Another one who doesn't iron sheets. Not enough hours in the day. I already work 30 hours a week, don't have a cleaner or an ironer, cook from scratch, make packed lunches, ferry the children to and from seemingly endless clubs and keep a neat and tidy garden.
Any time left over after that gets spent having fun with the family or, quite frankly, sitting on my backside as I feel I've earned a rest!
Don't try to achieve the same standards as when you had cleaner / ironing lady. The whole super woman thing is a fiction that no normal person can achieve! It will feel odd for a while to give up on those magazine image ideals but, honestly, does anyone come round to your house and mark you out of 10 for ironed bedding? With all you've got going on at the moment you can afford to cut yourself some slack. At least until things steady down a bit.
I used to iron sheets / duvet covers and then I bought a lovely burgundy bedspread thing from Ikea. It adds a bit of weight to the bed, I lvoe heavy bankets etc, but more importantly it covers everything underneath it so no-one would ever know if they had been ironed or not - worth * its* weight * in * gold
I don't iron bedding, towels or underwear/socks (have worked with people who do). No one sees any of those things other than me and my husband so why bother? We have a sheet between us and the duvet so the cover doesn't need washing as often either. Especially when it's winter and takes forever to dry. Don't own a tumble drier. I have a handful of shirts/dresses that need ironing after washing but anything that doesn't need it, doesn't get it. They all get put on hangers and hung over the shower to dry and let any creases drop out. I let the stuff that needs ironing run out so I can do it all at once, rather than do odd bits here and there. Annoyingly I have a pair of jeans that insists on needing ironing but generally, I don't bother. One day sat in the car and at work usually sorts that out!! I only have one carpet (on the stairs/small landing) so the vacuum only comes out when the carpet is visibly in need of it. Then the whole house gets done, otherwise it's floor wipes and a dustpan/brush (despite just buying a shiny new Miele vacuum cleaner). I work with people who vacuum twice a day. Life's just too short.
Another vote from me for no unnecessary ironing. The only thing I iron are shirts if the creases have not dropped out from being hung up and smart trousers, skirts. I don't iron t shirts, bedding (unless really creased and then only pillow cases and one side of duvet cover), never sheets or pyjamas. I also try and get away with not ironing jeans, casual trousers.
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Evening everyone. Haven't had time to come on here all day as it's been really busy. The day started by going into town to buy a gift on behalf of me and the members of a charity I work for. One of the women has had a baby so I offered to get a collection together. I only had £20 so was worried I would have to contribute some of my own personal money but was determined not to. That was a really interesting shopping trip - for the first time ever I was looking at prices. I got a lovely card in poundshop, a lovely outfit, another small gift, and a small gift for mum. I also bought a small gift bag from the pound shop and was under by 25p!!! And it felt so rewarding to actually get a lovely present and not be over budget.
I then got home, put the music on and told the children we were going to an hour of cleaning. The 4 year old was desperate to clean the toilets but I managed to persuade him that polishing was far more fun. It was a really bonding time and we all had fun. It might not have looked the same as when the cleaner leaves but in one hour we managed to hoover and mop, polish all surfaces, clean the sinks and toilets, tidy, and many other things. I have actually compromised with husband that we will still have the cleaner fortnightly for the moment until I can convince him that the house will not fall down without them. That means we will be spending £70 a month as opposed to £250.
I then spent another hour tonight ironing. Oh, those shirts - hate ironing shirts. It's the arms - I iron one side and then turn it over to find I've ironed in really deep creases. Will have to look at a youtube video as someone suggested. My ironing basket is now empty and I have never seen the cupboards so full. The uniform cupboard looks amazing - there are now shirts and jumpers/skirts/trousers for the whole week. Usually I have some ready for the ironer, some to be unpacked from the ironer etc etc. Somehow I feel more in control doing it myself and I know more where everything is. I have to admit though there were a few times I wondered if it was really worth it for £25 when I could be working on getting some work.
Ironing is now done for a few days so tomorrow I will get to work looking for some clients. Determined to get those crucial first clients to prove to husband that I am trying to attack this thing at both ends. He still says I am totally wrong and the saving of £25 is absolutely pointless.
Spoke to inlaws who rang to see how I was. They are hoping to get the car in the next couple of weeks and are going to tell husband that it is simply an early birthday present because of a recent lottery win they had (this is true). I am so grateful for this wonderful gesture and actually feel it has bought me closer to them both.
Someone asked what I am going to do about childcare when I work. Husband often works at home so that will work out well. If I get a lot of work I will put the little one in the local nursery who accepts them at his age.
As far as getting husband on board there are a few tiny signs. He came back from Sainsburys with a smaller bag than usual with some reduced things (lots non-reduced mind). He also handed me a plastic bag as I got out of the car this morning to avoid me having to buy one. Also, when I pointed out that I am awful at ironing shirts he just smiled and said it was absolutely fine and he would wear a jumper over the top. The only time he got a little grumpy was when I told him I had contacted the cleaner to arrange fortnightly. He said he wasn't happy to live in a messier house and I would have to pick up the difference. That's ok - I can take that.
I've realised I am going to have to be at my healthiest to get through this. So tomorrow I am giving up sugar during the day time and making sure I get my 2 litres of water. I am now drinking tap water which I have always adamantly refused to do. Actually, it tastes really nice which has surprised me. I have always refused to drink tap water. I have measured out two litres so that I know how many glasses I need to drink each day. So this new move may even be good for my health. Both husband and me have agreed that we will buy treats for the children - cookies, treats once a week and when they have gone they have gone. The children tend to be in the cupboard too much recently so this again is going to have good side effects (plus hopefully smaller dentist bills).
