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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

How do you maintain a tidy house with a 1 year old?

18 replies

HohohoBumperlicious · 09/12/2011 13:40

Or do you just not bother? DH and I both at home with DD2 part-time. She is 14 months and a keen explorer! A trail of destruction seems to follow in her wake. Do I just resign myself to a perpetual state of chaos or is there is trick to this?

It didn't seem to hard with DD1, but we lived in a big flat then, rather than a poky house.

OP posts:
whenPaschagotstuckupthechimney · 09/12/2011 13:42

Perpetual chaos here. My Boy is also 14 months old and I just turn a blind eye unless its actual dirt. DH sometimes rolls his eyes when he gets home from work but mucks in all the same and in a few minutes its tidy again. Its only toys (mostly).

OhBuggerandArse · 09/12/2011 13:43

Send them to nursery. And when they're not there go to lots of playgroups.

Oh, and don't feed them.

notnowbernard · 09/12/2011 13:48

I can't don't

Original poster
HohohoBumperlicious · 09/12/2011 14:06

Not just me then!

OP posts:
Pootles2010 · 09/12/2011 14:08

I tidy up after ds, apart from his toys, which one of us tidies away whilst the other puts him to bed. Pointless doing it when he's still awake!

LePruneDeMaTante · 09/12/2011 14:18

We only managed it when ds got to about 6. Sorry.

addictediam · 09/12/2011 14:26

Impossible imo! Unless its actual dirt I just let it happen around me! when dd goes down for a nap it takes 5 minutes to throw her toys in the box (that lives in the corner) and another 5 minutes to run a hoover round if it needs it. and when she wakes from her nap ir all starts over again! I have throws on the sofa so i dont worry about spills etc on the fabric and change these 2-3 times a week. Really helps to keep the 'illusion' of tidy. another tip i picked up from here was if you know someones com8ng round spray polish in to the air and put alittle bleach down the toilet. if it snells clean people will ignore the mess!!t

cece · 09/12/2011 14:28

Go out a lot.

whenPaschagotstuckupthechimney · 09/12/2011 14:40

Oh yes I do the fresh air and harpic the loo a lot. Otherwise, I corral him into a max of two rooms at a time and keep outdoor stuff in the cupboard under the stairs or utility. I'm not really fussed about absolute tidiness, as long as the washing is out of site and no food or plates lying about thats good enough for me.

lucytails · 09/12/2011 18:13

yeah i wouldn't stress out about it too much either. Most people who visit my house have or have had kids, so my theory is that they should know what it was like with young children. I certainly don't judge other peoples homes. Its their own business. I tend to do most of my cleaning when my mum have ds on wednesdays, other than that i do a quick 5 minute tidy up of the lounge before i go bed and concentrate on the hygenic parts, so daily the kitchen get a wipe over with anti-bacterial cleaner, same with the bathroom sink, and the loo gets a squirt of bleach, which it sounds like you anyhow :)

BlackCatinaSantaHat · 09/12/2011 18:51

I am starting to give up tidying and do it when they are in bed! My DD throws puzzle pieces everywhere lately Xmas Hmm

AWimbaAllTheWay · 09/12/2011 18:57

My house is a tip, 3 dcs, 13months, 4 and 5yrs. It gets me down but I just can't keep on top of it. When I visit friends with children their houses always seem so much tidier, I'm in awe of how they do it!

Iggly · 09/12/2011 19:40

Tidy up before nap time and once in bed. Tidy just means chuck all toys in drawers/behind sofa etc.

Kitchen gets done in the evening and sometimes after breakfast. Vacuuming - DS liked to help so could do in the day with him. Toilet/bathroom gets down after a shower or when I've been to the loo.

This was all before DD arrived last week... Not worked out a new routine yet!!!

harbingerofdoom · 09/12/2011 19:57

Or an eighteen year old! Xmas Grin

powerhouse · 10/12/2011 00:02

I am quite defiant about the untidyness. I believe that if people judge me it is a reflection of their character, not mine. I am good at turning a blind eye to mess but if mess annoys you it must be hard as at that age they are little whirlwinds. I tell myself that one day i will have a tidy house and grown up children and i will yearn for the day that they toddled around messing everything up.

Fuzzled · 10/12/2011 05:30

I've corralled DS (14mo) to playing in the living room and hall using gates/shut doors. Toys go into crates at nap time and bed time. Dusting he helps with as he does with hoovering - I'm hoping by the time he's two he'll be doing the lot Xmas Wink

He is allowed into the other downstairs rooms with me, but doesn't get to play in there (although he does empty drawers etc - but is getting very good about putting stuff back if I cough pointedly Xmas Blush )

Kitchen is still a tip and that is tidied daily and he's not allowed in. Still blame him though Xmas Grin

valiumredhead · 10/12/2011 11:53

My house was never as tidy as when ds was 1, sorry! Grin

I am organised though, and have baskets for toys and bits and bobs, so it is easy to scoop mess away quickly.

It really depresses me to have a cluttered house, so I have always kept on top of it.

And I trained ds to put toys away and dirty clothes in the wash basket from the age of about 2 Grin

TheChristmasTreeSurgeonsMate · 10/12/2011 11:56

The one year old is not the problem.

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