Cleaning...I want a pretty house.

[jeninok]

We live in a small, 100 year old house, in the middle of the city, with 3 dogs and 2 cats. So even without us leaving our crap laying around all the time, there is dust, and hair, and grit, and it just gets grungy fast. I have never lived somewhere so dusty in my life.

 

The kitchen and bathroom are wiped down and cleaned nearly everyday, and I keep up with the laundry as we wear it....except that our bedroom is busting at the seems with clothes EVERYWHERE.

 

We need new furniture/a bigger house with actual closets, but neither of those is happening any time soon.

 

I paint with acrylics and watercolor in my spare time. Dh is a clotheshorse and packrat and has a MUCH higher tolerance for mess and clutter than I do.

 

I spent tonight deep cleaning our accumulated homeschool clutter, bookshelf and office shelf area, tossing, wiping, sorting, containerizing and labeling.

 

I just get so frustrated, I know it will get messed up in no time flat, and I don't know what to do with all the miscellaneous crap that collects when you live in a house for a long time. Dh is also not helpful, and while he isn't a hoarder, it does run in his family, and he holds on to way more than I do. I have to deep clean when he isn't here, or I just can't chunk certain stuff.

 

I threw away a small crate of random electronic type cords tonight, it looked like power cables, maybe a co-ax, and some with weird ends. NONE of them go to anything we use, and we haven't needed any of them in at least 2 years.

 

Do other people have random cords floating around? I feel like we accumulate them for some reason. I also found like 6 military looking coins, enough number 2 pencils for a small village (but no pencil sharpener) and all sorts of other very small random stuff. :confused:

 

I also came across random footage of a shoplifter on CD that he needed for work in 2011, it had been in the bottom of the drawer all that time, he feels he still needs it, and since it is for work I didn't argue, so I put it in the drawer with the floppy disks :tongue_smilie:

 

 

Does anyone have any ideas? We don't have an ikea within 6 hours, so as much as I would love to line our walls with Expedit shelves, and use their other awesome options, I can't.

 

I have tried Flylady, and it was way overwhelming for me, and have read other books, I just run into trouble finding a way to implement it and keep up my motivation/convince DH to help.

[jeninok]

I forgot to ask my questions!

My biggest one, since its such a pain....

In a busy house, with pets etc, how often do walls and doors normally need washed? Ours seem to get gross really fast, but I never remember my mom scrubbing walls, and I never look at anyone else's close enough.

[Anne in CA]

I am in almost the same boat. My house is almost 100 years old and has tiny closets. You need an outdoor storage shed of some kind for the things your dh cannot live without. You sound like you are already doing the best that can be done.

[fraidycat]

Just :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:.

 

I FINALLY got DH on board with helping to declutter and letting go of the "we might need it some day" mentality. I think the final turning point for him was that after this last move (we've done several where I was the primary/only unpacker/organizer), I only unpacked what we actually NEEDED. Dishes, pots & pans, bedroom and bathroom stuff, clothes. He got to unpack the rest. I didn't even want to bring the stuff with us so I refused to deal with it, and I continue to refuse to deal with it as far as picking up/putting away, etc.

 

If I have to put it away, I put it "away" for good, in the trash can. ;) My whole family knows this, so they get one warning and then it's gone. I still have the lower tolerance for mess and clutter than everyone else, but they don't like it when their stuff ends up in the trash, so they are *much* better about listening when I ask them to deal with it. Clothes, toys, papers, books, pens, pencils - doesn't matter. If they want to keep it, they have to take care of it. If there is not a place to keep it, then it's time to get rid of some stuff.

 

Right now our house is a gigantic pigsty...because we ARE decluttering. We have stuff dragged out from everywhere and spread out to sort. DH is pitching in just as much as me - he is the one who dragged out the box of random cords and sorted through/tossed most of them just a couple days ago.

[fraidycat]

I forgot to ask my questions!

My biggest one, since its such a pain....

In a busy house, with pets etc, how often do walls and doors normally need washed? Ours seem to get gross really fast, but I never remember my mom scrubbing walls, and I never look at anyone else's close enough.

 

Our doors and walls near door seem to get nasty pretty fast, too. Sometimes I leave it longer than others because I don't really have a set "chore" to do them. That kind of stuff usually gets done while I'm on the phone. I will pace around and notice stuff like that, then grab a cloth and wipe while I'm talking - makes it seem like way less of a chore that way.

[IsabelC]

The walls are a big :banghead: issue around here.

 

I just. do. not. understand why kids have to drape themselves on the walls and windows, or walk down the hall running their fingers along the wall. Why does one ever need to touch the walls? My dh painted the dining room wall and I swear it wasn't any more than a month before it looked utterly repulsive again.

