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Mum 2 Mum: Cleaning House

What is Mum 2 Mum? I have made many good friends online and often wish that I could sit down with them for a cuppa and chat like I do with my real life friends; other Mums with good advice, interesting stories to share, laughs to be had and experiences to learn from.  Mum 2 Mum is a place where as online friends we can share a little of our own experiences, so why not pop in for a cuppa and join the conversation.

I have made no secret of my lack of domestic prowess.  I don’t cook well.  Hospitality does not come naturally to me.  Despite my best intentions, my home is nowhere near as neat, tidy or organised as I would like to be.  I tend towards sporadic and frantic hide-y ups and struggle to find a place for everything, and to keep everything in it’s place.

As I have reflected upon the new year and my goals and dreams for the year ahead it has dawned on me that Immy is quietly observing and absorbing this ‘leave it til later and then rush around like a madman’ approach to domestic life.  And I don’t want her to.  Whilst I don’t want to live in a character deficient display home, I really, really want to live in a tidy, organised home which I am proud to welcome friends into, even at a moment’s notice.  I want to live without the ever present voice inside my head nagging me about the dishes in the sink, the unfolded laundry on my bed, the un-mopped floor, the piles of papers and books and ‘stuff’ I see cluttering up our lives.

So this week, Dad 101 is on leave and we are spending time getting organised. Culling stuff. Sorting stuff.  Finding permanent homes for the stuff we need or want to keep.  In the hope that this will help to keep us on track and make managing our home easier.  It is the first step in our journey towards what I hope will be a tidier, more organised home and a better example for our daughter.  I will let you know how we go.

Do you have any goals or plans for managing your home this year?  Or tips to share for those of us who struggle with maintaining an organised home?

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Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.

Read the comments or scroll down to add your own:

  1. Julie@The Useful Box says

    We have just listed our house on the market, so I feel like I have been frantically cleaning all year! My goal for 2011 is to create some new/ useful systems that will work well in our new house (when we find it), and to use the opportunity of moving to get rid of some of those "bad bits" that have been building up in our current house - the inevitable hidden junk piles that gradually accumulate. Having said all that, I think our house is fairly neat and organised, considering I have 3 very young kids and a husband who doesn't share my organisational vision! My best tip is: it won't be perfect. Perfectionism leads to inaction. I am for "good enough". I set a time limit and just do the best job of cleaning/ organising I can do in the time I have allocated.

  2. Maxabella says

    No real goals... we go okay over here. I'm not a Wiper (you know, one of those people who wipes the table when you lift your glass to take a drink) but I do keep things pretty smick. My only tip to pass on is that I do a quick tidy up each night after I put the Tsunamis to bed. I then do a big clean once a week and each time I do one 'extra' task. Like clean the fridge. Dust the skirting boards. That kind of thing. Helps me stay on top of it all. x

    • Christie Burnett says

      Two great tips, thanks Maxabella, I shall add a quick nightly tidy up to my routine and an 'extra' bigger task to my weekly cleaning list. I have also been trying to add a few practical cleaning steps to my morning routine - like emptying the dishwasher so I can stack it through the day and putting a load of washing on first thing.

  3. Angee says

    Cleaning is definitely something I'm struggling with right now. I just became a SAHM and thought I'd have time to keep up with housework, but that's just not the case. I'm hoping to find a method or schedule that fits. The only thing I'm consistent with is a load of laundry everyday. But even with that I still always feel behind. Good luck with organizing this week.

  4. Eva says

    I struggle with this too! There always seems to never be enough places to put things and they end up cluttering the floor. I'd love to see how you manage to find a place for everything and put everything in it's place :)

    • Christie Burnett says

      We're are being pretty ruthless, Eva. Lots of 'stuff' being donated to charity or the rubbish bin! Also trying to store things where they need to be used. Packing 'keepsakes' that don't need to be accessed everyday into boxes and away. And trying to create a better system for the piles of paperwork.

