To ask if you weren't organised before but are now, what happened?

[sadkoala]

Posting for traffic.

I hate being disorganised and rushing everywhere but it seems to be my life most of the time.
I seem incapable of maintaining a clean home and unless a room is a pigsty I don't take active steps to keep it clean.
Tried meal planning but for some reason I come up with a blank as soon as I attempt it.
My hair/makeup/clothes are rarely put together and neat and my hair scraped back in a bun.
Getting DCs out of the door in the morning is a nightmare and we always JUST make it rushing rather than being able to be on time and not have to drag them along.

I'd love to not be run ragged, look put together and relaxed and have a tidy home and mind.

So can I ask some organised vipers out there how do you do it?

How do you keep on top of the housework?
How do you get your DCs to eat/get dressed/put the shoes on in the morning without it taking 3 hours?
How do you make sure your groceries are always stocked up and you know what to cook?
How do you fit it all in alongside time with DCs and looking after yourself?
And how do you not have washed but not out away mountains of laundry littering the bedrooms?!

Ok...
How do you keep on top of the housework?
We have a cleaner 3 hrs a week, she does the jobs I hate - bathrooms, floors, cleans the kitchen. Other than that I keep on top of everything every day unless I am utterly knackered. I just do it.
How do you get your DCs to eat/get dressed/put the shoes on in the morning without it taking 3 hours?
I only have one but I find getting her up as late as possible while allowing for the necessaries works well in focusing her mind. She has brekkie at school 3 mornings a week as she is on the swim team and starts at 7. The other 2 days I make sure I have quick, easy wins that are portable if needed. No screens in the morning and no distractions.
How do you make sure your groceries are always stocked up and you know what to cook?
I have a rolling menu. 3 versions. I work a ten day shift rotation and the menu is worked out with breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. The ease is according to what we are working. Eg, my rest days we have something a bit more complex like a Chinese fakeaway. Early turn we have something quickish, lates we have something that is portable for me and easy for DH. Nights we have hoops on toast or jackets. The menu is planned for slimming world and if I follow it diligently I’m on plan. I have 3 shopping lists, one for each 10 day set. The menu took me ages and ages but it’s been brilliant. Stuff like lasagne night I make a big batch and then there are convenient meals for DH to take to work from the freezer or emergency meals when plans have gone awry.

How do you fit it all in alongside time with DCs and looking after yourself?
Working a full time 24/7 shift pattern gives me lots of time at home, I work 6 on 4 off. This lets me get on with stuff both household and personal. I run a cake business on top of full time work plus I’m a brown owl and on the PTA.
And how do you not have washed but not out away mountains of laundry littering the bedrooms
We have just redone our wardrobes so everything is hung up. This makes putting the washing away a total breeze. I keep everything very tidy, it makes life much easier

I also love the lists. I have a beautiful planner where I write them in a lovely fountain pen

And just in relation to DH - he does what he can when he can. He deals with cars, DIY, anything I am crap at. I do food, cleaning and home management. I work full time and he works full time 24/7 shifts plus about another half again in overtime. He also has a little gardening business which keeps him occupied so pretty much he’s at work or asleep bless him

Eg on his 4 days off this week :
Day 1 12 hours overs
Day 2 14 hours overs
Day 3 school run, fixed the boiler, took stuff to the tip and went gardening this afternoon to pay for the new decking that arrived today
Day 4 (tomorrow) will take DD to school, start decking, go to work for overtime at 12

Just in case anyone is going to pull the old MN fave of “and why isn’t your DH doing any of the housework”

Also OP, do you have a lunch break at work ? I find this a valuable opportunity to catch up with online admin eg. Booking appointments, ordering —shite— essential items on the internet, dealing with bills & correspondence

Urgh that strikethrough feature is so bloody annoying

Ex- disorganised mess over here waves . I’m by no means perfect but have got so much better at sorting my shit out.

House: - declutter. Thoroughly. Then declutter again. And then again every few months. I started with Marie kondo and it really does make such a difference to your life. It’s so much easier to keep tidy when everything has a place and there’s not crap everywhere. Plus it’s easier to be organised when you know where everything is. Housework wise I have a routine loosely based on flylady and organised mum method. I work against a timer for a set period of time for each job and get it out the way in the mornings (I’m full time but over 4 days and have 2 designated housework mornings, approx 1.5 hours each). When the time is up I stop and the rest of the time I can spend with DD and DH. The house isn’t perfect but as a PP said, because you’re keeping on top of it it doesn’t get too bad if you miss a bit one week. We do a tidying blitz before bed and make sure the dishes are done and the benches wiped.