 

The only thing I have found really helps for us is to declutter, declutter and declutter again. Once you have only got things you need/use/love, and you have a proper place for each thing, it becomes a matter of routines and habits. I do Flylday on and off - I don't think I'll ever do the full enchilada, but taking on bits of it has been manageable and effective. Especially having a workable evening routine and morning routine, with a few weekly tasks.

Edited September 8, 2012 by Hotdrink

[jeninok]

ADI'm glad to know I'm not the only one with dirty walls!

 

I know a lot of the fault is mine for the overall state of the house, I get frustrated and overwhelmed and blow it off until I can't stand it, which makes it even more overwhelming. I am also very out of sight, out of mind. So sometimes I need big messy piles to not totally forget something exists, or to finish something.

 

As far as storage buildings, We have a garage......I'm not even going to think about it!

 

Do you have any tips for cutting down on dust, it builds up really really fast here, I've never had a house like it. I assume part of it is the dogs, in particular the very old sickly one who is the reason it smells so "doggy" in here.

 

 

And, honestly it isn't gross or anything, dishes are washed, floors swept, bathroom cleaned. Its just not anywhere as nice feeling as I'd like it either.

[lewelma]

We live in 700sq ft and have no storage or garage. I vacuum 3x/week, dust 1xweek, wash walls/woodwork 1x/month, and touch up paint 3x/year. I also spend 1 hour every night (AFTER I clean the kitchen) cleaning/sorting/managing the house while my dh reads history to the boys. We have very little, and our tiny place looks spacious. My recommendation to you is get rid of HALF of your stuff. I'm serious. Just do it.

 

Ruth in NZ

Edited September 8, 2012 by lewelma

[Denisemomof4]

I finally put my foot down with dh. He was saving so many things "in case we need it.". I told him if we will need one, we will buy one.;)

 

I found a box FULL of various cords that he will never use.

[jeninok]

My other favorite was saving clothes that had shrunk or didn't fit properly because DS might wear them....DH is 6 feet tall, DS is 11 and I'm positive he doesn't want your work polos. :lol::lol::lol:

 

I have finally convinced him that since he works at the stores, he is always there for the really good deals, so he can get ones that fit and don't have holes, and DS can be bought for there too.!

[jeninok]

I finally put my foot down with dh. He was saving so many things "in case we need it.". I told him if we will need one, we will buy one.;)

 

I found a box FULL of various cords that he will never use.

 

What are these cords.......

what machinery did they once belong to? The cords are a big mystery to me, why would we get rid of electronics or appliances but not their cord?

[RoughCollie]

What are these cords.......

what machinery did they once belong to? The cords are a big mystery to me, why would we get rid of electronics or appliances but not their cord?

 

We have 2 boxes of cords -- one at the office, and one at home. I have no idea what they go to. Neither does anyone else. We save them because DH wants to. When we moved a few years ago, I threw away a big box of cords that had been accumulated over 14 years.

 

I figure that if an electronic item is in use, it has a cord and its owner knows where it is -- and it is not in The Box. So now my plan is to throw away the cords once a year.

 

Where our cords come from are a mystery to me, too. I think word has gotten out that we run a home for wayward cords, and they sneak in at night.

Edited September 8, 2012 by RoughCollie

[Carrie12345]

We have cord issues. I give dh a handful every now and then and tell him to identify them or I'll toss them. The bin is slowly getting smaller!

 

My problem with flylady is the time between rooms. I can't focus on one room for a week while the rest spend months regressing. I'm not reformed yet, so take my plan with a grain of salt.

 

I had set a month aside to work on the house before school started, and divided my house into 14 "zones" that made sense to me, then put them in order of easiest to most disgusting. I spent as much time and energy as I could on one zone in one day, then moved on to the next area the next day. I reserved two days for the really bad rooms.

I managed to get rid of a LOT of stuff in that time, but I still have a long way to go. But the progress was noticeable, so it keeps me going.

 

Now I'm keeping the same 14-spot list and I have to spend some time in a new room/area each day. With the easiest rooms already dejunked, that time can now be spent detailing the ceiling fan or wiping down a wall or cleaning out a sliding door track... the stuff I had to ignore when trying to cope with junk.

The really bad rooms get more decluttering done until they finally reach the same state.

 

For me, that will eventually lead to everything getting a good cleaning every two weeks, which makes more sense for us than Flylady's every few months method.

