sorting all my problems for a new year start can it be done ?

monnagran

Gailey: Sweetheart, my heart goes out to you. With your children the ages they are, and in a small rented property you are never, never, never going to be living in an immaculate, shop window-like house. Let me add that when your children are grown-up they will remember home made gingerbread men. They will NOT remember the immaculate floors!:D:D
Your self imposed routines appal me.:eek:
Cleaning windows and glass once a week?!!!! OK if there is a fingermarky patio door or some such, but surely not ALL windows and glass.
Do all the beds need to be changed every week? At least some could be done fortnightly without infestations moving in?
I can understand a quick swipe with a vacuum round the middles of floors daily and suggest you do it when the littlies have gone to bed so you can enjoy a little while of civilisation.
There are bound to be loads of toys about. I found that the fewer toys my kids had out, the more they enjoyed them. Could I suggest that at least half to three quarters of toys are boxed up and stored somewhere. If there are bitter complaints, explain that they haven't gone for good and after a while they can go through the boxes and swap some of the toys they have out for some in the boxes.

I agree with Valli, small gentle routines are the way to go. Flylady is the best system I have found.
Sorry to say it but your mother and sister don't sound like very nice people. The trouble is that you will hear their voices in your head making you feel worthless. Try not to listen to those voices. This is YOUR home and YOUR family.:T:T:T

God bless.

DebtFree2012

We're doing the healthy eating too - not a diet, just a healthy way of living. Everything's about balance in my eyes.

xx

Battleon

I do the uniform in one place too...all on a bedroom shelf as soon as it's washed.

I work FT so have to achieve as much as possible at the weekends. I have always written lists but now I have a specific book for these lists and leave it very visably in the kitchen. Now...after about 18months of doing this...my DH consults the lists and tackles some of the list and adds others that he needs/wants to do.

I was still slightly shocked when the house went quiet recently and when I went to look DH and the two kids were outside washing the windows!

2012ismyyear

right a healthy eating plan i hope

Breakfast - porridge made with water and cooled down with milk, a glass of either apple juice or orange juice and a cuppa tea.
on way to school- 30g of sultanas each
Dinner - either
-eeg and cress
-cheese and tomato
-ham and cucumber
-crab spread and cucumber

on wholemeal bread

extras a low fatyoghurt for me and my boys, a peice of flapjack for hubby and either an apple or a pear

teas

1/2 a jacket potato, roast chicken, cabbage, carrots, yorkies
cold roast chick, 1/2 a jp and salad
chicken stew left6 over chicken, carrot,potato, celery, onion
chicken soup mde from- chicken carcass, potatoes, carrots, onions and celery with a bap
1/2 a jp fishcake and salad
veggie egg pittas with oven chips, spring onions, eggs cherry tomatoes and pitta
oven chips, poached eggs and baked beans

and bags of exercise xxx

Florenceem

I had six children aged under eleven years of age - they have all left the nest now - youngest is thirty one. I am more cluttered now than when I was busy with the children. I suppose I am that much older.

esmf73

Ok - Thursdays list!

Take hoover back to shop and demand (Scream, cry, whatever it takes) a new hoover as it doesn't pick up - grrrrr!
Being realistic OH will then want to look at all the sales - more stuff we don't need!

When we get back I will then start on our bedroom (for a change) and clean and clear. Will aim for our bedroom, boys bedrooms (if I do them I'll also sort through their junk and chuck it out!!!) and finally the hall.

Only way this will change is if my friend and her kids come over this afternoon - in which case tomorrows list (dining kitchen and sitting room) will get done today and todays tomorrow! Will also take all the recycling and rubbish to the tip on the way to the hoover shop!

camNolliesMUMMY

I've ordered my shopping online which i was going to start
doing as I am 27 weeks pregnanand have a 4year old it only cost me 2.50 least I can crack on with more decluttering n relax whilst it gets done for me and not have to fight getting ds1 into a trolley in the middle of Mr t's.

PipneyJane

gailey wrote: »

Thanks have tried and failed.
few weeks back made christmas gingerbread for eldest teachers and class mates. told my mum she said i was showing off that the other mums wouldent think I so great if saw state of my house!

like you say everyone gets washed and in clean clothes.
keeping on top of laundry just
everyones healthy most of time
I iron as I need it wher as mum spends hours ironing
its not so much dirty just constant clutter and kids are messy.

Mum comes over gets stressed shouts and grandkids spending time cleaning rather than with them. always telling me how useless i am and anyone else who will listen.

My sisters a childless neat freak and they gangf up on me together
other week they whined at me.
They were suppost to come over boxing day give kids their pressies but argued that be much easiet to drag kids an hour to theres as they hate my house I refused and got well you better make sure its tidy as sister blokes coming. Anyway they were both ill so dident come so missed kids little exited faces opening pressies their loss!

even when do tidy and clean never good enough.

