Messy House; Messy Life Thread ??

A Facebook Friend has started a Group to Declutter for January and I've joined it. You have to follow what she suggests each day, get rid of the number of items corresponding to the day of the month and of course can do additional stuff also. I love doing things structured like this. She may have taken the idea from somewhere else. I don't know but if anyone else wants to try it, here it is. I've actually made it into a spreadsheet so I can count how many things I've moved out of the house/garage. This is her guide .....
1. 1 broken Christmas decoration- no point putting it away (if none broke clear a piece of paper hanging around)
2. 2 out of date fridge items- Christmas was 2 weeks ago!
3. 3 items of clothing that you hate washing or never wear
4. 4 Bits of junk mail you are never going to read- or you’ve read and not yet binned.
5. 5 Shoes, boots gloves or scarfs you or the family will never wear again
6. 6 Odd socks that have been alone for months.
7. 7 Things from your most cluttered area of your house
8. Any 8 from above -it’s free form Saturday
9. 9 toiletries you’ve started and don’t like or will never use- or just empty and still there!!
10. 10 books you’ll never reread
11. 11 things you don’t love but feel guilty about throwing away
12. 12 items of clothing you’ll never wear again
13. 13 things from your kitchen that don’t bring you joy
14. 14 things that have been in your airing cupboard for over a year
15. Any 15 things from above FFS- free form Saturday
16. 16 papers, magazines or letters you don’t need (photograph or add to journal if you need info)
17. 17 things that don’t have a home and you don’t want to keep. Just walk the house with 3 bags; bin, recycle and giveaway until you’ve accumulated 17 (or more) things.
18. 18 things that don’t belong in your lounge
19. Underwear, socks and bras- 19 items that don’t fit, aren’t comfortable, have holes or
20. Medicines, potions and lotions. 20 things that are out of date, didn’t work, been open more than 6 months etc
21. Junk draw. 15 minutes and hopefully 21 items cleared. Before and after photos!!
22. Saturday again. Any 22 items from above.
23. Into your entrance hall. 23 things that you don’t want need or love.
24. Back into kitchen and the food cupboards. 24 tins you’ll never use, spices open over a year, festering fridge items or wilted veggies. List tins on Olio to pass them on
25. Hit your bedroom, open cupboards, root under the bed, explore bedside cabinets and get rid of 25 things.
26. Big numbers now so let’s split it up. Hit kitchen and dining area, clear out the mugs you never use, the odd non matching plate you look passed, the tablecloth you don’t like, the napkin rings you’ll never use and the glasses no one will drink out of.
27. DVDs, videos, CDs, kids books any sort of media. Ever watch, read or listen, ever plan to or are they just taking up space? 27 things gone and space back in your house!!
28. Kitchen draws how many medicine syringes, bottle brushes and takeaway menus do you need. 28 less than you have I’d wager!!!
29. Free form Saturday. Any 29 from the above.
30. So close now. Are your stairs clear yet? If not spend 15 mins and be ruthless. If you haven’t cleared anything out in the process just free form entrance way, hallway, stairs and landing to get rid of 30 things.
31. Any odd socks still left from start of month, anything left on your dining/ kitchen table, anything in your entrance hall. If all else fails check your wardrobe.
Ideas;
Pens that don’t work, keys long lost to history, creams, cleaning solutions and shower gels that have been sat with 1 inch left for over a year.
Takeaway menus, you only need latest and if you always order online not even that.
Travel mugs without lids, lids without mugs, skanky cleaning cloths, clothes you never really liked, food you will never cook, despite your best intentions. Tupperware items orphaned or misshaped.
If it makes you feel small or like you’ve failed, if you are only keeping it because of a sense of duty let it go. It can either bless someone else (charity shop, Facebook free pages or Marketplace, Freegle or Olio) or it can reduce the burden on you and go into bin or recycling.

I suffer from a mild form of OCD and I must admit my poor husband suffers because of it. I worked full time from the age of 15 years, even when I was bringing up my family, but 2 years ago I took early retirement as we were financially stable. I project managed a complete overhaul of the house and I'm 1/2 way through the garden. The mess in years house drove me to distraction, but I learnt a valuable lesson that less makes life so much easier and tolerable. We got rid of loads of ornaments, etc and furniture. The house is so much easier to manage and keep clean. Mess isn't possessions, memories and life. It is your home not s show house and if you are happy then why should you worry what others think. I wish my head at times would do one as it must be hell at times for my poor husband, but it proves he loves me. Now I've got yo get up as a picture is not right.

I’m definitely a tidy freak but I don’t like clutter.
Some of the descriptions on here of multiple lofts and cupboards and sheds full of stuff and piles of things on the floor and dust and dog hair are making feel really uncomfortable !
What happens when you shuffle off this mortal coil ??

Aaaargh! I’m definitely NOT a tidy freak

notgran that’s brilliant!
Thank you for sharing!

There's a subtle difference ,maybe not so subtle, between messy and dirty. Messy that's persistent and habitual to me is associated with lack of clean. I can't stand not clean. No excuse. Messy?untidy? Disorganised ? Ok with those but dirt/filth/ associated smells....no siree Bob! You can wallow in it cos you may be nose blind but I cannot stomach others' filthy habits. There's a BIG. Difference really!

FannyCornforth

notgran that’s brilliant!
Thank you for sharing!

