If you used to have a cluttered house, how long did it take you to tidy it up?

Question

And what did you do with the stuff?

Answer 1

another good question.it took 20 years for my house to look cluttered,maybe 20 yrs to notice or care.i am still not sure and it took months to get it back the way i wanted,what i do ...and i do not know if this is an option for you, is redo one room at a time.get a donation box, an "I am not sure if i can part with it yet"box and a box for stuff that is broken and stained and trashed.many local organizations like american veterans ,salvation army,st vincent depaul, hospice etc would be glad to take the stuff off your hands.the trash items of course just go there...in the trash. for all the paperwork and stuff like that make a huge pile somewhere where it will annoy you to look at it.the reason for this is the annoyed to look at it makes you motivated to clean it up and promise yourself you wont put it somewhere where it will never get done.my problem was because i had too many closets to hide my clutter. i then bought a shredder.they are relatively cheap and necessary in todays world with all the identity theft going on. one day spend an hr or how ever long you want making a shred pile and a keep pile. when the pile gets big enough to fit in a shoe box, put the documents in the place where they belong. it may take a litttle longer my way but i do not have alot of free time.my house is now 75% clutter free. once one room becomes clutter free, it motivates you to do the rest.start with the rooms that people see most when they come over. hope this idea is something you can use.if i had more motivation i would have a yard sale/garage sale and get money for all the perfectly good stuff i give away.oh-check this out. i have actually done this.at first when i read this, i thought this way tacky however...recycle gifts. if you have stuff in excellent condition,a nick-nack, candle holders, etc that you really dont want anymore...make it go in the i cant part with this box and when you are stuck for a last minute gift or just love someone enough to give them something that you have cherished for years, you will have it right there.happy cleaning. and best of all when your home is clutter free so is your mind.you feel better,the house looks great and you are more relaxed.

Answer 2

EVERYONE with Teenagers or Children has CLUTTER -- and that is for sure ...

I am NOW working on tackling what remains are in the house AFTER the young adults (with all their attitudes, me-firsts, never giving a care or being willing to help, arrogance, attitudes) Moved OUT (FINALLY!!!!!). It took me a few months apiece (about 6 really) per bedroom for the ones moving out ... and that was to move the furniture, see what can be fixed/repaired (yes, the children are ROUGH on Furniture), and the stuff that they broke so badly I could NOT justify fixing -- well, that stuff went to the TRASH ... the good things went to charity, and ... most importantly -- I fixed the holes in the wall, replaced doors, pulled out the wall-to-wall carpeting (and laid NEW wood flooring myself) ... new Baseboards and ceiling embellishments, new PAINT (yep, nice, neutral light paint), replaced the blinds, fixed windowsills/window screens, etc etc etc -- and that included refinishing the closets as well and building my own custom built closet organizers too.

NOW .. I've found great relief -- no additional stress, no demands, no disrespect, and yes, the ROOMS That I've fixed up (and I've still got a lot of the house to refinish from floor to ceiling) ... are STAYING FIXED -- because ...

I PAID through my Hard Work for the HOME and I respect the sacrifices I made, and I don't treat the property like trash or abusively (like children/teens/young adults do).

So by doing it a room at a time ... with 6-9 months of going through things and refinishing/repairing/fixing ... new flooring (including tile in closets/bathrooms/common rooms), refinishing the wood furniture, taking apart things that are in terrible shape (and trashing the junk) .. it will be another about 2-3 years for me to finish the home the way I ALWAYS wanted to have my HOME in the first place.

Don't begrudge my children -- just that they do NOT Care what happened or what they did -- and it was NOT The way I behaved at all. Just SO Glad to make sure that NOW as an Empty-Nesting Single Retiree I still am ALIVE and can go through my home and do a LOT of the work on everything MYSELF -- which saves a LOT of money. PLUS, I am GLAD to make sure that the old clothes or good toys are going to Charities (like those places for Abused Families/Women) ... who are very APPRECIATIVE of what I give -- and instead of calling me names or mistreating me ... I get THANKED.

Answer 3

Just take out a day and clean it. Throw away the clutter you don't need and buy bins or organizers to keep the rest of the stuff neat.

Answer 4

cluttered house long tidy

Answer 5

After 7 years, we're still at it.

Hahaha. But on the bright side, I cleared out/cleaned up my room in a week.

Answer 6

Carry a small box around with ya and toss lil things you don't need in there - makes it like 10x better

Answer 7

still working on it. it will probably take me about a week. I plan to organize it I don't want to part with it. I am a horder and plan to trash the junk mail and other unnecessaries but my books they shall be placed on the shelves.

Answer 8

first of all that sucks because you just keep buying stuff and it adds up and before to long you dont know where to start.just take your time no mess is to hard to clean up my mess took me a week to get everything in its right spott,and i gave stuff away to needy people good luck

Answer 9

a week, donated

Answer 10

i push it around on my legs...