What can you really get done with small DCs around?

[twomoreminutes]

I have a 3.5 yr old and a 2 yr old, with DC3 due in August. As I'm at home with them all day I feel like there are cleaning/sorting/tidying jobs I could be doing so they don't eat into our weekends (I WFH evenings so can't really do anything then), however in reality every time I try to get a job done they seem to make more mess than there was in the first place or I have to abandon it halfway through.

Am I missing something here?? Ideas for tasks I can actually do whilst they're around much appreciated. Obv I can't use harsh cleaning chemicals but guess I could swap to natural alternatives ..

What jobs need done? To be honest the only things I can do are washing/cooking/food shopping away. All sorting/clear out DS goes to granny's house. I get huge amounts done in very little time.

Never did figure this out. Only started getting on top of things once dc were at playgroup / nursery / school. Even now I go through bad phases when life throws a curve ball.
Will say I have given up on the idea of doing anything in one hit (even now). Everything gets done in baby steps.

I have a 3 yo & 1 yo, and work PT. I only ever manage to get the basics done: hygienic bathrooms & kitchen (note - not necessarily tidy!), washing, NO ironing, occasional batch cooking, basic hoovering once a week.

The house is never as clean as I'd like, and there are so many things that need a deep clean that I just keep deferring. But I get by, and just hope that I'll have a bit more time when the kids go to school. Until then, the dust can keep gathering....

Oh, and good for you re keeping weekends free of chores if you can! We try to do that too, as I'd far prefer that both my dp & I get a relative break and spend time with the kids, than have a sparkling house!

No idea how you manage to hoover with a small person in the house so I don't
She HATES Henry with a passion, will wail in fear if she sees him, let alone if he's switched on in her presence. I can hoover downstairs while she's asleep, but I have to wait until she's out to do upstairs (and her room, obvs) as otherwise she wakes up/has a massive snotty fear-shout. I've tried leaving her downstairs while i hoover upstairs, but the panicked screaming at being left alone/tantrum at being left in playpen for twenty minutes just isn't worth it. We only hoover properly when we have guests coming, tbh.

You can plonk them in the bath and give the rest of the bathroom a good clean!

Yes yes WD41! I was going to say that- clean the bathroom while they have their bath! Obvs only if you are not bleaching the bejeezus out of everything.
Other than that, I consider myself a genius if I get a wash through, turn the dishwasher around and get a meal on the table. Super Queen Of Housework if I can get a round of baking in too. The other half will wash the pots and wipe the kitchen over baking, but I very rarely get that done (he usually does on his at home days).
I only live in a small flat, and often feel as if everyone else somehow has the secret and gets a lot more done- I like this thread!!

I do a few bits while they are sitting at the table colouring/eating. Like hoovering upstairs, sometimes the bathrooms, getting dressed etc.

Mine had a little version of hoover, mop, bucket & cloths etc. They even had a spray bottle with water in it. They loved doing the cleaning with me. dd once asked me if, when she grew up, she could have a special pair of toilet mittens like mine.

I find it harder now they are older and won't lift a bloody finger to be honest.

Dusting, cleaning windows etc is the easiest. Give them a piece of kitchen paper and an area, eg toughened glass doors on a cupboard, to polish. Dustpans and brushes are always fun, too, and you bigger one might be able to "help" you vacuum.

Keep on top of bathrooms etc with dettol wipes in between deep cleans. They're fine for changing mats and kitchen surfaces and don't particularly irritate the skin if someone tries to help, though again, they can be given a damp sheet of Plenty or a baby wipe, if you're still worried.

Thanks everyone - I feel much better knowing I'm not the only who struggles with this! I'd had a few conversations with friends who are out at work during the day, and who all reckoned that they'd be able to keep on top of cleaning and tidying if only they were SAHMs ... Might send my two round and suggest they try it

Think I need to come up with a list of things that actually need doing should I find the time, and sort this into things that are even possible with DC around and those that will just have to wait. Like until next year ..

I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. All that gets done here is the basics..

Stick a load of washing on/stick in in dryer
Sweep up after meals
Wash up
Pour bleach down loo if needed
Make beds/pick up dirty clothes
Wipe kitchen sides
Sometimes use baby wipes to clean around bathroom sink/bath
Take out bins as needed

That's it.

The clue to your friends having clean houses is that they are out at work all day! Their DCs aren't messing up the house. I had 2 DC 15 months apart & I really struggled. I worked part time in the evening (7-9 every night) once they were in bed.

What helped me was using a sling, sounds bonkers I know! I would put 1 DD in the Mei Tei, get the other set up with spray bottle (water) & a towel to "help" me. After each DD got bored with where they were I would swap. It meant I didn't have to supervise 2 toddlers both trying to eat kitchen towel, or drink the spray bottle, while running in different directions ;)

It also had the great side effect that it really boosted my confidence using a sling so I felt I could use them out & about.

The Mei Tei sling I used meant I could change from front to back carry very easily, which was useful when carrying DC which were different ages.

HTH

Oh, ELC did a mini cleaning trolley that I got my 2 as a Christmas pressie which they loved. This was 5/6 years ago, don't know if they still do it.

