I like to have a clean space not perfect but decently clean atleast.. Dh is always busy My kid..I cajoled,appreciates,encourage Do what not! Some days help but other days throws things everywhere..I even tried giving some prize money for a good job but nothing works.. Am getting tired also.There r days where I quit my appointments which I made for a spa,my gym,hobbies I like just to sit and clean. I seriously envy some women who seem to have it all!my friend who is a full time working mother of two kids has a spotless house anytime I even drop in abruptly!!! It makes me feel worse that I am not doing this well.I work very hard,try but house seems messy. Where does one go wrong?
OP , Calm down.You need not keep a house like a resort.Everyone knows how the house will be when you have a small child. Pick up things as you move from one room to other.Cleaning One room a day and not the entire house in a day. one old woman I met told me that she miss the cluttered rooms when she used to have her sons around.Now she is alone and the house is way too neat and look like a clean hotel room and she is not liking it
A few of your child's things lying around the house is to be expected with a small child at home. Other than that, if things are at their intended place and your kitchen, bathrooms , bedrooms, hall with the furnishings etc are clean and well maintained, there should not be any issue. For your kids stuff like toys , clothes - see that she watches you do the clearing up and ask her to carry things she can to place them where u want to. Instead of just cajoling, getting the kid to do , if she feels she is doing alongwith you, it may bring results i hope. Ofcourse keeping a house neat and clean is a continuous job requiring things to be done in parts as often noted: daily cleaning needs, weekly, monthly , special cleaning when expecting visitors etc.
@anika987, There will be a day you would suffer from empty nest syndrome. If you visualize that you are working towards raising children who would eventually fly away from the nest, all these minor issues will disappear in a trice. Keep telling them what to do, but don't sweat. Distraction is enormous for the children and hence it takes time for them to learn disciplined life.
This is what I do: 1) Visit the spotless home and shower praises on them 2) Come back home to my clutter and not bother 3) If someone drops in without notice, just tell them to not mind the mess 4) If I get advance notice of someone coming to my house, just hide the clutter in closets or a huge bin Seriously, in the grander scheme of things, a messy house is not at all that big of a deal.
Oh sweety just relax! Try working out with kid to make him or her learn that things should be in the place where they meant to be. You can hide fav toy and ask him to clean up first to get that if nothing works say to urself " this too shall pass". Coming to your friend having a clean house you dont know there might be an area in her life where cleaning is needed!! What all we see is not everything! cleaned and tidy house is good but that itself may not be evrything! Bottom line dont presurize yourself and kid. Be happy with what you have!