So much to do, so little time......?

Question

How do you do yours? (keep up with the housework, that is)

Linkinpark4life, come on over.lol. Besides, you have excellent taste in music.

These answers are so good, I have copied them onto a WP doc to look at later. Right, heres the situation. There are four of us and a smelly dog in the house. Sometimes there are rather a lot more than 4 though. My two teens are 19 and 16 and do virtually nothing in the house. I work 30+ hours per week and have two days off. Wed and Friday, All apointments (dentist etc) are on Wednesdays and Shopping and housework on Fridays. I have myself a little raffle system in which I draw out a piece of paper with a room on it or 5 items of ironing which I do while I'm going. Its still isnt enough and I end up in a real old muddle. lol.

PS I work saturdays and Sundays too.

Answer 1

Time for everything. I do most of my house work like this. I pick a room or thing to do I set my alarm clock to go off in 15 min´s time . I never waste time taking thing´s back to their rightful places until I finish what I am doing. Once the 15 min´s is up, I sit down and have a rest, or I do the same again set the clock for yet another 15, min´s and carry on the same way. 15, min´s here and there makes a big difference. And the most important thing of all is. I always reward myself when I finish cleaning. Try for yourself , it works for me it might work for you too

Answer 2

If you can establish a "routine" that really helps and also have your family help you.. I have a 1 yr. and 3 yr. old and they help me pick up their toys at the end of the night... Or my husband gets them ready for bed while I'm doing some last min. cleaning.

*In the morning I strip the beds and allow them to air out.. This reduces dust mites... Which love a made bed that's been recently slept in.. The moisture can't escape.. So, I leave that till later.. I go into the bathroom and gather the dirty laundry... Wipe the toilet down with an antibacterial wipe along with the counters and sink.. I give the mirror a wipedown and spray the tub/tile surround with a 50/50 bleach solution as well as shut the water off to the toilet and pour 2-3 C. bleach in the bowl.. let that sit 10-30 min... swish and turn on water/flush... I do the tub/tile surround once a week...

I move on to the kitchen which is pretty clean... I prepare the kids breakfast and while they are eating I wipe the counter with anitbacterial wipes and swipe out the microwave and empty the dishwasher.. I usually sweep the floor depending on how messy they are... While they are eating I vacuum the living room/dining room and bedrooms.. They play in the living room with toys so I like to vacuum BEFORE everything is all over the place..

*I also start a load of a laundry somewhere in between all that.. It sounds like a lot of work but, generally it takes me about 1-2 hours to get everything done and then on my days off or on the weekends I deep clean all the rooms which isn't to bad because I've kept up with everything...

At night the kids/husband help me clean the livingroom, and I get the kitchen clean and the dishwasher going on time delay.. So in the morning the dishes are clean and ready to go... I work at night so it's very helpful to me to start with a clean house in the morning... good luck

Answer 3

I try to do laundry every day when I get home from work. I do the major housekeeping on the weekend because I work every day and one night a week and there is very little time to get it done because of that. Sometimes I am overwhelmed, especially if I don't keep up with the laundry. I make sure that the kitchen is totally done after each meal and I will never go to bed without having the kitchen clean. The bathrooms get done a couple of times a week just so it is always clean and soap doesn't build up on the shower. I don't get to the blinds to clean them as often as I should but the vacuuming and dusting is done every week as well as the floors being washed. What I don't get done; I have to let go until I have time or I would make myself crazy!!

Answer 4

Sometimes I clean sometimes I do not. Its all about what you can tolerate or if company is coming :-)

Seriously, just pick one room a day and do one hour of cleaning unless its totally trashed you should be able to do any room in an hour or less.
Where to start? Start Anywhere!
But I usually start with the garbage and put that out of the room first. Then all the washables go to the laundry area. After that its just a matter of picking up what is left over which isn't much once the garbage and clothes are gone.

My daughter says if you pick up 27 things out of each room its usually cleaner than you left it.. (but I would still get rid of the garbage and clothes first)

Answer 5

I take one room at a time..so I'm at my little daughter's room...I've been there for the last three days...I've thrown away a bag of useless toys (those that come inside the Kinders eggs), gave away some clothes, sold some other good stuff and haven't finished...too many toys.

The worst is that...here in Italy..when you do a birthday party..everybody comes...usually gives you toys...good brands and the pile increases. Besides, I usually have to invite all her classmates, because if you don't somebody might get offended and they'll let you know. It happened with my older daughter...I didn't even know the child or the parents and they were in separate classes, but since they have the same age,,,they expected me to invite them.

Answer 6

Well, i have 2 young children and find it very hard. My mum says when you have young children you do tend to let the house go, its hard for me as i've always been house proud. As long as you get the washing up done and keep on top of the washing, then thats is all that really matter. I no longer iron the bed sheets and pants lol

Answer 7

delegate some of the easier work to the children,, it gives them responsibility and they soon learn where the wash basket is if they have to pick their own clothes up off the floor all the time, kids chores are a brilliant way of teaching them some of life's little lessons and they can earn pocket money and it keeps them busy and away from the telly and it helps you out too, but if you don't have kids then employ some of the neighbours kids to help you lol

Answer 8

I do the ironing, washing up, cooking 50/50, clean the bathroom and kitchen and leave the rest to my better half (she who must be obeyed!)

Answer 9

Instead of me writing a novel, just check out this awsome site. Lots of info on it for keeping on top of things.

Answer 10

I've got a cleaner! Well worth the money and I would recommend to everyone.