Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

The Organised Mum Method

542 replies

SylvanasWindrunner · 02/09/2021 10:30

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!' Blush Grin

OP posts:
Thread gallery
11
UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername · 10/09/2021 11:40

SylvanasWindrunner, those are gorgeous! I'd love something like that for Irish things.

I'd hang the pictures myself but DH doesn't like when I do DIY without him. I never do it the way he would have. It's easier just to leave him to it!

Redcrayons · 10/09/2021 18:48

After a poor effort on Wednesday and Thursday, I managed to complete all level 1 and 30 minutes of Friday Focus.

Only managed to Hoover under the bedside table and bed in my room, though but still managed to find half a bin bag full of crap! I suppose the idea is that next go round, it won’t take anything like as long and I can get into the rest of the tasks.

I’ve also discovered it’s the place where all my Kirby grips hang out, so I’m now well stocked for the next few years!!

Row1n · 10/09/2021 20:30

Im doing the bootcamp still. I have boxes from when we moved ages ago so its taking quite a while as I go through them all and find homes for everything as well. But it feels good to be proactive and I find once I start Im more likely to do other jobs too

SylvanasWindrunner · 10/09/2021 20:55

My oven is clean!!! It looks like new again Grin Oven liners deployed so hopefully we can keep it nice!

We then decided we would do a big bedroom declutter. Way more than 30 mins (all afternoon!) but got rid of three vacuum bags of clothes, two bags of old bedding, and actually have space the drawers again.

Knackered now and wondering when I can skulk off to bed!

OP posts:
Redcrayons · 11/09/2021 08:54

I always get my oven cleaned just before Christmas, looks so amazing after.

UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername · 12/09/2021 12:26

Oven liners really are the business! Though DH does a pre-Christmas oven clean too. Actually lots of years, that's the only time it's been cleaned, because of the liners Blush

My sister sent me a photo of her kitchen wall with her new meal planning and TOMM whiteboards up Grin It's fun to spread the cleaning love!

DH painstakingly added circles of landscaping fabric and big stones to all my houseplants yesterday, so hopefully that will put a stop to the kittens digging in them and leaving heaps of compost all over the floor. I was getting tired of hoovering up one mess, to immediately find another. It's just as well they're cute Angry

Row1n · 12/09/2021 14:02

Oh thats a good idea to use landscaping fabric on the houseplants!! I need a new oven liner, I got a pale brown coloured one the last time and it shows every crumb and looks awful.

How often do people clean the liners? Is it once a week or after every meal?

SylvanasWindrunner · 12/09/2021 16:13

Ooh I need a whiteboard! One wall of our living room is blackboard paint so I've just been writing everything on there with chalk pens .

Not sure when you do oven liners. I added a task to Thursdays on the app to stick the oven trays in the dishwasher so I guess I'll just stick the liner in then too. After every meal seems excessive (but I am lazy so who knows).

We had a gas leak yesterday. It was nowhere near as exciting as it sounds (thankfully) - I went to read the meter and it smelled of gas so I called the emergency number, a chap came out and sprayed some stuff on it and it bubbled and he said he just needed to replace the meter box. But he had to come in the house to do something to our boiler and hob and it was such a relief having a clean house! And now we won't get blown up, so that's good too.

Today I tackled the cupboard of doom in my office, which was full of bags of baby clothes and reusable nappies. I got some vacuum bags so stuck them all in that and now I can open the door and not have a million things fall on my head.

OP posts:
SylvanasWindrunner · 12/09/2021 16:29

Kitchen has blackboard wall, not living room!*

OP posts:
UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername · 12/09/2021 18:31

Yes, it's always good not to get blown up Grin As is not being hit in the head by All The Things.

I wash the oven liners on kitchen day - just a quick wipe over with hot soapy water. They don't dry well in the dishwasher and then pour water over everything when I take them out, so they don't get to go in there any more.

Indecisivelurcher · 12/09/2021 20:22

Do any of you have a heated washing airer? Am considering investing... Man I'm so cool

SylvanasWindrunner · 12/09/2021 20:54

No, but I've heard good things about them! There have been quite a few threads on here about them I think. I'm sure I've read about them on here.

Oh I just found this on MN main site from 2 days ago!

www.mumsnet.com/swearsby/best-heated-clothes-airers

OP posts:
Tailendofsummer · 12/09/2021 21:02

I had one, sold it on and bought a tumble dryer. It depends what your reason for not getting a dryer is.

Row1n · 12/09/2021 21:08

I have one. I tend to use the tumble dryer but use the heated airer for the uniform that shrinks in the dryer! One with a cover is handy and can help heat the room a bit too when its chilly!

So very handy not to get blown up, imagine the tidy up after that?!

Indecisivelurcher · 12/09/2021 21:43

So I've got a tumble drier, but a lot of stuff can't go on it. Martin culprits are school uniforms for 2 dc, dhs precious t-shirt. Also I'm a bit of a greeny and I dislike putting the tumble on unless I have to. But doing a load of washing a day, it's already starting to hang some more than one day drying and will be worse in the winter...

