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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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Original poster

Lazy housekeeping tips

112 replies

trinity0097 · 17/08/2016 20:41

So what are your housekeeping tips if you are fundamentally lazy?!

I have bought a stash of cheap paper bags with handles. I use these as recycling bags upstairs so I don't have to have a receptacle to take back up when it is emptied - being paper the whole bag can just go in the recycling.

OP posts:

RubyGoat · 17/08/2016 20:48

I use baby wipes to clean those mucky marks from the doorframes & aroumd the doorhandles & light switches. Usually while I'm watching TV.

Also, never go upstairs empty-handed. Always take something - newly purchased toiletries, clean clothes, toys to put away, whatever.

If you have long hair, either brush in one location in the house, or have wooden / laminate floors. Much easier to get the hair off one small section of carpet before vacuuming (with a cheap hairbrush) than the whole house every time, & clog up the vacuum cleaner.

wobblywonderwoman · 17/08/2016 23:00

Mine are -

Batch cooking bolognese, Shepard's pies etc. So only one big mess to clear up and several evenings without much hassle (I use foil tin cases so just chuck them in the bin)

I have an ironing board that pulls out of the drawer in the kitchen in front of the TV

Peel potatoes on a sheet of newspaper so easier to clean up

Dirty toys - dishwasher

LucyLucyLou · 17/08/2016 23:16

If you have children put the time in to train them up. It saves time long term although it's time consuming at the start ( which is why my very busy mum never trained us!)

PeppaPigStinks · 18/08/2016 08:20

Lucylou- how do you train your kids!? What do they do?!

ILoveAGoodBrusselSprout · 18/08/2016 08:23

Clean the shower when you're already in there.
Make sure everyone puts dirty dishes in the dish washer, not the kitchen counter.
Clean the bathroom while the kids are in the bath.
Fold t-shirts straight out of the wash so you don't have to iron them.

NickNacks · 18/08/2016 08:27

Agree with the training of the kids, my kids can do almost everything I can.

raisedbyguineapigs · 18/08/2016 08:27

Put duvet sets and sheets all together fold them up and put them straight in the pillowcase when they are dry. Saves faffing about searching for the right sized sheets and pillow cases for beds.

NoFuchsGiven · 18/08/2016 08:31

I fold clothes straight from the line/airer into piles of who they belong to then shout dc, hand them their pile and they put them away. I have no idea why I didn't start doing this year's ago but it saves so much time!
I had a full line if washing yesterday and all I ended up waking in the house with was an empty basket and a tea towel.

NoFuchsGiven · 18/08/2016 08:32

Once dc are trained it just becomes second nature to them.

raisedbyguineapigs · 18/08/2016 08:33

How old are your kids noticed? I dream of that day! That's my most loathed job and I loathe most housework

Trills · 18/08/2016 08:37

Live alone. Everything stays where you put it.

It might not be TIDY but it's all immobile.

Mummyoftwo91 · 18/08/2016 08:50

Cleaning wipes! Floor wipes window wipes literally wipes for everything saves so much time

LucyLucyLou · 18/08/2016 11:46

They hoover, dust round with a damp cloth, empty and stack the dishwasher, do their own bed linen. (Though I still put it on the line, I am not sure why now.) Put their own clean clothes away. Help with food prep and laying table. Clean the bathroom sink and taps but not the shower, again I don't know why!
Older ones can make a quick lunch.
We are all rubbish at tidying though and I need to work on that.

FreeButtonBee · 18/08/2016 11:49

Amazon do boxes of 50 tin foil containers for under a. Tenner. Bargain and no washing up. It means I am much more likely to batch cook and they all stack nicely in the freezer

SapphireStrange · 18/08/2016 11:50

Employ a cleaner.

Adifferentrationality · 18/08/2016 12:04

Buy a Neato Botvac Connect. Saves me hours. (And no, I am not in any way connected to the company or paid by them to advertise, I just love my robohoover).

Elbekind · 18/08/2016 12:56

Cleaning the bathroom while the kids are in the bath is a great idea!
I've only recently got on top of my housework and it really is so easy to keep it clean once it is clean! A mindee is down for her nap now, went down at 12:15 so it's been just over half an hour and I've cleaned everything up from lunch, put a load of washing on, taken clothes out of the dryer and folded them and put them away. Ironed my partner's work shirts for next week and written up this morning's expenditures (i'm a childminder) in my account's book. Now I have another hour or so to just chill. Yesterday nap time I cleaned the bathroom, weeded the front garden and tidied up the play room.
Getting on top of it all REALLY helps but it has taken me just about 6 months to do it!!

oldlaundbooth · 18/08/2016 14:36

At what age did you train the children?

oldlaundbooth · 18/08/2016 14:37

leaning the bathroom while the kids are in the bath is a great idea!

This is a good one.

I need to get DH on board.

You have to be in the bathroom anyway!!

oldlaundbooth · 18/08/2016 14:37

cleaning, not leaning!

MackerelOfFact · 18/08/2016 15:01

Use the same product to clean everything in one go. I crack out a pack of Dettol wipes, or some multi-purpose spray, or just a damp microfibre cloth and quickly blitz everywhere - kitchen, bathroom, tables, mirrors, everything. Even floors.

I also have one of these which is brilliant as it just goes in the wash and it takes literally 2 minutes to dust a whole room with it.

I also try and do things as I go along so there's less need to do a huge labour-intensive 'clean'.

Also try and do things in a logical order - if you need to cook and hoover, obviously hoover after you've cooked otherwise you'll end up with garlic peel all over the kitchen floor or is that just me?

HouseworkIsASin10 · 18/08/2016 15:19

Anything on the stairs gets taken up every time I go up. We used to have shoes on every step

I am so watching this thread for tips.

blitheringbuzzards1234 · 18/08/2016 17:08

Have three/four liners in the bin at any one time. When you get to the last one, make sure to refill before you take the last one out to the dustbin. Then you'll never be without a liner should a lazy type come along and just chuck something in the unlined bin.

ThinkingForever · 18/08/2016 17:55

Honestly, there's no short cuts really are there ... unless you get somebody else to do it.

I do think there is a good method in doing one extra job a day, e.g. one cupboard clean or sort-out. That way you never have to spend hours doing loads of stuff in one go, and you always live in a clean, organised home . Though I like it I rarely carry it through, just keeping on top of basics is a bit of a struggle tbh.

Sgtmajormummy · 18/08/2016 18:26

Leave bathroom cleaning products on to do their job. Especially limescale remover and toilet duck. Walk away and do something else for 20 minutes so when you come back the hard work's done and you just have to wipe/rinse off.
I lock the bathroom from the outside or wedge the mop diagonally across the door to tell people it's off limits.

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