get out of my head.

I also have those two wooden screw clamps, but not that jack.

That's a way cool jack. I bought it about 20 years ago at a garage sale and used it to level an old house I had with a peer and beam foundation. It says on the side BUDA 25 Ton Locomotive Jack. You know, you just never know when you need to lift something that weighs 50,000 pounds!

I've always wanted to find an old train and try jacking it up!

Chris, tis true, your house is a mess. And I wouldn't want to live there.
That said - my flat before I left was far (x infinite) worse.
In my defence, I was at the lowest point I have ever been in my life. I hope never to touch it again. But it was a health hazard, and I was living there. It took Dani and I days just to clear the rubbish, with my friend Teri in charge of removing binbags in her VW camper.

As you have already identified it is a problem for you, all I can suggest is what Pie did. If this is a regular build-up, get a cleaner. Sacrifice other luxuries in order to do so. You never want to have cans with maggots in them in your kitchen, or have to hold your breath as you walk through it, or have to sleep on the sofa because the bedroom is full of rubbish.

I'm not saying you will get to that stage (at least not without mental illness) but a clean house is a beautiful thing. It's really taken the sting out of moving home I can tell you.

There's prolly one under a pile of something, if you look around. ;)

A previous shot of my flat. In case I came across as harsh.

SG, please tell me that is not a pile of trash in your flat.

It's not. It's a pile of trash in her previous flat.

:eyebrow: Oh, well that makes a difference. :eek:

Oh, man...I'm sorry.

Now get yer ass to work. Your place is atrocious! :D

You should really sort your recycling outside, honey.

My house has pretty much always looked like that. Sometimes better, sometimes worse, but always messy. I've made a great deal of progress in the last couple of years by getting help, making an effort, really thinking about where things go, and decluttering. Some suggestions:

1) Get help. Hire someone, pay your kids to do one room, bribe your friends with pizza and beer. Just clearing enough stuff away to allow people in your house can be a big step and a big motivator. Do something!

2) Throw crap away! Get rid of junk! This will help A LOT. Don't hold on to crap you don't need. Identify stuff you need and then taking it all the way out the door to the trash or Salvation Army.

3) Do one thing at a time: one room, one corner. Clear a path! Progress not perfection.

Here are some resources I highly recommend:

flylady.net. This is a good one, because they have a daily task, and baby steps. A little cutsie, but still good. http://www.flylady.net/

Good on you for getting tidied up chris. I personally can't imagine living in a house that cluttered up. I get annoyed when too much stuff collects on our coffee table, so to have stuff all over the floor would drive me crazy. lol

I like having my house clean and tidy, but I have plenty of time to manage it. I think if I were working full time, we'd have a cleaner come in to do the floors and washing because those are two of the things I like to have squared up all the time as much as possible.

Good luck with the rest of it. I'm looking forward to the pics of the transformation. :)

People who tell you, well, just put stuff away where it belongs, don't understand that most of that stuff doesn't have a place to belong. So identifying and designating a place for stuff to go is a big step, too.

Some things to keep in mind: Store stuff where you use it. Put all your morning coffee making supplies together, for example, instead of in 3 separate places in your kitchen.

That's from Julia Morgenstern: Organizing from the Inside out.

Another great book for this is Apartment Therapy: The Eight Step Home Cure. I like some of the concepts in it, such as letting your home "breathe" and how every home needs refreshing after 5 years. and there's a blog, too: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/

A lot of people will tell you that if your house is cluttered your mind will be too.

I don't know if that's true or not, but I do know that when my house is messy I can't relax. Also, I have to do a spring clean at least once a year. I usually get a mini-skip and just go through and throw stuff out that I haven't used for the last 12 months. This is particularly good with the shed out the back. Somehow 'stuff' just collects out there. lol (I blame the males in the house)

I think it's true though. You have to have room to move. To live in your home.

Rebel, people! Tidiness it a waste of time in a busy life. Make sure your trash gets in the bin, and out on the kerb, your laundry gets to the machine before you run out of clothes or it walks there itself, and your dishes get done before they attract flies and you're good. The rest can wait til you retire. Or die. Then it'll be a bonding experience for your kids.

:D