Clutter: Maintaining a Cleaned/Decluttered House

[umsami]

Clutter has always been an issue for us.  I'm not naturally a neat/tidy person, and DH is a hoarder (although he would deny it).  (I can only through stuff out when he is not home. :))  

 

Even after major de-cluttering/cleaning, it seems like our house doesn't stay clean and orderly for long.  i can't say we have specific issues…it's everything…papers, toys, books, clothes.  We have too many kids in a too small house right now, but honestly, even if we had 5,000 square feet, it would become an issue eventually.  

 

Do you have any tips/blogs that have helped?

 

I've tried Fly Lady numerous times, but it has not worked for me.

 

TIA. :)

[Ellie]

File--Don't Pile! has some *excellent* ideas for handling the paper clutter, including keeping track of calendar events and whatnot (which does NOT involve filing things on your refrigerator!).

 

 

[Ottakee]

I don't know.  It is a HUGE ongoing issue here.  Yesterday I cleaned my desk and wondered WHY in the world did I have so much junk in there.  I did though find a missing payment from October.

 

I try to limit things that come in the door but it is SOOOOO hard, esp. as the kids get older.  Hopefully someone else has good answers.

[Tmhearn]

After reading here for years and reading on Fly Lady for years... I have come to the conclusion that if you have a bunch of kids in the house all day long, you simply must clean up multiple times a day. For example, you might have a before lunch clean and a before dinner clean of all common areas. Maybe each kid gets assigned an area to handle or each kid just grabs their own stuff and puts it away. If things are allowed to pile up for too long it just gets out of control fast. It doesn't have to take long - somewhere around 5-15 minutes depending on the mess and amount of people helping. We usually set a timer.

 

I have the same approach in the bedrooms. You must straighten up at the end of the day for 5 minutes everyday. If the kids don't pick up for at least a few minutes each day, it becomes too overwhelmingly messy.

 

I guess the next most important thing is having a designated place for everything. There's no point in moving the mess from one area to another. So, the kids should know where everything goes.

 

My house is certainly not ready for a spread in Better Homes and Gardens. I'm a clean, type-A person living with 5 type-B slobs. Ha ha ha! But, these are my best tips for keeping the chaos away and having a home that I wouldn't be mortified to have someone walk into unexpectedly. (Which I would have been a few years ago...) :-)

[maize]

I feel like we're fairly minimalist, but with five kids in the house all day...I don't know. Sometimes I want to just get rid of everything, but then I remember the month we lived in an apartment while waiting to close on a house. We had no furniture, one pan, and four suitcases--and the kids still managed to make a mess every day. I don't know what the solution is...

[elegantlion]

For me, it's the mindset that it's never done. I'm not too messy, but I hate redoing things. I try to have a place for everything, even if it's a pile or basket. I try not to leave things to later, but pick them up when I leave the room. We used to have a 15 minute "health" pick up to start each day. 

 

I've gone to cleaning the bathroom right before I go to bed. I'm tired and grumpy usually so it gets done quicker. Then I can wake to relatively clean bathroom. 

 

Paper clutter is my big thing. I've put recycle bins in a few rooms and try to deal with mail as soon as it comes in.

[Tmhearn]

We had no furniture, one pan, and four suitcases--and the kids still managed to make a mess every day. I don't know what the solution is...

Exactly. When we are in a hotel room on vacation with a few suitcases and a bag of toys, my kids can make it look like a tornado whipped through the room in under an hour.

[73349]

I'm only three weeks into it, but I've put myself onto a point system--with a daily to-do list, accountability with my BFF who is also doing it, and a reward at the end of the month if I meet my goal. It's working; we had friends over this morning with no stress. It's keeping me attentive to what ought to be done.

 

You could do that for yourself and the kids as well, if you wanted. I'm doing 5 points per chore with a reward if I hit 400 for the month, and I'm on track to do it.

