Baby and housework- how do you all do it??

[guajiraguantanamera]

I know its not an aibu- Posting here for traffic.
I have a 7mo ds, partner works full time, I'm going back to work probably in January. Feeling a bit stressed about it all, I have only recently got into what I would call a routine and even then at the end of the day I still feel frazzled and my house always looks cluttered!
At the moment I usually manage to do the dishes every day, hoovering once or twice a week, washings every other day (always seems to be endless washings to be done though!) my dp does most of the cooking (he mostly works mornings so back between 12 and 3 most days and has some full days off during the week.
I would say I am the main carer for ds at the moment, ie I do most feeds, change him, entertain him etc, however Dp does stay up when he's teething etc to let me go to bed, he's really good that way.
I guess my question is, how do all you other mums and dads stay on top of housework when you have a baby?? My house is clean I think, I'm pretty ocd about things being tidy etc but I always think "oh I'll need to clean the bathroom/dust the living room/clean out the kitchen etc and I just never get round to it!
I have no idea how I'm going to manage when I go back to work and I am so worried my flat is going to become a pigsty! Help! Please tell me it all becomes second nature lol

I know 'get a cleaner' is pointless advice if you are on a very tight budget but if you've got a bit of slack I really recommend it. I value time so much more these days that I would rather scrimp elsewhere to pay for the cleaner. It means that hoovering, mopping etc get done every week without fail which is much more important to me now I have a child crawling round. And it means you're forced to do a tidy up the night before.

I don't! My baby is one and I have 3 older dc. My house is a tip and has been for a good few years.

I don't relate to the people who say they can keep on top of it in 45 mins or so. Yes, I do at least one load of washing a day, I tumble dry everything, I don't iron. I do the dishwasher at least twice a day, wipe around the kitchen and often hoover...but the house remains a tip. It's covered in craft stuff, toys, children's games, clean washing. I have decluttered. We just still have a lot of stuff and there are usually craft projects in various stages of completion. There is a box of rice for play in the kitchen, plus a box of autumn leaves. I can't do any better without limiting their play, so I don't.

1. cleaner for main things - so even once a fortnight or even once a month if budget allows to deep clean bathroom and kitchen and dust. Means you can clean those areas with basic wipe but don't have to be super standards as cleaner will do.

2. keep baby involved as others have said. So don't wait until baby is asleep. So wash up whilst baby is in kitchen with wooden spoon and pan! Fold laundry with baby in the basket playing with clean socks. Etc

3. minimal clutter and stuff - means you don't have to tidy before you can clean. Sort everything and get rid of if its not easy to tidy or in the way

4. never buy excess toys as they will be the bane of your life! One in one out policy. So new toy is fine, but get rid of one they don't play with first. Small is good

When you both work full time you share it equally with your other half. It's the only thing that works. Feminism rules.....

Other things we did was put the dishwasher and washer on every day without fail.
No food out of the kitchen rule once the children can move
A cleaner when you can afford it - we could not afford it for years
Hoover with baby strapped to you in sling
Routines and doing things at same time every day.

We had a daily nanny who was not tidy (an understatement) but she stayed 10 years so we were happy to clean up around her for that stability.

We had to get a cleaner for a couple of hours a week - it was driving me crazy trying to do everything. The best £20 I spend each week and stops me going insane!

£20 a week?? That's a lot cheaper than I tbought!
I'm so glad people are saying they don't iron. I never do (unless essential) and I thought that I was in a minority.. But it would appear I am not.
Thanks for all the advice!

Baby in bouncy chair in kitchen where he is fascinated by the washing machine, or in front of Elmo videos bad parent

Or dh does it.

Don't get me wrong, my ds is quite happy In his bouncer jumping away watching you tube nursery rhymes (bloody finger family grrrrr I can hear it now!) while I do dishes etc. I'm lucky in that respect he is not a "needy" baby or clingy but he's gonna start crawling around soon I reckon then I assume there will be chaos in our house everyday! Lol

Oh works 3x 14 hour shifts and I work on his days off and we have an 8 month old so it's pretty hectic! We try to have a day off together each week so I tend to get the big stuff done then unless we go out. He's been on nights most of the year though so it's been really hard.

We have a stack of those plastic draws to keep all the toys in and I put ds in his bouncer or high chair, whilst I hoover the living room and kitchen as he's crawling so it needs doing every day. Our house is tiny so it only takes 2 minutes! Fortunately ds loves the hoover too! I wash up once ds is in bed. Change bedding once a week when he's in bed and clean bathroom twice a week when he naps. I used to be a housekeeper so I'm pretty quick!

If something doesn't get done don't worry about it. Kids make a mess! There's supposed to be toys everywhere! Takes 30 seconds to put them into the draws at the end of the day.

Yes, I was "lucky" when we had crawling babies that we had a small galley kitchen with white floor that quickly showed up any dirt. I cleaned that floor regularly, but it was literally a 2 minute job with floor wipes. Now we have a lovely eat-in kitchen, but cleaning the floor is a vastly bigger job and it's brown so it doesn't show the dirt

I second having wipes stashed where you need them.

I am not too worried about the everyday stuff but where we really fail is the deeper cleaning - hoovering behind sofas, washing insides of windows, cleaning out kitchen cupboards.

bimbly we are the same our windows are shocking! Our flat probably looks like a haunted cottage from the outside-spiders webs etc it's awful, but Dp can sort that lol.

