To wonder why the fuck I bother cleaning anything

[polexiaaphrodesia]

As above. DCs are 1 and 4. I cleaned the kitchen yesterday, washed the floors etc and within 2 mins it was back to the same state as before. Life feels like a never ending round of meals, clean up gigantic mess after meals while house gets trashed by the kids in a different room, cook next meal, clean up ad infinitum. And by cleaning up I mean putting stuff in the dishwasher and scraping food off the floor, highchair etc so not even making the house look presentable just trying to stop descent into squalor.

Oh yeah and don't forget actually try to work as well. DH is doing 50% of childcare so pulling his weight and is really happy and cheerful. I feel absolutely suffocated and would quite like to scream right now.

Would anyone else like to join me in a nice scream?

[GrouchyKiwi]

I have been trying to tidy the playroom today. I think the children conjured a tornado in there. It's atrocious. I have given up and am sulking on the sofa like the grown up I am.

[Laserbird16]

I hear you. I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. My achievement was unloading the dishwasher...it took all day. The crumbs! Oh the crumbs!

[FromTheAllotment]

The irony is that at the start of all this people (including me..hollow laugh now) were saying that our houses would be spic and span because we’d all have more time to be organised etc.

HAHAHAHAHA yeah that was me too. It seemed plausible, didn’t it? I don’t think my house has ever been this neglected.

And the never-fails cleaning motivator for me and DH is having visitors. Well that won’t happen for ages. May as well just live in squalor. 😭😭😭

[mathanxiety]

Set up a craft activity this afternoon. 3 yr old god fed up and wandered off after 10 minutes. 4 yr old saw it through. I then had 30 minutes of tidying away and hoovering bloody glitter up.

@Nottalotta - rookie mistake there is to do crafts with children that young. They have the interest and attention span of gnats at that stage and everything they make is utter crap.

Second mistake is to use glitter. Take all your glitter and throw it out.

[AudTheDeepMinded]

@Sleepismysuperpower1 I'm a bit nervous at the prospect of putting anything down the loo that is going to get caked in shit. I'm certain any ping pong balls would get cloaked on paper and then clog the loo up too.

[sleepismysuperpower1]

@AudTheDeepMinded have you tried target stickers? Might encourage them to try and aim at the target

[Macncheeseballs]

Bumdiggy, I misread that, thought you said you were going to try crack

[stophuggingme]

I have found my people
On my own here with a two, four and a six year old

The crumbs are off the scale, the washing, the abandoned drinks, plates, toast crusts, socks, shoes, toys - especially hot wheels and sylvanian families - books, felt tips without tips, apple cores, “craft” and “nature” projects and yesterday youngest spilt a bucket of play sand all along the patio door seals and pushed stones and sticks in. I wanted to eat my hands with despair.

I’ve resorted to playing the tidy up song on you tube and offering a sweet to the one who cleans up the most in the time it takes the song to play but the novelty is wearing thin 😂

[BumDiggyDiggyDiggyBumDiggyBum]

Oh and our washing machine is broken. I’m half glad as it means i don’t need to do any washing. Half raging as it means I can’t hide in the kitchen occupying myself with washing.

[BumDiggyDiggyDiggyBumDiggyBum]

There’s only 3 of us here and I think I’m going to crack.

All I do is dishes and cleaning. All day everyday. DP and DD are quite happy to sit about in an untidy house but I can’t handle it. I was in the kitchen for half an hour last night, heard DP tell DD to tidy her fort up and thought great he’s sorting that I won’t need to.

Came into the living room and shed just piled everything into the rug in the middle of the floor. So I ended up having to tidy it anyway.

Think I’m going to run away.

[stairgates]

House full here too :) My thing to cope is that as long as I know I have done a job that day then it is done, e.g washed a pile of clothes, awesome, somebody decides to push clothes on the floor and walk on them, thats ok! mentally brush it off as the washing has been done! remind myself theres washing to do tomorrow There are days when I crack but gotta hold onto that PMA whilst chewing my nails off

[canonlydoblue]

@rabbitheadlights It’s an old username. I’ve thrown a couple of pinks in the mix since.

[SnugglySnerd]

It's the crumbs! Crumbs everywhere, all the time. I have told my lot they can only eat at the kitchen table or in the garden.
Dh has just pulled out the sofa to retrieve a lost toy. There were quite a lot of toys that have found their way behind it over the last few weeks (it is an extremely heavy recliner so rarely gets pulled out to vacuum) and the dcs are now enjoying a treasure trove of rediscovered toys!

[Alwayscheerful]

I feel for you, I took to jet washing the Ikea highchair after the grandchildren stayed with us. Children make a filthy mess!

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

This is driving me nuts too. The teens go into the kitchen to make a snack and leave at least mess that takes me five minutes to clear up (that they apparently can't see).

Yes we have plates disappear up to bedrooms and sit there in piles too.

Oh and cans left on the side for me to recycle even though they are equally as capable of doing the job.

Desperately in need of some personal clutter/mess-free space!

[Willowmartha1]

Yes totally agree I only have one dd but she is so messy, never puts her rubbish in the bin so it's a constant mess of crisp wrappers, lolly wrappers all over the sofa. I blitz twice a week and try and keep on top of the mess daily as I can't relax otherwise and don't get me started on slime !!

[franfine]

Should have said kids have just gone back to school here from lockdown. It's been fucking carnage.

[franfine]

It's midday here. I'm sitting here with the baby asleep on me. I've got dishes to do, 4 baskets of dry washing to sort, need to vacuum, clothes to wash, clothes still in the bloody dryer, bedrooms are trashed, there is crap everywhere. In 2 hours I have to pick older kids up from school who will come in and dump their school crap, eat more food, take off their smelly clothes and then dinner starts

[elliejjtiny]

Screaming here too. 5 dc aged 13, 12, 9, 6 and 5. Not working but on a constant cycle of clean one room while little ones destroy another room and big ones leave dishes everywhere. Somehow fitting in some schoolwork too.

[rabbitheadlights]

@canonlydoblue am I right to infer from your username that they are all boys??

[canonlydoblue]

Needed this thread tonight. I have five children eight and under. All I do is move piles of mess to different parts of the house. This afternoon I mopped the floor then two minutes later a child weed on it.....

[DelurkingAJ]

I wish to join in and mine are 4 and 7. I miss my cleaner, I miss the childminder (DSs miss her much more, we’ve had tears). DH completely pulling his weight but we’re both working FT so having to now make up hours in the evenings. So where chores were previously little and often in the evenings plus cleaner plus online shop done one evening it’s now half the weekend when DSs aren’t getting quality attention in the week. Much more time with us, much less satisfying time for everyone involved!

[PureedSocksAndPants]

The irony is that at the start of all this people (including me..hollow laugh now) were saying that our houses would be spic and span because we’d all have more time to be organised etc. But we’re drowning under a tsunami of crumbs, dishes and towels.

[ColourMeExhausted]

Love this thread! 4 and 2 year old here, and found myself nodding to all of the above! I thought that life pre lockdown involved a lot of cleaning and tidying up (and we had a cleaner)...I was so very wrong. Doing a stepcount challenge through work and pretty sure 80% of my steps come from the constant wiping/brushing/hoovering/tidying toys up.

[MarciaDidia]

You lot have just inspired me to buy a robot vacuum/ mop. It is going to change my life. Like you all, I'm so sick of cleaning. I thought we'd bought a new carpet for the kitchen the other day but it turned out to be the massive crumb spillage from ONE MEAL.