Clean house vs playing with your kids

I clean everyday after I drop the kids off to school for about 1-2 hours. I have 4 kids and a newborn. If I take a lazy day my kids will wreck the place like a tornado. I can't do that lol. I can't stand a messy place, I actually get irritated by it.

I dunno, I think everyone's situations are different. I don't take as much pride in cleaning my home as others do, but I literally don't have time. I work full time (and it's physically demanding), and opposite shift from dh. I don't see why this would bother anyone. If they can't understand my situation, then that's their problem.

Squishy, thanks for the motivated mom app! I think I love it!

Depends, I have a 4 week old and a 2 year old. It's hard to keep it clean. My 4 week old is ebf so I feed her every 2 hrs for 30-45 mins depending on how many breaks she takes. That leaves me with an hour in between feelings. I do clean my house daily, however my dd brings toys in the living room and snacks all over the house so if she spills her chips and some get in the carpet I can't vaccumm that right away. But my house is cleaned everyday so if you go to someone's house and its filthy I call bs that they don't have time to clean it.

I'll never understand why this matters.

My daughter helps me 'clean.' She'll pick something up, and put it where I would. I just clap and tell her she's a smart baby, and she keeps doing it so that I'll clap.

She thinks it's a game, and I get to keep my house clean. It's a win-win for me. :)

Ladybug I just folded three loads of laundry that had been on our couch for about a week.

This pregnancy has made me lazy, however I can do messy sometimes but never nasty/dirty. Kitchen and bathroom are non negotiable. I'll leave laundry unfolded for days though... :-/

I work full time M-F and my DF works full time as well normally with 2 days off during the week. As we only have two full days with my dd the last thing either of us WANT to do is clean.

We normally do what we can during the week to keep it somewhat together and then normally Friday night we will clean until 1-2 AM.

That's my other problem. Someone is home everyday even when I'm not. My oldest dd gets to and from school on her own. She's home about 4 hours before me. My middle child has a nurse that stays in my home with him (he's special needs) and his priority is my son, not my house. He tries, but if my son isn't watched every second it can have life threatening consequences. (Another reason I had a hard time keeping up with the house). We have been given respite hours through the state, so soon I'll be able to have his nurse come over every few weekends and watch him so I can clean. Before anyone asks, my husband works 2 jobs 7 days a week. No, I can't wake him up between shifts, when he's only going to be getting 5 hours of sleep, to keep our son out of danger while I freaking mop.

I have a 5yr old, a boyfriend, 2 dogs and a fish. The 5yr old destroys the house as soon as its clean, the bf works all day and comes home and is lazy and the dogs potty all over. So fo me its deff more than an hr. Im almost 38 weeks pregnant and messes are driving me insane!lol i spend 4hrs just cleaning carpets almost every day because the dogs. If my daughter was in school it might be easier to keep clean because she wouldnt be right behind me destroying what i just cleaned.lol

I still play with her. Not as much as i should. I just havent had the energy and trying to keep up on a two story house just sucks right now.lol

And the showering thing is hard to do. I wont leave my child unattended while i shower. Shes 5, shes curious and will get into everything.lol

Mines messy and it drives me f***ing crazy no matter how much cleaning I do my dh fu€ks it up in 2.5 seconds so if he's going to be a disgusting slob I refuse to clean I keep the kitchen clean my side of the sink clean dd play area and bathroom clean but other then that screw it Idc anymore it probably doesn't help that I hate where we live like nothing here belongs to us and its all ugly haha oooooohhhhh well

@kvonq no full time working moms are not excluded. If your home is not spotless it's because you are lazy. Lol

Yeah right. Come On ladies stop being so judgmental. I'm happy your house is spotless and you manage to work, play, gym etc as well. Everyone has different careers and schedules. Just because I'm not home doesn't mean my dh or children are not there creating chaos. We are all on different schedules of basketball, gymnastics etc. So what if my house isn't spotless? Im not talking about being unsanitary dirty. But there could very well be at any given time a pile of unfolded clothes. It doesn't make me any less of a supermom than you are. And it definitely does not make me lazy. So for those of you on the high spotless horse. Get over yourselves. ?

There's a difference between a messy house and a dirty house. My house isn't dirty, but can get messy.

