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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to ask those with nice, clean tidy home how you do it.

158 replies

FortyDoorsToNowhere · 10/10/2013 21:38

I have spent 11 hours already this week trying to sort this house out. I have got rid of a lot of junk, but still have my wardrobe to sort out ( another 2 hours) as it is full of junk, clean the cooker and also do my nets and windows.

How the fudge do people manage to keep a nice, clean and tidy home.

No doubt by next week my house will be back to square one.

OP posts:
VillandraMcTavish · 13/10/2013 11:31

IHaveA I am going to gently disagree, based on my experience of DH. Always had a cleaner at home, mother thinks that bothering about domestic stuff is for 'boring people' (her words) rather than capable, self-reliant, strong people (my words, that conversation went well Grin ), he went to boarding school where Oooh they had to present their clothes to the laundry Big Whoop...you get the picture.

He genuinely did not have a clue how to do certain tasks. So he can notionally hoover a room, because as you say it isn't rocket science. But he can't tell how often it's worth doing it, he can't do it thoroughly, he can't think his way through a series of domestic tasks and just f*ing do them. Keeping a house clean is easy but it's a palaver if you have to think your way through each task and what to use where and when.

What I'm saying is that it doesn't take an awful lot for a person to genuinely not be able to do it very well, therefore they think it's 'for people who care about that sort of thing because it's quite hard'. It isn't a given that they will choose to think about it as a series of small problems that you learn to solve and then get down to a few minutes each.

VillandraMcTavish · 13/10/2013 11:33

The lightly Presbyterian side of me just feels it's inherently wrong to ignore work, that you take a pride in your possessions and surroundings, and that you don't bother people with your problems. I'm only culturally Presbyterian via my parents, I'm not religious. Strict Presbyterians I feel would not allow the possessions and pride is a sin so....not sure how that squares with keeping things nice!

ihearsounds · 13/10/2013 11:52

I don't have loads of clutter around. I don't have ornaments and knicknacks, none of that twig and pebble shite, none of the artificial flowers. If it hasn't got a practical use, then it isn't in my house gathering dust and needing a clean. I don't have things simply because it looks nice.

We tidy as we go. When cooking, used things are stacked in the dishwasher, rubbish binned, and sides wiped. After meals, plates etc in the dishwasher. It's also quicker to hoover, than sweep.

Bathroom, bath gets rinsed after each person has used it. Makes the weekly clean a lot easier, which I do after a shower. Toilet, I squirt something down it before I go to bed, I'm the first one up usually so give it a wipe. But generally, if you make a mess, you clean it, don't leave it for others.

No clothes left on the floor, when taken off straight into wash basket. Do a load a day so not left with mountains to wash, and when dried folded, sorted into piles and easier to put away a little than loads.

Nightly floors are hoovered and mopped, skirting gets done at the same time. Dust a couple of times a week.

Takes at the most 30 minutes a night.

Windows cleaned when needed on a saturday morning, same with other big jobs.

ALso find with the oven easier to clean when it's cooled down, but still warm. Do that one weekly and the racks get chucked in the dish washer.

Kids don't leave their stuff hanging around. They finish with something, they put it away. They got into the habit when they became mobile.

stubbornstains · 13/10/2013 12:00

We just parent the way we were brought up, just less snakes

Quote of the week from quote Grin

And a refreshing viewpoint, too.

BlogOnTheTyne · 13/10/2013 12:08

Quoteunquote, I am v interested in your way of life, which is SO different to mine. I can't see how it works though with current nuclear or single-parent familes, where all adults are working. I only do the very basic tasks daily - like clear enough of the kitchen to make another meal and 2 lots of laundry once a week and bathrooms once every few days at most - and often less - rarely vacuum or dust at all - just got no time.

Do you think that it's possible to change the perception of young children if they've always been waited on and done nothing for themselves?

I am a single mum working f/t, including most evenings and Saturdays. I have 12 yr old DTs (boys) who have such a busy week at school and loads of homework, that if and when they get any time off at all to relax, I feel that it's unfair to get them to help with housework etc. But as a consequence, they expect me to do literally everything, including even getting them a drink, finding clean socks, running a bath etc.

