Tell Cif how has your home changed since having children? £250 voucher prize draw NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

Cif have asked to find out if Mumsnetters have changed their homes since having children.

Here's what Cif have to say, "We all know that children see the home as a playground, and playgrounds get dirty. But we also understand how difficult it can be to clean up after your child, so we want to help make that process as easy as possible."

So, have you changed your home since having children? Have you rearranged it to keep more valuable breakables out of reach? Have you rearranged your living spaces to make room for their toys? Or perhaps you have you stopped buying more expensive furniture in fear of your child spilling their drink on it? Maybe it has been a more gradual and unintentional change?

Whatever it is, we would love to hear about how your home has changed since having children.

Everyone who adds their thoughts to this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £250 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

My house has a lot more stuff. What used to be a nicely decorated, tidy house has become a home for lots and lots of brightly coloured stuff. We have built in cupboards to try and cram it away...

The living room carpet is also got a lot more stains on!

I'd like to say the house looks homely and lived in, as opposed to looking like a jumble sale is in progress. But when I think back to my immaculate pre-children house I really miss the clear, clean spaces.

Good storage has been invaluable; Ikea drawer sets for the toys in the conservatory, a leather storage box from Argos for the toys in the living room and storage under the bed for toys in the bedroom. All the toys go back before bedtime so the house looks pre children in the evenings!

I vacuum bag clothes every 6 mths so that they don't clutter wardrobes. Cleaning takes place 2 or 3 times a day so investment in a handheld vacuum cleaner and a steam mop has been essential.

Clearly the house is never going to look like it used to but at least at times you can walk around without stepping on bits of lego!

How has my home changed since having my kids?
Firstly since having them it now takes me several attempts round the block to remember that that was where I was going in the first place. Then when I do finally manage to make it back there I can only assume we have been robbed. Clothes, dishes and toys have often been thrown about the place although the offending theives never seem to have a desire for electrical equipment as the TV, DVD player and laptop have never been stolen. Instead their kleptomania seems geared towards the chocolate bars, juice and my car keys (which always turn up....usually in the door that I unlocked on the way into the house...).
Prior to having childrenI also have a vague recollection of having a piece of furniture called a "bed" although it's been so long since I've seen it that I can't remember if it was a figment of my imagination. My relationship with my washing machine has become increasingly close though (to the point where sometimes I find myself forgetting that it's not the television...at least I've had half an hour to myself without being pestered to change the channel to Nick-Jnr though!). And when my youngest was 6 months old and we were looking to move house the deciding factor that clinched it for us was the built in dishwasher (and dear God that is the most amazing invention created by man!).
Any other ways my house has changed since having children....? Well the bathroom has become the main meeting room (although no-one ever notifies me beforehand that the meetings are always scheduled during my bath time), and the cupboard under the stairs is now the only place where I can managed to ram a chocolate bar down my throat before a child has reached me to find out what I'm eating and if they can have some.

We have been renovating our since since we moved when I was 7 months pregnant. Trying to get rid of the dust has been the hardest thing! Wasn't so bad when our daughter was immobile, but now of course she commando shuffles everywhere, so frantically trying to baby proof and keep dirt to a minimum on the floors.

Still, we have a Labrador, so at this time of year, it's not just dust but muddy paw prints everywhere too aarrrggghhh!! :-)

We cleared out a lot of stuff we owned that just weren't being used - eBay, charity shop, gave away or binned. This left space that is now taken up with kiddy clutter - toys, high chair, pushchair, trike...

IKEA storage units have made it super easy to clear up toys.

Cleaning is a lot easier when there is nothing 'out' on surfaces, sideboard etc. And I like the duster, antibacterial and floor wipes.

Far more clutter (toys), more washing, but on the whole cleaner - I hate any dog hair being on the floor as the DCs roll around and it gets all over their clothes. I tend to vacuum daily in spurts rather than twice a week more thoroughly.

The house never looks tidy - but it looks lived in. This has been a real problem for DH who hates clutter and visible disorganisation.

Breakable things have gradually got higher and higher. The fact that DS2 at 20 months can climb up just about anything means that nothing is safe now - not even the tops of bookcases...

We have all the inevitable sticky finger marks, stained carpets, mountains of laundry etc but the one thing I wasn't quite prepared for was opening the dishwasher to find brightly coloured plastic toys. I find it's the easiest way to keep stacking cups and bits of Lego clean (how do they get so sticky?), but it's still a surprise to see them - even though it's me who's put them there.

The tumble dryer is a different matter though. I find all sorts of things in there courtesy of DS2 - from keys to shoes to chopsticks. Keeps me on my toes!

Our house is a tip. But we weren't even that tidy pre children, if I'm honest. We're probably less tidy but more clean now, but there is always something better to be doing than cleaning drudgery in my opinion.

Also other obvious changes like child proof locks and blind pulls, and stair gates.

The thing that really needs doing is repainting all the scuffed walls etc

Our house looks like a toy shop that someone has broken into and thoroughly searched for hidden treasure.

We knocked 2 rooms through to make more family space. The double doors were perfect for the doorway bouncer that both DDs loved bouncing in.

We had fireguards (and still have one even though DD2 is now 9) and stair gates everywhere. It was a big moment when we got rid of the stair gates.

Friends of mine have a 'no kids stuff downstairs' rule. If they did bring stuff down in the day to be played with then it would all be put away in the end of the day. My house: plastic tubs of toys in front of a built in storage cupboard. Eventually we had to give over the storage cupboard to DD2 whose bedroom is much smaller than her sister's.

