Can I ask those of you with little DCs and clean homes...

[everythingisawesomee]

To please share your wisdom?

I have one DC at home and one in reception.
Love cleaning/hoovering/mopping but hate tidying before being able to clean and doing mind numbing stuff like folding and putting away laundry.
It seems like my house is permanently covered in sticky handprints, Lego, stuff not put back in its place or everything piled on worktops and surfaces.

I've recently visited a new acquaintance who has twin toddlers and her house was like a picture out of a magazine. She's always so chilled and organised, in clean, uncreased clothes and a freakishly clean car so I guess the perfectly clean and tidy house makes sense but it's like black magic to me.
She also always seems to have lots of spare time when she's not working so it's not as if she spends days upon days scrubbing her house.

Can anyone managing to achieve a clean, tidy, uncluttered home without spending most of your emotional energy or time on it please tell me how you get it done?

I find usually when people have really tidy homes one or more of the following apply-
they have a cleaner,
they spend majority of time out of the home,
they don't really cook,
they have more space than stuff,
they have a playroom,
they have a utility room,

I expect a load of posts to tell me none of those apply to them but there are always exceptions to the rule

I work full time. But not out of the home. In fact WFH means I can do a few jobs in the day.
No playroom. No utility.

I cook almost every day (I love cooking).
I am a super tidy person in general. My kids can make a huge huge mess and have fun but they know at 6 pm they have to help me tidy up.
Also DH does his half of the chores. Dishwasher, laundry, packed lunches, hoovering. He does the garden solo because I hate it. Also changes sheets on the weekend.
And my kids can be left alone and they are neither docile, nor are they girls!

My house is always clean and tidy.

I am naturally tidy and I potter a lot, I find it hard to sit still so always find something to do.

I also work part time and have two young children.

The children are very tidy, they know toys get put away when finished with and my husband is also tidy so that all helps.

I do believe my being busy definitely keeps me very slim too so it's a win win for me!

Not sure if anyone's mentioned it but when it all gets too much, there is a lovely poem called 'Dust if you must' - it definitely reminds you there is more to life than cleaning! I personally find that setting a timer per room helps so you don't devote too much time on each room.

I hate cleaning. When the dc were small I had a routine which worked brilliantly for me. It also helped that the dc shared a bedroom which had beds, wardrobe, drawers and a few cuddle toys and some books. Everything else went into the playroom so I could close the door and pretend it didn't exist.
Mon I would deep clean the living room and give the dining room a quick once over.
Tuesday I would clean the bedrooms (one a full clean, one a quick dust and hoover around the furniture) and wash the windows.
Wed I would clean the hall, spare room and do whatever I felt needed, so drawers, kitchen cupboards etc.
Thursday I would deep clean the dining room and give the living room a quick once over.
Fri I did the bedrooms again, focusing on whichever I hadn't done on Tuesdays.
The kitchen and bathroom were cleaned every day but I only mopped the floor when I was doing the rooms on that level.
This would usually be done in the mornings and we would head out see people in the afternoons. Weekends were free for quality time as a family.
It worked for me while the dc were small and I was at home with them. It didn't work as they got older as the routine had to change with school hours and activities being factored in.

@thenewaveragebear1983

Everyone in the household has to love cleaning/tidying, not just you. I like a tidy house but with 4 others who seem to think we're in the middle of a game of Jumanji and losing it's a losing battle. Dh doesn't even see things like handprints on walls and cupboard doors needing wiped.

I have had to lower my standards since returning to work or I'd lose the plot I think. Plus I am outsourcing labour- window cleaner, cleaner, pay teen dd to clean kitchen daily after dinner. Plus 3 hour family 'jobs time' on Saturday or Sunday morning which includes getting everything sorted for the week ahead (eg uniforms, signing homework diaries, book diaries, spellings, plus cleaning/ beds/tidying)

Jumanji!! That’s what my house looks like!

Op, she’s just one of Those people. She will always be immaculate, her children will be immaculate, they will eat 10 portions of fruit and veg an hour, will have slept through from about 4 weeks old and will be beautifully behaved.

I am not one of Those people and neither are my dc. I think it’s genetic 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think it's a habit or it isn't. I tidy as I go - wash pots as I'm cooking, clean surfaces while making packed lunches, take dishes straight through to kitchen & wash so I don't ever have more than one meals worth to do. I also clean my bathroom every night after everyone has bathed/showered and I wipe the bath shower down as soon as I come out. All little habits that help me keep on top of it. But I do only have one very placid & well behaved child (pot luck not my parenting) so I can leave them alone for a while whilst I tidy/clean. They are also tidy & put their own toys away but I do think thats because they are in the habit like me.

I was just thinking about this today. I really struggle keeping on top of it. Am trying to declutter and make sure everything has a home, but it’s slow going. We recently turned what was our small office into a playroom and that has helped a lot as all toys are in one place. If we have visitors for a weekend I almost dread the amount of tidying and cleaning I’m going to have to do to get the whole house looking ok- and then I swear I’ll keep it that way, but it never happens. I actually don’t mind cleaning, it’s tidying and piles of stuff building up I seem to struggle with.

Habit. I grew up in a clean and tidy home. My friends all had clean and tidy homes. It never occurred to me there was any other option. I keep it tidy and uncluttered instinctively, I clean as I go along and also have a cleaner. I can’t relax in a messy noise

House not noise

A messy house makes me depressed So it can’t be messy - being tidy and clean is self care for me! I follow The Organised Mum Method which really, really helps (but even if I didn’t I’d still have it tidy, the system justs saves time).

I’m RUTHLESS about clutter. If it’s not being used, it’s gone. Whenever I am in a messy house I am amazed by the sheer quantity of stuff they house. Stuff IS mess. Get rid!

