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Post by merrymaid on Jun 29, 2008 8:02:20 GMT -5
I'm trying to decide which room to work on this week. Please vote to help me decide! The kitchen is level 1, most everything on the surface is done. BUT don't open the drawers and cabinets... they're chocked full of stuff that shouldn't be there. The Mudroom- This is the room we enter in to. It's a level 2 and sometime 3 (the cat gets in and can't get out.) The Spare room- This is our junk room, everything that doesn't have a home gets condemned to the "room of doom," and is usually never seen again!! I was thinking of waiting until July to do this, as dd will be at summer camp for two weeks. Lastly, there's the laundry room. I use this every day. Most of it's problem is dirty clothes, but other things are stored here, like crock pots and cake plates. What do you all think? Which is most important, what can wait?? Thank you for your help  |
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Post by ramatama on Jun 29, 2008 8:46:00 GMT -5
We don't have what many more modern USA homes have, and yet our entry way is always difficult to keep tidy, even now when supposedly everything has a "place". However, it was the worst and a source of continual strife, embarrassment, misplacement and losses of all kinds.
Now that it hovers at about level 1 instead of 3, fights are less, losses are less and embarrassment is well, uhm, minimal. That is why i suggest you think about what should go where and then TRY to make it a routine to put stuff away that doesn't belong there. Hope this advice ( since you asked) helps you in some way.
Am curious to see how other SOS will respond.
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Post by heylady1 on Jun 29, 2008 9:22:37 GMT -5
To me, the spare room would be the last room to sort out. And while the kitchen drawers and cabinets would be a good thing to do as it would "finish" the kitchen, I still voted for mud room! Mainly because it's the first thing you see coming into the house. Why not make it nice and welcoming? |
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Calico
New Member
Joined: October 2011
Posts: 59
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Post by Calico on Jun 29, 2008 9:47:20 GMT -5
I voted for the mudroom. Here's my thinking:
It's sometimes at level 3 due to the cat getting stuck in the room. If the room is tidier and cleaned up, it will be easier to find and clean the occasional accident. Also, it's really encouraging to come into a tidy room. I recently cleared out the area in my garage between my car and the door to the house, and it cheers me up every day to see it, and to be able to use that space for unloading the car and setting things out to put in the car later.
It sounds like the kitchen and junk room might temporarily get worse before they get better....maybe if there's room in the mudroom, you'll be able to put give-aways there temporarily when you get to those rooms.
Calico
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Post by rexroth on Jun 29, 2008 10:46:10 GMT -5
For me it would be the mud room. The first thing you see, the level and also mud would get carried into the rest of the house.
Wishing you well with it.
Rexroth
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Post by messymimi on Jun 29, 2008 11:32:01 GMT -5
Dear merrymaid,
Even though the kitchen is the heart of the home, decluttering it thoroughly might be best saved until you have practiced elsewhere because kitchens can be so overwhelming. I'd also suggest saving up some money and taking two or three days to tackle it, using that money to eat out on those days, so you aren't trying to cook in the middle of decision making.
Rooms that can be closed from view and aren't used daily can wait, so you will feel encouraged by seeing tidiness throughout the parts of the house you actually use most.
Mudroom entry got my vote.
messymimi
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Post by angelinahedgehog on Jun 29, 2008 11:57:19 GMT -5
Fascinating question.
I see one major decision to make, and which one you go for is up to you. Given a choice between the following:
1. One room at level 0 and one room at level 2
2. Two rooms at level 1
Which would you choose?
Would you rather have one room done and be in maintenance mode for it, even if another room is still really messy? Or would you rather have all the rooms improve more or less together, even if it means that no room is really fully done?
If you want to be able to point and say, "Look, I did this. I cleaned it up and now I'm keeping it clean", then I think the kitchen would be the best place to start. Clear out the cabinets, and you might have room for a few things that are on your countertops, and that will make it easier to keep the kitchen clean. Then move to the laundry room. And you may find that you have room for the cake plates and crockpots in the newly cleared out kitchen cabinets. Then when you're in maintenance mode for those two areas, work on the mud room and then on the storage room.
If you want to improve the worst areas first and even things out, then it seems that the mudroom would be the natural starting point. Get it from level 3 to level 2, then work to get it to level one. When it's at level 1, move to the storage room. And when everything is at level 1, circle around again, hitting the kitchen, laundry, mudroom, and storage, making more improvements.
