Anyone else struggle keeping the house clean while doing 12 hour shifts?

[TheresNoFudgeHere]

I’m a nurse working in a very busy ward, and my rota recently has been 3 12.5 hour shifts on, 2 off, 3 on again, 2 off and 3 on.

When I get home at night all I have time for is to eat, shower then sleep, so everything just gets left in a mess.
On my days off I’m so exhausted from the shifts that I can’t get the energy to just start sorting the house, I just need to relax. And then I’ve not spoken to any friends/family for that 3 days so often I’m rushing about seeing people, not to mention general life admin/food shopping and then before I know it it’s back to work

Then I get so stressed the house is in such a state. I completely know I just need to make
time for it, but I just wondered does anyone else struggle with this or is it just me not managing?

Just me then?

Why is the house getting into such a state if it’s not lived in. Who is doing it?

Isn’t the house the same when you get home after a shift?
If someone else is messing it up - have a word with them!

Otherwise a normal clean on one of your 4 off days should be fine.

If you do 12.5h shifts don't you have 4 full days off a week, can you clean them?

who Is messing up the house?

I also struggled to do anything when I worked 12 hour shifts.

Do 15 minutes of anything that will help when you first get home before you eat or shower.

For example, blitz the kitchen, clean the bathroom or tidy the living room for 15 minutes then relax.

You haven’t mentioned who you live with, but my interpretation is that it’s just you and if so, where is the mess coming from? I’d also say you have a lot more free days than most people who work 5 days/2 day weekend. Surely have 1 day for rest, cleaning, life admin etc and 1 day socialising. Why do you desperately need to see friends and family after 3 days? I see mine once a month!

Same! In theory I get 4 days off but always end up working extra. The 12.5 hour shifts end up 13.5 -14 hours as it's so busy you don't get time to write your notes during the shift. Night staff not turning up means you can be stuck on the ward until 10pm or later. Also a mix of days and nights. I am just constantly knackered. Time
off is spent prioritising rest and family.

This Is how it goes:

Get out the shower - bottles of shampoo/conditioner are left out, along with a razor. Empty toilet paper packaging rolls, cotton buds and sometimes paracetamol. The bathroom needs wiped down, but I don’t have time because I’ve gotten home at 9pm, just out the shower and exhausted after a 12.5 hour shift and now I have to go and prepare all my meals for the next day and be up at 6am.
I’m also trying to have just a tiny bit of time to myself before this.

I then go into the kitchen and remove my tubs from my bag from that day from work - I don’t have time to clean them because I’m too busy trying to prepare my meals for the next day. Hence by the end of my 3 shifts the kitchen is full of dirty empty tubs.

I can’t batch cook as I have the tiniest fridge ever and I physically cannot fit in the amount of tubs required.

By the time I prepare everything for the next day and clean the cats dish and feed her, it’s 9:40pm. Now I need to go brush my teeth and take my tablets, and try to have at least 15 minutes to just unwind before going to sleep.

Meanwhile there’s bins to be put out and cleaned, clothes to be sorted for washing/put on for wash and usually letters to be looked at. Usually the living room table needs a wipe down too and needs to be cleared from things just being dumped there (by me previously having no time!) Then I notice that the floors need hoovered due to crumbs and cat litter.

I don’t know if this is just me but I find it so overwhelming.

It sounds like not tidying as you go is a big part of the issue?

I would personally think 15 mins extra each day to sort things would do enough to make it feel ok and would be worth it to me. I would probably get up 15 mins earlier and have an extra cup of tea whilst tidying so the house is tidy when I leave, and therefore when I get back.

But you sound overwhelmed? Perhaps this is the root of it.

Not just you. Coming out of a run of long days can feel like coming out of a cave. Things I have found helpful are food deliveries/click and collect from the supermarket, doing a wash every day (as they tended to be smaller loads and a bit more manageable), setting a timer and doing 15/30 minutes of housework. Be a bit kinder to yourself, it's a hard job.

It isn't an issue the shampoo and conditioner are left out.
The bog roll inner goes straight in the bin.
As you turn off the shower, spray and wipe as you start to drip dry.

Wash the tubs immediately and leave to drain before you shower.
What are you cooking to involve time and many tubs? We may have suggestions here.

Bins, laundry, admin, can be done on your days off.

A cordless hoover with small detachable unit is a lifesaver for cat litter.

Don't put it down, put it away.

In the gentlest way possible, many people are out of the house from 7am until 9pm five days a week.

