If your house is immaculate, how do you do it? <wails> I want one!!!

[sorky]

granted I have 4 kids, but still, I want a house that I can open the door to and say 'yeah, come on in' and be confident it's tidy enough for that.

I have been ill recently so there are cobwebs and a general scruffiness, but where to start? What level of cleanliness are we talking about?

I think I'm officially a slattern

[hillyhilly]

The biggest key to it all is clutter, if you rooms are clear, then it is easier to tidy at the end of the day as there will only be a few things and somewhere to put them, they will look cleaner even when they're not and they will be far easier and quicker to clean.
Once you have decluttered, you have to have zero tolerance otherwise it all creeps back!

[sorky]

yes Hilly, I'm discovering that.
I have ruthlessly decluttered & scrubbed the kitchen, from the cob-webbed lights to the mucky baseboards and it looks fabulous

It is amazing how much crap you can accumulate without really realising it, isn't it?

I think I'm going to tackle a room at a time and have a huge clearing sesh in each.

I do, however, have a slight problem.......DH is a hoarder and is currently unhappy with the level of chucking out.

Do you all declutter secretly? How do you manage it with a hoarder?

Also, any tips for doing the toys when I hit the bedrooms? I have a feeling they're about to rediscover every single toy, grr!

[MrsKwazii]

Just marking my place for any more pearls of wisdom. I really want a house that I can be proud to just let suprise visitors into - have a fit of the vapours at the moment whenever doorbell rings!

[boosmummie]

Sorky if they have mountains of toys, let them choose their top whatever number you deem sensible and give the others to the local A&E Paeds/GP surgery etc. Involve them and explain why.

DH???? do the same with him

[Deaddei]

Helps when dcs get older.
Everyone thinks my house is immaculate but it's not.
I just don't have clutter, which takes the eye away from the dustballs.
Always have clean bathrooms and kitchen...not too fussed about dcs bedrooms.

[transferbalance]

I live with hoarders and I admit to secretly getting rid of stuff, then lying through my teeth whenever someone asks if I've seen a culled item

it's the only way

[Bonsoir]

Hoarding is a crime in our household

[sorky]

I have no problem with chucking and lying

[Bonsoir]

... equated with poor personal hygiene and bad table manners...

[sorky]

I have cleared their bedrooms and the shared toy cupboard

4 binbags of rubbish and 7 (yes 7) binbags of toys all ready to go to goodwill.

Everything is in boxes, on shelves.
They have been warned that toys left on the floor at bedtime will be binned

Kitchen is still spotless!

They look a bit stunned, poor souls.....

[ByThePowerOfGreyskull]

sorky, just a response to your question about your DH.

Mine hates things going out of the house, he keeps everything, so we now have an agreement that I remove things from the house to the garage, and every now and then when he can't getinto the garage because of stuff, he realises he needs t let go and he does a tip/charityshop run depending on what is needed.
Thankfully our school does a "bags to school" clothing charity thing twice a year so that is a good reason to clear out the bags of clothes that don't fit the kids any more.

[sorky]

Maryz you nailed it!

I think it's because I did the Hall yesterday. I sorted out winter coats etc, then debated which could be reused by smaller child.
I then remembered 3 bags of clothes in the attic I'd been saving and sorted those into keep, charity & eBay, so yes, my bedroom looks like the back of a Charity shop sorting room

There was a worrying moment when the 2 yo got stuck between piles and we could hear her ,but not see her hehehe. She was retrieving an old welly.


They have waived a right to moan by being involved in the 'great toy slinging'
The kids sorted the broken toys or ones with toys missing themselves. I was quite impressed.

I'm doing the bathroom today.

I think I might need to sit down at some point and think about a list of jobs that need to be done daily, weekly & monthly.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[BerryLellow]

I'm very impressed, and shamelessly lurking for tips. We're about to move into our first owned house and I'm already obsessing about having places for everything so that I can start as I mean to carry on. Of course this will probably only last for 1 week as I have two small tornadoes in the shape of my boys and a dp that thinks his stinky work socks walk to the washing machine from the bedroom floor all on their own.

[Mandy21]

I am exactly the same - I have 3 DC and they can undo 2 hours of professional cleaning in seconds! Hence we stopped using the cleaner - it panicked me the night before she was due, when we spent the whole night cleaning for the cleaner, and then it upset me the night after she'd been thinking what a waste of money it had been when the whole place was trashed again!! Now it just doesn't get done at all!! Only joking (kind of!). I think storage is the answer, like everyone says, if a room is tidy with everything put away, at least you can get to the cleaning. I also try to keep one room (the lounge) tidy / toy free (although do fail some days) so that there is somewhere to welcome visitors / escape the turmoil.

I don't mind the cleaning, I really don't but its the fact that its like Groundhog Day every day. Breakfast - wash up, clear up, sweep floor, Lunch - wash up, clear up, sweep floor. Dinner - wash up, clear up, sweep floor. Mop floor. Get up the next day and repeat!! Arggh!

