To ask when you manage to do your cleaning when you have small children?

[Mrswoollyfromwoollylane]

I think my house is quite clean and it gets tidied up each day. But I never seem to be able to just relax and enjoy a clean tidy house iyswim? Like today on a cold Sunday I'd like to just be able to put my feet up and watch a film with the kids or play some games, but everything is to be done or so it feels.

I work part time and have two days off a week, but those days I'm at home with a toddler who doesn't nap anymore.

On my days off I get up, put a load of washing on, get ready and take older kids to school then I go out in the morning with the toddler, to stay and play or to the park and shops. My afternoon is then spent cleaning, but this is not an easy task with the little one who is into everything. but I managed to hoover all of the upstairs, dust everywhere and clean the bathroom. This is alongside the usual washing loads, dishwasher, making lunch and dinner, bins, recycling and so on.

All the floors downstairs still need doing, sweep and mop but it seems pointless and impossible at weekends with everyone in and out, the kids toys everywhere. The hob needs a clean but will be cooking shortly anyway.

Despite doing the bathroom on Friday you'd never know it had been done now.

I'll clean the floors this evening no doubt, but the dining room will be minging again by Tuesday because the kids drop food.

It just drives me mad.

Watching with interest.
I have ds 2.8 and he is a whirlwind in the house.
I do keep on top of things but it’s hard work.....

You sound like you're doing well to me. Your doing loads more than I manage to achieve with a dd who should have been a kangaroo!

I think there's a strong element of lowering your standards and acceptance of the never ending jobs like floors (mine get revolting in seconds it seems somedays)

I seem to live in a never ending cycle of tidying and cleaning, toddler DD is amazing at causing a mess when I turn my back.
I tidy when shes in bed and floors are mopped before I get in bed

To be honest, I don't. The essential.chores get done, washing, dishes, meals, bins. But I don't really have time to clean the rest of the house most of the time, and as you say it's dirty again within a day anyway. And the sky hasn't fallen in. The organised mum claims you can keep a house clean in half an hour a day which might be worth a look if you haven't seen this already.

Same as PP, I don't really!
We have a play room so at the end of the day, I close the door on it and go into our lounge.
DH takes the kids out for an hour on a Sunday and I blitz the house from top to bottom but apart from that, I e just lowered my standards!

It's a bit soul destroying isn't it. It's that feeling of all the things you still need to do.

I've lowered my standards since having my youngest. I do the things that need doing each day like cooking , washing up , laundry and sweeping and mopping the living room floor. Everything else waits until my dh is off of work so that one can watch the baby while the other does housework.

Put the TV on for them and have lower standards is my way. I keep on top of laundry, hoovering, tidy bedrooms, dishwasher, clean surfaces and generally tidy but that's it.

I gave up scrubbing the floors today. I had to abandon it to break up fights and put right the sofa cushions that had been flung across the room.

Am feeling defeated.

The washing drives me up the wall. I don't even know where it all comes from as I don't wash things that often, yet I still do between 1-5 loads every day depending if there's towel and bedding too.

I only wash bedding every 3 weeks, kids wear uniforms for 3 days, then get a fresh set mid week, kids pyjamas are worn for 2 nights and I wear my own all week because I don't sleep in them, I wear my clothes own clothes 2-3 wears before washing apart from socks and underwear of course. So I just don't know how we accumulate so much washing.

Yes i think you sound like youre doing very well. At this age i think you'll be hard pushed to get to a stage where every box is ticked at once, but keeping on top of a few things each day will keep it at a good standard even if it's not your usual preferred standard.

I have strong memories of my Mum cleaning and me being extremely lonely so I used to trot around after my dad of a weekend. With this in my mind I try and keep on top of it but I won’t become a space to it. The kids will never remember a clean house but they will remember of you played with them/took them out places.

*slave

Get the kids to help! My 5 year old helps since he‘s about 18 months (the 13 month old not yet). Getting stuff from washer to dryer. Emptying dryer in laundry basket. Putting washing on the line. Sorting socks, bringing stuff into the kitchen, hoovering with a handheld hoover, using a brush or a wiping cloth, there is loads of stuff they can do.

You sound like you are going well to do that amount. I know what you mean though about thinking of all the stuff that'sstill needs to be done.

My partner and I work full time, and we're generally out of the house from 7am to 7pm.

As soon as we get in, if there is laundry to do, we put that on. In the evenings, once DS is in bed (8-8:30pm), I walk around the living room and kitchen picking up things and putting them away, wiping down surfaces, putting dishes to soak or DP will wash them. Laundry is then hung up.

The weekends is when we do the big jobs. We'll usually split the bathroom, kitchen, hoovering and mopping between us. We're lucky, as well, that DS still naps for 3 hours after lunch. However, he does find cleaning fascinating and tries to help. He has a small dustpan and brush of his own, and a toy henry hoover :D

This! Means no (or very little) housework at weekends!

theorganisedmum.blog/start-here-the-organised-mum-method-explained/

When the kids are in bed mainly. Or when they're with grandparents. Even when the older ones are at school I still have the 3 year old so nothing is ever perfect.

I like the idea of the organised mum method, but looking at some of that it would take me longer than 30 minutes, plus some of those jobs need doing every day for us!

Did you say how old your toddler is? At 18 months my children played quite comfortably in their own rooms for between 1-2 hours. CD on repeat, toys out, baby gate closed and no issued getting the house done top to bottom in that time.

It also helps training them early to do their part; my children have been taught from a very young age (from when they could walk) to tidy up after themselves before we go out and before bedtime.

*issues

I just don't. My house is a filthy hovel!

( and at the idea of toddlers who play nicely by themselves...)

Mine is older but has severe sn so similar problems - can't be left alone, into everything and constantly makes a mess. On school days it gets done when he is at school with a tidy up again when he is in bed. On other days I can tidy up around him but actual cleaning is minimal and the place turns into a bit of a shit tip.