Getting Back on Track

Rummer

I seem to have lost my OS way After doing a fabulous job saving for and managing through maternity leave everything seems to have slipped.

• My shopping bills are creeping up higher and higher
• Takeaways have crept back into the menu
• Laundry is breeding quietly in the corner
• The clutter is taking over
• Our savings plan is a distant memory

Time is something that I have a lot less of at the moment however in a few weeks that will change and I really want to get back on track. At the moment though it all seems a bit overwhelming and I don't know what to tackle first.

How have you all got back on track after letting things slide?

kezlou

Still trying to be honest, we let everything slip sue to having an horrendous three years of illness stress etc

One thing which as helped me, us , in particular is literally having an hour a week to do absolutely nothing. Just literally doing whatever we want, whether is playing on the pc, reading, screaming etc Being able to have this release has led us to become a little bit more focused and able to concentrate on clawing things back.

Shopping wise i've clawed it back, we still have the occasional takeaway or go out for something nice. We have worked it out that both things cost about the same.

Write a list of things you normally buy / run out of fairly quickly.
So say for example a normal for us is milk and bread.
Instead of buying 4 pints of milk and one loaf of bread and running out by the end of the day, dragging myself to the shops and wasting money on cr*p while i was there . I now buy 2 lots of milk and two loaves of bread at once, then go out and buy them on the third day. Very simple thing but saved us a fortune.

The cleaning and washing still working on that :rotfl:
Look at your washing and figure which is used the most, in my house its darks. So if i think the darks will arrive quicker than the others, as soon as they is half a pile of them i bung them straight in the washer and then continue to fill up until full and then switch it on. Took me two months of constant washing but finally have caught up with it. Famous last words :rotfl:

good luck

cat4772

don't look on days you didn't do all you wanted to do as failures, look on them as prototypes to tweak.

Maybe start with meal planning, either plan for a takeaway or fakeaway. Meal plan for a week or four days. If it doesn't work out this week, look to see what needs tweaking. For us - being too rigid on Friday and Saturday (or not having a plan on Friday and Saturday) would lead to meal plan failure. Meal plans keep my shopping budget fairly under control. I could shave a fair bit off them but I'm currently happy with what I spend.

housework - is a challenge I work hard at. a few little jobs before I go to work (declutter, make beds, open curtain, lift out freezer meal or load slow cooker, load the washing machine), another couple of jobs when I get home from work (dusting, vacuuming, etc) I have one day a week for some deep and heavy duty cleaning, laundry is tackled twice a week (family of four so is manageable), ironing I do on Sunday nights whilst watching my sky+ programmes, the rest of it we tackle as a family. This works fairly well today for our family circumstances; it is slightly different in winter compare to summer. If I change jobs and work five days, I would change my home routine and expect to have to tweak it many times before all things work for us.

We are by no means perfect - more like a permanent work in progress

determined_new_ms

I discovered Konmari method (there's a thread on it on this board) read some of the thread, bought the book and started and it really has changed my house! I've been doing it for about 3 weeks (as well as working ft & having a toddler) and today I cleaned my whole house, vacuumed & polished everywhere, mopped all of downstairs, cleaned bathroom & bathroom window in 1.5hrs. Washing which 3 weeks ago we had decided to do a service wash a week as I couldn't keep up is all done except for 1 load which I'll do tomorrow.

Honestly cannot tell you how it has made my life so much more manageable!

Susan1962

Following this thread with interest as I've also been backsliding. Have worked hard over last three weekends to clear stuff (a total of 12 Re-bag bags to Salvation Army) and resisting temptation (mostly) to buy other stuff to replace it.
Laundry is a nightmare and it's only me plus the other half who stays at his own place half the week! Hoping that will resolve itself once the weather improves and I can get a load out on the line before work - definitely scared to leave the dryer on so that tends to create a backlog ...

villagelife

I find the house keeps cleaner and more clutter free when I leave a room tidier than when I enter. It may just be throwing some rubbish away, taking a mug into the kitchen or tidying the cushions on the sofa.
It does help with the mess.

Also deal with the post - I keep my shredder in the hall and the amount of stuff that gets shredded immediately is quite satisfying. Also reduce the amount of post by opting for online statements and bills helps with reducing the clutter.

Reducing takeaways and meals out can be hard especially, I find, at the weekend. I often prepare the meal in the morning either something in the slow cooker or just to put in the oven. Cutting costs on takeaways I will cook my own rice

kezlou

Have to admit the kon marie method doesn't work for me. Far too strict and for my circumstances doesnt work.

Absolutely shattered today , managed to wash and dry two duvets along with four sets of bedding. Oh how I wish my 11 year old would stop peeing the bed.

rumner how things going?