Keeping the house clean (Full Version)

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Leslie_JnJs_mom -> Keeping the house clean (4/18/2008 2:56:16 PM)

I have a teenager and a 3 year old who both by themselves can make my home look like a bomb went off in record time. Throw my husband into the mix and then I just get overwhelmed. My husband and teenager help out with chores but lately there has been long practices for Jack and late nights for my husband so I am totally on my own. That gets so discouraging when I get everything clean and in its place only to have a disaster again by nightfall. What are some things you do to keep a tidy home without constantly working?



Cloak -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/18/2008 9:03:33 PM)

Hey there~

We all struggle with household chores. The best thing I offer to you to : Have a plan.

For instance, write down your to do list, stick to it, and do one thing at a time. When you have finished doing one task, unwind, take a break and reward yourself or give yourself a pat on the back. When you're ready move to the next task.

If tasks are heavy duty, break them down or better still distribute them on several other days. In this way you don't feel overwhelmed.

Blessings!



Mrs.X -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/19/2008 12:42:29 AM)

Does your teen do his own laundry? Do you also work outside the home?

Laundry and dishes are things I try to not get behind on. I pick up everyday too.....toys and stuff like that. I vaccuum or carpet sweep every couple days too because I have an 11 month old, but if he didn't like to put nasty things in his mouth, I'd let that slide. Everything else can wait for the weekend, like the bathroom and de-cluttering. I see you have a little one too. One thing I do so I don't have to scrub the tub is after every single bath my kids take, I rinse the tub out right away. I'm not a big fan of chemicals around my kids, so if I do it that way, I don't have to use a chemical to clean soap scum. We have a removble showerhead with what I call "rip the skin off your back setting" just for that purpose.



Leslie_JnJs_mom -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/19/2008 10:53:19 AM)

Sometimes Jack does his own laundry. Most time I go into his room to fill up the washer when I am on the last load and I have more room. Getting him to do other chores is difficult. He will do them but he puts dishes in places where they do not belong. I get after him to put them away right but then again I have been after him since he was 9. Making him redo it does not help lecturing does not help. My mom tells me that boys just do not pay attention like girls.
No I am a stay at home mom. The part that really gets me down about the house is even as early as last year I could clean in the afternoon and get everything just right in its place. I could get all of my dusting, vacuming and windows done in about an hour. I would just add dishes to the dishwasher or wash by hand as they got dirty so the kitchen was always clean. I don't know what happened. I clean the house only to have a mess within hours. I am so busy running around cleaning up toys, clothes that have somehow made it to rooms they do not belong and getting food prepared that places like the kitchen and bath have fallen behind too. I just sometimes sit there and say what happened?? This is not me. I love to cook and make homemade bread cookies etc but here lately all I can think of is the mess it will make.



sunshine4God -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/19/2008 10:00:49 PM)

I have O C D so keeping the house clean is no problem for me.



creationtalk -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/19/2008 11:00:52 PM)

quote:

I don't know what happened. I clean the house only to have a mess within hours. I am so busy running around cleaning up toys, clothes that have somehow made it to rooms they do not belong and getting food prepared that places like the kitchen and bath have fallen behind too.


You have a three year old. That's a big part of what happened.

Does your teen get an allowance? Does he have chores? What does your husband do to support your efforts to get your teen to contribute?

If it were me, I'd stop washing the teen's clothes unless he puts them in the laundry basket. I would not clean his room. I would tell him that I was going to start throwing away any of his things that are not in his room. For the first week, when you clean and you find things of his out of place, put it in a box. Show it to him...but after the deadline, start getting rid of things. If it's in his room, you can close the door.

Your husband needs to support you on this; he needs to make sure that the teen listens to you, treats you with respect, and contributes at home.

With the little child, make cleaning up a game--my son and I set the timer for 10 minutes and see who can get the most cleaned up in that amount of time. Sometimes my son wants to set the timer several times or for longer times. One advantage to this is 10 minutes is not near as overwhelming as trying to clean the whole house and it's easier to keep focused for a short period of time. Plastic storage boxes and bins are also handy...when you clean, anything that you cannot immediately put away can go in one of those for a quick "pickup" and can be sorted later.

Also see what you can do to change your big meal to something made in the crockpot or a "do-ahead" meal that you take out of the freezer and pop in the oven. Both of these allow you to schedule the meal preparation work to a time when you are not so rushed (early mornings before my son is up work for me) while still resulting in wholesome meals.