  5. Ann Becker-Schutte says

    Christie, we just did what you and your husband are embarking on. In December we (well, actually mostly the hubby, who was able to take 2 weeks off work), went through every closet & cupboard, the dresser drawers, bookshelves and toy bins. The result was 3 different lots of donations set out for pick-up, a fair bit of stuff that was tossed and a house that feels much more manageable. One of the things I learned in the process is that I am less attached to "stuff" than I am to the sense of a basically organized house. Not spotless, mind you, but tidy enough that I wouldn't panic if someone dropped in and accidentally opened a closet. In fact, the freedom of doing that has been great enough that we're talking about trying to list the house for sale in the next few months, which might give us the freedom to live in someplace that's a better fit for our long-term goals. And with the clutter under control (it's even safe to open the roll-top desk), taking on a few minor repairs feels more manageable. The last, best outcome is that our kids are watching! They are much more likely to put their toys away, put shoes in their place, etc. So, I hope that you and your DH have a very successful organization push!

  6. tricia says

    Exciting! We've been culling, cleaning, and sorting for months now. I've been finding it overwhelming yet also very liberating. I'm finally starting to feel like i'm getting somewhere. I'm becoming really interested in minimalism and am starting to get ruthless with what we keep. If I don't use it, or if it doesn’t make me smile, it goes. Stuff can be such a burden. I do think a tidy uncluttered home makes you feel better. Good luck and enjoy :-)

  7. Kathy says

    No real tips (I would lay you money that my house is less organised than yours!) but I have a goal this year of getting rid of all our stuff-and-things piles (what husband charmingly, but, it must be said, with some justice, refers to as "the rat nests"). I have probably a round dozen of these scattered around the house - a tall cardboard box in the corner of the bedroom filled with misc papers, a teetering stack of items-awaiting-fixing on husband's desk, a heap of craft junk on top of the cupboard, etc etc etc. One at a time I'm gonna sort and clear them. So far, I've dealt with the doorway / entrance catastrophe - our storage unit near the door, formerly a mile-high junk magnet, is now clear and welcoming and being useful again. Baby steps...

  8. Kim Jones says

    I have no aspirations of a 'perfect' house by any means but a 5 month old baby and a husband who puts his keys, wallet, jacket down wherever he is mean there are all kinds of bits and pieces which belong elsewhere just everywhere. My mum had a rule which drove me crazy as a teenager but does actually work now that I have my own home. Look around you before you leave a room and see if there is anything that actually belongs in the room you are going to. You are heading to the bedroom anyway so why not take laundry, discarded clothes or toys with you. I load up my arms and do several little dashes when my little one is asleep and just before i go to bed myself. It just keeps the chaos to a minimum and manageable when I have got time to do a big sort and put things back where they belong, a concept I aspire to as it makes finding everything at a moments notice so easy.

  9. Marnee says

    I am in the same boat as you...I started getting sorted before my second child arrived. She turned 1 last week and I don't seem to have gotten any where. I watch friends who can do it and try to get tips from them. I have a couple of things I try to do now.....clean the kitchen before bed no matter how tired I am so i wake to a clean bench that always seems to be full again by 7am but I'm trying. Make the beds in the morning even if the room is untidy it makes you feel better and the other is to let the children just "be" a bit more than I have in the past. I find my son 3 saying what next mum? often and I think that I have always had something planned for us to do next but at the demise of everything else. Another friends motto is " a draw/cupboard a day" rather than everything at once. My problem is no matter how much I cull there is always still too much STUFF. Always something on the arm of the lounge to find a home for, always a bag of something to be unpacked.... oh the joys! Good luck I will be watching for tips too.

  10. Sarah W. in Oregon says

    I am the same. At 35 years old I have decided it is finally time to teach myself how to be a homemaker. I'm not seeking perfection at all, I just want to be a good example to my 20 month old daughter and feel comfortable having visitors pop by. I'm using this as my guide and it's a perfect fit for me and my starting point, maybe it will be useful to others... http://www.flylady.net/

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