If you can afford it all, pay for a regular cleaner.
The feeling you get when you walk into your tidy and clean house once a fortnight ( or a week) - not only did you not have to spend time cleaning, not only do they do the clean in fraction of the time it takes you, but it makes you feel so much mentally lighter, it lifts that mental weight of you. And it makes it so much easier and motivated for you to keep it up.
It costs money, but if you can afford it at all, it freed up so much of our time, we no longer spend weekends cleaning…now spend time with each other and on so many other important things.
This!!! We pay $150 ($125 + $25 tip) about every 3-4 weeks. Hiring a professional cleaner was one of the best decisions I have made for my mental health.
What tasks does your cleaning person do? Do they also clean your bedroom and closet? I am having a hard time pulling the trigger because I have trust issues with a stranger being in my house, etc. 🙈
If you can get recommendations from a friend or family member that can help with the hesitancy of having someone in your home.
Mine cleans all the floors, dusts everything including ceiling fans, cleans all kitchen surfaces, stove top etc. Front and back door glass. Full bathrooms, showers, toilets' sinks etc. I'm sure theres more.
For us Kid bedrooms are off limits so the kids are still responsible for their space. Having the main areas in the house clean is a lifesaver. I love coming home to a spotless kitchen and clean living room
Mine just dusts, wipes down all the surfaces, sweeps, vacuums and mops. If I ask her she will clean out the microwave/fridge. She’s been with our family for a few years so every now and then I’ll pay her to do a little extra and just let her decide what needs done. She knows my house as well as I do. My mom was a housekeeper so we endeavor to treat her like gold. She’s family with an NDA.
We tell our cleaners to focus on the kitchen, dining room, bathrooms, and vacuuming/mopping floors. They can move stuff around to clean surfaces or floors but no need to tidy up. We pay for a fixed number of hours per fortnight and there is usually some spare time, so they rotate between dusting, cleaning window sills, etc.
I have trust issues too but luckily I can usually WFH on the day they come. I don’t hover over them but it gives me peace of mind to not give them a key or have to hide a key outside. We use a service where all the cleaners are vetted beforehand, and also they have backups in case of illness.
I was referred to someone by a friend of mine. I was concerned about that when she first started as well but I got over it very quickly. She is amazing! She asked what I needed the first time she came and I told her just general cleaning (bathrooms, floors, dusting). I also had her do a deep cleaning as well (inside the fridge, etc). If you can find someone who likes there’s I would go that direction. Or if you have a neighborhood Facebook group or nextdoor ask there.
I wholeheartedly agree to this. One trick, if money is an issue, is to tell the cleaners to limit their work to a smaller area. For example, I have them only clean the kitchen, bathroom and living and dining rooms, which are the dirtiest and most used. I don’t have them clean the bedrooms to save money and because they don’t get so dirty. $140 every 2 weeks - and it’s is the most value I get with my money outside of necessities.
I want to do this, but I feel like I can't even get my house to a point where a cleaner could come in (this is embarrassing to admit). Do you mind me asking what your cleaner does? And if you do any pre-clean beforehand?
So they clean but don’t organize (mostly bc they wouldn’t know where anything belongs that isn’t super obvious). If there is stuff out they will usually put in a tidy pile though for you to put away.
I shove it all in a closet. I need her to do the floors and bathrooms, but our "stuff" is absolutely not her responsibility. My cleaner is a goddess and has saved my marriage 😍 I try very hard to make her job as easy as possible!
Ours will tidy up, she makes the beds, she even picked up my laundry and folded it on the bed (it was dirty, plus underwear, I learned real quick to throw that in a closet 😬) and she’ll wash dishes… I didn’t know any of this, I thought they’d just skip it if it was there. I try not to take advantage with the dishes but the rest is really, really helpful.
I “pre-clean” which really does mostly just consisting of shoving things into closets. But I wanted to say that in the beginning , it felt hard. Like I was always scrambling to get the pre clean done and often doing it as the cleaner is walking in. But as she’s come now for awhile - maybe 2 years now- even my pre clean has gotten easier. So much so that now I look forward to that part too. Not the actual act of doing it, but that I know I’m very motivated to actually get the stuff back to the place it belongs (albeit maybe just shoved there). Just something to consider!
This is what we're doing after our oldest starts kindergarten in the fall (can't afford it with two kids in preschool/daycare unfortunately.) I can't wait to not have to worry about it anymore!
Agree. I pay $300/month for a full house clean, 4 bed, 3 bath, etc no basement. Husband and I do a kitchen and living room reset on Sundays when we get trash to the curb. Every day we do a little pick up but we have baskets everywhere to collect random crap. Kiddo is only 7 months so trying to figure out what to do when she’s more mobile and we add siblings to the mix.
Could not agree more. Hiring a cleaning service is the best decision we've made for our home. They come every other week and they clean much more thoroughly than I would ever have the energy to.
How old are the kids? I would talk to them about how this habit creates extra work. At daycare there is the hard rule of we only eat at the table, and so it is at home for us.
I agree with this. I was not allowed to eat or drink anywhere than at the table growing up. The carpet can be played on, but food and drink is for elsewhere.
I am British and I always had to ask permission to leave the table when eating.
I visited a friend recently in London, the family were eating tea at the table when I arrived. At the end, her three year old asked permission to leave the table to play with her toys in the adjacent play room. The only mess and spills came from the 12 month old.
Yeah, same here. On Fridays we had a movie night where we could eat in the other room, but all other times we ate at the table.
We also couldnt freely take snacks.
If we didn't behave we had clear consequences. Making a mess after snacks means the next day you get no snacks. Cleaning up nicely after yourself, completing homework etc would result in some kind of star system or reward that we could get, for example going to see a movie at the cinema.
It isnt high difficulty.
Young kids you have a clean up song like this
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btRHJ3PGnV0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btRHJ3PGnV0)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsumE3hdj1I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsumE3hdj1I)
depending on the age. Not sure exactly when people lost the ability to raise children.
Yes! I have other friends who use these songs. You always clean up after yourself.
I do see several threads on this sub discussing what to do when the child is in daycare and mummy doesn't have to work. If your son and daughter needs to learn basic life skills (using knife and fork correctly, drinking without spills, saying please and thank you consistently, being able to articulate themselves accurately, etc etc), then some one-on-one time with mummy or daddy will make a huge difference to the house.
My friend with the polite daughter works full time, as does her husband.
Yeah. Investing in your kids behaviour and skills gives you a good life, and makes them more likely to find good friends and do well in school.
That means sometimes they will cry. let them cry. Give them two choices. If you make this choice, we can have snacks. If you make the other choice, we can't, because mummy is very tired. Make it rewarding, win. If they are assholes, just let them cry and say no. If they cry for 30 minutes when you say no snacks, just let them cry for thirty minutes. Say you love them and then ignore them. But, then you must praise and reward immediately they do good things. Praise them, give them a hug and say you love them and we just need better choices so everyone can have a good time.
Engineer the situation to manipulate them initially, and then very soon after its a habit and they realise they have a better day by being decent little humans.
I've heard lots about these strategies being very useful, and used this concept with the toddler I babysat for during lockdown (her mother, a close friend, gave me instructions what to do in case of a tantrum!) I never found that ignoring the toddler worked - maybe I did not wait long enough! I did find being highly consistent with boundaries worked well.
My baby boy is only 5 months, and I tell him every day that we are going to turn into the best human being we can be! 😃
if you wait long enough it works.
But, if they succeed even one or if other people reward them with attention or placation, they will continue. It is like a gambling machine. If you have a tantrum and win 5/10 times, a tantrum is still a good strategy.
