Routine ... daily housework

I have to confess that housework has never been my forte.  Even when it was just me and I really didn't have any excuse for not getting it done I could never stay on top of it, there always being something infinitely more interesting than the dishes, the sink or the kitchen floor.

When little ones arrive you can't help but be just a tad more hung up about basic hygiene and there was a definite improvement - despite sleep exhaustion -  in household standards chez us.  But when I went back to work full time when littl'un was 8 months we sunk, I am afraid, to a truly new low level.

Dear reader, I don't like to shock you but if you recognise any of the following you will share my pain:

• every surface in the kitchen is covered with stuff - and not just dishes, but all sorts of stuff, clothes, washing of uncertain cleanliness, unopened mail, books, bags, toys and more
• there are never any clean glasses, most of them having taken up residence by the bed
• the bin is constantly spilling over however hard you try to shove more stuff in it
• you really don't like to think about what you know is in the bin & how long it's been there
• the bathroom basin is not something that you would actually like to wash in
• it takes you several hours to get out of the house in the morning because you can't find anything
• whilst you may have deluded yourself you were vaguely presentable when you left the house, a single glance in the mirror at work reveals a rather unpleasant sticky smear on your left shoulder

So with all the zealot of the true convert I have discovered the wonder that is a daily housework routine   ... and dull as it is to admit, it really does help and somehow it saves time that can now be better spent snoozing on the sofa  on saving the world.

I had a go with one of those American housework sites but it really wasn't me so this is my own daily housework routine.  I started with just a few things every evening - filling, running & emptying the dishwasher and putting the bins out every evening, really was a revelation - and once these are on auto-pilot, I keep adding a few more in.  Some nights I fall off the wagon - I am just too tired, I need to watch the Olympic closing ceremony etc - but having lived with the benefits of following it, I can never stand the consequences of not for more than a day.