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Keeping up with cleaning

9 replies

ickystickybubblegun · 12/11/2025 14:22

How do you do it?? can you help me improve my routine?

I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old.

Clutter, dirt, toys, food, CLOTHES 😩 the piles and piles of them. Everything is grubby. Plus cooking, food on the floor, and putting things away while they both demand your attention. I work 9-5, DH works 7-7. We are happy to split the cleaning but he can only do so much in the evenings.

At the moment it’s like this:
7am- wake kids up, get them ready: ensue clothes all taken out of drawers by the 1 year old. 3 year old takes toys out of toy box and puts them everywhere. They’ve figured out the fucking child locks. I’m just constantly shouting ‘STOP’ ‘NO’ and being unpleasant. Both just find ‘things’, (this morning the remote control it’s batteries, several teddies, a balloon, an umbrella) and just proceed to play with things which I find strewn all over the floor. Bathroom, the baby gets into the toilet paper so I take that away. Throws his toothbrush in the toilet. 3 year old takes the clothes off she’s just put on for the day because she needs to do a wee. She then sees the clothes on the floor and thinks ‘oh these need to go in the washing basket’ and does that before wiping and washing her hands.
8am- get the kids out to nursery and start my work day. Sometimes I wfh so spend much of the day in the kitchen cooking and just generally tidying.
5pm- pick kids up from nursery. Ensue more toys all over the place, food on the floor, dishes and things need packing away.
6.30- bathtime. Fuck my life.
7.30- sit and read in bed, DH comes home and tucks them in.
We are usually exhausted by this time but DH will make the milk bottle, do a 10 min tidy downstairs and come up to spend time with the kids before putting them to bed.
8.30 - we spend an hour together, sleep at about 9.30. Baby is up in the night so I need sleep.

OP posts:
Posithor · 12/11/2025 14:31

It's really hard, I had the same age gap and now they're 6&4 it's a little easier. It does all get easier but from the very quick look...are you bathing them every night? Shocker I don't. I use the 20mins for a quick tidy before bed. Sometimes I used screens, playpen whatever kept them contained so I knew when I came back downstairs it wasn't to carnage still waiting to be cleaned. Doesn't always work but helped me in the trenches.

I threw another in so the 9m old and I'm back to contact naps and crying over mess but the older two help a little more and entertain the baby occasionally while I clean round before bed.

ickystickybubblegun · 12/11/2025 14:49

Glad it gets easier and congratulations :) I do love this age but it’s such hard work.
I just feel like everyone else seems to have their shit together and my house is a complete mess all the time

OP posts:
Mandylovescandy · 12/11/2025 14:55

Similar age gap and they are still messy but think I am slowly getting through to them. Toys on rotation I thought was helpful for reducing amount of stuff and encouraging good play as they were excited when stuff came back out

Coconutter24 · 12/11/2025 15:01

You say at 7am you wake the kids up, is it possible to just wake 1 child up get them dressed and then get the other up so one isn’t running around with toys whilst you deal with the other?

Posithor · 12/11/2025 15:06

ickystickybubblegun · 12/11/2025 14:49

Glad it gets easier and congratulations :) I do love this age but it’s such hard work.
I just feel like everyone else seems to have their shit together and my house is a complete mess all the time

Open their cupboards....they won't be they'll just make it look that way when you visit 🤣

ickystickybubblegun · 12/11/2025 15:07

Coconutter24 · 12/11/2025 15:01

You say at 7am you wake the kids up, is it possible to just wake 1 child up get them dressed and then get the other up so one isn’t running around with toys whilst you deal with the other?

I’ll try this, thanks. It will get me a bit of extra time - increasingly they are both waking by themselves

OP posts:
ickystickybubblegun · 12/11/2025 15:08

Posithor · 12/11/2025 15:06

Open their cupboards....they won't be they'll just make it look that way when you visit 🤣

😂😂😂

OP posts:
MardyAnn · 12/11/2025 15:20

Mine are all older now but I remember it well.
Decluttering and Team TOMM were saviours for me but also get your Husband doing a bit more than a ten minute tidy.

Tagyoureit · 12/11/2025 16:24

Team Tomm fan here too, just dont join the fb group, those people are loopy!

Look it over and then adjust it to make it work for you in your house.

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