Does anyone feel like me?? Never had a routine and don't know where to start??

Mics_chick

conradmum wrote:

I agree with the poster who said GET RID! If there are toys that haven't been played with for months then the kids have too many toys, and you're just making work for yourself trying to deal with them all.
I was feeling guilty that ds3 had so few toys compared to a little friend of his. He has a shelving unit that's about 5 foot tall in the living room, and that's it! Whereas his friend has toys in every room of the house, far more than a 3 year old could ever play with. And when it was her birthday recently I was stumped for what to buy her as she already has two or three versions of most toys for that age group.
But ds3 plays with most of his toys quite regularly and doesn't seem to want for more. All he's really interested in is trains and railway tracks anyway.:rotfl:The advantage is that his toys are very easy to keep tidy and there's no need to spend time on working out rotations to ensure everything gets played with.
When you think of how few toys children managed with in the past, I really think we've gone to the opposite extreme and now kids have too many.

I agree with you conradmum that's exactly how I felt when my dd was born but I soon fell in the trap off trying to give her stuff that I didn't have when I was her age but know I would have liked :rolleyes:

My dd is getting more specific about what she likes now so I think I'm not going to go so mad in future and my mum has already said that she wants to buy her clothes for her birthday in June cos she's got so many toys already. My ds has inherited alot of his sisters stuff so he's doesn't really need anymore either.

So I'm planning on having a good sort through all their stuff and getting rid of anything I can but I'm not going to get rid of stuff they will play with just for the sake of cutting down the number of toys they have got. I'll just to organise it in the boxes I've already got and buy more if I need them. I think that will make me feel better about the toy clutter cos there will be a controlled amount downstairs and the rest will be upstairs out of the way.

When I talk about my house being cluttered it's not to the extent alot of other peoples seem to be - I wouldn't be a good case for Aggie & Kim or anybody like that cos I'm not as bad as that. I do get rid of stuff - my dd clothes go to my cousin's little girl who is 18mths younger & my ds clothes go to my brother's little boy who is 12 mths younger. If I'm throwing stuff out that I don't want but think the charity shop might be able to sell it I'll always take it there first but if it's broken or worn out then it goes to the tip. I can't stand to hear of people just throwing good stuff in the bin cos they've finished with it but they can't be bothered to take it to a charity shop.

My problem is that I've never had a cleaning routine so it's difficult to get into one now. I think I just need to find my own systems and keep that up once I find what I'm happy with.

The Flylady CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome) thing is me to a tee cos I'm not very good at making friends anyway cos I'm quite shy and awkward around people. But I would love to have a house that I am comfortable enough with to invite people round for a coffee at the drop of a hat then I think I will seem friendly and more relaxed around people I do manage to talk to or connect with...

lottee

Mics_Chick, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to sort out all the toys. I decided to start sorting through my DS 'toy cupboard'. My god, it's taken me most of the day, (maybe coz' I keep popping back on here! lol!) & my front room still looks like what I imagine a warehouse of Toys r us to look like! lol!

So far I have 4 black bags full. I have sorted it so that 3 of them so far I will be giving either to a local charity shop, or perhaps the hospital? Not sure they would accept it or not, I presume they would? A neighbour popped in & suggested putting a lot of it on ebay or doing a car boot, as we are moving to Oz this year, but TBH, if I keep it hanging around any longer it will probably find it's way back into the dreaded 'toy cupboard'! And the clutter in the meantime would be a pain also. Feel a bit guilty, as my DS has seen all the bags with toys in them, I've just told him that I've put them in bags so we know where everything is...! lol !! Bless him. Still got too much even now. At least I can close the cupboard door properly now!!!

Mics_chick

lottee wrote:

So far I have 4 black bags full. I have sorted it so that 3 of them so far I will be giving either to a local charity shop, or perhaps the hospital? Not sure they would accept it or not, I presume they would?

