Category: Tidy Homes For Tidy Minds

Calming attributes for the home - Part 2!

5/10/2017

Okay so there's something all Yankee Candle lovers should know about if you don't already - you need SCENTERPIECE!
"What's a Scenterpiece?" I hear you ask. Well, it's an all-rounder but would be especially suited to these colder winter months & make the perfect gift for someone this Christmas But Yankee have that covered with a short video from their website..
(See below or you can have a browse for yourself by clicking here. )

Personally I would describe it as versatile, child safe, and delightfully fragrant - with the power to transport you to the most beautiful of places, all from the comfort of your living room. There are probably hundreds of different scents available and a variety of designs for the heating system to suit your home.
The options can seem endless, especially to a newbie, so to take out some of the leg work I've put together a gallery of the most popular types of Scenterpiece, and a quiz to help you decide which fragrance to try out first - if ordering online of course.

- What Yankee Candle scent are you? Quiz
- Find out which Yankee Candle is for you Quiz

Mine is on almost every day, you can thank me later Tidy Timers - that is all!

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Top tips for decorating this season!

14/9/2017

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Continuing with the theme of Autumns arrival & the urge to decorate, upcycle and refresh ones interior, I have come accross some fantastic tips & tricks I found to be shareworthy with you all, so without further delay here are the top 9.. (click on the picture for links)

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Why prompt, punctual payment matters!

29/8/2017

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This may or may not come as news to many of us – especially if you’re a firm member of the league of housekeepers – but... punctual payment is an essential requirement in terms of the contract between business and client.
Imagine coming home after a long and busy day, to rest and put your feet up in a freshly cleaned home leaving you with nothing more to do than relax and admire the fruits of labour from a dedicated housekeeper. Now imagine you had spent the best part of the day ensuring you left the houses of many others nothing short of sparkling before returning home to then tend to your own!
Housekeeping staff everywhere give not only their time but also their energy and self into upholding an immaculate standard of cleanliness within the homes of our happy customers – because, yes choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.. it’s all well and good for a mantra when choosing the right occupation or career, but often the reason we are looking for long and successful yet enjoyable career in the first place – the money. In all likelihood your housekeeper is just another human being, like you and me, trying to make their way in the world while paying the bills and supporting our families and businesses. You could only imagine one’s frustration upon revealing late one Friday evening that the agreement for your regular cleaning session to take place had been broken as your housekeeper failed to turn up and thus keep to their end of said agreement.. - I don’t know about you guys but I would be a little more than swept aside – but nevertheless for every consistently punctual team member there is a consistently late payment...

This affects more than just your assigned housekeeper, payroll must reach beyond more than one member of staff at a time. For example, if your selected cleaning company are approached to perform a one-off deep clean session, then payment – as is always – will be expected upon completion of the cleaning service, provided you are happy with the job of course!
To execute a timely and efficient deep clean to a high standard usually requires at least 2 members of staff – depending on the size of the property and areas to be accessed, then you take the average time of cleaning to be let’s say roughly 4 hours minimum – again depending on the sizing. You may wonder just how this affects anyone else. In most cases the 2 housekeepers selected to perform a deep clean as a one off would usually have their own consistent schedule with long term customers, now affecting their routines and to arrange cover means further outgoings for the big boss in charge of the business. So you have 2 exhausted workers, their regular clients and their cover staff all expecting compensation for their hard work. When a payment is late it has a knock on effect throughout which in turn results in the head honcho forking out in the meantime to cover all expenses.

We are all only but human, and as such from time to time we are bound to overlook the importance of such things and it can be easy to forget when the housekeeper has still turned up for the following session after a missed payment - it is a gesture in good faith of the business to client agreement that payment will be made promptly upon the delivery of the service.

Here are a few ideas that can help keep consistent consecutive, timely payments each time:

Mark it on your calendar – this one may seem like a no-brainer but if you haven’t already a quick glance may be all that you need!
Envelope organisers – if you’re old school like me and prefer to pay in by cheque or cash then I find allocating the payments that need making into an envelope for each interval helps keep it aside for its purpose!
Phone reminders – for those more technology based you can easily set a reminder on your phone in no time at all!
Save the companies banking details – Whether it be regular banking or online banking, keeping hold of the account details for the service to set up a regular outgoing such as a standing order ensures a payment need not be late again, online banking is always a great way to keep up to date with what may or may not have gone out yet and provide access to quick and easy transfers.

