To ask how on earth do you keep an organised and clean house in the summer holidays!!

[ginorwine]

Ours is collapsing about my ears!!:0 average of 8 teens a day going thro it needing food , shoes everywhere , sheer bulk of their stuff , energy , occasional spills. Love it but the food disappears ditto juice and the house needs constant up keep after sleepovers and human traffic! My bedroom is a state as flop in it and the laundry is a pyramid! They do tidy up after selves : in a teenage way :) but it's like livi g in a storm ! We are closest to town so they come here which I prefer so keep eye on em ,
My routine is normally to clean and clear kitchen each night but with loads teens I tend not to go in it so the am is starting with mess etc . We have sofa in kitchen which is a sofa bed and visiting teens sleep there!
I partly love it all and am having a semi humour s rant ! I'm not good at keeping on top of things when the house is full - eg can't Hoover around a roomful of folk?! :0

[allisgood1]

You get your mum to come live with you June-September. Clean house all the time. Job done.

[scarlettsmummy2]

Make them sit in the garden if you have one!

[Hoppinggreen]

I just adopt the " everyone fed no one dead" approach until September!!!!

[ginorwine]

Hopping - think will try that !
Yes we have garden but they can't watch films in that ha ha!

[hamptoncourt]

I have similar issues gino

I am very happy that my teens and their friends like being here and feel comfortable in my home, but I do get fed up with the mess sometimes.

What works for me is that I talk to the friends and get a bit Sergeant Major with them, and say "Right! everyone needs to do X, Y and Z or the internet is going off/no more sleepovers/no more friends round the rest of the summer." I will then go off and have a shower and say I want it all tidy and cleanish by the time I get back.

They have usually managed to clear all the crap off the floor, put stuff in the dishwasher/laundry and pushed the hoover round.

[ginorwine]

All is good! No spare bed room plus that wd double my stress !! Ha .

[pictish]

I don't. I can't.
I am currently sitting in a disaster zone, waiting for the kids to go back on Wednesday, so I can slowly start to put it right again.

I'm not a spring cleaner...I'm an autumn one. I do the big clear out to ready the house for winter, when we will be spending a lot more time in it.

[ginorwine]

Hampton - why did I not think of that ! Often teens more willing to help in another house than own ! Teamwork ! Light bulb moment! :) thanks !!!

[ginorwine]

Precious. - A few reasons I guess- they feel at ease here and get fed! Pkus I have time off work whereas parents at work may not let in house pkus a good few live in country side and meet in town and we are in good location!

[ginorwine]

Plus

[ginorwine]

Plus part of this rant is tounge in cheek as I partly love it :) !

[figgypuddings]

Pizzas, plastic cups, valium clear a path to the washing machine. I also invested in a small rubbish burner.

[BabyGoose]

We were never allowed visitors at home when we were kids. I hope when my children grow up I'm just like you! I just want all their friends to feel welcome and comfortable in our house.

[Kim82]

Only one of mine is teenage (13) but all my older 3 bring friends round on a daily basis, no other parent lets them bring their friends into the house. Odd but their choice. Anyway, I tidy up downstairs after breakfast and again after tea. Kids aren't allowed out in the morning until their bedroom is tidy. In between my two cleaning times a day the house is a state but with a 4 week old as well I just can't bring myself to care! At least it's tidy in the evening when I sit down to relax for the day and that's good enough for me.

[DemelzaandRoss]

Don't worry about it. Nothing bad will happen. Just clear up when they've all gone back to school.

[aquashiv]

Just ask them to help.

[Stinkle]

I've given up trying.

Kitchen and bathrooms are fine, living room has seen better days but nothing 5 minutes shoving things in the cupboards and a whizz round with the hoover won't solve.

The rest of it is a pit

I'll sort it out when they go back to school - no one has died yet

[foxdongle]

Mine help with the once a week blitz, then just a quick tidy every day.
DC are more out than in tbh.
Also we go away at least twice and have lots of days out -less tidying required.

[maninawomansworld]

8 teenagers in the house............. !
There's your reason for the bomb site. Unless they're all your own teens I wouldn't be having any of that shit... don't they have their own homes?

[deakymom]

go on holiday my house looked great till i got home! seriously the kids help make the mess and clean it up (mostly)

[WillWorkForMoney]

My mam always had an open house for all our friends and we loved it. I'm hoping to have the same for my dd's, but dp is a bit of a grump so i'm easing him in slowly lol.

My house is currently a tip as we moved 9 days ago and things have not found permanent homes yet so loads of stuff stored all over. I can't wait until the kids go back so I can sort stuff. I've spent 2 weeks of the holidays preparing to move and then a week sorting the important stuff, so i feel the rest of the holidays can be the kids' time to do some fun stuff.

[ICanSeeTheSun]

You don't, grin and bear it till September book 2 days off the 1 for cleaning the other just to sit in a nice clean tidy quiet house until pick up time.

[5madthings]

We have been living in a bomb site till the last few days and I went hardcore and got the kids to pitch in.

I still need to mop floors and clean bathroom but bedrooms are tidy and hovered and today I sorted downstairs.

On my list for later on the week


Clean kitchen cupboards

Sort paperwork pile in dining room and sort pc desk.

Take bags to charity shop, they are currently in conservatory.

Have managed to get on top of the laundry and put it away which is a miracle in itself.

I need to keep it tidy till the 23rd when we are away on holiday, it will then be messy for a few days as we unpack etc but then madthings are back at School is ignoring the fact they have two days at school and then we have a weekend away which will mean more chaos