[pejkug3]

In keeping with my new lifestyle, I'm trying to get some clutter out of here and get my life overhauled.

We're on day 3 and it's not going well....not terrible but I just don't know where to start!

We remodeled out kitchen this summer. That started the chaos around here. The kitchen is awesome and TONS better that it was before but it seems that during the time we spent gutting the kitchen, the rest of the house went nuts! LOL

I typically sell my kids' outgrown clothes on eBay. It's decent money and I use it to buy the stuff for the current year. Here's the embarrassing part - I have TWELVE diaper boxes in the hall upstairs to sell. The thought is stifling. I'm battling with just dropping them at Salvation Army and being done with it but I know there's a good $1000 up there!

I guess I need to know how you guys do it.

What time do you go to bed? Between midnight and 2am

What time go you get up? Between 8-9am - just being honest here.

Do you work outside of the home? FT? PT? I go to school part time. It's about all I can handle!

How many kids do you have? Ages? 4 kids ages 10, 8, and 3 yo twins.

How do you not go nuts getting kids from here to there all week? I am nuts! I have an extra kid everyday of the week except Thursday and some sort of activity to run to everyday except Friday. I'm wearing thin. I'm not a high energy person anyhow.
Any secrets for getting/keeping the house clean? Anyone? I mean, do you go room to room? Do your kids help? It seems I'm in one room getting things done and my twins are tearing another room apart, flooding the potty, eating food, stripping themselves naked, etc, etc. It was never this way with one toddler at a time! lol

I guess I'm seriously deficient in organizational skills/discipline. I don't know how to change that though. I don't feel all the different from everyone else but I'm missing the mark on something.

[mom2emnkate]

What time do you go to bed? Between 9 and 10, LOL
What time go you get up? 5:15 am, I work out 5:40-7:05 (kids get up at 7)
Do you work outside of the home? FT? PT? I work Wednesday through Friday outside of the home

How many kids do you have? Ages? 2 kids, 9 and 6

How do you not go nuts getting kids from here to there all week? I have seriously limited the kids' activities. We even got rid of a few this year because it was just exhausting to me.

Any secrets for getting/keeping the house clean? Anyone?
My kids both have chores: they make beds and keep their rooms clean (no "fun" weekend activities for them until their rooms pass "inspection"), they put away laundry, my younger one wipes out both bathroom sinks with a clorox wipe daily, the older one vacuums the downstairs once a week and empties the dishwasher. They have other chores...but these are the cleaning-related ones.
We've made a "landing zone" for school stuff. This cuts down on a lot of clutter. Right inside the door, we have hooks for backpacks and lunchboxes and an IN/OUT box system right above it on the counter. When they get home, everything from their backpacks goes in the IN box. I sort through it, throw out worksheets and either put artwork on the bulletin board or their memory boxes. I sign agendas, homework, permission slips and put in the OUT box. When their homework is done, it goes in the OUT box. In the morning, everything they need to put in their backpacks is in the OUT box.
For regular cleaning...I do best with routine. I do bathrooms once a week, laundry every Monday and Thursday, dusting once in a blue moon (I usually rope DH into doing it during football game commercials...I'm allergic to dust), I vacuum usually on Monday and Emmie does a "quick job" later in the week. Seriously Deep cleaning only happens if we're expecting company, LOL.

This post has been edited by mom2emnkate: 24 October 2007 - 05:49 PM

[babymax0103]

Well I can tell you I won't be much help! lol

What time do you go to bed? usually about midnight

What time go you get up? 6:30, kids get up at 6:45

Do you work outside of the home? FT? PT? I work part time out of my home. but that translates to most evenings 8-12 during the week when I'm busy

How many kids do you have? Ages? 2 kids, ages 6 and 4

How do you not go nuts getting kids from here to there all week?
well we don't have as much as you likely, less kids and younger. but I still do have preschool for one, volunteer in both schools, activities for both 2 different days a week . . . If I had 3 year old twins (plus 2 more!) I'd have my answer: you are not going to regain control for a few years. I don't even have control now . . . I have the same boxes to donate in my garage. I have a small pile to ebay. I was on a kick of cleaning out all my closets a few weeks ago, I got 2 done (yeah me!) and half way through the 3rd before work got insane. so it sits undone . . . adding to the crap. sigh of course it'd help if I had a DH who wasn't a pack rat . . .

so, good luck!

[Jess_jugs]

Ooh, I love to clean & organize!! I know that Lisa does too!!

What time do you go to bed? Usually around 10 or 10:30

What time go you get up? On Tues & Thurs, I'm up at 4:20 to run. Most other days I'm up by 6AM.

Do you work outside of the home? FT? PT? Nope, working in the home now for Million Dollar Body (and loving it!)

How many kids do you have? Ages? 3 girls- almost 9, 6 1/2, and 4.

