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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

Do you have a relatively nice / organised home? Give me ONE tip - please!

93 replies

SatsumaBoogaloo · 16/08/2008 10:07

I am tired of feeling fed up and hopeless with the state of my house.

I am now feeling like it would take a good few days work to get it to 'accpetable' let alone 'nice'.

One tip, please, to help me get on the way.

OP posts:
chipmonkey · 18/08/2008 21:17

catepilarr, some people have poor organisational skills, it runs in my family for example! I got much better when I was 16 and went to live with another family every weekend ( long story!) I realised that it was really just getting into good habits

Which is what FlyLady is all about! If you are organised, I can see how you would find it puzzling but to me it's a Godsend!

halogen · 18/08/2008 21:50

I read that Flylady site and I just think 'wash my bloody sink? Are you crazy?' There are about six million things in this house that need washing more than my sink (which hardly ever gets used because I just use the dishwasher). Do you think it would be the same if I put the dishwasher on a cleaning cycle?

LuckySalem · 18/08/2008 21:53

Before I go to bed I empty and plates etc and rubbish from front room and fill the dishwasher.

Keeps it in place.

accessorizequeen · 18/08/2008 21:55

you don't have to do everything, the point she's trying to make (and it works for a lot of people) is that you start small with one thing and then build up so you have a routine. Which I don't think us 'disorganised' types do naturally. It's like fixing your diet, one thing at a time so you'll stick to it.
I have a dishwasher too, and barely use the sink. But in order to shine it (not clean it) you have to move the stuff off the sink - quite sneaky!

halogen · 18/08/2008 22:01

I see your point, queen of accessories.

I do fill the dishwasher every night and put it on. I'm not quite so far gone that I'd just leave plates minging on their own on the table. But I find it so hard to do anything that hasn't got an immediate benefit. Clearing the table for a meal = fine. Moving all the stuff of the windowsill in the dining room = dull. And I want to do it. I want to live in a nice house instead of a bomb site. I just don't know how to make myself. Maybe I should fast forward through those flylady things until I reach a tip that actually sounds useful.

accessorizequeen · 18/08/2008 22:08

wasn't suggesting you left minging plates around!
I've just taken bits from flylady (well, baby) to work for me. The most important thing seems to be doing something every day (which means assigning 15 mins to the windowsill one night, sorry!) and keep adding to that so you finally get on top of things. I would have said the hotspot tip would help you (5 mins cleaning a drawer, windowsill, cupboard etc). As a fellow mumsnetter put it, if I did that every day I would have sorted out 30 hotspots in a month which would make quite a big difference.

I'm falling a bit behind at the moment tbh as I'm 33 wks pg with dt's and have got spd but I am determined to triumph and NOT be drowned in sea of untidyness!

halogen · 18/08/2008 22:29

I will have a look at the hotspot stuff, thanks!

I think my real problem is not so much untidiness as laziness. I can see exactly what needs to be done. I just cannot be arsed to do it. OTOH, DH can't understand that if you wash the bath, you need to do the shower screen and the tiles too or it will look manky. Hmmm. If only he would listen to me...

If you're doing anything at all when 33 weeks pregant, never mind with twins, you may not understand the laziness thing (at that stage, with one baby inside me, I was sleeping about fifteen hours a day).

halogen · 18/08/2008 22:32

Sorry can't type, left several words and thoughts out of the above post. Meant to say that DH has boundless energy and if only I could harness it, I would never have to tidy again. Also meant to say pregnant, not pregant.

ImForeverBlowingBuble · 18/08/2008 22:36

My tip is if you keep on top of the housework each day eg hoover ,tidy,washing,wash up etc then it will only take you a few minutes as opposed to hours and hours.

accessorizequeen · 18/08/2008 22:37

Um, send DH to flylady? Arrange for emails to be sent to him and he'll do it all!! My dp has quite got into it as long as I tell him what to do, he'll motivate me.
flylady excellent for laziness imo as you only have to do 5 mins here or 15 mins here - it's not like having to clean entire house or even a whole room in one go which is off putting.
Should say, I have a cleaner - so just the tidiness to take care of but as I now can't bend that's getting hard! I'm convinced if I keep on top of it though that life will be less stressful with 4 under 5!

