£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

Onebrokelady

Have you heard of The organised Mum Method ( Team Tomm) she is a lady who blogs about the most efficient way to clean your house, my daughter follows it when she is working and it works really well, you seem like an organised person who does well with a routine so this might suit you 

Chrystal

First question is what housework do you do every day? week?  Are we talking deep cleaning or general keeping on top of things? Are you including cooking, washing, ironing?  

wifefaefife

Onebrokelady said:

Have you heard of The organised Mum Method ( Team Tomm) she is a lady who blogs about the most efficient way to clean your house, my daughter follows it when she is working and it works really well, you seem like an organised person who does well with a routine so this might suit you 

I was also going to suggest The Organised Mum Method as well. 

Moreplease

wifefaefife said:

Onebrokelady said:

Have you heard of The organised Mum Method ( Team Tomm) she is a lady who blogs about the most efficient way to clean your house, my daughter follows it when she is working and it works really well, you seem like an organised person who does well with a routine so this might suit you 

I was also going to suggest The Organised Mum Method as well. 

How did I not know about this? I’m starting in this tomorrow!!! 

Golightly72

wifefaefife said:

Onebrokelady said:

Have you heard of The organised Mum Method ( Team Tomm) she is a lady who blogs about the most efficient way to clean your house, my daughter follows it when she is working and it works really well, you seem like an organised person who does well with a routine so this might suit you 

I was also going to suggest The Organised Mum Method as well. 

Me three, I've been following it for about 6 months now and it's a revelation.  She breaks it down into 45-ish minutes a day, and the more you do it the quicker it takes as your house gets cleaner.

I work outside the house, but it's no different if you work from home - you set yourself some time for housework and get what you can done in that time, then you don't have to think about anymore.

Treadingonplaymobil

Morning! Thanks for all the housework comments. I did actually look at TOMM when I was first considering my daily routines, but because I am trying to do 95% of the housework in 60-70% of the time, it didn't feel very relevant. Also her basic 15 minute clean would take me more than 15 minutes - getting a laundry sorted into light/dark then on, then hung out (plus previous laundry off the line/airer - no tumble dryer), ironed as necessary, and put away is the best part of 15 minutes a day all by itself, and she thinks I should also be cleaning the bathroom and all floors in high traffic areas and making the bed. Maybe I'm just slow?!

Also to my mind, the domestic load that feels like it takes all of my day isn't just cleaning. It's meals 3x per day, washing up after those meals (no dishwasher), wiping the table, wiping the kitchen sides, tidying the toy/craft detritus away (yes, the DCs help, but youngest is by far the messiest and needs the most supervising, and also it always seems to get so late for either school run or bed time and then they need to get on with getting to school/bed and I have to finish clearing away). Also, not cleaning but domestic jobs that just take time - bath time/listening to reading in the evenings/being interrupted every 15 seconds to resolve an argument/help sellotape down a crucial craft project etc etc. It feels like the 'daily' stuff takes all day all by itself, without adding in anything else! Not that I mind doing any of it, especially the stuff for the DCs, it just feels like it takes hours and hours a day.

I sound like I'm moaning, I'm really not. It's more that I don't get why I'm finding it such a big job when others don't. I don't think I'm helped by the double whammy of a house that looks awful even when tidy and clean (no proper flooring, gaps under kitchen units, tatty old bathroom that needs ripping out, boxes still packed up and stacked in one corner etc, due to half finished extension), and fairly high personal standards of 'tidy and clean'.

As with so many things, I feel like increasing my income would help with the domestic load side, whether that's buying a dishwasher and tumble dryer or paying for a cleaner for a couple of hours a week.

Treadingonplaymobil

Good morning! I hope you're all raring to go today. It's ridiculously nice weather where I am today, feels properly spring-like. I hope it's nice for the rest of you too. The forecast for the entire week isn't too shabby, which is rather nice.

Had a very non-spendy weekend - XH had the DC, so NC and I went for a couple of really good long walks, watched a couple of Netflix films and generally had a nice time not doing a huge amount. It's left me nicely refreshed for the week ahead, and also gave us a good chance to chat and catch up about where we want to be (financially, living arrangements etc) over the next year or two and more - I'll probably do a bigger post on this one day this week, as I think it's going to underpin quite a lot of my financial/work choices over the coming months. Obviously the C-word is going to affect my work and my income, but I'm hopeful that I can keep ploughing away and still see some growth, and also that my business will be in a really good place as things begin to recover. The saddest thing for me isn't the financial impact, although that's going to be rubbish, but the fact that the DCs almost certainly now won't see their grandparents again for a few months - kids are such germ spreaders, and my parents/step parents are all in their 70s and 80s, and live a fair distance away, although none have underlying health conditions.

I haven't been panic buying (can't afford to), but do have a big 3kg bag of pasta so have added a few extra tins of tomatoes to this food shop, and will continue to gently increase my store cupboard without busting my budget or panicking. It seems that supermarkets are managing their supply chains pretty well, and I think the best thing we can do is to shop sensibly.