[Artichoke]

I can relate to not being a naturally tidy person. The biggest thing that I had to learn to do, after getting rid of clutter, was to learn to pick up after myself and to teach my children how to do the same.  It seems like a no-brainer;but if you grew up not doing it, then it just doesn't come naturally.   The steps that helped our family the most were:

 

Massive decluttering

Finding a home for everything

Picking up after ourselves

Having a set time for general pickup/chores each day (  usually after lunch or  before dinner )

finishing at least one load of laundry from beginning to end each day

 

Best wishes as you find what works best for you :-)

[momacacia]

I feel your pain. I clean out the basement when DH and firstborn are not around. I really hope I can teach her to part with some of her things. I think there is hope. But, what LoriAnn said above is my fear. If, like me and DH, my kids don't learn some of these skills growing up, it will be much harder. I have started a chore/pick up routine with them using the Home Routines app. It seems like all the other families we know this comes naturally to. Must be a reason they are in our lives. ;)

 

I do think the set time for pick up and chores would be huge. At least one or two cleaning tasks got done, the usual done (dishwasher empty, etc.) and sanity before dinnertime.

 

It's just so much more fun to cuddle and read on the couch, take a walk or get more school done. And, I just don't like the Mom who is always nagging about "look what you left laying here, pick up that necklace and put it away, no! hang up your coat when you walk in the door." Sigh.

[regentrude]

Think about each new item before you bring it into the house: do you absolutely need it? Do you have a place where it can find its permanent home? If the answer is not "yes" to both questions, don't bring the thing into the house.

 

Each item must have a designated place that is its home. Each item is returned to its proper place after it has been used (and cleaned, if applicable). No temporary collections of items to be "put away later" are allowed. Touch it once and put it away where it belongs.

The same goes for paperwork. Touch it once, file it in the appropriate place. Typically, people who suffer from clutter are not organized enough to have a temporary collection for paper to be dealt with on a regular basis, so I would resist the temptation to put this off "until the weekend" or "until I have time". You probably won't. (It does work for highly organized people who actually will get to it every weekend without fail)

 

Throw out, give away, recycle whatever you can. Fewer possessions are more easily organized. Get rid of furniture that serves no vital purpose: little decorative tables and  anything with horizontal surfaces invite clutter.

 

Keep horizontal surfaces perfectly empty. It is a law of nature that small piles of clutter breed and get bigger to fill all available space. The only obstacle is the perfectly cleared surface and not putting the first seed of clutter.

 

My kids have bedrooms and keep their stuff in there. Kid possessions that are spilling out into the rest of the house have to be returned every night to their proper rooms. Laundry baskets help.

 

 

 

[Alice]

I think the number one thing is to deal with things right away, rather than leaving them until later. I’d also pick one area to work on at at time and work on the habit of keeping that area/category neater rather than just trying to “be neaterâ€. Make it a specific goal. 

 

For specific areas this are the things we do that help:

Paper: Deal with all mail right away. Have a place for recycling by the door and the recycling bin outside that door. File things that need to be filed. Have a place on your desk for bills or things that need to be dealt with. If you can financially, pay the bills as soon as you get them so the paper doesn’t pile up. Even better, go “green†and have as few bills as you can. For other paper stuff you have to keep have a place for it. We have a bulletin board in the kitchen and a place on our fridge (on the side) where we put up stuff we can’t file yet. Never keep more than one newspaper, recycle it as soon as everyone is done reading it. Magazines have a place to go and go there. 

 

Toys: We also do a pick-up several times a day and I try and enforce that they clean up stuff they are done with. My kids are all not naturally neat and I allow them to be messier in their rooms within certain limits (I have to be able to walk on the floor). I’m ok with some mess in the rest of the house, a giant Lego game that is still being played with is ok. As is art supplies left out on a table. But not random toys left on the floor. And at the end of the day everything has to be cleaned up or put away somewhere out of the way (for example they can leave out a Lego project but it has to be able to be pushed to the side of their room as opposed to all over the floor). 

