House organisation advice.

I know there is a few others on the board in similar postion so after advice.

There is 5 of us in a tiny, I do mean tiny 2 bed house. With absoloutly no way of moving till all kids at school so I can go back to work, DH work hrs dont allow me to do evening or weekend work. I am finding it very hard to make peace with place as so much DIY needs done but no money and place is always messy . So how do others cope? DH said to get rid of most of toys as that is what mainly makes place look untidy I couldnt do that to kids as they do play with them.

Any tips gratefully recived as it is mentally pushing me over edge I am determined to learn to deal with it for kids sake.

we'll soon be in this position!!!! No storage space means constant clutter and it drives me nuts. When I get motivated to sort it, I find the weekly flylady thread on Money Saving Expert really helpful. It gives me some things to do each day to help clean/tidy/declutter, and because it changes rooms each day, and lists each week I don't get bored of it. Takes a few weeks to notice the difference, but it does help.

I also make the kids tidy toys before nap/bed so that 1. they get used to putting it all away and 2. for at least some periods of time it looks tidy!!!!

yep i agree with Emily do a little bit each day or you'll feel over whelmed i try not to horde and keep the kids things in boxes under their beds and just have a few down stairs and rotate them, that was they get to play with them all at one point and they don't get board with their toys.
and definitely get them to help tidy their stuff but two older boys are great at it (with a little nagging ) and the youngest now follows and does it automaticly which is fab

Have you looked at Ikea for storage ideas? You know the things K and A have in their rooms? they are pretty good for storing toys in. Have a good sort through of the kids toys, get rid of anything broken/not complete/MacDonalds toys etc. Get them to tidy up as well and only take one or two toys out at a time instead of emptying things every where.
I find that if I hoover every day and keep the worktops as clear as possible I feel a lot better and it motivates me to get every where done.
I dropped Anna off at a friends the other day and left that house feeling utterly miserable about ours which I know is fine but I guess we all want that pristine house but with 3 kids and a man it isn't possible, well not here anyways

We have had absolutely no storage, but have just bought two tall cupboards from ikea to put some of ds's toys in his room - it's the stuva malad range, and it's great. you can design what you want, so ours is mostly shelving and a couple of drawers. it's made a huge difference.

we also got a storage bed for us - it's one that rather than having drawers the whole mattress part lifts up so you've got that entire space to use, it's brilliant for storing things that you don't want to use too often - spare quilts, pillows, the next size up of clothes for the kids that sort of thing, and it's not all poking out from under the bed to be seen. you can also get to the middle of the bed area much easier than if you were shoving things underneath.

we are still in a mess, but it's so much better than 2 weeks ago before we had these in place.

Use vertical space as much as possible for storage and get rid of as much stuff as possible (doesn't have to be the toys, but you can get rid of old toys that aren't used often to make room for new ones). Vertical storage you can do pretty cheaply even if it just means shelves high up for things you don't access often or tall shelving units are great. We tend to have a large clear out ever 18 months to 2 years. We've moved back to our one bedroom flat and though there is a lot less space, there is now more room.

Instead of getting a coffee table for our study room downstairs, the plan is to get this
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20087525
and put some rollerballs on the bottom, and thats where toys are going to live. It like a storage coffee table then The plan will be a drawer comes out, and if baby wants a different drawer out then the first has to be tidyed away first. That should make life a little easier

Good storage that makes the most of the room you have is definately the way to go. IKEA has some great ideas - floor to ceiling shelving, the expedit unts with sturdy storage boxes, they also have another range (sorry I cant think what it is called) but its ideal for kiddies toys. We have underbed storage boxes, and boxes on top of the wardrobes too for things that arent used every day and that has cleared loads from the bedroom floors.

I have to clean and tidy every single day - otherwise it looks like every toy has been tipped out on the floor, and every item of clothing seems to appear in the wash basket So keeping on top of it by doing a little each day helps too. By doing a good clearout every so often, its amazing the amount of broken/unused toys, clothes, and general bric a brac you accumulate - it could clear out a good bit of space.

Im currently bribing my older boys with pocket money to keep their areas tidy and Evie has picked up on it and is following their example and its making a huge difference too.

Thanks for all your replies there has been some great suggestion that I will definatly try.

At present all the toys are 3 of the stepped toys units from Ikea, 2 in lounge and 1 in their room. They have bed boxes under the bunk bed and Roxy bed for books, dolls, lego and all their bedding. There is no more floor space for storage as it is a small room but I hadn't thought about putting a load of shelving in for books etc so thank you. That would free up some space under bed.

I know it is my own fault it is this bad as I am a bad hoarder don't like getting rid of anything incase we need in future as wont have cash to replace etc but it has got to the madness stage. I have been helped on that front in that a couple of friends have hit hard times so I am passing on everything I can to them so clearing some stuff out and dont feel bad about it as I know it is appreciated and will be used iykwim.

I think like you have suggested I need to focus on one room at a time as I had been going from room to room trying to make it look ok but not actually getting anywhere so will do it 1 room at a time.

Thanks again ladies