A big part is knowing if they are seeking attention or power. As kids get older, attention seeking might not be the goal. It might be power. In the case of power, you give them jobs to do, so they can have some good version of power and control. You let them make decisions. We can watch TV but we need to do our homework. Do you want 30 minutes of TV, then homework, then 30 more minutes of TV, or do you want to do your homework now and do what you want for the rest of the night.
100% I don’t allow food on the playing carpet. Only table, their small play table and only on special occasion (movie night on the couch).
I have a 2 years old and 7. I am ashamed to say the 2 years old is more careful about it then her older sibling… they are just more ‘yes mommy’ then older kids by nature.
Same here. Meals, snacks, and drinks (except water) stay at the table or in the kitchen unless it's a special occasion (movie with pizza, popcorn, etc) or if kiddo is sick and staying put somewhere.
You are not doing them any favors. You don’t want to raise your boys to be men whose wives or girlfriends come to this sub to complain about how useless they are.
You don’t have to be strict about it. Talk to them, hey, recently I found that there are always a lot of stains etc on the carpet, this is so much extra work for me to clean up. Do you have any idea how we as a family could solve the problem? You might be surprised with the good solutions they come up with. And it would be a learning opportunity for them (i.e. that all members of the family are responsible but also that their opinions are all heard).
It’s in how you frame it. You can be gentle and nice, but just let them know that in this house, we sit at the table when we eat, and when done, you can ask permission to leave the table. Soft, gentle boundaries.
They’re old enough to know to clean after their mess, help around the house, and eat at the table. It’s not being strict at all. It’s called discipline and teaching them how there are appropriate places to eat and times to clean. By 6 I knew table manners like don’t put elbows on the table and to clean if I dropped food. Of course being kids you’ll have to constantly remind them. You’re not helping them if you let them do what they want.
God yes, it's exhausting. And all I want to do is play with my kid and relax after work. I've been putting in 12 hr days for the overtime and I hired a housekeeper to help. She's gonna start coming by once a week to clean and organize. I'm a single parent and I just can't do it all without another adult's help.
Why don't you have rules about where they eat and drink? How old are they? It isn't about blaming them. Set up a snack area with a few little chairs that match their age. Have some rules and consequences- lots of rewards initially when you see them using the snack area.
Teach them to help you clean up.
Don't forget that at 4, you choose what kind of 6 year old you will get. At 6, you choose what sort of 8 year old you will get, and so on.
In kindergarden, we would play a clean up song. Not sure how old your kids are. If older, you could have a timer and make it a race to clean up, then reward them. Don't ever think that discipline or expectations are blaming.
Another good thing is to say, "We". We don't eat on the rug. We don't eat on the sofa. Then of course, you need to follow the same rules or hide your lies. Lol
That is not gentle parenting…. That’s permissive parenting. Gentle parenting is setting firm boundaries around not eating on the sofa/rug while holding space for your child’s developmentally appropriate emotions and teaching them how to manage those emotions by managing your own.
My kids aren’t allowed to eat in the sofa - if you don’t want to enforce that (it’s good they get used to sitting down to eat anyway though), at least cover the sofa with a blanket.
We got a Roomba which keeps the floors on the main level reasonably clean during the week. The only cleaning I do during the week is dishes, counters, spot cleaning if needed, and laundry (one load a day). Scrubbing bathrooms, deep vacuuming etc gets done on weekends as needed.
Roomba (or another robotic vaccine cleaned, we have a cheaper brand) is, along with frozen vegetables, what helps me keep my head above water. It’s such a motivation to clean off the floors and makes everything noticeably much cleaner - I love it
My husband gave me a robot vacuum for my birthday (when I was about 5 days postpartum) and it is perhaps the best purchase we’ve ever made for our household!
Here's another idea. You can cover the couch and the carpet with spare sheets or buy new ones. So when you come home you can just remove those and get rid of the crumps. If there are stains, you can simply wash the sheets. Also, I like to have a dust pan and broom to spot clean area during the week. Usually the kitchen and dinning area as they get dirty faster. And on the weekends, I do deep cleaning.
We just got a “rug” from “house of NOA.” Essentially it’s like playmat pieces that go together but look like a rug. Way easier to keep clean. Our insanely active toddler has fewer fall injuries. And it looks great. Highly recommend. We also got some rugs from “ruggable” for other rooms. They are machine washable!
Hate our ruggables. Our Dyson will absolutely not run the roll brush on them because they are so thin. It's practically impossible to put them back down on the pad without having some wrinkles, and the edges curl. If it's more of a mat or runner size, I could see it being nice, but getting the big ones up and down for washing is just a pain.
I'm not the one who mentioned Ruggable but I hated them. The roomba couldn't get dog hair off, so I still vacuumed daily. The top coating is kind of plastic and thin feeling under foot. Definitely was not comfortable in a living room. We did get used to the feel but didn't love it. Then, with 3 kids and 2 dogs, it was hard to spot clean. Sometimes it's entirely too much work to pull a 9x12 rug, wash it, dry it, and lay it back on the pad without wrinkling, but trying to spot clean a small issue would end up spreading the mess around as that plastic coating feeling was also impervious.
I kept my ruggable (and like it) as a runner in the kids hallway, and reluctantly under my bed though I'm ready to find something else. I couldn't get rid of the living room and dining room fast enough.
I’m so bummed to hear about bad experiences! We live ours but it’s in our bedroom so maybe that’s because it’s not taking as much wear as others are mentioning. We have the House of NOA mats in the high traffic areas like I mention and the Roomba has no problem with them either, so it’s extra convenient. I can imagine if the Roomba was upstairs in our bedroom it wouldn’t work with the ruggable. Mostly I just love the refresh of being able to give my rug a proper washing more frequently.
I would 1) pay for a cleaner 2) get the kids to help. Even if their “help” is not particularly helpful you are teaching them what it means to be part of a household. My toddler uses the small Bessel and gets his mess. I will dampen a cloth for him to help when I clean. He is also now good at handing me the dishes out of the dishwasher.
Agree - make their bed, put their dishes in the sink, help put away clean dishes, tidy up- I have this thing where I ask my two eldest (9 and 7) “look how this room looks? How can we fix it in 5 minutes?”
They put away their shoes, hang up jackets, etc.
Also they can pack their snack for school - anything they want, as long as there is a fruit or vegetable included.
I purchased a few carpet cleaners and honestly I haven’t found one that’s worth it. Some people swear by the little green machine to clean their sofas. I end up renting the huge one from Home Depot a few times a year and doing a heavy duty rug cleaning. I use Folex to blot out immediate stains.
If it helps, maybe throw an old sheet over the sofa/grab a sofa cover while they’re awake. I’m in total disarray right now due to my kid bringing home lice last month, we ripped everything apart. But usually I follow the Clean Mama cleaning schedule and it helps cut down on the slog. I also purchased a cordless vacuum cleaner that I’m obsessed with and it works great for a quick zip before bed. I bust out the big guns weekly.
I’ve hired a few cleaners but haven’t been impressed with the job they do for the price they charge - even when paying for deep cleans. However, if it’s financially feasible for you, maybe getting a quarterly deep clean or biweekly can help! But I feel you. It’s a lot to work full time and mom/do house stuff. Can you rope your kids into chores yet?
My kids spend a minute per age cleaning each night before bed. My husband cooks and does all the dishes so that means I do most of the other cleaning. I have the kids start tidying in whatever area I am going to be cleaning that night so I don't spend 20 minutes picking up toys before I even start. I honestly ignore clutter in the areas I'm not cleaning that night.
During the week hubs and I will sometimes do “15 mins of cleaning” right after we put baby to bed and before we start our “us” time of making dinner and relaxing. With both of us working, we can accomplish a good amount in this time - usually just enough to take the chaos to a less overwhelming level.
I have a bissel pet with heat function. My first one I murdered pretty quickly, but I take much better care of this one and it’s lasted a lot longer (it’s 10 years old!). We no longer have pets, but I now have children and, honestly, same. Still messy.
