Anyone gone from slattern to domestic goddess?

[Cobwebsontheceiling]

Tell me how you did it (yes, I know I just need to actually do something rather than sit on the pc!)

I sporadically tidy but everything just descends into chaos.

Am I destined to always be like this? Or can I change properly so that my house is lovely?

No advice. Just marking a spot for later

your name is how I feel when I look at my house

HI. i can't say I'm exactly domestic goddess material but I'm a LOT better than I was. The main changes I have made are keeping on top of the washing and ironing - which was a huge problem - when my ds1 was 6 or 7 he had to hunt for matching socks etc in piles of stuff and I felt terrible.

I have also tried to make him (and dh!) more responsible for his stuff - he's 11 now - so I do the ironing but he has to put it away in the right place, tidily... that's the other thing I found, the main problem I had was a lack of places to put things ao if I came across something out of place I couldn't just put it away easily.

The other thing that has changed is that I have people over more as I HATE having a messy house when people are here. Try to have an 'open house' policy so that friends can pop round anytime as that helps me. I guess the fundamental change is that I am now house proud; having a tidy - or at least a clean - environment makes me feel more positive....

It's definately not easy though and any tips you get about how to keep on top of everything and keep the kids happy would be of great interest to me!

Oh and I also watch How Clean Is Your House? as it makes me feel so much better, especially if ds2 has trashed the place! x

In my dreams. Well done, Ohso, I know what you mean about having people over. But I need to make some progress first.

Getting off of MN helps me...house looks like crap today

nope, can't help.

Sorry that seemed v rude wasn't meant to be, just that the domestic goddess has not visited me yet!

Nope! ALthough, tbh, I am shattered today and heavily pregnant.

Most days I manage to get otu of bed, make the beds and tidy the washing on the way downstairs, throw the washing into the washer in the kitchen then make my coffee. This results in an empty hamper everyday (4 of us in the house) and makes me feel more motivated! I hate having washing pile up! (It quite often includes sheets as well as DS2 sometimes leaks)

Then I hang that out and have the ishes always caught up so then really, the only thing that is messy, as such is the toys. Which I make the kids put away before dinner

The toilets get a wipe over everyday (needed with two young boys!)

And it only takes a further second to wipe the benches/sinks/counters etc when you do the loos and kitchen.

Then I try and sweep most days as well.

The best 2 'tips' I have ever got are:

Never leave a room with out improving/moving one thing in it. So if you leave the lounge room, take the coffee cup with you, even if you dont wash it straight away, it is next to the sink int he right place. Or move that jacket to the hallway. tHis becomes habit after a while.

Have cleaning things everywhere. I keep a bottle of bleach and disinfectant upstairs, so I can do the bathroom there and then and dont go downstairs and get distracted. Also, there is a bottle of each in the downstairs bathroom so if i go in there and look at it and think gah! i have to clean that!! Then I can there and then and it jsut takes a second. There is then another bottle of disinfectant in the kitchen next to the kitchen spray just in case (That sounds totally OTT, but I only buy the 49p bottles from tesco, so it isnt really!! It is more laziness so I dont have to go and get stuff! But it works!)

Anyway, happy to hear more tips cause I could deffo use some help!

I bought this woman's ebook, Carole somebody, so I( did particular jobs on certain days, plus 15 mins a day decluttering. Then ds3 arrived and now the place is a pigsty again.

Throw stuff away and buy some proper storage! Having a really good clearout is always a good start and I mean really ruthless, chuck it away, you don't need it and it just takes up space. Once you've got rid of half the stuff it makes it easier to keep what's left tidy and having somewhere decent to keep it really is half the battle.

The day to day stuff I'm less good at, especially laundry. I always have a huge pile of ironing but am about to buy a big blanket box so at least that will look tidy too.

I try to have a chores hour everyday. (hahaha but I do try) It's amazing what an hour every day gets done, (or even 20minutes) and get your children (if they're old enough to make the mess they're old enough to tidy it up) or OH to help for that 20 minutes too.

Obviously my house is immaculate and there aren't any ridiculous piles of laundry in the bathroom or dishes in the untidy kitchen. :0

Oh forgot to say, once we were old enough (about 10 I would think) my mum gave us chores that we were expected to do. Not just keeping our bedrooms tidy. Clearing the table and loading the dishwasher was always our job. Cleaning the bathrooms was mine. I would get paid if I did the ironing. One of my brothers would mow the lawn, (again for money I think) but tidying the living room and hoovering it was his job.

