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!

Clean the bathroom while supervising DC in the bath. While you chat to them wipe basin and taps, scrub loo, polish mirrors, then when they get out, quickly clean bath with a bit of bubble bath not harsh detergent, and rinse off.

Get DC to strip own beds. Get them to sort clothes (including yours) into dark, coloured and white loads.

Do one wash a day:
Sunday: school uniform
Monday: darks
Tuesday: mixed
Wed: whites
Thurs: delicates
Friday: sheets
Saturday: towels

Clean in 5 minute bursts. Mop the kitchen floor while you wait for tea to brew etc.

Get all the family including DH and Dc to help for just 30 mins on Saturday morning. Put on loud music. DC get feather dusters and polishing cloths. You hoover, DH makes beds or vice versa. Stop after 30 mins. The less of a chore it feels, the more likely you are to have the routine.

I have a big job list on the fridge.

There's 5 people in this house, kids are 8,13 and 15. Everyone has regular daily jobs eg empty dishwasher, put your own washing away, hoover under dining table etc and then everyday people have something different to do.

I allocated all the little jobs that never get done to the kids eg dusting picture frames and bannisters and a couple of trickier ones to older 2 like cleaning bathrooms and hoovering stairs (I have chronic pain and 2 staircases and 3.5 bathrooms! Too much for me!) This gives me time to constantly do laundry, clean the kitchen daily, tidy up daily and then also do my share of the chores. I work pt so do majority but dh also has daily jobs and has to do bigger jobs at weekends.

It's so much easier as all I have to say is "do your jobs" and I can check it all without having to remember what I asked them to do!

The only downside is if they have for example a netball match or mountains of hw. Also my eldest like to go to bed at 8.30....I don't know how she is a teenager really lol But tbh I only allocate them jobs that take max 20 mins so I'm no pushover at doing it for them!

I still do a lot of chores but I find my house is much cleaner overall....it's never tidy though!

Oh I also multitask so clean the kitchen cupboard fronts while cooking it empty washing machine also while cooking. I often clean my bathroom as I'm having a shower too.

Lower your standards slightly. That saves loads of time and work over a lifetime.

avoid doing stuff that doesn't need doing
don't wash clean clothes
don't iron unless you really have to
don't handle things twice don't put something in a pile to put away later just put it away,
if possible deal with all mail, whether from post or school immediately if not in an specific intray to be dealt with weekly
if anything takes 2 minutes or less do it immediately
laundry I do 5 lots a week

1. whites and very pale ie school shirts underwear etc
2. bright ( not every week)
3. dark ( school skirts jumpers and jeans)
4. towels dishclothes etc
5. one lot of bed linen ours 1 week DD next week

my friend had 3 boys so there stuff was coloured coded one black socks and pants, another grey and another blue, her DH had subtle patterns or stripes she avoided these colours my DD wears black tights for school to avoid confusion I have zero black tights

the only jobs i do daily are washing up cleaning kitchen worktops, and hob, quick check of bathroom, make beds laundry on and put away, I do not have pets so vacuum once a week, kitchen and bathroom floor twice a week
reduce your stuff if you have 20 pictures that's 20 pictures to dust, if you have 3 throws and 12 decorative cushions that 3 throws to fold and 12 cushions to plump up

I was watching a youtuber "but first coffee" 3 habits to change things

1. get dressed before coming downstairs ( i'm prepared)
2. clean kitchen sink before bedtime ( i'm not messy)
3. declutter 1 item a day ( i'm organised)

Don't separate onto white and dark.
I never have?

I only watch stuff like new red hoody that might run other wise I don't.

Drawer sorter from ikea.all pants into X socks into y.

DH And I share black socks, so I don't watse a second of my life sorting our socks.

I'm size 6 he's 11 and they fit us both.

Declutter, and have less crap so you don’t have to dust it.

I get tomorrow’s clothes out of the washing I put away today. Add to it if I need to, and put it somewhere ready.

When I fold the dry washing I put it into separate piles for each person ,and put it in their room to put away.

