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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

LITTLE things that help keep you organised?

562 replies

starrychime · 16/04/2012 18:27

There's a lot of threads about cleaning routines, 15 min sessions etc which I love to read but never get round to following (one day, one day I will!)
Wondered if anyone has some little hints and tips that make things just a little bit easier about the house?
I use paper plates Blush for morning toast, lunchtime sandwiches etc as I HATE washing up (no washer) - and it keeps it down a little bit.
Also keeping a small Ikea drawer sorter in the bathroom with DD's bobbles and clasps so they're to hand in the morning helps a bit.
Anyone else have any little tips?

OP posts:
Flubba · 26/04/2012 19:25

Oooh Grockle, you should try this top tip; before you garden, scrape your nails in a bar of soap - it stops the mud getting into your nails and is there already when you go to wash your hands after.
:o

mathanxiety · 26/04/2012 19:26

Regular bleach for nailbrushes.

SM, wouldn't the same be true for toothbrushes...

Grockle · 26/04/2012 19:30

Good point, math.

Fab tip - i will do that at the weekend, thank you!

CeliaFate · 26/04/2012 19:40

I stick nail brushes and toothbrushes in the dishwasher now and again.

CaptainHetty · 26/04/2012 19:48

Love this thread :o

Probably all been mentioned but:

I try to make sure I do something in every room while I'm in it, so if I pop into my bedroom while I'm there I'll pick up the clothes, or straighten my desk, that kind of thing. Invariably there's always something in a room that shouldn't be there so I try not to leave a room empty handed - even if it's just something that needs chucking in the bin.

I usually stick a load of washing in the machine before bed then delay its start by a few hours so it's ready to hang straight out in the morning and another load can go in.

Uniforms and bags ready the night before and ready to go.

IAmBooyhoo · 26/04/2012 20:43

captain that's a good idea WRT doing something everytime you are in a room. i vaguely remember being that person many moons ago Grin i swear my house used to be beautiful and sitting perfectly. then my children happened!

WRT nailbrushes, i cleaned the bathroom today and i always put the plug in the bath and pour some bleach in to let it soak (i fill to about 2 inches with hot water) so today i threw the nailbrush in aswell. i bleach the bath overnight once a week so i think i'll just throw the nail brush in with it when i'm doing it. alternatively, i do have four nail brushes so i could just replace it every day with a fresh one and wash the dirty one in the machine.

also, i read a thing about toothbrush care (i know how sad that is, really i do) there were 11 tips and one of them said that keeping your toothbrush in a sterilising solution when not in use didn't make any difference to how clean it was so i'm guessing that rinsing them in hot water does a good enough job. this was an article by i think oralB so i'm guessing if there was a way for them to push a toothbrush sterilising product they would do it but tehy didn't so i'm guessing there is really no need. but i'm not a dentist so i dont know. just saying what i read.

Riddo · 26/04/2012 21:08

I put everyone's clothes in separate piles in the airing cupboard so they just take their pile and put it away (apart from ds who leaves it in the middle of his bedroom floor!). All socks go in the sock box in the airing cupboard and one of ds's Saturday jobs is to sort them out.

I have adopted "don't put it down, put it away" - I can't believe I didn't think of it before.

This is a fantastic thread.

nannyl · 26/04/2012 21:36

i have been doing the dont put it down put it away since i first read this thread last week

WOW what a difference it has made to the tidiness of my house Grin

also trying to to the dont leave a room without taking anything (and if going out the house, that means the recycling pile that we keep by the door)

I cant believe i havent thought of this before

chasingtail · 27/04/2012 08:08

But how do you train everyone else in the home to start being more organised/clear up after themselves??

I have been woman on a mission this week trying to sort out/tidy up but it feels like I'm banging my head against a brick wall getting cooperation from DH/DCs.Angry

DH says it just feels like I'm nagging him all the time, which then in turn means he does even less aaarrrgh!!!

iwantanoompaloompa · 27/04/2012 08:39

Chasingtail, I am finding that now it is tidy, it's becoming easier to keep it that way. So you're only asking them to put a few things away rather than 'tidy up this mess'

I did also have to kick ass yesterday when I realised DH was getting up, putting on a t shirt to have breakfast, then having a shower (leaving said t shirt next to washing basket) and putting suit on. Angry

It's no wonder I have so much washing Angry

wandawings · 27/04/2012 10:17

That would REALLY piss me off!

SilverSky · 27/04/2012 11:50

Him indoors does things like that so I told him I would start chucking his stuff out if it didn't get put back in it's rightful place. I've hidden two bags of stuff that have been sat on the stairs since last November. Hmm. Told him they are were in the bin and the bin men came yesterday. He claims he had important stuff in there. Not that important that he hasn't looked in either of them for 6mo.

