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anyone else feel like it NEVER ENDS?!

post #1 of 20
1/15/08 at 12:41am
Thread Starter 
I do....every day....i try to keep up....but it piles up faster than i can deal with it....and i'm depressed by it all.
just looking for a little support....

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post #2 of 20
1/15/08 at 12:55am
I used too! I see you are a mom of many...now expecting a baby in March (my 5th) I consider myself one too =)
It helps to ruthlessly declutter OFTEN. I go thru stuff every month or more. I have a big box downstairs for goodwill and one for stuff to sell craigslist...I try to have the girls' help tidy up at least 3-4 times during the day and I constantly remind them to put things away when they are done, it really helps. It also helps to have a 'place' for everything.
We just recently got a tv armoire off craiglist ($60 and its REALLY nice) that is fully enclosed and we bought some metal cubes($13) to put in the tv portion and I use this cabinet to store games, puzzles, homeschool books, all the arts and crafts stuff (paint, glue, glitter glue, pom poms, cotton balls, construction paper etc) as well as playdoh etc. It is SO nice to have a good amt of room to put stuff in and have it look nice.

My home is pretty simple but not 'beautiful'. I wish we could spend the money to really decorate, but ya know what? Thats not really important and that money would be better spent paying down the little debt that we have.

I have to remind myself that my home is for my CHILDREN, not to impress people who come over =) As long as it is clean, uncluttered and tidy, then I am happy, and I think my girls are too!

My 2nd dd who is almost 6 especially LOVES clean clear spaces. Whenever I declutter a drawer or cabinet I always call her over to look as I know she will really appreciate it and I get all the 'ooo's and ahhhh's from her =)

It is ongoing thing here, just like doing the dishes and laundry. Having a household w/ so many people-I think it just comes w/ the territory. I just wanted to let you know you are not alone!


Anna
post #3 of 20
1/15/08 at 12:56am
Oh Yes and I only have one child - you are mother to many. I don't have any excuses other than I get overwhelmed easily.

Last week I was so productive and this week -- nothing ... I am simply exhausted today .. and then I feel bad .. which seems to make me feel more frustrated. I have learned to do just a bit on those days so at least I feel I have some sort of accomplishment.

I am threating to put security tape across the doors of the rooms I have cleaned so that nobody messes them up again!!! I just want to stare and enjoy the clean room for a while .....LOL

:
post #4 of 20
1/15/08 at 1:12am
The issue with having more than a couple of children is the utter speed in which the condition of the house can be altered.

There was a clip on The Simpsons where is shows a nice clean kitchen and then after one swish of the kitchen door, it is destroyed. I feel like that most times.

However, the nice thing is that you also have just as many hands that can put it back together again.

We have chore lists and twice a day we have "10 minutes of tidy." This time isn't for personal chores. It is for putting the house back together. Taking care of what is out of place. Often a quick vacuum.
post #5 of 20
1/15/08 at 1:52am
yes. i'm past the initial like BIG declutter phase and i still feel like its a never-ending thing to stay on top of.

when i can stay on the flylady schedule i do better

i do de-cluttering and cleaning every day that i have off from work
post #6 of 20
1/15/08 at 10:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ustasmom View Post
The issue with having more than a couple of children is the utter speed in which the condition of the house can be altered.

There was a clip on The Simpsons where is shows a nice clean kitchen and then after one swish of the kitchen door, it is destroyed. I feel like that most times.
LOL!! I still roll on the floor when I see that since it is the perfect way to describe how things are here.

It definitely is the job that never ends. I have been ruthlesly decluttering, getting rid of garbage bags of stuff daily and it does not seem to make a difference. A piece of paper is not much but compound it by dozens when DS wants to make a book plus the crayons that don't get put away or all the little legos scattered on the floor or DH's dirty socks/dishes he leaves laying around or things that just seem to be attracted to the floor, there always seems to be stuff everywhere!

I was really annoyed at Flylady yesterday. She sends these musings letters and this was in her letter yesterday: "Do you want to know why your home gets messy? It is not because your children tear things up faster than you can put them away and it is not because your husband doesn't help? Your home gets messy because you don't think you have time clean it up! "

Heck, I have all the time in the world *technically* since I'm a stay at home mom, it's just never ending and I would die of exhaustion trying to keep up with my bunch!!! I have a life beyond chasing after everyone picking up after them.
post #7 of 20
1/15/08 at 10:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mothertoall View Post
I do....every day....i try to keep up....but it piles up faster than i can deal with it....and i'm depressed by it all.
just looking for a little support....
I hate to say it, but I don't think it ends until you die.

The laundry never ends, the dishes never end, the cleaning never ends at least...

