to ask what makes the Ultimate Housewife ? (lighthearted)

[meladeso]

I am newly a SAHM, after many years in a pretty big office job. It's a whole new world and I have never been much of a domestic goddess.

I have admired the amazing housekeeping threads in the past but never had the time to implement anything much myself.

So now I am full time on the big domestic job, AIBU to ask you all for your ultimate housekeeping tips, tricks, hacks and all round wizardry so I start this off with panache?!

About the freezer - I wait till it's fairly empty then put anything in the fridge, switch the freezer off, blast it with a hairdryer for 20 mins, wipe it down & switch it back on & put the food in

I'm not a SAHM but I work from home and so try to do house stuff around work.

On a practical level, before I do anything work wise in the morning I load the dishwasher and put it on, put a load of washing on, wipe down the kitchen worktops and set the roomba off to hoover. It takes ten minutes and I feel like I am keeping on top of things.

My only domestic goddess tip is each evening, once you have finished your well deserved G&T, put the used lemon slice into the dishwasher cutlery basket. Everything comes out extra clean and sparkly. No need for rinse aid.

Meladoso no not properly but I swish and swipe quickly also stick denture tablets down regularly .
I recommend Flylady for some of her ideas particularly " You can do anything for 15 minutes"
I don't like housework so timers and lists work for me.
When lacking motivation I also play a silly dice game:-
List 6 chores or sometimes 5 chores and a treat
Then roll a dice and you have to do what comes up!!!
Works for me if I'm procrastinating
Before and after photos are quite good too.

Not exactly housekeeping but food related:

I don't like to eat the same thing for supper that I've done for the kids so I often make a double or triple batch of what we are having (beef casserole, fish pie, meatballs or whatever) and eat ours and then give it to the kids the next night or freeze it. I only do this a few times a week as DH and I like to have spicy stir fries and curries too.

I also bake with the kids (smug emoticon) and then freeze half so I can give them something homemade when I'm knackered a few weeks later.

I also do 'picnic' quite regularly, fresh bread, hummus, raw veggies, deli meat, prawns, olives, whatever. No cooking! My kids love this.

All this really helps me feel like I am not cooking 24-7 but they are eating healthy meals. I enjoy cooking but doing it all the time is the most boring bit of being a SAHM for me.

Newts can I just say I love that dishwasher/excuse to definitely have a g&t for housekeeping reasons one

Wet wipes are your best friend, generally there isn't anything a wet wipe can't clean! Especially good for toilet rims and the like. Wipe and throw!

My mum use to go all out with the picnic, green sheet on the floor, picnic blanket, plastic containers to eat from etc. Food was make your own cheese spread sandwich, apple and crisps as it was the 80's - did humus even exist then?

Now of course I know it meant no cooking or washing up but as a kid we loved it.

I'm always willing to take one for the team rugger

You are never going to have a showhome with small children

Saying that I hover, mop, clean kitchen and make beds straight after the school run, toddler groups all morning or errands, it keeps on top of it! Washing machine and dishwasher on after lunch!

I don't iron! Shirts to dry cleaners everything else is put away dry after dinner. My quick hack is a breadmaker and coffee machine to make the place smell welcoming and lots of plants nd fresh flowers....
Good luck!

Write/develop mentally a sort of 'job description' for yourself so you know what you expect of yourself, and when to stop! I really struggle with figuring out when I'm just being lazy or when I'm legitimately done work since the work is pretty much never done (probably laziness most of the time but still, interesting to ponder...). It also helps with the struggle to figure out what it's legit to ask DH to do/silently resent him for not doing. Also, I'm a pretty crap SAHM (shit housekeeper, badly organised, struggle to be patient with DCs...) but I'm doing it for now b/c it works best for the family, and actually I enjoy it for the most part. I was much better at my pre-kids job. I think that's OK to admit!

Tidy up as you go along and split the rest with dh

😂Oh I'd love to see my dh reaction if I told him that. He was complaining this evening that I never empty the bin, forget the fact that I do everything else!

put the used lemon slice into the dishwasher cutlery basket.

Who has a cutlery basket? Very old fashioned dishwasher you have there!!!

Keep up!

*put the used lemon slice into the dishwasher cutlery basket.

Who has a cutlery basket? Very old fashioned dishwasher you have there!!!

Keep up!*

Never seen one without one!

Sorry busy afternoon (mix of housekeeping and playing with DC I must clarify)

thanks for all the replies, there are lots of things I'm going to attempt to bring in to my repertoire!

Jecan definitely some things to keep up my sleeve for when DC are bigger. I am also realising having particular days and times to do certain things is going to be very helpful. I had never heard of doing the freexer with a hairdryer! I might just try this. Does it make a big mess on the floor? Do I have to lay towels down or something? don't laugh

Newtssuitcase bring on the G&T! and also yes, I've occasionally put a wash in the machine all ready to go at night, and asked DH to switch it on before he leaves in the morning (before we're all up). I shall make a point of doing this daily now. it's finished when we're having breakfast that way.

