moineau
New Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 57 
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Post by moineau on Jun 2, 2008 11:23:34 GMT -5
I was just wondering if anyone has cracked this yet?
I am waaay better than I used to be but I still find myself having to clear it to eat more often than I would like.
I have tried keeping it bare in the past, even without a tablecloth as I didn't want to scratch the wood, so would be more choosy about what I dumped on there...but clearly that didn't work.
I have tried putting fancy tablecloths on....works better than above for me but stuff still appears.
Today I have decided to try re-setting the table after every meal...I am hoping that I won't want to put non foody stuff near the plates and cutlery?
Any ideas..any success in this department?
Moineau
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Post by limegreen on Jun 2, 2008 11:29:11 GMT -5
Oh moineau, if you find out how to do it, tell me too, as I have this problem chronically. We've not eaten at our table for years. I clean it, and restack the clutter. Tablecloths just got damged when I tried that option. Trouble with our table is that it doubles as a workspace and sewing table as well as a dining table, and dining comes a poor third.
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Post by paperpiler on Jun 2, 2008 11:54:00 GMT -5
This is a big problem area for me, too. I wish I could say that I put things there because I have so little space, but even when I lived in a huge house, this still was one of the constant "dumping grounds." I live alone...and rarely sit at the table to eat...but it's still the first piece of furniture I see when I enter my apartment, and I'd like it to look lovely.
I have a tile top country oak table. So I always clean it with spray cleaner, and put a silk flower arrangement back on it when done cleaning. Then I marvel at its beauty. Then I put just onelittlething on it...just lay it there for a few. And then...kaboom.
I even have a basket on a table nearby to put mail, keys, etc. For me, the weakness is using that table to sort papers...all the time. Even when I think I'm not going to and that table is so nice and clean and spotless and just has the arrangement on it...even when I open a folding table in my cramped bedroom...even when I try to file one paper at a time and not just dump out stuff....the dining table becomes the dumping ground.
I hope someone has ideas on this one.
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Post by canna on Jun 2, 2008 14:16:07 GMT -5
The dining room table.
Mine was always a mess catch-all table. Dining chairs too. Magazines, keys, papers, mail, glasses, purse, there it all was. Yes, moved things just to eat dinner.
I didn't want it that way anymore. So now, the only things on the dining room able are: A great framed picture of my daughter surrounded by a few of my plants. Pretty glass full napkin tray, candle in holder, 3 place mats. That's it. Nothing else allowed.
I think "nothing else allowed" when looking at the dining table, that helps keep it nice looking. And I always think it always looks ok for any guest at any time. Sit right down....
Well, the coffe table is a different story, it does get some clutter inherited from the dining table. But I keep daily news on the coffee table for evening when I read it there. That's when I go through other "stuff" and it's gone. The coffee table is now the spot that gathers more than a few magazines at times
Bills to be paid? Not on the dining room table or coffee table, but behind the lamp on the buffet table is the spot for bills to be paid, I know where bills are now.
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Post by Alexandra on Jun 2, 2008 15:53:21 GMT -5
We can use half of our table. My husband has a whole bunch of stuff on it that I wouldn't think twice about tossing. I'm going to have to ask him what he wants to do with it.
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Post by eagle on Jun 2, 2008 16:57:28 GMT -5
When I first cleared my dining room table a few years back, it was very hard to prevent ourselves from just dropping things there. We had to change our habits and it required constant vigilance.
As I recall, someone suggested keeping a vase of flowers in the center of the table to make it pretty and discourage us from making it ugly.
I do keep a nice table cloth on it and place mats and cloth napkins set out at each seating. In the past, I have re-set the table for the next meal, but I don't do that anymore.
When Hubby gets up, he reads the newspaper at the dining room table, so the dishes would just need to be moved anyway.
Now and then, I do need to remove something from the table surface to keep it clear and ready for the next meal. But for the most part, we have really learned the habit of keeping it clear. It takes time and vigilance. And an agreement from everyone in the house that a clear table is the standard.
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Post by messysue on Jun 2, 2008 19:05:01 GMT -5
My hot spots are the living room coffee table & love seat!!
I'm always clearing them off.
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Post by paperpiler on Jun 2, 2008 20:07:03 GMT -5
Eagle, I really think that's what it is is a vigilance. Each time I clear it off, I say, "Now NOTHING is going on here." And I can even go as long as 2-3 days...walking in the apartment, not dumping anything there, not sorting anything there. And then I dump something there. And once I dump something there, it's back to being a dumping ground. Since I live alone, I swear I'm going to make a placard and put it on the table that says NO DUMPING.  |
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Post by Alexandra on Jun 2, 2008 22:53:10 GMT -5
When I was a child, Dad was always telling me and my sister to get our junk off the dining room table. He had to keep on us all the time!
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Post by neverstoplearning on Jun 2, 2008 23:17:54 GMT -5
I have a slightly different take on this. We need to have some place to temporarily dump things when we first walk in the door, or when we're in the midst of carrying out other household tasks. If our arms are full, it's physically impossible to hold it all while we put everything away, so we have to have a place to put it down. We need flat surfaces for sorting. The dining room table, for many of us, is a great option. In my house, it's actually the coffee table and the kitchen counter, but they serve the same purpose.
The real problem comes when we fail to go back and transport the assorted items to their proper homes. It could be the items don't have homes, or it could be we forget about them, or it could be we have ambivalent feelings about having purchased them in the first place...or any other number of reasons.
What finally worked for me was to build in a couple of times during the day that I routinely check my "hot spots" and clear away anything that has accumulated in the last several hours. My goal isn't to always have it clear. My goal is to clear it often enough that a) it doesn't become overwhelming; and b) it's clear for when I need to dump something else, or to use it for its intended purpose.
So when I am clearing away the accumulated items, instead of berating myself for having let them accumulate, I am congratulating myself for making the time to put them away.
neverstoplearning
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Post by margaret56 on Jun 3, 2008 13:09:22 GMT -5
The solution for me was to quit trying to make myself and my family leave stuff there and simply schedule a couple minutes of day to put away anything that accumulated.
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