Keeping house tidy

@wh2 My house is pretty tidy, not perfect but it's good enough. I also live in a very small apartment and I don't have a lot of stuff, which really helps. It's easier to keep tidy when you don't have a lot of stuff.
 
@katrina2017 This is probably true. But it just seems like every time I clean up one mess there are 10
More. Every time my 1 year old eats a meal or a snack it’s like a tornado happened
 
@wh2 My kids are both tornado eaters. 1 and 2. I can't remember the last time my floors were clean. The only version of cleaning them I can manage on a daily basis is letting my dog lick everything up. My house is so dirty it makes me cry but I don't have any energy left by the end of the day to do anything more than dishes.
 
For those of you that do have a tidy house, can you share your tips? And kids ages? And if you have paid help (babysitters or help with childcare, if you stuck them in front of the TV? house cleaners, partner helps or works from home, etc)
 
@wh2 So, for starters, the pandemic helped me out here because nobody would just "stop by." So no longer did I feel the houses needed to be in a guest ready state.

My kids are 7.5 and 4.

The family all agrees that there are certain things that need to be done for the Household. But extra chores can be assigned for allowance money.

We just had a conversation at the dinner table about how if everyone does a little bit, then everyone has more time to spend together. That really helped them understand they why.

So our oldest helps with some chores, which helps, and everyone has to clean up after themselves.

They don't always (or often do it) but we keep trying to hold onto that value so that when they're perfectly capable to do so, the expectation they will is already engrained.

But practical tips is that everything has a home.
Ikea bins etc. Throw stuff in there and slide it to the side. I like things to be better organized than that but it's just not worth it with kids.

I also let them suffer with the loss of misplacing something cherished. The amount of times I respond with "well, this is why I tell you to put stuff back when you're done..." is mind boggling.

tl;dr: invest in some organizing things like bins and lower your expectations for what is acceptable and keep encouraging the practice of everyone picking up after themselves (while also lowering the expectations they will until they're much older).
 
@wh2 I have one almost 2 year old, and pregnant with my 2nd. Also have 2 dogs. No paid help at all and my husband really just does the outdoor yard work.
I do one cleaning task each day, and usually try to get it done in the morning. Monday: vacuum (and mop if I can), Tuesday: bathroom, Wednesday: kitchen, etc. I don’t go crazy every time with a huge deep clean, sometimes it’s just wiping down the counters. But if I do a little something each day, it’s easier to maintain and nbd if I skip a day here and there. No screens. My little one plays around what I’m doing and sometimes I give him a feather duster or wash cloth to “help.” I try and time the bathroom clean around when he’s already in there playing with stuff in my drawers. Making him put away items once he gets them all out is ideal, and we’re still working on this.
Meal time tips: We sit down for every meal and snack (no cleaning up food around the house), and I give a hand-fed dessert item while I clean clean up dishes EVERY time. Usually dessert is just berries, applesauce, raisins, or yogurt melts. But it keeps his hands occupied while I load the dishwasher and clean any prep dishes. We run the dishwasher every night no matter if it’s only half full, and unload it with the toddler “helping” first thing in the morning.
I try and tidy up each room with him when we’re done so it doesn’t get out of hand.
I try so hard to do all this (and wash and fold laundry- maximum 1-2 loads a day) while he’s awake so that his downtime is just for me. I realize when my newborn arrives this will all get so much more difficult, but I’m gonna try my best to keep with the schedule.
 
@wh2 I'd say my house is always tidy, but not always clean haha. Here's my situation:

A 2yo, husband is a resident so works long days, no childcare or house help, minimal screen time. Often contact naps.

We go on some kind of outing every morning (park, library, errands). That really limits how messy the mornings get. 2yo and I usually tidy up together when my husband is on his way home (mess stresses him haha). We also tidy up after she's gone to bed and pick up big items to run our robot vacuum. That keeps the pet hair from taking over downstairs. If there's time, we encourage her to pick up before bed and before nap.

By tidying up takes maybe 5 mins? I have some toy shelves in the kitchen and living room. There's also a play mat in the living room by the shelves. I just scoop everything up and stick it on the shelves/mat. It's not some pretty Instagram shelf system haha

Shoes, jackets, and purses get stuffed back into the hutch by the door. Wine bottles get put back in the rack (she lines them almost daily?). But it goes really quickly.

