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?!

So my household appliances are out of date ?

You'll be telling me next that nobody wears a pinny over their skirt any more when doing household chores.

My mother had lists for everything. First, because she had a totally ghastly memory (which I have unfortunately inherited). Secondly, because it was encouraging to see a growing row of ticks as she went through. Thirdly, because when my dad came home and started roaring about what hadn't been done she could say "well I did THIS and THIS and THESE and four of THOSE". (Except mostly she cried instead. But that's another story for another time, or never.)

meladeso - our freezer has a tray at the bottom and I just either scoop the water out of there with a soup ladle or I soak it up with a cloth and squeeze it into a bucket (while still directing the hairdryer at the frozen parts). It's a faff doing it for the half hour it takes but compared to the hassle of running the freezer right down and leaving it off for hours then it's much easier

If I had the time (which at the moment I don't) I would do the following:

1. Find the list that is on MN somewhere with a task a week for household maintenance. Some you will be able to do and others will probably need to be delegated. Some are little things like turning the mattresses or cleaning the lint out of the tumble dryer hose (makes a great fire starter BTW if you have a wood burning stove). Others are bigger things like getting chimneys swept or clearing the guttering of leaves and debris (I'd delegate that one!). Implement list. I'll see whether I have it saved somewhere.

1. Every day put on dishwasher and unload again, put on washing/drying, use roomba to run over the floors, clean kitchen sink and work surfaces, change dishcloth and tea towel for fresh each evening. General tidy around each evening once DC in bed. Drink G&T as reward.

1. 2 x week toilets, towels, bins

1. 1 x week bedding changed, dusting, thorough clean of bathrooms, proper hoover, mop hard floors, batch cooking (my sunday afternoon task along with a cake).

1. 1 x month clean dishwasher, clean inside of windows, clean out fridge thoroughly (freezer may well never need defrosting depending on the type of freezer), check batteries on smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, try to remove a bin bag of "stuff" from the house and either bin it or donate to charity shop.

1. Every 2 months - clean outside windows and window ledges

1. Every 3 months - service wash on washing machine, put extractor fan filters through the dishwasher, clean oven

As it is I spend most of my free time on MN achieving nothing at all...

I love these threads and find them really motivating to read .... so much so I keep reading them and dont achieve much

My quote which I try to use in dealing with DH who rightfully comes home and compalins while doing more than his fair share " Excuses the mess my children are busy making memories"

Hi
Flylady is an American website and also on Facebook.
Don't subscribe to e mails or its overwhelming
Some of the concepts are good
It got me thinking , helps if you are feeling down and overwhelmed.
House is divided into zones which rotate .

GET A DYSON CORDLESS VACUUM. Everything else will fall into place.

My DM always puts white vinegar in the fabric softener drawer of her washing machine, the laundry always comes out really well.

Eek. Doesn't everything smell like vinegar?

I am a kind of SAHM but 2 are at school and one has just started preschool for a couple of hours each morning and then I go to work in the evenings.

I agree with doing a certain amount of stuff before I leave to take them to school and then I do the cleaning when I get home (apart from Fridays where I relax a bit as I do an evening shift straight into a 8am start on a Saturday.

In a morning I generally make sure that all laundry is in the basket, encourage the kids! Beds made, pots washed and left to drain, everything put away and a wash on and then its a blank canvass to do some cleaning. I do that until about 11.10 so 2 hours worth and then I go and pick my 3 yo up. I make her some lunch as its about 11.40 when we get back and then we can play before I have to get changed for work.

I tend to have a quick whip round and have a job to tackle everyday but if you have a cleaner then that's fab, plan an outing with the little ones!

There is a Flylady thread in Housekeeping on here
Pinterest is also brilliant for ideas about everything!
Hopefully my grown up children don't remember how messy the house was ( I always prioritised anything to do with school and their activities though) but they do remember things like the Thunderbird outfits I made them or the day one threw a paintbrush full of red paint and it landed on kitchen ceiling!!Happy days

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.

Most if not all modern dishwashers now have a very narrow sliding "draw" made out of plastic "mesh" at the top of the dishwasher. The cutlery is slotted into it lying down.

When I last bought a new dishwasher I kept the cutlery basket because I thought I wouldn't be able to cope with out it! But actually the cutlery drawer is much better for all kinds of reasons - more effecient, can get more in, better cleaning, no need to worry about bunching of (eg) spoons) and safer (don't need to make sure knives and forks present a stabbing danger).

Like this:

www.bosch-home.com/Files/Bosch2/Us/us_en/ProductFiles/ProductCatalogue/Dishwashers/Dishwashers-1-L-486x361.jpg

but its Fisher and Paykel !

I'm feeling all faint now and relinquishing any claim to domestic goddess status.

Make yourself a stiff gin and tonic Newtsuitcase. It will improve the suitation no end.

Thanks everyone for all the responses

A specific question if anyone is still around - I have a gas hob on a glass top, and whilst I do manage to get it clean, it is a PITA.

Anyone got any clever tricks for me please?

TIA