We have gotten rid of more and more toys and I’d like to get rid of more. That helps too. We have baskets in the living room (which is the main room of our house that we live/play/school in) for books and small toys. That makes clean-up easy even for my 4 year old. She can just throw the toys or books in the right basket. It’s not perfect but it’s quick and relatively neat. It also helps for each child to have their own space (this can be small like just a shelf over their bed) where they can put “treasuresâ€. My oldest is a bit of a pack-rat and as long as his stuff in his space, I’m ok with it even if I think the stuff he saves is crazy. 

 

Shoes: This is always a huge issue for us. We have a shoe bench by the door and take off shoes there. I think they breed there because it always seems like an enormous number. I’ve given the job of straigtening the shoes and making sure they are all in the closet or put in the bench to my 4 year old. We have her convinced that noone else can do it like she does. :) 

 

Laundry: I dump all the laundry on our bed after it’s out of the dryer. That way it has to be dealt with before bedtime. The boys then get a basket with their clothes and they fold and put them away. 

 

Having one place that is the “hot spotâ€: I think that’s a fly lady term and she means it in a bad way. It’s that place where everything ends up because noone knows where to put it. I think it can be a good thing if it’s that ONE place that stuff goes when you don’t know where else to put it. For us it’s a spot at the top of our stairs that is kind of a shelf. About once a week I’ll look through everything that is there and put it away but it’s nice to have somewhere that the kids know to put random stuff (library books that they are done with, papers to be filed that haven’t been yet, things someone left at our house that need to be returned, things for a school project that we’re not quite done with). It keeps that random stuff from being put everywhere. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Halcyon]

I think it is very, very important to GET. RID. OF. STUFF. Seriously. We go through the boys' rooms at least once every 2 months and give away SO much stuff. It just accumulates. I go through my school room every few months too and do a purge. That helps.

 

On a day to day basis: chore lists for the boys. Clear expectations. Putting things away (and yes, I need to say it 1000 times to them). At the end of the school day, before fun time, they must put all their books away where they belong. Kitchen is cleaned after dinner before reading or television. Rooms are cleaned before school begins. 

 

THROW. STUFF. OUT. (or give it away). 

[Hikin' Mama]

Haven't read all the reaponses, but here's my experience. I only have one child left at home (16 yo) and I now have a dedicated schoolroom, because two of my children have flown the nest. My house is nearly ALWAYS clutter-free without much work on my part. I do have to say that I hate clutter and am naturally an organized person, but when my kids were younger and I was schooling them all at home, we had constant clutter. It was work to keep up with. And when my boys went to the local high school, but were still at home, we still had clutter that was work to keep on top of. Now it's no more work than brushing my teeth.

 

Interestingly, my middle son got home for this year's Christmas vacation at 3 in the morning and dumped his stuff by the living room chair like he always used to when he was in high school. I went to bed after talking to him for awhile. When I got up the next morning, I went to the chair to look at his clutter so I could warm my heart with the realization that he was home. He had picked it up and taken it to his room! For the first time, I was sad not to see the clutter. Funny how life works.

 

My best advice for dealing with clutter is to have a place for everything and put it there as soon as you are done with it.

[Indian summer]

There is a wonderful book called Organizational solutions for people with ADHD (something like that) which I saw recommended on another forum for people who have clutter issues even if they don't have ADHD. Love this book. Lots of solutions I never would have thought about like using open storage as much as possible and just being more deliberate about having the tools that you need in the areas where you need them and accepting your habits are what they are and if you set up your environment in a certain way, it can work for you rather than against you.

[trulycrabby]

I just get rid of the stuff. Feels so good not to have a lot of stuff around. However, I am a minimalist; don't even like things on the walls.

[Jackie]

After the initial declutter, I have myself on a rotation where each room gets a decluttering and deep cleaning every six months. I find that the initial decluttering isn't enough as we just accumulate more stuff.

