Wednesday, June 20, 2012

cleaning with kids


I couldn't have put it better myself. 

Please tell me I'm not the only one who struggles with this. 
Because lately it has been way more than a struggle. 
More like an epic battle. 

Exhibit A


The carpet was just vacuumed and the clothes are clean. 
That counts for something right?

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this on Facebook.


(Picture found here)

So true right?!

I'm sure one day my house will be clean and stay clean but for now I'm enjoying the craziness and messiness that accompany 3 little ones.
And at the same time I'm working on making it a little less messy and a little less crazy.
Any great suggestions or tips?


I just found this great cleaning schedule on pinterest.
I just have to do it :)  

6 comments:

Chiara said...

Ah ah ah... :)
I read somewhere:

Cleaning with kids that are growing up, is like shoveling snow while it's still snowing!

;)))

ciao ciao
Chiara

Anonymous said...

Sometimes it's so disheartening to try to get any cleaning accomplished! My family loves a clean room. They love it so much that as soon as I clean a room they all migrate to that room and hang out...and it doesn't stay clean long! There's no way to keep it all clean at once (at least not until they're old enough to actually be helpful with their "help"). So I use a cleaning schedule too. If the living room is messy on Monday, oh well, 'cause it's on the list for Tuesday and it'll just have to wait till then. LOL! :-)

redquilthorse said...

I'm glad I am not the only one. My kids are home all day long year round, so cleaning is an uphill battle. It does help now that my older two are big enough to actually make a dent in the mess. I think there is a mom culture in Orange County that places a premium on having a home worthy of HGTV. The end result is a lot of pressure on moms and sometimes hospitality suffers. I know I tend to think I can't invite anyone over if my house is messy. But the truth is we all have messy houses at times. There is a balance between being diligent homemakers and realizing this is a season and we can't do everything.

JLVerde said...

My tip: Give your kids away to Goodwill (just teasing!).

But more seriously, maybe you need to just focus on what's most important (like having the floor clean since they roll around on it, and clean clothes, and clean dishes) and let the rest go. Yes, it's annoying that their toys are everywhere but does that REALLY matter in the day to day march of life?

(now, if guests are coming over, scoop up all the toys into a laundry basket and wing them into a room and shut the door--problem solved!)

Briar said...

Redquilthorse,
I totally agree. Where I live many people have a cleaning lady so the expectation is that your house will be a Potterybarn ad at every minute of the day. I have 5 kids and am homeschooling so we just can't compete. It can be a huge source of tension in our home. It's hard to find the balance between having a clean house and a happy home.

Caitlin said...

I cleaned the living room yesterday morning, but by the time my husband got home from work it looked like I hadn't done anything. What counts is that things aren't actually "dirty" it's just cluttered.