Where do I find the energy to get off my fat arse and clean/tidy??!

[bumbums]

Hello!
On a day to day basis I can just about fit in doing a load of washing, and loading and unloading the dishwasher. I tidy up the kids toys and try to wipe table/surfaces after meals but apart from that I do very little.

The morning is usually taken up by getting ready to go out, then being out till lunch time. After lunch I put DC2 down for nap and DC1 watches a bit of tv. At this point I have a major energy dip and feel like this is my opportunity in the day to put my feet up for a bit. Unfortunately its usually more than a bit and I find I don't do anything till DC2 wakes from nap just after 3pm.

Then its the frantic rush to get the clothes out of the machine (that have been there since breakfast time) tidy up kitchen and start preparing kids meal. While DC2 wants to hang on my leg and DC1 repeatedly asks me to play with him.

So, very dull post so far I know.

By the way DH works very hard and often has to sit working on his lap top of an evening and I don't go out to work.

The house is full of 'stuff', we have little furniture for storage as we've always rented and are waiting till we buy before getting more furniture. So every surface is littered and every cupboard/draw full.

I want to tidy the whole house, and chuck out sort through all the clutter.

How do I get the motivation and energy to do it? And should I fit it in to an average day or am I better off getting a grandparent to look after kids for a couple of days.

I'm whining aren't I

Ahh whine away, its good for you once in a while to have a good moan

I have a written down routine, which doesnt alway get followed granted, but that steers me. I find thinsg very overwhelming- things like

TIDY THE HOUSE

I mean where do you start?
So, by having it all written down I can look at the list and think 'ooh empty dishwasher' or 'ahh wash downstairs floors' and cos it only takes 5-10 mins it FEELS achievable you know?
Otherwise I just wander round like a headless chicken and never actually acheive anything

My other new favourite thing is the 7 things whereby whatever room I am in I

1. throw away 7 things
2. put away up 7 things
3. take 7 things that are in that room and shouldnt be in there to where they should be

so for you- it could be open 1 of those overflowing draws and throw away 7 old bits of paper, put away 7 random toys, and take the mugs, odd socks etc back to their rightful homes.

its so easy and again (key word) acheivable and within a day or two you start to see a change

Good luck

Thank you so much for being kind. Am determined to improve. As you say most jobs really do take a very short time.
Will try to jot down every evening or on the morning what I want to achieve that day. Think that will help me plan my day if I can see when I'm going to get to sit down and what I need to do jobs wise.
Thanks again. X

I am starting a new habit of doing a set job each day. I've made sure I only do the bare minimum to get the house looking better than it was and minimise panic cleaning when people come over.

So...
monday: work
tuesday: work
wednesday: bathroom
thursday: hoover and dust
friday: tidying accumulated crap ready for weekend
saturday: OFF
sunday: change beds

washing is ongoing and we already have a system for dishwasher loading/ unloading

This is the first week of it but it's goof ok as its super manageable and only takes half hour of my lazy time while ds sleeps!

Just bite the bullet and do a little each day.
it's not that bad! :)

dunno - but when you find out, can you let me know please? ;)

come and join us here You are not too late to catch up - we are doing exactly what you are talking about but doing it a step at a time so we don't get overwhelmed. We are trying to motivate and support each other. Come and play

I think chucking and decluttering is quite addictive once you get going. Can you pick one drawer or area that needs a sort and set to it with a bin bag for 15 mins? Once you have one little area sorted it might inspire you to do another small thing the next day.
Baby steps and all that! Good luck!

I try not to sit down at all until I've done the basics, so wouldn't sit down before hanging out the washing iyswim. Only because it's easier to do stuff when you're already up and doing than when you've been sucked into the sofa!

I have my daily list of things I do every morning and then add more stuff to it each day. The daily list is my need to do's and then the extras kind of get prioritised in my head so I could have clean bathroom, dusting and hoovering upstairs on there and know that I absolutely have to clean the bathroom but the rest will depend if I can be arsed.

I post on the slatterns thread (although have been slacking lately as playing with ds' marble run is taking up quite a lot of time at the moment ) and find if I am really low on motivation listing three things I want to do, doing them, then listing another three really helps me.

We are setting timers and sorting for 2 minutes or 5 minutes etc. It really helps.

I will probably get jumped on for this, but I do think that if part of your agreed role in the family is to keep the house straight, you really need a more formal approach to it.

I've been a SAHM myself but I work part time (30 hours plus studying for an MSC) I do most of the housework and most of the childcare (dd is at school), because my DH works long hours and does lots of overtime. I need the sort of routines people have talked about on this thread because I don't have time for crisis cleaning, I have to do a bit everyday, before and after work to keep on top of things, if I let it slip for a few days (like over christmas) the house is a tip again.

Have a look at flylady, I manage to keep the house in a reasonable state using my own version of this system.

