How to manage without cleaning help

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amother

Peony

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 5:07 am

amother [ Wallflower ] wrote:

Which vacuum do you have?

I want to know this as well.

amother

Gardenia

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 5:11 am

similar situation

Chayalle

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 6:29 am

My cleaning lady left me over 6 months ago. Since then I got a roomba which does my most of my vacuuming (including under the beds! I still have to do the stairs).

I have a steam mop (shark) for my kitchen floor (ceramic tile). I first run the roomba downstairs to clean/sweep, and then mop with the steam mop. My floor sparkles!

I use method wipes when cleaning the bathrooms, windex wipes for all mirrors and windows, and pledge wipes for dusting/polishing furniture. I also use the method wipes on kitchen counters and stove.

amother

Papaya

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 7:22 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Shark ion robot vacuum

I also have the cedar o spray mop for my hardwood floors but I hate it. It leaks.

I have a shark steam for the tile floors and love it. I have Clorox toilet wands but still it’s so hard to keep everything clean with the kids underfoot! There’s no time to clean! If I skip even one day it piles up…

I ordered wrinkle release spray I hope it helps at least with the kids’ stuff.

And to the poster who suggested treating myself: last week I got a pedicure with the cleaning lady’s money, next week I’ll go shopping.

Uhhh. You're ironing kids stuff?

Please buy them things that don't need ironing. Or if you're ironing that dress from tottini, maybe just be like 80% of mothers and dont.

I do not iron. Truly the absolute bottom of my list as it is not cleanliness. Dh dress shirts go to the cleaners. I think my kids clothes, including uniform shirts, look fine. Boys dress shirts are wrinkle free and fine. When my girls get older and want to the freshly starched and ironed look, especially for their shirts, I teach them to iron themselves.

amother

Maize

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 9:07 am

Can you please post the link for the shark steam mop?

zaq

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 1:25 pm

Formal family portraits and uncles' weddings aside, I can think of no justification for ironing children's clothing. When they're too young to iron, ironing their clothes is a waste of effort. They're cute no matter what they wear. When they're old enough for it to make a difference to them, they're old enough to iron their own.

amother

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 1:28 pm

zaq wrote:

My baby girl’s t shirts from H&M get so wrinkly.
And my boys’ Shabbos clothing get wrinkled too.
And dh’s stuff needs to be ironed

momtra

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 1:37 pm

OP, you have a great attitude. Just sayin…
I have a shark vacuum which I use to vacuum my kitchen floor, hardwood floors ( separate setting) and carpet. It’s lightweight so I can carry it around with me.
I also find it helpful, if possible/applicable, to have cleaning supplies on each level of your home. Takes much less time and energy than to keep it all under the kitchen sink

amother

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 1:44 pm

momtra wrote:

This is an excellent idea and just the type of “hack” I was looking for when I started this thread. You’re right. Buying supplies for each floor is huge. Maybe not a vacuum for each floor but a broom, windex, garbage bags… thank you!!!

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 2:04 pm

Don’t iron. Hang shirts and uniform when it’s wet instead of putting it in the dryer.
Teach kids how to hoover , even if they don’t do a great job, it’s better than nothing. (Not necessary if you have a robot hoover)
Get antibacterial or wet wipes and make a game with the kids to see how quickly they can wipe round to make it dirty. They can use them to wipe door handles, bookshelves, doors, surfaces etc
Clean the toilet and sink after you use it
Clean the bathroom while watching the kids in the bath

TCR

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 2:04 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

My baby girl’s t shirts from H&M get so wrinkly.
And my boys’ Shabbos clothing get wrinkled too.
And dh’s stuff needs to be ironed

if u take out from washer and spread out on couch/laundry rack, can eliminate most wrinkles. Try with the wrinkle release spray.

amother

Tomato

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 2:06 pm

kenz wrote:

Depends how picky you are. It will not look like a freshly ironed shirt but it’s a better than nothing kind of thing. Also remove clothing from dryer immediately when the cycle ends, you get away with a lot less ironing.

I wash kids clothes on delicate (gentler spin)and hang to dry. almost zero wrinkles

amother

cornflower

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 2:29 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

My baby girl’s t shirts from H&M get so wrinkly.
And my boys’ Shabbos clothing get wrinkled too.
And dh’s stuff needs to be ironed

Can he take on ironing?

crossroad

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 2:50 pm

momtra wrote:

Which Shark vacuum may I ask? Mine just broke after many years and I'm looking for one that vacuums floors and carpet.

zaq

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 4:30 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

My baby girl’s t shirts from H&M get so wrinkly.
And my boys’ Shabbos clothing get wrinkled too.
And dh’s stuff needs to be ironed

So what? They're little kids. They're a long way from job interviews and shidduch dates. Are you afraid that people will bring in the Child Welfare people because your infant is wearing wrinkled shirts? (Did you say T-shirts? As in cotton knit? You mean to tell me you iron knits? NOBODY irons T-shirts. Trust me on this. I worked in an institutional laundry for a short while. We ironed cotton bras. We did NOT iron T-shirts. We shook them out, smoothed them with our hands and folded them.) Or do you have some sort of mental competition with the other mothers on the block and G-d forbid your kids shouldn't be as spiffy as yennem's?

Your dh is an adult. Unless he's ch"v physically challenged or developmentally lagging in some way, he's quite capable of ironing his own shirts. If his parents were remiss and didn't teach him, teach him yourself and make him responsible for himself.

How you handle laundry determines how wrinkled it gets. If you air dry, shake the items out with a smart snap before hanging, then pull on the seams, collars, plackets and cuffs to straighten them. They'll dry much less wrinkled. If you machine dry, don't let clothes stay in till bone dry. remove when still a drop damp and hang up till fully dry. If you do let clothes tumble dry till bone dry, don't leave them in the machine. remove the minute the machine stops and hang them up while still warm so wrinkles don't form. If wrinkles did form, you can throw the items back in the dryer with a damp washcloth and let 'er rip for five minutes. The water in the washcloth will slightly dampen the rest of the items and release the wrinkles.

Sounds like too much bother, you say? It ain't nearly as much bother as ironing.

amother

Mintgreen

Tue, Jun 21 2022, 4:36 pm

I own an iron. It is kept with the arts and crafts supplies because we only use it for perler beads.

Yes, some clothes might be a bit wrinkled. But any items that get extremely wrinkled I simply donate. Not worth the time and energy.

Another suggestion is to get a dryer with steam. (Mine actually does have that feature, but it is too far from a water hookup.)

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