And finally, if none of these are for you then you can always just give them a call, there’s not always a need for worry or self doubt – The likelihood of it is that the member of staff of the other end of the line would express nothing but gratitude for your getting in touch and acknowledging the needs of the business also.

That will be all for this week, Tidytimers!

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Tidy house, tidy mind!

25/7/2017

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Ok so i'm going to level with you now - mother to mothers, housekeeper to housekeepers... housework is my LEAST favourite thing to do at home! I know right!? Shock coming from the PA of a cleaning company who used to do the cleaning herself! - oh the irony! Still to this day I will interview people who tell me cleaning is their favourite way to pass time, and the buzzword around these discussions seems to be many actually find it "therapeutic", which usually results in me sitting there thinking how?! perhaps they don't have those little home destroyers we like to call our children who thrive on undoing all the chores we mums struggle so hard to achieve and maintain.. Only to find out that a lot of our candidates do in fact have children - young children at that! Oh, then maybe (clutching at straws here..) the ones who enjoy it live in nice cosy apartments of bungalows with minimal mess-making space? - Wrong again. Some of these awe-inspiring women are the proud owners of up to 5 bedroom homes! I must be missing something, surely! Like a dishwasher and a magical solution to make the household interior immune to dust build up.. A bit far-fetched, I know but hey! I'm only human, and as such we tend to get a lot of things wrong by overlooking the solution for something more extravagant, elaborate and external, when the answer (prepare yourself as my spiritual earth-mother vibe begins to shine a light on this conundrum) truly lies within us, and has all along.

Turns out, it all lies in your mindset - anything and everything starts and ends in the mind. If you are telling yourself the fun can't start until the heavy burden of housework has been lifted - then that's exactly what it is going to be - a burden. If you tell yourself and the kids that the fun can't start until the housework is done, or because it has only just been done - they you can bet your bottom dollar that fun will not show up where it's not welcome. I had been thinking all this time (with my crazy lady logic..) that I was preserving my sons childhood by allowing the mess to flow, and the housework to take a back seat - so that we could spend most of the precious irreplaceable moments that we have together "having real fun" - when, in reality, what I was actually doing was burying my resentment for chores in toys and baking things, crayons and play doh etc. (so to speak - the list could go on, believe me!) all while perpetuating the idea that it is okay to have a chaotic home to my four year old, who is relying on me to set an example of being a mature and reliable role model on which to base his life choices and habits. NO WAY JOSE! If the chore chart on the fridge is to have any real meaning other than the promise of stickers upon the completion of each task, then I must uphold my parenting duties, and put to practise what i'm preaching to the boy who will (i hope) one day grow into a fine, independent and resourceful young man.

So, where are MY stickers?! Unfortunately as you may already know, we adults tend to get rewards that are far less glittery, shiny and obvious - taking my train of thought back to those unfaltering determined and hardworking women who not only take on the responsibility of taking pride in the upkeep of their own homes, but who are coming to us for work, to take on a job that they love, because that entails taking pride in the upkeep and presentation of other peoples homes too! So, back to my stickers - and what I mean by that of course is back to what it is that drives the wonder women of Tidy Time Services and all those alike them.
So number one, the motivating thought to begin this whole process is setting the example to our children - absolutely, indisputably a star I would strive for first and foremost on my chore chart! The second, (and i'm speaking from my very own personal laundry loathing experience) believe it or not is FUN! This is an absolutely FUN-damental part of this whole change of mindset I was talking about at the start. I find that if I can't make it into a game for myself and my little one to take part in then simply blasting the tunes and busting a wiggle while we work our way through the house, belting out our favourite ballads makes it enjoyable for us both AND the time even seems to pass significantly quicker too! We LOVE music, so this was a no-brainer for our household, but something else may be more to your taste - it's all about finding what works for you and incorporating those things you love together to make doing those things you maybe don't love so much that bit more tolerable every time you do it.
IF YOU ENJOY WHAT YOU DO, YOU WILL PRODUCE A QUALITY OF WORK THAT IS SECOND TO NONE!
The third sticker up for grabs is the inner peace and clarity of mind that follows a decent clean up, like a bonus level that can only be reached if the first 2 stages are executed wholeheartedly and with good intention - THIS, is where I finally understood the therapeutic side of it and it all sort of came together in one big "AHA" moment.
Your housework routine is, (unfortunately for some, depending on your mindset) an unavoidable part of life. If you find yourself full of resentment for having to spend your precious moments with the cleaning equipment then there are two things you can do:
#1 - Give Tidy Time Services a call to fulfil your domestic housekeeping needs so you may free up your time ;)
OR, (And this one is simple, free and available to you at any given moment..)
#2 - Change your mindset - it's as simple as that!

