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Post by howardsgirlfriend on Jul 18, 2010 0:53:19 GMT -5
T's not exactly where I started, but one of the most useful things I did early on was to make sure I filled the garbage and recycling cans every week. I'm paying for those cans, and had plenty of stuff to discard, so I made sure I got my money's worth. Focusing on filling the cans seemed easier than focusing on my clutter.
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Post by notsomessyshell on Jul 18, 2010 1:05:10 GMT -5
Welcome back! I don't think where to start is important as just starting. Pick a spot and go for it! I started in my kitchen. Then I defended that space! It was war I tell ya. But it got easier. Then I worked on the bedroom and living room. At first just filling a bag with trash as I sat and watched tv, or did chat challenges. It was a one step forward, 2 steps back kind of thing. Making sure I took out one bag of trash a day was a small goal that was easily reached. As you get going a little victory here and there start to add up! Those goat trails get wider and wider. The piles get smaller and smaller. Cleared off spaces begin to spread! I remember finding my kitchen table. It was so wonderful I cried.
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Post by messymarie on Jul 18, 2010 16:32:31 GMT -5
I started by sitting in the one clean place in the living room, and just picking up whatever I could reach from there. If it was garbage, it went into the bag. If it went to another room, I tossed it in the general direction of that room. If it went in the room I was in, I tossed it onto a piece of furniture.
Once I couldn't reach anything else. I moved about 3 feet to the left, and repeated the process. Once I had the entire floor cleaned off. I started in on the stuff that was on the furniture. I went to the dollar store, and bought big plastic containers. They looked a bit like litter boxes honestly. I used one for each category of stuff. Heath stuff, painting stuff, knitting stuff, makeup stuff, etc. Books went on the book shelves.
Once I finished a room that way, I left the boxes on a table, and then went to another room to do the same thing. When I got to clothing, it got sorted into go and stay. The go just went to the garbage, and the stay got put in garbage bags and into my closet until I could wash it.
Eventually, I just had my laundry and the plastic boxes of things that had to stay . I went though them and put things up where they belonged. If it was something that didn't actually have a "home" it stayed in the box, and now lives under my desk.
Then I started the scrubbing part - I started at my front door and worked my way through the whole house. Top to bottom, left to right. Went through the whole house, and swept the ceiling to get rid of cobwebs. Followed the left wall all the way around the house till I got back to the front door. Next, I grabbed a bucket of soapy bleach water, and scrubbed the walls and counters, again working left to right till I was back at the front door. Then I danced (loud music and literally dancing while I vacuumed. it was fun!) with my vacuum and got the whole house vacuumed - I even vacuumed the kitchen and bathroom because it is easier than using a broom. Then I mopped everywhere there was linoleum.
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Post by mafixit on Jul 19, 2010 6:59:13 GMT -5
oh boy do I need this today, we just came back from vacation last night.. left the older boys (21 and 18y old)house/pet sitting. The house is much worse than I remember it ever being, besides all the dirty laundry we just added. I have no clue where to start, I've been sitting on the computer for two hours trying to come up with a plan. sigh. On to read the rest of the thread..
After reading through the posts, I will start with the kitchen. The dishes are piled up so high I cannot see counter or sink. Thanks for all the awesome posts, I feel the power of the SOS'ers pushing me forward. off I go.
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Post by flylady on Jul 19, 2010 7:55:52 GMT -5
Thank you all so much for your support, I feel very safe and unjudged here! I love all your tips, they are very encouraging. Thank you for taking the time to post to me. I know I have to start somewhere and soon. I like the idea of starting small, my bathroom is the smallest room in the house, so will the the quickest to "do". I like the idea of picking up trash, any trash, from any where.
I have read each and every post. Thank you to every one who posted.
Off to explore the forum!
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Post by zen on Jul 19, 2010 12:15:29 GMT -5
So many excellent words of advice here - try different approaches and see what methods work best for you, that advice is golden. On my own journey - I always go for the obvious trash first. Wandering about with a trash bag is exciting for me . I like to count things, so counting as I go makes me feel as if i am really accomplishing something - even if it is little stuff. It has taken me years to get to the point where I can toss/recycle a magazine without reading it - I am always afraid I am going to miss something that will be life changing. This is still challenges me - but I am getting better - paper is my main nemesis, where I have less issue with things like clothing, knickknackery, etc. The kitchen and bathroom are always places that I start, and I am pretty much in maintenance at this point. Clearing dirty dishes and tackling the trash in these rooms always makes me feel successful. Like in painting, I have found de-cluttering and getting away from the squalor to be much like working from the general to the detailed. Whereas I used to deal with whole rooms that were completely out of control - now I deal with collections and groups of items as I systematically go through them and do my best to determine if the items are essential to me now - and the life I want to live. Not the me I was 5 - 10 or 20 years ago. Best of luck, take your time - take good care of yourself during this ever changing process. I have found that conquering this issue to be one of the most fulfilling tasks I have taken on. It is never easy, but life gets better
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Post by success19 on Jul 19, 2010 13:00:47 GMT -5
I love books - my best friends - tossing out tons of them has been amazing - the fact I can do that is well - a signal that I DO want to change my life.
