I'm so sick of GETTING organized

[Joyful Mommy]

*vent*

I feel like it's all I do. I've been trying to get this house organized for months and months. I turn around, and something else is messy or needs to be dealt with. I work my tail off cleaning and organizing nearly every day, but my house is still a train wreck, or at least it feels that way. Sometimes I feel like it's *all* I do. What am I doing wrong?! I'm so frustrated and tired of living in a mess.

[swimming with sharks]

Are you organizing the 'same' things or are you working your way through the 'stuff'? That makes a big difference? Have you done a BIG declutter? :think

[mariposa]

I was going to ask the same question as the pp...I spent A LOT of time organizing stuff that I finally realized we could do without. So in my case I was organizing clutter. I did a major purge and now I spend a lot less time organizing. I also made sure to put systems in place that were easy to maintain for our family. Hope you find something that works for you. It’s so frustrating to feel like you’re doing the same thing over and over.
Debbie

[PurpleButterfly]

I've also felt like all I do is cycles of reorganizing the same stuff. Obviously, I've got too much stuff. :lol I've been watching Hoarders a lot and it has really inspired me to declutter BIG time! I'm working my way through the house one small section at a time, and if it's something we haven't used in the past year, it's outta here and into the Goodwill box. :yes Even if it is something we've used, I am pretty ruthless about getting rid of all but the most treasured/useful stuff.

I can't wait until we are simplified! :phew I am also doing this with our clothing, too, btw. Less laundry and it's just logical since we pretty much wear the same basic stuff most of the time anyway.

I'm having visions of Scandinavian style orderly peacefulness in my home... :melting

[Joyful Mommy]

I did a pretty big declutter last year, sort of, when we were planning to move/trying to sell. We got rid of some stuff and brought the rest of it to my parents' basement. MOST of the stuff at my parents' house has now been organized properly (except DH's 5 boxes - large ones! - of STUFF), and I've gotten rid of even more.

Today we were at our friends' place, though, and we both realized how much junk we still have lying around our house. THeir place is just totally clutter-free, and it's wonderful! So we decided that we are going to do another major declutter I've been pretty ruthless lately, but I'm going to have to be even stricter!

Why do we have so much STUFF?!?!

[MamaPepper]

I SO feel your pain mama :hugheart

[sweetpeasmommy]

I SO feel your pain mama :hugheart

Me too. :hugheart

[momyshaver]

I feel this way often. It doesn't help that we homeschool, have home businesses...and that my oldest is quite the packrat. :lol Edited to add... I used to be a packrat but I am quite a bit more organized from necessity, as a wife and mom. I really hate to throw away things though...I blame it on the love of learning and frugality.

[sietebella]

I feel your pain. I am living in a perpetual state of that considering we live in a fairly small house square footage wise (even for a 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath house). The best thing I have found so far that keeps my sane with this - throw out anything that is going to turn up as garbage even days down the road immediately. If you do not need to keep ahold of papers (Church bulletins, junk mail, old newspapers, boxes from food products, etc) - toss them immediately! And I have found that breaking down my schedule into chunks (one schedule for me, our son and the house) - and spacing everything out has helped me stay up on things so much easier than thinking I have to tackle everyone all at once. I keep all 3 schedules on our fridge. I created them in Excel and made them for weekly deals - and I give myself flexibility that if I skip a day or two of adhering to it strictly, that at least on Wednesdays (or Sunday afternoons), I can make up for it since I have very little scheduled for that day.

[Joyful Mommy]

I feel this way often. It doesn't help that we homeschool, have home businesses...and that my oldest is quite the packrat. :lol Edited to add... I used to be a packrat but I am quite a bit more organized from necessity, as a wife and mom. I really hate to throw away things though...I blame it on the love of learning and frugality.

I'm in the same boat as you with homeschooling and home business...I watch the neighbours' children 2 - 3 days a week AND I am trying to start up a photography business.

[HomeWithMyBabies]

I was just coming here to post this very same thought.

:ph

[ArmsOfLove]

I have totally BTDT

totally recommend the books:
Too Much Stuff: Decluttering Your House And Home
Organizing from the Inside Out (esp for this)
Organizing for the Creative Mind

[Futureadoptivemom]

Well, I'm sorry that you have so much to organize. I am a natural organizer and often find that I would rather organize than actually get anything real done. Something that helps though when organization gets stressful is to step back, take a deep breath, maybe put on some Christian music and think about what you want to do before you start shifting stuff around. Then once you get an idea try to take things that are cute and fun like pink stickers that you can write a label on whatever gives you joy to look at. Then your organizing and decorating at the same time. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[ArmsOfLove]

back with an idea that I just remembered:

If, despite all my efforts to organize, something doesn't have a "home" then there is one of two reasons:

1) I don't love the item enough to find it a home

or

2) Something I don't need is camped out in what should be it's home and needs to find it's own home (in my home or someone else's)

Even things I 'use all the time' need to have a place during the real time that I'm not actually using it. If I don't do that then I end up with things I need floating around and never being where I need it :banghead

also:

1) there will NEVER be the perfect system. the way I was sabotaging myself was finding newer and better solutions to organize the same thing over and over. When I accepted that it was "organized enough" I was free to move on to something else and get it "organized enough", etc.

and

2) the best thing I ever did was medicate my severe ADD. Once the chaos in my head was calmed I was able to reflect that in my environment :heart No matter how much effort was put into organizing my environment, nothing was enough to stop the chaos in my head :blush

[abh5e8]

i often feel the same way as the OP. i attribute it to getting married, having a baby, buying a house, having a baby all while in school. our life has changed in so many way sin the past few years, we have just needed lots of different things. for me its hard to organize lots of stuff in a small space...so i keep trying to declutter. i take a bag a week to goodwill. every.single.week. but its still tough. i still feel like things do not have good homes, like i want both more space AND a smaller home at teh same time, sad my books are still packed up in boxes 3 years after we moved in, yet have a list a mile long of things we still "need."

sigh...its hard. :hug

[MamaPepper]

My issues is, either 1. I can't declutter because I'm simply trying to keep up with the boys mess. . . or 2. I get a little bit decluttered, and then the boys add to the mess. . .

Either way, it just seems impossible right now. Especially when dh is a pack rat too, and totally not on board with decluttering. Ugh!

I would LOVE to live in a shaker style home. . . well, except for all the stuff that I want to keep; like all my crafts, and fabric, and books and tea collection and all the stuff that I'm sure will be useful one day. :shifty

Someone tell me about the show Hoarders again. . . where can I see that :bag

[Living My Dream]

urgh! This is me.

I recently found 10 days spring clean your whole home from simple mom blog. Going to try that - I know it'll take me more than 10 days htough. :giggle but its a good start!

[MamaPepper]

urgh! This is me.

I recently found 10 days spring clean your whole home from simple mom blog. Going to try that - I know it'll take me more than 10 days htough. :giggle but its a good start!

Link to Blog Please :poke

[Living My Dream]

http://simplemom.net/spring-cleaning-party/

sorry :)