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

[CardyMow]

my main problem is GETTING the stuff to charity shops - they won't pick up unless it's furniture, and I can't push a pram AND carry stuff like books on the bus.

[Debs75]

So are our untidy houses just down to clutter and storage problems?

DP collects things and our 1 good store cupboard(4 foot square) is full of his comic collections. His worse habit is he likes to see clear floor so will put rubbish in drawers? He also puts dirty clothes onto piles of clean washing, I know if I had put the clean piles away then he wopuldn't be able to do that.

I think I need to organise myself better and to do things asap.
Washing needs to be put away as soon as it is dry, sometimes it hangs around for a few days.
Washing up done after meals so I don't have to do a full bowl just to have breakfast.
Have somewhere specific to put important mail, not several places.
Ebay the huge stash of outgrown baby clothes and nappies.
I think the one in one out rule would be great for us, DP is always bringing home extra things for the kids.

Boffinmum thanks for those links

[sorky]

I didn't do the bathroom

I did MY BEDROOM!!!!!

I was really honest & talked to my eldest 3 about how children from domestic abuse families would flee the home to a safehouse and they weren't able to take any toys with them.
We talked about how sad they would be if there was nothing to play with and lo and behold they decided which ones might suit different ages of children............granted the Futility room is now uber-futile 'cos you can't get through the bloody door BUT there is method to the madness.......that room has the only downstairs loo, so the stuff will be shot of by Saturday

I'm toying with getting a cleaner, but I have 3 let me down in the past an DH has a huge 'privacy invasion' thing going on, so it might take some time to reconvince/reorganise.


The Playroom was tackled today, that's where most of the toys and storage is.
It's occurred to me (epiphany moment) that if the storage is overflowing then.......wait for it..........we have too much stuff!!!!

I know that probably seems like a really stupid thing to say, but I just had that lightbulb moment today and I felt like a genius

[PercyPigPie]

Our house is reasonably clean/tidy most of the time and we have three children ... but, it takes HOURS and I really wouldn't recommend it. I need a fair level of organisation to just function and haven't gone back to work yet (children all at school now) so I don 't feel I have a good excuse not to make it clean and tidy. Cleaning is boring, demoralising and I don't think anyone notices but me.

[3ofeach]

I agree with the previous posters. I am a single mum to 6 children, ranging from 2 to 24. I was thaught by my Gran ' a place for eberything and eberything in its place' which i follow. I have a ' one in one out' policy on toys and don't have many ornaments. I keep on top of the cleaning/tidying. I think that cos we live in a 3 bed semi we have to keep clutter to a minimum cos of space issues. I am sure if we had a bigger house we would just accumulate more ' stuff'. It is easier at the moment as I am a SAHM / carer for my son with special needs, but even when I was working my house was tidy. The only thing that i find hard work is the washing as i do at least 3 or 4 loads every day. Like some one else said I do it in the evening and on the line or in the dryer the next morning

[Asinine]

Loudlass I would definitely help a friend who couldn't get stuff to a charity shop, I'm sure loads of others would, too. Ask around, there must be someone who'd give you a hand.

[Horopu]

Loudlass could you try to freecycle so whoever wanted it could collect it themselves?

[didldidi]

but surely the washing gets creased sitting in the washing machine over night?

[CalamityKate]

A place for everything and everything in its place.

Never leave a room without a quick scan to see if there's anything you need to take with you (this is my personal fave and it's amazing what a difference it makes).

Train the children to clear and tidy one game/activity away before they start another. If they've been playing in their rooms and then want to go out, they tidy the room before they go.

Multi-task - if you're on the phone, wander about with a duster while you're chatting. If it's got speakerphone, so much the better.

[MonkeyChicken]

I'm CRAP at tidying and my house is an awful mess the whole time. Yes it's too small for us but the biggest issue is I just don't have a tidying gene. Stresses me out massively. We now need to get the house on the market and you'd think that would be a big enough incentive to have a clear out but no... best get off MN and go and find the floor!

[Asinine]

I listen to podcasts and radio whilst doing housework, it kids what's left of my brain into thinking I'm doing something else

[MonkeyandParrot]

I have friends who assume that i've had a bad week with the little ones and clean for me :-) I do the same for them to be fair but they are all a lot tidyer than me.

