I Want to Know the Secret of Keeping a Clean House with Children.....

Flylady.net. Saved my sanity. Also, remember, it doesn't have to be PERFECT, just better than it was. I have three little ones, two teenagers and six adults, so better is as good as it ever gets.

I found that the easy way to keep it neat is to do it at night before bed and to limit toys being in the living area of the house. I wish my husband even knew where I keep the vaccuum. Try to get rid of as much as you can. let me know how it goes.

hi A., i have three at home, but it's easier to for me to do my chores doing the day now because they are all in school. before that, my children are old enough to help with chores, so they help mommy. in your case; do you have anyone, like a sister or aunt that would be willing to watch your daughter while you do chores? that can be really helpful. only do you laundry on days off. try using paper plates to cut down on the amount of dishes you wash. when cleaning your bathrooms; it's best to really only do that when your daughter is out off the house, because the chemicals we use to clean with are very strong. the smell alone would be bad for her. my kids can't even breathe in it. so, i clean my bathrooms while they are not here. it's good your hubby helps out. some husbands won't even help their wives with the chores; my hubby is also a big help for me. we share duties around the house, and he is the only one working. between you guys, split the workload. it will all work out.

With my husband and I both working full time we decided to get a cleaning lady. And it has been AMAZING! At first we had her come once a month, but now with two little ones (4yrs and 1yr), me working part time and my husband full it has been great. It is a small expense and well worth it.

All of the other comments were great too. I have baskets and buckets for toys and generally have a very neat house as my husband and I are kinda neat freaks. I am constatnly picking up and keeping tidy as well as sweeping or swiffing after every meal.

Having someone come in and do the major stuff, like floors and dusting helps alot. We even "split" the house up so every time she comes she does a more detailed clean of one section of the house, like base boards!

I have been told that I have the cleanest house that they have every seen, I clean right when I get up in the morning after I feed the kids. I get my 4 yr old busy and lay the baby back down around 10 for his morning nap and it only takes me about an hour to clean the entire house. If I see that something like the floor or under the fridge that hasent been cleaned in a while, I do those things that day and save the usual for another. Then the next day I clean like I usually do and for the next few days all I have to do is just pick up and do minor things.But it helps alot that I do it in the morning so I dont have to worry about cleaning all day, then I pick up at night before I go to bed. Sometimes..not all the time...usually when I have somewhere to go early next morning and know Ill be tired when I get home, I will clean at night while the kids are asleep..minus their rooms I clean so when I come back home from whereever I had to go the house is clean which makes me feel relaxed, Ill lay the kids down and get a couple of hours of relaxation.

All of us Moms are busy always with the house cleaning. Today I am going to give some of the unused clothes away. Everything that stays in your house without being used for 1 year, give it away! It is all making our house challenging to clean! As everyone said, the less stuff you have the less headache you will have! Especially all the paperwork and the mail, it is something else, I bougt a file cabinet to get rid of all the mess and the papers that are all over the place. It takes time to start but it is worth it later! Another tip, I learned is that when you spend time cleaning try to keep up with it! means I spent two hours cleaning the house for example Wednesday, then monday it will take me 20 minutes to put everything in place again! do not leave things messy for longer times, that way they will pile up making you feel that it is impossible to clean again and you donno where to start from! Good Luck!

FlyLady.net is the best! Like the other two said it will change your life if you give it a chance! I use to not be able to keep up with my house and I stayed at home!!Give it a try!

FlyLady.net will change your life !!

I love her and it really works

Just do babysteps and FLY

Good luck to you

One tip I could give you is to use baskets for toys. I am some what of a neat freak and what I have found works best are baskets for my 2 year old son's toys. I have a basket for books I keep under the coffee table in the great room, and 2 for those knick knack toys. I don't care if he dumps the whole basket when he plays because I know they will all go right back and look neat when he's done. One little saying I try to keep from my aunt is.. There's a place for everything, and everything has it's place. I don't know if I have helped but your not alone...

when you find out let me know! aren't they fast at destroying a room as soon as it has been tidied up? I've tried to get them to clean up their own messes- sometimes it works, but when all else fails I pull out the garbage bag and start "throwing" their things away. When the kids start to help they get their things back. I'd try making a game of it with your little girl, see if she can be like mommy and clean up. Or with my son tossing toys into the basket was a big hit-way to dangerous now at 4 he has a heck of an arm!
Good luck!
Jen

I am a mother of two,at 23,and i am just starting to get it straight. I only give my children desiginated areas to play and make messes:both og thier bedrooms and the living room.To clean the rest of the house i try to clean the bathrooms when they take a bath(while i am near)and the other rooms when they take a nap or go to bed.Sometime thay help:putting away toys and wiping the windows.It does take alittle organization and practice but kids love to help.

Hi: I am C. and first time mommy, and well I identify with the "mess chaos" that children create. I've learnt that there is not remmedy to it until they understand orders from you. However, I have experience from friends and myself is that making the family rooms the center of all activities including yours and your husband's will keep your little one next to you. Thus, the mess will only concentrate in one room and not around the house, since children want to be near people all the time. Pick a room where you keep toys, T.V and have a space for eating snacks at least, in this way, you'll see how your little baby gets used to having that rooms as his/her favorite spot. It worked for me, and I've seen it working for other friends too.

