Yes. Seriously. I am writing a post about housework. Don’t laugh.

I’m not a domestic goddess. But I am trying. Being a work at home mum is exhausting. More exhausting than I imagined. And housework is the biggest challenge of all. To be honest I cannot think of nothing worse. But it needs to be done, and since the cleaner had to go once I gave up work – it would have been far to decadent to keep her – I’m taking on that role. Only because there’s no-one else to do it. I think there’s some law or healthy and safety thing about giving a two year old a bottle of bleach.

Anyway.

My top tips for a tidy house:

• Go out. If you’re out the kids don’t trash the place. That is good.
• If you can’t go out, contain it. One activity at a time. One room at a time. Easier said than done I admit.
• Don’t bother doing a proper clean until the little legged ones have gone to bed. Two reasons. First off, they will just trash the place. Secondly, it’s actually quite fun making a mess with them.
• Clean as you go. Don’t just leave that little mess, spillage, crumbs etc… train yourself to deal with it there and then. So much easier.
• Have a home for everything. You know, everything in it’s place and all that.

Now, a few months a go I would have said don’t cook. Cooking means mess. Washing up. Cooker. You know it. BUT I have actually got in to cooking of late, so instead:

• Organise. Get your stuff out before you start. Stops flour / sticky paw prints on route to the blender and mixer
• Wash as you go. Don’t let it build up.
• When serving rinse / soak as you dish out, when you come back to it later it’s a lot easier. I’m not lucky enough to have a dishwasher, so am buggered. Not literally obviously.
• Teach your children to wash up. Lola washes up the plastic stuff already. Badly I admit. I have to do it again afterwards, but it’s all part of the mind set. She also sweeps and dusts, and follows me around when vacumming with her toy vacuum. This goes for the boys too. Don’t let them become shit husbands. Break them in early.

Make it easy for yourself. Don’t buy things that require more effort. Like glass or mirrored coffee tables, stainless steel is also a personal bugbear. I have started replacing my kitchen with classic colour items, lots easier. No smudges.

And finally, don’t stress about it. Tackle a room a day, or a big task a day. Make sure that gets done. Write a list for the week and crack on.

Now if you were thinking I was going to be posting here about the use of vinegar and bicarb of soda I am sorry to disappoint, but I do not have a clue about such things.

** This isn’t a sponsored post**