I dump the kids on grandpa once a month and clean everything really well - it gets messy quickly but at least i know it is clean under the mess

[feralgirl]

My house is clean and tidy for about two hours every week on a Friday afternoon when the cleaner has left. Then DS (2.5) and I get home and the place is a bomb site within 20 mins.

It gets dealt with regularly enough to not become a Kim and Aggie issue and there is a basic level of hygiene (we wash up and do laundry every day) but I work my fucking arse off in my job 60 hours a week and DH is a lazy bastard so it is the way it is.

We decided to get a cleaner because it was either that or a divorce. DH works PT but is shite at housework and it just never got done. We can't really afford the cleaner but I would rather go without food than give her up!

[suebfg]

My view is that life's too short for having an immaculate house - unless you can afford a housekeeper. Even a cleaner once a week won't keep your house immaculate. One of my friends has an immaculate house but they never do anything as a family. We on the other hand are out nearly every weekend and so something has to give.

[nancy75]

my house is tidy but i only have 1 child.
my tips are -
-before you go upstairs check to see if anything needs taking up.
-don't think i'll do that/wash up/pick that up later do it now it only takes a minute

• do a load of washing everyday
  
• wash up straight after meals.
  
• My dp works most nights so i tend to have half an hour tidying straight after i put dd to bed, i don't let myself put the tv or computer on until it is done.

[MistyB]

I have loved reading this thread as I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who doesn't live in a Homes and Gardens Photo Shoot house.

That said, today, for one day only I have an immaculate house!!! (We are moving and the estate agents came round to take photos, all three children were out of the house for the day and I have been decluttering for weeks!!)

I am not looking forward to trying to keep it in this state for viewings and I did have to resort to sweeping stuff into baskets to be sorted later in DD's room. I do plan to allow DC's to watch TV / play on DS more and go out for tea in the evenings to minimise impact on immaculate house!!

[candleshoe]

I gave up smoking three years ago and I now put the money I would've spent towards a cleaner 3 hours a week! My house is totally spotless on Thursday afternoons now!

Well - until the children get home from school!

[Broadwalkempire]

IKEA

[startail]

Pigs might fly, it was passably tidy at the weekend because we had visitors, It's a tip again. Why because I'm mucking about on here instead of filling the dish washer. Have put away mounds of Laundry .

We just have too much stuff, clothes, books, craft materials, computer equipment and general electrical junk, as well as toys. Also no utility room so I also have washing all over the dinnig room as well as all the craft bits.

But the main problem is neither DH me or DD1 can be bothered to get stressed by mess. DD2 can get bees in her bonnet about her own room, but they don't spread to clearing toys, dishes and rubbish from anywhere else

[specialmagiclady]

I am lucky enough to have a playroom, the kids play in there and are responsible for tidying it at the end of the day - I give them a set window to do it in and at the end of that time I get the hoover out and the bin and just start hoovering up toys and chucking them in the bin.

I've probably only hoovered up 15 pieces of lego but it's enough.....

[fidelma]

I hate clean and sorting as does dh however we both love a clean,organised house(which you need to have with 4 dc !)

So we spend a large amount of money on a housekeeper/cleaner.We forgo expensive holidays and put the money on our everyday lives,which suits us.

The privacy thing takes getting used to but for us the benefits are great.

She comes 9 -3 pm 5 days a week.I still need to work hard on top of that and our house isn't imaculate it is a family home.

Cleaning,washing and cooking = full time job.(never mind the dc !!!)

[specialmagiclady]

PS Answer to original question, IME people with immaculate houses NEVER SIT DOWN. Ever.

[dolceebanana]

I have to have a tidy house as it frazzles me otherwise. Have 3 under 5 and keep on top of things daily, so house always tidy, and clean. Lots of storage helps (huge baskets for toys etc), and the rule that you use only beautiful, functional things does too. I am a firm believer that you don't have lots of sets of things (unecessary clutter IMHO) other than bedlinen (3 sets per bed) and towels (loads), but buy the best you can and use it all daily.

[nancy75]

i'm sitting down right now!

[dolceebanana]

I hide my ironing in a large armoire by the way until it is reeeeeeally necessary Well, somethings got to give