Baby coming - home needs organising

natlie

Hi
I now have only 10 weeks until the baby gets here and with two childern - who will be off for school holidays a partner with depression and a major messy house I need lots of advice and tips please!

I will start with a few q's and see how I get on

The Mess

This currenlty applies to:

Lounge - full of clean washing, mostly - have lack of storage - should I pack away my work clothes and smaller sized clothes for later? Have same issue on landing which has two bags of clothes including winter clothes

Childrens junk - they just leave stuff everywhere, our house is not big and has little storage so anything stacked or piled up anywhere looks awful - I can't bend well at the moment because of enormous belly

Dust

this is a problem in all our rooms we live next to the M4 there is a slip road right next to us and it seems to create a fair bit of dust it always seems to be dusty here - probably also because of the clothes lying about - any suggestions for homemade polish as I am alergic to the mr sheen type spray

Kitchen

can never seem to keep up with dishes, cupboards are very disorganised we have wall cupboards a larder cupboard and 5 floor cupboards which are all full and I have gadgets out on the worktop- breadmaker, toastie maker etc which take up space - do you think I can manage without a microwave - ours is dodgy

Also we keep dirty laundry in kitchen for washing my working from home station is in there but desk is a massive mess

I am getting there with the baby stuff now - have got my reusable nappies www.charliebanana.com and reusable wetwipes more washing argh - anything I need esp. to wash them with - any tips for keeping them well?

I have cot, pram, carseat, bedding etc etc

I am going to be breastfeeding and will use reusable breastpads so no extra work there

I have nowhere to keep the baby stuff clothes, nappies etc

I also need cheap ideas for the kids for the summer holidays - little one is 5 she will be the one who needs the most entertainment

I have some time off this coming week and would like to get some stuff done but feel unmotivated - have 2 jobs and get tired on the weekends - don't know where to start and time seems to be running out I iwork on Aug 1st and my baby is due Aug 12th

Nat
xxx

jcr16

like you i have a baby due in 11 week's. i also have 3 little ones at home. i have foudn the best way to sort out is to do on room at a time.

i am very ruthless , i don't keep want i don't need anymore. but what i do do it put it in loft for 6m say and then if i not used it , it goes. do you have a loft you can store items in ?

i don't have any applicance out of work tops as i need worktop space, well i have kettle, quick cup , toaster etc. but i bought a pine dresser which is in the dining room and in that i keep bread makers, blender, slow cookers, toastie maker etc. as for cupbaords i have lock and lock pots and everythign is labeled and in order. i also have baskets on top of kitchen cupboards to provide extra storage. i got these few years back in instore.



they give so much more much need space.

as for microwave, i have one after a coupel of years with out. all i use it for is heating milk. i willprob use it for babies bottles once baby is here, but i could live without it very easy, When i was without a cooker last week i really struggled to microwave cook. i just don't know how to cook with it, it not anythign i ever do. well i've done a jacket potato in it, but i don't like it as much as a cooker cooked one.

as for dust, i never use polish i always use a damp cloth works just as well. on my woods tho every could of months i do use a wood polish.

i would encourgae the kids to tidy up as they go. Waht we did was buy plastic storage drawers like these from argos.

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500002701&langId=-1&searchTerms=PLASTIC+DRAWERS

and one each drawer we sorted torys into groups, then went through argos book cutting out pictures and laminating the pictures and stuck the pictures on the front. so not only do the kids know excatly where each toy is, but when they pack up they each get a box and know what has to go in it.

as for lounge storage we changed our coffee table for a pine ottoman box, which the lid lifts up and provide great extra storgae for the childrens toys. and then once children are in bed, hubby and i have somethere to put a candle, or a pizza etc for when we have our time. or the children will sit and use it for colouring book's.

as for laundry i have a basket on top of stairs and every night we put our dirty clothes in, and i wash it that night ready for line the following day. once dry i iron once i get it in and put away. Mondays is hectic as i do about 4 loads fo washign as i change all the bed, wash, dry, iron and put away. but thats it for the week. i never have a laundry basket over flowing as i do it daily and keep uyp with it. i have to as other wise it gets too much for me and i then hate to do it. but a bit daily i don't find too much.

Sorry for waffling, but i do find for me doing a bit each day and making myself organised really works. But if i do have a whole house blitz then i start upstairs, one room at a time and work down. it may take all day and i may make more mess as i'm going but the end results are fab.

although might all go a bit pete tong this week as have building work going on,lol.

