Question for people with two or more DCs aged three or under, and who do NOT have a cleaner or any regular childcare. How clean/tidy is your house?

[SpawnChorus]

I find cleaning/tidying with the DCs in tow virtually impossible. They whine and fight and generally do their utmost to hinder me (e.g. turning off hoover at the wall, rubbing their hands on mirrors as I'm polishing them etc).

They have zero interest in 'helping' me, and refuse to play quietly or watch CBeebies while I get on with it.

I am despairing.

The mere thought of cleaning now sends me into a bad mood.

So for those of you with two or more young DCs, how do you manage it?

I don't.
House looks like we've had burglars. Burglars who shed hair.

C'est la vie.

Once in a particularly blue moon I offload the pair to my mother so I can have a through hoover and scrub the kitchen floor, but it involves a 2 hour drive (1 hour round trip for drop off and pick up). I don't think she enjoys it too much though. Understandable as she works, is over 60, and it's her day off.

Never mind, eh.

Ds1 is 4 ds2 is 2. I hoover every moring while thay watch cbeebies. Ds2 turns the hoover off alot though. I empty the washing machine while they eat breakfast. And bring the laundry basket down each morning when we come for breakfast.I clean the bathroom mirror after I've been to the toilet! I put clothes on the stairs to take up as and whewn I go, then they sit on the landing till the boys play upstairs and I can put it all away then. I do the dishes after they've gone to bed, and tidy up the toys etc, before dh and our friend get in. Having said that, dh often cooks his own meal when he gets back from work, I have to sneak out to the bin incase they escape out of the back door, and upstairs only gets hoovered if its a special occasion!

It's clean, but messy!! On my nights off work I try and do some when they're in bed. I don't have an ironing basket - it's literally a cupboard. DH washes up and cleans kitchen, I make a point of doing bathroom. Everything else just has to be what it is until I have some time.
These early years are precious (so I'm told!!!)

i don't either - burglars would take pity on us

as soon as i start tidying dd1 starts pulling out what i've been tidying away. i do the bare minimum that i have to.

NoBiggy - 'burglars who shed hair' ROFL

mustrunmore - that sounds fairly similar to what I do, except for the daily hoovering

Reasonably squalid - but luckily I have low standards.
Flylady - naff as she is - is helpful, i find

I have learned to lower my standards...

Besides, dirt is good, helps 'em build immunity. (Though I did feel just a teeny bit bad that I only noticed the mould when I went to get the boys a second muffin the other day )

I have DS1 (almost 5), DD1 (3), and 13mth old DTs.

Full clean about once a week when DH is around to help or supervise the DCs. At the moment I don't have a washing machine so DH takes laundry back to London each Sunday with him and brings it back washed, not ironed, on a Fri (I'm on a remote farm in Devon and can't drive). The hoovering gets done in the week if it's particularly messy or we're expecting guests. I clean the table, dishes, bins, bath etc nightly when they're all in bed.

Next baby due in just under 8wks. Standards will drop even lower then Figure people who don't like it don't have to come, or can come and do something about it.

piximon - [blanche] at pregnant plus lots of children plus remote farm. Are you all on your own during the week then? I'm in awe!!!

My standards really are fairly low, but my DCs are also pretty messy. I just feel like there are too many sticky finger marks, crumbs of playdoh and food, tumbleweed-style balls of cat fur.

It's very demoralising.

Its a pigsty!

Dd is only 8mths so she dosent cause a mess, but ds,who is 3,is like a tornado through the house,leaving toys in his path that follows! Arghhhhhh!

Yesterday 'we' tided and give his room a good clean while his sister was having a nap. After about 20mins he was tipping out what I had put away!

I dont want to live in a showhouse or my children not to be able to play but I would like it to look decent every now and then.

Sil wont let my neice have anything out but she is anal about cleaning everything! And you guessed it...when the house looks its worse guess who visits!

DS1 is 3, DS2 is 1. I am waiting a few more years before trying to tackle the hoovering...

LOL at this thread!!

Same scenario here, switch hoover on DS1 (2) tampering with the min/max dial, while DS2 (1) dances/moves head from side to side in time with the hoover rhythm - when both proceed to socket we call it a day!

