How do you organize household chores?

[epath13]

I don't really expect that many replies but maybe somebody answers...
for people who take care of themselves and/or have a family and take care of the family (I mean those who do household chores and cook):
How do you do it?

What I mean by that:
- do you have a specific schedule that you follow?
- do you have a list?
- do you make a list every day, every week etc?
- how do you decide what to eat for breakfast, dinner, lunch snacks?
- do you decide in advance what you going to eat or you just "go with a flow"
- how many times a week do you go grocery shopping
- how frequently do you clean and/or organize your house?
- how frequently do you do your laundry?
- do you have a system that you follow when it comes to taking care of yourself and/or your family?

I can't come up with any more questions right now. All suggestions are welcome.

I have come to a complete realization that I'm in desperate need of a system when it comes to anything and everything. I can go with flow but only when somebody else takes care of most of the stuff, otherwise I need schedules, lists, plans without it I'm completely lost and frustrated.

 

[King_Oni]

Despite living at my parents house I do take care of all the chores (for myself) you wrote down, so in a sense I do think I can reply. However; I think my list pretty works if you're on your own but would probably be terrible if you share a household (and these people depend on you)

- do you have a specific schedule that you follow?
Nope
- do you have a list?
Nope
- do you make a list every day, every week etc?
Nope. The only type of list I do sometimes make is when I need to go places that are incidental (say, a doctors visit) but not for groceries. I tend to memorize really well what ran out (unless someone else in the house used it and made a jar empty or anything; doesn't happen that often though). Sometimes I just make a rundown through the house and check the cabinets and the fridge to see what's out and what I need to bring.
- how do you decide what to eat for breakfast, dinner, lunch snacks?
I decide by looking what's there... sometimes I end up making a run to the store to get something or skip a meal altogether. I don't really have this idea of what I want to eat way ahead of time. Food for me often is just a way to put some reserves in my body so I can go on with my day (which sometimes also means I'll eat energy bars and such rather than full meals). A limited budget probably limits choices as well, so I tend to finish packages one at a time rather than being able to choose.
- do you decide in advance what you going to eat or you just "go with a flow"
I don't decide in advance. Most of the time I'll head for the store and just grab stuff that's on sale (and of which I know that I'll like it and know how to prepare). Stuff that's on sale because it's nearing expiration date is pretty much how I save my money on food (and considering it's less than a 10 minute walk it's really not a hassle). Usually I'll try to bring home stuff for 2 days so I don't have to make a run daily though. If nothing is on sale... I'll end up grabbing stuff that's cheap overall. It's the moments I just happen to have a bit less choice for dinner.
- how many times a week do you go grocery shopping
In general it depends; I can go from every other day to maybe twice a week or sometimes even once a week. It might depend a bit on how much stuff I'm hauling home (or feel like hauling home). No car kinda makes you try to shop and travel lightly in that regard I guess.
- how frequently do you clean and/or organize your house?
That might be one I can't comment on much considering I live at my parents house, but; I clean when it's a mess. And honestly, that is more often than my parents touch a vacuum, lol. I have no real schedule for it, but usually if people are coming over I might take a broom, or vacuum, dust off a bit, maybe do dishes and make sure I've got clean plates and stuff like that.
- how frequently do you do your laundry?
Again; when I need to. I rarely run out of clean stuff, so it would seem my schedule works for me. But I do have my days where I don't even bother getting dressed and have my "PJ's" on for a day. Those often tend to be days where laundry can be done best, since I'm not wearing anything and my entire wardrobe gets a "reset" in terms of cleaning (well, except for PJ's, lol)
- do you have a system that you follow when it comes to taking care of yourself and/or your family?
Nope, none at all. The best system for me is no system and doing stuff on a whim. That's kinda how it always was and I was raised I guess. Though I'm seeing that if you don't have a bit of discipline and be able to get up and actually do stuff, chores don't get done. That is seemingly a harder and harder task for the other people in the house (read; my parents). It seems my girlfriend tried a similar approach when she was housesitting for her brother... the result; she didn't eat properly for a bit (at least, that's what she told me); so its not for everyone.

My "system" (or lack thereof) seems to work fine for me, but then again; no job might probably allow for a schedule like this whenever I feel like it. I remember when I had a job, even planning groceries was way to stressful for me. I want to go out and do things when I want, not when time dictates my life. But that's a different topic, heh.