I used to say that a tidy home is the sign of a wasted life.. Oh how wrong I was - who is to say that you have to stop living just because you are cleaning? There are real people with a real passion for spending quality time on their home producing amazing results giving nothing but a bit of tender loving care - why can't we all be one of them? Instead of waking up and loathing the mess from the night before look around and be thankful, for the roof over your head, for the things that you own, the plates and cutlery you eat from, and the means to keep all these things in tip top condition. Every day presents a new challenge, new opportunities, for inspiration and motivation to do better than you did yesterday. Each new mess presents the opportunity for growth and the ability to develop a better routine and constantly improve upon yourself, and once that new challenge has been completed, whoaaa nelly does it feel sooooo darn good! Think of the satisfaction you feel when completing a task set out for yourself, now times it by 100 when you get to see and feel the effects and satisfaction of a job well done.
I'm not someone who is shy to hold my hands up and say "OK, I was wrong" - in fact i'll do it right now! OK people, I was wrong, a tidy house is not the sign of a wasted life, a dusty home and dusty mindset alike are in fact the true signs of a wasted life, that you are unable to live or find joy in the smallest and most menial of things, that the clutter of your mind that manifests into the physical clutter of your unruly airing cupboard or washing basket are both being ignored and brushed aside when there are lessons to be learnt in everything - yes, (said the unicorn mum) even cleaning! As someone who (to put it politely and vaguely..) struggles, daily with mental health issues (bipolar bear blogger..) - I can assure you the best therapy, and most mind-altering mantra I have now adopted is in fact - A TIDY HOUSE = TIDY MIND AND SOUL.

That will be all from me today Tidytimers, Namaste!

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Spend less time cleaning & spend more time making memories!

5/5/2017

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I read a blog post the other day that really spoke to me, in terms of my current daily struggle - which is always "do i say yes to playing games or do i get on with this housework?" CONSTANTLY. Then instead of thinking rationally i beat myself up about it (ah, yes the logic of a anxiety..) Anyway back to the point - and this is the most important part, if you're feeling overwhelmed, take a step back and ask for help, or even just talking about it you will realise that you are not alone, and it's nothing to be ashamed of.

Would you join the new wave of mums embracing domestic chaos, prioritising good times with the kids over doing the dishes?
My home couldn’t be further from the super-stylish homes I like to trawl through on Pinterest, I have tried my best within my current setting and I’m happy with that – I’d rather spend time with my boy than tidy. It's a fact, no shame about it.
To put a positive spin on it the clutter that surrounds us as parents – the random stickers, the glitter-covered creations, the mysterious remnants of toys – becomes a priceless document of our lives.
'Clutter becomes a poignant document of our lives'.. Think on that for a moment and make of it what you will.
Just as men aren’t expected to come back from work and start mopping the kitchen floor, nor are women feeling that this is in their job description. We are realising as a society that women are entitled to do as much or as little as they want, whether that means letting the house become messy, paying someone else to help with the cleaning, or doing it together at the weekend, It’s a healthy attitude to have and we can only gain from it, in terms of having a sense of value and a sense of self.
Don’t aim to be perfect, even if we embark on motherhood with high hopes for our domestic credentials, this often changes.
Be honest It’s becoming common to enjoy normality – the real, flawed chaos of parenthood.
Of course, we’re not suggesting you live in an unhealthy house. It’s about prioritising, finding shortcuts and ditching ideals. ‘Your physical surroundings can affect your mental state’ is a mantra i live by, so, if your home has stopped making you feel calm and happy, and started making you anxious, then you need to clear up. Otherwise, it’s a question of finding a happy balance for you and your kids – even if it involves dodging Lego and regaining your sense of humour about those sticky handprints up the stairs.

