Efficient house-keeping, ie. can't be arsed but it needs doing.

[vastingavay]

Or.. keeping the shitwork to a minimum.

I want to spend as little time, energy and thought on running the house as possible.

I am a SAHM at present, but would love to hear from all on this subject.

be organised and delegate :)

[looks around at overflowing basket of clean, dry washing which has been waiting a week for folding, mountain of unfiled paperwork and enough crud and dust to fill a whole hooverbag]

Er ... Hire a cleaner?

brilliant thread - will watch with interest.

my contributions are - have a room that you can dump all the rubbish in and close the door and pay the children to do as much as possible.

Ali, you were quick!

Mousymouse, do you have any tips on being organised?

Delegation - my DH is responsible for his own ironing and packed lunch.

Agree re: children, though DS is only 2, but he helps me tidy up and I am trying to encourage him not to make as much mess at dinner.

Don't iron.

Declutter ruthlessly.

Spend a lot of time thinking out how to store everything tidily and efficiently, and invest in the storage systems (cupboards, wardrobes etc).

Once it is all tidy and neat, (a) get yourself into a morning routine to make it all neat every day (b) get an external cleaner in regularly to ensure it is all kept sparkling.

I clean downstairs on a Monday and upstairs on a Tuesday. Quick tidy on a Friday when I get home from work.

Agree with the storage systems - big help.

Oh, good thread. Have just moved house and am trying to work out where on earth to put everything. Not least because we currently have no wardrobe (next month's budget) and no bed (arriving next week).

Hmm

From having hugely sorted my house out over the past couple of years I think

a) Have a massive clear out
b) Pick up/clean as you go
c) Have a few basics that you do everyday

b and c don't actually mean you spend any less time doing it but b does mean you don't have to dedicate any specific time to cleaning and c means doing those things soon becomes second nature so you feel as though you are doing a lot less (also things don't get the chance to build up as much)

Am still a slattern though and my house is way off perfect but I am now very rarely ashamed to have people come in - I used to have to do a massive clean before people came and unexpected visitors sent me into a spin but now I usually have to just do a quick hoover round or wipe the sink or whatever before it is mostly presentable

If you can afford it, do pay for some help, with whatever you hate the most or can subcontract most efficiently ie it might be a regular window cleaner, sending your ironing out, your sheets out.

Use your dishwasher for everything. It saves so much time and gets stuff so much cleaner.

Eg if someone came to the door right now I'd pick up a couple of cushions from the floor on my way to answer the door and say "sorry about the washing draped everywhere" but the rest is ok. Not immaculate but ok.

A cleaner and dishwasher would truly make life more efficient Bonsoir.

Not an option for us atm, but I'm sure others would make their lives easier if they could take up those suggestions.

I do need to identify the window cleaner round here.

I pay for the wheelie bin cleaned, saving much fly larvae hassle.

Run around with a pair of underpants on your head screaming ' I can't stand it anymore, the mess is driving me mad, if you don't clear up, EVERYTHING is going in the bin' and then peer into the washing machine as if you are contemplating trying to get in..

Have you got cameras hidden in my house mittz [hhmm]?

I used to have set days for set jobs
Monday - hoover and mop
Tuesday - beds
Wednesday - walls, mirrors and windows
Thursday - catlitter tray bleached
Friday - polishing

Then I'd spend 10 mins each day in a different room just doing a quick mad dash tidy.
Monday - boys room
Tuesday - bathroom
Wedneday - Kitchen
Thursday - master bedroom
Friday - Living room

I'd also wipe round the bathroom every morning whilst I was getting ready.
Then wash down kitchen counters every night.
As long as my kitchen and bathroom are clean clean, I can live with a bit of mess else where

I have certain things I do every day (i.e. kitchen), and a few once a week (i.e. bathrooms, hoovering, dusting prominent items of furniture), but there is lots of other stuff that doesn't need doing very often tbh (windowsills, oven, floor of the family room etc.). Call me a slob, but it just ain't necessary in my book. It means that the weekly clean is manageable and I can do the other stuff as and when.

Agree with the "don't iron" thing. And ban all fiddly knick-knacks which attract dust.

Lastly, I have three small baskets in the living room - one for each dc. Every night I round up random items (socks, toys, hairbands etc) and put them in the baskets. When the baskets get full, each dc has to deal with the contents (and no, that doesn't mean dump on bedroom floor). It just reduces the inevitable tidemark of kiddy crap that otherwise settles around the place.

Freak, that's the leve of effort to aspire to I think.

SilveryMoon - "Wednesday - walls, mirrors and windows"

For me, that would read "July 23rd - walls, mirrors and windows"

interestd in how freakoid gother house sorted.....desperately want to be calm for unexpected visitors...

Mittz

TNMD I should stress, it is only the inside of the windows and only the chocolate fingerprints off the walls

Popsy

Step 1 - ditch filthy lazy exH
Step 2 - have a massive massive clear out. I got rid of so much stuff, had a hard head on and kept very few things for sentimental reasons, cleared out wardrobes, sorted through old papers, cleared out toys...
Step 3 -Make sure everything that's left has an easily accessible home (eg not at the back of a cupboard under piles of stuff or it will never get put away)
Step 4 - Keep on top of the basics. For me that's washing up after meals, keeping kitchen surfaces clear and clean, a load of washing every day, downstairs (quickly)hoovered every day, loo cleaned and bathroom sink given a quick wipe. I can really tell if I miss a few days of any of these because they start to seem like big jobs instead of 2 minute ones

And just keep picking up as you go, if I go up for a wee I'll carry up anything that needs to go upstairs, same if I go into the kitchen etc. Also if I see a handprint on the wall I tend to wipe it off there and then.

I'm sure the real clean freaks would still think my house was a pit but the important thing is that I'm not embarrassed by the state of it anymore.

Have you tried fly lady. Just what ever you DONT sign up for the emails or you will 90% reading deleting them.

15mins a day plus 1hour on a monday, plus about half hour each morning and evening for everything in household to be running smooth. At least that is the theory.

I am still at the decluttering stage but it is amazing how much you can get done in that time and the difference that it makes. A little often really stops it being major blitz.

Storage and ruthless decluttering are key though.