please tell me your time-saving, cost-saving, corner cutting ways?

[samuelspratt]

Have been fighting an uphill battle with dp over housework and have turned to MN for help.

We have dd1 (age2) and dts (1), dp works all wk and I work 4 evenings so time is very short.

It is a battleground (which is another thread) so any tips to make it less painful would be gratefully recieved!

Good storage is essential. - shoes, toys, coats, papers and magazines, post etc. should have its own storage space.
Keep a notepad on the fridge to write items down on a shopping list as you run out of them.
Do your shopping online.
Do at least one load of washing every day.
Put music on while doing housework, it makes it less of a chore and makes time go quicker.
Use Flash wipes to do toilets, sinks, taps every day.
Lower your standards! 2 small kids and work is hard to juggle. Just prioritise what areas/jobs are most important to do every day.

You have to decide on your priorities and let slatternly ways into your life in areas that don't matter so much!
e.g. clean, tidy or both?(My mum cleans, MIL tidies, I am more of a cleaner tbh) Which rooms can be left for longest without tackling, and what areas can you not bear to look at or leave untidy? Can you cut down on washing by letting kids wear slightly grubby clothes, or would that be too shameful? How often do you change beds/towels and is it really necessary?
Cut out all non-essential ironing. Definitely no need to iron children's clothes IMO! Can dp iron his stuff if he needs shirts etc? In the evenings when you are working?
Online supermarket shopping. (I haven't established this yet but intend to!)
Menu-plan and have plans for left-overs, freeze things, make batches of soup etc.
Most of these things should save money as well as time. Will try to think of some more!

Lower standards and clean taps every day with expensive throw-away wipes? Does not compute!

Blimey, 3 under 3. I would get a cleaner if you can possibly afford it.

Failing that, a tub in every room - to chuck toys in downstairs and clothes in upstairs.

Definitely online shopping - no reason your dh can't do the list in the evening (assuming you get an evening with your dcs), and do the shop at work the next day. That's how we work it here.

Get the washing machine on and the dishwasher on first thing.

But above all, get as much sleep as possible whenever you can. Nothing makes everything seem impossible more than sleep deprivation.

I have to clean them every day after my two have been in there! Makes it easier to clean if you do it often, no time at all. Throw away wipes are optional of course, a cloth would do the job!

• do a little every day
• tidy up before bedtime (with the kids)
• get good stackable storage boxes (for example "really usefull boxes")
• declutter
• how much does your dh do? involve him more, give him jobs to do
• get a dishwasher if you don't have one already
• take the kids outside so they can't make a mess inside :)

Oh yes yes - roll on the summer and you'll be outside all the time = pristine (ish) house. Can't wait!

You don't have to do anything, that's the point! Only things which are a priority to you. People's priorities vary enormously, that's the first thing you need to get clear I think.

Spend one hour a day and do the essentials. This can be 30mins each for you and DP.

If you work evenings, then perhaps you take the upstairs during the day and DP downstairs when the kids are in bed.

You:

• quick rinse of the bathroom after getting washed (5 mins)

• general bedroom tidy as you get the kids out of bed (throw toys in toy chest) and make your own bed (10 mins)
• load everything into dishwasher and put on a washing load while the kids eat breakfast(10mins)
• when the kids have a nap, put out washing (5 mins)

DP:

• unload dishwasher and reload after dinner (10mins)
• tidy sitting/ dining room and put anything that doesn't belong there into a wicker box and sort accordingly. Any toys for the kids can be left outside their rooms to be put away in the morning (15 mins)
• quick vacuum of sitting room and kitchen (5 mins)

Sounds like quite a lot, but this list is tidying, not cleaning, so at the weekends, you can run a damp cloth over things and wash the kitchen floor.

I had 3 under 3 (and 4 under 4 a year later!). I found the best thing to do was to lower my standards.

I get up in the morning and expect to do the minimum (ie, feed and dress kids and get DC1 to school). Anything above that is a bonus. Most days I get SOMETHING done even if it is small like hoovering and I feel a sense of acheivement but I find that if I plan things and I don't get them done I feel bad.

I also remind myself that this is a very short time in my life with 4 little ones and I need to make time to appreciate them so a bit of dust can wait

be ruthless with stuff that accumulates. My kids tend to play with the same toys/games, so why was I tidying up a ton of stuff everyday? Solution: gave most of the unused toys to charity shop and voila!