Tips to keep on top of tidyness

[steve208]

Not sure if this should be in this catagory but hey...its kinda more about my will/or not to keep tidy. If there are people out there who are neat freeks...how do you keep it up? I have let my place get in a mess...nothing as bad as to invite kim and aggie in but i keep sortin it then it gets bad again...any tips on how to keep it neat?

[dot.hawkes]

don't horde, have a ploace for everything, not just the top of a table for newspapers and a bowl in the kitchen for keys, pens, old packs chewing gum, and also recycle, make sure you have recycle bins somehwhere for ld botles cans newspapers etc. And if you do any washing, get it ironed or better still put it straight onto hangers and put it upstairs n the wardrobe don't leave it on the bottom step for the next person to ake up! (I have sons)

[steve208]

Thanks dot.

Tis more the amount of stuff in my room that i need to sort....ok its not really bad at all but i do like neatness just dont have the habiot of keeping it at mo.

Anyway you seem to be a very practical person....any ideas what i could do with lots of files and folders i have left from school and uni have binned most of the contents but the folders take up space!!

also is it worth selling CD's and clothers on e-bay...and have an abundance of unused tea lights...what can i do with these?!

sorry random asks i know

[aka pixi]

If you have loads of stuff that you dont need that is taking up space, have a big proper clear out. Do 3 piles of stuff to keep, stuff to sell and stuff to give away or take to a charity shop.

[chazza]

I clean one room a night - that way it doesnt mount up and only takes about half an hour a night.

Also it has to be tidy before it is cleaned properly so thats how i keep tidy too!

Most of my school and uni work I keep in boxes in the roofspace in case ever needed again

[dot.hawkes]

pixi is right, get as much as u can to the charity shops as that is the most posirive form of recycling, and then look at your room and see if the furniture u had in there whilst u were at school is working in a practical sense for you now, possibly upgade to a bigger work station amd utilise your wall space better.

[{Dakota}]

Why did you keep the folders if you binned the contents?

If there is still *some* stuff in the folders, buy yourself one of those files that have a dozen or so slots and take out of the folders and into the files - marking each "tab" what it contains.

If you really don't bother listening to the CDs you're talking about then go ahead and sell them but be warned that selling on e-bay or amazon doesn't get you much. After you have cleared out your wardrobes (for charity!) and sorted the folders and any other stuff just lying around, can you invest in a couple of CD stands? Or shelves so they're neat?

I don't know what else you have, but here's some stuff I do to ensure that my flat is always spik and span:

When I'm done eating, I do the dishes straight away. Doing a few dishes only takes me 5 minutes and I'd much rather that than have it build up and eventually stink, make it lot harder to wash and take up a lot more of my time.

I do my laundry every Saturday or Sunday an iron it as soon as it is dry, again, I'd much rather stand ironing for half an hour once per week than a few hours once per month!

When I'm buying clothees, item in equals item out rule!

CONTINUED........

[{Dakota}]

......CONTINUED

This probably applies to girls more, but I have a summer wardrobe and a winter wardrobe. Whatever season I am currently in, the other season is in a suitcase under my bed.

I have more CDs and DVDs than I know what to do with, but if it's what I enjoy buying then I'm going to buy them - better spend my money on that than drugs or something. I got a little cramped for space for them all eventually so I put the ones I rarely listen to / watch in a suitcase and have that under my bed. I can still access them easily without them taking up room.

If you keep on top of things everyday, it's not going to take up much of your time. There's nothing better than getting home from work into a clean and tidy home and know you can sit and veg if you want without that little niggle that this, that or the next thing needs done. Your friends and your parents can appear unannounced without you going into a panic and throwing everything in a cupboard until they're gone and they'll not recoil in horror!

Candles - I love candles and the ambiance (as well as a nice smell) they create. Get yourself an oil burner, a nice oil from a health shop and get burning those T candles.

Good luck!

[steve208]

hey thanks everyone!

oh and to say have found this great site called freecycle...tis a kinda yahoo group but it is like a local classified message board and you just give stuff to people that you otherwise might have thrown out. Will see if anyone can make use of my files and folders!

[steve208]

Thanks for your suggestions Dakota....tho i feel compelled to add my male perspective on a few things!!

ok i can see why women need summer and winter wardrobe but only thing i change is get shorts out and put jumpers away!

Tea lights...im afraid i assosiate them with romance at the mo and as have recently finished with my gf and living with parents at mo im trying to get rid of all stuff that is a hang over from times when i had a gf. Need to clear out and start afreash...thunk will have big clear out on satarday.

Gonna move the furniture...tho that wont go down well with the folks! oh well my room. Just that i decorated this time last year and said would not move things around anymore!

Prob not a very man thing to say but tis amazing what a good clear out and sort can do...i mean feels so good when u lie on the bed and look around the room!

[dot.hawkes]

Oh and always open the window in a morning. your Mum won't complain too much then!

[joko]

with cds - you can get multi pocketed folders where you just keep the disk and the inserts and get rid of the cases - that will take up less space.

also very high shleves are handy, with nice boxes on to keep stuff you don't use as often, out the way

[joko]

wooden boxes on their sides under things create a nice bit of space, such as under a tape plyer to put tape in.

i have also used wooden cutlery trays on the wall in areas that are too tight but need something

and of course good old baskets

instead of a washing basket though - you can make this to clear space on the floor.

take a pillow case and a wire coat hanger.

bend the hanger into a more rounded shape and bend upwards so its at a right angle to the hook

cut a small hole in the centre of the larger folded flap

insert the hook bit. then sew the edges over the wire.

hankd over your door frames etc

this will mean you don't need a floor standing linen bin.

use the folders to store your bills, notes any paperwork in - just get some plastic wallets for them

also use to store magazines or booklets or instruction books in.

get a hanging shoe rack too