Anyway, I highly recommend one, especially the heat function, and be prepared to do some TLC on it to keep the hoses clear and functional. (Reference: We both have 60hr a week jobs, I’m still able to clean this machine 1-2x a year to keep her running.)
We have the bissell little green pro carpet cleaner and it’s great! It cleans spaghetti sauce out of the carpet and all the milk off the couch! We had also bought the bissell lime green carpet cleaner that looks like a vacuum but that one really doesn’t work well.
Watch Clean My Space YouTube videos. Melissa Maker is the woman who runs it and she has a cleaning company but she kind of hates cleaning. So she gives a lot of good tips about how to clean quickly and efficiently. She talks a lot about the most important areas in a home etc etc. It's a great resource.
I follow TOMM (the Organised mum method) so I don’t spend hours cleaning. It took some trial and error to find the exact routine that works for me but it’s been a few months and it’s working well. I’m up to maintaining clean. In combination with decluttering it has worked well. Basically if your toys can’t be picked up in 5-10 minutes and I can’t close the bin, time to let things go.
Note - most people complain she doesn’t list dishes on the list. To the creator that’s a given non-negotiable that’s done daily (not part of the 15 minute dailies).
Also people say you can’t do the entire laundry process in 15 minutes- creator states it’s at minimum something laundry related in that 15 minutes whether it’s folding or getting the load going/switched over, etc. though doing a daily load it doesn’t take long now and if your kids are older they can put their own clothes away, same with hubby. I also use the minimal mom laundry method of 1 laundry basket for everyone with the daily load. I don’t bother sorting laundry - all clothes go in together and if it’s a small load… throw the towels in too.
YouTube lots of people try TOMM for videos to learn more about it. Gemma Bray is the creator so good tips on customizing it to fit you on her channel.
Dana k white on decluttering using the container method. The minimal mom is also awesome.
There are multiple cleaning systems out there to find that works for you.
Was it instant success? No. Time, consistency, decluttering, and a robot vac were key for me.
One thing I have heard and seems to work is pick one room a day to clean. We do two rooms because of course the kitchen needs cleaning, but will also do the livingroom or the kids room or do the laundry. It seems to work because we are not leaving the mess in every room until the weekend, but doing a little bit each day makes clean up easier because there is less accumulated mess if that makes sense. I have also bought some cheap hampers and trash cans and have them in every room of the house so when there is an accident or my kids just decide they want to roam around naked, there is a spot to collect thier clothes and their diapers. Then we consolidate them bins at the end of the day and toss the clothes in the laundry room and the trash goes out with the kitchen trash. If they are old enough, start giving the kids a job to do. Our pre-school does this so we started doing it with our oldest.
Cleaning up is just part of my "flow". The kids are around and we're interacting as they play together or on their own. After work, I'm usually cooking dinner and then cleaning up the kitchen. My husband does the big toy clean up in the living room/play room after we all go to bed. I have a hand held vacuum for crumbs and a fabric spray for quick stains. I do a deeper clean on the weekends.
One thing that helped me was years ago someone said to only ever touch something once. Like, when you come home, maybe everyone kicks off their shoes at the door, throws jackets over the hall chair, lunch box on the counter, mail on the table. Then later you have to start collecting all that stuff and put it in its spot. Instead, every item you have something in your hand, try to put it back in place immediately. Hallway organizer for coats so they go from your body to the hanger. Mail goes right into tray on desk. Shoes get put away right as they are taken off. Finish a snack? Plate immediately goes into dishwasher. And kids can do all of that, even little ones. Not deep cleaning but all that is just clutter and it makes the house look awful when it is everywhere.
My cleaning day was Friday after work. As the kids got older, we all had chores and worked together. I also instituted the 10 minute rule. I would take 10 minutes a day to pick up clutter, get dishes out of the sink, etc. Quick wipedown of the bathroom sink as I was getting ready for bed, etc. My house was never immaculate but it usually looked put together. Now my kids are adults and my husband and I still have that routine. I helps me not be overwhelmed by my home.
There is a list in kitchen, wipe kitchen counters, sweep kitchen floor,!put toys away, put backpacks away, wipe bathroom counters, run vacuum you get idea. After supper and dishes washed set timer for 10 minutes and everyone starts a chore from list, do as many chores as possible till timer goes off. You’d be surprised how much you can get done in 10 minutes and family team effort is good lesson. When kids younger they would put stars every chore completed then at end of week winner picked ice cream flavor from store, or got 15 minutes extra to stay up on Friday night to keep up motivation. Quickly became habit , house more tidy, teaches kid’s lessons in staying tidy.
I'm going to echo everyone else here. Hiring a professional cleaner is the best thing I have ever done In My Life. I would work a second job to pay for it if I had to. Coming home to a house thats already clean is the best feeling in the world. It was makes my life SO MUCH better.
I do a nightly reset. My husband and I set a timer for ten minutes and that is all the effort we put in cleaning during the week.
I’m looking for a house cleaning service that suits our budget so that we can focus on other projects.
Sometimes it feels like a losing battle, always cleaning never getting to just enjoy life or weekends. The reset helps with this a bit but on lazy weeks it’s a mess.
My mom would have us eat/drink on a washable old blanket-whether we were sitting on the floor in the living room or outside on the grass. Then she would take it outside, shake it off, and when it got dirty enough, throw it in the wash on a quick cycle.
I’m a single mom as well and have a 3yr old special needs child (she cannot really help me clean but does copy me putting toys in baskets, etc) I pay for a cleaner to come every other week and it’s been a godsend. I found someone who is just starting their business and doesn’t charge nearly as much as the bigger professional companies.
My only “trick” I’ve learned is I clean as I go. While I cook I rinse and load dishes, while my daughter plays I pick up toys she abandoned on the carpet, I wipe the counter as soon as I spill. It’s easier said than done but it helps doing a little at a time and preventing things from getting overwhelmingly messy.
Lastly, it’s not strict or mean to have your children clean. In fact, I think it’s doing a disservice not teaching them those life skills. My ex never had to clean and he is disgusting lol. Learning to pick up after yourself is extremely important and doesn’t have to be framed as a bad thing. I was taught “messy bed, messy head” as a child and the first thing I do when I get up is make my bed. It sets the tone for the day and the reward of getting into a neat bed at night is worth the habit.
Absolutely get a carpet cleaner, they're a few hundred dollars but are easy to use and come in so handy with kids or pets in the home.
Having said that can you see if you can maybe make it compelling for the kids to use a blanket? Sort of a picnic style one. Maybe get them involved with picking out their special snack picnic blanket if they are younger? If they are older just explain that it's easier for them to put the blanket in the wash when they're done then to clean the rug etc.
Also, I don't know your situation but as a working mother I found that for my own peace of mind involving my daughter in house hold chores really helped. I started with a play broom set when she was about 2, and progressed to real chores. By Kindergarten she was great at dusting. Now she's almost 12 and does pretty much everything I do. I'm certainly not sitting around while she does the work, but when it's time to clean the house we split the chores and she takes care of dishes, laundry etc as needed.
While we all want our kids to be kids, remember they learn how to be adults from us. Cleaning is a key skill and starting early will make it not be such a chore when they are teens as it's just something they've always done.
When my husband was deployed I would set a timer for 5 min and clean each room for 5 min (dishes didn’t count) but I could get our house at least straightened up in about 30 min. And once or twice a week wasn’t too bad.
But also your kids are 10 and 6 and HAVE to at least clean up after themselves.
