Post by pixiepink24 on Feb 22, 2017 10:17:13 GMT -5
I'm curious as to how many moms get extra help. I feel like I can't keep this place clean and wanting to know if I'm the only one. Also, I'm a SAHM too so I kind of feel guilty about it.
BFP #1 December 2012 - MMC January 2013, D&C February 2013 BFP #2 October 2014 - DD arrived July 16, 2015 BFP #3 July 2016 - MC @ 9 weeks August 2016 BFP #4 Due January 2, 2018 - Please stick baby!
I've only had a cleaner come once at our old house while I was getting it ready to put on the market.
It is definitely not in the budget for routine cleaning and I really can't see wanting it. Sure my house is a gross mess sometimes (usually) but I feel like that's par for the course with 3 small kids. I'd rather pay someone to watch my kids so I could clean than pay someone else to clean personally.
I'm a SAHM and my house is always a mess. The stages are Messy no one coming over Clean enough for good friends and family Clean enough for occasional visitors, out of town guests, etc. I feel that there is always something that needs to be cleaned in my house. My husband and I usually clean house on his day off. The rest of the time we're just trying not to get buried alive. I'm head of laundry and he is head of dishes (no dishwashers machine). We help each other with the others tasks. The living room I try to clean everyday. I have DD pick up the toys and I take care of any trash and dishes that wonder in there and vacuum. I wish I could afford to have someone come clean but it's not in our budget. I would hate having to clean to have someone else come clean, too.
P.s. I also think that the fact that we do stay home every day makes the mess worse. 3 meals plus snacks worth of dishes, toys being played with, clothing changes from being outside and getting dirty, or my kid just changing clothes because who knows why? etc.
We have a woman (and her assistant) who come every other week. They are magic elves and the house looks so good and the dog loves them and they leave flowers!
For the few months when I was SAH, we did not have cleaning help. I split my chores into six buckets and did one bucket each day during nap. (I gave myself Saturdays off.) It helped me to have a specific schedule each week, i.e. Monday - JR's laundry, kitchen counters, guest room; Tuesday - master bath, sheets and towels; Wednesday - hall bath, first floor vacuuming... etc, etc.
Post by pixiepink24 on Feb 22, 2017 11:09:11 GMT -5
That sounds amazing amch8 ! My problem is being able to walk away from the girls to get anything done. Just for me to go pee or get dressed, there are like two screaming matches and they are fighting. Plus SO is never really home to help. And with nap time, that's the only time I can shower or I can make a yummy lunch. If I shower, W always wakes up at the end. If I make noise and clean, she wakes up too. Just me walking into the kitchen to make their food can cause issues of screaming and fighting. Ahhhhh!
I suck at cleaning. I SAH most of the time and I feel like that almost makes it worse. Our house was cleaner when we both worked full time because no one was here all day.
Pig sty over here. We do dishes almost daily (depends on how many were used), laundry on the weekends, and living room daily (clutter). It's hard to keep up, but we do the best we can. DH would like to hire someone, but we live too far out for a reputable company and I don't know that I trust many people in our little town.
Post by lonegalathome on Feb 22, 2017 11:27:40 GMT -5
I have someone weekly. We used to do every other week and DH surprised me and signed us up for weekly when dS3 was born. She's a life saver and way under charges for what she does.
Since the kids are home all day it can get to be a mess, and I'm at work so not there to clean it. Nanny picks up and straightens, but not full on cleans - and I don't want her to do that - I want her focused on the kids.
I then do all the laundry and DH is in charge of the dishes.
As someone who works out side the home we decided early on (at kid 2) to find a way to fit a cleaner into the budget so we could spend the time we do have at home with the kids and not trying to get a million things done.
Post by lonegalathome on Feb 22, 2017 11:29:40 GMT -5
@justinslovo, getting rid of stuff has helped so much! I follow Purposeful Mom Life on FB that is about minimalizing your home and its truly been helpful. Less stuff = less stuff to clean and tidy
I guess I just feel like it's dirty. Like gross and nasty. I eventually get in a good deep cleaning and almost immediately the floors are covered in food, trash, dirt, etc. I find remnants of food random places, stuff is always stuck to my feet no matter how much I sweep or mop. I just feel like I can't keep up. I clean one thing and when I move on to the next, the previous thing just gets destroyed again. And two toddlers don't help the situation. Weekends are easier when it's just W and I or when we go out on play dates during the week and out of the house.
Post by catladymeow on Feb 22, 2017 11:39:17 GMT -5
We have thought about having someone come in and clean our house biweekly but right now we are saving every penny for a down payment on a condo so we haven't pulled the trigger. It sure would be nice though! We keep on top of surface level cleaning fairly well but deep cleaning happens very rarely.
Post by mrsbeachcat on Feb 22, 2017 11:47:00 GMT -5
SAHM with no outside help. Two things have helped: 1) our house is tiny 2) my standards have been significantly lowered over the last year. Now, if the toys are put in bins and I vacuum I consider the place presentable. I'm lucky in that Bill isn't that sensitive to noise so I can vacuum when he sleeps. He also doesn't have that many toys since we spend most of our time away from the house.
One thing that I have found that has helped (but might not help you since you have two) is cleaning as we go. So if we do a messy art project, I basically wipe up the spills with a damp rag or baby wipe as they're happening. I also only ever have three toys out at once.
Post by pixiepink24 on Feb 22, 2017 11:47:08 GMT -5
@justinslovo Sometimes they get a snack catcher of Cheerios since they wake up at different times occasionally and to hold them off until breakfast. But they eat everything else at the table and chairs. I have to sit right there to wrangle them and make sure they keep sitting down. W is good on her own and so is J but when they are together, they feed off each other. We have a lot of dirt outside from tree removal over the fall so it tracks inside. And I've been pushing the "no shoes" thing lately too. And we are all dark hardwoods and light tile so everything is noticeable.
