Lazy housekeeping tips

[trinity0097]

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.

I was coming on to say spray some polish on warm radiators so it at least smells like you've polished but I can see it's not that type of thread

Watching all you domestic goddesses with interest cos that's all I've got

We have bedwetters too and could never manage with one set of sheets per person! You don't seriously wash and dry sheets for 2 hours in the middle of the night do you Nick?!

We do match sheets to PJs. DD has white bedding and pale pjs, DS has all darks, DH and I have light coloureds. Simplifies bed laundry.

Plotter- very confused at your last paragraph re: matching pjs to bedsheets? What do you mean by "simplifies bed laundry"?

I wish I had something useful to add...but sadly, I'm in need of these tips myself! I do a few of the above mentioned, though; taking stuff straight out of tumble dryer when possible so it doesn't get too creased. This isn't rocket science but I always make sure dishwasher goes on last thing at night and is emptied first thing so that it can be filled up during the day as and when, rather than letting the dishes build up.

I'm a sahm and as my children are getting older (the older two are 6 and 4) I'd like to get them into a chore routine. I want them to learn how to keep their house clean and tidy as I grew up in an immaculate house but never lifted a finger really; mum wanted everything done properly so she did it herself!! I did some cooking for the family, and cleaned/tidied the kitchen as a teen but that's it really.

We do have two sets of bedlinen per bed, but the spares virtually never get used, we always wash, dry and replace the same day and it's been years since we had an emergency night time change.

We also do the half hour family blitz but only at weekends as we are never all at home at the same time on weekday evenings (all of us are out at least 2 or 3 evenings a week for our hobbies).

We have a lot of hobby related stuff - sports and dance kits etc. So, in the hall we have a long row of low pegs, partly for the DCs coats but also for school and hobby bags. Each hobby has a bag on a peg, so when we get home or stuff has been washed, it goes straight back in the relevant bag and is ready to go again the following week. Also in the hall above the pegs is a large magnetic whiteboard, all letters from school, Scouts, medical appointments etc go there. I keep change, envelopes and a pen in the hall so forms from school are dealt with immediately and put in bags again. I have a stamp to obliterate personal data so all junk mail gets stamped and recycled immediately, no shredding.

I don't understand the matching PJs to bedlinen thing either? We wash pjs with other clothes, rather than bedding.

Don't prevaricate.

Do little but often.

Teach DC to do small chores when young so it becomes second nature - I remember my Sil's horror when I told her our 1yo was responsible for cleaning his own bedroom - he bloody loved wetwipes!

Declutter: less to clean and move.

Have a 'crapbasket' that odd things get thrown into and go through it once a week.

My pladtic recycling is put into plastic shopping bags (H&M etc), paper/card into paper shopping bags so it is all dumped at once.

Microfibre cloths, hot water and lemon juice cleans just about everything and no excess waste.

We have set days for laundry: Mondays alternate bedding/towels, Wednesday clothes, Saturday morning school stuff, Sunday clothes (if necessary). There are 3 of us, we don't seem to generate a lot of laundry. I iron in summer but not winter.

On Sunday I spend 20 minutes organising my week's wardrobe: I use one coathanger for each day, hang up outfit and underwear. Same for dc. Then I just have to grab it at 7am and I'm good to go, no faffing in the half-dark (DH asleep) umming and ahhing about what matches etc. Luckily DS doesn't care what he wears so doesn't tantrum about tshirts etc.

As soon as I come home from work/collecting DS, I unpack our bags and sort out receipts/washing/Kinderegg wrappers etc and repack DS' bag for the next day. DS is usually running around excitedly with Playmobil police and bouncing on DH while I do this!

The only regular dusting I do is the tv and its table (dark brown) as they're both stared at a lot! The Kallax gets done at Easter, Halloween, Christmas and if we have guests (not often!).

Gosh, quite a waffley post!

I am guessing Plotter strips the whote bedding, for eg, and washes the white pjs with it. Dark wash +dark pjs. Wash bedding and pjs once/twice a week/month whatever.

Clean bedding AND clean pjs at the same time.

