Anyone else’s home a complete mess after the heatwave?

[northlondonnotislington]

We live in a really small flat with not enough storage so it’s always a job to keep clutter to a minimum. With the heatwave I’ve had my 6 year old DS home as his school was partially closed. We’ve had fans everywhere, toys out, and to top it all off the washer dryer has broken and I’ve had to hang laundry up inside the place. The heat has made me flop and my general feeling has been that I just can’t be bothered to do anything like chores! Perimenopause plus heatwave not a good combo.

I am looking around the place feeling like I’m itching to get it tidied up and cleaned but I’m still boiling, tired from rubbish sleep night after night and can’t WAIT for my DS (whom I love dearly of course) to go back to school now!

is this the situation for anyone else??

My DD had a vomiting bug a few days before the heat hit, which I then caught, and her carpet needed professionally cleaning so all the stuff from her room was in my room while the carpet dried, and then about 8 loads of dry laundry were piled in my room which I just kept moving from the floor to the bed and back again each day. I did dishwasher each day but no hoovering. I gave the cleaner a week off because I thought was cruel to have her work in this heat.

Cleaned the bathroom and did a couple of loads of washing earlier but felt a bit odd today,think it's the dramatic drop in temperature.

I have donated about 2⁰ carrier bags of toys and clothes this weekend. Hopefully a good declutter will help to get the hoover around at some point. I really need to get better at staying on top of clutter because this is big part of things going feral during times like this

Same here and I’m normally so particular but I’ve just been so hot, it’s a lot cooler today with a breeze so have blitzed the place!

Just do what you can and don’t beat yourself up about anything you can’t manage.
These are exceptional circumstances.

I said the same to my friend today. I managed to put the laundry away but then headed for the shade of the garden. I can’t face hoovering when the weather is so close.

My friends and I are all in the same it’s sensible not to push yourself in a heatwave. I cancelled the whole weeks appointments, stayed in, did small jobs only it was boring so now looking forward to doing some work. I was lucky I had done a big shop the week before so only shortage was fresh fruit for half the week so used tinned and frozen. Going to keep up to date with shopping with an eye on the temperature.

Finally hoovered and washed floors today downstairs. I have been up to date with laundry, and kept kitchen clean. I clean toilets and wipe down sinks when use. House is tidy considering I have kids.

Things that are disgusting:
Upstairs is in desperate need of a clean, I can see dust on bathrooms floors and drawers, I cleaned it today with a tissue on way past just to get rid of a little 😳etc. The windows need cleaned inside including window sills, and skirting boards are terrible, all basically needs good deep clean. Also cupboard full of clutter I have been needing to sort out for ages along with a load of stuff for the loft currently on my landing.

Just been thinking this very thing. Too hot to hoover, too hot to iron, even doing the dishes has me dripping with sweat (don't have a dishwasher), did the bins last night and felt I deserved a medal. All the basic tasks such as wiping down the worktops, cleaning the kitchen sink, bathroom basin and toilet, stuff I normally do almost on autopilot seem monumental tasks.

Firstly, how many men will have even noticed, let alone been concerned about it? We are too hard on ourselves, do what you can do. Mine is too but that's mainly because I've been working like a fiend.

Secondly, I also have a preschooler and am heavily petimenopausal. HRT has just kicked in and it has literally changed my life. If you aren't on it, I cannot encourage you enough to consider it.

Yes. I home educate my 7yo so I can’t blame his presence for the chaos. We spent the hottest days in the river and playing on the banks from as soon as we were ready to leave until about 9pm. Once we got in and did essential washing up it was just too hot to tidy up. Been catching up. all weekend, still chaos!

As it's so much cooler here today, I got my arse in gear to sort out all the neglected things. My house...the food shopping...my hair. Eating some proper food. And now I feel as exhausted as if it was still sweltering. I opened the door to put some recycling out, contemplated the two steps down, and shut the door again. It wasn't happening.
So I think we can all forgive ourselves for letting things go a bit.

Exactly the same

Yep! Ive only done essential chores this week (making beds, loading/unloading dishwasher, doing laundry). Everything else can just wait. I'm not vacuuming, dusting, cleaning bathrooms etc. in this heat! I just don't have the energy.

I took the week off to clean (yes it had got that bad). Bad timing! 🤣 But it meant I had to get on with it. It was unplesasnt and exhausting but now my house is shiny and clean. The only thing I didn't do was the windows because there was no way I was basically standing in a greenhouse scrubbing and having everything smear because ot dried instantly. I'm back at work tomorrow so the windows will have to be next weekend's job.

Things that helped me this last week with cooking were whole chicken hot then cold till we used it, cooked double amount of salmon so had it cold the next day etc. the deep freeze has been a godsend .None of us has fancied usual food so we have gone with the flow, and what we had on the shelves and we are all still alive.

I don't consider bed-making an essential chore, unless I'm changing the sheets! I just roll back the covers (recently, just a top sheet) in the morning, and roll them back up again at bedtime.

Signed,
A Stattern

My house also feels like a tip even though my cleaning lady came at 6am on Thursday. It is just too hot to do anything and has been since last weekend. We have had 40° again today. A tiny bit of rain. But nothing to break the heat.

I feel.your pain!! We live in a tiny flat which in itself is a daily struggle to keep tidy, add to that a 35° heat even at 1am and a perimenopausal me on top spells out disaster. So ive made the conscious decision that next heatwave I will throw caution to the wind and say f@#k it to the mess, and just sit as still as I can til its over!

Ive done the same as usual cos I just reverted back to how I managed when I lived in the Caribbean: housework done first thing in the morning (6am) whilst still in pyjamas then have a shower and get ready for the day.

I'd sometimes have a quick clean just before my evening shower too. Yes I was a sweaty mess but you need to clean to keep the insects and wildlife away as much as possible.

In a word YES. We’ve had this awful for heatwave the last nine days. I was tempted to dance outside with relief when we had a bit of a storm last night and we cleaned up this morning as it was cooler. You just have to do what you can to survive in extreme heat. I have just about managed to wfh, slowly and rereading everything because concentrating was hard.

The mess in your house isnt going anywhere. Sort it out when you feel like it.

I always remember my nans advice before I got married - your housework will always be there waiting for you - your life experiences won't. Prioritise properly

Yes, everywhere is a mess and the garden is half dead as am I!
I was 22 in 1976 and with my first love, so no sleep, and it was great.
50 years on, no energy for anything and my brain is fried.
As per BBC weather app, the heatwave is returning in a week or so, so more melting.
DH and I have decided we’re going to struggle through this summer and get some air conditioning in the autumn.

Between the heat and a manic time at work, I haven’t cleaned bathrooms or hoovered this week, I only folded laundry (from a week’s worth of laundry) tonight, I still have not unpacked (and repacked) my case after a trip last weekend…and I am studiously ignoring tonight’s washing up. And I have a large pile of ironing….ahem.

It is F*ing sh** here!!! I live in a six bedroom house - I am falling down!!!
I have a week and then the heat returns OMG !
TLC is the rule right now.