Overwhelmed and don’t know where to start - any tips please?

[Poppysball]

I have so much to do and just don’t know where to start or what to do first. I have ADD which means I get distracted easily and find it hard to prioritise and organise things.
DC’s have started new schools meaning bits of paperwork/admin as well as me trying to help older one get organised (difficult when I can’t organise myself!) as all new systems/rules & homework.

We’ve been on holiday then straight back to work so washing & ironing piles are everywhere. I have no decent food in so need to shop. I’ve got clubs to pay for and some money matters to sort.
Beds need changing, house is a tip, kitchen could do with a deep clean, need to clean oven and find a window cleaner.
Got appointments to book and things I’ve bought that need returning by post.

I took today off work as holiday to give me a day without dc’s to try and get sorted but I just don’t know where to start and how on earth I can get it all done by 3.00pm school pick up!

As I said, I find this sort of thing difficult which I know might sound silly to other people. Also, I realise I need to get off mn in order to make any progress but if anyone has any tips or advice I would be grateful.

Also tips/advice for generally staying organised around the home so I don’t get like this again!

Start small and break it into achievable chunks.

Go and get a wash in the machine.

Then set a twenty minute timer and blitz the kitchen.

Then do half an hour of paperwork followed by ten minutes break/ coffee

Then keep going, like that.

Are any of the beds desperate for changing or can they wait a few more days? Do you have a tumble drier to help you whiz through the washing? A dish washer you can leave running while you get on?

In your situation I'd start by making any beds you don't need to change. Go through the house and collect any dirty washing and put together and collect any washing up and either fill and run the dishwasher or do the dishes and get them put away. Tidy the kitchen and bathroom and put anything that needs putting away on the bed of the owner. Spray cleaner onto the kitchen and bathroom and leave to work for a bit while you clear stairs and hallways. Clean kitchen surfaces and bathroom and tackle the lounge. Stuff onto beds, tidy all the surfaces and clear the floor. Hoover through the house, mop any floors that need it, and put your feet up. Tackle the ironing this evening and wash as much as you can get dry daily. Only iron what really needs it!

I sympathise- a messy house makes me very anxious!

One room or big task at a time. List what needs doing, and work through one by one. I try to do one room at a time so instead of ‘mop all the floors’ I make mopping one job in each room on the list. Feels more manageable that way! So I may get the whole kitchen cleaned, which feels good and like I’ve achieved something, instead of having clean floors in every room filled with washing and clutter and ironing piles.

You may not get the whole house done today but you will start to break the back of it.

Start with what absolutely needs doing today - I.e washing, money matters. Save the deep clean for later - just load the dishwasher/wipe sides.

Put your favourite playlist on and stop every 45 minutes to deal with something you can do sitting down with a cup of tea like paying for clubs.

Good luck!

Start off with putting a wash on.
While that’s doing, do any urgent paperwork and a menu plan for food for the next week then go shopping and post any paperwork you need to.
Come back, sort out shopping and washing and put another load on if you need to.
Tidy the living room so you have somewhere nice to relax in.
Sort out the rest of it over the weekend.

Start by making a written list of what needs doing, then allocate a set amount of time to each task. Personally I would begin by getting the laundry put away so it's not sat there staring at me. Then I would devote half hour to cleaning the kitchen. After that I would have a sit down with a cuppa and plough through the paperwork/book any appointments. Maybe you could leave early to fetch the kids and do the parcel posting on the way!

Thank you all very much. Yes the dc’s beds really do need changing so I’m going to do that first. Then I will make a list and try and prioritise (always seem to get a mental block as it all seems equally important).

I’ll save the ironing for later.

I am hopeless at meal planning as can never think more than a day ahead. Usually end up at the shop every day😩 Doesn’t help that dc’s are quite fussy, I am trying to eat healthier and don’t always want to have the food they have. Any tips for meal planning?

For this week, make life easy for yourself. Plan meals you know they'll eat and put extra veg/salad with yours. Next week ask each person for one meal to put onto the meal plan and work out how to make them healthier for you, ie more veg

Don't try and change all the meals when they're adjusting to going back to school as you'll end up with difficult meal times. Instead put in one new meal a week and ask whether they want it again

Write a list of meals you know they’ll eat.
Next week, work on making slight variations.

