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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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Original poster

How can you clean with 2 pre-schoolers?

12 replies

Zil131 · 02/02/2011 13:18

Since DS2 arrived my house has just degenerated into chaos. I have at least 1 child (aged 3.4 and 14mo) in at any time.
If I try to clean while they are there, they just play in (trash) another room, or DS2 keeps messing on the stairs or rattling the downstairs gate (stairs curl through house and it's split levels so upstairs stair gates are impossible)
And in an evening I'm totally dead - it's all I can do to wash up and sweep the floor; DH works long hours (and doesn't seem to care!) and weekends are meant to be fun time with DH.

How does anyone else cope?
Top tips? or just tell me it's futile and I'll learn to live with it till they start school!

OP posts:

Carrotsandcelery · 02/02/2011 13:21

I would advise trying Flylady - it is working for me. Instead of a big clean it is all about snatched moments here and there in your day.
You could also get your dcs a toy cleaning trolley or filling a cleaning caddy with harmless cleaning tools (dusters, feather dusters, dustpan and brush etc) and getting them to help. Everything will take twice as long, or more, but you will get some of it done.
You do have to be fair with yourself about what you can achieve though.

oneweemite · 02/02/2011 13:22

Learn to live with mess! But seriously I have dd 4 and ds 2 and try to clean one room a day. They do completely trash another room while I'm doing this but at least one room is tidy and clean (for a while!) also try to have a day for bathrooms, one for hoovering, one for dusting etc (oh how dh would laugh if he read this!!)
hope this helps!

Fiddledee · 02/02/2011 13:26

Do it saturday mornings while DH takes them out to park etc... for a couple of hours. I was fine until my youngest dropped his morning sleep and so I always have one up and awake. Any chance you can do it at nap time?

Put the TV on

They can help with some stuff dusting, loading washing etc.. I have two slightly older and it is getting easier but my youngest who is nearly 2 does mess up everything as we go along.

Clear up the toys every evening, get the kids to help. Psychologically this helps.

Clean bathroom while they are in the bath.

I've hired a cleaner to do kitchen, bathrooms, and living areas. I do the bedrooms myself and the kids are good at helping.

chibi · 02/02/2011 13:26

depends on your house size

ours is just bigger than the 2 up 2 down, i can do the downstairs between breakfast + taking dd to nursery

the kids (18 months, 3 1/2) help 'tidy' the front room of toys while i do the bathroom

a lot is probably down to kids' disposition too

basically, do what you can manage and try not to give a crap about the rest

sheeplikessleep · 02/02/2011 13:27

ds1 is 3.4 and ds2 is 10 months.

i find it hard too. we tend to end up cleaning up on a saturday . i know it should be family time, but it's so hard during the week. even just cooking for the kids, clearing up, washing clothes etc is enough on a day to day basis.

ds1 has just started nursery, so i can get more done when it's just ds2 with me though. much easier then!

FreakoidOrganisoid · 02/02/2011 13:28

Bits here and there really.

So washing up after every meal-then takes a few mins rather than 20 and they have less time to trash anything.

Pick stuff up as you walk through a room and deposit it where it needs to go-can then spend a couple of minutes putting it away later.

Clean the bathroom when you go for a shower. Stick some bleach down the loo and wipe round the sink when you go for a wee...

Spend 5 mins tidying upstairs when running the dc's bath.

I used to really struggle but found that once I'd got on top of it it only takes a couple of mins to do each job (because they are done regularly so don't get as dirty).

Has also got easier as they've got older as ds is now less inclined to pull everything off the bookshelf/climb onto the mantlepiece/throw the contents of the toybox around

bamboobutton · 02/02/2011 13:33

it's impossible. i tidied the front room this morning, hoovering and evrything, and it is trashed already.

ds has tipped out his toybox, pulled books off the shelves, pulled laundry out of the basket and crunbled biscuit all over the floor.

i don't know why i bother.

Fiddledee · 02/02/2011 13:57

Never tidy in the morning its futile

bamboobutton · 02/02/2011 14:13

i had a migraine yesterday so it was left in a mess all day, couldn't bear to look at it this morning so had to clean it.

Carrotsandcelery · 02/02/2011 14:22

It does get easier. As they get older they help more and make less mess. They are also out of the house more as they get older . Try to enjoy them while they are tiny, even if you are surrounded by a mess.

Original poster

Zil131 · 02/02/2011 19:16

Cheers all, really must just get into a quick wipe / tidy as I go mentality I guess.
And will learn to live with a large part of it

OP posts:

amothersplaceisinthewrong · 02/02/2011 19:17

I always managed to hoover while they were awake. Did the rest in the evenings when they were in bed.

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