How do you keep on top of housework with little kids?

[2015mom]

Any tips of getting housework done fast with small children and tips on food prep to save time at dinner time please

Do what you can in bursts - chop carrots and potatoes and keep in water until you need to cook. Clean one room a day.

I have 4 young kids and have got myself into a good routine. I prepare my meals in the morning, cut veg etc then throw it all in the slow cooker. As for housework I keep on top of it as I go so do dishes as their used..leaving it all to pile up takes much longer. Usually just do the basics throughout the day and once the kids are in bed I give everywhere a once over with the Hoover

Get a handheld vacuum - my little ones fight over who gets to use it, and they end up doing a pretty good job of the carpet!

Thank you everybody for the very useful tips

I will try those tips

You don't and it drives you mad if you try to.

I can remember complaining to my dh 80 year old grandma about it, inc dirty hand prints.
She told me to cherish the mess as I'd miss it when they left, and she was sort of right.

You all sound very prepared and clean

It ain't so much the mess caused by babies and kids it was more the daily chores like general house cleaning

You don't! At least I don't manage it. Lots of tidying up and hoovering is done once they are in bed.

Meal prep does get easier once you're past the baby/toddler stage. My tip is to start hours before you plan to eat! I would often chop veg etc during nap times, and found that all in one, chuck it the oven type meals - eg cottage were good as it meant that when witching hour came, at least the food was ready to go!

*cottage pie

I dont!!!
Honestly i think everyone with young children has to let their standards of tidyness slip a little. Just sit down one night and make a list of jobs that are the most important. For me that is kitchen surfaces and washing up, one load of laundry, the bathroom surfaces and bath, bathroom and kitchen floors. So i make sure i at least attempt to do those things every day either before the baby wakes or after hes in bed. Any other tasks i just do as and when... usually if my partner has a few days off in a row and can help.

I clean the bathroom while my DS (2yo) is in the bath.

I now (after starting get a thread about it a few weeks ago) don't wait for the dishwasher to be crammed before putting it on (and leaving excess dishes and pots in the sink). It goes on twice a day and my kitchen has never been so clean and tidy.

We make our beds in the morning so upstairs looks semi-tidy for the day.

With regards to food prep I always cook more than I need and freeze any excess. There's always something in the freezer and failing that we will have soup and eggs (boiled, poached, scambled - take your pick!).

Never have mastered the art of being completely organised but my MH feels a lot better by taking these small steps.

A packet of wet wipes in every room. Then if they happen to have a brief moment of being entertained you can do a quick dust/wipe around.

Thanks everybody very useful tips

Lurking with interest. Brief bursts while dd is being occupied by paw patrol, is all I can manage in my house.

15 minute a day cleaning routine. Life changing.

organizingmadefun.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/15-minutes-of-cleaning-how-to-have-fake.html?m=1

I do one or 2 chores a day, for me it's:
M - mop
T - drop zones (areas where crap accumulates) and meal plan
W - supermarket shop & food prep* and DH changes sheets
T - vacuum, change towels
F - bathroom every other week (on the alternate weeks the cleaners come)
S - Hoover upstairs every other week
S - properly deep clean highchair!

• I prep most of the groceries before I put them away after buying them.

In naptimes I pick up the house and do a load of laundry. We do cloth nappies so I should do a load of some sort every day.

If the bathroom needs a quick wipe and loo clean, do that while kids in bed.

Have less stuff in the first place.

My problem is tidying up kitchen surfaces between meals! Always crockery and pans all over the place.

*clean bathroom while kids in BATH, I mean!