How to stop new house turning into a shithole like the last place.....

[abearcalledpaddington]

I am moving into a new house at the end of July.

Our current place isn't in great shape, its quite an old house and lot of things have broken and the landlord hasn't been great at getting things fixed and i have done what i can but something need proper work doing to them.

I have 5 children, all under 8, they have all been babies here and we also have a black lab so the house has taken a bit of a battering and in general i have found it hard to keep on top of things.

Things like doors and skirting boards are dirty,the walls have sticky fingermarks all over (we have repainted loads since living here but i gave up the last year or so)

The house im moving into is lovely and fresh and new and i want to try and get into some kind of routine so i can keep it reasonably clean.

I am not too bad with clutter, i do de clutter a lot, the only thing i find hard to part with is the kids toys, my mum used to throw my stuff away a lot so i do find it hard to get rid of their stuff, even the crappy mc donalds toys or stuff from magazines!

I find i can get ocd with organizing things that sometimes i dont get round to the actual cleaning bit, because by the time ive putting everything back in its rightful place, one of the kids need me or i am too tired!

Also the children are home educated so they are home more than they wuld be if they were at school.

Only let the dc eat at the table and get them to wash their hands after they have eaten.

My dc each have a step on the stairs where I can put things that are downstairs that should be in their rooms. They take them up when they pass.

I have thought of a few things i could start to do.

Stop everyone wearing shoes inside and get them into the habit of putting wellies/crocs on when they go in the garden (i know i should be doing this already!)

Put the stairgate on the kitchen door so that the dog only has access to the garden and kitchen, she can come and sit in the living room with me in the evenings but not during the day when i cant supervise her properly.

There is also a messy play group starting for home ed kids so i might take them to that once a week instead of doing it at home. Im not sure i will be able to stop most of the crafty stuff though as i feel they should be able to do it as they dont go to school to do it.Maybe keep crafts to the kitchen?

Yes Savoy thats a good idea, and something i am a bit slack with.I might print off a list of "principles" and stick them on the fridge!

Have you room to designate a 'schoolroom' space? That would help a long way to confine the movement of stuff around the house.

Also after craft and messy lessons the children could have a tidy up time just the same as they do at school. When the children go for their outdoor education they should help you make the schoolroom tidy and ready for when you come back.

A place for everything is the key to tidyness. Take a look at how your organise things now .Not just the educational stuff- laundry,toys,books etc and see what is needed to help keep everything under control.

Its great to have a new start and I bet that now the children are older you wont get into the same situation at your new home in the first place but its worth spending some time sorting out the small things before the big move is upon you.

Im planning on using the dining room as a playroom kind of space,ill still keep the craft stuff in the kitchen as the dining room has carpets.The kitchen is big enough for a dining table aswell so they can use it for anything messy.

I definitely need to get them to tidy up after themselves more.I might print off a checklist for the older ones.

Can you tell i like printing off things? lol

All messy things to be done in the kitchen without carpet, eating, drinking, crafts.
The most import thing is if you hate housework you have to reduce chance for dirt to enter the house or move around.

So these are my rules:
As you said all shoes off at the door, if you get muddy on dog walks have a space where you strip off ALL muddy clothes and shoes, and dash through the house to get clean clothes.

If your dog isn't too old try to crate train them so you can lock them in there at the end of dog walks until they are dry.
Have a big bucket under the garden bucket so your dog can be hosed down before they are allowed to enter the house.

Keep a set of cleaning stuff in the bathroom so it is only a 2 min job to clean when you spot it needs doing. If you have 2 bathrooms you need 2 sets of bathroom cleaner.

All children have a cleaning up job after meals, my 4 year old still has plastic crockery so she can carry her own plate to the sink.

My four year old has tidy up time at nursery, so they are not to young for that.
Checklists are just prevaricating i feel, "yes if i print off a checklist it will magically sort stuff out" it doesn't, you have to sort stuff out.

If you have trouble getting rid of stuff, put unwanted things in a bag and leave it in a cupboard for a month. If you or the kids haven't missed any item during that time, get rid of it (charity shop or rubbish). No peeking bag in the bag in the meantime!

I think the key to a tidy home is "little and often" rather than waiting for chaos to descend and then having a cleaning marathon (guilty of that myself). After having a baby I'm making much more of an effort to tidy up after myself at the moment and it really makes a difference if you put things away (shoes, clothes, plates, phone adapters etc etc) immediately. Before I had to tidy up before I could even thing about cleaning. Now I can do little bouts of cleaning throughout the week when I see something needs doing.

Blast some music and have 10 minutes of wiping woodwork, windowsills and other dust collecting surfaces?

Yes to taking shoes off and making children eat only at the table. Insist on sitting down with proper plates even for snacks, etc.

I clean the toilet and sink while the children are in the bath and give the bath a quick clean while they're getting their pyjamas on.

