This day I love.......: busy

January seems to be flying past, yet I have only just unpacked from our holiday in December and tidied up from Christmas. I still have more to do but the vast majority has been done. Life is just crazy busy. 3 children to look after, 1 dog, a house, a blog, and a photography business not to mention the marathons and ultras to train for this year. Things are just busy.

Ultra training has had to take place over the housework, often doing my long run and then staying up late to tidy/clean up. This year alone I am at the 200km mark, which to some may not seem a lot but to me is a significant increase from last year. Then again it has to be done, the 30 mile race this Saturday won't be easy and I don't want to injure myself.

With all this a helping hand is sometimes needed, especially when it comes to the housework. For me that comes last on my list of things to do especially the ironing. I simply don't have time during the day. It is an accident waiting to happen if I got the hot iron out whilst Little Man was awake, and when my kids are finally asleep I am just too tired to iron or I have work that needs to be done instead.

SteamOn is a newly formed ironing business based in Wakefield, about 5 minutes from Junction 39 of the M1, and they got in touch to see if they could do some ironing for me. Imagine my delight at the email. Almost as good as winning the lottery, well for me anyway. I jumped at the opportunity and arranged to take my ironing to them one Saturday morning.

Laura, the owner, was more than welcoming and by Monday evening I received an email detailing 3 hours worth of ironing and that I could collect my ironing from them or they would deliver. Given I was in the area anyways I opted to collect. My clothes were professionally handed back to me, crease free and those that could be hung up were on hangers and others neatly folded in the laundry basket I had delivered them in.

All my clothes had been beautifully ironed, no creases and no burn marks and I also received all my items back again. Quick and simple. This was just the helping hand I needed. I had dropped off over 20 items which included 2 shirts, school uniform, party dresses, jeans, trousers and jumpers. Some tricky to iron items and some much quicker items. Each one had been ironed to a high standard and I have no issues or complaints about the service. At £15 an hour I would also say the cost is reasonable too and given the amount of items I dropped off, and the fact a lot were time consuming items I am very impressed at the turn around time and the amount of time taken on each item.

Now I know where SteamOn are based and how easy they are to get to I shall certainly be using the service again. Especially when training increases for the 50 mile ultra later in the year! If you do contact SteamOn please make sure you mention you saw this blog post!

Thanks to SteamOn, all words are my own opinion.

No comments

4 comments

Opinion matters recently conducted a survey on behalf of Panasonic of 2000 adults in May 2014, they were looking at household chores and responsibilities.

The Panasonic domestic report found that modern busy mums are feeling the pressure to keep an immaculate home. I know this feeling all too well, particularly when I worked full time. I found it hard to balance time with the children and working, as well as looking after a house. The survey found that two thirds wish they could clean more but struggle to find time and 78% are embarrassed to have visitors round because of the mess.

Time is often the thing we wish we had more of. I refuse to do house work over the weekend as this is the time we spend together as a family and I think it is important to have this quality time together. I still clean up after ourselves and load the dishwasher etc. but not a major house clean. Others find the time when the children go to bed to do the housework.

As the children have gotten older they want to help and so often give them a duster and we clean together, singing songs and having a dance as we go. Cleaning with someone is much more fun and a great way to make it go faster.

A top tip from Aggie Mackenzie is to skip the gym, no really. 30 minutes of vacuuming burns around 90 calories. We put music on and have a dance too and you could always engage your core as you stretch high to reach those curtain rails. Create your own workout at home whilst you make your home sparkling clean.

Others like to hire a cleaner although 75% admitted to cleaning before the cleaner comes so as to not show how untidy they really are. This results in a waste of £30million employing cleaners per year.

The best top tip from Aggie is making sure appliances are clean and in good working order. This can result in better more efficient appliances and therefore more effective cleaning. Cleaning washing machines regularly ensures cleaner clothes. I've also found that a steam iron is much better at ironing than a Traditional iron. It seems to be much quicker and gives a better finish meaning I spend less time ironing!

I would love to know your top tips for household chores.

I have not received monetary payment for this post. It is written in collaboration with Panasonic.

No comments

7 comments

At the moment I feel rubbish, not in an ill way but emotionally. I started my eldest daughter at nursery when she was 11 months old, 2 weeks before I went back to work. She really hated it. Screamed every time I dropped her off, was always red eyed when I picked her up and never wanted to go. She is a different story now and often asks to go and play. She talks about her key workers and tells me about her friends at nursery. I feel much better about her going as I think she enjoys it.

I said when my youngest was born that we would start her in nursery at a younger age and with much more time before I went back to work. My husband and I decided 9 months old. Today she had her first afternoon visit. All was fine for the first hour as I sat and played with her. I think she enjoyed that no one was taking her toys and she could explore new surroundings. It was then decided that I leave to let her explore and settle on her own.

I felt so mean and horrible. I feel like I am the worst parent in the world. I know she is looked after. I did so much research on nurseries and child minders and nannies, I spent weeks reading offstead reports and looked round all the local nurseries before settling on the one she is at. So I know its the best care other than her family but I still feel rotten.

I came home and unpacked some boxes. We moved house in May and there are still loads of boxes to unpack, I just never have the time. I organised and put things away and kept myself as busy as possible to take my mind of it as best I could. It felt good unpacking and sorting but all the time it did not feel right, like something was missing.

I clock watched and as soon as it was time I set off to pick my girls up. My eldest came with me to pick up her sister, she did not know she had started at the same nursery. My youngest was so happy to see me that she cuddled her head into my chest. Nursery said she had been brilliant, ate all her dinner, drunk her milk and had a nap, so I think she is going to be ok.

My eldest told her Daddy that baby has a room at nursery and how she picked her up. My youngest would not let me go, she was my little koala bear. I know it has to be done because I have to go back to work. Not that I am complaining about work given the current economical state I am more than happy to have a job, let alone be lucky enough in one I really enjoy. It doesn't stop the guilt though and the pain. The feeling of am I doing the right thing or the worry. It definitely does not get any easier with your second. I am just glad I had those boxes to unpack to keep me busy else I think I would have sat outside in the car and just waited.

This day I love Keeping busy.

14 comments

About me

Follow Us

Popular

Brands