how do people with kids cope with the amount of laundry / housework?

Question

i spend half my life doing housework and i have no kids

Answer 1

I have 4 kids aged 5 to 11 and the answer is simple: prioritise, organise, mobilise and don´t agonise!
PRIORITISE: some things are more important than others, it really isn't the end of the world if your windows are not super clean, but running out of clean clothes is asking for disaster. I keep the kitchen and bathrooms clean, but a messy bedroom really isn´t the end of the world...
ORGANISE: be organised, it saves a lot of time and trouble. For example, almost every night I put in a full load of washing. I put a timer on the washing machine, so that the washing is only ready in the morning. Before I leave home I hang it out, when I come back it´s dry...
MOBILISE: everybody helps!! Kids are responsible for keeping their bedrooms organised (yes, even the 5 year old is perfectly capable to tidy her toys) and we have a rota for the children to help laying the table, emptying and loading the dishwasher, clearing the table etc.
DON´T AGONISE: life too short to agonise about keeping your house perfectly clean. Most clothes don´t need to be ironed, it´s more important that they are clean. If things start to pile up and the place is getting really messy, it is time for a big clean up operation, but other than that I don´t worry too much. Doesn´t seem to bother anybody else that our house sometimes looks like a tornado has just come through, both our friends and the children´s love to hang out with us.....

Answer 2

I realize that most, if not everyone else, are older and have kids or grown kids, but I've had plenty of experience even though I"m only 18. I'm the oldest of 6 kids in 8 years. By the time I was 5 and 6 I could cook (basic of course), sew ( a whole dress! ), clean, do dishes, change diapers, do laundry... I could do it all. That's how young we were trained. Now, the younest is 10 years old, and we live in the Philippines as Missionaries. We run an Children's Home/Orphanage. At this point, we have 18 kids living here not including the 6 of us. Almost all of them are under the age 10. We have schedules for all of them. Even down to the 3 year-olds doing dishes. We don't have a dish washer. Our wash machine is the biggest one we could find and it's really small compared to the ones there in the USA. We didn't even have a dryer for over 3 1/2 years until we just recently got one. You wouldn't believe all the cycles we do for laundry. First, you fill the wash machine with water fromt the water hose ( we have to do it all outdoors), then put the laundry in. After 20 mins. or so, you take the clothes out to put them in the ringer to ring the water out. After 2 minutes, we take them outta the ringer and put them in a bucket of rinse water and rinse them manually. After rinsing them, we put them back in the ringer to ring the excess water outta 'em. After the ringer, we have to put them on the clothes lines. We don't use the dryer unless it's rainy season because it's so small and tons of clothes. It really shoots up the electricity bills. As for cleaning our house, it's a big task. We have 8 bedrooms with 6 bathrooms. Cooking dinner takes longer than 5-30 minutes. (that's not just because of a lot of people either) We have to go to the market everyday to buy vegetables, chop them and everything. We don't use very many can goods. Macaroni and cheese isn't from a box. We have to make our own cheese sauce and add it to noodles so it takes longer than just 5 minutes!
This is pretty long, but if you get the picture that I'm trying to draw... Don't fret over housework and laundry. Just like all the other people suggested, break it all down. Do a little at a time. IT really does work! Have a system! I know for some people that's nearly impossible but try it at least. I mean, what could you lose? Just be thankful you have modern equipment to work with. While the laundry is running you can do some other things ( unlike us! ) : D HOpe you work something out that will fit your schedule and your daily lifestyle. There are a lot of good suggestions up there. JUst try a few!

Answer 3

Pace yourself and do things on a daily basis. As a Child many years ago things were done on a daily basis. for example Laundry was done on Monday's, you could also try and do your laundry in cycles, e.g. Whites one day, Colours another day, Bedding another and so on. If you break jobs down into smaller jobs it is a lot easier.

Tuesday would be the day for cleaning the Bedrooms, not just tidying up, Wednesday for doing the Bathroom etc. Saturdays was always baking day when we made cakes to last the week or meals.

If you divide your jobs over the week rather than trying to do it everyday it will be a lot easier.

I hope this will help you. I know we live in a modern age with all the time saving equipment but it is still relevant to do things in the 'old fashioned' way.

This way will give some 'ME TIME' which is essential to a healthy life.

