How tidy do you get your house every day?

[mumtoallbhoys]

I wouldn't naturally be the most tidy person and my husband is probably tidier than average.

Tell me honestly what your standards are? I have 2 kids, 3 and 5. I take contracts, this year through choice I was off for 12 weeks over summer.

I make sure that I do all the cooking (lunch, snacks, dinner but he makes porridge in the morning) and 100% of the laundry. I make sure that the dishwasher is loaded sides wiped down. I wouldn't always sweep the floor or mop more than twice a week. We do have a cleaner who does a weekly deep clean weekly.

There would be a lot of toys everywhere downstairs but I have often run out of steam before I tidy them...

Most days:

Dishwasher unloaded and reloaded
A load of washing put on and dried and then put in a pile to put away
Kitchen table and work surfaces cleaned
Almost always tidy the downstairs before going to bed, so things put back in their place, any dishes away, sofa tidy etc

We have a cleaner x 1 a week and in between that I probably Hoover downstairs twice a week and clean the kitchen sink once.

I have a 12, 10 & 9 yo here.

Large 4 bed.

Kitchen is always tidy. Dishwasher goes on at the end of day and emptied next morning.

Hoover the downstairs almost every day after work and it mopped with a quick flash mop every other day.

Weekend is laundry so we tend to look like a dry cleaners by then just stuff everywhere.

Kids rooms? No idea, I shut the doors and try to forget it.

I don’t hoover and clean the fucking bathroom every day because Jesus Christ no. The cleaner comes weekly and does the bathroom, floors etc.

Cleaning the house while the kids are awake is like brushing your teeth while eating a packet of oreos.

System for stuff and less stuff.

No I’ve not achieved it either. We simply have too much crap.

Ah yes if I had a play room I could probably toy sort once a month too! As I have a tiny house with no rooms for toys/stuff it is far harder!!

One DS, 13. I work full time, but aim for the kitchen worktops/sink to be clean & clear. Bathroom basin less so

My bed is made, DS' isn't. Sitting room vaguely tidy except ds' computer desk.

I'll never be a domestic goddess.

SAHM with 2-year-old twins here. Most of the time it's a mess, I'll be honest. We tend to do at least a partial toy tidy up most evenings, and the kitchen is always wiped etc. before bed. We completely clear the downstairs floors and send the robot vacuum round to sweep and mop maybe once a week, and I'll do a quick sweep post-dinner unless they've been particularly clean with food that day. Have been slightly better with mopping recently, as we're potty training. Upstairs I try to keep the main bathroom sink and loo reasonably clean for any visitors, but often neglect our bedroom and en suite - my partner works in there during the day so getting in to clean without interrupting him can be tricky. Am hopeless at hoovering upstairs. There's always mountains of washing at all stages of progress, usually in the kitchen utility area and in the spare room.

My house is a bit messy most of the time. I have no regrets. Saturdays I tidy, hoover etc. I just feel too knackered out by walking to work and back and working all day to start cleaning when I get in. Not going to lay on my deathbed wishing I'd spent more time tidying 😊

Tidy enough to not think I’ve been burgled

@Handsoffstrikesagain

And I don’t really understand why the playroom makes the toy sorting possible? Even when I didn’t have one, I still sorted through toys. Just like I sort through clothes, toiletries etc to see what I can sell, donate etc.

Easier when your children sleep in a different room from their toys perhaps? When they are small, your main opportunities for sorting are naptimes and evenings.

It’s pretty tidy.

Daytime toys often all over living room, but they get tidied before nap and bedtime so if doesn’t build up, evenings toy free.

Clutter and mess just stress me out, I just can’t think straight

Hoover daily, floor mopped weekly, kitchen cleaned weekly with sides wiped down as needed, dishwasher loaded but always a load of pans for hand washing on the side or drying. Toys always cleared away but by the kids. At 3&5 they’re old enough to tidy up or at least help a lot before going upstairs to bed.

Always stuff where it shouldn’t be though such as jumpers on the back of sofas, shoes around and electronic controllers now mine are older

Two dogs and one cat
Hoover everyday
Mop everyday
Clean kitchen tops about five times a day

Not!

I can really recommend the organised mum method. It helped me kind of get into a routine that I fell out of during lockdown.

I was going to ask if you were married to a nest freak who has been criticizing you about the house.

It seems you are.

Do you find yourself feeling anxious about the topic of cleaning/ tidying? Do you feel your H is setting himself up as the cleaning police, and you have to give him an account of your work? If so, then this focus on cleaning and tidying is a power grab on his part. You need to make it clear that you won't play this game and that the children must be allowed to play comfortably in their own home.

Requiring kids the age yours are to put one set of playthings away before starting on something else is nothing more than the desire to control running amok. It is not how children play and they should t be forced to do this. Tidying up should be something they do with cheerful help from parents. Any other way means someone likes to throw his weight around and make small children fearful.

Tell your H to ease off and maybe get himself a hobby. Running would help with his anxiety.

I used to be married to a man like this, the son of a mother who inflicted this sort of regime on her children. They gave up playing in favour of TV, which made her happy because there were no toys to pick up.

In my exH's case, he refused to compromise, and his controlling developed into other areas too.

Put a stop to this before you find yourself daydreaming about how nice it would be to be homeless.

This is not about tidiness or getting organized.

We live in a nice area with no fear of burglars, because they'd look through our windows and think someone had beaten them to it.

Just me, twin 3.5 year olds and 2 long haired cats.
When we are at home, I clean and tidy steadily/constantly (think tortoise, not hare!). The girls scatter their toys/crap everywhere, but they help tidy up before we go out/go to bed.
My place is never spotless and never will be, but we have better things to do with our time and I'd rather spend 'quality' time with them whilst they are young. Ours is a home, not a show home.

I’d be a clean freak if other people weren’t involved. You can only be as tidy as your spouse and I can’t run after him 24/7 putting things away. He’s tidier than when we first married, I’m less tidy than when we first married. I try to make sure the kitchen, bathroom and living area is tidy. The other areas I don’t see as often get short shrift.