How clean is your house?

[wombat57]

Hi ladies :)

Me and OH work full time, sometimes either of us works 6-7 days a week.
We have two kids 8 and 6 (another on the way) living with us.

And my house seems never be clean! Never. Washing is never ending. Dishes are always a mountain.
No matter how large a pot I cook-it gets eaten within 2 days. If I am lucky.

Breakfasts, school runs, work, repeat in the evening, cooking, washing, cleaning, work, homework, getting boys to bed.... It really is never ending...

And getting help in at the moment is not possible, due to the financial reasons...

Just how to make it easier??? We are up at 7 and kids go to sleep at 10. Then we usually tidy up after dinner and I pack school lunch. Basically then we can do something, but most of the time at 11pm we are just ready to crash down...

10 is very late for that age , try to bring the time forwards so you get more time to sort things out. Clean bathroom while they are in the bath, kitchen while they are eating or doing homework.

Yep agree ten is late. My 6 & 9 year old go to bed at 7.15 and 7.45 but read for a bit. 12 year old goes to bed at 9pm with lights out at 10pm or she's wrecked the next day. I do understand that some kids need less sleep though.

I've just started getting my younger two to empty dishwasher whenever it's finished. The also all know how to move washing to the dryer and switch it on.

If one or both of you are working 6-7 days a week I'm not suprised it's never ending!

If you are FF with new baba, do what I do and clean the kitchen while I wait for the kettle to boil and bottle to cool! DH says I always get back into bed smelling like Cif

.... looks around..

notes cheese spread smeared over sofas .. crunched up crackers. Two loads of clean clothing to iron and put away.

Not very clean but with bath my toddlers and tackle the place after bedtime. Went on a poundland splurge this afternoon so have some vintage flash and elbow grease. Have booked a window cleaner for next week so will get back on track.

On a practical level op I sometimes cppk two chickens and a beef casserole and freeze batches so it should last. I think if it's in the fridge it will get demolished

It's never ending isn't it?! I try and do some tasks every single day to keep on top of things. So I always empty and reload the dishwasher and wipe kitchen sides and hob down. I always tidy up toys before dd goes to bed. I always remove any rubbish from bedrooms and I always put a wash on every day. The only problem is that other things then get left for a long time sometimes! I clean the bathroom fairly regularly. Ironing I rarely get round to until we're desperate for clothes! I can't remember when I last did anything like clean the oven...

Sounds about right. I have no idea how people who work full time get time to clean or cook so you're doing really well if you ask me. My 9 yr old helps. A lot. He'll make packed lunches, hoover, sort washing and put it away. Stuff like that. Delegate maybe? Never too young to learn if you ask me!

Thank you for your replies, girls.

I never seem to be able to get them to bed before 9, then read a book, then the usual "mummy I need drink, pee, poo, eat, my dino, drink again, i am scared" routine for 30 minutes - so it is running up and down the stairs.
But both of them are up at 7, so, I guess, they get enough sleep (DS1 is up sometimes even before me)...

They do help, when they can. Like emptying dishwasher/washing machine, an also hovering, washing floors (when we spend enough time at home on weekends to actually do that).

But, yes. House is a bomb. Most I can do is clean zones. But never have enough times to clean all the house in one go. So mess is always there.

Both of you work nearing 7 days a week full time and there really isnt £20 spare for a weekly cleaner?

I work 4 days and my dh 5.5 so our house sounds very similar to yours! I always make sure the dishes are clean, and the toilets bleached before I go to bed but sometimes that's the sum total of my housekeeping for a day! Whenever we have friends coming round there is a mad Hoover etc spree but other than that it's just laundry etc at times I hate living in a mess but mostly I just think I'd rather not stress about it and spend any time I do have with my kids or sleeping! Sorry.... no pearls of wisdom from me but reading other posts with interest to see if I can glean some tips:)

Mine isn't very clean but I stay on top of the dishes and tidying. Best way to keep up with dishes is to wash are you go. I'm trying to do this while I cook, etc. I tidy up the toys when the kids are eating dinner and Hoover while they're in the bath, with dad watching them. I agree with the others, 10 is way too late and doesn't give you any time at all to yourself. Mine are both in bed for 7 and I plan on keeping this time as loooong as I can. Just think of it this way, overclean houses are bad for their immune systems! Studies show the healthiest kids live on farms, etc.

I have a few time saving cleaning gadgets that I couldn't do without, my tumble drier,a steam mop, a hand held vacuum and my new toy a hand held steam cleaner I'm loving this because if can blast the whole bathroom/ kitchen with the steam then wipe behind no elbow grease needed since the steam breaks everything up plus if I don't have time for a good clean I at least know the steam kills bacteria so it's clean, good for windows too.

Also I clean my bathroom every day I find it actually takes less time that way, using flash with bleach spray leave for 3 mins then wipe takes 5 mins in total I usually do it after my shower by the time I'm done I'm dry and can get dressed.

Hi

I only have one baby and still cannot keep on top of things. I recently did a few things which seems to help.

I have pasted them below, maybe some may help you. Maybe start delegating certain chores to your eldest children and it will make your life more easier.

Time saving tips that could help are as follows:

Quicker ways to clean

Stay on top of things

Clean as you go

Have a place for everything

BATHROOM & WC:
• Clean sink whilst brushing your teeth in bathroom
• Clean sink when washing hands in WC
• Give toilet a quick clean after using toilet
• Give shower quick clean whilst in shower
• Give bath a quick clean after use
• Clean bathroom whilst baby is having a bath (obviously only if safe to do so)

KITCHEN:
• Clean kitchen as you make breakfast/lunch/dinner
• Try and clean kitchen before you bath baby so you come down to clean kitchen

LAUNDRY:
• Wash & dry a load every day
• Fold and put away each load asap

GENERAL:
• Never walk upstairs or downstairs empty handed
• Put things back where they go rather than putting them down

POST:
• Open post when it arrives and sort out either filing away or to action pile & recycle envelope

BABY BAG:
• Unpack it when you come home and re-pack for next day so it is ready to walk out the door except for milk and food

CLOTHES:
• Get clothes ready for the next day the night before

Let me know if any help you.

6 out of ten.

And we have a cleaner too.

I bloody hate housework.