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tips for housekeeping & cleaning with a disability

1/9/2016

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I HATE housework! But not for the usual reasons, I hate housework because I am not always able to guarantee completion of the tasks that need doing around the house, and even if i do, there's no certainty it will be up to the standard. I suffer from an autoimmune disease call Lupus, which (long story short) wreaks havoc with my joints - usually ceasing up to the point where I have little to no use of my hands and at times my legs. However, the house does not care for my condition, & still needs to be cleaned. Frankly, I’d rather save my energy spending quality time doing something nice with my 3 year old (you know, to compensate for not physically being able to pick him up and give him a squeeze..), the things that make memories, not whether or not my floors have been mopped! So I’ve had to come up with new ways to manage the house. Here are my tips for managing housework. I hope some of them work for you.

Disability Hacks for Housework
1. Break tasks into smaller chunks - If a task seems overwhelming, break it down into smaller tasks and do them over a course of time with regular rests in between.
2. Don’t try to do everything in one day - Set certain tasks for certain days. If you miss a day for whatever reason leave it until next week.
3. Learn to aim for good enough instead of perfect - This is a hard one for me as I used to be super organised and liked things in their place. Over time though I’m letting my standards fall as I can’t keep up with it and good enough is simply… good enough!
4. Get the kids to look after their own things if at all possible - This is another hard one, at least with my muck magnet! Chore charts for rewards can be used as incentives for little ones. If you’ve got more than one child you could even make it a (fun) competition between them. I think though that the key here is to teach your children to put away their own belongings so that the mess doesn’t build up to start with.
5. Long handled dustpan and brush to limit bending - I was so pleased when I found my long handled dustpan and brush. I can more easily keep the kitchen floors clear now even if they are not always mopped.
6. Lightweight hoover - An upright hoover is easier to push around rather than dragging a big heavy thing around behind you. Consider a second (even second hand ) hoover to keep upstairs as some hoovers are big and awkward for getting up and down the stairs.
7. Don’t leave dishes in the sink overnight - Often we are at our worst in the morning and they are harder to clean once food has dried on.
8. Use shower gel, not soap - Use gel rather than soap as the shower, bath and sinks. You won’t get soap scum and can go a little longer between cleans or give them a simple wipe now and again.
9. Reduce allergens with a bagless hoover - Use a bagless hoover to reduce allergies from dust, pollen and pet hair. .
10. Have more than one basket of cleaning products - Keep cleaning fluids to hand in places where they are commonly used such as bathrooms and kitchen. It will reduce the number of times up and down the stairs.
11. Don’t spray polish on furniture - Spray a little Polish on the cloth instead of the furniture to reduce exposure by breathing. I’m very sensitive to chemicals so by spraying onto the cloth I can minimise the amount of spray that goes into the air.
12. Anti-static sheets - Use Bounce sheets to polish things like your TV and mirrors. It will help repel the dust and they won’t need to be cleaned so often.
13. Wax paper - Wax paper is great for reducing water marks on chrome and stainless steel taps. Water and oil (wax) don’t mix so the water will be repelled by the wax coating on the taps.
14. Reduce chemicals in you cleaning products - Consider making your own cleaning fluids and detergents if you are sensitive to them. I’ve been doing this for a year now, & I’ll often post tips about how to make your own cleaning products and washing detergent etc.
15. Simplify cooking - Try to cook one-pot or slow cooker meals more often to reduce the clean up.
16. Only iron what really needs it - Fold laundry straight from the dryer and most things don’t need ironing.
17. Dust clever- Use the extension on your hoover for dusting. You will suck up the dust rather than moving it around. This is great for hard to reach areas like the ceilings and also reduces exposure to allergens.
18. Let others help - Learn to smile and say thank you when someone offers to help. I know women can feel territorial with their homes but we need to push past that and learn to accept help when it’s on offer.
19. Rope in other household members - Explain to those who live with you that if they help around the house you will have more energy to spend time doing something with them.
20. Use a perching stool - Use a perching stool for ironing or chopping veggies at the counter top so you don’t have to stand.
21. Use a long handled grabber - Use a long handled grabber for picking up toys from the floor. Even better, give it to the kids and time how quick they can do it without touching them with their hands!
22. Whistle while you work - Play your favourite music while you work. I like to tuck my phone in my bra (don’t judge!) and listen through head-phones so it goes with me. Modern day Snow White!
23. Reduce clutter - Keep clutter to a minimum to reduce what needs to be cleaned. If you don’t absolutely love it, give it away.
24. Paperless billing - Go paperless for bills etc. to reduce the paper clutter in your house.
25. No shoes in the house - Ask everyone to take their shoes off in the hallway. Less dirt is walked around the house.
26. Good door mats - Use good quality floor mats in your hallway that has a lot of dirt off the bottom of shoes before it gets on the floor.
27. Use the dishwasher for more than dishes - Most things that are plastic can actually be washed in your dishwasher even toilet seats - yes you heard right toilet seats - just don’t put them in with your dishes!
28. Line the oven - Line your oven with tin foil. That way when having to clean the grime from the oven all you have to do is change the foil when it’s dirty. This dramatically reduces how often you need those awful oven cleaners.
29. Washable walls - When you next decorate use washable paint for your walls so that any splashes or spills can be wiped away and the wall doesn’t need repainting. Also, baby wipes get most things of the walls, including crayon!
30. Easily clean the microwave - Before cleaning the microwave, microwave about half a cup of water in there for several minutes. The steam generated during this process will loosen all the grime and dirt and then simply wipe off with a kitchen towel. Some people like to add a cap of vinegar to the water as well as it’s a degreaser and can tackle really tough jobs.

