Top Tips for a clean tidy home

Alikay

Oh heck Jojo...did you have to grow up in a home like that?

Re the thing with it being easy to be tidy if you live alone: I was messier and a lot less houseproud when I lived alone. Once I was with DH my house became a home and I wanted to make it nice for us and keep it looking lovely, whereas before it was just somewhere I happened to live IYSWIM.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Alikay wrote: »

Oh heck Jojo...did you have to grow up in a home like that?

Re the thing with it being easy to be tidy if you live alone: I was messier and a lot less houseproud when I lived alone. Once I was with DH my house became a home and I wanted to make it nice for us and keep it looking lovely, whereas before it was just somewhere I happened to live IYSWIM.

Pretty much. Except for the area around my armchair (which is under the pile in the first photo - along with a bookcase, footstool, five foot high bureau/glass cabinet and a full size walk in larder cupboard), as I ensured my corner was accessible, despite the continual encroachment of more stuff each time I came in from school.

I must have been one of the few teenagers who kept their own small vacuum cleaner and cleaning supplies hidden in their room. Or who would do their own washing in the sink, drying it on the radiator in their room and creeping out to clean the kitchen, bathroom, landing and stairs when she went to her friend's house. And you could get up the stairs without risking life or limb as there were only 1-2 foot high piles of stuff on each stair, rather than (when I was last there) four foot high and two and a half foot wide mounds leaving enough space for a single size five shoe on each tread, plus the entire landing being blocked.

She didn't have a routine beyond doing one load of darks and one load of whites on a Saturday morning - you'd get told to take any clothes that couldn't fit into the one load back and wear them again. And putting dirty plates in the sink, to be left until you couldn't find any clean ones. Not such a problem at first, easily sorted. But add in a back injury and time to a lack of routine and that's what you end up with a few years later.


Mind you, she would gossip about how awful an elderly neighbour's house was when he was taken into hospital and how she would never be like that, at a time when the number of boxes the council cleared out wouldn't even match the amount of things left around on the settee.


I'm not having a go at the OP, but the easiest way to pull your finger out and get a routine is to realise that those photos are what's beginning to happen right now every day that there are more things just left where they were last used rather than being put away.

paddy's_mum

euronorris wrote: »

each morning before I leave for work all dirty cups, dishes and cutlery go in the dishwasher and I put it on. I empty it when I return home, before I start prepping dinner. Same with clothes washing - on in morning before I leave, empty and hung up as soon as I return

This is very firmly advised against by Fire Brigades. Almost 4,000 fires in the home are started every year by appliances developing a fault.

I'm as keen as anyone to have a home that is reasonably tidy but having survived being in a house that was burning down around me (immersion heater wiring failure) I am ultra cautious and take warnings such as this very seriously.

Better perhaps to have an untidy house than a burned to the ground one!

gizwal

I agree with Paddys mum about leaving the washer/dryer on whilst you are out ,or even when you go to bed, never do this, it`s dangerous. We put the washing on as soon as we get in ,put it on a clothes airer overnight,then finish off in the dryer the next night.

To avoid clutter- if you don`t need it ,love it ,or use it ,CHUCK IT! This goes for clothes ,mail(deal with this daily so it doesn`t pile up), sewing/knitting/craft box ,kitchen cupboards, everything-be ruthless!

If you need to go up/downstairs or into another room, see if there is anything that needs to go with you.Put things away when you have finished using them.

Wash up or load dishwasher as soon as each meal is finished,wipe down surfaces etc.

Train your husband! Get him in the habit of using the bin ,laundry basket, tidying up after himself.

Pick one night a week to hoover and mop all the floors properly, then you should only need to do a quick wizz with the hoover in between times.

Mostly its getting into the habit of doing things ,so it doesn`t mount up.

BrokenBetty_2

Those pictures make a great point. His man cave, which I won't touch, and his car look like those pictures. The rest of the house does look a lot better - but i do fear it turning into those pictures.

I have done a fair bit today, and have a routine - day one planned for tomorrow, taking all advise on board.

bouicca21

I'm single. I'm also chronically untidy and I resent every second spent on cleaning. There are better things to do in life than filing bills, vacuuming, washing floors and cleaning bathrooms and kitchens.

So I second Pixies' post - get a weekly cleaner. It keeps everything under control. Nothing gets so bad that you have to spend a whole day blitzing it. Relax, enjoy.

euronorris

paddy's_mum wrote: »

This is very firmly advised against by Fire Brigades. Almost 4,000 fires in the home are started every year by appliances developing a fault.

I'm as keen as anyone to have a home that is reasonably tidy but having survived being in a house that was burning down around me (immersion heater wiring failure) I am ultra cautious and take warnings such as this very seriously.

Better perhaps to have an untidy house than a burned to the ground one!

Thanks for the heads up.


I understand it is a pretty low risk, but a risk just the same. However, I should state that the machine goes on pretty sooner after I get up and only has 10 minutes left on it by the time I leave the house. So, rightly or wrongly, I'm not too concerned by it.


I should state that we don't have a tumble dryer though, or even a dryer function on our machine, so everything is hung up on the airer or in the garden (of a weekend if weather is nice enough).

indsty

First off, you are not a disaster. Maybe your OH is though ! I totally agree with other replies re getting rid of stuff. Be ruthless. Then start one room at a time, sorting, hoovering, cleaning etc. Maybe if the room is clean and tidy then OH will behave better - but even if he doesn't it will be easier to clear his mess up.

Take advantage of odd minutes - if I feel unmotivated to clean then I jump up at every ad break on the TV. It is amazing what you can do in two minutes - I can clean the bath and the loo and be sat down before the program starts again.

Also, "do it now", take off your coat and shoes - put them away. Peel an apple - put the peel in the bin. etc etc.

Don't try and do it all at once, take your time and feel the freedom.

bilbodreams

I have become more organised since the children came along, how weird is that? We have 2 under 2 and a gorgeous dog. We only have got a two bed terrace hence can't afford to have too much clutter.

In the mornings
I put the washing machine first thing in the morning.
Also I decide what I am cooking for dinner, I have got a rough idea bc I do weekly planning, not necessarily in day order.
I wipe the bathroom everyday, literally it doesn't take more than 4 min
Open windows and make beds

In the evening
I do the dishes ( i dont have a dishwasher) and clean worktops/cooker after dinner and then first thing in the morning while I make make a cup of coffee I put everything away.
I put away things ( toys, books, papers etc) so in the morning doesn't seem to daunting.
Bins out.

That's it:o

I rarely go upstairs or downstairs empty handed

In between I use 15 min envelopes of time to clean sthg, like the living room, or dinning room, or the floors downstairs, the hoover upstairs, I time it ( 15 min only)so it doesn't seem to daunting. And then I have a coffee.;)

If by any chance I feel inspired to clean , normally after watching one of those cleaning programs, You tobe is great to get inspired, I deep clean the kitchen or another room for an hour or so.

Little changes make a big difference

selement

Ah I feel your pain OP, I try to get organised every so often but always fails. Just me and OH no kids or pets... just hard t be motivated after a full days work to tidy the house. I try flylady every so often, and use the 15mins at a time tips when I need an emergency tidy. If you find something that works please share it with me!