I mean on the outside btw not inside!

Watching with interest as I have a 5mo and my house is a shit tip.

One thing I have started doing is to clean the bathroom (very quickly - luckily we have a small bathroom!) while I'm in there on a morning. DD stays in bed with DH while I shower so it's a good time to have a quick wipe round. It's fallen by the wayside a bit lately but I find it easier than having to properly clean every week or whatever.

The natural state of a home with children and working parents is to be a tip

Not just working parents either!! It'll be a tip til they move out

I know people say to leave it, but I can't relax properly if my house isn't clean. I can deal with mess, but I don't like it to be dirty.

My DD is 5 months, and has a good 2 hour nap around lunchtime so in that time I tidy away, clean the kitchen (pots, polish windowsill, clean worktops/glass dining table and Hoover) and the living room (Hoover/wipe sofas/polish).

Bathroom gets done in an evening a couple of times a week when DP is home - I clean bath then do the rest while the baths running for the kids. Bedding washed on a sunday, do a load a day the rest of the week. It sounds like a lot but because I do it often it takes less time than doing a big weekly clean. And also, I don't iron so washing just gets put away and iron as needed.

I sit with a cuppa and relax when if baby sleeps later in the day. DP does all the cooking.

I fully intend to have my cleaner back when I go back to work I. January though!

I find that trying to keep on top of everything helps and makes me feel better. So I do a load of washing most days, have it ready to put on as soon as I get up the days I'm at work. I wash up after each meal. I try and focus on a room a week that I more intensively clean when she's having a nap or straight after she's gone to bed. I tidy her toys away as soon as she's asleep otherwise I can't be borhered. I also try and plan little jobs to do in before work or in the evening. If we're at home together I try and do a job I can do near her so last week I was cleaning out a kitchen cupboard and gave her lots of tupperware boxes to play with. I find it hard and I can't always be bothered though!

I just vaguely try to keep on top of the most impprtant stuff (Kitchen, washing, hoovering) and everything else gets done when I notice its particularly awful. It won't be like this forever, it gets easier as they get older. I also recently bought a roomba (robot vacuum cleaner) which hoovers for me so all I have to do is keep it a bit tidier. It has made a huge difference.

My mother came for a day a week in the first year, otherwise I think ds would have died of dysentery.

In the toddler years the house was just awful. We had a cleaner for a while once a fortnight which was actually worse as I downed tools completely.

From experience and mn I would now say that decluttering and little and often are the way to go. With the result that you are never, ever completely off duty but that nothing builds up to quite such a bad state. The right storage really does make a difference but that's different from just buying lots of boxes to clutter the place up.

I don't understand to be honest.

If your DP works mornings and has some full days off, then he is by no means pulling his weight if he is just doing "most" of the cooking and the odd bit of amusing baby when there are specific difficulties.

I would expect your DP to be doing far more to be honest. Why can't he do a load of laundry every other afternoon, or the washing up as soon as he's finished cooking? He could also be looking after the baby for a few hours on his days off to give you time to get on with some cleaning.

I have 5 dc, the youngest is 5 months old and I work from home (just going back to work after moving and having baby).

I always make sure my living room is spotless, because I'm always on it, it takes 10 minutes a couple of times a day.

This makes life much less stressful because I know I have one clean room if the health visitor anyone comes over unexpectedly.

With the rest of the house I'll do a 20-30 minute whip round of all the rooms in the morning while my baby naps, then pick one room to concentrate on and do 15 minute stints throughout the day when I can to get it gutted and clean.

I m shit at housework and hate it, but it all goes to shit so quickly I have to be on it constantly. Little and often works well for me.

I do the kitchen once a day while DS is eating his lunch in his high hair, nothing too strenuous, just a general tidy, wipe surfaces, do dishes and quick Hoover after he's chucked his lunch all over the floor. Use floor wipes if nessesary.

I tidy toys away just before nap time and bed time. Trying to encourage DS to help, although he's too little for that at the moment I'm hoping to get the habit ingrained in him!

Morning nap time I stick a load of washing on, have a brew and get myself ready for the day.

At the weekends DP and I do a blitz together, I tend to do dusting and clean the bathroom, he hoovers everywhere and mops kitchen and bathroom.

That's about it really, it's not perfect by any means and doesn't happen 100% of the time but hey ho I have a baby so it's never going to be perfect.

I forgot to say, I work 3 days a week so the daily stuff only applies on my days off. DS is 15 months.

My oldest is 31. I have not ironed in those 30 years. The youngest are teenagers. Not ironing has worked really well for us.

I do think it depends on personality though as some people are happy with untidiness and others not. Just go with what feels right for you.

Handy would be £30 for 3 hours cleaning (in London and I think some other cities) - you can book on line - a one off or regular:
www.handy.com/

IF you can afford it.

It's so hard, isn't it?

I have a five month old, a two year old, an eight year old, a mad 6 month old Labrador, and an additional two year old I watch 3x a week. We live in a tip.

Having the mindee actually helps because I feel like I have to clean since someone outside my family will be here. It's not nearly as tidy as I'd like though.

I'm going to start WOH in June and honestly I think it will make it easier.

Why doesn't you husband do more. Sounds like you are doing a full time job with baby then your husband gets down time and you don't.