Q&A with Joanna Gosling, author of 'Simply Wonderwoman, a survival guide for women with too much to do' - ANSWERS BACK

[RachelMumsnet]

This week we're inviting you to send in questions to Joanna Gosling, author, mother of three and broadcast journalist for 20 years. Joanna currently presents news programmes for the BBC.

Her new book, Simply Wonderwoman has the strap line ' a survival guide for women with too much to do'. It's about 'helping you have the life you want, not the crazy muddled one that's foisted on you once you have children' (sounds familiar ). The book passes on strategies, tips and ideas to help save time, money and effort and includes tips on everything from how to minimise effort spent on cleaning and laundry, how to be empowered through DIY and even how to use jump leads.

For those of you looking for a ponce-tastic Christmas, there's a fab section on Christmas which incorporates making salt dough tree decorations into a stress-free Christmas and there's a really useful christmas countdown (have you booked your panto tickets yet?)

Post your questions to Joanna before the end of Wednesday 19th October and we'll be linking to her answers at the beginning of November. Sending in a question will automatically enter your name into a draw to win one of five copies of Simply Wonderwoman.

Yo madwoman. I like you. Sorry if I made you march off to a corner flinging your arms in the air.

Buuuuuuuut, as PJFanClub pointed out, not everyone has a partner around all the time to help out. Jobs fall to different people. I am a SAHM and my dh works full-time to keep us fed/off the streets/alive. Therefore the boring household jobs fall to me. And they suck arse. So I welcome any advice, be it in the form of books, MN, whatever, to make my life easier.

My dh would very happily be a SAHD if I were desperate to get back to work (which I'm not) and then all the crappy cleaning jobs would fall on him. I'm sure there are some self-help books out there that are specifically geared towards SAHDs. But since the majority of household chore-types are women, well, that's why I imagine this book is called Wonderwoman and not Wonderperson or whatnot.

Yes he makes a mess at the weekend, and although I complain a lot, it's his weekend too and maybe he deserves a break. Obviously I do too, but when push comes to shove, we would both like to be in the SAH position and be the one looking after the kids, and I was the one lucky enough to get to do it. You say "it's 2011 fgs" and yes, the 2011 man is the one who wants more than anything to be at home looking after his kids (at least mine is). I get to do that, so I'm going to suck up the crap jobs like a big girl [hgrin] and take every bit of help that's offered to me.

Hello Joanna
You sound like a lovely person and clearly this book is selling well whatwith the Daily Fail tie-in and all- but, like others on this thread, it makes me soooo depressed.
You have a fantastic job as a news anchor, so clearly you are incredibly bright and meet lots of interesting people, and you have done brilliantly to claw your way to the top in broadcast journalism. Your husband also has a wildly interesting job as the Prime Minister's Head of Communications- taken over from Andy Coulson, no less. A successful family by any account.
Why on earth are you wasting your time tweeting pictures of your spice racks and incisive tips that "ironing is easier if you hold the material nice and taut"?
I know the answer- it?s that it makes you money. You come from a PR family, and you know there's a niche for this sort of thing. Good for you. I don't believe for a minute that you do your family's ironing at 11pm after you return from presenting on the BBC News Channel all evening, and nor should you.
So, why do women give you money to write this stuff? It?s completely beyond me. There are thousands of books like yours available, telling busy working mothers how to be domestic goddesses, all written by successful good looking rich women with masses of domestic help, several others trying to flog their wares to mumsnetters, and every one of them makes me want to boil my own head.
So my question is:
Does your husband also have difficulty balancing home and work, and if so, is he going to write a book about it called ?Simply Wonderman?? advocating how to get rid of smells from a chopping board? Or is he too busy with Important Man's Stuff, like trying to work out what to do about the Liam Fox debacle or the mixed Tory messages on paying down debt or the mess in Libya, etc. etc.?

ooh clicks 'like' on wompoopigeon's post.

I feel frustrated that this kind of book exists. I'm no staunch feminist, but isn't this just another 'good housekeeping' book ala Mrs Beaton? Telling us what we should be doing, and getting us to buy into the belief that we should accept it and find different ways of doing shitty jobs to make shitty jobs less shitty rather than perhaps not doing them (I don't iron anything) or get someone else to do it (My DH irons his own shirts).

Surely there isn't much left to inspire anyone about managing the household?

Batch cook, organise everything the night before, have a rota for chores and don't sweat the small stuff.

Dull women live in clean houses.

wompoopigeon:
"Does your husband also have difficulty balancing home and work, and if so, is he going to write a book about it called ?Simply Wonderman?? advocating how to get rid of smells from a chopping board? Or is he too busy with Important Man's Stuff, like trying to work out what to do about the Liam Fox debacle or the mixed Tory messages on paying down debt or the mess in Libya, etc. etc.?"