 

Our house is not old, but we have 5 kids, 2 big dogs, 2 cats, and 1100sf with no garage, attic, or basement. Even though I'm only mid-project, this has been my biggest success in the 7 years we've lived here. The random moving boxes I've had in my bedroom all this time are down from 9 to just 4! ;)

 

I have mostly ignored dh's stuff (though he's made a little progress on his own), but it will get to the point where I tell him to get his stuff done or I will do it for him. He will not want me to do it for him!

[LaxMom]

 

Where our cords come from are a mystery to me, too. I think word has gotten out that we run a home for wayward cords, and they sneak in at night.

 

I think you have just connected the dots! It's the evil, sock stealing gnomes (who also steal other things). We are getting the cords other people are ripping the house apart trying to find. Somewhere, someone has a box of inexplicable socks.

 

Carrie, I think you've hit on something brilliant. (Also a perfect assessment of why I couldn't hang with FlyLady, either)

 

I've been trying to work out a three-section chore schedule that someone else suggested on another thread recently (and I'm embarassed to say I can't remember who that is). Morning chores, evening chores, and a 30 minute segment after lunch, when everybody works.

 

So, if general tidying gets done in the evening, and general prep/maintenance gets done in the morning, then I should be able to come up with specific areas in rotation for the mid-day slot.

 

We have a LOT of clutter, and I do dejunk periodically, but I honestly think some of the clutter problem is stuff not being put away. Not like there's no place for it; rather, there is one of the boys' shirts on the floor in the foyer, and the laundry room is all piled up from them cleaning their rooms and digging all the stuff out that they should have put in the laundry before...

 

Hmmmm. Pondering. I have a feeling I will end up with something that looks like Motivated Moms, but with less obsession about dish towels.

[Mommyfaithe]

I am all:bigear::bigear::bigear:

 

I spent this week doing my first autumn de-clutter....and I got rid of 15 BAGS of clothes, I cleared SHELVES of books....dh got rid of tons of CDs and tapes and albums....I went through and tossed all our old schoolwork...just keeping a very

Few cute things inline file box.

 

Today, I start round 2....

 

I just got to the point where I realized I no longer want to clean up everyone's garbage...and I can't clean my house if I can't get to it because of everyone's stuff! I love when I get in these moods....I am BRUTAL!!!!!

 

Anyway, NOW I want my house PRETTY too...not just cleaned up....and to me....pretty includes a bit of sparse to it.....

 

 

I am all:bigear: to your replies. I have been so busy being alive, I have not learned how to be creative in my space.....I now want to learn.

[Mommyfaithe]

We have 2 boxes of cords -- one at the office, and one at home. I have no idea what they go to. Neither does anyone else. We save them because DH wants to. When we moved a few years ago, I threw away a big box of cords that had been accumulated over 14 years.

 

I figure that if an electronic item is in use, it has a cord and its owner knows where it is -- and it is not in The Box. So now my plan is to throw away the cords once a year.

 

Where our cords come from are a mystery to me, too. I think word has gotten out that we run a home for wayward cords, and they sneak in at night.

 

We have 2 compound buckets FULL of cords...because they might fit something sometime:glare: Really honey??? Have you NOT heard of Radio Shack????? GET RID OF THE DARN THINGS!!! NOPE! he will NOT hear of it.:glare:

[Mommyfaithe]

 

 

Right now our house is a gigantic pigsty...because we ARE decluttering. We have stuff dragged out from everywhere and spread out to sort. DH is pitching in just as much as me - he is the one who dragged out the box of random cords and sorted through/tossed most of them just a couple days ago.

 

Why does cleaning make such a big darn mess????

 

:confused:

[mirth]

Why does cleaning make such a big darn mess????

 

:confused:

 

 

Does anyone want to coin a term for that period of time during a cleaning event where everything looks way worse (you know ... when it looks so disastrously worse that you don't even want to go to the bathroom because you might forget what you were trying to do?) than it was before you started. [hmm, I wonder if this only happens to me??] Should there be a special name given to the absolute maximum point of messiness during this period?

Edited September 8, 2012 by mirth
New thread started

[ktgrok]

lol, omg...your husband and mine could be twins!!!!! YES, we have SEVERAL boxes of cables that don't go to anything. 4 boxes of various electronics parts, computer parts that are hopelessly outdated, etc. I just cleaned out the nursery closet and found all this stuff. I made him put it in the garage, because it is NOT staying in my house. I found a scanner that would no longer work with any computer still in existance. When I asked what he was planning to do with that he said, "well..that I should throw away" then put it back in a box in the garage! Oh, and we have paper EVERYWHERE. Boxes and boxes of paper...things like electric bills and credit card statements from years ago. Stuff we do NOT need but he won't let me throw away without shredding it. But we don't have a shredder. Except...I FOUND ONE IN THE CLOSET! He says "oh..yeah..but it isn't a very good one...you can only do one or two sheets of paper at a time." Fine! At least I can shred the mail as it comes in so it doesn't ADD to the mess. He's been saying he will buy a new shredder for 4 years now. And if I buy one it will be the "wrong" one so it is pointless.

