Let's start with the basic's....Cleaning & Cooking.

Kayalana99

Hi guys,

Just wanted to update. Things have got a lot better overall but still much needed to improve. I think the big thing for me is getting into a habit of tidying as I go, last weekend I spent a good 2 hours cleaning the kitchen, and you could really tell the difference but roll on 24 hours later it was pretty bad (although still better overall) and I think the problem is I still haven't got the habit of cleaning/tidying so whilst I am doing a lot better it's still me pushing myself rather then cleaning as I go..but it's getting better that's for sure.

I'm trying to have a major clear out and get rid of things we don't need as I tend to hoard stuff, I have also started as above taking a few things upstairs and downstairs as I go but tbf I am taking the kids up and down half the time so it's not always I have a hand free.

Cooking, this is something that has completely gone down hill but I will get on this again. My two year old is so picky it's me being lazy giving my 1 year old the same as the other when he eats quite well...so going to try and push doing us separate meals instead of them if that makes sense.

Want to try and lose a bit of weight to so I think portion control needs to be added in somewhere...it's mainly just the evening meals getting to large and I could save money by splitting it up a bit.

If anyone has any idea for pasta meals or advice I think this is something I could work towards more? Normally we would have 1 every 2 weeks but this week we have brought two fresh pasta sauces from asda and plan on having Sausage one day and meatballs the next(second one is a new one for us)

Not really sure how easy it would be to make it from scratch is it's £2.50 for two pots.

I will consider a cleaner perhaps in the winter months or childcare when I get really busy again, I still am working steady but it got mental over the xmas rush eldest will be going to school this year for half days though so that should make things a bit easier :-)

Muser1

I have literally just finished making some pasta sauce!

So easy. I had a red pepper and some cherry toms that had seen better days. I chopped them up with an onion and dry fried for a few mins in a pan I then added a carton of passata, can of toms and a sprinkle of basil. I simmered for about 20 min. Then blended it with a hand blender. There will be enough for two meals. I will add cooked sausage and pasta to the sauce cover with cheese and grill it. The other one I will mix with tinned tuna cooked broccoli and possibly more cheese!

In the slow cooker I have spag bol. I fried off the mince chucked it in the sc and added tinned toms, an oxo cube and 450ml boiling water with a beef stock cube. I've put a few herbs and salt and pepper in too.

HTH.

Muser.

katylou6180

Kayalana, I don't have littlies anymore but my house contains me (full time shift worker) Hubby (full time manual labourer) and sloth like DS (nearly 16 and leaving school) hence there is only me to manage them!! I'm not the most organised of people either, nor is my house a palace but it's always clean and tidy(ish). My couple of tips to you would be, set yourself a time limit and a room per day- eg Monday I will spend an hour cleaning and doing jobs in the kitchen, Tues the bathroom, Wed the lounge, Thu Our room, Fri its room, that said I don't know how big your house is but I live in my little shoebox which is two up two down and a bathroom, this takes care of the majority of the day-to-day cleaning. At weekends (or my days off) I make a point of one non routine job per day, be it clearing one cupboard, sorting out the kitchen cupboard tins, de gunking washing machines and sinks etc etc. I wash up and blackmail the sloth into drying up after dinner every night. Which brings me to dinner...I have always lived with a fussy hubby and have cooked different food for as long as I can remember, do you own a slow cooker or any appliances of that ilk? I run and dump a recipe in the slow cook before work sometimes, perhaps if you have one you could do the same for you and the non-fussies? That then only leaves you with one meal to cook of an evening for the fussy one and saves loads of time just doing one of something I still find the time to go out and socialise with workmates etc (I've probably made myself sound like an old maid at 35) keeping these things up with little baby steps as gradually it all gets done, Rome wasn't built in a day! I've always said one thing though, untidiness is what you call lived in! If your guests can find somewhere to sit, find a clean glass, cup or plate if they want to eat or drink, and don't have to "hover" over the throne in your smallest room then you're doing ok xx

jackyann

When I had littles, I always tried to get 5 minutes before the day started (usually when I was feeding the baby). I'd run through the day in my head, and have lists:
absolutely vital
best done today
needs doing soon
sometime

It's worth running through them because sometimes you get a "sometime" chore done alongside or on the way to something else.
I'd also think "what can the kids join in?" I had one baby who would sit & watch me iron. I could also change the beds by allowing jumping on them, hiding, & "making waves" with the bedding.

I would put the baby in a sling / backpack, give the toddler a tiny feather duster, and we'd go round together, whilst I told stories about the things we were dusting.

