to wonder wether my house is fit for my children or not...

[alfiesmadmother]

..I really can't judge. Reading a few threads on here the opinion seems to vary. I worry that

-my ironing is on the bed and not put away
-my grill pans need cleaning
-the shoes are piled in the doorway
-the wallpaper in the hall is hanging off
-the bedrooms need a dust
-the grouting in the bathroom is black
-lot of coats are buried under coats
-ther are toys in most rooms, in boxes etc but in corners

but,

-my kids have clean clothes every day
-we have home cooked food every day

• the kids have lots of indoor and outdoor space

-I vac every two days and wash up twice a day -my toilet and sink are clean 2 or 3 times a day with bathroom cleaner -our house is old so will never look pristine

I need some persepective, I am working flat out all the time but wonder if others think I am not a good enough house keeper.

What is and isn't acceptable?

I would bleach the mould from the grouting as i don't think it's very good for you, the rest is fine

So your house is pretty much clean all the time, you cook, the children are happy and clean and dressed and you are worried?

I think I need a lie down before I even contemplate upping my standards to match yours.

relax love, trying to match someone elses standards will just lead to a break down. you wash up twice a day thats more than i do. some poeple are naturally really super clean and tidy and some people are not. just do what is natural to you and keep yourself happy.

you clean your sink and loo 2 or 3 times a day?

WOWSERS.

I grew up in an old house, with no double glazing, sash windows that rattled in the wind, and had ice on the inside in winter.. we had no central heating.

We didnt have fitted carpets in every room.. and as my dads trade was a decorater, we had mismatched paper from roll ends in most rooms...

No matter how much my mum hoovered, there was dog hair on the rugs or carpet, and the house was cluttered....

We had home cooked meals every day and clean clothes.

I had a fantastic childhood that I absolutely loved and parents who adored me... I didnt give a toss about the state of the house.

Seconded, you clean the sink two or three times a day??! This is an unheard of level of cleanliness in my house.

I would sort out the grill pans and grouting because that is unhygeinic.

The rest is just cosmetic - I wouldn't like it, and tbh it wouldn't take that long to sort out, (except the wallpaper) so why not? A bit of effort and the house will seem incredibly transformed, especially if you can have a good clear out of toys.

I suspect your house is far cleaner than mine is, but probably gives a worse impression because it is a little untidy.

But if you know your house is clean and your kids are very well cared for, what are you worried about?

I clean once a week - that's it- everything gets done in one go - except skirting boards (my life will never be empty enough to dust a skirting board). I occassionally cook but often leave it to someone else or go out for lunch! I do not iron, I change my sheets every two weeks I wipe over as I go and tidy away at bedtime. My friends are complimentary when they come round.

Relax - noone ever died of untidiness

What's acceptable is what YOU are happy with. A house is there to be lived - too much show home mentality just does your head in. I'm really bad at putting things away so currently we have :
in the sitting room: a homemade microscope (torch, jam jar contraption), piles of Beano all over the floor, a shoebox that's waiting to be made into a secret compartment, a pile of small sewing jobs that have been waiting to be done for about 3 weeks, card boxes from IKEA to tidy things up into that have yet to be assembled - have been there 2 months...
Part and parcel of a busy family life. It does sometimes get to be and I g o round and have a 'bin bag' day and dispose of the all the accumulated clutter, special bits of plastic, newspaper articles I've been saving etc

It is clean but the piles of 'things in action' drive my DH nuts, but then he would be happy to leave the same set of sheets on the bed for months and doesn't understand why I want to wash them every week :o

You clean your loo 2 or 3 times a day? OMG. Really?

Makes my flat sound like a slum.

It's fine. Your children are well cared for. What are you worried about?

I went to a friend's house once - it was IMMACULATE and my initial thought was ' how lovely, I wish I could be like this'.
But then I realised it was weird that you couldn't even tell there were children living in the house. The boys were playing in the bedroom and my DS said he was told he had to put the cars away before he was allowed to get out the Power Rangers as different things couldn't be mixed. This was a 5 yr old telling him that. How weird is that? So I decided I would rather live with a bit of muddle.

