to wonder how people who say 'leave the housework and spend time with your DCs - they're only young once' always seem to have spotless houses?

[Undercovamutha]

And yet I feel guilty about not playing with my DCs enough, as I always seem to have too many 'chores' to do, yet my house is always a dump!

(And YES, I could be cleaning it now rather than being on MN!)

Mishy, two toys out at a time sounds a bit OCD to me.

I used have a weekly blitz and one before anyone calls. My baby seems to sense when I need to do this and poos outside her nappy or demands extra long breastfeeds or pukes in my earm or refuses to sleep and clings limpet style.

Bambino- I was a bit surprised when I heard this myself (it wasn't directly from SIL, but from PIL who mentioned they'd been told her DS was to have no more than 2 toys out at a time). I had assumed it was more of a developmental thing (to promote concentration and avoid confusion?) than a tidiness thing, but could be wrong.

I like DS have free rein when it comes to playing. He often takes bits of one toy to use with another and I wouldn't want to stifle that. SIL does have a strong educational background though, so she may be taking into account some research I'm not aware of.

Sorry, really OT there...

When I first had my DS, now two, my HV told me to just clean the kitchen and bathroom and to leave the rest of the house which of course I didn't. My house isn't too untidy or dirty, I somehow manage to incorporate cleaning the house with playing with my DS. I play with him a while then tell him to carry on playing while mummy hoovers/polishes/washes up. Ditto on the continual washing of clothes cycle!! (grin)

I do one hour of house work per day in the morning when dd has went back yo sleep (she is 8 weeks) and before ds is awake(he is almost 2).
we have a washing basket so no untidy clothes and i put a wash in every night and dry in the morning.
I only do the wooden floor downstairs every day, and hoover the bedrooms on Sunday.
In my hours work, i dust, sweep, mop, load the dryer, do the worktops, wash the inside of the living room windows quickly, and any other wee things that need done.

I then wake ds up for his breakfast, and wipe up after that and wash our bowls. Then we play, watch tv, paint, walk the dog, look for deer/frogs/tractors/busses. I was up straight after dinner. We have a huge toybox behind the sofa for all the downstairs toys so they all just retire to the box at night.
Tidy house and plenty of play time.

Dp is worse that the kids though, he leaves everything everywhere. today ds isn't very well so nothing got done and it reminds me why i get up to do it! White dog hairs everywhere..

I do about an hours a day too - but in the evening - with a bigger clean at the weekends when DH is around to entertain DS. I also play with DS whilst I load the dishwasher/washing machine and make it into a game.

I am glad that I'm relatively tidy and will teach DS to tidy up after himself. DH is a nightmare for leaving things out, throwing on the floor, not putting away (such as making a sandwich and leaving butter out and all the crumbs on the worktop) and it's because his mum did everything for him. Another reason to slap my MiL. My mum, however, was a lazy cow and taught me how to clean and iron so she didn't have to, so I guess I got into the habit.

How long does it take to put washing in the machine/ hang it up/ fold ?
Takes minutes to hoover.
If you've got ten minutes to spare and be on here, you've got ten minutes to clean up.
I am not anally tidy, my floor is covered in WWE wrestlers , some dirty cups in the sink.
Its what you can find acceptable to live with.
I couldnt live in a complete tip.

I get DP to do the hoovering/bathroom and bins. DS does the dusting, sort of (he's 2 )
Everything else can be done in 5 min bursts as and when.

Oh, and storage. Lots of storage. We have a massive cupboard that all junk can be shovelled into in the event of unexpected guests.

I do feel guilty that some days it must to seem to DS1 like I am constantly doing housework. But we live in a very small flat, and if it is messy, it is horrendous. DS2 is 5 weeks old, so I am constantly doing washing at the moment - my milk / sick / poo soaked clothes, not his!!

The poo is his, I mean, but the clothes aren't!!

SixtyFootDoll - I can MN while breastfeeding, dishes/laundry/hoovering are too much of a challange. You'd need some kind of advanced course in breastfeeding for that.

Two toys out would be luxury to one of my friend's kids - she only lets them have one out at a time (and yes, she's the one who has a spotless house and is always busy doing stuff like making puppet theatres)

I actually tried BFing while washing up once with DS in a sling. Agree that special training would be required

The secret to having a spotless house is to get on top of the housework (all of it) at once (this will definitely include buying some help at some point), being utterly ruthless about rubbish and clutter and then staying on top of it and having a system for getting it done.

As soon as the mess/grime builds up, you need to enact an emergency plan to get back on top of everything.

One of my closest friends always looks like she's stepped out of a glossy mag and her house is just the same but she doesn't sit down at night till 10ish as she cleans when the kids are in bed and gets up extra early in the morning to make herself presentable wheras me on the other hand likes put my feet up at night (and sometimes in the day ) and my house is an ongoing project lol

Being able to bin get on top of clutter is one of the things I imagine would be a plus point of being a single parent. But DH and I are in it for the long haul. Sigh.

I've been out nearly every day this week with DD (3) and my flat looked like a bomb had hit it, I'm spending today indoors tidying (and on here obviously).
My Mums just took DD shopping with her so I'm trying to get it done but the problem is housework is so bloody boring and theres always so much more interesting things to do isn't there? (that said I do feel more calmer when my place is tidy)

PerAdua - know exactly what you mean. Although I probably wouldn't be without him, I sometimes dream of living in a minimalist flat on my own, without DH's clutter (he won't chuck ANYTHING away).

SixtyFootDoll - tbh I think it does take quite a while to sort, fold, put away clothes. I think I just need to give up MN - but I don't want to!

I think where I am going wrong is putting my feet up in the evening. I'm afraid I am not selfless enough to spend all day making puppet theatres, and then spend my evenings doing housework. As it is, I don't sit down until fairly late, and get up at 6.30 (before everyone else) to unload the washing, make breakfast, unload dishwasher etc.

I've always found that advice a bit irritating. Surely, if you're very houseproud and spend ages on housework, just binning it all is going to make you feel stressed and unhappy. Likewise, if you're someone who is relaxed about mess, you're probably already doing what you feel is the right amount/what you can get away with. Saying "just leave it" is quite annoying when clearly it can't all just be left.

Saying 'just leave it' to me is like the Slimming World woman saying to me 'eat as much as you like of this'. They are clearly working with a template woman who does not resemble me.

The only positive I find is that I think other people do feel pretty good about their own housekeeping after they've visited my house.