Tidy Up History Museum Restoration Walkthrough

This walkthrough steers a full playthrough of Tidy Up History by Casual Human (Steam app 4870430, released 16 September 2026). It is a strategy route, not a pixel-hunting spoiler sheet. You will not find invented key coordinates here. You will find when to clean, when to study, when to assemble dinosaurs, when to spend XP, and when to open the next wing so the single-player cozy sim stays satisfying through all major halls.

Goals of a complete run

By the end you should have:

• Cleaned and repaired every accessible exhibit hall
• Correctly placed artifacts across human-history galleries
• Assembled prehistoric mounts across Cerapoda, Theropods, Ornithopods & Thyreophorans, and Non-Dinosaurian spaces
• Used knowledge to identify mystery objects
• Opened wings via keys
• Unlocked abilities that keep late rooms comfortable
• Lined up the 25 Steam achievements, including systemic trophies and Complete [room] unlocks

Platform reminder: Windows, single-player only, full controller support available. Intro −15% sale ends 30 September 2026 if you still need the game itself.

Phase 0 — Boot and orientation

1. Verify specs (Win10, i5-2500, 16 GB RAM, GTX 1050, DX11, 2 GB storage) via Getting Started.
2. Set comfortable Controls (look sensitivity low for placement).
3. Complete whatever onboarding the game offers without rushing past prompts.
4. Mentally commit to finish corners, not spray effort.

Phase 1 — First open halls

Priority: cleaning skill + knowledge habit.

1. Pick the first open lobby/hall cluster.
2. Run edge-then-center cleaning from Cleaning and Repairs.
3. Interact with every early book/desk readable — Knowledge Books.
4. Place only what you can identify; stage the rest — Artifacts and Labels.
5. Spend first XP on cleaning and quality-of-life — Abilities and XP.
6. Slow-sweep for your first key; do not soft-lock yourself hunting for thirty minutes if dirt remains.

Exit condition: at least one hall feels truly presentable, and you understand the clean → study → place loop.

Phase 2 — First wing unlocks

When a key drops:

1. Finish your current micro-zone.
2. Open one new wing.
3. Orientation lap only — note dirt density, bookcases, mounts, side doors.
4. If prehistoric, start a single skeleton as a long-term project — Dinosaur Skeletons.
5. If cultural, establish staging piles by case theme.

Avoid opening every door you can. Parallel mess is the enemy. Details on restraint: Keys and Wings.

Phase 3 — Prehistoric push

As Cerapoda, Theropods, Ornithopods & Thyreophorans, and Non-Dinosaurian spaces open:

1. Clean mount bays before seating bones.
2. Batch parts per skeleton.
3. Use carry/highlight abilities when walking dominates playtime.
4. Do not neglect Non-Dinosaurian while chasing famous dinosaurs.
5. After each completed mount, sweep for keys and unread knowledge before leaving the wing.

This phase feeds Assembler and When Dinos Ruled the Earth progress.

Phase 4 — World history expansion

Rotate into Stone Age, Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece/Rome, Ancient China, Ancient India, Ancient Japan/Korea, Medieval Europe, Islamic World, Subsaharan Kingdoms, Mesoamerica/Andean, and Indigenous North America as keys allow. Full themes: Museum Rooms.

Per cultural wing recipe:

1. Clean + repair
2. Read local knowledge early
3. Evacuate wrong-era strays to staging near correct doors
4. Place identified sets in batches
5. Final label audit
6. Key residual search
7. Tick Complete [room] tracking

Alternate a cultural wing with a prehistoric cleanup session to prevent thematic fatigue.

Phase 5 — Mid-campaign stabilization

When three or more wings are open and anxiety rises:

1. List halls under 70% and finish two of them completely before any new key use.
2. Convert staged artifacts that now have unlocked homes.
3. Spend hoarded XP (you should not have hoarded — fix that).
4. Recheck early halls with new highlight abilities for missed books/keys.
5. Skim Achievements to see which systemic trophies lag (Handyman vs Archivist vs Master Cleaner).

Phase 6 — Late museum and polish

Late rooms are denser. Protocol:

1. Enter with upgraded cleaning/carry tools.
2. Knowledge first if mystery density looks high.
3. Skeleton leftovers get dedicated sessions — no more “later.”
4. Repair every last fixture; Handyman hates leftovers.
5. Confirm each hall against the five-step completion bar on the rooms guide.

Phase 7 — Grand opening readiness

Before you call the museum done:

• Every rostered room cleaned, repaired, labeled, and swept
• Dinosaur and non-dinosaurian mounts complete
• Keys exhausted / all wings open
• Ability tree comfortable for any cleanup leftovers
• Achievement checklist reviewed for stragglers (Curator, Keymaster, Archivist, Knowledgeable, Master Cleaner, Museum Owner, room completes)

Take a victory lap at walking speed. Look at lighting. Enjoy the cozy payoff — that is the product.

Troubleshooting forks

• Stuck on a door: residual search in open halls; clean clutter you skipped; see Keys guide.
• Stuck on an object: unread knowledge somewhere accessible; do not assume a key.
• Stuck on a bone: wrong mount or incomplete set; revisit skeleton guide.
• Bored: switch prehistoric ↔ cultural; finish a 90% room for a dopamine hit.
• Overwhelmed: close the loop on one island of cases only — shrink the scope.

Suggested daily session (60–90 minutes)

1. 10 min — residual sweep + spend XP
2. 30–40 min — push one primary hall toward completion
3. 15 min — skeleton or artifact backlog from staging
4. 10 min — key/knowledge check
5. 5 min — note next session’s target wing

What this walkthrough refuses to do

It will not invent exact key locations, secret codes, or unverified puzzle steps. Process advice scales better and stays honest for a newly released sim. When community maps mature, you can layer them on top of this route without throwing away good habits.

Restore patiently. Open doors deliberately. Label truthfully. The grand opening is a hallway of finished rooms — and now you have a plan to walk it.