Try and make sure all the pots, pans and utensils are in the dishwasher before you sit down to eat so that you've only got plates and cutlery to put in at the end, instead of a big clear up. Or fill the sink with washing up water before you start cooking so that you can immediately wash things up as soon as you've finished with them.

If you have a partner, then one of you can run around picking up the toys and give the whole place a hoover, while the other one is doing bathtime/ bedtime. Then you both get to relax in a tidy living room once they're all in bed.

Instead of doing one big clean, do things in stages. So I'll get the glass cleaner out and do all the mirrors and internal windows gradually during the day as and when I'm in different rooms. The next day, I'll carry the furniture polish around with me. And so on.

I clean the toilet and sink while the children are in the bath and give the bath a quick clean while they're getting their pyjamas on.

yes to this, clean the room they are in so you can interact with them whilst you are doing the job.

Thanks guys, these are great!

any child old enough to get toys out can start learning to put them away. With a family that size and that close they are all going to have to pull their weight - and it won't do any harm, you'll create five house-trained useful adults. As you home educate you have every chance to do this, although schools hopefully also teach tidying up.

minimise the rooms that the dog has access to.

learn to get rid of plastic crap. And more importantly, stop buying it. (Not going to Mucky D's would be a good start...)

keep surfaces clear as much as possible. You don't want to have to tidy before you clean.

minimise what comes in and doesn't leave; not just kiddy-crap but paperwork, magazines etc. Use the library. use charity shops and treat as a loan scheme.

if the new house is also a rental and has just been redone your deposit is at higher risk for damage (not wear and tear).

As someone who hates throwing stuff away, cross of hoarding and environmentism, i have to be very strict what comes in.
I hate fates, fairs and grandparent visits on plastic tat/ cuddly toy grounds

It hard with the toys though because it looks like there is a lot because there is five of them but individually they don't have half as much as their friends (who mostly seem to be onlys or one of two)

I've had another declutter of all the toys in the bedroom and playroom while i was packing some stuff away and got rid of two black bin bags of broken toys, books with ripped pages and unwanted (stained or too worn) clothes.

They still have quite a bit, lots of lego and playmobil tons of schliech animals and dinosaurs,loads of books,jigsaws and arty stuff,some wooden toys, and in their rooms they have barbies, action figures and all that kind of stuff. Plus all the stuff just the younger two use like train track,mega blocks and the wooden toys. They have enough i think.

I got rid of the mcdonalds toys! We don't go that often but every time we do go we get 5 toys!

I have dipped in and out of flylady the last couple of years and one thing i have been doing recently is making sure i make my bed as soon as i get up (i should also encourage the kids to do make their bed,open curtains,bring dirty washing down) and give the bathroom a quick onceover when im done in there.It does seem to make a difference.As does getting myself ready properly instead of staying in my pjs, if im not out of my pjs by 9 then their staying on til lunchtime!

Re toys plastic boxes are your friends. One for each type - easy to store and tidy at the end of the day. I have 16.5 litre size £4 from Wilkos. Books on bookshelf. Jigsaws I put them in sandwich boxes - Wilkos again - and cut up the picture to stick on top. They then stack - write on side how many pieces.

i presume you have shared toys, like only 1 set of lego not 5, see i think making your bed is a waste of effort, you only have to unmake it at bedtime to get in.

But maybe I am not fully reformed yet :)

We have load of lego which they have been bought individually but it all goes in the same boxes and they share it out.Same with the playmobil etc.

I am thinking of getting the big long row of ikea trofast for the playroom and the smaller 3 long ones for the kids rooms.They are the only ones i have found in my budget that i don't hate the look of (i much prefer the lovely GLTC ones but they are too expensive for the amount i need)

If i make my bed its easier to sort the washing into piles!

I have been packing stuff away again and have thrown another black bag full of stuff away, and went to the tip with some stuff out the garage and an old armchair i used in our playroom that was very comfy but very ugly and a bit smelly!

I love going to the tip!Although it makes me realize how much money i have wasted over the past 4 years.Going to try to be more frugal and minimalist when i move.

It will be my first house on my own without exdh (we are separated and he already lives in his own place but we originally lived here together) so i am looking forward to doing it all how i want.

don't make the bed the moment you get up! Fling the covers back, open windows, leave to air for 10 mins.

dries the sweat and means less washing.

non-broken toys go on ebay, freecycle, charity shop etc. NEVER to the tip.

Yeah that's what i do, i put the covers back and open the window all day, it feels fresher when i get in then.I got the kids to make their beds this morning and they did with no moaning but the babies went into the boys room and pulled them off and rolled around in them, so i think i might not bother again!

I dont really bother with charity shops, if its broken it goes to the tip if, but i dont tend to give much away as the age range is 7 down to 1 so everything gets handed down at the moment.