I think it also works fine for anyone who lives alone, can motivate him/herself and lives closeby a grocerystore (or has means to get there easily and fast) and perhaps has a pretty liberal timetable in life, generally speaking.

Adding in other people and/or obligations kinda limits how you can go through life like a unguided projectile since they will pose roadblocks for many things (and with that I mean it in the least problematic way possible).

 

[The Penguin]

I don't. I very horrible keeping my place clean.

 

[Rocco]

My chores are wash dry my laundry and my children's laundry, occasional cooking, give pay checks, half
Of the shopping, fix whatever is broken, occasional dishes, feed corals and fish. They all say I do the least amount of work, meh
Three daughters 8,12,12;
Fold laundry put away, organize rooms/ house of clutter, wash dishes put dishes away, clean up messes and rooms, feed dog and chickens
Their Mom; house organizing, lunches, shopping, arrange and drive all kid activities, cooking, pay checks, managing finances,
The house keeper/s do all the deep cleaning and dusting and linens for all rooms once per week.

Laundry is daily or every other.

 

[Peace]

I do not plan meals, I just eat when I'm hungry and do laundry when needed. I usually do a good cleaning once a week but I clean as I go along all week. Other things get done as needed. I have never really had a problem getting these things done. If anything, I used to clean too much. I have settled down a little now and learned to enjoy my life a little more.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

A co-worker once told me about FLYLADY.net and I had actually started that and had a book and everything, but school came along and everything went to "hell in a handbasket". You might want to look up that website. It was helping me.

I go to the grocery store about once every two weeks and decide what I'm going to eat those two weeks by how my stomach is feeling lately (Mr IBS "runs" the house - literally!), but I usually get the same stuff like deli meat, salads, fruits, vegetables, milk, cheese, yogurt. if I want to cook, I'll pick a couple of recipes for one week and eat the two recipes for that week.

Laundry done once a week. Waldo is self cleaning.

I used to do housework once a week, but the last year I have not been as diligent (maybe because of school). Idk. My problem is procrastinating. I don't know how to stop doing it.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

Like right now! I'm procrastinating when I should be changing my sheets. What the heck is wrong with me?! And then at night when I have to floss and brush my teeth and wash my face and apply wrinkle cream it should take me 10 minutes max, BUT it takes me an hour sometimes!!!!!! I really don't get it.

 

[epath13]

Like right now! I'm procrastinating when I should be changing my sheets. What the heck is wrong with me?! And then at night when I have to floss and brush my teeth and wash my face and apply wrinkle cream it should take me 10 minutes max, BUT it takes me an hour sometimes!!!!!! I really don't get it.

I've heard from and about people with ADHD and ADD that they can have this kind of issues all the time. Even thought anyone can get distracted sometimes and end up not finishing tasks on time etc, but folks with ADHD and ADD may have this kind of issues much more frequently. They may start doing something then one thing comes along, then another and 3 hours later still nothing is done. My husband has ADHD and even though he's learned how to cope with it, sometimes he still can get distracted and show other symptoms. I've thought that I had both ADHD and Autism considering how hyper and easily distracted I can be, but my current counselor believes it's all a part of Autism. In the end it doesn't really matter where it comes from, the most important thing is to learn how to deal with it.

 

[Lukas]

I tend to do what life forces me to do....

I rinse off dishes, but actually clean them when I run out of dishes to use....
I store dirty clothes in the laundry hamper, but actually wash them when I have nothing else to wear.....
I store food in proper containers but eat only when my body forces me to....
I go to the market when I am totally out of something....

without crossing the boundaries of nastiness or filth (I do not handle germs or bugs well)... my world tends to be rather cluttered but very sanitary.

P.S. I am buying a robot to vacuum for me... its neat and operates automatically on a programmed schedule... I'm naming her Hazel.... that is one thing I can take off my non-existent list.. I will just have to empty it when it beeps at me..

 

[Grumpy Cat]

I've heard from and about people with ADHD and ADD that they can have this kind of issues all the time. Even thought anyone can get distracted sometimes and end up not finishing tasks on time etc, but folks with ADHD and ADD may have this kind of issues much more frequently. They may start doing something then one thing comes along, then another and 3 hours later still nothing is done. My husband has ADHD and even though he's learned how to cope with it, sometimes he still can get distracted and show other symptoms. I've thought that I had both ADHD and Autism considering how hyper and easily distracted I can be, but my current counselor believes it's all a part of Autism. In the end it doesn't really matter where it comes from, the most important thing is to learn how to deal with it.

