to say its rubbish, that WOHMs dont have so much tidying to do...'leave a tidy house, come home to a tidy house'?

[KhallDrogo]

I've read it on many a thread now....WOHM don't have so much to do, because kids are in childcare setting all day, get picked up, brought home-dinner, bath bed- no mess

I reckon mess-made can be plotted against time, and there is a maximum mess, where no more mess is possible, when everything is out of the cupboards and on the floor already and covered in crumbs and spilt juice. Here the graph plateaus

My kids can reach 'maximum mess' in approximately an hour. Mess saturation point

On the days I work, I definitely have as much/more to do than the days I am at home, and less time to do it in

[meadow2]

Khali - Do your children cycle to? I would like to do that.

Alibaba - Most working mums are in and out multiple times eg work,school runs, taking kids to clubs etc.Most mums dont do full time that I know off they do part time, and then do 100% of other work round it.

[KhallDrogo]

meadow yes, the older one cycles, the little one is in a bike seat. It's a great way to start the day, we all love it

[IceBergJam]

DH works full time. I work fulk time but do my hours over four days. We have a 13 month old, 16 and 18 year old. The oldest are not always at college/work.

The house is most definitly messier whenDH and I are at work. We simply do not have the time to tidy when we work.

On the weekday that I dont work, the house is cleaner. Life was so much simple when I was at home ! Now its just a rush and juggling act.

[Joiningthegang]

Hahaha not seen a thread about this but a friend of mibe who is very very busy all thr time apparently, tells me this. Her kids are out at school all day, i work almost full time albeit flexibly.

I have said to her "you know all that stuff you are busy with, i do have to do that too." but she thinks as i am at work my house must be tider - despite the fact hers are at school all day.

We havent talked about this for a couple of uears as it becomes a "but i'm busier than you" which is silly and pointless ...


But surely i must be busier - or she takes longer to do stuff

[KhallDrogo]

That's a good point juggling.....you do tend to subconsciously adjust your speed depending on how much time you have/what needs doing

[KhallDrogo]

Not juggling, sorry joining

[morethanpotatoprints]

I think it depends on the person/ people tidying and many other factors. Not something that can be generalised about really.

Some people tidy as they go, others blitz. Some people do it on their own, others share it all with dp or family members.

Some people are tidy, others are untidy.

[Joiningthegang]

I think that if someone has toddlers or children at school os key for this really. Tje bits that are the same are that we all need to eat and therefore shop, cook, load dishwasher if a sahm or wohm.

We all wear clothes which need washing, possibly ironing, and putting away

Bedsheets need chamging, toilets cleaning, floors mopping - if a sahm or not

Homework needs doing, craft things still made

And we all seem to make more mess when rushing to get out then rushing to make tea when we get in

[lljkk]

Nooooooooooo!!!

Don't say all this. It's one of the myths I cling to, that having all of us out of the house more of the time (after I finally get a proper job) will mean less mess made at home. It's one of the big things I'm looking forward to!

When I did work 3 days/week, the house was noticeably easier to keep tidy. And easier to be motivated to keep it tidy, too. But DC were fewer & smaller back then, too.

[chickydoo]

My 3 teens are horrific in the mess department.
I Work all day, come home & find crap everywhere. I then tidy up, make dinner, & then go back out to work 4 evenings a week. Come home at 11.30 ish to find crap everywhere again! Makes me want to cry

[Badvoc]

I can only compare it to before I had dc when I worked ft.
House was a lot cleaner, and a lot tidier!
I am a sahm now and seem to spend every day a lot of time cleaning and tidying to some degree!
If your child is in full time childcare and you work ft then as the poster above said, it can't be that bad, surely?
Out at 7am? Back at 6pm? Then bath and bed?
Weekends can cause havoc, of course, but i would think the house of a ft worker with a child in full time childcare is a lot tidier than mine! :)

[cocoachannel]

The trouble is the lack of time/energy to do anything if you leave house at 7.30am, back on at 6pm, feed everyone etc.; this all still makes a mess and there's washing accumulating, the bathroom still gets used etc.

