Having a toddler and having a nice house...is it possible?

[LoveableLou]

Before my DD was born 18 months ago my partner and I were pretty good at keeping on top of house maintenance and making sure the house didn't look tired.

Well not anymore. It feels like an achievement if one of us cuts the grass at the weekend and I've got clean underwear for the week ahead.

I'm an organised person but I just don't know whether I need to either do things differently (little DIY jobs here and there, throw some money at the situation and get tradespeople in) or accept the early years are all-consuming.

Do things change a bit when children start school?! I have a hunch I will keep on top of things more as I'll still be working part-time. Here's hoping!

I found that I have more time to keep on top of housework now my children are in primary school however my motivation is lacking after years of doing the bare necessities. Definitely outsource where you can afford to.

I have a toddler and 2 primary school aged kids and in general we keep on top of things. We don’t have a cleaner although would like one!
The main thing for me is to keep on top of it so it never becomes a ‘big job’ if you see what I mean. Far easier to run the lawnmower over the lawn every 2 weeks than try and do it when it’s overgrown, for example. I wipe down the sink/toilet when the toddler is in the bath. We both work, and chores outside of work are split equally.
I also take all 3 out swimming on a Saturday morning which gives DH 2 solid hours to have a big clean up.

Exactly the same situation so I'm following. Things have improved slightly since DD (25 months) started nursery at 12 months but it's still a looong way compared to what our flat looked like pre-child :)

Yes if you are wealthy and can afford two houses, one nice and one mess pit child friendly. Otherwise no.

@TheGrumpyGoat

I have a toddler and 2 primary school aged kids and in general we keep on top of things. We don’t have a cleaner although would like one! The main thing for me is to keep on top of it so it never becomes a ‘big job’ if you see what I mean. Far easier to run the lawnmower over the lawn every 2 weeks than try and do it when it’s overgrown, for example. I wipe down the sink/toilet when the toddler is in the bath. We both work, and chores outside of work are split equally. I also take all 3 out swimming on a Saturday morning which gives DH 2 solid hours to have a big clean up.

This is really helpful. I have a misplaced idea that if we 'do' the garden every few months it'll take care of itself. Wrong!

I can deal with the house not being especially clean (or as clean as I'd like) but I really struggle with clutter, so have a quick tidy before bed each night. This helps as does having a decent hoover.

The thing that gets me down is all the scuff marks on the walls from buggies and scooters bashing into the hallway, or toys being smacked against the wall, or food being thrown. I scrub off what I can but only a full redecoration will make it look decent again.

Our garden isn't great, although we do at least make it usable in summer, but our house is generally clean and tidy. It wasn't at all until we did a massive declutter and started doing The Organised Mum Method. It has genuinely changed our lives and our house is visitor ready all the time.

There's other bits that help too: toy boxes/baskets you can chuck all the little things in, a load of washing every day and make sure it gets put away, robot hoover does downstairs while I'm putting DD to bed.

@bakingdemon

The thing that gets me down is all the scuff marks on the walls from buggies and scooters bashing into the hallway, or toys being smacked against the wall, or food being thrown. I scrub off what I can but only a full redecoration will make it look decent again.

Absolutely agree. That's why I'm refusing to get rid of the awful laminate flooring in the lounge until the buggy is a thing of the past as that's where it lives most days. Muddy wheels and nice new carpet are not a good combo.

I've not heard of the Organised Mum Method but I'm intrigued. I'm very good at throwing things out (but not always replacing them), I wonder if that counts?!

We have a cream carpet (here when we bought it) which isn’t at all practical with three young children and a dog! I’m refusing to replace it until the youngest is potty trained though.

Dp or I used to take dd (and then both DDs when no. 2 came along) out for a whole weekend morning once a fortnight and whoever was left at home blitzed the cleaning. We both kept on top of laundry in the week. So it never got too bad. We had an amazing day about 6 months ago when the DDs played beautifully and safely (so relatively unsupervised) for most of a weekend day while he did inside and I did outside. First time it had happened since they were born, they were just 4 and 7. They are both now at school and I’m part time so get it all done on my 2 school days off work. It’s amazing. But it’s half term very soon!!

@Orangedaisy

Dp or I used to take dd (and then both DDs when no. 2 came along) out for a whole weekend morning once a fortnight and whoever was left at home blitzed the cleaning. We both kept on top of laundry in the week. So it never got too bad. We had an amazing day about 6 months ago when the DDs played beautifully and safely (so relatively unsupervised) for most of a weekend day while he did inside and I did outside. First time it had happened since they were born, they were just 4 and 7. They are both now at school and I’m part time so get it all done on my 2 school days off work. It’s amazing. But it’s half term very soon!!

This is just what I needed to hear!

The toddler years were chaos for me. But I probably caused some of my own problems by not keeping on top of the small things. I’d get dh to take the dc out on Saturday morning and blitz the house but ten minutes here and there might have been a better approach.