They are older now and their toys/possessions are getting smaller and easier to store.

We still opt for leather sofas instead of fabric as they are easier to keep clean. :)

Piles and piles of washing, she seems to have more than twice as much as dh and I together. From choice, I would have a hard floor where we eat, by which I mean dd eating, but can't afford to renovate yet!The real change is my car though, breadstick and rice cake crumbs everywhere. And footprints. I used to be so carproud, but now I really couldn't care less!

More clutter, more "stuff", much more childproofing and safety features, dirty fingerprints and handprints, muddy footprints that seem to reappear within minutes of the last batch being cleaned away. Endless piles of laundry (but at least no more cloth nappies drying all over the house all the time!), more and more children's television than grownup and children's dvds.

We're more likely to be singing a Wiggles song as we're driving along than the latest pop tune. I couldn't tell you what songs are on the charts right now - unless of course it's featured on CBeebies. We see more fishfingers and spag bol than we used to, as they are the DCs favourites, and much less steak.

Furniture is secondhand and carpet is stained. No point in getting nice and new until the DCs are older and less likely to muck it up. We knew we would be having DCs, so we just didn't buy expensive furniture or carpeting. And patterns on the sofa to hide any stains.

There are children's drawings all over the place, toys all over, and I'm pretty sure there's still glitter embedded in the grooves of the wooden table from making paper snowflakes last Christmas.

After 200+ posts I realise I am the ONLY one who sped read the title and wondered why on earth "Cliff" would be interested in how my home has changed......

The main thing that helps us to.keeYoup.the chaos a little bit tamed is lots of toy storage. That said I have definitely lowered my standards and there's plenty of dust behind things. The sofas and carpet are old but very functional and there is little point in changing these with young children around. Mounting the TV out of reach has reduced stress as I would have been permanently cleaning it and rescuing children from the top of it!

I have a 4year old and 21week old. The front room has been rearranged so there's more space for the toy boxes. We buy darker furniture and not as expensive furniture. We have a first aid kit, which we didn't have before. We have locks on cupboards, we have to keep certain items out of reach and once you have tidied up each day, in no time at all it's messy again

I have less furniture. Surfaces = mess! We got rid of the coffee table and side tables as try were just used to pile things on. We also have a lot of baskets, e.g. Three nice ikea wooden baskets that fit neatly under the tv unit/sideboard thing we have. DS's room has lovely storage from GLTC, it's basically shelves with canvas baskets for toys. DD's room has the cheaper ikea version.

I've also just resigned myself to lowering my standards. Pre-DC there's no way I would have put up with the stained living room carpet, but now I look at it and think what's the point of replacing it, they'll just ruin it again.

It is more like our child rearranged our house. I have never been house proud, but now I solely focus on the basics. Make sure all surfaces are clean and nobody falls over in anything. Even with just one child you become very organised in terms of cleaning.

DS has just suggested we put all his toys (which totally overrun the house) into the loft, so that the Christmas decorations and toys can fit in. (DH must have put him up to it, so that we could lose half the toys accidentally.)

I used to make wonderful handmade Christmas decoration. Currently DS is colouring a purple angel and a pink Rudolph. Definitely a change for the better.

We'll only ever have our furniture re-upholstered when DS leaves home.

The change was not gradual. It was more like when a bus runs you over.

Our house once had a Heal's chic look about it... now it looks more like the Tikkabilla studio, but messier.

Trying to keep everything out of reach - how can someone so little stretch so far?!!

Messier, more washing, drying, pickingup, cooking, shopping...
Then as they get older (as mine have: 9, 10, 12) even more messy, messy, messy, even more washing/ drying/cooking/ shopping/ picking-up & everything is MUCH MUCH bigger. Oh how did my lovely home of 13 years ago ever come to this never ending tip!

I clean more but the house is messier.
Toys and kids books have replaced dvd's, adult books and nice clear spaces
Everything is moved higher at regular intervals
I hoover and sweep/mop far more regularly

Wouldn't change a thing

We havnt changed things in terms of re-arranging furniture or moving items, the kids have just learned what they can and can't touch. There's MUCH more 'stuff' around... Toys, Baskets of baby essentials stashes in various places. Having a 7 month old and 3 month old means we have a lot of big items in places making it look really cluttered (Jumperoo, baby walker, bouncer chair, horrid huge train track in the living room) but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Re-decorating is an absoloute waste of time as dirty handprints appear in seconds... We need a new sofa but won't buy one until the youngest is 3. Our current one is leather so great for wiping kiddy stuff off of.

Having a child has been good for me, because I was a total slut of a cleaner before.

My house has always been untidy (I like to call it lived in) but now although it's untidy still, it is a different sort of untidy. A sort of teeny-tiny-animally-thingies-all-over-the-place untidy.

We did do a swap round when dd was born, and the biggest bedroom became hers (to accommodate the hideously primary coloured ginormous plastic tat that came with her.) (hmm, on reflection, maybe the teeny-tiny-animal-thingies are not so bad)

I don't think I'll ever sleep soundly again if I haven't got a babywipe in the house though. I don't wipe babies with them anymore, but I use them for a quick whizz round the bathroom taps, flush etc.

I will not lie on my deathbed thinking I should have mopped more, that's for sure. But I do mop more than I did.

Pre-kids i used to be quite obsessive about housework and loved to have a clean and tidy house. Now with 3 kids i realise that a tidy house is not that important after all, there will be plenty of time to clean up when my kids have grown up and flown the nest. Time is precious and you can never get it back :-)