Last week I fessed up to the chaos that is my home and put my hand up to challenge Crash Test Mummy and two of her readers in a crash test of home organisation tasks.
It’s with great pleasure that I introduce my team who are joining me in crash testing the methods of The Organised Housewife in a Home Organisation Challenge.
Let me also remind you, that anyone is welcome to have a go and I’d love to get feedback from you as to whether you find it helpful and something you are likely to keep up or modify to suit your own
Team Muddled Up Mumma
Allie lives in country NSW with her partner Kerran and their 3 kids. Since moving into their new home 12 months ago, renovating has taken over their lives and Allie tells me she has so much stuff stuffed in cupboards, she can't even remember what's in them, along with boxes & boxes stored in the shed. Kerran is threatening to visit the tip with it all if it’s not organised soon!
Allie’s plea for help included telling me, she wastes time looking for things as nothing is labelled or in a specific place, her sewing room cupboards are overflowing with fabric & notions and even flowing out into the living room. Reno works are half done, the shed & yard are overflowing and they’re overwhelmed by the amount of jobs that need to be done.
Like me, Allie has a cleaner come once a fortnight but still needs to do chores in between & mostly finds that they don't get done. Her meal planning skills are non existent & she often heads to the supermarket everyday (even I am not that bad!) to get something for dinner (plus much more). She’s heading back to full time work in 5 weeks time plus running a successful handmade business so needs help more than ever. She’s also recently lost her IKEA virginity and is now addicted!
Amelia is a stay at home mum to an almost 2 and a half year old with another baby due in 10 weeks time. She tells me:
“Cleaning is not her strong point. In fact, I loathe it. But I think this challenge will help me get organised so at least I can get the cleaning done with minimal fuss. Could I possibly even end up enjoying it?”
Amelia is also a self confessed serial procrastinator and gets easily distracted - especially when it comes to things around the house. She is feeling like she gets lazier as time goes on and needs to manage time much better.
At 28 weeks pregnant, and with a toddler running around, she is worried about having the baby feeling like she is drowning in feelings of guilt, washing and an untidy house. She wants to feel in control, and on top of things BEFORE it arrives so she can enjoy that precious newborn phase, as well as spend time with her toddler.
Part 1
Part one starts from tomorrow - but see how you go over Easter – maybe ease in! I have thrown a spanner in the works myself by planning a last minute holiday away over Easter, so I won’t be able to get through all of it. We are focusing on using a cleaning checklist, planning meals and shopping with a list.
1. Sign up to the daily task email. It’s meant to be a reminder of tasks you may forget to do. E.g. usually just before the warmer weather begins Katrina will remind readers to clean their ceiling fans so when they put them on dust won’t go flying everywhere and give them bad sinus. You can sign up here: http://theorganisedhousewife.com.au/daily-tasks/
2. Plan your meals using the Meal Planner (free download from here)– Meal Planning saves time and money, you can find more here about the benefits and how to use the meal planner here: http://theorganisedhousewife.com.au/meal-planning/how-to-meal-plan-meal-planner-printable/. The #1 benefit is the saved in not having to travel back to the shops multiple times through the week. Katrina shops on a Monday so from Mon-Thursday is usually cooking with fresh meat, mince, fish, chicken or beef, then Friday-Sat something frozen (fish portions) or with a can of Tuna, Salmon. She may pop into the shops on the weekend to pick up fresh fruit and lunches.
3. Use the Grocery Shopping List (available from here) – You could customise your own based on what sorts of ingredients you use regularly, but for this exercise we’re all about saving time, so try adapting to Organised Housewife’s version. It’s all about making sure you have a good list that is produced after you have put your meal plan together and worked out what you don’t already have at home. Personally – to save money, I try to plan a few meals around items I have in the freezer or pantry that need using up.
4. Follow The Cleaning Checklist (available here) – A guide to help your to create a routine for yourself. E.g., wash my dishes in the evening, leave to dry overnight, put away before making school lunches, then wipe the sink over before taking the kids to school.
Each task has a checkbox, as we all love to put a big tick next to tasks we have accomplished! It is detailed and split into rooms which allows for easy viewing. Extra spaces are available for you to write in your own personal tasks. Laminate your list to use like a whiteboard, rub off with a tissue to start again next week.
(Note: The Organised Housewife sells her cleaning and Grocery checklist for $4.95 each. If you don’t want to purchase these, you can easily spend a little time putting your own together. The main thing is to create some structure and routine).
Then what?
Our results will be posted on Tuesday the 17th of April (giving us just under two weeks to get into the swing of things). We’ll each provide an update on how we are going with our daily tasks and some insights into the checklists being used. Crash Test Mummy will host a linky if you’d like to blog your results and link up your post to everyone else’s. Otherwise, just update us in the comments.
Laney (CTM) is also super organised when it comes to blogging and has come up with a hashtag if you want to stay in touch about the challenge on twitter #CTMvMUM. Feel free to post on either of our Facebook pages too (mine is here and Laney’s is here).
Laney (CTM) is also super organised when it comes to blogging and has come up with a hashtag if you want to stay in touch about the challenge on twitter #CTMvMUM. Feel free to post on either of our Facebook pages too (mine is here and Laney’s is here).
