Where do I start?
Question:ok..Im a mum of 3 kids... 19, 12 and 9
My 12 year old is autistic
I have my own business and havent a minute to myself
Before I had my business my house was as neat as a pin and I was probably compulsive about keeping it clean and tidy..HOWEVER it is now an absolute tip and I cannot cope
I have enough washing here of my own but also do my mums as she's disabled also and doubley incontinent so have several of her sheets, nightgowns, bed pads to do daily
All the cupboards in the house needs sorting, cleaning etc..infact theres not one room that I can say is spotless & organised
WHERE DO I START? Its making my life so hard as I'm now so unorganised ...theres clothes, papework and just general household clutter everywhere !
My weekends are spent doing the laundry and ironing that I have no freetime to enjoy my life anymore
I WANT TO BE ORGANISED AGAIN
Answers:
Try www.flylady.net It is INVALUABLE for those times when you are overwhelmed and just don't know what to start. The thing that helped me most was to tackle things in small increments. 15 minutes at a time, not hours and hours or you get burned out. I set a timer now and spend 10 minutes per room, and am vigilant about NOT getting sidetracked. You know how it goes otherwise..find some papers in the kitchen, go to put them in the office and see the trash needs to be emptied. Empty the trash and see that the bikes fell over in the garage. Put up the bikes and see that some of the flower pots outside are wilted. Water those and see that there are a few weeds coming up. Pull those for a while, then get overheated and come in for a drink. Get a drink in the kitchen and try to remember what you were doing in here in the first place. Oh yeah, cleaning! That is why after doing things all day long it looks like nothing got done...sidetracking. Anyway, poke around at that site, it is really fabulous. :) Good luck!
first off you sound like you have a helluva lot on your plate
it must be very difficult
erm
maybe try breaking the cleaning down into manageable chunks
a cupboard here, a corner of clutter there - slowly but surely youll get it sorted that way
so you can get through it bit by bit
good luck
If at all possible, hire a housekeeper to come in a couple of days a week. If not, you need to get the children involved in the household duties. It won't hurt them to help out with daily tasks.
I feel your pain. You really have your plate full. Try setting up routines and getting dressed to your shoes first thing in the morning.
Go to www.flylady.com This lady has helped a lot of people like you get things under control.
Hi,
You have your own business so you must be making money, spend a little and pay someone to sort it all out for you, then you can start from scratch.
Best to try and get someone who you know could use a little spending money and someone you also trust.
School girl baby sitters are usually trustworthy.
Skip
First of all, sit down and write down every task that needs to be done daily. This should include cooking, serving meals, washing dishes, picking up clutter in the home, making beds, laundry, etc. There are a number of tasks that do require to be done daily such as the ones listed in order to just keep the home running smoothly.
Go thru each room and bring that tablet and pen and write down the daily tasks. For instance, take the kitchen, where the most work daily will be done. The dishes will need to be washed, dried and put away daily, meals will be prepared and served, the counter tops should be cleaned after each meal. Get in the habit of washing dishes as you use them, or rinsing and putting them in the dishwasher.
Take each room, go through it and decide each chore that needs to be done, now divide these chores into daily and weekly on separate lists. This will take awhile and also there will be trial and error in getting a proper schedule adjusted.
For those weekly chores, you should plan to clean each room thoroughly. All laundry should be washed, dried, folded and put away, ironing should be done, meals should be planned, etc.
Get the kids involved. The oldest one can do some of the heavier cleaning, such as mopping, vacuuming, doing their own laundry or most certainly helping with all of it, and window washing. The younger one can take out the trash, clean the kitchen, dust, etc. Both can help by keeping their own room clean, and picking up after themselves.
If you will try this plan, I do know from my own experience that your life will run much smoother, your home will be cleaner and your family will be happier as you will be also. Try it, this works
any chance of getting rid of the kids for just one day? farm them out get a friend in start to declutter and dont stop until u have finished. throw everything away u havent used for 6 months. if u havent used it u dont need it. be ruthless , can you not ask for help with your mum from social services to take some of the pressure of you i'm sure you would be entitled to some assistance. you will feel so much better once everything is in its place. when it comes to the ironing i only iron the one side and i dont do nightwear, undies or bottom bed sheets. there is just no need. if your mum gets through so much bedding what is the point of ironing it if it is of the bed not long after putting it on? declutter, keep it that way and your 19 and 12 year olds should be helping a lot around the house. they are more than capable. good luck to you xx
19 years old seem's old enough to be helping around the house, that is if he/she still lives there. I watched a show once of a family with about 14 children, and except for the youngest infants, everyone in the family had daily responsibilities.
that 19, 12 and 9 year old can do a ton of help. i know the 12 year old has problems but start small and see what happens. might help her/him out a ton with some responiblity. even if it is just resetting the dryer or taking the dishes and putting them up for you. get the 19 year old busy with the floors and windows. the 9 year old can corner the dishes. maybe get the 12 year old to help with eithor kid? they should all have some type of work for the outside too. 19 year old mowing, 9 year old weed pulling in the flower beds. 12 year old sweeping the patio. 9 year old can even do the edging. now you need to spend no more then 30 to 45 min a day organizing. take it one self, one drawer at the time. have the trash can and a box for goodwill handy. when you have enough boxes for goodwill then put them in the car one night and drop them off the next day coming home from work. everyone should do their own bedrooms. everyone do their own bathrooms. everyone contribute to the organization problems in their rooms with the same concept as the garbage can and box. you dust once a week the living room and dining room and whomever uses the computer and tv the most get the reward of cleaning it. good luck.
You do have a lot on your plate, don't you! I feel for you. Maybe try to do a load of laundry every other day instead of just on weekend. That way you won't be spending so much time on weekends. I have a lot of clutter and the one way I got rid of it was, once I got it picked up and put in it's place, I will now stop and take the time to put things back where they go. Even my husband wouldn't put things up after he used them but I finally got him trained. Once you can do this, things will go a little easier. One other thing with the laundry, if you can fold and hang clothes up after they are dry it will help to eliminate some of the ironing, hopefully. May I also suggest you give some of the responsibility to your 19 yr. old. At that age he or she should help with things and will teach responsibility.Good luck and am praying thing get better for you!!
Sounds like the laundry takes up most of your time.
You can drop it off a laundry mat. Find one that has "fluff and fold" Its really not as expensive as it sounds, they charge per load, its probably 2 dollars per load here, don't know what that translates to. Cheaper if you supply your own soap.
Sit your kids down, tell them sitch, and asign specific chores to each one.
They are ofcourse doing there own laundry right?
Asign the 9 yr old to load and empty the dish washer every night. Pay her a dollar or two.
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