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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to never wash up, vacuum or iron ever again?

147 replies

MalibuStacy · 04/06/2014 15:38

OK, so this will shortly be my day:

Commuting & school run: 4 hours
Work: 6 hours
Park & helping with homework: 1 hour
Cooking, preparing lunches & general tidying up: 1 hour
Running my small business: up to 3 hours.

That doesn't actually leave any time at all for anything else, does it? DH can't really help as he works more hours than I do. But I can't do it all. Money is a bit tight for us right now, but I am hoping things will improve.

I can't afford to get a cleaner in every day, so… I am thinking of employing a range of different household gadgets to take the pressure off. This is my list:

Roomba
Dishwasher
Tumble dryer (so I don't have to iron)
Slow cooker.

Is there anything else? I would love to hear from other stressed working mums about ways that they have reduced the workload also.

OP posts:

drinkingtea · 04/06/2014 17:05

We were given a Roomba and it was rubbish - too many areas it didn't get to, and obviously you still have to pick everything up first. Sympathy though.

Original poster

MalibuStacy · 04/06/2014 17:05

Sorry, should have mentioned my DC are quite small and we live in the middle of nowhere. Like, literally the middle of nowhere. So no cleaners unless they turned up on a camel

I wish it only took 5 mins to hoover. Takes me bloody ages, at least 15 mins just to do the downstairs. Also washing up… I am so exhausted after dinner that I leave it to the morning. We don't have any running hot water downstairs so I am boiling kettles and… FFS do I really need to be doing this before a 2 hour commute and full day working followed by another 4 hour commute followed by cooking, homework, developing my business, etc?

OP posts:

Runesigil · 04/06/2014 17:07

To lessen the amount of ironing, I put spun clothes on flock hangars - the type that will not release their dye - then hang those on clips that are on the washing-line. Maybe you could use an over the bath line on wet days? I've also got a hanging-rail in the airing-cupboard so clothes go from machine to line to aired to wardrobe, all on the same hangar.

You could also have a plastic washing-up bowl full of soapy water to soak dishes in for a while before they are rinsed and go into the dishwasher, it's a balancing act between ease of use and time. E.g. all the breakfast dishes go into the bowl in hot soapy water just before you leave for the school run. Rinse and load dishwasher anytime at your convenience on your return.

Batch-cooking and freezing can make mealtimes quicker and easier for days you don't want to use the slow-cooker.

Could you or the children clear the things off the floor in one room and shut the door before the school run? You can then vac that room whenever you have a minute at another time that's convenient in the day.

Rather than knowing you don't have say 20 minutes to complete a task, say tidy and vac one room, try and work out how to split the steps involved so you can do one part, then leave it and do the next part when you have time.

Original poster

MalibuStacy · 04/06/2014 17:07

*Sorry, second commute is only 2 hours, not 4 hours. It's 4 hours total.

OP posts:

OnlyLovers · 04/06/2014 17:07

Can your DH REALLY not stir himself to do some of the housework? How much more than you does he work exactly?

Original poster

MalibuStacy · 04/06/2014 17:10

He walks the dog then goes to work. Gets home, eats, spends an hour with me and the kids then it's bedtime. He works 6 days a week then just collapses on the day he doesn't work.

He was a SAHD for a while and did a great job. It's not that he's lazy, he's just never here...

OP posts:

drinkingtea · 04/06/2014 17:14

Hoovering definitely takes me more than 5 mins - get hoover out, plug in (its in the basement), 1 min, living room, hall, kitchen, 3 flights of stairs, 4 bedrooms, bathroom (hoover although they are all hard floors, they still need hoovering). Would be at least 2 mins per room or staircase even if I didn't have to pick up or move stuff... so 20 mins bare minimum, more like 30 --not that I do the whole house at once like that
ever-- You'd hzve to be wonder Woman with a superpowered hoover to do a house in 5 mins, or am I doing it wrong (probably)

StarGazeyPond · 04/06/2014 17:14

tumble dryers do not effectively iron your clothes

What an absolute load of crap BabyMonkey.

AllAboveBroad · 04/06/2014 17:14

The hour he spends with the kids could he not muster himself to do 15 minutes of that with you all in the kitchen, him washing, you drying, just generally tidying up etc? You can still be chatting, having coffee and catching up but I find if the kitchen is straighter then the rest of the house doesn't seem as worse.

Also OP if a cleaner isn't an option how about spending the money for a couple of service washes a week at a launderette? Any way you can fit this in to school run/commute? Might be another way to delegate!

OnlyLovers · 04/06/2014 17:15

Hmmm.

Could he spend less time at work?

If not then just don't iron or hoover.

And how about if you could find a cleaner to come in occasionally for a big blowout clean, rather than frequently?

Original poster

MalibuStacy · 04/06/2014 17:15

Thanks for reassuring me that I am not a complete domestic failure for not being able to hoover a house in 5 mins flat.

OP posts:

FuckyNell · 04/06/2014 17:16

What you need is a dyson digital slim and two dishwashers. Yeah baby.

AllAboveBroad · 04/06/2014 17:16

Oh and if you do invest in a tumble dryer then read the manual. Most now do have functions that iron clothes, deal with woollens, have anti-crease so all you have to do is fold and put away.

FuckyNell · 04/06/2014 17:18

Btw my dyson runs out after 13 mins. Apparently

LetsFaceTheMusicAndDance · 04/06/2014 17:22

Usain Bolt couldn't hoover my house in 5 minutes - and that's not a stealth boast about the size of my house.

