Be honest, how clean and organized is your home?

[mrs.t]

I will start by saying that I was never a neat freak. We moved into our house a month before DS was born, and things were never organized. I'm admitting that my house is constantly cluttered...toys on the floor, laundry waiting to be done. There are always dishes in the sink because the dishwasher is always full of clean dishes. There is usually an empty pizza box or two by the garbage can. I don't have a cleaning routine at all, and when I create one, I can't stick to it. Our office room is a disaster 100% of the time. The kitchen and bathroom get cleaned when necessary, but they are never spotless all the time. My bed is rarely made. There is dust on the television. My dining room is not vacuumed nearly enough. My fridge needs to be emptied and cleaned.

Please tell me I'm not the only one! I feel like every time I see someone else's home it's picture perfect. I have to work for hours on mine before I'll let anyone come over! I just need to know that other people have messes like I do.

[nadia105]

Do you live in my house?

I *love* the idea of having everything clean and organized, i really, really do.  But I really, really, hate trying to do it!  I am good at making a plan/schedule, but I cannot stick to it to save my life.  We have made some progress in terms of finding 'places' for more things, but both of us are pilers by nature and very visual, so that takes a lot to overcome.

Honestly, I think most people clean a good amount of time before they have people over.  There is a endless stream of dirty clothes, dirty dishes, toys, etc and I know the only time we have all of those under control at once is when people are coming over.

[mrs.t]

My DH and I were both raised in hoarder type houses, so when  we see a lot of clutter we can look past it, but when I actually look at what is going on in my house I want to run away! It's nothing like how I grew up, but piles of mail and laundry really give me anxiety! Apparently not enough to clean it, though.

[Lillitu]

My house is clean most of the time. But it is not because of me- my DP is very anal about it. I'm glad because I like a clean home, but there are other things that always trump cleaning for me.

[mommariffic]

My house is messy! Stacks of books, laundry that should learn how to do itself *hmph* dishes in sink etc. Just THINGS! But I am working on it, slowly, one day at a time. I go through phases where the house is looking awesome, and when it's looking like a tornado came through.

So messy? Yes! Clean -- yes, I think the two are different. I don't have mold growing in places, and you could probably lick my bathroom floor : ) If you don't mind dog hair..

[happysmileylady]

I prefer what I call "functionally clean."  We live downstairs most of the time, the bedrooms are upstairs and we generally just sleep there.  So the downstairs gets more focus than the upstairs.  We run a nightly pick up with the 2 year old to pick up all the toys and put them away.  This is to both teach the 2 year old good cleaning habits and also to minimize the risk of stepping on a lego at 3 am when the 3 month old wakes up and I need to nurse her downstairs.  And I really need to wake up to a kitchen with the counters cleaned off, so that I have space to make breakfast. 

But, I don't dust hardly at all.  There's currently a pile of laundry sitting on top of the washer and dryer that is as tall as I can reach my hands up, waiting to be folded.  There are dishes in the sink because I get my clean kitchen due to my teen daughter (one of her chores) and she is gone for the week.  I don't vacuum or a regular strict schedule, but I do vacuum when I feel like there's too much crap on the floor for the 2 year old to pick up.  And my kitchen floor...it's not been swepted or mopped since Thanksgiving. 

And upstairs?  Aside from the bedrooms, we do have a "loft" area, it's like a bonus room, it doesn't really have a lable.  We have a tv, love seat and chair in one part, that area is usable, but it's got papers in piles and video game accessories all over.  Behind that is my scrapbook desk and our desktop computer and what is supposed to be our household files.  Yeeeeaaaahh...the scrapbook desk and the area surrounding it is completely unusable right now.  When I was pg with the now 2 year old, we painted her room, the loft and redid the floors.  That meant everything from that area had to be moved.  Then when we were done, it had to be moved back and because I was pg at the time, all the moving was done by DH and it was not done in an organized fashion due to time constraints.  So the files are in boxes all over the computer desk, the scrapbook stuff is in random, detereorating piles, and those piles have started to become the landing spot for anything else that doesn't have a home.  Since it's been set there, I have finished one pg, dealt with an infant, and once that first year past and we started to get used to things, I got pg again, and that was a rough pg on me, I started working part time again, and now we have a 2 year old and a 3 month old.  There just hasn't been the time to totally organize it. 