 

ugh!

[Mommyfaithe]

Does anyone want to coin a term for that period of time during a cleaning event where everything looks way worst (you know ... when it looks so disastrously worse that you don't even want to go to the bathroom because you might forget what you were trying to do?) than it was before you started. [hmm, I wonder if this only happens to me??] Should there be a special name given to the absolute maximum point of messiness during this period?

 

:bigear:

 

And does anyone have any really good house decorating for homeschooler websites?????

[Wheres Toto]

I'm following this thread closely too. Clutter and mess is a constant problem. Very small house, too many people, too much stuff, no closets, no decent storage. I've been doing a massive reorganizing and decluttering since my oldest went off to college last weekend. It's amazing how much of a mess doing a big cleaning makes.

 

Once I get the house back to a decent starting point, I am going to attempt a cleaning plan. I'm using the index card idea from SHE, which I find more flexible than FlyLady. I set up morning chores, afternoon chores and evening chores and weekly and monthly chores. Each time should only take about 30 minutes so it's not overwhelming.

 

Oh yeah, we have the big box of cords too. Yet, the cord that's missing - for my video camera - is no where to be found. I know when I moved dd in to her dorm room, there were extra cords for the tv and her computer that weren't needed for her set-up. So those will go in the box. :tongue_smilie: I must admit that we do occasionally use something out of the box. When we switched from cable to satellite, or when we bought the Wii, or add a computer to our network. We have a lot of cable wire, HDMI cable, and various adapters. I'm sure some will never be used but dh won't get rid of them.

[Desert Rat]

I forgot to ask my questions!

My biggest one, since its such a pain....

In a busy house, with pets etc, how often do walls and doors normally need washed? Ours seem to get gross really fast, but I never remember my mom scrubbing walls, and I never look at anyone else's close enough.

 

One son and lots of animals? You'd need to wash doors and walls lots.

Do you have flat paint or semi gloss on your walls? If it's flat, paint them. Flat doesn't clean. Always paint walls in living areas with semi gloss (says my brother, the union painter) because it washes up easier. For doors where kitties have rubbed against, Magic Erasers are well, magic. I just use a damp rag and wash down walls.

 

As for the clutter and where to put stuff, start purging things you don't need. Then put like things in piles together and decide where they would best go. And yes, I have a drawer of cords I have no idea to what. I only allow one "junk" drawer in the kitchen. It holds batteries, tools, odds and ends. I purge like mad (and help others for a living) and I still accumulate heaps of junk. So don't feel bad!

[Truscifi]

We have a whole drawer of cords in the bottom of our inside tool storage area. (Inside tool storage...don't ask. :glare:) Dh actually used to have a giant tub of them but last year finally went through and got rid of the ones that were completely obsolete - like the old fashioned printer cable that will never fit anything ever again. He got rid of the floppy disks at the same time. :tongue_smilie:

 

As for walls, we don't clean those often, but doors and door jambs get cleaned every few weeks. Especially the ones in the bathrooms and kitchen - I don't know how he does it, but I know it is ds, because the vast majority of the funk is at his hand height, too low for either dh or me. I usually just wipe them down when I'm cleaning anyway so it doesn't add too much time. Oh, and light switches in the same areas. They also get unbelievably dirty!

[FeFe]

This is probably a dumb question but how do you wash walls?

 

My kids mark up my walls with their dirty hands daily - on the way to wash them. :(

 

I've tried taking a damp cloth and wipe the places but it doesn't seem to help.

[bolt.]

We have 2 compound buckets FULL of cords...because they might fit something sometime:glare: Really honey??? Have you NOT heard of Radio Shack?????

I had to laugh at this! In our house the "Radio Shack" is the name of the drawer where we keep homeless cords!!!

 

(We also call our utility drawer in the kitchen the "Futility" drawer -- the name emphasizes the point that whatever you are looking for is definitely in there, but there's very little plausible chance of you finding it when you need it!)

[Jeannie in NJ]

we have the box of cords that everyone else seems to have. Also it took me years to convince dh to get rid of the Beta vcr and all the Beta tapes. I finally convinced him that Beta is never coming back. Now we have boxes of vhs tapes but no working vcr and I can't remember the last time that anyone said that they wished they could watch a video tape as we now have lots of dvds and a nice Blu-ray machine so hopefully soon I can toss all video tapes.

