Two under two - how do you keep on top of it all

[Tiredmummaoftwo]

Just sat here (surrounded by mess, toys, dirty plates, a huge pile of washing, floors that need cleaning, dogs that need walking, and I need to parent two children) wondering what other people do to keep on top of their house.

For a bit of background I’ve got two young children (7 m/o & nearly 2 y/o) which is obviously hard but one goes to nursery twice a week, I have a cleaner every other week and my partner is very hands on. So I am getting help. But despite this my house is more often than not a tip. Or if it’s clean and tidy it stays that way for about a day before it’s back to square one. I don’t think I’m lazy, I spend a lot of time doing housework, I’m very house-proud and I don’t have much clutter but I just don’t seem to be able to keep on top of it! We do have quite a big house and dogs which probably doesn’t help but like I said not much clutter!

I don’t know if I just need to lower my standards but to be honest with you I don’t really want to. I like the house looking presentable as it makes me feel better.

I’m curious to know what other mums do - do you leave it all and let it build up? Do your partners do most of the housework? Or do you have a clever little routine that might help me create some order amongst the chaos!?

Also! If clean and tidy is your thing, when do you do most of your cleaning (am / pm / as you go?).

Any tips appreciated x

Hi Tiredmummaoftwo, here are some things I do and work for me although I would say I've lowered my house-tidy/clean standards considerably since having kids. Hope you find this helpful.

I plan to do one thing a day - laundry one day, hoovering downstairs the next.
Don't try and do it all together. A set routine per week really helps ensure it gets done and means you don't feel overwhelmed but in control.

Have a two days a week to do laundry - so you're not constantly doing it and can free up some time for other stuff. Have separate laundry bags for whites, handwash, babygros etc and make sure your husband adheres to this too so it's not just extra work for you. Load washing machine before bed ready for morning switch on.

Dishwasher goes on before bed. If it can't go in the dishwasher it is not used so we have little to hand wash.

Have a box for toys in each downstairs room. Just pile it in at the end of the day. Soon your nearly two year old will be able to help put things away too.

Never go up/down stairs without something so tidying doesn't become a long chore.

I rarely dust but have disposable dusters in several rooms so they are to hand.

Bathroom gets cleaned as we go - shower, spray shower afterwards etc so it never gets done all at the same time. Keep cleaning stuff in the room all together to make this easier. Otherwise my partner mainly does the bathrooms.

Thank you @Pr1mr0se that’s really helpful, especially on the washing bit. That’s what I find the hardest!

I have this annoying habit when I start to clean I can’t just do a few bits, I end up doing a really thorough clean which obviously isn’t sustainable. It’s nice to know other people let their standards slip a bit too x

I was going to say to Declutter but you have mentioned you don’t have any.

I think then you are just probably in the trenches of the hard yards right now.

Maybe start a day roster? Sheets on Mondays, Dusting and vacuuming on Tuesdays, Bathroom’s and mopping on Wednesdays, etc etc

Maybe set a timer for 15 minutes and get small jobs done.

i used to sort laundry when mine were in the bath (basket next to bathroom door). Every night a load would go on overnight. Never let it build up.

dishes in dishwasher, other bits washed up after each meal,
I clean bathroom one day, dust bedrooms another day and so on, it isn’t a deep clean but keeps on top of it all.

I had 2 under 2, 3 under 3 and then 4 under 4 so appreciate it’s relentless. We had 2 dogs and walking was part of our routine. A morning walk was good for the kids, or I took the kids & dogs someone like the woods for a few hours so everyone gets exercise. Days when I was out DH took them out early or I did before he left and a walk later with the kids. Dh also did his share at the weekend, hoovering etc. When the house needed a deep clean DH would take the kids out and I would blitz it. I definitely had to lower my standards a little, which I found hard.

I won’t be much help as my youngest is 8 but just to let you know it gets so much easier and try not to worry too much about tidiness. I always had multiple wash baskets, so one in a few rooms so could just chuck clothes in. Washing done at night, hung out first thing in the morning. Y only tip I can give you is for yourself to have your clothes ready for the next morning so at least that’s not an issue and you feel ready. (God I’m no help!!)

I struggle with this soo much. I have a 7yo, 5yo, 2yo and 3 month old. I actually find the older two the messiest with all their Lego creations! To me it feels like I can’t find a middle ground - it’s either messy everywhere or completely tidy for 4 minutes and I love it when it’s tidy but it’s impossible to maintain with 5 other people living in the house making their own messes. I did read something from a book about time management by Laura Vanderkam which essentially said it’s a waste of time to continuously try to tidy up kids toys because you just have to keep doing it over and over again so I’m trying to just ignore them and do a proper toy tidy up 1-2 times a week rather than everyday. Still find it hard though!! The area I try to stay on top of as a priority is the kitchen because that makes me feel less slob like but even that can descend into complete chaos in a matter of minutes!!

Follow The Organised Mum Method on Facebook.

Google the organised mum method, it should help.

Having a designated messy play space for the children helps if you've got a big house. I always used to let one room stay immaculate and put a stair gate across it so if unexpected visitors came I felt I had a good space for entertaining that wasn't messy, which made me feel more in control. Also very organised about boxes for toys and putting away one lot before taking out another where possible (obviously don't be too rigid if there's a lot of imaginative play going on!)

Also get out as much as possible for walks with dogs and children--they come back peaceful and they can't create mess if they're not in the house!

A play room that you can shut the door on is obviously the best thing.

However, my sister in law always asked the children (albeit slightly older than yours) to put one game or set of toys away before she for the next ones out. As harsh as this sounded to me, it saved her sanity and her kids were happy enough!

With regard to keeping on top of other things, I do things as I go along and don't walk around empty handed 😀 if I'm going from the lounge to the kitchen then I carry anything that needs to go, or always carry things upstairs on each trip.