To ask how on earth you keep your house clean?

[Wonderland554]

I've got a one year old and a three year old. I spend my life doing washing, sweeping up (one year old still in the process of learning how to not through every meal I cook on the floor), picking up toys, cooking, dishes etc etc. I just don't know how people are finding the time to clean their bathrooms, kitchens etc, like give them a proper thorough clean? I'm struggling to find the time to even hoover & polish. My husband is working away just now so it's just me and the kids for the next 3 months and I just can't bare not being on top of all of this.

Any tips/advice most welcome

Well I'd say that you have a perfect excuse for letting things go to hell.

But if you don't want to hear that, then buy yourself a robot hoover (£60 or so from Argos) and let the kids watch it. It's spellbinding.

I have a cleaner 😆

Thanks Ethyl. I'm suffering from anxiety at the moment and it seems to add to my anxiety when the house is chaotic so I need to keep on top of it if possible. Thanks for the hoover tip, I'll have a look

I have a cleaner. And I live by myself

Woops, meant to be

The below has worked quite well for me at times... currently I'm struggling and getting behind a bit but hoping to get back on it!

Daily
I try and set a basic standard which I will always meet by the end of the day. For me that's everything in its place, no dirty dishes, a load of washing done (if needed), and the dry clothes put away. That way, you have a semi-nice environment to be in and surfaces are clear for cleaning if you do get round to it.

Weekly
Then I have a list of weekly tasks and try to take roughly one a day (but it's still not a disaster if I skip a day):

• Dust/vacuum lounge
• Dust/vacuum bedrooms
• Clean bathroom
• Clean kitchen surfaces/hob/sink
• Change bedsheets
• Clean kitchen/bathroom floors

Less often
Then I also have a list of less frequent tasks like cleaning oven, cleaning windows, vacuuming under sofa, etc., which I do as and when there's time (not as often as I'd like!).

As I go
I also keep wet wipes on hand and try to wipe as I go - e.g. quickly wipe the kitchen surface after cooking, give the bathroom tap a quick rinse when I notice soap/toothpaste all over it AGAIN.

P.S. I also have anxiety and can't relax in a messy environment - but hate cleaning so can end up in a situation where I can't bring myself to clean but also can't relax! I try to remind myself how great I'll feel when it's done... starting is the hardest part.

I used to find it hard to keep everything up together so now I have a cleaner in every fortnight, just for 2 hours to do the things that I struggle with.

Best £20 I ever spend.

Try and corral the mess! Keep them/ their mess, confined in one room if possible.
And never expect to do a whole job, e.g. It's not possible to tidy living room and dust and hoover with the kids there. So do the best u can.

Throw all toys off floor onto sofa, put kids on top of toys (seriously) they love it. Hoover floor then replace toys and children back on carpet. So it's clean but messy.
Use kids dirty sock to run across the surfaces and u r done.

Fill paddling pool with water and bubble bath after tea. Put in for half an hour in the garden while u drink tea and watch them. No bath needed and the witching hour is dealt with.
While kids in bath or doing teeth use a baby wipe on toilet and use kids dirty T shirt on bathroom mirror and taps.
See the trick is to keep the illusion of a clean house, doesn't actually have to be clean. Squint a bit and use lamps

I have a 2 and 3 year old and work full time and I find that by batch cooking huge pots of beef stew, chicken curry, bolognese, savoury mince and that type of meal for the freezer - i frees up a good 40 mins each evening that I use to wipe the fridge or internal windows. To keep the DC quiet I use playdoh which can make more mess at times.

I clean the bathroom and toilet when they are in the bath at night and sometimes bring on the basket of clothes to sort.

I mop floors just before bed so no risk of slipping

Dishwasher on each night as I washing machine

Declutter. I have gone through the toys again this evening and any old cars that are clogging up the storage boxes have gone out to the garden and baby stuff to friends

Robot hoover.

If the floors is clean it makes everything feel a lot better.

Scoop the kids up and leave the house. Come back to the hoover docked and floors clean.

I clean the loo. If nothing else. And the surrounding area, because God love them, young boys can't bloody aim

Buy a Dyson hand held hoover... Best thing EVER! Has made cleaning the house so much easier. I cannot recommend them enough.

I do about 50% of what moutonfou does.

I have my daily straightening up that I do (picking up toys, dishes, vacuuming small areas that get crumbs from baby's snacks). For the big jobs ( laundry, bathroom, vacuum/mop whole house) I will usually find a day in the week to do one.. (tuesdays bathroom, weds laundry, etc). That way it doesn't get so overwhelming. Depending on if you're a stay at home mom or not, I find that waking up and eating some breakfast and then taking about an hour to organize the house before we go anywhere to be helpful. But I do tend to let certain areas go and am OK with that. For example, toddler's room is typically a disaster... but after trying to keep it clean day after day after day I decided if her room is a mess that is ok.. because i can close the door! I clean it up about once a week or every other week.

kep bath and kitchen clean
dont want to get sick
wash needful things and do the rest when you can

I have a cleaner too. That was my deal for going back to full time work. She does the whole house (not a deep clean) including changing beds once a week. I love coming home after she's been - she's fab and worth every penny.

With dcs that age id suggest buying a few big plastic tubs (as aesthetically pleasing as you like) and putting out a tub each day. (Try to keep toys to a minimum).

Don't bother trying to sort different types of toys- at that age it will make it harder to cleanup and they tip everything out anyway.

I have a lovely basket that I use every afternoon to go around and put every single thing I find in the wrong place in it. The dcs put it all back and I do some.

Mine only have books and soft toys in their rooms.

I make sure the kitchen is perfect before I go to bed (I make sandwiches for the following my day so there's not much mess made in the morning and I have a dishwasher that I run everyday).

First thing I do when I wake up is spray all the bathroom/toilet surfaces, put on a load of washing then return to wipe them all down (a few minutes max).

Look for the areas that annoy you the most (e.g. A cluttered entry). Work out what would you need to make it nicer.

All these "I have a cleaner GRIN GRIN GRIN" posts are not particularly helpful to an OP is clearly struggling and doesn't have a cleaner.

OP, Without wanting to play toddler Top Trumps, I had 4 under 6 with 3, under 3 1/2. You cope by becoming incredibly organized. And I'm, by nature, the most unorganized person ever.

When you are in the kitchen, clean the kitchen. Get the older ones loading the dishwasher and turn it into a game. Or just make up a game. I once got my toddlers putting pistachio nuts into 2 bowls and "counting" them for about an a hour and a half and had the cleanest kitchen afterwards.

When they're in the bathroom, clean the bathroom! Talk to them, sing to them and clean the loo and sink at the same time. Clean the bath when they get out.
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Some of these tips are awful. You cannot clean with a dirty sock that is disgusting.

I find it easier to set a time limit like one or two hours for cleaning then work non stop. Write a list the most important things first.

And never leave anything for the next day like washing up - ugh. Unhygienic.

I've a 9 month old and a 2.5 year old and every night after they go to bed I spend 1 - 1.5 hours cleaning , I do a differnt task each night. I put away toys, load dish washer, Hoover after meals as the day goes on so by bed time it's a case of just tidying last toys then set about other tasks

Dusting a mantelpiece with a toddlers worn sock is not disgusting, don't be silly.

I clean thoroughly at the weekend 😒

Statetrooper I'm
Not silly. That is disgusting. Don't be so lazy and dirty.