Basic principles of home management. How to Run a Household Effectively: Laundry

After working all day, you return home. It’s about 18:00, and you need to run to the nearest supermarket and buy groceries. You will need to prepare them as soon as you get home. Besides this, there is still a whole mountain of work to do at home. And it will always be like this as long as you remain a woman. How to make your existence easier, how to keep your house clean? How to manage to work both at home and in the office? You just need to know how to run a household wisely.

Cleaning

To get started, grab a pen and notepad. Create a monthly cleaning plan and write it down. Divide your house (apartment) into five sections. Each week you will clean only one of the departments. Let's assume that there are 30 days in a month. Therefore, we allocate 6 days for each part of the apartment and 15 minutes per day.
When you first start cleaning in the first department, you will be getting rid of unnecessary things within 15 minutes. Set yourself a timer for 15 minutes. Put all things in their places, and dispose of unnecessary things. This system will help you always keep your home clean. The art of housekeeping requires a clear system. Eg:
- Department 1: Entrance, hallway and dining room (1st-5th of each month).
- 2nd calving: Kitchen, pantry (6-11th of each month).
- Department 3: Bathroom, children's rooms, toilet (12-17th of each month).
- Department 4: Bedroom and wardrobe (18-23rd of each month).
- Department 5: Living room, corridor, TV area (24-30th of each month).

You can divide your home into different cleaning zones. If you also have a yard, an area in front of the house, a garage, a basement or a sauna, then divide them into zones at your discretion.

Housekeeping Rules: Working in the Zone

The plan you have made must be carried out for at least 15 minutes every day. Don't let yourself get carried away and continue cleaning for more than an hour. This way you will get tired, and you will soon become bored with the plan.
Don't make a fuss. Don't forget to set a timer.
The most important thing is to follow the plan for the day, and do everything extra lightly, and not forcefully.

Shopping and cooking

Family and household are inseparable. Either way, you can't avoid cooking. You don't want to leave your family hungry, do you?

It is necessary to come up with a menu for several days at once. This will make it easier for you to decide which products to buy at the supermarket. Why worry about what to buy for dinner every time after work, if you can think about it in advance? If you know in advance. Whatever you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, all these ingredients will be in your refrigerator. Tip: Always store semi-finished products in the freezer in reserve. They are needed in case of a quick dinner or unplanned guests. Also, be sure to master one or two quick but original dishes. Then not a single guest will be able to take such an excellent hostess by surprise.
Make a list of products that should always be present in your kitchen. Eg:

Housekeeping rules: what you should always have in the kitchen

Bread,
Cereals: rolled oats, rice, millet, buckwheat, semolina, breakfast cereals, pearl barley,
Pasta and spaghetti
Meat: pork, chicken, beef, sausages, chicken breasts, bacon, minced meat,
Salt, sugar,
Flour,
Ham, stewed meat, sausage,
Fish,
Fruits: apples, oranges, bananas, pears, lemons,
Vegetables: potatoes, carrots, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, beets, lettuce, bell peppers, greens,
Dairy products: milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, butter, cheese,
Semi-finished products: cutlets, dumplings, pancakes,
Coffee, tea, cocoa,
Eggs,
Vegetable oil,
Soda,
Starch,
Vinegar,
Powdered sugar,
Gingerbread, cookies, candy,
Seasonings, spices.

Non-food items that you must have at home:

Washing powder,
Dishwashing liquid,
Soap, foil,
Cleaning products,
Napkins,
Packages,
Towels,
Toilet paper,
Dishwashing sponges,
Rags,
Garbage bags.

Don't forget that men also know how to properly run a household. Therefore, do not take on tasks that are beyond your capabilities. Even if you can change the light bulb yourself, don't do it. A man should be able to fix an outlet, clean a sink, hang curtains, take out the trash, replace the same light bulb, etc. Do not free your husband from these tasks, otherwise he will quickly get out of the habit of them and you will have to carry everything on your shoulders.
Periodically take inventory of things in your home. Carry a large bag and don’t hesitate to throw away unnecessary things. If you haven't used them for more than a year, then you're unlikely to need them again. Throw away boxes on the mezzanine, old Christmas tree decorations, cups with broken handles, and clothes you don’t want to wear. All things that do not bring you any benefit or joy should be sent to the package. Why do you need “dead weight”: read magazines, damaged video and audio tapes, discs, expired products?
Clean your stove as often as possible. So, you will spend less time on this activity. It's always easier to rub it a little rather than pick out the dried centimeter greasy layer. Don't let your things get to such a dirty state. Always keep your refrigerator clean.

