Keeping a Neat House

Just to put in two more cents...
Try getting rid of stuff, it did wonders for my kids rooms!. Kids have to much STUFF anyway. Simplify, simplify, simplify..

It's kind of hard to keep up with work and the house work. Orginzation is keep, and works for us. Sometimes I cook things on my day off and refridgerate them for another day ( dishes that key well). Also getting the kids involved, cleaning rooms and after themselves. Clean up after a mess right after or doing something small adds up after awhile or helps. How to get them to do this? well that varries, allowence bribes ( just kiddin or maybe punishment. If every one pitches in it should make things easier.

Check out flylady.net! My sister told me about it. It works in baby steps and my house is cleaner than it has ever been and still working. Maybe it will work for you too! and it's free to join. Good Luck

Check out the book "401 ways to get your kids to work at home"... and look into having a thorough house cleaning professionally done once every month or two. Typically, once it's done, it only takes 15 minutes a day to keep it that way. Having everything where you can find it saves 4 times that much just in searching.

Good Luck

Hi I work full time and hubby is deployed right now (military) we have a 6 and 9 yr old...who has ADHD/ODD
My kids have chore charts. actually all of our names are on it LOL
I list what all 4 of us are expected to do to help run the house. I explain that they live here so they need to help. Mom can't do it all.
When I have a shower, I clean as I go... I shower then clean the bathroom and put my stuff away once I'm done with it. dirty clothes belong in the hamper, towels belong on the rail etc etc
When home work is done, we put away what we nolonger need. As I'm cooking dinner I clean the kitchen, stack and unstack the dishwasher, I do 1 or 2 loads of laundry a day, put one in the washer in the am before work, come home put it in the dryer, put another one in while that one is drying and then dry that while we eat dinner. When I do the drying, I fold and put into the persons pile. That person has to put their clothes in their room. My 9 year old puts his away, my 6 year has help with the clothes that need hanging.. but she puts away undies , socks and tshirts. they're not allowed to leave the pile on their dresser... as it stays there!! I'm teaching them to be responsible for their own rooms and their belongings
Every night my kids are expected to pick up what they've used. We also have a rule, if you play with something and you're done it needs to be put away. They have the same standards at school. I also have a rule, if it can be done now... do it! so if Ihave dishes, I rinse them straight away... if I see something that isn't in its "home" then it gets put away... or I say to the kids..oh look somethings not in its "home" where does it live?? we make it fun not dull.
I do set aside saturday afternoon (after cartoons) to clean and put things away... most often I say to the kids, ok, do you want to straighten now (friday) and go do something saturday? or shall we just clean saturday?? I usually get do it now!!!

The other thing my mom passed down to me... was if you do a little everyday it doesn't pile up and overwhelm you!

The major thing I did with the kids rooms was.. I told them that they needed to weed out their toys... most of them weren't being played with, we had broken missing toys and parts.
SO I got 3 large rubbermaids and said #1 was toys to keep #2 was toys togive away #3 was toys broken or parts of toys that we had no clue where the other part was
I got my kids to sort out their toys... I was surprised how generous they were... my 6 year old put alot that she didn't play with anymore in the tub and said mom lets give them to kids that have no toys. My 9 year old suggested we take them to the Fisher house for kids that were sick. So we did. I took both kids with me and they gave away those toys and you should have seen my kids faces when they had other children of their age say thank you.... and see how sick they were. It taught them a great lesson.. that they wouldn't have had the chance before to learn.
We also have a "its gonna go box" where if things are left after being told to pick it up... it goes in there, and its given a week... if noone claims it, then it either gets recycled (onbase thrift store or base hospital) or it goes in the trash! and Everyone (inclding hubby) knows mom means business!! I warn them.... ok there is stuff in the "its gonna go box" who wants to claim it??? if I get... I dunno, or its not mine! I give them one more warning and then its gone! It has taught my kids and hubby that I'm not at their beck and call, my job is important both at work and at home! It also teaches them to have pride in their rooms and their home! This also means I'm not chasing my tail everyday and I actually do have time to sit and relax!! I even get to watch TV without thinking, I should be do this or that!

Opps sorry for the long post, but our home used to be a mess where I'd DREAD people coming over... now its managable, I have help from both kids and when hubby is home, him too.
You have to be consistant, clean as you go and set up rules and chores and EVERYONE has to stick to them

Good luck! (it can be done... and if you do it yourself think of the money you save rather than have someone come in and clean!!!) also think of what you are teaching your kids and what standards they will have for themselves as they grow and leave the nest!!

Are the kids cared for in your home? When I worked out of the home our house stayed pretty clean because nobody was there to mess it up during the day. Of course, we only had one kid back then (we have 3 now).

Your kids are old enough, imo, to clean their own rooms. That should be one of their chores. Perhaps an allowance would help encourage them?

I'd just try to pick the house up in the evenings after the kids go to bed and then leave the house before it can get messed up again. LOL.

I feel your pain! I am a full time student and my hubby is army and it is so hard to keep the housework caught up, the only thing I found that works is a cleaning lady. If you look around you can find a really great price and get a clean house!
Good luck!

http://flylady.net/

Check it out.

