How do you fit it all in ??

mandi

Smiley_Mum wrote:

Usually I have an armchair full of washing to be ironed continually but SG makes light work of it now. That's the one thing that really bugs me is washing needing to be ironed, rather get it done and put away. I've just set up a casserole in the SC for tomorrow, finished the ironing.

Can I let you into a secret................ I DONT IRON.. accept jeans.. would rather buy a new pair than iron the old ones................ :rotfl: .. you are sucjh a hero...BTW i like casseroles!!

squeaky

The following list of threads should be of interest. I will merge this thread with one of them a little later. Good luck

The benfits of getting organised

being organised

organisation challenge

How do you fit it all in


Actually, the last of those threads looks like the best one to merge to

black-saturn

Were not perfect!! My house always looks like a pigsty. I have got piles of washing waiting to be put away, piles of "things" on chairs waiting to be put away, toys all over the carpet and the bathroom hasnt been cleaned for a week!! Its getting easier as the children are getting older (11 and 8). I can remember what it was like with young ones and trying to do it.

kscour

£Ronnie stop beating yourself up!
Don't look at what you didn't do - look at what you managed. Getting my 2 to playgroup used to be used as training for potential SAS officers! Taking young kids to Tesco and getting out alive regardless of whats in your trolley - amazing!
Just aim to do one thing at a time and build up slowly.
Have a prod in your fridge/freezer/cupboards and then draw up a menu for tomorrow. I sit down on a Thursday and think about vague ideas for the week starting on Saturday. I then do Tescos Friday and butcher delivers Sat am or OH picks it up and settles bill.
I know what meat we're having but I sort the order & exactly what receipe during the week to suit what's happening - that's not great meal planning but it's alot better than what used to happen so I'm quite chuffed with myself!
Hang in there - things will get easier with time

Sarahsaver

OP enjoy this time, embrace the chaos that young children bring! I have had/am going to start again soon - a timetable so I plan exactly what i'm doing and when, even housework. I make sure to include 'me' time like the gym and voluntary work. Took the kids to the park last week when they were off school and they got so mucky they ended up having a bath and getting in pj's at 3pm! Didnt want the extra laundry! I have chickens and cook all my food from scratch but I would not do so if i did not enjoy it/if my kids didnt benefit/if it didnt save me money. I get up early so i can (usually) get washed and dressed before the kids surface. When the tumble drier is not broken, getting things out still hot usually negates the need for ironing.
Had and still having a clearout, I had a new bathroom put in and its so much easier to keep tidy simply because there's not a lot in it. One shelf/cupboard unit from ikea, and any old tatty towels which didnt fit in I binned. Baby steps, the next targets are the kids' rooms, but gentle encouragement like putting train set in one basket, pens and pencils in another and so on. The front room was ok but now its still recovering from christmas...
Usually a war breaks out in our house over the hand held vac/the broom/feather dusters, because my kids want to help, thats without me asking. I do often light candles/oil burners/incense to make a fresh smell, this is a super 'cheats' housework session;)
I don't go around all day looking at dust, I'd rather play with my kids or cook for them. They are so funny, breakthrough with dd yesterday, she tried some lettuce AND liked it (worlds most fussy eater???)

beachbeth

ChocClare wrote:

How do they do it? BABYSTEPS. Concentrate on just getting one thing done (or nearly done). Once you've mastered it, move on to the next thing. Next month, it may all go wrong. So what?

Make a spag bol sauce but use twice as many ingredients. Freeze one half. Now you've got a ready meal for next time you're stressed. Next week do the same again. Now you've got two meals in the freezer.

I totally agree. Change one thing at a time. Don't aim to change everything at once. Say "Next week I will make a ton of spag bol/chilli and freeze a lot of it in ready meal sized portions" When you have got into a routine of doing this then you can make another change.

You have done really well to give up smoking (think of the money you will save now!). It is so difficult and frustrating when you have small kids at home but I used to find (when mine were little) that just when I was feeling an absolute failure because I hadn't done the ironing/changed the beds/cooked a meal I would look at their little happy faces and remember what is REALLY important.

Chipps

It sounds like you have had some good advice so far, £Ronnie.

Babysteps are important, remember that many here have built up skills over time. You can't just dive in and suddenly become super-organised! And young children are very important people to spend time with. It might seem like a long time till they leave home, but it won't feel like it at the time!

Our house looks fairly organised most of the time now, but 2 of our DC have moved out, & we just have one left (our DD created the most mess! - and even now when she comes to visit bringing her 2 DDs she takes over the whole house!!!!! Not that I'm complaining - would rather have her visit than not!) To be honest, I really struggled when ours were little & would have loved a group of people like this to share with.

So don't panic, don't give up - do a little at a time - and don't beat yourself up when you slip back a bit. It's not the end of the world! If you can get organised once, you can do it again.

HTH

jellycat40

I too work from home and try to have a good lifestyle by being organised. I don't have rotas or anything just firefight and try to go to bed with a clear kitchen!

However one thing baffles me how does anyone manage to cook enough to freeze. However much I cook double, treble what ever just gets eaten. if not at the meal then by a maurauding teen coming home late and eating it before it gets into the freezer or fridge! I have even tried labelling it but they argue that they were hungry and it was for eating wasn't it!

I admire you all you are wonderful.

Louise :A

MissMuppet

Has anyone heard for FlyLady - https://www.flylady.net - it's based around housework but there are some interesting things on there... it's all about baby steps!

Not that I get anything done at home... :rotfl:

Ronankfan

I am still new to the site but i have started doing the menu planning and batch cooking - OH loves the fact that everything is HM and that it is much healthier. Just take one step at a time and you will get there in the end.