Creating Time in Your Week - Housework

Creating Time in Your Week - Housework

Oh, housework! It is ever-present and continuously replenishing. A few tricks that have helped me to stay on top of it and save time include:  

- I go through the washing basket the night before, start sorting it, and put it into the washing machine. Then when I come out the following day, I add a few items to it and press start, rather than having to sort through a whole load when I am busy getting ready for the day.  

- We bought a robot vacuum, and it has been AMAZING. We have floorboards and carpets in our bedrooms and lounge. It does a fantastic job on the floorboards and picks up a considerable amount of dirt and dust from our carpets. It goes in under our beds and moves around the house well. I still run our vacuum cleaner over our carpets and rugs for a deeper clean, but it has still saved so much time. We nominate a day in the week that we run it (generally when the kids are out of the house, so it isn't annoying for them), and the night before, go around and lift everything off the floors after our kids have gone to bed.  

- Empty your bins, wash your dishes daily and do your washing regularly, so the work doesn’t pile up and get on top of you.  

- Ironing! I try to get to this regularly, too, so that it doesn't stack up in a separate laundry cupboard I have it in. I watch a TV show or listen to a podcast as I'm getting through a few items at a time.  

- Plan out what needs to be done, such as sheet and towel washing days. It puts you on the front foot and helps you get through it. I also add household jobs to my Trello board for the week as they pop up so I can get them done. Also, use your weekends to set you up for the week – preparing food, getting school/swimming lesson/other activity items ready, cleaning, groceries etc.  

- Clean and organise as you go so you don't get overwhelmed. It's hard to find blocks of time when you are working/caring for your children/working on your business, so try to take some pressure off. Examples include wiping the shower as you use it, clearing the table after each meal, making beds early in the morning and putting washing away as you get it off the clothesline.