how to save hours on the housework.....the tips for surviving the masses

[drlove8]

buy a telly bracket and get it on the wall where the little darlings cant reach, saves hours of cleaning jam/chocolate spread/poster paints off the tv screan! also keep clean bedding inside the pillowcase as a set ( duvet cover ,sheet, pillow)and keep in kids room for quick night time changes. my best , most used tip is to "let" the DC each go to a friends house for tea ocasionaly, just phone all DC's friends mums beforehand and beg insist arrange all your kids to go , all on the same night!

sorky wet wipes get crayons off tv screens, and off windows (all crayons have been banished for the time being)

I will be using the pillow case for storing complete sets.

One DD grated cheese into the speakers of my tv. For laundry, I never iron, and have used just magic marker to put names into knickers because the tags were scratchy and wore off from washing anyway. I only buy plain white socks, but a different kind for each, so no unmatchable coloured socks. I sort and fold the laundry into separate piles and each DC brings their own upstairs and puts away. I do one wash every day (except friday or saturday) so it doesn't all pile up. If it does pile up for any reason we have a laundry party in the living room and everyone pitches in. I do not do any laundry for teenagers. I change the sheets at weekends (friday usually) and also do the towels with the sheets. All towels are white and so are sheets so all can be bleached. I do a daily wipe of the bathroom with window cleaner and a paper towel, yes I know this is not very green, but my bathroom is not greenish blackish either as a result. I hoover every day to avoid hair buildup (4 DDs) on the floors everywhere. All floors are wood because of allergies -- I use a small hoover. We wear socks/crocs/indoor slippers in the house, no outdoor shoes. Also, I have one of those hanging shoe holder things with lots of pockets where you can put shoes, but I put scarves, hats and gloves into it. Keeping clothes to the absolute minimum is a must-do. I keep some for handing down, but only if they're in great condition. Sports equipment never leaves the boot of the van. I store a lot of toys under DCs beds. I always do a quick tidy up before bed, otherwise I'd be up to my neck in all the junk.
I use a big calendar and write all upcoming appointments and events into it rather than keeping all that paper school and sports, etc send home.

Have a shoe basket - make sure they put their shoes in it when they come home. No more frantic hunts for shoes in the morning which would send me over the edge...

have a basket at the bottom of the stairs to collect anything that needs to go back upstairs in, then take it up with you the next time you go, saves going up and down a lot.

For older households - keep all mobile and battery chargers on one long extension lead. Everyone has to bring their stuff to that one place for re-charging. You can turn them all off over night, saving lots of money (and energy), and no-one loses their phone / mp3 player / dust-buster etc.

I have a laundry basket that has 3 separate compartments and a shopping basket that hangs on the radiator for wools, that way all the whites are together, lights colours and then the darks are together. So much easier to bung a load of washing on. Mine has just fallen apart so am gonna splash out on the laundry sorter from Holding Company as can't bear not to have it all ready to go. Good thread!

Oh my other "thing" I do to save time is to freeze lunch rolls (not strictly housework). I only do simple freezable fillings like cheese, chicken, baked fish or ham and I freeze 2 dozen rolls at a time.

I then make everyones lunches while i'm doing tea, so the rolls have enough time to defrost. I then put the salad in separatley. I just find it quicker that way and it saves me wasting half a packet of ham that would otherwise end up out of date in the fridge.

Whatever you do don't try it with egg.....

We have box and colour system for washing Plates/bowls all ikea white but decorated with names themselves with special craft paint - reluctantly by teens - entusastically by younger ones - we then know who has not put thier stuff in the dishwasher !

sharpie permanant marker for all purpose labeling of school stuff - only put surname (less embarrasing for hand me downs as one teacher said to DD4 - but your sister is a teacher ! lol)

Have a big box for each child for all their clothes. Mine make a huge mess when they choose their clothes and I have to work twice as hard sorting and re-sorting their clothes repeatedly.

I eventually gave up and just bought them each a huge box and all their clothes just get jumbled up in them.

They're big enough that the children can rummage through them without getting it all out on the floor, and I only have to sort clothes for each child, rather than clothes to each child and then into tops/bottoms/undies etc.

Sounds good flamingo. How are the boxes stored? I dream of a family closet but we just don't have space.

Oh Ceolas you know how to make people go wibbly dont you

wd40 gets crayon off well too