Not Enough Time = Messy House

It may seem time-consuming at first, but this is well worth it: Take a day, like Sat or Sun and cook up a bunch of food for the week. If you can, cook up tons and freeze them in portion sized ziplocks. Then you just have to take them out the night before and let them defrost in the fridge. Or you can defrost them in the microwave on 50% power. Also, can you maybe clean one room of the house per day? Either after the kids go to bed or in the morning before they get up. I do a huge cleaning like once a month. Then, on all the other days, I do like a 20-30 minute clean-up in like one or two rooms. Also, your kids are big enough to help out a little. They can help fold small laundry items. Give them each their own basket and they can drag their basket to their room. They should also be responsible for helping keep their room clean and putting away all their toys around the house. I have been doing this with my daughter since she was 2 and it works great. Lastly, make it fun. Put on some funky music while you clean. Prepare as much in advance as you can. Pre-pack snacks for the week. Set up the breakfast table before you go to bed. And try to get your kids in bed by 8pm, no later than 8:30pm. Bedtime ritual should be short, sweet and loving. I do bath, jammies, short story, prayers, hug/kiss and goodnight! You'll figure out what works best for you. But I think you just have to get a system going and stick to it. Also, it's okay to let things go every once in a while. For instance, on Fridays I just chill out. The kids won't die if they skip a bath that night. Good luck. Hope this gives you some ideas. Oh, if you haven't already, place a nice wicker basket(or whatever you like) in the main living area. Use this to pick up odds and ends that don't belong there. Then, either have the kids put the stuff where it goes or you can put it away in 5 minutes after they go to bed. This way your living room stays "straight". Also, have a special place for shoes, coats and backpacks where they are out of the way but ready for the next day and easily reached.

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Ohh B., I just found the best site, I am like you just not enough time...Go to flylady.com there is so many helpful hints. There is a 31 day baby step program, it is pretty good I have been doing it for a week now, big difference. I even got my kids involved. They love for me to set the timer...its like a game for them and a big relief for me. I know at first when you read cleaning in a room for ten mins and then stopping sounds stupid. But what a difference and a relief and they house looks so much better....goood luck.

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Hi B.,

I complete understand what you are going through. I was really stressed out one day and a really good friend of mine and my mother-in-law both suggested that I take a look at www.flylady.com - it's basically for parents who are busy - if you do take a look at the website...just read it and make sure that you begin with the Beginner Baby Steps (which there are 31) and don't feel pressured to go to the next step until you are ready...if you do read and register on the flylady website you'll get daily emails from them...don't read the emails...just stick with the Beginner Baby Steps...my mother-in-law is only on step 2 and she's been doing this for about 7 weeks now...she is working on this on her own pace...I'm still on step 1 and it's been about 3 weeks now...I hope this helps!!!!

M. - mother of a teething 1 year old little princess...

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Hi, B..
I don't have any good advice to give you, but I do have to tell you should be very proud of yourself for all you do and who cares if you house is a big mess. Is there anyone who can help you watch your kids on weekend and use that time to do some work around the house?
Once again, you should give yourself lots of credit for what you do and I am sure your kids appreciate you so much!

Jin

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Try checking out...

www.flylady.com

Might help!

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I don't work and it's hard to keep the house clean! My baby is a tornado . . .

I find that if you clean up really good once and just try to make sure you do a little bit everyday to keep it neat it doesnt get so bad.

Also your kids can help. They can both pick up thier own toys and help out with cleaning stuff up. Children are usually very eager to lend a hand at that age.

Good luck with that though.

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Flylady is the best i used her since my son was 2 he is now 7 and she is still a big part in my cleaning life. check out her site and her book as well i didn't buy her stuff on line i went and got it cheaper and made my own house book. but do check her out

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Hi B.,

Well, you're not alone, and they say cleaning your house while your kids are growing up is like shoveling the sidewalk during a blizzard. I believe that is very true. I have 3 kids, pregnant with my fourth now. I am now a stay at home mom, and even my house is a mess most of the time. It's hard to keep up sometimes.

When you are at work, are your kids home with a sitter or away from the house?

Try, if possible, to make a schedule for yourself, like Mon, do the bathrooms, Tues.- kitchen, etc. It may help. And believe it or not, the kids can help out with certain things at their age. Like, collect the dirty clothes into a basket, pick up toys into a certain basket, even just to make the house seem cleaner, not so cluttered. I have a 4 yr old daughter,and I swear she helps out more than my 11 and 16 year old boys with little things around the house.