Meal planning definitely gets easier with practice!

I have a notebook where I write down each weeks plan adding to the shopping list as I go. I take into account what is planned for each day e.g. who's at home, am I working late, quick turnaround needed for after school activity etc

I also have a list that I keep in the back of my notebook with a list of family dinners which I look at for inspiration if needed.

Dinners that will do 2 days are also great
Eg roast chicken on Sunday, curry made with leftover chicken on Monday

My kids are also very fussy, I cater to their restricted tastes a lot but will challenge them with something a bit different from time to time.

I also try to eat healthily but won't make a totally different dinner
Eg DCs have Spag bol
I will have bol sauce with Brocolli, green beans and a little pasta

To be fair, meal planning doesn't work for me at all. Instead I try to make sure I buy three meals worth of fresh meat/fish/whatever - say sausages, salmon and minced beef - and some veg we like inc potatoes Then I make it up as we go. I also make sure to keep a full store cupboard - pasta and tinned stuff and so on - and full freezer - veg, pizzas - so that I can do a cupboard/freezer meal if it all goes to pot.

I occasionally get a spurt of good intentions and plan a month's worth of meals but honestly it all bores me so much that I want to rip it up by the second week.

CanISpeakToYourManager I know exactly what you mean! I feel as if I get a mental block when it comes to writing out a week’s worth of meals, I just can’t think of anything except the same old things! I am bored of eating the same few meals but am such a rubbish cook I don’t know what else to do.
Sometimes I wander round the supermarket with no clue what to buy and then end up having pasta!

Update on the other stuff - I got quite a few things ticked off my list yesterday but there are still lots of things on the list and I’ve added more. The washing is endless!

Things everybody needs: food and sleep, clothes.

Walk into kitchen carrying bedlinen: shove in washing machine, add soap powder, switch on.

Head for sink: empty it, stacking plates, bowls, etc, in piles. Make sure drainer is empty, putting whatever is there away. Or if you have a dishwasher, empty it of clean things.

Squirt cleaner over drainer and sink, scrub quickly with tap running, rinse and wipe over taps. Make sure plughole is clear of food particles and the outside of the washing-up bowl is clean.

Load the dishwasher if you have one, or nice and neatly, plates in the bottom, cutlery in the basket, cups and glasses in the top basket. Bowls wherever they fit. Add detergent tablet, shut door, switch on. Anything that doesn't fit, wash it up now.

Once washing up is done, go to the hob. Take the metal things off, clean with spray or a tiny amount of hot, soapy water. Dry it off, put metal things back on.

Move to main food prep surface. Clear random stuff and crumbs off it (crumbs onto the floor if necessary). Clean surface quickly.

Move to next surface, etc..

Finish off by wiping the white goods' tops/fronts (fridge, etc). Then vacuum the floor.

Kitchen is vaguely presentable.

Have a cuppa sitting down.

Take wash load out and put to dry. Put another load in and start it.

Have a quick look around you - are there more cups that were missed? Pick them up and put them beside the sink.

Grab a binbag/carrier bag. Scoot around downstairs, putting obvious rubbish in it - packets, wrappers, empty envelopes. Tie the top up and put it by the door.

Take your empty cup back to the kitchen. Is the bin full? If not, open the fridge door and chuck any bits of packaging, mouldy food or stuff that you can't remember how long it's been in there opened. Tie the bag up, take it to the door where the small bag is.

Have a quick sniff of the bin. If it smells, clean it, if not, put a fresh bin liner in it. Wipe over the top.

Take the bin bags out and put into your wheelie bin.

If the drying is finished, take it out, fold it and take it upstairs to each room.

Come back down, clean the filter, empty the condenser into the clean sink, ready for the next wash load.

Buy a takeaway and put all the packaging into the bin as soon as you dish it up.

Wash up the few plates and cups you've just used, deal with the next load of drying, don't worry about anything else today.

I think there are ADD support threads somewhere on here. It is genuinely disabling, please don't think that you sound silly. And housework is a particularly difficult thing to manage with ADD because it is NEVER FUCKING DONE. I could go on and on and ON about how men with ADD have mothers and wives but what do women with ADD have...SFA. You have to be your own boss and executive assistant. Anyway, I'll stop. Hope it gets easier.