My situation is a bit different than yours...I'm a single parent with a very demanding job (on-call, shiftwork, and unscheduled overtime common), but I can definitely relate to the frustration of never seeming to get the house cleaned.



peculiar_lady2 -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/19/2008 11:02:32 PM)

if you had no problem before and are having trouble now, then I would assume that it's not a lack of cleaning ability as much as maybe a lack of organization (?)....do you think that could be it? If so, then reevaluate each room...it's purpose and functions...map out on a piece of paper the things that room is for and figure out what is lacking for it to run more effeciently. If something is extra, get it out of there and to a more appropriate place in the house where it can be better utilized. Organizing is the key to keep things clean though...at least for me it is.



Georgia-Peach -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/20/2008 4:22:32 PM)

I got through phases where the house stays clean and organized for weeks then we go on a trip, have a busy schedule, or company which tends to throw me off. Then I have to try to get back on track which takes me weeks to do. I only have one child right now (15 months old) and if I don't do a little each day it doesn't take long for it to all start piling up. So I strive to just do a little each day so I don't overwhelm myself. Once I start feeling overwhelmed with housework than CW, the computer, and tv are far more appealing to me than they normally are.



HisCovenant -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/20/2008 4:33:21 PM)

Man, can I identify with you! I am going through a time right now when I feel like why should I bother cleaning if dh is just going to come home and mess it up?

One thing that we did that worked for a while was have a nightly cleaning for 15 minutes. Whoever was home at 9 pm had to do something productive for the general household for 15 minutes. We chose 9 pm because we're night people and were likely to be home at that time, even if we had gone somewhere. It's amazing what you can do in 15 minutes and how knowing that you don't have to do it all aleviates the feeling of being overwhelmed. Most nights it turned into 20-30 minutes of cleaning and it changed how we dirtied the house during the day (ie, I'm going to go ahead and put this where it belongs so I can do x in my 15 minutes tonight.)

Even on those nights that it is only you at home, you are at least making a dent in your chores and can accomplish something.

The reason it no longer works is bevcause we stopped doing it. We need to reinstate it.



Kat_D -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/20/2008 5:56:27 PM)

-I vacuum, dust and windex the kitchen counters/mirrors/stovetop and other appliances nearly every day (takes less than an hour)

-I swifter wet mop (I have wood floors throughout my house) and do a thorough bathroom and kitchen cleaning once a week.

-I have a place (drawers, closets or storage baskets) for everything, so I have no clutter.

Consequently, my house never really gets dirty. I also have an open floor plan so everything is pretty visible...I like to keep up with the housework so I never have to worry when someone drops by.

I'm the type of person who cannot rest if my house is in disarray, so if I want to relax, this is what I have to do.



cinderella092003 -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/20/2008 10:58:20 PM)

I am a stay at home mom as well with a 3 year old too. I know it can be frustrating.

As far as my daughter goes, she has a clean time everyday where she goes in her room and puts away her things. I have kept it simple. Toys in the toybox, books on the shelf, clothes in the closet, which she can reach to put them on, so she hangs her own clothes as well. Shoes in the closet against the wall in the closet, and papers in her desk. When I was teaching her where things go, I made a game out of it. I would pick something up and ask her where it went and she would put it in place. The other thing we did that I love was her toys stay in her room. If I find a toy out of her room, she get a warning, and then it goes bye-bye for a while.

As far as hubby goes, my biggest pet peeve for him are the dishes and his clothes. I have a dishwasher, but it is a waste of time when I have to scrub the dishes because stuff is caked on them, so I have asked him to just run water on the plate after he is done using it. It makes it much easier for me to rinse and put them in and go. I hang his clothes and fold his pants, but he takes care of the rest. I was getting annoyed because I would find socks in his pajama drawer and pants in his sock drawer, that I set his stuff on the bed and he puts it away and I never have to look at it. I am a little OCD [8D]

As far as your teenager, I would tell him that he needs to be an example to his brother. I would teach him how to do his laundry and tell him he is responsible for it. If he has questions, I would answer them, but I would not touch his clothes after that. If he runs out of things to wear, then he has to wear something dirty. My mom was very OCD and didn't take the time to teach me the basics, even when I asked her to, because she believed she could do it better and right. At 18, I didn't know how to do laundry or even fry an egg. At your oldest son's age, he is more than able to take care of his things. I would tell him responsibilities first and fun after. If you also share with him that if he cleans as he goes throughout the day, he won't have to spend a whole lot of time doing it.

The other thing I do for clothes is have baskets in each bedroom for dirty clothes. That way, I am not picking things up around the rooms.