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11 tips for cleaning with kids.

4/8/2016

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I have read, and even written about how I would rather be making memories than doing dishes, washing or any other housekeeping task. but you can’t ignore it. If you are a stay-at-home mum, you are captive to the mess 24/7; and if you’re a working mum, the last thing you want to see when you leave your neat and clean workplace is a horrific wreck at home.
Thankfully, there’s a way to maintain balance. We don’t live in perfect-looking homes, especially if we also live with kids (confession, my house pre-kids was far from perfect), but that doesn’t mean we should tackle 100% of the chores, burning all of our “free” time fanatically cleaning the house because we believe the waking hours of our kids’ existence should only be filled with educational/precious/memorable moments.
Over the past few years I’ve found a few tricks that combine spending quality time with the kids and cleaning house. I’m getting things done and making educational/precious/memorable moments with my son, age 3.
Here are 11 ways you can effectively follow in my footsteps! Cleaning with your kids can be a lot of fun!

1. Use safe, eco-friendly cleaning supplies - Kids adore spray bottles! I use natural products I make myself from everyday household items (thank you pinterest!). Knowing that what goes into my cleaning solutions is child safe by using home made eco-friendly products gives me peace of mind when involving a small child.

2. Manage your time - You know that sometimes you will make a HUGE mess cleaning. For example, emptying your entire fridge onto the worktops and scrubbing it. Know that your kids WILL lose interest if the task takes longer than 10 minutes. Instead of doing a whole job “right,” just finish small portions at a time For example, clean off one shelf or five things from the top of your cabinets. It isn’t as satisfying, but it’s a lot better than abandoning a job right at the peak of a mess.

3. Bribes & Incentives - I’ve used a variety, including sticker charts, sweet tooth prizes, and pocket money. These incentives seem to really work wonders, giving the child a sense of accomplishment and the appreciation of a job well done.

4. Know what each kid can do - You know them best. Are they good at bringing things to other rooms? Use them as a runner. Are they great at doing just what you say they’ll do? Be directive in a task. Breaking out what they can do in a task that you need done might not save you time, but at least you’ll be doing it together.

5. Find or modify cleaning tools to fit your kids - Try modifying your mop or sweeper so that it’s kid-size: Unscrew the middle sections and then screw the handle directly to the base, if you have the adjustable type. Other things include, filling up one side of a double sink ( if you are lucky enough to have one) and letting your child help with the dishes, (mainly plastic cups, bowls and cutlery.)

6. Five minute blitz - Inspired by all the cleaning sites I’ve read, but can’t actually do because of the constant presence of children, the five minute blitz work for me. Before we do something fun that they want, we clean one or two rooms for five minutes each. Based on tip four, I rapidly fire instructions and the room looks better after just five minutes of attention.

7. Include them in decisions - Give them the choice of what room to start with. Ask them to pick whether they want to use the green or blue cloth. When the answer doesn’t really matter, just let them pick and compliment them all the way.

8. Use kid-friendly words - “Sparkle.” “Shiny.” “Beautiful.” They’re probably not words you would usually use when cleaning, but saying something like “Let’s make the bathroom beautiful” sounds more exciting to your kids. If you can bring in the TV hero of the moment into the “game,” go for it.

9. Make what you are doing look enticing - My kid thinks mopping with the steamer is the epitome of fun. He's not great at it, but I can set him an area to happily mop while I do the rest of the work. Smile while you are cleaning and it will at least look fun.

