Use these tips to get your organising off to a flying start!
Running a household can be a very daunting task, and I am a firm believer that it should be on our school syllabus - it is a life skill that everyone should learn, regardless of what else you do in your life, you have to live somewhere - and knowing how to run that home well can save you time, money and stress. The following are some quick tips to get you started on the basics - how to get the household jobs done as easily and quickly as possible. As always, if you have any tips you would like to share (and you would like a mention on this site!) then please contact OrganisemyHouse.co.uk and we will add you tip to the relevant page.
First things first - Begin by writing down EVERYTHING that needs to be done around the house. Count absolutely everything that you spend time doing, and if it helps, go from room to room and visualise what jobs you do in each one. Your list may consist of some of the following:-
KITCHEN - empty bins, clean oven, clean microwave, clean fridge, defrost freezer, wipe down surfaces, mop floor, sort and clean all cupboards, check for out of date food and throw away, deep clean whole room, buy food and cleaning products, cooking all meals, unloading the dishwasher, washing up, cleaning grill pan, menu planning,
LIVING AREAS - Polish, hoover, mop hard floors, general tidy, dry clean curtains, wash carpets, water plants, change water in flowers, sweep chimney, clean light fittings, organise and tidy all cupboards and storage spaces, shake rugs outside,
OUTSIDE SPACE - Clean the car (inside and out), power wash the driveway, mow the lawn, weed flowerbeds, stain woodwork and furniture, repot flowers, sort out the shed, sort out the garage
BEDROOMS - change bed linen and wash, turn mattress, clean curtains, wash carpet
BATHROOMS - clean toilet, wipe all surfaces, deep clean all sanitaryware, descale shower head, wash bath mats, launder towels, buy bathroom products,
HOME OFFICE - filing, tax returns, end of month books, paying bills, writing letters, all incoming paperwork dealt with, purchasing all stationary, phone calls to friends and family and clients etc....
GENERAL - errands (dry cleaners, library, shops, bank, post office etc...), cleaning windows inside and out, present and card shopping, hair cuts, dentists, doctors,
Scary to think that all this has to be done - isn't it! - If you write down everything though, you will see that it is a job that needs some scheduling and organising in order to get done properly - if at all!. Once you have a specific time to do each task, then each task becomes more managable, and you can get on with the rest of the your life!!
Mark each of these as follows:-
Are they a daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly or annual job
Are they family member specific - get everyone involved! However, ensure it is fair to those who work full time, and children who need free time also! This is meant to help give everyone more time - not make their lives just full of chores
How long each one usually takes (make a best guess if it is unknown)
Look at your weekly schedule (ideally you will have worked out what yours is by now - see our time management pages for more information) and work out how / when you have the free time to complete household jobs - do you prefer to get them out of the way first thing in the morning, or little and often throughout the day? Work around your way of life so you are more likely to stick to it. However, little and often tends to feel less like a chore! Mark each daily, twice weekly and weekly jobs into this schedule easily. (If you don't have the time spare, then hopefully from getting more organised you will have freed up some more time fo these jobs, but if not, to stay out of overwhelm, simply try something like getting out of bed early 1 or 2 days a week, or going to bed later, not watching a specific TV programme for a while (soaps expecially take up so much time, or delegate more of the jobs to family or even paid help)
For monthly or seasonal jobs I find that the easiest way to ensure you have time for them is as follows:-
Try to group monthly tasks so that you have 3 sets (MONTHLY 1, MONTHLY 2, MONTHLY 3) that would take roughly the same amount of time altogether, and SEASONAL tasks so that there are 12 sets in total. - Keep these in a place close to your weekly planner (I like to have them written on the back, or stapled together if printed off, or added as a memo tag if using an excel worksheet)
Now, allocate a specific time each week for a job like this (lets say 2 hrs a week), and mark out the time as MONTH/SEASONAL JOB
Each month has roughly 4 weeks (if it has 5 then you have a free bit of time - use wisely!). Therefore WEEK ONE may be MONTHLY 1, WEEK TWO would be MONTHLY 2, week 3 is MONTHLY 3, and then week 4 would be SEASONAL.
This way you will have a time to do the jobs, and know that they will all be done in turn - so you never have to feel overwhelmed again!
Do all of this, and you will have a very clear idea of what it takes for your specific home to run smoothly, and you will always feel like you are in control. Below are some great tips on getting things done - I hope you have great success with this!
