how do ppl with babies keep a clean house?

Question

I must be the most disorganized person, that or lazy, cause it just seems like if I kept the house clean i would have no time for anything else, watching a baby is hard work, anyone sympathize. I suppose there is more time to clean a house when they are grown better to take care of them now, but anyone have any tips, just gets soo cluttery.

Answer 1

Oh no, hun! Don't eve nthink you are lazy or disorganized!

I can't do anything when I'm home alone. I sometimes manage to check my email and play online, do a little dishes, or make the bed. However, since my baby was born I haven't done any laundry (my mom picks it up and does it and returns it to me, folded... I know, I'm so lucky... we don't have a washer/dryer in our apartment building and there's no way I'd go out with my 10 month old and wait in a laundromat for hours).

What I do is, I ask my mom to come over. She comes by and watches my daughter for two hours or so and I do all the important stuff:

1. Vaccuum. If you have those fresh looking vaccuum lines on your carpet as often as possible, your place gains about 10000 clean points.

2. Do the dishes. Nothing looks more cluttered than dishes overflowing in the kitchen.

3. Make someone take the trash out. Doesn't matter if it's you or your husband or anybody else; just don't let a trashbag sit around waiting, it looks terrible.

4. Clean the bathroom. Wash the tub, sink basin and toilet, and keep the towels hanging fresh and organized rather than sloppy and all over the place. Keep the shower curtain pulled wide, not drawn and gathered at the side - that way, if its pretty, it looks decorated too. I have this nice beach scene on my Walmart ten dollar shower curtain, and I bought a fuzzy toilet seat cover for 3 dollars and matching green towels and carpet for less than thirty at Big Lots, and my bathroom looks gorgeous most of the time.

5. Buy storage bins. I have tons of those huge plastic lidded storage bins. I stack them in closets, I slide them under beds, etc. If your stuff is overflowing, dump them in there and slide them out of sight.

6. Dusting is easy even if the baby's around, just sit the baby in the crib and run around the house for 10+ minutes waving a feather duster around.

7. Light a scented candle for 2 hours twice a day, it smells gorgeous, like you actually baked something (ooh, I'm totally guilty of that)

Answer 2

You are not lazy. Don't think that. Babies are hard work. Lovable work, but hard nonetheless. While the baby is napping, so long as you don't need a nap yourself, take that time to clean. But don't concentrate on straightening up or putting away the clutter so much -- concentrate on the "underneath"; the floors, the dishes, that sort of thing. If you need a nap while the baby is napping, forget the cleaning and sleep while you can! Taking care of a baby can be exhausting. I remember all too well. As long as your house is clean underneath the clutter, don't worry. And it doesn't get easier when they're older -- only harder, because not only do they have more "stuff", they're mobile so they have the ability to leave that "stuff" in various parts of the house. Although it is nice when they are old enough to help.

I'm a neat freak and it was very, very difficult for me to be faced with clutter and mess. But I realized that so long as the floors were clean underneath the mass of toys (in other words, no dirt and grime built up on the floors), the dishes done (so we had something to eat off of), all would be good. It's more important to spend time with your kids. What are they going to remember when they're gone out of the house -- that the house was clean or that Mom always had time for them? What will you remember when they're gone? That you spent your time cleaning so your house was perfect or what your child's face looked like while you read to them or how infectious their laugh was when you were having a tickle battle? You do what you can, and don't stress about the rest. Raising the kids is a lot more important than cleaning.

Answer 3

Oh god, I dread when people come to my house unannounced!! My house is rarely spick and span, but it isn't from lack of trying.
I clean on room, the move onto another, my boys go behind me and "clean up" mummies cleaning. It is never ending!!

My tips:
1) Rooms have doors for a reason - If you have cleaned the room close the door, if you can't be bothered cleaning it, close the door.

2) Buy heaps of baskets, containers - Put everything in them. I do. All my kids toys are chucked into boxes, my washing in baskets, etc. Looks 100% cleaner.