And most importantly, remember that in addition to cleanliness and comfort in the house, there should also be psychological comfort in it.

Washing, cleaning, ironing, grocery shopping, and so on every day and all year round. The same worries that make your head spin. How to manage everything and at the same time remember to rest and gain strength before a new working day? It turns out that in order to have enough time for everything you just need to know how to manage your household rationally. This science is not easy, but quite accessible.

How to organize a household from scratch

Where to begin? First of all, you need to put things in order:

thoughts. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Everyone goes to work, runs a household and has a lot of other worries. Why then do some have everything, while others have nothing? Because you need not to be lazy, but to start taking action;
own room. A proper rest is impossible in a constant mess. It’s unrealistic to be on time for work when you have to spend 10–15 minutes to find the right thing. It's time to organize your personal space so that everything is in its place;
throughout the house. To make you want to return home and gather for quiet family evenings, you simply need the appropriate atmosphere. Cleanliness, coziness and comfort are the three components of an imperishable family hearth.

Concern about how to organize a household should not fall solely on women's shoulders. Each family member must do their part. Distributing family responsibilities will help relieve you and teach others how to plan their time.

Tip No. 1. Set specific days when to do general cleaning and when to go grocery shopping. This will make life much easier and save time.

We have collected the necessary manipulations and the timing of their implementation in a table; this will help you redistribute your time and increase the efficiency of housekeeping.

Table No. 1. How to properly run a household

Regularity	Cleaning	Cooking	Wash	Purchasing groceries and other goods
Daily	remove used items and immediately clean any stains that appear	preparing perishable foods that are eaten in one meal (salads, sandwiches). You can cook first and meat courses once every 3 days.	not required, with the exception of stains that can ruin the item. They must be eliminated immediately	essential products (bread, dairy products, butter)
Weekly	wet cleaning of the whole house	It is recommended to prepare an unusual and interesting dish to pamper your family	changing bed linen, washing clothes accumulated over the week	meat, fish, salt, vegetables
Monthly	carrying out an audit (disposal of damaged items, removal of shopping boxes), cleaning carpets and windows.	you can prepare semi-finished products that are convenient to store in the refrigerator	cleaning large blankets, tulles, curtains	cereals, sugar, tea, coffee, kitchen goods, restoration of tableware (if old mugs, plates are damaged)

Proper distribution of time guarantees not only a smooth life, but also proper rest.

How to run a household. Efficient cleaning

Before you start cleaning your home, you need to acquire the necessary equipment.

What to keep in the house:

mop;
rags;
brushes;
vacuum cleaner;
latex gloves;
bucket;
cleaning and detergents;
furniture polishes;
glass cleaner.

Tip #2. Organize a special place for cleaning equipment. Boxes or baskets are perfect. This will significantly save cleaning time, because you won’t have to look for the necessary items for a long time.

To start, you will have to carry out a full and very thorough cleaning. Get rid of the junk that has been lying around for months “just in case.” This case will most likely never happen, so there is no point in collecting unnecessary things. Take a large garbage bag and walk through the entire apartment, saying goodbye to unnecessary things.

Next, find a place for each item. Neither clothes, nor books, nor anything else should lie on the sofa or hang on the chair. Put everything in its place and always put things back where they belong. Make this a rule for yourself. It is very important to learn how to organize space and then maintaining order in the house will be much easier.

Secrets from professionals in the field of cleaning services on how to learn how to run a household:

It's always worth starting from the top. The ceiling, dust on cabinets, chandeliers - all this is wiped first;
The bedrooms are cleaned first, then the living room, kitchen and lastly the bathroom;
special attention is paid to places that are most exposed;
Correct use of special products will reduce the effort required to clean surfaces. Any drug takes time to start working. Apply the product and let it activate its power for 5-7 minutes, after which it will be much easier to remove dirt;
there is no escape from the dust. But if you use special polishes, you can significantly reduce its amount.