I find it as being a excuse also. I use to be gone 12 hours a day and still had a clean house. I know no one was home so it stayed clean. Now I work from home and have a 18 month old. My house is still spotless! I know someone that is a sahm with a kid my daughters age. She always tells her husband she couldn't clean cause she was taking care of him. My favorite is when people say that " oh hopefully I could shower today, if my kids let me!" I work 5 hour on my computer, clean, cook, go to the gym and still have time to play with my daughter. It's not hard!

I've never really judged people by how clean their home was unless is was utterly disgusting. I just always thought there were more important things than a clean home.

It's kind of expensive as far as apps go, but I love it. There are things on there I personally would never remember to do if I wasn't reminded (like spin/flip mattress or scheduled cleaning the fridge shelves). I like lists.

I don't have a clean house. And I don't use my son as an excuse. Except for the Legos in the living room. I just have bad habits. This is the first house I have to take care of and I'm working on building new habits. I will look into this 'motivated moms'

I think there is a huge difference between messy and dirty.

Messy happens with kids, SO's, And life in general. Messy can be picked up easily before company and doesn't take too long.

Now dirty is just that. Dirty. Generally builds up because of laziness and is really something where you wouldn't want kids playing around because of dirt and gunk everywhere. With kids around I feel like you especially have less of an excuse for things being dirty, you should be looking out for their health.

Messy is somewhat excusable to me, life happens. Things can't always be perfect and with kids company will probably understand if some toys are laying around. But things actually being dirty bothers me. A place can be messy but clean (not unsanitary or unhygienic) but it doesn't go both ways. A place can never be "dirty" but clean lol.

I never understood using kids as an excuse for having a messy home they should be your reason for having a clean home. Why would you want your kids living and playing in an unclean environment. I can't even enjoy playing with my Kids unless the house is clean and organized, I do it first thing in the morning so I can relax and enjoy playing the rest of the day.

I'm a nurse with two kids and one on the way. My house is always clean and I get plenty of time with my kids. Pure laziness.

I got big kids so my house is clean.My Kitchen is what I clean all day every day unless I get mad and one of the kids will help.

I admit my house gets a little crazy. I work full time, take care if dh,3 dd and one on the way so sometimes the dishes might sit overnight or the clothes could go unfolded until my next day off( I also work shift work so I usually don't get 2 consecutive says off and my hours vary) it's definitely not laziness. I actually did hire a helper to come and clean the stuff I don't have time to get to like toilets, floors, dusting etc.

I don't think it's anyone's place to judge other parents. I have a 10 month old, work 20-30 hours a week and I'm a nursing student. If my floors aren't spotless, so be it! I clean everyday, sweep, vac, wipe the counters down, do dishes blah blah but s*** I'm busy. Judge me! :)

Excuses for sure. If you clean for an hour a day there should be no reason your house is dirty, and that leaves plenty of time to play.

I have four under six. If I don't make efforts to clean throughout the day, they will DESTROY the house lol!

Clutter begets clutter especially when you throw kids into that equation who think mixing up baskets full of little crap make great "trash cans" to dump over their head.

My children are so much more self-regulated when the house is tidy.

I wish I could keep my apartment clean. I live in an old house apartment-duplex thing. And the damn thing is IMPOSSIBLE to keep clean.

Plus my SO has a ton of s*** In our back room that I wish he would throw out or box up but nope. Ugh. Lol anyways my house is a hot damn mess but I try to keep it clean

My house is not dirty...but it sure is cluttered and very small. I have an 18 mo old and a baby on the way. I was a total neat freak before I got pregnant this time. I'm just WAY too tired and in pain to be picking up toys 24/7. So yep...our house is a disaster zone for toys right now.

I clean my house before dd wakes up! It's a small 3 bedroom so it does not take long at all. I wake up and feed her at 7 am, put her back in bed to sleep and clean. I am probably done by 9 or 10, depending on how bad it is.

She's 7 weeks. My house is a mess because of dh and my cats, no kids to pick up after -.-

When my house is dirty it's because I'm being lazy, I have no problem admitting that.

