Re: Clutter before and after photos?

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/31/2004 4:36:57 PM Mountain Standard Time,

findingkathy@... writes:

because I had to.

Here...for those that haven't seen it...

http://www.geocities.com/dbookmaam/homesweethome.htm

It may need at " l " at the end. Not sure. But if you think your

house is cluttered. Take a look-see.

The best thing? I'm OUTTA there and the ex (Colonel Combover as

Rich and I call him) still lives there.

Are those PICS for real Kathy? Was there some good books to read in there

at least? LOL I gotta show these to hubby I am so not a neat person, think

Roseanne or the show Malcolm ion the middle. I am kinda like those moms. things

are livable but not Martha at all LOL ... but I can guarantee he will

not pick on me as much as he usually does after he sees these, hugs and

thanks LOL.

Pink<michelle>

[Guest guest]

>

> Hey, maybe we should hatch a plan... What if we all took photos of

> our most cluttered area in the house, uploaded them for public

> display, and worked toward being able to present a more

> orderly " after " photo by a certain date?

>

OMG, ROFLMAO. I could repost pictures of my " home " with my ex-

husband. I'd WIN any clutter contest. Geez. LOL. The way I lived

the last year or so. I have no idea how I did it. I guess I did

because I had to.

Here...for those that haven't seen it...

http://www.geocities.com/dbookmaam/homesweethome.htm

It may need at " l " at the end. Not sure. But if you think your

house is cluttered. Take a look-see.

The best thing? I'm OUTTA there and the ex (Colonel Combover as

Rich and I call him) still lives there.

K

[Guest guest]

i am a wanna be of you... i have half this and that started that

way ... please come stay a week with me and HELP me i am so

close to achieving that goal i just need my dopplegangers assistance

in getting it right !

hugs and begs

~peach~

> LOL, I am anal retentive. I keep all my dry foods organized in

Tupperware containers just like they show in the Tupperware

catalogs, my Tupperware woman even took a picture of my cabinets to

show other dealers! Rubbermaid is my demi god in the basement

where I have minimal shelving holding up bin after bin of my art

kits I use at school- clearly marked. I am afraid if I took

pictures it might freak you all out! lol the teachers at school

call me the Cardboard Queen because I cut up boxes and make them

just the right size for what I want to carry inside them and make a

place for it on my supply shelves. Clearly marked with colored

sticker tape. I am my mother's child. My father is the polar

opposite in clutter. People tell me I should hire out my skills.

>

> have been removed]

[Guest guest]

> Are those PICS for real Kathy?

You bet.

I did NOT move into the house with it looking that way. I would

have run away screaming.

Sure, use the pictures for your own benefit. LOL. Others have to

prove their own hobbies are not " serious " . LOL.

[Guest guest]

<<Rubbermaid is the way to go.>>

Most definitely. I am probably in competition with for owning the most

Rubbermaid <g>. I also have those plastic drawers on wheels in closets for

items. I am the most organized person you could meet. Even my clothes are

color-coded in the closet. Short sleeve to long sleeve, etc. When I take a

blouse off of a hanger, the hanger goes right to the laundry room. I have been

this way since I was a teenager and it makes my life so much simpler.

Hugs,

[Guest guest]

I wanna be like yoooouuuuuuu!

Please come to my house and rescue me from a life of clutter and

disarray!

Melody

> <<Rubbermaid is the way to go.>>

>

> Most definitely. I am probably in competition with for

owning the most Rubbermaid <g>. I also have those plastic drawers on

wheels in closets for items. I am the most organized person you

could meet. Even my clothes are color-coded in the closet. Short

sleeve to long sleeve, etc. When I take a blouse off of a hanger,

the hanger goes right to the laundry room. I have been this way

since I was a teenager and it makes my life so much simpler.

>

>

> Hugs,

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hey, Carol,

<<I am dripping with envy! You are my hero!>>

LOL!

<<I am interested to know how you manage in the more family-oriented

areas of your home? Have you trained you family to keep this tidy or do

you have to pick up after them?>>

Both. My 10.5 year old is starting to do chores - taking out the garbage, help

with mopping the floor when the dogs come in with muddy paws, etc. His closet

and often his room are a mess so I work with him on being tidy - he learns this

is a good thing when he loses his Game Boy in his messy room and can't find it

for two weeks.

The 5.5 year old is given things to do that are age appropriate - he puts his

book bag and shoes away in the closet ever day after school, for example.

I am not as strict on their rooms because I want them to feel some independence,

though I am strict in the common areas. Toys have to go in the playroom (we

have finished rooms over garages here in the south) and every few days they have

to put the Legos away, etc. so the playroom is not declared a hazardous zone

(nothing like a Lego in the ball of a barefoot LOL).

We all had gotten lax with DVD's being put in the case, etc., but after getting

two truckloads of my mom's furniture and decorative items, we did major house

cleaning. Had huge garage sales and made tons of money <g>.

I am working hard with the boys to get them in the habit of not leaving things

just around counter-tops and areas that are not their rooms or the playroom. We

do a rewards and consequences system.

Please understand, my wonderful mother thinks my home is very untidy <g>. I

grew up in a house with white walls where there was nary a crayon mark. We were

taught to not touch walls as we walked around the house. Refigerators were

always opened with the handles as were cabinets. I have always told folks my

mom's house was so spotless, you could eat off her toilet seats. Rigid? Yup.

I am much more relaxed, but still very tidy and organized.

Both d/h and I are obsessive-compulsive in that regard.

Garage sales, donations are the best ways to start getting uncluttered. It goes

out if it hasn't been used in a year. Make piles and put them in Rubbermaid

containers <g> marked " sell " or " donate " . Put the lid on so you are not tempted

to take anything out.

This is a great way to get started, IMO.

Hugs,

[Guest guest]

Once you get started, it's easy to keep up with it. It's the getting started.

Start with one room - the one that bothers you the most. Put everything in the

middle of the floor. Start by putting away - or if decorative items, putting

out to be viewed - things that are important (like dishes) or that have

sentimental value, etc. Then look at the pile left. Can you live without any

of those items? Sell them, donate them, e-Bay them.

Having a plan as to how to do it helps - just takes time.

It is easy to get disorganized. Having my mom's stuff from a house she lived in

for 35 years and my stuff after all my years of marriage and two growing boys,

called for drastic measures. We got rid of stuff when the trucks came, but had

to do it again this past October because we still had too much stuff (and I love

stuff <g>). Too much gathers dust and is just not pretty or functional.

I work within a series of systems (I call it this). Systems in my kitchen and

office and bathrooms, for ex. I know where everything is and can put my hands

on it in a second. Leaves me time for fun in other areas <g>.

Hugs,