The new motto of don't put it down put it away has really helped and when I had surprise/last min visitors last week I didn't have that mad panic of "the house is a mess/dirty - what shall I tackle first and how much time do I have etc"

I've a few bits to do today but I'm shattered, pregnant and have a toddler to entertain so I'll do the bits that must be done and not worry about the rest as I'm feeling much more zen about the house as it's so improved! Grin

chasingtail · 27/04/2012 11:52

I know what you mean!

Take this morning for example, I
Got up 6.15
Got breakfast for DCs
Made beds (made sure DCs
made theirs)
Took clean washing out machine, put new load on
Hung washing on line
Emptied DW
Wiped table
Put brekkie dishes in DW
Made sure everyone ready for school armed with packed lunches (courteousy of yours truly)
Took kids to school

DH rolls of bed 7.30, has shower, gets his own cereal (leaving bowl on table Angry, brushes teeth, pats DCs on head & leaves for work!!

Ok so I am a SAHM but WTF??!!

SilverSky · 27/04/2012 13:54

I hear you!!! . The men in our lives often make our lives much harder with their thoughtlessness. Half the time they don't realise and when you "remind/inform" then you are " nagging.

Flubba · 27/04/2012 18:58

My mum used to do the black bin bag on the stairs thing when we were kids and it worked a treat.
My DCs are just 4, 3 and 1 and when I sweep the floor at the end of the day, I sweep everything (dust, crumbs and toys included) into a pile in the middle of the room. If there's anything they want to 'save' they come and get it and tidy it away, otherwise I chuck it. :o

IAmBooyhoo · 27/04/2012 20:37

i do that too flubba WRT brushing everything and giving them a chance to 'save' anything. after that it's bin.

i think the most useful rule to have, for me anyway, is to deal with things straight away as they happen. so if you spill milk in the fridge it gets wiped straight away. wipe and rinse round the bath and basin after every use. deal with post as soon as you put your hands on it rather than moving it somewhere else to be dealt with later (i am so guilty fo this and things are always getting forgotten about.)

AngelDog · 27/04/2012 21:48

chasing, I sat down with DH and explained how annoying I found various not-putting-away habits of his were. He explained how annoyed he got with me nagging him about things. We agreed that we'd have one thing per month that he'd try to do, and I would aim not to pester him about other things. I was allowed to remind him about the one thing if he forgot (which would include reminder notes in key places etc).

So far we've had progress on putting used teabags in the compost bin, putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher rather than on the worksurface above it, and we're currently working on cleaning out hair from the plughole after his shower. It's helped both of us, and is more concrete progress than I've seen to date - and we've been married 10 years. :)

I think it worked because he knows how hard I'm working to improve our general level of organisation / tidiness (which is pretty low - we used to joke that we could never decide whether we lived in a sty or a slum :)).

DownyEmerald · 27/04/2012 22:28

Ooh CeliaFate I like a boxfile for each year. I have a filing cabinet and anally divide stuff up - pensions, bank statements, car etc like it was a work office, but I have realised I hardly ever have to pull it back out again and it's just wasted effort.

Put away clothes now while dd in bath now she is old enough.

Put dishes away/a little bit of recycling while kettle boiling.

Grockle · 27/04/2012 23:00

I'm going to covert to a box file system, I think.

Do you all keep insurance documents there or somewhere separate? What about job contracts, P45s etc?

Grockle · 27/04/2012 23:01

And how long do you keep each file?

Stitchthis · 28/04/2012 07:50

I'm the opposite. DH all tidy, I'm a clutter bug. But I've tidied all my crafty stuff, sorted most of my paperwork into files, started on the utility cupboard room and don't recognise ds2 room it's soooo tidy. Love this thread!Grin

CeliaFate · 29/04/2012 10:48

Really important stuff like insurance documents that you may need to find quickly is kept in a small safe.
I keep each file for 5 years, which is probably over cautious, but because they take up such little room it doesn't matter.

Grockle · 29/04/2012 15:29

Right, I've ordered boxfiles so will start organizing my paperwork tomorrow. it's all filed neatly in sections but far too much of it and impossible to keep on top of! Thank you for the tips.

Rainydayagain · 29/04/2012 20:03

Agenda,
Re the bleach and toddlers. I decant into spray bottles, clearly marked and hang on the shower screen.

Very handy for daily loo clean.

Great tip on soap under nails, i always have gardeners nails. Thanks.

pinkpainter · 30/04/2012 13:17

Very inspiring!!
I manage to keep the house tidy - every morning I go around each room, open the curtains and tidy everything up, and every evening I get an hour to tidy again and give the kitchen a good clean and mop the floor.
However I really struggle to find time to clean, upstairs hardly ever gets vacked and the bathrooms upstairs always look grubby, I always forget how long it is since the bedcovers and towels were last washed (although I do well keeping on top of the general washing and get a massive load done every day),
I wrote a list of everything that needs doing and how often I want it done (as inspired by someones suggestion further up) - I then wrote a list - 1 to 28 for the days of the month, and wrote down a job for each day. I won't need to remember when I last washed the bedcovers now as I will do them on the days of the month that they are listed against. Now I've just got to stick to it...