how do you do it...keeping up that is..

[Olive]

with EVERYTHING!
i seriously wondering how those with more than 1 or 2 kids actually manage to
keep the house clean and or tidy
get the housework done
meals cooked
etc etc etc..

anyone else feel swamped some (most) days??

[~Lashes~]

simple....
I DONT!!!
for the house to be 100% spotless, i will stay up all night and clean like a mad woman once the kids are in bed, and it will last all of a hour after they are up and had breakkie!

my problem is once im ontop of everything, i cant stay ontop of it, i have a viciouse cycle of "relaxing" once its all done and then everything gose back to the start and i need a big motivational kick up the bum o get back on top.
the biggest factor is there is way to much stuff in the house, so i have to have a huge cull and put my foot down to people giving the kids crap! (hoping i can keep up onnce this happens!)

[mummydreamer]

my problem is once im ontop of everything, i cant stay ontop of it, i have a viciouse cycle of "relaxing" once its all done and then everything gose back to the start and i need a big motivational kick up the bum o get back on top.

that's my problem too i just make sure there are clean clothes to wear, and the dishes are done, and there's food to eat. i do spot cleans most days, but in no way am i on top of everything, it's just too hard. my kids are getting older now so i reckon i could start giving them chores now!

it is hard though, sometimes men just don't realise how hard it is just do the best you can. i agree about doing a quick clean up of the floor, i find i am so much more relaxed if i've gone and cleaned up everything off the lounge room floor.

[Kazbah]

my problem is once im ontop of everything, i cant stay ontop of it, i have a viciouse cycle of "relaxing" once its all done and then everything gose back to the start and i need a big motivational kick up the bum o get back on top.
the biggest factor is there is way to much stuff in the house, so i have to have a huge cull and put my foot down to people giving the kids crap! (hoping i can keep up onnce this happens!)

I'm the same Sarah.

TBH, I keep one room clean and tidy for visitors. If that gets messed by DH I lose it totally.

[RoyaUK]

Thank goodness for honest forums like this!! I now feel completely normal as I look around my house which is full of toys & craft on floor/table and washing waiting to be put away! I'd love a tidy house but with 3 whirlwinds of energy (my girls) it's just impossible. Even the 1 yr old has just started pulling things out of cupboards - but as i look at her trying to match cup and bottle tops together, i see her learning too so am not too fussed about the mess on the floor (unless i start to fall over it!).

[Trillian]

TBH, sometimes I don't. My house might be 'clean' but it is always cluttered looking because there is always something that hasn't been put away properly - not helped by the fact that we have nowhere to keep a lot of stuff. there is always a basket of washing sitting around not folded and that's not even including the ironing! The evening routine of dinner/bath/bed only stays on track because I make it stay on track otherwise before you know it its late and the kids aren't in bed yet. And it's even worse if I have a week where I am out of the house a lot. So I just do what I can do and have to be happy with that.

[Traveller]

My house is always cluttered and the laundry is often in baskets waiting to be folded for a week or sometimes longer. There's no way I can do it all so I concentrate on the main priorities. I cook meals in bulk and don't sweat the small things.

[MrsFabuloso]

I don't either. Most days there are things left undone, especially now with a new baby in the house. Most days now it is lucky if I manage to do one thing for the house, like vaccuuming or washing up or what ever. Today my house is a pigsty, dishes in the sink, washing in the maching 'soaking', train tracks from here to eternity, clothes in a pile in the corner to be folded, and more on the clothes line. But my baby is happy and has been snuggled all day and my two big kids liked that I actaully sat down and watched a movie with them (rather than them watching it and me running around like a headless chicken or tending to the baby), drew pictures and played trains with them. We had packet frozen fish and frozen chips for dinner and some bickies for dessert. But some days are like that. I had barely any sleep last night and was just totally over it before the day even began. So I didn't pressure myself to do anything other than feed the kids and change nappies, lol. And we got through the day with minimal tears (from both me and the kids!) everyone had full tums, clean bums and I am still sane at 9pm.

[~clover~]

The floors at the front of my house are tidy... thats about it right now (& there are hundreds & thousands spread through the kitchen, play room & verandah waiting for a broom)
There is sewing stuff on my table (where we are sposed to sit & eat!) clothes waiting to be folded on my lounge, washing up waiting for the kids to be asleep, bits & pieces on EVERY surface. It drives me flipping mental, but I haven't got the time right now to get that organised... I was doing so well in the months before DD3...

If I want a clean house & a shower alone, it all usually starts at 11pm when all the kids are finally sleeping (DS is a night owl)!

