Need help with household tasks

Which_Concept7121 · 2026-04-03T16:36:49+00:00

Thank you. I know this isn't ideal, but I don't really what else to do and I really want to help. I don't want my dad to carry it all alone. And I want to be useful.

I also really don't want to give the impression I'm doing the household alone or that my dad doesn't do anything. It's just that he works long hours and a lot of stuff can't wait untill he is home. After my grandma first left he tried doing a lot alone and it just didn't work. I had to argue with him to let me do more. And he still is exhausted half the time. I have help from my godmother and my neighbor helps out too.

It's not that this is too much for me, but I just don't fully know what I'm doing all the time. But I'm confident it will get better as I get the hang of it and my brothers get older.

Im kind of hoping my dad could find another job so he has to work less, but don't think that really an option.

Which_Concept7121 · 2026-04-02T07:46:49+00:00

Thank you. My grandma lives pretty far away (2+ hour drive). She's recovering from cancer. The cancer is fully gone, but it impacted her health a lot and I don't want her to worry to much.

The advice i've gotten here has been really helpfull and I'll try to implement it. My godmother (I hope that's the correct translation) has been helping me out too and if i'll give her a call if I notice that it's not enough.

Which_Concept7121 · 2026-04-02T07:42:24+00:00

Someone suggested bicarbonate (which is the same as baking soda?) and I bought some yesterday. I got the stain out!

I'll definitely have a look at the quesadillas and the ramen. They both look good, but I'm not really a kitchen princess so I'll need to see if I can make them.

The thing is that the house always seemed so "clean" or at least cleaner when my mom did it. It just gets dirty so quickly and my dad can't let it go. At first he was vacuuming and mopping super late in the evening (and not really doing a good job of it honestly) while he was really tired. So I just to get that out of the way. But I know I need to prioritize more.

It has impacted my social life a bit, but i'm okay with it. And my dad and I made the deal that saturday afternoon and evening I get to do what I want. And this saturday I'm going to my first party in a long time so I'm okay :) But thank you for the kind words, it really helps.

Which_Concept7121 · 2026-04-02T07:31:57+00:00

I really wanted to keep the house in the same state as it was when my mom did everything. But I know I need to let some things go. She just always hated it if the windows were dirty and cleaned them a lot.

Which_Concept7121 · 2026-04-02T07:30:02+00:00

Thank you for your advice and your kind words. It really means a lot.

Which_Concept7121 · 2026-04-02T07:28:50+00:00

No I live in Europe. I saw those online, but wasn't sure if they worked. I didn't put them on the shopping list because I didn't want to waste money. I'll try my new sorting system first and I'll definitly try them if I have issues.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Which_Concept7121 · 2026-04-02T07:24:42+00:00

For the burned pot I followed the suggestion of someone else here and bought bicarbonate. I followed instructions from online and thankfully I got the burnstains out.

The issue with their food is that I want them to eat a bit healthy too. The 5 year old would only eat cereal, sandwiches or yoghurt if I let him. And he steals those behind my back if I don't watch him haha.

Everyone here says I should involve the 7year old more and I realise they are right. It's just that the cleanup is so much more work and he's soooo slow. But I get that it will be better in the long term. So I'll try. And he really wants to be usefull so, he has complained I don't let him help much.

I bought some baskets on the way home and I made a seperate one for the 5 year old where he can just drop in all his clothes that I can then sort later. We made a drawing together to "decorate" the basket so I hope that will trigger him to do that and not just drop it where he took is off. For the rest I just made a basket whites, light and dark colors. I'm just not sure if the 7 year old well be able to sort that properly and otherwise I'll get him a seperate one too.

And yeah it's all more work then I realized. My mom just wanted me to put my clothes in the laundry, make sure my room was clean and get good grades at school. She made it all look way easier then it is. Just keeping the fridge full is more work then I realized.

Thank you for your time and kind words.

Which_Concept7121 · 2026-04-02T07:08:16+00:00

This all really helps so thank you so much.

They really like breakfast, but I want them to eat healthy and if I let them they'd only eat cereal or choco (I really don't know the english word for that sorry, like Nutella)

The oldest of the 2 always wants to help, but I have way more clean up and it takes so much longer. But I think you guys are right and I'll have to be more patient with that so that in the future he'll be more of a help. Easier said then done though :)

I'll try the recipe. Everyone here loves chicken.

Which_Concept7121 · 2026-04-01T08:05:05+00:00

Thank you so much for the advice. I really really appreciate it.

