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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask how you keep on top of the house work?

120 replies

ThisLittleKitty · 25/01/2018 13:28

I have 4 kids and wow I am really struggling to keep on top of it! It's not dirty just messy. There are forever clothes hanging up everywhere to dry as I have constant piles of washing. The dishes hardly ever done, don't think the sinks ever been empty since I've had the youngest. How do you manage to keep on top of the house work if you have young kids?

OP posts:
Pepperedbeef · 26/01/2018 06:38

I had one kid partly for an easier life. And I’m still not on top of it

heron98 · 26/01/2018 07:01

I genuinely don't think it's that hard. I just do it as I go, make sure surfaces are clean and hoover once a week. It really doesn't take so long.

whyismykid · 26/01/2018 07:14

SunnylikeThursday - you are awesome, it’s good to be proud of that system!

BlackeyedSusan · 26/01/2018 07:29

storage, lots of storage that kids can chuck stuff into, and you can hide stuff.

and keep on top of the areas you have got right.

this is pot/kettle/black as I struggle here too with disabled children

Sarahh2014 · 26/01/2018 07:41

I clean kitchen sides as I go with Flash,use dustpan and brush inbetween hoovering as it's quicker and can get bits that Hoover sometimes can't
Squirt bleach around bath sink and toilet leave then rinse
Ditto kitchen sink

Etymology23 · 26/01/2018 07:48

I ended up taking out a cupboard to fit a dishwasher in: I figured it was easier to keep things like baking tins etc in the dining room than to wash up every day.

I definitely don’t have the answers though: my house is still a state. Trying to have a list of daily jobs is one of my best ways to keep things going: dishwasher, sideboards etc.

43percentburnt · 26/01/2018 08:04

Put washing straight from the machine onto hangers, don't iron, put away when dry. A strong shower rail (the long one for a bath) is ideal to hang them off. If you group on the rail per person and hang tops and jeans in wardrobes this saves folding (and re folding when the children pull stuff out their drawers!).

speakout · 26/01/2018 08:06

I would do my best to fit in a dishwasher- even into the smallest of kitchens.
They keep the kitchen tidy and sinks free, so dirty dishes are stacked as you go, keeping worktops and working areas tidy, frees up draining boards too which can be used as additional workspace .

happinessischocolate · 26/01/2018 08:07

I'm lucky my DP is OCD and wont go to bed until everything is tidy and all washing up done.

It was hard at first because I felt obliged to help him but I don't anymore 😉

If you were doing okay until the baby was born I wouldn't stress too much, I had s clingy baby and things do get better. Could the oldest dc look after the baby whilst you get some stuff done?

Spartaca · 26/01/2018 08:08

Little and often genuinely works here. Only 3 kids, but one is only a few months old and we home ed so are here a lot, make mess etc.

Dishwasher and tble dryer for sure. The latter I only got this winter and it makes such a difference at this time of year.

DH does bedtime while I tidy downstairs and put everything back in its place. I don't bother tidying toys etc during the day, but I tidy and clean the kitchen and stack washer as we go. When the dishwasher wasn't plumbed in I would wash up after every meal before moving on so it didn't get left. Often with a baby on my back.

Upstairs is a mess normally, the kids' rooms are their affair on the whole. Bathroom always clean, give it a spritz while the kids are in the bath. Washing every other day unless basket is full.

Have a cordless Hoover to make it easy to whip round every day, get crumbs etc.

Don't have too much stuff. Am ruthless with what gets kept. We have a fairly small house and I don't want it full. Use the garden, kids booted into it at every opportunity.

I can't relax if we are in a mess downstairs, so have just had to find my own way. Little things like cleaning the kitchen while my evening tea brews, not going on phone until dishwasher unpacked in the morning etc.

Cat2014 · 26/01/2018 08:10

I struggle and I only have one child! I work and am a single mum though. I usually manage to blitz cosmetically before friends come round ...

SunnyLikeThursday · 26/01/2018 08:55

Thanks whyismykid. I really appreciate you noticing. Smile

janiceyorkshire · 26/01/2018 10:58

I work 30+ hours a week too and had to get a cleaner in to help me as a single mum. I felt guilty but it was better than being embarrassed when friends came over to a messy house. Had to fire my first cleaner though but the second one (Leeds domestic cleaning) are really good.

Phineyj · 26/01/2018 13:20

You are a single parent of 4 DC under 7. You do not need a dining room! If I were you I'd get rid of the dining room furniture and turn it into a laundry room with a washer, dryer and some heated racks. Then you can get rid of the clothing that is cluttering up the rest of the house.