10. Save jobs for them that they like - Not exactly the same as having chores because I don’t really believe kids under 8 have the follow-through skills to remember to do something regularly. But, for example, I save the transferring of washing (from basket, to machine, to dryer, to new basket) for my 3 year old. It keeps him busy while I do other things elsewhere AND I didn’t use my time on a task that he actually likes to do.

11. Manage expectations - So many ladies I know would rather do everything themselves because other people don’t do it right. Trust me—I often feel that way, too. But the fact that your kids want to help is something that should be encouraged. If they get bored dusting half way through the task, that’s still half of a job that you didn’t have to do. To avoid frustration from our unavoidable OCD tendencies, pick the chore that you deem most important, and try your best to find a child alternative toy version. In our home my son has a mini battery powered Henry Hoover, (to match Mama's Hetty, of course!) so that he can join in and start on a different area of the room, allowing me to actually pick up the dust and dirt from the floor, whilst getting him to do his bit and admire the job done to mummy standards after.

I know it’s tempting to let your kids play outside or watch TV just so you can get things done, but keeping them with you while you do bits and pieces of housework not only teaches them how to clean, but you can also keep an eye on them. There’s no perfect system, but hopefully these tips will inspire you to get your little ones in the habit of cleaning with you rather than seeing them as an obstacle to be planned around.

Until next time TidyTimers!

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Why homemaking matters

4/7/2016

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If i'm being completely honest, homemaking on top of work, parenting, and social time sometimes seems like such a lot of extra effort on top of an already busy lifestyle, and is quite frankly a pain.  It can be hard, (Note: the tasks themselves aren’t hard. It’s just the upkeep of everything.) Especially if you have little ones underfoot, like me. Half the time it feels like I spend the entire morning cleaning this space only to feel as if I never lifted a finger within the next hour.
I can't be the only one who feels this way..

It’s not that I hate every aspect of it. I actually really enjoy cooking, and I don’t mind the washing that much either. It’s just the never-endingness of it all.
There are literally about a thousand other things I’d rather be doing, important things too!
Like spending quality time with my family, educating my son in preparation for school next year, working, studying, showering…You know, actually LIVING life like I always intend to, taking photos and creating memories, soothing my soul and growing as a person.. NOT cleaning.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all just go on strike and not have to do it anymore? (no pressure!)

So I sort of did.

It wasn’t an actual strike. What happened was I was amidst a Lupus flare up & aside from my most used joints seizing up, I had ZERO energy, and so I just stopped doing 90% of the housework. I had maybe two hours of energy in me over the course of the day, but then after that, I’d just lay on the sofa  the rest of the day with the kid watching Disney films while he occasionally popped off to destroy the house. This place was a STATE.

You would think that I would be glad for some time off .. what could be better than laying on the sofa all day watching TV while my child and partner had to pick up my slack?

Turns out, a life without housework isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
Housework may not be fun, but it is incredibly important. Here’s why.

1. Housework is good for the SOUL: Need to learn love, patience, and servant leadership? Cleaning up endless unnecessary messes is a great way to do that! I felt so LAZY just lying around all day. Also, when the house is a mess then so is my mood, until the housework has been sorted I feel about as useless and unfulfilled as the empty washing machine I should be putting to use.

2. It teaches your children important life lessons: The housework motto around here is “Everybody helps.” Cleaning isn’t a punishment for my son; it’s an inescapable part of life,  and because of that, he is learning important lessons such as teamwork, pitching in, self-discipline, prioritisation and of course, how to clean. Not to mention shaping him into a respectful young man with good morals and values who will one day grow to be one hell of a catch for whichever lucky soul he should have for a partner! I can't think of anything worse than my child being raised lazy & self entitled because he was waited on hand & foot and has no appreciation for the work done by the household because he has never had to do it for himself. Start them young I say, while they are happy to help and enthusiastic to join in.

3. It makes for a nicer home: Since my energy is finally returning and this place is looking a little better, let me just tell you–our home feels totally different now too! A clean home is far more relaxing, comfortable, and more like a home. A cluttered home = a cluttered mind, and being Bipolar it affects me in the worst ways imaginable. Once the housework is done I can relax and spend time doing things I enjoy, wholeheartedly (without repeating the list of chores I need to do over & over in my mind until they're done, and driving myself insane in the process).

