I am a little frustrated, and a little overwhelmed. Will my house EVER be neat and clean?!?!? I am baffled at how it always seems so cluttered and messy! David and I will clean it and it will look awesome... for about 5 minutes!! I just don't get it. I go to some peoples homes and they are neat as a pin, no junk anywhere to be seen. Kitchen counters are spotless, nothing on the floor, no dust, no clutter, just an immaculately clean, spotless, clutter free home decorated perfectly and beautifully. So, my question is this...
HOW?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Please someone share your secret with me. And I don't want to hear 'you have 5 kids' because that is not it. I was recently in someone's home and she has 4 LITTLE kids. It was Perfectly spotless. So what is it? Do you all have a room that is your 'dump' room? Do you not buy toys for your kids? Do you not have junk anywhere? I feel like I am swimming in papers from school, pictures and notes that my kids color and write for me (this happens daily!!!), kids shoes all over the floor, toys everywhere, just stuff everywhere! I am in awe that even after losing everything in the fire, we still managed to have a messy home! How is that possible? Maybe I just need to come to grips with the fact that it will never be clean. Any suggestions for how you keep your home clean and neat??? I welcome any hints or tips! Please help...
9 comments:
We definitely have places where stuff is thrown when people are coming over - under the island, the spare bedroom closet, the office, etc. Plus if I want to hide anything downstairs, I lock it in the spare bedroom - VIOLA no one sees how unorganized I really am. I think messyness is just part of life with little kids and I am sure your friend is hiding her junk somewhere. Don't be hard on yourself.
I do not always have a perfectly organized home, but the past few months I have cleaned everything out and I think the key is actually having a place for everything. If something doesn't fit, get rid of it. I went through all my kids toys and dontaed a ton to goodwill because we just didn't need them anymore--less is more. I tend to throw more things away than most people though...I love getting rid of stuff!!! =)
I don't know what you are talking about...my house is always clean and spotless.
Ha! That has been my question since we moved in this house! I remember when Sabrina was little and we were living in Utah I would sit there all morning on the couch while she played, and then I would do my cleaning while she napped. Now it seems like ALL I do is clean up. And, while I am cleaning they are off somewhere making a mess! DRIVES ME NUTS! So...I really don't know. But, know that you are not alone. I had a friend that posted the other day about how her daughter saw her cleaning and she said, "Oh Mom, is someone coming to visit?" It seems that it is just the way of life with kids....
I always feel this way too!! If you come over and my family room and kitchen are clean it usually means I stayed up half the night (and Im a mess the next day)and my junk is hidden in the extra bedroom.But I do agree with your friend about giving away stuff that has actually helped me lately. Such is the life with little kids. My neighbor came over and told me that our house smelt like a kitty litter box. So I guess be happy that your house doesnt smell?
Welcome to my world. I do try and keep the front room cleaned/picked up in case someone drops by. My kitchen/computer room is a mess (especially right now - Girls camp is 9 days away). And don't look in my closets at all. UGH!
Since the kids are home from school, I try to give them an extra chore to do before they go out to play. Dust, sweep, mop, dishes, fold laundry... whatever I need them to do right now. It works for the summer months and helps me out a ton.
I would like a week with no kids, no work, no nothing and let me tackle every room, cupboard, closet... in my house. Can someone arrange that for me?
Good luck. Welcome to my world.
Oh, boy. I feel your pain. Here's the thing: most of us have too much stuff. I have a stupid tendency to get rid of a bunch of stuff, only then I replace it with a bunch of new and improved 'too much stuff.' Even if you don't actually have too much stuff, you do have a bunch of people and each of them have stuff, which still equals....too much stuff. Are you beginning to see a pattern here?
What no one who lives that uber-neat lifestyle wants to tell you, is that it takes a LOT of time and energy to maintain the type of household. Personally, I tried that bit once...for a few years, and found that I just wasn't very happy. My people weren't happy either. I was either stressed about perfecting my home and they were missing me, or I was cracking the whip and expecting their help in reaching my version of household perfection. I decided that wasn't how I wanted to live, and it wasn't how I wanted them to remember their childhood.
Here's my suggestion, and it's one that worked pretty well for us, as long as we were consistent in it: Try implementing a 10 or 15 minute clean-up RACE at the end of each day. Most of your people are old enough and big enough to participate in a helpful way. Crank up some fun music and really race around. You'd be amazed at how quickly the table and counters can be wiped, floors swept and vaccumed, beds made, dishes loaded or unloaded, clothes put away, a bathroom wiped down... It's awesome! And my kids always thought it was fun because we were doing it together, making a game out of it, and THE BIG BONUS...they knew that they were guaranteed not to have to clean for very long! I really should
re-institute the clean-up race at my own house!
This is the story of my life, Bren! I am so glad I'm not alone. It is ENDLESS, and it doesn't seem to get better as the kids get older. It does help to have places in every room to stuff things, but ultimately I think we just need to accept that having kids means we also have messes, and try not to feel too bad about it. Even at their worst, I think the kids are still worth it...most of the time!! And, at least we have a place to live, right? That is a plus. Better to be happy, than to have a perfect home...that's what I keep telling myself. I have to tell you a memory I have of why I loved you so much when we met. The first time you had just my family over for dinner, my kids made a big mess with the rice, dropping a bunch on the floor like toddlers do- it seems like they get more on the floor than in their mouths! Anyway, after dinner I went to wipe up the rice and you said to leave it there- that it would be easier to wait and sweep it up in the morning when it was dry. Of course you were right, and at that moment I knew we would be great friends! Instead of cleaning up, we went and had dessert (probably your awesome fruit pizza)and played games all night. Much more fun!! To this day I usually leave our messes until our dinner guests are gone so we can enjoy our time with our friends, so thanks for that!
Come see my house and you will feel better! I don't know how people do it either!I think having a constantly clean house is about attainable for me as me being a size 2. Just not realistic! Not that I don't want the clean house or the size 2 body, but I just don't have the time, energy or motivation for either! (Maybe if I spent more time cleaning and less time eating I'd be closer!)
I just do my best to get the laundry done and make sure the place is sanitary! The clutter, the mail, the legos, now that's a different story.
I know I'm late to this post Brenda, but I wanted to say here here! or is it hear hear! Anyway, I feel like this all the time and its kind of nice to know I'm not alone. Sometimes I clean all morning and then by bedtime it looks like someone turned my house upside down and shook it! Then I wonder why I did anything at all that day. If my house does look clean if you ever come over, please know that every cupboard and closet will cause bodily harm if opened. I love your blog. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with the world. Hope you don't mind I'm reading it.
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