You know when you have kids you get much more intimately acquainted with cleaning up vomit, poo and wee than you ever thought possible. I distinctly remember getting onto my first flight to Northern Ireland with no 2 son who chose getting on to the plane as the moment to do an explosive poo which dripped out of the nappy, clothing and sling until I was covered too. The businessman who sat down beside me looked on in horror as I sat covered in baby poo until the ‘fasten seat belts’ sign had been switched off and I could go and clean up.

And then there was the time no1 son puked for the entire flight to Menorca. The smell was hideous and although we had a change of clothes for him, we weren’t so lucky.  Digusting.

Luckily, this intimacy with grossness stood me in good stead when my friends recently came to visit bringing their 2 little girls who get on famously with our boys. Our No2 son and their no2 daughter refused to keep their clothes on (as toddlers will – what’s that all about?) and were happy bouncing away on our spare bed. That is, until no2 son came in and reported that his playmate had poo’d and wee’d on the bed.

Well, worse things have happened at sea. Armed with some Cheeky Wipes, and bicarb of soda, we’ve cleaned it until you’d never know it had happened. Here’s how to deal with those ‘incidents’:

• Dispose of any solid poo with a piece of kitchen roll
• Sponge the wet /dirty areas with Cloth Wipes, soaked in water and washing liquid. We used Cheeky Wipes, which meant that rather than using one cloth, wringing it out and reusing, when one wipe was soiled we just chucked it into the washpile and took a new one. The wipes were also soaked in some Mucky Wipes Oil (Tea Tree & tea Tree Lemon) which is naturally anti-bacterial but also has a great fresh lemon smell.
• Once any stains are removed, sprinkle the wet patch with lots of bicarbonate of soda. Any smell will be absorbed by the bicarb which can be hoovered off when dry. It really is amazing and also works well on vomit too.

The mattress is as good as new and we haven’t used lots of chemicals to clean it (and in any case, most of them don’t remove odours but just mask them.  Yuck.)

If you don’t already use bicarbonate of soda to clean in your house, get some in because I’ve got loads of tips for how to use it to clean your house effectively which I’ll share over coming months.

A few weeks back we took delivery of a new chest freezer.  I’ve been wanting one for AGES because until we’ve only had a little 3 drawer freezer inside which was about as much use as a chocolate teapot.  Mainly because it was so full that I’d lost track of what we had in there.

With 3 kids who like to eat traditional kids grub (fish fingers, spag bol, shepherds pie, casserole, pizza) I tend to cook in bulk once or twice a week on the days that I’m not working.  So, for example I’ll cook Lamb and Apricot Tagine, but I’ll make it using 3lbs of meat so I’ve got lots spare.  Whatever isn’t eaten that night is frozen in bags (small and large) for later consumption. 

Now I know that this is all pretty standard ‘cooking in advance’ stuff which most of us to do some extent.  But, oh my god, if you can get to a stage where you’ve got lots of things to choose from it does make menu planning SO much easier.  And it makes daily life a lot easier and greener too: 

• Less dishes to wash up 
• Very little preparation time
• Less trips to the shops to stock up – saving time and petrol
• Less energy used in cooking as you’re doing loads at the same time

 

But there’s added benefits too. The sort that just make you feel good about yourself and think ‘actually I’m doing OK in the domestic goddess stakes if I could only lick my fingers and stuff my face in the middle of the night’. For example:

• Last week I made two loaves of banana bread to use up bananas which had gone spotty. (Pat on back for using up stuff, not throwing it out).  I froze one loaf.  Yesterday when it was my turn to bring the treat for coffee morning, I just lifted the banana bread out ( recipe from the superb Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache) and trotted off. The bread was lovely and I felt good about the hassle-free pleasure of bringing it.
• Last night I had sorted dinner for the kids and wasn’t sure about what us adults would eat.  I spotted some mozzarella which needed to be eaten before it went out of date, promptly thought ‘Pizza’ and it was literally 5 mins effort to lift 2 frozen home-made pre-cooked pizza bases (left over from previous weeks pizza making), defrost some tomato base and pop them in the oven.  Quicker than waiting for Pizza delivery, cheaper AND gives you that saintly glow from using up food before it goes off and cooking it all yourself. 

I definitely think I’ve saved money on shopping, more because I don’t have to pop to the shops for essentials like bread and milk as I’ve got a ready stash in the freezer.  And you know those ‘pop-ins’ always end up costing you £20 as you buy stuff you don’t really need. 

If you need any more persuading, because I can keep the Ice Cream maker bowl frozen and ready to use, lovely Ice Cream is only minutes away…

The current run of windy weather (which makes me feel as if I’m back living in Northern Ireland where it’s windy like this practically all the time!) makes me feel like my Mum sometimes. How so? Well, weather like this always prompts my Mum to remark ‘great weather for drying’, i.e. should you choose to hang your washing on the line, it is likely to be dry rather sooner than later. And nowadays, with my washing machine on at least once, if not twice a day, I often find myself saying the same thing. I know, I’m SO exciting.

So why should you hang your washing out to dry, rather than just stick it in the tumble-drier? Here’s a little reminder:

• You’ll save money – tumble-drying all your washing (5 loads a week) costs around £50 per year
• You’ll be doing your bit for the environment by saving on electricity
• Your house won’t resemble a laundromat with clothes hanging over every available radiator space
• Your clothes will smell LOVELY.  No need for Febreze in this household
• You’ll work off some calories by standing in the freezing cold attempting to peg out your smalls
• Sunlight will bleach away organic food stains (carrot etc).  Yes, really!

And here’s how to avoid those pitfalls of washing on a line:

• To avoid wrinkles, shake each item thoroughly before pegging
  To avoid crispy jeans and towels, tumble dry for 5 mins to fluff then line dry
• How to hang trousers - Pin the hems of the legs to the line with the waist hanging down
• Hanging shirts and tops – Pin the shirts by the bottom hem at the side seams, or (my favourite) hang on the line on a clothes hanger
• Hanging Socks – Put the socks together in pairs and peg the toes to the line, letting the socks dangle open for quicker drying

Now – all you need is a washing line and some wind.  Plenty of that around at the mo.  Stay safe everyone.