At weekends, however, there is plenty of time to clean and tidy even with small children around. Our house is much tidier at weekends and there is homemade bread, more leisurely meals. And whilst DCs still little a lovely gap in the middle of the day to get stuff done, or in my case nap too.

[sunshine401]

It is easier coming home when everyone has been out all day. Its clean and lovely. :) Children watch a little TV , do any homework have their tea and it is time for bed.
When we do stay in at weekends or whenever there is loads more to do cleaning wise because the house is being used all day so there is going to be.

[alistron1]

My house is tidier at the weekend. Somehow we all make a right mess when leaving for school/work in the morning. I don't know how we do it, it's actually quite impressive!!

[IceBergJam]

I come home in the evening, a family to feed. One to bed at 0730, the other two when they wish. Dog. Cat. Bathrooms, vaccuming, lunches, dinner, pots, homework, polishing, bags, ironing. My 13 month old gets all the toys out from 1700-1900. Shopping, bills, dog walking, mopping. All still there when I get home. Plus I work in the eveninngs to get Fridays off.

[Mumsyblouse]

My house is untidy when I leave, and mysteriously still untidy when I return from work with the children (no cleaning fairy here). This is usually about 6.30-8pm, and once the kitchen has been cleared up after dinner, that's the lot.

I have got over having a clean and tidy house, and realised I don't want to spend my time prioritising this, I work in the evenings, stack the dishwasher and ignore the chaos. I don't have unlimited energy and and on weekends I am quite lazy and recovering for the week ahead.

The house is tidiest when I am at home and on holiday, as I have the energy to do more than just keep the surface mess from completely engulfing us. I would love to be a clean and tidy person and household, but I don't think it will be in this lifetime.

[Dozer]

When my DC are teenagers they are NOT going to be regularly home alone between end of school and me or DH getting back from work. DB and I were home alone in our teens - I know what goes on!

DM and DF were unaware, maybe distracted by the mess (would drive poor mum to tears weekly), but mess should've been the least of their worries

If working FT when DC are teens will be getting an au pair or something!

[IceBergJam]

On my day off (although I have worked a full week by then) all I have to do extra is lunch, nappies, flick the vaccum around, tidy toys and make sure teen is up to date with home work. Any 'play time' I have with the children is not what I consider work.

My work days are harder and dont compare to the ease of being at home (ususl caveates applied)

[IceBergJam]

The teens are good. They have rules and do their best to obey. But are messy.

[Arisbottle]

Our house is usually very tidy but it is absolutely spotless when I am at home during the holidays. I find we make more mess because we tend to be rushing about . If we had more time it would all be put away properly.

[alistron1]

I'm so pleased to read someone saying they need the weekend to recover - that's me too. We could do SO much housework at the weekend - but we need time to chill/recover. TBH when I was a SAHM for a couple of years my gaff was much tidier.

[changeforthebetter]

Look SAHM or WOHM most of us work our arses off. Stop trading insults! Keep calm and drink wine and/or eat chocolate. And please stop picking up after teenagers (of either gender) #peacenluvchange

[gaelicsheep]

"Working parents do all what SAHP's do with working added on top."

No they do not. I am a WOHM and I know who has the harder time out of me and DH, and it is not me. I do the food shopping, do the bedtime routines, cook dinner etc. but I most certainly have an easier time than I would if I was a SAHM. SAHP's I salute you!

[gaelicsheep]

Having said that, we have a demanding 2 year old. If both DCs were at school I might feel differently.

[Wallison]

The house is definitely cleaner on days when I work compared to days when I don't. Also, on days when I don't work, I tend to do the same few jobs (picking up, washing, washing up etc) over and over again, whereas when I'm working it's just a tidy-up before work and another before bed. Nothing like the 'get something out, play with it, put it away, get another thing out and so on' malarky that you get when you're at home all day.