Do you struggle to keep up with housework???

Question

I have a 10 month old, i work part time and for the past 2 weeks whenever im not at work i have been babysitting my 4 nieces too and my house is a shambles. And i just dont have the drive or inclination to fix it.....dont get me wrong it not dirty but untidy and i have about 100 loads of washing to fold....i could probably get off the computer and clean up but i am really soooooooooo sick of it. Is anyone else in the same boat? I was so house proud before i had my daughter if i had visitors there was not a speck of fluff or dust to be found anywhere but that is no longer the case and it is starting to get me down,and the more i get down about it the less i want to fix it ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh its a vicious cycle....

Answer 1

The best advice I had when my twins were small was that kids are more important than a neat house. My husband was a neat freak, so he had a hard time adjusting. Like you, my house was clean, since babies were crawling all over, but neatness just wasn't vital.

My twins are 33 and I'm still following that advice!

Answer 2

oh h**l yes!  I have 4 kids under 11 and its crazy to expect to keep this place clean and I don't work!  The washing is always huge, if its not a big pile to wash then its a big pile to fold.  Sometimes I think we just have to close our eyes to it all and have a break, do something nice for yourself. it will make you feel better and motivate you a little more to start on it.  I do find when I do have things in order my frame of mind is a whole lot better though it never last long.  I so feel you, know you a not alone.  Another one that gets me going is to put some music on and dance round while im cleaning ( making sure the curtains are closed).  good luck with.

Answer 3

I have to clean.

I do it all daily, because if I didn't, this house would fall down around me.

I close doors, and shut off different areas of the house, after I clean them. I wash daily, and when I get it off the line or clothe horse, I fold as I go. If I do it then and there, I don't stress out so much. I iron every couple of days, because I have to.

Like Dragonyis, I have large hampers, crates, and all kinds of things everywhere. For toys washing, and everything. It doesn't make it look so bad.

The longer I leave things the more there is to clean up, then the more tired I am after cleaning.

Have fun tomorrow - hehe!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Answer 4

Oh I definately know where you're coming from. I work 4 days a week and come home to a messy house everyday. I have a 3 1/2 year old and a 7 month old and everytime I start to do something, one of them is whining. I could sit on the computer all day and they would be good but the moment I want to get some cleaning done, they start. I soon as I sweep the floor, my oldest is right behind me dropping crumbs. As soon as I clean off the coffee table, out he comes with all of his blocks. As soon as I put my hands in the hot soapy water for dishes, my youngest starts his screaming---for NO reason. It's a losing battle in my house.

Answer 5

as my daughter is getting older im finding it harder,

when i first had her as a single mum, i used to be turned off even cooking tea for myself, and ppl would say do house work when baby is sleeping and i would be like uh no im sleeping when baby is sleeping lol,

but now its gotten worse she is walking which means toys everywhere clothes everywhere, as for folding washing thats every where cos  she gets into it before i can finish lol

  and i know now why i said i never wanted children lol

NO REGRETS LOL

Answer 6

Yeah..... houseproudness must go out the window!

I used to be able to deal with things as they came along, but now I'll spend all day walking around the cushions that should be on the couch because I'm looking at all the other stuff that needs to be done as well.

I've devised a few quick tips, they don't solve the problem, but make some things a little less stressful.  

- fold the washing as you take it off the line - that way at least it doesn't matter too much if you don't put it away right away.

- put little rubbish bins everywhere!

- give the kids the vacuum cleaner and show them how cool it looks when something gets sucked up.  Doesn't always work, and they may just redo their hair with it, but sometimes you'll get a slightly cleaner floor.

- put little baskets or containers everywhere to just chuck in everything that isn't rubbish .. it can be sorted out later.. or never.

That's about it for my tips - I've just had to accept the house will never be organised until the kids go to school.  Good luck!

Answer 7

I felt that way when my kids were little too.  I think it was the repeat of doing it over and over.  I felt what was the use and I was tired after work.  It seemed like I would have it done perfect on my day off and be disatorous by the weekend.  I'd say every week a tornado hit it. LOL  My husband (he worked a lot of hours) was always on me about it.  I just did not have the drive.

There is hope thogh.  LOL  As the kids got older I taught them chores according to what age level where they were at.  I finally learned (I know this sounds crazy) but I would get up an hour or two early and do some before work.  I felt more refreshed then and did not have kids underfoot.  I went to bed slightly earlier.  I am still not perfect but does look better.  I did learn to shut my computer off and used it as a treat for getting my work done.  LOL

Answer 8

Oh you mean this house?? Under all the clothes, mess and dishes??? I struggle every day, lol.

I have days where I clean everything in sight, then I get lazy and play with the kids instead. Being pregnant, sick and tired all day long doesn't help motivation. But I am living in hope that "nesting" will kick in soon so I at least have a clean house to go into hospital and leave behind for the clan to mess up while I am getting acquainted with my new little one.

I give up, as long as we don't get food poisoning from not cleaning the kitchen well enough (it gets cleaned well, lol) and we have clean clothes I guess it is ok.......kind of!!!

Answer 9

Yep, especially since I have 5 kids! They sometimes pick up after themselves which does help, but most of the time they dont. It's a struggle getting their toys away if I'm busy doing something else, then it gets dinner time. They like to have dessert also and then after that it gets too late for them as it's almost bed time. Then the cycle continues the next day.

The washing piles up like there's no tomorrow - my pet peeve=socks! My son isnt too bad, but when it comes to 3 of my girls that go to school - they wear a uniform, so there is white socks coming out of everywhere (I now buy the ones that actually says the size at the bottom of them - it's part of the sock itself!) I dread next year when my youngest goes to school as she will almost be the same size of two of her sisters before her - the age gap between them is pretty close.