Tip #3: Buy or make your own organizers for small items. It is very convenient and practical.

If you carry out general cleaning once a week, then the rest of the time you will only need to maintain cleanliness.

How to run a proper household: cooking secrets

Feeding the whole family delicious meals is not so easy. But if you time it correctly, your household will always be tasty and satisfyingly fed.

Helpful tips on how to reduce cooking time:

maximum automation of the process. Not washing dishes by hand, but in the dishwasher, not a grater, but a blender, not a whisk, but a mixer, not a manual meat grinder, but an electric one;
menu planning. In order to always have the right products, and there is no food left over, you need to think in advance about what you are going to feed your family; preparing the first and second courses every day is completely unnecessary. It is enough to cook them once every 2–3 days;
preparation of semi-finished products. They should always be in the freezer in case of unexpected guests or a hard day at work, after which you simply don’t have the strength to cook anything;
Every experienced housewife always has several simple recipes from the most common products that are always at hand. This will help you get out and feed people in any situation;
using the oven. Food prepared in this way is not only healthy, but also very tasty. And it doesn’t take as much time as with traditional methods;
You need to wipe the stove immediately after cooking, so the dirt does not have time to dry and can be easily cleaned.

Tip #5: Buy a slow cooker. Just add your groceries and set your routine. With it, you don’t have to stand at the stove and stir your food every 10 minutes to prevent it from running away.

How to Run a Household Effectively: Laundry

With the advent of automatic washing machines, women's work became much easier. But, of course, it didn’t completely get rid of worries. Every home should have a basket for collecting dirty laundry. And all family members should take soiled things there only. This way, there will never be a problem when you have to run around the house looking for something to wash.

It would be more rational to allocate a specific day for washing each category of clothing. For example, on Friday everyone changes bed linen and towels. On Saturday, things are sent for cleaning. This way, there will be no problems with where to dry your clothes, and ironing will be easier.

Useful tips for housekeeping: quality laundry

Small items of clothing are best washed in special bags.
Full compliance with the recommendations on clothing labels.
Items that may fade are best washed by hand in cool water.
Use special conditioners to add softness.

Tip No. 6. Kitchen salt is an effective remedy for removing stains, imparting softness and even preserving color to fabrics.

After each wash, do not forget to wipe the washing machine dry and carefully check whether there are any items left in it.

How to run a household efficiently and effectively: secrets of saving

Every wise housewife should be able to spend wisely. If you follow some simple rules, you can get good savings:

make a list and always stick to it. Write down a list of things you need to buy at home and stick to it at the store. Cunning marketers have set up their networks at every step just to get you to buy something. In most cases, such acquisitions simply take up space in closets and are never used;
promotions, sales and discounts are just gimmicks. Not a single successful entrepreneur will give away goods below market value.
purchase large, economical packages;
do not chase advertised brands. Study the composition. Products with less bright wrappers do not mean they are of poor quality;
It is better to prefer home-cooked products to store-bought canned products. This is both useful and cheaper;
Make large purchases only after careful consideration. Decide at a family council whether you are ready to spend that amount.

Tip No. 7. Every housewife should have her own tricks on how to properly run a household in an apartment. Therefore, it will be very convenient to keep a special notebook where you can add simple tips and ways to maintain your home.

It is very convenient to distribute the budget for the month in advance. Set aside part to pay for utilities, part for groceries, and another part for the family piggy bank. With the remaining funds you can already afford relaxation or entertainment.

Running a household is not as difficult as it might seem at the very beginning. The main thing is not to neglect anything and love your home. Not even the richest interior will give real comfort if it does not have a soul.

Greetings, dear readers! We, Irina and Igor, have prepared another portion of tips for your improvement. Our article today is intended more for women, but men can also reflect on its content. The point is that we are talking about households.

Quite often this happens when a woman, tired at work, postpones cleaning her apartment until the next day or on the weekend. And the weekends are subsequently occupied with other things, which causes household chores to roll into a big lump, which, no matter what, will crush you with its weight.

