It seems that the UK has gone mad for cleaning in the last month or so, with the likes of Mrs Hinch exploding over on Instagram and even being interviewed on This Morning.

I have to admit that I have always been a fan of watching other people cleaning; there is something quite therapeutic about seeing someone speed-clean their home, although I’m not quite sure I can tell you why!  It was through watching other people however that I discovered a cleaning routine which sparked my interest; and has pretty much revolutionised the way that we clean our home.

I work four days a week in an office and one day from home, James works five to six days a week and is often out of the house by 6.15am and not home until 7pm.  We are busy people with active lives and cleaning is often the last thing on our minds.  Add into the mix two children, a dog and two gerbils and it can all become a bit of a handful.

I loathe cleaning.  I enjoy watching other people but for some reason, it doesn’t translate to me actually wanting to clean my own house.  Go figure!  So when I stumbled across a method which recognised that there was so much more to life than cleaning, and gave a realistic and practical way to keep on top of the housework…well, I was more than ready to sign along the dotted line.

You may already be familiar with The Organised Mum Method but if this is new to you, then TOMM is broken down into an eight week programme with three levels.  The main bulk of the cleaning takes just 30 minutes.  Nope, you read that correctly…just half an hour!  Level one is jobs you have to do every single day such as making beds and clearing floors.  Level two is the half an hour section where you try and complete as many of the jobs on the given tick list as possible.  Anything not completed gets rolled over to the following week.  The final level takes place on a Friday and is a focussed task.  Again, you spend no more than 30 minutes on it but this ensures that each part of your home gets a deep clean on a regular basis.

Between myself and James, this level of housework is more than manageable on a daily basis; even with after-school clubs for Meg and Eli, exercise classes for the two of us and just all the other weekly commitments we have.  Somehow knowing that you are working to a 30 minute deadline makes you go that much faster, and be that much more productive and I don’t know that our house has ever stayed at this level of tidiness before.  We obviously have the added difficulty of the fact that we are living in a renovation project-home and the general level of dust from the work we are doing is off the scale.  Before we started using TOMM I felt like I was never getting on top of things, and now I feel like it is completely possible to maintain.

It doesn’t stop there however.  Now that Meg and Eli are older, we are involving them in the tidying and cleaning process.  They have to take responsibility for their own rooms but they also have to help us out a few times a week when we do the 30 minutes.  We feel it is important for them to understand how much work goes into keeping a tidy home.  And to make things even easier (if that were possible!) we are trying to make smart decisions when it comes to the redecoration.  For example, at the moment we are working on the playroom and will be installing laminate flooring in the next month or so.  Although laminate may be the colder choice given that the room has no natural sunlight, it is perfect for a playroom as it will be super easy to clean up any mess or spills and should last us a lot longer than carpet would.  Our hope is to eventually have hardwood floors across the whole of downstairs to make it that much easier to clean up and keep things looking good!

Different cleaning methods will appeal to different people but for me, the TOMM makes perfect sense.  I like having a guide to follow, I like that I can tick things off when I have done them.  I like that I don’t have to wonder which part of the house needs the most work as I just follow the eight weeks and know that every part will receive that important tidy and deep clean.  We no longer have a ‘Monica cupboard’ in our house; or imposing mountains of paperwork which we keep handily ignoring because we are forced to deal with each room throughout the programme.  You can even get TOMM playlists through Spotify to help get you through the routine.  It’s fantastic and has truly changed the way we clean our home.  I would highly recommend giving it a whirl.

2018 was always going to be an interesting year for this little corner of the internet.  Now that I work four days a week, I don’t have as much time or headspace to dedicate to creating content; especially when you add in having to keep up a presence on social media, the photography involved, shooting and editing video footage…and just all of the many elements which go into making Catch A Single Thought the blog that it is.

I remember sitting down with James at the start of the year and basically, to quote my favourite (not) line from X-Factor…’this is a make or break year for me’.  Either I can achieve the things I want so very badly to achieve, or I have to admit that it is time to take a step back from the blog and from Youtube and just go back to being a non-influencer.  Of course in my heart of hearts that isn’t what I wanted to do, but with so much else going on, I needed to prioritise the things which made me happiest.

And then out of the blue, a message slid into my DMs.  ‘Congratulations…you have been shortlisted for the Lifestyle Vlogger category at The Northern Blog Awards 2018.’  Believe me when I tell you that my jaw hit the ground.  I don’t think I have ever been nominated for a thing in my life, never mind an award.  Isn’t it funny how just at that moment when we begin to wonder if we are just caught in a different kind of rat-race, something amazing goes and happens.

It’s a tricky one because I don’t write and I don’t film just for the accolades.  But knowing that there are people who appreciate the content I create goes a huge way to boosting my motivation and beating that little voice in my head that often compares me to others, telling me to keep on trucking.  It reminded me that I do in fact have my own little community, and that this space is appreciated by other people.

