|
|
Post by wind on Dec 16, 2008 5:26:02 GMT -5
Share your tips here. My recent endeavors have resulted in a bizarre form of failure, where I simply wanted to be awake for a few hours at night to clean while they slept, but what's happened is, me and the kids are all up all night.  |
|
messymomma
New Member
Joined: November 2008
Posts: 79
|
Post by messymomma on Dec 16, 2008 13:52:34 GMT -5
I have a 5 year old, and the best advice I have is to put the little ones to bed early...mine goes to bed at 8:30...use the next 2 hours to clean up, make lunches, lay out school clothes, take a shower, etc...then go to bed yourself. I make it a point to be in my bed at 10pm, then I might watch tv or read for an hour, have a little me time...then it's lights out. That way you're awake and alert in the morning to get the kiddos up and going. Now that I got my home under control, I have a small home daycare (2 infants and a toddler) so I usually have the toddler play in my sons room while the babies lay on a blanket on the floor, or hang out in the swings, etc...and I use that small amount of free time to get the dishes done, counters wiped, floors swept, etc. I vacuum Sunday night and Wednesday night, clean my room on Saturday, bathrooms on Friday, den on Tuesday, and tidy up my sons room nightly. If you have one designated area to clean per day, it makes it seem like less to do. The common areas...dining room, kitchen, living room...they are daily tidy's, weekly deep cleans (dusting etc)
I hope that helps
|
|
|
|
Post by timetochange on Dec 16, 2008 14:07:38 GMT -5
Yep I do!
Bigger ones help watch the littler ones.
Little one sometimes "helps" me with his toy vaccum and wet wipes.
The big thing was doing it in 5-10 minute "quickies" and then 30-60 "chunks" while the little guys are distracted by someone.
|
|
|
|
Post by heylady1 on Dec 16, 2008 16:07:40 GMT -5
My son is an adult now but when he was little I used to put a movie on for him and while he watched it I could take the time to clean up the house. I know, I know, probably not the best solution but it did work. I used to be able to scrub the bathroom and straighten up his bedroom while he watched "The Great Mouse Detective"....and then afterwards we had time to play together or bake cookies, etc... (btw, the movie thing wasn't something I did everyday more like 2x's a week...just enough to clean up the main areas of the house and his bedroom - not to "perfection" standards either, just to "good enough" standards!) When he was a little older I would send him and his friends outside to play in our backyard. That way I could keep an eye on them but still get things done. I would also straighten up the house after my son went to bed. Even just 15 minutes a day was enough to keep the main areas of the house in decent shape. It's also important to teach your kids to clean up after themselves...at least in the common rooms if nothing else. In other words everyone in the family should return dirty dishes to the kitchen, put dirty clothes in the basket, jackets hung up, etc.... I used to have my son help me clean as he got older too. Apparently I wasn't a very good teacher on this, especially with regards to his room. He has hoarding issues like I do but his room (while it's gotten better) still hovers around a 2. Surprisingly he is very good about cleaning up after himself in the common rooms. It's just cleaning his bedroom that's the problem for him. Well that and hoarding. I guess I passed on my trait of hoarding but I didn't pass on my ability to hide it!! Oh, and I second Messymomma, get the kids to bed at a decent hour and make sure they are sound asleep before you attempt to do anything. Make sure whatever you do to clean up isn't too noisy so you don't wake them up and also take some time for yourself so you can relax a bit.   |
|
|
|
Post by drivermom on Dec 16, 2008 20:52:09 GMT -5
Yup, well, my kids are 10 and 9. I remember when they were younger and it was hard to get anything done. I agree with the other replies here. Ask them to pick up 5 things, make a game out of it. Good luck and I know how you feel.
|
|
masmom
New Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 32
|
Post by masmom on Dec 16, 2008 22:18:05 GMT -5
I have 5 from 2 to 16 years old and the kids have always helped us. It was expected. We have bounced in and out of messiness/squalor for years but we have always been consistent in getting the kids to help try and get the house better.
The two year old puts away his toys, puts dishes in the sink, puts away groceries and wipes things down. As the kids get older they get asked to do more. Our 16 year old one time wiped down the outside of the house and when the older boys turned 10 or so they started mowing the lawn in the summer. When we have to shovel the sidewalk we all go out and get it done.
It sounds like we clean a lot but the fact that I'm still here should suggest that we still have issues with cleaning so we still have a long way to go.
Anyway, by including the kids we teach them to do it themselves and I end up having a lot of conversations with the kids while I'm cleaning and I learn a lot about them and improve our relationship which I hope will help them as they get older.
|
|
|
|
Post by dayeanu on Dec 17, 2008 17:48:11 GMT -5
Check out the House Fairy on Flylady.net. It is about dealing with kids and cleaning. I have not been there, but I read really raving good reviews about it.
|
|
