cleaning lists thread

[rainydays4]

is there one and I'm missing it? Have tried a search but can only see one from 09/10 that seemed to die out after a few threads? Is it still going on somewhere because I love lists and really need to get my house in shape so could do with the encouragement (and chatting).

[pippahooper]

A christmas cleaning thread? x

[rainydays4]

An anything cleaning lists related thread (I am sad and enjoy that kind of thing)!
I'm also feeling very alone right now. I really really wish I could keep on top of my house I've just had a baby and being on maternity leave just isn't what I thought it was going to be. Had imagined a spotless house, out doing lots of activities during the day with baby and DH coming home to a nice dinner every night!
Feeling like a massive failure !

Please link me to any threads ! Thank you

[pippahooper]

I like cleaning too. My daughter just called me 'The Germinator' 5 minutes ago lol I'm not aware of any cleaning threads on here x

[greeneggsandsocks]

How old is you baby?

I have had 4 and each time I have a newborn in the house I am amazed at how time just goes, I can look back over a 4 hour period of time and have no recollection of what I have actually done with my time!

If you have a baby it is fairly normal for the house to be a bit of a mess and for dinner not to be ready when you DH gets home. DP quite often brings dinner home on a Friday because I'm worn out (as I have been every time).

[rainydays4]

My baby is 6 months old now so I feel like I should be in some sort of routine! She sleeps relatively well at night but is a nightmare during the day she just does not want to nap and requires constant attention!

I wish I could just get the house sorted I feel like its hanging over me like a massive dark cloud.

Every room is full of clutter and no matter how many bags of things I put out to the bin or take to the charity shop the house always seems filled with it

Poor DH has a physically hard job (outdoors with animals) so when he gets home I know he would like to have a shower, chill out and get something nice to eat. Especially in winter when he's been out since 6am in the freezing cold! Instead he's coming home to mayhem. Untidy house, no dinner, (normally) screaming baby and me absolutely frazzled.

Please share with me your house keeping tips whilst looking after a demanding small child and tips on running an efficient house hold in general! Feel like the worst mother and wife

[greeneggsandsocks]

6 months is still fairly small so definitely don't feel a failure (I always do at some point after giving birth though, its exhausting having a baby).

For food a slow cooker is good, you can do really quick to prepare meals, a favorite of mine is to throw 1 bag of casserole veg, some chicken stock and some diced chicken in the slow cooker with some onions that have been fried...put it on early in the day and when your DH gets in it should be ready. Also diced chicken/lamb with curry sauce in the slow cooker is good. You can also do a beef version.

I also batch cook bolognese (cooked in the slow cooker) and chile con carne and store in portion sized pots in the freezer, that way if it all goes wrong you can do a really quick meal.

Habits are good imo, every morning I put a wash on, do the dishwasher and put the dry washing away (I do not iron!). Every night I make sure the kitchen and the dining room table are clean and clear of rubbish. I also stop at midday for a decent lunch (any later and before I know it 3pm as come round and I haven't eaten and I am frazzled).

Shopping is done online so that saves time.

Have you got a spare room? In the past when I have done a major de-clutter I have used a spare room and moved clutter into piles: pile 1 for the tip (straight into black bags and then to the car). Pile 2 for the charity shop (bagged up by the door) and pile 3 to sell and pile 4 to store.

I find this way gets your living space clutter free really quickly and you start to feel better. Then you give yourself a week or so to deal with the pile of stuff. It does mean moving it about but your living space gets clutter free fast. I look at an item and decide if I would prefer to keep it or to have the extra space. I bought a kindle so about 90% of my books went (I had a lot) and I haven't missed them, same for CD's and DVD's they have been replaced with spotify and sky on demand...that all meant that there was enough space to throw out a dying bookcase rather than replace it and still have room for all of the DC's books. I am pretty ruthless and as yet haven't thrown away anything that I have missed.

I would start in the the new year though, have a rest now and enjoy your babies 1st Christmas

[greeneggsandsocks]

also...while I am busy DS is usually in a bouncy chair near me, or in the high chair with toys or in the sling. If my parents visit I make them a pot tea and ask if they will look after him while I do a couple of jobs. I also have a soothing spotify playlist for him which often calms us both down tbh.

[TrippleBlessed]

I like your thinking GreenEgg! I'm similar to you. I agree with routine, that way you just automatically do things daily then dont have to fret about it later. I get the washing machine on every morning, before my school run. Dinner table/kitchen is cleared every night and dishwasher on if full. I do the ironing every 2 weeks. Dust and vacuum my house from top to bottom once a week, then vacuum downstairs only every other day. Both bathrooms get a thorough clean once a week, with touch ups throughout the week.

I've become very ruthless when it comes to decluttering, if an item is not beautiful or serves no purpose, then its gone! Collections for charity drop offs are left under my stairs and i add to it throughout the month, once bag is full its off! I have another pile for selling stuff. My DCs small clothes that i would like to reuse for next baby is vacuum packed away every year. I currently have ds1 age 6, dd1 age 2 and am 5 months pregnant, and suffering from pelvic girdle pain. But I refuse to let the house chores get on top of me as i know I'll start to get really down if my home is not organised. Tidy house tidy mind

All the best

[rainydays4]

Thank you so so much greenegg and triple. I know I need to get myself into a routine but to be honest the house needs a massive blast/deep clean first. I'd love to be able to spend 2min giving the kitchen surfaces a wipe in the morning whilst waiting on the kettle boiling etc

I do online shop but have been putting it off for the past 2 weeks as I know I need to clean out the fridge and freezer before buying more things. I couldn't even offer my mum a cup of coffee and some biscuits when she came round this morning

I just wish that all of this domestic stuff came naturally to me !!

