Domestic Criminal

[saslia]

You change the linen weekly???

You're one step ahead of me, LOL.

and me !!

[Mak]

If your DH offers the cleaner again - bite your tongue and say YES!!!
Seriously - take the pressure off yourself for a bit. I had completely underestimated the energy and time it would take to entertain and feed my 9mo and 3yo. I like things to be clean and neat but was wasting way too much precious time trying to acheive it only for Miss 3 to completely trash things in about 2.5seconds.
I clean once a week and tidy at night. The place is reasonably clean but not like it used to be.......I clean the kitchen in the am, and keep dishes in DW too.
We have open plan too - so I have some big containers from Ikea that everything gets thrown in at night (not sorted or nicely - hidden). I figure it will be soon enough that they will want to hide in their rooms too.....
Even when it is cold we go out each day for a walk - if only to escape and get some fresh air when the walls close in!
It is still a work in progress for me....remember to be kind to yourself!!!!

[*Ali*]

I think sometimes we are all too hard on ourselves in terms of housework etc, We go and visit a friend and the house is tidy, the toys are put away, the kids are being good, and there are freshly baked cookies on the table etc- only what we don''t realise is that our friend has spent the last 2 hours before we arrive rushing around and hiding the mess under beds, in cupboards- anywhere it fits, the kids have be bribed to behave well, and they have been up since 5am baking.

Nothing comes without the cost of something else, so people with clean house, nicely ironed clothes, perfect hair etc have to find a pay off somewhere else, whether it be at the cost of spending time with their children or partners, whether it be at the cost of their sleep and their me time, or whether it be at the cost of their bank account, because they have a cleaner/ ironing lady etc. We all choose our happy medium, for me it is messy house so I can spend more time with my kids & husband, get a little bit of time for me to workout.

I guess at the end of the day you have to find a rountine that works for you, I do very little in terms of housework during the day- I put washing on peridodically throughout the day, cook/ prepare dinner in the middle of the day while Liam is asleep and Tori is having rest time while watching a movie, Pete does the dishes & sweeps the kitchen after dinner while I shower the kid and We vacuum the lounge a couple of times a week while the kids are in the shower. We usually spend an hour or 2 on a saturday morning mopping, cleaning the bathroom etc, I do my ironing on tuesday night while I watch packed to the rafters and All saints. And each night before bed I rush around and chuck the toys into plastic tubs. It works for us, I dont live in a palace, I might have weetbix stuck on the tiles, and a pile of dishes waiting to be washed, but all in good.

[Sweet Bliss]

An iron......what is an iron??? Thats up there with changing the linen weekly! (I cheat and chuck my work pants and stuff in the dryer on hot for 5 mins before I wear them, they come out perfectly unwrinkled and fluff free ).

Ali, I totally agree. I used to be that person that runs around like mad before someone comes to visit (I stayed up until 3am cleaning the night before my mums group came to visit for the first time when DD was a baby! I remember frantically ajaxing my benches!), turning the place into a show home, but now I don't bother....you take me and my house as I am....

I went to visit a new friend that other day for the first time at her house....and it was sooo messy, and she was not apologetic at all.....it was so refreshing, and I probably relaxed more while I was visiting too.

Ali, it sounds like you have a great system going