Working couples and housework

squirrelchops

We are in the same position. My tips that have helped are much the same as what others have said:
- on line gorcery shop
- no matter how tired we are we wash and dry up that evening so you are starting each day anew
- Friday evening we have a quick blitz of the housework before we do anything else. Half hour and it is done
- washing - gets done throughout the week, I put it on timer to end as we get home then hang it up
- ironing, I ususally spend 1/2 hour doing work stuff on a Sunday, OH irons as he wears it. Other stuff gets done as and when

I also batch cook and have a load of stuff in the freezer for when we can't be bothered cooking.

OH leaves house at 6am and returns 545pm, I leave 715am, return 640pm. We still manage to do decorating and also go swimming on a Wednesday night too. I find once you get on with it you can do more than you intially thought.

Tish_P

We're in the same boat! My tips:

Declutter drastically. The less stuff you have, the less needs cleaning, and the less mess you can possibly make. And if there is a bit of a mess, the extra space you have makes what mess there is less stressful.
Shop online. Set up a "regular stuff" list so that on a busy week you can order the necessities with a few clicks.
Make habits to use scraps of time to keep on top of things: While the kettle boils, hang up the laundry. While the bath's running, clean the sink.
Depending on what your standards of cleanliness are, you might want to relax them a bit. There's only so clean things need to be.
(I think not having a telly helps us as well. A telly dominating your living room makes it just too easy to waste time on things you don't even enjoy watching.)

gratefulforhelp_2

Snuggles wrote: »

Thank you so much to all for your suggestions and comments, it has given me lots of ideas.

I know that keeping on top of the domestics for two people probably shouldn't be difficult, and maybe it is a matter of perception, as one poster said. I think part of the problem is that I used to live here alone, and now with all OH's stuff, the house just feels too small and cluttered. It's a new build (tiny with very little storage) so we really do struggle to find a home for everything. Sometimes I feel like I'm just moving clutter from one place to another and not really achieving anything.

Also, before OH moved in, I used to keep the house absolutely spotless (it was my first house, and I had it from brand new, so it was immaculate and I was very proud of it). Nothing had ever been spilled on the carpet, there were no marks on the paintwork, and everything had it's place. OH is completely different in that respect. He is a bit of a hoarder and just does not notice mess and clutter at all. I knew this, as when we first met and I went to his house, I'd never seen anything like it! You literally couldn't sit down because there were piles of books and magazines everywhere, there were THREE broken toasters in the kitchen which he hadn't got round to getting rid of, piles of glass bottles he'd never taken to the recyling, etc etc.

So I have had to relax big time about keeping the house tidy, and that's fine. I'd rather have my wonderful OH than a spotless house. But he is a big clumsy thing, and he creates unbelievable mess doing the simplest things! He's not going to change, and I wouldn't want him to, it's just that I think it's part of the reason why I feel like I'm constantly trying to tidy up and not getting anywhere.

Anyway, thanks again for all the tips, I'm going to really try to get us both organised so we can keep on top of things.

From this post, then, it seems like you need to train your OH a bit. If you both work full time, its fair that he at least cleans up his own mess. Not to change him, just to make it fairer.

He will probably help you willingly, but doesn't notice the mess.

MinniMe_2

OP, we are the same. Its hard enough at the best of times, then you get a really busy period and everythings seems to get on top of you.

What we did was spend one weekend gutting the place - serious cleaning, and now do a little everyday, wether that is put a wash on or iron 5 things, or hover etc etc. I'll not say our place is perfect - far from it at times, but after we spent that weekend sorting everything out we felt we could keep on top of things that little bit easier

Primrose

Well, that's life and probably most of the working population are running on the same little hamster wheel as you are.

Keeping your home tidy as you go along and not allowing mess to accumulate is part of the key to feeling on top of yourselves but are you making yourselves martyrs to housework? Sheets don't HAVE to be laundered every week. Mine have often gone for a month in busy periods and we didn't die of the plague. Meal plan and batch cook & freeze. Two spag bol sauces take no longer to cook than one does, and you have a meal in hand.
Do you really have to dust and hoover every week? If you're both out all day and tidy up as you go along, the house shouldn't get that dirty.
Have a daily routine to get certain things done and each share responsibility for doing certain tasks to ensure they get done. Perhaps get up half an hour earlier and tick a couple of chores off your list. And pull together. There's nothing more demoralising than one person feeling they're having to do more than their fair share.