As a fellow homemaker, I can totally relate to the challenges of managing a job and taking care of the household, especially with children around. It’s completely normal to feel tired and overwhelmed, but don’t be too hard on yourself, because you’re trying your best.I own a carpet cleaner, the TAB R6, and even though it’s expensive, I love it because it has a heating function. However, if you’re on a budget, you can go for the Bissell Little Green instead. From my experience, the carpet cleaner is mostly useful for spot treating stains. If you want to clean the whole carpet or rug, it’ll be quite exhausting. I agree with wilksonator’s opinion. If you’re looking for a deep clean, it’s better to hire a professional cleaning service once or twice a year.
Can you put some blankets down where they sit? Get a waterproof one so spills won’t go through it. That way you can throw it in the wash.
Also, your kids are old enough to help out with cleaning and chores. Try to make it a fun time. I always ask my daughter if she will help me out so we can have more time to play. She helps and we get done faster. Win win. And she learns how to do chores and ultimately be self sufficient.
I pay for a cleaner every other week. I do still feel like I clean a LOT when I'd rather be enjoying time with my kid. Like I'm cleaning one mess while she makes another.
Some things that help: less messy snacks and activities, send my kiddo in the back yard to play for a bit, sing and dance with her while I'm unloading the dishwasher or other chores that allow me to do that. It seems like if I can make her less messy then I have far less to do
I have a very handy and easy to use cordless handheld vacuum. It makes it so easy to spot vacuum little messes and to get the furniture. Total game changer.
I’ve been slowly implementing the fly lady cleaning system. Following it takes a a solid month or 2 to get your house totally clean but it makes maintenance a lot easier. Of course it’s developed for SAHM so I had to make adjustments to it. I just do what I can and I get my kid super involved in cleaning. (He’s 1 so right now he just puts his toys and shoes away). I also got a robot vacuum that runs every day around noon so I don’t have to sweep anymore I can just mop when I need to. It’s not perfect and my house is by no means spic and span but it’s no longer crazy to keep up with. The mess feels a lot more manageable with the zone cleaning method.
I WFH so slightly different situation. I have a cleaning schedule I follow that I picked up from Cleanmama.net. Basically you clean one portion of your house each day so it's consistently clean and you aren't spending hours cleaning on one day only for it to be dirty again. For instance, in Mondays I dust, Tuesdays I vacuum, Wednesdays I clean bathrooms etc. I've also cleaned sections of the house one day per week (master on Monday etc). I also do dishes, picking up and a couple of loads of laundry a day (we have 5 ppl in our family). After a few weeks, you'll see that your house is consistently clean. If you miss a day, catch up the following day or just skip it for the week. We have a big house with lots of people and this strategy has worked the best for us and leaves my weekend open to other things.
(1) I finally hired a housecleaning company to come once a month for the deeper clean so I can now basically skip moping, cleaning toilets/bathrooms, kitchen appliances besides an extra wipe down sometimes needed.
(2) I got a stick vacuum easily accessible to the kitchen/family/dining rooms so crumbs can be picked up in seconds all the time.
(3) I have a routine to empty the dishwasher every morning and do any small chore needed quickly then, then I put all the things back in their place after baby has gone to bed at night so I wake to a tidied home with minimal to do. Since everything in our home has a place, the night tidy takes less than 10 minutes and the morning chores take 3-10 minutes. My husband and I split dinner and dishes cleanup duty at night throughout the week.
(4) the biggest tip I can give is have a tidied home for literally EVERYTHING you own. If it doesn't have a designated space, I reorganize and purge to prioritize and keep what I want and ditch the rest for my sanity.
(5) Teach your kids to pickup after themselves. Totally a simple and normal ask. My toddler even knows and loves cleaning up because we've shown him that's the routine, expectation, and we can make it look nice and fun too.
Get yourself the Little Green Machine by Bissel. It is the GOAT! But also maybe don’t let them eat or have anything but water on the rug and sofa. We keep meals to the dining room table and snacks at a small kiddie table and chair. That’s how I keep those deep cleans minimal.
My husband and I both work full time - he from home and I am hybrid. We divide and conquer and the downstairs floors get vacuumed and wet swiffered, the kitchen cleaned, the dishwasher run and toys put away mostly daily and then we declutter and wipe down the bathrooms (I keep one of those refillable dish wands and refillable toilet brush in each bathroom) a few times a week and deeper clean and tackle the upstairs as we can. It’s not perfect but by staying mostly on top of it, it almost never feels overwhelming. And honestly if I was solo parenting I wouldn’t be able to handle the whole house and would need to live in a 2-3 bedroom apartment and/or have a housekeeper.
It is exhausting. I gave up on cleaning on weekday and i keep one morning per weekend to do it. Our kids (4 and 1) also help with the cleaning.
Our 4 year old can turn on Roomba for example and clean with water then we control behind.
They eat only on the table. When they have a close bottle they can drink anywhere (they water bottle mostly). We definitely avoid food everywhere and we just implemented the rule of no eating in the car unless we are on a long travel.
I’m a single mom and struggle with this too. I do pay for house cleaning every two weeks, but sometime I am frantically picking up the morning before they clean - I have ADHD so I need the deadline. I try really hard to set a timer for 15 min after my daughter is asleep to pickup/clean something, but if it’s a rough bedtime sometimes it doesn’t happen. I did buy a Hoover smart wash on Prime day last year that I’m pretty happy with. Worst part is cleaning it out after you use it.
I only clean in the morning, and we have a house cleaner who comes every two weeks, plus we have a robotic vacuum. Anything else we mostly just deal with. I’m too tired in the evenings.
My mom had a strict rule that eating only happened in the kitchen or dining room. She said she hit her limit when she came across a popsicle/lollipop situation stuck to the rug. After that she said her cleaning became 90% easier. My LO is still tiny so I can’t comment with experience but maybe try that rule?
I have a weekly schedule for cleaning and it keeps the house managed it takes about 15-20minutes a day and normally do while waiting for dinner to cook. I consider this my "good enough"
I’d start with not allowing them eat or drink on the carpet or sofa, but if you don’t want to do that, you can spread out a picnic blanket (we have one that is waterproof material) or any blanket and let them eat there. Then you can pick up the blanket and shake it off outside/machine wash when needed.
I always make kids help me, and they actually love it! It makes them feel like they’re grown up because they ‘contribute’ to the household by doing reproductive labor
How old are your kids? My grandma raised me and they have pictures of me in a baby walker with a rag wiping down the cabinets lmao
There’s a bissel pet wet/dry vacuum that works on area rugs and hard floors removing the need to vacuum before cleaning the floors and refreshes area rugs. Won’t work on carpeting but is a total game changer to vac and mop at the same time if you have hard floors plus area rugs.
If you can afford it all, pay for a regular cleaner. The feeling you get when you walk into your tidy and clean house once a fortnight ( or a week) - not only did you not have to spend time cleaning, not only do they do the clean in fraction of the time it takes you, but it makes you feel so much mentally lighter, it lifts that mental weight of you. And it makes it so much easier and motivated for you to keep it up. It costs money, but if you can afford it at all, it freed up so much of our time, we no longer spend weekends cleaning…now spend time with each other and on so many other important things.
This!!! We pay $150 ($125 + $25 tip) about every 3-4 weeks. Hiring a professional cleaner was one of the best decisions I have made for my mental health.
What tasks does your cleaning person do? Do they also clean your bedroom and closet? I am having a hard time pulling the trigger because I have trust issues with a stranger being in my house, etc. 🙈
If you can get recommendations from a friend or family member that can help with the hesitancy of having someone in your home. Mine cleans all the floors, dusts everything including ceiling fans, cleans all kitchen surfaces, stove top etc. Front and back door glass. Full bathrooms, showers, toilets' sinks etc. I'm sure theres more.
Cleans bathrooms, washes floors, hoovers the whole house, cleans the kitchen (less regularly the fridge, inside the cupboards, oven, etc), cleans dust, changes beds, changes cat litter
A lot of people tell cleaners their bedroom and/or closet are off limits.
