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!'

Is this designed for people who work full time?

@ufucoffee Yes, I would say so. I think shift work would make it a bit trickier to organise the days, but it's basically just about doing a 30-min burst in specific rooms Mon-Fri and then 15 mins on general stuff, like laundry, a quick hoover of high-traffic areas, wiping the loo, etc.

The idea is to reduce the time it takes to clean week by week and make weekends free to enjoy as you only do the half hour room cleans Mon-Fri.

I don't know much about FlyLady - it lost me when it said I needed to get dressed to shoes before cleaning every day!

[quote SylvanasWindrunner]@ufucoffee Yes, I would say so. I think shift work would make it a bit trickier to organise the days, but it's basically just about doing a 30-min burst in specific rooms Mon-Fri and then 15 mins on general stuff, like laundry, a quick hoover of high-traffic areas, wiping the loo, etc.

The idea is to reduce the time it takes to clean week by week and make weekends free to enjoy as you only do the half hour room cleans Mon-Fri. [/quote]
I see. Just looking at the printable stuff. So do you do all of the jobs on Mondays list (living room) even if it takes longer than half an hour because eventually it won't take longer than half an hour?

You don't have to – you can just roll them over to next week, because the idea is that the stuff you did last week will take less time this week (and even less time the week after) because it's not getting the chance to get bad, if that makes sense?

So it's entirely up to you - if I'm in the zone after 30 mins and want to finish it then I might, but if I'm knackered and can't be arsed I'll just roll it over and prioritise it the next time that room day comes round.

Making more sense now. Thanks

I think you're supposed to stop at 30 minutes - at least I do, and then I plan to start with the ones I missed.

I was lost on the fly lady thread. I wish there was one for beginners because I still don't get what it actually was!

I used the playlist instead of the timer and it didn't stop! So I accidently went over my 30 minutes. Bedrooms today, ok for me as there's just the two of us but difficult for large families I would think.

How’s everyone’s living rooms looking? I cheated and put the robot hoover on last night and will go over with the speed mop. It’s definitely looking tidier than usual (apart from toddler stuff- they just threw cereal on the floor)

I spent most of yesteday sorting my kitchen tho and that’s a mess this morning. Anyway, on to a new day...

@Eloundahigh sounds like the playlist was motivating tho!

I'm away for two days so DH has been fully briefed, although I've let him off clean sheets Tuesday tomorrow and we will just do that next week

My children aren’t back to school till tomorrow. I’m managing clean sheet Tuesday today but I’ve not been on the wagon all summer really!
Looking forward to getting stuck in. Think I’ll give myself till Monday next week to start.

@DollyPartBaked

I think you're supposed to stop at 30 minutes - at least I do, and then I plan to start with the ones I missed.

I was lost on the fly lady thread. I wish there was one for beginners because I still don't get what it actually was!

I looked at FlyLady before but the website looks like it was made in 2001 and I couldn't find just a list explaining what it was or what to do! And the wearing shoes, getting all dressed and hair done/make-up thing to do some cleaning was just a bit weird. I think maybe it's more a lifestyle than a cleaning method.

I think I'm going to struggle with feeling like I'm cleaning things that don't need cleaning! Day 3 in a row of cleaning the toilets... Just felt like a waste of resources! However, did the loos, mopped the floor (cat had been sick so not much choice!), made the beds, emptied the dishwasher and washed up from breakfast before the school run!

Don’t clean things if you don’t feel like you need to!

My toilets do need cleaning every day unfortunately!!

I sometimes change stuff up in the bathroom so if loo still looks clean then I won't bother cleaning it, I'll just wipe the sink instead or the shower glass or something else. I think cos there's no specific bathroom day, except the Focus Friday every 8 weeks, you can just do a different thing every day in the bathroom instead if you want.

@Indecisivelurcher

I think I'm going to struggle with feeling like I'm cleaning things that don't need cleaning! Day 3 in a row of cleaning the toilets... Just felt like a waste of resources! However, did the loos, mopped the floor (cat had been sick so not much choice!), made the beds, emptied the dishwasher and washed up from breakfast before the school run!

You don’t have to clean the loos every day. I have 4 kids so I do need to give the seat a wipe every day or they get gross but I don’t fully clean them. You could do toilets one day, shower the next day...

I hadn't actually twigged that there isn't a bathroom day! That's bizarre!

I love that there’s not a bathroom day. It makes sense because it gets so messy it needs a bit of attention every day. I do have to do the toilet each day but then I do bath/shower/sink/mirrors/floor on a daily rotation. Works great. Once a week would mean it got in a terrible state.

But when does she say to do your shower / bath? Floors?

You do one different thing in the bathroom every day. Takes just a few minutes
For example
Monday wipe sink
Tuesday clean mirrors
Wednesday do the bath/shower
Thursday mop the floors
Friday deep clean the toilet.

I usually do it whilst the kids are getting dressed on a morning!

This is what she says about bathrooms:

'What about bathrooms??

Bathrooms get done daily as part of the level 1 jobs. You don’t need to do the same things every day. Make sure you change it up so all parts of the bathroom gets some attention. And don’t forget there is a Friday Focus for the bathrooms too. This will help to get stuff done like cleaning out the bathroom cabinet!'

Yeah I like that there's not a bathroom day cos I hate doing the bathroom in one go! I break it down day by day, and also do a quick wipe even if it doesnt look awful, because for me I dont want it to look bad before I do it! I like that I keep a level of cleanliness all the time

I use the same cleaning stuff all around the bathroom so for me I prefer to do it all together - I don't want to clean the bath but not the sink, when I have the product in my hand! But daily wipes would make it all so much easier.

I like the method, but I've found that the jobs take a lot longer than the allotted time....maybe I'm just too slow. It always takes me way longer than its supposed to and then I give up because I hate the feeling I'm cleaning all the time!

I think I'll do the bathroom twice a week instead of the floors. Then I'm not getting the same stuff out from under the sink to clean a single item a day.