[In the Rain]

We have 2 compound buckets FULL of cords...because they might fit something sometime:glare: Really honey??? Have you NOT heard of Radio Shack????? GET RID OF THE DARN THINGS!!! NOPE! he will NOT hear of it.:glare:

 

:lol:

 

We recently relocated all of the cords to a tote with a lid *in the garage*. They don't bother me out there. ;)

 

I send the kids around the house with magic erasers to clean doors and door frames. We've never really had a problem with dirty walls.

[LaxMom]

One son and lots of animals? You'd need to wash doors and walls lots.

Do you have flat paint or semi gloss on your walls? If it's flat, paint them. Flat doesn't clean. Always paint walls in living areas with semi gloss (says my brother, the union painter) because it washes up easier. For doors where kitties have rubbed against, Magic Erasers are well, magic. I just use a damp rag and wash down walls.

 

 

 

So true, though I prefer eggshell or satin so the house doesn't start looking industrial.

 

You brought up another Dirt Mystery of the Universe: Occasionally, when I work on the weekend, I will do some deep cleaning (our cleaning people are AWFUL. Like, cleaning the windows with bathroom cleaner bad...) and will go after the walls and doorways with a Mr. Clean eraser... The doorways of our exercise studios get black on the corners of the trim, from the latch plate down. At first, I thought it was the paint worn off, but no, totally dirt. Where does it come from? We don't have any pets at the Y. It's incredibly awkward to brush against the frame down there... It's just strange. :confused:

[beaners]

We have a whole drawer of cords in the bottom of our inside tool storage area. (Inside tool storage...don't ask. :glare:) Dh actually used to have a giant tub of them but last year finally went through and got rid of the ones that were completely obsolete - like the old fashioned printer cable that will never fit anything ever again. He got rid of the floppy disks at the same time. :tongue_smilie:

 

As for walls, we don't clean those often, but doors and door jambs get cleaned every few weeks. Especially the ones in the bathrooms and kitchen - I don't know how he does it, but I know it is ds, because the vast majority of the funk is at his hand height, too low for either dh or me. I usually just wipe them down when I'm cleaning anyway so it doesn't add too much time. Oh, and light switches in the same areas. They also get unbelievably dirty!

 

Oh, the tools. I spent my early childhood in the same house as my grandparents. My grandfather built houses. My grandmother drank coffee all day long. One morning my grandfather left a sander on the counter right next to the coffeemaker. Guess which one she plugged in? Guess how long it takes to figure out what happened and pull the offending plug with a sander jumping around the counter and floor? I am not a good housekeeper, but I am constantly enforcing my "no tools in the kitchen" rule.

 

Just yesterday I noticed a trail along the wall in the bathroom my children use. You can see where they enter the door, then lean on the wall and climb up on the stool to turn on the light for washing up after dinner. I wonder if they would be willing to wash their hands in the dark? :lol:

[Desert Rat]

So true, though I prefer eggshell or satin so the house doesn't start looking industrial.

 

You brought up another Dirt Mystery of the Universe: Occasionally, when I work on the weekend, I will do some deep cleaning (our cleaning people are AWFUL. Like, cleaning the windows with bathroom cleaner bad...) and will go after the walls and doorways with a Mr. Clean eraser... The doorways of our exercise studios get black on the corners of the trim, from the latch plate down. At first, I thought it was the paint worn off, but no, totally dirt. Where does it come from? We don't have any pets at the Y. It's incredibly awkward to brush against the frame down there... It's just strange. :confused:

 

Dang Girl, if I knew where this dirt came from, I'd be rich! Gym bags maybe? Power cords from room to room. If the cleaning people are awful, they may be leaving the dirt behind. My dad's oxygen tubing used to leave weird marks through out the house.

 

Sometimes I just shake my head and wonder how these things get dirty. My biggest :confused: in my own house is how food drips gets on the back splash wall. I'm a neat cook and never fry anything. It's just weird. I'm convinced the gremlins do it. :tongue_smilie:

[laughing lioness]

Since our house fire- which was the best/biggest clutter buster of our lives (seriously, dh is the pack-rat- NOT me- clutter puts me over the edge, but it was marriage wars about the "stuff" we needed for later). We are both VERY slow to bring things into the house now. And the biggest win? Keeping the animals outside since the fire. Our house is UNBELIEVablely cleaner without the dogs inside.

So, either kick out the pets, or lower expectations.

We wash walls all the time- my boys "slide" along the walls with their hands- full speed ahead.

[IsabelC]

Re washing walls, there are these little foam-like pads you can buy, I have no idea what they have in them but you just wet them and rub, and most stuff on walls comes off. Does someone remember what they're called?