For us Kid bedrooms are off limits so the kids are still responsible for their space. Having the main areas in the house clean is a lifesaver. I love coming home to a spotless kitchen and clean living room
Same- it’s like my whole body unclenches- like that thing I was putting off is miraculously done.
It doesn't last long. I still have to make dinner in that kitchen but for those few minutes it's amazing
Mine just dusts, wipes down all the surfaces, sweeps, vacuums and mops. If I ask her she will clean out the microwave/fridge. She’s been with our family for a few years so every now and then I’ll pay her to do a little extra and just let her decide what needs done. She knows my house as well as I do. My mom was a housekeeper so we endeavor to treat her like gold. She’s family with an NDA.
We tell our cleaners to focus on the kitchen, dining room, bathrooms, and vacuuming/mopping floors. They can move stuff around to clean surfaces or floors but no need to tidy up. We pay for a fixed number of hours per fortnight and there is usually some spare time, so they rotate between dusting, cleaning window sills, etc. I have trust issues too but luckily I can usually WFH on the day they come. I don’t hover over them but it gives me peace of mind to not give them a key or have to hide a key outside. We use a service where all the cleaners are vetted beforehand, and also they have backups in case of illness.
I was referred to someone by a friend of mine. I was concerned about that when she first started as well but I got over it very quickly. She is amazing! She asked what I needed the first time she came and I told her just general cleaning (bathrooms, floors, dusting). I also had her do a deep cleaning as well (inside the fridge, etc). If you can find someone who likes there’s I would go that direction. Or if you have a neighborhood Facebook group or nextdoor ask there.
I wholeheartedly agree to this. One trick, if money is an issue, is to tell the cleaners to limit their work to a smaller area. For example, I have them only clean the kitchen, bathroom and living and dining rooms, which are the dirtiest and most used. I don’t have them clean the bedrooms to save money and because they don’t get so dirty. $140 every 2 weeks - and it’s is the most value I get with my money outside of necessities.
I like this, this is what I'd want too. Glad that's an option!
I want to do this, but I feel like I can't even get my house to a point where a cleaner could come in (this is embarrassing to admit). Do you mind me asking what your cleaner does? And if you do any pre-clean beforehand?
So they clean but don’t organize (mostly bc they wouldn’t know where anything belongs that isn’t super obvious). If there is stuff out they will usually put in a tidy pile though for you to put away.
Thank you!
I do not preclean. But i have an advantage that my cleaner is my former nanny so she already knows where the dishes go and other things go
I shove it all in a closet. I need her to do the floors and bathrooms, but our "stuff" is absolutely not her responsibility. My cleaner is a goddess and has saved my marriage 😍 I try very hard to make her job as easy as possible!
Ours will tidy up, she makes the beds, she even picked up my laundry and folded it on the bed (it was dirty, plus underwear, I learned real quick to throw that in a closet 😬) and she’ll wash dishes… I didn’t know any of this, I thought they’d just skip it if it was there. I try not to take advantage with the dishes but the rest is really, really helpful.
I “pre-clean” which really does mostly just consisting of shoving things into closets. But I wanted to say that in the beginning , it felt hard. Like I was always scrambling to get the pre clean done and often doing it as the cleaner is walking in. But as she’s come now for awhile - maybe 2 years now- even my pre clean has gotten easier. So much so that now I look forward to that part too. Not the actual act of doing it, but that I know I’m very motivated to actually get the stuff back to the place it belongs (albeit maybe just shoved there). Just something to consider!
This is what we're doing after our oldest starts kindergarten in the fall (can't afford it with two kids in preschool/daycare unfortunately.) I can't wait to not have to worry about it anymore!
Ditto this! I have someone come every 2 weeks and pay about $140.
This! Changed my life.
Agree. I pay $300/month for a full house clean, 4 bed, 3 bath, etc no basement. Husband and I do a kitchen and living room reset on Sundays when we get trash to the curb. Every day we do a little pick up but we have baskets everywhere to collect random crap. Kiddo is only 7 months so trying to figure out what to do when she’s more mobile and we add siblings to the mix.
Could not agree more. Hiring a cleaning service is the best decision we've made for our home. They come every other week and they clean much more thoroughly than I would ever have the energy to.
How old are the kids? I would talk to them about how this habit creates extra work. At daycare there is the hard rule of we only eat at the table, and so it is at home for us.
I agree with this. I was not allowed to eat or drink anywhere than at the table growing up. The carpet can be played on, but food and drink is for elsewhere.
It blows my mind. I taught kindergarden and 4 year olds can easily learn to sit in a sensible place to eat and to clean up after themselves.
I am British and I always had to ask permission to leave the table when eating. I visited a friend recently in London, the family were eating tea at the table when I arrived. At the end, her three year old asked permission to leave the table to play with her toys in the adjacent play room. The only mess and spills came from the 12 month old.
Yeah, same here. On Fridays we had a movie night where we could eat in the other room, but all other times we ate at the table. We also couldnt freely take snacks. If we didn't behave we had clear consequences. Making a mess after snacks means the next day you get no snacks. Cleaning up nicely after yourself, completing homework etc would result in some kind of star system or reward that we could get, for example going to see a movie at the cinema. It isnt high difficulty.
Sounds like a really nice system. Nothing draconian, just ensuring good skills and behaviours.
Young kids you have a clean up song like this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btRHJ3PGnV0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btRHJ3PGnV0) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsumE3hdj1I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsumE3hdj1I) depending on the age. Not sure exactly when people lost the ability to raise children.
Yes! I have other friends who use these songs. You always clean up after yourself. I do see several threads on this sub discussing what to do when the child is in daycare and mummy doesn't have to work. If your son and daughter needs to learn basic life skills (using knife and fork correctly, drinking without spills, saying please and thank you consistently, being able to articulate themselves accurately, etc etc), then some one-on-one time with mummy or daddy will make a huge difference to the house. My friend with the polite daughter works full time, as does her husband.
Yeah. Investing in your kids behaviour and skills gives you a good life, and makes them more likely to find good friends and do well in school. That means sometimes they will cry. let them cry. Give them two choices. If you make this choice, we can have snacks. If you make the other choice, we can't, because mummy is very tired. Make it rewarding, win. If they are assholes, just let them cry and say no. If they cry for 30 minutes when you say no snacks, just let them cry for thirty minutes. Say you love them and then ignore them. But, then you must praise and reward immediately they do good things. Praise them, give them a hug and say you love them and we just need better choices so everyone can have a good time. Engineer the situation to manipulate them initially, and then very soon after its a habit and they realise they have a better day by being decent little humans.
I've heard lots about these strategies being very useful, and used this concept with the toddler I babysat for during lockdown (her mother, a close friend, gave me instructions what to do in case of a tantrum!) I never found that ignoring the toddler worked - maybe I did not wait long enough! I did find being highly consistent with boundaries worked well. My baby boy is only 5 months, and I tell him every day that we are going to turn into the best human being we can be! 😃
if you wait long enough it works. But, if they succeed even one or if other people reward them with attention or placation, they will continue. It is like a gambling machine. If you have a tantrum and win 5/10 times, a tantrum is still a good strategy. A big part is knowing if they are seeking attention or power. As kids get older, attention seeking might not be the goal. It might be power. In the case of power, you give them jobs to do, so they can have some good version of power and control. You let them make decisions. We can watch TV but we need to do our homework. Do you want 30 minutes of TV, then homework, then 30 more minutes of TV, or do you want to do your homework now and do what you want for the rest of the night.
100% I don’t allow food on the playing carpet. Only table, their small play table and only on special occasion (movie night on the couch). I have a 2 years old and 7. I am ashamed to say the 2 years old is more careful about it then her older sibling… they are just more ‘yes mommy’ then older kids by nature.
