How do you do it?

[G'MaDebbie]

Keep your house clean that is. I am about to just frickin give up! There are only 3 of us that live here and you would think an Army lives here. Every time I turn around there is another mess to clean up. I just don't know how women who work 40 plus hours a week can keep up. I don't even know where to start. The bedrooms that need painting, the gardens that need attention, the basement that is a disaster cause I dont even have the time to do down there, the closets that need to be organized, the laundry room that is overflowing with dirty clothes, should I keep going?!
I GIVE UP!!! I AM GOING TO BED! ( like thats gonna help!)
Thanks for letting me vent

[Dobby]

I don't. I loathe cleaning, and would willingly pay someone to come in and help me once or twice a month if anyone in this town did that. I figure life's too short to worry about it. My kids are fed, healthy, happy, the laundry stays fairly caught up, and I cook and do dishes. Good enough.

[Momto2Boyz]

I get to it when I can get to it. For example, I spent the day cleaning today and my house was looking pretty good. So, my nieghbor came over and needed to get into the crawl space of our house, so he pulls everything out of my closet to get in there, so now I have closet contents spilled out all over the bed! Then I had to make cupcakes for DS's b-day tomorrow, the kid's helped...kitchen is a disaster and they had to taste some so there are cupcake crumbs ALL over the floor. Plus, I was babysitting tonight for our nieghbors new 3 week old, so our other nieghbors came over to see her (and help, a new baby around here is rare...so everyone has to help), so her and her 2 kids were here playing with my little ones, then another neighborhood boy showed up. Dh got a delivery of stuff he ordered for work, so there are boxes and bubble wrap all over te living room.

So basically, I get to get up tomorrow and start all over! Ok, I didn't mean to hijack your vent! But know that you are not alone! There are others in the world like you, that no matter how hard we try, just can't keep a clean house clean!

I guess you just have to deal with it, and do enough to get by!

[Palooka]

I have to do some kind of cleaning everyday to keep up. Sometimes the OCD kicks in and I have to run around like crazy and make sure everything is spotless. Other times I just get lazy about it and not worry.

Then it is make up time later. lol

[IntlMom]

I really enjoy a clean house, so I make it a priority. That's not good, bad, or otherwise....it just "is". I don;t like to go to bed with stuff on the kitchen counter, so I clean it. Better yet, I don't bring junk mail in, I toss it before it makes it into the house. If you have less "stuff" it's easier to keep clean. My kids have only a few toys, not because we cannot afford to buy more, but because they don;t need "stuff" just to have it!....(ok, so my daughter has quite a few, but they are kept neatly in a play area!)
Do you have paper piling up? Why? Put them away in files, or throw them if you don;t need them. If they are kids papers, put them in a single drawer and purge monthly or so. It's much easier to throw out a paper that a child did 6 weeks ago than it is one he brought home that day!
The phrase that we live and die by in our house is this:
"GIVE IT A HOME" whatever the "it" is, find a place that it belongs and looks organized, cause my family knows that if it;s not put away neatly, Mommy will pitch it!!

Just start with the living areas, your bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. One room at a time. First just "pick it up" don;t deep clean. After you've "picked up" it's encouraging to see improvement, then go back and deep clean. Good luck!

edit: I went back and read what I wrote..... I didn't mean to make it sound like you didn't make having a clean house a priority, I just meant that I did.......I don't think I'm helping here......sorry, I wasn't trying to be rude or insensitive........ok, I'll shut up now

[mom2matty]

I try really hard to keep everything picked up and I'm also another one who can't stand to have a dirty kitchen so that is always clean. Everything else, I do a little everyday and do a major clean up once a week or so.

[stinkbug]

A family is what it is. Some are messier than others. My dh is pretty tidy....not a man slob like my friend's husbands! But I think a lot of that is out of respect for me and the work I do around here! My kids were required to do things around the house. They knew what was, and what was not acceptable. I don't expect eveyone to live totally up to my standards (I'm a bit OCD) but they all know when it starts to make me crazy...and that aint a good thing!! I think everyone just lives at their own level of *messy*. And that's okay. I however, just can't stand *messy* and will give up sleep or whatever to keep things in order. At 50, I'm more relaxed than I used to be, but I'm never gonna change!!!

[missmanny]

I work full time as does my partner and there is no kids at our house, it is a constant struggle for me to keep anything clean. and I fail to understand how with just the two of us and considering that we are pretty much never at home our house gets so dirty.

