Whats the secret to a clutter free home?

Question

No smart a** remakrs and answers PLEASE.

I have 4 kids and a LAZY husband Im looking for some short cuts!

Answer 1

get the book "It's All Too Much" by Peter Walsh (from TLC's Clean Sweep show). It will help you get in the right mindset for getting rid of clutter, especially letting go of sentimental junk none of us can seem to part with.

Also, check out the website www.flylady.net  It's a little over the top in terms of all the lingo and cutsey names for things, but the "27-fling boogie" actually works. They break down the task of getting your house organized into small "baby steps" and week-by-week Zones, and offer encouragement and advice on conquering clutter.   Definitely some great tips for moms who are feeling overwhelmed.

Answer 2

If you want a clutter free home:

When you look through stuff.. if you haven't used it in over 6 months, most likely you wont need it . so throw it out!!

Also when De-cluttering,  get 3 boxes. mark one box "keep", the other box "throw away", and the other one "maybe keep", the key is the throw away box should have more stuff in it than the keep box. this is a step by step process.

Answer 3

Leave them and get your own place.

Answer 4

Get 4 rubbermaid bins.  Tell each child to FILL UP with things they don't want anymore so you can donate it to kids that don't have much.  You may have to help of course but you will be surprised how much you can get rid of this way.

Answer 5

Well, I doubt there is anything you can do about your husband except for pick up after him.

The kids you can do quite a lot about.  If your family is very 'nerdy' and into fantasy stuff...you can log everyone into Chore Wars which is www.chorewars.com. On this site everyone makes a character and they earn expierence points for housework. You make adventures for them and the only way to get more powerful characters is to do housework. The site is free and if your family is into that sort of thing can be very effective.

Then there is the job chart. There is a book out there called "Lets fix the children" and while I don't agree with everything in this book it does have a great idea for motivating the children. What you do is you sit down with each child and explain what that child is expected to do as part of the family. So, taking care of their room, making their beds, maybe even keeping their bathroom clean is all a part of being in the family and the books suggests that you give them like one base chore and then taking care of their space. You put this on the job chart and every night you give points, or stars or what ever for doing what is on their job chart. Then you put a weekly reward or monthly reward...for older kids maybe this is a 5 dollar base allowance, for younger kids maybe it is a visit to the movies with Mommy or Daddy...what ever will motivate them. You know...children as young as 2 can learn to do simple jobs like picking up their toys and putting them in the toy box.

With older kids you can then move to the job board. They still have the basic job list they have to do for their allowance but, if they want extra money to say, go to the movies...you can put chores on a board with how much 'pay' they can expect from it. The kid can then take the job down, do it...you will inspect their work...and then get paid for it. This teaches them that work does have a reward, also as the child ages...they should help out the family more so they have more chores for their base allowance.

Answer 6

Jenny, I have yet to achieve this, but my brother and his wife have. Here's what they did.

One room at a time, one closet at a time, even one drawer at a time, go through all your possessions. What do you want to keep as heirlooms to be passed down, as keepsakes, etc.? Box them up and label the box carefully and completely.

What do you use all the time? What do you use occasionally? What do you keep because you might use it? What won't you ever use? Keep only the first two groups, and only a reasonable number--you don't need 12 sets of towels so much as to do laundry more often, for example. For special-occasion items, if you haven't worn it in three years, get rid of it. If you hope to diet into something, pack it away until you've lost the weight, and if you do not achieve your goal in three years, donate the box.

Select favorite decorative items and donate the rest. Much clutter at my house is too many cool things sitting out.

It took my brother and sister-in-law a lot of weekends to go through their entire house, but their charitable donation that year was huge (and helped them, tax-wise), and their house stays substantially cleaner simply because there's less stuff.

Answer 7

Try messies website.  I found her books The Messie's Manual and When You Live with a Messie extremely helpful.  The website has some great ideas, audibles, tools, printable tools, and links to other informative sites, too!  I like the fact that a little humor is integrated into these books and helps you identify what type of "messie" you are; so you can focus on what keeps you in the rut that never ends. On the website there is a forum in which you can chat with others to get tips and ideas. I find that the Mt. Vesuvius Method works well.  I learned, from the books, to focus on one room instead of doing it all at once.  I use two bins instead of several.  One is  TRASH, the other is MIA (or whatever is in the room I am cleaning that doesn't belong) When I get to the room where something goes, I immediately know where it is and put it away.  If I can only start on one room, I empty the bin and immediately take action with those objects or I end up overflowing bins that are overwhelming.  I find that when I want to have a clean room, even if I am not going to totally rearrange furniture, it helps to go into the room thinking that you are (even if the sofa goes back to the same spot, etc.) When I am finished I have a spotless room.  I try to clean my kitchen up first. (whether it is before I go to bed or first thing in the am).  For me it is the easiest because everything has a place and everything is always done the same way and results are nearly instant. I always work on the living room before any other so that when I am finished, I can go relax and enjoy it.  My bedroom is usually the easiest room in the whole house because I can't sleep unless it is tidy. Nothing like being in a room that is free of clutter to sleep (think HOTEL... vacation!!!!:)  I also find FlyLady helpful as far as the detailed cleaning list.  I am not a huge fan of FlyLady because I find the mailing list quite redundant but it gives you a sense that there are others out there living in CHAOS!   I hope this helps, it always seems to inspire me to get motivated and get organized.

Answer 8

This can be done. It may take a little while at first. But, go to www.flylady.com and click on getting started. It is such a WONDERFUL website. She sends you daily emails on how to get your house out of CHAOS in just 15 minutes per day. No kidding! This is truly a great website to check out.

She would tell you to get three containers and label them, TO KEEP, TO GIVE AWAY, and TO THROW AWAY. Anything that is broken and no good any longer then put it in the throw away cotainer. Anything that they don't use or play with anymore then you put it in the give away container, and then whatever they want to keep and play with then put it in that container. Get the kids involved. There are emails for them to do on a daily basis too. Make it fun for them. The key is to get a timer and make it fun for them. Especially if they like to compete. Good luck with it. I know how you feel. I also have a lazy husband, but I only have two kids. Please, check this website out and you will be glad that you did.