I think some things are better than other at particular times, but it seems I'm always going to be doing this stuff...
post #8 of 20
1/15/08 at 11:07am
Thread Starter 
I feel like I have to schedule time to have fun with my kids...and that sucks....my sister is sahm to 2 girls whom she homeschools...and their days are so filled with playing and having fun together.....I miss that....
I have kind of two sets of kiddos....olders (21, 13, 13 and 9) and youngers(6, 3, 1) and its hard to get that together....does that make sense? its not just a cleaning thing or a cooking thing...its a daily living thing....
post #9 of 20
1/15/08 at 11:38am
Yes!!! I feel like it's a magic pile that never gets smaller. Right there with you mama!
post #10 of 20
1/15/08 at 11:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hellyaellen View Post
yes. i'm past the initial like BIG declutter phase and i still feel like its a never-ending thing to stay on top of.
:

Especially now with 2 birthdays, Christmas, and another two birthdays within a short span of time.
post #11 of 20
1/15/08 at 2:03pm
Decluttering is a continual process...

I read somewhere that if your kids mess everything up (oh yeah, poor kids, always getting blamed!) just think of it as "surface" mess. The idea is that is if you have decluttered, the stuff just needs to be put back in its place. Therefore, it is a quicker mess to clean up.

I don't know if that's really true or not, but I have used the "surface" mess line before to psych myself up for straightening up.
post #12 of 20
1/15/08 at 3:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bwylde View Post

It definitely is the job that never ends. I have been ruthlesly decluttering, getting rid of garbage bags of stuff daily and it does not seem to make a difference.
:

I have given away or thrown away about 4 garbage bags full of stuff and my house looks the same!
post #13 of 20
1/16/08 at 9:32am
i does!! i clean out our stuff all the time, and it still seems like it just breeds or something.
post #14 of 20
1/20/08 at 1:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by phatchristy View Post
I hate to say it, but I don't think it ends until you die. The laundry never ends, the dishes never end, the cleaning never ends at least...
And even then it becomes someone else's mess to clean when you're gone! Someone's gotta hoe out all my stuff
post #15 of 20
1/20/08 at 3:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by phatchristy View Post
I hate to say it, but I don't think it ends until you die.

The laundry never ends, the dishes never end, the cleaning never ends at least...

I think some things are better than other at particular times, but it seems I'm always going to be doing this stuff...
yes. it sucks. I want a maid, but my house is too messy for a maid!
post #16 of 20
1/20/08 at 5:17pm
I constantly feel like I can't keep on top of things. If I do the dishes, then the living room is a mess, if I keep the living room picked up, the bathroom is a mess. I'm always chasing my tail and never getting anywhere. Maybe I should try flylady again. Last time I crashed and burned.
post #17 of 20
1/20/08 at 5:26pm
I so know where you are coming from... my clutter seems to breed over night!
post #18 of 20
1/20/08 at 5:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2 in August View Post
I constantly feel like I can't keep on top of things. If I do the dishes, then the living room is a mess, if I keep the living room picked up, the bathroom is a mess. I'm always chasing my tail and never getting anywhere. Maybe I should try flylady again. Last time I crashed and burned.
me too, crash and burn baby, crash and burn...
post #19 of 20
1/20/08 at 6:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maddy123 View Post
Decluttering is a continual process...

I read somewhere that if your kids mess everything up (oh yeah, poor kids, always getting blamed!) just think of it as "surface" mess. The idea is that is if you have decluttered, the stuff just needs to be put back in its place. Therefore, it is a quicker mess to clean up.

I don't know if that's really true or not, but I have used the "surface" mess line before to psych myself up for straightening up.

i like that...and it totally makes sense

and fiw, i think everybody drops in and out with flylady, love her though i do....i'm in right now, sort of.
post #20 of 20
1/21/08 at 3:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maddy123 View Post
Decluttering is a continual process...

I read somewhere that if your kids mess everything up (oh yeah, poor kids, always getting blamed!) just think of it as "surface" mess. The idea is that is if you have decluttered, the stuff just needs to be put back in its place. Therefore, it is a quicker mess to clean up.

I don't know if that's really true or not, but I have used the "surface" mess line before to psych myself up for straightening up.
I definitely agree with this.

I also understand how the OP feels – and I only have two children to make messes! I feel like no matter how much ‘stuff’ I give away, there is still so much in the house. I was just feeling down about it this weekend. I reminded myself that my husband and I accumulated all of this over twenty years and although it seems as though we are taking dump truck loads away, there were years when we got rid of nothing. We've also changed our purchasing habits in recent years.

As far as laundry, dishes, cleaning, I too get overwhelmed but tell myself once it is all organized it will be better. Am I fooling myself? I peek at all the photos of homes in these uncluttered threads and feel it is possible. (Even my house could be in those photos – on the good days! I just want to have more of the good days.)

You may also like:

Sitting or Squatting: What's Really Best in the Bathroom?
There Is Not Always a "Fix" For the Difficult Child
10 Things You Don't Need For a New Baby