How much/often

[Guest Bronwyn]

Speaking of 'siffy' grout...can fellow forumites tell me - what is your cleaning and ironing routine?

We have managed to go from a full-time housekeeper to 2 days' help a week, and I now spend about 2 hours a day doing housework to make up for it

If I have to wash floors and iron too, it's going to be 3 or 4 hours a day, and then when will I find time to go to work too????

I know this is an age-old question from us lazy Saffers , but how exactly do you cope? My standards have already taken a serious dive (un-ironed school dresses, un-ironed bedding, wearing jeans straight off the washline, and using the spray & leave shower-cleaner ). My bathroom taps no longer sparkle and my mirrors have water splashes on them half the time. Children leave blobs of toothpaste smeared everywhere, etc.

Oh well...

Please share your timetables, and ESPECIALLY tell me how you educated your kids in the ways of the Aussie family.

And to those who have a cleaning service: CONFESS! I want to know if it's worth it.

Bronwyn

[Suidwes]

Hi Bronwyn

Afrikaans..jy gee nie om nie , nê?

Ek het vir myself 'n weeklikse program op gestel bv. Maandae en Donderdae - wasgoed maar dan het ek targets gestel soos alles moet gewas, opgevou, gestryk ( net hubby se werkshemde ) en gebêre wees teen die einde van die dag anders lê dit groei en aanteel tot 'n onbeheerbare monster!

Dinsdag - badkamers skoonmaak, vloere stofsuig was ens

Ens

Ens

Ens

maar ek het ook op 'n oulike boekie afgekom wat jou 'n basiese idee gee oor hoe om alles te tackle en sommer goeie praktiese wenke het. Die naam is: Household Hints - The easy way to a Clean, Clutter - free Home. ISBN 0 14 300474 3 en dis van PenguinBooks.

Ivm die kinders... ek het nog net enetjie (4en 'n half) sy moet self haar kamer aan die kant maak en self speelgoed bêre anders word haar TV tyd verminder. Maar ek prys (praise) vreeslik vir 'n "job weldone" al is dit nie perfek nie - dan doen sy dit makliker en met 'n lekkerder hartjie.

Met ouer kinders - Zim pêlle van ons het 3 kiddies (11, 9 en 5) en hulle het roosters vir hoenders kosgee, skottelgoedwasser uitpak, tafeldek ens.

En soos jy sê: Die standaarde daal vreeslik!!

Hoop dit help 'n bietjie.

O Ja ! Ek hang kouse in pare op asook my onderklere bymekaar, hubby s'n by mekaar, kinderklere bymekaar ens. Ek vou ook al die wasgoed direk van die draad af op, ek het 'n tafel buite by die draad en pak dan alles netjies in die mandjie in en dan reguit in die kaste/laaie in.

Suidwes

Edited November 26, 2006 by Suidwes

[Mara]

Hi Bronwyn

No 1 - We do not wear shoes in the house, only slippers. It is amazing the amount of cleaning that eliminates. Fortunately we are only two grown ups, so for us it works, may be a lot more difficult with children around.

I have cleaners that come in every second Friday, they vacuum, dust, polish, clean tiled floors and do the bathrooms. In between, it has to be ultra important visitors, to make me take out the vacuum cleaner or broom.

I keep my kitchen spotless, daily. I pack everything into the dishwasher and it washes during the night.

I do my washing on a Sunday, nothing goes on the line, I put it all through the tumble dryer and when the buzzer goes, I am there to hall it out and fold or hang it, eliminates a lot of ironing.

Have not ironed sheets or pillowcases for ourselves, since I left SA 13 years ago, however, I do iron the sheets and pillowcases for my guest room, I almost feel my SA visitor's expect it.

Oh yes, my cleaners, are a married couple, they come in together, takes them about 1,5 hours and it costs me $50.

Hope that has given you some insite.

[Bob]

Bronnie,

. . . . getting the kids to do their bit is half the battle.

Teach your kids how to make their beds and keep their bedroom tidy . . . . . no pocket money till it's kept tidy each day of the week!

They can also learn to take it in turns to wash up after meals too. Expect the usual fights of kids. Even when I got jack of it all and went out and coughed up the money for a dishwasher, they still argued about whose turn it was to pack the damn thing, or unpack it, so you can't win, matey. Just be firm and insist on other family members not believing they have diplomatic immunity . . . . or guess who will end up doing it all? (it won't be the rugrats!)!

