After all, we are what we eat, and instilling these habits from a young age not only supports growth and immunity but also teaches the vital role food plays in our overall health. Since his wife Angie’s death in October 2010 he has been a full time dad and mum to the six of their eight children who still live at home with him in Grimethorpe. It is true that the longer you do it the cleaner everything gets but you do have to stick to it for that to happen! Angie and Ian were childhood sweethearts,Angie adored kids and, as one of eight children himself, Ian was only too happy to have as many as they could. Because of my breast cancer history, I knew being overweight could put me at more risk of a relapse so I decided that I had to loose weight and take care of myself more.

And as one of eight children himself, Ian (who by now had become a miner, like his father) was only too happy to agree to Angie’s wish to have as many of their own as they could. Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon Republic, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Republic of Croatia, Republic of the Congo, Reunion, Romania, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City State, Venezuela, Virgin Islands (U.The Organised Mum Method (TOMM) is now religiously followed by hundreds of thousands of parents across the country. Fate was to test them again in 2004, when Ian had a serious brain haemorrhage, but once he’d recovered, the family got back on with their lives, confident they’d had their share of bad luck. Mine is so ingrained in me from having done it for years that I do it from memory then check the Facebook group or blog for what the Friday focus is. Raising eight children would be a big job for any couple; to raise them alone, without their mother, an almost Herculean feat. I could be completely honest about how I was feeling and being on this kind of journey that was super important to me.

So in the last months of her life, Angie compiled a list of 'rules' to guide Ian in the future, and put him on an intensive training course,so he could learn all the skills he would need. Decluttering bit by bit, thoroughly cleaning as I go 😊It's taking ages but I know each bit is clean and sorted and then just needs a little bit of work to keep tidy. I put charity bags straight into my car until I have a chance to drop them off then I revel in the clean space (usually about a 2' square but! I love TOMM because I thought motherhood had turned me into a disorganised mess who didn’t have time for the house, but it showed me that I just needed a little reassurance, a plan and a support group.With my second child, my interest in natural health grew, leading to a significant shift in my dietary choices. p>Sign up to the Little, Brown newsletter for news of upcoming publications, competitions and updates from our authors.

In 2010, when my daughter was just one year old, I received the devastating diagnosis of invasive stage 2 breast cancer.

In summary, TOMM promotes a balanced approach to keeping on top of it all, which means it is achievable for busy people. Bathroom is literally just a wipe round toilet after I go for a pee at some point and a wipe of the sink. You spend so much of your day running about to complete different tasks when you get home the routine of feeding, washing and trying to encourage your kids to do their homework feels like the day is done. Willy Wonka (played by Gene Wilder) to Charlie: Do you know what happened to the man who had everything he ever.

But all the knickknacks are memories of places we've been and it's the only place we have photos so it all has to stay.Angie, the job done, hadto find the courage to let them go, and Ian and the children the courage to carry on without her. It’s not a quick fix or a promise to drop a couple of dress sizes in time for a holiday/wedding or a special birthday. I think that'll stop once I've done a full round of friday focus; at the moment, there are things that are screamingly obviously in need of tackling, but once they've been done once, they won't scream at me as much. I haven't really used the app but I might try it as I think you can customise the jobs and there's a few bits I want to add to do with the animals. There’s also lots of other stuff to help you level up your life including an Organised Christmas planner, the Messy House Bootcamp and Clutter Buster and examples from Gemma’s own journal (just in case you need a bit of inspiration).