The worst, most soul-destroying thing about those jobs is that you have do do them all over again the next week, and the week after that and the week after that.

Sigh.

Get as much mechanical help as you can and lower your standards.

Original poster

MalibuStacy · 04/06/2014 17:24

Usain Bolt couldn't hoover my house in 5 minutes - and that's not a stealth boast about the size of my house.

Get as much mechanical help as you can and lower your standards.

Agree with your first point, but really, my standards could not get much lower.

OP posts:

MrsStatham · 04/06/2014 17:25

£30 pw for 3 hours of cleaning is less of an initial outlay than all the gadgetry although i'd get the tumble dryer anyway.

Wouldn't bother with the slow cooker unless your family like everything tasting the same with no discernible texture.

Original poster

MalibuStacy · 04/06/2014 17:31

Cleaner not really an option. Anyway, washing up, vacuuming, etc. need to be done every day. Not just once a week. But thanks for the suggestion.

OP posts:

OnlyLovers · 04/06/2014 17:33

' vacuuming, etc. need to be done every day'

In what parallel universe? I mean, I get you have a dog, but EVERY DAY? Whole house? Really?

Fram · 04/06/2014 17:34

Don't iron, really I iron nothing, If DH wants a pressed shirt, he does it himself the iron has not been used in last 18mo.
Make your children vacuum- really, they love it. Alter the pole so it's the smallest length, and just switch it on for them. (obv doesn't work if you've v small children and a dyson upright!)

Dishwashers are stressy with loading/unloading- go for it if you've time to do that.

MostWicked · 04/06/2014 17:35

tumble dryers do not effectively iron your clothes. in fact quite the opposite,. your clothes will be less creased on a clothes horse

I disagree. I love my tumble dryer as it saves loads of time. I hardly do any ironing. Essential item in our house.
Not cheap to run though, so bear that in mind.

you often have to clea/rinse your dishes either befor or after using the dishwasher

Rubbish! I rarely rinse before I load the dishwasher. There is no point. Either way, the stuff on the plates is getting washed down the drain. Just scrape big bits into the bin. I only soak porridge that has been welded to the bowl in the microwave! If you are rinsing after using the dishwasher, it's faulty.
When our dishwasher broke, we replaced it the same day. Would never be without one.

I love my slow cooker.

Hoover in 5 minutes???? On what planet?
I can't, not even close. No idea about a roomba though.

If you can afford them and can afford to run them, then definitely yes to the tumble dryer, dishwasher and slow cooker. Don't know about the roomba

Fram · 04/06/2014 17:35

Limit the rooms your dog(s) go in!

Or learn to live with hair

PixieofCatan · 04/06/2014 17:45

BabyMonkey I live in a tiny flat and it takes me longer than 5 minutes to hoover with a dyson albeit an old one, no idea where you got five minutes from unless you live in a garden shed sized place?!

OP: Do it! The only massive expense would be the roomba, everything else you can get under £200 second hand, and will be an investment rather than a cleaner who you would have to pay £10 an hour (or whatever your local rate is).

Slow cookers really are amazing, I need to use mine more! I'm a veggie and do tonnes in it, it's even better for meat eaters as you can buy cheaper cuts and do slow roasts, curries, casseroles, etc. If you have extra veg you can chop it up and freeze it in portion sizes to throw in for meals. I do casserole mixes in freezer bags, thrown them on high in the SC and they're ready in 4 hours. I also chop up extra carrots and bits like that and bag them in smaller portions, so if I make a curry in it I can thown them in separately :)

Like wow said, batch cook when you do cook. I've just bought little metal pots for a quid from Sainsbos, like the kind takeaways come in. Made mac and cheese on Sunday and froze two portions. All sorts could be frozen in those (or the plastic tub variety if you want them microwaveable!)

I don't tumble dry or iron, though I may start ironing some bits.

Marking my place for the tips on the thread now though :)

KristinaM · 04/06/2014 17:45

Stop hoovering every day

Stop ironing at all , hang clothes on hangers as soon as they come out of 20 min tumble dry

Get DH to do homework with kids of walk dog as part of the the one hour a day he spends with them

Get HW in your kitchen

Get DW and train kids to load it aftre dinner ( assuming they are over 3 yo)

4 hour daily commute plus Ft job plus kids plus housework plus own business isn't really sustainable in the long term . You will crack up

rookiemater · 04/06/2014 17:48

I get a cleaner once a week - it's wonderful as she is really good and in 2 hrs does all the basic jobs round the house. She also takes away ironing - so if we are under the cosh or feeling rich then will get her to do that.

Dishwasher - yes that would save you time, I don't rinse before putting stuff in and have never had any problems.

Roomba - ummed and ahhed about that, I'm a bit messy so perhaps not ideal plus our house gets hoovered once a week by the cleaner, then I would do the busy areas again at the weekend so not really a huge time taker, if you have a dog though then could be worth it.

Slow cooker - Fine if your DCs aren't fussy eaters I suppose. When I'm really busy I just rotate easy to prepare meals - spag bol takes 10 mins to make up, oven baked fish and chips, fajitas take a few mins, whereas I found with the slow cooker you have to take time in the morning or night before to prep stuff.

Tumble Dryer - I tend to buy non iron things apart from DH's ruddy shirts, but even at that I wouldn't say that the tumble dryer would necessarily save on ironing. It does save a bit of time as you aren't having to hang the stuff up - you just bung it in which is good.

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