Quattrocento · 18/08/2008 22:38
  1. Tidy every room before going to bed
  2. Bribe children to tidy their rooms
  3. Have an annual spring clean - take a day off, hire a skip and fill it full. Make as many journeys as it takes to charity shops. Do not stop until every cupboard and drawer has been emptied and tidied.
  4. Make sure you have lots of storage space and be rigorous about where you put things
halogen · 18/08/2008 22:51

"life will be less stressful with 4 under 5"

Okaaaay.

Spring cleaning does appeal to me.

threestars · 18/08/2008 22:55

I am not historically tidy, but have learnt to be since moving to a shiny new home with minimal furnishings.
First, ebay. Really reduces clutter, especially if you get addicted.

Also race against the clock. Set yourself only a few minutes at a time. I'm often amazed at how much I can do in a small amount of time.
eg, DS's room a tip after his friend came to visit so while DS faffing about choosing a book for bedtime, I raced round the room, arms shooting out like an octopus, and put away all his toys to their rightful home (one drawer for board games, one box for Playmobil, one box for small crappy plastic tat, two drawers for dressing up clothes...) and dirty clothes dumped outside to be sorted on way out.
Only took around 5 minutes. Will hoover in there tomorrow morning, while it's still tidy.
If I have a whole day of tidying/cleaning stretching ahead of me I find it hard to muster up the motivation.

chefswife · 19/08/2008 06:34

when tidying becomes something you do throughout your day, it never piles up and never becomes a chore. i've always loved how when your kitchen is clean, the rest of the house just seems so too. buy disinfectant wipes for quick cleanup of bathroom.

milkybarsrus · 19/08/2008 07:27

six weeks school holidays;-
I take all the things off shelves, window cills, bathroom candles etc, photos, unnessary clutter and lock them away for the whole holiday BECAUSE IT MAKES CLEANING SO MUCH QUICKER! even things like cushions in the lounge all gone for the holidays bacause you (mum) ends up picking them off the floor, NO WAY. i want to enjoy the time with the kids, not keep nagging them. House looks like we are moving bacause its bare, but it works for me.

tigger32 · 19/08/2008 09:01

Just read a big chunk of this thread and am now going to clean and tidy downstairs and will do upstairs tomorrow morning, and will play in afternoons! Thanks for starting this thread it's just what i needed to get my butt into gear

brimfull · 19/08/2008 09:02

mikybars-where do you put it all?

accessorizequeen · 19/08/2008 10:36

at lucicle - I get stressed when surrounded by mess, so does dp. So I push myself to keep tidying all day! I do resent it sometimes but I hate the mess more.

kookiegoddess · 19/08/2008 11:21

I got into flylady a couple of yrs ago. I liked her tip of putting a favourite dance song on and tidying until the end of that - dancing around/singing while doing a dull task is much more appealing than just getting on with it... I do constantly have charity bags on the go by the front door which encourages me to stick things in them before I have time let my hoarder instincts kick in. And the polish yr sink thing does actually work. if you see one small bit of yr kitchen gleaming, it kind of makes you want to make another bit gleam too...

good luck !

halogen · 19/08/2008 12:16

Okay, I'm going to try the sink thing once I've put my daughter to bed tonight. Wish me luck!

charliecat · 19/08/2008 12:23

I opened this thread hoping to be inspired to sort my house out... Way too much effort

Thankyouandgoodnight · 19/08/2008 13:05

Find ONE thing that bugs you - e.g. a cluttered shelf / drawer full of crap / table covered in stuff

Put the music on

Sort it.

Don't do any more.

Makes you feel loads better!

Repeat the next day if something is bugging you.

LoveMyGirls · 19/08/2008 13:09

NEVER leave a room empty handed.

potatofactory · 19/08/2008 13:22

I just signed up for flylady. I went away overnight last night, and had 33 emails waiting for me when I got back. How is this supposed to make a person feel in control??? Maybe I'm missing the genius of this?

islandofsodor · 19/08/2008 13:30

Ignore the emails for the moment. Just follow the BABYSTEPS starting with shining your sink. A lot of the emails are "testimonials" and advertising their gadgets but some are really useful. A few days into following Babysteps you will be directed to read Flylady emails for 2 MINUTES each day as part of your routine. 2 minutes only THEN DELETE THEM..

My dh can not believe the difference in our house since I joined Flylady.

I started with shining the sink and immediately the next day dh walked into the kitchen and commented on how great it looked.