This has saved my home. My sister pointed me in her direction close to 3 years ago and I thank her for it everyday (we both fly now). Baby steps, 15 min. at a time and I no longer live in C.H.A.O.S. (can't have anyone over syndrom) Check it out and she has a Yahoo group you can join that takes you step by step day by day. Your house didn't get that way over night and it won't get clean over night either.

I can totally relate as we both work full time and our house becomes "instant mess" in a matter of seconds. We have a designated cleaning day and children are assigned chores. Your children are old enough to help out and hubby should show support for this (as well as help too).The younger ones could be responsible for picking up toys in their room or wherever they have left them, to even fluffing the pillows on the couch. If you make it into a challenge/game, it makes it more fun. See who can pick up the most toys in 5 mins. For the bigger cleaning jobs, I list those on slips of paper and one chore is picked at random and everyone pitches in to help. I schedule those kind of events quarterly...cleaning out the garage; cleaning out closets; shampooing carpets,etc... Because I like my weekends free to spend quality time with the kids, I do a specific chore each day, so I am not overwhelmed on the weekends. This has worked for me for MANY years now. Good Luck!!

I would say have the kids help by getting some boxes and have them help you put the toys in them. Take one day on the weekend and make a game out of it. I know the last thing you want to do on the weekend is clean but have fun with it.

WOW, U R busy. My best advise is to have the kids be responsible for their own items. My husband & I both work full time also. My children have been doing their own laundry since they were 3 & 5. They make their bed in the morning 97% of the time. I just try to instill in them that I am not the maid and can't do it all so they are more than willing to pitch in and help out.

Hi. I have three children ages 9, 4 and 3. I have chores for my 9 and 4 year olds. One of them is to pick up their room everyday. I try to convince them this is better than waiting until you cannot even walk in there because it is faster and easier to do it everyday. When my oldest gets home from school that is one of her chores. They will start to get lazy with it so when we have cleaning day, they have to do a good job. But at least they are somewhat picked up during the week. I help my youngest but he has to help at least a little. Your oldest should be able to help you with the rest of the house a little. Give him/her certain things to do once they get home from school or babysitter. Usually if I don't expect anyone over my house only gets really cleaned once a week. Good luck and let me know if you get any other better ideas. I could use them too. -M.

WOW I CAN IMAGINE HOW HARD IT IS TO KEEP A CLEAN HOUSE. I AM A STAY AT HOME MOM AND STILL HAVE A HARD TIME KEEPING IT CLEAN. THE ONLY ADVICE I CAN GIVE AND IT WORKS IS TO CLEAN AS YOU GO. IT'S CONSTANT, BUT IT PREVENTS EVERYTHING FROM PILING UP. WHEN BOTH MY HUSBAND AND I WORKED WE THREW A LOAD IN THE WASHER BEFORE WE LEFT AND SO ON. JUST CLEAN AS YOU GO. IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE TO PICK UP IF YOU DON'T LET IT PILE UP. I HAVE ALSO TAUGHT MY 12YR OLD HOW TO PICK UP AFTER HIMSELF. WHEN HIS HAMPER IS FULL HE NOTIFIES ME. HOPE THIS HELPS.

I made a specific home for everything. My hubby knows where everything goes (most of the time), when my son is old enough, I will teach him too. Best advice i have is to pick something up/clean it as soon as you're done. keeps it from piling up.

there is an online chore game where kids can play with other kids, earn points, dress their cat, earn rewards, check their own progress, etc.... I can not think of the name of it, it is free. Just google chore lists online. The 7yr old and 12 yr old could benefit from that and you and your husband could have less work.

the 4 and 5yr. old can help too. I used the "clean up" song and made it game when my 8yr. old was that age. Also, he was not allowed more than two toys out at a time. When he was done w/ one, it had to be put away or ALL were taken away before another one was brought out. I gave him opportunites to correct his mess before taking everything away of course, and for the most part, he cleaned up everything. but there were times I had to take it all!!!

Stand firm, and make them feel like responsible members of the family.

I also get up an hour early to tidy up or do the dishes so they are not there when I get home. I put the laundry away AS SOON AS it comes out of the dryer so I won't have cloths piles everywhere(i used to though) and my husband helps entertain the kids or vise versa so we can keep a clean house.

Mon, wed., and Fri. are the bathroom days. Everyother day is the trash day. Everyday is dishes, the oldest ones can rinse and stick in the dishwasher to help. Tues. and Thur. are living room and dinner room days, etc.... It is my system. Maybe it can help you

www.flylady.net! She is fabulous at teaching you that you can make major improvements 15 minutes at a time and by establishing simple routines. My life is much less chaotic and my house is 15 minutes from company coming over!

If you live in Austin, check out our website (www.pickymaid.com). We just started this venture in December and it has picked up so much. I'm glad to say that craigslist works wonders. Let me know if I can help.

1. Anything that your kids don't play with get rid of, anything that you don't use get rid of.
2. Check out flylady.com
3. hire a maid (anybody who has four kids and works full time is going to have a problem keeping the house. There is no shame in getting some help!)