As they get older, they can live in a room how they like, but hopefully, they'll have picked something up by then, unless their name is Bobby North . . . . you need a tetanus jab to enter his room first and he only operates on the chicken principle . . . deep litter system.

I vacuum the floors once a week and give the wooden floors and tiles ("wet" areas of the house) a good mop over, next day doing the "wet" cleaning . . . . wiping the bath, sinks, shower out and scrubbing the toots and laundry out. If they flick toothpaste at the mirror after I've given it a wipe with my Enjo cloth, they can look at it all week or do the right thing and wipe it off.

Mondays used to be my "rugby" day, but it's not on at the mo. so vacuuming and mopping gets done then.

Tuesdays is my "wet" cleaning day. It only takes just over an hour each item.

I put bits of household washing thro' each day, rather than let it all build up. My kids are responsible for their own washing now . . . or they pay me $5 to put it thro' for them and hang it out to dry and gather it up afterwards.

I hate ironing, so the bedsheets never see an iron, nor do socks or hankies. Jeans get worn straight off the washing line too, but some like to press them first if going out somewhere flash.

Australia is a pretty casual place.

Church on Sunday isn't a fashion parade here . . . . jeans and tee-shirts with sandals in hot weather are the "usual" and Aussies dress down rather than up. Just check them out when you get here for the latest fashions in Tee shirts, old jeans and sandals.

Hope this helps to allay any nerves about doing it all. Even when you do, the troops will still find plenty to whinge about, so just learn to take it all on your chin. . . . or give them the mop!

[Ajay]

Hi Bronwyn,

I also had a full time domestic worker in SA, so I know how disconcerting it is to find yourself with a mop in one hand, vacuum in the other and a tin of furniture polish tucked under your chin, trying to get from room to room

In my case, I initially did all the cleaning myself (with some help from the kids (boys ages 13 and 11) and hubby), and spent about 3 hours on Saturday mornings getting it out of the way I work full-time). The kids had a roster of what needed to be done, and I worked on a 'no work, no pay' system for their pocket money.

After 3 months, I admitted defeat. Not that I have a fundamental problem with the cleaning, but I hated losing my Saturday mornings and I hated even more starting my day off with yelling at the kids to help me - it started the weekend on a somewhat sour note So, once huybby had gotten a job, I started with a cleaning lady once a week. She charged $70 dollars and was there for about 2 hours. After a few weeks, she decided to jack up her prices, so I terminated the contract, and found somebody else. Unfortunately, she was rather unreliable, so we had to part ways as well Finally, I went to a cleaning company and I still use them. They come in once every 2 weeks for a few hours, and it costs me $110 a time. I find that things get looked over occassionally but I just call, or leave a note, and it improves again. The kids clean the kitchen every evening after dinner, and are responsible for keeping their own bedrooms in decent condition. They are also responsible for the general state of their bathroom, although I've just stopped going in there - the less I know, the better

I do washing on Friday evening and Saturday morning, and like Mara, I don't hang anything outside. I give it a good shake straight out of the washer, and straighten shirts etc by hand, before putting it into the tumble dryer. As soon as it's done, I unload and fold up T-Shirts, shorts, trackies, jerseys etc, and don't bother ironing those. I iron work clothes and school clothes - that's it. My own wardrobe consists of a lot of non-iron items, like camisole tops and those scrunched material shirts (dunno the scientific name ). I buy hubby the Van Heusen non-iron shirts (available from Myer....not sure where else). They aren't completely non-iron (unless you use a really slow spin on the wash cycle, which I can't be bothered with), but literally take a minute to do. I iron on a Sunday afternoon, and the rule is that I get to watch whatever TV I want while ironing (my ironing board lives in the TV room ) I normally choose chat shows and E! TV - trash TV as my hubby calls it - anything that doesn't really need me to be watching or following a tricky story! It takes me about 2 hours - pretty quick, all things considered. I don't iron linen - with the exception of the guest bedroom (also like Mara!)

I'm much happier with my new arrangement, and I really think the $110 every two weeks is well spent. Obviously, it isn't a necessary spend, but I figure that we're both working, so surely our time is worth a little more than that? I know that there are plenty of ironing services available as well, but I really don't have a problem with ironing, and I enjoy the monotony of the chore - can just switch my brain off for a couple of hours - so I won't be farming that out!

Good luck!