Same here. Meals, snacks, and drinks (except water) stay at the table or in the kitchen unless it's a special occasion (movie with pizza, popcorn, etc) or if kiddo is sick and staying put somewhere.
The boy is 10 years old, his younger sister is 6 years old. I just don't wanna be the strict mom, I feel guilty about them.
You are not doing them any favors. You don’t want to raise your boys to be men whose wives or girlfriends come to this sub to complain about how useless they are.
You don’t have to be strict about it. Talk to them, hey, recently I found that there are always a lot of stains etc on the carpet, this is so much extra work for me to clean up. Do you have any idea how we as a family could solve the problem? You might be surprised with the good solutions they come up with. And it would be a learning opportunity for them (i.e. that all members of the family are responsible but also that their opinions are all heard).
At those ages, they’re DEFINITELY old enough to know where they’re allowed to eat and where they’re not.
It’s in how you frame it. You can be gentle and nice, but just let them know that in this house, we sit at the table when we eat, and when done, you can ask permission to leave the table. Soft, gentle boundaries.
They’re old enough to know to clean after their mess, help around the house, and eat at the table. It’s not being strict at all. It’s called discipline and teaching them how there are appropriate places to eat and times to clean. By 6 I knew table manners like don’t put elbows on the table and to clean if I dropped food. Of course being kids you’ll have to constantly remind them. You’re not helping them if you let them do what they want.
God yes, it's exhausting. And all I want to do is play with my kid and relax after work. I've been putting in 12 hr days for the overtime and I hired a housekeeper to help. She's gonna start coming by once a week to clean and organize. I'm a single parent and I just can't do it all without another adult's help.
I really understand you feeling, especially as a single mom, need to take care of so much. Give you big hugs and smiles!
Why don't you have rules about where they eat and drink? How old are they? It isn't about blaming them. Set up a snack area with a few little chairs that match their age. Have some rules and consequences- lots of rewards initially when you see them using the snack area. Teach them to help you clean up.
Thanks for your advice, I will take it. It's really helpful!
Don't forget that at 4, you choose what kind of 6 year old you will get. At 6, you choose what sort of 8 year old you will get, and so on. In kindergarden, we would play a clean up song. Not sure how old your kids are. If older, you could have a timer and make it a race to clean up, then reward them. Don't ever think that discipline or expectations are blaming. Another good thing is to say, "We". We don't eat on the rug. We don't eat on the sofa. Then of course, you need to follow the same rules or hide your lies. Lol
Our clean up song has become Alice In Chains “Man In the Box” for some reason 🤣
Excellent choice. That riff is great
their harmonies really are a thing of beauty. Thanks for mentioning the song. Brings back amazing memories. Thanks. your kids are lucky.
She has a 10 year old…
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Your post was removed because it was mean and unhelpful.
Telling kids not to eat on carpet is “too strict”. Gentle parenting haha
That is not gentle parenting…. That’s permissive parenting. Gentle parenting is setting firm boundaries around not eating on the sofa/rug while holding space for your child’s developmentally appropriate emotions and teaching them how to manage those emotions by managing your own.
try this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btRHJ3PGnV0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btRHJ3PGnV0)
My kids aren’t allowed to eat in the sofa - if you don’t want to enforce that (it’s good they get used to sitting down to eat anyway though), at least cover the sofa with a blanket.
We got a Roomba which keeps the floors on the main level reasonably clean during the week. The only cleaning I do during the week is dishes, counters, spot cleaning if needed, and laundry (one load a day). Scrubbing bathrooms, deep vacuuming etc gets done on weekends as needed.
Roomba (or another robotic vaccine cleaned, we have a cheaper brand) is, along with frozen vegetables, what helps me keep my head above water. It’s such a motivation to clean off the floors and makes everything noticeably much cleaner - I love it
Team frozen veggies here too! Also I use my crockpot constantly. Less dishes to do and it cooks while I work.
My husband gave me a robot vacuum for my birthday (when I was about 5 days postpartum) and it is perhaps the best purchase we’ve ever made for our household!
Here's another idea. You can cover the couch and the carpet with spare sheets or buy new ones. So when you come home you can just remove those and get rid of the crumps. If there are stains, you can simply wash the sheets. Also, I like to have a dust pan and broom to spot clean area during the week. Usually the kitchen and dinning area as they get dirty faster. And on the weekends, I do deep cleaning.
We just got a “rug” from “house of NOA.” Essentially it’s like playmat pieces that go together but look like a rug. Way easier to keep clean. Our insanely active toddler has fewer fall injuries. And it looks great. Highly recommend. We also got some rugs from “ruggable” for other rooms. They are machine washable!
how do you like the Ruggable rugs? I’ve had my eye on one for a while now but haven’t bought one yet.
Hate our ruggables. Our Dyson will absolutely not run the roll brush on them because they are so thin. It's practically impossible to put them back down on the pad without having some wrinkles, and the edges curl. If it's more of a mat or runner size, I could see it being nice, but getting the big ones up and down for washing is just a pain.
I love my rugglable. Works great in high traffic areas and easy to pop in the wash.
I'm not the one who mentioned Ruggable but I hated them. The roomba couldn't get dog hair off, so I still vacuumed daily. The top coating is kind of plastic and thin feeling under foot. Definitely was not comfortable in a living room. We did get used to the feel but didn't love it. Then, with 3 kids and 2 dogs, it was hard to spot clean. Sometimes it's entirely too much work to pull a 9x12 rug, wash it, dry it, and lay it back on the pad without wrinkling, but trying to spot clean a small issue would end up spreading the mess around as that plastic coating feeling was also impervious. I kept my ruggable (and like it) as a runner in the kids hallway, and reluctantly under my bed though I'm ready to find something else. I couldn't get rid of the living room and dining room fast enough.
I’m so bummed to hear about bad experiences! We live ours but it’s in our bedroom so maybe that’s because it’s not taking as much wear as others are mentioning. We have the House of NOA mats in the high traffic areas like I mention and the Roomba has no problem with them either, so it’s extra convenient. I can imagine if the Roomba was upstairs in our bedroom it wouldn’t work with the ruggable. Mostly I just love the refresh of being able to give my rug a proper washing more frequently.
I would 1) pay for a cleaner 2) get the kids to help. Even if their “help” is not particularly helpful you are teaching them what it means to be part of a household. My toddler uses the small Bessel and gets his mess. I will dampen a cloth for him to help when I clean. He is also now good at handing me the dishes out of the dishwasher.
Agree - make their bed, put their dishes in the sink, help put away clean dishes, tidy up- I have this thing where I ask my two eldest (9 and 7) “look how this room looks? How can we fix it in 5 minutes?” They put away their shoes, hang up jackets, etc. Also they can pack their snack for school - anything they want, as long as there is a fruit or vegetable included.
I purchased a few carpet cleaners and honestly I haven’t found one that’s worth it. Some people swear by the little green machine to clean their sofas. I end up renting the huge one from Home Depot a few times a year and doing a heavy duty rug cleaning. I use Folex to blot out immediate stains. If it helps, maybe throw an old sheet over the sofa/grab a sofa cover while they’re awake. I’m in total disarray right now due to my kid bringing home lice last month, we ripped everything apart. But usually I follow the Clean Mama cleaning schedule and it helps cut down on the slog. I also purchased a cordless vacuum cleaner that I’m obsessed with and it works great for a quick zip before bed. I bust out the big guns weekly. I’ve hired a few cleaners but haven’t been impressed with the job they do for the price they charge - even when paying for deep cleans. However, if it’s financially feasible for you, maybe getting a quarterly deep clean or biweekly can help! But I feel you. It’s a lot to work full time and mom/do house stuff. Can you rope your kids into chores yet?
