Housekeeping tips to keep you on top!

Hi ladies,

One of my hugest struggles with being a mummy is keeping on top of everything. Here's a few things I do to keep on top of housework. I am interested to see what everyone else does. It is so hard to stay motivated and keep on top of everything but it beats spending a whole weekend doing washing and cleaning.....

Daily Chores

-Morning
Hang out the washing
Empty and stack the dishwasher
Wipe down the table, high-chair and bench tops
Get the kids ready on time - teeth, faces and hair
Quick tidy up of the lounge

-Evening
Dinner dishes
Wipe the table, high chair and bench tops
Clean the bathroom
Make lunches and get the kids bag ready
Put washing on
Fold dry washing
Vacumn every second day, mop as required

Weekly Chores

Monday - Kitchen Day - wipe down the kitchen cabinets and sort the pantry and fridge
Tuesday- Toilet/Shower day - clean the toilet and wipe the surfaces & clean the shower
Wednesday- Wall & door & window day - clean the skirting boards and walls as required and the windows
Thursday- Shopping day
Friday- Rubbish day & pull the weeds out of the gardens
Saturday- EVERYTHING day - vacumn, mop, everything that needs to be done do it today
Sunday- Tidy up bedrooms day


I actually haven't even stuck to this for a whole week yet as there is always the unexpected - but *imagine* if I did lol. I just want everything to run smoothly and I feel so much better all round when the house is clean and tidy.

Yes, I've got a book called speed cleaning which has some good tips, I never kinda get around to doing something each day. Mind you though Tues was bathroom, weds was washing & yesterday was lounge so I guess that worked.

The main tip this lady has is to have a bucket or basket that you put everything in that doesn't belong in that room & when you finish cleaning that room you put the contents of the basket away in their right places rather than doing it amongst the cleaning.

I found this one day and love it. I have it on my noticeboard.

The Daily 7 for a Highly Successful Household
February 24, 2009 by Stephanie
Ah, chores. They are such a necessary evil. As I mentioned in my Clean Less, Play More post: I don’t like to clean. Instead, I choose to do a tiny bit each day to ensure that I never waste a day cleaning house when I could be out conquering the world.
Or answering email.
Our family has a list of chores that we try our best to accomplish daily. Now that the kids are old enough to help, they do. When I am sick or am away from the house, the kids and Adam step up and help maintain order in the house.
Sort of.
We’re still real people, and we don’t live in a museum. I’m not going to lead you astray and say that I make sure the following tasks occur each and every day no matter what. I might burst into flames.
and the smoke detector started beeping last week and I haven’t replaced the batteries yet…
I came up with this Daily 7 after reading the Stephen Covey books. (I told you I liked to read personal development books!) I like how Covey breaks down complex tasks into 7 steps—not too many to get overwhelmed, but not too few that nothing gets accomplished.
Number 1: Make Beds Right Away
Number 2: Do One Complete Load of Laundry
Number 3: Empty All Garbage Cans
Number 4: Keep Your Kitchen Sink Empty
Number 5: Clean Up After Yourself and Help Children Do the Same
Number 6: Bathroom Wipe-Down
Number 7: Before Bed 10-Minute Clean Up
I have outlined all of these steps in the Totally Together Book in detail, but really they are quite self-explanatory.
Make Beds Right Away

The second you climb out of bed in the morning, make it. It’s such a wonderful feeling to have accomplished something at 6am. Teach your children to do the same—if beds are made daily, they don’t get destroyed as easily, and it really takes less than a minute to pull a sheet taught and straighten the comforter. If you haven’t already done so, streamline your bed linen to the bare essentials. There’s no need for 50 decorative pillows or an elaborate stuffed animal collection. Really.
Do One Complete Load of Laundry

A complete load means one that is washed, dried, folded, and put away. I’m not trying to be mean; I’m trying to be realistic. It is no fun to save all the laundry for one day a week and not be able to leave the house. Do a little each day, and you will no longer waste away a beautiful afternoon because you are stuck inside tackling a mountain of clothing. I hate ironing, but have found that if I iron clothes while slightly damp I save a ton of time.
Empty All Garbage Cans

On our honeymoon, Adam promised he would empty the garbage cans every single day without being asked. This hasn’t happened. It actually kind of pisses me off. Instead, the kids help with the wastebaskets in the bathrooms and their bedroom, and I take out the kitchen garbage every morning after emptying the dishwasher. If I fill it again during the day, I put it right in the middle of the kitchen with the recycleables and hope Adam trips over it. I’m kind of mean like that.
Keep Your Kitchen Sink Empty