How do you not go nuts getting kids from here to there all week? Well, things are a bit crazy now. Mondays & Fridays are Tae Kwon Do for Hannah, Tuesday is Girl Scouts, Wednesday is church, Thursday is Gymnastics for Kiersten & Allison. Thankfully my good friend has dd's the same ages so we carpool!! But I have to have everything written down & plan ahead meal times when I know we'll be leaving early.

Any secrets for getting/keeping the house clean? Anyone? I mean, do you go room to room? Do your kids help? I'm fortunate now that my dd's are back to school. My preference is to do the deep cleaning on Mondays- beds stripped & sheets washed, floors mopped, bathrooms scrubbed, etc. I do a load or so of laundry pretty much every day to keep on top of it. My girls do pick up their rooms, they help set the table and clear dishes, and know if they make a mess, they clean it up!! It was harder when they were younger, but now it's not so bad. My rule is that I don't go to bed with things messy. After every meal I put everything away, sweep the floor, wipe off the table, and things are back in place. Dishes go immediately into the dishwasher which I run about every other day. I guess my motto is to stay on top of things before chaos hits!! I actually find it hardest to keep things clean on the weekend and I blame my dh for that!

[momski98]

What time do you go to bed? Between 10-10:30. I try to be IN bed around 10, then I usually read 30-45 minutes in bed.

What time go you get up? 6:30. This is a struggle for me EVERY day for some reason!

Do you work outside of the home? FT? PT? I just went back to work full time in August, but it's very flexible. If I have a sick kid or something comes up with their school, it's usually very easy for me to leave or work around it.

How many kids do you have? Ages? DD is almost 9 and DS is 6

How do you not go nuts getting kids from here to there all week? We are pretty strict about limiting their activities to one thing at a time (other than church activites) Right now Kayleigh has Irish Dance on Mondays and Matt has football on Saturdays. Sunday evenings the kids have choir and I have a bible study (both at church) (I have meetings almost every Tuesday, PTO one Monday a month, and our bible study group on Wednesday nights.)

Any secrets for getting/keeping the house clean? I've been kinda doing the "flylady" method. I'm not always able to keep up with all of her "missions" but it has helped me find a system and it's easy to just jump right back in if you "fall off." I'm the kind who really needs a system/schedule of some kind. I do a lot of the things Jess mentioned...Monday are my days that I do the bigger cleaning stuff, usually. I go through the house and tidy stuff up every night before going to bed. Dishes are always put in the dishwasher right after we eat. I run the dishwasher at night and empty while the kids are eating breakfast. Bathroom gets a quick wipedown every morning once everyone is done and we're about to head out the door. Takes about 2 minutes, if that! I do one load of laundry every or every other day. I throw it in when we first get home after school. Switch it over to the dry when we're getting dinner ready, then it's ready to fold and put away when we're done eating!

The kids make their own beds every morning (as do I). If they have any toys/mess it has to be cleaned up before bedtime routine gets started. When they get home we check/empty backpacks right away, then they get hung up in the closet. Shoes go in a basket in the closet as well.

[colnken]

Jess_jugs, on Oct 24 2007, 08:58 PM, said:

Ooh, I love to clean & organize!! I know that Lisa does too!!

LOL, I can't say I "love" to actually clean (like scrubbing floors and the stool), but I am neurotic about having it done. I'm also like Jess in that I just make sure things stay picked up and clean daily so it doesn't turn out to be a big mess later. I have the antibacterial wipes in the bathroom so I can wipe sinks, counters, etc. down every few days. I also have the disposable stool scrubbers right there so I can do that as needed as well. The kitchen is the same way- I dry Swiffer the floor every day, and use the wet Swiffer wipes every few days. I wipe down counters, the stove, etc. every day. Dishes never stay in the sink (my pet peeve!). If you are putting them in the sink, you can just as well put them in the dishwasher! Also like Jess, I have to have everything picked up and put away before I go to bed. I would go crazy waking up to a messy house! I also do at least a load, sometimes two, of laundry every day. Bugs me to see dirty clothes pile up. I also vacuum everyday, it just makes me feel better (read: I'm a freak, LOL).

I'm also a freak about closets and toy boxes getting out of control. I'm constantly purging clothes that don't fit and toys that aren't being played with. Rubbermaid boxes are my best friends. I store everything in those- art supplies, Polly Pockets, Hot Wheels, etc. We don't have big closets or lots of storage space, so it's really a requirement.

Regarding selling on Ebay: have you ever thought about taking your kid's clothes to a consignment store? It has the same get-rid-of-quick feeling as dropping at Salvation Army, but you get some $$ out of it. DH thinks I should try Ebay, but having to take the time to post it, follow the auctions, ship it, etc., would drive me batty. Once I have the clothes purged and stacked, I want to get rid of them NOW! LOL. One consignment store here gives you money when you drop off. Another collects the money, and you go back pick it up. I've had good luck with both. What they don't take I drop at Goodwill and write it off on my taxes. I also donate books and movies to the library for a tax writeoff.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What time do you go to bed? Usually around 1am.

