If you have a toddler and a tidy home..reveal yourself!

[MessyMother]

Hi everyone,

I used to have a lovely immaculate home and then my baby became a toddler! Age old story I'm sure, but now my flat is just a total tip! I'm really struggling, I can't even say "to keep on top of things" because I'm not - more like struggling to catch up to anywhere near remotely tidy! I want to clean but there's stuff everywhere. Granted it's not the biggest place but still.

My toddler is one of those who never ever wants to play with their toys, only ever with objects or household items etc. Everything ends up in another place. Also, she eats finger foods and she's a good eater but still loads ends up on the floor, on her high chair etc. I feel like half my life is spent on the floor scooping up bits of food. Honestly, I'm forever mopping up with kitchen towel - I feel like I must be paying penance for misdemeanours in a past life or something.

After putting her down at night the next hour is then clearing up. Not even so it's tidy, you understand, just the bare minimum so that I don't lose the will to live when I come in to make my morning coffee. After that it's me flopping out with a glass of wine too exhausted to clean.

Please please tell me, if your home is tidy with a toddler are you human! How do you do it? If it's half tidy, please can I have some tips? Does your high chair look like there's been some horrible accident? Are you spending half your life on your knees armed with Dettol? If not then how?

I have 4 dc, youngest is going to school in September. I've always managed to keep the house fairly ok. Not even close to immaculate but good enough.

I always had safety gates on the living room and playroom once we got one so that all toy mess is limited to one room and we kept the room with no 'to hand' stuff and locks on cupboards etc. Once they go to bed, just one room to clean. Storage is key.

For the rest of the house, I just tidied as I went and made sure I had a dumping area for all the shit that kept it all in one place.

Mine to and I have 2 under 4 , one with autism. I’m not on social media I think it helps with wasting your hours scrollling then moaning you never get anything done and your house is a mess x

Just keep declutteeing. I got rid of my husband.

We usually have half a tidy house, I tend to tidy as I go which I find helps loads. Washing baskets upstairs and downstairs which I rotate daily to keep on top of washing. Locks on the cupboards that I don't want the toddler in. I limit toys that are out and rotate them when DD gets bored, encourage her to help tidy when she's finished with something. Then when she goes to bed I'll have a quick tidy round, do dishes, floors etc

I honestly find my DH is messier than the toddler though 🤷‍♀️

I was a good and attentive SAHM, but people used to remark that mine was usually tidy.
The trick for me was to keep tidying / wiping as you go; 10 mins here and 10 mins there is more effective than 20 mins when everything is a total state and all the games mixed up together at the end of the day. So play a game, put it away. Make / eat lunch, clear it up. Do some painting, clean up.
My guilty secret was to periodically park them in front of CBeebies for a short while, while I got organised again.
A playroom / toy storeroom is great if you have space. And if you only have a small space, stop acquiring new toys!

I’ve got a two year old and the house isn’t immaculate - I don’t wash skirting boards - but it’s visitor ready in ten minutes or less and it’s tidy by bedtime every day.

She eats in a high chair at the table so mess goes on there and it gets wiped down straight after every snack or meal.

Table playing stuff - play dough, drawing etc - gets tidied once it’s finished with.

All toys and games have storage. She tidies as she goes, always has done.

Her room gets tidied before nap time and bed time.

We have a shit load of books which have space on the main book shelves and she has a shelf in her room but I do spend my life tripping over piles of the things. Doesn’t take long to tidy them up though as they have homes.

I do laundry at least every other day, usually 2 loads on a Monday. The job isn’t done till everything is put away and I’m getting her to put her own stuff away.

I’m not precious and the house - at least her room and all of downstairs - is hers to enjoy, explore and play in, but other people live here too, DH, DSC part time and me and we all like a tidy house so DD pitches in.

I forgot the key tool in my arsenal is nursery. I refuse to do any messy play at home. I work full time, I haven't got the patience for messy stuff around that!

I'm sure that tidy houses and toddlers go together like oil and water! Or at least a tidy house and my whirlwind of a toddler.

Best advice I can offer is to get those collapsible storage boxes and then dump everything in there once they are in bed. Then if you sit on the sofa and squint you can pretend you are organised!