The question of how to properly run a household so that there is time for rest and other important events worries many women. Today we just want to talk about this.

Who are FlyLady?

FlyLady or “Flyushki”, as our compatriots affectionately call them, are women who adhere to the rules of a kind of home management invented by the American Marla Seely.

“To fly” is translated into English as “to fly.” Hence the common belief that housewives who adhere to the principles of fly-management literally “flutter” around the house.

However, in fact, “fly” is an abbreviation and stands for “finally loving yourself,” which means “finally loving yourself.”

This is because the main idea of this housekeeping management is that you don’t need to reproach yourself for the constant mess, there are no ideal housewives, and the trash was not created in one day, which means it cannot be sorted out in one day.

The system, invented by Marla Seeley, is often called time management for housewives. This is partly true, since many of the principles of this system overlap with the organization of effective time management planning.

You can independently compare these approaches by studying video courses on time management:

“The Master of Time – highly productive time management according to the system of Evgeniy Popov”
“Time management, or how to increase your efficiency”

Basic principles of home management

What do you think are the main working tools of FlyLady? No, this is not a rag and a brush, as you might initially think. This is a notepad and an alarm clock. Why exactly these things? Now we'll explain everything!

The first thing you need to do is divide your entire apartment into functional areas: kitchen, living room, hallway, bathroom and toilet, bedroom and so on. You can mark all these work areas in your notebook.

Now you need a notebook in order to plan how many days and in what sequence you will devote to one or another zone.

Why an alarm clock? An alarm clock is required to set 15 minutes. This is exactly how much you need to devote to working in one zone per day. What if you don't have time? Then you'll finish it tomorrow! This is better than if you did not devote any time to this activity.

Now let’s go through the basic tenets of home management to make it easier for you to plan your cleaning:

The cleanliness of your home starts with you. Therefore, before you run and grab rags, get yourself in order. Wash your face, comb your hair, apply light makeup, choose clothes in which you won’t be embarrassed to meet unexpected guests
Ideal zone. Choose an area where you will always maintain perfect order. For Marla, Steely is the kitchen sink. If you have such a zone, you will have a reason to be proud of yourself
Devote the morning and evening to performing daily tasks, the so-called “routines”. In the morning, this could be loading the washing machine, preparing breakfast for the family, or washing the dishes. In the evening, take time to put away your clean clothes, prepare clothes for tomorrow, and devote time to yourself - reading a book, watching a movie, or performing body treatments
“No trash!” The basic principle of effective housekeeping is that you need to learn how to get rid of unnecessary clutter. Marla suggests walking around the apartment and immediately throwing out 27 things. These could be unused tubes of cream, old towels, unnecessary flowerpots, and so on. If it’s a shame to throw it away, you can sell it or give it away for free to someone. Fortunately, on social networks you will find enough auctions of this type. There is one more trick that Marla advises to use when “decluttering”: remove all unnecessary things that you would hate to throw into a bag, hide it in the closet for six months. After six months, without disassembling, throw away this package. After all, if you haven’t needed things for six months, it means you don’t need them
When buying new, throw away the old. Have you bought a new set of bed linen? Throw away the old one. A new vase? Get rid of the old one. So, you will learn not to clutter your home.
Clean up after yourself immediately. After dinner, do not accumulate dirty dishes, it is better to immediately wash your plate and teach each member of your family to do this. Or at least put each plate in the dishwasher. It will take less time to start it than to first transfer everything into it from the sink
There are places in the house that Marla called “hot spots.” Here, garbage accumulates especially quickly. This could be a bedside table, a shelf in the hallway, or some other place. You should set aside two minutes to clean these areas every day.
Gradualism. One of the most important principles is don’t try to introduce all the rules into your life at once, start small. Gradually introduce other tasks when you learn to cope with the primary ones

Do you have problems with cleaning? How do you overcome the hardships of family life?

If you liked our tips, but are worried that you won’t be able to implement these rules into your life, we recommend that you pay attention to the free video course “Setting and achieving goals. How to achieve results in any business? .

Best regards, Irina and Igor