When do you clean your house whilst juggling work and childcare?

[ToddlerMama89]

I work 3 days per week, 2 are WFH. The only time I find to clean is during my WFH days for an hour or so (naughtily). However work is getting really busy and I don’t think I can get away with doing this anymore and I’m finding it hard to keep on top of my house!

On my days looking after DS, he’s permanently attached to me. I can sometimes get him to help hang up laundry or push the hoover around but that’s it and I can’t do that reliably without him whinging at me. We also like to get out a lot. On the weekend we tend to be out and about all day as a family. I could do bits on an evening but by the time my toddler goes to bed around 8pm, I only get about an hour to wind down before I’m shattered and off to bed myself!

When do others find time to clean and do housework type chores??

Cleaner. 🤷 She comes two hours a week and does the floors, bathrooms, changes our bed etc. Forces us to be a bit tidier and do a run around on the morning

Every day after bedtime the toys are put (approximately) away, kitchen cleaned, sometimes run the hoover around the kitchen depending on how bad the crumb situation is.

The kids have an activity on a Saturday morning so DH takes them to that while I do a bit of tidying and sort 7000 loads of laundry. Then I bring them out in the afternoon while he does the shop.

Basically - the two of us are fully on board, we have daily routines that keep on top of the worst of it, and the big one is the cleaner.

Once your toddler is old enough for it to work, don't be afraid to use the TV to get half an hour of cleaning done btw.

After bedtime. I go to sleep around 1am so thar gives me a few hours for cleaning, batch cooking and admin. I never try to get it done when dcs are around - causes chaos.

Cleaners.

My DC are in KS2 and KS3 and DH and I both work full time. They disappear into their bedrooms but we are still incredibly busy. Both of them have clubs on Saturday afternoons for 2 hour at a place not too far from home. That's the only time we have to do cleaning and DIY. We decided ahead of time what we'll tackle. I might have to help DH DIY, or we both do some cleaner that the cleaners don't do. Or DH DIY and I clean. It's just over an hour a week and no way enough to keep on top of all housework

Nap time and after bed time :(

We can't afford a cleaner, so one of us takes the kids out every fortnight (I know...) and the other does the house from top to bottom. Other than that, when the children are in bed for kitchen cleaning, etc.

Hpw old is your DS? How I've managed has varied depending on the ages of DC.

As they get older it gets easier! Worst age for being on top of housework is 18 months to turning 3 in my experience. Also winter is worse than summer - thicker clothes means more frequent wash loads, mud also worsens this, and everything takes forever to dry. Plus more indoor activities means more mess!

As DC get older they tidy up after themselves better and can amuse themselves for longer stretches. I find my 7yo very easy. She gets 50p pocket money if her room is tidy, 50pfor putting her laundry away without help, 5op for doing her brothers' with help, weeding 1 flower bed is50p.....

Naptime is when most gets done on weekdays, then some after bedtime (which is crap! But necessary). At weekends DH will take out the older 3 for a while on Saturday and DC4 will usually chill on her playmat for a bit while it's quiet or sit in her high chair while I'm doing the kitchen.

We also just have a much lower starndard than pre children!

We pay £30 a week for two hours cleaning. We both work full time and don’t really do any cleaning outside of that apart from turning on the robo hoover occasionally or a quick wipe around for guests. The cleaner also changes our beds.

We would give up many things before we would give up the cleaner!!!

We both hate cleaning!

In your position I would definitely get a cleaner if you can afford to. Even though there are two of us to sort the house, we both still hate it, I can’t imagine being on my own with a child and having to do everything!!

Mine "cleaned" with me, in a sling as babies then in tow with a cloth, toy broom etc. I was an apartment manager so cleaned the communal areas of the whole block whilst bringing up children, though we moved before dd2 was fully mobile. Hardest part was a shared laundry, though it was close to my front door which was in a locked building so fairly secure

Yeah, I also have a cleaner. Two hours a week. Then I clean the kitchen each night while I'm cooking, and give the bathroom a once over in the mornings. Before I could afford the cleaner I did it myself at weekends while DH did stuff with DD, but it was a big sacrifice to family time so it would take a lot for me to give the cleaner up now.

Cleaner.

Do you have a partner? Because in the days we didn't have a cleaner, what did work best was for one of us to take the DC out for a few hours on the weekend while the other one cleaned.

Now we do have a cleaner who comes fortnightly. And it's a godsend. But there's still quite a bit of day to day stuff that has to be done. that stuff is easier to fit in while WFH or on a quick whip round on the weekend etc.

I WFH 2 days. I tend to slot a wash and emptying the dishwasher whilst a cup of tea is brewing
We try to clean the kitchen every evening and we are fortunate enough to have a play room so toys get shuffled back into their at the end of most days
We alternate bedtime and that allows us both a few nights a week to get on top of our chores. My partner is better at daily tasks and I do weekly tasks
Online food shopping I generally spend a bit of time getting a reasonable basket together when booking the slot then amend it the day before. Occasionally I have forgotten to do this so having essentials in their at the point of booking has saved us!
At the weekend we try to do a few hours of cleaning alternating looking after our daughter on one day and then go out the other day. Little and often helps us keep on to of things. Every 2 months we enlist grandparents help to get a good clean in. My partners parents live 4h away and try to visit every 4-8 weeks and probably every other trip up we get them to give us a few hours of organising or a deep clean and probably every 3months we get my parents over for an hour or two they are more local and usually bring dinner with them so we don't have to add cooking on to our tasks but my mother has health issues and isn't always able to watch our daughter.

A cleaner…. I would give up so many more luxuries before I gave up my cleaner!! Well worth it

My cleaner says she has many clients with young kids as there isn’t time to clean. I could clean when they are napping but honestly I’m busy putting out the washing, having my lunch, doing life admin and taking a moment to myself that cleaning never gets a look in.

I work the same as you and have 2 DC, 3y and 1y.

I clean when I'm not working and the babes help. This is around playgroups and activities! The 3yo loves taking responsibility for cleaning the play kitchen while I'm dusting surfaces, and the 1yo 'dusts' the skirting boards. They love when the broom comes out! My
1yo loves the dustpan and brush so much they have their own special (clean) one just for them!

They both tidy up toys at the end of the day before tea. The 3yo puts their dirty clothes in the washing basket, and also puts their clean clothes away once they've dried and folded. The 1yo loves taking clothes out the washing machine and on/off the airer etc.

The bathroom gets cleaned whilst kids are in the bath.

At the weekend when DH is around one of us will take kids to the park, the other has some time to themselves which sometimes may involve a quick clean!

It's not that hard.

We prioritise time with the children, either way.