How to keep on top of housework with kids!

[ECarmel]

So, I'm struggling to keep on top of the house and I'd love some hints and tips off anyone who has young kids and is able to do this.

We have a DD age 5 and DS 4 months and I'm getting a little fed up of the house being messy.

So far I have...

• Read and tried to implement The Organised Mum Method where possible but usually find the suggested length of times unrealistic.

• Scrapped ironing unless it really needs it (I will iron school shirts and usually tops/ t shirts the night before only if it needs it).

• Made sure we all grab items to go upstairs/ downstairs/ in different rooms anytime we're going in those places (we usually have piles of things on the stairs that I'm constantly reminding DH to grab on his way up/ down lol).

• Tried to encourage DD to tidy her toys away after playing (some days this is successful some days it isn't ).

• Tried to keep on top of clutter/ things to get rid of in the house where possible.

• Made sure each room is organised and has a place for everything.....

But no matter what we do the house seems to still be up the wall I find DS takes up most of my time when DD is in school- he has one good 2 hour nap and in that time I'll put a wash on, empty the tumble dryer from the day before, fold and put clothes away, empty the dishwasher and start refilling it and try to clean at least 1 room.... and that's about all I manage to get done in about 5 and a bit hours. Once DD gets home from school it's homework, tea, baths etc. I never sit down or rest (even though I probably should as I'm up a lot through the night still EBF), but I still find the house is a tip at the end of each day. DH really does pull his weight and will often stay up trying to tidy after I've gone to bed (I'm usually in bed by 09.30pm and he'll usually try and stay up for at least another hour); but we run our own business and it would be good if DH could spend more time on keeping on top of that rather than the house!

How do other people do it? What are we doing wrong or are our expectations a bit too high? I honestly don't know how people have time to do other things like major DIY work, maintaining the garden, washing the car- we can barely keep on top of basic stuff! When DC are there we literally get NOTHING done- I think we struggle to find ways of letting them entertain themselves (not that we would with DS age 4 months but we've never managed to do it with DD age 5 either!)

Any tips greatly appreciated x

Hi - I’ve read your post and it really does sound like you are doing most things.

If you are spending 1-2 hours of baby’s nap time on chores that’s 5-10 hours a week (probably a fair bit of that is laundry?). You are already spending a lot of time, it should be enough

I agree that it’s more important to run your business vs clean. From doing an adapted TOMM myself, no the jobs don’t get done in 15 mins

A few suggestions :

• use little ‘pockets’ of time to clean (eg when cooking, on phone etc) - if you can
• have things behind doors as much as possible to minimise visual clutter
• get a robo vac - they are a major time saver
• I want a cordless vac (like a shark) for same reason
• extra set of cleaning products upstairs (eg bathroom cupboard ) so you can do things when you have 5 mins
• damp dust with ecloths is quickest cleaning method for me
• I use a ‘top sheet’ so I change duvet cover infrequently which saves time
• wear under shirts to avoid washing jumpers etc a lot

If what you are doing isn’t enough you either have to:

• ignore it (sounds like your house is far from actually dirty) - my sisters method
• get a cleaner in maybe 2 hrs a couple of times a week
• ignore the kids and do a chunk of cleaning once a week (my mums method)
• stay up late and do it when kids in bed (my best friend’s way)

Your comment about struggling to let the kids entertain themselves was interesting: my niece gets v annoyed if I clean when babysitting her, I get her to ‘help’ and she’s not bad… latest version is being my ‘spotter’ she stands on a chair and points out the dirty bits for me to clean 🤣 Making it into a game might give you a half hour or so clean & train them to help you

Hope others will come with suggestions for you soon

One suggestion re. tidying toys - we had a tidying song we sang everyday and everything had to be put away. It really worked, I stole the idea from a toddler group. Carried on right through to age seven, but still sang it to the teens as a joke when they need to get their finger out

Basically - make an evening tidy part of everyone's routine so you are not running after them.

I don’t know. I used to be on top of it and the house was clean and tidy, I had time to do yoga every day and sit down with a cup of tea while the baby napped, now I seem to be rushing around from 6am to 9 pm and still don’t get everything done. Definitely no yoga or sitting anymore!

I’m not sure what has changed.

When my dds were little it didn't get easier until I got rid of loads and loads of stuff. It's getting close to Xmas when your well meaning relatives will buy piles of junk for your darling dc so start now!!

I honestly don't think you can get to a good level of house keeping without a major declutter but that's my experience.

Meanwhile the tidiest house I've been to belonged to a lady with a debilitating condition. She kindly explained all she had the energy to do was one room a day and leave it at that. I want to try this now as I'm very tired and run down and feel overwhelmed quickly. I think the organised mum is sort of based on that?