I have a dirty house. Can u help??

Question

Ok here's the deal. I have been married almost 1 yr. We have a ton of stuff, and our apartment is very tiny. We use one room to store all of our things in for now. We are looking to buy a house in the next year. But in the other rooms....It is bad and I don't think i can get it clean. We both smoke and that is first on my list---to stop smoking in the house. That alone will prob help. But it just doesnt ever seem clean. I work 6+ days a week and rarely have the time. What are some tips for a small space to keep clean? Junk just keeps piling up. What should i do?

Please Please help.

And yes it is messy dirty too.

Answer 1

I would check out an awesome web site called FLYLADY.NET They are helping me learn how to take better care of my home and myself with easy baby steps and it will take Baby steps to make changes. It is hard to keep up and just to let you know in advance if you dont get the skills you need a bigger home will be an even harder job. More space means more space to hoard and more rooms to clean up. It seems you are in the process of makeing some major lifestyle changes that will improve how you feel and I think you can do it. Some little steps are to go through things you dont use and GET RID OF THEM! Dont think I will use it later. I use the six month rule. If I havent used it in the last six months and wont use it in the next two I have to get rid of it. There are a lot of charitable organazations that will haul your stuff off for free. Or if nothing else throw it away if its junk. I know when you have a cleaner place then you will feel a LOT better about yourself. When my home is junky I feel clutterd in the inside but when I clean up I feel better on the inside and outside. Also talk with your partner so you can work together and be on the same page. Or get a good friend who can help you who is more organized. I wish you best of luck in getting rid of the junk.

Andrea

Answer 2

start by slowly sorting the stuff from what you need and want to what you have and do not need. hold a little garage sale(maybe at a friends house) or donate it to charity. Stop leaving an ashtray in the house and go outside, the weather is warmer and you will feel so much better. If it is just lack of space you have then box up the stuff that you arent using and haul it into a storage locker, this way when you move you don't have the problem of packing it all then, take an hour or even 20 minutes a day (for both you and your hubby) to pack some stuff into boxes, when you have a stack of boxes then take them to a storage unit, the same for furniture and other items that make your space seem smaller, less is more in a tiny apartment. i hope this has helped.

Answer 3

Pick one day to do a major cleaning where you and your husband will have the day off. Hire somebody to come and help look for professional organizers in your yellow pages or ask around to find one. Pay a coworker or friend if you have to. Go through and throw anything away that has not been used in the last three months and you do not plan on using in the next month. Drive everything you are getting rid of to a United Way or similar organization or to a far trash can/dumpster/dump. This will prevent you from you taking things back. Pick another day to organize what you have left. Everything must be put away no items laying around. Pick another day and a cleaning service come to your place. If you don't know how to clean, (I am proud to say I don't) explain to the cleaning person/maid that you are going to be watching because you want to learn. Ask questions and make sure to remember how to clean. If you can afford keep the service as a weekly or biweekly visit.

Answer 4

well the first thing to do is to take a day and just get rid of all the stuff you really dont need. the worst thing you can do is th keep stuff just for the sake of keeping it so get rid of all the junk the best thing to do is to donate the stuff u dont need to a homeless shelter or some charity. then all the stuff you still want to keep needs an actual place not just in a room. the most important thing about a room is storage so buy some chests of drawers and put then up against the wall just find every unused place of wall and put a drawer and that means in your closet in your bedroom and even in your living room if you need to once there is a place for everything it will be easier to put things away when you are not using them. the most most most important thing about keeping your home clean is not to be LAZY!!! before going to bed make sure everything is put away where it should be and dont let yourself go to bed till the job is done and soon youll develope a habit of not getting you house dirty at all and simply putting things away when your done using them. oh and yes also stop smoking and that will help for sure! so good luck i hope my tips helped

Answer 5

Definitely quit smoking. Then every evening just do one project, like maybe clean out a drawer. Sort your junk into boxes, stuff to throw away, give away, to keep and to decide later. I get really overrun with paper, junk mail and stuff. And clothes. I've been trying to get organized for the longest time! I DO know that people that organize stuff for a living say to start small. Or do you mean your place is dirty as in it needs scrubbing? If thats the case, the same implies. Do one small task each evening and good luck!

Answer 6

be very strict with yourself and don't horde anything!!!! But sort out what you don't want anymore then have a car boot sale and raise a bit of cash for yourselves. If there's anything left take it to a local charity shop.

when the area is messy you are more likely to pile more stuff up and add to the mess whereas when it's tidy it kind of makes you think before you dump things. All psychological but it does work!

Take a day off work, spend a little while in bed and then dedicate the afternoon to clearing up - once you get started you'll probably find it's not as big a job as you imagined anyway!

Good luck!

Answer 7

If it's a year away before you get a house, have you considered putting some stuff in storage. That would cut down on the clutter and make things a whole lot easier for you to keep things straight. You could do a little cleaning every evening. But your main thing in getting rid of the clutter.

Answer 8

I think that you should start by organizing all your stuff so you can have a fresh start. After you do this you just need to take 10 minutes everyday to clean up any messes you see. Also try to clean up your messes after you make them. Basically don't let things pile up and you'll be fine.

Answer 9

Tackle one room at a time. Get a garbage bag and toss in anything that is garbage. Have a box for things you will want to get rid of..possibly have a yard sale, a box for things you want to keep, and a box for a thrift store. Once you get the room cleared out organize the things you will keep. To keep it clean get a garbage can for each room and a hamper for each bedroom and the bathrooms. This keeps things tidier and keeps clothes from getting out of hand.

Answer 10

I wish I knew! I have a 9 room house plus 2 baths and 2 outbuildings and all of them seem to stay crammed full. There's only 2 of us living here, where can so much stuff come from?