I always feel most relaxed at another friend's house where you have to sweep stuff off the sofa in order to be able to sit down. :)

Agree about the grouting - black mould can cause respiratory disorders.

The rest sounds fine though (though I would just put the clean clothes away and not bother ironing them).

Your list says that you do the important things - everyone is fed and clothed and nobody is at risk from anything unhygenic.

The things you say you don't do are about tidyness, not cleanliness, and not doing them won't harm anyone, though the grout and the grillpan maybe need to be tackled soon.

Does the untidiness actually bother you, or is it just that you think you ought to care about it? If it bothers you, then maybe you need to consider how you can get into a routine - eg if you do a bit of ironing each day it won't build up. Alternbatively if you do a whole heap in one go, that'll get it over with - whatever works for you!

-my ironing is on the bed and not put away OK
-my grill pans need cleaning THATS A BIT ICKY
-the shoes are piled in the doorway OK
-the wallpaper in the hall is hanging off GLUE IT BACK ON !!!!! TAKES 5 MINUTES
-the bedrooms need a dust UNDERSTANDABLE
-the grouting in the bathroom is black YUCKY, CLEAN IT
-lot of coats are buried under coats UNDERSTANDABLE
-ther are toys in most rooms, in boxes etc but in corners I FEEL YOU PAIN BUT CANT YOU TIDY THEM

honestly, I work FT and I am sympathetic, but think issues above you need/should sort out

thats my opinon!

Wow, just nipped out and come back to lots of moral support!!

I was wondering as I read the thread about the home start volunteer commenting on the state of the house, which got me thinking DO people come to mine and think it's filthy.

I think even when I have tidied and cleaned as much as I can I still have 'busy shelves' and piles of clothes in our bedroom. The toilet needs cleaning a lot and the sink as I have 4 boys!!

I just feel like everyone elses house I go to is pristine and so organised!!!

And when I think about it my house is always busy and adults and children alike always love coming round.

My ironing is currently in the washing machine. It will go from there to the clothes horse and hence to a pile on the ironing board. If it's very, very lucky it will then go to a pile on the bed and then into drawers.

If not so lucky then it'll go to a pile on the bed and then onto the floor and then onto the top of a chest of drawers and then onto someone's back - or worst case scenario back into the clothes washing basket.

It definitely won't see the underside of an iron though.

My worst housekeeping sin is not putting things away and it just makes more work in the long run.

I'm probably not the best to advise, but I'd say cleaning sink & toilet once a day is plenty. You can always have a quick swish around if you've got visitors coming.

Get a bottle of Domestos Grotbuster btw for your mould problem. Tis fab and effort-free.

great will look for the domestos!

I have vanish carpet cleaner on my carpet & I've hoovered behind my pc desk.

The MiL is visiting this weekend.

I give my bathroom a swish once a day.
The kitchen the same.
I dust sometimes.
I hoover every other day.
I change my bed weekly.
The kids every fortnight.

House is clean, tidyish.

I grew up in squalor. My mother was awful. And there wasn't hot food etc. We were neglected. So frankly OP, your house is a palace!

I really think there is no excuse for black grouting, you can buy grout and grout over the top!

I've not polished my stainless steel bin today, other than that everything is done.

'I change my bed weekly.
The kids every fortnight.'
LOVE IT!!!!

Yes. If you have new kids every 2 weeks it keeps you a bit saner!

FabbyChic, I am beginning to think you are a stepford! I got rid of my stainless steel stuff in my kitchen! The bloody bloody bloody finger marks!

op this is exactly what my house is like but my kids are well cared for etc but some mumsnetters seem to get the impression that I live in squalor and my kids are neglected and I sit on my arse all day doing nothing and watching whilst someone else cleans my house.

My house is a palace compared to my friends. I walked into her bathroom yesterday and heaved it was truly disgusting

minus the wall paper and black grout though I have to say, i have wood chip and that sticks like nothing else, it took dp all day to strip one wall in the front room with steamer on sunday ready for decorating. nightmare