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Tidy Tips? How are your drawers or shelves or anything?

(141 Posts)
trisher Sat 06-Sept-14 12:56:24

I am about as untidy a person as you can get. Watching a detective drama recently I heard someone describe a victim's t-shirts as "rolled not folded" in a drawer. Well that was the start! I have now re-organised all my drawers and I love it. It's easier to take things out and I can fit more in. So I started to wonder how many other ways of keeping things tidy am I missing out on? Come on you neat Grans I need your help!

FlicketyB Fri 12-Sept-14 17:53:17

We have a beautiful big shed at the bottom of our garden. It is partly brick built, with a tiled floor and fully insulated. I even bought DH a magnificent calor gas stove to heat it when he is there! When he is where? Everything gets done on the dining room table, in the study or in the kitchen. He doesn't like being on his own and cut off from the house if he is in the shed. Her doesn't want me doing that either [Hmm].

Freda47 Fri 12-Sept-14 16:33:36

Flickety, I've got one of those too. But he also "tidies things into a sensible order" (his words), and then forgets what he's moved/where he's tidied it to. And that's always my fault, I must have changed the storage round and not told him... grin The garage cum workshop is his territory - terrifying place!

FlicketyB Fri 12-Sept-14 07:36:17

I'm with sueBailey1 and Coolgran65. Unfortunately I married someone who just puts things down and then wonders why he cannot find anything when he looks in the place it is meant to be. If he cannot find it, it is my fault because I must have moved it!

Coolgran65 Thu 11-Sept-14 20:37:41

suebailey1 exactly.
You have explained it perfectly.
Getting organized actually is ideal for a lazy person.
There becomes less to do and what needs done takes less effort.
Thank you for this, it encapsulates exactly my own reasoning.

Ana Thu 11-Sept-14 18:28:14

Distressed? She has every excuse to leave it alone for several months to calm down - never mind the dust!

Starling Thu 11-Sept-14 18:24:35

Frightened furniture?? Is that like "This door is alarmed"?

suebailey1 Thu 11-Sept-14 14:17:03

I always say my tidiness obsession is because ultimately I am quite lazy and like to have things all nice and tidy so I don't have to keep tidying them up. I can wisk round with the hoover and duster without having to move ornaments and general stuff- my sister says the same but she is even worse- she has frightened furniture.

Anniebach Thu 11-Sept-14 13:29:13

Not my day - I now discover I am somewhere between a slob and a slut , I think I need a miracle not a tidy buddy . But folding everything is so boring compared to searching for ancestors who may have committed a foul deed , all I have found is one drunk and disorderly

Starling Wed 10-Sept-14 19:51:28

Following on from trisher's buddy system idea - there's a Skills Swap section on the Local areas - we could actually use this to match up the tidiers with the messies!

Coolgran65 Tue 09-Sept-14 19:55:17

Lol........
It's because I'm organized that I am able to have lots of fun time.
This lovely sunny morning was a leisurely walk in the park with my friend and my 3 year old grandson on his bike, back to mine for a forage in the fridge for lunch, tripping over the Lego, Fisher price garage plus a zillion accessories, tractors and dumpers. Just me and grandson out to feed the ducks this afternoon and kick ball.

trainer you made me laugh. I had to do something about the rattling, every time the wardrobe door was opened the long/heavier necklaces (quite a few) rattled and clunked against the wood and a bathmat was all I had. But I did cut it down a bit. The idea works but definitely is not pretty.

rosequartz Tue 09-Sept-14 11:06:41

I was going to roll all my towels and replace them nicely in the airing cupboard this morning. However, dealt with a glut of courgettes/marrows instead and now I'm going out for lunch.
Must remember not to stub my toe on the crate containing the family history files, not to trip over DH's shoes and to tidy up the weekend newspapers before I go.

Please may I have a tidy buddy? She could come and re-organise me while I am walking along the seafront in the sunshine.

trisher Tue 09-Sept-14 10:30:06

Ooh now I am overwhelmed! Too busy wondering about what new ideas to bring in I haven't time to tidy. Like the idea of jewellery on the back of the wardrobe door, but a bathmat to stop it rattling!!. Coolgran65 I now imagine you, living a secret life, creeping in in the early hours as DH sleeps, hanging up your jewellery and sneaking into bed.
Wondering do I need to buy more flannels? How do I colour code the patterned things in my wardrobe? Shall I order my books by size, or alphabetically? Meantime things pile up around me as usual.
Can we start a "buddy" system? All us untidy slobs get an organised gran to help us out!!