But some things are pretty resistant and it's easier to paint over.

[Alicia64]

OP: I totally get your pain. My DH is also really, really into Lego Robtoics. . . yeah, junk everywhere.

 

I don't have a lot of ideas, but one thing that has helped me lately is giving myself permission to throw stuff away that DH just can't bring himself to deal with. It goes against my grain because honestly I wouldn't want anyone doing this to me, but he's such a packrat that he'll keep stuff from twenty years ago.

 

I realized that I'd be drowning in junk -- especially with two kids who become attached to toys. Stuff everywhere.

 

So -- very respectfully and on the sly -- I throw stuff out or GoodWill it. But please believe me when I say respectfully. I often will start a GoodWill bag and put stuff in it over months. Then if someone "really needs" something -- I still have it.

 

So far, it's never happened.

 

Don't feel bad -- you're not alone!!

 

Alley

[shukriyya]

We live in 700sq ft and have no storage or garage. I vacuum 3x/week, dust 1xweek, wash walls/woodwork 1x/month, and touch up paint 3x/year. I also spend 1 hour every night (AFTER I clean the kitchen) cleaning/sorting/managing the house while my dh reads history to the boys. We have very little, and our tiny place looks spacious. My recommendation to you is get rid of HALF of your stuff. I'm serious. Just do it.

 

Ruth in NZ

 

Ruth is onto something here.

[jeninok]

This is probably a dumb question but how do you wash walls?

 

My kids mark up my walls with their dirty hands daily - on the way to wash them. :(

 

I've tried taking a damp cloth and wipe the places but it doesn't seem to help.

 

I use cheapo microfiber cloths from the dollar tree and a bowl of mild soapy water. Dip, wring, wipe! I try to have DS help me with this since he seems to enjoy the novelty and had young knees. :)

 

I have painted all the walls with a neutral semigloss extra durable paint, doors and trim work was done in high gloss. Our walls are made of plaster vs. more modern sheetrock, so there some weird spots, but the paint itself looks good. (When it's clean)

 

One of our dogs spends most of her time outside during the day by choice, the other one would emotionally fall apart if we forced that kind of separation and changed his routine. The 3rd, my old girl is basically a hospice care patient at this point. She smells pretty bad, is loosing her hair and rubs her face on the sofa and walls more than I would like. But she still gets around pretty well, is eating drinking, pooping and peeing. I know that when she is gone it will smell much better, the hair will be less awful, and the random nasty slobber will lessen.

Edited September 8, 2012 by jeninok

[Element]

My recommendation to you is get rid of HALF of your stuff. I'm serious. Just do it.

 

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree: This. exactly.

 

Does anyone want to coin a term for that period of time during a cleaning event where everything looks way worse (you know ... when it looks so disastrously worse that you don't even want to go to the bathroom because you might forget what you were trying to do?) than it was before you started. [hmm, I wonder if this only happens to me??] Should there be a special name given to the absolute maximum point of messiness during this period?

 

I call this "the storm before the calm." :D

 

Regarding how often to wipe down walls, I do it probably once a month. And by "I do it," I mean "one of my kids does it" since the grime is always kid-height. My upper walls are always fine. :glare:

[Eileen Aroon]

Huh, I have never noticed dirt on my walls. We even have a long upstairs hallway between everyone's bedrooms and it is fine. I just went to examine it. My kids are all compulsive hand washers though. Like, get up in the middle of a sandwich to wash your hands compulsive.

 

The only way I have found to keep my house under control is to spend the better part of an hour each night doing dust/polishing/scrubbing stuff. And since it is at night, I only get around to doing windows like, once a year. Hmmm maybe today should be that day.

 

My kids never get presents from grandparents and so far only twice in their life from any other relative, so I am in almost total control of what comes into our house. I rarely shop at garage sales or thrift shops.

[Nestof3]

Yes, cleaning the hallway is on the chore list for the boys, and I clean walls and such sort of randomly when I notice it. It's usually on the door casings.

 

As for random stuff, I would slowly work through each room of the house -- drawer by closet, etc. and throw stuff out. We have a small house with small closets. We have a garage my dh built, but I cannot store too many things out there very well because of the humidity.

 

We have gone through the entire house once, but I go through things from time to time as well even though I'm really good about putting things in homes and having homes. I have one drawer in my desk where I put sort of random things -- rebates that will come back to me, grocery sale ads, or anything else that will be taken care of within the month. So, I go through this a couple times a month to throw out what has been taken care of.

