Does anyone else feel the same?

[CymbidiumHybrid]

Does anyone else feel overwhelmed sometimes with the housework?

I would LOVE a show home kind of house, the one where I'm proud to let anyone in.

But, although my house is tidyish and cleanish, it is as it should be.

I do the majority of it all myself, dh has a broken elbow at the min so can't do ANYTHING, as well as working full-time I have to do all in the house and and to do with the dc.

There are certain jobs he has NEVER done ie:

Cleaned light fittings
Skirting boards
Walls on the landing (grubby little fingers)
Ledges on the doors
Door surrounds
Cleaned the kitchen floor maybe twice in years
Cleaned the bathroom once
Vacced any of the bedrooms

I look round and my heart sinks, its supposed to be my day off but I've cleaned the windows, vacced, done some laundry and washing up etc.

When I asked DC to help all I get is attitude, my DD1 (10) told me this morning that I should empty the dishwasher as its womans work.

thats why I have a cleaner who comes every two weeks

so that I only have to clean every other week. dh does ALL the washing up though.

Yes I feel the same, we are thinking of getting a cleaner. I often feel overwhelmed by the amount of washing and the unending nature of it.

Ok 2 perspectives from me.

1. growing up, in Army quaters our home was imaculate, absolutley spotless. My mother would clean the living room, and we were not allowed into it...because she had cleaned. As kids, every Saturday, we had to pull out the beds in the bedroom, vaccume behind them, wash the skirting bourds, vacume the whole room, change the bedding and clean our bedroom window.

My mother now says that she wishes more than anything that she had not spent so much time & energy cleaning. She wishes she had done more with us as a family instead.

2nd perpspective, i have learned from that.
I keep up with it all, once a month i do those bits, skirting bourds, bedding etc.
We painted the whole house in washable paint, one wipe and sticky fingermarks gone.
I hoover once a week, i clean the floors once a month. bathroom each week.
I keep on top of it that way.
Set myself a couple of jobs but do tend to spend my days off cleaning.
Laundry i sling a load in and stick it on the radiators overnoght. iron every sunday while watching eastenders.
It IS overwhelming, but doable.....

its a work in progress isn't it?

i'm a lone parent to 5 dc....we used to live in army quarters also,but have a HA house now,3 bed,so clutter is kept to a minimum!

i clean each day,dc have their own chores to do. its ok to keep on top of,but things can never be perfect can they

i clear out a drawer or cupboard every day....and chuck out anything not used/needed

i sometimes spend the week doing one room in the house a day.....7 rooms in my house,so 1 aa day,maximum 2 hours,includes all paintwork and pulling out furniture

then an hour or so doing laundry/garden.cleaning car

How are you supposed to keep up with the housework and spend hours on post on Mumsnet?

It's really hard sometime - we have 3 DCs, both work outside the house and have no family that can take them for even an hour a week to let us get on with the outstanding jobs. I try and keep on top of things - ish, but have accepted that my house will never be immaculate, much as I would love it to be.

One of my friends gave me a fridge magnet which says "cleaning the house when the children are growing is like shovelling snow while it's still snowing". Mucho fromage, but very true.

It can be overwelming

I have am cleaner who comes every other week and to be honest whe you walk in my house is, 99% of the time, tidly and clean BUT never ever pull out a draw or open a cupboard....it just gets shoved in there

So - I am starting a marathon sort out and given that I work for 4 days a week and have a very busy April workwise and organising a big village event it will be a slow job

I am aiming to have a clutter sorted out and the girls bedrooms done by the summer hols...

I think it is well worth getting a cleaner who does all these 'big' jobs once a fortnight or once a week, to help preserve your sanity.

It wouldn't cost much to have someone come in for two hours a week and do all the big jobs, would it?

Agree that it is a never ending job - if you are ever lucky enough see the bottom of your washing basket it is full again the next day

i suppose it is a little a day, a routine that means you go through the house once as month - isn't that flylady? I have tried that but I don't think it works if you are a WOHM...

I have a cleaner who comes every 2 weeks, hoovers the house from top to bottom, dusta and polishes, cleans kitchen and bathrooms and washes all hard floors

I then have a daily/weekly schedule for hoovering the downstairs and kitchens and bathrooms ( I never dust or hoover upstairs or wash hard floors) and for the bigger jobs - ie internal windows, washung down paintwork etc...

I do try and wash every day and iron that wash the same day or the following day as I hate having loads of washing about....

I totally understand! It was only when we moved out of last house I realised how skanky it was !

So now (bit embarassed to admit to this, but anyway!) I have a housework rota for myself

On Mondays I polish, dust, hoover upstairs and scrub the upstairs bathroom

Tuesday I do the living room/ playroom- dust, skirtings, wash down the leather sofas, clean all the light fittings/ glasswork

Wednesday, I've just finished the kitchen and downstairs bathroom- I dismantle the oven and cooker, scrub out the microwave, clean the cupboard fronts, sometimes the bin/ fridge, clean out the toaster, clean the kettle- all the jobs I don't do in the quick clean I give it after dinner each day. In the bathroom, I take up the non-slip fish from the bath and soak them, scrub behind the loo, clean the mirror/ floor. I also do 3 loads of washing

I work Thurs and Fri, so let myself off those days!

saturday, just washing (another 3 loads)

Sunday, strip beds and do ironing.

I reckon I spend about 40mins- an hour each day on the individual rooms (I now have it down to a fine art!) Of course the place still needs general tidying/ hoovering each day, but at least if something looks a bit manky I know when it will get cleaned, so I can relax until that day, iyswim! I HATE housework with a passion, but I find if I have a set list I crack on, then feel free when it is done!

I am a sad anal loon, aren't I?

I would love a cleaner, but, we can't really afford one and DH wouldn't have one.

I work long hours too, so, when i come home I don't fancy doing housework, especially when I come in and kids are on DS and dh is sat on computer having done nothing all day.

'dh wouldn't have one' ?! Does he have to know?

'dh wouldn't have one' mine said the same, he said he won*t pay someone to do something that he can do himself. so I said then do it (both work full time)

Sorry... backtrack a bit here.

Your 10 y.o DD said what?

And what did you say to her in response?

At the risk of coming over all Supernanny, can you sit your husband and children down and collectively make a list of jobs and get people to commit to doing them (even once or twice a week if they're quite young). For example, my 17 y.o nephew does nothing round the house really, but every Sunday morning he mops the kitchen floor. Not rocket science, but it's a start. More importantly, they begin to understand that these things do not miraculously do themselves.

You work full time, look after the DCs and have a disabled (albeit temporarily) DH?

I guess you could have a show home if you spent every moment of your time at home cleaning and tidying! Seriously, there are only so many hours in the day. Do yourself a favour and get yourself a cleaner for a couple of hours a week. It won't cost that much and will make a massive difference. Then when you do have the time and the inclination you can do all the other bits and pieces (decluttering, tidying, etc.).

So agree with Cat64- I cleaned the light fittings last week- first time in the new house and we moved in in 2004..
I have NEVER noticed light fittings etc in anyones house and when does anyone ever see the door ledges?

Are you supposed to clean door ledges?

I'd reorganise things with your family a bit first. You don't want your daughter thinking that loading the dishwasher is women's work surely?

You work full-time and you do all the cleaning, is that right?

Until your dh can pull his weight a bit I'd definitely get a cleaner in. If he never does, the cleaner stays.