[Jennifer13]

keep the house clean and or tidy - cleaner for the cleaning, which just leaves the tidying
get the housework done - see above
meals cooked - that's DP's job

And still with only one child (although I do claim both of our businesses are a child themselves in the amount of work they bring), I am always rushing around - you should see the paperwork my desk is drowning under!

So don't assume a clean house means it's under control - it's just been delegated! But that's how I manage, to pass off what I can so I don't have to do it all myself. Even DD is responsible for several chores herself.

[OceanPrincess]

Olive I have been thinking of posting this exact same thing for some time... I go through patches where, like lilias, it is all I can do to keep the kids fed, watered and with clean bums. I wash nappies every second day but sometimes not til 8 or 9 or 10... Sigh!

My floors need a vacuum... My bathrooms need a clean... There are cobwebs encroaching... But tonight I am sitting down enjoying a vino and a DVD with DH (as you know).

I always remember the quote in Heaven's sig (not sure if it's still there?)...

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'till tomorrow,
for babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

[Yeddi]

I have a tick and flick schedule, and a timer. I've found if I give myself an open time limit it only gets done once its at crisis stage and has to be done. Now I have my set jobs on set days and I put on a timer and run around like a mad thing doing what is on my list for the day, and then reward myself with double the amount of time off cruising the computer, reading or doing some craft. Works for me.

[Astrolady]

Yep I don't either, but when the house gets to much I started to get depressed about it. We had chinese tonight and I was on the phone to mum who was telling me how their dinner they were going out to had been cancelled. I invited her to my place to have tea with us, then looked at my house. OMG.

Dishes got done, floors got swept sort of. I am glad they never went to the loo !! But alot of my stuff is clutter to, but not my bloody clutter. Andrew's or the kids !! For example i have 4 stepper motors sitting on my kitchen breakfast bar thingy. Last time I looked my breakfast bar thingy wasn't mechanical. He also has 4 camera bags that are just left laying about. Things like papers etc, are shoved into any gap cause we don't have the room or time to go through it. I have a pile of filing to do. You can never see my computer desk.

I do have plans to go through my book case and get rid of books we don't need. Andrew has really old text books in the bookcase from when he did year 12 !!

The kitchen is the centre of my house (literally) so I like to keep it looking tidy, but it rarely happens LOL.

[littlelara]

I don't. I just didn't get that gene (much to dp's disappointment).
I wish I knew
Yeddi, what is on that list? I thought about doing fly lady but I got too overwhelmed

[Yeddi]

Yeddi, what is on that list? I thought about doing fly lady but I got too overwhelmed

Most things except clothes washing, that's a given every second day using cloth nappies. I don't do the dishes either, that's DH's department. So... general tidying, sweeping, moping, vacuuming, changing sheets and towels, cleaning the toilet and shower - that sort of thing. But it could be about personality types. I get overwhelmed when I have time to potter and can't stay on task - I like a certain amount of stress.

[Tinks]

I haven't been home long enough this week to get anything done. I was doing washing at midnight last night. Today I have to go out which means nothing will get done before I go, hopefully when i get home this afternoon I can get DH and the kids to pitch in and get it done.

[CrazyLady]

I struggle because DD is so active but a few things I've found help are:
Clean and tidy bathroom (except bath) while DD is bathing. My loo is always clean . Once DD is settled for the night I will spray with a cleaner ready to be rinsed at next shower. If bathroom is really bad I'll run a mild bleach solution over it and DP will rinse it prior to showering for work the next day.
DD likes it outside so if it's nice weather fold clothes as I get them off the line. It means I can just chuck them where they belong when I have 5 minutes rather then a pile of unfolded washing accumulating.
While cooking dinner I unpack a few dishes when I can and usually by the time dinner is ready, the dishwasher is empty. Plates go straight in once dinner is consumed and the few glasses/plates/cutlery etc takes 5 mins to chuck in.

[misty]

I don't even try to do everything. DH does the lions share of the cleaning and cooks most nights. No way could I find time to do everything. It's just about priorities and deciding whats important to you and getting those things done first. My time is usually taken up just with nappy changes, feeding kids, wiping bums and noses, keeping small hands out of everything, etc, to havd much time left for anything else. The free time I may actually find (on the rare occaision DD is at school, DS1 is watching TV quietly and DS2 is asleep) I do my study, catch up on my work commitments or trying to get a nap in myself.

I would love to live in a clean house, where the washing wasn't in a pile near the laundry and the sink weren't always full. But I figure that will hapen as the kids get older. In the meantime, It may be messy, but there's only so much a single person can do and we are happy despite the mess.