Love

Ajay

[sa2auz]

Hi there

You will find that everyone has there own little system and I must my standards have changed somewhat too.

I tumble most things and get them out as fast as lightning and then they don't need ironing, its great for the linen etc. If its really hot you can hang your shirts etc onto hangers directly onto the line and then they need very little ironing and I don't do T Shirts and the school stuff is pretty iron free.

Have a look at flylady.com they have a cleaning routine which alot of people follow and then I have just bought a book called speedcleaning. I personally do a load of washing every morning and try to declutter and clear the hotspots where stuff gets dumped every evening before bed.

I have rules stuck up in the kitchen and I try and make the kids race each other with tidying up etc.

You can get a cleaner in around us for about $20 an hour and I have seen adverts for ironing collected and returned for $10 a load.

The cleaning will drive you mad for a while then you just live with it.

Good Luck

[sonnetjie]

Bronwyn

We don’t iron we personally don’t have the time. We replaced all hubbies Ralph Lauren Polo business shirts with Geoffrey Beene non-iron shirts. Hubbie washes all his own business shirts and hangs them up on hangers. They wrinkle free so the moment they dry he just pops them on. We usually do a bundle of washing a night and a few bundles on a Saturday morning. The moment the washing machine stops we pop the washing in the dryer for about 1-2 minutes and even the non dryer items. When the dry stops we hang the washing on hangers and on the line outside. When the washing is dry it goes straight in to the cupboard.

You can buy these zipper bags for all your hand washing and just add them to the rest of your washing in the washing machine. We get a cleaner (husband & wife) team once every 2nd week for 2 hours. $50 a pop. Both of us are working full time and studying so the cleaner is our angle. They just keep us sane.

We usually cook a number of soups or stews or roasts or curries over the weekends and then just freeze it all in portion sizes and defrost it, as we need it. I have a number of devices that help me save time. My Barmix & Magimix & Kenwood are like an extra pair of hands in the kitchen.

Edited November 27, 2006 by sonnetjie

[Yankeedoodle]

And after all these very helpful tips there is www.flylady.net This website helps you to keep your house clean via e-mail!

[Tania]

Hi Bronwyn,

You won't believe how glad I am that you "popped" THAT question. I wanted to ask the same thing for a while now, but was just too ashamed to ask!! Phew, now I feel better, knowing there are other people also worrying about the cleaning stuff!! (I was brought up with a full time maid and has one from Mon - Friday...)

Since we decided to make the big move to Oz, my kids (5yr and 7yr) started to make their own beds and tidy their rooms over the weekend - at first my mom joked with us, saying: "Oh I see we are playing Australia Australia today!" I decided to do this, as one of the forumites, think it was Bob, wrote that people have been doing this for ages in 1st world countries, so why can't we? - there is no thing as cheap labour in Australia!! - NOW that made me thinking!

Thanks to alll the forumites that responded with their helpfull tips, I'm taking notes!!

Tania

[Helena G]

Hallo to all you hard working domestics!

I take my hat off to you all working full time and still doing all your own washing, ironing, cleaning, cooking etc

I HATE cleaning!!!!!

We have a maid 3 times a week here on the farm and we don't even have kids!!! However, our two dogs are in and out during the day and loose quite a lot of hair wherever they sit or lie down.......their like our babies and I would feel very bad leaving them outside, but I know myself, if I have to clean and do everything I will defenitately not let them in that much (or maybe get a area where they're alowed to lie down). I think Mara's "no shoes" idea is a great one! It makes sense to me that you won't bring as much dirt and sand in with you than one would with shoes.

Anyway, we're only in the beginning of our whole application process. Luckily I can learn from you all and raise my kids the Ozzie way by teaching them to clean after themselves. My moms a montisori school teacher and they are very strict with cleaning after one self etc. The kids aren't alowed to take anything off the shelf if they haven't put the previous thing back in it's place where it belongs.

GOOD LUCK to all the new families learning to clean the Ozzie way!!!

It's a small price to pay to live in a great 1st world country!!

Happy Cleaning

Helena G

[Guest Bronwyn]

I just wanted to pop off a quick 'Thank-You!' to everyone that took the time to answer my question.

I'm taking notes on everything.

Started packing our container today, so I'll get back to it, just couldn't resist a quick browse on the forum over lunch time!

