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Original poster

12 hours to sort my life out

12 replies

Marthadartha · 16/04/2023 10:40

We have absolutely no plans today. We've had a fairly full Easter holidays of activities/time away from home and a couple of days of down time too. Due to all this the house is looking sorry for itself, slightly grimy and very cluttered. I want make some impact on sorting my life out to make things easier next week before getting back to the school and work routine. I should have made plans yesterday because now I'm feeling overwhelmed and unable to start.

Amongst unpacking and making food, what would your top five jobs be to sort your life out? I have a dp who will pull his weight and two dc who are a 50/50 help/hindrance.

OP posts:
DedicatedFollowerOfFashion84 · 16/04/2023 10:41

I mean, it’s hardly 12 hours to sort your life out… it’s 12 hours to do a bit of life admin for the next week?

EducatingArti · 16/04/2023 10:42

Top one. Get your dp to meal plan and food shop for the week ahead. Then do some batch cooking. It will make the next week much easier.

dudsville · 16/04/2023 10:44

Hm, I'd focus on bathrooms, kitchen and surfaces (dusting and vacuuming), in that order in case you run out of time. I'd sort laundry into piles so that everyone can pitch in pushing laundry through as you go through the next few days, and I might order in or have something basic for dinner!

poopyface · 16/04/2023 10:44

Book school lunches, batch cook something for tolorrow/Tuesday …get uniforms ready, pick one room each for you and DH to sort/clean… ask kids to put their clothes away….do an online food shop! (These are my plans when I can get motivated)

Dotcheck · 16/04/2023 10:46

Split chores
Give each person a room to work on for a set amount of time. Music in if that helps

In the background, get some laundry on - short cycles so you can do a few loads.

Put a time limit on the tidying so you can move to the next phase- food shopping ( if needed) cooking dinner, ironing clothes for the week ( if applicable).

I always find as long as the kitchen and bathroom are cleaned and the hoovering done, if feel like the house is OK

Makewayforsummer · 16/04/2023 10:48

Do you just mean you house and boring home stuff?

  • Meal plan and do an online food shop
  • Dishes done and put away/dishwasher on
  • Check you have clothes for the week/whack on a load of washing and whatever is needed
  • Review the calendar for this week, clubs, who needs what on which days, who is doing pick up/drop off. Quick check if any thing will need doing for the weeks ahead eg birthday gift/baby sitter booked.
  • Then put a box it bag in each room for stuff to sort, go into each room with the children, collect random clutter and if it’s for another room give it to a child and tell them to put it into the random bag/box in the appropriate room. Do each room with the kids relocating the random crap into the bag into it’s appropriate room while you put all the stuff away in that room whack it in the bag/box. Do this at the speed of light and get DH to follow behind with a hoover and then mop.
Commonsensitivity · 16/04/2023 10:59

Don't over estimate what you can achieve in one day.
Clean kitchen and bathroom.
Put away clothes and do laundry from holidays.
Rest.

Original poster
Marthadartha · 16/04/2023 10:59

Sorry the title is overdramatic, I genuinely feel like my life is in chaos when home is in disarray.

Thanks for the tips, meal plan was already on the list due to online shop booked for tomorrow. Cleaning the bathroom is a must and I will definitely use a timer. Dc need supervision to get things done so can't allocate a room each but can all work on one room for a set time period before moving on.

OP posts:
Cakeyface123 · 16/04/2023 11:14

Marthadartha · 16/04/2023 10:59

Sorry the title is overdramatic, I genuinely feel like my life is in chaos when home is in disarray.

Thanks for the tips, meal plan was already on the list due to online shop booked for tomorrow. Cleaning the bathroom is a must and I will definitely use a timer. Dc need supervision to get things done so can't allocate a room each but can all work on one room for a set time period before moving on.

I do too. When the house is a mess I can’t function. Everything feels chaotic . I totally get it

Original poster
Marthadartha · 16/04/2023 13:25

Lounge is tidier, dining table clear, washing up done, bins taken out, load of washing on. I'm going to put clothes away now, but I have two bags of clothes from going away, an overflowing washing basket of clean clothes and an airer full of dry clothes!

OP posts:
Dotcheck · 16/04/2023 14:30

Wash all laundry- take it to a laundromat to dry

Original poster
Marthadartha · 17/04/2023 12:06

House is feeling much calmer today, thank you for the advice/motivation. I've put all the dry washing away and hoovered everywhere. Food shopping arriving this afternoon and meals planned until the next shop on Friday. I also cooked an extra portion of dinner last night so we can have that this week when children have a busy night of clubs. Now have a quiet day at home, due to an unwell child. If anyone has any of advice on what I can sort today to help longer term I'm all ears.

OP posts:
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