What time go you get up? 7am

Do you work outside of the home? I work at home as a freelance writer for a magazine publisher.

How many kids do you have? Ages? DS is 9, DD is 6.

How do you not go nuts getting kids from here to there all week? My DH travels extensively for work, so most evenings it's just me to do the shuttling. I have to limit their activities, because I just can't be in two places at once. They both have CCD at church one night, DD is doing gymnastics this year (wanted to do dance again, too, but we just can't). DS is involved in a school group, and will be starting music lessons this year. That is really enough for me and for them.

Any secrets for getting/keeping the house clean? See above, I guess I already answered that!

[melon_knee]

I have to share with you something that has literally changed my life. I know this sounds completely ridiculous, but I got to the point with keeping up the house and running the kids and working my pt at home job, etc, etc that just figuring out what tasks to do each day was overwhelming. I constantly felt like I was playing catch up and it was exhausting.

Check out this link-- http://www.motivatedmoms.com. You can look at sample pages to get a feel for how it works, but it breaks down tasks, from the most simple (change dishtowel) to more in depth (clean out master closet). It also has a daily chore list that becomes second nature after a few weeks. I feel so much more on top of things since I started this about 3 months ago. I now don't panic whenever someone wants to come over because my bathroom is always clean, but kitchen is always scrubbed, my floors are always only a few days from being vacummed, etc.

[Jamie]

What time do you go to bed? **Between 12-1 am.My dh works 2nd shift so I try to stay up to visit with him a little when he gets home.

What time go you get up? **6am

Do you work outside of the home? FT? PT? **no,I'm a sahm

How many kids do you have? Ages? 3 kids ages 10,5 & 2

How do you not go nuts getting kids from here to there all week? **The youngest two are not in any sports.Soccer just ended for my dd so things have calmed down.I tried going to our church on Wed nights for the Bible study and kids programs but we weren't getting home until 9pm.It was way too late for the boys.Eddie has to get up at 6:30 for school and Seth's normal bedtime is 7pm.It just didn't work out so I quit going.We have things to do most days but I make sure it's not overwhelming since it's just me doing all the running around.
Any secrets for getting/keeping the house clean? **I have a problem keeping the house clean.I really do try but as soon as I pick things up the kids are making another mess.
We have a small kitchen and it gets cluttered so easily.I'm trying to sort through things and get rid of stuff but it's hard to find the time.Sorry I'm no help!!

Jamie

This post has been edited by Jamie: 26 October 2007 - 04:14 PM

[Mellissa]

What time do you go to bed? Between 11pm and 12am.

What time go you get up? 6:15am

Do you work outside of the home? FT? PT? WOH FT.

How many kids do you have? Ages? I have an 11 yo DS and 5 yo DD.

How do you not go nuts getting kids from here to there all week? I have learned to break things down and also rank them in order of importance. For example I used to save all of my cleaning and laundry for the weekend in order to get my daily things done (dinner, lunches made, bathes done, etc.). But now that the kids are a bit older and can handle a bit more responsibility they are doing more to help out. My DS makes sandwiches for their lunches and DD does small things like pick their lunch items out. She also is very responsible for packing her own backpack for school and does a great job. She reminds me of when I need to send things back in. I throw a load or two of laundry in at night now and run the dishwasher at night so I can unload the next evening while I am making dinner. One thing I have changed is how obsessive I have been about everything being spotless before I leave the house. My DH gets home at 3:30 to get the kid's off the buses so by the time I get home at 5pm it is already messy from them so why bother having the house spotless for them? LOL! I pick things up quickly after the kids are in bed but also have them do it before they head to bed.

[Jamie]

I was inspired by this post.So over the weekend I cleaned out all of my kitchen drawers and cupboards.Wiped everything down,lined the shelves and sorted through everything.It makes me feel so good having my kitchen a little more organized! My dh is going to put up some shelves for me next week.I can't wait! Now I need to tackle the pantry.It's not too bad but I want it neat and tidy too.
Thank you for posting this!!

Jamie

[pejkug3]

I agree w/Jaime! This has been really helpful!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the motivated mommies site that was posted! I printed out the schedule and I have been checking things off. I'm a list maker so that was JUST what I needed. Thank you!

I'm working on getting to bed earlier so I can get up earlier but it's not going so well. For the first time in ages, I went to sleep last night withuot a sleeping pill. I've been taking them for about 6 months now and I think getting off of them would help me at this point.

Thanks everyone! I've really enjoyed this thread and everyone's pointers. I guess it just boils down to disipline - and I'm working on that! lol