This week end I have promised myself that I will be de-stuffing our house. hopefully I will find some things that are worth selling and will be able to earn a little bit of money and the rest of it can go in the bin, I think that we will also go out to look at how much some storage solutions will cost. and look at maybe getting some shelving etc.

As far as finding the motivation to do it , I will confess to just letting things slide during the week and then the boy and I will clean up for a couple of hours on Saturday morning. still looks like a bomb exploded by the time we go back to work on monday though.

[baxjul]

My family is really messy also. I have to do whatever I can everyday.

[Dancing Lotus]

My family is so messy we call the little one pig pen.. She seems to always have a cloud of dust around her. I have no idea why we are so messy but to help keep it to a minimum I pick up stuff every time I walk by something. For example, I just noticed a bath towel from last night is on the floor next to my desk. When I get up I will take it with me.

Sorry no big help from me, just wanted you to know you aren't alone.

[lwlynch]

I just try to give my all in a day. I always remember that there is tomorrow. I also make sure that in between all that cleaning and keeping up that I take a moment for a slow down. I call that a sanity keeper. There are days when I got it and days I don't. But I can assure you at my house.. "it waits for no man" just me.. good luck and life is to short to worry.. Keep venting it is good for the soul...

[Frugal Nurse]

A place for everything and everything in place.

Reduce the clutter

Clean as you go.

Simplicity in furnishings and decor. That's an important one. The less furnishings, pictures, and blah, blah you have hanging around the LESS YOU HAVE TO CLEAN. Love that concept.


Someone told me something a looooong time ago and it really hit a mark with me.
Your house can be as messy as whatever - but if your stove, kitchen table and countertops are clean and clear of stuff... your WHOLE house seems clean. (I extend that into the bathroom).

[della92]

I agree with Frugal Nurse, the only thing that I clean daily is the kitchen. I try to pick up the other rooms but I don't always. For a few weeks my laundry will be all caught up-clean & put away, for the next few weeks it sits on the floor waiting to be washed. Let's not even talk about the dog hair that seems to cling to the steps! We are in one of those messy states right now and with the end of school and dance recitals and my dh's grandmonther passed away last weekend, it's not going to get better for a while.

My husband has never cleaned-maybe done the dishes twice in the 12 years we've lived together-never cleaned a toilet. But I have probably mowed grass and fed the outdoor wood stove maybe twice in that same time. I don't mind that he doesn't clean (he probably wouldn't do it the way I like it done anyway) but it does bug me that he can't seem to pick up after himself. I blame his mom. She cooked and cleaned for him for 27 years.

It is hard to work all day, try to spend time with your family, cook dinner and clean the house in the few hours available everyday-just learn what your priorities are and don't worry about the rest.

[G'MaDebbie]

Thanks to all of you who gave me some really good tips!
My kitchen is my pet peeve, it's the first room you see when you come in the door, so it gets most of my attention.
As I was reading Intlmom's tips, it made me realize how much "stuff" :surprise: we have. I made another vent on this not too long ago how much "stuff" my husband thinks he needs to have and won't let me throw anything away. I really neeed to talk him into a yard sale, maybe money will motivate him...
Anyways, I really appreciate all of your tips and suggestions and it is nice to know that I am not alone in this messy world!

[heartofmine]

I'm a bit of a neat freak myself so I clean every day. Not everything every day but one room one day and another the next. I've found one thing that helps me out is a basket. When I notice things in a room that doesn't belong I just drop it in the basket and then when I'm cleaning a room I drop things into the basket that goes into the other rooms and then when I'm done picking up and cleaning the room I empty the basket by putting things where they belong.

For mail I sort it the minute it comes into the house. The bills go into a box stored in my closet at the end of the hall. Junk goes directly into the trash. Anything I want to look at I sit by my chair and go through it when I get a few minutes.

Beds I make up the minute I'm out of it. I also taught my children when they were really small to make up their beds when they get up. I kept things simple for them. The beds were not made perfectly but they were pretty proud of themselves making their own beds. The first thing they do now as young adults is make their beds.

Toys my kids played in their rooms with. They could play all day long and it didn't matter how messy they got with their toys but at the end of the day they picked up. They had little bins to put them in and it made it easy for them. After a while they learned to pick up along during the day so they didn't have so much to pick up in the evening.

Get your kids in on cleaning. Even little ones can help.

My kids helped set the table, clean up afterwards including dishes. Now they are older so I do most of the cooking and they do clean up afterwards taking night about washing the dishes and loading the dishwasher. Both are also learning to cook.