so overwhelmed | Imamother

amother ↓

Tue, Feb 27 2007, 9:20 pm

every inch is cluttered in my house. I dont know what to do anymore. By the time everyone is asleep I just want to relax but I cant because every corner is screaming at me to declutter already!!!! My floors are spotless, I am just a horible organizer...can anyone offer me tips, advice, I am just so exhausted that I push it off to the next day etc. which only accumulates. OY, dont suggest flylady-been there tried that...

NotInNJMommy

Wed, Feb 28 2007, 6:37 am

1. Set a timer for 10-15 min and go to work on a pile...for only 15 min. Make 3 piles for throw away, give away, and put away. After the 15 min, do just that...throw away, give away (or put by/outside the door to get it OUT!), and put away. Allow yourself to throw things away...even if you're waiting to find them a home, give yourself 24 hours to do so, and if not, put that in the dumpster too.

If it's important things that need to get filed and there isn't a filing system yet, I put them all together in an important file group and made a special place to put them. At a later declutter session, I made separate file folders (ie. bills, medical papers, etc.) but don't get to crazy to make them too specific. Start with general categories--then later if necessary make them more specific.

2. Just set the timer for 15 and take stuff to throw away.

Once you get lots of stuff OUT of your house that doesn't need to be there anymore, you'll get a lot more places to put the things that stay IN. If you do this everyday (or if possible twice each day), you will be amazed at how fast it goes....but you must be committed. The point is to make a little progress everyday and to keep it from getting out of control again....do not try to do too much at once! Don't try to be a perfectionist!

Hatzlochah!

nehama

Wed, Feb 28 2007, 2:31 pm

I did this in my previous apartment, and should really do it again because it was pretty much working. I put boxes where things were usually dumped: one for coins, on the dresser, boxes for receipts on the table where the groceries got put as they came in, boxes for my husbands papers on the desk and table, etc.

I found that with the boxes, I could also declutter gradually... pick up a few items, stick them in the right boxes, the next day put the contents of one box away in the proper place, empty another box a week later.

withhumor

Wed, Feb 28 2007, 2:47 pm

Actually, when I did boxes (or pretty baskets) I realized that after 3 weeks, nobody touched the stuff. So I made e new mental rule. If I see something wasn’t touched for more than a week, good bye. The easiest solution to cleaning up is knowing when to dump! I used to have papers all over with numbers and addresses and important notes. I started putting it next to the computer and now when I sit down here I see those notes and quickly enter them into my address book and good-bye papers.

Also, I realized a long time ago that I have a weakness with laundry. I despise washing every day and running around the house packing away 1 underpants per person. So I started washing and drying whenever I have a chance and I dump the cleaned stuff into a humongous garbage bag. Every now and then I call a cleaning lad over (there’s one who lives on my block) and she folds and irons and packs it all away and it takes her about one hour. For that, I don’t have to have the pressure!