Good Luck
Dee b

Answer 4

I have three kids and a part time job, my answer is not to get overwhelmed by it all :) I keep up with the laundry for obvious reasons but the housework gets done in my own good time! I figure when I'm on my death bed (one day!) the last thing I'm going to regret is not doing enough housework. Just keep up with the basics, unless you want to live in a spotless palace, that is....

Answer 5

With amazing management techniques.

For one thing, you have to make the kids work. Mine do the sweeping every day and take care of the pets. They also have to clean their rooms daily. By 8pm, they have to have all of their stuff picked up from around the rest of the house; it's also when they start taking showers and gettings jammies on and that sort of thing. They're also old enough to put away their own laundry and they know to put their bowls in the sink, for instance, and run a little water in them.

Mondays and Thursdays I do the wash. Tuesdays I deep clean the kitchen and bathrooms. Wednesday and Saturday are dusting days. Sundays I tackle bills; we usually only pay them out twice a month, so it's simplified. I finish every night with a quick clean up before bed; it starts the next morning off easier. We try to pick out clothes for the kids the night before; lunches get packed the night before, etc.

Bottom line, I guess is scheduling. We keep organized pretty well. When things come up you have to be flexible, and you can never freak out over a messy house. But for us, the more we stick to our routine the better.

Also, Clorox wipes rock.

Answer 6

My wife and I both work, but luckily I work from home so I can do laundry during the day. We also make a conscious effort to put in time on the weekends, perhaps an hour or so, to vacuum and tidy up.

I know what you mean. Unless you are a neat freak or have very good habits, it is a constant slog to keep your house clean and the laundry caught up.

Answer 7

People with children usually get up earlier around 6:30/7am so you bung on a load of washing as soon as you get up and then get their breakfast ready. While they are eating you make the beds and empty the dishwasher. Re-stock the dishwasher after breakfast and put it on if needed. Then take them to school (or not if they are at home). Put on some TV for them for half an hour then do the chore for that day. I split it (Mon - vacuuming and cleaning wooden floors, Tues - Ironing and dusting, Wed - wash bedlinen and do windows, Thurs - ironing and hoovering again, Fri - cooking meals and freezing them). I then take a meal out of the freezer for the evening having made them when I get time during the week. I do food shopping over the internet and have it delivered. The secret is to have a place for everything. Clutter happens when there is no fixed place for things to go. Throw out or charity shop anything you haven't used for a year. Encourage people not to buy you nasty nick nacks that need dusting for Xmas.

Answer 8

I have designated days for cleaning and laundry. Also I just get in the habit of putting things away and cleaning up after ourselves

Each room of my house has a cleaning day it only takes maybe 30-45 minutes to do a deep cleaning including wiping the walls down and cleaning behind the furniture and appliances.

Laundry I don't let it pile up, it gets folded and put away right away.

Answer 9

Prioritize is the key. If your house is messed up right now. Prioritize what needs to be done. Pick up the big stuff and leave the smaller stuff for later. Dont get fixated on one room. It will take to long. Work for the best value ie... Pick up dirty clothes, stack papers and books etc.. but dont file them away. Quick vacuum and an even quicker dusting and viola the living room is cleaner than what it was. Dishes: easier to do them right after using them. Laundry: 1 load goes in when you wake up. IF you have time move load from washer to dryer and start another load. When you get home, remove clothes from dryer and change loads. fold clothes and put away. Relax Have a beer or a glass of wine. Before going to bed change loads around starting a new load and fold and put away clothes. Just remember any clothes that you have to have pressed/ironed you will need to get out of the dryer before any wrinkles set in. These clothes you should wash when you are home. as far as the part of with kids?? Well each child has their assigned area of the house that they are responsible for. ie... Living room will be picked up, dishes will be done, front and back yards are picked up. Jobs are rotated daily. each childs room will be picked up before they go to bed. Works for me. and Good Luck.

Answer 10

I think it takes a certain level of acceptance. You have to accept that your laundry is never going to be caught up, your house may never be spotless, etc. When you are child-less you don't have an excuse, kids are a great excuse! LOL. I know what you mean though. I don't have any kids and feel like I clean all the time ( though I do have an messy roommate). He has two kids who come every other weekend and it takes me 2 days to recover the house! ha ha ha ha.