How to streamline every single household chore?

[Jvg33]

Just that really - I need tips on how to be more efficient at every single chore - from changing the bed sheets all the way to washing the cars. I'm tired of household chores taking up so much free time. I can't afford to outsource. There must be a way!

Delegate to husband
Delegate to children

Do washing daily rather than big washes so that it's easier/less boring to put the clothes away.

Use a separate laundry basket for each person so you don't have to sort the clothes before you put them away.

Don't iron.

When you cook, cook for the following day too or freeze the second batch.

That's all I've got.

Throw stuff away. Lots of stuff.
Don’t have bunk beds (PITA to change).
Get DC doing the dusting. Start them young.
Pre sort recycling with multiple bins or sectioned bins.
Never iron anything if you can help it, especially not bedding. 15 minute hot blast in the dryer, smooth & hang.
Use tumble dryer sheets to clean electronics.
Batch cook.
If you are better at your job than house work and can access overtime or freelancing, take the extra hours and hire in help.
Limit D.C. clubs to two per week.
Use the plastic watering bulbs for plants.
Have two dishwashers - one on the go and one to store the clean stuff.

Delegate.

Kids do own washing. It's not difficult at any age.

No one leaves the kitchen until EVERYTHING is washed, put away, surfaces wiped.

Get everything ready the night before.

Cleaner who irons.

Jobs a good'un.

Pick up post of the mat and deal with straight away recycling, filing or photo for info then recycle. Don’t open it leave it in draw or work top and handling it over and over while looking for something else.

Use the time you spend cleaning on a job then pay a cleaner. Even if you worked one evening a week in a pub you could afford a cleaner. Pub work is fun and social. Cleaning is full, repetitive and never valued by anyone.

@PeacefulPrune

Delegate to husband Delegate to children

Do washing daily rather than big washes so that it's easier/less boring to put the clothes away.

Use a separate laundry basket for each person so you don't have to sort the clothes before you put them away.

Don't iron.

When you cook, cook for the following day too or freeze the second batch.

That's all I've got.

I have never thought of washing separate per person! I have spent hours of my life after washing separating clothing before getting family members to separate. That actually horrifies me!

Delagate what you can. So here, kids do dishwasher, they hoover (not great but done often) they sweep, tidy toys and dusting. When we get in, shoes in the cupboard, coats hung up straight away.

I don't iron anything, clear out as much as you can.

I clean bathrooms, they don't do a good enough job.

I try to have a mad half hour when tea is cooking to clean up, put clothes away, clean downstairs toilet and anything else that can be done quickly and then I don't do any more when the kids are in bed. It's my time!

Tidy up each room before you leave it for the end of the day

Wash the bathroom while the kids are in the bath.

Empty the dishwasher while you are waiting for the kettle to boil.

Cook twice as much as you need, that cuts cooking at home by half.

Menu plan, don’t go to the supermarket more than every 10-14 days

Start using long life milk (it will save you time, money and a lot of petrol)

Join Flylady, and do one “Flylady mission” every day.

Do your accounts once a week.

Declutter the house, anything smaller than your fist sitting on a surface should go, that’s what is delaying you when dusting.

Do toy rotation. If you only have 5 toys available per child at any given time your children enjoy them more but stop your house looking like a bloody tip during the day.

If the kids are getting in your nerves during the day, never do housechores after bed time. Go and rest yourself as well, you will clean faster and more efficiently when you are fresh if you start the day 40 minutes earlier than your kids.

Never wake up the kids until you are fully dressed, believe me, it will change your life.

But most importantly, ensure your children are in bed always at the same time. That’s when you can have your me time, a date with your other half and even invite friends around.

@TheBigDilemma

Tidy up each room before you leave it for the end of the day

Wash the bathroom while the kids are in the bath.

Empty the dishwasher while you are waiting for the kettle to boil.

Cook twice as much as you need, that cuts cooking at home by half.

Menu plan, don’t go to the supermarket more than every 10-14 days

Start using long life milk (it will save you time, money and a lot of petrol)

Join Flylady, and do one “Flylady mission” every day.

Do your accounts once a week.

Declutter the house, anything smaller than your fist sitting on a surface should go, that’s what is delaying you when dusting.

Do toy rotation. If you only have 5 toys available per child at any given time your children enjoy them more but stop your house looking like a bloody tip during the day.

If the kids are getting in your nerves during the day, never do housechores after bed time. Go and rest yourself as well, you will clean faster and more efficiently when you are fresh if you start the day 40 minutes earlier than your kids.

Never wake up the kids until you are fully dressed, believe me, it will change your life.

But most importantly, ensure your children are in bed always at the same time. That’s when you can have your me time, a date with your other half and even invite friends around.

How do you manage to with your fresh fruit and vegetables with a 10-14 day shop?

Thank you for your other tips too. I like the one about getting dressed before getting the kids up.

@Avarua

Use the time you spend cleaning on a job then pay a cleaner. Even if you worked one evening a week in a pub you could afford a cleaner. Pub work is fun and social. Cleaning is full, repetitive and never valued by anyone.

I agree that cleaning isn't valued by some.

How do you manage to with your fresh fruit and vegetables with a 10-14 day shop?