There are people on here commenting that they have young children but they still manage to clean by leaving them to play and encouraging them to put toys away. So maybe your children are not that young anymore? I have a baby trying to cruise. I put her in her cot while I wash my hands after nappy change and in that time she will often manage to bang her head on the bars or get her foot trapped and start screaming. She can’t be left to wander as I clean as she finds every cable in the house, every toy she shouldn’t chew on, every way to get herself in trouble! And she naps for only about twenty minutes a day now. So how do you clean around a child that young?! I have given up and clean while she’s in bed.

Storage is your friend. I get really pissy when people moan about others clean homes that our children in some way are neglected/unfulfilled.

When my were little the toys would be out all day. Come bed time, put away in good storage. Now they are older, so less toys and more stuff its mainly in their bedrooms.

As to keeping things clean, clean as you go along- make lunch clear it up, don't leave the mess until dinner time. Spill something wipe it up. Yes, if you can afford it a cleaner x

I live in a small house so
*don't have too many toys in total.
*clean one room a day with weekends 'off'
*toys are shared between 3 boxes with only one box out for a week.
*nag husband to take things up off the stairs.
*train toddler to tidy up too.
*close doors to rooms to restrict access so toddler can't make mess everywhere.
*good storage.
*stop buying stuff you don't need.
*do dishes whilst kettle boils.
*have a charity shop bag and throw an item in everyday.

@Debradoyourecall it gets easier you are in a tough stage.

I had twins. I was not as sparkling clean as your friend sounds because I hate cleaning, but the house was normally tidy. Still is.

I limited the number of toys they had on the go at any one time (they had lots and lots so I just put about two thirds away in the loft and swapped them over every month or so). I had bins for throwing things in - a bin each for footwear, a bin for lego, a bin for soft toys, etc. So tidying was super easy. No food or drink except at the table (this was a hard learned lesson) and wipe hands straight after. I did messy play in the kitchen with its easy wipe surfaces. When they were really young I incorporated tidying into play so when we had done with one game we made a game of throwing the toys into the right bins (got this after seeing a creche I left them in from time to time do it) before we moved onto the next thing. Sadly, this is not something they have kept up with!

I think the real trick that made the house seem tidy rather than well organized chaos (which is what it really was) was that we had plenty of space and I refused to fill it up too much. So there was room for the bins of toys to be tucked neatly under side tables etc.. If the kids were painting in the kitchen I still had enough room to prep dinner. When it all went disastrously wrong, the spare bedroom could be used to stash everything in so it didn't feel overwhelming and just get worse and worse. But these techniques are useful ones anyway. Well organized chaos isn't a bad standard for the young years.

I have six year old and one year old. My flat is lovely in the morning and after 8 pm, but not so much in the middle.

I'm clean and organized, my husband is a hoarder and has no organization skills. My flat was always lovely when I lived alone, his was the episode of Kim and Aggie's "How Clean is Your House".

There is one difference between us - he never never puts things in its place. If I leave him alone for a week, you do not have to be Sherlock Holmes to find out what he did that week - you'll have clues all over the house.

And please, I'm sick of all those saying if you have a clean house, you have unhappy children. My kids are allowed to do whatever they like, but we clean after the game. And they eat at the table. So, no sticky fingers here.

My house is messy but as soon as I know someone is coming around I make sure it is spotless. It's possible to do on the odd occasion but it doesn't last!

Hi OP no real advice to get it spotless but I do have a couple of tips as I am lazy but also like a clean house

• big boxes like other posters have mentioned - I have wicker baskets in the living room, kitchen and bedrooms and it's easy to scoop the stuff in quickly so its out the way

• furniture against all the walls. Might not be 100% practical to apply but then they can't get to the walls lol

• no food except at the table, wash your hands after. Same goes for arts and crafts. They don't have free access to pens

• only make meals if you are sure you can clean up easily after. I cook from scratch but don't make anything too intricate if I don't have time. A lot of meals are one pot, or I'll cheat by making everything in one pan. I don't own a toaster (too crumby) and re use roasting tins or frying pans as the oil keeps. Its not quite as tasty though !

I will dish meals out onto plates then do the pans washing up while they are cooling. Then I only have to clean plates after which are easier.

@JeNeComprendsPas Did you mean to write hidy up?

Because that is my favourite new word.

A tidy + hide = hidy up

Get your kids to wash or wipe their hands when they're mucky and remind them not to out their hands all over everything. I had this drilled into me as a kid and have passed it on to mine
Staying on top of it. Having others in the family do their fair share once they're old enough.
There is no secret, it's time consuming. So your mate either does it herself or has an ace cleaner.

I have no kids, but my parents had four kids and four dogs and I grew up in an immaculate house.

My dad got up at 04:30 every morning, and started his day by mopping the kitchen floor. As a teen I’d often hear the hoover going around 05:30. We always ate tea much later than friends because my mum cooked from scratch every night and my dad came home from work at 7pm. I never saw my parents in their pyjamas.

We could play with toys in the main living areas but we had to tidy things away properly when we were done or before we got something else out. I always noticed as a child that I had more respect for my belongings than other kids - it was drilled into me. It wasn’t miserable for us at all, we had plenty of fun and relaxation together as a family.

I seem to have inherited my parents’ ability to get up and get on with things at the crack of dawn. The internet is a ridiculous distraction though.

@Ernieshere I absolutely meant hidy up! Pick all of the things up + cram into a suitable hiding place = outward appearance of a tidied room/house. Tidy+hiding place = hidy
(I also meant swan and not swam though so I understand the confusion!)

Ooh that's what I do! I hidy up and then I clean because I really hate tidying