tweeking the daily cleaning routine and could use some pointers on taming clutter

[CalicoKat]

sooooo...... I've put away the excuse "We live here 24/7 so the house is going to look lived in 24/7" to "We live in 24/7 so we need to maintain daily!" Which has led to adding vacuuming daily, daily pick up in the loft and school room daily, and starting a load of laundry AFTER the kids shed for bed to our current pick-up routines. Trying to figure out if I can handle "Mopping after kids are in bed so the floors stay clean for 12 hours." But that might just be too ambitious for me. :001_huh:

 

Things are cleaner. But now the clutter is drawing my attention. You know the spots that seem to attract papers, toys, misc. kitchen stuff, pens, batteries, loose change.

 

I've tried having baskets handy to catch it all -- but they overflow.

 

I've tried parking new items in catch-all spots to dissuade clutter bugs. Not working.

 

I've tried persuading clutter bugs by repeatedly calling them back to "Put it away!" There are 6 of those here and 1 of me, I can't keep up.

 

Any other tricks to the trade that I'm missing.

[msjones]

It sounds like you're off to a good start! I do daily bathroom wipe-downs, daily laundry, and daily sweeping/vaccuming, and I love how clean everything stays. And once it's that clean, it's easy to keep it clean. I also have almost no clutter. That's the key for me to keep my house nice.

 

As for your clutter -- what IS most of it? If it is truly clutter -- stuff you don't need-- it's got to go. Get rid of it.

 

FlyLady /www.flylady.net/(are you familiar with her?) has folks de-clutter 15 min each day. Maybe you could add that to your new routines. I bet daily de-cluttering would serve you better than daily mopping.

[Crystal in VA]

:lurk5:

 

I've tried all your clutter solutions too with no luck. It's a constant battle around here that I'm tired of fighting.

 

I've enlisted the help of my 15 yo DD. She hates the clutter too. We're going to try to tackle de-cluttering missions every day, the FlyLady way...baby steps. I would love to hear others solutions for clutter control! :D

 

Unfortunately, my DH likes to keep EVERYTHING. But...some how... he always manages to find a need for what he keeps so I'm learning to accept that. :001_smile:I just don't know what to do with it all.

[JoyfulMama]

When I was younger, my mom used to make piles for us on the steps, which was the clutter we left laying around. We were required to have the steps empty before dinner.

 

My kids have a couple times a day when they have to gather x items that don't belong and put away, usually before lunch and before dinner. For me, it is a way to keep them productively occupied while I get food on the table. And occasionally I put things on the steps for them, too.

 

As for paper clutter, I need to make an effort to spend time on just this every couple days. One section of my kitchen counter is my nemesis.

[Mynyel]

My answer? Every couple months I go through wil a big black garbage bag and "de-clutter" meaning I toss it if it hasn't been used. You may have to do that more often until everyone realized your serious and starts putting stuff away. :)

[cougarmom4]

Well, my house would be clean if I lived all alone. :D

 

But since I'd rather keep people around, I had to figure out a way to keep my house clean and deal with their 'stuff'! In my laundry room, I have shelves with a bin (actually the larger wash basins from Walmart...2.97) for each member of the family. I put clean, folded laundry in the bins. But I also put any 'stuff' that I find laying around out of place around the house. I typically do a little clean up sweep or Ten Minute Tidy (my preference is before I go to bed, but it actually is often in the morning)--where I walk through the main floor of the house holding a bin--and pick up everything that is out of place (aside from those things that can easily be put away in that same room...you know, the scotch tape & scissors can just as easily be put into the junk drawer). Then I sort them into the appropriate bins. My kids' afternoon chore is to empty their bins...put away clean laundry & the stuff that has accumulated.

 

Now then, this helps to keep the clutter under control, although it is perhaps not the best way to TRAIN the kids (and dh) not to leave things out in the first place. So there still has to be some of that going on. But it has helped me to maintain a bit of order and tame the chaos that occasionally just takes over completely.

[Parrothead]

 

I've tried persuading clutter bugs by repeatedly calling them back to "Put it away!" There are 6 of those here and 1 of me, I can't keep up.

 

If you have had clutter bugs all along it is going to take some time to reprogram them. Like any new rules, consistency is the key. It might take a while to learn the new rule.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I've tried having baskets handy to catch it all -- but they overflow.

 

Keep the catch it all baskets, but set aside a specific time each day to have the clutterbugs clear it out. I generally estimate the number of items in our basket and ask them each to put away a set number (usually 5-10) each day. The hard part is following up to see that the actual items are put away.

 

I've tried parking new items in catch-all spots to dissuade clutter bugs. Not working.

 

For new items, make the catch-all spot temporary. Try to set aside a day or two each month to assign new items a permanent home.

 

I've tried persuading clutter bugs by repeatedly calling them back to "Put it away!" There are 6 of those here and 1 of me, I can't keep up.

 

Generally, I toss items into the catch-all basket as a start. Then pick one type of item each month that you would like to train them to put away and have them practice putting that item away. I generally call together the offenders (which may or may not be all the DC), explain the problem (ie. coats being dropped on the floor at the doorway), explain the reasons for changing the habit (ie. tripping hazard, block door from opening, get stepped on and dirty, etc.), and then practice. With coats for example, they put the coat on, step outside, come in, take it off, and put it away. Repeat a couple of times. (Mine generally find this humorous the first time so they don't mind.) When they forget to put it away the next time, the consequence is to repeat the practicing a certain number of times. (I generally start at 5 and increase from there for repeat problems. As long as you're consistent they will eventually decide they have other things they want to do instead of practicing putting away the same item over and over again. This gives them an incentive to put it away the first time.) This can be a bit of a pain, which is why you only pick one item to work on each month and toss the rest in the basket to be put away in the daily basket emptying.

 

HTH

[NancyNellen]

I would assign one area per child and have them clean up/put away whatever has accumulated there every afternoon.