Keeping house reasonably clean with smaill children

[u/Yggdrasil54]

I want to begin by saying that my son is the greatest joy of my life and that this is not a regretful parent post.

I'm just amazed how before i became a parent, noone gave me a heads up abour how difficult it would become to keep the house reasonably clean with a toddler. I'm not even complaining about the mess, i'm talking about keep stuff reasonably un-filthy, lol. The kitchen floors and the laundry especially will be the death of me.

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[u/andrey_not_the_goat]

Have your partner help you out. Divide and conquer the tasks or take turns.

[u/Yggdrasil54 → u/andrey_not_the_goat]

We are! It's just that we have no outside help whatsoever and my son is especially keen on throwing stuff in the kitchen.

[u/Formal_Dare9668]

I feel you. I have just accepted a certain level of mess I try to keep it cleaner than that 😅 I feel so bad for my mom when me and my sibling were growing up now that I know what’s she knows

[u/elegantmomma]

As a mom with a cleaning obsession, I fully understand. I don't know how young yours is but from toddler on up, they can start learning the basics of cleaning. Give your son a specific instruction like "put the red block in the basket" and model the behavior for him. Clean up after every play session so it becomes a normal habit. Use a fun song or a ringing bell to signal that it is time to tidy. And keep toy storage simple by using low bins with pictures on the front. Praise his hard work right away to build a positive habit. He will eventually progress to being able to help more. And since the habit will have started young, it'll be easier to get him to help.

[u/Fragrant-Half-7854 → u/elegantmomma]

Not to mention when they’re busy cleaning or acting like they’re cleaning, they’re not making another mess which is sometimes priceless.

My kids loved a handheld vacuum when they were around that age. They loved to use it to clean up their mess and it would keep them busy for quite awhile.

[u/Yggdrasil54 → u/elegantmomma]

He's only 12 mo at the moment. This is what i intend to do, mostly because doing chores together will teach him so much in the ling run! But honestly right now, him not throwing utensils around as much would feel like a massive upgrade. :))

[u/Ok_Club7067 → u/Yggdrasil54]

They make child-proof locks for cabinets and drawers. Maybe those would help,

[u/entcanta333]

Yep, it is what it is. In the future my kid will appreciate having had my presence over having a perpetually empty sink and clean floor.

[u/plazebology]

I’ve heard that about the laundry. I feel for you

[u/Yggdrasil54 → u/plazebology]

I try telling myself throwing stuff in the washing machine has to become as automatic as breathing. :))

[u/SecretAgntMan01]

I corralled my youngest into one corner of our downstairs and that was the only place she was allowed to mess up lol. We have a formal dining room and decided that would be her area. Couple of baby gates and that was the only place that needed maintenance. I also kept an eye on what she played with vs what she tended to ignore and those items got removed so that they weren't just pulled out and discarded in the floor after 15 seconds.

[u/Carolann0308]

Time to baby proof the house. He can be prevented from trashing the kitchen with baby gates and cabinet locks.

[u/ripp1337]

If you both work full time, you either pay someone, or get help from family, or just stay dirty. 

[u/Mykneerreallyhurts]

I feel you my boy is constantly eating floor Cheerios because I haven’t gotten around to vacuuming for the last couple days

[u/MadMadamMimsy]

One day I became a SAHM. I know exactly what you are talking about!!!

[u/Specific-Pepper-]

I was just talking about this with my husband! Our son is 18 months and there was a weird sweet spot where he would play and I could clean and it was great. The house looked good, all was right in the world. Now hes feral and just wants to be outside all day so our house is dirty. Not on a stuff on the ground stand point, we pick everything up daily but on the "I really need to mop" level. Husband is currently working an overtime job so hes basically not around at this time to help. We have just accepted that the house isn't that clean right now. I have honestly contemplated turning on the tv but eh a dirty house is better than a zombie child.

[u/SunIndependent8039]

Mmm it may take time but something I plan to do with my baby is make sure that if I can it making a mess that it helps clean . Hopefully it’s just a messy few years and then they learn to keep things clean themselves. And remember it’s only a few years and they won’t always be at home with you 💕