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

[Spinning]

I give up! I swear all I do is clean, do laundry dishes and did I say clean?
the kids rooms aren't bad but they always need to be picked up. and the kitchen? constant cleaning lets talk laundry....piles never ending...
SOme one please direct me to how to stay organized?
I do pick up at night, do dishes daily try to wash a lot everyday I have lots of tubs for the kids rooms which help but I just don't seem to ever have a clean home!
ok I am done ranting.....

 

[imgoingtodisney]

I find it extremely hard to work fulltime (34hrs) and still keep the house clean
On the weekends I certainly dont want to be cleaning when DH is laying around
Tonight I get to go home and mow the grass

 

[snoopy]

I do most of my housework in the middle of the night.

I've always been like this though, even as a kid. I find cleaning therapeutic, and if I can't sleep, I clean. My parents would find me mopping the floor at 2am or some such, when I was about 8 years old, LOL! Comes from having a family of 11 under one tiny roof, I've always been nitpickingly organized because all that clutter made me crazy.

Now that I have kids of my own, who thankfully are on the neat side (unlike their father, who is NOT neat!), I make them clean their rooms and make their beds every morning, and pick up after themselves before they go to bed each night. After they go to bed is usually when I get my heavy chores done like mopping the floor or cleaning the bathroom. Also, I try to do a little something each day so it won't get too overwhelming. I don't want to spend an entire Saturday doing housework, and I find by doing a little each night it makes Saturdays free to do what we want.

 

[maleficent1959]

I was in the same boat with a toddler. Then I found flylady.net and my house has been clean ever since. It's not for everyone but it works great for my family. It's not super-intensive or exhausting, just a simple way to keep your home clean through working in zones and a lot of other daily tips.

 

[shep]

I don't really have a clean house but here's my secret..
1 load of laundry a day..
Possibly more depending of how many people live in your house
1 day--coloreds
1 day--towels
1 day--whites
1 day--kids clothes
then start over
also means 1 load for the dryer too every day..lol

Kids are to clean up their own messes, and throw their laundry in the hamper and keep their room neat..

Also try to clean 1 room a day..
Usually do the upstairs bathrooms together..(We have a 2 story house)
Take 1 day to sweep/mop the kitchen floors and run the vacuum
Take 1 day to dust the upstairs and run the vacuum up there..
I don't do the thorough job that dw does but I at least try...lol
The nice days means mowing the grass or landscaping/weeding...

Do the dishes as we use them unless there are a lot then that calls for the diswasher..

 

[ILUVDXL]

I'm with you. sweetie and I don't even have kids. I have a full time job and a DH who finds it easier to look at the mess than do anything about. He's suppose to do the dishes and the laundry, but do you think it ever gets done if I don't do it? One time I decided not to do the dishes and he let them go til there was nothing to cook with or eat off of. Miss Meany over here went out and bought herself a pizza and wouldn't give him any until the dishes were done. Needless to say they got done in a big hurry. We all need to rant sometime.

 

[Meriweather]

Kids out on their own.
DH on a business trip .................
so it is clean this week. Pure heaven!

And yes, DH is so much WORSE than the kids about keeping things picked up

 

[peg2001]

I am so glad that I am not the only one who feels this way! I am constantly amazed when I step into a friend or neighbors house and find everything so neat and tidy, even folks with kids, and even if they weren't expecting company.

I don't understand how they find the time and energy to do it. I love the idea of doing one room a day, each evening, but by the time I:
-get home from work
-get through the homework/dinner/bathtime/bedtime rush
-care for the pets (dog, cats, fish)

I am EXHAUSTED. All I want to do is curl up with a book or watch some mindless TV. If I don't bust a gut over the weekend to clean clean clean, the house is a shambles.

Peggy

 

[BWVDenise]

You are singin' my tune!!
I feel so far behind and my parents are coming for dinner this weekend (they live out of state) so I really need to get things done in a big way! (My mother is VERY neat and clean, nothing ever out of place). I used to be able to do that before 3 kids and a dog!!

