How do I stay on top of the housework when I am working?

Question

I am a nurse and have a very hard and stressful work week. I try hard not to just leave things lying around, but sometimes I am to tired to fold the laundry before I go to bed and so it sits there til morning. Also I live with someone that tends to be messy. Dirty clothes on the floor, office has papers all over the floor, doesn't like to do dishes. I am just one person and I only have so much time and energy to devout to cleaning and when I do that I don't have time to give to myself for rest and fun. How do we get the place clean and stay on top of it so it doesn't turn back into a pig sty. PLEASE HELP!!

Answer 1

All is about planning and time management. Don't try to have all housework done every day. Distribute the tasks over the week.

As for your messy room mate, you may politely ask him to help, stressing that he benefits from the house and should be cooperative.

Answer 2

Item 1) Messy Person needs to start pulling own weight. It's not fair for you to do all of it. It doesn't take that long to put dirty clothes in the hamper, for crying out loud!

Item 2) Some chores are easier to do first thing in the morning, while you're fresh. If you have spare spray bottles, try using one for diluted Lysol and leave it in the bathroom. Then when you get done with your morning stuff, you can just spray down what you've used and wipe it clean. The bathroom won't get dirty easily that way.

Item 3) Organize. Have a place for everything, and when you're done using the thing put it right back. That way it won't become part of a mess.

Now, when I worked as a housekeeper, what I would do is start the laundry first. And while that was going on I would take care of the rest of the home. Somewhere in the middle of that I would have to put the laundry in the dryer. It's easier to keep wrinkles out of things when you can take care of the folding right when the dryer shuts off.

Talk with Roomie about this situation:It's not good for you, and it makes Roomie look like a mooching pig.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Its time for you to sit down and discuss this with your live in. This is something that both of you should be working on. When you do the wash, fold it as you take it out of the dryer, then you can put it away in the morning. Everyone is responsible for there own wash. Get paper dishes, and use regular dishes when you have company, or when you have a day off.If you are on the 7to 3 shift never sit down when you get home, you'll never get back up. Also try to prepare foods before hand. For instance if you cook meatloaf, make two of them,and freeze the other one, make spaghetti sauce make a large pot with meatballs and sausage With the leftover you can put them in tubs for other nights. And no matter how messy the house gets or how hard you work, remember to reward yourself by going out to have fun. Life is short, and the wash,cleaning,and everything else is always going to be there. Have fun,

Answer 4

These room-by-room to-do lists will help you get the work done quickly so you can put your feet up sooner rather than later.

Kitchen, 4 1/2 minutes daily
Always start with the sink. "Keep it empty and shining," says Marla Cilley, author of Sink Reflections (Bantam, $15) and creator of www.FlyLady.net, a housekeeping website. A sparkling sink becomes your kitchen's benchmark for hygiene and tidiness, inspiring you to load the dishwasher immediately and keep counters, refrigerator doors, and the stove top spick-and-span, too.
# Wipe down the sink after doing the dishes or loading the dishwasher (30 seconds).
# Wipe down the stove top (one minute).
# Wipe down the counters (one minute).
# Sweep, Swiffer, or vacuum the floor (two minutes).


Bathroom, 2 minutes daily
Make cleaning the basin as routine as washing your hands. But don't stop there. Get the most out of your premoistened wipe by using it to clean around the edges of the tub and then the toilet before tossing it.
# Wipe out the sink (30 seconds). Wipe the toilet seat and rim (15 seconds).
# Swoosh the toilet bowl with a brush (15 seconds).
# Wipe the mirror and faucet (15 seconds).
# Squeegee the shower door (30 seconds).
# Spray the entire shower and the curtain liner with shower mist after every use (15 seconds).


Bedroom, 6 1/2 minutes daily
Make your bed right before or after your morning shower. A neat bed with inspire you to deal with other messes immediately. Although smoothing sheets and plumping pillows might not seen like a high priority as you're rushing to work, the payoff comes at the end of the day, when you slip back under the unruffled covers.
# Make the bed (two minutes).
# Fold or hang clothing and put away jewelry (four minutes).
# Straighten out the night-table surface (30 seconds).


Family Room, Living Room, Foyer, 6 minutes daily
Start with the sofa — as long as it's in disarray, your living room will never look tidy. Once you've fluffed the pillows and folded the throws, you're halfway home. If you pop in a CD while you dust, you should be able cover the whole room by the end of the third track.
# Pick up crumbs and dust bunnies with a handheld vacuum (one minute).
# Fluff the cushions and fold throws after use (two minutes).
# Wipe tabletops and spot-clean cabinets when you see fingerprints (one minute).
# Straighten coffee-table books and magazines. Throw out newspapers. Put away CDs and videos. (Two minutes.)

Answer 5

your first problem is your roommate, sit and lay some rules that need to be followed, share and share alike, that includes cleaning.

Also if you can afford it, get a cleaning person to come in once a week to give a good cleaning to everything allowing you the time for yourself.

If your mate will not clean dishes and glasses try getting a dish washer and ask that they be put in there. It takes a minute to turn on.

Answer 6

Boy, can I relate. I have found the neatest thing online. Go to www.Flylady.net
Warning. At first, it seems a little annoying, but I swear, if you stick with her, she will get you revved up and help you improve. I learned about her just this month. I am not perfect, but for the first time in longer than I would like to admit, my laundry is all in order and has been caught up for almost 2 weeks. Girl, for me that is quite an accomplishment. There are 4 in my family, and we go through laundry like crazy. Check it out.
www.flylady.net It is Free!

Answer 7

Oh man, that is exactly like my house!

Just recently I gave up and decided to make myself a schedule and I force myself to stick to it. I have a daily, weekly, and monthly chore list. Just to get myself started I give myself a reward if I get everything done at the end of the week... like renting a movie or buying something super tasty.

If you fall behind by a day or two, just catch up on it all the next day.

As for dishes, if you are really frustrated I can tell you what my bf's friends did. They packed up all of their dishes except for 2 cups, 2 knives, 2 forks, 2 spoons, etc etc. You have to wash your own dish before you eat... or you just don't eat!

Whatever you try... good luck!

Answer 8

I hear you Sister! I tend to be messy, but now I try to put things away the moment I don't need them anymore.

Now i clean the toilet as soon as i get out of the shower. the bathroom is steamy then anyway and it only takes about 5 minutes, tops for the entire bathroom, because it doesn't get a chance to get yucky. use hydrogen peroxide. it's safe, kills germs and is cheap. use it for sinks and countertops too.



Have a heart-to-heart talk with the one you live with. try to see who has a "talent' for which job and divied them up. A schedule may work and you can switch jobs periodically so no one feels like they have all the hard jobs.

Buy a slowcooker and a recipe book with heart friendly recipes.
Keep communication open.it's hard! I know!

Answer 9

I agree, hire a maid to come in once a week and do the basics, bathrooms, floors, dust, laundry etc.
Get ornamental boxes for your roomie to pile his crap in.
Tell your roomie the maid will only wash the clothes in the hamper HINT HINT and the dishes loaded into the dishwasher BIG HINT.
You deserve to come into a comfortable home.
Also, by hiring a maid you are supporting your local community.

Answer 10

My wife calls me the weekend warrior. I spend most of one day on a weekend cleaning the house, laundry, ironing, yardwork in the summer. Both my wife and I are too damn busy during the week, with school meetings, hockey, guitar, work, exercising etc etc. My wife works many weekends and weird shifts. So, if the house gets a little messy during the week.,..oh well. I'll get to it on Saturday...