Going back to work

yellowbear

How do you organise yourself when it comes to housework and stuff?

I'm going back to work Mon-Fri. I really don't want to spend all weekend tidying but neither do I want to do it after work/the kids are in bed.

We get groceries delivered once a week so that's taken care of.

I'm thinking that I'll have to put a wash on overnight and either hang it out or dry it and fold it after I get up and iron it (if needed) and put it away after work.

Any other tips?

Thank you.

CH27

Wipe the kitchen surfaces while you're making a cup of tea.

Wipe the shower over while you're in it.
Give the sink & loo & quick wipe before you get in the shower.

Never go upstairs empty handed.

Personally I wouldn't leave washing in overnight as it would come out very creased & make more ironing.
Maybe set the timer so it comes on in time to be done just as you get up?

cutestkids

Try to get the house in order so to speak before you start back at work so perhaps spend a weekend doing a really big clean up the it is just a case of keeping on top of it.

Washing - I put a load in overnight and then either hang out or over airers and I have not noticed it creasing much more.

Cooking - I try and batch cook one weekend a month usually on a wet Sunday I will shut myself in the kitchen and do a big pot of chilli, spag bol, a couple of shepherds pies, fish pie, soup, sausage casserole and freeze so it is ready to just take out in the morning to defrost for that nights dinner.
Also quick and easy meals like pasta, stir fry etc save time.

Wipe round the toilet, sink and bath or shower every night before bed add a squirt of bleach down the toilet it only takes a couple of mins and means that you never really need to do a really deep clean.

Floors get brushed as an when needed and mopped one evening a week.

Do dishes as soon as you have had your evening meal so they dont pile up.

Wipe over surfaces in kitchen as you go.

I dont dust and polish I use a microfibre cloth slightly damp to wipe over just about everything damp it first then use another one dry to polish anything that needs it, only takes a few mins once or twice a week.

If you have kids give them chores even if they are very young, my two have been sweeping and tidying their own rooms since they were tiny.
Older kids can help with dishes, getting washing off the line, loading washing machine, emptying kitchen bin, and loads of other stuff.

Just don't try to be superwoman and accept that you do not have the same time that you used to and that you need a bit of down time so it really does not matter if the beds don't get changed every week.

Pee

I don't have any advice but thank you for asking the question.

gunsandbanjos

Pee wrote: »

I don't have any advice but thank you for asking the question.

Ditto:D

I start a proper "grown up" job next Monday and I'm trying to be super organised before I start.

Spendless

Last year following me losing my part -time job, I went to an ad-hoc one where I am sometimes in full-time for several consecutive weeks. As I'd never done this sort of hours since having kids I started a thread. The most invaluable advice I got was to concentrate on 2 areas 'laundry' and 'dishes'. They are the 2 areas where jobs build up. If I think the house needs blitzing I concentrate on the washing,drying and putting clothes away and meal times, preparation, cooking, washing up.

WantToBeSE

I started a similar thread on a parenting website that i visit, and these were some of the answers i got:

-When making a roast dinner, I always use those throw away foil trays to roast the meat and potatoes in. I HATE scrubbing roasting tins, so now I make sure I don't have to!

- I used to always run around in the mornings like a headless chicken, finding uniforms for school, and pants and socks for the children. Now, I have a 'Uniform bag' in the upstairs hallway, in which I keep all school uniform, PE kit, and 5 pairs of pants/socks/boxers per child.
As soon as the Uniform is all washed (normally a Saturday), it goes straight into this bag, so I don't have to worry about where to find it on Monday morning.

-I make a lot of dinners over the course of a Saturday morning from time to time. Then use disposable containers to freeze and viola... some cooking free nights.

Also I buy the disposable wipes from Aldi and leave them in the -toilet/bathroom and whizz around as needed.

-Main one:trained DH how to iron for himself.

-Organising the pack lunches the night before really makes a huge difference

-I make everyone take their shoes off when they step into the house. This not only saves the carpets, but saves you a lot of time of vacuuming, sweeping and mopping.

-Very lazy crafty way to wash dishes: rinse/scrape off plate etc. Place in sink or washing up bowl. Boil the kettle, pour into sink with with a generous squirt of washing up liquid. Leave this while you go off and do something else- the person who taught me this would go off to work for the day! By the time you get back empty out the water, boil another kettle and pour hot water over dishes to rinse. Put on rack to dry, due to the hot water they dry really quickly.


-I always line the bottom of my oven with foil so if anything spills over you just chuck the foil away and no having to clean your oven!