My husband does bathtime after dinner while I clean up the dishes and wipe down the kitchen counters. Then I do the final tidy, give the dog her meds, little things like that. Then I put her to bed while husband reviews cases for the next day. Then we go to bed haha.

For real cleaning like bathrooms and floors, I wait till the weekend and have my husband take her to the park for a couple of hours. But tbh, some things get dirtier than they should haha.
 
@wh2 Ok girl, your kids are still so little and you’re pregnant! Most people in your situation don’t have spotless houses! Now that my kids are 10, 7, and almost 2 my house is way tidier because I have more time to clean. My older two are in school full time now and the toddler still take an afternoon nap. Plus I dedicate time on Saturdays to cleaning.

My number one tip is to own less stuff. The less stuff you have, the less stuff you have to clean. Get rid of clothes you don’t wear, toys that aren’t played with, kitchen tools you don’t use, etc. it’s a lot of work to go through everything but it makes life so much easier! And you won’t miss all the stuff!!
 
@wh2 You have two toddlers and you’ve just started your second trimester of pregnancy. A clean, pristine house is an insane standard to hold yourself to. You’re doing what you can.

We had two kids almost back to back, with SPD complications, and it was a good day if I was even able to stand up to use the bathroom without assistance. What I did in that time was focus on things that were absolutely necessary for the household to function: dishes and laundry. I had to take my time with everything else or get assistance from my husband/mom.
 
@wh2 I have a three year old and a 6 month old, 2 cats and 2 dogs. My house will be tidy again one day. I think if I just got rid of 50% of our stuff … the house would still be a mess, but it might look less disorganized… still, who has time to declutter with a baby?

I try to get things to a manageable/not stressful for me to live in state every night before bed, so that I can drink my morning coffee in a “clean” house.

I really recommend the book “how to keep house while drowning “ both for actionable tips and a lot of grace in the process.
 
@leslierenee56 Oh man twins 😅 chaos is a good way to describe it. LOL we do have baskets and bins and I store them away in our built in cabinets and rotate toy so just a few are out at a time - that helps! But man when they’re all together and the little pieces aren’t in their proper places that drives me nuts 😂 so I spend the time organizing it all.
 
@wh2 Hahaha. This sounds familiar.

I wrote this elsewhere but for me, letting go of the organizational urge helped a TON.

Now, I wait until they're in school and organize it every once in a while but only because I'm procrastinating on other projects lol.

That's my biggest recommendation (from my own personal experience): go easier on yourself and really truly permit yourself to give less f***ks, haha.
 
@wh2 I find the more time we spend at home, the messier our house becomes. You're coming and going, eating all your meals in your kitchen, using your bathroom more, and the kids are of course going to spend more time playing with their toys.
 
@wh2 Its 100% okay to end the day untidy. Things happen and the kids are the most important.

The biggest thing that helps me be efficient with cleaning time is robot vacuums. I just have to clear the path and then I can do something else like laundry or dishes while they vacuum.

Something else that has given me back a lot of time is Walmarts grocery delivery. Its like 20 a month or 130 for a year. Not having to wrangle the baby for those trips is amazing and I only have to make a trip to Costco occasionally to stock up on bulk items.
 
@wh2 My house is cleaner if we're out of it semi consistently. We struggle if we're home all day.

Even a 30 minute visit to library/park helps. Or the backyard. Something about all the time leaving the house eats up makes it better. Cause my toddler is still behaving like a toddler but also not just chaos. It's a struggle to put on shoes and an outfit, and grab the diaper bag and stroller and sunscreen - but it's a goal oriented struggle and the toys aren't being scattered, the toddler's just hiding in the corner trying to put on weather inappropriate shoes. The 15 minute power struggle, the 15 minutes of driving, 30 minutes of being at the activity or location and then 15 minutes back means that I have kept additional messes from forming for over an hour!

Planned curriculum/homeschooling also helps for me. Messiest play in our house is when she's free to do whatever.

Plus a robot vacuum at night. I just collect shit from the floors and schedule it to run. Usually when I clear the floors at night, I put things away, but it's very dependent on mood.

Some privileges I have that are important to note:
I have only one kid
I have a supportive partner who really does at 35% of all housework with me.
We have a yard, though not fenced in.
I have a small house (under 1000 sq ft), which means I don't keep a lot of toys.

I still struggle keeping up with laundry, and those bloggers aren't going to show you their weaknesses. It is impossible to do it all with littles, so either they have significant help or they're missing some thing else
 
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