 

January and July - living room

February and August - playroom

March and September - outside including porches and storage building

April and October - kitchen and laundry room

May and November - kid's bedroom and bathroom

June and December - parents' bedroom and bathroom

[Sun]

My biggest tips (mostly repeating what others have said):

• Pare down and declutter. Once you think a room is decluttered as much as it can be, go back through.
• The above goes triple for kids' toys and rooms.
• Have "reset" moments. These are when you and the kids go around and try to make the house look pristine. We try to do it before we leave the house (this means getting ready 10 minutes earlier for us) and before bed. Start small if necessary, and just do this with one room, adding others as you can.
• If you have small kids who need to be attended in the bath, clean the bathroom while you watch them bathe every time.
• Semi-clean bathrooms daily. Squirt some cleaner (I use a shampoo I didn't like!) in the toilet, and give a swish; quickly give the sink a scrub (I use the same icky shampoo), and wipe the counters off. This takes about 2 minutes, at most, if you do it daily, and it doesn't require harsh cleansers on a daily basis, even if you live with super hard water.
• Clean the shower while you're in it. Again, if you do it every couple of days, it only takes a couple of extra minutes. It will take forever if you wait and do it after a month, though...
• Have a "tickler" file. This was my lifesaver for paper clutter. It's a way of dealing with all those papers that you can't part with right now but that don't need a permanent home.
• When you fall off the wagon, climb back on. Start with one room or even one surface of one room and build back up from there.

[DianeW88]

I go through my house and throw away AT LEAST one giant Hefty bag of trash per week.  I also spend 15 minutes per day on big projects....like the basement or the garage, when I sense they are getting out of hand.  That way it doesn't seem so daunting.

[umsami]

I go through my house and throw away AT LEAST one giant Hefty bag of trash per week.  I also spend 15 minutes per day on big projects....like the basement or the garage, when I sense they are getting out of hand.  That way it doesn't seem so daunting.

 

See if I could do this, that would be great.

 

Did I mention I have a tendency to be lazy when it comes to cleaning/decluttering? ;)

[msjones]

I think it is very, very important to GET. RID. OF. STUFF. Seriously. We go through the boys' rooms at least once every 2 months and give away SO much stuff. It just accumulates. I go through my school room every few months too and do a purge. That helps.

 

On a day to day basis: chore lists for the boys. Clear expectations. Putting things away (and yes, I need to say it 1000 times to them). At the end of the school day, before fun time, they must put all their books away where they belong. Kitchen is cleaned after dinner before reading or television. Rooms are cleaned before school begins. 

 

THROW. STUFF. OUT. (or give it away). 

Yes.  

 

This is how we do it.

 

The boys know the deal.  Their rooms must be picked up daily -- I check them, and nothing else is done until the rooms are decent.  Not perfect -- just decent.  That means no trash, clothes and shoes put away, no dirty dishes, bed made and generally tidy.  This no longer takes much time, because they keep it decent each day.  :)

 

And, yes, get rid of stuff. Do it on a regular basis. We do not keep stuff that doesn't fit easily in a drawer or on a shelf.  No piling, no stuffing, no putting-in-a-bag-until-we-find-a-spot-for-it.  

[AnIslandGirl]

Have people over more often! Our house stays tidy, but during the holidays and the summers (when we tend to entertain more often) our home looks remarkably better. I find that just knowing people are invited to stop by makes us all more conscious of the smaller details that might get overlooked during a surface clean.

Maybe you could hire a professional organizer or house-cleaner to help you get started? After the first deep clean/ organization, it's just a matter of maintenance.

 

[Mom-ninja.]

I hear about Motivated Moms on this forum. I installed the app on my phone and I love it. So far I'm keeping up with it.

[elfgivas]

for me, its a life long challenge.  i have tried many different things, many different ways.

re flylady.  at first, it didn't work for me at all, at all, at all.  then it got better, and then it was really good for a while, and then it didn't work so well.  what changed was me, not the program.... sigh... my take away from it is that i have noticed that it changed my thinking a bit, and got me using a timer.  it turns out i really can do anything for 15 minutes.  i am also not ever (ever!) going to shine my shink. 

