When we got our dining room table we loved the idea of a nice big square table. It fits the space nicely and it is lovely, when it isn’t covered with crap.
Since May is our “Meal Month” I am working harder then ever to keep the table clean, so we can sit at the table to eat every night.
Here is what I am fighting against.
Then I take 20 – 30 minutes to clean it.
Then T3 comes along and “plays there”
If I don’t clean it up ASAP, by the next day it looks like this.
Seriously clutter magnetically attracts more clutter.
20-30 minutes later I have this – you can see all of DH’s stuff on his “side of the table”
This is one of my biggest challenges.
I can’t put his stuff away because then he can’t find it and it becomes an issue.
Some things have a home, so I can put them away,
but if they don’t have a home,
or he is in charge of their homes,
I can’t risk it.
So I leave his stuff in piles on the table. Then the whole clutter magnet starts all over again.
HELP! Any ideas or tips?
Or do I just have to clean it daily? I am thinking that is it, but 20-30 minutes a day is crazy. And maybe 1/4 is my stuff, 1/2 DH and 1/4 my boys.
Maybe next week I will take a picture of the table every morning and night. That may inspire me. Though eating together at the table has really helped us keep it “cleaner”
Find a home for the “homeless” stuff your husband has? Just any odd nook or spare space that is not your table might work.
Try a pretty basket he can put his stuff in or a tuberware container, these can be moved elsewhere while dining 🙂
You could make table off limits so that it is known as sacred family time, the place you eat together. As for DH, oh the joys of their stuff! Dan and I both have our own closets which is so nice. When I find odd things laying around I go put it in his closet and so he always knows if he leaves stuff out, it ends up there, or in his garage. I have taken after my mom in that sense. Out of sight out of mind. If he leaves stuff out, it’s going to be moved:-).
I gave my “table clutterer” his own teensy table in a corner of the dining room. All his, no one can put stuff there but him. Since it’s small, not much can be piled there, and he has to deal with it from time to time.
I agree, you need to find a different NOOK for DH, cause your sanity is more important than his pile. at least that is how i feel about my hubby’s crap 😉 he comes home from work and his outfit and backpack and everything else get put into a big pile in the middle of my front room and if he’s not careful to pick it up quick it gets thrown on the floor on HIS side of the bed. I just cant handle it, it makes me crazy. its still a work in progress with him though, hes still learning… lol
How about a laundry basket nearby, where everything gets piled into, when it’s time to clear the table off for dinner? That way, everything is in one place, so your hubby can find his things. And the kids can get their things too.
Put a decorative box (eg, leather looking, wicker or color that coordinates with the room) next to the computer desk for all of DH’s things. Good luck!
I love everyones ideas. I have tried most. We have baskets that get filled up with his stuff next to the table. But then he never goes through them and then can’t find things. I have tried making hte table in our office the place for this stuff – then that get covers and he never goes through it. It is a never ending battle.
I even bought some organizing boxes and put it near his corner of the table. Hasn’t work- he has just filled it up with things he doesn’t go through and then can’t find the things he needs. Which drives me crazy.
I will keep trying.
Hmm, sounds like the problem is, it’s not *his* problem. So, you could make it his problem by instituting a new “house rule” that things need to be put where they belong, and if things are left out of place, the objects will be placed on the owner’s/misplacer’s bed [that way, it doesn’t unfairly target your husband, and makes the same rule apply to you]. Then it becomes his problem instead of yours. That is, if he wants to sleep in his bed. 😉
Try putting it on his pillow in separated stacks, so he can easily tell what he has put there. He can put it away each night while brushing his teeth. (It’s the only way I ever clean our bedroom)
Hmm, this may work. Or he may then have piles on his side of the bed. But that is better than in the kitchen. 🙂