any one suck at keeping their house clean?? - Page 2

[Zimbah]

Originally Posted by forumyonly1 

decluttering is a huge problem for me... we just moved back to az from alaska and we had to downsize..... and we had too much stuff for our house up there to handle... the problem is my dh has a REALLY hard time when i try to get rid of things... and it doesn't help that he doesnt mind coming home to a mess..

Just on the decluttering, one option if your DH hates getting rid of things, admittedly it's a bit underhand.  If you've got a box of stuff that you haven't opened since moving, and you know it's stuff you don't actually need, can you go out without DH knowing and take it to the charity shop/tip/wherever you go to get rid of stuff?  Or, put some things into a box and if he doesn't notice for some time, then dump them without telling him.  Chances are he won't remember you had all the stuff in the first place, or if he does you can blame it on things going missing during the move.

This might not be possible though given how busy you must be with the children.  I say this based on the fact that I moved house nearly a year ago and we are still missing things that we definitely had - now I haven't dumped them and I know DH hasn't, but they don't seem to be here! So it's easy to see that things get lost during a move.

Obviously there would come a point where he'll notice but it might help a bit with those odd things that you know are useless.

More generally, my house is still an absolute tip since moving in (which like I said, is nearly a year ago now!!) and I only have one DD aged 2.3, currently preg with DD2 and hoping that we'll get organised before she's born but probably a little unlikely.

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by Zimbah 

Originally Posted by forumyonly1 

decluttering is a huge problem for me... we just moved back to az from alaska and we had to downsize..... and we had too much stuff for our house up there to handle... the problem is my dh has a REALLY hard time when i try to get rid of things... and it doesn't help that he doesnt mind coming home to a mess..

Just on the decluttering, one option if your DH hates getting rid of things, admittedly it's a bit underhand.  If you've got a box of stuff that you haven't opened since moving, and you know it's stuff you don't actually need, can you go out without DH knowing and take it to the charity shop/tip/wherever you go to get rid of stuff?  Or, put some things into a box and if he doesn't notice for some time, then dump them without telling him.  Chances are he won't remember you had all the stuff in the first place, or if he does you can blame it on things going missing during the move.

Not as underhand but the same concept: Put a bunch of the junk in a box and hide it for 3 months. Write the date you put it away on the box. After 3 months sit DH down and show him "Look at all of the stuff we have that we didn't even miss"

[Amys1st]

any one suck at keeping their house clean??

No, not at all. Its just my family is really really bad at making it messy and dirty.

[The Imp and I]

I totally suck at cleaning. Well no thats not true. I'm really good at doing what has come to be called, by my family,  'the white tornado'. Which means i have just been told company is coming. I'm also good at cleaning vacant houses and stables. I am not a house keeper. I just don't care enough to stay up late and do it. I hate dishes and laundry and vaccuming. i do not find it satisfying. I do like a clean house though. right now i'm going to choose sanity and hang the dishes though. I told my husband i signed on as a mother and a wife, I have a job title of SAHM. the 'H' is for home not "house-scutt"

[hippiemum21580]

Lets see....I have five little boys, three of whom are home with me all day, a one year old, three year old and five year old. As well as I babysit for a 2 month old girl. this means, I am teaching them very young to take responsibilty around the home and HELP out so I am not running myself ragged. but it also means if I don't have a spotless house then I need to relax cuz some things are more important. Organization is key for me. Having one specific spot for shoes, keeping all coats hung in their spots by the door, etc..... helps cut down on time consumption that comes from searching for stuff.....like missing socks, etc.... And teaching my boys to PUT THINGS IN THEIR PLACE!!!! That being said, the belief that SAHMs are home all day so why cant they keep a clean home........UGH!!!!! there are far more things involved than just house cleaning!

[angela67j]

I have battled with keeping my area clean my whole life. I was the one with the locker in school crammed full of god knows what!!