**confuzzled**

Sounds very similar to me & my hubby too:) he comes in from work and goes straight on computer...it's his 'downtime' as he works hard and is on the go all day so when I get home I become a [STRIKE]mother [/STRIKE]:p cleaner, coz I have an easy office job and the last thing I want to do in my 'downtime' is turn the pc on.
Oh and he doesn't cook or iron...I won't let him:o:p His jobs are the garden/DIY/cars which is lucky as they're all huge jobs that I hate:D

I've found that not sitting down when I get in helps A LOT! Its fatal, the days I think 'I'll have a sit down & a brew first' are the days we tend not to eat until 9:30pm:o can't get myself going again!

Some things I've found to make things easier are....

• not drying the pots, wash them but then leave them on the drainer til you're next in the kitchen(brewing up or whatever) and they should either be dry, if you've cracked a window open, or mostly dry so a quick sweep with the tea towel and bung them away.
• I do a load of washing on a wednesday and again on a saturday then iron all together on a sunday BUT if you're careful about how you hang things to dry you might not need to iron them;) but pls don't tell my hubby that!:o:rotfl:
• Dusting gets done as & when it needs doing, with only 2 of us it aint too bad so I can get away with a thorough dust once a month.
• Bathroom, it's all tiled so once a week after a shower(while the whole room is steamy) I tie a dirty towel to the bottom of my floor brush and wipe over the walls...easy as. Towel then goes in the wash ready for my saturday white wash, then I chuck some loo cleaner/bleach down the loo and leave til morning:)
• Hoovering is also done as & when...and always check the ceiling for cobwebs while you've got it out;)
• I make our lunches in the mornings while brewing up, one less thing to do before bed and extra reason to get my butt out of bed without hitting snooze first!

Having a list of daily/weekly/monthly chores helps a lot and around April time I do a 'spring clean' which means I try and fit in cleaning the windows and wiping over all the double glazing inside and out to keep it looking fresh, I tend to do outside in spring and again in autumn, inside onyl gets done once a year coz we're pretty clean:D

Admittedly it sounds easy and is all in an ideal world..doesn't always happen but you've got to be realistic, so long as I've done my best and what I can I'm happy:) I mean there has to be some give when you're 36weeks pregnant:rotfl:

Oh I've also learnt to let things go...I used to be such a clean freak, wiping everything over more than once a day(kitchen & Bathroom) and everything had to have its place etc but when I had to live with a boy(DH) I had to change my attitude or I'd be very lonely right now:o He's very much a dump it and leave it then wonders why he can never find anything:rotfl:

donquine

We both work full time and top of that, I study. Our home is a mess. Every so often OH blitzes it, but things don't stay tidy for long.

Having read some of the advice in this thread, I am contemplating engaging a cleaner... I'm going to find out the going rate and pitch the idea to OH, but I don't think he'll be keen!

KME91

I'm in a similar situation. Things we do that help - when I cook I wash up as I go along, so if stuff is in the oven for 20 minutes, i wash up everything i've used to get to that point, and leave it ti dry. when dishing up, anything mucky gets put on to soak before i sit down to eat, takes seconds but halves the washing up time.

Online shopping is a godsend.

I try and put on a load of washing every morning on my way out to work, and hang it out or on the airer when I get home. I spend time one evening a week or so folding and putting away. I don't iron.

we have a window cleaner who does the outside of the windows for a fiver every now and then. i've not done the insides since we moved in and they look fine tbh.

wherediditallgothen

I let the mrs do all the housework. Saves no end of stress & time for me.

Badger_Lady

I'm a singly worker and I do something every evening after work (french lessons, play rehearsals, charity meetings) so I never get time for any housework at all.

My cleaner's been coming once a week for 3 years now. He's brilliant - he lets himself in while I'm at work and does all my hoovering, washing up, cleans the kitchen/bathroom/floors, wipes down the bannisters and skirting boards, cleans the cooker and fridge if they need it and even does my ironing if he has time left over.

At £18 a week, he's worth it. There's nothing like coming home on a Friday evening to a sparkling house with plumped-up cushions just begging to be sat on .

I first got him in when I was really struggling for cash and was working three jobs to pay the mortgage: I upped one of my jobs an extra three hours a week, because I preferred to stay in the office longer than have to work when I got home.