to think that you can either have a clean, tidy and uncluttered house OR happy children but not both?

[GreenTeapot]

Or can you manage both? How do you do it?

DH hates them.

Hahaha Norks I've been away a lot over the last couple weeks - I've got to get up to speed again.

Norks, Cuppa would be fab! Don't worry about the laundry

NorksAreMessy Thu 23-Jun-11 21:40:51
The thing is, it is your choice.
You can choose to have a gorgeous show home, I am jealous if you have one, I have never managed it.
Or you can choose to spend the time making sandcastles in the dining room, making crispie cakes in the kitchen and finger painting in the sitting room.

It is your choice and your home. Nobody else's business

You seem to assume the choice is anally tidy showhome or activities.
We have a relatively tidy and clean home, with everything in it's place once used, and we make a mess...we just clean up after. So we do make cakes, we do paint, playdoh, etc but you won't know we've been doing it if you arrive when we've finished. The playroom is tidied before bed, the bedrooms are tidy before bed and the house is lovely once dcs are in bed.

I haven't read the whole thread. It may be possible for some people to have a tidy house and happy children, it is n't possible for my children to have a tidy house and a happy mother. Tidying up constantly depresses me intensely. Life is too short ! I spent the first 3 years of my marriage getting stressed about getting things cleared up for when dh came home. Now I have more confidence and just don't give a fig. Thank god dh has chilled slightly, also we have a cleaner. There is no way I would spend my day off cleaning and tidying, I would be a miserable cow.

YABU. I'm learning how to be tidy, thanks to the FLYing threads. :) My mother had a depressive episode when I was young, and didn't really care how we looked, if my hair was combed, if we had nice bedrooms, if we ate dinner together...so by extension once I had DS I cared very much. DH is always complaining to me that I worry too much about what DS wears, if his hair is shaggy, etc, but it is very important to me that his appearance reflects someone cares for him, because for many years I didn't look as though anyone did.

For the past week or so I've been lazy because of summer holidays (I work at a school) and honestly was feeling tired and down with all the mess. I got up early yesterday, had my coffee, got DS and myself dressed at a reasonable hour, and cleaned all morning. I had so much more energy when I was done! I think a lot of times when people don't have the energy or ambition to clean up it's because they live in a mess. I know it's that way for me. DS seemed more content too, to be back in a routine.

I have a friend who lives with her DH and two DDs in a tiny apartment, and it is cluttered but clean. I'm lucky to have the space to spread out a bit. My basement is a leaky damp pit of a place at this point, but at some point it will be a playroom and I think that will help even more.

This is a great thread - I am now going to say that I'm not untidy I'm just bohemian!

actually I'm domestically challenged - but my little sisters home IS a show home - spotless with nothing on any surface. She runs here own cleaning business and comforts me by saying some of her clients homes are MUCH worse than mine! I think it's genetic some of us get the tidy gene and some don't! - I have a deal with a friend who loves cleaning and tidying that I will give some tuition to one of her dcs while she is free to sort out whatever bits of my house she fancies. One of my dds friends is amazing, when she helps dd tidy up it gets done twice as quickly and just looks better than if dd had done it alone, she moves the furniture and arranges things so tastefully..

I would like to clarify, our house is clean (kitchen & bathroom). I positively enjoy keeping on top of the laundry ! The dcs always have clean clothes am quite :o that people do not ensure this. I think that is very different to toys being left out overnight for example.

sorry, meant I am that anyone sends their dcs out in dirty clothes.

sorry, meant I am that anyone sends their dcs out in dirty clothes.

My house is always clean, not always totally tidy - luckily DH and I have the same kind of tolerance levels for untidiness so nobody gets too stressed. The kids are all old enough now to tidy up after themselves which I do insist on - I really don't see why one person should tidy up after five people. Luckily we have a lot of space including three different living areas and a playroom with lots of storage so we don't really have to do clutter.

my house is usually tidy but only because i spend an hour tidying when my DS Is having a nap and about 1-2 when he is in bed, hes like a tornado!! i swear he could make a mess in an empty room
but i agree that there is little point trying to do heavy tidying while they are still playing or its a putting something back every ten minutes situation

Morning cleanfreaks

Right. I've surveyed my chaos. I'm going to ask for your help.

If you lived in a 2 bed terrace with a tiny living room but big wardrobes, had 2 DC, 2 dogs, a cat and no room or funds for more furniture, where would you keep the following clutter items (all of which haven't been thrown out because they get used):

Slow cooker.
Food processor.
Scales.
Cookery books.
Shoes and boots.
Jigsaws which are too big to fit in a bookcase.
Laundry baskets (in the 2 hours a year they're not in use).
Clothes drying racks.
Dog food (15kg bag).
Pushchair.

Right, there's other tat but all stuff I can live without or just haven't put away. But that's my downstairs list of homeless stuff. Where do you keep yours?!

I think i inherited it from my mam. She gets her washing in one by one and irons it. My mam is worse than me but my dad helps.

I totally agree with what yank says. My dad was brought up in a messy, dirty house as his mam had not much money and a son with DS to look after and 3 other kids. This made him have a very clean and tidy house with clean kids.

I love cleaning, i hate it when i let it slip it depresses me. I once got to a stage where everything was a mess. Never again.

