Sahm's- When Do You Clean?

I am with Delilah! Cleaning is the last thing I do before I expect the husband to get home.

This makes me feel better sometimes.
A quote to think about...
"Cleaning the house while the kids are still growing,
is like shoveling the walk when it hasn't stopped snowing"

=)

I clean up like 30 minutes before I expect my husband to be arriving home, lol. So when he comes home, the place is clean, besides that, the house is always a mess.

I just do what I can, when I can. I've got 3 girls, ages 4 months to 4.5 years and yeah, as I'm putting something away, the older two are dragging something new out! So before each meal we do a whirlwind toy-tidy so it's not THAT bad at the end of the day. It helps.

I just accept the fact that my house is going to be messy and 'lived in' until they move out, and focus more on the dusting, sweeping, *actual* cleaning stuff.

LOL story of my life! I get to the most important first. Laundry, dishes, cleaning the table where we eat and the bathroom. After that its what I can when I can! Its hard, because I like a clean house, but with two little ones you just have to accept that it wont be clean for long. Just enjoy your kids and worry about cleaning later :)

My house was an absolute mess all the time until 1) I hired a cleaning crew AND 2) all the kids were in school full time. So for many years, my home was very cleanliness challenged. Now, I have cleaners come in every two weeks on Monday mornings. That way, between noon and 3:35 (when the first kid gets home) my house is absolutely clean. Of course, within 1/2 hour of all the kids being home, it's a zoo again and I spot clean for the next two weeks, but for those 3hrs 35 minuts it's sheer bliss!

I don't know if you ever "keep up"! lol
I just try my best to make sure we don't get typhoid....j/k
Try www.flylady.net

You kind of have to accept the fact that it's not all gonna be "done" at the same time.

I have my kids pick up! They are 3 and 5... your oldest is old enough to help pick up. Mine pick up before lunch, and again before daddy gets home, and if we leave for somewhere like the library, they have to put toys away then too. I actually enjoy sweeping and do this maybe twice a day (our whole home is basically hard floors).

When my husband comes home from work, he helps me put the house together again, and helps with the kids nighttime routine so I get to relax a few hours. After the boys are down to bed, I get this crazy energy rush and do most of the cleaning. But I'm a night owl that way.

One thing I've found, is when I actually declutter the home and donate lots of clutter/toys/clothes/knick knacks to goodwill, then clean up is much easier.

As a mom of children 31, 26 and 21 years old....Please read this well. My mom showed this to me when my kids were still kids. I cannot believe how this little poem changed my life. Enjoy you children. In just a few short years, you will give up your right arm to see them be children again. Trust me... I know.

Babies Don’t Keep
By Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due,
Lullabye, rockaby, lullabye loo.
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo,
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo,
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs;
Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

God Bless

We pick up all day...cleaning is another thing. I do a little here and there when I can. Sweep when the kids are playing, mop after they go to bed or when my youngest isn't up yet, wipe down sink, counter, and stove right after every meal, wipe down bathroom while I'm in there or the kids are in the tub. I do not have a schedule unless we are expecting non-immediate family.
Just think, at your funeral someday no one will every say, "Wow! She kept an immaculate house!"

I do housework early in the morning before everyone wakes up or right after bfast. But please note I am an early bird - I am up by 5am and my kid doesn't get up until 7:30am or even later. So I have alot of free time in the mornings.

I keep a schedule: Mon-laundry, Tue - dust upstairs, Wed - dust downstairs, Thur-bathrooms, Fri - floors. It probably takes me an hour or less each day, unless its laundry day. I like my method b/c I am only using one cleaning tool each day. As shortcut for me is keeping a basket of supplies under each bathroom sink (so I don't have to lug around the same basket on bathroom days, and I can wipe things down while my kid is taking a bath/shower). I also keep 2 vaccum cleaners - one for upstairs and one for downstairs. On laundry days, I never leave the laundry room unless I at least fold what I pull out of the dryer.

I always rinse dishes as I use them throughout the day and make a stack in the sink and then I load the dishwasher right after dinner. I don't spend anytime scrubbing unless something needs soaking.

As for books/toys, your child is old enough to learn to start putting things away as they are being played with. If he takes out a book, teach him to put it back before getting out a new one, etc. This is what they have the 2-3 yr old kids do at my son's preschool do. I kept a few large baskets of books/toys and each day we would pull out a basket and that's what my kid played with that day. And he was only allowed to play w/his toys in his room or playroom. At the end of the day, we just tossed everything in the basket and put the basket up. The next day I pulled out a different basket. I guess the trick for me was not making ALL his toys available all the time, each and every day. We always clean up right before bedtime, so when he finally went down for the night, the house was cleaned and toy free, for the most part.