[GandTiceandaslice]

I have sorted my dd's room.
Next is my DS1's room.
Then the rest of the house.
I also would like a more organised home!
(getting off MN & getting on with the sorting/tidying would help)
I am astounded at the amount of crap we have.
It doesn't help that DH is a hoarder.

[BoffinMum]

Try this off my blog.

Weekly cleaning schedule

There are a fair few cleaning posts up there now on related topics as well.

[Charleymouse]

My name is Charleymouse and I am hoarder.


I am too sentimental about things that I should not be sentimental about.

I am trying so hard to get my house in order and have recently at threat of skip/divorce removed three huge Ikea bags of stuff. I just think it may come in handy or it is wasteful to get rid. It doesn't help that DH constantly buys new stuff for the DCs. I can't get rid of it and he buys more of it.

I even have a cleaner but am the same as Mandy21, panic the night before and despair the night after. I am reading the organise mum/house books at the moment and am really trying but have real difficulties with getting rid of stuff.

[BadPoet]

My home is lived in - it's a cliche but I mean it genuinely. I work from home, I have a pre-schooler and a very messy school aged dd who can create chaos very quickly. When I am working the children are cared for my dh, so at home. 3 meals are eaten here every day. We tend to blitz at weekend and it's always like a show home when we have people over but descends into mess again.

A couple of months ago I attended a week long course and dh was working all week too, so the children weren't here and neither were we. The house stayed immaculate, which speaks volumes to me. I think to keep it tidy when people are there does take near constant work. For me especially at this time of year, because dh vanishes into the garden! (which is great because he does that but increases the work indoors).

We are on a constant declutter cycle, small house and no loft. But stuff is necessary sometimes, books, craft kits,seeds for planting, birthday presents, outgrown clothes, clothes to grow into.

[howabout]

Mandy21 you completely explained why I don't have a cleaner. When I get an attack of the guilts about the state of the place DH explains that he didn't marry for my housework capabilities and he doesn't mind advertising that fact to the rest of the world. Still I do like to try to at least avoid living in a health hazard and after that there are just so many better ways to while away the day.

[IntergalacticHussy]

storage has to be the main factor. we never seem to have enough places for anything.

I've set myself up a rota - each day of the week has a different task. It hasn't got to the stage where i'd feel comfortable inviting absolutely anyone in, but it's definitely an improvement, in that the loos don't resemble the one from Trainspotting quite so much!

[trouble2plus2]

Our house is most definitely lived in, and I dont care about the cliche either. I have stopped worrying about what other people think. If its family - well, they know me better by now and only my housepround mother dares to make comments anymore. If its friends, well they have kids too so completely understand. Once you get out of the mindset of what other people think, its really liberating.

These are my philosophies -
Good storage, a home for everything. if it doesn't fit, it goes out of the door!
Dont iron anything. Ok a bit severe, iron the important stuff. School uniforms, towels, underwear, everyday clothes - I don't think so really! I famously get the iron out twice a year, and no-ones really noticed. Usually weddings, funerals and for ironing in those little name tags at the beginning of the school year. Frees up loads of time.
Keep on top of the dirt on the kitchen worktops, everything else either gets put in the dishwasher or it will have to wait.
The downstairs WC is kept as clean as possible, and the upstairs toilets are allowed to do their own thing until I get time to clean up.

DH is not a clutterer, which is good in some respect. However I have caught him during one of his relentless de-cluttering sessions trying to donate my hair straighteners on the basis that he hasn't ever used them and probably never will. He knows better now.

[whoneedssleepanyway]

I cracked an got a cleaner 6 months ago as it was too much to keep on top of with the DCs and work too (and I only have a 2 up 2 down ).

She has revolutionised my life, I love her, she has found places for things that just used to sit around and be cluttered and has even rearranged our furniture slightly in the living room and it looks so much better. Our house does look a lot tidier now and at the end of the day I do a quick whizz round and it is ok again.

I think it is impossible to keep it tidy all the time though when you have little ones. Yesterday I forbade the DDs from playing in the living room as it was so tidy after she had cleaned, so I shoved them out in the garden all day and it still looks pristine this morning!

I think the best place to start is finding a "home" for everything so there isn't too much clutter out even if it is a drawer for paperwork or a basket for odds and sods that can go on a shelf, everything looks tidier and is easier to keep clean if there isn't loads of junk on display.

[Toffeefudgecake]

The Flylady thread on Mumsnet has really helped me - I recommend it. I don't feel so overwhelmed by everything anymore. The secret to a tidy house is definitely decluttering and sticking to a routine. After several months of following the Flylady routine, things are much better, but I still have a long way to go. I would love a cleaner though - and a tidier family (2 DC and a DH).