Basically, you don't. I have a three year old and a 5 year old. For the past 5 years I have been hoovering daily, washing, cooking a meal, dusting, cleaning bathroom, making the beds, tidying up and squeezing in whatever big cleans are needed.

I felt for sure I was missing some sort of handbook as i just couldn't keep up. I am an extreme perfectionist.

Yesterday I realised that for now it's ok not to have the perfect home! Shame it's taken so long as my eldest is in school full time and my youngest in nursery come April, which means I will finally have a bit of time to catch up in peace!

Just give yourself one hour a day, whiles the little ones nap or watch TV or play. In that hour make the beds, wash the pots, put a wash on and plan the dinner. Anything else can be done as and when, just try not to drive yourself insane trying to keep up :)

Also, whiles I brush my teeth I straighten up the bathroom and wipe round witj a baby wipe. Every couple of days i poor bleach down the toilet and quickly wipe it over.

I pick toys up as they play and don't let them pull out too much without putting some back first.

Meals. I use my slow cooker a lot. In ten minutes I have spare in the mornibg I can quickly put a chicken in it, dice up some new potato's and cover with water in a pan. I then usually chop a broccoli and cover with water, just before its time to cook I add sweetcorn and peas in with the broccoli and all that's left to do is make some gravy. Obviously I make more time consuming meals but this is my go-to meal for something that's quick and nutritious

My top tip, ignore or block everyone having the perfect Instagram life. Once you have done that eat lots of chocolate, & then some more :) x

I've got a (nearly) 2 year old and 4 year old. In recent months they've got more self entertaining without causing carnage (as long as they are fed). I set a tabata timer app on my phone and tackle upstairs or downstairs in 4 minute segments then move on to the next room. It's enough to prevent lived-in from becoming an abyss! If we clear the table to the dishwasher after use, and keep on top of laundry, then there is hope!

Now Ds1 is 4, he's bribe-able with 10p. He's beginning to put his clothes away. 10p for doing a basket. 20p if he beats a timer! I also use timers to tackle the playroom with him.

Well, yes, lower your standards, that one always applies

Washing up and hoovering DD will join in with (fortunately she's not got an issue with the hoover yet), and often the dusting, changing bedsheets and loading the washing machine. Yes, there's often water on the floor, or a bit you've missed hoovering, or it takes twice as long to change the beds, but it is at least getting done during the day rather than the evening.

Bathroom is done around her while she has a bath.

Sometimes I admit defeat and put a really engrossing film on for her and then run around like a blue arse fly for an hour getting everything done (DP and I work different shifts so are rarely at home at the same time, everything has to get done while it's just one of us alone with DD).

Other times, what often works is that I give DD absolute attention for fifteen, twenty minutes and we play whatever she wants, even if it is crawling around the floor pretending to be a turtle from Finding sodding Nemo. After that she seems happier to play by herself for another fifteen twenty minutes, so I can get something done. Read that tip on MN and surprisingly it does seem to work pretty well.

I got a small handheld hoover (like a dustbuster) and let the DC hoover under the table with it (always plenty of crumbs there). While they were fighting over that, I could get something else done. Also a ridiculous fake purple feather duster from poundland. A friend had a toy hoover (ELC?) that actually hoovered a bit, but she was quite posh. Putting the high chair in the garden and letting them wash it down was also popular, and in desperate times, a washing up bowl of water and plastic crockery (in garden or on kitchen floor) would allow me 5-10 minutes of getting a real job done.

I had lots of 2 minute jobs that could be done in those two minutes when everyone is miraculously happy and occupied (wipe a kitchen counter, bleach down the toilet etc. etc.).

And if my in-laws were coming over then an hour of cbeebies and a pile of snacks - preferably with the worst-child-of-the-day strapped into buggy and any very small child in a sling.

I have always said that I would massively up my housekeeping game once all the children were at school, but nope...

I usually tidy the rest of the house and leave the front room/toys out until my son is in bed. Things like washing up, putting a wash load on and hoovering I do as I go along, like he helps me put the clothes in the washing machine or sweep things up.
I don't get the washing up done in one go, I do have to stop to see what he wants/is moaning about, but it gets done eventually. I make his lunch/entertain him half way through odd jobs. I de-cluttered a bit last week, I did that while he was at nursery, it wouldn't have gotten done otherwise!

But as long as clothes are washed and washing up is done, you don't need to always have a perfect house, ha, you have kids and it's not gonna happen.

I got very little else done when my children were little

I have a 6-year old, a 3.11-year old & a 1-year old. DS1 is at school & DS2 is at preschool for 3 hours every afternoon, but DS3 is with me all the time.

I find the way to do things is to break it down into very small chunks, no more than 10-15 minutes at a time. Plus I try to do things when they are occupied. For example, I hang clothes on the airer whilst they are eating (airer in dining room), I do the dishwasher whilst heating up their milk for snack & they are playing, I sort clothes into piles of each person whilst they are in the bath. We are also lucky enough to have a good-sized playroom upstairs & I have put a travel cot in there as a playpen for DS3. On a good day, they will play in there for up to half an hour, so I use this time to put away clothes/declutter upstairs. Otherwise I try to do things if DS3 naps when the other 2 are out, but they have to be downstairs things as he would get woken by me being upstairs