Since having a baby, our house has become increasingly neglected. Increasingly more disorganized. Increasingly more, well, just plain dirty. *hangs head in shame* Seriously though, I can not find the motivation to keep our house 'company ready'. And I have a sixth sense things are only going to get worse! I have talked about starting FLYLady on here before, and I did start it. I never made it past the first week.
I've been like that with a few things in my life. The diving team, my college major... but mostly when I decide to do something I jump in with both feet. I guess that's why I'm struggling with this so much. I just can't seem to commit myself to a daily routine.
Which brings me to the title of this post--how do you do it? How do you keep the house clean while wrangling a toddler who instantly unfolds what you just folded, pulls out what you just put away, dumps things all over the floor, and then wants to read a story? I am at a loss!
LOL Let me know if you find the answer because I am most definitely in the same boat! My house is a disaster 98% of the time.
ReplyDeleteI love you. The reason you didn't jump into your college major or the diving team is because your body knew your heart wasn't in it. Staci is your life. Why clean up what a wonderful day with your favorite person made? I'd rather have my house look lived in and where love is shared than "company ready" any day!
ReplyDeleteBut, this is just my opinion. ;)
martha stewart (someone I occasionally dispise because she's just too perfect) has a six things to do everyday list I printed out and have on the fridge. If you actually do it everyday (like make beds before leaving the house etc ), cleaning for company isn't all that bad.
ReplyDeleteI reward myself for doing what "i should". like a starbucks, shoes etc. ya know.
I am a serious organizer of toys. I go through them once a month and give away what is no longer "popular" or store in plastic containers and put in attic/garage. I am a HUGE believer in shelving and baskets for living rooms with small children. Its really the only way to go:)
People who have dedicated themselves to their children understand how hard it is to be "everything" aka a mom, and support other moms (because that's what moms do!). I think a messy house with toys everywhere means a child/children are learning and having fun:)
Oh geez. I lost the battle a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that has worked (somewhat) for me is the following rules:
1. The kitchen, living room, and playroom have to be picked up every night. That way when I wake up in the morning, I start with a clean slate. It lasts 5 mins, but at least if I'm having company over that day, I'm not spending 2 hours cleaning the mess from the day before.
2. I clean one room a day that isn't the living room, k, or playroom. we have 9 other places to clean besides those (10 if you include a laundry day), so I pretty much always have something to do. :/
3. My new rule is WAY more fun. Now that I *will* have 3 kids, every three months I'm going to budget to hire someone to come clean my whole house, top to bottom. That way, at least once every three months everything gets a thourough scrubbing. It'd never happen if I did it! (Note to self: never again buy a huge house.)
I'm so not an example for what to do, but I will tell you what has been working for me lately. I do a load of laundry every day, M-F. I make sure that my kitchen is cleaned at least every other day (I try to do it daily or per meal, but this allows me what I think of as a reasonable margin of error... or whenever my husband makes dinner and I don't have the energy to clean up after him) and I try to have Fuss pick up her toys before daddy comes home from work and/or bedtime. (doesn't always happen, but I figure it's a good habit anyhow) This helps my living room to look less like a tornado (a 2-yr-old tornado) hit it and more like it's lived in by a normal family.
ReplyDeleteOur room is almost always at least half chaotic, but no one but us ever sees it, so I deal. I'm hoping to change that when we move to the new addition, but old habits die hard.
Dan is so awesome he does the job I hate the most...laundry.So that makes the other stuff (even the yard work) easier to deal with. I put little bins in each room and I just throw all the stuff in there that doesn't belong in that room. When they are full I empty them. Sometimes I just let it all go if something much more fun that cleaning presents itself! Mostly just try to keep things in perspective, if someone comes over who won't like you anymore after they see your messy house you probably don't want them visiting much anyway :)
ReplyDelete