Oh and J is super scared of noises like a vacuum. But I'm ok with the swifter or wet cloth idea.
My baseboards and stairs are dusty and my shower could use SUCH a good scrub. If we ever end up back in the black, I will probably hire sharebear05 's service if she's happy with them, but I can't justify the cash until we stabilize. And like @traceyos - I know this stage isn't forever and right now having weekends free with L is more important than a clean house.
I do keep up with laundry and dishes and wiping down counters and tables and the really important stuff. It's the other stuff that I wish was done that isn't, but you can't have it all at the same time, so I try to let that go.
Post by lovemyirishtwins on Feb 22, 2017 11:55:50 GMT -5
I do not have any help as I am home and it is not in our budget. Like ashiscute said I would rather spend our money on different things.
I cook and clean the kitchen after each meal. I vacuum daily because we have cats. Laundry is twice a week. I mop, clean bathrooms, dust, clean windows as needed.
Give me an hour of no kids and I can clean so much. I often think what I did before kids because it would take me so much longer.
Post by lonegalathome on Feb 22, 2017 12:10:47 GMT -5
pixiepink24 no shoes in the house is KEY KEY KEY in my house. Otherwise I don't want to imagine what it would be like. O loves to put his shoes in the little bin I have by the door. Can you gate the kitchen during meal times so they can't get out of the kitchen with food? O will sit with a tub of water and kitchen utensils and measuring cups for a good 10-15min (I put a towel under the tub), and I do kitchen clean up while he does this. Then I mop up the spilled water from his bin and count that as mopping....
i voted no, it's a pigsty, but probably we're somewhere between kicking ass and pigsty. it's really hard to keep up with the toy mess during the week. DS1 is getting better about picking up stuff (with prompting), but then DS2 will come along and just pull books off the shelves and dump baskets of stuff out.
on the weekends DH and i both clean- give the kitchen a good wipedown, mop the floor, vacuum, laundry, clean the bathrooms... but we let a lot of stuff go for weeks and weeks in between-- changing the sheets, dusting, etc.
daily we basically just wipe up DS2's mess in the kitchen and load/unload the dishwasher. no real time for anything else during the week.
i agree with PPs that i'd rather just have someone else watch the kids so i can clean- it's unbelievable how fast you can get it done with no kids underfoot. it's not in our budget to hire someone to clean, but even if it was, i'm not sure i'd be into it- especially the idea that you have to clean up (i.e. pick up your crap) before the cleaning person comes.
we do have the expectation that our kids will help out more and more as it's age appropriate. we're trying to get DS1 started on some regular chores (feeding the cats, putting away silverware), and really push that he has to clean up after himself.
lovemyirishtwins See, I would LOVE some time without W, but it's not do-able. I think that could help, ya know?!
The only reason I get time with out viv is because dh takes her out in the morning so I can clean or I clean when she is napping. The older two can entertain themselves if they are at home.
Post by lindylogana on Feb 22, 2017 12:22:34 GMT -5
I wish I had a cleaner but not in the budget. I do a pretty great job of keeping up...my secret I never let anything get too messy otherwise things spiral. On Thursdays the kids know it's cleaning night and that's when I get the bathrooms done, clean the floors, etc. every night besides Thursdays things are straightened up.
Post by italianmommy on Feb 22, 2017 12:31:24 GMT -5
I chose "No, I'm kicking ass at this mom thing" because I'm beyond lucky to have my husband as my partner. He is the primary cleaner-upper of the house and is the one who comes home and tidies up the place each night. He's the best.
Sam does a good job with helping unload silverware and he will grab his toy vacuum while I'm vacuuming...but I just get frustrated when I try to do any other chores because he has to be right there...or making a mess while I'm picking up.
I totally get it sister!
Oh man, E has a toddler sized broom that she loves. She likes to "help" me sweep up after dinner. When she helps sweeping takes like 3x as long!
Post by shawnabm1320 on Feb 22, 2017 13:52:16 GMT -5
I answered SS because we don't have a cleaner, and I wouldn't say my house is a pigsty, but it's not amazing either. I find that doing the dishes every night and picking up the toys before I go to bed helps keep everything at least look tidy. There are certainly still cobwebs in the corner and dust in hard to reach places - i.e. Martha Stewart would have a cow, but it's relatively clean these days.
I also find that for me it's easier to do a cleaning schedule like cleanmama.net has (it's one big task a day along with one laundry load a day, and then a couple monthly tasks you can fit in wherever) than to try to get it all done on one day. I'm sure that once the baby arrives it will be a pigsty for a while, but I'm trying not to stress about it.
I don't clean during nap time. That is ME time. I try and incorporate the girls into my cleaning as much as possible. Or clean while they are occupied with a craft of a snack etc.
Sam does a good job with helping unload silverware and he will grab his toy vacuum while I'm vacuuming...but I just get frustrated when I try to do any other chores because he has to be right there...or making a mess while I'm picking up.
LOL I often tell MH that usually while I'm cleaning one area of the house, F is destroying another. He's getting better at helping to put things "ba" (back) after he makes a mess though.
We are constantly cleaning it seems. We do get cleaners in every other week. We clean the basement ourselves. I'll do toilets in between. H helps out a lot, especially cleaning the kitchen. My problem is laundry. We are terrible at doing it and putting it away.
Post by pixiepink24 on Feb 22, 2017 14:59:38 GMT -5
wells2010 Putting laundry away is definitely the thing I struggle with forever. Even as a teen. I like to fold it, sure. But I can't seem to put it on a hanger or in a drawer. So then I live out of a laundry basket with a filled laundry basket of dirty clothes next to it.
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