How clean is your house....really?

[amberj]

Alexis, you're not weird, you're a super-woman!

As I was reading your post I was wondering where you found the time to do it all until I read you are a bit of a night-owl. That's great! I need like 9 hours of sleep a night....sigh.

[mrsmac]

Alexis you are a domestic goddess!!
Bath- come to my house, bring Rosehannah with you!

[LimeSlice]

lol yeah.
Most of the house work gets done during the day though. Cant do noisy stuff at night - wakes Charlotte up lol
But yeah...I have cleaning rosters. I am a list person. And after having all the cleaning rosters for work I just thought it made sense to have them at home.
I am a lazy perfectionist - if it is too much effort to do it perfectly, I just wont bother at all lol So having the lists makes things so much easier to get done - I like being able to cross something off.

OMG I sound like a nutter!

Anyway, work out how often you want to do the things you need to do...make a list and work out how often they need to happen. Then you can know what you want to have done on a daily, weekly, monthly etc basis. then it doesnt matter if the bathroom cupboards are a little grimy, because they got cleaned 2 weeks ago and will get done again in another 2 weeks, iykwim?

I cannot believe I am about to put this on the internet, but I have laminated lists for cleaning, so I dont have to keep writing it out....I just find that the more organised I am about cleaning, the more often it gets done and it really doesnt take that long to clean the house. I can do EVERYTHING in a house in one 8 hour day.
If you are spreading those same tasks over weeks or months, then you are looking at very little time each day....you just need to be regular and know what you are doing on each day.

Im going to stop now lol

[mrsmac]

OK Alexis NOW you are scaring me LOL

[*charmalea*]

Ummm yeah..... don't EVER come to my house..... LOL

:yeahthat: i loathe cleaning !! i always have a messy overcrowded bench we call it our "drop off zone !


ALEXIS :

[Bathsheba]

I used to be more into cleaning when I was studying at uni (up until 5 years ago). It's amazing how much more urgent a cleaning job seems when you have an essay to write

[alioops]

Alexis - I am a lazy perfectionist too, but at the moment EVERYTHING takes too much effort

[Visitor8]

I am one who thinks that when my kids are up I should be playing with them not cleaning the house ...

My housework is done at night. Once the kids are in bed I do it all.

Dishes, floors, vacuuming, benches, washing etc

During the day I might tidy the lounge of the toys and hang a load of washing out but that's it. Between half day kinda 4 times a week, day care one day, bingo, playgroups and playing with the kids, there is too much to do with the kids during the day.

[Floweryfields]

You should've seen what I found under my stove (upright - not built in - never buy these!) and freezer last night when I moved them. EEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!

I agree when you work full time, there is just not enough time to do everything.

[amberj]

Alexis....I LOVE lists too, and I have always prided myself on being really, really organised. But life has seemed to overtake me lately and I just can't get it together. WHEN during your 8 hour day do you find time? I really want to know!! I mean, when DS is awake, he pretty much needs my attention. I can get a few little things done, but really not much. He has three naps of 45-60 minutes each. The first one, I get the dishes done, bed made, general tidying up and a shower. The second nap I eat lunch and get another little chore done, like some laundry and putting away the groceries or doing the dusting. The third nap I get dinner started and usually do some work. After DS goes to sleep, I clean up tea and then do some work and then sit down exhausted and come onto BB! Thats it, day done. Do you have a secret I don't know about?!!

[Bathsheba]

LOL and just wait until they turn about 2yo and stop having ANY naps and are at their height of messiness!!!! Good grief! You simply have no option but to relinquish control!!!! Having had two other children (that help him mess the place up as well) I know that the 2yo phase of filth will pass... but at the time it seems like it's going to be forever!!!

[Willow]

Things have deteriorated here since DS arrived. 2 kids make so much more mess than 1! Or that's how it seems anyway.

Like someone else said, I get something done and the next day you can't even tell. Case in point - I cleaned all the mirrored doors of our built ins on the weekend, they were sparkling clean, not a finger print in sight. My goodness you should see them today!!