I would always try to "double up" meals or at least do a "building block" to put in the freezer.
Favourite was to do a chicken, meat loaf, or ham hock or similar that can then do cold with jackets & salad, or make sandwiches.

Still now, with housework I have a rota in my head - I can do the basics in an hour, but each week try in addition, to do one area thoroughly. If I don't manage it, it doesn't matter, just waits until the next week.

cat4772

I tend to use a rota to keep on top of housework, which works best when I can get my children involved so they can help (and learn how to keep house) but I tend to stick to flylady's 15 minutes at a time when I can so I don't get overwhelmed!

15 minutes in a morning (before leaving for work): make / neaten beds, open curtains, plump cushions, dirty clothes into washing machine, wash crockery and depending on day - load slow cooker / lift dinner out of freezer / quick mop kitchen floor.

My husband arrives home before me so he prepares & serves dinner and does the crockery washing. On nice days he'll hang washing out to dry I arrive home about an hour before bedtime but even so with the children, we dust & vacuum a room or floor. Put toys away. Dirty clothes in laundry basket. We try to do a room during the adverts - quick and easy.

At bedtime: lay out tomorrow's clothes (uniforms etc) in bedroom.

Ironing: I tend to do this on Sunday night, whilst watching my recorded programmes. Sometimes it takes a couple of hours, others barely an hour and I'm done.

I have some spare (child-free) time on Wednesdays so tend to deep clean / tackle longer jobs on this day.

Meal planning: usually on a Friday night when the girls are in bed (me with a glass of wine and a couple of cookery books to hand).
Gardening: when the weather is fair - no point cutting wet grass, the lawnmower doesn't like it!

I'd rather spend time with my children as they are growing up, than regret not spending time with them when they've left home. But I also have a responsibility to ensure that they can look after themselves, cook a meal, clean their house etc, so I involve them with the daily tasks.

Cat.x

cat4772

Forgot to put about cooking: I'm all for cook once, eat twice. Cook shepherd's pie, do two and one is in the freezer for the future.

If we're having roast chicken dinner, then we'll usually have a fajita / enchilada dinner a couple of nights later using up the leftover chicken. The carcass is turned into a stock - used in risotto

Sunday chicken dinner (carcass made into stock and refrigerated, leftover chicken refrigerated)
Monday: shepherd's pie, lasagne, something on toast
Tuesday: chicken fajita / enchiladas (with leftover chicken)
Wednesday: sausage casserole or pasta bake
Thursday: risotto or soup made with chicken stock
Friday: fish & chips / stir fry
Saturday: something old or something new.

The Saturday something old or something new is either a family favourite meal or something new from a recipe book. If we like it, we'll cook it again. If not... we'll probably cook it again in a year or two.

Cat.x

Teacher2

My cleaning rota is:-
Monday, ironing
Tuesday, Hoovering the whole house and cleaning the kitchen and hall floors
Wednesday, downstairs cloakroom & en suite shower room. Wash the towels & do the online shopping from Tesco's
Thursday, main bathroom and dusting the whole house
Friday, change beds and washing the bedding
Every day I do a bit of ironing to keep on top of it.

I'd definitely recommend breaking up the tasks and doing a few a day.

I also cook by rota which is boring for my family but makes budgeting, planning & cooking cheaper and easier.

Monday, salmon with a pesto crust and salad. Sometimes fish fingers. Something fishy or chickeny at any rate
Tuesday, curry night
Wednesday, soup and toast/hot cross bun
Thursday, soup, toast/hot cross bun
Friday, smoked salmon, home baked bread (from a breadmaker, I'm not Jamie Oliver), prawns and other 'fishy nonsense'
Saturday, red meat such as beef or lamb, potatoes and vegetables
Sunday, lasagne/spagetti Bolognese/chile con carne with pasta or rice

I also only drink alcohol at the weekends

I am a bit OCD about tidiness but so is my husband so we egg each other on. Visitors to our house have dropped hints about it being 'too clean and tidy'. I think a bit of mess is more human!

Teacher2

An easy and surefire spaghetti Bolognese recipe is as follows:-

Ingredients

I kilo lean beef mince
3 tins chopped tomatoes
A tablespoon of dried basil
A tablespoon of dried oregano
Three quarters of an Oxo cube crumbled
If desired, a splosh of red wine

Method

Brown the mince in a pan without burning it
Add the basil and oregano and stir in
Add the tinned tomatoes
Crumble in the Oxo cube
Add the wine
Mix in well and simmer until the desired consistency, dryer or wetter as you like it

This Bolognese sauce can be used with spaghetti or as the basis for lasagne when you layer it with Bechamel sauce and pasta sheets.