Just a thought... before turning down cake orders, why not hire a cleaning person? My regular housekeeper stops by several times a week to every day (as needed) after other jobs and cleans the bakery for one hour on her way home. I do keep it as neat as possible as I go.

You can search "freezing AND fillings" in the "How do I..." forum and find what you need with a bit of reading. Some fillings hold up while others don't.

My housekeeper makes $10.00 an hour. You are turning down more than $10.00 in business. I am talking about $10.00 at the end of the day so that you can run your business and not turn down much more money. It is the basic definition of an employee. You make more money by hiring them, not less. Look at this as a business and make good business decisions that will pay your bills, and much more important, keep your sanity. When I was younger, I had a marketing company. When I would put together a plan for a business, this was my most important question... "What do you do better than your competitors, and what do they do better than you?". In business you need to recognize your weaknesses and do something about them before you have a problem. I hate to clean and I know it. That tiny amount of money paid to the housekeeper makes every day a pleasant one. My business is fun, and I don't feel overwhelmed. I just went back and re-read your original post. This is your answer. I am not saying hire a housekeeper to clean your house. This is a business and hiring help is not a luxury, it is good sense.

I totally agree with Scp1127...Hire a neighbor kid who is a teenager and pay them like $20.00 to come over for a few hours and help clean up..Cook Kraft dinner for the kids etc...designate them to clean the kitchen or declutter your tools into a storage bin...It will be the best money you spent.

I used my sons old baby box when i first started out, for storing all my tools in . . Then i went about my self some stackable boxs on wheels, best buy of my life! Like other, being organised is key, Cleaning as you go ( i say this . . . But usually end up with a huge mess at the end Lol )

This is a very interesting post and glad to see it has come back around since it was first posted in July.

I too work full-time at a job that sometimes requires 60 hours per week. I am pleased to have a legal bake shop in my house seperate from my personal kitchen. I have a touch of OCD, so everything is organized and labeled. I too clean as I go, but yeah, there are times that the shop is a wreck! I think the other night I had every spatula I owned dirty. I have taught my oldest daughter how to do fondant cutouts. My husband makes all of my icings and can tint and fill bags. He is not allowed to bake or decorate, but the fact he cooks the meals and does the laundry is more than sufficient to make up for that. He isn't the best cleaner, and although he can wash dishes, I prefer to do them for them myself. In our personal kitchen we have a dishwasher, in the shop it is hot soapy water for me.

I have a housekeeper that comes every two weeks...although she doesn't clean the house like I would, I do not complain because it is more than it would get if I was doing it myself. One day I hope to leave my full-time job and do cakes full time--more so than I do now, but when that day comes, I know I plan to keep my housekeeper!

Anna...I guess my advise would be to go along with one of the others posts...if there is no money in the fund to buy things to organize, then maybe take the time to reorganize the house. Evaluate what you have where, what you can do without and get rid of it. Have the kids help organize their toys, and have a yard sale. I did that with my kids, and told them they could have of whatever we sold the toys for...my son made $75 and loved it, and I got rid of some things that weren't being used, and opened up all kinds of space. I commend you for homeschooling...that is definitely something is not for everyone, and it takes a strong person to do it. I also agree with other posts...get your husband on board...see if you can get him to help out more...I am sure he works hard too at his job, but so do you, and it should be a tag team effort at least on the kids and house part. I wish you luck my friend! Since this was started in July, I would love to hear an update...have you gotten the garage ready yet? I do hope things are looking up for you!

I can't imagine doing cakes in my kitchen without a supportive husband. And to be homescholing and everything else with it... I don't know how old your kids are, but my daughter just turned 7 and if I need 12 eggs, I give her a bowl and she can count and crack them for me. It doesn't save a ton of time, but then she's not *under* my feet, she's to the side and accomplishing a task. I can't wait until she can separate the egg too.

I also give her a notepad and she makes lists for me while I'm preparing to go shopping, and just recently she's starting loading the dishwasher too. She's not homeschooled yet, but we just filed the stuff to start in December, so I've been working through ways to get her even more involved, using the math, and word problems involved with caking to give real life examples of why math is important.

Maybe you could put a couple of kids onto worksheets and bring the other into the kitchen for home ec. and applied math classes. And then rotate them through to assist you and teach them and get one on one with each child for a little while. I don't know their personalities so this may not work, but it's just a thought

I certainly don't think kids should be slaves, but once they are old enough they need to contribute to the household in making it run smoothly. Also, my kids are 5 and 7, and they make their own breakfast. Just cereal or oatmeal, a yogurt, and a piece of fruit, but still, I assure you they would not be sitting there past 9am hungry.

I was homeschooled and I remember every tuesday having to go around the house and gathering all the dirty towels and starting the wash. Every thursday stripping all the beds and starting the wash. My mom would move them to the dryer and fold, and then I would take them from the couch and replace them to the beds or linen closet.

Anyhow, that was just a random kind of offshoot of the whole cake thing, but yeah, hope it helps Maybe just some encouragement at least! You will reap the rewards of investing into your children!

[quote="toni1218"]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosie2



Hi there!
I am new to baking / decorating. I had a question about your freezing comment. I had heard freezing was good but I was advised to freeze when the cake was slightly warm to trap the moisture and then thaw and do the rest. Do you crum coat too or just tort and freeze and crumb coat later. Does your filling hod up well to freezing (do you use butercream?)

I am open to new ideas.

Thanks

Hi Toni, ooops sorry! I had not seen your questions. Well, I have tried both ways...freeze while till warm and then freeze after I tort and fill and I don't see a difference. And no I don't crumb coat before I freeze. And yes my fillings hold up well. I really, really LOVE 'Bettercream' (make a note that is NOT buttercream, ok?) which is a light cream and I also usually add some fruit (strawberries, peach, apple) but the ones that come in a sleeve. Those freeze preety well too.

Good luck, and I hope I answered your questions. If not please let me know.

[quote="Rosie2"]

Quote:

Originally Posted by toni1218

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosie2



Hi there!
I am new to baking / decorating. I had a question about your freezing comment. I had heard freezing was good but I was advised to freeze when the cake was slightly warm to trap the moisture and then thaw and do the rest. Do you crum coat too or just tort and freeze and crumb coat later. Does your filling hod up well to freezing (do you use butercream?)

I am open to new ideas.

Thanks

Hi Toni, ooops sorry! I had not seen your questions. Well, I have tried both ways...freeze while till warm and then freeze after I tort and fill and I don't see a difference. And no I don't crumb coat before I freeze. And yes my fillings hold up well. I really, really LOVE 'Bettercream' (make a note that is NOT buttercream, ok?) which is a light cream and I also usually add some fruit (strawberries, peach, apple) but the ones that come in a sleeve. Those freeze preety well too.

Good luck, and I hope I answered your questions. If not please let me know.

Thanks Rosie! I will have to look up "Bettercream", sounds interesting!