Help for the Hopeless Housewife!

NotSpaghetti. When I say ‘being tidy is easy’ I mean putting away clothes etc. keeping the kitchen surfaces clear of dirty crockery. If you have ongoing projects, hobbies, crafts where you can pick up where you left off, then that’s different. We have musical instruments in the room where my OH plays, lots of bookshelves in various rooms, magazines and newspapers, dog beds and toys. So, our home does reflect our personalities and isn’t minimalist or bland at all. We haven’t got antiques or vintage furniture, but do have cottage style and comfortable surroundings. 😊

A place for everything and everything in its place. I just hate disorder. Vacuum, clean bathrooms once per week. Clean bedding also once per week. Washing before basket overflows. Minimum ironing. Tidy as I go. It can be done, I had full time job and 2 children. Retired teacher, born organiser!

Being tidy is easy - no, Patsy it is not! There are loads of things needed and on-the-go at once.

And Juicylucy I don't have (or want?^ a tidy mind .... I don't even know what that means!

As I said earlier, our houses just reflect who we are.

Haven't heard that expression,housewife,in years.. You do what you can when you can. As for vacuuming and dusting every 2 weeks??? I vaccuum every day with my cordless and I live on my own. Dust once a week. I have no routine or set days.

My routine is to invite friends round at least once a fortnight. The day before they arrive I need no other external motivation to make me give at least the ground floor of the house a thorough clean. Overnight visitors are useful every six weeks or so because then the entire place gets done properly.

My best tip is : always have a laundry basket within reach. An example : you want to go upstairs - grab that basket and look around you - fill the basket with stuff that needs to go upstairs. Once arrived there put whatever you have in the basket in it's right place ánd put things that need to go downstairs in your now empty basket. Repeat as needed. This only works if you keep a basket at hand of course. You will see that already after a few days you start to see a difference!

Beryl Streep
Oh how I would like to live in your world
I was very untidy as a teenager and twenties but I now put stuff away as go along
No way will husband put anything away behind him
Friends know my predicament
When kids were small I would get things tidy and ask for support to try and keep it tidy
If I asked a got a torrent of angry angry words
Would give up and peace returned along with chaos
I called it the witch cycle

When we still had kids at home, full time jobs and pets, I set a daily/weekly schedule which was really helpful. You can make it in any way that suits your lifestyle, but try to stick to the schedule.

Every day a basic tidy, dishes done, floors swept, run a duster over rooms used.
Monday - mop floors
Tuesday - vacuum carpets
Wednesday - change sheets
etc.
It can be any routine that suits you, but try to stick to a routine. That way it's not overwhelming.

icanhandthemback I have never been a good housewife but long for a house where I can open the door to visitors if they turn up unexpectedly.

It took me a bit.

I don't open my door to unexpecteds - problem solved .

All our children have the good sense to let us know their (daily, it seems) drop in schedule. Can't expect parents always at the ready.

Clean homes actually are dependent on the people who live within the walls picking up, making beds, tidying kitchens after cooking, hoovering after pets, scrubbing up after messy grandchildren asap, imo.

I have never been good at housework either. My philosophy is to pick a point in each room then call it point A. Decide where point B is and work your way round.

It helps to have your cleaning materials and a rubbish bag organised before you start.

I follow the Flylady system. There are videos on YouTube. The ones I find the best are the videos by Marla Cilley (who invented the system) and flylady Dianne, who has lots of videos, and who guides you through the system one step at a time. I find it enjoyable and therapeutic, and you can put as much or as little into it as you like. It starts off easily and builds gradually into a fun and workable routine. I discovered it after suffering illness, when I needed motivating.

Easiest way - tidy / clean up as you go. Less mess you make , easier it is to clean !

I have 5 rooms and tackle one a day, and have the weekends off. It works for me

Tidy house, tidy mind. That’s my motto I do small stuff everyday and that keeps on top of everything.
Sounds like for you, the thought is far worse than the task. You need to stay focused and not start to many jobs at once.

I’m not a housekeeper in fact I do very little because OH is retired and cleans before I get round to it, if we have visitors coming I do spend a hour finding the bits he’s missed. We’re both happy with a house that looks “lived in” so that’s fine.

I keep the bathrooms and kitchen clean and tidy as I go. Hardly ever need to do a clean there. The rest I either shut doors or tidy before people arrive and clean after they leave - most have dogs so worked for us.

Put anything you have just used away at once in its right place!

This gets rid of the piles of stuff lying around, and the futile search for your dressmaking shears or whatever.

Work out how clean and tidy you want the house to be, and make out a schedule.

Whether like me you wash clothes on Monday, hoover and dust upstairs every other Tuesday and downstairs every other Friday, or spend a whole day a week, a fornight or a month tidying and cleaning is up to you, but chose a method and stick to it.

Or decide you hate housework and get a cleaner.

If clutter is the problem - have a go at Fly Lady system.

I'm with Farzanah - all who live in the home and are capable should share the jobs. Our division is - I do all rooms with a tap in them + stairs, OH does the rest. All on one morning a week - and at the same time as each other. Works for us. I do laundry so it is not a truly equal share, aware of that but not bothered by it.

I am certainly not a slave to housework, but do like my home to be clean and tidy. Being tidy is easy - you just put things away straight immediately, rather than allow them to pile up. My priorities are toilets, sinks, shower, bath, beds and floors, especially as we have a dog. Something I do overlook, is cleaning the inside of radiators! 😱. I’m looking for a very slim cleaning tool, as the one I bought is too wide. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

One couple we know very well and stayed with often hardly ever clean the house and their kitchen is a mess but he is an excellent chef and she is intellectually brilliant so, although we often spoke of taking our own knife, fork and spoon clip when we visited them we never did, and never came to any harm.

I think people come to see me, not how tidy my house is. It's basically clean, especially kitchen and bathrooms but I have better and more interesting things to do than housework unless it's really necessary

JdotJ

Men are included in all the tidying of a home

Mine does.

Men are included in all the tidying of a home

cant think of its name but there was a poem or an article where an elderly woman at the end of her life said she wished she had taken more chances, done more things she enjoyed and less of the housework stuff.
I am now a widow and live alone. For myself I need to be clean and my clothes clean and clean bedding. anything to do with food also needs to be kept clean. They are the basics. I have health problems and had to learn to do two jobs at once , one sitting and one standing, and rather than get one job finished as I preferred had to learn to listen to my body and stop either position when it was painful. Untidiness is no great problem as there is only myself to please. I have various things on the go, books, music papers crosswords etc etc. At this time of year if there is a dry and clear day it can all go hang whilst I make the most of the weather. On a day like today when it is wild and pouring with rain is a fine day to get on with some jobs inside to enable me to be ready to enjoy the next good day. If you have plenty of space you might make one room or part of one room comfortable and pleasant for any visitors so that you dont have to clear away a lot of your own things that you are busy with. Friendships and enjoying nature and music etc , I think, are far more important than a tidy house. I am sure that your friends do not measure you by the state of your house. They like you because you are you. Or even look at it another way, you give them the opportunity to feel that their own home is very tidy compared to yours (so long as they dont actually say that to you!!) If you think of peoples comments after someone dies, they rarely start with what a tidy house they had!! It is your home and you should keep it in a comfortable state to live in for yourself, and just say welcome to visitors and do not apologise or comment on the state of the rooms. Enjoy more as your new years resolution and dont worry about the house. Good luck with worrying less about it all