3) All the stuff you never use, put have kept for year THROW AWAY!! Or give it to someone else.

4) Don't sweat the small stuff. The cleaning will be there tomorrow, your kids are only young once!!

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Answer 4

Yep, spend time with your baby and don't worry so much about the house.

I had my house on the market for a while when my daughter was a baby, so it had to be kept reasonably clean. I spent about 20-30 minutes each evening picking up the clutter, loading/unloading the dishwasher, wiping off the counters, etc, and then I had someone come in every week to do the 'real' cleaning. Doing a little straightening each night really helped to keep if from getting too cluttery.

Answer 5

I have an infant, toddler and older child. I am a very slightly a clean freak, I can't handle things being out of place. When my baby is napping I normally homework and clean when hoemwork is done. She likes to be in her little baby einstein lights/sound/little games bouncer chair & will watch that and be content until shes hungry or needs her diaper changed. So I get all of the cleaning done and give her all the attention she doens't always want because she wants back in her chair a lot of times. I guess all females need their space sometimes- even the little ones. lol

I have a little schedule I like to go by-

Wed- make sure all of the laundry is done.
Mon & Thur- Sweep & dust..
Daily- dishes, use some shower spray to make sure the tub & sinks stay clean, straightening up- making sure everything is in its place before I go to bed.

Answer 6

Pick up the mess before it gets out of hand. I no longer leave my cup on the table, when I am done it goes in the sink. Same thing with garbage, I open things up next to the garbage can now instead of leaving it on the coffee table.

It helps but my place is still cluttered and messy. This weekend is the big babyproofing weekend for the living room as my little one is starting to show signs of crawling and he can inchworm his way around when he wants.

However I can sympathize, my place looks like a baby store exploded some days! I try and spend an hour after he goes to bed at night cleaning/organizing and now that he spends time amusing himself in the exersaucer or under his activity gym I can get more stuff done but my place is far from perfect. Don't worry about the house, keep up on the dishes, keep the floor clean if you lay baby down there, do laundry as you need it and keep the bathroom clean. Don't worry about the table with stuff that needs to be put away getting bigger or the bedroom that looks it needs the Clean Sweep team to rescue, you can look after that once they start going to school LOL.

Answer 7

I do my house work while my daughter is sleeping through the day.It is extremely hard to keep the house clean when you have a little one, don't feel disorganized or lazy,im sure thats not the case at all. Just enjoying your baby while you can, their not babies forever, and the house work will always be there tomorrow and the next day and the next day.

Answer 8

I know how you feel. I have a 6 1/2 month old and a fulltime student (online). It seems like everytime I try to wash the dishes or fold the clothes she cries. My house has become so disorganized and I feel that I am lazy but then I look at my day and realize that all day I have been busy. I get up eat and feed her. she plays and I cook. She eats and I do homework. She sleeps and I wash dishes. and all over again. Good Luck and I feel for you.

Answer 9

I think that it was easier to take care of a younger baby and clean the house. My youngest is now almost 2 and then I have a 5 and 7 year old. I always tell everyone sorry about the mess, but I have kids. Don't worry about your house being perfect all the time, there are more important things in life. People understand that you are busy taking care of your kids.

Answer 10

I must admit, that for the first 8 weeks, I did no housework and no cooking either! I had a supportive family and a great husband who understood my circumstances (I was bedridden for 7 weeks), but afterwards, I came up with my own system. I clean a little bit each day (dusting on M, mopping on T, bathroom on W, kitchen on Th, laundry on F, vac. daily, dishes daily, and weekends for msc. cleaning) so that I only spend about 10-15 minutes total. With weekly cleanings, my bathroom and kitchen hardly get that dirty anymore. I clean while my son is asleep or when he's engaged in playing with his toys (he's 6 months) and I'm not afraid to ask for help when I need it. Also, my husband and I split our chores so that we each help clear the clutter.