Just remember, this too shall pass and not too sweat it too much. You do the best you can for your kids, and you love them very much, that is really what counts most.

Take care and God bless,

L.

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hey i know wut u mean i am also a single mom and i work full time wrk til 5 most days and one a day a wk i wrk til 8! wut i have gotten into the habit of doing is each nite after bedtime i make sure the dishes are done frm dinner and i try to pick up at least one or two rooms. and the kids should be picking up toys they are done w b4 they get new ones out. that makes cleaning up the house an easier task. then u r cleaning up the house not picking up toys. if they give u hard time bout pickin up their toys then theones they dont pick up get put up til they earn them back. that wrks really well w us. in fact i havent really had to use it but once. then the lesson was learned! good luck i know how you feel but it can be done. u need the kids on your "team" as single mom thats how we get things done.

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B.,

Try to involve the kids in clean up time and make it fun. After dinner if the dishes need to be washed or put in a dishwasher let the little ones help, especially the 4 year old, kids love "helping mommy" my son is 15 momnths old and is always under my feet, so when I goto load the dishwasher, I have him hand me stuff and he "helps" me put it in. Same with wash and folding laundry. I think it is important to teach kids at this age to start to clean up after themselves.
It is worth a try.

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Hi B.. I can sympathise with you. I't hard to get everything done in one day. Here's what I do. On the weekend, or your day off, Get the house as clean as you can. Try to get it all done. Then after you put the kids to bed during the week, take a half hour and go through the house and straighten it all back up. I find if I do this every day, my house stays clean, and I can find the things I need when I need them. If I get lazy though and miss just one day, it gets out of control again. Sometimes after the kids go to bed, i just want to die, but I drag my butt through the house one more time, because it's only 20 to 30 minutes more, and it's totally worth it to keep my sanity, and I'm not ashamed of myself when unexpected people stop by. Good Luck!

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Make a game out of house cleaning by including your children with it. The oldest gets to sort out clothes while the younger one put everything you give him in the correct room. You can also give the 2 year old a swiffer to dust.

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One thing I used to do when my kids were that age and I was working full time, was try to make a game of it with the whole family. We'd set the timer for 10-15 minutes, put on music and have everyone 'rush around' and pick up as much as they could during the timer. It makes it somewhat fun and the kids get involved and its amazing how much can be picked up/swept/cleaned in a short ammount of time. With the little one, you can assign her to a certain thing.

Good Luck!

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B.,

I find that the only way for me to keep up with the house work is to do a little every day. One day I will spend 15 minutes dusting. The next day I will clean the bathroon, change everyones sheets the next... That way I only have to find 15-20 minutes a day, not always at one time, but it makes it at least manageable. You might try having your 4 year old help. I give my 4 year old son a swiffer duster and he likes rubbing it along the window sills and the tv. Then you get chores and together time all at once! Good luck!

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I'd like to hear the answers to this as well. I also work full time, have a 3 year old son and another on the way. After working all day and coming home to play with my son, the last thin I want to do is clean my house!!! I'm thinking about hiring someone!

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There is a website called flylady.net. I would reccomend it for you, it has some simple and easy suggestions that might help. Hope you feel better.

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Your kids are at the age where they can start "helping" mommy out with the chores around the house. Your 2 year old can help by setting the dinner table (utensils), while the 4 year old can help you out with putting dishes and cups out.

Getting them into the habit of picking up their toys is a big help too!

Otherwise, you can also include them in sorting out the clean laundry, and also putting some of the clean utensils/dishes/cups away (4 year old can stand on a chair to help reach the cupboards).

I know it's hard - working FT, cooking dinner, doing baths, then you're exhausted. One good thing, as the kids get older, they will be able to have chores assigned to them, plus they'll be able to take baths on their own, so it will get easier for you!

J.

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I highly recommend www.Flylady.com. They give you 15-minute blocks of things to do.

Also, once a week, do the floors, bathrooms, change sheets on beds, empty trash and clean whatever's dirty on the walls. Do it on a Saturday or a Sunday. After the first time, it will take you a couple of hours and make a huge difference in the way the house looks. Each weekend, pick one project to do, too. By "project" I mean do the windows, or pick one drawer in the kitchen to de-junk. I buy cleaners for each floor so I don't have to go up and down stairs, and I bring several garbage bags and the bucket and mop upstairs, and the cleaners are already there.

Also, it sounds like you could be burned out. Is there another mommy you could trade watching your kids so you could have some "me" time?

Good luck!

