Keeping on top of housework when you're ill or in other times of crisis?

ubamother

I can't quite cope with flylady, but a couple of the tricks I use which keep a little bit of order - is it worth having a relook and seeing which tricks fit with you?

For example, everytime I brush my teeth or go in the bathroom I give the sink a wipe and put the toothbrushes (or whatever) where they're supposed to live - this is a habit now and I always have a tidy(enough) bathroom.

Can you work out which bits of the mess annoy you most and if something can be done to lessen the level of mess those bits get too. For example, if your hallway/porch gets manky because of shoes lying around, mud off the shoes etc, is there a storage box or something you could use to get the mob to throw their shoes in or would a good mat or runner help?

I know that as you are not there all the time to reinforce any 'house rules' you set, it will be harder to get any new system in place, but may be one new habit a week for the others - putting plates in the sink, putting their own washing away (or whatever it is).

Don't beat yourself up about this - you're knackered enough as it is - and often the 'dirt' is only dirt you can see - do you define slightly fluffy skirting boards as 'dirt', or the fact that the stairs haven't been vacuumed for a week? If so I'm in trouble!

GreyQueen

EllieA, sweetheart, that is a brutal working life you're describing, mostly out from 6am until 10 pm and OH and kids as well as the house. No wonder you're not coping. No one could. Don't beat yourself up over struggling with this one.

We all of us "do" housework to different degrees and it's much about temperament as hours available to clean. F'instance, I personally don't count cobwebs and dust bunnies as dirt but I detest sticking to the kitchen floor!

A few suggestions which may help a little;

Use your head to save your back. When it gets too much, instead of running from pillar to post getting more and more exhausted and het up, make a cuppa and sit down with pen and paper.

Can you eliminate some housework by designing it out? The classic one, as Ubamother mentioned, is doormats and shoes off = less dirt to chase over the rest of the house.

Are there some things which you feel you should do, as that's the standard you were raised with/ which magazines hold up/ which you imagine the rest of us are upholding? Don't tell the Mounties, but I reckon Slobs outnumber Neatniks 100:1. We still have family and friends and we don't get put in the stocks to have rotten fruit thrown at us. Why, I personally know women WHO DON'T IRON (nor do they hire someone else to do so). Never. At all. And they still have jobs, spouses and friends. If you're sly enough, you too can move slowly towards an ironing-free life.

Depending on the ages of your children, you can get them to do a surprising amount of stuff. Obvious caveats about safety re some housework, but it's excellent lifestyle training and will stand them in good stead. I fondly recall visiting Cousin J one Sunday and chatting as she watched her 2 youngest (8 and 6) prepare the roast dinner. We got on with the gossip whilst the nippers sat under our supervision prepping veg and stirring pots on the stove (using a stool so they could reach). The 8 y.o boy makes an excellent bread sauce and wants to be a chef; hats off to J, say I.

If you can, dejunk like it's going out of fashion. Every item on the premises needs some kind of attention and is an obstacle to cleaning. Stem the tide of clutter (or at least operate a one-in one-out policy) and you'll save a lot of time.

Realise that housework is multi-layered. There's the day-to-day grind of dishwashing, surface tidying etc, the middling term stuff like washing floors and the longer term stuff like cleaning under appliances and washing windows. When time is tight, just do the minimum to keep the place above the Dysentry Line.

Collect recipes which are dead easy and have a max prep time of 15 mins for everyday, 30 mins for special occasions. Buy in some components. Don't be like one Martyr Mother of my acquaintance who was up past midnight baking cakes for a sale at her kid's school. Learn to say "no" or be devious and buy a cake, smack a bit of water icing and spinkles on the top and pass it off as your own.

Depending on finances and needs, is there anything you can out-source?

Company alert; tidy the rooms which show into the rooms which don't (and close the doors). Sit where your guests will sit. What dusty bits are in their line of sight? Deal with those and leave the rest.

Use time fragments, such as waiting for the kettle to boil, to clean something random. A fast swipe with a dishcloth is better than nothing. You'll be surprised how this add up.

Never go upstairs or down without carrying something bound for the other end of the house. Think about saving wear and tear on your knees. You'll be older one day and glad you looked after them.

:T Above all, understand the world is full of harrassed women (and men) and housework is never-ending. If your MIL or anyone passes comment, fetch them a duster and ask them to help; shuts them up every time, believe you me.

Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Triker

[QUOTE=ubamother;40861300]I can't quite cope with flylady, ![/QUOTE]

Its the MSE flylady not the American original one you want, honestly come join us, we're all in the same boat, even if you managed one thing per day it'd be one more than you were doing.

We're here. x

Julie67

Up until recently we both worked full time and long hours but every Saturday morning, no matter what else was happening we clean the house. I would do the bathrooms and bedrooms and DH would do the living room and kitchen.
My DS3 who is 14 always does the recycling and empties all the bins in the house.
If you do a general clean every week but give one room a thorough clean you will soon get on top of things.
I also agree with Ubermother that if you clean as you go during the week then come wkend its not such a big chore. Wherever I go in the house I tidy. The pots are always washed and put away each night and the washer is constantly on as needed throughout the wk. I think it depends on your priorities. To me the house has got to be clean or I find it difficult to relax.
As others have said if you can't get on top of things a cleaner is probably the best way to go. Hope you get sorted. J

Penelope_Penguin

Triker wrote: »

Its the MSE flylady not the American original one you want, honestly come join us, we're all in the same boat, even if you managed one thing per day it'd be one more than you were doing.

We're here. x

That's the one I was meaning too as I had a recollection of EllieA on the thread.

EllieA wrote: »

i've tryed to join the flylady challenge multiple times but i've never quite got off the ground.

I've looked back at your posts and you last joined MSE Flylady in October, posted once and never came back. Sorry if this sounds harsh, as it's meant kindly, but if you really want to make this work, you need to have more persistence than that

Come and join the thread, print of the lists, and get cleaning :T Or employ a cleaner

Fruball

Good grief! Out from 6am til 10pm :eek: I seriously would consider hiring a cleaner if you can afford it. Even if its just for 2 hours a week/fortnight. A cleaner will not care that your house is chaos and will be able to help you get it back in order bit by bit.

I can't advise as my house is chaos but GreyQueen's advice was excellent - I am going to try to follow some of it myself as my house is chaos too and I work a fraction of the hours you do.

Don't beat yourself up

tori.k

i share your pain i do 50+ hours over a five day nightshift.
To me the lifestyle im living is unsustable even with everyone pitching in and helping, so cut yourself some slack, most people will admire the fact your working stupid hours and getting any housework done at all.
You will have to delegate or you will just burn yourself out, i have 3 teenagers and have given the older 2 the duty of doing the dishes and the youngest one to bring the laundry down to the kitchen each day, and they are all responsible for there bedrooms. DH took over the ironing and he cooks every wednesday night, he has sausage and mash down to a fine art (as he hates to cooking) the rest is left to me i really only concentrate on keeping the rooms people see tidy during the week and i have a " move it or lose it" policy, then give it a proper clean on my days off,
I've slowly decluttered my home to the point where my living room is quite sparse so it only takes a few mins to straighten up, so on my busiest days i can shut the door and have one clean room to relax in and the rest can wait. dont try and spread yourself too thin or the house wont be the only thing that ends up a mess.
Take care x

rosieben

I second rejoining the MSE flylady thread, they're a great bunch and the thread is so friendly and supportive, although I rarely managed more than level 1 it helped me a lot;

it seems like you're running around in circles at the moment, you need to sit down and write some lists or notes, do some prioritising;

Your food bill is creeping up because you're not planning, so I suggest you start with meal planning and shopping lists, it would be useful to list what you have in the freezer/cupboards so you can meal plan around that and not buy duplicates, and why not stick to simple meals that your oh can manage?

draw up some chore lists for the kids, even littlies can put their own toys away and help lay the table, and that's how they earn their pocket money

My first priority would be to pay for a cleaner even if only for a couple of weeks to do some crisis cleaning and get the house up to scratch

taplady

Greyqueen - an excellent post:T lots of good ideas there.:T

shellysue

do you get bank holidays off? if you do then coming up in april we get good friday and easter monday, 3 work days then 'THE' wedding on the friday and may bank holiday on the monday.
If you plan ahead a bit, then get some meals ready done in the freezer and use those days as - work on the house - days.
If you did your usual 6-10 work day on your house, it should be clean, then work out a routine to keep it that way.
maintaining it is not so hard if you start with clean.

My house was the same as yours, I got it back over christmas, now working on the flylady thread to keep it that way:T