If and when I tell them to do something or to help, the resultant row is just not worth it for me. Even when I've been very sick, I've dragged myself out of bed to make their meals etc. If I weren't here, they literally woulnd't have a clue about how to cope.

When they've been away on school trips, one of them won't/can't even look after his most basic needs as I'm not there reminding him - to wash, eat, drink, go to the loo etc and so returns in a state of disarray to say the least.

If you have so little time to do any housework yourself, how do you also then find time to get the DCs to help you too, especially if they also have little time away from their 'work' ie school and homework for school?

My DCs were away for the first time in 2 years for two nights and I used that time to deep clean and tidy - but only managed this for 2 rooms. Within a week, those rooms are already acculuating 'stuff' that there isn't time to sort and dirt obviously too. We've not got a cleaner as it became too stressful to find time to tidy up enough for a cleaner to work compared with just letting it all go and doing it myself occasionally - but of course it rarely gets done.

The only way I could do more housework would be to sleep less than the 6 hrs I get per night. For those of you who do 30 mins a night, how do you do it if that means losing rare and valuable sleep? I finish work shortly before I got to bed/sleep and am up and literally running to get the DCs out to school and drop them off at 7.30am after which I start work. I don't have an evening per se ever and never watch TV and the only reason I'm typing this now is that I'm waiting for the laundry to finish so I can put it in the dryer.

So I guess I'm still stuck on - if you have no time, no paid help, no help from the DCs and no partner - how do you find a way of keeping things tidier and cleaner and how do you force the DCs to help if that would mean a massive row that would easily take longer than any task itself?

FortyDoorsToNowhere · 13/10/2013 12:15

I am now down to my last thing to declutter.

Spent a lot of time yesterday sorting and storage. It's taken me 5 evenings.

Feeling rather proud of myself ATM.

OP posts:
quoteunquote · 13/10/2013 13:47

I defiantly think it possible to change the way that children approach their impute, we have children who come to stay, who want to be include the process, they love being in control, it give a sense of security knowing how to do things.

I started out as a single mother, so I do know how it feels to have to be the one making sure it all runs smoothly,

as we come through the door each time, "It's who is doing what?' this needs to be done, mine just go whirl wind, no one goes off for screen therapy until it's all completed, when it is no one has to be reminded what is needed, so it far more relaxing,

mine come and tell me when they have their personal stuff sorted for the next day, kits, clothes, books, and ask if they can take a computer, they wouldn't ask if the aware there were things left to be done,

Have calm chat ask if they like you having to be on their case all the time, ask how that could be solved, (there is only one acceptable solution, let them generate it)

baths in this house are something we do for each other, it a sort of family thing, I have always had a safety issue worry, so there has always been a strict rule that you run the cold water first, (so no one can ever get burnt and there is no steaming up), If someone coming back from an activity, someone will go and prepare a bath, run the water, put out towels, shampoo, make it nice, when you get out of it, you rinse it, spray with the ecover washing up liquid diluted with water(we use an old ecover bathroom spray cleaner bottle, so child friendly) scrub, nice for the next person,

get your children to run you a bath. Explain how you like it.

I think as a single parent, you can't possible do it all yourself and have energy left to do interesting things,

I always when doing something, like laundry, cooking, ask a visiting child if they know how to do the task, if they say yes, I get them to join me, and give tips on technic, then ask if they mind if I carry on with something else so we can all go and do something fun quicker, if they say no, I say here let me show you, so you know. it always slightly more effort than doing it yourself to start with, but children are really fast learners, so nail the task really quickly.

I always tell children one of the ways to tell if someone is grown up, is if they never have to be reminded to wash and brush teeth each day, and when they can judge that it time to get some sleep, eventually visiting children they start to announce they are off to bed, and you compliment them on their judgement call.

valiumredhead · 13/10/2013 14:26

Wrt cleaning ovens special oven doors-soak a dishwasher tablet in boiling water for a few seconds then use it as an eraser to rub away the burnt on brown grease. It's like magic.

hermioneweasley · 13/10/2013 14:41

Ooo, I like that oven door/ dishwasher tablet tip. I'll be trying that.

valiumredhead · 13/10/2013 14:47

It's amazing!