I try to do the basics every day - dishes, floors etc. Bathroom probably once a week but I can't tell you the last time it had a full scrub down. Probably when I was prg with DS and DH did it for me! I clean the toilet and sink etc but he does the bath/shower for me. Started doing it for me when I was prg and he does such a good job, 100 times better than me, so he's just kept doing it. He needs to do it tomorrow actually, it's looking a bit grubby.

Things like dusting, moving furniture to clean underneath etc are a rare thing. I don't think I've washed the windows here since I moved in 3 years ago - in my defence I was pretty sick for 12 months of those 3 years and couldn't do anything physical and for about 14 months of the remaining time I've been prg - is that a good enough excuse?! LOL.

Limey - you're a machine!! I've got a friend like you who puts me to shame, she scrubs her washing machine with a toothbrush

[amberj]

Ugh, it gets worse? I better deal with my high expectations now!!

When they are 2 are they able to entertain themselves at all so you can get anything done??

[Rouge]

I am actually like Alexis too. I am a perfectionist, which can be extremely annoying. When DD was little my house was better homes and gardens. Now its not. But I am very excited because in 2 weeks Little Dude starts Kinder and I'll have 5 hours a week to clean YAY! It will get back to the way it was!

Today however I decluttered DD's room, bleached both showers and cleaned the tiles. Tomorrow will be a complete overhaul so it will be spotless by tomorrow night YAY!

[Willow]

Yes, my DD was great, I could leave her to play alone for for quite a length of time. DS is 16 months and his attention span is a lot shorter, it's not long before he comes looking for me! If they are playing together in another room then I get a lot more done.

[LimeSlice]

I dont think so Jessica!

I suppose it is just that Charlotte can be quite clingy when she is awake. I get one nap out of her a day, usually about an hour or hour and a half. So I can only do certian things when she is awake.
Things like "me time" which is everything from shaving my legs or putting moisturiser on to having a shower happens when she is asleep. I shower at night before I go to bed. Wash my hair etc all at night time.

I have to say though that things have been harder to do since DH is not working away anymore - he gets in the way!! lol

I just made the decision that sometimes Charlotte will have to play by herself so I can get other things done. So if I need to put the washing on, she will have to wait. It wont hurt her and she usually watches me....helps to hang out the nappies on the clothes horse or whatever.
She loves it when I vac now...she chases the vac around or gets her toy one out and helps.
She also loves the broom....I try to find somehting to amuse her with long enough for me to get something done.

The only other thing I suppose is my training. I am a Chef so everything has to happen an hour ago. And they teach you how to clean efficiently, and how to clean everything in your house just about with 2 products, so no fluffing around. I was raised by a neat freak nurse, so again, the sense that everything should be done in a specific way in a set amount of time....and lots of practice from the time I was old enough to use the MrSheen lol

Like I said, my trick is just a little bit each day. If I get behind sometimes, I will send DD out with DH for the day, so I have a free house and can do things in peace. But just little bits at a time
Toilets and Fridge on a monday, Windows on a thursday....etc So I am not tlaking about taking 4 hours away form my time with DD...just 45 mins for me to do what I have to do.

I dont think for a second that just because I have a child I am not supposed to continue maintaining my home...She needs to understand that sometimes mummy has to do other things as well, and she does. She plays happily by herself or helps me with what I am doing.

Have you checked out teh FlyLady website...she is on to it that woman! lol


ETA - Thanks Cai!! I dont feel like I have 2 heads now lol

[Bathsheba]

Ugh, it gets worse? I better deal with my high expectations now!!

When they are 2 are they able to entertain themselves at all so you can get anything done??

Yes, they entertain themselves by making another mess while you are cleaning up their last one And 2yo's can make very sophisticated messes... not just a tame little spillage of cereal upon a highchair... they have the power to spread that cereal throughout your entire kitchen, into every orifice and in places that you never knew existed until you find them six months later! ha! (Don't mean to scare you )

[LimeSlice]

You seem to be enjoying the hought of our upcoming torture, Bath!!