1st time mum losing the plot: Does anyone have a schedule for housework they would share?

[sedgiebaby]

I'm struggling to keep on top of all the housework with my new baby (5 months) now she's sleeping through and I'm not so tired I want to get on top of things.

I think I might need a jobs for every: day; week; month just to give me a nudge and help me stay on top of everything and use my time well. Just doing stuff ad hoc as I think of it is not working.

Before I try to write something up....if you have anything you would be willing to share I would appreciate it.

Thank you!

[amazonianwoman]

Do you have an iphone/ipod touch? The Home Routine app is fab - basically breaks down whole house into daily/weekly tasks, plus you can add your own reminders etc.

[FruitSaladIsNotPudding]

My schedule: Do a load of washing every day, then when H comes home and is bathing baby, run around like a lunatic tidying and hoovering. Do big jobs at the weekend.

And that's it! My flat is actually pretty clean, but then I am very good at doing things quickly (and shoddily, my H will say, but then it takes him a hour to clean the bathroom).

I do need to start doing jobs while she naps, because it cuts into the weekend otherwise, but really trying to get much housework done with a baby is a bit of a non starter, IMHO.

That probably doesn't help you much, does it??

[cherrychoo]

Every day:

Load washer 1st thing in the morning,

load dishwasher/wash up as you go along, put on at bedtime

wipe all surfaces with damp cloth every day.

Chuck all toys into toy bins (Have toy bins, they are fab)


Every week:

Run hoover over/ mop floors

Sort out pile of papers, mail/junk mail until everything is dealt with.

I do things methodically, its the only way to get everything done and work full time too.

[TaTown11]

i had the same issue (and lacked all technology to help me at the time, so no home routine apps, but that's a very good idea!) i made a weekly list of things that needed to be done on certain days and then put a ''random'' section of things that need to be done at some point. my advice is to start with just a general list of everything you need to do by when you need to do it....such as make 'daily','weekly,' 'monthly,' etc. lists and write the appropriate tasks under each. then look at your personal routine with your child and such and fill in the gaps. make sure to give yourself time to yourself, though!!!

[abgirl]

Everyday: one load of washing, dry and put away; cook, clean plates and dishes and put away; wipe toilets; make beds

Monday: Clean kitchen
Tuesday: Hoover and dust downstairs
Wednesday: Bathroom and change/wash towels
Thursday: Change bed linen and wash
Friday: Hoover whole house and dust upstairs if it looks particularly bad

When I was on ML I used to do as much as possible first thing in the morning to get it out the way.

Flylady is good too

HTH

[sedgiebaby]

Oh thanks for all the replies!! No iphone here, I was going to use a spreadsheet or something. I've got to pop out but will have a good peruse of this fantastic info later - thank you so much

[bessie26]

Have you tried FlyLady?

[sedgiebaby]

Thanks bessie I've just joined Flylady, so I see she has a 28 day program, I've not had a chance to look at it yet but I will.

[elliepac]

I cant post a link to it because i am posting on my phone but if you are thinking of using flylady, ditch the website and come over and join us on thr fledgling flier thread ( you will find us in good housekeeping, march part 2). We use flylady, and someone posts everyday what you should be doing. We are a friendly bunch and offer lots of chat and support. There a couple of us who have tiny ones so lots of advice to be had!

[bessie26]

sedgie when you sign upto flylady make sure you choose to get the daily email rather than the individual ones (it apparently sends you LOADS!)
joining one of the fly threads on here as Ellie suggests is a great idea - it's what I did at new year (our thread here) - i find the others help keep me motivated when I'm feeling lazy!

[Stangirl]

Saturday: load of washing
Friday: cleaner comes

Never make bed, never iron, almost never change sheets. Works for us.

[moogalicious]

My routine is similar to abgirl

Sunday night - empty kitchen bin and clean
Monday - clean bathrooms, clean fridge (do it as packing away shopping delivery)
Tuesday - dust and hoover house, wipe kitchen units, wash wooden floors, ironing (basically 4 of DH's work shirts)

Daily - one load washing, washing up, sweep wooden floors, wipe toilets, paperwork
Every other day - quick hoover downstairs
Monthly - any big jobs. This week I have jet washed decking and am starting on garden furniture.

I don't really iron. Instead I make sure I get the washing out straight away and hang it up really neatly, giving each item a shake to get the creases out.

I load washing machine the night before so it's ready to go in the morning.

I also try and get things done early in the day.

[moogalicious]

Not all of us have a cleaner stangirl

[Voddy]

Best bit of advice for keeping the house straight when you have a baby is to tidy up downstairs before going up to bed of a night and to tidy up upstairs before coming down of a morning. Read that on here and my house is now more tidy of a weekday than it was pre baby!