HTH & GL!

I'm with Delilah and Beth. I have a 8 month old and a 2 year old. I try to keep the living room clean and the kitchen. I'm happy to have at least the dishes done and the legos off the ground :) cleaning after kids is a never ending chore, but my toddler is getting close to the age where he helps me at times. I also try to limit the amount of toys that out and cycle them around do that they are interested in them. This way, they seem intrested in the small amount of toys in the living room, and their room stays clean for a little longer. :)

The only thing I can suggest is to get your three year old involved by picking up his toys and/or designating a play area for him/her. You can also give him/her a dust cloth and make a game out of being tidy.

Put them down for the same nap time.....You rest for the first 30 - 40 minutes and then try to get things done that you can't when they are awake.

I am messy by nature and truly admire people who can keep up!

Blessings....

I used to crazy clean at naptime and after dinner. Now that Im pregnant, I nap at naptime too! And now look what Im doing after dinner! lol. My house is pretty messy!! I hope I get my enegry back soon!

I clean all day, in little bunches (5 mins here 10 mins there).
For rooms that wont get messed up (kitchen, bathroom, my bedroom, and spare room) if there is cleaning to be done I try to do it early or throughout the day.
For the living room and my daughters bedroom (the rooms that get trashed)I leave it until right before she goes to bed..and I ask her to help.
The one thing I never seem to catch up on...laundry...blech!
Good Luck!

I clean & pick up everyday it is much easier to have a clean home that is neat & tidy than to have a dirty home with toys all over laundry not done dishes in the sink that just takes to much time & gets overwhelming that is why I don't let it get that way.
Get rid of what you don't need don't use broken or out grown then organzie you'll see a huge differnce in what a few changes can do for you & your home

We have a house cleaner that comes once a week. It helps so much.

flylady.com. It will change your life.

Please, please, PLEASE check out flylady.net as mentioned earlier! The great attitude on the site has not only rubbed off on me, but now my almost 4 yo is better about putting toys away because "we take care of our toys because we are so grateful to have them". I don't come close to doing everything around the house, but overall everything is much cleaner/picked up and I spend less time cleaning. It also gets a little easier as they get older I think. My youngest is now almost 18 mos and things seem cleaner around here :) Good luck, you are definitely not alone in your struggles!!

I have a two year old and a five year old. I wrote down a schedule for myself and stick to that. Everyday I clean up the kitchen and do the dishes. I also try to empty the dishwasher first thing, it makes keeping up with the dishes throughout the day much easier if I can just throw it in the machine. Thursday is laundry day. Friday I vacuum the house and scrub the bathrooms. Etc. This way the house is clean (maybe messy, but clean) and I am not scrubbing all day. My hubby has a 20 -30 minute commute. He calls before leaving work. That's when the kids have to pick up all their toys from the living room. Bedrooms get picked up before bedtime, it has become part of our routine. The kids also have a few small chores that help me out. My 5 year old clears the table after dinner and picks up the mail. Recently he's gotten big enough to take out the garbage, which I let him do if it's safe (Not too heavy, no broken glass). My 2 year old picks up the random clothes around the house and puts them in the hamper. She also clears the table after lunch (the kids eat on a small table and use plastic dishes). Seems like small chores, but it's one less thing that I have to do.

Hi T.,

I have a 3 yr old and a 3 month old, so pretty much in the same boat. If you are talking about cleaning up the kids stuff, I try to do that a couple of times a day as we are playing and have the 3 yr old help.
If you are talking about actual housework, it gets done a little at a time. The way our house is laid out, I can clean our kitchen (except for the floors) while the kids are in the LR playing. Ditto for our downstairs bath. It's close to were the kids spend time, so I pop in there and clean while they are distracted by something else. Our upstairs bath is a little harder because of location to were the kids like to be. If they are awake, it gets done one thing at a time and can take all day to clean the whole thing. If they are asleep or if my husband is home in the evening, I can knock it out pretty quickly. I basically just work what I need to do around what the kids are doing, so sometimes I have to wait until my husband is home to get it done. And it almost always feels like I just get things clean and there is a mess....

So many moms said the same thing I say...make sure things like the kitchen and bathrooms are cleaned at least once a week and take time to color, play make-believe, and build things with your children coz that's what's important. As they get older you can enlist their help and train them to care about a neat home, but for now treasure the little time you have with them.