Bronwyn

[Henriëtte]

Hi Julle,

Ek dink ons Suid Afrikaners (of eks Suid Afrikaners) is nogal baie bewus van netheid en "skoonheid" in en om die huis. Ek het myself ook aanvanklik oor 'n mik gewerk en elke dag probeer om die hele huis skoon te maak en wasgoed was, totdat ek ook vir myself 'n rooster uitgewerk het - dit gaan nou baie beter.

Wat ek wel agtergekom het, is dat die Australiërs (in ons omgewing) nie heeltemal so obsessie oor hierdie dinge soos ons (praat van myself) het nie. My een buurvrou se wasgoed hang gemiddeld 'n week op die draad: deur wind en weer ... nie dat ek op haar "spy" nie, mens kan dit nie miskyk nie. 'n Ander dame het ook vir my gesê dat "vacuum" die laaste ding op haar prioriteitslys is, sy het beter dinge om te doen.

Die mense by my man se werk was geskok om te hoor dat ons in die tuin werk, hulle glo dit is die Landlord se verantwoordelikheid en hulle dink ons is "crazy", maar ek geniet tuinwerk - dit is op die rooster vir Woensdae en mens kan tog nie dat die gras knie hoogte groei nie ???

Groete,

Henriëtte.

Ns. Die tuimeldroër raad werk baie goed, dankie. Ek het gister in 30 minute 15 T-shirts opgevou en weggepak - geen gestyk nie

[Riekie]

I initially cleaned my house every day from top to bottom! It took me at least 2 hours every day. After about two weeks I decided this sucks, so I complained to my friend how this new way of life is just not for me and she gave me the best advice: Only clean your house ONCE a week. Obviously make the beds every day & do the dishes & clean up after you made a mess, but as far as vacuuming, dusting, washings floors & scrubbing the grout go, only once a week! The first week was sheer hell but I forced myself to stick to the plan. Now, if I skip a week due to other commitments (such as a cheesecake & coffee date) I do it the next week! There's more important things in life than a squeaky clean house!!

[Allie en Urs]

HI SONNETJIE KAN JY MY DALK HELP MET N TEL.NR VAN DAAI MENSE WAT JOU HUIS KOM SKOON MAAK ELKE 2DE WEEK ASB.JY SE DIT IS N HUSBAND AND WIFE EK WIL HUL GRAAG KRY OM MY HUIS SKOON TE KOM MAAK 2KEER N MAAND .DANKIE URSULA

[sonnetjie]

I will PM you with their phone number.

[Allie en Urs]

Thanks alot

YHANKS ALOT

[Allie en Urs]

DANKIE DIT GAAN BAIE HELP URSULA.

BAIE DANKIE URSULA.

[AllisonW]

Sounds so lame, compared to all the reasons why we are leaving, but i am so going to miss my domestic helper. She has been part of the family for years so i will miss her on a personal level. Bur beyond that we are so spoilt as south africans in that regards. every day i come home to a spotless house, ironed sheets, piles of ironed and folded clothes in the cupboard. Just leave a note it will be done. And my gardener.... no problem to have a gardent aht keith kirsten would be proud of. I am really going to struggle. Oh dear, i better start saving for cleaning services.

Al

[Kerry-Lea]

We are in the same predicament with spoiled mom, dad, 15 and 10 yr old, with a domestic 5 days / week.

We are also trying to instill in themselves to now start cleaning up after themselves.

We have just signed a mandate with an estate agent so its a good excuse to ensure the house is neat and tidy at all times as potential buyers could pop in at any time (at least I hope they will be flooding to my door! )

We are going to try and get the kids (and me ) into a routine slowly in the time we have left here so its not a huge shock for them when we get there.

We are also on a serious de-cluttering exercise in the hopes of packing a container in the near future, and will try and stick to a clutter-free home when we get there. Luckily our kids are a bit older so hopefully (ha ha) a bit more responsible.

But mom is an Aquarian - so in my opinion they are both old enough to keep their own rooms in order (including the vacuming and dusting!!!) and if they don't want to - they can live like pigs and it wont phase me a bit! will just close those rooms off when we have people around.

Dad, however, is a Virgo so I wont be surprised if my first bit of mail in Aus are divorce papers

Edited June 2, 2008 by Kerry-Lea

[Duane W]

Speaking of 'siffy' grout...can fellow forumites tell me - what is your cleaning and ironing routine?

