Tuesday, September 17, 2013

The 5pm Messy House Panic Solution


I revealed to some friends today a few tricks I have at keeping my house looking clean for when the hubby comes home from work.  I hate the house looking like a complete tip for when he arrives home, and if it does look like a tip, I feel guilty.  Silly really, because its not like I sit around blogging all day and not doing housework ....

Now, I DO NOT keep my house show home spotless at all.  Some days its a total tip and it even scares me.  But if we've had a busy day and the house is out of control (everyday really, lets be honest), there are a few little things I do before the hubby comes home to quickly clean it up and make it a bit more welcoming and less like it needs to be condemned.  

1)  So I've at least managed to get the washing in, but its in a big pile, unfolded in the corner.  I sweep it up and stuff it in the dryer.  Big messy pile out of sight and I get it back out and fold it the next morning after he has gone to work.  Or I find it a week later after The Girl has run out of clean underwear and is crying about having to wear her brothers underwear.

2) The kids usually discard clothes, school bags, shoes, toys and random bits of food from one end of the house to the other.  If I haven't managed to clean it up as we go, or had the kids clean it up as they go (how impossible is that) then I grab my now empty washing basket, sweep from one end of the house to the other, picking it all up and stuff it somewhere the hubby won't see it (the linen cupboard is pretty good).  Spotless.  And then I sort it out the next day when he has gone to work.

3) I often forget to turn on the dishwasher once it is full.  I rinse and stack the dishes on the bench, still forget to turn the dishwasher on, and before I know it its 5pm and I can't see out the kitchen window for the tower of dirty plates and sea of plastic cups.  No worries.  Turn the dishwasher on.  Fill up the sink with hot soapy water and dump the dishes in the sink.  Wipe down the benches.  Kitchen looks spotless, aside from the bubble sink.  Then when the dishwasher is finished you can just reload and the bench top is still clear.

4) Another kitchen shortcut I do is the after dinner clean up.  If I am particularly tired, I stash the roasting trays/saucepans etc back into the oven and clean them in the morning, when, you guessed it, the hubby has gone to work.  See a theme forming here.

5) And my last little tip is something I do first thing in the morning, before going around and finding all the stuff I have stashed the day before.  I try to always make the beds, or get the kids to make their own beds.  The bedrooms can be vast waste grounds of discarded toys, but always seem to look better with a made bed.

I draw the line at putting on makeup and doing my hair before he walks in the door though.  He'd really wonder what I was up to then.



4 comments:

A little bit country said...

This is hilarious! I do very similar things. Like the quick tidy up and hoover before Mr H gets home. I do the bubble sink thing too and the roasting dish stash. I will often leave the washing on the line too, to avoid the pile of folding that will need seeing to. Elaina xo

Anonymous said...

Lol, am just about to start my mad dash!

mamaathome said...

This post made me laugh and that is always an excellent thing as I love to laugh! Thanks for posting xx

meg said...

Funny! Love the idea of hiding the clothes pile in the dryer!