do what you can. I'm still not there yet either, but it's getting better!

Ok, I need to go clean!

[Aura_Kitten]

s

your kids room looks like my son's did a few days ago. i spent over 6 HOURS cleaning it and re-organizing it and got it spotless !!

he came home and walked into his room and literally *gasped* and then breathed out a long sigh, "Woowwww" and i heard him whisper to himself in awe, "Mommy cleaned my room!!"




good luck. your home looks like mine did months ago and i've been working on it, and working on creating good habits... and the payoff is so well worth it.

[oldcrunchymom]

In your master bedroom on the right wall, is that a short door to one of those wall-length storage areas? If so, color me jealous. For some reason I've always wanted one of those, complete with mini-door.

I think I would start with the master bedroom first because going to bed and waking up in an orderly, relaxed area is so important to my stress level. There is nothing that gets me down faster than waking up to a mess.