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Any good housewives out there? I need your help!
How do you do it? Do you feel like if you are keeping your house clean you are ignoring your children? I generally let the house get messy all day long then put the boys to bed and clean. But by that time I am exhausted and just do the bare minimum. So recently I have been trying to clean throughout the day, but I feel like I am ignoring my boys a lot of the time. I have no need to spend every minute playing with them and understand that they need to entertain themselves sometimes, but I feel like I am just doing one task after another and not really spending quality time with them.
How do you do it? What is your day like?
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Re: Any good housewives out there? I need your help!
I don't know if I'm good or not, but I clean a ton. We also have a service that comes through once a month that helps me feel like I can stay on top of things. But I use the first half hour after they go to bed (so 7:30 to 8) and just force myself to put things away, run the vaccuum, wash bottles, etc.
I do laundry during naps. And actual cleaning, (i.e. bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, etc.) I save for the weekends when DH is home and can watch the kids while I clean. Or we'll clean together during one of their naps.
I feel like it's a constant battle. CONSTANT.
We do alright by using a checklist and doing a few things everyday on a schedule. We have it broken down into daily, weekly, and monthly chores. And as long as we get most things done on most days the house stays reasonable. But it's definitely not as clean as "before kids".
If you're interested in seeing the chart as an example just PM me. It's super simple.
BFP #2 - 12/9/09 After being on bedrest for 10 weeks due to TTTS and hospital bedrest for 4 weeks due to PPROM, my sticky babies are here! Born at 32 weeks!!
After 2 rounds of IVF & 2 rounds of FET, we were blessed with identical twin girls!
I would imagine it may be different for working vs. SAHM MoM/moms but I don't feel guilty cleaning. Maybe it's because I'm with DD ALL day EVERY day! Sometimes I push things off til naptime or til a time when she's ok being on her own, but there's ususally time during the day for me to accomplish at least general pick up. I've also let my DD "help" me from a pretty young age. Takes me 4xs as long to get it done, but it's cute to watch her pretend to vacuum or dust or whatever. Or we divide and conquer, she picks up her toys and I do the dusting. Since her toys pretty much all go in bins she learned at a young age to put them in there like it was a game.
Remember-- you can't be all things to all people all the time. Your kids benefit from a clean house and also from your interaction. Try to let go of some guilt and any expectation your house will be in perfect shape!
i have no idea why i am in this thread, i am a horrible housewife.
*waves*!
*waving back*
thank you for visiting
I clean and straightening on and off all day long and still have at least an hour of cleaning ( DH does dinner dishes ) after they go to bed. It is exhausting and though we could still afford a house cleaner once a month like when I was working, I just feel as a SAHM it is part of my job to keep up the house ( and I am a clean freak to boot!) DH thinks I over-do it and could relax about some of the cleaning but I don't like living in a mess. I do laundry every day which i don't mind at all. To me the hardest part is the CONSTANT clean-up in the kitchen - counters, messes on the floor from the twins flinging food everywhere!! My DH and I split the big stuff on weekends together.
But to answer your question, yes I do feel like I am always cleaning and I make an effort to stop and get down and play, read books etc.. with them in spurts all day long. Also, they love to help me do laundry and play vacuum, dust etc...it is pretty cute and they are so proud of themselves at helping mommy:)
It is never-ending. I feel so accomplished when I go to bed with a clean house but within 15 minutes of the boys being awake the next day it seems like a disaster.
HA - I'm not a good housewife, but I try! I also work 2 jobs from home on top of the 3 kids, I feel like I'm spread super thin! BUT - I cannot live in a messy/dirty/cluttered house, my DH says I have OCD about it but I can't help it.
What I do, and it has helped me so much, is I set the kitchen timer, 3x a day for 20 minutes. Once in the morning, once in the afternoon and once in the evening.
I do whatever I want, clean the kitchen, throw in a load of laundry, mop the bathroom, etc. Sometimes I just organize/declutter. But my house is clean 90% of the time this way. I even get the deep cleaning (ie: toilets, windows, etc) done. Maybe once a week I'll do a longer cleaning session but really, the 20 minutes gets it done and I don't MIND doing it.
That is the one tip that really has helped me.
Um, this really should have been my post, too. I am just a poser good housewife.
After 2 rounds of IVF & 2 rounds of FET, we were blessed with identical twin girls!
I really like this idea, I have been struggling with keeping everything up too. I think I will try it. Thanks for the idea!
Me too. Gonna try it.
My Blog - It's All Part of the Adventure
Late on this, but hopefully you'll see it anyway:
For one thing, my house is always clean, but rarely what I would consider to be perfect. There are almost always a few dishes in the sink, or a few toys laying out, etc. Just half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening (plus a little bit during nap time and after bed time some days) keeps everything clean if you do it every day.
BUT, the great thing about the age they're at, is they can "help" you with the cleaning. It's no longer a situation where you either clean and ignore them, or don't clean at all. At first it might create a little extra work, or take a little longer than if you do it by yourself, but you can get most tasks done while still engaging them.
Laundry: let them push the laundry baskets down the hallway, and hand you clothes to hang and fold. Bathrooms: give them dry rags and have them wipe down the bathtub or cabinets. Kitchen: they can hand you clean dishes from the dishwasher to put away (obviously make sure you take out anything sharp first), wipe down cabinets, stand on chairs and wipe down the counters, etc. When I vacuum, they get their toy vacuums out and vacuum with me. They're also old enough now to help pick up their own toys and books, even though you'll still have to do 95% of the work there.
Basically... get them involved in the cleaning with you! Now, if they fight it and would rather just have some independent play time, then let them and don't feel bad about it. But you definitely have some options to get some cleaning done without having to ignore them the entire time.
Thanks for the ideas. Eli loves to take a wet rag and wipe things down. I always praise him for it, but I like the idea of incorporating this love of his into my cleaning. They are also just now figuring out how to pick up toys.Love your ideas. thanks.