We also have a sunroom/breakfast nook/crafting/sewing/photography room...IOW, I use it for whatever.  And it gets periodically disorganized and then cleaned.  Right now, my photography stuff is in a pile in one corner because I did the girls Christmas pics last week and haven't had time to reorganize, I have cut fabric and patterns all over the work table because I sewed some things for Christmas presents and there are still folding chairs in there from using the work table as a kids table at Thanksgiving. 

So, the primary living space in the house is pretty clean (though it is far from some sparkling, matching stylish space-my walls are orange, the seating is blue, the fireplace is brick and there's baby furniture in various patterns all over) but there are other parts of the house that are not even usable. 

Though, nothing is moldy or rotting or anything.  Just dusty.

[mom2happy]

Every room in my house has things in it that shouldnt be.

1. kitchen: chocolate pie on table (couldnt put it away because after I put two kids to bed, I carried the baby around the house while putting laundry in and doing dishes with one hand. My arm hurt so bad I just couldnt do anything else. She is sitting next to me playing with the phone and I dont care if she calls China- but I know if I get up she will cry- so here I am.)

Back to the kitchen: toothbrush charger on counter, crumbs on floor from dinner (even after I vacuumed the whole house at 4pm), receipts from Christmas gifts in window sill, marbles, small toys, kids artwork, keys and other misc. crap on counters.

2. living room: baby toys and books on floor and basket of folded laundry.

3. bathroom: toothpaste splattered sink, toothbrushes, DH's hair gel, random little kids things on counter (bathroom is actually clean though)

4. kids rooms: somewhat neat since I spent the entire day yesterday organizing them and getting rid of old toys to make room for the new ones.

5. my room: chair in corner with mountain of paperwork, magazines, bills, all topped off with a few pieces of folded laundry that I havent gotten to all day.

6. baby's new room that she isnt in yet: mountains and piles of stuff for me to go through to organize for when we actually need to use that room. (she is in my bed)

and guess what?? This isnt so bad.

I know for sure that there is not anything that I could be doing differently. I am going going going ALL DAY.

I wish everything was perfect and spottless, but that is not my reality right now.

[mrs.t]

This is great! Not really great that we are all in the same boat, but at least I don't feel so horribly guilty about being a sucky SAHM. I forgot to mention that DS's room is completely not finished! It doesn't matter because he co sleeps, but his nursery furniture is in boxes in my hallway, and the room hasn't been painted. This is all DH's fault (He has been working tons of overtime) because he was supposed to do it all, but it's another thing in my house that I am completely ashamed of!

Yeah my house is "clean" meaning no filth, mold, etc., but there is dust and general mess like toothpaste in the sink or drips and splatters on the stovetop. Basically, things that would embarrass me if anyone were to stop by.

I love this thread.

[kittywitty]

Originally Posted by mrs.t 

This is great! Not really great that we are all in the same boat, but at least I don't feel so horribly guilty about being a sucky SAHM. I forgot to mention that DS's room is completely not finished! It doesn't matter because he co sleeps, but his nursery furniture is in boxes in my hallway, and the room hasn't been painted. This is all DH's fault (He has been working tons of overtime) because he was supposed to do it all, but it's another thing in my house that I am completely ashamed of!

Yeah my house is "clean" meaning no filth, mold, etc., but there is dust and general mess like toothpaste in the sink or drips and splatters on the stovetop. Basically, things that would embarrass me if anyone were to stop by.

I love this thread.

Me, too. Strangely, my house is way more organized & clean the smaller my house is. We have less than 1800 sq. feet and my house gets trashed easily. I try to keep up with it, but my 3 yo is a hurricane.