Commiserations OP that sounds a really gruelling pattern.

Those who don't get it have clearly never done constant night shifts.
Two recovery days really don't cut it after shifts that length. It absolutely isn't at all like a two day weekend for those who work Monday to Friday - it really isn't.. PPs' phrases 'constantly knackered' and 'like coming out of a cave' perfectly conjure up what it's like to do nights on a regular basis.
Cut yourself some slack OP - you're giving your all to your patients, you don't need to run a show home as well. 🤗

I think she is doing more than just being out of the house!

I tried to write out my schedule and routine but honestly you need to find your groove and mojo.
25yrs of shiftwork 3 kids and a dh who did no housework but did cook.
i was task orientated and regardless of my shift; Sunday and Wednesdays laundry, Mondays bathroom, Tuesday floors, Thursday vacuum. Meal planning, home admin during work breaks (your entitled to your breaks use them, being a martyr gets you zero extra points).
stick to your schedule do no OT or trades. No banking, signing legal documents or speaking to the school after your last night shift.
you’ve ID’d a few issues; fridge and containers. Get a second small fridge and disposable containers make your life easier.
pop laundry loads in as you leave the house or go to bed.

Can you get a bigger fridge if the one you have doesn't fit your lifestyle? Or a second one somewhere else in the house?

Do you have a freezer? If so, if you batch cooked on the day before you started a run of 3 shifts, you could put some of the food in the freezer.

What food are you making and how many tubs are there? Are the tubs too big? Even with multiple tubs and a standard size fridge it should be possible to make this work so you don't have to think about food on the days you work.

Could some of your food be non refrigerated? Eg tinned or microwave packets? Or can you buy it on the way to work and keep it in a cool bag with an ice pack if necessary?

Plus I'd ignore all the other stuff on the days you work. If you've 3 days when you're hardly at home it doesn't matter if the house isn't spotless. The cat won't care.

Shampoo bottles can be left in the shower ready for next time. If you live alone there can't be that much rubbish in a couple of days and just leave the shower and clean it on a day off.

If you try and get into a routine where you sort your food on the day before the three work days and do a catch up clean and tidy on the day after it should help a lot.

im also a nurse doing shifts and have found the organised mum method helpful.

small and manageable and guided cleans which I love

I would definitely struggle with that pattern. It sounds really relentless. I actually don't think I could do it. It makes sense you would spend much of your two days off recovering.

Could you try some short cuts to make life easier?

Disposable food containers maybe? Or some very simple meals that take moments to prepare?

A bag in the bathroom to chuck the loo roll holders etc into?

A box you can pop all your post in?

You live alone? Is that right?

À lot of your list is you not being bothered tbh.

There's no one else making the mess.

Use a day when you aren't working to get each room straight. Then 15 mins a day and your house will be grand.

Get a freezer if you can for batch cooking.

I'm a social care manager and I don't work as long a shifts as you op, but I do do very long days with little time in between every other week-so this last week has been a 56 hour one with two days where one on call duty finished at 10.30 pm and I was back in at 7am the next day. My alternative weeks is easier at 44 hours and fewer of them anti social so to speak.

However on my 'big' week, the house is a hole. I have neither time or energy to clean as I go, do the odd 15 mins here and there or anything else tbh.

And in my shorter week I am trying and failing to catch up.

I do batch cook on one of my days off a week but much of this is for the kids.

I don't know what the solution is except to get some paid help but I can't really afford it. Just wanted to offer some solidarity. The state of my house gets me down too.

Im a sahm to 3 kids. Im busy with kids 15 hours a day every single day. Then i am up in the night breastfeeding a toddler every 2-3 hours every single night. The house is actively being messed up and cooking is 3 times a day. Cleaning just has to be done. Things just need to be done as you go. The key is to never stop until you are in bed and that is when you get your rest.

Lovely judgey people here, shifts mess up your clock and you’re generally absolutely wrecked most of the time. I only did them when I was young young and it was a horror movie- and I wasn’t in a job where I was on my feet as much as a nurse!! Hope you get it figured out op!

If u paid attention to most people on here you will die a horrible death by wearing ur pjs two days in a row and will get some terrible disease from wearing ur bra twice.

life is short. And ur not going to get ill by not have an immaculate house. Do what u can when u can. If u get extra time give ur self a splurge on the housework. It really isn’t anything to be stressed about having a slightly messy and not immaculately clean house. Try and make sure u take time for u. Just doing housework and work is soul destroying