Go out to hang washing DS1 tries to be helpful and bring what is left in machine but usually ends up dumping in back garden while DS2 watches on from beind kitchen gate in tears pointing for outside.

Go upstairs to deposit clean clothes, make beds etc.. DC empty baskets, find laptop chargers, phone chargers, hairdryers and think this is great fun while i run after them retrieving dangerous items. Manage bed to find DS1 fishing in toilet and DS2 'washee tees' (brusing teeth in sink full of water with all bath toys in)...oh i could go on!!!!!

IN a nutshell, housework is a nightmare!!!! fortunately now PG and have excuse

Piximon - WoW at children - am also in awe!!!!

I try to hoover at least twice a week, but don't always.
I try to do the washing up everyday, but it is frequently left for dh to do when he gets back from work.

I do manage to do a load of washing everyday, but it doesn't always get hung out for several hours, and doesn't get ironed.

I do manage to tidy the toys away each evening.

I wipe kitchen surfaces and clean (well, quickly wipe over) bathroom as I go along.

At the moment though I seem to spend much of the day on mumsnet breastfeeding ds so my standards have slipped!

I can't even bring myself to answer the op's question. Or actually look around to see what the rest of the room is like...

But then I work the other 4 days a week so thats my excuse.
Is this a trick thread from Aggie and Kim looking for subjects for a new series of how clean is your house

I only invite people round who have at least two dc's. Child free people seemed to stop visiting us for some reason?!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

I had 3 under 3 and my house resembled a jumble sale most of the time. Teetring piles of washing up, laundry cascading down the stairs, terry nappies dring on every radiator and dust bunnies the size of rhinos.
never had childcare or a cleaner (still don't)
Now they are teenagers ad I have number 4 who is brain damaged the house looks the same again (sigh)

It's a mess toys everywhere and dishes atm .

I tend to do it when they are all in bed as it is a waste of time when they are awake .

I just despair, and it is a relief to see that everyone else does too. Today it was really sunny, and the sun shining through the windows made the whole place looked like a health hazard - smeary windows, grubby floors. DD is 3 and DS is 2 and it is a nightmare. But, depressingly, everyone I know either has only one child (and therefore time) or more than one child, and considerable "help" .

I have to admit tidiness and cleanliness was one of the things that just seemed insumountable with the PND. DH got a cleaner in to do a one off and then I started on the babysteps with flylady and now it works a lot better.

I tend not to think about stuff and have a routine for morning, noon and night. Getting the boys clothes out the night before really helps me as does, puting the washer and DW on before bed and insisting that DH empties them in the morning prior to work.

I dont ge tthe e-mails. I did the baby steps and joined the ladies on the thread.

Don't wuite fit into OP, but we have 3 kids (8, 7), 2 are registered disabled, and I am 7 months PG so figure I fir the 'demand' criteria!

My house is a shite heap. I battle against the germy bits (kitchen abthroom etc) and I tidy once a day, but its never enough and always looks godawful. upstairs always messy. I could do it time wise but am permanently knackered and lost motivation after it never lasted more than 2 hours anyhow.

I hoover 2x daily downstairs - chasing game with dc (prevents it being switched off)
Clean kitchen daily whilst cooking/ preparing meals( children help with small tasks ie getting bowls
Laundry daily - iron in evening when dc in bed
Clean bathroom and loo daily normally when youngest has a nap and dd having quiet time in front of tv.
Dust - we all have a go every other day
make beds/ tidy toys/ put away clothes we all do it( with help and encouragement)
Reading this back I am amazed how much my children help with and it only feels like playing games with them.
I am a SAHM so we have all day to get stuff done and it always comes after the fun stuff

OMG. You hoover twice? A day? And the bathroom is cleaned once a day?

I am obviously a slattern.

When ds2 was tiny (I ahd 2 in 13 months) a friend came to visit him, as her ds1 wandered off she grabbed him and yelled 'don't go into the corner, there's dirt there'.

Actually i now as she ended up with one kid a perfect house and a breakdown and I at least still clamber around the edges of sanity.

TheMadHouse - getting the boys clothes out the night before???? You mean they don't go to bed in their clothes and carry on wearing them the next day?

Tidiness has improved as the DC get older - toys are generally smaller and cover slightly less of the carpet now (I think I have a carpet...)