Help for the Hopeless Housewife!

Hi icanhandthemback, I'd recommend a terrific book 'The Organised Mum' by Gemma Bray . She takes you step by step to building a cleaning routine to suit all very do-able, also good tips and shortcuts. My week is -Mondays- sitting, dining room & conservatory, Tuesdays- upstairs including changing bedding, Wednesdays- hall, stairs utility, Thursdays are for the kitchen and Fridays I can clean a few indoor windows/wash woodwork etc.
A jolly good de-clutter first makes the house very easy to keep things under control (except for craft items which seem to multiply like gremlins)

Thank you, keepcalmandcavachon (great name btw) but I wonder how long you spend doing that? Just doing Monday's tasks would take me a week!

One of the biggest hindrances to getting the housework done is procrastination especially spending time online, including Gransnet, or getting sidetracked by something I find when tidying up. No matter what is on my list, or my good intentions, I just don’t get things done. I can hardly believe I used to clean the whole house on a Saturday morning.

The first thing to do, is work out how much housework you really need to do. Far too much cleaning is entirely unnecessary.

In retirement you shouldn't need to dust and hoover more than once a fortnight, unless you live somewhere really dusty and dirty. Rooms used infrequently need cleaning even less. often even then all they need is a quick dust with a feather duster and do not require vacuuming, only do that every month or so.. Always use a feather duster, far quicker than using a duster.

The art of having a house that gives the impression of perfection - and lets face it impression is all you need - is to keep it tidy and that means if you pick it up you put it back where you found it. First thing in the morning OR last thing at night, depending on whether you are a lark or an owl, just walk round the house picking things up and putting things away.

Then just clean things when they look obviously dirty

I hate housework, so I have a cleaner. He comes once a week for two hours, and in between I keep things tidy, clean the loo every day, and keep the kitchen worktops clean.

But I don’t think my friends visit to see if my house is clean - they visit to see me, so I would be opening the door to them even if the house was messy.

Two basic rules
1. Clean cups
2 good coffee
When they push you down the aisle what would you like to hear said about you
A lovely lady she always made you very welcome
OR
She kept a lovely tidy house
I know my preference

I was brought up with the saying everything has a place.

I can lay my hands on anything because i know where it lives,so basically its never untidy. I have received a few lovely comments on how tidy my home is. 🏡

Serendipity22, everything has a place in this house but it sometimes takes a while for things to make it back to their home.

Well I don’t know you but I would guess that I would really enjoy visiting you. I suspect your home is comfortable and you spend time on things you enjoy. As for whether I would care twopence if you were tidy or not so long as you had a smile of welcome on your face and time for a chat - well for me that would be the important thing. So long as your home is hygienic and I can actually get through the front door I think things would be great 🤣👍

I’m not an especially tidy person. As for cleaning. I was brought up in the tropics, where we had a fleet of servants - even on a tight budget, so just enough done..
As Gwyllt says, as long as your coffee cups are clean, the floor doesn’t stick to your shoes and you can sit down, most people shouldn’t care. It is you not your house that they are visiting!

Having a cleaner if you can afford it is the best thing because than there is an incentive to keep things tidy for their next visit.

You sound to be a woman after my own heart MOnica, certainly about housework.

An episode of ‘Roseanne’ years ago, (remember Roseanne?) comes to mind. Her husband and children had been left to clean the house when she was out. Dan, the husband, uttered the immortal words “Remember kids, we are just going for the illusion of clean!”

Never a truer word.

I think I lost the plot on keeping things tidy...
Sadly even the idea of cleaning is exhausting here!

But I do like clean cups and can offer a choice of coffees ☕️
Maybe that's enough?

Gwyllt

Two basic rules
1. Clean cups
2 good coffee
When they push you down the aisle what would you like to hear said about you
A lovely lady she always made you very welcome
OR
She kept a lovely tidy house
I know my preference

It is possible to be both.

What * Monica* said 😂

No way will I clean the house every day. I blitz on a Tuesday. Change beds, hoover and dust. I spend all day in the house I then have the rest of the week to meet up with friends, see family etc. After years of cooking, cleaning and generally looking after family I really value my time outdoors. Seriously thinking of getting a cleaner in the new year to free me of my Tuesday routine.

icanhandthemback How long? About 40 mins/ hour per day broken down into chunks if needed, gets me going in the mornings haha!
Never feels overwhelming and as the house is always 'done' never feels as if it needs a clean/tidy . Far too many hobbies/good books to read/ places to visit or gardening to enjoy so I like to get it done (and to be honest I do enjoy it whilst listening to Taylor Swift and so on )and get out.
Favourite sayings -
" Little and often "& "Be your future friend"
But really it's the de-cluttering

I also hate cleaning though I do it .
If I'm really frank about it : my childhood was ruined by my mother's complete obsession with having an immaculate home .
She worked full time and had a glittering career .
She was incredibly beautiful and had a great social life .
My Grandma was stuck with the cleaning - and when my mother was at home she would lose her temper with her over her "poor standards".
My Grandna was a deeply relugious country woman not given over to an immaculate home .
In failing health , she did her best to shop , cook for my fussy demanding eating different foods parents and launder our clothes and to grow fresh vegetables , fruit and salad .

I remember being constantly shooed out of rooms that my mother was cleaning .

I earmark a film that I want to see or time to read and write and force myself to clean .
At the moment , I'm struggling with ill health and I'm way behind with my routine .
So I prioritise -
cleaning the kitchen and bathroom and myself !

Life is too short .
Enjoy it !

leaned

Grandma not Grandna . And sorry for leaned !
Where are my glasses ?
If only I were tidier !

It is possible to do both I agree MerylStreep I do get tired of hearing how boring those of us who don't mind cleaning must be.
If I only vacuumed once a fortnight you would have to dig your way into the house
Maybe a slight exaggeration but you get my drift.

If two people live in a house I don’t see why it should be down to just one to keep it clean, unless one is unable to help.
I agree with MOnica, just do the basics and clean things when they obviously look dirty.
Friends worth having won’t be judging your worth on whether your house is pristine.

Our house is usually tidy if perhaps a little dusty. I dislike housework but find the best way is little and often rather than trying to do a blitz all in one go. Decide which room(s) to clean and concentrate on that I find an hour usually does it and I tell myself that it is an hour less time than on social media where I can often waste a lot of time!

sodapop, I don't think you are boring at all. Run me through your routine so I get an idea of how it is done.

One of my problems is that I can never do things in half measures. Once I start cleaning, I see all the dust, marks, cobwebs, etc and eventually I feel overwhelmed. I also find that I open the cupboard with the cleaning stuff in and find myself sorting it out to make it more accessible...it never stays that way.

Farzanah, my husband is very helpful with things like washing up, cooking, hoovering, etc. He doesn't do things to my standards (or those that I aspire to) but he keeps things ticking over. I am more of your DIY girl than housewife!