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Ziggy

Why housework never ends

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Just witnessed once more the reason why even on a normal, calm day, housework is neverending... it kind of went like this...

 

Decide that it's time to fold up all the laundry to take it upstairs and put in respective wardrobes. Notice that the table needed to sort laundry and fold it is covered in stuff... Tidy table... While in the process, drop diary full of various school notes, cards, reminders... spend time picking up bits of paper from the floor, sort them... find bill... decide to pay it now, before it gets forgotten and overdue... find invite for daughter to attend a birthday party... reply to invite... open door to other daughter's guitar teacher... make coffee for said teacher... go and put more drinks in the fridge, from stock in garage, as daughter complains there isn't any cold ones left... take laundry basket to table... start sorting and folding... feel smug and look at all done work... take empty basket back to laundry room, and pick up second basket... bring second basket to table.... in the process of trying to sneak between ironing board and worktop, lift basket over said worktop, and stupidly knock over ceramic pot containing various pencils and pens, and phone and phone charger... spend time picking all that from the floor... remember that tomorrow is recycling collection day, so taking out the recycling... come back to table about to tackle basket number two... daugthers coming in asking what is going to be for dinner, followed by guitar teacher coming in to say bye and get his money...

 

Make cup of tea...

 

Off now to get 2nd basket sorted...

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Oh Ziggy- I totally sympathise!

 

I have days when I just can't seem to finish one job before I see another more pressing job that needs doing and I end up going round in circles...and there's always so many distractions too

 

chickens

chickens

chicken forums

eggs

 

:wink:

 

*I must get back to cooking the tea* :lol:

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Ziggy...know eggsactly where you are coming from :roll:

 

Big hug from one busy Mum of 4 to another :)

 

I started steam generating at 7.30 this morning and finished at 10 before any children (2, 7, 10 & 13) got up. Have to confess :oops: although shirts/blouses have been put on hangers and made there way upstairs via children the rest is still sitting in piles waiting to be put away (not a job I enjoy as can think of much better things to do). Spent 1/2 hour trying to recapture our 2 Dutch bunnies who burrowed out of the garden :x Feel like I've popped in and out of house every 5 mins or so throughout the day to see what children doing in garden...they've had such fun making mud pies and my son James dug up a dead bush :):) . Have to admit inbetween popping in and out to check on children I've spent many minutes today reading posts :wink: Fascinating stuff 8)

 

Your post is so refreshing...thanks for sharing 8)

 

Lou :)

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Oh yes, me too! That's exactly how I live my life all the time - muddling through and bouncing from one thing to another. Somehow everything manages to be done in time! If I stop to look, I find I am in the middle of a job in every room of the house :lol: Downside is that wherever I go there is work to be done - I walk in and think 'Oh yes, I forgot I was doing that!'

 

Is this mother-of-4 syndrome?

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I can spend a whole day in the kitchen. It goes something like this. Empty kettle, clean it, clean worksurface that kettle sits on. Put back in fridge the butter that someone else got out the freezer because they couldn't find the one in use because it was behind the Ribena bottle and other bottles of squash. Put away squash bottles. Throw away empty packets of part cooked baguettes that 17 year old has helped himself to midnight snack and can't be bothered to put rubbish in bin. Wipe off the cheese that he has grated and moved onto the table, and wipe cheese off the table too. Put cutting board into dishwasher - 17year old again. Tip pot full of used teabags into compost bin under kitchen sink. That seems to be a contest to see how high the mountain can get - with several teaspoons to support toppling teabags that fall off and stain the tray (used to be the worksurface until I found a tray to protect it). 17 year old and OH. "Ooops, word censored!"ody else drinks ordinary tea. Get cheesed off and have a coffee. :x Watch news, get depressed. Hunt for biscuit to cheer self up. Put away toaster that daughter has had pop tarts and left it on the side. Finally finish worksurface on that side. Move on to cooker. Wipe off all splashes from OH's lunch. Put frying pan in sink to wash that daughter made hash browns with last night. Clean off fat splashes that goodness knows how they got there. Put baking tray in dishwasher that chips were cooked with last night for son's additional midnight feast. Find cheese not put back in fridge and empty bottle of mayo was, including the newly opened mayo in front of it. Slowly lose the will to live again. Find something sweet, flour drops off shelf and knocks partially closed packet of sugar and both land on worksurface on the other side of the cooker - some lands on the floor. Get out all bits from cupboard to wipe sugar and flour away. Find half eaten packet of dried apricots, sell by date yonks ago. Clear numerous bits of paper that has piled up and an assortment of childrens CD's that keep finding their way into my car. Add to piles of things on the stairs for children to take back into their rooms. Back to kitchen, hoover floor. Find part of broken plate - 17year old had accident and most of evidence thrown away, thanks for letting me know. Surprisingly he does know where the bin is after all. :evil: Find my Meatloaf CD shoved under papers when it should have been in the player - find daughters CD in player. Put it in cover and add to stairs. Wonder what to do for food in the evening - look at recipe books for inspiration. Find instructions for appliances that have long gone to the appliance heaven - add to green bin, which is overflowing with cereal boxes from sons snacks (all this eating and his skinny jeans have plenty of room to spare!) Take out to recycling bin - have a look in greenhouse, pot up some toms. Sow a few more seeds. Blackbird wants mealworms - feed me now! Go and find food for birdy. Come back to find OH has started new pile of teabags. Cups on side. More cups and plates discovered in son's room, brought back down. Children come home and I can't see the worksurface again. I wonder why I bother and worse still - I only have 2 children! Three if you count OH!

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Oh flour and sugar spills really reduce me to a groaning, moaning wreck... flies everywhere and you end up wiping and sweeping and still find bits everywhere afterwards, every time you move or lift something, even when you had cleaned there too!!!