donnajt

Nat it looks like u you have a mountain to climb, if i were you (and we've all been there, I can remember the week before my DD was born, hubby hadn't even started painting the nursery and then decided to do both nursery and our bedroom), pick one problem area and focus only on that, get piles, keep, throw, recycle, charity shop etc, be ruthless my rule is if it hasn't been worn, used, played with in 6 months u wont miss it, i personally would attack the clothes and kitchen first as these are probably your biggest problem areas but the results will motivate you to do the rest, you're not superwoman and rome wasn;t built in a day so make sure you rest up esp at 30 weeks pregnant

as for things to do cheap at 5 years old -make the most of parks, childrens centres, make your own play doh, bake cakes, by fav and we still do this! a roll of lining wallpaper (dirty cheap) and paint, endless fun, esp if you can do it in the garden and the kids can be as messy as they want

villagelife

Sounds like baby steps are needed.
Put work clothes away and winter clothes as you won't be needing them for a while.
Can you get more storage somehow. Buy cheap storage boxes.
Ebay/ charity shop stuff you no longer want if in good condition if not recycle/ throw out.
Organise kitchen cupboards - saves time after its been done.
Microwave isn't necessary and will create more work top. Any gadgets you don't use get rid of.
Get chldren to tidy up - reward them with a treat - perhaps watching a favorite tv program / DVD.

jaxx46

Hi Nat,
First thing to do would be lists, use your 1st day off to recharge your batteries & make notes of all the things you don't actually need or use. Maybe some of it could be ebayed or even freecycled giving you a bit of space. I would def put away those clothes you/ the family don't wear at the moment, maybe getting some vacuum bags to save some more space. Dusting can easily be done with just a damp micro fibre cloth, cheap & no nasty chemicals. Kids toys, maybe invest in a couple of those large storage boxes on wheels 5yrs old is plenty old enough to be helping with puting things away & will probably enjoy it if you make a game out of it. Kids like star charts so you could use that as an incentive with maybe a small treat after so many stars? Washing up, when my kids were little I only kept out one set of crockery, utensils for each person, that way they had to be washed up before reusing & I wasn't tempted to keep gettting more out & then anding up with a mountain of wwashing up that took forever to do. Washing give yourself a pat on the back at least its clean that with your workload is an achievement in itself. The main thing is to take care of yourself, there is only so much you can do & you need to be on top form so maybe split the jobs into sections 15 mins work 15 mins rest you'll be amazed how much you can get done with this method. Good luck & take it easy.
HTH

jaxx

natlie

Hi Thanks all excellent tips so far, I started in my bedroom and sorted out some simple piles of junk first and cleared a drawer and make up from about 2 years ago. Then while I was in the bathroom I did the recycling bottles and emptied the bin. Me and little one send a few hours shredding about 4 drawers of letters - mostly old bills and receipts in the kitchen - JCR16 I love the baskets going to pop out and have a look for some tomorrow - we have bulk buy bags of pasta and oats etc on top of the cupboards and they look crappy, will be able to fit a couple on topof the fridge freezer too - which would hide my blender and the diy stuf I have up there now - will be easier to move to clean too! brilliant

Nat
xxx

Sequeena

I'm due in 10 weeks also... oh hell I don't know where to start :rotfl:

LittleBrownFrog

I would start by getting as much 'stuff' out of circulation as possible. If you have current clothes/work clothes/too small clothes all out at once, then you're having to maintain/tidy three lots of clothes when you're probably wearing the same few outfits over and over (I think I probably circulated about three outfits at the end of each of my pregnancies lol). Even if you just get it stashed into storage boxes, at least it's out of the way.

Do the same with the children's toys - get rid of anything they don't use. Maybe start rotating the toys a bit - put a couple of big boxes up in the loft or somewhere out of the way - that clears the decks for a bit & means you have less to tidy up. Change the toys when they start to get bored.

I would just concentrate on things that are going to make your life easier:D

natlie

Wee went to Argos on Sunday and I got myself a Dyson I have an energy plus argos account with SWALEC and I hadn't checked my balance and I had £60 on there, they had an offer on for £50 voucher on any Dyson and £10 voucher for spending over £100 quite happy with that deal! have tidied and hoovered bedroom, bathroom, stairs, kitchen, lounge and it was as dusty as I thought - if not worse! Massive kitchen clean done and now it looks fab! need to mop and clean the cupboards now. Weather is going to be good this week so can get some washing done and need to have a fridge freezer sort out.

Dunelm Mill had a sale on I got 2 packs of microfibre cloths and a microfibre mop for the laminate floor in the lounge on 3 for 2. But still haven't found the baskets yet

Nat

cyclura

with regards to the nappies, get yourself a nappy bin ( I use an old one of these http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/asda-compare-prices/Baby_Care/Johnsons_Baby_Skincare_Essentials_Box.html but most people get a cheap bucket with a clip on lid (hides smells), this is so you do not have mass panic when you have odors coming from the washing basket. Use non bio to wash them and NO softener. If they are new make sure you wash them a few times so they will absorb well.

zippychick

as this has dropped down the board ive moved it to the families board to see if other Mums/expectant mums can help you organise and prioritise

Here are some Old Style links which may help

how to organise everything in my life OS

Having a baby Old Style

The great declutter part 3

And of course there is our flylady thread

Hope these links help and you manage to formulate a plan and not feel so overwhelmed



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