CLEAN QUEEN
Mum-of-22 Sue Radford reveals clever way she gets kids to help clean their Morecambe mansion
KEEPING your house clean when you have kids can be a mission, so imagine what it’s like when you have 22.
Sue Radford, 46, from Morecambe, revealed her very clever strategy for getting her super-sized family to pitch in with chores.
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Each week, Sue does 880kg of laundry and their family’s five wheelie bins are constantly full of rubbish.
Speaking on Sue said: “There’s lots of jobs to do around the house, making sure all the kids’ needs are being met.
“Everything on a daily basis can be a bit overwhelming.
“Enough is enough, I don’t mind being mum but they need to start chipping in and helping out a lot more as things are getting a bit out of hand at the moment.”
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On the show, Sue decided it was high time the kids started helping out more so invented a clever system; a chores competition.
She wrote down all the jobs that needed doing, from hoovering to taking the bins out, and divided them up among the girls and boys.
The aim of the competition was to see who would finish their jobs first, the boys or the girls.
Sue explained: “So the point of this board is getting everyone a little bit involved in the household.
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“We’ve got the whiteboard and we thought if we did a boys vs girls chores list, we think that will work really well.”
The nine boys in their 10-bed home at the time (Archie, Oscar, Caspar, Max, Josh, James, Daniel, Luke and Max) took on the nine girls (Heidie, Bonnie, Phoebe, Hallie, Tillie, Amiee, Ellie, Katie and Millie).
To get their attention, Noel turned the internet off in their four-storey home, and before long, the kids started flocking downstairs.
There was a bit of sabotage when two of the kids wiped the board clean, but Sue said: “There is no escaping the chore board.”
Sue and Noel also got the children to help wash the car, but it turned into a water fight.
After a day of job, the Radfords home was left looking spick and span, but who won the competition?
Noel said: “Well to be honest we weren’t really keeping score of who was winning.”
Sue said: “The house was clean and that’s all we were asking for.”
Noel replied: “If they ever do ask we’ll say it was a draw.”
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Sue and Noel, 51, are parents to Chris, 33, Sophie, 28, Chloe, 27, Jack, 25, Daniel, 23, Luke, 21, Millie, 20, Katie, 19, James, 18, Ellie, 17, Aimee, 16, Josh, 15, Max, 13, Tillie, 12, Oscar, 10, Casper, nine, Hallie, seven, Phoebe, six, Archie, four, Bonnie, three, and Heidie, two.
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Sadly the couple's 17th child Alfie was still born on July 6, 2014.
The family famously doesn’t rely on benefits and is supported by their pie shop business.
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Cleaning hacks and tips
Here are some tips to help you clean your home like a pro:
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