How do you get through your housework?

[Katrina]

How do you get through all the jobs in your house?

Do you put music on?
Do you put an ipod in?
Do you need a coffee?
Do you need an alcoholic beverage?
Do you talk on the phone?
Do you set yourself a time limit to get things done?

I find it funny that when I talk on the phone I start whizzing from room to room picking things up and putting away. Then by the time I hang up the phone I am surprised at what I actually got done.

I am a big fan of ipods! I have to add a new song to it somedays before I enter the laundry to fold washing. I am much more in the mood to do laundry when I have new songs on my ipod.

Sometimes when I am feeling lethargic but know things need doing I look at the clock and give myself a deadline to get things done.

What do you do?

Katrina
www.katrinaleechambers.com

[Lorraine]

I am waiting for Katrina to come and do my housework..........lol!!!! :D:D

[Katrina]

Lorraine - I don't even do mine half of the time ;) Princess!

[Lorraine]

LOL ;) Princess is cool with me. I feel bad though if my housework is not done. :)

[Julie-Ann]

Well since being on the forum and Twitter all the time:) I don't do all the cleaning at one time. I tend to write something here on the forum, do a few tweets and do some housework. So I do the housework at the speed of light so that I can get back here. But I am like you Katrina I do heaps whilst I am on the phone. I was talking to a relative about skype the other day & I said to her I couldn't use it because that would require me to sit in 1 place instead of making the bed and doing the dishwasher etc.
When I did used to do my housework on one day I would listen to Hamish and Andy podcasts. When you are cackling away time goes so much faster:D

[daphadills]

Something each day of the week, with whatever else i can fit in in between.

I usually do it repetitions. So after the school drop off i come home and con Playschool to entertain miss almost 3 whilst i do something ie bathroom, dishwasher, washing, floors etc. If i am lucky i get a whole half hour to do it :D then its play/craft with the little miss.

Then i sneak in another say 10 min rush through of picking up. Might have 2 or so of these throughout the day at diff time, and somewhere else in there another 20 min job if I'm home this day.

Since number 3 any system i had went out the door.
I just do what i can when i can, but have set days for washing and vacuuming for example.

Nope that made no sense...as does my current routine:p

[tryingtodecorate]

I do mine once a week, front to back, top to bottom - everything! If I turn the PC off I can get it done in 4 hours or so but I have no will power when it comes to the PC or chocolate for that matter so I often find myself in here with a wet rag in my hand or the vac still going in another room :D

I do it in silence, I make a mental list and then start day dreaming :)

[daphadills]

That happens to me. I must BAN the internet LOL!

[Lanne]

I too tidy up when on the phone. I recently bought a phone with a headset so i look like i am in a call centre and can clip the phone on to me. Only somewhat successful because i often press a button accidently LOL.. but it works well if i am cooking or not moving much. Cleaning up whilst on the phone is an awesome way to get through pesky phone errands AND tidy up.

I also like the idea of never leaving a room empty handed.. if you are heading through/via/near or to a room see what in the current room needs to go there.

When we lived in a three story place i had a basket at the top of the stairs in the middle level and the bottom of the next set leading up. instead of doing a million stairs a day we just carried the basket up and down. (lochie was a baby and this was very practical).

Pre child, I used to clean everything Thursday night. I would skip late night shopping and just get home from work and clean the house, whilst washing everything. That way.. when I woke up Friday I had breakfast... put the dishwasher on and went to work... and came home to a weekend free of housework. BLISS - Since having lochie it doesnt work! but i look forward to him being big enough that it does again!

Now I tidy up most nights - takes 10 mins or nothing if i have had phone calls LOL. A does the dishes.

I do a load of towels and coloured clothes on a tuesday and then soak whites on a thursday. I soak them on a 2 hour cycle so it is easily done then. I wash anything else and all bed linen on Friday/Saturday depending on weather and work.

I clean all bathrooms on a Wednesday or Thursday. They just don't last a week. But I clean everything else sunday afternoon. About 4pm I start on the bathrooms and the picking up from the weekend.. check school bags, load the errand bag (i have one by the door . it is huge and i load DVDs and items to post/return etc) it comes in and out of the car every time I do. My husband vacs and i clean the rest. We either have a super simple dinner or I throw a roast in so it cooks whilst I clean.

With all the laundry up to date we have a laundry party on a sunday night. My husband irons and I fold everything and put it away so everyone has all the clothes and so on for the week. We have a cheese platter and find something to watch or talk about whilst we snack and labour away.

i pretty much multitask everything. I rarely do ONE thing when cleaning. If i am busy then the dishwasher, washing machine, vac, etc better be too..

am thinking about a roomba... any thoughts?

[Julie-Ann]

OMG Lanne you are so organised and you have a little one and run a successful business. I am wondering what is my excuse.
I agree with taking something with you when you leave the room.Or a variation tonight has been I have a computer problem, I call for Mr16 to help me and whilst he sorts it out I run around and do a job. It is a bit of a bummer when he fixes it quickly:).
I love my Roomba, we have no regrets and neither does my friend, my mum and my aunty who bought one. I think I need to buy shares in this company lol.

[daphadills]

roomba????:o

[Lanne]

laughing Julie don't give me too much credit.

I juggle four business and two part time employees (but that helps right).

I do NOT have time for lots of cleaning. My husband vacs, irons, and will do dishes but that pulls up his helpfulness. So efficiency is the name of the game. I seperate cleaning and tidying. I tidy all the time and clean once a week. (plus those bathrooms a second time).. that is it..

I do feel like the house gets unruly at times but then i do the 'set the clock for 10 mins and tell everyone to go at lightening speed.

and hey.... maybe it is the lack of a top sheet that does it ;) You have to cut back on those unnecessary luxuries Julie-Ann

[Lanne]

daphadllis is an electronic robotic vac. I dont know if i explained it well?

It has a lil dock and comes out of the dock and cleans the floor and goes back to the dock for charging.

There is a new one called Scooba which mops (and collects dirt) .. i am thinking the 2 in 1 sounds ok. I can see them online for $599 and $849 respectively.

[Julie-Ann]

Daphadills meet the love of my life Iroomba (http://www.decoratingforum.com.au/showthread.php/robot-vacuum-12.html?t=12&highlight=robot+vacuum), affectionately known as Jeeves.

Lanne does the Scooba do carpets as well?