Well this is a bit freaky! Not your email, but the fact that today I started doing The Organised Mum Method app for cleaning. With 3 kids and running a business, our house is a shit hole. Ok, that might be exaggerating somewhat but it’s not far off. Suffering with depression has me having days when I literally can’t be fudged to do anything which doesn’t help. Everything just seems so overwhelming. Washing baskets over flowing despite doing a load or 2 everyday, stuff everywhere: toys, books, things that don’t really have a place but can’t throw away etc. I generally do the bare minimum of a tidy round downstairs and a quick hoover. Upstairs is lucky if it gets hoovered once every 2 months. Gopping I know. I felt completely overwhelmed thinking I had to clean the house in one go, then getting all upset when I could only manage to clean the bathroom or the kitchen or just hoover downstairs. I felt I HAD to do the whole house in one go and was an absolute failure as a mum, wife and human when I couldn’t. I only came to the realisation today that I don’t have to do it all in one go. How mad is that? Why haven’t I thought like that for the past god knows how many years? It took a bloody app to tell me what to do! Today, I spent 15min giving the bathrooms a quick wipe over, making the kids beds and putting on a load of laundry (actually did 2). Then about 40min tidying and dusting the living room, giving the window a clean and hoovering through downstairs (except my office) then mopping the living room floor. And that was it for todays jobs on the app. Tomorrow will be the same 15min jobs, then 30-40min on the bedrooms. Having it broken down for me like this and being told this is what I need to do, doesn’t feel so overwhelming and makes me feel like I can get on top of things again for the first time in years. It might not seem like much time spent on cleaning, but you can focus on different jobs each week. I won’t go into details of the app workings, as I don’t want to bore anyone reading (if I haven’t already bored the pants off you thus far).
You’re completely right in saying that some random things are done purely for content. I suppose that is their job after all. And once you’ve shown someone the ‘right’ way to clean something, that’s kinda it so you have to find the next thing, then the next and before you know it, it’s videos on washing down your garden fences or cleaning brick pointing with a toothbrush 🤷🏻♀️
I guess my point is that even though some things on the cleaning accounts, be it on Instagram or TikTok, might put pressure on people who are already struggling with keeping on top of things to do jobs that you wouldn’t necessarily say are part of a ‘normal’ cleaning routine, wade through and there’s actually some really helpful hints and tips for people to manage their time better and get them into a routine to even just do the bare minimum. If once they feel better able to cope and the task isn’t so daunting anymore, then they can add in shite like pulling out the fridge or sorting out the junk draw!
I’ll shut up now. I’ve not even had any gin so can’t blame my rambling on that!
I work a 50 hour week and have four children, my house will NEVER look like those houses and I definitely don’t have time to hoover the ceiling! It does smell nice though, cheers mucker, that one is down to you! 🤣
Well this is a bit freaky! Not your email, but the fact that today I started doing The Organised Mum Method app for cleaning. With 3 kids and running a business, our house is a shit hole. Ok, that might be exaggerating somewhat but it’s not far off. Suffering with depression has me having days when I literally can’t be fudged to do anything which doesn’t help. Everything just seems so overwhelming. Washing baskets over flowing despite doing a load or 2 everyday, stuff everywhere: toys, books, things that don’t really have a place but can’t throw away etc. I generally do the bare minimum of a tidy round downstairs and a quick hoover. Upstairs is lucky if it gets hoovered once every 2 months. Gopping I know. I felt completely overwhelmed thinking I had to clean the house in one go, then getting all upset when I could only manage to clean the bathroom or the kitchen or just hoover downstairs. I felt I HAD to do the whole house in one go and was an absolute failure as a mum, wife and human when I couldn’t. I only came to the realisation today that I don’t have to do it all in one go. How mad is that? Why haven’t I thought like that for the past god knows how many years? It took a bloody app to tell me what to do! Today, I spent 15min giving the bathrooms a quick wipe over, making the kids beds and putting on a load of laundry (actually did 2). Then about 40min tidying and dusting the living room, giving the window a clean and hoovering through downstairs (except my office) then mopping the living room floor. And that was it for todays jobs on the app. Tomorrow will be the same 15min jobs, then 30-40min on the bedrooms. Having it broken down for me like this and being told this is what I need to do, doesn’t feel so overwhelming and makes me feel like I can get on top of things again for the first time in years. It might not seem like much time spent on cleaning, but you can focus on different jobs each week. I won’t go into details of the app workings, as I don’t want to bore anyone reading (if I haven’t already bored the pants off you thus far).
You’re completely right in saying that some random things are done purely for content. I suppose that is their job after all. And once you’ve shown someone the ‘right’ way to clean something, that’s kinda it so you have to find the next thing, then the next and before you know it, it’s videos on washing down your garden fences or cleaning brick pointing with a toothbrush 🤷🏻♀️
I guess my point is that even though some things on the cleaning accounts, be it on Instagram or TikTok, might put pressure on people who are already struggling with keeping on top of things to do jobs that you wouldn’t necessarily say are part of a ‘normal’ cleaning routine, wade through and there’s actually some really helpful hints and tips for people to manage their time better and get them into a routine to even just do the bare minimum. If once they feel better able to cope and the task isn’t so daunting anymore, then they can add in shite like pulling out the fridge or sorting out the junk draw!
I’ll shut up now. I’ve not even had any gin so can’t blame my rambling on that!
xx
I work a 50 hour week and have four children, my house will NEVER look like those houses and I definitely don’t have time to hoover the ceiling! It does smell nice though, cheers mucker, that one is down to you! 🤣
I clean vicariously, it's great !! 😆 thanks for another great post 👍🏼