I'm still not perfect, but am SO much better than I used to be. I grew up in a house like something from that Kim and Aggie programme, so when i left home I didn't have a clue about tidying. I lived in a flatshare with someone who was very tidy and he got fed up of me. I used to make lots of excuses about why I didn't have time to clean up. Once, I told him that I had a big essay due so I was too busy to do much housework. He told me 'there will always be an excuse, that's just real life, you just have to get on with it'. That was a wakeup call for me and I sorted myself out.

My favourite method is to set the oven timer for 20 minutes and to whiz round and try and get a room finished before the timer goes off.

Also, 5 minutes at the end of the day to straighten cushions and take mugs etc into the kitchen makes a big difference.

When I cook dinner, I get all the dishes into the dishwasher before I sit down and eat. Then all you have to do is wipe the surfaces afterwards.

Get some proper storage. One of the best things I've bought this year is a desk organiser thing from Ikea. It cost all of about £5 but means that post is really easy to sort and doesn't pile up.

Other things.... when waiting for kettle to boil for your morning cuppa, use the time - sounds ridiculous but it works... I can do the drying up in that time, or collect washing up from the lounge.

Also, I only tidy up baby's devastation when he goes for his nap and to bed - there is just no point otherwise. But I do try to get him involved in this a few times a week, even at 15 months - we play the 'tidy up time' game. It's never to early to learn after all.

I also do the whole cleaning the sink/toilet when the baby's in the bath thing.

What I'm not so good at is finding places for all the books and 'stuff' we have - none of which is surplus - we have regular charity shop donation purges - we live in a small house - so would love any top tips on storage - what works for you with shoes, and baby stuff - nappies, wipes etc: currently have them in a basket in the lounge but it's not working for me anymore!

Yes, I could do with help on storage
Feel I am always looking for help with this kinda thing.

What's the issue Champagne?

Just constantly struggling with getting everything away
I have too many clothes
DH has too many clothes but won't admit it.
Don't have any loft space really but keeping all baby clothes for when we get round to having more babies

Ditto all the other baby crap paraphernalia - old pram with lie-flat bit, sterilser, toys, bla
Am v lucky because have lots of relatives/mates who kindly buy plastic tat toys for DS so have too much to put away at the end of the day.

Have read about rotating them but have no where to put them when not in use.
SO have them strewn about the house - some in his room, some in our room, some in the playroom and then a bloody trip hazard in the kitchen .
And no bookcases in this house [sob]
God, sorry, am wallowing now.

Cheap Ikea cardboard boxes are good for out of season clothes, or for spare toys. They come in all sizes so you can find one to fit under the bed, on top of cupboards etc - anywhere you can get a spare bit of space. And labelling them makes things easier too.

As for the clothes - be strict with yourself and DH and throw out anything you haven't worn for a year, anything which is too small etc. Think of all the people who could benefit if you give your old clothes to charity instead of leaving them at the back of the wardrobe.

I'm not a domestic goddess, but I am good about doing little and often. If I see a dirty splodge, I have to clean it, even if it makes me late for school run!

However, I'd love to be like you and be able to turn a blind eye to everything - far more relaxing. Be careful what you wish for!

Still a slattern at heart but house is half passable because...

1. I got a cleaner. Two hours a week and worth every penny. Not least because I feel TERRIBLE for asking someone else to do my cleaning so the night before she comes we all tidy the house top to bottom, put away laundry, scrub down surfaces, kids do their bedrooms, I change the sheets etc etc etc. Don't know if this is an option for you financially but the gains for us have been huge.

2. I got into doing huge clear-outs. It's quite theraputic getting rid of all the badly fitting clothes, broken toys, accumulated crap. I remember reading that something should go out if a) you haven't used it in the last year. b) it doesn't fill your heart with joy. When it comes to the kids rooms I clear out their's when they aren't around. I have a fairly good idea of what they play with so don't often chuck out precious objects. Last time I attacked dd's room I filled FIVE binbags with broken bits of plastic, assorted sticks, torn comics etc. With all the junk gone I was able to re-organise her clothes so now they no longer bulge out of her drawers.

I'm also a big fan of the 'set-the-timer-twenty-minute-blitz'. My goal is to get everything into the right room as quickly as possible - I actually run from room to room. It is oddly enjoyable.

