Finally tidied downstairs but want advice on how to keep it that way..... PLEASE!!!

Kaz2904

I find mine is far easier to do if I just do a little each day. I make sure that the washing is kept on top of so I don't have vast piles very often. This week and last week it has been by far easier because DH is on board now with me actually doing a menu plan and that has freed up so much time for me because I know exactly what I'm cooking and when. I'm spending less too. I've rostered in time for my breadmaking and baking which saves money but I make sure that I do lots on one day or make the bread the same day that the oven needs to be used for tea.
The kids have their own jobs to do and I make sure they do them. They both have to put away their own washing and strip their beds. They also have to remake their beds. DS struggles with this but his sister helps him so I expect him to do something for her in return even if he just puts on her pillow cases for her. I don't make them do this because I don't want to do it, rather that their Dad is hopeless at making beds and I know we had to make our own from about 7 upwards. If I'm busy in the kitchen and there is washing of mine or DH's on the table, I will ask them to do put it on our bed and most of the time they will without a bother because they know tea will be delayed and burned otherwise. DS is quite happy to peel veggies in the winter and DD would rather sit on the floor in the lounge and fold up all the washing from the TD.
I always offer them the option of helping with tea but generally they want to go out and play so that's fine. I know that they can feed themselves if they need to because they are often found hovering around my elbow when I'm cooking.
EVERYONE in my house is expected to input towards the menu plan. Not everyone does. I will not tolerate complaints about the meals because I have to do all the cooking and if they are not prepared to offer sensible meal suggestions, they'll get what they are given.
I am very proud that when we were in the car on Saturday we were heading out for the day but home for tea. I had a new cookbook with me and a notepad to make the shopping list. I called through to them to ask what to do for tea and what meat we had. The answer came straight back from DS (7) Chilli! He know's it's quick and easy so a good menu plan for the night. Before we had completed half an hour in the car we had nearly 2 weeks of menu planned. Much less painful but only works if DH is prepared to drive or write down the menu.
I also used to get DS to write out a shopping list in the car stating that I couldn't do it as I was driving. This was because he was struggling with his writing (lack of motivation unfortunately) at school but we were very busy in the evenings and this was a no pressure way for me to get him to do it. He had no idea that he was improving his writing he thought he was helping out. I would get DD to spell the words out for him thus working on her spellings too!
Anyway, I've waffled (again!).

LittleBrownFrog

I think that recognising that there's a difference between tidying/picking up and cleaning is important - in our house, the tidying up/picking up needs to happen every day, several times a day. Cleaning (apart from kitchen/bathroom) is less urgent / less frequent.

My new kitchen rule (and I really can't believe it's taken me more than ten years to work this one out) - clean up every meal immediately after it is eaten, ditto snacks, baking etc. I do this even if the dishwasher is too full for all the dishes - i wash up the ones that don't fit :eek::rotfl:It's made a huge difference!

It used to be dh's job to clear up the kitchen after dinner, because I felt that I did everything else, so he ought to do something. I'm slowly realising though, that this doesn't work - it just causes arguments/resentment (in our house anyway) - he would always leave it until 10.30pm and then spend five minutes shoving stuff around before deciding he was tired and going to bed - leaving me to either clean up or leave it until morning - and I find that if the kitchen starts the day in a mess, it usually just gets worse!

lostinrates

Downstairs tidying (ignoring the clutter piles which are a job to do when you have a long evening or a weekend morning/afternnon/day) is only sustainable in my house if I do it before bed EVERY day. By doing it every day and just spending five frantic minutes in a room I keep it clearish and presentable. I have three main downstairs ''hotspots'' excluding from the nighttime routine...my desk, the kitchen table and the surface in my utility room (which is mainly a dumping ground for undivded laundary.)

if I don't lea ve downstairs tidy its depressing in the morning and frankly, gets to be too big a problem to be resolved without frustration and the feeling its become a life of drudgery!

Broomstick

Mics_chick wrote: »

What sort of simple meals do you cook then?

Well, we eat veggie with a bit of fish and have a weekly vegbox delivery so I try to plan things around that.

I use a steamer a lot (the stainless steel kind that stacks ontop of a saucepan).

At least three times a week we will have steamed potatoes (with a bit of butter), red,orange or yellow veg, plus some green veg, together with something protein-based: omelette, baked fish, veggie sausages... Steamed spuds can be turned into mash really easily if we want a change. I cook double when I steam potatoes so that they can be used in something else (eg fried up, or added to curry) the next day. Leftover mash can just get mixed with a tin of fish for HM fishcakes - takes seconds.

I save the water from the steamer to use as stock in something the next day if I can. When our freezer is in operation (I'm running it down atm), I freeze the stock.

I'll double cook veggie mince with onions, carrots and tomatoes to use one night with pasta and cheese, the next night for something else.

Baked spuds with cheese and veg/salad are another staple and tend to be planned for when I'll be using the oven for something else.

Some nights we have HM veg soup, dippy egg and pudding suppers. Soup and pudding suppers were an idea from another thread on here.

I'm still experimenting with slow cooker recipes for veggie food - probably it's best for soups.

I think the trick for me is, where possible, to cook double, knowing that I will be half-way there for the next day's main meal (or cook extra for the freezer when we have one).

My mum used to prepare the evening's veg first thing in the morning. That's the next step I suppose, then it's out the way for the day.

I'm also wondering about preparing a stayfresh bag or two of washed salad stuff (like the salad bags they sell at the supermarket which we don't buy) when the veggie box arrives so that everyone can just grab a handful of pre-prepared salad for sarnies at lunchtime rather than washing a few leaves at a time. (Lunches tend to be of the soup and sarnie variety.)

We still cook more complicated things and try out new recipes but five or six of the week's main meals are simple and familiar ones. The changes seem to get rung by eating food in season - in the summer we might have corn on the cob instead of carrots, or spring greens instead of brussels sprouts.

B x