Wipe on, Wipe off

I’m finding it difficult to keep on top of things at home at the moment, (including my husband) I have so many balls in the air, I just can’t seem to juggle them properly as far as everyone else is concerned. I might be a touch stressed and a little out of my depth at times but I’m really enjoying all the new opportunities that my hard work, long hours and countless emails have afforded me. Being a mum, a wife and a multiple business owner has meant that sometimes I drop balls, everything comes at a cost. Even the cost of the nanny was too high and we had to say our farewells. I cried more than Aidan did. I never expected the website to take off the way it has or with such verocity, learning to balance out what I want to do against what I have to/should do is sometimes hard and I don’t always get it right. 

Steve and I had a long talk and he was able to voice a few of his concerns. He is monumentally supportive and always seems to have his feet firmly planted on the ground and I love him for that but he said the way things were at home wasn’t working and I agreed with him. I said I would turn down a few jobs I’d been offered so we wouldn’t need a nanny and that I’d keep on top of the laundry. He said he would cook dinner more often and taken Aidan out in the mornings on the weekends so I had more time alone to work. It felt good that we both pitched in to solve the problem rather than both of us pointing fingers and sulking.

We both agreed that we missed the Nanny. She was fun, made Aidan laugh and kept the house tidy. She swept and mopped the floors everyday and wiped down the bathroom once a week. The household chores weren’t big duties but knowing she was taking care of it meant Steve and I had more time together in the evenings. The time alone was precious but we could no longer afford it, it was good while it lasted. So we had to come up with a new way to deal with our housework rather than outsourcing it to someone else. We couldn’t afford a nanny let alone a cleaner so we had to think of something cheap, quick and easy. 

We have an older style Dyson vacuum and Aidan likes to “help” us clean the house with it. We also have a H2O Mop that makes the evening floor clean a breeze, I recommend anyone with a child to get one, we got ours off ebay pretty cheap. We use the dishwasher more which Steve is in charge of and we have set days for laundry. Nappies are done on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Our clothes are done on Sunday and Aidan’s are done on Friday. Having those set days make it so much easier for both of us, I know it’s very “commonsense” type stuff but since Aidan’s become a small, walking, talking person and I’ve grown more as an individual and spreading my wings career-wise, our home-life seems to have changed a lot. What worked before was no longer relevant but we just never had the chance to really sit down and come up with a new plan of action.

The bathroom was by far our biggest hurdle. Steve rarely cleaned it, if I had to think back I’d say he’d only done it about twice a year and that was only when I twisted his arm or it was just so bad he couldn’t handle it anymore. I would clean my bathroom the same way as my mother did, all in one go every few weeks. The bathmats go in the wash, everything is put away where it belongs and the bathroom is stripped, myself included. Yes, I would clean my bathroom completely naked. I hated how the bleach would ruin my clothes.

This wasn’t going to work anymore. I didn’t have an hour of my life spare to scrub porcelain and glass… really, who does? So I’ve been sent some Viva Shower Fast Wipes to try and maybe they’ll help solve our problem and to spur me on so I’ll actually use them… I’m posting a dreaded “before” photo. Yes, I’m taking the blame and sharing my shame.

This week I’m going to trial the Viva Shower Fast Wipes and see if they’re all they claim to be. There are 30 wipes in a packet which retails at $4.99 so if they do make life easier it’s not an expensive investment and as a plus I wouldn’t have any chemical bottles laying around. Each wipe has a textured side to scrub stubborn scum and a smooth side to wipe off residue and also leaves an anti-scum solution to reduce future soap scum for an easier clean the next time around. Sounds simple enough that I might even rope hubby into doing it although getting him to clean the toilet is another battle entirely! Wish me luck!