Honestly - I share your pain about lack of storage (we only have one small cupboard in the whole house) - but have a huge clear-out then, like the other poster said, invest in some under-bed storage boxes, plus some of those storage bags that you can put clothes/duvets in then hoover to shrink them all and stick them under the bed/into blanket boxes etc.

Also collapsible crates (on sale in Tesco for example) are great - when full of toys, etc, you can pile one on top of the other, even to the ceiling if you are like me. When empty, they take up no room to speak of - they just stack into a teeny pile on top of full ones.

Ooh - good tips! Thank you everyone.

It looks so obvious written down but I just get overwhelmed and don't know where to start. It's true, it is the amount of stuff that we have that makes it hard. It's such an effort just to trawl through the stuff before I even start cleaning

On the clearing out front (as I was being very facetious in my earlier post!) I found that there are lots of clothes in fab condition that I stupidly bought on a whim and some things that I spent lots of money on that I am not entirely convinced I should have iykwim (and from moons ago too!!!!)

Anyway I have been doing on and off for the past couple of years the following - really good condition and more expensive clothes - less worn etc etc I ebay. I put it on once with a full description and a low starting price. Sometimes it works and I get a decent price for something (like an Isabella Oliver top, an old but not fitting in good condition leather skirt from Gap, a Suede skirt from Boden etc that no longer fitted)that is around £10 + or I get very little for something (.50p for a couple of items), and some just don't sell at all! If I get some money for them I generally keep it back for something we would like (atm its new curtains as have moved house and bits and bobs for new baby's room when it arrives as dd using all the other stuff) if it doesn't sell it is straight to the charity shop.

This way you make a bit of cash - small though it is it make is it makes it feel a little more worth it, you can also donate a percentage to charity. BUT I am strict if it doesn't sell then it goes to charity - some exceptions, eg - winter maternity clothes being sold now, so right season stuff - we had a convertible once and had a deflector for it - no point selling that in winter!!!!!

Also if you DH has a ridiculous shirt habit like mine does (think over a months worth of shirts in the fing cupboard!!!) any that start to look tatty with collars and cuffs make excellent dusters for around the house - be sure to shred so they can't put them back on!!!

Household bills, vvvv imp (in our house!) we bought a large plastic box that can hold drop files in it like a proper office filing system) and everything once paid goes in there, otherwise to pay goes in a drawer or on a pin board. Old bills etc get shredded - am about to do a large clear out as we have moved so older bills from our previous house are no longer relevant. This also keeps all imp paperwork in one place, if ness have one for each member of the family and a household one, or a file for each in the box. You will be amazed at how much this tidies a home, also a general little book for writing imp numbers for the home in - we need to have a cess pit emptied so we have a book with the imp numbers in and for a local plumber and window cleaner etc so there aren't any cards around the house.

Not so much cleaning as such but very very useful for de cluttering the surfaces. HTH!

only temorarily, I somtimes get a "domestic fit", but it usually only lasts for a week or so. I do keep on top of things, though (just don*t look into the cupboards)

Hello all - my top tips below - they worked for me: My circumstances are that I work 4 days a week and amm at home 1 day. I have a cleaner who comes once a fortnight

1. have a huge declutter (especially fo rwhoever said earlier on they have too many clothes)
2. I have a 10 minute tidy up each evening and alwats ensure washing up is doen and kitchen nice and clean for the morning
3. I agree wholeheartedly with having cleaning stuff around the house
4. I have daily jobs: kitchen tops, sweep floor, load in washing machine, load out (or in dryer), that load ironed/put away. Bathrooms swished and swiped.
5. set days for jobs - stripping beds on Sunday, towels on Saturday,online food shop on Monday for fRiday delivery, cleanin fridge out Thursday eve.
6. Friday: I open windows to air the house, tidy up bits lying around, hoover downstairs, clean kitchen I then tackle a "zone" for an hour (set timer)

i have divided my house into 12 small zones and every week I spend an hour in that zone deep cleaning or tidying cupboards etc
(sort of Flylady principles but my own zones and not 15 mins per day as I don't have time!)
I know it is not everyones cup of tea but it works for me

These are good ideas...I think my problem is I get a bit distracted and then my 'plan' of doing a regular chore each day goes out the window. Does anyone find they stick to a rigid, same time each day kind of routine. Does that work?