I clean whenever I can, when they give me a second and I am not doing something else I clean.
I use to put baby in bumbo seat and in the room I was cleaning with a few toys and put a movie on for the older one (2- 2.5 at the time). Have the 3.5 year old help, my 3 year old loves to pretend vaccum and sweep (I got him his own little broom and dust pan).
Now (19 months and 3) I usually put on their favorite movie/s and rush around the house like a mad man and get as much done as I can two -three days a week. And dishes and laundry daily. You've got to figure out what works best for you try any idea and make it your own perfect for you and your family. And if your hubby can ask him to do like one thing a day or even a few things a week. Good Luck.

I clean all day basically, but i dont reccomend this. And it does only stay that way for 5 minutes. So when we have a party im cleaning up to the minute people walk in because if i clean earlier, it will be a mess by the time anyone comes. Im gonna check out fly lady since so many said that. My way is a pain and seems like im constantly celaning and going in circles. Between my husband, 3 kids and a dog, its an on going process, unfotunately.

I have a 4 year old and 8 year old.
I clean everyday.
I power clean.
Upstairs and downstairs.

Sure it gets messed up 1 minute later. But when I clean I also organize. And sure even if I am tired.

Next, your eldest child, can and should start to learn how to 'help' and clean too. Per his age. It won't be perfect, but the main thing is they get the concept of 'helping' the family. And trying their best.
They cannot clean a whole room, but he can help by putting away, or taking things back to the kitchen. His cup or bowl. Or wiping a table. Small stuff.

Everyday, I tell my kids it is clean up time. And they get wipes and wipe things or put it back in the kitchen or toy box. Sure it will be taken out again, but the main thing is, that they learn how to PARTICIPATE in the family and in the daily routines. Too.

Just do what you can.
Do the major cleaning when Husband is home and can mind the kids. Then you do the major cleaning. That is a Dad's job too. To help.

Make a list on a poster and hang it up somewhere, and on it write down what needs to be done.
And for who, should be doing it. Even your Husband.

There's an app for the iPod called Motivated Moms. This app is a "pre-planned checklist of chores that allows you to have a clean, organized home and still have time for yourself. No need for huge cleaning days - just do the chores, check them off and you are done for the day!"

I think app was $10.
Here's their website: http://motivatedmoms.com/

Good luck!

Another vote for www.flylady.net. Babysteps. 15 minutes a day. Enjoy your children while they are children. Check her out now!

good question! after struggling with the same thing I finally resolved to live with the mess. Rather than trying to stick to a cleaning schedule or doing the whole house at once or even one room or floor per day, I now just clean for five or ten minutes at a time whenever I get the chance, cleaning whatever is most in need at that moment. And then I just live with it a little messier than it used to be. All in all I'm happier this way.

I organize things in a way that it is easier. I put 1/3 of the toys away out of reach and rotate them throughout the month. No one gets bored this way. I only clean them all up twice or three times a day(once before lunch, or dinner, and once before bed . I only keep a box of toys and a table in the living room, a storage ottoman filled with toys in my bedroom, this way that mess is localized to each room. Your oldest can help you clean, he/she is old enough to help. if other kids come over they are responsible for their own mess.

This is easier for me because i have an 8 year old that responds well to threats of toys being taken away....:)

I clean all day... LOL start one thing after another, get distracted, feel like im running around in circles. I get most of it done in the early morning tho, as the day wears on it gets harder. I clean up the dishes & toys before I go to bed. It rarely looks clean in my house, despite all of it- I vacuum at least once a day... someone suggested "flylady" to me on here, I now manage to keep my sink shining LOL its hard. I also limit whats available, like the number of dishes etc so it doesnt pile up. Mess gives me anxiety so its a constant battle that I rarely ever win :)

Well I clean all day in spurts. I have an 8 yo 5 yo and 1 yo. So the living room is a mess all day but I straighten at night so I don't wake to a mess in the morning. I vacum everyday sometimes twice we have a dog so sometimes I feel like her hair is everywhere. Laundrey everyday atleast one load or it gets overwhelming. Dust once a week. clean the bathroom a couple times a week(my boys are pigs) Scrub floors one or two times a week,hardwood floors are a pain in the butt. I however do not clean my kids room they do it while I direct and have since my oldest was about 4. You are probably busier than me though I have one at home and helpers with him when the big boys get home...like play with him while I go throw a load in ...