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When do you clean?
I'm just thinking ahead. I will have help here the first month but will be on my own during the day after that. I hope to get the boys on the same eat/sleep schedule and have been reading baby wise. My main question right now is regarding cleaning and laundry. When do you fit it in? We do not have any other children and I will be a sahm. I have thought about getting a mother's helper a couple afternoons a week to give me time to get everything done. I would love to hear some daily/weekly schedules that fit with your babies' awake/sleep times. Thanks!
***sorry for the paragraph, on iPad***
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Re: When do you clean?
I didn't the first two - three months or so. After that, it was during naptime. That whole "nap while your kids are napping" thing so doesn't work for me.
Now they go to bed early enough that I can also get some done in the evenings.
I do the babies laundry every single day. In the beginning, it was because there was just so much. Now, it's because I don't want their clothes to get irreparably. barf-stained. In the beginning, it was right after they went down for their morning nap. Now it's when they go to bed.
I do DH's and my laundry on Weds and Sat and, sometimes it doesn't get put away until that evening, but keeping the loads small makes it easy to put it away quickly. Dishes are run every day and put away in the morning. The floors are swept and mopped on an as-needed basis, 1-2x/wk, usually during naptime. If they are awake and I need to do something, I can put them in the PnP or the Jumperoo/exersaucer for a few minutes.
This was the same for me too. Now that the girls are on the same schedule and will often take a 2 hour nap in the afternoon, I am able to get more cleaning done during the week.
When DDs were little and napping more frequently, I would do laundry while they slept and tidy up any dishes, etc. I'd fold while they were in the bouncers or we'd be doing tummy time...I never "napped when they napped" b/c otherwise, laundry would never get done and dishes would never be cleaned.
Then I realized how great it was to have an extra set of hands when I went back to school (from ages 6 mo.-9mo.). Our nanny cleaned and never seemed to sit down (a dream come true). Even though, yes, we were paying her (quite heftily due to living in NY), it was worth it that she was watching DDs and cleaning, too!
Then we moved and I don't have a nanny anymore and I'm again always behind on cleaning and keeping laundry up. My DDs nap once a day (2 hrs. long) and that is when any cleaning gets done, or after they've gone to bed for the night.I'm thinking we will need to get a cleaning service 1-2 xs/month once baby #3 arrives b/c I don't see my house getting any cleaner w/ another one in the mix
I try to pick up and do laundry when the girls are napping. Even if they are awake, I'll just run to the basement and throw a load in while they are playing with toys gated in the living room. I vacuum downstairs after they go to bed at night twice a week (we have a dog). I'll vacuum upstairs once every two weeks. I just spot clean when I can. I try not to worry too much because I rather spend my time with my kids than clean!
Cut the Crap - Weight loss journey of a Few Fat Chicks
I had someone clean the house every other week for the first 3 months. I did laundry throughout the day and would "clean up" while they slept. Honestly, my house was pretty dirty on the off weeks that our cleaner wasn't here- and we just accepted it.
After 3 months I kind of got on a routine where I was cleaning every day during their morning nap.
When the girls got more active around 11 months, we started having a house cleaner again every other week. I have the time to clean my house, but having it cleaned every other week allows me to devote time to taking care of all the clutter, and also get a solid 45 minute break that's exclusively "me" time. My house looks great every day now, which is really important to me. If I'm home all day, I can't be surrounded by chaos.
I'm a very clean person but I've learned to let some things go. I found that I was constantly forgetting when I did things so I started assigning a day to a task. Also it was less overwhelming to know that my task for the day was to MOP. It makes it more manageable. Before kids I'd clean the house top to bottom in one day. Now I tackle one area at a time on different days.
Sunday: wash towels
Monday: wash all linnens
first of the month wash all mattress pad covers (I don't wash those every week unless they are soiled).
Twins laundry is done every other day because that's how long it takes the basket to fill up.
My son's laundry is done once a week when his basket is full
Hubby and my laundry are sorted as they go into the basket daily, colors in one basket and whites in the other. When a basket is full I throw a load in whenever the babies are happy and quiet (even sometimes if they are not happy and quiet!)
After all kids are in bed I pick up all the toys and vaccum the living room daily. Between a dog and a 2 year old the living room gets gross fast.
Kitchen and dishes I maintain on a daily basis. I load the dishwasher as I can or else at the end of the day. Before I go to bed I always finish cleaning up in the kitchen.
Bathrooms get done 10 mintues before guests arrive LOL
The rest is mostly done on an as needed basis right now. My twins are 4 months old and my son is 2.5 so I'm pretty busy and too tired by the end of the day.
We hired a cleaning lady while I was pregnant because my dr. didn't want me doing any of it. She came twice a month and it was AWESOME! If I could afford to keep her I would but we just can't right now!