Help with house clean...

sugaJen · 12 July 2006 at 9:29PM

Was going to join in with the one room per day thing....but i should finish my book tonight, (easyway to stop smoking)-I have confidence in it and myself but I would still like to keep busy.

ds has the box room, (soz if next bit is confusing) he has a cabin bed that we built so half of it sits on top of the big box thing thats above the staircase- hope u get what I mean. anyway his clothes are in my room but really need some ideas for toy/book storage, instead of the plastic toy boxes he has now.

Also I know my girls are youngish (5 and 4) but how can I encourage them to keep the bedroom tidy(ish)...or is that wishful thinking ?

Im not afraid to admit my house at the mo is a dump, EVERY room needs sorting/cleaning, Im halfway through decorating the wc, grass and hedges in both gardens need sorting......where do I start!!!!

Im exhausted just thinking about it....

Kazonline · 12 July 2006 at 9:43PM

Hi Suga Jen.
I was really gratefull that the F/L challenge was started because every day I wrote a long list on the daily thread as to what I should do that day - and as a result it never got done.
I really would recommend reading the flylady website - maybe print off a few pages. you can then read those when you feel you can't 'clean' incase you disturb the little ones.
Storage wise I took my inspiration from classrooms - a toy box for each 'type' of toy, with a picture of type on the front. See if you can theme their toys into a few categories - eg dolls, dolls accessories/clothes. I found the storage towers with clear drawers fantastic too. I'll go find and example and post the link in a mo.
HTH
Kaz x

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8757063/Trail/C%24cip%3D35826.Homewares%3EC%24cip%3D35835.Storage%3EC%24cip%3D35843.Storage%2Bunits%2Bwith%2Bdrawers.htm

sugaJen · 12 July 2006 at 10:09PM

Thanx, I reckon those towers will do, and they are on sale :j

Flylady is probly a very good idea for me, if I spent the same time cleaning as I do on this site my house would be spotless twice over...

btw love ur signature

nicki_2 · 12 July 2006 at 10:13PM

When I started out with clearing stuff up and running a household, I went to (and still visit as I'm a moderator over there) http://organizedhome.com. The webmistress there went from chaos in 1983, recently divorced and 2 young kids, to being a published author in 2006 (Cut the Clutter by Cynthia Townley Ewer ) so to me she knows what she's talking about

The forums are full of people in the same situation, or those who have made progress and still hang out there to help and encourage others. On that website you'll find all sorts of help, but the general consensus is "Babysteps" and also "the important thing is to take the first step - and just keep travelling".

For your childrens rooms I would suggest the following (based on what I've learnt from the above website & book):

Think child-friendly - open baskets/boxes for toys and books. Boxes (or cardboard dividers) within drawers to seperate knickers / socks / pyjamas etc. I use a shoe organiser in my daughters wardrobe to store shoes, underwear, swim wear etc as I can keep things I don't want her to get her hands on out of her reach
Hard to get out, easy to put away - keep books stood on end in a box so they can flick through to find the one they want and then just drop them back in when they're finished.
Label everything! - Use the computer to print labels using pictures or words (or in both ) and use them on the boxes so that the children know that dolls go in that box, cars in that box etc etc. They can be used on drawer edges as well if you have a chest of drawers
Maintenance / routines - add a morning pick-up (straighten bed, put dirty washing in basket etc) and pick up (put toys away, books back in the right place etc). Make pick-up time fun by turning it into a game, my daughter (5-years old too) loves "racing" me getting dressed or making my bed against her picking up her room. Another option is to set a timer and all pitch in with a prize at the end. I usually say a bedtime story, an extra 10 minutes staying up etc etc;)

I hope this helps out a bit. If I think of anything else I'll post again.

ASG_2 · 13 July 2006 at 7:58AM

Hi sugaJen,
I did Moggins flylady challenge 3 weeks ago, and having worked flat out for a week had a clean tidy home. The only thing that held me back from starting routine cleaning/tidying was that no one else did any!
I signed up to flylady, but didn't expect it to change my family (who are all old enough to know better)
Oddly enough, even DS (14) has kept his room reasonable. I thought that the flylady stuff saying "how can you expect your kids to keep their rooms tidy when you don't keep your space tidy" was patronising at best. I don't often admit being wrong lol! but I was this time. Not only are DD & DS keeping their rooms tidier, but are apologising if it does get a bit messy.
Re the storage - I spent hours nagging DS to put his clothes away, then realised that the drawers and wardrobe were full - so how could he?? A clear out of worn out/out grown clothes 8 days ago and he's put his clean clothes away ever since. Now I just need to sort him out with a rubbish bin.
Even though my kids are older, they love the timer. I think it's cos they know that I'll let them do their own stuff when they've done their 15 mins of "blessing"
BTW my home is still clean and tidy - a first in my whole life.
Good luck.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Help with house clean...

Comments

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free