That must be it - I have ADHD. I'm very easily distracted, have a hard time finishing knitting projects because I keep starting new ones. I have a hard time relaxing and knitting or just watching a movie because I find myself jumping up to do something else. Right now I'm in the middle of changing my sheets but then heard my phone go off that I had an email and here I am.

How does your husband deal with it? I'm an NT (if that makes any difference). I don't want to take any medicine though.

My brother I believe has it - he's very restless and has decided to take a lot of Xanax to relax (he drinks alcohol with it too.)

 

[epath13]

I've checked the flylady.net I think I might have tried something like that before. It might have been another website similar to this one. I think I use some of the suggestions, they seem to make sense. I should copy them into my planning app. The problem I originally had was that I would try to follow suggestions exactly, I would get hyper focused on one detail and just couldn't seem to snap out of it. I would have important or even urgent tasks piling up while I was still obsessed with some freaking dust on the living room furniture (just an example) . It usually took me about 3 days to get of it.

I feel I have to learn how to be flexible and organized but flexibility doesn't always come easy.

I've always been very confused about food and hunger. When I lived with my parents, I would eat whatever they gave me. They never thought it would be important to teach me how to plan meals or to cook, they just thought it would come naturally but it didn't really. When I lived alone I bought food almost every day (Usually pre-made) and ate it right away. When my husband - to - be (at that time) saw my fridge for the 1st time, he was shocked (I thought my fridge content was fine) - there's only a moldy piece of cheese and an old jar or pickles. I didn't think there's anything wrong with it I knew how to cook but could never remember any recipes.

Anyway, now my family likes well cooked food but we can't afford going out to eat all the time. Every person in our family seem to have completely different taste with a few exceptions. I rarely thought how important food really was until I got married and until I developed some digestive illness or intolerance (still not sure what it is), so in order to avoid pain, headaches or fatigue I have to pay careful attention to what I eat...

when I was single and lived alone I was pretty much going with the flow, but in many cases it caused me to become lost. I would literally sit for hours and stare at a wall, or just walk around the room.

I think I want to run my house like a hotel or an office and the kitchen as restaurant. I tried to find how to do it, but really find anything. I'll keep looking...

 

[epath13]

That must be it - I have ADHD. I'm very easily distracted, have a hard time finishing knitting projects because I keep starting new ones. I have a hard time relaxing and knitting or just watching a movie because I find myself jumping up to do something else. Right now I'm in the middle of changing my sheets but then heard my phone go off that I had an email and here I am.

How does your husband deal with it? I'm an NT (if that makes any difference). I don't want to take any medicine though.

My brother I believe has it - he's very restless and has decided to take a lot of Xanax to relax (he drinks alcohol with it too.)

My husband is NT as well. At work he has a schedule, it helps tremendously. He can still get distracted but other employees always keep him busy so it's hard not to stay on task. At home he likes pre-planning things in advance, but often don't follow plan exactly. Nevertheless when he plans the most important tasks, everything gets done perfectly. He has a tendency to be late sometimes (somehow he ends up coming to work on time anyway, even thought it's not that important, he sets a time for himself when he needs to be at work) but he constantly asks me to wake him up because it seems it's hard for him to get up by himself and be more or less on-time without being completely stressed out. I usually have to remind him to get up about every 10 minutes. So in the end, it's pretty much like for people with Autism - you need to have a plan and stick to it. But sometimes (on weekends for example) you can just let yourself go and do whatever. As for unfinished projects, he tends to finish a project if it doesn't require a lot of time. Maybe if you want to finish one of your knitting projects you can start with something really small, that wouldn't require a lot of time. Then gradually try to commit to more time consuming ones. You can also hang a dry-erase board (we use that) and write down a name of a project or task you want to finish. It seems to work for me and my husband, as long as there are not too many of them on the board - one at a time is good enough.

 

[epath13]

I'm going through the flylady again (trying to read through the whole system). The more I read the more I like it, totally Autism friendly thanks, nurseangela

And I think it's the 1st time I logged in on computer since the changes. I love it, looks nice I'm just enjoing the new "emoji-s"