Feeling overwhelmed with housework, any tips please?

[Fuzzypeggy]

I just can't seem to get on top of it. I'm not life's most naturally tidy person but I really try. We have 2 small children and I feel that I'm drowning in housework. Once I've done endless washing and empti d the washing basket, its all there to be ironed and put away which takes ages. I'm constantly tidying up toys in the living room and kids bedrooms for them to be all over the floor 5 mins later. The bathroom seems to need cleaning every 5 mins. I know everyone with children is in the same boat but everyone I know seems to be on top of it and I never am. Please give me your best tips!

Reduce ironing.
Give every item a sharp snapping shake as you take it out of the washing machine. Gets rid of worse of creases

Never iron! Only shirts.

Tumble dryer actually makes clothes less creased especially if you fold them right away. They're basically being steamed in their own moisture as they dry.

I do cleaning as I go along. If I pop to the toilet, afterwards I clean the bath, next time I go, I clean the sink. Or wait till its bath time and whilst baby is in the bath and I'm right there with him I clean the toilet.

Ikea do some great storage type solutions for toys but if they haven't bothered with it for 6 months get rid!! With toys, books, dvd etc I tend to do a 6 monthly clear out and have got better at being ruthless! Dd will sometimes help me as likes the idea of donating to the charity shop so other children can benefit from her toys etc.

I think the biggest key to being tidy is to have less stuff.

Oh and i haven't ironed anything other than the bare essentials in years

Also, the dc still bring toys downstairs to play with but they get returned to their bedrooms. Our house is too small to have everything in the living room. We've put additional shelving up in the kitchen for their arts and crafts equipment.

I don't tumble dry adult clothes (except pjs, underwear, cheap vests or layering tops, old jogging bottoms etc) as I find my tops especially do shrink but absolutely all the kids stuff gets tumbled. Doing it on a lower heat takes longer but definitely makes fewer creases and virtually everything can just be folded and put away.

I also do a load per day which keeps it manageable as I only have a washer dryer rather than seperates. I fill the washer before I go to bed then first one up in the morning turns it on. Washing is then ready to hang out or sort before I do school run e.g. All out on line or in winter put stuff I don't tumble over an airer or radiators and put everything else in the tumble dryer ready to be switched on. Then when I come home (after school run or morning activity) I just need to press a button. I do towels one day, and darks the next and bedding once a week.

Yeah, don't put your good clothes in the dryer, but definitely everything else can go in. The time I used to spend patrolling airers waiting for clothes to dry and putting things on radiators. Also all the space they take up. I can now wash and dry all bedding and have it back on the beds in the afternoon. I have a very exciting life.

I know the feeling, I'm always checking the airers! Tumble dryer won't know what's hit it!
Great idea re taking a photo of the kids drawings, don't know why I never thought of that!

Declutter! I chucked out every single thing that wasn't useful or beautiful.

• Declutter (be ruthless) and spring clean every room
• Once cleared do whatever suits you to keep it under control - mine is one laundry load per day and doing set major chores on set days e.g. properly clean bathrooms every Thursday.
• Teach kids to put toys away and clothes in laundry basket at bedtime; it gets easier the older they get and the volume of plastic tat essential educational toys generally decreases
• No ironing; tumble dry all kids clothes
• To reward yourself for the tidiness, always have a day off from housework once a week (Saturday in our house). This involves minimum tasks only e.g. loading and unloading dishwasher, and includes a minimum food prep type of main meal e.g. oven chips or takeaway.

Never walk empty. There is always something in the room you are coming from that ought to be in the room you are going to. All hair pins will be in the bathroom and all pencils in the desk drawer soon.

Prepare a list of what needs and divide it amongst everyone in the house. No reason why it should be left to you!

Wait about 15 years. I was in the same position as you, but happily the house a lot tidier now that they are teens or older. It'll fly by in the blink of an eye.

Although our house is not a model of good housekeeping, and we do trip over toys a lot, we actually mainly keep them in the common living room - none or almost none in their room. The two oases of tidy in the house are actually the DCs' bedroom and our bedroom!

We have a tumble dryer but we use it sparingly - save the clothes, the environment and the electricity bill - but it is good for towels and sheets (take ages/take up loads of space otherwise) and we use it for our underwear (not the kids' because they shrink!) as they are a pain to hang up.

Ha! You've just reminded me that I buy the dcs undies and school polo shirts a size bigger now to allow for shrinkage! Top tip

Never leave a room empty handed. Your kids are a bit young to get into the swing of this yet, but when my lot were at home, we used to "flash tidy". All of us would descend on one room and clear it. It would be done in 15 minutes, then just a hoover required.

I used to finish stuff that was line dried with a 10 minute tumble, then get it out and fold it right away.

I don't have a tumble drier any more but still get away with only ironing about half the clothes.

Get a cleaner

Evening. As there are so many great tips on here, it was suggested that this thread might be better off in Housekeeping. So, with the OP's agreement, we're nudging it over there now. Thanks all.