Cute-N-Sassy -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/20/2008 11:50:24 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: 2monkeysmom

Sometimes Jack does his own laundry. Most time I go into his room to fill up the washer when I am on the last load and I have more room. Getting him to do other chores is difficult. He will do them but he puts dishes in places where they do not belong. I get after him to put them away right but then again I have been after him since he was 9. Making him redo it does not help lecturing does not help. My mom tells me that boys just do not pay attention like girls.
No I am a stay at home mom. The part that really gets me down about the house is even as early as last year I could clean in the afternoon and get everything just right in its place. I could get all of my dusting, vacuming and windows done in about an hour. I would just add dishes to the dishwasher or wash by hand as they got dirty so the kitchen was always clean. I don't know what happened. I clean the house only to have a mess within hours. I am so busy running around cleaning up toys, clothes that have somehow made it to rooms they do not belong and getting food prepared that places like the kitchen and bath have fallen behind too. I just sometimes sit there and say what happened?? This is not me. I love to cook and make homemade bread cookies etc but here lately all I can think of is the mess it will make.


I just have a teenager, but what worked for him is to make notes and place them around the house. I would tell him to do something and he would sigh and say "I know!" He's pretty messy at times, but he does know how to do laundry and keep things clean. And he's a great cook. But at his age, there are just more important things that clutter his mind. Putting up little notes with specifics has worked... for instance, reminding him to put the shower curtain into the shower while it's running (he had no problem with the tub, just the shower), or to hang the towel a certain way so it'll dry faster.



Leslie_JnJs_mom -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/21/2008 12:42:04 PM)

Thanks for all your replies.
quote:

if you had no problem before and are having trouble now, then I would assume that it's not a lack of cleaning ability as much as maybe a lack of organization

Yeah I have a pretty organizised. I went though the house a year or so ago and got rid of a lot of thing. I do not allow anything on my shelves or drawers that do not belong there. This really annoyed Dh and my son for a time but they got used to it.

quote:

Does your teen get an allowance? Does he have chores? What does your husband do to support your efforts to get your teen to contribute?


He gets an allowance when he does his work without complaining and not having to be sent back 5 times to redo the job. That does not happen often so he really does not get one.

quote:

I got through phases where the house stays clean and organized for weeks then we go on a trip, have a busy schedule, or company which tends to throw me off. Then I have to try to get back on track which takes me weeks to do. I only have one child right now (15 months old) and if I don't do a little each day it doesn't take long for it to all start piling up. So I strive to just do a little each day so I don't overwhelm myself. Once I start feeling overwhelmed with housework than CW, the computer, and tv are far more appealing to me than they normally are


Yep I have noticed that I seem to go through phases where it is so easy then other times it is more difficult. I do notice that I am not a nice person to be around when the house gets messy. I did have one friend over the other day and I was talking about how my house is getting messy again. She looked at me like I had grown another head and said my dirty house was cleaner then her clean house. That helped a little but I still cannot stand to see things out of place. Perhaps it is when I got sick that things got out of whack. I have noticed I am a lot more tired in the evenings then I usually am.



lexie -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/21/2008 4:51:02 PM)

I make sure that the well used areas of our apartment are cleaned daily.

In the kitchen, the dishes are done each night and counters and stove top wiped.

In the living room, toys and all other clutter are picked up, and the floor is swept.

In the bathroom, I wipe down the sink, toilet and mirrors when my daughter is in the bath, and spray the shower and tub with cleaner after I shower.

This way, I can concentrate on larger cleaning jobs during the week.

One thing that has worked for me is having a place for everything that usually ends up cluttering the house. A toybox in the family room, a basket for magazines, an easel for all art supplies, a dish for keys and wallets. We have a shoe rack at the front door, and I put hooks at eye level for my daughter to hang her jackets on.

Knowing that everything has a specific place to go has made it much easier for me to tidy AND now that Dh knows where to put everything, the house is much tidier!



earthless -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/21/2008 5:19:13 PM)

I have OCD and a Martha Stewart complex - so I guess my wife lucked out. She thinks its the norm, I guess, for a husband to work a literal 15 hour day and then come home to clean the bathroom and tidy up the living room, etc..

And I don't leave clothes on the floor, I clean the kitchen, throw out trash, do the yard work, etc etc....

[&:]



doinkdom -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/22/2008 11:50:00 AM)

My husband was watching the last few minutes of Clean House with me and he commented, "these people seriously let their houses go to where a TV show has to come in and clean up their junk?"

I just laughed....Yep, that's about right.

He's a neat freak, so this makes absolutely no sense to him.

Aside from keeping the clutter down, I do one thing a day - vacuuming/dusting, mopping, bathrooms, etc.

I also take one closet, room or area per weekend during the spring and gut it - toss, save or give everything away. And then totally organize what's left.



Sadey -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/22/2008 3:49:28 PM)

I just went through my whole house and everything we own was touched by my hands. I threw away a mountain of stuff and took 3 trunk loads to Salvation Army.

I moved things out of my living room because I'd read on a orginazational webpage that empty space is beautiful. That was an eye opener to me. My house has way less STUFF[:@] in it and it just doesn't take long to clean house and I got rid of all clothes that we hadn't worn and now I don't have a lot of clothes but laundry day is sure short.

