Where do you start in cleaning a messy room?

[louden48]

Originally Posted by u2girlie

Take all the paperwork and put it in a big box. Then, take it into a clean room and start to separate it out. Make piles for bills, junk mail, things to be filed. Then, shred the junk mail or toss it. Next, separate your bills in order by date due. Then, organize your to be filed stuff. I have 3 ring binders that I use. I have one for bill statements (separated with colored tabs that I have labeled), investment statements (also color coded) and bank statements. I am extremely OCD when it comes to my office and if you lived closer, I would love to come over and help you!!! I have a sick obsession with organization!

How far do you live from Arkansas?!?!?

[louden48]

Initially, I usually walk away and sit down at the computer for a little (or long) Playa.Info time! Then I start to feel guilty about it after several hours and try to start on it. After a few days of procrastinating, I'll take the largest trash bag I can find into the room and start tossing as much of the paper as I think I can live without. Yes, I'm a packrat, too!

I have been renovating the house we bought 10 months ago, now that I'm a domestic goddess (for a few more weeks). I decided I couldn't live with the paint colors in the house anymore so I painted one wall and hired someone to paint the other (larger) rooms. I then went to town on the one room in the whole house that I have been avoiding and cleaned it out. I trashed what I could and boxed up the rest. I also hit the container store in Little Rock on their opening day and bought a shelving system and some beautiful boxes to sort and hide the things I wanted to keep. I now have boxes that hold all of my Mexico stuff and have organized my electrical components. I also trashed (beat to pieces) a desk that was too large for the room and downgraded to a small computer workstation. I never liked that desk anyway. After that was done, I painted 3 walls in the room in a sandy color that resembles the beach in Playa and one accent wall that is the color of the water in Playa. Now when I go in there to work or work out I can pretend I'm sitting on the beach...not just working.

[playawannabe]

Originally Posted by louden48

...I painted 3 walls in the room in a sandy color that resembles the beach in Playa and one accent wall that is the color of the water in Playa...

I just did the exact same thing - and I bought a palm tree in a big pot too! I love my new office!

[louden48]

Originally Posted by playawannabe

I just did the exact same thing - and I bought a palm tree in a big pot too! I love my new office!

Yep! I have one of those, too. It sits outside the window on my new deck...by the hot tub!

[playawannabe]

Originally Posted by louden48

Yep! I have one of those, too. It sits outside the window on my new deck...by the hot tub!

Ack! my new deck with a hot tub is right outside my office window too! But the tree has to stay inside - it is way too cold here, even in summer, for it to stay out...

[louden48]

Originally Posted by playawannabe

Ack! my new deck with a hot tub is right outside my office window too! But the tree has to stay inside - it is way too cold here, even in summer, for it to stay out...

Maybe we need to start a thread about big decks!

[UGAplaya]

Originally Posted by nadams

I have just had it with trying to clean our home office. I am so overwhelmed with all of the paperwork that I have to file, and what to throw!
What kind of tips does anyone have as to where do I start? I am starting to throw more things away each time I go in there, but I still know I am saving way too much stuff!

I usually start with a 12 pack... but that's just me. :-)

[Eileenintex]

It is my day for doing just that. I started in the bath (it is finished) then started mopping the floors thoughout the house. We mostly have ceramic tile floors so there is a LOT of mopping. Currently headed back to it and will check in later. Oh also doing laundry for our trip in a couple of weeks.

[nadams]

Thank you everyone for your responses. You crack me up. I have started to box and bag everything and move out of the room. I think I have shredded so much paperwork, I broke my shredder! This WILL get done.

[Heather]

Have you ever watched the show Clean Sweep? I LOVE that show, and need them to work some magic on my life. I get a lot of good ideas from that show, then I tuck them away in the corners of my mind, where they will never see the light of day or get used.

[nadams]

Is Clean Sweep where they take and make 3 piles one junk, one keep and one give to charity or something? If that is the one that you are talking about, I have seen it. I know, I have done the same thing. It looks easy and sounds like a plan, but you have to actually get motivated to do something about it!

[Trish]

Using some of your words, Heather, look how easy it is to become a packrat. I can fill in those blanks easily - just looking around the room that I'm sittin' in right now!

I get a lot of good ____________, then I tuck them away in the corners of my ___________, where they will never see the light of day or get used.