Does anyone else struggle to clean and tidy their house?

Op I used to feel the same but then I became a lone parent and there was just no choice but to be on top of things because survival!

For me I realised a lot of it is about your systems rather than having the motivation or energy because I'm constantly knackered.

For me I try to 'habit stack' so if I'm leaving a room i look to see what I can take with me first. Every day I'll do a general tidy of the house downstairs before I go to bed. Not a deep clean, just a decent tidy, counters wiped, dishes done and surfaces cleared. Every morning I do a quick sweep of bedrooms before we leave - nappies/ cups/ beds made clothes in dirty basket.

I do washing most nights just to keep on top of it and use colour catchers in a bag if I don't have enough for two light/ dark loads.

I then only take on an 'extra' a couple of evenings a week eg hoovering and mopping one night, bathrooms another night. Upstairs I hoover at the weekend when nobody is asleep.

I also batch cook at the weekend in the slow cooker so I don't need to faff about during the week with cooking and lots of dishes.

When you're on top of things really all that you need to do is maintain it so it never becomes overwhelming. If I'm really unmotivated I think - I'll just do this for 5 minutes which gets me started and then usually I can keep going.

Designate clear chores between you and dh and a routine with them that works for your family so rather than looking at everything, you know exactly what you're responsible for.

And one night mid week I plan a self care night where I'll do a shower and a takeaway and watch a movie so I'm getting down time. If you're never getting down time you'll burn out and everything will feel more overwhelming and you will want to stay up late and procrastinate.

Hey OP,

Mum of 3 with health issues here. It is a struggle, especially when the little ones are wee. The organised mum app helps but my best advice is 'don't put it down put it away' so if you're done with something it goes back into its home, including washing and drying dishes or loading dishwasher as I go instead of waiting for a pile up.

You are my kind of person 🤣

yes this 100%.I bought her book (I can't see if its linked here so will link here).

She changed how I think about it all as I regularly suffer from depression.

www.google.com/search?q=how+to+keep+house+while+drowning+goodreads&rlz=1C1AWFC_enGB907GB922&oq=how+to+keep+house+while+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgEEAAYgAQyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQABiABDIHCAIQABiABDIHCAMQABiABDIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDIHCAYQABiABDIHCAcQABiABDIHCAgQABiABDIHCAkQABiABNIBCTEwOTE2ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

There's some great tips here. Thanks.

I like the concept popularised by K.C. Davis of morally neutral cleaning. We shame, judge and pressurise ourselves so much based on strangers perceptions of what we should be doing and when.

This. And then every six months or so do skirting boards etc.

Do you get the children involved? Everyone in our family does a big clean and tidy up for an hour on a Sunday with the kids' choice of music blaring. And they are also expected to do their own rooms over the weekend (youngest gets a bit of help). That takes a huge part of the load off and then it's not so overwhelming. You have to keep high expectations with the kids though but it will help them in later life!

If I sot, it's game over for me. So I don't sit until it's all done!

Since you don’t tolerate the iron tablets well, can’t you ask for regular IV iron infusions instead?

Just wanted to empathise. I've been anaemic since I was a child, and even when on tablets, EVERYTHING is an effort. I'm always tired and everything feels like a huge slog. Sick of people thinking it's laziness. They should try living with anaemia for a day. They'd soon see how debilitating it is. "Oh just eat more greens!" Yes if only it were so simple!

I'm finally at a stage where I do clean a lot. I find it helps having "pretty" products. Flowery toilet cleaners, nice disinfectant scents, etc. I buy pretty pink cleaning sponges, etc.

I get it, I really do. Anaemia is horrific. I hope you get it sorted!

Hmm, my dad ended up in hospital due to the type of iron supplement he was given, affected his stomach so badly it caused bleeding. The GP just gives out whatever, there isnt really a tailored approach. Most of us who have to take iron have found out the hard way what suits us and what levels. You have very great faith in the intricacies that the GP would have.

