How can I get spring cleaning done?

Question

I have an active 2 year old and an 11 month old, who barely leaves my side. We have a 2 level home, so I'm constantly going up and down the stairs. As I'm trying to get something, like bathrooms cleaned, the girls are right there and that grosses me out, because they like to touch everything. Suggestions???

Answer 1

Hire a cleaning service if you can afford it. Are there Grandparents that could watch the girls for a weekend? How about videos? I know my two grandsons love watching Raffi and VeggieTales and the Wiggles. Turn on the one-eyed babysitter and around here your good for a half hour at least.

Answer 2

When my children were young, I had the same problem. I did 30 minutes of cleaning before they got up in the morning, and another 30 at the end of the day if I had any energy left. If they have nap time you can get in another few minutes of cleaning then. You can't get it all over with in one day, but you can accomplish more than you would imagine in that time.
If you have a friend with young children then maybe you could keep her children for a day so that she could get her cleaning done, and then she could return the favor.
I also gave them little jobs to do so that they could help me. A feather duster is great fun to a child, and they can't do a lot of damage with them either.
I also kept a laundry basket at the top and bottom of the stairs. During cleaning I would place objects in the basket and make fewer trips up and down the stairs.
A clean and orderly house was important to me back then, but now that my children are grown, I've found that they don't remember the clean house, they remember the times I didn't clean and took the time to play with them.

Answer 3

If you want to clean the bathroom, why don't you let the kids take a bath and have some fun in the water. give them tons of toys to play with. At least 3/4 of the bathroom will get done. You can clean the tub some other time. Each room that you want to clean you should give them a section, say 1/4 of the room to play in. Tell them that's their space. Give them toys or rags and things to dust or whatever to keep them busy. Let them draw or color. In the mean time they are with you and you get the stuff done. You need to put a little space between you and the kids. Maybe you can even have nap time while you are busy doing some chores in a particular room. Buy them a small kiddie tent and tell them they have to take a nap in it while you clean. It might help. Put some music on and dance with them. While they're dancing around and tiring themselves out, you can be dancing and swinging a cleaning rag. Give them dry rags too. Why not? Make it fun. But your really cleaning. They are just dancing. If they get tired then oh well. Time for you.

Answer 4

I wish I had a tried and true answer for you, but when my children were that age, my bathrooms would not get cleaned for months, and when they did, it was when my husband was home. We survived, and now they are older I clean my bathrooms weekly. Let them help when it is safe, my son loved to clean the toilets, and polish mirrors. Or get a babysitter to entertain them for an hour while you go on a cleaning binge. They will grow up. Yesterday, my 14 and 11 yr olds cleaned the bathrooms alone and I didn't need to do a thing. That is the payoff.

Answer 5

try the buddy system with a friend. offer to babysit for a friend so she can do something with out her kids and then get her to watch your two so you can clean house. my mom used to put us kids (6of us) in one room to play and when we had naps she could get everything done including vacuuming. if you do 30 minutes a day you can get alot accomplished. good luck!

Answer 6

play pin or hell put them in a high chair or car seat where they are straped in. with food and movie that worked for me. mine are now 8 6 & 4 so yea i kinda know what your talking about. somehow you gotta get the work done. and they dont have stray jackets that small. hahah good luck