It's really up to you. Given the choices, there's no really bad place to start.
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Post by paperpiler on Jun 29, 2008 12:02:03 GMT -5
I think that you should do the room that bothers YOU the most (because it doesn't matter what everyone else thinks...it's the one that sets off the emotional health alarms for YOU). Forsake all voting, and start.
I sometimes think that we're (this is the generic we, not at all directed toward you, because I include myself as part of this big time) our own worst enemies. We hem, haw, get frustrated, get angry, cry, scream, make lists, don't make lists, ask people, don't ask people, decide how to do it, don't decide how to do it, decide on timers, don't decide on lists and timers, decide today at 2 I'll start, decide tomorrow at 11 I'll start, decide we're under threat of some sort so we'll start, decide to do this room, or that room, or both rooms, or no room, with people, without people, with chat, without chat...
...instead of just starting by doing something. It's squalor procrastination at its very finest. And the bottom line is that we do this all the time in the name of preparation, but it doesn't show any improvement until we just dig in somewhere/anywhere. I see it in the threads almost nonstop.
Believe me, I sit here and wonder why it's so hard for us to just DO, instead of BE. There always has to be this psychoanalysis/prep involved. And in the end, I wonder how to ever be successful and keep it successful if we spend more time analyzing than we do just picking up the freakin' stuff and finding a place for it or moving it on OUT.
<jumping off soapbox>
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Post by Celeste on Jun 29, 2008 12:11:09 GMT -5
I voted for the mudroom too.
My reasoning: The waste is a health hazard, therefore it needs to go as soon as you can manage it. Also, it is hard to keep the rest of the house clean if dirt and cat waste can be tracked to other parts of the house whenever someone enters. From a confidence standpoint, it's nice to know that people can peek inside your outside/mudroom door and not run screaming for the hills!  |
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hollymaid
New Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 99
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Post by hollymaid on Jun 29, 2008 12:32:27 GMT -5
You enter my home at the kitchen. I think that for me the most important rooms are the living room and kitchen bathroom and hall way. I guess all common spaces. cause all that is left off the list is the bedrooms. This is quite a challenge for me I have not invited anyone over to my home for about 2 years. I have not had bf here... it is a constant strain on our relationship. I work allot and spend my off time with him. When I am at home I can't seem to motivate my self enough to get it all done. after a cleaning blitz the kids destroy it ... while I am at work. I a tried when I get home the last thing I want to do when I get home is clean. I can't seem to get them to do it.
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Post by pegasus48 on Jun 29, 2008 14:01:49 GMT -5
I voted for mud room. It's the first place you see, and if there is a kitty mess it's the first place you smell. I think you would get a real psychological lift walking into a clean, sweet smelling entryway everyday.
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Post by Alexandra on Jun 29, 2008 14:03:52 GMT -5
Main entrance. I look at it as, if someone visits, what are they going to see the most?
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Post by artsygal on Jun 29, 2008 15:20:26 GMT -5
Even though i have a very old house, I have no "mud room" space my two doors just open directly into my house, yikes! My front door opens into both my dining room and living room. I'm sure if I had one, I would be in trouble. My vote for me is the room of doom. I have a 3rd bedroom down stairs which is out of the way, off the kitchen. Never been used except to throw things in it. It's more like a storage unit gone mad!!! I wonder what I'd find?  I do have plans, to make it into the Pets room, hmm. That way, if my disabled dog has his accidents, it will be confined there. I plan to but a lot of washable throw rugs down and comfy dog beds, keep the door open to the kitchen so they have access to the food and water. |
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Post by messymimi on Jun 29, 2008 15:41:44 GMT -5
Thank You PaperPiler!!! If I spent half the time doing that I spend planning or analyzing, I would be at maintenance. Also, I always feel so much better when I just jump in and do. I hear a kitchen cabinet calling...
messymimi
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Post by merrymaid on Jun 29, 2008 16:54:56 GMT -5
Thank you all for voting and adding comments to support your vote. I've decided to do the mudroom. Even though it's messy and sometimes a 3, it's small. I think I can do it in a week. You're right PaperPiler! All the planning, listing, righting about, can be a form of procrastination. sometime is does work though. Using the working in 3's, visual challenges an chat challenges, has all helped me in the past, but just doing it is the best. Thanks again. You've all made my decision easier for me |
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