Tips and Quick Questions on “How To Start Being Old Style”

lionheartedgirl

I've found flylady really good - https://www.flylady.net

It's not all about cleaning, there's a lot about establishing a routine where none exists. I've just had a dramatic change of lifestyle and am a bit up in the air at the moment (and there is only me and 8 paws to look after).

She's also very reassuring, as others have said above, that it won't all get resolved at once so go little by little. Maybe identify the thing that causes you the most trouble/worry, and then see if there are any small steps/quick wins you can do easily?

It's really overwhelming thinking about fixing everything at once.

System

lionheartedgirl wrote: »

I've found flylady really good - www.flylady.net

I thrive on routine but found Flylady too much.

lionheartedgirl

I completely agree - I don't follow everything to the letter by any means, but in terms of starting from the very beginning when things are completely out of control, and thinking about what sort of things needed to be sorted out/set up on a daily/weekly basis etc, it was good reading and helped me make some basic decisions.

Sambucus_Nigra

Get a white board in your kitchen and use it! meal plan, chore plan, task plan and put a square next to each so that when it's done - tick it off and feel better about having done it.

I menu plan with notes on leftovers that I'm going to use.
M - curry [made from scratch or from previous frozen meal]
T - leftover curry with noodles
W - chilli [as M]
T - leftover chilli with wedges
F - sausages ad chips [you can peel the potatoes the night before]
S - lunch, salad and tea, omelette and salad

S - lunch, noodles and tea, roasty. Make a soup whilst chopping up veg for roasty and that can do for 2 lunches in a flask in the week.

quintwins

If you google frugalincornwall frugal queen comes up top, btw she's amazing don't try to follow her to letter you'll never live up to it lol.

Why not try set meals for the week and buy the stuff in for them but then eat them in any order, all veg and meat can be frozen, spuds ca also be cooked and frozen if you find you havent used all of your big sack.

savingqueen

Firstly don't be too hard on yourself. You have a busy life, anyone with children does and you also work outside the home too. Sounds like you are already working/trying hard! A bit of tweaking will help you achieve more but there are only so many hours in the day!

I am a SAHM to boys aged 6 & 8 and still don't have a watertight routine as such. I have a morning routine before school run and basic chores straight after if I'm not out doing something else. If not these get done later in the day. Rest of day varies depending what I have on.

Also have a routine after school (only implemented fairly strictly one a couple of weeks ago) to fit in meals, homework, baths, quality time with kids etc and an evening routine to prepare for the next day/quality time for me/DH etc.

My priorities are spending quality time with family and friends (though this varies wildly depending on time available) and keeping everything ticking over family/household wise on a tight budget and reasonably OSly. One of my priorities is cooking as much as poss from scratch but a long way to go, still learning and will never cook everything from scratch (frozen pizzas for kids tonight for example as its Fri and they have a friend over).

I really want to get the house cleaner and less cluttered and do DIY AND exercise/loose weight AND pursue interests AND be more OS AND the list goes on but if I think about it all too much I drive myself mad so try to set myself little achievable aims.... Baby steps...its the only way long term.

have to go now but will try and post practical tips later rather than rambling. just wanted you to know you are not alone!

sq:)

blossomhill_2

Hi there MaddyWaddy

I am no domestic godess, as other posters alreayd know, but when I am getting overwhelmed I remind myself what I already do well and try to expand it, rather than starting on the worst bits

F'rinstance, my loo is always spotless because...well I wouldn't have it any other way, so I expand this to include the bath and basin
F'rinstance, I never wonder what to have to eat on a Monday because I always cook extra on a Sunday, so I try to expand this and do extra on a Friday so there's leftovers for Saturday
F'rinstance, I am always up to date on clothes washing and bed changing so I try to expand this to include curtains and cushion-covers
F'rinstance I never ever let us run out of loo rolls, washing up liquid or clothes washing liquid, so I try to expand this list of basics to include cat food, cat litter ... and petrol

Like Judi I found flylady to much - I grew up in the shadow of the 70s Superwoman and for me "good enough" will always be good enough

Pink.

This thread may help:

Tips and Quick Questions on “How To Start Being Old Style”

I'll add your post to that one later.

Pink

lindseykim13

I stil haven't got the hand of fitting housework, 3 home schooled kids and work into my day. My DH is the same as yours always happy to help but can't think for himself and needs a list. I get fed up of having to give instructions!
I'm still just trying to learn to live with it after 11yrs.
You have to find something that works for you, otherwise you won't do it.
I don't have time to excersise so taking the kids out for a walk or doing the housework is my version of that. At the moment my week days is concentrated on the kids work & basic chores washing machine loaded, hung out and brought in, dishes and sides wiped down and a quick tidy if i'm tripping over stuff. I'll work in the evenings.
Saturday is my cleaning day, i will polish sides/ windows, clean bathrooms, hoover and mop and have a general all over house tidy. I will only do something if it 'needs' doing so if the windows still look clean i won't bother than week.
I would sit down and work out when you have free time and what jobs are important to you and sort a rota out.

emmad5689

I have jobs I do everyday and then if I get a spare 10 mins I do an extra job, washing is always kept on top of and the kitchen is always tidy. The hoovering gets done every other day in the front room and the ironing is done a couple of times a week other than that it's what I can fit in. I too need to try and fit in more cooking and hubby is the same but I will write a list of things that need doing and just say I don't expect everything on the list done but would appreciate some of it done - tends to work quite well and allows me to see what still needs doing too.