DC: - I only have one and she’s only 2 so I’ll probably need some tips myself in the future! For now though I’ve discovered she’s much more co-operative if I get her ready as soon as she wakes up rather than letting her potter with her toys etc. I try and get her clothes out the night before (although not totally in the habit yet). I try and be fully ready before she wakes up which mean I get a chance to do my hair properlyish and put a little bit of makeup on. Our bags get packed the day before as soon as we walk in the door - empty out dirty uniform / nursery clothes, fresh stuff straight in

Food:- still got a way to go here so interested in everyone’s tips. We have a recipe file with all our favourites in which is good for inspiration when we do remember to meal plan. Sometimes we don’t manage to do it in full but have a rough outline eg whether each day is fish, chicken, veggie etc. Means it’s easy to know what to take out the freezer in the morning but we have all day to decide what to actually do with it. Shopping wise I have a list on my phone where I add things as soon as we run out.

Washing:- a load in in the evening and hung up in the morning. Clean stuff carried up at bedtime and put away in the morning. Ironing goes in a basket with a lid. Sunday night I iron in front of the tv in order of importance - work clothes first and then alternate between items belonging to each of us until I get bored. Lid goes back on. Who cares if it’s not all done as long as we have what we need for the week.

Time:- having the housework routine helps massively with this. When I get to the end of the allotted time it’s done and the rest of the day is free for pleasure. Admin type stuff we tend to do during DDs nap time or in the morning at work. I get there half an hour early to avoid the worst of the traffic so have time to have a leisurely breakfast, check my diary etc. I’ve dropped my standards too - I used to be an overwhelmed perfectionist. Wanted everything perfect but it was just too much. I’d spend a whole Saturday deep cleaning just for it to be messy again by the next morning. Now I accept that, as we live there, the house can never be spotless, and I aim for good enough.

Oh and my other time management tip - don’t waste pockets of time. Waiting for the kettle to boil? Write the shopping list. DD’s bath running? Do a quick upstairs tidy. Clean the loo while she’s in the bath.

Also, as others have said, DH pulls his weight. He has his jobs, I have mine, and we both keep the place generally tidy. If he cooks then I’ll clean up. I encourage DD to help out too and I’m planning on expecting more as she gets older.

shieldmaidenofrohan

Urgh that strikethrough feature is so bloody annoying

Turn off auto punctuation in your phone settings.

Ooh ta

test

Ooh shieldmaiden would you possibly share your meal plans? I used to do this years ago but can’t get it sorted nowadays for some re......

i would take a pic but cant get it on my ipad..

For housework... check out the Organised Mum Method! I’m very scary/disorganised and easily stressed but this has helped so much which getting me to stay on top of everything without constantly cleaning/tidying.

Scatty not scary

this is rotation 2, my current menu. i have 3 so it covers a full month, every days dinner is different.

REST DAY (coming off nites)
b - banana pancakes with that skinny chocolate sauce (pancakes being mashed nana and egg)
l - i went out for lunch !
d - KFC Fakeaway from pinch of nom with sweet potato wedges, m&s skinny coleslaw & corn on cob

Rest day 2
b - fake mcdonalds "sausage bagel" with "hash brown" aka m&s potato rosti, fruit
l - quick mushroom risotto baked in oven
d - roast beef, PON yorkies, roast spuds, veg; hot raspberry souffle of my own diet method

rest day 3
b - field mushrooms stuffed with garlic and herb cream cheese
l - oven baked meatballs napoletan style with salad and melted light mozzarella
d - smoked cod poached in milk with eggs and ciabatta

rest day 4
b - banana pancakes again
l - hawaian style tuna poke bowl with avocado & wakame
d - homemade pizzas with salad, a pornstar martini and halo top ice cream sundae

early turn 1
b - cold PON coconut rice pudding with pineapple
l - "mega sarnie" of wholemeal bread, roast chicken, egg, lettuce, M&S chipotle slaw, 1/4 avocado; diet crisps and alpen bar
d - classic italian carbonara made with egg

early turn 2
early turn 1
b - cold PON coconut rice pudding with pineapple
l - "mega sarnie" of wholemeal bread, roast chicken, egg, lettuce, M&S chipotle slaw, 1/4 avocado; diet crisps and alpen bar
d - classic italian carbonara made with egg

early turn 2
b. - same as above
l - same as above
d - paella with chicken, chorizo, veg and seafood

sorry i dont know what happened there !

