Any housework saving tips

[happydays]

We have had money saving tips, just wondering if any one had any housework saving tips, I work PT, but hate doing housework anyway. Any Idea's.

I bought my dh some t-shirt vests to go under his work shirt. Have managed to convince him that he can now wear his shirt for 2 days now and change his vest daily, therefore 50% reduction in ironing, vests don't need doing.

don't dry up - rinse and drain!

also you'd be amazed at what you can get away with not ironing. The crinkled look is in these days anyway isn't it?

Don't do it.

Get a cleaner

Be a slut

Housework - what is that?? Seriously though, I only clean when I can either see the dirt (write my name in it?), or when we are having guests. If it aint bleeding obvious, it stays there. I also only tidy up dd's toys once a day...

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Just stop inviting guests round

I don't iron a thing, haven't done for years - but when I hear how long other people spend ironing, I realise how much time I'm saving.

Make double quantities of casseroles, chilli etc and freeze half for another day then you can just stick it in the oven/microwave for a quick tea.

Eat with plastic cutler and use paper plates and order take-aways.

I suppose someone has to give the FlyLady Link (and yes, my sink is shiny still... and no, I'm still not bothering to wear shoes around the house...) I find the idea of little and often and her zone system really helpful although I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.

As I mentioned in another thread. I avoid ironing by sticking all ironables in the tumble dryer then getting them out the second after the dryer switches off to fold/hang then they don't need ironing

Have tried just about every gadget under the sun and none of them work. Oh, feather dusters (or in my case the non-feather hypoallergenic variety) are a godsend - the whole house dusted in about 10 minutes.

Train your children ? !!

Seriously, my 2 year old DS has very few 'toys' so he plays with the feather duster, going round the skirting boards, can unload the washing machine, tries to unload the dishwasher (hasn't broken anything yet), the other day he got out the mop & bucket .... I am just training him to pour my glass of wine & log onto mumsnet!

keep the lights low and spray a quick bust of polish into the air for that just done all the surfaces effect.

Wait until DH starts commenting and then let him do it... he can look after the children too and then he'll realise how much free time you don't have - after mumsnetting, of course

I was going to say 'don't do any' but visited a friend's house yesterday and it was so filthy I didn't dare dry my hands on her towels and had to go for a walk so I wasn't breathing in pure smoke and dust! And I thought I was a slut! Mind you, I have a cleaner for two hours a week and it makes a HUGE difference. I run a swiffer over the kitchen floor once a week or so, keep the dustpan to hand for ds's food spills, have a dishwasher, and yesterday, for the very first time, polished the dining table with lavender scented beeswax polish just for fun & and a kind of retro Nigella-ish sense of satisfaction (is this spring fever?).

Have to confess that I get quite down if I don't feel our house is clean and I am at least broadly on top of things. My Radio 4 obsession helps enormously in this regard as there are so many programmes I want to listen to which provide a great backdrop to mundane tasks.

My Dh is an absolute nightmare about housework and thinks I should do it all everyday. HE is actually turning into my mother who is a clean freak, it's not me who's like her.
I had just served the dinner up the other night and he realised the hoover hadn't had it's daily outing and he asked me if I wanted the hoover out and I was just about to sit down and eat.....I told him to F off and do it himself, which he claims is what he meant.......yes dear of course you did.
Anyway my tip is to put the brush attachment on the (dreaded) hoover and hoover the places that need dusting....I've even done this around the bath and it comes up lovely.

Oh my God, don't get me started. I'm with Bells on this one and find the state of my house closely mirrors my mental state! (Yes, I really do need to get out more.)
Housework saving tips of the more imaginative kind:
Only allow children out of understairs cupboard for one hour a day
Wash clothes constantly: no storage problems and they are never dirty
Forbid all toys in the house
Sleep on floor, bedlinen never needs changing
Use other people's toilets, your own will never need cleaning
Wash in the birdbath, stimulates the circulation and keeps the bathroom spoitless.
Sorry, went out for a few glasses of wine at lunchtime - feeling very silly.
I am actually a sad person who spends her entire days at home in the process of tidying and cleaning as I can't bear the house looking a mess!

ROFL, bugsy.

Shortly after I posted a tip about putting Bounce in the tumble dryer to save on ironing, my tumble dryer blew up.

So I'm SAYING NOWT!

I'm with Bugsy! I'm totally manic (although not quite as bad as my mother, aunt and brother - yes my brother!!!). I'm at home all day - I have a cleaner twice a week (comes with the appartment in this part of the world) and I still find the need to clean up. Sad I know!

Tips : The greatest device ever is the Swiffer unless you have carpets. Always dust with a Swiffer cloth or slightly damp cloth so that you don't just move the dust around. Wash glass/mirrors with water that has a little vinegar in it - they stay cleaner longer. Have toy boxes/baskets in several rooms so you can just scoop up discarded toys into the nearest basket. Reserve one afternoon to cooking and cook in bulk. (See PamT's post) Hoover curtains, sofas bookshelves and lamp shades. Also cupboards, lots of cupboard space, lots and lots of cupboard space - the more things in cupboards the less there is to dust.

But my personal favourite - have a glass of wine at lunchtime (providing you're not driving of course) and you'll be amazed how quickly you can get around the work especially with a little appropriate music. ;-)

BTW does anyone know if that "boiling vinegar in the microwave" to clean it out really works?