Alternatively, turn it into a playroom. Start a very strict rule that no toys come out of there.

With both these solutions you can simply close the door on it and forget the mess exists.

This assumes you've got space to eat in the kitchen though. We've gone with a breakfast bar in ours so that we can get away with only using the dining table when we have visitors. There are only 3 of us, however.

Phineyj · 26/01/2018 13:21

I haven't got a Lakeland heated rack (our house is pretty hot so things dry quickly) but I hear good things about them on here.

DodecahedronCat · 26/01/2018 16:15

I only have one DC - 6mo but my husband is crap at housework - he says he doesn’t notice the junk piling up!

Baby is very very clingy so I have a sling , it’s the best thing that ever happened to me that sling!

Also have a tumble drier and dishwasher.

I normally clean the kitchen properly for 30mins or so while DH and DC go upstairs to bed! I also normally clean the bathroom while I’m running the bath!

Sharpandshineyteeth · 26/01/2018 16:31

I used to have a messy dirty house but have learnt over the past 10 years or so how to keep it more clean (although it's not perfect or showhome)

I used to wait days between "a big tidy" or set time aside for it. Now I'm at it all the time. Empty dishwasher while I put the kettle on. Fold clothes while bathing kids. Go to the toilet and pick up a few things on a bedroom floor.

You really need to think about where you could keep a dishwasher. Like op have said, a table top one would be ok, just might need loading a few times per day. I used to keep my tumble dryer in the hall until my DP knocked out a cupboard. The tumble dryer also means I don't have to iron.

IsabelleSE19 · 26/01/2018 23:19

Tumble drier and dishwasher make a massive difference to us.

I'm trying to follow FlyLady routines - I don't manage all of them, but even some of it helps. One of her best tips is to set a timer for 5, 10, or 15 minutes while you focus on one task/room - it is surprising what you can get done.

Another one of FlyLady's core tips might also be useful - be kind to yourself. Allow yourself a break, and be proud of what you have achieved (load of laundry, clearing the sink etc) rather than dwell on what still needs to be done.

Having said that, my biggest problem is clutter, and I'm still struggling with that!

PumpernickleInaWarehouse · 27/01/2018 08:22

Do you have any pets op?
I do and I find it really adds to the stuff I have to get done. I find it hard also.

Enidthecat · 27/01/2018 08:27

Just do little bits as and when I see it. Never leave a room empty handed.

To be honest I prefer summer when i can hang the washing out because in winter it's station across my house which makes it look untidy.

joystir59 · 27/01/2018 08:31

There are two of us and a dog in a 4 bed house over 3 floors. Also MIL in 4th bedroom but she doesn't use rest of house and cleans her own room. We do not stay on top of the housework! Life is too exciting and when something getsto messy/dirty to ignore we pitch in and both spend half a day cleaning

stayathomer · 27/01/2018 08:51

I have four kiddies too, oldest nine, and divided mess into : clothes, lego/toys, art. I used to look at in laws/relatives with their kids telling them to put that away straight away etc, but now I realise it has to be done so that there's only one lot of mess at a time. Food only allowed in the kitchen except very rare occasions. Two clothes basket and when cleaning up quickly divide into clean and dirty and if you don't have time to tidy them all away at least get everything into the basket. Don't try to sort toys as they clean but do have one box where you can put the small toys they adore so they won't get mixed in and lost. As for the dishwasher, we lived without one up until last year and the difference it made, I can't help with that bit I'm afraid, I was always bad with dishes, they're very hard to keep up with, just obviously soak asap. Hope ANY of this helps and I'm sure you're doing better than you think and I'm sure the people you think have cleaner houses ran about like a lunatic to tidy/ hide before you came in;)

stayathomer · 27/01/2018 08:52

cat2014 'cosmetic blitz,' I love it!!!! (necessary here too!!!)

stayathomer · 27/01/2018 08:54

ps totally agree with the dining room thing, turn it into a playroom!

rocketgirl22 · 27/01/2018 09:17

I think you need to adjust your expectations. You have 4 children under 7! Not one (like your sister) or two. You are not going to have a show room for a house ever. As long as it is reasonably clean then just relax about it

You have a cast iron excuse tbh, because no one in their right mind would expect otherwise.

If it is really getting to you, get the gloves on bin bag and literally have a huge spring clean. Ask someone to baby sit for a few hours and declutter as if your life depended on it. Then spring clean every inch. Washing on the line one warmer days. If you can upgrade your washing machine to one that INCLUDES a dryer. It sounds like you need this as a minimum.

Pay the kids to wash up every day. They might be young, but they can still help with daily chores (and need to learn) mine started doing the basics at 5 years old.