 

Other than that drawer, every other drawer or space has cohesiveness and purpose. We have an electronics box which also holds original software, and it's stored in the garage. It became overrun with cables and such as well. A couple years ago, we went through it and threw out everything that had no match. We then put the rest in labeled ziplock bags. Labeling is the only way I know to be sure I will know what something like this is two years later.

 

The walls are a big :banghead: issue around here.

 

I just. do. not. understand why kids have to drape themselves on the walls and windows, or walk down the hall running their fingers along the wall. Why does one ever need to touch the walls? My dh painted the dining room wall and I swear it wasn't any more than a month before it looked utterly repulsive again.

 

The only thing I have found really helps for us is to declutter, declutter and declutter again. Once you have only got things you need/use/love, and you have a proper place for each thing, it becomes a matter of routines and habits. I do Flylday on and off - I don't think I'll ever do the full enchilada, but taking on bits of it has been manageable and effective. Especially having a workable evening routine and morning routine, with a few weekly tasks.

[Nestof3]

Huh, I have never noticed dirt on my walls. We even have a long upstairs hallway between everyone's bedrooms and it is fine. I just went to examine it. My kids are all compulsive hand washers though. Like, get up in the middle of a sandwich to wash your hands compulsive.

 

 

I'm sure that's why you don't have dirt on the walls. I am certain if I lived here alone, my walls would remain clean. Nathan draws all day long with pencils, markers, charcoals, etc. He paints. He writes with calligraphy ink from an inkwell. Oh, then there is the constant map work with wet-erase markers on the wall map in their toy room. I am sure most of the wall "dirt" results from him, but I cannot imagine him washing his hands several times throughout the day. In fact, it's probably not even dirt but art supply residue.

 

My younger one washes his hands far more, but he is the one that leans on doorway entries.

[jeninok]

I need to spend more time in the evenings dusting and cleaning, but I work from 8-12 then homeschool DS from 12 to 4-ish. Then its dinner and the basics, and I am too brain dead to do much else.

 

Dh is being much more helpful lately, he gets up and does some kind of exercise like Tai Chi or swimming out back with DS and a lot of mornings they tackle spelling, reading, or math.

We rarely fight, and we never yell, but I had a full blown crying/yelling meltdown a couple of weeks ago about the lack of help with the everyday cleaning and life routines.

 

The lack of help isn't intentional, he just doesn't see it, and doesn't really care. But I can'tdo work, school, and the house without dropping too many balls. I've also made sure to do my planning and research when he is around so he sees how much time goes into it other than just mon-fri afternoon, plus lots of discussing, field trips and documentaries.

 

I'm also considering cutting back one morning a week at work, it would give me one full day at home to tackle bigger projects either with DS school, or the house.

[jen3kids]

 

Do other people have random cords floating around? I feel like we accumulate them for some reason.

 

 

My hubby is not into clutter, but he does hang on to computer cords. He had a box of them he finally went through, knew what they were and posted them on eBay. He got $5-$10 for them, and was thrilled that they didn't go into the trash. He knew someone somewhere would need them.

[Seasider]

I am with you on the random cord/electronics mess. I have designated a bin for all that stuff and ask dh to go through it. If he doesn't get around to it I have one of my older sons do it - actually, they are better at it, much more pragmatic as they are more realistic than dh about what's obsolete (whereas dh is still jamming in his office with his college-era stereo system!).

 

I am musing on house size, though. I have often said I want a small house so I can clean both ends with two hands at the same time and be done in 15 minutes. But where do you store everything, especially when you have lots of people living there, and home school, and maybe husband works at home? A large house has its own challenges, including the temptation to keep more stuff than needed because there's room for it. I think good organization and keeping only what I REALLY need (or truly love) are key to loving my house, regardless of its size.

[Rhonda in TX]

DH also has a cord box, but there is absolutely no way I would throw any of them out. I put each cord into an individual ziploc bag, then put all those bags into a rubbermaid box with a lid and put it under our bed. Some of those cords are worth money and I don't know which ones. I found a storage method that makes us both happy. Actually, getting them in bags helped him really see what he had and he did get rid of some. And yes, he has found cords that we have used.

[Alicia64]

One thing I finally figured out about walls: if the paint on the walls is cheap -- not quality -- everything shows.

 

Our apt. complex uses something that passes as paint and our walls looked awful within a month.

 

Now that we're moving to a house, I'm buying decent paint.

 

Alley

[Soror]

Forgive me as I haven't read everything a few somewhat random thoughts.