-Both my DC takes packed lunches, I make a big batch of homemade rolls so I can make them the exact size I know they will eat (big rolls for my older DC, tiny ones for my picky eater youngest DC) split, butter, fill with grated cheese or cheese/marmite, put in small individual freezer food bags and pop into freezer. My recipe makes enough for both DC for six days of packed lunches. Wake up in morning at 7 am, grab roll for each DC from icebox and pop in lunches boxes with fruit, pudding type thing and lunch.. sorted by 8.30 am when we leave it is defrosted and I pop an iceblock into the lunch box to keep it all fresh until lunchtime.

-Marry someone who likes cleaning the bathroom and doing the hoovering

-Stockpile toiletries. if you have evough toothbrushes, deoderant, shampoo etc to last you a year you almost never run out.

-Cleaning the microwave: bowl with a big glug of vinegar. Put on for a couple of minutes, all the dirt will fall off.

-Train your children to cook; a useful life skill for them wink

Don't iron anything - this saves a lot of time. Shake and fold.

Wash bathroom whilst bathing children.

-Definitely throw out anything left lying about that is annoying you - especially if it is not yours. I do this with football cards etc, as they drive me nuts. DC have never noticed I do this.. I like the idea of dumping stuff on their beds. Might try that with stuff that is too nice/expensive to throw out.

- Also low standards do help. Also have friends with low standards too so you can welcome them around for coffee wine without flinching.

-Clean the shower while you're using it! I do mine while my conditioner is doing its thing on my hair.

-I prep all of the fruit and veg for DS1s lunch on a Sunday, put it in a tub and then take out as needed. If I'm feeling really domesticated I prep all the fruit I can so when the DCs want it, they can just help themselves.

-Clean the kitchen as you go and invest in a dishwasher. I've had mine for a year and I love it more than my husband! (it cleans amazingly, unlike said husband)

-All stuff that needs washing at 60' goes in the machine together (I have a daily round of P.J's covered in porridge), I put white towels, jeans and red P.J's all in the same wash, the white towels are a bit grey but the amount of washing hanging about waiting to be washed has reduced dramatically so I reckon it's worth it.

-I don't chop onions and I don't peel potatoes, I buy tins of ready chopped and fried onions and tesco's frozen mash (ocardo frozen mash isn't as good imo).

-I buy my meat at the butcher and if I am doing a casserole I ask him to chop it up for me. One of my best lazy meals is chicken breast (chopped by the butcher), tin of onions, x1 bag of casserole veg. Throw the whole lot in the pan/slow cooker. Stir. Go away and let it cook.

-I have a Henry hoover that hoovers up ALL of the food on the floor and chairs after a messy meal

-We don't wear shoes or eat food upstairs, that will probably change as the DC's get older.


Hope that helps

YORKSHIRELASS

Me too, I am about to start doing more structured hours at work so will be working every morning Monday to Friday plus other bits at home in a second job.

I used to work up to 50 hours a week and in those days had two kids at primary school. What I learned then was three key things:

1. Little and often. If you just set half an hour aside a day, no matter how tired you are, you will be surprised at the difference it makes. As others have said never go upstairs empty handed, swish round the bathroom when you have had a shower, if you see things out of place pick them up and move them. Before you go to bed have a quick tidy around in the lounge and kitchen. It becomes automatic after a while.

2. Dont leave things unfinished. If you wash up dry the pots and put them away instead of leaving them on the draining board. Fold the clothes and put them away when the tumble dryer stops. Dont just pick shoes up and dump them in a corner in the hall, put them away where they should be.

3. Be organised. Meal plan, batch cook, make lists, keep a family diary. 15 minutes a day organising your time every day is time well spent.

For me its important to have at least one day on a weekend where I dont need to do housework. Get everyone in the house on board with your plans. Good luck.

zippychick

There are a couple of threads for you

Can you do OS and work full time too?

how to organise everything in my life OS

ill merge this later

Zip

YORKSHIRELASS

WantToBeSE wrote: »

-Marry someone who likes cleaning the bathroom and doing the hoovering

Hope that helps

Wish someone had given me this advice 17 years ago.:) Good post though, I adopted the school bag idea last year and its a lifesaver!

elsien

WantToBeSE wrote: »

- Also low standards do help. Also have friends with low standards too so you can welcome them around for coffee wine without flinching.

Hope that helps

Love that one- its my modus operandi. Well, that and if you can't see the furniture things have probably slipped a bit too far.