4. It makes for a smoother morning: How stressful is it when you can’t find your keys, you have to wash dishes in order to eat anything, you’re constantly running out of food or ingredients, or your shopping budget is badly out of whack? Keeping up with the housework eliminates 99% of these problems (and all of the stress, anger and other negative things that come with). I personally have an amazing start to the day when I've done what I needed to in order to free up my time so I can get on with whatever I damn well want. FREEDOM.

So I came to a realisation..Yes housework is long, and boring, and a bit pointless when you don't have guests to impress, when you think about it that way, but it is an important part of our daily lives - change your perspective and everything else will follow! Put on some tunes, get the kids involved & declutter your space, mind and day. Mental will & discipline are both muscles of the brain that must be worked on daily - and that, TidyTimers is where the housework comes in.

Stay positive! It's been emotional.

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Bedroom maintenance

3/6/2016

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Hello to all our Tidytimers, it's the start of a fresh month and time for a new post from me.
I have quite enjoyed devising the cleaning calendar plan and composing lists for cleaning with small children etc, so I am going to continue on from the cleaning plan for the whole house and just delve in a little deeper room by room, and today I'm going to be focusing on the bedroom as it can be easy to neglect, not being a room used by everyone but it is still equally as important and requires regular upkeep just like any other room in the house.

I have devised a list that should aid you in maintaining your bedroom at daily, weekly and monthly intervals as follows:
Care for the Bedroom: Monthly:

Rotate mattress.
Wash comforters, bedspreads, and pillows.
Air throw rugs and pillows in the sun occasionally.
Vacuum underneath the bed.
Wash curtains.
Dust tops of wood mouldings around windows and doors.
Air bedroom by opening windows.

Care for the Bedroom: Weekly:

Dust night stand, vanity, dressers, chests.
Vacuum carpets and rugs or sweep floor.

Care for the Bedroom: Daily:

Air and make the bed.
Put away dirty clothes.
Straighten personal belongings.
Put away reading materials, glasses, dishes, toys, etc.

Not much to do when you look at it this way but it will make all the difference!

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Keeping the house clean with small children

18/5/2016

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First off, I don’t think it’s imperative that the house be tidy all the time. As a general rule. However, for some reason, an untidy and messy house really drives me mad. I find it difficult to relax or work in a chaotic environment and pretty much would lose sleep over the fact that the house was a wreck. If it was constant, that is. If you are like me then having children only means that keeping the house clean will be more challenging. It doesn’t mean it can be forgotten for a few years. Here are some tips for those of us who won’t let the idea that we can still keep a tidy house die. Perseverance and endurance to us all!
(1) Revisit your definition of tidy.
First and foremost, we mothers need to revisit what it means to be tidy. Tidy used to mean everything, it used to mean that surfaces were clear, things were in proper boxes and the house was almost always ready for visitors. Tidy now will mean something different. It may mean there are a few baskets filled with visible toys, it may mean that throughout the day there will be times when the house is in full play mode which means, obviously, that the house isn’t always “company ready.” Of course, most company we keep wouldn’t even notice anyway. Tidy will still look as though the house is in order and picked up. But it will be a different picked up order than before.
(2) Work with your children not against them.
After my child started crawling and pulling things around I was personally offended. Does he not know that I want the house to look neat? After a while I realized that was not the case, and that I needed to figure out some good systems that let the kids be kids and let the house be neat and orderly, but still be home. Dedicate an area of the house or room you spend the most time in as an area for play, and let them throw around their toys and games while they are playing, then when they are finished you can all pick them up together. Of course, some days this may mean standing over them handing them a Lego brick telling them to put it in the basket. Some days they do it happily, some days they run away. That’s life, but whether they do as they’re told or not you can still rest easy knowing the mess is confined to just the one area. A win win in my book!
(3) Downsize the knickknacks.
One way that I’ve managed to keep the house from looking like an indoor yard sale is to minimize the knick knacks. If I want to put sentimental and decorative items on display I do so where they are above arms reach. Not because I don’t want to teach my children to avoid certain things, but simply because the little ones only have so much willpower and several picture frames, candles and coasters are too much for them to resist day in and day out. Plus, we can’t very well have them touch nothing in the house. On lower surfaces I keep the bare minimum to be pleasing to my eye and it means there are less things strewn about the house.
(4) Breathe.
Probably the most important of tips I have for you today, remember that the cleaning can always wait but our children wont remain small for long.

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