When I get fresh vegetables, I cook several meals on the day of purchase and freeze.

Also keep a good stock of frozen vegetables and berries.

Apples, oranges and other citrics last well for more than 2 weeks, just buy them in an array of “maturity”. Keep more “sensitive” fruit in the fridge (lower the fridge temperature to the maximum, it will cost a tiny bit more in electricity but you will save £100s in food.

-Have a look at the organised mum method.
-Keep ironing to the minimum.
-Once a month get an Iceland delivery, stock up on frozen chopped garlic, onions, ginger, chilli, and herbs. Saves loads of time.
-Clean the shower whilst you are in it.
-Buy a cordless hoover and have a quick run round with it alternate days.
-Get rid of the clutter, clear surfaces are easier to clean. Always have a bag for the charity shop, drop off as soon as it is full.

Put a few binliners in the bottom of bathroom/bedroom bins, underneath the bag currently in use.

When cooking, make sure you've got a bowl of hot soapy water on the go. That way, you can just bung things in there as you've used them.

My pal with 2 boys buys a few multipacks of the same socks in the same colour. No pairing up needed and if one gets a hole, the other can still be worn.

Batch cooking/making twice as much is the dogs bollocks!

Go paperless for every bill/institution you can.

DC can do simple chores in exchange for pocket money (only if you can stretch to it though, not everyone can)

Lower your standards.
Delegate.
Don't sweat the small stuff.
I don't think I've ever washed my car ... surely that's what a car wash service is for?

Declutter everything
Only touch things once
Cleanmama method of one major chore per day with daily tasks
One load of laundry per day dried and put away

Get a robot vacuum cleaner (we have the eufy). I run it every single day and there is nothing like coming home to clean floors. It also helps make me tidy before leaving in the morning, as everything has to be off the floor.

I also wash and hang out a load every morning, then fold and put away after dinner.

I’m exhausted just reading all this I’m absolutely useless at housework and bloody hate it, but the one top tip I have that OP referenced and no one’s addresses is bedding:
When you’re stripping the beds, replace it immediately… take off a pillow case, chuck it in a dirty pile, put a clean one on and move to the next pillow etc. So much quicker than stripping the whole lot then having to go back later to put the clean stuff on.
Once it’s all washed and dried, fold and store each set of bedding inside one of its own pillowcases. The only thing I love about my airing cupboard organisation is that I can grab a full set really easily and I know exactly what I’m getting.

Absolutely minimise everything you have.
No nick nacks except big statement things.

Little and often is by far the easiest way to keep on top.

Use the cloth from wiping over the kitchen surfaces every night to wipe a few more things.

Think about easy to clean lightshades.

-Robot vac (eufy) makes a big difference
-Pre-booked regular weekly supermarket delivery that just needs amending

• 2x dishwashers so you never have things waiting on the worktop while one is on
• make sure windows and mirrors are clean - they have such a big surface area in the room, if those are shiny (probably only need to do once every 2-3 weeks) and floor is clean (thanks eufy) it all looks better

Rotating dinner plan, with saved shopping lists online.

Pre-prepared frozen veg

If your cooking something I the oven, put frozen veg and water in dish in oven instead of pan.

Don't buy any cloths that are white, likely to run colour, have special wash instructions or need ironing. Then no need to separate.

If kids need white shirts for uniform, buy two weeks worth, there cheap you have to do white wash less often.

Change bedding half as often as you currently do.

More storage, everything has a place and your not stuck sorting and moving clutter around everytime you tidy.

4 shoe limit per family member (casual, work/school, wellies & saddles). Pluse one coat. Actually fits in hall storage.

Keep essentials for any day out in the car, so you don't need to keep packing bags.

Got rid of duvets and went back to traditional sheets and blankets. So much quicker than changing duvet covers. Admittedly it was originally because the dog had been sick on my bed and I had to throw out a duvet twice in 6 months but once I realised how quick it now is I did it for all the beds.

I use the TOMM app. Also have robot vacuum. Shopping delivered. Delegate. Declutter.

Pick a system that works for you and stick with it.

1. clean by zones Clean a room working from left to right and top to bottom (eg don’t dust the light fittings after you hoover)

Or
2) bunch cleaning tasks together
Tidy the whole house
Dust and Hoover the whole house
Wet clean the whole house

Different methods work well for different people.

Check out clutterbug.com for different ways of organising things (I don’t do well with lids on boxes or too many micro categories - my home is tidier now I know this)

The house that cleans itself goes into a lot of detail about how to organise your home

As others have said, meal plan, batch cook and get things ready the night before. It has taken me years to do this.
It took lots of little things to become habits. Now I have to have my bed made each morning.
I spent lots of time on YouTube watching other people declutter and clean before I found a way to suit me

I don't iron! Just take the clothes out as soon as possible and give them a good shake! And then shake them again when you're dealing with it (before hanging, before folding...)

Less products: for example I like to wash the kitchen with fairy liquid, so I just use the same sponge and wash the counters as I wash the big pans or chopping board.

We have a HUGE vaccum hate it! My mum just got one of those that are just the handle (no big bulky body to drag around) and she loves it! She says it's much easier to keep the house clean