I have a new friend....cordless vacuum! She is awesome. I can't believe I lived without her for so long. It picks up the crackers and dust bunnies misc stuff found on floors even cleans up my rugs in a jiff you don't have to deal with a cord its kind of soothing too to run it and see how much stuff you swept up! So much better then a broom

[azhita]

Ha, everyone must be feeling the pinch today!  I just wrote a blog post about this very subject this morning.  Check it out if you wish:

http://azhita.blogspot.com/2011/02/oh-futility-of-it-all.html 

I struggle with this daily.  If you're not right on top of it, it turns into a shambles in minutes.  Sigh.

[Greenhouse]

Hello

I am new here and you are the reason that I joined - I read your post through a link via twitter (I imagine because of my line of business cleaning related articles are sent but must admit to not being knowledgeable on twitter etc).

Anyway, I read your post and I just wanted to reassure you that from time to time we can all feel a little crappy - the 'could try harder' thing from school.  I think that perspective is lost here - you have done the most amazing thing in the world, not once but four times!  Huge pat on the back from the rest of the world (come on, think about it, how lucky are we, take it down to what you have done, harboured and nurtured for so many months - it is just mindblowing when you think of the process).  Now your family is here and they need your attention almost constantly, you forget about you, and everything but everything else comes first - you do the basics, we need to eat and use the bathroom but apart from that it is children, children, children and that is absolutely what you have to do - housework (I am assuming here we aren't talking rats and roaches, lice and mange- in which case we would need to revisit!) can be so down your list of priorities - the role you are playing now is far more important.

Some jobs have to be done on a daily basis, have to have to - but know that this situation will get easier - for goodness sakes you have a 2 month old baby, your hormones are flying, your sleep is disrupted, be kind to yourself.

The company coming over which requires hours of cleaning - are they coming to see the state of your house?  No I imagine they are coming to see you and your lovely family.  If they have children themselves they are likely to understand and if they haven't well crikey give them some of your laundry to do and get them to put the kettle on for you!

If I were closer I would fetch you over some lovely home baked meals, blast through your house (making games out of the chores with any child up for it) and then we could sit and chat.

I want to thank you for your post and wish you all the luck, realise what is important, what can wait and what can be done by others - which in the future (and they do grow up so quickly) you will be able to do for others in a similar situation - all of us can recognise aspects of your post I am sure.

Perhaps your situation is already a lot different I note you first posted last year - look at how your baby will have developed during that time!

Gill

[Greenhouse]

Oh and in response - no I do not suck at keeping my house clean but then I feel that I am a bit unusual in that I clean when I am stressed, I clean if I am happy, I clean if I am unhappy - I genuinely really enjoy cleaning.

Dull women have immaculate houses. A fridge magnet one of the kids bought for me!

Gill

[asraidevin]

I suck. Itès way more interesting to crochet, sew, write, play with the baby, play on the computer then to do dishes and fold laundry.

[applecider]

Originally Posted by Greenhouse 

Dull women have immaculate houses. A fridge magnet one of the kids bought for me!

I like that! I agree with the poster who said, what's the point? I really only feel like I need to clean when someone is coming over. DP works out of town all week so it is just me and the kids. I spend TOO much time on the internet because I feel utterly alone if I don't. I like a clean house, but I lack the motivation to DO it.

[llwr]

This is what has helped me:

Do it now!!!   Yeah, sometimes it's impossible with LOs, but at least ASAP helps a lot.  Otherwise it just turns into clutter and never gets done.  And I don't know whether it acutally takes more time to wipe off the table once at the end of the day than after every meal, but it sure lifts your spirits to have it look good whenever you see it.

The bedtime routine:  You may not be at your baseline, but if it can be as good when you go to bed as when you got up, you're doing ok. 

Think about stations:  This is like the PP said about having the vaccuum close to the living room.   Organize things where you need them and will use and put them away properly and know where they are.

Teach your kids to clean up after themselves:  Easier said than done, but it's worth a try.

And of course, remember that your family is first.  Keeping a decent house helps everyone's sanity, but when the kids come first, it won't always be great.