cleaning with babies

identicaltwins2be

How do you do it!?  I thought it was hard to get anything done when they were newborns and eating every 2 hours but just in the last week our boys have started needing entertainment.  Up until this point they pretty much just ate and slept.  When they were awake, they were content "playing" with us for a short time and then it was time for them to sleep again.  Now they are staying awake for longer periods of time and they need to be entertained what feels like all.the.time.  I love that they are interacting with us more but how in the world do you get anything done?  I am lucky I have time to go to the bathroom, let alone clean my house.  Playing with them is way more important than cleaning but I don't want to live in a filthy house.  Hiring someone to do it for us is not an option so I need ideas.

TIA!

ashleymarie123

I haven't even figured out how to do it with 1 in 9 months. I have no idea how I will be able to when the twins get here! SO is really good about helping me out. He's the picky one when it comes to the house anyways, so it works out well.

Polofsky

at that age I was bringing the laundry into the nursery and folding/putting on hangers in there so when I got a chance it just needed to be put away. They would be entertained in their swings for 15 mins at a time so that was helpful, I could run and move laundry or do some dishes, vacuum or something. Mine are older than yours but now I can bring them into the kitchen with me and they will play with my pans and spoons for 30 mins at a time, they love their walkers so if I can confine the space and let them run (while I am in the same room of course), I can swiffer or put dishes away while they are happy. We usually just aim to get the necessities done each week, if we have clean dishes, clothes to wear to work and have managed to vacuum/swiffer, everyone is happy. The other clutter is going to have to wait until they are about 10!!

redshoegirl

First, the post title cracked me up because my first thought was "cleaning with babies" = using babies to clean with (like sponges). Clearly I need more sleep...

Anyhoo, the only regular cleaning I get done during the week is laundry, because you can set it and walk away. DH washes the dishes each night (we don't have a dishwasher), and anything else is just a bonus - I try to keep things picked up a little so the house doesn't look like a bomb went off, but even that doesn't happen some days.

For everything else, DH and I do it together on the weekend. We'll get the babies napping and then do a super quick clean together - he'll vacuum and I'll give the bathroom a quick wipedown, that sort of thing. It only takes about 20-30 min to do the whole house if we work together. I'm sure it needs a deeper clean than that but on the surface everything looks OK.

lisa&andy

I tried to get one thing done a day so that by the end of the week the house was clean and we didn't have to worry about it on the weekend. When I could, I folded laundry sitting in the floor, vacuumed while wearing them, cleaned the kitchen while they played in the jumperoo. I think the one thing that helped me was to start a load of laundry at night, DH threw it in the dryer in the morning (or if we got up with the kids in the middle of the night) and then I folded it before the kids got up. DH was a big help as well, he did the deep cleaning when he could. Like a PP said, if we both tackled it together on the weekend, we could have it done in 30mins.

carolina1178

I don't have two yet...but when ds was that age, I could never get anything finished! it was an ongoing joke because I always got started but ds would need something and dh would end up finishing when he got home lol

eventually I learned to keep a costco size lysol wipe container in all bathrooms, kitchen and laundry....these I could use to wipe things down really quick throughout week to maintain best I could.

I had and still have a swiffer on both floors of house for a quick run over.

laundry would get done at that age with ds in swing or jumperoo (with a book under feet so he could reach :-P)

Dh would get done what he could at night or when I was taking care of ds or vice versa. Vacuuming happened on weekends....usually LOL mopping the floors happened when it happened....we just did the best we could to keep up with things :-P

macchiatto

I've always done it during naps (once they started napping at the same time!) and/or when DH is home to watch the boys. I could also get little bits done here and there when they were in their jumperoos, on their play mats, in the swing, wearing one, etc.

lnle

I am going through this too. I'm so frustrated by how long it takes to get anything done. I just try to do as much as I can during their naps and after they go to bed at night. We also have a cleaning lady come every other week.

gumiberg

i dont have much advice, but it will get to the point that they will start playing with, and entertaining, each other.  6 months? 7 months? its been awhile.  anyway, its gets a heck of a lot easier after that!  so hang in there

identicaltwins2be

Thanks everyone!  It seems we move from one impossible phase (newborn) to another (needs entertainment but can't entertain themselves).  Pretty soon we will be in the mobility phase of things - that scares me a little

identicaltwins2be

redshoegirl:

First, the post title cracked me up because my first thought was "cleaning with babies" = using babies to clean with (like sponges). Clearly I need more sleep...

LOL!

lgurian

NAP TIME!!! or after they go to sleep at night. 30 min here, 30 min there.