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Post by usedcardboardboxes on Jul 19, 2010 15:53:10 GMT -5
Hi Flylady,
There are a lot of great responses and ideas to help you get started. One of the most important points to remember is to just START somewhere.
Of course that is easier said than done, especially when you're standing in your home and looking at everything. It can be overwhelming and it's easy to think "whats the use?".
There are really 2 main points to keep in mind to overcoming this challenge;
1. Cleaning and organizing 2. Keeping a daily and weekly maintenance plan
As one person already suggested, either start with the smallest area in your home or with the area that affects you the most. If you're feeling overwhelmed, then just block out everything except that one area you decide to work on. Keep in mind , you don't want to just make it neat and organized, but you also want to figure out how you can make a maintenance schedule and create organized habits.
Can you start with a closet? Can you start with the bathroom? If you're still overwhelmed, what about a drawer? Sometimes it's about getting your mind set in line with what you know you should do, so what about resolving yourself to cleaning out the kitchen drawers?
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Post by woolybooger on Jul 19, 2010 15:53:28 GMT -5
Hi :) I am back again after a bit of time. I was wondering to those who had a house with squalor in every room, how did you start the ball rolling? Where did you start? I look at all my garbage and have no idea where to start, so I don't start. I need help. What room should I start in? Thanks for any tips! The room where you spend most of your time in.And the place to start in that room is the doorway.I recently began cleaning a room that I couldnt walk into at all.I just pulled my chair to the doorway and started leaning over and picking up things while listenening to the radio.Slowly,I could pull my chair farther and farther in.Now around 60% of that room is clean now.
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Post by def6 on Jul 20, 2010 8:04:06 GMT -5
Hey Flylady 13, I'm just checking in with you. I'm very glad that you came back! I forgot to mention in my previous reply to you that once you get something like a small room or bathroom cleaned and beautiful ,you need to maintain the room everyday. Just take a few minutes to restore the beauty of your hard work and efforts . I hope you will do this -I am doing this too.
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eternal
New Member
Joined: September 2008
Posts: 57
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Post by eternal on Jul 20, 2010 9:37:17 GMT -5
It wasn't what I started with, but getting my bed sorted was the best thing, and it seems to be the easiest to maintain. If I ever had to start again that's where I'd start - clear everything off (into bags or boxes if there isn't a place for it) and put on clean bedding. It's so nice to have a clean, spacious, welcoming bed at the end of the day, even if it's floating in an ocean of clutter! It makes the other stuff easier to deal with.
I did start with the sink, as Martha Cilley recommends. The trouble with that was that the sink was harder to maintain. I kept having off days or weeks and slipping back. The bed was much easier to maintain because I wasn't always putting things in it (apart from myself!).
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Post by gottachange on Jul 21, 2010 3:41:45 GMT -5
Thanks to all of you for your excellent messages -- they more or less reinforced what I was thinking. I feel that once I have the JUNK out -- pizza boxes, McDonald's bags, soda cans, 2-liter bottles, etc. --- the actual CLEANING will be much easier and more gratifying. About 3:30 a.m. today I filled a bag with junk that was piled on a table near my recliner - now I can actually see the WHOLE tv screen. And it wasn't scary, nor did it make me nervous. One little step at a time . . . . .
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Post by CaringFriend on Jul 21, 2010 14:17:52 GMT -5
Thanks to all of you for your excellent messages -- they more or less reinforced what I was thinking. I feel that once I have the JUNK out -- pizza boxes, McDonald's bags, soda cans, 2-liter bottles, etc. --- the actual CLEANING will be much easier and more gratifying. About 3:30 a.m. today I filled a bag with junk that was piled on a table near my recliner - now I can actually see the WHOLE tv screen. And it wasn't scary, nor did it make me nervous. One little step at a time . . . . . Gottachange, welcome and good luck to you! Sounds like you are on the right track. Now that the soda cans, pizza boxes, and other trash is gone, you want to maintain that area, even if you go on to clear out a different area. So try to train your self to toss those items in the trash or recycling immediately after you are finished with them, no matter where you are in your home. Your kitchen trash container will be filling up much more quickly with this new habit, so try to build the habit of removing trash daily from your home - either in the evening or in the morning when you leave for work. If you get nothing else done for a while, your home will be less cluttered from trash alone. You won't be allowing any new trash to stay, as you continue removing the old trash.
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rhijt
New Member
Joined: July 2010
Posts: 2
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Post by rhijt on Jul 22, 2010 7:21:42 GMT -5
Funny I was going to post the same thing. I am glad to know that I am not alone in this we can do this!
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Post by fluffernut - now Jannie on Jul 22, 2010 10:20:17 GMT -5
All good ideas. THere was a time I needed a plumber in to fix my furnace. I led him through goat-paths in my house to the basement furnace. As he started work, I said "Don't worry about how the house looks. Some days it's even worse." He laughed a big hearty laugh that broke the ice and temporarily lifted my shame. He continued his work. The one thing he did suggest was "move those paint cans away from the furnace. They could go up in a fire." I took his advice.
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