It feels so liberating to not be buried in my stuff.
Just what worked for me. I also quit recreational shopping.



Leslie_JnJs_mom -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/22/2008 10:14:54 PM)

I did that same thing a little over a year ago. I have done well to keep clutter out of my house. My main problem is when the end of the night comes and I finally get the house all to bed I wind up with more work even though I have gone through and cleaned already. I was just wondering if anyone found a system that kept the house clean without always actually having to clean to keep it that way. So far I have seen no one who could say that. I tried flylady one time but my inbox was flooded with stuff I should have done 4 hours ago.



lightshineon -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/22/2008 10:32:25 PM)

I go on rampages, hate messes, no one cares till Mama goes nuts. I do ask forgivness though from the Lord, and family. It does work though.



Mrs.Wifey -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/22/2008 11:11:14 PM)

quote:

Once I start feeling overwhelmed with housework than CW, the computer, and tv are far more appealing to me than they normally are.


And this is the reason I have been around so much the past couple days[8|]

Tomorrow I have deemed as my "get everything caught up" day.

Child things- She has a designated basket and section of our living room for her stuff and I try and keep it in that general vicinity. I pick it up every night after she goes to bed.

DH- I have a wicker laundry basket that I put all his stuff in so that he can deal with it at a later time. He is a un-tidy person yet likes a tidy house[8|] This is the solution that keeps us from arguing over who the bigger slob is[&:]

My stuff- I try and pick up all my stuff before I go to bed.

My night time routine looks like this- start dishwasher, put all laundry in it's place, general 10 minute tidy then personal bedtime routine.

I deep clean the bathrooms once a week. I vacuum and dust everyday, sweep and wet Swiffer every other day. Of course the dishes and general tidy get done everyday.



Melitac -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/23/2008 6:41:58 AM)

I am having to relearn how to do housework. [;)]

Left at home are 3 teens, 18, 16 and 13. The 18 and 16 yo's have jobs now and are rarely home. So now, after 24 years of mothering, I am being required to once again resume the total task all by myself.

They do their own laundry. So that helps.
They do help when they are at home. But thats rare anymore.

13 yo is taking on more and not really liking it. Oh well. It's time for him to "serve"!

Lawn care and the floors are the most necessary. Kitchen has become easier with fewer at home.
But dusting and general clutter still get out of hand. Pet care gets ignored too. [&:]

It's weird. This time last year it was all hired out to the kids. Thats no so anymore. But I guess the clutter is the hardest part.



peculiar_lady2 -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/23/2008 7:29:20 AM)

quote:

I was just wondering if anyone found a system that kept the house clean without always actually having to clean to keep it that way.

my moms method was her box....she would clean during the day and then right before our bedtime she would announce that she was coming through with her box. Anything out of place was put in there and we had to pay to get those items back. They would make no excuses for us if it was school work, etc. If it wasn't paid for by the time they handed out allowance it was automatically taken out at that time. Each item was 25 cents.



MissGizmo -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/23/2008 9:20:29 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Melitac

I am having to relearn how to do housework. [;)]

Left at home are 3 teens, 18, 16 and 13. The 18 and 16 yo's have jobs now and are rarely home. So now, after 24 years of mothering, I am being required to once again resume the total task all by myself.

They do their own laundry. So that helps.
They do help when they are at home. But thats rare anymore.

13 yo is taking on more and not really liking it. Oh well. It's time for him to "serve"!

Lawn care and the floors are the most necessary. Kitchen has become easier with fewer at home.
But dusting and general clutter still get out of hand. Pet care gets ignored too. [&:]

It's weird. This time last year it was all hired out to the kids. Thats no so anymore. But I guess the clutter is the hardest part.


Do you have a per-teen in the neighborhood that you could hire for a while during the week? That is what my neighbor does. The girl does the dusting and trash empting along with other small jobs that need doing. It helps her alot to get all of it done, and gives the child some spending money.



sisrev -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/23/2008 9:28:56 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: 2monkeysmom
. I tried flylady one time but my inbox was flooded with stuff I should have done 4 hours ago.

Try the digest version--it all comes in one email, just a list of the things to do each day. I like her system, but I do better doing it myself from her book rather than the email version.



APZR -> RE: Keeping the house clean (4/23/2008 5:06:12 PM)

My daughters and wife can make the biggest mess. So when I come home from breaking rocks all day, and find they have even invaded my private space... the big recliner or my home office... I break out the big thick construction clean up bags. It doesn't take long before everyone is scrambling to get their stuff up before Daddy gets it in his trash bag. For general cleaning, we have a maid service. So doggoneit... all they have to do is keep the "STUFF" picked up.



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