late turn
b - "grill up" consisting of bacon, skinny sausies, M&S rosti, field mishrooms, roasted balsamic tomato, 2 egg omelette
l - cream cheese bagel thin with grated carrot, celery, radish and cress
d - ham, egg and slimming world style chips, salad

late turn 2
b - same again
l - chicken and bacon salad with hard boiled egg and new potatoes
d - 5% fat beef meatballs with tomato sauce, pasta, salad and garlic ciabatta slimming workd style

night turn 1
b. - yoghurt pancakes with fruit and yoghurt, skinny choco sauce
l - salt and pepper dirty fries with light mozzarella
d - jacket potatoes with chicken & sweetcorn mayonnaise (extra light) and salad

night turn 2
b - omelette aux fines herbes with mushrooms
l - prawn broghie with diced apple, celery and salad
d - spaghetti hoops on wholemeal toast

on nights i try to keep all my syns for overnight snackage

i must sleep now as i have a 04.30 start for earlies tomorrow.
clothes and everything ready to grab, all my work gear stays in the car so i cant lose it

I'm a work in progress but some tips that have helped in the last few months: I make use of bath and bed time to clean the bathroom, put clothes away, tidy dd's bedroom. Tidy up time just before supper so kids are involved too. Generally patent not doing bedtime cleans kitchen after supper, brings in washing etc. I hear you on the washing piles. Have just started doing separate piles for each family member when taking it down from line which saves the step of sorting it upstairs layer. So dd's cleanwashing goes straight to her room for sorting at bedtime or first thing in morning. DHS goes straight onto chest of drawers for him to sort. I then try to do a lite at a time, eg all tops in morning, all bottoms before bed. Get DD dressed asap before going downstairs, have beensaying no TV unless she's dressed. I need to massively declutter though and it's so hard finding the time with tiny kids.

Nothing to add - am still in the 'before' mode but inspiring thread and man, those meal plans, my mouth is watering

Firstly do NOT try to do everything at once! I found that so overwhelming and I never felt like I was really getting anywhere. I'd do a huge clean which in a day or so would start to unravel and make me really disheartened.

I've found that 'little and often' is the magic answer.

In practice this means (and I know it sounds obvious) if I see something on the floor I pick it up as I walk past the first time (rather than walking past 10 times and looking at it and thinking I'll do it later) .. same with school notices or other life admin stuff which i sign/return/note on the calendar immediately as needed.

If something needs to be noted for later it goes straight onto the year wall calendar which I transfer to a weekly wipe off calendar on the fridge each week with columns for each family member including the dog so everyone can see at a glance what's going on.

School mornings: DS1 (11) has his own alarm set and gets up and gets himself completely ready without nagging from me. As long as he's ready by 8.20am he can read or throw a cricket ball or whatever (no screens).

DS2 (10) is completely different and had needed me nagging and giving him time reminders constantly UNTIL we recently printed a routine for him with simple steps. He still needs a few 'where are you up to?' nudges and heaps of praise when he keeps to it but he's now sorting himself out.

DH and I shower before they get up and I pack school lunches while they have breakfast with DH so we're all together in the kitchen for a bit.

I also do a few things which are like little tricks to keep me on track .. I fold over hand and bath towels neatly on towel racks because I find myself more likely to wipe over the sinks/bath daily if the towels look neat. And then I'm more likely to also do a quick bathroom mop to keep up the clean look. The boys help out with this too by wiping sink/mopping bathrooms on weekends.

Same trick with beds (boys do their as part of morning routine) which if made seem to prevent throwing other stuff in the bedrooms randomly .. it sets the tone for the neatness of the whole room.

Having said all of that I've honestly only really gotten this on track about 10 weeks ago as I'm about to go back to study after being a SAHM for 18 mths. As time goes on I'm discovering layers underneath the cleaning/tidying that I'm doing so (for example) cleaning my skirting boards or culling the playroom wasn't a priority while I had piles of washing to put away or kids stuff everywhere, now that the other things are gone I can get to the deeper layers and everything just keeps getting cleaner and more organised as time goes on. And that keeps me motivated!

Sorry that's so long .. hope even one of these tips helps!

One tip I read on here which has helped with washing was to buy those fold up plastic crates from Wilkinson (£2 each) and put dry washing for each person, folded up straight from the line or clothes horse. Officially the advice was to use different colours for each person, but although I have different colours I found that too complicated!

Then it means I can put the crate in our outside the right person's bedroom straight away and me or DH just lift the clothes into the drawer/wardrobe when we're next in that room (the 4 year old sometimes helps).

So much quicker and easier to break it down like that for me, feels less of a scramble to do it all in one go, and the clothes stay flat and neat even if it's a few days later.