I have tall baskets for the laundry with everyones name on them, so if I havent had time to fold & put away, I normally get the older ones to at least sort the clothes into these baskets for me & the older one puts her own clothes away (she's 11).

It does pile up at times & it's like "do I have to deal with this today?"

Then there's all the dishes.

Trust me you are not alone darl

+ the computer is a deserved break - we need to take time out to relax now & then

Answer 10

I felt like that right after I had my second daughter because there really was just NO TIME to REALLY clean like I usually do...I'm somewhat of a neat freak and especially when people come over I would ALWAYS make sure that my house was absolutely SPOTLESS. Since my youngest turned about 3 months old it got easier,and the days I didn't feel like cleaning...I didn't...then I would clean up a day or so later(as long as it didn't look like a pig sty) But if someone was coming over I would do my special thing...lol its called "Mandie's Power Cleaning" I would get the house spotless in 45 mins or less. Ofcourse afterwards I was tired as h**l but at least it was cleaned up =)

It gets really hard to keep up with housework when you have children because no matter how many times you clean,you turn around and go in the room you JUST cleaned up and its a total wreck again....You're house is never really clean when you are a parent unless the baby has gone to bed for the night or is still asleep in the morning...but when those little boogers are awake its like "Hello,did a mini tornado come through here recently"

Don't get down about it because as a parent like I said your house will never really be clean for more than a day(if that)....don't fret because if you are not expecting company or anything like that then just let it stay a mess for a day...its not like it won't be there tomorrow to clean up. Also you can enlist cleaning troops to help you out. Like hubby for instance...politely ask him if he could help you with the dishes or fold some clothes while he watches TV or something simple that can save you a lot of time and stress...also have the nieces(if old enough to) to help pick up the things they got out during the day...that way its a little less mess you have to deal with later on.

Don't worry it gets better....when they get bigger its just big objects you have to clean up instead of millions of legos and barbie parts and whatnot

Edit:sorry also wanted to include this because it may come in handy for ya..... when I was NOT feeling the cleaning vibe I would turn the radio on really loud and my and my daughter(oldest) would dance around and clean at the same time,while my youngest just danced and played or slept...it really got me going and  got me ready to clean

Answer 11

h**l yeeah its tuff i have 2 kids 11 monthz old and a 5 year old.

Answer 12

congratulations on going back to work,

think it will slowly pick up, but shared work is easy work,,

I wish you luck,

there is more to life than housework,,,, think you know that.

Answer 13

absolutely i have a 15 month old and a 7 week old its hard.. you just have to get somone to watch the baby one day and make it your business that day to do your big clean . what i do since i have such little time and so much to do is I make a schedule for the week so by the end of the week all the chores are done like mon, wed and Friday i do laundry tue i clean bathrooms ect.  it works for me.  once your house is clean you will feel much better.. hope that helped!

Answer 14

I feel for you and empathize. I have a 14 1/2 month old and a 2 1/2 month old and I have no dive or inclination to keep a perfect house. I do the laundry but it sits in piles unfolded for days. It's depressing.

Answer 15

Yes, yes I do.

I think to myself... stuff it, it can wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow comes and I look at the clothes and dishes and I think... stuff it, ill fold the clothes up tomorrow and do the dishes later. Next thing you know it's 10 at night and I'm doing dishes half asleep and then a week later I have no choice but to fold the clothes up as we start to run out lol

And then I do it all again

Answer 16

I"ve had a hard time since my son was born too. To keep up I've started cleaning the living room for 2 minutes each night.

In the kitchen I run a sink full of soapy water in the morning so I can just put all my dishes in it throughout the day then just pop them in the dishwasher at night without having to do any rinsing. Then I clean the kitchen for 2 minutes after that. Amazingly the 2 minutes makes quite a bit of difference!

Answer 17

yeah thats me, i dont work but i do have a 2 year old and im currently pregnant so im tired all day long, the little energy i have its to feed and play with my daughter so when i feel alittle more energized i have to clean, not to mention i put my poor husband to help me when he gets home from work

Answer 18

yep know what you are talking about but what you no longer have a house what you have now is a home

Answer 19

Ick. I'm not in your boat but that would be a pain. Do you like music? (silly question.. I KNOW! but work with me).. Try putting on music and doing half hour of house work when you can, you can do it a whole load quicker if your singing to music, than just doing it in silence. Just a suggestion.

Answer 20

Isn't it frustrating! Especially wash............it is the one thing that is NEVER ending!

You are not alone!

My mom had a plaque in her house that said, "My house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy." I agree!

Answer 21

I'm a stay home mom so I have more time to keep up with it all. I also have 4 boys who are all old enough to help (13, 13, 11 and 8). The hardest thing for me to keep up with seems to be the laundry. With 6 people in the family it never ends! Then you add in us going to the beach a lot and that just adds to it during the summer. I don't know how you working mom's do it...I give you a lot of credit!

Answer 22

Yep, sounds familiar, especially the washing lol.  I've got 3 kids under 2.5 and my place is literally a madhouse.  Add in the 3 adults that live there....all my spare time could be taken up with cleaning if I let it!!!

I've definitely learnt to let the small things go, I clean everyday, do as much as I can, and just try to have lots of storage space for toys and clothes.  It makes it a bit easier, I usually have at least 2 loads of washing a day though, so sometimes we live out of the hamper!

Answer 23

I feel your pain. I have 4kids and they love to make a mess. I finally got sick of living in a pig sty and my husband and I and the 3 older kids cleaned for 6 straight hours until my house was immaculate. It has been clean and beautiful for 2 weeks now and I make sure to stay behind my kids and make them clean up there stuff as soon as they are done with it, now my house is clean, I am not so ashamed when people come over and I am SO less stressed than before.