Indecisivelurcher · 12/09/2021 21:52

I don't know who Martin is ha ha typo

We've got building works going on here at the moment (me and 'Martin') that include a small utility and wc. If we keep the tumble I'll have to stack it on top of the washing machine. I suppose I was deliberating whether that's a good call. It would go w.c., stacked washer and tumble, and tall cupboard for vacuum, ironing board, ladder etc.

UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername · 12/09/2021 21:57

My MN bookmark in Chrome spontaneously renamed itself from MN to Martin a couple of years ago! Is there some sort of mysterious MN Martin gremlin?

Row1n · 12/09/2021 22:24

Im a bit of a greeny too but from what I've read if you dry clothes indoors then you need to run a dehumidifier to stop damp in the house and also speed up drying time - people were saying it was equivalent to using the dryer then. I dont know how accurate that is though
For what its worth we had a stacked washing machine and dryer in our last house and it worked really well

Stayingnomorethanayearpal · 12/09/2021 22:49

Thanks OP for posting this as I bought the app for TOMM last week. Not really started yet but one thing that bothers me -where is the routine for ironing and putting away ironing ? That's the bain of my life to be hoenst as I just always seem to have loads in my ironing pile in a corner amd it depresses me . Any advice where the app tackles this please?

SylvanasWindrunner · 12/09/2021 23:34

I'm afraid I don't iron so I can't answer!

This is what the book says;

THE DREADED PART: THE IRONING

I am not shy to admit it: I hate ironing. But what do you do when you have an ever-increasing ironing pile that is growing into a small hill and will soon become a mountain? As my mum always says, prevention is much better than cure. I do as much as I can to make sure that my ironing pile is pretty much non-existent, and here’s how I do it. Some of the things below might seem obvious, but they’re worth reiterating, as they can make a big difference to coping with large piles of ironing.

Using a low spin on the washing machine will help ensure your clothes stay as crease-free as possible. This is where you need to weigh up whether crease-free clothes or clothes that dry quicker are more important. Do you go for the extra spin or not? Reader, the choice is yours! If using a tumble dryer, don’t overload it. This will give your stuff more room and make it less likely to crease.

Take your clothes out of the tumble dryer as soon as they are dry. This is so important. If you leave your clothes in there all day, they will crease and make ironing them almost impossible. Be your future friend and don’t leave those clothes languishing.

Before you start ironing, organise your clothes into groups according to the heat setting that they will need. Start with items that need the cooler setting first. That way you can gradually increase the heat of the iron as you move through the sorted clothes and you won’t be wasting time heating up and cooling down the iron.

When buying clothes and bed linen look out for the ones that are easy-care or non-iron. This is seriously life changing and is a major factor in most of my bedding and clothing-purchasing decisions.

Folding is your friend. Take the time to fold your clothes as soon as they are dry. Iron clothes while they are still slightly damp, it reduces ironing time significantly.

If you have the space, try to have an ironing board set up all the time; it will make it so much easier to do small chunks every now and then, and you will save yourself the rigmarole of setting up an unwieldy board.

OP posts:
Indecisivelurcher · 13/09/2021 07:09

Thanks @Row1n,

I don't iron either! Dh sometimes irons a work shirt. That's it.

UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername · 13/09/2021 08:26

Reading that makes me glad I don't iron! It sounds terrible.

What's everyone up to today?

I'm on office and dining room this morning - still experimenting with where in the week to put the dining room! The office definitely belongs on Monday, before I settle down to work in it - that's never changing. Though today I'm not working, but emptying the garage so we can seal the floor. At the moment, it sends up choking clouds of dust if you so much as look at it sideways.

I've emptied the dishwasher. The only laundry I have to do is three little beanbags that the kids use as seats; I realised the other day that the last time I washed them was two houses ago, so it's been at least 7 years. They're definitely due! Which means I have to wrestle the inner bags of polystyrene out of them and it's never properly contained and gets everywhere. Sigh.

DollyPartBaked · 13/09/2021 08:26

@SylvanasWindrunner I had started to imagine your house had some kind of industrial loft chic vibe to be able to pull off a chalk board wall in the living room!

I don't do ironing and we still have piles of clothes waiting to put away. My excuse is that it's hard to do with a baby on the hip and my baby can't be left unattended as is on the move and also puts everything in his mouth. But I just hate it! It's so boring.

House was a bomb site over the weekend but me and DP sorted the kitchen on Sunday night which didn't take too long. Living room today today and hopefully less of a chore than last week!

SylvanasWindrunner · 13/09/2021 08:45

Ha! Hovel chic maybe ...

It's living room and playroom day today! Toddler woke me up inexplicably at 5am to tell me she needed socks on so I'm a bit knackered, but I was able to get some of the level 1 stuff out of the way early and dinner is in the slow cooker and now she's gone to nursery and I'm about to start work.

Living room doesn't need much done so playroom will be where I'll focus today I think. DD got loose with some playdoh yesterday so I need to track that down!

Boring question, but what cleaning products do you all use? I've just discovered Method stuff and their wild rhubarb surface spray smells SO GOOD. And it's quite cheap too.

OP posts:
CauliflowerCheese30 · 13/09/2021 10:19

Can I join please? I bought the app when it 1st came out and I am very up and down about keeping up, but I really need to pull my finger out, I am the sort of person who leaves things until later and then it never gets done, so living room is done, I still have level one things to do but that will have to wait until later as I'm off to work now.