To wonder if everyone's house is like mine?

[Mishy1234]

AIBU to wonder of everyone's house ends up getting wrecked when they have kids or if it's just mine?

I used to keep a lovely house. I was really house proud and loved having people round.

Since having children my house has been wrecked. Stains on carpets, marks from sticky hands on wallpaper, their stuff EVERYWHERE! It's just a nightmare. Am I being too precious or just doing it all wrong?

It's a relatively small house, so in one way good as not too much room to clean, but bad as no separate room for the kids (apart from bedrooms).

Am I just crap? I do have a cleaner once a fortnight, She's amazing and never complains about the mess (just hoovers around it!). I often imagine she tells all her friends about her crazy client with the nightmare house!

All kids stuff aside from school bags is confined to their bedrooms here. They are allowed to bring stuff down for the day but it goes back at the end of it.

Mine is
well not so bad because its rented and I have to be reallys trict with them but still....
I have friends though who claim hardly any housework and/or complain their kids are really messy but they are always so neat looking

Ours is a wreck too. We're building an extension to accommodate all the stuff. But somehow I have a feeling it still won't be big enough.....

Yep, pretty much. You can't be houseproud and have children.

That's why wipe clean leather sofas and laminate flooring are so popular.

You have a cleaner who "hoovers around the mess"?

Someone should tidy up, then hoover IMVHO. Even when my DC were small my house was never like that. If something was spilt it was cleaned up, walls were wiped down etc. Sorry, but I couldn't live like that!

Well, ours is 'lived in' I like to think. I feel very uncomfortable in houses that don't appear to be homes.

You can be houseproud and have children!

Mine is a wreck too. In theory all kids stuff should be in their rooms or in playroom, in reality it is everywhere.

Shit tip here.

Mine is like yours, no matter how often u wipe down the walls they are back with their sticky fingers it is never ending.

landofsoapandglory - of course I don't just leave mess on the walls. However, there is always still a mark left when you clean it unless you have gloss on your walls of course...

Good to know I'm not completely alone. I suspect our problem is we just have too much stuff. Laminate floors would be my choice, but DH hates them. I long for the day I can just take a mop to the floors and not have to get the carpet cleaner out.

My Dcs eat at the table, then go straight to the sink to wash their hands if they've eaten something sticky. 'Don't touch anything!' is a common cry after honey sarnies!

As for stains on carpet, well, my rule is no drinks in carpetted rooms, so that takes care of that. Food is always eaten off a plate at the table.

The sick that went all the way down the cream stair carpet last night has not stained it orange, as feared, thanks to liberal dowsings with Bicarb throughout the day .

Toys are all kept in boxes, on shelves in bedrooms or playroom. When children have finished playng, they pick up their toys. If there's any complaint, I just threaten to get out the Henry...and suck up all the little bits! They move pretty quick then!

Mine pretty much OK, as I wipe fingermarks off things once every few days, use Bartender's Friend on all the felt tip graffiti, have a cheap steam cleaner to get the stains out of the carpet, and minimise the toys they have. I also give them lectures about how the sitting room is also an adult room and not a playpen for them to fling their stuff around endlessly. Seems to work. But you need to set up your house with adults in mind and keep on top of it on a daily basis for this to work.

YANBU- sounds like my house!

My house is cluttered with kid crap, but stained carpets, scribbled on walls, torn wallpaper? Nope, not in my house!

A Vax wet/dry hoover is a good investment for carpets, and keeping a bit of spare paint to go over any bits that won't wipe off is a good idea as well.

Makes me laugh how people, before you have kids say stuff like 'oh don't worry about the housework, your house will be ruined once you have children!' then when you do have children, it's all 'oooooh you mustn't let the housework slip!'

Talk about mixed messages

curiositykitten - no scribbles on walls or torn wallpaper here either. I have kids not vandals!

Nope, sorry OP but that would drive me bonkers.

You can be house proud and have kids, it's not either or ime. Decluttering and storage is key ime.

Boff
our vax was useless, soaked the capets and gave them water stains without actually cleaning them very well.
Stained carpets are the bain of my life. We take off shoes but they [carpets] never look great

mine is the same too and i really don't care..i would rather spend the time with the kids when they are young...plenty of time to clean when they fly the nest
its been a bit better since being on maternity leave and i've been able to paint a bit but when i go back to work full time it will only be a quck run round with the hoover
much more to life than worryin about a bit of dust

Mine is the same, I feel like I am always cleaning

I managed to do both, spend time with dc and keep the house clean,it's not either or.