You need shelves and hooks GreenTeapot

Yes and have you got a garden so you can use a line instead of drying racks. Most of my kitchen stuff i would keep in kitchen units. Clear them out and get rid of anything you havent used within the last month. You can then put the dog food and books in. Laundry basket in the bathroon. Shoe boxes etc. Poundland have storage stuff to get you started

Good luck

I have a line but need racks for wet days. I've got 3 units to keep stuff in and they're full of crockery, pots and pans, baking gear, and the veg basket. All of which get used. There's no room in the bathroom for a laundry basket (you can pretty much shit, shower and shave all at once, or DP could anyway). And wouldn't the shoeboxes still have to be stacked in the hall?

I'm really not being obtuse, and I don't deny that I could be better at keeping my few precious spaces clear, but I do believe there comes a point when there's just not enough room for the people living there. When it was just us and the dogs DP and I kept it reasonably tidy without much effort at all.

Morning GreenTeapot

Yes as sunnydelight says, shelves and hooks.

What is your kitchen like? Can you put stuff on top of the fridge? Do you have counter space?
Can you put stuff under your beds (like the drying racks?)
On top of the wardrobes?

We have some collapsible laundry baskets, they fold flat when not in use so you can keep them behind a door.

I live in a 2 BR flat (though no pets), you should be able to fit all that stuff if you get some shelves and use every inch of space.

How many people are in the house. I have a 3 bed council house which is quite small with 3 kids and 2 dogs. I think sometimes you just have tro be brutal and get rid of stuff. Have you not not one cupboard.

This is where our stuff lives (3 bed terrace) -
Kitchen stuff goes in cupboards or shelves in the kitchen.
Shoes and boots in a box in the hallway.
Big jigsaws/games are in cupboard in living room.
Laundry baskets are in cupboard upstairs with laundry basket.
Clothes drier is behind door in bedroom 3.
Dog food in cupboard in kitchen with cat food.
Pushchair used to live in the hallway folded up.

x-post

It helps as well not to think you have to put certain things in certain rooms, for example you can put your baking stuff and cookbooks in a box and keep on top of the wardrobe in your bedroom. Might seem inconvenient at first but you get used to it.

For shoes, you can get this big plastic thing that hangs on the wall, with individual pouches in it for shoes, it's not the prettiest thing in the world but it takes up very little space.

I haven't got a show home, but it is reasonably clean and tidy. And I used to do lots of messy play with my kids. As long as you confine a messy activity to 1 room at a time its not that difficult to clean up afterwards.

GreenTeapot - I used to live in a 2 bedroom terrace house with no hall. Hard to say without seeing your house, but I have posted some ideas of where you could keep things.

Slow cooker - if it is too large for kitchen cupboards, either on top of the cupboard or on the hob. I have a very large casserole dish that I didn't have space for anywhere except on the hob. Not ideal, but if its the only thing i think its okay.
Food processor - kitchen cupboards. You need to get rid of stuff if it won't fit.
Scales - I have nice ones that I just left out on the worksurface. You can buy ones that don't come with its own bowl and actually take up very little space.

Cookery books - shelf in kitchen - easy to put up if you haven't got one
Shoes and boots - either in shoe rack in cupboard under stairs or shoe rack in the bedrooms. Easy for us as we wear shoes indoors so any change in shoes involves going upstairs, taking off current shoes, putting them on shoe rach and putting on alternative shoes. You have to make more effort to take shoes and take them upstairs if you are a shoes off person.

Jigsaws which are too big to fit in a bookcase - on top of a book case
Laundry baskets (in the 2 hours a year they're not in use) - cupboard understairs. Or if you don't have this replace with a collapsible laundry basket that is more easily stored.
Clothes drying racks - presume you have the kind that folds down. Cupboard understairs or space to put it in between wall and bit of furniture e.g. between wardrobe in bedroom and wall.

Dog food (15kg bag) - buy smaller amounts of dog food. Or keep large container in cupboard under stairs or shed and decant regularly to smaller bags in the kitchen. We didn't have space for a shed in our back yard, but we got 1 of those rectangle outdoor storage bins and it was very useful.
Pushchair - cupboard under stairs or just a designated corner in a room. Not ideal, but if you really don't have storage space then you don't have much choice. But I would have bought 1 that folds up reasonably small and that can be hidden easily e.g. space between sofa and wall.

Don't know if that helps?

We used to keep our laundry basket in the bedroom. You can get ones that are prettier and as long as it has a lid I think its fine.

You can get cheaply shoe storage racks that hang on the inside of wardrobe doors. I see you have a hall so even if it is tiny you can store some things there. Shoe racks for halls can be very cheap - could you ask relative to buy you one for your Xmas or birthday?.

lesley, it does actually. We do have an understairs cupboard but it already contains camping gear, the emergency stroller, washing powder and ironing board and brush, and a chest freezer. It's not wasted space

And we have an outdoor storage box thing which contain a lawnmower, strimmer, compost, riddle, pots, hosepipe, secateurs/trowels etc so no room for dog food. I could buy smaller bags but with big dogs it saves money and time buying larger quantities.

I think a shelf may well be a way to go though. I have counted my hooks and have got 20 hooks on 3 racks downstairs so we're doing our best!

Until I can afford this, anyway!