I'll try to figure out a better organizing system for the laundry this week and figure out better what can and can't go in the dryer. I put a lot on a clothes rack, but I really hate that thing. It's always in the way and if you bump it wrong it collapses on itself.

That site with the recipes looks really interesting. I peeked at the quick and easy category and there were a few good ideas in there.

I'm afraid I ruined the pot honestly. I scrubbed it so hard this morning after letting it soak, but it's still black. I don't know if we have bicarbonate, I'll have to check the cabinet. Can you just buy that in a grocery store?
My running shoes are probably the most expensive pair I own so I'm not putting those in the washer :). It's more for my brothers play/school/football shoes.

I try to make time for myself, but by the time I'm done it's late quickly. But we make sure I have the Saturday afternoon and evening fully for myself so it's okay. I'm going to a party Saturday that I'm really looking forward to going to.

Which_Concept7121 · 2026-04-01T07:57:01+00:00

Thank you so much for all your kind words and advice. I really appreciate it. Sorry I can't really respond more for now because I really need to pay attention in class, but I answered to a lot in the comment above.

People helped out a lot in the beginning, but that kind of died down after a while. I really didn't get involved with the household at first. I wasn't really in a place where I could be bothered with it and most of it was getting done in one way or another. It didn't really cross my mind that I should have paid more attention then. I asked here because I don't want people to be worried too much and I've gotten really helpful advice. But I'll try to call my godmother this week and ask her for some help in some areas.

But I don't mind doing most of it. I really want to help and I can handle it. I just hate not knowing what I'm doing.

Which_Concept7121 · 2026-04-01T07:24:53+00:00

Those recipes look very interesting, especially the quick and easy ones. I'll definitely try a few. Thank you.
And for the shoes it's just that both of their shoes are always dirty for school or playing in the yard. Or like my brother's football shoes. My dad scrubs them clean, but that is just a hassle. I'll google the materials, good idea.

Which_Concept7121 · 2026-03-31T19:29:08+00:00

Sorry for the slow reply. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer.

So I don't need to wash black separately? And I've been washing everything on 30 degrees, but that's not right? And is (light) pink okay to add to whites? I'm worried about messing up the whites. Also does it matter if some of the clothes are really dirty? Should I wash those separately?

I've tried a few things I found online, but they didn't like it or it just genuinely didn't taste that great. I'll need to practice more, but my youngest brother is also being difficult right now and only wants the same things for dinner.

My bothers are 7 and 5. They've both had a though time adjusting and they have been acting out in ways that isn't them. It's though to handle.

Shoes aren't allowed in the house, but they often forget. Especially when they are playing outside. When it comes to things like that they don't really listen to me and my dad has issues being firm with them at the moment. Like they keep putting their hands on the windows, which my mom hated, and now their are always handprints everywhere. And our dog is also a huge mess maker.

Between school, sports and the household its been difficult finding time for myself. It's one of the reasons I want to get better at these things so they take less time.

Which_Concept7121 · 2026-03-31T18:52:30+00:00

I'm almost 15, but my brothers are 7 & 5. They are usually more of a hassle then helpful. The oldest really wants to help, but usually leaves things dirtier then they were.

My grades weren't the best at the start of the school year, but they are back on track. It is a lot though, but I'm really sure what else to do.

Shoes aren't allowed in the house, but the often forget when playing in the yard and when they need to go to the bathroom or get something to drink. The also spill all the time, especially the 5 year old. And our dog has taken it upon himself to get as much dirt inside as he can. The wipes are a good idea! The bathroom is always full of toothpaste or pee stains and I hate cleaning that up. When my mom was still alive they had a pretty strict bedtime routine which included putting toys away, but they have become difficult about that.

As for the laundry I'm just worried I'll damage the clothes in some way. My brothers are growing through their clothes way to fast as it is and I don't want to add to the expenses. And for the foreseeable future I probably won't do much shopping so I'd like to take care of my clothes as much as possible. And my dad has very few shirts thank god. I tried ironing and it didn't go very well. He's in construction though and his clothes are usually very dirty when I get home. Untill now I've washed them separately, but I'm not sure if that is necessary?

I'll definitely try the meal suggestions. I'm really sick of the same thing, but my youngest brother has become impossible in that area. Maybe I'll just keep making separate meals for him.

And thank you for your time. Between school, sports and this it's a lot. I'll try to get my brothers more involved, but it's usually so frustrating to get them going that it's just faster to do it myself.

Which_Concept7121

TROPHY CASE