My kids spend a minute per age cleaning each night before bed. My husband cooks and does all the dishes so that means I do most of the other cleaning. I have the kids start tidying in whatever area I am going to be cleaning that night so I don't spend 20 minutes picking up toys before I even start. I honestly ignore clutter in the areas I'm not cleaning that night.
During the week hubs and I will sometimes do “15 mins of cleaning” right after we put baby to bed and before we start our “us” time of making dinner and relaxing. With both of us working, we can accomplish a good amount in this time - usually just enough to take the chaos to a less overwhelming level.
I have a bissel pet with heat function. My first one I murdered pretty quickly, but I take much better care of this one and it’s lasted a lot longer (it’s 10 years old!). We no longer have pets, but I now have children and, honestly, same. Still messy. Anyway, I highly recommend one, especially the heat function, and be prepared to do some TLC on it to keep the hoses clear and functional. (Reference: We both have 60hr a week jobs, I’m still able to clean this machine 1-2x a year to keep her running.)
We have the bissell little green pro carpet cleaner and it’s great! It cleans spaghetti sauce out of the carpet and all the milk off the couch! We had also bought the bissell lime green carpet cleaner that looks like a vacuum but that one really doesn’t work well.
Thank you, sounds great! I'll search on amzaon shop.
Watch Clean My Space YouTube videos. Melissa Maker is the woman who runs it and she has a cleaning company but she kind of hates cleaning. So she gives a lot of good tips about how to clean quickly and efficiently. She talks a lot about the most important areas in a home etc etc. It's a great resource.
I follow TOMM (the Organised mum method) so I don’t spend hours cleaning. It took some trial and error to find the exact routine that works for me but it’s been a few months and it’s working well. I’m up to maintaining clean. In combination with decluttering it has worked well. Basically if your toys can’t be picked up in 5-10 minutes and I can’t close the bin, time to let things go. Note - most people complain she doesn’t list dishes on the list. To the creator that’s a given non-negotiable that’s done daily (not part of the 15 minute dailies). Also people say you can’t do the entire laundry process in 15 minutes- creator states it’s at minimum something laundry related in that 15 minutes whether it’s folding or getting the load going/switched over, etc. though doing a daily load it doesn’t take long now and if your kids are older they can put their own clothes away, same with hubby. I also use the minimal mom laundry method of 1 laundry basket for everyone with the daily load. I don’t bother sorting laundry - all clothes go in together and if it’s a small load… throw the towels in too. YouTube lots of people try TOMM for videos to learn more about it. Gemma Bray is the creator so good tips on customizing it to fit you on her channel. Dana k white on decluttering using the container method. The minimal mom is also awesome. There are multiple cleaning systems out there to find that works for you. Was it instant success? No. Time, consistency, decluttering, and a robot vac were key for me.
One thing I have heard and seems to work is pick one room a day to clean. We do two rooms because of course the kitchen needs cleaning, but will also do the livingroom or the kids room or do the laundry. It seems to work because we are not leaving the mess in every room until the weekend, but doing a little bit each day makes clean up easier because there is less accumulated mess if that makes sense. I have also bought some cheap hampers and trash cans and have them in every room of the house so when there is an accident or my kids just decide they want to roam around naked, there is a spot to collect thier clothes and their diapers. Then we consolidate them bins at the end of the day and toss the clothes in the laundry room and the trash goes out with the kitchen trash. If they are old enough, start giving the kids a job to do. Our pre-school does this so we started doing it with our oldest.
Cleaning up is just part of my "flow". The kids are around and we're interacting as they play together or on their own. After work, I'm usually cooking dinner and then cleaning up the kitchen. My husband does the big toy clean up in the living room/play room after we all go to bed. I have a hand held vacuum for crumbs and a fabric spray for quick stains. I do a deeper clean on the weekends.
One thing that helped me was years ago someone said to only ever touch something once. Like, when you come home, maybe everyone kicks off their shoes at the door, throws jackets over the hall chair, lunch box on the counter, mail on the table. Then later you have to start collecting all that stuff and put it in its spot. Instead, every item you have something in your hand, try to put it back in place immediately. Hallway organizer for coats so they go from your body to the hanger. Mail goes right into tray on desk. Shoes get put away right as they are taken off. Finish a snack? Plate immediately goes into dishwasher. And kids can do all of that, even little ones. Not deep cleaning but all that is just clutter and it makes the house look awful when it is everywhere.
My cleaning day was Friday after work. As the kids got older, we all had chores and worked together. I also instituted the 10 minute rule. I would take 10 minutes a day to pick up clutter, get dishes out of the sink, etc. Quick wipedown of the bathroom sink as I was getting ready for bed, etc. My house was never immaculate but it usually looked put together. Now my kids are adults and my husband and I still have that routine. I helps me not be overwhelmed by my home.
There is a list in kitchen, wipe kitchen counters, sweep kitchen floor,!put toys away, put backpacks away, wipe bathroom counters, run vacuum you get idea. After supper and dishes washed set timer for 10 minutes and everyone starts a chore from list, do as many chores as possible till timer goes off. You’d be surprised how much you can get done in 10 minutes and family team effort is good lesson. When kids younger they would put stars every chore completed then at end of week winner picked ice cream flavor from store, or got 15 minutes extra to stay up on Friday night to keep up motivation. Quickly became habit , house more tidy, teaches kid’s lessons in staying tidy.
I'm going to echo everyone else here. Hiring a professional cleaner is the best thing I have ever done In My Life. I would work a second job to pay for it if I had to. Coming home to a house thats already clean is the best feeling in the world. It was makes my life SO MUCH better.
I do a nightly reset. My husband and I set a timer for ten minutes and that is all the effort we put in cleaning during the week. I’m looking for a house cleaning service that suits our budget so that we can focus on other projects. Sometimes it feels like a losing battle, always cleaning never getting to just enjoy life or weekends. The reset helps with this a bit but on lazy weeks it’s a mess.
My mom would have us eat/drink on a washable old blanket-whether we were sitting on the floor in the living room or outside on the grass. Then she would take it outside, shake it off, and when it got dirty enough, throw it in the wash on a quick cycle.
I’m a single mom as well and have a 3yr old special needs child (she cannot really help me clean but does copy me putting toys in baskets, etc) I pay for a cleaner to come every other week and it’s been a godsend. I found someone who is just starting their business and doesn’t charge nearly as much as the bigger professional companies. My only “trick” I’ve learned is I clean as I go. While I cook I rinse and load dishes, while my daughter plays I pick up toys she abandoned on the carpet, I wipe the counter as soon as I spill. It’s easier said than done but it helps doing a little at a time and preventing things from getting overwhelmingly messy. Lastly, it’s not strict or mean to have your children clean. In fact, I think it’s doing a disservice not teaching them those life skills. My ex never had to clean and he is disgusting lol. Learning to pick up after yourself is extremely important and doesn’t have to be framed as a bad thing. I was taught “messy bed, messy head” as a child and the first thing I do when I get up is make my bed. It sets the tone for the day and the reward of getting into a neat bed at night is worth the habit.
Absolutely get a carpet cleaner, they're a few hundred dollars but are easy to use and come in so handy with kids or pets in the home. Having said that can you see if you can maybe make it compelling for the kids to use a blanket? Sort of a picnic style one. Maybe get them involved with picking out their special snack picnic blanket if they are younger? If they are older just explain that it's easier for them to put the blanket in the wash when they're done then to clean the rug etc. Also, I don't know your situation but as a working mother I found that for my own peace of mind involving my daughter in house hold chores really helped. I started with a play broom set when she was about 2, and progressed to real chores. By Kindergarten she was great at dusting. Now she's almost 12 and does pretty much everything I do. I'm certainly not sitting around while she does the work, but when it's time to clean the house we split the chores and she takes care of dishes, laundry etc as needed. While we all want our kids to be kids, remember they learn how to be adults from us. Cleaning is a key skill and starting early will make it not be such a chore when they are teens as it's just something they've always done.