 

- Walls and kids, constantly dirty, the need it once a week at least, although it doesn't always happen I try hit the worst spots at least- ie the bathroom door and wall when I see it

-RUTHLESS DECLUTTERING IS YOUR FRIEND

 

I'm 30 weeks pregnant with insomnia and the energy of a half-dead sea slug. I'm able to keep the house reasonably clean and uncluttered because-

- I declutter at least once a year and try to be very picky about what comes back into the house

- I have a few routines- dishes unloaded in the am and loaded and set to wash in the evening. I wipe out the shower when I'm in there and ds8 is assigned to clean the rest of the bathrooms a few times a week.

- I expect the kids to help pick up, generally at least once a day and they are to keep their own rooms clean, if they cannot keep it clean then we have too much stuff, the same goes with my own stuff

- Right now since I'm so tired I focus on the majors - sweeping about every other day (it needs it daily but I'm not up to that right now), the bathrooms and kitchen as mentioned before

[jeninok]

Here is my next question :)

 

How do you communicate what needs to be done to others in your family. I am tempted to hang a checklist in each room and set a timer for 15 minutes and then we pick whatever we want off a list. 3 people cleaning hard and fast for 15 minutes can get a LOT done.

 

But the lists might also just end up as part of the scenery, and add to visual clutter.

[MrsBasil]

OP: I totally get your pain. My DH is also really, really into Lego Robtoics. . . yeah, junk everywhere.

 

I don't have a lot of ideas, but one thing that has helped me lately is giving myself permission to throw stuff away that DH just can't bring himself to deal with. It goes against my grain because honestly I wouldn't want anyone doing this to me, but he's such a packrat that he'll keep stuff from twenty years ago.

 

I realized that I'd be drowning in junk -- especially with two kids who become attached to toys. Stuff everywhere.

 

So -- very respectfully and on the sly -- I throw stuff out or GoodWill it. But please believe me when I say respectfully. I often will start a GoodWill bag and put stuff in it over months. Then if someone "really needs" something -- I still have it.

 

So far, it's never happened.

 

Don't feel bad -- you're not alone!!

 

Alley

 

Hi! Hive packrat (packbee?) here.

 

This is a kindness.

 

I get so overwhelmed with throwing things away. What if I need it? What if we have to spend money(that we don't have right now) to buy it again? What if it comes in handy? What if, what if what if?

 

It's not fun. Dh started slowly throwing things away for me. He'd place them in a box for a month(or two?) and if I never needed it, he'd toss it/donate it.

 

I will be honest and say we've spent a lot less money replacing carp than we have having to buy something because the clutter was so bad we couldn't find it or didn't realize it was broken. :o

 

I'm slowly getting into decluttering.

[jeninok]

I'm so glad to hear others say this. I would never get rid of something he actually used, held dear, or had memories attached to it. However I do get rid of old clothes, misc.

junk, and stuff like the cords.

 

Dh has a couple full blown hoarders in his family, and also grew up very poor on a farm in West Texas. I know this translates to some anxiety about needing things later, as well as more of an attachment to certain things now that he has the ability to buy them.

 

My lack of decluttering has more to do with being unfocused, overwhelmed, and not being able to figure out how to sort stuff or make it attractive. Once I get past the inertia I toss ruthlessly.

[justamouse]

I forgot to ask my questions!

My biggest one, since its such a pain....

In a busy house, with pets etc, how often do walls and doors normally need washed? Ours seem to get gross really fast, but I never remember my mom scrubbing walls, and I never look at anyone else's close enough.

 

I have to say, I don't think it's your house-I think it's because you're in close quarters.

 

I lived in a 1100 sf house with 9 of us, 15 years old, and let me tell you about the grunge and dust and dirt. It was a full time job keeping it clean, and I kid you not. It was eternally depressing.

 

Now I live in a 130 yo house, that is substantially larger, and I dust about once every two weeks and dust the walls down in the Spring clean and Christmas clean and it's then that I wash the baseboards. I DO vacuum all the time-every day (not the whole house) but I did the same in the old house, too.

 

In your case, bins are your friends. The ones with the lids. Keep them under your beds, in the closet, in the attic. Keep them labeled, and rotate what you want in the house at the time. Think seasonally-put winter bedding in the attic for the season-that way it's out of the way. Put summer stuff in the attic for winter.

[justamouse]

Here is my next question :)

 

How do you communicate what needs to be done to others in your family. I am tempted to hang a checklist in each room and set a timer for 15 minutes and then we pick whatever we want off a list. 3 people cleaning hard and fast for 15 minutes can get a LOT done.

 

But the lists might also just end up as part of the scenery, and add to visual clutter.

 

Set the habits to be clean in the children NOW. It's a HABIT to pick up after yourself.

 

It's hard work to get them to do this because it involves YOU teaching them how, and making sure it's done until they've got the habit down.