Elegran Tue 09-Sept-14 08:37:51

An untidy house is evidence of a busy life. That is my excuse and I am sticking to it.

AlieOxon Tue 09-Sept-14 08:30:18

MiceElf untidy activities is my problem too!
Family history generates papers....and I think they reproduce when I'm not looking! To the point where every time I start sorting them I get so far and give up.........

MiceElf Tue 09-Sept-14 06:54:19

My problem is untidy activities. Far too many books and insufficient shelves (I did have a cleaning lady once who kindly rearranged all my books in height order - it took me months to recover from the shock and restore some sort of order, albeit untidy). Too many newspapers with cuttings thst might be useful or of interest. Then I do patchwork and that leaves a lot of mess, we both cook and that takes all the tidy up time, then I have all the community papers and at the moment about thirty clipboards from our traffic calming petition. And I have all my work papers and books. And all the endless papers for my voluntary work. MiceElf and HymnsElf do woodwork and that's messy (I've never managed to get inside the (his) shed. And then there's all the grandchildren's toys and paints and drawing stuff and marbles and their books too.

I'm a lost cause I think.

suzied Tue 09-Sept-14 06:23:17

Ooh I don't know how many dresses, must count! I am a bit of a dressmaker and love vintage etc so have a bit of a collection. I love liberty prints and have made a fair few summer dresses and skirts, and did a course on using stretch and knits so had a bit of a phase of making jersey tunics and crossover types. I used to have a lot of " occasions" ( now OH has retired not so many) so I would run up a silk evening dress if I wanted something new. I did have a bit of a sort out at the beginning of summer and remade some of my old cotton dresses into skirts or dresses for the GDs. Does need a proper sort out again though as I have to admit to having clothes in at least 3 wardrobes.

rosequartz Mon 08-Sept-14 22:46:40

I only have two, both summer ones (and another that is now too big! Should throw it out)

Deedaa Mon 08-Sept-14 22:36:30

DH does make fun of me because one of the few things I iron is tea towels.It makes it so much easier to fit them in the drawer and the heat is an extra hygiene measure.

I feel a bit inadequate when I read that suzied has her dresses in an extra wardrobe - how many dresses??? I've got two for summer and two for winter and most years only one of them gets worn. Perhaps I need a life?

Ana Mon 08-Sept-14 22:28:11

Oh yes, I see - they would be good for bird bath washes (great description!), but I just shower using a scrunchie.

Good idea about the recycling.

Coolgran65 Mon 08-Sept-14 22:18:26

Ana - about 12 face flannels, many of them are years old. Use one at a time in the bathroom.
I use a scrunchy in the shower and a flannel if it's quickie bird bath wash.

It means there is also always a flannel to be recycled as a cleaning cloth in the bathroom.

Coolgran65 Mon 08-Sept-14 22:10:17

Often people buying in the shoe shops don't take the box. Ask if there are any boxes to spare.
I know that a few unwanted shoe boxes were available from the local shoe shop for the school children to fill to send off as a project.

Ana Mon 08-Sept-14 22:08:48

How many face flannels do you have in that pile, Coolgran ?

I'm not being being facetious or flip, I'm really interested. TBH, we only have them for hospital stays, and don't usually use them even then.

annodomini Mon 08-Sept-14 22:03:08

Now I'm thinking about collecting shoe boxes, but that means buying more shoes, doesn't it? hmm

Coolgran65 Mon 08-Sept-14 21:52:56

rosequartz - those particular drawers are pretty wide. They are two drawers at the bottom of a double wardrobe. Four shoe boxes fit side by side in each drawer and they fit in depth wise by about a half inch to spare. It works very well. The knickers might get messed up but they are untidy through themselves and not mixed through the bras cos the bras have their own box.

Ahh... the ironed face flannels, honestly, it makes them all sit in a pile and not fall all over the place.

Oh dear ..... I'm sounding a bit Stepford even to myself but truly I'm not, actually anything but.

I agree with FlicketyB - i.e. everything is just to hand and is quicker in the long run.

You've only to 'set it up' once.

jinglbellsfrocks Mon 08-Sept-14 21:10:57

Must be like living in a hotel. But without the maid service.