Don't leave a room without taking something that's needs putting elsewhere (if you have stuff lying around)

Don't touch things more than once - for example take your coat off and put it where it goes, rather than throwing on the couch, then onto the bannister, then on the hook etc etc. Sounds really simple but actually I didn't realise I was doing it until i watched someone on YouTube who said they started doing it, it's made such a difference?

Oops didn't mean ? At end

Never leave a room empty handed. I put a washing in at night and set the timer (I don’t have a drier did to cost and environmental impact) I empty the machine and hang up the washing first thing with a dehumidifier on.

Separate washing machine and a good quality tumble dryer! I load the washing machine in the evening and set timer delay so the laundry is finished at 7.30 in the morning. Straight in the tumble dryer. Dry and ready to be folded an hour later.

I never understand how people wash per person. Dont you all separate colours? I do back, whites, reds and coloured. Otherwise dont the whites become grey , the red leak etc?

Agree with some other posters. Declutter, less stuff, less to tidy, everything has a place. I do main stuff every day (Washing, load/unload dishwasher, wipe kitchen down, Iron - much easier to do one loads worth every day than a weeks worth at the end of the week), then 'clean' once a week. Its actually pretty quick as I have kept on top of the tidying during the week, so a quick wipe down (Again, less clutter, easier to wipe down), hoover and mop and its done. Quick to do as I'm not tidying first, can actually just clean.

I also set an amount of time and have a speed tidy if that makes sense. Say 20 minutes. Surprising what you can achieve when you put full effort in for 20 minutes rather than procrastinate and half arsed do it for an hour

My tips would be , declutter , have at least 2 cordless vacuums one that is kept upstairs , keep a second load of cleaning stuff upstairs . With regards to laundry I sort by whether it goes in the drier or not as it then avoids having to sort again when it’s actually washed .

I've started washing clothes less often. No-one smells and it saves time, work, electricity and detergent. Bedding stays on for 2 weeks (I wash bottom sheets and the top pillowcases for mine and DH's bed) and we keep the same bath towels for a week. Best time=saver ever imo.

I mean I still wash the pillowcases and bottom sheet for our bed weekly but the rest gets done every 2 weeks.

I have ADHD and a single parent to 3DC - 13/11/6.

• I don’t separate lights and darks, never have, nothing bad has happened yet

• I have a 9KG washing machine and 8KG dryer because I also don’t have time/don’t want to fuck about doing a load per person.

• I do laundry at the weekend ONLY.

• When it’s dry, I throw underwear and socks into a basket, DCs find their own and pair their own socks up. I fold clothes/put them on hangers, they eldest two then put everyones away.

• I have 2 sets of bedding per person, one comes off, the other goes on immediately.

• DCs load dishwasher and wipe surfaces down.

• We are all out of the house 8:30-5:30 Mon-Fri so that helps.

• Cleaner comes in once a week, hoovers, mops, does the bathroom.

• Frozen, pre chopped ingredients are a must.

• Elder DCs are more than capable of throwing left overs etc into the microwave themselves.

@ReadtheFT

I never understand how people wash per person. Dont you all separate colours? I do back, whites, reds and coloured. Otherwise dont the whites become grey , the red leak etc?

that's a lot of separation!!!

I do whites+lights and the rest. Even for a family of 5 we don't have enough blacks or reds to do their own cycle

@TheBigDilemma - that only works if your child sleeps.
I’m knackered, loads to do. Been trying to get Ds asleep since 7.45pm, it’s almost 9pm here and he’s wide awake still. Can climb out of cot and over gate so I have to stay with him.
He’s wide awake by 6am. I’m not doing chores at 5am.

Great idea for a thread! Coming back later for some tips!

[quote Caspianberg]@TheBigDilemma - that only works if your child sleeps.
I’m knackered, loads to do. Been trying to get Ds asleep since 7.45pm, it’s almost 9pm here and he’s wide awake still. Can climb out of cot and over gate so I have to stay with him.
He’s wide awake by 6am. I’m not doing chores at 5am.[/quote]
They sleep much better once they hit teenage.

@grey12 , 7 of us and teens have lots of black/dark clothes, little girls lots of pinkish 😁but anyway a load gets washed when theres enough for a load.