 

And piles on the stairs... yes... those are a very familiar sight in our house too... Until I get fed up and try to carry it all up at once, looking like a loaded camel...

 

In my experience, kids always forget where the bin is, except when they have something to hide... I call it selective knowledge and selective memory, to go along with the selective deafness that seems to affect all kids and OH in this family...

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Koojie your house sounds like mine, 2 teenagers now bring friends home to stay too! 16 year old son turned up with new girl friend, this afternoon he made cups of tea and cheese sandwich for both of them, sat down to watch a DVD, they have just gone & I fnd tv still on lights on DVD on the floor cups on my coffee table not on mats so now have white rings in it, cheese butter & crumbs all over my work top & floor, cheese un wrapped & stiiting on the work top knife covered in butter next to it. Did I get a cuppa NO, so I clear up the mess & load the washing machine AGAIN - and I'm on crutches :roll:

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I can sympathise. Although I'm beginning to think this forum is the reason the housework doesn't get done.

 

Today's not been too bad but yesterday I had a day like yours.

 

I blitzed the kitchen and was really proud of the results. I went upstairs to put some towels away and forgot to shut the stairgate between the kitchen and living room. When I got back I found that my son had emptied the washing machine onto the floor. Put some of the bin contents in the washing machine and in amongst the clean washing on the floor.

 

He'd also emptied a full large box of washing power and was happily playing sandcastles on the still damp floor.

 

He is only 16 months and doesn't know better but sometimes I could cry

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Egluntine...so glad you agree that putting away laundry is tedious...i loathe it :x Ironing is the lesser of two evils :wink: Since I got tumble drier it has cut my ironing down no end & using a steam generator makes ironing a doddle :D

 

:)

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I don't mind pairing the girls's socks, they all are bright colours with drawings on and so on...

I don't wear socks, so I don't have to pair those...

But OH's socks... what a nightmare... all nearly identical dark socks, but with enough slight difference in the fabric and style that they have to be matched right... Why does a family of 6 have to have so many feet??? (Good thing the 5 cats don't need socks)

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My kids pair the sox!! Come on people, get the slave trade going again!!

I've now got the tortoise careering around like a roomba!!, shedding skin and last yrs mud all over the floor!

Just done the ironing. Feeling Saintly!!

Only did it 'cos Con had run out of clothes!!

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as I was fighting my way through teenagers bedrooms this morning to put away the ironing I actually found myself thinking 2 years until DS goes to Uni and then another 2 years until DD goes ................ then the house can be tidy for more than 5 mins :wink::D:D:D:D

 

I agree, I hate putting away the ironing............but mainly because I have to fight my way through to teenagers wardrobes :evil:

 

............I know, they should put it away themselves but that would mean the house being cluttered with clothes until they had been sufficiently motivated :roll::roll:

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I have given up ironing most of sons clothes and even daughters - they only throw them all on the floor - heartbreaking when you've stood for hours folding them and draping on hangers! I told son he could do his - he couldn't be bothered, so now I fold it all up, those that need putting on hangers he does himself. Bit better since longstanding girlfriend is on the scene. Tidy bedroom, sheets changed, laundry put in basket. Just need to work on crockery collection (while there is still some that haven't been broken). I make them take their piles up - although it is very irritating when they go through searching for that one item and leave the piles still where I left them!

Today did some washing - lots of little bits of chopped hair everywhere. Girlfriend cut his hair, can bet they didn't do it outside or shake towels/shirt or whatever out before stuffing it in the laundry - Arghhh - that means picking little hairs out of lots of clothes when I get to sort them out.! :evil: Went out this evening, off to shower first - all towels disappeared from airing cupboard and a search (albeit short search) found all of them on the bathroom floor that the kids use (we have two bathrooms - ours is the non messy one). Good job I had that experience before and took counter measures by hiding a couple of bath towels in my wardrobe!

When son was little he used to help sort the washing - "washins" he used to say! Ah for those times again!

Actually it is in the genes - I am a terrible hoarder of rubbish and it is me that collects the piles of paper until I get to read them, I know there is a reminder for the dentist somewhere . . . :oops:

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:lol::lol::lol:

Do the towels help to soundproof the floor?

 

We used to get wet towels piling up in the bedrooms, but I think there is light at the end of the tunnel as far as that goes.

 

Someone said about socks - any uneven pairs go into the hanger box and eventually I sort it out when someone complains they haven't got any to wear. Son is now buying his own socks - girls, because they have better choice of stripey colours. I wonder, I doooo reeeaaalllly wonder, sometimes . . . :?

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I hate paring socks and putting washing away too :lol: . I'm lucky as my husband will happily do this, but I dont think hes ever washed the floor or hovered the stairs. Fair swaps I suppose.

 

At least Daniel my 15 month old seems to have got past the stage where he leaves a snails trail of baby puke around, so I'm not constantly scrubbing :D . In return I seem to have little piles of crumbs and spilt drinks everywhere where he and sister (3 years old) can reach just about everything they shouldnt.

 

Its nice to know I'm not alone though :D

 

Sarah.x

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Kay is right! - get the slave trade going..... that's what children are for!!! :wink:

 

Snowy's doing well :D - start at age two and then as teenagers they will know the rules..... and if they want to throw their clothes on the floor then they will have to eventually wear them looking like rags :roll::wink: (and they will, believe me, just to see if you'll crack :?:lol: )

 

Socks......... I sort them into piles, his and mine..........and 'he' pairs his own up! :lol: - especially helpful if they've been taken off in a ball and put in the wash.........they go in the wash like that.... dried like that.... and put in a pile like that....... they soon get the message :lol:

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