How can I reduce my clutter tolerance?

Question

I'm looking for advice from people who have had this problem, or can at least give me a serious answer.

I seem to have an unusually high tolerance for messiness, specifically dry clutter (paper, shoes, etc.). I tell myself I'm going to fix it, I put myself of schedules, but I have a horrendous case of the "It's not too bad, I'll do it later" syndrome, and it piles up. We don't entertain in our home, so I can't use that as motivation. I was raised in a similar environment where housekeeping just wasn't a priority. And I want SO bad to change. My husband flipped a switch somewhere along the lines and it irritates him (unless it's his mess), and now we're expecting a child. I am obviously aware that when babies go mobile they get into EVERYthing, but just as important, I want to break the cycle. But I have to get in the hang of things before Baby gets here.

**I do NOT have science experiements growing in my house, just a lot of dry, disorganized mess.

I keep the dishes and laundry clean, it's just a matter of putting it away once it's clean. I micro-organize just fine (things like my make-up shelf, or alphabatizing the cd's, etc.) but when it comes to larger things I lose ambition. Plus, when I do it when hubby's not around, he comes home and messes it up and loses everything again. I have VERY limited storage, I can't modify my apartment, I can't afford (and don't have room for) more storage options that what I have. I know I need to purge and get rid of a lot of stuff, but once that's done, I need practical ways of keeping my house clean and safe (and so I'm not embarassed to open the door when someone DOES knock).

Okay, girls, like I said, if it were a matter of "just do it", it wouldn't really be a problem. But if I took a weekend to tear apart and clean out my closets, it would only get worse because when the motivation died, all the stuff that belonged IN the closet, would be out in the room itself. And I had asked for advise for someone who knew from my perspective, not tips from clean-freaks to whom this stuff comes naturally.

Answer 1

Sounds to me like you have everything figured out, even to the point of self-analyzing yourself. The only thing left to do is do it. I share one trait with you in that my wife is quite like your husband. I'm retired but wife still works. When one partner isn't motivated to keeping "stuff" picked up and organized, it affects the motivation of the other person as well. I've discussed this with my wife, she agrees to try, but after a couple weeks, it's back to the same ol' same ol'. I've accepted "less than perfect" as my attitude, and am surprised at how much I exceed my standard.
I would suggest approaching your problem with small bites. I really believe a little straightening up leads to more. And when my wife saw how I was maintaining the standard, she began tidying up herself. We don't maintain a cyrstal-clear home, but we're not embarrassed when company drops by unannounced either. Good luck, and remember small steps first....

Answer 2

I live in a house that only has two closets and two bedrooms 1300 sq ft. When I finally got tired of the clutter I decided that anything in my closets that I had put away in boxes, on the shelves - if I had it longer than 6 months and had Not used it - then it needed to go. Unless it was Christmas etc... I now clean and organize houses for a living..... The most important thing I can say is to find a HOME for EVERYTHING in your home. I do mean Everything. That way when you use something you know where it belongs and after you use the item you return it to it's HOME. Take a weekend and just start cleaning room by room. You just have to learn to let things go and let someone else enjoy them. I have become a clean and organized freak and I am much happier that my home doesn't get me down.

Answer 3

Well, we both live in small places apparantly. I have a one bed one bath house. NO CLOSET!!! thats right, a woman with no closet. hell has frozen over. lol. ok. and very little storage options. However. I am an OCD neat freak. In small places, the littlest mess makes the whole place look like a disaster area. Im sure you know what i mean. There really is no easy way for me to tell you this, but suck it up. Yes occasionaly i leave the clean laundry in a pile overnight, but it is put up first thing in the morning. if youve already put the time and effort into cleaning dishes and doing the laundry, go the extra mile and put it up. i have my honey living with me as well. and he comes home and messes up everything i clean. i deal with that by putting his stuff away where i know he wont find it, and when he asks where it is, say i put it "fill in the blank". when he gets an attitude about it, tell him he has 5 minutes to put it where he wants it and can find it that is out of the way, otherwise it will be hidden. sure it sounds like im treating him like a 4 year old, but if the shoe fits.......anyway. i also have a once a year purge. i go through all 4 seasons, and if i didnt use it, anything, clothes, kitchen stuff, sheets whatever, it goes either to donate or in the garbage. and once its clean, do 10 minutes of pick up a day. instead of none for a week and ruining your sunday with cleaning. hope this helps.

oh also, my savior has been vertical storage. I have a wall of floor to ceiling bookshelves. I have books, cds movies, bills files everything. its all in order. I also have little baskets and organizational stuff on the shelves for things that look messy. stuf with cords like phone chargers extension cords, loose change. Every afternoon as soon as i walk in the door from work, i put the phone, loose change, keys etc. in one basket. then i open the mail, and i immediately throw away junk mail, and i take bills that need to be paid and put them in a basket by themself, and every payday i get that basket adn pay everything, then they are moved to another basket that is labeled to be filed, and then on the first of the month they are filed away in the appropriate folder. I know its psycho. but with 2 people in a closetless 450 sqft house, its just gotta be done to keep the clutter at bay.

Answer 4

Glad to help. Most of us have way too much stuff, so start by getting rid of everything you don't absolutley need or use. It's much easier to keep clean. For example how many sets of sheets do you need? I say just two, maybe even one- you wash it and put it back no need to store it. Also don't keep things that only do one special thing. They take up space and you rarely use them after the first week.
Make a week of going through each room and see how much you can do without. Maybe you could make it a contest to see who can get rid of more. Ok all that being said, now to cleaning. Make sure everything you own has a specific place not just floating around the house.
You need to make the effort to put things in their place. Including laundry(hamper) clean clothes closet, etc. After eating take care of dishes right away either by putting them in dishwasher or washing and putting away. Make sure at the end of the day you go through and do a quick clean-puttting everything away so you can start the day fresh tom. Then when you get home from work you may just have a liitle tidying to do from that morning. Set up a cleaning schedule like saturday laundry. Monday mop floors Tuesday clean bathrooms etc. so you really shouldn't need to be dealing with clutter after you get going then it's just a matter of doing your daily chores. You'll appreciate having a haven for a home. God Bless you!

Answer 5

Your question really hit home with me. Somewhere along the line, I missed the organizational gene. We only entertain a few times a year and then we scurry around like little bunnies trying to get the place presentable. We are not dirty, just messy. My husband is just like me. We were both raised by parents that were neat freaks. Maybe there is a little reaction formation here. But, you are asking for an answer... When our children were young, we had what we called a "high water mark" above the reach of little hands for all things that might be potentially dangerous for them.
I love to have an uncluttered environment but I cannot get motivated myself. I buy all the stuff to organize my life and then never do it.
I will watch your answers. God Bless!