I don’t know what it is, but if you put something, anything, into the sink, other pieces of flatware are magically drawn to it and all of a sudden the sink is completely filled and rendered useless. Instead, take the time to put your dirty items into the dishwasher right away, or wash the item quickly by hand. It really doesn’t take that long. Just do it.
Clean Up After Yourself and Help Children Do The Same

My friend Alison homeschools her nine children. I love Alison. I met her before having children of my own, and she is hands-down my mommy idol. She shared with me once that the secret to parenting is to remember that your goal is to raise capable adults. Chores are not only okay, they are necessary. Model good behavior for your children. Take the time to put your shoes all the way into the closet and hang up your coat. Once you are putting your own things away, your children will be more likely to follow suit.
Bathroom Wipe-Down

This is my favorite. I keep a container of disinfectant wipes in the bathroom, and wipe down the toilet (inside and out) every day. If it’s been a particularly um, busy day—I will do it twice. This keeps me from never having to scrub out the toilet with one of those scrubber brush things that I find beyond disgusting. I also quickly wipe down the shower stall and bathroom floor. After showering, use an item from the dirty clothes pile to dry the shower walls and door. This will keep mold and soap scum from accruing. Now use your damp item to quickly mop up the bathroom floor. Dust and hair will disappear and will keep you from needing to mop.
Before Bed 10-Minute Clean Up

Before retiring for the night, do a super quick once over the living spaces of your house. Recycle the magazine left on the coffee table, and stack leftover drinking glasses in the dishwasher. Put the couch cushions in order, and fold the blanket. You will wake up much happier each morning if you aren’t greeted to last night’s mess.

Ooh I love the daily 7! I am going to put that one up next to my chores list at home :) :)

I will definitly be getting some janola wipes! Awesome idea.

I found that daily 7 thing early last year and I gotta say it works a treat!
I use vinegar/water/tea tree oil in a spray bottle for the toilet and have a microfibre cloth in the bathroom for the sink.
I make the beds as we get up, open the curtains and a window in each room, do a quick tidy and change all the sheets every monday.
Unload the dishwasher in the morning and load it as I go through the day, put dinner in the crockpot, wipe down all the surfaces and vacuum, put a load of washing on and hang out the one I put through overnight. I fold and put away any dry washing left over from the night before too. Get washed, dressed and do hair and teeth so we're all ready for the day.
At night I put yoghurt/cottage cheese/sour cream on and put porridge in the crockpot for breakfast, pack lunch for DP (he takes leftovers coz it saves $$), get Jake to put his toys away in the playroom and do a general tidy. Bathroom and toilet get a final wipedown when the boys have their bath and I put a load of washing on then too. I fold and put away the washing thats been done during the day if I can.
I do our meal plans up on a whiteboard every Sunday and make sure I update our appts and notes for the next week or so - makes things easy to see at a glance so I don't miss anything or run too late. We have the week mapped out on the whiteboard and in a diary and everything gets written down like dinner plans, plunket, daycare, move and groove, playdates, odd jobs, church stuff, and so on. Really helps while I have baby brain lol otherwise I'd never get sorted!
I repack the kids bags everytime we get home so I know theres always a change of clothes for Jake plus some crackers and biscuits (stuff that doesn't go yucky) and a waterbottle, and enough nappies and changes of clothes for Ty if we're out for a whole day which we rarely are but JIC. Its all ready to go by the door so I don't have to stress.
Having a routine is super-important in our house coz theres too much going on to fly by the seat of my pants!

Edited by Babe

I am far from a domestic goddess (in fact I firmly believe that homes are for expression not good impressions) but I keep on top of the chaos by the rule of two hands - if I walk into a room to do something, I MUST fill my two hands once I finish eg walk into room to make the cot - as I leave I take ALL the dirty laundry out with me in one arm, and bin to empty or wipes to fill in the other arm. Or today I baked muffins - so I put away dishes for one hand, and wiped down the bench with the other.

I also feel very inadequate.....

Some great tips and tricks in here though, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread

Jessica wrote: I go through stages when I have a grreat routine going but if something comes up and I get out of routine I find it really hard to get back into it, I am not in a routine at the moment and it really starts to get me down, tomorrows goal is to get back into it again. I have got quite a few bits and pieces from flylady.net - and works well for me when I am into it. We are moving in a month and I really wan to do it in an organised manner so that I can start well!

I am exactly the same - I have 3 loads of washing to hang this morning before work and after getting the kids ready It's so much easier to stay on top but so hard to be all of the time....

like your plan SB

Windows get washed?