10 Tips I Wish Someone Had Told Me Years Ago... They're Not Rocket Science But They Work!!

1. Whilst the kids are in the bath, give the sink and toilet a clean... you’ll be in the bathroom with them so can chat and join in their games, but the bathroom gets cleaned too and will never be a task in its own right again!

2. Break your housework down... rather than having ‘dust the sitting room’ on your list, have ‘dust the tv cabinet’, ‘dust the mirror’ etc on your list. By ticking off the tiny tasks, the bigger task never has to happen.

3. Fill your car with petrol when you can rather than when you need to. Topping up when you have time means no more stressful journeys worrying about being late because you need to stop for petrol, or because you are worried about running out.

4. As you fold the laundry, put them in ‘people’ piles – you’ll be amazed at how much time it saves. It makes for really speedy putting away.

5. You can only do 2 things with time... change how you spend it, or bring other qualities to things you HAVE to do with your time... For example, I’m not a fan of cooking, so listening to my favourite CD’s whilst I cook transforms it in to ‘me’ time rather than it being a chore.

6. Always put the cordless phone back on the base after you’ve used it so you don’t have to look for it every time rings. Or stick to a corded one.

7. Always hang your car keys up in the same place, or buy a sound activated key fob. Get a hook put up if you don’t have one. Save that time hunting around for them, or the children picking them up and leaving them behind the sofa!

8. With digital TV (sky / cable etc) record tv programmes and watch them after the
event. You can convert an hour programme in to 45 minutes by the time you get rid of all the commercial breaks.

9. Buy a packet or two of birthday cards to keep in the house so you don’t have to go shopping for cards as they come up. Especially handy for children’s birthday parties which come thick and fast! Check out www.squashed-tomato.co.uk.

10. Put things on the bottom of the stairs if they need taking up and tidying away and then never go up the stairs empty handed... take one or two things up as you go and put them away there and then.

Simple but very effective!