The Organised Mum Method

[SylvanasWindrunner]

Is anyone doing this/just started?

We just started this week and oh my goodness, our house is clean! Someone could turn up unexpectedly and I could let them in and not die of shame!

Even toddler DD came downstairs today and said 'Oh, it's clean here!'

@Wilma55 how do you set it up for 2 people to use?

I haven't tried it but I think you share a log in or use "family share". If you have the app go to help in the main menu.

I notice the garden is a "Friday focus" so you would do it every 8 weeks. Anyone with a lawn is clearly not able to cut it at those intervals; so are some of these jobs ones you do on top of other jobs such a gardening and window cleaning and car stuff? Obviously the much talked about life admin is separate too! I don't clean my home to the levels she talks about (though it would be great if it was) and spend more time aimlessly tidying other people's crap. I don't want a system that gets me to do lots of cleaning on top of current list, but to have a more organised way to do things. I guess I had better just crack on with reading about it instead of speculating! Have downloaded the app.

I haven’t done TOMM for over a year and the house needs a good boot camp.

Has she started her organised Xmas yet?

@CornishTiger - I don't think so. I downloaded the app (thanks everyone, thought was worth £5 to avoid the faff of printing stuff) - there's 13 weeks worth of Christmas stuff so not due to start for another couple of weeks.

@Popitdontstopit personally I just do what I feel needs to be done and do it to my standard. The idea is really that of someone pops by you dont have to panic about the state of the house, or thats how I look at it anyway. I dont have the time to do any really deep cleaning in any room. I will dust one week, pull out the sofas or beds the next etc. If its on the checklist but not that weeks job according to me then I still tick it off because I consider it done by my standards. I hope that makes sense!
Of course it doesnt suit everybody but I used to be terrible at housework and very all or nothing so this has really helped me

Can anyone who has the app tell me how we can customise daily tasks?
I can't see any way to change any of the lists.
Thanks!

Sorry, have worked it out myself

Gemma often comments about how developed the system to suit HER after having her first two children, based on the house she lived in at the time.

It's all adaptable, some houses are smaller some are bigger. Some will fit the plan as Gemma set it out, others will need to apply more time/help.

The actual method will not work for this house - it is far too untidy, too big and I don't have enough time.

I do like the idea of having a different focus on different days of the week though and a list of daily jobs so I might do a very, very pared down version.

Decluttering is our main challenge! I never get on top of that.

If your house is too big, maybe do a two week rotation so each room is hit once a fortnight?

I have a work zoom meeting at 10 today and I can motivate myself to do anything else till that's over with. Once it's out of my hair, it's my bedroom, the office and the dining room for me today. My sheets are already in the wash (it's the easiest way to get DH out of bed on a monday morning ) and eufy has hoovered the bedroom so that room is basically half done.

I realised yesterday that bathrooms are level 1. I don't like that. I prefer to do a quick check of anything that needs attention daily, but give them a day of level 2 to do everything at once. I love bathroom day, it's the most satisfying of them all.

@CrasterKipper

The actual method will not work for this house - it is far too untidy, too big and I don't have enough time.

I do like the idea of having a different focus on different days of the week though and a list of daily jobs so I might do a very, very pared down version.

Decluttering is our main challenge! I never get on top of that.

The Friday focus really helps with decluttering.

Our house is also big and there are lot of us in it with a lot of stuff! I can’t get it down to the 30 mins she advocates but I can get it done in 40 minutes. I clean 4 bedrooms on bedroom day but alternate which one I start on as that invariably gets more attention! On living room day I clean 2 living rooms and a dining room. Again I alternate which I start in. All the rooms get a quick wipe over every week but there’s more attention to detail in whichever I start in. The method hinges on the fact that if you do stuff regularly it takes less time and I do find that to be true

Living and playroom for us today. DH is off work so I'm about to go nag him to put up the new blind for the living room we've had sitting there for 6 months! I'm going away for a couple of days so going to make sure he knows what he's doing next two days

Our house is quite big too, so I just add days to quieter days or switch around week by week, so this week playroom will get more of a clean today than living room I think.

@UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername

I have a work zoom meeting at 10 today and I can motivate myself to do anything else till that's over with. Once it's out of my hair, it's my bedroom, the office and the dining room for me today. My sheets are already in the wash (it's the easiest way to get DH out of bed on a monday morning ) and eufy has hoovered the bedroom so that room is basically half done.

I realised yesterday that bathrooms are level 1. I don't like that. I prefer to do a quick check of anything that needs attention daily, but give them a day of level 2 to do everything at once. I love bathroom day, it's the most satisfying of them all.

I also have a bathroom day. I find the kitchen pretty easy to keep on top of as I spend most time in there so in addition to wiping surfaces and doing dishes every day I spend a few minutes doing another task each day. Works better for me

Living room day today (just following the plan until I get the hang of it) - unfortunately I keep getting distracted by other jobs! About to set the timer and force myself...

Don't get distracted! The beauty of this is that you don't need to. If you notice something else that needs doing, just catch it on its assigned day. If it's not on a list for any day, put it on one.

This has eerie similarity to the 1950s housekeeping guides for housewives. Only repackaged....
www.apartmenttherapy.com/1950s-housewife-schedule-31000739

@DollyPartBaked same with me! My kitchen really needs sorted and decluttered. And I cleaned the bathroom. Think I will do the living room when toddler is in bed 🙈🙈
Good luck!

Yes, I don't think the room a day thing is particularly innovative, it's more the 30-min limits and the focus Fridays that set it apart I think.

That poor woman sounds like she spent hours a day cleaning! Whereas the whole point of this is to avoid getting into situations where you have to spend hours a day cleaning. I run my own business and have a toddler at home half the week and my husband works full time so neither of us have the time (or inclination) for hours of cleaning, but previously we had to try and find them anyway because the house got into a state by the weekend so we would waste our Saturdays trying to catch up. I've found it's much easier (physically and mentally) to find 30 mins over the course of a day than fit hours into one day.

I just read it again and that woman spent four HOURS cleaning her kitchen that first day. No wonder she was bloody knackered!

I want to restart it as things are feeling chaotic here.

My baby woke early from his nap so got it done but longer than 30 minutes. It is nice having one (just the one room!) tidy and I suppose I could use those minutes finishing my level 1 jobs.

Doing a load of laundry to me anyway js 3 jobs - and putting the clothes away is my least favourite of all the jobs!

There used to be Fly Girl on mumsnet. Is it the same as this?

I’m going to try and do boot camp over this weekend and hopefully be ready to start TOMM next week. I downloaded the app ages ago although I never really bothered getting into it but I’m finding it hard to keep on top of everything just now. Nothing is too bad but it will be nice to have a bit of a routine!