 

while you look for other things that might help, maybe choose just one suggestion from people here and try to do it every day. 

 

the one big thing that helped me actually start and keep going was the idea that i didn't have to solve everything all at once. 

i started with food, and then needed to narrow it down to breakfast.  i worked on making sure people had healthy nutritious breakfasts.  after i had that down, i moved on to lunches and dinners.

somewhere in there, i decided to try to figure out dishes.  that took a Very Long Time, but each version was better than it had been in the beginning.

 

Next up was laundry.  How to deal with laundry?  that has taken years, and is now mostly good.  i still end up with lots of one dds clean dry clothes lying around.  i haven't figured that one out yet. 

 

and the girls and i have crisis cleaning down to a fine art.  it works best if we invite company at least once a month.

 

but in between?  regular cleaning?  sigh..... its still hit and miss.

keeping things down to a dull roar is helped by my trying to take something out of each room i end up, even if it is just to the trash or the garbage.  over a day, it means that most clothes and dishes and garbage end up where they belong most of the time.

 

if i lived by myself, it would not be a problem.  i'm glad i don't, so i need to be thankful for the problem at least some of the time ;)

ann

[countrygal]

What about those who are the dumping ground for other people's stuff? (toys, clothes, furniture!) I'm good at saying no now but the gifts relatives give my kids on a continual basis ( I know, be glad they have family that cares) is exhausting. Then my kids tell them that I got rid of it when the 'relative' comes over and asks where it is (a year later.... sigh.) Maybe this Is off topic, but I feel like other peoples 'stuff' is something I can't get rid of because I have several relatives that take it personally and look for this stuff when they are here!!!!! Anyone else have this problem? I feel like it's controlling my life. Also, my kids won't choose what to get rid of. Am I setting them up for emotional issues or hoarding tendencies if I get rid of stuff anyway (stuff I don't think they want or play with anymore but then ask for it months later... yet another sigh.) Thanks for letting me vent!

[Alice]

What about those who are the dumping ground for other people's stuff? (toys, clothes, furniture!) I'm good at saying no now but the gifts relatives give my kids on a continual basis ( I know, be glad they have family that cares) is exhausting. Then my kids tell them that I got rid of it when the 'relative' comes over and asks where it is (a year later.... sigh.) Maybe this Is off topic, but I feel like other peoples 'stuff' is something I can't get rid of because I have several relatives that take it personally and look for this stuff when they are here!!!!! Anyone else have this problem? I feel like it's controlling my life. Also, my kids won't choose what to get rid of. Am I setting them up for emotional issues or hoarding tendencies if I get rid of stuff anyway (stuff I don't think they want or play with anymore but then ask for it months later... yet another sigh.) Thanks for letting me vent!

 

I have very generous and kind relatives that also give us a lot of stuff. With my Mom I’ve been fairly blunt “Clutter makes me feel bad.  I will give stuff away when they get too much.†She still gives them a lot but I think she’s gotten to the place where it’s not personal when I get rid of it. She also keeps trying to give me stuff that was mine in chidlhood and I was blunt and told her “Once you give it to me I’m not going to promise to keep it. You know I’m not sentimental so if it’s important to you that it is kept, don’t give it to me.†My SIL is also very sentimental and somewhat of a pack-rat. Luckily, she’s ok if we give stuff back. So if she gives them something sentimental she’d rather us give it back for her to save than give it away. 