My heart bleeds for you, Hun.

I don't really have any advice to give you in dealing with them. If they were friends, I'd advise you to tell them "Good friends don't try to "fix" each other. Either accept me as I am and stop criticising or sod off". But they're family and I don't know if you want to force that sort of break with them. You shouldn't have to tolerate such nastiness in anyone.

gailey_2

Ahhh nursery lied!

got 2year old dressed packed an ready.
got there and its shut
shes teh hardest work and was looking foward getting things done

hubbys day so hes been looking after them upstairs whilst they trashed our bedroom.

had rubbsih nighst sleep with baby and toddler in our bed.
5year old was in there one point and had accident in our bed.
so depsite changing our bedding last night have to strip and change again.

Thats reason i change bed so much babys very sicky and girls have wee wee accodents.

Long for days to have bed to myself every now and then.

well been through cupboard of doom put things in and taken things out
filled one bag of rubbish
now need to take clothes that took out of cupbaofrd upstairs and sort out

moved clean laundry pile/mountain from babys box room to girls tip of bedroom
need to clear everything out box room as hubbys laying new wooden floor
need to clear hallway and stairs of laundry and hoover.

finish job i started of cleaning and decluttering lounge so one room completly done and boxed off!

need to do bedding today
need to clean bathroom
need to bath alll 3kids

kitchen will get respectable but dont think get chance to deepclean.

girls arguing and whiney driving hubby mad
toddler keeps waking baby

But i will achieve today determined no matter how much kids play up.
on plus side hubbys feeling my pain.

so by end of today

babys room and bathroom should be good
hallway and lounge be done
kitchen -respectable
no remaining laundry to wash or put away.

one thing i forgot to mention which does help and I sort of do is is to multi cook.

so yesterday was cooking large joint of ham
so whist doing thay cooked sausage casserole took 15mins to prep just hour or so in oven

so thats what everyones having today with oven chips.

In week when its term time whilst cooking tea usually for me and hubby as kids eat earlier and its like feeding time at zoo i make eldests school packed lunch and sometimes hubbys packed lunch for work as saves us money.

maybe its my portion control but nearly always have leftovers which i try use up in some way next day.

Im huge fan of the steamfresh veg as usually 3veg 3mins in bag no washing up as try to get everyone to have their 5 a day.Those birds eye rice fusions yum too and very low cal.
There are quite a few health standbys in my freezer mostly frozen veg and frozen fish.

I love batchcooking big lasagane and freezing into tubs top make homemade readymeals

im very good when comes to food and shopping
hub by says i hoard.
if dident have kids house would be tidier.

try to ignore mam and sister but yes its hurts my feelings alot
feel like I never be good enough

I have done online shopping but things so tight right now prefer to go into store for reductiosn and farmfoods/lidls dont do online.

Right break over girls trying to kill each other again.

good luck everyone.

Valli

toochoosey wrote: »

Ok, I have no idea if there is a goulash thread!!!! Sorry about that, not used to typing on the phone!!!! I'm following and posting on the weekly flylady thread!!!!!!!

Lol and here was me getting all excited because they brought me back a huge pack of Paprika from this year's Budapest visit!

I too post on Flylady and have done for a while now - the levels for the rooms made a difference to me - and, once I had got into the swing of it found I could do a room.properly, in very short time.

Another thing that made a huge difference was decluttering.

The thing with that is keep it small and manageable so if you want to declutter a set of drawers do one drawer at a time. Once you've decluttered all the drawers then you can reorganise.

An example - in a unit in our dining room the middle drawer is gloves/scarves/hats. They all get put there - if someone's come in with wet gloves/hat they go on a rad to dry then are put away (usually by me, it has to be said) but we ALL know where they live. In the summer, when it's warm and dry and I have run out of washing;) I empty the drawer into the wash basket and they all get washed. So it's very rare no-one can find gloves/scarves/hats because they have a home.

Finding the energy to clear 1 drawer is fairly easy; withing a few weeks they've all been done!

But, to start with - clear visible surfaces, sills, shelves, ledges- of all the 'temporary' clutter Find homes for stuff you leave there or fling it or gift it to a charity shop or e bay it!

Have a BOX for paperwork to be dealt with (eg bills) - keep it near the computer. (I use a box file)
Have a BOX for instruction leaflets. I scrawl the date of appliances ON the leaflet (and sometimes staple the receipt to the instructions).
All other paperwork goes in my filing cabinet - folders include
CAR (inc driving licences/insurance/car related receipts/MOT etc)
BANK
JOBS/CONTRACTS
GUARANTEES

I have, by phones, a paper/pen holder. They were gifts - I have one downstairs by the kitchen phone and one in my bedroom.

@ Gailey - your sister has got (IMO) a bl00dy cheek criticising you if she has no kids - if she ever does have them I hope you get a HUGE apology from her!