I am soooo frustrated!! When I was growing up my mom stayed home with three kids and our house was always picked up. Never a towel on the floor or a dirty sock. Papers piled up for a week or so and then were tossed. But the thing that gets me is she didn't do it constantly! She dusted one day, did bathrooms another, vaccuumed another. I tidy and pick up, tie up trash and replace bag, dishes, sweep, vaccuum, mop and do laundry everyday and right now you would never know it. Now my kids are little and closer in age than we are and my dad is kind of a neat freak. I run out of places to keep things but I don' t think we have too much stuff. I wonder if I'm putting my energy in the wrong places.

By Heaventree on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 10:13 pm:

I posted a similar message a few months back and some of the moms suggested Fly Lady. I joined but the constant emails drove me nuts. Anyway she has some good suggestions about cleaning your house in zones and getting organized so you clean more efficiently. Check out her website she has everything posted you don't have to join.

Just google Flylady. Good luck.

By Mrse on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 10:16 pm:

When I read your post I automatically thought that maybe your dad, was doing alot of stuff around the house you did not realize, since he was the neat freak. Around here I can go to work, and come home and do 4 hours house cleaning and I just scratch the surface. I think the problem around here is to many spots that junk piles up, so when you do have everything else picked up and tidy the house still looks like a pit, well that is my problem anyway. I clean before I go to work in the morning, and after work, I have also went to work at 11 at night and got home at 4am to find dishes not done etc.. and started in cleaning up all that mess before I went to bed, after went to bed woke up and the kitchen was destroyed with all the breakfast mess , a dh and three teenage daughters can make. Yes they are , well I had a word but lets just say not the cleanest bunch. But to answer your question I am usually cleaning or working or sleeping their is no time to do anything else for me.

By Mommmie on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 10:43 pm:

I do most of my cleaning on Saturday for about half a day. The rest of the time I just build it into my day. I pick up and carry things with me from room to room if I'm going there anyway. I clean up after myself right away. I unload the dishwasher when it's done, the dryer when it's done and put it all away right then. No thinking about it. Once years ago I procrastinated about emptying the dishwasher. Finally I did it and timed myself and it took 2-3 minutes and I thought I whined to myself for 15 minutes when I could have just done it in 2-3 minutes.

I make things easy - shoe bucket, lego bucket, gameboy drawer, etc. so it's just a matter of tossing things into where they go. I'm not a neat freak, so it's not perfect. The stack of books and magazines by my bed is a disaster zone, but the place is generally picked up. I only have 1 kid though and no husband, so it's easier.

By Cocoabutter on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 11:30 pm:

I clean the floors (to keep up with the dog hair and the dirt from outside) and scrub the bathroom two days a week- Tuesday and Friday.

I do dishes every day and laundry every other day.

I get a pile up of papers every week or so, (mostly school stuff that ds brings home- I look at everything when it comes home but don't take care of it right away) and I take care of them every week on a day I am doing laundry while I am waiting for the washer/dryer. We used to get the newspaper, but I couldn't keep up with reading it and it would get thrown away anyway.

ONE VERY IMPORTANT NOTE- I go through mail EVERY day and I DO NOT THROW OUT THE JUNK MAIL! Thanks to Ginny and a story I also saw on the news, I realized that you shouldn't put junk mail like credit card offers and home equity loan offers in the trash. Thieves steal identities from unused credit card offers found in trash bins and you never really know where your trash ends up anyway. I take all my junk mail and toss it in a box. A couple of weeks ago the box was full and I shreded all the junk mail and cut up those fake credit cards they send you attached to the letters. Anything with my address on it gets shreded. You should also shred old utility bills and credit card and loan statements you do not plan on keeping.

I also enlist my ds' help in taking care of his own stuff. He's older (8) and capable of picking up his toys and at least putting them in his room. He has boxes for most of his stuff, and if his room gets out of hand, I will help him and tell him where stuff ought to go. I just don't want it all lying around the house.