[Stangirl]

moog my lovely cleaner is my desert island luxury. Since having DD I have stopped spending any money on myself - no trips to hairdresser, all home dye jobs now, no facials, no massages, no expensive clothes - I buy cheaper food and obsessively cut coupons. But I wouldn't stop having the cleaner for anything.

[TheBreastmilksOnMe]

Relax, let those standards slide and just do little bits here and there as and when you can. It is stressful trying to accomplish everything with one and nigh on impossible with two, as I have found.

When I am stressing about the state of my house I repeat this little poem to myself:

With years of cleaning and years of dusting, children grow up whilst you're not looking,

So quieten down cobwebs, just go to sleep, I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

[BadPoet]

I'd recommend motivatedmoms.com over Flylady (sorry FLYers, I just wasn't cut out for it!)

You do have to pay to download, but it's only $8 for a year planner (OK so that's 9 months now but still, not a fortune)

I love it because it's just a list - I don't have to think - just look at it and do. Nothing seems so overwhelming but my house is gradually beginning to feel like I am on top of it. It has everyday chores and then extra things every day.

I print off two weeks at a time, pin it up in the kitchen and that's it. DH consults it too.

[BadPoet]

Oh, should have said you can look at the samples for free. And DH does more than consult it, he does what it tells him!

[sedgiebaby]

Stangirl good for you! Although I quite like doing my own cleaning (hate cooking mind) I'm just having trouble getting into my grove post baby. All I think I need is a workable schedule to give me a prod, I can't seem to think on the job and use my time efficiently as I think I can. I have to say though if I left laundry until Saturdays though it is all I would do all day!
elliepac Thanks, I've had a quick look at the thread, but everyone seems way ahead of things compared to me, the lists look a bit (depressingly) ambitious, like kale soup and planting asparagus and writing to penpals (maybe I'm misjudging I just looked quickly), I'm not sure I'd 'fit in' that is to say, my sights are much lower e.g. I'd like to see the bottom of my laundry basket again at some point and not let grocery supplies get so low so often :(
badpoet I'm going to look at the lists, I need some prompting, I think I'm winning then I find there is a bunch of stuff I'm way behind on and forgot about and I'm on the back foot already.
TheBreastmilksOnMe you are so right,I have dropped my expectations, but it makes me happy to have things straight-ish. I plan to do stuff in nap times, also I can use the baby carrier and she loves to watch me hoover and hang laundry, although she's a bit heavy at 18lb's
bessie I've not figured out how this fly lady works yet but I'll check the emails, I think I requested the daily one only, thank you

[sedgiebaby]

I'm going to make a start with the sample schedule on motivatedmoms.com perhaps adapt one of my own, I'm already ticking jobs off! But if any other sample schedules out there and I'd love to have a look...

[butternut234]

Oh hurrah, was just about to post same thing OP - I have an 8 month old who only naps in 40 minute bursts (and I can't guarantee he won't wake up earlier so can't start something 'big' just in case) and is very full on - cannot take my eyes off him for 2 seconds as he is a very inquisitive crawler. Also he wakes hourly overnight so am super tired too. Going to read through this thread properly now but thank you it looks like what I am after already.

[AngelDog]

Thanks - this was really interesting.

I'm fascinated by all the people who do one wash a day. We do 2 or 3, and there's just 2 adults and a 14 m.o. We use cloth nappies, which accounts for one load every other day, and I have to wash sheets twice a week due to co-sleeping DS's facial eczema, but even so...

[Restrainedrabbit]

We do two loads a day and have cloth nappies too. Got 3dcs and a dh:)

[AngelDog]

How do you manage it without washing even more?

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

I found specifying a day when I did the bulk of my cleaning really helped me get to grips with it. Monday was my day, doesn't matter which though. I've got a cleaner at the moment because DC2 is due any day, but I don't know if I will keep them beyond 6 months, depends how finances are and how I'm coping with everything!
I still have a plan for my week though, otherwise it all goes to pot. I find that having been doing this for about a year or maybe a bit more, that I don't really have to think about it and things generally flow along quite nicely.

Every day - tidy bedrooms and bathroom once we're all up and dressed, quick clean of loo and bathroom sink. Dishwasher as needed, wipe kitchen sides. 1 load of washing.
Every week - hoover and dust whole house, mop bathroom, kitchen and hall. Proper clean of bathroom and kitchen. At the moment the cleaner does this.

Additional weekly jobs - Empty all the bins, take out the recycling, and I do an extra dust halfway through the week to keep the dust down because we are asthmatics in this house! Clean towels and clean bedding.

Monthly jobs - skirtings, insides of windows, cobwebs, venetian blinds - I do one of these each week mostly so that they get done each month.

And then there are other things which only need doing once every few months. Pulling out the sofa and beds to hoover behind, wax or polish of furniture, inside of the oven.