So despite the fact that I have been blogging for over six years now, September saw me attend my first ever blogging awards ceremony!

The Night Itself…

I felt very much like this was a big night for me.  Not only were James and I able to get dressed up but it felt like I was making a statement.  I don’t want to walk away from everything I have worked so hard to build here; I was fully invested again in my blog and my channel.  I want to make this work and I am excited for the potential that I have here.  For some reason, when people ask me about my blog and my Youtube I try and play it down.  I make out as though it isn’t something that I spend a good portion of my time thinking about, planning and executing.  I honestly can’t tell you why that is but I know that I need to be better about it.  So with that in mind, we put on our gladrags (I even got my make up done!) and away we went to The Midland Hotel in Manchester.

The night was absolutely fantastic from start to finish.  There were a few brands dotted about with different things for people to get involved with; like clambering into baths in a very undignified manner, having photos taken in a booth and against a flower wall of dreams and so on.  This was mixed in with a delicious three course meal, the awards ceremony and then dancing until the wee hours.

You will have to forgive the quality of the photos.  James did a stellar job of filming with my big camera whilst I whirled about, drinking prosecco and having the best time, but it meant I was mostly using my phone to take pictures and despite it being a blogger fail, these are the best I have.

As I had expected, I didn’t win my category, although the vlogger who won then went on to win ‘Content Creator of the Year 2018’ so I won’t put myself down too much.

As we had to get back for the kids, we left at around 11pm but it was a wonderful night and we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Even if my feet ached by the very end!  I’ll be uploading a vlog this Sunday evening with some more footage of the night if you want to keep your eyes peeled for that.

So what’s the update?

The final piece of the puzzle, and I’ll try not to waffle on too much, is that this has given me a second wind.  It is very inspiring to be surrounded by people who are all interested in the same things you are; who have a passion for creating vivid and interesting content whether that be through their words, their photography or their videography and it reminded me why I love what I do so very much.  I just need to learn to shout about it a little more.

I don’t have the same capacity for creating content as I did this time last year but that doesn’t mean that I am going to stop.  I have some exciting ideas for my Youtube channel in particular, and I want to get back into writing more meaningful content over here as well as I do miss that aspect.  We have a press trip coming up in November so look out for an update following that, and a few things in the pipeline for 2019 as well.  So overall I am very much looking forward to the next few months and I want to say a big thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for me, who takes the time to visit here and read what I have to say, and who encourages me with comments on a regular basis.  It really does mean a lot.  And my promise is that I am going to try and be more organised, and keep things rolling along.  Because it really is something I love doing and I don’t want it to stop just yet.

It’s funny how easily we can become stuck in a rut and I know that is especially true of me when it comes to fashion.  For the past 10 years I have stayed with a style which worked for me; the invention of skinny jeans became my look and for as long as I can remember I have been a ‘skinny jeans and tee’ kind of girl.  A lot of that has to do with having the kids and finding that I didn’t have time to do anything other than throw on something simple, but also because it allowed me to be comfortable whilst running around and getting down on my hands and knees to play.  Although I have lost the knee from many a great pair of jeans that way too!

Recently however I have begun to feel the need to shake things up a little.  I wanted to stretch my every day looks and try new things; be a little braver in my clothing choices and although what I have been trying out is by no means revolutionary…it’s quite a step for me.  This stepping out also includes changing up my hair which is a massive deal as I have had the same hairstyle for well over a decade *cough*

I don’t want to say that it was connected to my turning 30, or that there was any one thing which prompted my decision but just recently I have been making different choices with my clothing.  I mean, I still have 5 or 6 pairs of trusty skinny jeans lined up and waiting but I’ve also been including dresses, shirts, cropped pants, and cropped tees into my every day as well.

It has been a lot of fun playing around with different looks, finding that I don’t want to stick to one particular style but that I actually get like changing things around.  Where one day I might dress quite casually in a slub dress and sandals, the next I might opt for a stylish shirt and tailored trousers.  Don’t get me wrong; I am never going to be a fashion vlogger and I will always, always be more Primark than Prada but I think I am getting into my stride and I am pleased that I am no longer just opting for what is easy.

It also definitely helps that I have more time to get ready in a morning now.  I am not a morning person and there is no way on earth I will get up earlier than I need to so not having to run around getting the kids ready gives me more time to plan out what I want to wear each day.  It’s lovely that the kids have a little more independence in getting themselves ready and that allows some ‘me’ time in a morning too.  It also definitely helps that I am less likely to be chasing down an errant child and in need of practical clothing although that does still happen on occasion.

And I’m not quite a convert just yet.  There is just something so comforting about a good pair of skinny jeans which even the prettiest dress can’t quite match…