 

I personally think it’s rude for someone to look for gifts they gave. Once it’s a gift, it’s ours. Depending on the person I’ll tell the truth “It was’t really her style so I gave it to a friend who could use it.†or “They just have too many toys and we had to share some with others.†or I deflect the question “Hmmm, not sure where that is. I haven’t seen it recently. Would you like some bean dip?†

 

I know some people declutter their kids stuff without telling them but I involve them, then they don’t look for it later. They were resistant at first but I think it teaches them how to think about stuff. So at first I’d do something like put all their stuffed animals in a pile and say you need to choose three to give away. Now, we do their rooms and toys together about twice a year. We just sort stuff into giveaway/throwaway and keep. Anything broken gets thrown away. Anything they just don’t want gets donated to various places. I think it helps to let them make some of the decisions. My oldest is a pack-rat and I let him keep stuff that he wants to and that I think is nuts (paper with bowling scores from three years ago, a little cup that he was given at camp years ago, etc.). But he has to keep all his stuff in his area and keep it neat. I also try and help them talk through the decisions. When was the last time you used this? Do you really play with it anymore? Do you think someone else could use it more? They aren’t as ruthless as I would be and we still have more stuff than I would like but they are learning. 

[countrygal]

I have very generous and kind relatives that also give us a lot of stuff. With my Mom I’ve been fairly blunt “Clutter makes me feel bad.  I will give stuff away when they get too much.†She still gives them a lot but I think she’s gotten to the place where it’s not personal when I get rid of it. She also keeps trying to give me stuff that was mine in chidlhood and I was blunt and told her “Once you give it to me I’m not going to promise to keep it. You know I’m not sentimental so if it’s important to you that it is kept, don’t give it to me.†My SIL is also very sentimental and somewhat of a pack-rat. Luckily, she’s ok if we give stuff back. So if she gives them something sentimental she’d rather us give it back for her to save than give it away. 

 

I'll need to work on this! ^

 

 

I personally think it’s rude for someone to look for gifts they gave. Once it’s a gift, it’s ours. Depending on the person I’ll tell the truth “It was’t really her style so I gave it to a friend who could use it.†or “They just have too many toys and we had to share some with others.†or I deflect the question “Hmmm, not sure where that is. I haven’t seen it recently. Would you like some bean dip?†

 

Yeah, usually my kids are like, "Yeah, where is that toy, mom, that Grandpa got us?" "Oh I'm sure it's in your closet somewhere..." which it still likely is. It's usually just toys the grandparents are looking for - which are the things I most want to get rid of!

 

I know some people declutter their kids stuff without telling them but I involve them, then they don’t look for it later. They were resistant at first but I think it teaches them how to think about stuff. So at first I’d do something like put all their stuffed animals in a pile and say you need to choose three to give away. Now, we do their rooms and toys together about twice a year. We just sort stuff into giveaway/throwaway and keep. Anything broken gets thrown away. Anything they just don’t want gets donated to various places. I think it helps to let them make some of the decisions. My oldest is a pack-rat and I let him keep stuff that he wants to and that I think is nuts (paper with bowling scores from three years ago, a little cup that he was given at camp years ago, etc.). But he has to keep all his stuff in his area and keep it neat. I also try and help them talk through the decisions. When was the last time you used this? Do you really play with it anymore? Do you think someone else could use it more? They aren’t as ruthless as I would be and we still have more stuff than I would like but they are learning. 

 

Thanks so much for the tips :) I noticed my oldest is able to do this, he's 8. He also keeps most of his stuff in his room. The youngers will probably grow into learning this... I hope!

 

[Sun]

See if I could do this, that would be great.

 

Did I mention I have a tendency to be lazy when it comes to cleaning/decluttering? ;)

 

I do mean this very gently, but if you really want a clean and decluttered house, it does require work. It requires initial work to get it that way, then it requires continuing work to maintain it in that state, and then it requires more work to get it back to that state when it's gotten away from you again (after illness, depression, big trip, crises, and so on). For me, this work is worth it because I find it very stressful to spend time in a cluttered or dirty environment. It overwhelms me--probably because it just seems like so much work to put it all back to rights again. However, in the end, at this point in your life, it may be that the work required is not worth it to you--and that's a fine decision if you and your family are comfortable with that. At some point, I think you may have to decide which you value more--a clean reasonably decluttered home or more leisure time. I know you have four children, and I think they're young. Leisure time is a scarce and very valuable commodity in that situation, but I also know that your current situation bothers you or you wouldn't post about it!

