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

When I was in mat leave my husand cleaned the kitchen after dinner each night so we always had a clean kitchen each morning while I could go to bed early with baby

I have a 12 year old and a 10 month old and I find it difficult too! The house never gets a 'proper' clean if you know what I mean and I rarely manage to hoover upstairs! Here's my tips:

After your morning shower/wash-bleach toilet and wipe over sink and loo with antibacterial wipes

Make bed when you get out or while dressing

Bring a basket of laundry downstairs with you (I do one load a day so no pile up)

Use baby wipes to damp dust living room and downstairs surfaces

Hoover while the baby is in the high hair then just Hoover that bit afterwards quickly

Put baby on a kids bean bag so you carry him round the house with you! (Mines too big for this now)

Don't leave bottle washing until the end of the day. It's less stressful to wash them as you go and save panic when you might run out!

Use a slow cooker and prep dinner in the morning. Even without slow cooker, prep dinner as early as poss so at whingy o clock all you got to do is turn the hobs/oven on

Fold laundry/iron and put away when baby is napping or in bed.

Wipe your kitchen floor with flash wipes here and there rather than a big mop everyday

Also get yours and baby's clothes ready the night before for the next day to save time in the morning

We both work ft, dh has to work after dc In bed too but I don't.

Food shopping is done at the weekend.

I also set the washing machine to be done when I get home from work so tend to sort that when the oven is preheating.

dinners are fast and easy. Whoever gets home first cooks.

we take turns to put dc to bed and bath etc
I clean on a Wednesday night so dust, hoover, clean bathrooms and windows. Dh does a quick hoover run on a Sunday.

The house is always tidy before bed which makes the cleaning faster.

Paperwork is Thursday usually.

I usually cba to clean in the week but do it to have a free weekend with dc & dh

Get a cleaner. Buy a dishwasher. Batch cook. Declutter like a maniac.

DH does more. Yours is not doing his share. He should have at least one major job BTW: all laundry or all food. All laundry means everything to do with laundry from sorting, washing, drying through to putting away, noticing when beds and towels need changing etc. All food means meal planning, shopping, cooking.

He doesn't see mess, eh? Pfft. Do not pick up after him. Do not treat him like a moron who can't work out how to do laundry or see that the living room needs tidying. FGS don't behave like you are his mum and he is your idiot child. Your sex life will never recover and you will gradually start to hate him.

I think organisation is key. I too work and it's hard to keep everything ticking along nicely but I can't relax in a messy house! I put a wash on before I leave the house and when I get home each day, always do dishes and clean kitchen after finished eating-nothing worse than coming home to it! While dinner is cooking and baby asleep I normally run the Hoover round the downstairs, tidy up etc... Whilst he is sleeping once a week il change sheets, clean bathroom etc...

I'm not going to lie it's hard work but you will fall into a routine that works for you! Good luck!

DD is 9 months and DH is away Monday to Friday and has been since she was 4 weeks old. We just get on with it as there isn't any other option!! I usually get up before her in the morning and stick any washing on. I do dishes after meals, she sits next to sink in her high chair, she plays with a toy or we sing songs. Cleaning bathrooms gets done when she's in the bath. Other cleaning gets done in evening or during nap times. Food shopping done with baby, she actually enjoys it. Play pen helps for when I need 5 minutes to sort something out. So far I don't think it's that hard but I've not really known any different.

My house was lovely when I was on maternity leave. It's a shit hole now. We both work FT. We manage to do the day to day tidying and the washing, but it needs hoovering, dusting, bathrooms cleaned, kitchen given a good deep clean including the oven and the blinds need hoovered. Ugh. That's a long list.
To be quite honest I've given up bothering. I've been saying we need a cleaner for months (this is a bone of contention) and DP doesn't tend to chip in much at weekends so why should I!

iRobot vacuum cleaner (best £250 I ever spent), a cleaner (to CLEAN, not tidy) on a Friday and a once a months trip to the tip to declutter the endless plastic crap.

Cleaner?

Babywipes to clean everything. If you have used one for a child related purpose and it still has a bit of life in it, use in to e.g. Wipe floor, dust a surface, clear a mark.

Storage x100.

Hoover once a week, wet wipes in between.

Train your child to tidy up. DS's nursery has been an inspiration for this, as soon as the babies can crawl they are encouraged to help.

Invite your mother to stay occasionally lo! A clean oven