Am I doomed to have a messy house because of small kids?

[Rainallnight]

DS is 1.5. DD is 3.5.

I’ve been on the decluttering thread and getting rid of stuff and have some ok new storage.

But it’s still SO messy because of the kids. It just feels as though all this stuff gets everywhere all of the time.

Examples

• DD was playing a game at bath time with three toothbrushes. Brought them into the bedroom. Three toothbrushes now strewn all over bedroom.
• DS - who is into everything - takes jug of spare change and pours it out all over bedroom floor. Coins everywhere now.
• DS takes books down from bookshelves and ‘posts’ them in various places. Books everywhere.

Is this just how it is? Find it so hard to keep on top of the mess.

Any advice?

They're still young enough to trick into thinking tidying up is fun. Every day, about an hour before you do your bedtime routine, have "Tidy Up Time"

Show them what to do...make it fun...sing songs about it whilst you're doing it.

to be honest when they were that age I used to have a tidy up (with them helping) before we had lunch and another at bedtime. that was we kind of kept on top of it but without stressing. I just accepted it was part of life with small children and there were more important things to worry about.

My DS aged four is currently at nursery and a rule has been broken. His train set is out in the living room, usually toys are away for bed but I left it out because it looks cute. I try to have a one toy out, one away policy. If he watches TV, I make him put them away otherwise before you know it, you'll be sitting in a sea of plastic shit and paper while son watches CBeebies completely ignoring his toys.

It's so difficult though, especially coming home after nursery with numerous masterpieces that I have to sneakily bin. It doesn't help that I'm not terribly tidy myself...

I think the layout of your home can affect the appearance of tidy /not tidy. Before ds could manage the stairs he had toys (crap) on 3 floors. Now all his stuff is in his bedroom!!
Having a dpuppy also helps in keeping things tidied away.
Left out =munched....

Yes, it’s stressful if you see it as mess, better to view it as creative play. It’s really hard to feel your home is taken over by ‘mess’ but honestly it’s part of the process. Make tidying up a big game if you can!

My children are a similar age - 2 and 4 so I can relate to this!

Although young I’ve always got them to help tidy away anything they’ve got out. Sometimes when the 4 year old is not in the best of moods, he’ll point blank refuse but he can easily be persuaded if I turn it into a game. Such as, shall we count to 10 and see how much we can get tidied or I’ll set a timer on my phone and we have to race around and tidy before the alarm goes off!

Also as someone else mentioned, we have the rule of one thing out at a time and it has to go away in its proper place before anything else it got out. Also all toys away before bedtime.

I think at this age whatever they have out just makes it look messy though. I’m telling myself that as they get older the toys will get smaller and be more easier to hide away in furniture making it seem tidier...

Yep, teach them now to tidy.
It might be quicker to do it yourself, but its setting the groundwork for later.

Tidy up at each stage of the day ie between breakfast and morning play, before lunch, after lunch and before bed. Then itvs just 2 or 3 things rather than a sea. Also, keep stuff out of reach that you don't want them to make mess with - dd5 is only now allowed felt tips unsupervised as she understands only drawing at the table. Having a clear home for everything helps dd help me with the tidying as she knows where it goes

I would hide the coin jug myself as I would get tired of picking it up but how fun for a little person to tip out, try that tipped into a tray
Toothbrushes are small so I could handle them
Tidy up times together can work if the children are into it
Having a toy box handy but maybe out of direct sight I find helpful for a quick pick up & put away.
Alternating what toys are out can keep it fresh and tidier.
I like a pp idea as seeing it as creative mess than mess.

You have to have good storage and everything needs a place to live.

Re posting books, he needs a specific posting area, we have had a wooden post box from ELC that came with wooden letters but I also made one from a cardboard box so that I knew where all the "post" would be.

But we have always had a playroom so no toys in the bedroom, just a few books to read at bedtime. Playtime with bathroom items ends in the bathroom.

Children need to learn to tidy and no more toys out before toys have been put away. You just have to be more persistent than they are. Yes it is relentless, but the quicker you start this the better it is in the long run. I say this as a mother of teenage boys whose rooms are pristine, beds made, curtains opened without prompting. It is just something they do, like brushing teeth.