Feeling upbeat tonight. I will do an updated SOA soon but am still waiting for husband to give me the details to look at our accounts. His computer has broken and it has all the numbers on. Once I have those I can start looking at things in more details. I also need to look at YNAB - I just need to make sure that I don't spend too much time on this every night as I really do need to get some clients. And that's no bad thing - I love my chosen field and it is more of a hobby.
One thing that is worrying me tonight is the vicious circle we are in. Husband told me tonight that we are paying a grand on our two credit cards each month but this is simply paying off the interest. And it's actually going up because our debts are going up each month. It just seems so frustrating that we are paying off a grand purely in interest. Husband says no other credit card with 0% interest will touch us because of all our debt. Feels such a vicious circle : (( and I really don't see any way around that. If we are simply paying off the interest our debts will never go down at all. Despite all this hard work.
Facebook is nowhere near as useful as MSE (or so I tell myself, to justify the hours I spend in here ).
I suspect your OH will be more supportive once you have real savings to show him. When I started saving, mine was very uninterested, but he later said it was because he didn't think it was possible to change our situation.
We're older than you and your OH, with a far lower income and are just about to buy a house, after a few years of hard economising and saving, so it can be done. My OH, having seen that we can make a real difference to our situation, is now fully on board.
[FONT="][FONT="] Fighting the biggest battle of my life. Started 30th January 2018.
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Replies
Any time left over after that gets spent having fun with the family or, quite frankly, sitting on my backside as I feel I've earned a rest!
Don't try to achieve the same standards as when you had cleaner / ironing lady. The whole super woman thing is a fiction that no normal person can achieve! It will feel odd for a while to give up on those magazine image ideals but, honestly, does anyone come round to your house and mark you out of 10 for ironed bedding? With all you've got going on at the moment you can afford to cut yourself some slack. At least until things steady down a bit.
MM
x
Debt Free Since 1st September 2009:j
Save £12k in 2023 Challenge #8 £12,000/£6500
The 365 day 1p Challenge 2023 #1 £670.00/£100.00
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Hope you're doing ok FT. I've followed you over and shall be cheering you on
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Every penny is a prisoner
I then got home, put the music on and told the children we were going to an hour of cleaning. The 4 year old was desperate to clean the toilets but I managed to persuade him that polishing was far more fun. It was a really bonding time and we all had fun. It might not have looked the same as when the cleaner leaves but in one hour we managed to hoover and mop, polish all surfaces, clean the sinks and toilets, tidy, and many other things. I have actually compromised with husband that we will still have the cleaner fortnightly for the moment until I can convince him that the house will not fall down without them. That means we will be spending £70 a month as opposed to £250.
I then spent another hour tonight ironing. Oh, those shirts - hate ironing shirts. It's the arms - I iron one side and then turn it over to find I've ironed in really deep creases. Will have to look at a youtube video as someone suggested. My ironing basket is now empty and I have never seen the cupboards so full. The uniform cupboard looks amazing - there are now shirts and jumpers/skirts/trousers for the whole week. Usually I have some ready for the ironer, some to be unpacked from the ironer etc etc. Somehow I feel more in control doing it myself and I know more where everything is. I have to admit though there were a few times I wondered if it was really worth it for £25 when I could be working on getting some work.
Ironing is now done for a few days so tomorrow I will get to work looking for some clients. Determined to get those crucial first clients to prove to husband that I am trying to attack this thing at both ends. He still says I am totally wrong and the saving of £25 is absolutely pointless.
Spoke to inlaws who rang to see how I was. They are hoping to get the car in the next couple of weeks and are going to tell husband that it is simply an early birthday present because of a recent lottery win they had (this is true). I am so grateful for this wonderful gesture and actually feel it has bought me closer to them both.
Someone asked what I am going to do about childcare when I work. Husband often works at home so that will work out well. If I get a lot of work I will put the little one in the local nursery who accepts them at his age.
As far as getting husband on board there are a few tiny signs. He came back from Sainsburys with a smaller bag than usual with some reduced things (lots non-reduced mind). He also handed me a plastic bag as I got out of the car this morning to avoid me having to buy one. Also, when I pointed out that I am awful at ironing shirts he just smiled and said it was absolutely fine and he would wear a jumper over the top. The only time he got a little grumpy was when I told him I had contacted the cleaner to arrange fortnightly. He said he wasn't happy to live in a messier house and I would have to pick up the difference. That's ok - I can take that.
I've realised I am going to have to be at my healthiest to get through this. So tomorrow I am giving up sugar during the day time and making sure I get my 2 litres of water. I am now drinking tap water which I have always adamantly refused to do. Actually, it tastes really nice which has surprised me. I have always refused to drink tap water. I have measured out two litres so that I know how many glasses I need to drink each day. So this new move may even be good for my health. Both husband and me have agreed that we will buy treats for the children - cookies, treats once a week and when they have gone they have gone. The children tend to be in the cupboard too much recently so this again is going to have good side effects (plus hopefully smaller dentist bills).
Feeling upbeat tonight. I will do an updated SOA soon but am still waiting for husband to give me the details to look at our accounts. His computer has broken and it has all the numbers on. Once I have those I can start looking at things in more details. I also need to look at YNAB - I just need to make sure that I don't spend too much time on this every night as I really do need to get some clients. And that's no bad thing - I love my chosen field and it is more of a hobby.
Reading these diaries has left my facebook account redundant.
Here you are, I think this is her first one:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=397139&page=291
Facebook is nowhere near as useful as MSE (or so I tell myself, to justify the hours I spend in here
I suspect your OH will be more supportive once you have real savings to show him. When I started saving, mine was very uninterested, but he later said it was because he didn't think it was possible to change our situation.
We're older than you and your OH, with a far lower income and are just about to buy a house, after a few years of hard economising and saving, so it can be done.
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