[elisheva]

I feel like I've really improved and am mostly satisfied but if someone inexperienced in the ways of toddlers walked into my house...they would not be impressed (hence these people do not get invited over often!!!). We seem to have a "clutter area" in most rooms for things that have no home yet/things I need to put away and can't do it easily. I've really come a long way in that most things do have homes and those homes are easily accessible!

I vacuum about once a week - in the main living areas and I tend to sweep the kitchen and dining room floors once a day. We do dishes by hand so there are almost always some waiting though I've switched to using smaller plates for meals (helps DH and I eat less, too) somehow makes washing them easier...I'm sure it's mental.

My bathroom floor gets random stuff on it (dust, dog hair) but actually gets spot cleaned fairly often as we have two young boys in the house who still don't have great aim...

I wish I could wash my kitchen floors more often but I can't find the rag attachment for my expensive mop (sheesh) and my people walk through it right away anyway...If I weren't so flippin' tired all the time with this pregnancy I could summon the courage to do it after everyone's in bed, but I generally just collapse on the couch and say, well, the ruder version of "screw it".

[goinggreengirl]

Mine is always a little bit of a mess and I definitely don't clean the bathroom and kitchen enough. But, DH and I don't really mind. And, I like to say I'm a stay at home MOM, not a maid! DH agrees and doesn't care if I spend all day playing with and holding DS and don't clean at all.

[Lisa1970]

I get excited when I find the floor..That is the condition of my house right now.

[tryingfortwo]

Mine is much messier than I would like, but I'll admit it - I suck at cleaning.  I think the issue is that I tend to be a perfectionist, and am a very all-or-nothing thinker, so the thought of cleaning/organizing our home is just overwhelming.  If I start, I want to do it very thoroughly, and that would take forever!  It's just not realistic with a preschooler at home.  So, I don't do much at all.  About the only time I clean is if we have someone coming to stay with us - then all the bathrooms get cleaned, everything gets vacuumed and dusted and washed.  Otherwise, I do laundry weekly and that is about it.  Thank goodness DH is better about it - he does the dishes, takes out the garbage, cleans the bathrooms occasionally, vacuums sometimes (I will vacuum too if it obviously needs to be done).  I feel badly that I'm such an awful housewife, and I also want to make sure I teach DS good habits, but it's so hard to do!

[cappuccinosmom]

currently we are living with family, so a bit of a different situation.

When we were last in our own home, it certainly wasn't picture perfect, in large part because it was an older home, had ugly carpet and windows that were always sweating and feeding the mildew spots.  I don't dust. 

However, I found we really just do not live well in clutter or mess.  Starting out fairly spartan and keeping the clutter down made it easy for me to have the house reasonably tidy in 30 minutes or so.  Everything has a place, I toss it into that place, and we're good.  I wipe down the visible bathroom stuff daily (2 minutes, tops).  Save up the laundry and do it once a week, washing and drying on one day, folding and putting away the next, so that I don't end up with piles of stuff that isn't put away. 

[elisheva]

I envy those of you doing laundry once a week. We have severely reduced everyone's wardrobe (our house is 950 sq ft with only two small closets - one in each bedroom), so we do about two loads a day between clothing and kitchen rags/towels/bedding. A huge hurdle for me was clearing out all the extra stuff so that what we actually need fits nicely in its space and is much easier to put away. Poor DH downsized from 40+ dress shirts (I know...) to 20 and I only keep 6 out at a time and rotate them every few months. The closet is so much more user-friendly, though. 

[autumnfairy76]

Not clean or organized here at all! I have started hosting a playgroup once a week though and that forces me to have everything presentable at least one day a week (and gets DH to help!), but it's trashed again by the next day.

The only thing that keeps me sane is my family assistant who comes once a week and does the daily cleaning and ironing (we are in france. it's the service you see the girl talk about in the movie Sicko. I LOVE it!!!) I STILL have tons of housework to do even after she's been here though, piles of clothes in the bedroom, and crap to organize, stuff to deep clean, and the bathroom. I feel guilty for having someone do what I feel I should be able to do, but at the same time, I realized that with 2 kids under 3, I need to give myself some slack, stop focusing on "getting stuff done" and focus on the kids more! Then we are all happier and less stressed.

