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When we had a daughter in the house one bedroom and bathroom was a mess at all times. Today she has her own house and the entire place is like that. We do not live that way but some people only do it their own way.
When we had a daughter in the house one bedroom and bathroom was a mess at all times. Today she has her own house and the entire place is like that. We do not live that way but some people only do it their own way.
My stepdaughter was made to keep her room clean when she was young. Of course it still got messy at times, lol. When she first moved out into her own place she was a disgusting slob. That lasted for about 5 years. Now she is a neat freak and has her own housecleaning business
For those of you whose homes are always spotless, how?
With three daughters and two working parents, when we REALLY clean, it’s an all weekend endeavor more or less.
Do people actually spend every spare moment cleaning or something?
The only way our house would be that clean is if one of us stayed up until midnight every night cleaning. Two of my girls are as messy as any boy. The other is a neat freak but it only applies to her own room.
It's actually simple even for large families: everyone clean after themselves (even little kids can do some of that stuff), put things back in right place after use, everyone knows designated places for shoes, clothes, laundry, etc. And there are chores for each member of family, depending on their age and abilities.
Very important to teach kids from young age to pitch in and take their chores seriously. Those are proper habits to learn, and later on become a second nature.
Where I come from this is normal in most households (except those few disfunctional) and I never saw anyone's house filthy or in disorder. They were not like museums, but just clean and tidy.
When I was living with my parents, we had to clean on Saturdays. And to my parents satisfaction. Once in awhile dad would go on a rampage and things would get tossed if we weren't quick enough to clean. It was horrible and I was more than happy to work on Saturdays when I got old enough. But to this day I get urges to clean on Saturday mornings.
But honestly that method doesn't work for me. About 10 years ago I read of cleaning in 15 minute intervals. This is how I cleaned out my house when my ex moved out. 15 mins a day (more if I felt like it). Thing is, I ALWAYS got something accomplished for 15 minutes because it's such a short amount of time that I never had a chance to get distracted. I cleaned my pantry one shelf each night, before it would take me an entire weekend to do.
I took that one step further and divided my house into 7 zones. Each zone gets a day. One day I clean the halls and stairs, another I clean the kitchen. I don't even have to clean the entire room for it to count, I can deep clean my silverware drawer, scrub the stove, or wash the floor. I've used these methods to organize and toss years of accumulated junk in the attic and basement.
It is amazing how much cleaner my house is and how much less time I feel like I spend cleaning. I think everyone needs to find their best way and work with it.
My mom was a stay-at-home mom and that was her job - cleaning. Dishes after a meal was done, make all the beds, do the laundry, sweep and mop the floors, iron in the evenings. Twice a year she did spring and fall housecleaning. The beds got taken apart, the walls were washed down, the windows were done, etc.
And yes, she did all this by herself because "if you help me, I'll just have to do it over". Thanks for that vote of confidence, Mom.
I used to make Friday the night when I would go round the house dusting, doing floors, laundry, etc., mainly because I worked all week and was gone all weekend. Now, though, I keep things picked up and the kitchen is mostly clean, but you could probably grow something in the dust.
Nobody ever laid on their deathbed and said they wish they'd cleaned more during their life.
If you don't like how messy your house is, put a system together and make it better. Everyone living in the house needs to have their own set of chores, because keeping a house clean and well maintained is a responsibility for everyone, not just one or two people.
If you like it messy, then don't worry about it one way or the other, but if you want it cleaned, it's not going to clean itself. The adults in the household set the standards, set the expectations, and set the rules.
I didn't take the time to read the entire thread but I will tell you something I heard some few years ago.
It was from a radio show guest who was calling about getting kids to help out.
The host told the guest something like this.
If you give your kids allowances, or money for a toy that they want, put each child's amount in small change in their own jar. Have a list of age appropriate chores.
Make sure the child sees their jar of cash.
If a child does not do his/her chore, remove a portion of the money that you would have paid for that particular chore.
The theory is that a child doesn't miss what they didn't see that they had. If the allowance is given for each chore, they won't really realize what they could have had if they'd done all they were required to do.
Seeing their jar become emptier with each undone chore gives them a visual to realize what they are losing by not doing it.
It may not work. I am just trying to suggest something that might help. Good luck.
Children can be messy and sometimes giving them incentives is worth it to get some help for yourself!
Okay to the Op -get those girls in gear . One day they will have a home of their own and if they don't learn to clean they will be living like pigs I kid you not . I have seen the results of parents who do not teach their kids how to clean and it aint pretty . My kids all 4 of them started making beds at 6 yrs old and then they learned how to put their dirty clothes into the hamper . Once a week they took and emptied them hamper into the laundry room and sorted dark colors from whites and yes a 6 yr old knows the difference after being taught .they are all grown now and their homes are cleaner than mine sometimes LOL and you would be hard pressed to find a dirty dish in the sink that is a big no no . My floors are moped twice a week and dust mopped daily my stove is cleaned daily and my counters are clean twice daily . dishwasher runs once at night and always full . same way with washing machine . Beds are made daily when we get out of them . my father was a marine and the major always had the house clean and at his walk in time . My mother was in charge while the major was gone and that house had better be clean when he walked in and we made sure it was . I guess I sort of ran my household like that too and still do to this day . even after all of us kids married and or moved out my mothers house was still spotless . Both she and the major are gone now but they have left lasting effects and I hope I have done so for my kids as well .
I doesn’t always work out. My grandmother has always been VERY strict about a clean house, when my Mom and my aunt were kids they weren’t even allowed to sit on their beds after they were made. For some reason, my aunt turned into a total slob after she got married and moved out, her house is disgusting. My Mom is better, but still nowhere near the neat-freak my grandmother is.
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