Do you have a clean house? Or is it as I fear and like shovelling snow in a blizzard?

[sorkycake]

I'd love to have something resembling a show home even just once a week, but to no avail.

As fast as I tidy one place they've trashed another.

Should I just give up and scarf their chocolate or .......well, what is the alternative?

Please don't recommend FLYlady I hate it. I do have a routine, which used to work wonderfully but no longer does.

oh & I can't afford a cleaner either.

[juuule]

"Shovelling snow in a blizzard" hmmm that sounds about right....although that might be easier, thinking about it.

Constantly picking up and tidying and not really getting anywhere. Then blitzing a room every now and then.

Show home? We like to say ours is a 'lived in' home

[Idobelieveinfairies]

ours is usually tidy..show home..no!....occasionaly snow blizzard home..yes!..kinda inbetween the 2 i'd say!

[sorkycake]

Yes but do tramps live in there Juuule, cos they do in here

Have blitzed bathroom, hall and nursery, but waiting for LO to wake and have lunch before I get back to it.

I've two bedrooms to do, but they are total tips, the kitchen, living room, HE room and the futility room.

I'm not opening the blinds fully until the room is done, it's that bad

[PaulaYatesBiggestFan]

i am tidier the more children i have

i am good at not collecting stuff - its not a show home but the 'bigs' keep their rooms tidy or else!

[CarGirl]

It def helps if you keep de-cluttered, if they don't play with toys/things they either go away in the loft (if I think it's an age thing) or they get sold. It's made a big difference here.

[WendyWeber]

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing."

I've seen something very like that on eg fridge magnets:

Cleaning the house while the kids are growing
Is like shovelling snow while it's still snowing

and I thought it was just one of those generic witty phrases but apparently it belongs to Phyllis Diller, bless her heart.

[WendyWeber]

(Our house has been snowed under for at least 20 years )

[sorkycake]

who is she?

[OrmIrian]

Shovelling snow is about right. I have about 4 hours on 2 days a week when my house looks like a house rather than a charity shop/doss house. And then the children come home from school

[Troutpout]

i have a friend with 2 children who has a house in permanent show home status. I have never known it to be messy in 10 years.
If her husband opens a letter and leaves it on the side, rather than filing it in the drawer immediately, she goes ballistic at him.
Her ds will not do anything that involves getting his hands messy. At parent's evening the teacher expressed concern that he will not do messy play at all.
However ..when i go around to visit..i am sill that people can achieve this with kids and also...(without a doubt) i am definitely . Then i go home and look at my heap and am .

[NomDePlume]

3 kids, so I don't really qualify but I do have a clean and tidy house. Friday is my day off work so I use that day to blitz the house from top to bottom (large 3 storey, 5 bed property) whilst the kids are at school. I do little upkeep jobs inbetween. It helps that all of mine are school aged.

[jes74]

shovelling snow would be easier,my house is never tidy despite time sent trying dd today has covered table in yoghurt,poured drink into stacking cups all of which have holes in the bottom, and is now eating chocolate brownie mix from the bowl with a wooden spoon - none of this helps the house stay tidy but she is having a great time there will be a time when i have a tidy house it just wont be that time anywhere in the near future.

[WendyWeber]

A very early stand-up comedian

She was always pretty funny actually (and is still working according to Wiki which is amazing!)

[137wallis]

hmmm well i have 5ds ab=nd my house never looks tidy, as its tiny! so even if i hired a skip there would be too much stuff and not enough house! so we try and keep downstairs looking remotely tidy, but the rest looks likeatip very well lived in!

[PaulaYatesBiggestFan]

i am not proud of my tidy house tbh

i would rather be more chilled and messier within limits but i think i need order with such a number of people under one roof

[fizzbuzz]

Complete feckin tip ALL the time, and make no mistke, teenagers are much much worse than growing children, because everything like shoes, coats etc are much much bigger, therefore take up more space and create more clutter.

I am sitting here amongst debris, observing one wellie in the middle of the floor (20 mo dd), piles of toys, ds's SATS revision papers, dss shoes (size 12), cups New Scientist magazine (dp's), a school bag, 2 mobiles etc etc etc. Coat cupboard beyond belief, feel exhasuted just looking at it. 6 people (5 adults) with at least 3 coats and 4 pairs of shoes each, plus bags, scarves, brollies, gloves, football boots....it's horrific....and now there is nowhere to hang any more as it is full....so they get chucked on side

[ScienceTeacher]

My house is a tip most of the time. If people are coming over, we can usually get the living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom sorted within half an hour - so not too bad on the clutter front.

Our room is a lost cause because it's where everything else gets dumped.

[Idobelieveinfairies]

I totally agree, teenagers stuff is the worst. There shoes are so big and smelly!

And the football boots drive me crazy...all the mud!!!!!!!!!!!!

The biggest headache for me is the coats....school coats, weekend coats, rain coats, tracksuit zip up tops, work fleeces...they do come spilling into the big hall when everyone is home, not enough pegs/wallspace to hang them all up.

school bags are annoying too...

gosh i am moaning today!

[juuule]

Fizzbuzz, you are so right about teens taking up more room.

[JamSamBam]

ok, i know i was ignored when i asked if i could join in as i WANT a large family, but as i live with 2 kids, mum and occasional sister, B-I-L & thier brood, we are a sort of a large family. We have a messy house!!

the bottom floor ( mums bit) is tidy, the middle bit ( shared) is a mess andthe top bit ( mine) is god damn awful. even the cat hates my bit.I look at the rugs and think, soon those rice crispies will be crispie again and i can swep them up!!!

[EachPeachPearMum]

sorky love futility room

[tiredmumov4]

would lurve a tidy house but with 4 under 7 dog and oh its not happenin you wont catch anything but ya might fall over something

[sorkycake]

JamSamBam I answered you on the other post, I think Liaghen did too
Sorry you felt ignored x

The board was set up for people with 4+ children and all the additional parenting issues that come with them, although I've been granted a temporary badge status until I conceive no.4 (hopefully this month, in fact, hopefully today ).
I had to special promise an swear an oaf an everyfink.

A few of us are either expecting a 4th or like Juuules, the momma of all momma's, have so many children we know not what to do. Hence OWLS.

[sorkycake]

today I have:

one immaculate bathroom

one immaculate Nursery, tho' I can hear them all in there atm

One very tidy, clean kitchen (except for the floor, no point 'til after teatime)

One very clean and neat Hall and coat cupboard.

Our bedroom is spotless for the first time in months, I have hoiked all the stuff into the loft this afternoon.

My Futility room is neat and tidy, but still needs the ironing done.

No one is allowed anywhere near the HE room and the living room btw. There are lots of piles of clothes on the stairs waiting to go up too. BUT should anyone knock on the door they may well think my home is neat and clean.

If you can't see it ain't there, am I right?

[fizzbuzz]

Glad someone else understands coat problem......I think there are about 200 coats in our cupboard ( well it feels that way