I've also realised that I need to get stricter with myself about clearing the kitchen every night after dinner/before bed. I'm all for leaving it do the next day so I can start the evening with DH, but to be fair he'll always do the clear up, and I don't need to be a hero saying "oh leave that, I'll do it while the DC have breakfast tomorrow". In reality it means there's too much to do before we head out for the day, and I end up leaving a load of mess that can linger til that last half hour before he gets home!

Bin85 denture tablets? Eh?! Is Flylady another poster? I'll try looking her up. Thanks for your tips, they're really different

Ladydepp we are so on the same page i already do some of what you describe - making extra for DC the following night, and also the picnic thing is a favourite here. However the baking? Do you mean freezing cakes etc? do they freeze well? this is a new one on me.

Buster wetwipes are currently helping me with the gallons of baby spew I'm dealing with

Gowgirl any excuse to buy more fresh flowers!

Brixtononmymind that is really fascinating. Because for all that this thread is fairly lighthearted, I think that is actually what I feel the need to do. It's how I'm used to doing things, so the urge to know what the absolute extreme / clever / impressive / bonkers limits of anything are, is kind of a way of figuring out where I want to be, IYSWIM? what is possible for someone, what is realistic for me, and what can i actually be arsed to do without losing my mind and neglecting my DC .

some sort of expectation for myself, and as you say, then by default for my DH, is going to be really good. however high or low that may be!!

ps brixton i bet you're much better at it than you think

do you remember that gag about the husband coming home to total carnage/disarray? looks like burglary / hurricane, etc. and asking the wife (lying on sofa) what happened? and her saying you know when you ask me what i do all day? well today, i didn't do it?

some pp comments remind me of that. find it for your DP Changeling

I think my top tip would be to disappear off to the Caribbean or somewhere for a fortnight leaving your DH at home with the DC so that he gets to really experience the amount of mindless drudgery there is with young DC and that sometimes you will be non-stop all day and yet achieve nothing!

Top tip.

Don't give DS 2 your bowl of popcorn. Hell spill it while you're reading a thread about how to be a good house wife

LOL at this thread.

I'm about to be in your position, as I'm on mat leave with baby 2 due soon.

My plan (haha) for my share of housework is:
-Washing machine on every evening then it's ready to dry in dryer, on radiator (using heating that's on in day or eve) or on line at the right time (think ours has a 'delay' feature, check if yours does and then you can load it at night and it will start 'X' hours later.) then put away later in day. That's prob about half an hour of work per day. Don't iron.

• meal plan for the week, making easy stuff and batch cooking when the mood takes me so we can have hot nice dinners early in evening. Cold lunch/snacks (sandwiches, fruit, oatcakes, hummus etc for me and toddler - have started keeping this in stock and putting in cool bag if going out for the day, so we don't get tired/ratty/hungry or overspend on takeaway food).
• during day rinse food off plates/utensils with water quickly after use and put in washing up bowl on side (so not filling up sink) for end of day/eve.
• leave toy tidy up until after OH gets home, otherwise will be doing it continually.
• evening - sorting kitchen so everything is put away and clean start for morning and cleaning surfaces.

-a tip I read on here, wet wiping sides of bath/sink while kids in bath to avoid build up of visible grot. -Also did Konmari, so (in theory) things have a place to be put away and not too much clutter out to shuffle around.

• lower standards (not very high to begin with)
• leave weekly jobs hoovering/dusting/food shop/bins to OH to do on weekend.

Brown76 my washer does have a delay switch but I am somewhat forbidden from using it since repeatedly miscalculating and waking everyone up ha
I might steal your dirty dishes thing thank you

I'd go with a lot that's already been said, but I really would make the time to maintain dishwasher ( beware of adding lemons as the pips can get into the pump) wash macine and dryer. It's worth it as when they stop working its hell and expensive to put right.
Iron the minimum, I gave up pressing duvet covers years ago. A lot of my laundry goes from washer on to hanger on to the line/clothes horse.
Wash on everyday as even if all the clothes are done then you may have bedding/towels/bath mats .

Storage, storage, storage and more but don't hang on to stuff you don't need.
Batch cooking, pre rolled pastry,if I make a crumble I make extra topping and keep it in a box in the fridge. I clean the fridge out before I do the weekly shop so I know what's good/bad.
Meals are great if home made but don't need to be complicated .

Out nearly every day even if it's just for a walk, I used to take a different route and explore streets I'd never been along.
Used to go to the library and park as coffee shops weren't really around in those days.

Above all enjoy the time at home, my children are all adults now and it's true the time really does fly .
Good Luck.

put the used lemon slice into the dishwasher cutlery basket.

Who has a cutlery basket? Very old fashioned dishwasher you have there!!!

Keep up

Seriously mortificado? what do you put the cutlery into in the dishwasher if you don't have a cutlery basket? I'm completely confused and worried about losing my gin drinking domestic goddess status if my dishwasher is no longer de rigueur.

place marking for some ideas aswell

Lots have a cutlery drawer at the top now Newt