Sharilynn29 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Okay, tomorrow is our last day of school and as I look around, my house is disgusting! No, I don't qualify to go on one of those reality shows for hoarders but it's bad. So does anyone have any great thoughts or suggestions for getting things back in order over the next month? I feel like I don't know where to start? Gross bathrooms, piles of books, my closet, my fridge. You get the picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Okay, tomorrow is our last day of school and as I look around, my house is disgusting! No, I don't qualify to go on one of those reality shows for hoarders but it's bad. So does anyone have any great thoughts or suggestions for getting things back in order over the next month? I feel like I don't know where to start? Gross bathrooms, piles of books, my closet, my fridge. You get the picture. I'm in the same boat trying to get my house under control. In my case it's mostly clutter because I have a small house and too much stuff. This thread helped me enormously. It has lots of tips and ideas and Pretty in Pink's pictures really inspired me to take the reins and get my house under control. I still have such a long way to go, but I'm getting there. :) My living room and kitchen are done anyway which I didn't think was even possible so there's hope.:) Good luck to you! :) You can do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Trust me on this one. Top to bottom, left to right. Program your mind, throw a dart, the rest will come naturally. Just throw a dart...wad of gum, bundle of wet paper towel, anything, just pick a point and attack. Eventually you'll work all the way back to point A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jpoy85 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I would start with 1 room and clean it, go to the next....etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Trust me on this one. Top to bottom, left to right. Program your mind, throw a dart, the rest will come naturally. Just throw a dart...wad of gum, bundle of wet paper towel, anything, just pick a point and attack. Eventually you'll work all the way back to point A. This is funny :) Curious if you all have had seriously messy houses and now keep the messy monster under control :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I am in the same boat! I started with one room. DH had the kitchen in decent shape, we simply worked to maintain that for a.few days! Then I started on the mountain of laundry....dirty to he washed amd already clean thay needed.folding. Next I did thebfamily room. Now I am tackling cluttered areas one at a time....trying for one a day. I made a list of areas that could be tackled in an hour or less. I don't try to do more than an hour a day. When I hard core clean and do it all at once, I wear myself put and can't maintain it. I am trying to build habits for me and the kids. Right now we are working on: Where to put dirty clothes And Putting toys away as we go. We jabe had vast improvements this week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Curious if you all have had seriously messy houses and now keep the messy monster under control :) For myself I'm certainly trying. I decluttered my living/dining room and kitchen. Everything now has a home and it's so much easier to keep it clean. It's been a month now and the clutter hasn't come back (in those rooms). After I decluttered I started washing walls and painting too so I haven't gone to the upstairs rooms yet (they're still cluttered and messy), but I hope to do it over summer and have the whole house under control. I'm already seeing the benefits in having just the living/dining room and kitchen done. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 This is funny :) Curious if you all have had seriously messy houses and now keep the messy monster under control :) Nope, quite the opposite. Very strict. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Make a list & work through it. I'd start with what you can't stand right now. Bathrooms, dishes, laundry. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfeusse Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I'm in the same boat trying to get my house under control. In my case it's mostly clutter because I have a small house and too much stuff. This thread helped me enormously. It has lots of tips and ideas and Pretty in Pink's pictures really inspired me to take the reins and get my house under control. I still have such a long way to go, but I'm getting there. :) My living room and kitchen are done anyway which I didn't think was even possible so there's hope.:) Good luck to you! :) You can do it![/quote the link doesn't work...I tried...and I am sad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I am in the process of cleaning the house now, too. As others have suggested, start with a checklist. I go room by room and decide what needs to be done. Then just go through the list one by one! I do think it is best to get one room done so at least you can see where progress has been made (and you can escape to the clean room when you get overwhelmed with the others- or is that just me?:)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 It never gets to the point that I have walking paths created to get through the mess. But it does get to the point that when I tidy up it doesn't do much good. So about once a year I clean thoroughly. I pick a room (usually the bathroom first since it is the smallest) take every single thing that isn't permanently