Menu plan for the week
breakfasts: porridge, granola (need to make some more, but will keep it at NC's and just take home as necessary) with yoghurt and stewed fruit, pancakes on the weekend.
lunches: make sausage rolls, cheese wraps, some hot leftovers in food thermos flasks
extras to make on my batch cooking day - hot cross buns with donated dried fruit, bread rolls for lunches, granola
dinners:
Monday - fish fingers, mash, cauli cheese, peas, all from freezer
Tuesday - veggie curry using up tofu in the freezer
Wednesday - leek and potato soup using up NC's excess of slightly sad potatoes
Thursday - black bean chilli from freezer (this is XH's single night, which I still provide food for, and the chilli is already made)
Friday - Sausage casserole (I have some leftover sausage casserole in the freezer, and will add an extra pack of sausages - also in freezer - and tin of tomatoes to it to bulk it out)
Saturday - HM pork pie (DC2's recipe choice for the week, which will mean we use the Kenwood mincer attachment I bought a decade ago for the FIRST TIME). Already have pork in the freezer.
Sunday - roast lamb shoulder/leg (NC bought half a lamb, there's an unidentified joint in the freezer which looks like a shoulder but might be a leg, so we'll have it all together)

Last week's priority list went pretty well...
1. Move any expensive food to NC's cupboards/freezer (I am accepting that cheaper stuff will just get used up until it's gone, and there's no point stressing about it). Done
2. Handmade presents for relative and own DC (relative is more urgent). Done for relative
3. Daily yoga. Not perfect, but I probably did four days, of which three were decent length practices
4. Childcare costs info to UC. Done
5. Really focus on my new weekly rhythm and how I want my time to be spent. Done, have a few ideas to shift things around this week
6. Engage with new contract work project to ensure it continues to take off and remains a good source of extra income. Done

Here's this weeks...
1. Apply for new driving license (mine has expired and won't link with my passport on the online thing because one is maiden, one is married name).
2. Spend today getting ahead with contract work project to free up the rest of the week.
3. Open an etsy shop for my smaller business so I have another potential income stream (currently only sell through my own website).
4. Get work cleared during the week so I can enjoy the weekend with the DCs without it hanging over me.
5. Start considering a routine for when school inevitably closes.
6. Continue to observe the daily rhythm I'm trying to set for myself, see what's working and what isn't, and shift as necessary.

Treadingonplaymobil

Something else that has really come to me with the recent crisis is the important of a decent emergency fund/buffer zone. NC and I were discussing this and have decided we'd like to have a good £10k between us (but our portions held individually - I will really struggle to blend finances with anyone again beyond maybe a joint bills bank account, and fortunately NC is of a similar mindset). I currently have April's, May's and 3/4 of June's salary in the bank, but since so much of my income is in benefits, that's actually only a shade over £1,200. One of my first financial goals as my long term situation (debt/equity etc) becomes clear is going to be to get that number closer to £3k.

I think I need to set some clear financial goals to help motivate me to keep growing my business, and to clarify what I'm trying to achieve with the money as I do. 

Treadingonplaymobil

Wow, it feels like things are moving so quickly in the world, it already feels a long time since I wrote yesterday's post.
I had a long phone call this morning with the people I do contract work for and am very lucky that they intend to stay open as long as Royal Mail is operating, and want to really focus on bringing joy and energy to their customers, which is a large part of the project I'm involved with, so for now that income stream feels fairly stable, which is a relief.

Things will get tricky if/when schools close, but I've put as much contingency into place as I can, and we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

I was sad to see to many angry people in the supermarket yesterday, and my delivery driver said that I'd made his day by being the only smiley customer he'd had all day - the amount of abuse supermarket delivery drivers seem to be getting when the substitutions are nothing to do with them is shameful. I'm trying to focus on the good things - neighbours dropping 'can we help' cards around to my elderly father, the school talking positively to the children about hygiene rather than scaremongering - and let the bad stuff wash over me a bit.

Something uplifting in the midst of it all - NC and I are viewing a house together later this week. He will buy it, with a view to me buying into it when my finances are more stable. Actually moving in together is a fair few months off yet even if this house is the right one, but it's lovely to be taking a positive step forwards towards it.

Working my way through my list for this week...

1. Apply for new driving license (mine has expired and won't link with my passport on the online thing because one is maiden, one is married name). Waiting to get the signed form/photo back from a professional friend who is able to countersign.
2. Spend today getting ahead with contract work project to free up the rest of the week. Done, although didn't get a million miles ahead. Enough though.
3. Open an Etsy shop for my smaller business so I have another potential income stream (currently only sell through my own website). Had this planned for the tail end of the week, but looks like contract work might step up so this might get pushed to next week.
4. Get work cleared during the week so I can enjoy the weekend with the DCs without it hanging over me. Ongoing
5. Start considering a routine for when school inevitably closes. Ongoing
6. Continue to observe the daily rhythm I'm trying to set for myself, see what's working and what isn't, and shift as necessary. Ongoing

enthusiasticsaver

Glad to hear you sounding so positive in the midst of so much doom and gloom TOPM.  Hope the house viewing goes ok and exciting to be able to consider moving forward.  I imagine it must be difficult living in a half finished home. Not sure what to think about the advice given out so far re isolation etc.  I am self isolating anyway at the moment as I have a cough (just a normal one, not THE virus or if it is it is very mild) but my granddaughters are able to go to nursery so my daughter and son in law can pack as they moving house Friday but even when my self isolation is over as I read it they are saying no social contact including family.  Cannot really understand how that will work as presumably you and NC don't live together and your XH lives separately but it will be entirely impractical for you to have no contact for an indefinite period of time?