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Flylady might drive you crazy with daily e-mails, but they havev lots of good ideas. Just leqarning how to set a timer for 15 minutes and clean one room for htat long really worked for me!! Once hte timer goes off you stop. If it gets you at least one picked up room at a time, it helps. And when you are exhausted and just want to sit down it is eaiser to say to yourself " OK, I can do just 15 or 30 minutes" and stick to it!!
Kids = messy houses, just a fact of life!
Best of luck!
K.

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put a laundry basket in every room and when you go into a room if something doesn't belong then put in basket and just clean up as you go if you have dinner after wash the dishes and return phone calls at the same time...ect and every night take care of one basket put laundry in at night and dry it in the morning before getting the kids up and you will be ahead of the game hope some of this helps....mom of three

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I have the same problem as you. One thing you can try is when the kids go to sleep, even though your exhausted, do a quick 20 minute clean up of the basics. One day a week I try to a big clean up of the stuff that doesnt get done everyday. I clean the bathroom while my daughter takes a bath.
Honestly I'd like to hire a cleaning person.

I know how you feel-I have 3 kids and a husband (he is worse than all 3 kids)!! I think your kids are at a great age to help out. The 4 year old can collect the garbage, toys, dirty clothes or things of that nature. The 2 year old can help. I would recommend a sticker chart for them on the fridge and each thing they help with, they get a sticker. Then depending on what they help with, after every 4 or 5 stickers, they get a treat. I keep fruit snacks or small toys from the dollar store in a bucket for my kids to chose from. I also set aside Sunday as cleaning day. That is the day that I catch up on dusting, vaccumming, and laundry. It is actually really relaxing because in between stuff I cuddle with the kids and they even help me. GOOD LUCK!

Check out www.flylady.net

hello I know how you feel. I use these girls who help me on the weekend and evenings b/c they work during the day and they are great. they help with dishes and picked up after kids give them a call ###-###-####.

Hi, all I wanna say is that you are not alone.

ugh.

good luck.

Hey there,
More than anything I would suggest taking it easy on yourself. Besides that I would suggest (used to be a single mom) to get up before the kids to throw a load of laundry in and choose one other chore. I do dishes while I'm cooking dinner and that would be it. The rest can be left for the weekend. For ex: Vaccumm Mon and Fri, Bathrooms Tues, Wash bed sheets Wed, Dust Thurs and Sat and Sun should be more relaxing.
Hope this helps,
Jen

Hi B.,

Like every mom who has posted something, I too can relate. I work long hours and with the commute, sometimes don't even get to see my children during the work week. I'm a neat freak and sometimes go insane because I know how kids, and a husband, can be. Here are some tricks that get me through it. But remember, like other moms have said, kids will be kids, and sometimes, you just have to leave the house the way it is. My children are 3 and 5, and I have been using this since they were your kid's ages.

Bath time: This is a winner for me, my kids love to play and the bath, so I use that time to clean the rooms close to the bathroom. From straightening up to vacuuming, I will do what is necessary to these rooms.

Weekends: This is the major chore time. Whether it's a Saturday or Sunday, depending on my schdule, I choose one day that is used for cleaning. Once we wake up, we have breakfast and then tell them it's time to clean the house. No tv, playing, going out, or computer time... ANYTHING until the house is picked up. This motivates the kids to help, because they can't do anything until you are done either!

I have my youngest, pick all the misplaced items up. Throw the shoes in the closet, dirty clothes go by the washing machine, etc. My oldest takes all of the trash and puts it in the big trash can, both will vaccum, and both help with handing me the dishes, or if they can reach put the non-breakable stuff up. I even have them sweep... to get in practice for future years.

All of these suggestions may not work for you, but please keep in mind that you have to do this repeatedly to get them in the routine of making it a habbit.

Like I said, they've been doing this for a little over a year now, and even with me out saying things, will sweep up stuff they've spilt, throw the clothes by the washing machine and put up their folded clothes.

It definetly helps to get them started young!

Hope this helps you as much as it has helped me.

Jen R.

B.~
One of my favorite quotes is "A good mother has dirty floors and happy children!"

Don't worry so much about the "mess" and focus more on the dirt. My house is always cluttered, toys all over and paperwork in various places, but it's never dirty. There are some good responses from everyone here. Getting the little ones to help you with simple chores helps a great deal. It makes them feel grown up to help.

Just don't stress about it too much. Your a single working momma, it's a lot for you to take care of. Enjoy your kiddies and take some mommy time when they go to bed. Don't worry if the laundry doesn't get folded or if the dishes don't get done right away, it's not gonna stop the world from spinnning! :)