Are there any reformed slatterns out there who want to help me on my way ?

[travellingwilbury]

At the moment I am a blitz it once a week and then watch it all slide into disrepair type and I would love to have more of a routine but every time I try I always find something else more interesting to do instead .

It never used to really bother me but lately I have noticed I am thinking about doing stuff much more than I am actually doing stuff (iykwim )

So if you were once a slobby type like me and you have managed to turn it around , Please help

I have just introduced a really basic rota - something small to do on each day it goes something like this:

Monday - hoover downstairs
Tuesday - Mop floors
Weds - clean bathroom
Thurs - Hoover upstairs
Friday hoover downstairs
Sat - bedding
Sun - clean bathroom

This at least gives me some structure and they are things that only take max 30 mins to do. I too was thinking about what needed doing rather than actually doing it!

Also - the tasks aren't just for me - whoever is around that day does it.

I haven't turned it around yet - but feel a bit more on top of things - must remind dh to go and hoover upstairs

Prior to this I was also doing a weekly blitz which was just a nightmare and I felt that the rest of the week I was living in chaos.

Thank you

I have managed today to wash up and hoover downstairs but I have spent hours thinking about doing it which is kind of pointless .

Flylady gives me the fear so that is out the question

Yes - I looked at flylady and I just don't have that amount of commitment.

I've also tried to get a rough morning routine into action - simple things like making the beds, emptying dishwasher, putting the washing on and also training dh to pick up the trail of crap behind him and put things straight into the dishwasher rather than flung in the sink!

I'm also trying to declutter immediately - as soon as dd brings home crap presents from grandparents picked up at charity shops I generally chuck/recycle them as soon as possible so she doesn't end up with a hundred different items of the same thing.

Am also trying not to hoard clothes and get rid of dd's clothes as soon as she's grown out of them.

I am off to do the joy of the school run in the rain but I will have a go at making some sort of list when I get back .

I am very good at the list making side of things

Just make it achievable otherwise you won't stick to it - that's why I only put one thing on the list - I can always add to it as I get more domesticated

I have taken your advice and tomorrow I am going to clean the bathroom (properly ) and I am going to sort out the boys bedroom .

That will take me about 2 hours tops so it should be achievable .

Any other advice ?

Just use bits of Flylady e.g do something for 15 minutes -sometimes you might not want to stop!
Or take 6 jobs you need to do but don`t want to much ,number them and throw a dice-kids love this too- see if you can get 3 done before you go out or something .good luck

maddylou I did try fly lady for a wee bit last yr but tbh the e mails and all that shiny sink stuff gave me a bad head .

I quite like the dice idea except I know I would keep throwing the dice until I got the easy option

im just in the process of gettin myself sorted and im actually realising that the problem was i was expecting too much of myself. i have always struggled with keeping on top of my washing, there just never seemed to be a bottom to the pile, i never had enough space to dry it, and wheni saw how much there was sitting waiting to be ironed, i just didnt have the heart to tackle it. so i made the decision that we as a family would wear everything (except underwear until they were actually dirty or smelly, no more changing after work, wearing things for a couple of hours and then putting in the wash, also, we all only use one towel for the shower and we use it several times before it goes in the wash. i have really noticed the difference and now because i dont have wahsing all over the place, its so much easier to keep tidy everyday. i dont iron bedlinen anymore, it just gets folded straight out of dryer and put away. dishes are done after every meal and at dinner i wash as much as i can while dinners cooking. its a case of putting things away as soon as theyre finished with. today is the 1st day i have actually felt on top of things. dont get me wrong, there is still a long list of tasks that need done but i know theyre achievable. i just prioritise.

this is my favorite thread!
i am a slattern.i do same as you-big blitz once maybe twice a week but never lasts long!

the list looks long but its actually quiet easy to get into the routine.

oh bum.its octavias post Sun 23-Mar-08 21:45:57

breaghsmum I agree with you about the washing , I always seem to have a pile at the bottom of the stairs to go up and a huge pile on the table as well . I don't do ironing unless I really have to .

Thanks cheesesarnie , that list looks pretty good , how long did you manage to keep it up for ? (honestly )

Well so far have managed to completely blitz the boys bedroom and sort out and store all of their toys properly rather than just dumped in every room in the house

I have thrown away two bin bags of broken toys or games with bits missing . Where do they all come from ?

I am now going to give the kitchen a quick clean and get the fire lit and hoover .

All motivated now , I need to get the house up to standard before I can have a proper routine .

Congratulations! I have yet to hoover today. I have done a load of washing though!

That list looks far too scary for me!

Washing is also a nightmare for me - I'm trying to put it away as soon as its dry but it inevitably ends up in the washing basket for days on end.

I'm trying to train dh to put his away clean washing rather than me doing it all. I also don't iron unless absolutely necessary.

The list looked a bit daunting to me too but I am hoping that once the house is at least more organised and de cluttered of pointless stuff that is should be a bit easier to keep on top of it .

I did hoover the boys room but I still haven't done down here yet , but I am really pleased to get the toys sorted out . And the boys have found things they had forgotten about as well so all good .

It will all go wrong over the w/e but back to the plan on monday .

i kept it up for maybe 6 months or a bit more.then i became a slob again.it does look long but is quite easy to make into a routine.i guess its keeping on top of it(i guess!).

Have guests round regularly. It makes me do the "clean of shame".

i do that.mad cleaning spree!
im moving soon and am stupidly thinking new beginning,new routine.i shall live in a tidy house!

6 months - that's pretty impressive!

I also do the 'clean of shame'

Well, one week into my rota and it seems to be working - and have changed my mind set a little bit - I'm decluttering as I go along now rather than shifting stuff from place to place.

I'm away for a few days so have instructed dh to stick to the routine - the last thing I want to come home to after a works conference is a messy house.

Well done - IME getting rid of old toys and storing the rest properly makes life much easier

Decluttering as you go is good!

Now you need to get the rest of your family to know where things "live" and put them back there - that is the really difficult bit

Best thing to do... tidy as you go.

I don't have a dishwasher I do the dishes after meals and anything that gets used in between waits until next wash, but it means Im not constantly doing it.

I also have an easy list that takes me approx 1 hour a day so from 8-9am Im busy after that all day to myself

Mon- Hoover downstairs & Polish/dust
Tue- Hoover upstairs & mop floors
Wed- Hoover downstairs & clean windows
Thu- Hoover stairs & Polish/dust
Fri- Hoover upstairs & bedding
Sat- Hoover downstairs & mop floors
Sun- Nowt Just what needs done

Also clean bathroom, kitchen worktops and general tidy every morning and put on a washing and hang it up.

Best thing to do is give kids breakfast and start tidying DO NOT sit down in morning, that is the trap for me!

My DS is 2.5YO though, he gets his breakfast and I tidy living room, when he's finished get him changed and dressed and he watches Milkshake on CH5 for an hour or so whilst I tidy up but works for us and means rest of the day is free for us to do things together.

Oh and also dont do ironing unless have too I just fold it when its dry and put it away

Glad to see am not just lazy bitch

I ahte ironing.

bby house, never knowing where to start, never having time to do it, everything being a huge effort, insurmountable jobs to tackle....

Then I joined the FLY thread. I've never been away. Housework is a breeze now and easy to do

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