[happysmileylady]

 Everything has a place, I toss it into that place, and we're good

 This is something I REALLY struggle with.  I have a very hard time finding a place for everything.  Like, my maternity clothes-we aren't sure that we are done having kids, so I am not sure if I should sell them or not.  They don't fit in my dresser with all the clothes there that fit me now.  And I don't have a tub or anything to put them in in my closet (which, my walk in closet it another room in the house that is a disaster, though it's at least usable.  We don't have the money for the large closet system that this w-i-c needs. )  Or excess boxes of diapers-since we don't do disposable, I used coupons to stock up on dipes when I can get them really cheap (sometimes as low as free!) and have a small stockpile of those and wipes also.  Not all of them fit in the changing table storage area, so we have some upstairs in the girls bedroom closet on the shelf, but then there are still two boxes that don't even fit there that we got for Christmas.  I dunno what to do with them!  And then there's stuff that belongs to other people that gets left behind after get togethers and such...like things that food was brought in for a pot luck.  I never know what to do with that stuff so that it's out of the way, but is also remembered the next time we see the people the stuff belongs to so that it leaves the house.

So, yeah, I have a really really hard time finding a place for everything. 

[cappuccinosmom]

I find cardboard boxes (like orange and banana boxes) and sturdy trash bags to be very useful.  Things that aren't used regularly get put into one of those, labeled, and put out of the way so I'm not tripping on them.  You don't need an expensive organizational system, though it would be nice (I would like one too, lol.  I look at ads for them with longing)

[Teensy]

I constantly have clutter about the place, it's just different clutter from week to week!

You'll never see my house on Hoarders.  But it's only totally clean for a few hours each month.    I'll have a few rooms cleaned up, but then others will be messy.  One bathroom will probably have pee on the floor (my DS2, sigh).  One kid will have a jumble of toys/papers/rocks/junk scattered around the playroom.  While I am getting those rooms cleaned up, someone will be making messes elsewhere in the house.

Plus, everyday more stuff comes in.  "Treasures" from the prize box at school.  School work.  Mail.  Wooden projects the kid make in their grandfather's shop.  

Five weeks ago, I had my daughter's Daisy troop stuff spread out, organizing the tunics, patches and books that the troop had ordered.

Four week ago DS had a Heritage project at school so I had my sewing stuff out to make him a costume and all our ancestry papers and pictures out scanning them and helping him with his power point presentation.

Three weeks ago we had all the boxes down from the attic with Christmas decorations.

Two weeks ago it was numerous boxes from Amazon and wrapping supplies.

Last week was Christmas.  Need I say more.

Today I am going through the kids' closets sorting outgrown clothes, so I have piles of clothes for Goodwill.

Later this week I'll have the boxes back out of the attic, filling them up with the Christmas decorations.

Each week the stuff gets put away after the project is complete, but another project always seems to take it's place.

And it seems like every few hours something sticky ends up on the kitchen floor.  sigh

My house is clean enough I'll never loose my kids over the condition of the place, but I'd prefer if guests gave me at least an hour's notice to pick stuff up and clean the hall bathroom before they come over.

[mrspineau]

Mine is very clean and organized.  But, I think i'm a little OCD about it lol.  I used to be crazy messy all of my life, and then just sort of all of a sudden became a neat freak.  I think I have a serious fear of mess now.  any little bit of clutter drives me totally crazy.  I literally had to make a place for every single item and if it doesnt have a place or purpose, then i get rid of it.  i clean up messes as i make them, and clean up one mess before starting another.  my husband also loves a clean and organized home so he's great to pick up after himself and such.  I think that the key is really to just not keep things that you don't need/love.  and when buying new things, toys or whatever, think about where it is going to go in your home.  if you can't think of where you'll put it, don't buy it.