Mojavewonderer · 13/10/2013 16:50

I clean and tidy my house all day. It's never ending but I am very lucky in that I don't work and my children while are messy keep it to their rooms :) can't stand having a untidy and/or dirty house.
My husband loves how tidy I am because his ex was so disgusting she used to hide dirty nappies behind the sofa because she was too lazy to pop them in the bin! I think the final straw was when he found a dead rat among them.

valiumredhead · 13/10/2013 17:15

All day?Shock

LaQueenForADay · 13/10/2013 17:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

valiumredhead · 13/10/2013 17:27

Yep, I'm nodding in agreement la queen.

ZingDollyChops · 13/10/2013 17:33
KeatsiePie · 13/10/2013 19:08

I was raised Presbyterian (grandparents were missionaries) and re: the Presbyterian work ethic, YES. TOTALLY. So the things we had to do, we had to do well. But I don't think we were expected to do nearly enough. My DM did way too much housework and cooking on her own.

I realized recently I hate making beds b/c my DM always did it. I don't mind doing dishes b/c it was my job growing up. My DM and I talked on the phone about this and it all lined up -- almost everything I had to do as a child, I don't mind doing. Anything that was not my job, I am more irritated by it. So I think it really matters what DCs actively do, not just see you doing!

Retroformica · 13/10/2013 19:41

Chuck out as much as you can. Less crap = less mess

encyclogirl · 14/10/2013 14:14

Storage is the key for us. A place for everything means surfaces are always clear and easier to see and therefore clean.

Dh tends to be a bit of a 'percher' though. Leaves things perched in unusual places then goes blind to the fact they are there. He ruins my artfully arranged bookcases and mantles with his endless perching of crap.

Of course when I move them to where they are supposed to be he can't find them Hmm

FortyDoorsToNowhere · 14/10/2013 17:23

Update, now the house is sorted and everything has a place and got storage it's now complete for the first time in 4 years my house is spotless.

Got a new routine and going to do 1 extra thing a day. Like today as it is not a working day I have cleaned the cooker ( thanks for the dishwasher tablet tip)

OP posts:
DontMentionThePrunes · 14/10/2013 17:30

'Percher' is a perfect word Grin

We are all perchers in my house, sadly.

FortyDoors I am envious. Enjoy it!

FortyDoorsToNowhere · 14/10/2013 17:32

Totally knackered now, sheer determination has made me do it.

It helps that both DC are in school so have Monday afternoons and Fridays to keep on top of it now it's sorted.

OP posts:
LimitedEditionLady · 14/10/2013 18:52

I agree with if you dont use it get rid of it.I focus on one room every couple of months to make space,i donate stuff to charity,give clothes to family and bin other stuff.You need to find a place for everyrhing to go,you cant tidy if theres no where to tidy it to.youll just be moving it from room to room forever.i wash up through the day,wipe stuff down,change the beds and do the rest in the evening when ds is in bed.I also iron a whole wash load as soon as its dry,no hanging about in baskets and put it away staraight away properly.its not always easy but if you just get the get up and go itll be fine

CuriosityCola · 14/10/2013 19:00

Another one who lives by flylady. I like the fact that my house is always visitor ready now. I used to have to run around pushing things in cupboards and cleaning like a possessed woman. SmileGrin

Dh and I often split the tasks. So if it's 15 mins tidying your wardrobe. We will do our own for 15 mins. Or will both just do 7 mins. Twice the amount done in the same time or the 7 min option if we are too busy. Always set your timer!

I had a cleaner, but it wasn't tackling the under lying problem that all the cupboards and drawers were a mess. Flylady works on rotation so a one hour quick clean once a week and a 15 min daily task. That can be just pulling out your sofas and hoovering underneath. Much easier than doing everything at once, but you end up with a house far cleaner than someone doing 3 hours every couple of weeks.

CuriosityCola · 14/10/2013 19:02

Glad you are feeling on top of it all forty.

KittiesInsane · 15/10/2013 11:45

'if you don't use it get rid of it'

But very little of it is mine! God knows what they all use it for, or even what half of it is, but someone else needs to identify it all.

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