Housework routine

mummyroysof3

i hate cleaning and with having 3 small children and being home most of the time i do alot of it, im looking forward to the day when giving the kids a biscuit doesnt mean getting the hoover out lol

made myself do some jobs this morning, i got a bucket of hot soapy water and cleaned all the woodwork in the hall, up the stairs, the landing and 3 bedrooms, it took me 20 mins to give it all a quick wipe...just the bits i could see, i do this evry 2 weeks ish and i hate it lol

next week i plan to get the duster on a stick and do round the ceilings and light fitting in the whole house

i try to follow flylady thread but adapt it to what suits me.

downstairs i seem to clean constantly, i clean ds highchair 3 times a day and sweep under it...drives me nuts

zippychick

as this has dropped down the Old Style board, I've merged it with an existing thread on housework routines so you can see how others keep their own house and read their tips and strategies

Zip

lindseykim13

Having a major nightmare for at least the last year or so, with trying to keep on top of the housework and other jobs around the house/garden/allotment. Have tried various things like the flylady thread.

Whatever i've tried i either end up completley dropping the housework until i can't stand it anymore then i blow a fuse or i end up spending the whole time nagging at everyone about things they've left laying around etc.
It seems i am in charge of allocating all jobs and unless i am bossy they don't get done at all. I'm kind of fed up of being bossy all the time and would like to have some fun again!

Dh doesn't seem to know what to do unless i tell him and can't spot the obvious stuff. I can't seem to find a good middle ground, would just like a basically clean house and some time to have fun too. Oh and if i'm ill thats it house is a mess and i have to deal with it when i'm well again.

How do you find a middle ground? I can't seem to switch off

bluebag

lindseykim13 wrote: »

Having a major nightmare for at least the last year or so, with trying to keep on top of the housework and other jobs around the house/garden/allotment. Have tried various things like the flylady thread.

Whatever i've tried i either end up completley dropping the housework until i can't stand it anymore then i blow a fuse or i end up spending the whole time nagging at everyone about things they've left laying around etc.
It seems i am in charge of allocating all jobs and unless i am bossy they don't get done at all. I'm kind of fed up of being bossy all the time and would like to have some fun again!

Dh doesn't seem to know what to do unless i tell him and can't spot the obvious stuff. I can't seem to find a good middle ground, would just like a basically clean house and some time to have fun too. Oh and if i'm ill thats it house is a mess and i have to deal with it when i'm well again.

How do you find a middle ground? I can't seem to switch off

Oh my, I sympathise, I know exactly how you feel. For me personally I had to stop chasing everyone to do things and just do what mattered to me.

What mattered to me was the key to it. I can live with some disorder, but not total chaos.
I had to have a routine that was do-able, not too exhausting and just leave the rest, if anyone moans then they can get off their whatsit and do it or keep quiet.

I use a timer and when it rings I'm DONE, the jobs will come around again tommorow or next week.

I don't iron, anyone over 7 can iron, so I fold and put away. I do a load of laundry each day and hang on the line or put it in the dryer.I found the maiden just seemed to prolong the whole laundry thing so I only use it for things that won't go in the dryer. I fold it from the dryer or line and put it away.

I do a quick tidy of all rooms and a swish in the bathroom daily and collect all the laundry( all takes 20 mins). I follow flyladys 'kelly's missions' and do that one each day.

I follow a meal plan, so I know what to cook each day. I shop online each week, and go out to buy fresh fruit and milk etc once a week. I make the sandwiches for the week and freeze, just defost a packet per person in the fridge each night.

Each week I feather dust, hoover the middles of the floor, change the beds, empty the bins, sweep and a quick mop of the hard floors, all takes an hour. I do an hour in the garden once a week.

I take a bag to the jumble sale each week too, everyone in the house knows where it is and puts their discards in it.

I keep one day a week off for me and a one day off for family fun.

I found that long ago the housework could keep expanding as long as I didn't put a limit on it, so that's why I stick religously to the timer, it stops me getting into too much detail and cleaning corners with a toothpick while the laundry basket overflowed, and it tells me when I am done.
I do hope this helps you. I was seriously overwhelmed with it all until I did all the above. Kind thanks to flylady which gave me a basis for it all and some perspective.

CFC

lindseykim13 wrote: »

It seems i am in charge of allocating all jobs and unless i am bossy they don't get done at all. I'm kind of fed up of being bossy all the time and would like to have some fun again!

Dh doesn't seem to know what to do unless i tell him and can't spot the obvious stuff. I can't seem to find a good middle ground, would just like a basically clean house and some time to have fun too. Oh and if i'm ill thats it house is a mess and i have to deal with it when i'm well again.

How do you find a middle ground? I can't seem to switch off

That's blokes. They see nothing and need step by step instructions. I suggest you compile a rota of tasks for him, get his buy in when you do it. Same for any others in the house too. Then instead of nagging all the time, you just refer to the rota.

My OH has the jobs of emptying bins and doing all recycling, washing up, feeding dog, putting HIS rubbish away, changing the bed linen (on instruction from me as to when to do it) and clearing wind blown rubbish out the front garden. He also has to take his turn to vacuum a bit and clean the toilet. Of course it is not as much as I do but it does prevent me grinding my teeth and he fully accepts that these are his tasks.

I don't have children but when I was a kid I had to wash up every other day, peel spuds for dinner and vacuum the sitting room as well as tidy my own room.

Good luck

elaine12022

I sympathise too, I have learnt to be kinder to myself & try to prioritise - I realised that the pressure to do things was/is trying to live up to my mother's standards! (which she still tries to impose on me :mad:) Well, with a long term health condition it's impossible for me so I do what I can when I can - I tried once to do a kind of flylady thing a la 1950s housekeeping book - basically do kitchen & bathroom daily & other rooms you allocate a day to do in detail. It nearly killed me! :rotfl:

I don't have children but I get frustrated with my OH too, who rarely sees what needs to be done, saying that he's getting a bit better with the gardening.

Only you can work out as the other poster said how to balance everything out, and maybe take a step back, so you don't get so stressed - perhaps there are more subtle ways to get people to do things to help?

Pink.

Hi lindseykim,

These threads have lots of advice and tips that may help.

Housework routine

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

Allocating housework amongst family - does this work for anyone?

My home is a mess

I'll add your thread to the first link later to keep the replies together.

Pink

purpleivy

I dream of being sufficiently motivated for housework to take over my life. Isn't going to happen though.

OrkneyStar

I used to be a clean-freak when I lived alone, even when I worked full-time. Realised that once I had DS that it made much more sense to relax a lot about it. I still keep the place hygienically clean and by nature I generally am a tidy person, but I do not go OTT. I did do flylady for a while, and while it works for some folks, I found the constant lists and stars etc a pain in the bum, to be frank. I tend to do things when I can fit them in, back allowing (I have a dodgy back) and do ignore dust sometimes (e.g. on the tv unit- it would need dusting twice a day to keep it completely dust free so I do it once or twice a week and leave it at that!). Once things are reasonably tidy it IS easier to keep on top of things.

Elmo1985

im worrying this is going to happen to me once i give birth in september - im already slipping up as im so exhausted - im lucky if i stick to the fly lady list a few days a week and end up exhausting myself on the weekend trying to get everything sorted.