Have a small three bed terraced house with two bathrooms. Downstairs is laminate (tiled in kitchen area) and all open plan. We have a dog and a two year old, and I feel like I can never ever have the house looking a way that I don't feel ashamed of it.
It's always reasonably tidy, dishes done and away and kitchen surfaces cleaned, I hoover downstairs twice a day and toys go away at lunch and then again before bedtime
But it's not that. Downstairs just seems dirty. I think it doesn't help that we have white walls downstairs that only got one coat before DD was born, the skirting boards and windowsills have never actually been painted and there are areas like where a radiator was removed that need repainting and all this makes the walls look grubby. I'm reluctant to paint it myself at the moment as pregnant (and DD would get covered in paint) but maybe my DH could (he's away a lot at work at the moment) or I could pay someone one day I'm out
It's not just that though. It seems like there's dirt and crumbs everywhere all the time. I empty the toaster all the time but it never fully empties of crumbs. It seems like dust and grime get behind everything in the kitchen (like the spice rack behind the cooker) all the time. I pull the sofa out once a week and it looks a bit like when you move house and there are years of dust and crumbs, every time. Even though we eat at the table. I do let DD have snacks around there while I'm getting on with stuff but tidy up straight after. The pram and trike have to live in open plan downstairs and even though I dust them off they do seem to track sand and dirt in every time, as does the dog, who I know sleeps on the sofa as it stinks and get covers in hair even though he's not allowed to and is never on it when we're within eyeshot.
I feel like upstairs is ok (although struggle to keep limescale away sometimes) but downstairs I'm ashamed of and I promise I'm not an ultra clean type (we are very outdoorsy)
On that note how do people keep toddler clothes etc clean? Mine's get stained almost always within first wear, mostly dirt, and in dry weather, especially leggings
I'm just so frustrated and tired with it, I make it into a game for DD but often end up just putting tv on and I think it's enough screen time just while I do the basics like day to day cleaning, laundry and cooking etc. I'm at home now until the baby is born and a bit older so don't really have an excuse. Oh and the ironing pile! Which I only touch occasionally to do DH's needed shirts and workwear, other stuff just sits there for months
DH occasionally cooks at weekends and then wipes down the kitchen surfaces but that's all, although he works long hours and frankly I do think it should be mostly my job given I'm at home (when I worked longer hours he always cooked and tidied up kitchen etc)