I think the hospital will take toys along as they're not broken or have got lots of small pieces cos they can get lost easily. Also IMO don't take them anything that needs batteries cos these wear out and never get replaced so they never get played with. If you can be bothered sort out a some for hospital and give rest to a charity shop - or you can see if there's a children's home or something nearby and give the toys to them?

conradmum

Mics_chick wrote:

The Flylady CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome) thing is me to a tee cos I'm not very good at making friends anyway cos I'm quite shy and awkward around people. But I would love to have a house that I am comfortable enough with to invite people round for a coffee at the drop of a hat then I think I will seem friendly and more relaxed around people I do manage to talk to or connect with...

Me too really though I've got better as the last born's got older. I don't generally invite people over unless I know they're already too good a friend to judge me about the house. I love having my brother over as his place is worse than mine! Maybe that's the secret, just make friends with even less organised people than yourself.:rotfl:
I really don't think we can change our basic nature very much. If you aren't a routine person you aren't ever going to be one. I know I'm not. I suppose maybe the ideal is to find a few rules to put in place - I think one poster said she makes sure she washes up every night? - and accept you aren't ever going to have a 'perfect' house. Life's too short anyway.

Spendless

Mics_chick wrote:

I'm not going to get rid of stuff they will play with just for the sake of cutting down the number of toys they have got.

I didn't either but what I did do was cut down on the amount of toys they received from then on, which meant birthday and xmas only and I would suggest certain items/toys when relatives asked for ideas. My 2 both have March birthdays so they don't have much for summer toys. I asked for a paddling pool that they could use later on in the year, rather than them have other toys for their birthday and me buy a paddling pool in the summer.

Mics_chick

I gonna have to do something like this as well - but fortunately for me I am by far the worst offender so it's my own willpower I've got to get on top of and after that it's my mum who has already says she'll buy them clothes from now on.

I'm gonna have to recruit my oh as my conscience cos he's alot more controlled over this sort of thing than me but usually I ignore him so he's going to have to drag me away kicking and screaming if necessary!! :rolleyes:

BungleGirl

I haven't had time to read the whole thread so appologise if this has been said before!

I'm rubbish at cleaning and tidying - thankfully my partner is much better but he gets anoyed that I don't do that much.

Flylady is way too heavy for me but I do use one of their ideas. I use a little digital timer (the kind you have in your kitchen for cooking - only cost a few pounds in tesco) and set it for 15 minutes and rush around like mad knowing that I only have to do it for 15 minutes - it really is amazing how much you can get done in such a short time!

If you look at the whole picture you will be looking at days of work and never get started!

RadoJo

I find a good way to motivate yourself is do one really easy/small job which has a big impact - descaling the draining board, wiping all the mess off the front of your washing machine/dishwasher/tumble drier etc. These things can take a matter of minutes, but then you keep noticing them once they're done and it spurs you on.

I have also cheated - my biggest problem was stacks of paper all over the places - bank statements (with envelopes of course - why did I need them?), bills, things I need to keep etc. I bought a coffee table with three drawers in it, and now things go into one as soon as I have opened and/or dealt with them so at least I can locate them if need be, and have a session of filing them all away once a month or so. Finding a way to avoid letting clutter build up in aeras you know cause trouble may be a better solution than trying to tidy every day.

Good luck - it may feel like a mammoth effort, but dont let it overcome you!

Mics_chick

I've made a small start but feel like I'm starting to make some headway. Started by sorting out the kids toys so that's made me feel much more hopeful about the future state of the house!

Got an overflowing cd/dvd rack that 2yo ds loves emptying all over the floor and then running off with a couple of dvds he's freed from their boxes so he can spin them on his fingers ( I don't get why he does this either?) My solution: get a couple of folders that hold cds/dvds in plastic sleeves and put all boxes away in a cupboard or even the loft - not decided which yet. Result - lounge much less cluttered, no rack to be emptied, no dvds to be nicked and played with - Hurray!!!

needmoney

Triker wrote:

I would rather stare into space than scrub the skirting boards.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:me too:eek::D