Well clearly we're all in agreement that your examples above are more important than getting the smell off a chopping board, but someone's got to do it (the chopping board I mean).

There are the bigger pictures in life, and then there is the minute, balancing act that goes on behind closed doors. That is what we are talking about.

What do I do about my Piles??? I mean those paper ones that seem to multiply all over the kitchen table, work surfaces, desk, chairs, floor.....
How do I get on top of paperwork and filing when I never have time to read anything???
All help gratefully received - if I can find the computer under the paperwork.

baby - do it, delegate it or bin it.

Have we travelled back in time to 1986?
Are busy working women a new and exciting concept?
Do men still stand by as women wait on them wearing frilly aprons?

Er no.

Do you think one of secrets is to train your children to do their homework themselves without help from parents, once they are over 8 and make their own interests? I'm getting very bogged down with this aspect of parenting three children and I'm wondering whether we are all way to uptight about children's activities, and achievements in general, and this impacts on our free time..I mean instead of just encouraging them to have friends over, we put so much energy into drivign them to activities, supervising their school work that we lose family time. It is a modern phenomenon.

Tootalafruit

I do understand your point, that someone has to wipe the chopping board in life. DH and I take turns to wipe ours with a cloth, hot water and some washing up liquid. No need for a RRP £17.99 book to tell us how to do that.

Joanna (who I am sure is very lovely really) tweets on how to stop your bunting getting tangled. It is like every cliche about motherhood that makes my teeth itch, all rolled into one.

toota i've stopped rocking now, honest. i did say earlier that we all love a good timesaving household tip, and also made the point about single parents etc. my issue isn't with household tips per se, but rather with the notion that this is solely the preserve of the penis-free. and ought to stay that way. particularly if you both work full time.

how to stop your bunting getting tangled?

dear lord. it's almost worth joining twitter for. and i speak as someone who de-regged (twice) because mn installed a fb button.

really? really? oh please tell me it's true. i neeeeeeeeeed to see that.

see, i would probably have actually bought a book called 'my life as wonderwoman: how to stop your bunting getting tangled'

it at least recognises the sheer lunacy of competitive motherhood, even if it sneaks in a pep talk or ten. peg bracken eat your heart out.

there ya go, joanna. your next book. feel free to send me a copy of that one.

I shit you not.

"Got bunting in a twist putting it up, so here's a tip - wrap it around a piece of card to stop it tangling #TOTD yfrog.com/kh49248545j

1 October
twitter.com/#!/JoannaGosling"

Her twitter feed is very polite and nice, though it mixes crap about bunting with breaking news in Libya in a most, erm, disconcerting, manner.

i do like a nice multi-task.

dang. i'm gonna have to join.

cracking thread so far!!
I'm in conflict over the book though, on the one hand there may be some useful info it it, but on the other, well, the very title makes me feel patronised

Maybe if Libya had some nice bunting they wouldn't be in such a pickle.
Best to airlift some copies of this book in.

'getting silly'? I would say you've gone beyond that, to describe Libya 'as in a pickle' is distasteful.

Morning all, we understand this book isn't everyone's cup of tea, but can we remind you that our guidelines for webchats also apply to Q&As: "Obviously you're free to voice your opinion, but do be civil/polite - please afford our guests the same cordiality you would if they stopped by your own house".

here's my question to Joanna

"how do you reconcile your life with a cleaner/housekeeper/au pair etc etc helping you out each and every day (and you having the finances to pay for all this help), with writing a book aimed at over worked women with zilch in the way of help or extra finances available?

or are you just remembering what its like when the help are on holiday and you have to cope with the kids and the cleaning for a few days by yourself?"

genuine question , btw

Yes but is that stopping by my house for a coffee and a supportive chat or stopping by my house on the doorstep trying to flog me a lifestyle? See the difference?

When FGS is the whole 50s housewife bunting and pickling in florals going to jump the shark??? When women stop being such mugs....

I know ... If i've got nothing nice to say etc. etc......

and mnhq, please don't enter my name into the hat for a free copy of this book, I'm bitter enough

I think MN bemoaned the 'millionaire husband i knit cupcakes' brigade years ago ..... thing is - Joanne is obviously an intelligent woman with a demanding job....

Surely no one would mind if she didn't make cookies regularly with her children - but showed them (esp if they are girls) that outspoken women can go out and change the world...

A Christmas question - I bought a lovely large fabric advent calender in the sale what should I put in it?

I can't keep up with the poncetastic thread, I think it's brilliant though