New house, new regime......HELP!!!

[elephantpoo]

Next week (sugar-next week ) DH, DD, DS and I are moving into a lovely new rented house and I'm determined that it's going to be a fresh start after a rather difficult few months. To cut a long story short I'm after a few ideas as to how to tackle my biggest problem.....housework. How do you approach it (ie. a bit each day / 1 day a week to blitz / other ideas), what do you do each day, what timescale do you allow for it? I just know you're going to be great, so TIA

I had the same feelings when we moved last year - me, DH, DS1, DS2 & DC3 was on the way.

We managed it! Our old home had become a bit of a nightmare TBH. For me at least, the key is to keep on top of it. Tidy up as you go along - get everyone in the habit of taking all cups, plates, rubbish etc. into the kitchen as soon as they are empty. Wipe down surfaces as soon as something is spilt (even a drip from a teabag) and the "jobs" become barely noticable. Keep cleaning things in the bathroom (if it is safe to do so with your DC) and give something a clean every day - toilet one day, bath the next, basin the next etc. whilst you are in there anyway.

Basically, if something needs doing try to do it as soon as you possibly can, preferably immediately, the longer you put it off for the bigger the job will become and the less likely you are to want to do it.

Hope this helps. It really worked for us. You need to get your DH and DS on board too (if DS is old enough) for it to work properly. Good luck!

joining you elephant, we're moving over the course of next week as have overlapped the rents. We have a toddler and I am a student, DH works full time, and I struggle a lot with the housework. Here's hoping we have good fresh starts!

Invest in some good sized baskets (Ikea good for choice and cost) to dot around so that you can literally throw toys, shoes etc into them at end of the day. At least each day is then started reasonably afresh and in the evenings you are not tripping over kids stuff and the house can feel a bit more 'adult'. Good for your sanity if nothing else! That's a 'must have' in our house! If you have carpets then having a quick run around with the hoover every couple of days should help to keep dust at bay. Keep the kitchen area under control every day, as other contributor has said. Half an hour (ish) weekdays with a blitz on bathrooms, washing etc at the weekend should be enough.

WE'RE MOVING EARLY!!!!!!!
DH decided that we should move this weekend.......arggghhhhh!!
We've moved the garage over this eve (new house is 5 mins around the corner, so easy for multiple trips)
Popoozle - I really like your idea of doing jobs as you go along. My attitude atm is to have a cleaning "day" where everything gets done. I DREAD that day
agendabender - we've overlapped our rents too........nowhere near the pressure of a usual move. Hope you enjoy your fresh start too!
Lottiesinteriors -ooh, I love baskets!! Great idea, and user friendly for the DC!! When I do my cleaning day I spent much too much of it tidying before I can get to clean....ggggrrrrrr!! I am adamant that the DC (9 and 6) are going to do more. They have a chore each day that they get a tick on their reward charts for, but I think they need to step it up a bit more now

Thank you for these tips

A new house is an ideal time to introduce new rules to the DCs to get them to become house elves tidy up more!

i'm moving withing the next 8/9 weeks and have the same plans WRT a fresh start.

i think what is most important is to do little and often. dishes away while the kettle is boiling in the morning, stick the washing in the machine while dcs are brushing teeth, wiping counters after every meal prep, doing dishes straight afetr every meal, have a place for everything.

my prefect daily routine would be

wash out in morning
dishes done after each meal
downstairs swept and mopped once a day
kitchen swept after each meal
litter tray checked everytime i'm in the bathroom and changed daily
beds made, curtains and windows opened everyday
one chore room done a day taking no more than 45 minutes
and generally keeping mess (like toys, magazines, shoes etc) where it belongs so not gathering in piles in the corner of rooms
oh yes and toilet, bath and basin wiped down every night before bed.

oh yes my (ideal)chore room schedule is as follows
monday bathrooms (because we use them more at weekends than during the week and they are upstairs -work from top to bottom)
tuesday bedrooms
wednesday hall, stairs and landing
thursday living room
friday kitchen (because we cook less at the weekend than during the week -mum's on sunday's, frozen pizza on saturday and a takeaway on friday night)
saturday the car or garden (alternating)

i work my way out of the house from top to bottom to garden

well that's teh idea anyway, it's yet to happen

Don't forget to live a little in between all those chores....!!!! :o)

I'm moving on Monday and also need a new regime, so I am watching for ideas lol.

My dc's are a bit older (14, 12 and 9) and so they will be getting a few jobs each. I also plan to make sure that every day I wipe round the bathroom, and kitchen just quickly so that it doesn't get to the point where it needs fumigating lol.

We're moving to a smaller house, so we are going to have be careful with clutter, but we will have a good size, boarded loft, so I am going to make full use of that.

lottie, the problem at the minute is too much living and not enough chores. need to find the balance.

tbh honest though they aren't massively time consuming things it just looks like a lot written down but really it takes 5 seconds to throw the duvet cover back over the bed, 5 minutes to wash breakfast dishes, 5 minutes to change and clean litter tray.

elephant and original how are you doing? I'm well into my week of moving and have already set up a new laundry system in the new house. I have set up separate baskets on the landing for whites, darks, colours, and "other!" My washing machine isn't arriving until Saturday though, so it's going to be tested!