 

I also want to point out that once you've learned "good" habits (I just mean those that help you maintain a comfortably ordered household), it's much easier to maintain. I doubt I spend a whole lot more time on home upkeep than my friends and neighbors who live in more chaotic homes. I just choose to spend it bit by bit every day, and they choose to spend it in large, exhausting (to me) chunks when they're in crisis mode because someone is coming over!

 

Whatever you decide, :grouphug: to you.

[Heather R]

I really recommend the book "The House that Cleans Itself" by Mindy Starns Clark. She is a former "messie" and the book is all about coming up with solutions that work for you... change the house, not the habit! On another forum I'm on, many women are having lots of success. I have just started applying her methods/strategies but I have really noticed a difference in those rooms.

[MariannNOVA]

Flat surfaces kept bare really does help........that doesn't mean one should sweep the stuff off and put it in a closet.....be ruthless, hefty trash bags, toss, toss, toss.

 

When the flat surfaces are bare, even a pencil left out will look 'wrong' to you.

 

CLEAN AS YOU GO.........that is a favorite method when cooking, but someone mentioned doing a quick pick up multiple times a day and that is great advice.

 

Get accustomed to things being uncluttered.......not looking uncluttered but being uncluttered. Someone else said "you can't clean clutter." Excellent.........so true.

 

Develop the habit, get accustomed to the look of decluttered, read some of materials suggested. If you are motivated, and it sounds like you are, something will click and work for you.

[Halcyon]

I thought of some more things. when i leave a room, i take something with me that belongs in the room I m heading to. If I am heading to the school room and see some school books, I grab them. If I am going in the boys' room and I see a water glass, I grab it. I am trying to teach my boys the same thing. 

 

Another thing: every weekend, I take my "pile" of random papers, bills, school work, etc that has accumulated over the week, sit down on the living room floor and go through it piece by piece. 80% of it is usually trashed. Then I get up with the remaining pile and figure out where each. piece. of. paper. belongs. Manual for the dishwasher? In the file box in the garage. Two sheets of completed latin homework? Handed to my son to place in his binder. Receipt for groceries? garbage. Reminder from city to pay dog license fees? Date goes into my phone, with alarm. Or better yet, pull out my checkbook and send the check in THAT VERY MOMENT. Art work by DS? Decide if I want to keep or toss. If keep, where will it go? Into the art portfolio? Or a frame? 

 

You get the picture. 

[Miss Cornelia Snook]

I really liked â€The House That Cleans Itself†too. Lots of really great ideas.

[Alicia64]

After the initial declutter, I have myself on a rotation where each room gets a decluttering and deep cleaning every six months. I find that the initial decluttering isn't enough as we just accumulate more stuff.

 

January and July - living room

February and August - playroom

March and September - outside including porches and storage building

April and October - kitchen and laundry room

May and November - kid's bedroom and bathroom

June and December - parents' bedroom and bathroom

 

I love this. I also have a dh who isn't a hoarder but is an "accumulator." And clutter doesn't bother him in the least. I toss a lot when he's not home. I used to feel unethical -- how would I like it if someone did that to me?? -- but now I realize that it helps all of us. He can't seem to toss stuff.

 

Almost every day I go through a room and find Good Will stuff or simply throw things away.

 

It's taken me all these years to realize that it's any on-going work in progress. . .  that you don't declutter and leave it alone. . . it has to be worked on always. Like good eating.

 

Alley

[minuway]

Messies Annonymous really helped me when I first started off, something like 10 years ago.  I grew up with a mom who was really laid back with house stuff, so I never learned how to keep stuff picked up, let alone organized. I still use a lot of the tips they suggest, like doing things that take less than 30 seconds right away, and pretending that thing "want" to be put away. (Its weird, I know) This site helped me *a lot* to start. 

 

I also like these books: The House That Cleans Itself and Houseworks

 

Nowadays, when I need some motivation, I read this blog: Minimalist Mom 

[umsami]

Thanks everybody. I might start a spin-off post for accountability…if anybody's interested. :)