I have 2 big Aldi bags on the go - one downstairs and one upstairs. I chuck anything that needs to go up in the downstairs one and vice versa - swap and empty when they're full.

Buy 6 pairs of identical socks at a time. That way, even if one goes astray they'll still have plenty of matching pairs. I also leave orphans in the front of the drawer so they eventually get reunited.

A special mention goes to Decathlon's trainer socks. Cheap and DS likes the towelling only under the foot.

I have a special hatred reserved for "orphan" socks.

I am actively eliminating crap baskets, they are totally counterproductive for us as we tend to just fill them up and move on to other containers, it legitimises chucking things in the nearest basket/toybox instead of putting them away properly. DH is the worst for this, he can clear a room in 30 seconds but you'll never find things again. I think they're a good idea if you are disciplined about emptying them, but we're not and have ended up with little dishes and bigger boxes full of crap all over the house.

I ignore sock pairing totally. Washing is sorted according to owner then it's up to them whether to pair or put away as singles. I clear out mine and the DCs sock drawers once a year or so each to get rid of odd ones.

Ah sorry re pj matching, kids are bedwetters here so one child's pjs, sheets, waterproof terry undersheets, duvet cover at least need to be done together, sometimes multiple times a week. It is much easier to deal with if it can all go in together. Adult stuff is light coloureds because that's generally what gets left. I forget other people don't live in my world!

Re the bed wetting/bed changing.

He's an early morning wetter (and on meds so very rare now) and didn't wake. We'd change him and the bed in the morning and it would be fresh again at bedtime. He's 10 and can strip and remake his own bed now.

Thanks for the explanations Plotter and Nick.

Hi whoknows

A stamp to obliterate personal data??? Please tell me more! I normally cut my details off from posted forms but then J have to find a way to dispose of the cuttings.

Potter- I see! Thanks for the explanation, and that makes perfect sense!

I love my cordless Gtech;so easy just to run it over the floors making them instantly look clean!

Yeah sorry Zippidy, it was not the best of tips!! Nick aha, ours are always up in the night.

Loads of great ideas here, and ElQuinto you are my new housekeeping guru :)

Oh the crap boxes, we seem to have them but I am trying hard to relocate items rather than shoving them in the crap box.

I can't find a link to my stamp but if you put "stamp identity theft" into Amazon, various similar ones pop up. I refill it with stamp pad ink.

I'm yearning gor some Viz top tips right now....

Dyson fluffy - brilliant

Dishwasher/tumble dryer

I'm ed up of walking to top level of garden to hang washing, so now put it on an airer right outside the back door/conservatory. That way it can be brought in quickly.

Plastic bowls for cat food and messy kids puddings

De-clutter no un-necessary ornaments and clearing out cupboards really works. Space to shove stuff if you need to in a hurry.we are in the process of selling and having free drawers available forced us to sort through crap though DH is a hoarder of old tecnology and videos still.

An old tip. If you only have time to clean 1 room make it bathroom. It's the one visitors notice most. Also spray polish onto ceiling light then leave on to bluff that you've been busy cleaning.

20 mins a night - every night without fail. I have a routine written down which I follow religiously to keep on top of the grot

Keep dettol wipes by the loo and I can reach my sink and back of the loo while I'm on the throne

Clean shower while I'm in it . Finish shower, turn off water, spray around with dettol, jump out and dry self with towel, brush teeth then wash off dettol in shower with shower head. Done.

I learned this one on mumsnet: put the roll of binbags in the bottom of the bin and open out the bag while still attached to the roll. When you need to change the bin bag, whip the full one up, tear it off and fold the next one on the roll over the sides of the bin. Done!

Hire someone to come and clean your wheelie bins once a month. It costs us £10 a month and is SO WORTH EVERY PENNY.

Bins in every single room. Also, cleaning products for that particular room in each room stashed in the cupboard.

Febreeze (or make your own with water and essential oil) and hang up clothes in between wears if they are still clean, but turn the hanger around when you put them back in the wardrobe so you know which clothes are on their second wear. After second wear, put in the wash.