Best OS time saving tips please!

jo_b_2

culpepper wrote:

I bought a toy hoover for my son and he used to do his hoovering while I was doing mine.

I'm afraid to admit that I have a hand-held Duster Buster and stick sellotape over the on-switch (so that it stays on easily) and get my son to hoover round the living room floor with it!

I've been doing that since he was about 18 months old! He loves doing it and when he makes a mess on the floor with biscuits etc. he insists on getting the little hoover out and cleaning up himself!

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi

We do a "20 min blitz" each morning.

This consists of sticking washload on, all sides are clear lounge/kitchen, everything in DW, quick sweep through, toilet quick clean, flick duster around tv if needed, spray kitchen sides with vinegar solution and buff up (have those awful high gloss worktops :mad: ). As I spend nearly all day downstairs coz i cant get up the stairs..lol... it keeps downstairs clean and tidy all the time and easier to keep on top of.

My 10yr DD also has a 10 min blitz each morning for her room. Make bed, open window, bring cups downstairs and sweep her floor. Each week she also dusts her room and hoovers the stairs for me :rolleyes: She gets her pocket money each week if she can do this, but shes pretty good

We then have a set day each week to do a particular room from top to bottom. I am very fussy with my cleaning though and stems from a problem childhood. I agree with sarahsaver that each time you go upstairs take stuff with you or out of lounge/dining room etc. I think keeping on top of it, is the main problem. I am always sorting stuff out and really loathe clutter. Keep everything to the minimum. Only wash items that are dirty too, my DD is always throwing bits in the laundry and has been worn for 30mins or so :mad:

Maybe at weekends you could delegate some of the housework within your household so that your not burdened with it all. Even kids can help out-doing the skirting/woodwork with a duster or damp cloth.

PP
XX

Sarahsaver

my daughter loves to have a timer on and see how tidy she can get her room in 10 minutes.
Alsp we have periodic clearouts for charity, i will give my kids £1 if they fill an empty box with unwanted toys/clutter. It's worth it for the space;)

Penny-Pincher!!

sarahsaver

we sound like awful mothers..lol..or are we being practical

PP
xxx

Sarahsaver

my kids love it, as they love cleaning the leather sofas with baby wipes, and also using the handheld vac. Mine had a little kiddy sized broom, I had to throw it away as there were too many fights over it! My kids also love to muck out the chickens and help to fill the compost bin. I don't think it hurts one bit, they learn that thesethings don't miraculously happen by magic when they are sleeping! (if only;)...)

Louisa_2

wow some fantastic tips everyone, thank you! I love the idea of getting the tiddlers to help out, any suggestions what an 9-month old can do ???

And FlyLady seems great, I have signed up- and my sink is already nice and shiny...

Penny-Pincher!!

Is she crawling :idea: if so......attach a duster to her or t-towel and she can can clean the floor at the same time...lol :eek: :beer:

PP
xx

Sarahsaver

don't introduce them to the cleaning power of baby wipes too young, my daughter aged 2 got through half a pack (40 wipes) one day when I went to the loo - she cleaned the coffee table and the fire surround :rolleyes:

Aril

Like the other Mums I keep the house basically tidy. I've always had a toy box in the front room which I've put the small person's toys in every evening [it looked like a bomb during the day] and from when he was able he has helped us tidy up as part of the bed time routine. Now that I'm working longer hours I've broken the housework into daily chores before I do the school run. Bins etc go out Mon, Tues I clean the b/r [I clean the sink and loo quickly daily], floor washing Wed [I sweep every day], Thurs hoovering up and down [will run the hoover around quickly if it needs doing downstairs in the meantime], Friday change beds/towels/ Sat early am weekly shop, Sun eve ironing. I always load the washing machine the night before and switch it on as soon as I go down in the morning which leaves me time to get it hung out before I leave and I always do a shopping list with the menu on it the night before I go shopping. From the time I had my son I've had a notice board for keeping hold of all those important bits of paper and a white board where I can keep an ongoing list and a separate list for things I pick up in the town. This is all very anal I know but I couldn't possibly fit it all in otherwise. The house is clean but I wouldn't investigate the corners or under things too closely!! Extra cleaning like cupboards etc I plan ahead and spending an hour or so if I feel up to it in the evening. At the moment I'm redecorating our hall but everything has to broken down into manageable sizes but I also ensure I have time off!!
Regards
Aril :rotfl:

nicki_2

As I'm a full-time stay-at-home-mum I save all my cleaning for a Friday morning (soon to be come Fridays all day once DD starts full-time school :j ) but I do a daily PUS (Pick up and swipe if needed) plus Mondays I tend todo a post-weekend clean up (put things away, wipe floor in livingroom & kitchen, clean bathroom as otherwise they'd be a nightmare come Friday)

I try to keep the washing down as much as possible and I'll be doing so even more now that the cooler weather is setting in. I hate having washing hanging around so I may just have to start scheduling a laundrette day where I take all the wet washing to the driers. I usually try and save a "dark wash" for a Friday night after OH gets home from work. He has this thing for only wearing dark shirts (I think he has 1 light one!) so it all goes in together. A "lights" wash can be done on a Friday evening (pending the colour of OH's shirt that day - his light one might go missing I think :shhh: ) after DD gets home from school. Towels washed Friday morning while I clean, beds get changed on a Sunday with the bedding washed then or on the Monday. OH does the ironing usually on a Sunday afternoon while watching a DVD. This saves money, time and you don't end up with piles of washing all over the place. I've tried one load a day and I got sick of wet/partly dried washing all over the place!

My biggest tip would be to have a BIG declutter over the next few weeks or months as time permits - for example, while the kettle is boiling have a quick sort out of your cutlery and duplicates/broken/unused rehome to a charity/ebay box (I always keep at least one box on the go at all times!), the bin and put the ones you use back! The less clutter you have the less you have to clean = the more time you have to play whether its a hobby, spending time with your children or your other half

Personally I've just bought a book called "The Family Manager Takes Charge" by Kathy Peel (RRP £14.99 but I got it for £4.99 from a book clearance shop). The blurb says "The is a unique and original take on household management - apply business principles to the job of making the family home the best it can possibly be. Know your goals, plan your strategies and manage your human resources and you will be astonished to find how smoothly you home life can run. It covers everything you need to know, including decorating, cooking, cleaning, budgeting, partying, shopping and decluttering, and has hundreds of time-saving, money-saving and stress-reducing ideas" I'm almost addicted to organising and keeping house so this book is great for me. There is alot that I already know but there are still a few things that make me go :idea: EG "Have a rubber stamp made with each child's name. This makes it easy to put their names on their belongings" :doh: now why didn't I think of that? So far from the bits I've read I would give it 5 stars and an A+++++