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any tips for a large family to have an organised home?

things like bills,shopping,ironing,washing etc there are not enough hours in the day and I NEVER get EVERYTHING done. any tips would be wonderful

Public Comments

1. Try reading FlyLady's site - is brill!
2. i have 4 kids and at weekends they go right through their bedrooms and tidy it. So in the day i only have to make the beds hoover and pick the odd toy up. All my other housework is done at night once they are in bed, that way i can concentrate on sorting out my bills and paying them in the day and concentrating on my course work. at least then i do get some time to myself.
3. Well, you could start with just making out a list of things that need to be done that day and then decide which ones must be done and which can wait until a little later. Then make a schedule and follow it. Another thing you could do is involve your kids, give them small jobs to do to keep them occupied and help you out a little. We have a chore chart...everyone has a different chore everyday and each person gets a day of during the week. And change it up a little every once in a while, like when my mom changes it, she lets us pick which chores we want when and what day we want off and then just fills in the rest. Hope this helps, God Bless!
4. Teach the kids that it's fun to tidy up after themselves, eventually they will be neatfreaks, and there's nothing wrong with that.
5. You could teach the kids to assume responsibilities, team them up with each other, make charts, insist on cooperation, rotate chores. At the same time you could encourage individual abilities/talents/preferances through exchange or agreement. It does take time and organization. But the more you suggest the kids do outside of specific chores, the more independence, respect and pride they will have in themselves. The littlest kids' needs could be attended to by the older ones, foster an atmosphere of calm, or friendliness, respect and cooperation. Emphasize that the home can only ork as a family unit with every one participating. l have actually witnessed this in a family of 10, 3 oldest in and out of the nest, but there throughout HS, a boy 18 and ill at home, and one 10. Girls are 14, 12, 9, 5, and 2. l've visited for years- the house is clean, not too tidy- the kids play with some of the others or alone. Video games not allowed, TV only during family time. Reading, reading, reading. l have never heard a raised voice, nor a child cry. The brother who is 6'2'' picks the baby from the floor and tends to her just as if he were the father. How is it done? It's a state of mind, that mother treats each child individually as her very dearest friend. The father works 2 jobs to support them all, sleeps away during the week, barely knows the kids, the mother is the one who has accomplished it all. She sets an impressivet bar, set very high, but tone and expectations set by the adults underlie the results.
6. My partner is one of thirteen, and all of his siblings live in EXTREMELY neat and tidy houses. They were brought up with the motto "Everything has a place, and everything IN it's place". They all still live by this, as it's the only way to get on top of things. When you've finished using something, put it back so that it can be found by whoever next wants it. I'm afraid the children have to be taught this idea, or else NOTHING is found, nothing is done. It drives me mad, as I'm not of that frame of mind, but I can see the logic. You ALL have to work at this together as a large team, or you will ALL suffer. I wish you well!
7. a strict routine, things done on time, all the time. everything in its place, assign chores. its how the army stays organized