Hi A.,

A clean house isn't easy to keep with a young child, especially an active one. I break it down into days. My 3 year old is very active and very messy. I have learned that everday I'm having to clean up after her. Since I'm a full time student and I work full time also, it's hard to keep up with housecleaning. My husband isn't very helpful since he works 10 hours shifts 4 days a week and stays exhausted with the heat. So I've learned to break the housework into days. Mondays I'll clean my room (which is also my daughter's room). Tuesdays I'll clean the bathrooms. Wednesdays I wash clothes and clean the living room. Thursdays I clean the Den and Dining room (since they are pretty simple to clean). And Fridays I clean whatever room is left. Saturdays are for cleaning the ferret cage litter box and for relaxing. Sundays I wash clothes for the beginning of the week. Your house won't stay clean all the time, but it will make things a little better so you won't just clean clean clean all day everyday. Break it down for now and then as your child gets older it will be less mess for you. Hope this helps.
~R.~

Most people think that I am crazy because of this, but I like to mop at night.That way I can move the stuff that needs moving and when I sweep, I don't have to worry about my son trying to walk through the stuff I have swept up. He is 21 months old.I try to wash small loads of cloths each day so it doesn't get piled up where you have 2 loads of each. I really wish that I knew the "secret" myself. I will get the house ice and clean and feel like I have it together and then boom! How do I get back to that groove? It is tough and if someone emails you the "secret", please pass it along.haha.I think that is something that all of us struggle with.

I know how you feel also. I have a 4 year old, an 18 month old, and a 6 month old. I am a stay-at-home mom myself but I still feel like the house is never really clean. But I have learned that if you can to start early in the morning it will make things better and that you don't feel like you clean all the time. I have been teaching my 4 year old and 18 month to pick up their toys and put them where they belong. Its easier for the 4 year old. I am trying to teach them that if they help me then I can play with them more. I am constantly washing clothes and dishes. But I notice that when they take naps, I get alot more of the work done without interruption. When my husband gets home, he makes the dinner most of the time plus he goes to clean an office. Cleaning the office really doesn't take alot of time to do. he is a great help when it comes to cleaning. I feel bad about it sometimes with him working all the time but he says he doesn't mind. Also realize that nobody thinks your house should be spotless. Just take your time and do what you can.

Check out Flylady.net

I belong to a local moms club and we're having someone speak about how to clean up your house in 15 minutes! It covers a lot of subjects, such as how to get rid of clutter. Check it out!

when you learn this please share, i work full time too, i just have to constantly stay on top of it, and i am so unorganized too, your husband will have to help, the 13 month old is not making near the mess as a 2 or 3 year old so start now!

This can be hard! I have a 14 month old daughter so I know where you're coming from. FlyLady has helped me out - http://www.flylady.com
Basically, the point is that you have daily "chores" that you do so that way nothing gets overlooked or out of control.
I am still a work in progress, but it has helped tremendously!

Hi A.,

The first thing I want you to do is to stop running yourself down!! You are NOT a slob! Any woman who can work 12 hour shifts is not a slob!
You have a family! You have a small whirl-wind in your house that can toss things on the floor faster than you can pick it up. We have all been there, you are not alone in this! (my neighbor calls her 2 small children her "hyper-diapers")
Here is one solution to the messy house routine. Put half of the childs toys away, in a box in your closet where she cannot find them. Half of the toys is half of the clutter. In 6 months you switch out what is left in her room for the ones in your closet and she will think it's christmas! All "new" toys! WoW!

Now do the same in the kitchen, put rarely used utensils, like a pastry cutter, grapefruit slicer, soup ladels, etc in a box up on a high shelf. Make yourself put away half of the stuff in your drawers. Less stuff is less mess.
Now, every thing that you have HAS to have it's very own place. "A place for everything and everything in it's place" is the old rule. It is easy to clean if you know where it goes on the first try!
Let me know if this helps!

You are in my prayers.
W.

At least your husband does SOMETHING...Mine makes matters worse...The only time since my 3 yr old son was born that my house has been really clean and neat is when I was a stay-at-home mom, and didn't have to work at all...Even when I started to work part-time, everything fell apart...My husband is with our son more now at home, and he just lets him tear the place apart...I need help too!!!

I feel your pain. I work 3 12's at a hospital as well and I have 3 kids--a 4 year old daughter and twin boys that just turned 1. I have the same problem. We live in a small house as it is and with the boys, we have 2 of EVERYTHING! They just had their birthday party last week and of course my house is just crazy from all of the toys. My husband complains constantly. I don't feel that we're nasty--I don't have roaches or dirty diapers laying around. I just have clutter. My solution at this point is to have a yard sale (which I am doing very soon) and move into a bigger house with more storage space! =) I know I probably wasn't any help but I just wanted to let you know that you're not the only one!

This is going to sound crazy but, I hired someone to clean my home. she only charges $50.00 and she comes every two weeks to do detailed cleaning only. I good is better towards my family and i am less stressed. ave up 2 dinners out a month to pay her and it is well worth it. I only make 24,000 dollars a year .. so if I can pay it ANYONE can. Also, I assign tasks for my kids to help me with each day , eve my two year old can take things to his room!!!