Before having DD my house was spotless. I look back and can't remember how I did it!

[ChubbyKitty]

I keep a packet of lemon cleaning wipes in every room for when I need to give things a quick squizz over but can't actually be arsed.

And I sweep the stairs and the big living room rug, it's genuinely easier than getting the heavy Hoover out all the damn time!

I can't help with clutter, I'm in a similar situation. Where does it all come from?? And it's Christmas next week so there'll be even more stuff to find a place for! I just hope someone's bought me a Tardis I can hide all the things in.

[purplemurple1]

Would it be an option for your mum to have the baby at hers and you and your husband do a clean up and treat yourselves to a nice dinner?

After my first DC I made a schedule of daily, weekly,monthly tasks including going for a walk, talk to my sister, tummy time etc so I felt I'd achieved something even on slow days. Planning to do the same with dc2.

[MillionairesShortbread]

My house was genuine chaos for the first year/18months after giving birth for the first time. It was a huge shock to the system and just getting used to al lthe extra stuff/ losing the spare room/ losing free time to "just potter" and get things sorted.

I remember fretting about it a lot at the time, and feeling so exhausted (baby didn't sleep well) and overwhelmed. However looking back it really really wasn't that important. If I had a first baby again I'd just focus on a clean table/work surface and a clean loo and probably just accept it might be chaos for a year or so and then normal life would resume!

[TrippleBlessed]

RainyDays i forgot to add please dont feel like the worst mother or wife. Or a failure. We all slip up at times. Main thing is you want to do something about it. Thats a start.

How old is dc? Does dc sleep well at night? If your quite exhausted from sleepless nights, i would say look after yourself first. When you feel good, the rest will be easier to tackle.

If you feel your home needs a complete clear out, do you think you could get a cleaner to get you started? You and dh (perhaps with help from parents or friends) could declutter everything. Then you could create a list of stuff you want to keep on top of e.g the cleaning, decluttering, cooking.

I do like lists. As sad as this may sound but i do have a list. Hope it helps you...

Mondays: dust vacuum top to bottom (that means starting from the attic bedroom and doing 2 flights of stairs ). DD1 age 2, helps me by walking around with her very own duster

Tues: no housework other than a quick whizz over the 2 bathrooms (10mins literally). Then take dd to playgroup that she loves

Wed: vacuum downstairs only, and i alternate between giving the kitchen a good clean or doing the ironing every other wednesday.

Thurs: no housework! Take dd to playgroup

Fri: vacuum and mop downstairs. Clean both bathrooms.

Sat & sun: no housework. Dh is home so wkends are family days.

I have a rule that the house chore must not take longer than an hour. I time myself! When dd has her lunch i get the laundry out to dry, and cook the main meal of the day, so I'm not late in feeding everyone or too tired to cook it at the end of the day. I dont like cooking so i want it over and done with as quick as possible. I used to precook and freeze but i found bulk cooking made me more tired. But i would still recommend it if you have the energy.

I do food shopping online, delivery comes every wednesday night. I did a big clear out of my kitchen cupboards few weeks ago, realised how much money was wasted on unused out of date food. Now i dont overbuy. OP i would just wake up one morning and tackle that kitchen. You'll feel great. Its quite therapeutic.

Oh also, i have 2 paying students living with me so i do their laundry, clean their rooms, and cook enough for them too. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage when baby3 arrives.

I feel another list coming along...

Like you OP, i know i would start to feel down, hence why i have a routine and almost dont think about it, i just do it. The music really helps!

I hope I've helped/inspired you.

[TrippleBlessed]

Sorry that was mega long!

[HerrenaHarridan]

I am not naturally tidy. I built up to it one step at a time.

Prioritise. What really affects your mood.

For me it's

1. bed, I have a lovely bed, I flick it back into a made state while getting dressed.
   
   
2. one kitchen work surface. Even if it's just one I NEED to be able to rustle up something wit touring moving loads of crap or knocking over precariously balanced things.
   
   3)door ways. I need to be able to move through my home without being constantly obstructed/ knocking things over.
   
   So I steered by making my bed. It takes less than a min and I'm there anyway. There is ALWAYS time.
   
   
3. clear work surface when I'm done. Stuff to fridge, move stuff to cupboards or another counter. Quick wipe.
   
   
4. move it. Even if I don't know where to put it dump it somewhere not in the way.

[Fingeronthebutton]

Fortunately I love housework. I put the jobs I don't like (trying to think of one) in the 'instant gratification' bracket. Get the 'bad' stuff out of the way first.

[Sunbeam18]

Don't beat yourself up about this, OP. Your baby is still very young and it's a huge life change adapting to your new circumstances. My son is now 18 months and we are often still in total chaos (not helped by DP being an untidy sod). We got a cleaner, only once a fortnight for 2.5 hours) but it's a godsend. There is just no time for cleaning if your child does not nap in the house (DS only naps in the car). I do a quick tidy every morning while DS watches Peppa (bringing night debris (glasses, dirty washing, nappies) downstairs, doing brekkie dishes, putting wash on) and try to leave house reasonably tidy if not spotless. To be honest with a young child if you can both be clean, dressed and fed by 10 then I think that's a good day! I know your DP is working but so are you and you don't get any time to as much as gather your thoughts during the day. I'd be expecting him to prepare the meal at least half of the time.