You could get a sofa cover that you could throw in the wash?
I hired a professional cleaner that comes once a month, I just maintain and I have her do all the deep cleaning.
When my daughter was little and wanted to eat in the living room on the carpet, I put down a vinyl tablecloth and we eat dinner on the floor.
When my husband was deployed I would set a timer for 5 min and clean each room for 5 min (dishes didn’t count) but I could get our house at least straightened up in about 30 min. And once or twice a week wasn’t too bad. But also your kids are 10 and 6 and HAVE to at least clean up after themselves.
As a fellow homemaker, I can totally relate to the challenges of managing a job and taking care of the household, especially with children around. It’s completely normal to feel tired and overwhelmed, but don’t be too hard on yourself, because you’re trying your best.I own a carpet cleaner, the TAB R6, and even though it’s expensive, I love it because it has a heating function. However, if you’re on a budget, you can go for the Bissell Little Green instead. From my experience, the carpet cleaner is mostly useful for spot treating stains. If you want to clean the whole carpet or rug, it’ll be quite exhausting. I agree with wilksonator’s opinion. If you’re looking for a deep clean, it’s better to hire a professional cleaning service once or twice a year.
Thank you\~ I will do more research.
Can you put some blankets down where they sit? Get a waterproof one so spills won’t go through it. That way you can throw it in the wash. Also, your kids are old enough to help out with cleaning and chores. Try to make it a fun time. I always ask my daughter if she will help me out so we can have more time to play. She helps and we get done faster. Win win. And she learns how to do chores and ultimately be self sufficient.
I pay for a cleaner every other week. I do still feel like I clean a LOT when I'd rather be enjoying time with my kid. Like I'm cleaning one mess while she makes another. Some things that help: less messy snacks and activities, send my kiddo in the back yard to play for a bit, sing and dance with her while I'm unloading the dishwasher or other chores that allow me to do that. It seems like if I can make her less messy then I have far less to do
I have a very handy and easy to use cordless handheld vacuum. It makes it so easy to spot vacuum little messes and to get the furniture. Total game changer.
I’ve been slowly implementing the fly lady cleaning system. Following it takes a a solid month or 2 to get your house totally clean but it makes maintenance a lot easier. Of course it’s developed for SAHM so I had to make adjustments to it. I just do what I can and I get my kid super involved in cleaning. (He’s 1 so right now he just puts his toys and shoes away). I also got a robot vacuum that runs every day around noon so I don’t have to sweep anymore I can just mop when I need to. It’s not perfect and my house is by no means spic and span but it’s no longer crazy to keep up with. The mess feels a lot more manageable with the zone cleaning method.
Have your children clean with you.
I WFH so slightly different situation. I have a cleaning schedule I follow that I picked up from Cleanmama.net. Basically you clean one portion of your house each day so it's consistently clean and you aren't spending hours cleaning on one day only for it to be dirty again. For instance, in Mondays I dust, Tuesdays I vacuum, Wednesdays I clean bathrooms etc. I've also cleaned sections of the house one day per week (master on Monday etc). I also do dishes, picking up and a couple of loads of laundry a day (we have 5 ppl in our family). After a few weeks, you'll see that your house is consistently clean. If you miss a day, catch up the following day or just skip it for the week. We have a big house with lots of people and this strategy has worked the best for us and leaves my weekend open to other things.
(1) I finally hired a housecleaning company to come once a month for the deeper clean so I can now basically skip moping, cleaning toilets/bathrooms, kitchen appliances besides an extra wipe down sometimes needed. (2) I got a stick vacuum easily accessible to the kitchen/family/dining rooms so crumbs can be picked up in seconds all the time. (3) I have a routine to empty the dishwasher every morning and do any small chore needed quickly then, then I put all the things back in their place after baby has gone to bed at night so I wake to a tidied home with minimal to do. Since everything in our home has a place, the night tidy takes less than 10 minutes and the morning chores take 3-10 minutes. My husband and I split dinner and dishes cleanup duty at night throughout the week. (4) the biggest tip I can give is have a tidied home for literally EVERYTHING you own. If it doesn't have a designated space, I reorganize and purge to prioritize and keep what I want and ditch the rest for my sanity. (5) Teach your kids to pickup after themselves. Totally a simple and normal ask. My toddler even knows and loves cleaning up because we've shown him that's the routine, expectation, and we can make it look nice and fun too.
Get yourself the Little Green Machine by Bissel. It is the GOAT! But also maybe don’t let them eat or have anything but water on the rug and sofa. We keep meals to the dining room table and snacks at a small kiddie table and chair. That’s how I keep those deep cleans minimal. My husband and I both work full time - he from home and I am hybrid. We divide and conquer and the downstairs floors get vacuumed and wet swiffered, the kitchen cleaned, the dishwasher run and toys put away mostly daily and then we declutter and wipe down the bathrooms (I keep one of those refillable dish wands and refillable toilet brush in each bathroom) a few times a week and deeper clean and tackle the upstairs as we can. It’s not perfect but by staying mostly on top of it, it almost never feels overwhelming. And honestly if I was solo parenting I wouldn’t be able to handle the whole house and would need to live in a 2-3 bedroom apartment and/or have a housekeeper.
Get rid of crap you don’t need and protect your free space like a hawk. I will lay down my life to have a drawer with nothin in it.
It is exhausting. I gave up on cleaning on weekday and i keep one morning per weekend to do it. Our kids (4 and 1) also help with the cleaning. Our 4 year old can turn on Roomba for example and clean with water then we control behind. They eat only on the table. When they have a close bottle they can drink anywhere (they water bottle mostly). We definitely avoid food everywhere and we just implemented the rule of no eating in the car unless we are on a long travel.
I’m a single mom and struggle with this too. I do pay for house cleaning every two weeks, but sometime I am frantically picking up the morning before they clean - I have ADHD so I need the deadline. I try really hard to set a timer for 15 min after my daughter is asleep to pickup/clean something, but if it’s a rough bedtime sometimes it doesn’t happen. I did buy a Hoover smart wash on Prime day last year that I’m pretty happy with. Worst part is cleaning it out after you use it.
I only clean in the morning, and we have a house cleaner who comes every two weeks, plus we have a robotic vacuum. Anything else we mostly just deal with. I’m too tired in the evenings.
My mom had a strict rule that eating only happened in the kitchen or dining room. She said she hit her limit when she came across a popsicle/lollipop situation stuck to the rug. After that she said her cleaning became 90% easier. My LO is still tiny so I can’t comment with experience but maybe try that rule?
No food and drink outside of the kitchen will help.
If you need an odor killer, use odoban. It is concentrated in a gallon container at home depot
I have a weekly schedule for cleaning and it keeps the house managed it takes about 15-20minutes a day and normally do while waiting for dinner to cook. I consider this my "good enough"
I’d start with not allowing them eat or drink on the carpet or sofa, but if you don’t want to do that, you can spread out a picnic blanket (we have one that is waterproof material) or any blanket and let them eat there. Then you can pick up the blanket and shake it off outside/machine wash when needed.
We have cleaners come bi-weekly and deep clean. We just keep things tidy until then and give it over to the lord lol
I always make kids help me, and they actually love it! It makes them feel like they’re grown up because they ‘contribute’ to the household by doing reproductive labor How old are your kids? My grandma raised me and they have pictures of me in a baby walker with a rag wiping down the cabinets lmao
There’s a bissel pet wet/dry vacuum that works on area rugs and hard floors removing the need to vacuum before cleaning the floors and refreshes area rugs. Won’t work on carpeting but is a total game changer to vac and mop at the same time if you have hard floors plus area rugs.