attached out and start cleaning top to bottom, right to left. I wash walls, floors, fixtures. I throw away all the junk that has accumulated. I dust, scrub and 2-3 hours later put back only the stuff that belongs in that room. The last time I did this, dh was away. It started in the mudroom and I cleaned for 19 hours over two and a half days. I took out 3 contractor size bags of trash. My hands were a mess. Have on hand: vacuum rags cleaning solutions trash bags broom dust clothes paper towels bankers boxes glass cleaner mop and bucket Set the oven on self clean if possible the day before you do the kitchen. Have on hand money for take out or ingredients for a few slow cooker meals so you don't have to worry about dinner after working like a dog during the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I am capable of getting my house to look awesome, but i usually need a reason (most recent was housing inspection), and now my weekly reason is pepsi baby. For me, the kitchen is first. Once that's done, the dining room has to match, then the bathroom and living room. Everything that does not belong downstairs, goes at the bottom of the stairs. As i bring up that stuff and put it away, the rooms the stuff belongs to sucks me in! Lol. I usually rotate laundry constantly and put the clean clothes on my bed. I'll end up sleeping with the clothes for a night (full size bed, one person). At some point, normally with the last load of laundry, i will clean the upstairs bathroom to match the lack of laundry. I have a perfectly written out chore chart, and if i would just follow it, my house would always be neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I'm a fan of the one-room-at-a-time method. Also, I bribe myself to clean. I do everything at night when dd is in bed, and I only allow myself to get my SGU/Robert Carlyle fix while I'm cleaning. I have a laptop and watch it on Netflix, so I can haul everything from room to room while I clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 http://www.flylady.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Pick one room. Start from the top left corner and work your way out of the room. Pick another room. The key is to have all your cleaning supplies in that room and have a laundry basket or box to put all the stuff that doesn't belong in that room so you're not leaving it and getting side tracked. I tackle the house every day. Full clean once a week, deep clean every 6 weeks or so. But, I'm really weird like that. I am definitely not the norm. I've been decluttering the last 3 weeks pretty extensively, but that's only because the snake is loose and I've been digging around for him. I figure if I have to take everything out of the cupboard, I might as well go through it and purge/organize. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 When my house gets like that I tend to focus on the rooms that have the most illness causing potential. SO usually I make sure my kitchen is up to snuff first including inside the fridge, behind the sink, microwave, cabinet fronts etc. Then I scrub the bathroom top to bottom. From there I move onto the rooms first seen by guests as they come to the door so for me entrance and livingroom. Bedrooms, office and backroom come last. If it is a stuff issue than decluttering is needed. At this house I am better at clearing out extra stuff, but at one time I had a hard time with that and had tons. Twice in a 1 year I rented a huge garbage bin for 1 week and filled it up. Much of it could have been hauled to goodwill but that would have taken further planning and I just needed it out. That helped a lot especially with bigger things like furniture that was not in use and just taking up space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineinthesand9 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Purge, purge, purge!! (We are moving in 32 days, and this is my motto!) I'm surprised at how much better we all feel as we get rid of JUNK!!! [Our kids had WAY too many clothes, so we limited their wardrobe to ___# of t-shirts; ___# of jeans; ____ # of......etc., etc.]. They did their own purging according to our agreed-upon number limits, and they actually like it that they can close their dresser drawers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 When I get overwhelmed with my house I use the Flylady emergency cleaning method. You pick 3 rooms and work on each room for 15 minutes utilizing a timer. At the end of 45 minutes take a 15 minute break. Then start over again on room one. Cycle through the rooms until one is done and then add a new room to replace it. Maybe I didn't explain that very well. Here is the flylady link on crisis cleaning: http://www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/flying-lessons/crisis-cleaning/ Tips: I do 20 intervals instead of 15. Also, I usually have a lot of emails/paperwor/phone calls to catch up on when things get out of control. So I usually make that my third area. I work two rooms and make my third room the correspondences. That way I feel like I'm not getting behind in life while focusing on my house. Go get 'em! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyinTN Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I would start with the kitchen and deep clean a room daily. In no time you would everything done and then each daily just quick clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arghmatey Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Okay, tomorrow is our last day of school and as I look around, my house is disgusting! No, I don't qualify to go on one of those reality shows for hoarders but it's bad. So does anyone have any great thoughts or suggestions for getting things back in order over the next month? I feel like I don't know where to start? Gross bathrooms, piles of books, my closet, my fridge. You get the picture. We use this checklist for our home. You can split it into two weeks if it's too overwhelming at first. Some things I address right when I get up, others when I can throughout the day, and others as they occur. With large projects such as your closet, I'd do a bit every day: day 1, clear clothes off floor; day 2, organize belts; day 3, clear one box off the floor; day x, maintain clean closet. Everywhere there is a pile of books, I'd install one of these: http://ana-white.com/2010/10/plans/ten-dollar-ledges. Your kids can paint them and be responsible for keeping the books off the floor. The fridge. Clean off just one shelf per day / week. Chunk expired stuff, wipe the shelf, replace items. Make sure the exterior is free of smudges. Small chunks and a helpful team will get the job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Purging is my motto this summer. This last year I have really neglected the house, so I have a lot of catching up to do. We have a suburban and I have literally taken carloads to Goodwill over the last few weeks, and it keeps coming. My Goodwill piles are getting smaller, but I just keep trying to purge. I know most people say to do one room at a time, but I tend to keep going around the house, meaning I will clean and purge the house in a week, but then the next week when I clean, I will purge some more stuff from each room. Works for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Purging is my motto this summer. This last year I have really neglected the house, so I have a lot of catching up to do. We have a suburban and I have literally taken carloads to Goodwill over the last few weeks, and it keeps coming. My Goodwill piles are getting smaller, but I just keep trying to purge. I know most people say to do one room at a time, but I tend to keep going around the house, meaning I will clean and purge the house in a week, but then the next week when I clean, I will purge some more stuff from each room. Works for me. This is what I do for purging. I have levels of purging kwim. At first pass the pile is small from each room, but combined it is decent. But after that first pass I think, I can do this, I can get rid of more, so the 2nd pass through each room nets more. rinse repeat. I have a hard time letting go of things, but with each pass through I find more that I am willing to part with that at the first pass I was set on keeping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 This is what I do for purging. I have levels of purging kwim. At first pass the pile is small from each room, but combined it is decent. But after that first pass I think, I can do this, I can get rid of more, so the 2nd pass through each room nets more. rinse repeat. I have a hard time letting go of things, but with each pass through I find more that I am willing to part with that at the first pass I was set on keeping. Exactly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Money Saving Mom recently had a series "4 weeks to a More Organized Home" http://moneysavingmom.com/4-weeks-to-a-more-organized-home-series Maybe you could go back and read those and do that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Purging is my motto this summer. . I had to laugh at this as this is my continual motto...........and needs to be. We moved last September to a bigger house and we had purged LOTS and LOTS of stuff before we moved but not nearly enough. My kids, esp. 15dd love to collect things and papers and shoes and .......and ........ Paper clutter is a huge issue for us so I want to focus on that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennislady29 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I might not be a very good person to address this because my house is currently undergoing a big de-cluttering process. I can be a perfectionist and just got overwhelmed thinking about every drawer, closet and flat surface that I needed to clear out. I read some advice that really helped me: do the big impact stuff first. Save the drawers and closets (things that don't really show) for later. So, the first things I'm clearing out are the things that make a visual difference, like countertops, desk tops, etc. After I tackle the first layer of visual clutter, then I'm going to go back and do drawers and closets. It's made a big difference in my home because it just looks better when you walk in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 (edited) the link doesn't work...I tried...and I am sad! Oh! I'm so sorry. Try this one. Hopefully this one will work. If not, just do a search on the thread title "organized folks don't do this" :) http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=354011&highlight=organized+people+don%27t+do+this I am in the process of cleaning the house now, too. As others have suggested, start with a checklist. I go room by room and decide what needs to be done. Then just go through the list one by one! I do think it is best to get one room done so at least you can see where progress has been made (and you can escape to the clean room when you get overwhelmed with the others- or is that just me?:)) Nope. Not just you. :D Edited June 1, 2012 by Ibbygirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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