 

[Spinning]

Snoopy that is AMAZING! My husband would think I was crazy if I was cleaning in the middle of the night. I use to do laundry when I was still nursing my kids and had to be up I would change the laundry over...but mopping floors!?!?
I do have a semi schedule I keep to during the week but I still am amazed why I am doing the same things over and over!
I use to subscribe to flylady and it did help but I went on vacation and stopped getting the emails. Maybe it is time to subscribe again!

 

[Kissimmee JP]

It's really not that hard. Just marry someone that likes to clean, like I did.

I'm not messy, though. We both do our share, even though she's at home w/the kids.

 

[grinningghost]

When I was working full time, I always wished I could stay home and I'd have the cleanest house in the world. Well, after the MS forced me out of the workplace, I learned real quick that it doesn't work that way. When you stay home, you are given "lists" of things to do by your family members. You're MIL calls you frequently because you're home. You're dog demands a walk everyday - because you're there.

So, on my good days if there's time, I superclean a room. But it really doesn't matter, DH and DD come home just in time to make another mess.

 

[aprincessmom]

I'm kind of like snoopy, I clean at night after DD is in bed (just not during the middle of the night) . Of course now that it's just DD, the cat, and I, it's much easier to keep the house clean

I work 40+ hours a week and just don't want to spend my entire weekend cleaning and doing house chores so I clean at night, after DD is in bed and after I finish logging in to clean up the end of the day emails and project paperwork...around 9:30ish. It's relaxing, I feel like I've accomplished something before I head to bed, and the house looks neat and tidy.

The only room that gets cleaned during the day is DD's bedroom but she's really good about keeping it neat and she loves to vacuum and do the windows so I'm all set there!

 

[LindaR]

I have a MUCH easier method than all of you guys.........I take my glasses off. Everything looks good to me!

 

[bananiem]

Um, I'm supposed to keep it clean?


Actually this morning I was telling the kids that it was a Laundry day. They wanted to know how many loads I do. Here's a tip: DON'T EVER ADD IT UP!!! If I do everything (all clothes, sheets, towels, etc.) it is 20 loads. ACK! Laundry is the one chore I used to not mind doing!! Now that there's a number attached...well, ACK!!!

I like Linda's idea. Maybe I"ll give it a try...

 

[December99]

Clean house....what the heck is that???? I'm lucky if I can get a clean kitchen table!!!! And I'm serious.

 

[binny]

first of all ditch the buckets!!!

Dont you know that toys get together in the bottom of those things and multiply? Its like a lovers lane for toys!

I use so many different organizers for things other than what theyre supposed to be used for! every bedroom door in our house has a shoe organizer on the back of it ( $5 at Wallys or cheaper) these are great for little toys, paperback books, in the bathroom to store girls hair accesesories, in the office for all sorts of supplies, oh yeah and shoes

Get a stuffed animal hammock and hang it in the corner of the room put ALL stuffed animals except the loveys up there that will get rid of lots of clutter!

Get bookcases for each room if you dont have the allready.

store things in those little plastic shoe boxes that you can buy theyre great for little toys, markers, art supplies, more hair accesesories, cards, etc. the bonus is they stack well and hold up better than the cardboard ones.


LABEL LABEL LABEL if your kids are little use pictures for the front of the shoe boxes so they can see what they want, if they want their army guys they dont go and dump out the legos, markers, etc getting to them.



Anyway those are a few ideas go to www.organizedhome.com and see what they have to offer I love that site!!

 

[snoopy]

Snoopy that is AMAZING! My husband would think I was crazy if I was cleaning in the middle of the night. I use to do laundry when I was still nursing my kids and had to be up I would change the laundry over...but mopping floors!?!?

Don't sweat it, Spinning. Its no fun being obsessive compulsive, trust me. You're better off rested with a messy house.

 

[Kitty 34]

With three sons.....my house has never been totally clean!!! Probably never will!!!

 

[jel0511]

I threw in the towel 3 years ago when I became pregnant with DS. I hired a cleaning lady and it was the BEST thing I ever did!!! I only have to keep up with the daily messes, and she takes care of the big jobs, bathroom, mopping, vacuuming, etc. It really helps, now if I could keep up with my laundry.......