Tell me? how do you keep a clean house!?!?

[Serena]

I guess telling you to stop looking at the mess isn't what you had in mind???

 

[crazymomof4]

Oh Lord this is a sore spot for me! I used to be a neat freak....that was 4 kids ago. This, not sleepless nights, homework, sibling rivalry or anything else has been the biggest challenge to me as a parent. I've just had to adjust my mind to the fact that the house will have that "lived in look" (read: messy) most of the time while I still have young ones. When I clean it lasts for such a short time that it doesn;t seem worth it. It's so bad that when I'm expecting company after I clean the glass top tables in the living room I put bath towels over them and then as the company is pulling up in front of the house, I whip off the towels and shove them under the couch. If I didn't do this they would only stay clean for about 5 minutes! Cleaning a house while you have kids in it is like shoveling snow while it is still snowing!

The other day I was really making some unusual headway with my cleaning and my son innocently asked, "Who's coming over?" I gave him a look that singed his hair.

Older moms keep telling me, "Someday your house will be clean again but your babies will be gone. Enjoy the kids while they are with you

I wish I could offer some really great advice. I have a book called Secrets of an Organized Homemaker. I know there are great tips in there but I don't have time to read it......I'm too busy doing laundry and CLEANING!

 

[binny]

LOL

I *did* hear a great tip the other day, they said to clean your bathrooms then put car wax on everything, that way the soap scum doesnt stick and the water just beads right off. They also said it should last for MONTH thats MY kind of cleaning!!!

 

[Spinning]

WOW! Lots of people are just like me!! Makes me feel much better....but the only thing I don't get if so many people have this problem why do I always seem to find the friends who have the neatest homes? LOL!
Well today is a beautiful day outside so heck with the mess I am going to stay outside all day!

 

[eeyoreforever]

My house has not been clean since I had my first dd 10 years ago. It is definitely a losing battle. I have a friend with 2 dd and her house is always spotless. She doesn't have much "stuff" sitting around and her kids are not allowed to bring anything downstairs from their room or the playroom. I hate to say this becuase I love my friend dearly, but when I go to her house, I feel like I am in a builders Model House. When I get home to my very messy house, I feel good (at least for a few minutes). It is definitely a lived in house-not a showcase. I am so glad to hear that so many others have sloppy husbands as well as kids. Someone posted that nobody ever puts anything back (tape etc.). I had the same problem so now I have my own tape, scissors, marker etc that I keep in a cabinet above the stove. Nobody is allowed to use it but me, so I only have myself to blame if it isn't where it is supposed to be.

 

[clutter]

My cute cleaning service story....

Two of the three times they've come, now, my 6 year old dd looked at me and said "gee, mom, I'm sorry, but they're better at this than you."

Exactly.

 

[CookieGVB]

Originally posted by crazymomof4
Cleaning a house while you have kids in it is like shoveling snow while it is still snowing!

The other day I was really making some unusual headway with my cleaning and my son innocently asked, "Who's coming over?" I gave him a look that singed his hair.

Thanks for my laugh of the morning!! It sounds so familiar - I'm glad I'm not alone.

 

[crazymomof4]

Originally posted by Spinning:

but the only thing I don't get if so many people have this problem why do I always seem to find the friends who have the neatest homes? LOL!

You need to get new friends... messy ones!
Seriously, ALL of my honest friends and I are in the same boat. If someone w/ kids has a neat house all the time then they must be spending the WHOLE day doing that and NOT doing something that I am, like baking or coloring w/ my kids or gardening. There is only 24 hours in the day and I refuse to spend all of my waking hours cleaning...it's just not balanced!

 

[jsmith]

I have stopped even worring about it-I know that the mess isn't going anywhere-but I get a finite number of basketball games, baseball games and track meets to cheer at. I work 50+ hours a week, and do 20+ loads of laundry. DH owns keeping the bathrooms clean and with two teenagers I haven't washed a dish in years. We have a family clean on Satuerday mornings-everyone pitches in and we dust, vacum and mop. Beyond that-it gets left for "spare time" no one ever seems to have

 

[jamsmom]

I think it is unnatural to want a clean house Of course, we do have someone that comes in every 2 weeks.

Cleanliness is NOT next to godliness. What to know why? If you spend all your time cleaning, you aren't spending it building relationships.


Like my rationalization?

 

[phins_jazy]

A clean house, with a 4 yo, a dog, a dh who works ft and me working pt while watching dd everyday.......yeah right!!!

 

[christinou]

I do try to keep the house picked up because I cannot stand clutter, but working full times, with 2 kids, and baseball season right now, wich means games 4 nights a week, the house really does not get cleaned, dishes are always done, things are put away, I always fold laundry when I wash TV, but no dusting, or anything else like that.....
As others have say before, the kids will grow up quickly, I will have plenty of time for a clean house then.

 

[yoopermom]

When I was young and naive, all I wanted was to get married and have a BIG house with lots of bathrooms. Now, at the wise old age of 35, I think, "NO WAY, think how much more I'd have to clean!"

But seriously, my mom says light candles, get out the wine, and nobody will care!
Terri

 

[Kallison]

My house was spotless when I was a SAHM. Now that I'm working 33 hours per week it is so-so. I do at least two loads of laundry per week, try to vacuum once per week (which isn't enough with hairy lab), mop the floors every couple of weeks, do a quick run through of the bathrooms. I don't worry about it too much any more, life is too short. I figure when the kids grow up and move out my house will be perfect again and then I will miss the mess.

 

[denisem]

Originally posted by Kallison
I figure when the kids grow up and move out my house will be perfect again and then I will miss the mess.

I'm sorry! Y'all can banish me forever, but I can't resist...

Beware of the day you may have an elderly female parent live with you! (I'm working on my 2nd) LOL

Y'see, when they hit their 80's they can't see so well, and you know how they want to feel *needed* and cook & bake and stuff? And then can't see ALL the spots/mess they leave behind?

I was vacillating between wanting to SCREAM -and- feeling guilty...so I compromise by saying (out loud sometimes, around other family members) "screw it, anyone doesn't like the way our house looks, THEY can come over and help clean it". So far...no takers.

Denise < --- childless by choice and figgers this is god's way of gettin' even with me