Staying on top of the household jobs is key to feeling more organised in your home
If you think you don't have time to do so many tasks, organising them like explained above can also help prioritise for you - so you can get the house as good as required at any one given time. You will be able to have people knock on the door and not feel like you can't let them come in without having to apologise for the state of your house.
If the whole family works / goes to school. then it may be worth considering getting outside help
- if you know what you want them to do from the above exercises then
this will help you get the most out of them (but be realistic!)
Try and keep cleaning items close to where they are needed, to save time. i.e. bathroom items upstairs so you don't have to keep walking up and down when you need something, or your hoover by the main carpeted area of the house.
You will never have a 100% perfect house - unless you don't allow anyone in it at all! - aim for GOOD ENOUGH - because it really is good enough!
You may prefer to completely blitz one room at a time, but before you do this, think how long it may be before you get round to that room again - I advise clients to try and do specific jobs throughout the house, as then every room will always be good enough to have visitors etc.... You may well then decide that one of your monthly/seasonal jobs is to blitz a room at a time to give it an absolute refresh.
Trying to do just one major job each month i.e. dry cleaning curtains, carpet cleaning etc... will then help you stay on top of things but not feel overwhelmed. I suggest using the right months to do each job as well - silly as it sounds, for example - why clean all your curtains in winter when you need them for warmth? late spring or early summer when the nights are light makes much more sense.
Instead of a spring clean - where you save up a whole years worth of deep cleaning for one mad week - try and spread it over the months more evenly - that way you will always feel like your home is running smoothly and is clean and tidy as much as possible for you.
If you are stuck for time, double up the effects of doing housework with fitness - be as energetic as possible and burn some calories as you go - a great way to do this is to have music on - you will feel more energised when you have finished, and you will have saved a trip to the gym!
Buy all purpose cleaners to save storage space, money and time
Things that make an immediate difference to help get you started are as follows:-
Make your bed every day - and get the rest of the family to do the same - this is the largest peice of furniture in your room, so making it look tidy will ensure you focus on this rather than feel bogged down by a messy room as you pass it throughout the day
Wipe down kitchen and bathroom surfaces when finished each time
Whenever you move from room to room scan that room to see if theres anything that needs to be taken to the room you are going to (or a room on the way) - keeping things moving back to their home will create a tidier environment for you, and make it quicker to find things.
Get your children involved
Make it fun and give rewards for helping (these could be stickers, or working towards a bigger goal of a family day out to the park - it doesn't have to be big - just something that they would like to do - and getting the housework done quickly gives you quality time with the family).
Explain that once the jobs are done, they can choose what to do - teaching children that they have to work as well as play is a vital part of growing up and gives them a sense of responsibility - it is also the way we can teach our children about managing a household, so it doesn't overwhelm them when they leave home
Its vital to teach children how to run a home - clients I have often say that they had a badly organised mum or dad so thats what they learnt to be like - they don't know how to be organised and they were never able to learn by example. Give your children a good role model (this isn't a skill learnt in the classroom, but is one of the biggest things that will help someone when they move out of home)
Give children independance - ask when they prefer to do jobs. You will see a big difference if they feel they have some say in whats going on as well.
Give jobs based on age - even a 2 year old can help with dusting or tidying up (it can be a game!) - don't overwhelm them though. My 2 year old daughter always tidies up after herself (at least most of the time!), and knows how to put her clean clothes away when washed and ironed. She thinks of this as a great game, and loads of praise for a job well done does wonders! If you give them a chance, small children can surprise you so much with their capabilities.
General Cleaning Tips to save time, energy and effort
Work from top to bottom of a room - hoovering before dusting won't work as dust will resettle on the newly hoovered floor
Work from the opposite side of the room to the door - this is especially useful when mopping a floor so you don't have to tread on the newly cleaned surface
Take a bin or rubbish bag from room to room and empty bins and any other rubbish as you go - it is satisfying to get rid of it all in one go, and saves you walking each bin from each room to the dustbin
Play music and move loads when cleaning - you will find it more enjoyable and burn a few calories at the same time!
Do tasks in bulk as this saves time - Ironing weekly instead of as you need an item will save time on setting up the ironing board, and will ensure that you don't just keep your ironing board up in a living room permanently!
For unpleasant jobs try and rotate responsibility - its never fun to clean a toilet - and everyone uses it - so they should all help to keep it clean! Its only fair!
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