We have managed to go from a full-time housekeeper to 2 days' help a week, and I now spend about 2 hours a day doing housework to make up for it

If I have to wash floors and iron too, it's going to be 3 or 4 hours a day, and then when will I find time to go to work too????

I know this is an age-old question from us lazy Saffers , but how exactly do you cope? My standards have already taken a serious dive (un-ironed school dresses, un-ironed bedding, wearing jeans straight off the washline, and using the spray & leave shower-cleaner ). My bathroom taps no longer sparkle and my mirrors have water splashes on them half the time. Children leave blobs of toothpaste smeared everywhere, etc.

Oh well...

Please share your timetables, and ESPECIALLY tell me how you educated your kids in the ways of the Aussie family.

And to those who have a cleaning service: CONFESS! I want to know if it's worth it.

Bronwyn

You must understand I am lazy and I hate housework

The Spray and leave shower spray is next to my shower. i dont iron anything luckily I dont work in a office, who ever is home 1st cooks and the other party washes the dishes.

I tidy up when I cant find anything anymore or I get visitors:) We rotate vacuuming and bathroom cleaning duties on weekends.

We= one 46yr old male and one 19 yr old male

I find that a palm admistered vigorously to the ear does a wonderfull job of educating children to clean up after themselves

[SHIRLS]

Well done to all of you well adapted Aussie Huisvrous,my turn is coming and these tips are fantastic.None of us like to admit that we are basically spoilt by the Saffer way of life but are prepared to make amends for the greater good.I have 3 boys 13,11 and 5 and I started making them all do chores last year after watching some British programme called Supernanny ! I picked up a few tips from her in that the boys each have their own colour coded basket and at the end of a day I chuck anything in these that has been left lying around the house.Next day after school they have to empty their baskets.Also they started making their own beds a while back and even though it is not to my standards,I leave it as they did make the effort.Things like taking out the rubbish,washing the cars etc.is also good pocket money earning potential !

Have taken notes on previous replies and am up for the challenge of our new life !

Shirls

[Sandi]

This seems to be a topic that weighs heavily on most of us.

I too had full time domestic help back home. She did everything for me including cooking & looking after my kids as & when I needed. Suddenly I found myself thrust into being a 24/7 Mom & maid

It's taken some getting used to but after 9 months I'm finally not feeling so overwhelmed by it all.

We have cleaners that come once a week for the big stuff. It's nice to have a day off!

Otherwise I have cleaning sprays in each of the bathrooms so if I see something that needs cleaning I just do it quickly. I try to keep the kitchen tidy & clean to eliminate huge amounts of work & the other stuff I've just learnt not to be so fussy about.

They say us Saffers are very fussy about having our houses sparkle but to be honest I would have to be cleaning all day to keep my house in tip top shape.

And I don't iron. The cleaners iron my husbands work stuff & the rest just gets folded & put into the cupboards. It's amazing how much stuff doesn't actually need ironing if it's folded straight away instead of being dumped into a wash basket waiting for ironing.

I guess one day it'll all just feel like a normal part of life. For now though I still miss my domestic worker EVERY DAY!

[noodles]

Thanks guys, reading all your tips wil help me!! We are going to Tasmania in Sept and after having a full time maid for 15 yrs I was worrying that we just wouldn't cope but I believe we will. I am sure my standards will drop but we can live with that!!!

Annette

[Christina]

Hi Bronwyn

Not in Aus yet. But, with all the interest, petrol and electricity price hikes, we had to start tighting our belts on this side as well. We had decided to let the cleaning company go - we started doing it ourselves. My children are 10 and 7 and each one has their own responsibility every day i.e. tidying up their own rooms, unpacking the dishwasher, throwing out the garbage etc. Between my husband and I we clean the house. I work halfdays so I try to get something done every day. What gets me down however is the never ending washing. Don't understand that. Just when I think I have washed, dried and ironed everything, the stupid washing basket is full again. I try not to use the dryer to much as it uses a lot of electricity. However, I think this is a good exercise for the family before our move to Aus.

Regards

[AllisonW]

We will have to start a support group for maid free south african husivroue! Oh dear! I also have boys only so will need to up the eduation programme about tidiness! Makes you realise that there are good things about SA, but sadly not good enough. At least everyone will be in our boat so when they come around for coffee they will be understanding! Lets make a pact that if i ever land up having tea at your place in Brisbane, i will say nothing about the dust on the shelves and will help to wash up!!!!!

Al

Edited June 4, 2008 by AllisonW