I like the 'Seven Things' idea, DreamTeamGirl - I have depression and am permanently tired, so I really struggle with getting the housework done - but I will give your method a go, because it sounds achievable.

OP - could you get eg your mother to come and help you do a blitz while eg your father takes care of the children for a couple of days?

I honestly think that with two pairs of hands and no DCs you would make huge progress getting on top of things, and that you would then find it easier to carry on making improvements.

As far as furniture for storage goes I can understand not buying forever furniture when you don't know the house you are going to put it in. Would the budget stretch to sets of plastic drawers from Asda or Next or Howard's Storage? We use these for all sorts of things and hide them in fitted wardrobes. They are not attractive but they help to sort and control the chaos, especially dcs toys and craft stuff.

oops, my post should have said, "I've never been a SAHM myself".

StayingDTsGirl
I dont know if you are on facebook but the 7 in 2011 is explained in more detail on the flylady pages on there Flylady stuff

Thanks, DreamTeamGirl!

OP are you sleeping well enough and are you eating properly?

i ask this because i have felt like you for the last couple of years with bouts of energy for a day or two here and there.

but i made a real effort to get myself relaxed and ready for an early night last night as i had gotten into a really bad habit of staying up late and then feeling shite the next day. so i went to bed last night all relaxed and eager to start today well. and i did, i got up and showered and dressed, hair and make-up done, got the dcs dressed and had breakfast and as recommended here by someone, i took a vitamin with added iron in it. then after breakfast and school run i went for an energetic walk.

i can honestly say i have had a really positive day and didn't feel tired at all. what also helped, was that i was completely realistic about what i would get done that day. the kitchen was bad as was the living room. so i decided i would do all the dishes and counters and then take a 15 minute MN break. after that i decluttered the living room and i hoovered all downstairs. i had to stop there as ds2 woke up and i had to get lunch and collect ds1 from school. but i am happy with what i got done because i didn't set myself a high target and i know what i did is at least an improvement on what it was this morning. so this afternoon i took myself out of the house to visit my aunt knowing that the house was basically ok to come back to. whereas before i would have thought "oh tehre is so much to do, i will never get all tthis done," so i didn't even try, the mountain was too big to contemplate. and then because i hadn't done anything, i couldn't bear the thought of going out of the house only to come back to it.

What are you doing all morning? You mentioned that you were out. The reason I ask is that I also have a major energy dip early to mid afternoon, where I can just about manage to stay awake. I therefore make sure that I do as much as possible in the morning and late afternoon.

Could you do an hour's housework before breakfast, perhaps?

Like others have said do a bit at a time-a little each day kind of thing until your on top of everything and when your house is completely clutter free and tidy you just have to do a few bits each day to keep it that way and maybe a small declutter each month-stuff like clearing out drawers and cupboards as crap returns as quick as it gets chucked in our house!
Once your on top of the situation its easy-trust me!

I find its a help to either forgo the evening meal altogether (i.e. get a takeaway, ping meal or someone else cooks) or just to have something really light. Doing this at least once a week means less washing up, less time in the kitchen, and also I don't feel so sluggish & lethargic & can then get a job or two done afterwards, instead of lolling on the settee feeling shattered and full. When I talked about it to DP he was more than happy to have/do beans on toast or whatever - I think I'd gotten into a bit of an obsessive rut about there being a "proper dinner" of an evening, pissing around with meat & veg etc. It takes too long to prepare & cook & then clear up afterwards.

Timer is a good idea - just spend 5 or 10 minutes here & there makes a world of difference without wearing you out. Also confining yourself a bit - so just do 1 drawer in the kitchen, or 1 shelf in the fridge instead of trying to tackle the whole thing at once.

Come & join us on the baby Fly Lady thread

Got tonsilitus now! ahh so that was all the excuse I've needed for the past few days to do diddly!
Like the timer idea and going to use it. Could really do with staying in at least one morning a week and making that cleaning/tidying time.
Going to get some iron suppliments too. Am taking Citalopram (anti-depressant) and that's supposed to make you feel tired too.
I've just got to get in to my stride with it. Determined to do better.

Thanks agian for all kind posts.

Bless you bumbums. I am you.x

Have you just started the citalopram? I take sertraline, and I find the 50mg dose makes me feel much more positive and able to get things done, but the 100mg dose made me very sleepy and lethargic. Might be worth talking to your GP about a change of meds or dose?

Would finances stretch to a cleaner? Then you'd have a weekly deadline to have the place tidy enough for the cleaner to come in and clean. Alternatively could you invite a friend round once a week to give you a goal to get things done by. This works very very well for me!

If all else is failing, I chuck everything on one sofa (luckily we have two!!), and then at least I have a clear surface to hoover and clean. Then I can declutter the sofa so things find their right home.

Good luck!