No one is telling OP not to use her GP, just highlighting the pros and cons of different types of supplemention and contraindications.

Yep, always space your iron away from things like tea and coffee (she says, sat here with her iron tabs and a cup of tea!), calcium and PPIs, they all interfere with absorption of each other.

Please dont take medical advice re your iron tablets from random strangers on the Internet, however well intentioned, they are not medical practitioners, they have no idea of the doseage you are on !

Yes they’re actually 210mg with 42mg of elemental iron.

So comparable to the NHS 200mg but easier on the stomach.

I use Hemaplex linked above which is similar. I never bother with NHS iron now.

They took me from a ferritin of 23 to 140. You need to factor in two things - compare the amount of elemental iron, not the mg and also iron bisglycinate is much more bioavailable to your body to use versus ferrous sulphate etc. these are actually very high strength supplement and I would get your levels checked often while taking them.

I was on iron tablets, and they made minimal difference. I then asked begged my GP for an iron infusion, which they agreed (I laid it on thick about how much it effected my quality of life). It made such an incredible difference! Before I was constantly exhausted, and depressed, not wanting to do anything or be social, to now energy and happier.

Can you afford a cleaner, even if it's just once a month to do a couple of hours? Again this was very helpful for me. Mine does 2 hours a week, and I don't feel so overwhelmed so clean little & often.

Push GP for more detailed blood test, buy Vit.D too while waiting for results.
Being Coeliac can make you feel horrendous. I thought I'm going crazy- used to fall asleep while eating. Thanks God doctor decided to add Coeliac screening to my blood tests.

I just do most of mine across the day on a Sunday. The only things that get done during the week is a kitchen wipe down and bleach in the toilets daily x

@SunSparkle did you find these dramaticly increased your iron levels? These seem like quite a low dose compared to the 200mg dose I'm on from the doc

OP I've had quite bad anemia before and I was unknowingly shooting myself in the foot with my tea and coffee habit. No-one told me this, I found it out randomly online. The tannins in tea and coffee are the worst thing for iron absorbtion - not the caffiene. Decaff makes no difference, and tea is actually worse than coffee. I had to cut them right down and replace a lot with rooibos and herbal teas. And if you must have them, it needs to be about 2 hrs away from the time you take the iron. My absorbtion got about 50% better after this.

This is as much as I do - although we are a big family so there is a tonne of laundry that I have to get through every day. My priorities are laundry and cooking, keeping the kitchen and bathrooms clean and then everything else as and when. I loathe housework and I am useless at it.

I struggle 2
I like neat and tidy.. my husband works from home and is messy.. his mess dominates and I hate it!
He does vacuum and wash floors .. although not as regularly as I would like and cooks most meals so it’s hard to complain.
There are some jobs that provide “more band for their buck” .. cleaning windows is one.. it lets more light into a room and makes everything seem better.
i go around the house putting things away. I am also a good de-clutterer.
I wipe sink down before I go to bed so everything looks good morning.. and grit my teeth when it’s chosen after work!
i try not to bleach everywhere .. it just ends up on my clothes.. but i do bleach shower walls and floors.. stark naked after I have showered.
i pour loo cleaner down daily and wipe seats with loo cleaner and toilet paper.
i wipe bathroom sink down with towel after i have used.

Sure

No DC but I have chronic illnesses which cause fatigue

things that help

15 min timers
cleaning while I’m talking on the phone
pottering rather than being “RIGHT let’s clean!”
if you can’t face changing the bedding, do the pillowcases and bottom sheet then duvet the next day (use a top sheet under the duvet for extra ease)
method floor cleaner - just easy to use
method shower passionfruit spray - means never having to scrub your glass shower door
cordless vacuum rather than dragging out a corded one every time
flash spray and wipe - as it says
controversial but I have packs of biodegradable wipes for ease if I’m shattered for wiping stuff
I wipe the sink with the flannel after I’ve taken my makeup off before it goes in the wash

I feel your pain. I'm following for hints

Sounds great but in my house that wouldn't be enough