Keeping a spick and span house with a nine-to-five job and children: a dream or reality?

[Lidi31]

On the Internet you can find lots of sites giving advice on how to de-clutter your house and keep it clean. Most tips are workable. Yet, when it comes to putting them into practice, you come up against two stumbling blocks - a time-consuming job and a family who don't seem to mind the mess and willingly contribute to cluttering the house. The mess really gets me down, but I don't seem to be able to get round to cleaning the WHOLE house and keeping it clean for at least a few days. On weekdays, I prefer to spend evenings with my family dining and unwinding. I cook the meal, give my baby a bath and take him to bed. By the end of the day, I feel squeezed like a lemon and don't feel like clearing up. At weekends, I make up the work I've missed by clearing up the mess on the ground or first floor, cleaning, vacuuming and ironing. What is worse, I haven't got time to do all the cleaning. In short, if you're in the same boat but manage your family, household chores and professional life better than I do, please give some practical tips. As you've understood, I'm interested in striking the right balance between these three things.

[SandysMam]

I got a cleaner. Only once a fortnight but made such a difference and a massive weight off my mind.
It makes me more mindful of chucking out junk. It means I spend a bit of time getting the house to baseline clean, then know it will have a deep clean every two weeks which I just find I do not have the time for. She comes when I'm at work so I never even see her!
I also set my timer for 15 minutes every evening to have a tidy up, really motivates me to get stuff done and once the time is up, I relax, amazing what can be done in 15 minutes.
Your house looks lovely by the way!

[merrygoround51]

Overall its a dream but there are things that with some disipline you can achieve.

Kids toys
I dont know what age your kids are but for mine if its not in a box by bed then its in the bin. I have carried through on this so they know its real!

Laundry
Never ever leave out an ironing board and clothes - even if you are only squashing them under the stair, dont leave them there to stare at. Its depressing
One load every day so it doesnt build up

[NoCapes]

Is that your house? It's gorgeous!

Few things I try to implement -

• Kids have to tidy their rooms on Mondays, Thursday's and Saturdays, apart from that I shut the door
  
• Playroom has to be tidy each night, whatever isn't tidy I confiscate for a week (I'm not brave enough to just bin it)
  
• Never start a load of washing until the previous one is finished - and by finished I mean washed, dried, ironed or folded and put away! Nothing worse than having 6 or 7 wash loads all piled up waiting to be put away
  
• Make sure all kitchen sides are clear before bed - hate waking up to a messy kitchen
  

And a phrase I try to live by and try to drum into my kids - Don't put it down, Put it away!

[HeyMacWey]

The only way you can do it is by sharing the load.

You don't mention a dh. If there is one what does he do to contribute to the housework effort?

[idontlikealdi]

Any toys that are on the floor when they go to bed go in the bin, same with pens without lids. We have 5mins tody up time before they go to bed.
Don't iron.
Laundry put away as soon it is done.
Everything has a place.

[HardToDeal]

I'm a lone parent, work full time with two young dc and I do keep my house reasonably tidy. Firstly, I mainly forget about kid's rooms, they can be blitzed every now and then but I don't look at them so they don't bother me. But I never go to bed without washing dishes, cleaning surfaces, clearing the living area floor and putting toys away. Sounds like a big job but I have a toy box which everything gets scooped into, and you'd have to wash up anyway so might as well get it done straight away. I try to do ironing etc a basket at a time and not let it build up. This way I'm never faced with a massive hill to climb, the house is 'reset' at the end of every day so there's only ever a day's worth to do. It may be grubby round the edges but it's always nearly ready for visitors. The best tip is just do things immediately, saves a small job becoming a huge one.

[Lidi31]

Thank you all for replying. Most suggestions are really good and I mean it from the bottom of my heart. The idea of throwing /hiding toys away appeals to me. I'll give it a try.

I'm married and have a 4-year-old son. Obviously, the spouses should share the load. My husband has his share, though probably not in the common sense. Our household chores are roughly divided into indoor and outdoor chores. He mows the lawns, prunes trees, etc. At the house, right now he's redoing the first floor. Luckily, I'm not married to a couch potato. That said, I think HeyMacWey put her finger on one of the problems - like Hansel and Gretel my husband tends to lay a trail of his clothes and instruments all over the house:) Should I nag at him?
P.S. The house is ours. Thank you for your compliments. I'll post another photo of it after ironing and de-cluttering the corner

[hotdiggedy]

Joining to share your pain. I think the only way to really have it done is for family members to pull their weight but in reality that is highly unlikely. Its so tedious having to do the same old basic jobs over and over again that you are tired/fed up and don't move on to other jobs that need doing.

[HeyMacWey]

Don't nag him - sit down and have a conversation about what needs to be done every week and say you need a bit more of a collaborative/team work approach to get everything done.

Don't feel bad/apologetic about asking for help - if he lived by himself he'd still have to do the hoovering, washing up, cooking etc. Too many women slip into the habit of full time housewife as well as full time career whilst the men slip into 1950's roles!

[OhTheRoses]

Cleaner to clean.
I can't go to bed without tidying
Ironing gets done in one go so everything I put away afterwards.