In fact, he is now learning to do laundry for a small allowance.

Let's see- that leaves the yard. On the weekends, the house should be pretty well set, so I go outside and do doggie duty and I've been raking. Dh mows the lawn and last fall we raked the leaves together. BIG JOB- we have two giant maple trees!


The only thing I don't do on a regular basis is dust. That's a big job, too. We live in an old house and we have lots of it. *sigh* a woman's work is never done!

By Missbookworm on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 03:00 am:

I clean everyday...I can't stand mess and clutter etc. It just drives me crazy..the only thing that doesn't get done on a daily basis is a deep cleaning of the bathroom...and washing the kitchen floor and dusting lol..and sometimes the kids rooms but I am a neat freak...and mostly organized at least on the surface. I have that everything has a place and it has to be there.

I also have rules about the kids toys staying upstairs and not being all over the house...and things like doing the dishes even though there is 4 of us doesn't take more than a few minutes and I do them once in the morning and once at nite...

I vacuum at least the living room everyday and the upstairs every couple of days...I organize and sort the basement about once a month...I freecycle a TON...I hate having things that I don't need around the house so I minimalize as much as possible...although i do have a few things that I don't necessarily need but they're hidden away lol.

I do one load of laundry a day...and the kids are responsible for putting their own away...at 5, 8 and 13 they're more than old enough...the rest they do halfheartedly sometimes..but i do the majority of the cleaning other than in their rooms..and like mommmie said...I have no husband around so that makes it easier at least it seems so since we split

By Colette on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 06:49 am:

I clean every day. I usually go through my two youngest dk's room once a week for a thorough cleaning but I expect them to keep their rooms clean (not immaculate though). I cannot relax if my house is messy, it drives me right up a wall.

By Hlgmom on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 11:03 am:

You guys clean??? LOL! I make attempts most days but I am definetely not a neat freak! I am anal about actual "cleanlines" but not so much about clutter! I am trying to get better butit is a struggle for me! I guess I do not get the mommy of the year award!

By Kernkate on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 11:18 am:

I am always cleaning something or straightening up a room.
I dust twice a week, do at least 2 loads of laundry a day, vacuum my living room everyday. Dust down my wooden floors twice a week.
With the kids getting a bit older its easier to keep the house sorta neat.
Alissa who is almost 5 is always a big help, might take a bit longer to get things done but she loves to help.

By Kernkate on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 11:20 am:

Oh and I did try the Flylady but the emails drove me crazy!!!

By My2cuties on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 06:14 pm:

I clean on 1 day on the weekend, I straighten up every other day. The house always looks presentable. never dishes and I do laundry every day, with 2 small girls I would be crazy not to. LOL Good Luck and I just got into this routine, before I started this I was loosing my mind. I thought I clean all day and it still looks a mess, but I notice if I keep on top of it and straighten every morning things work out perfect.

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, April 17, 2005 - 01:13 am:

Okay, maybe this is a bit off-topic, but I have decided that cleaning up my dog messes in the yard, once a day, instead of leaving it go, is working out much better for me. It only takes 5 minutes to do it once a day and I don't kill myself doing it. I also love knowing that I can walk in my yard without getting any messes on my shoes!

As far as my house, though, I never seem to make headway on that! I always have good intentions, but other things get in the way.

By Alberobello on Monday, April 18, 2005 - 06:50 am:

You ladies are so good! I really don't enjoy cleaning so i put it off most of the time, but i don't like a messy house either. What i tend to do is clean once a week, and then vacuum every other day. I always do the dishes and always try to be on top of clothes washing. But, spring cleaning? If i had to do spring cleaning it would take me days! So it's a bit depressing really. Anyway, my house is presentable most of the time, but being so little it looks messy if you leave a cup out on the table

By Hol on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 - 01:41 am:

I'm with you, Dawn. I have three dogs, so if I go more than one day picking up poops, then it gets too overwhelming.

And you're right....I would get tired of stepping in the "land mines". Been there, done that, didn't like it.