I think so and it is a bit addictive I find. (Probably just me)

Fantastic idea to clear stuff redundant! Would struggle for the items over 20 maybe but up to there? Game on! Thanks notgran!?

Lucca

Aaaargh! I’m definitely NOT a tidy freak

Freak? Really! Why isn't to be organised clean and tidy is described as freakish behaviour? Yet slovenly, dirty disorganised slobbish is viewed as somehow acceptable and 'free spirited'? Warped I say! Like those who chant "life's too short to be cleaning" read: " life's too short to care about oneself and others who have to shovel through your crap after her die!" Done that- disgusting!

# why IS IT

PLEASE. Can we have an edit option to avoid mis types?????

Mummer

# why IS IT

PLEASE. Can we have an edit option to avoid mis types?????

Mummer, I think there isn't one because you can always "Preview" your message before posting it.

Mummer

Lucca

Aaaargh! I’m definitely NOT a tidy freak

Freak? Really! Why isn't to be organised clean and tidy is described as freakish behaviour? Yet slovenly, dirty disorganised slobbish is viewed as somehow acceptable and 'free spirited'? Warped I say! Like those who chant "life's too short to be cleaning" read: " life's too short to care about oneself and others who have to shovel through your crap after her die!" Done that- disgusting!

I never said being tidy was freakish.

FannyCornforth

What has everyone done with their dvds?

Get a DVD ripper for your PC and a hard disk. Copy the films onto the hard disk (easy to do but time consuming) and get rid of the DVDs. We have literally hundreds because we rarely watch TV but like a film now and again. Mr A is the sort of person who likes to hoard ? We recently sold a load on Ziffit for nearly £200 all together, which paid for the hard disk, and the rest went to charity shops - not all at once or all the same shop. We still have loads, it's a slow job getting Mr A to release them, but at least now they are neatly shelved not all piled up all over the place.

Book a cleaner if only once. Book well in advance and I bet you will be like thousands of other people and tidy before the cleaner arrives. Give it a try. It worked for my sister-in-law and works for me.
My cleaner has just left and the house is immaculate. It won’t stay perfect for long but every time I book her the house gets a little more organised.
This may only work for people like me who lack self-confidence. My daughter’s house is a wreck and she couldn’t care what people think. She entertains constantly.

Enough said, ladies.

It's perfectly sensible to tidy first. Not possible to clean properly if the place is a mess. Can't expect a cleaner to know where to put things.
A dear but messy friend's new cleaner walked out on her first day but promised to come back when she could see what needed to be cleaned! That worked. The house was duly tidied and the cleaner returned and made the place immaculately clean.

Craft items: ask if any of your local craft groups would like them rather than throw them

Unwanted but unused toiletries: the local Women's Refuge may welcome them
Likewise good toys

Lucca

I’m definitely a tidy freak but I don’t like clutter.
Some of the descriptions on here of multiple lofts and cupboards and sheds full of stuff and piles of things on the floor and dust and dog hair are making feel really uncomfortable !
What happens when you shuffle off this mortal coil ??

OK Lucca I promise not to invite you round for coffee!
When we eventually kick the bucket our kids will have to do the same as we did with our parents possessions: decide if they want to keep anything and dispose of the rest, maybe in a skip. It won't matter to us then. But I can think of a number of things which I know they will keep. They will encounter lots of memories, tears and laughter in the process which will help them deal with their loss. Until then we'll continue to enjoy our chaotic, cluttered home, the home which our children and grandchildren also love visiting.

I turned a corner a couple of months ago and got rid of items that were `sentimental` because my husband made them and I also got rid of his large framed pictures., except for one. I only kept three very small wood carvings that were extra special. Hanging onto the others did not help my psyche because memories and not possessions are what are important to me. Same as me getting rid of my past cross stitching, it was the making that gave me the safisfaction

Family photos too, all framed and all in a box. I don`t need photos to picture my loved ones. My surfaces are now much clearer and energy can flow around my rooms

Doing this has very much helped me through the last stage of my grieving process, I turned that corner to make a new life for myself. Hanging onto clutter can only contribute to being `stuck`

Direne3
Compared to my Craft Room Einstein was quite organised!

Oh dear, someone else trying to shame me into being tidy.
Sorry but I won't be clean and tidy at the expense of something else that I enjoy doing.
Walk the dogs or tidy up?
Read a book or tidy up?
Watch paint dry or tidy up?
Too many people telling us that being tidy will make our lives better.
Poppycock!

Calistemon

Craft items: ask if any of your local craft groups would like them rather than throw them

Unwanted but unused toiletries: the local Women's Refuge may welcome them
Likewise good toys

But they aren’t unwanted
I just don’t have room for them.

Art stuff that is. I have loads of stuff from my TA / teaching days.

We’re not a messy household or untidy people to begin with, but certainly not paranoid about the house being spick and span! Over the Christmas period, we both had a major clear out, inside and out, and I can’t tell you how clear our brains feels now…clear and uncluttered to say the least!!

kevincharley

Oh dear, someone else trying to shame me into being tidy.
Sorry but I won't be clean and tidy at the expense of something else that I enjoy doing.
Walk the dogs or tidy up?
Read a book or tidy up?
Watch paint dry or tidy up?
Too many people telling us that being tidy will make our lives better.
Poppycock!

Not at all you do what makes you happy
When my house is tidy I happen to feel better.