House work...

Jessica - posted on 01/08/2010

Quoting Susan:

i have a three year old and an elderly father who i have to look after every day. My husband works crazy hours, so i'm basically a single mom with a husband who sleeps in my bed every night : P
I treat my days like a job. I have a schedule of when in the day to do laundry (first thing in the morning) and when to do dishes (night) and when to clean up the hurricane (no closer than 30 minutes apart, or else i'll go crazy.) I take 1/2 hour breaks where i play with my son or watch TV with my dad. And i take an hour lunch where i do absolutely nothing. When my son was little i felt completely overwhelmed, (and i only have ONE) but breaking down my day into a schedule helped.
My sister (2 teenage boys) has a 'chore wheel' which fairly and randomly distributes chores. And so it's completely fair, my sister participates in the chore wheel.That way, my sister doesn't have to clean up anything more or less than the boys.

I really loved your response Susan. My daughter is 18months old and my husband works a minimum 12hour shift usually 7-10 days in a row with only 1-2days off before starting all over again. On top of this I'm being treated for depression and anxiety so find it hard to get motivated. I found your response encouraging and think I really need to get my act together and develop a schedule. I also love your sisters idea about a 'chore wheel' for when my daughter gets older.

As for trying to keep my house clean, I try to ignore the mess. My house is clean enough, its not filthy just disorganised. My belief, a home is to be lived in not lived for!

Marisol - posted on 01/08/2010

I know your feeling of being overwhelmed. I have a 6 and a 3yr old and they were little slobs but about 1 year ago I started the rule "put it back where it belongs" so it apples to everything from shoes, cloth (clean or dirty), toys, etc. Everything has a place. If you can't find something it's your own fault, why is it your fault, because you didn't put it where it belongs. So instead of cleaning after three tornado (husband included) I just have the basic cleaning: sweep, mop, vacuum, laundry, NO real picking up things every minute. So far it is working ok they are kids and they do forget more the 3yr old then the 6yr old. But it is getting there and applying the rule strictly can not be stressed enough, constancy is the key. When they are both older I plan to add chores like trash, vacuum, dishes. But for now since they are young they just need to learn to pick up after themselves.

Ashley - posted on 01/08/2010

We just started the rule about toys staying in their rooms about 2 months ago, it's getting better but I know it will take time to get used to. I have become a clean freak and that is probably why I start to feeling overwhelmed sometimes. I'm not too strict though, I'll let them be kids. They are 4 and 2. It's not like trash and food everywhere, just general clutter that accumulates in a day. It still drives me NUTS, LOL!!

Caryn - posted on 01/08/2010

That depends on your personal meaning of clean. I keep my house VERY clean but I don't always keep the clutter up. I am a bit on the strick side and one rule that is strickly enforced in my house is that the kids keep all their toys in their own room. Our living room is for sitting and having guests over, our dining room is for mealtimes, kitchen is for cooking, ect. When my kids make a mess they are expected to clean it up.

Also in my house I've very particular about where things go. Everything has a place that it belongs, including each and every one of my kids toys.

That being said, yes I think with kids its possible to keep a neat and tidy house. Its all just about teaching your kids to pick up after themselves. A new rule in our house that I think is going to take awhile for them to catch onto is that they must put the toy away they were playing with before getting something else. This will help keep things put away and will also teach the kids responsiblity.

Susan - posted on 01/08/2010

i have a three year old and an elderly father who i have to look after every day. My husband works crazy hours, so i'm basically a single mom with a husband who sleeps in my bed every night : P

I treat my days like a job. I have a schedule of when in the day to do laundry (first thing in the morning) and when to do dishes (night) and when to clean up the hurricane (no closer than 30 minutes apart, or else i'll go crazy.) I take 1/2 hour breaks where i play with my son or watch TV with my dad. And i take an hour lunch where i do absolutely nothing. When my son was little i felt completely overwhelmed, (and i only have ONE) but breaking down my day into a schedule helped.

My sister (2 teenage boys) has a 'chore wheel' which fairly and randomly distributes chores. And so it's completely fair, my sister participates in the chore wheel.That way, my sister doesn't have to clean up anything more or less than the boys.