I agree! My house stays clean and I have a 3mo old and 17mo old. Beds made, vacuumed, counters cleaned and toys are contained for the most part to the kids room. I went to interview a babysitter the other day and her house was filthy. She had a 4 and 6 year old and there was animal hair everywhere (the whole house smelled like dog), stains all over the carpet, crumbs galore, counters dirty, food just shoved into a pile on the pantry....just gross. In the 30mins I was there her dog peed on the floor twice. Her and her husband were both unemployed. I don't see any excuses.

As much as I liked her I couldn't put my kids in that environment. Gross.

sometimes i dont get time to clean before i go to work at lunchtime and arent gonna start cleaning at midnight when i get home

sometimes the kids are sick or fussy and the cleaning has to wait while i cuddle them and try to help them feel better

sometimes i am lazy and tired and leave it for another day

sometimes i do clean while the children happily play

id rather have a happy house than a clean house.its pretty hit and miss if you come over unannounced.

judge me if you want idc.

My house is messy (like toys here and there and over there and on the other side of this and that) but its pretty clean when the toys are put away.

Me and My fiancé work 5 days a week. As soon as I get home at 430-5 I cook we eat dinner I bathe our daughter and then put her to bed; we play the whole time I'm cooking and bathing her. When I put her to bed my fiancé is washing the dishes and in picking up toys then we finally have time to relax and Spend time together.

We do all the laundry and real cleaning on the weekends when we have more time.

If I stayed home all day my house would be clean. My day is as follows:

5am - up, dressed, wake up kids, pack lunches and snacks (they go to work with me)

6am - in the car head to work.

7am - 6:30pm - work

7:30pm - get home (maybe, if traffic's bad 8pm) make dinner, feed 3 kids plus us, bathe the two little ones, put them to bed

9pm - kids in bed, I shower, throw a load of laundry in, fold/put away what's done, do any last minute things.

10pm - hope to hell I make it to bed this early

Rinse, lather, repeat all week.

I'm a wahm and do the best I can with cleaning. I spend most of my time paying attention to my son. I am also high risk pregnant at the moment so there is only so much I can do right now. I can't take the vacuum up the stairs or anything like that. My husband and I do make sure that clutter doesn't get too bad and I do easier chores like sweep, dishes, and cooking when I can. I usually work when my son is napping though. He likes to "help" with things like sweeping by picking up what you have swept off the floor too which is always fun. ;)

I always managed to clean everyday I feel stressed If my house dirty I don't mind mess from kids in living room but it's clean, just mess from toys ,I will wake up n clean before breakfast or clean before I sleep at night and maintain it through the day n I still get lots of time with kids. cleaning takes me 30 mins to a hour depending what needs doing ,cooking couple hours as I make fresh food from scratch that leaves loads of hours to play but then again I'm a sahm so I have time ,I understand if a working mum don't get time That's totally understandable

There's a difference between a messy house and a dirty house. I can understand toys and the kids stuff all over the place during the day. But dirty dishes, nasty floors, crumbs all over the place, dirty toilets, laundry piled up....girlfriend, get it together.

My house is a mess. Toys r us exploded in my living room. I don't like it, but I do everything on weekends. I'm gone over 13 hours a day on weekdays. I have 1.5 hours to cook, feed, bathe, and put 3 kids to bed. My oldest keeps the kitchen clean during the week but I choose getting 7 hours of sleep a night before my 11 hour workday over picking up the toys that magically show back up the next day.

My house is clean but my living room is looks like a toy mine field most of the time during the day.

I will admit, when my house does get messy it's because I am lazy. I rarely let it get that bad. If you just do a little bit everyday it stays manageable. I have three boys that are 3 and under too.

I just clean at night once they go to bed. That way by house doesn't look gross, it's easier to keep up with during the day, and I get to spend time with my kids.

I agree with you, that's a load of crap. I think its just an excuse to be lazy.

I clean everyday. All it takes is an hour and then throughout the day I pick up and do dishes, vacuum, wash the floors, and dust.

It doesn't take that much time because I do it each day.

I still have plenty of time to play with my dd.

She loves when I vacuum and tries to vacuum herself.

I think its just an excuse because if you clean each day then it doesn't take long to make your house presentable.

I can't stand dirt on my floor, it any thing to be out of order so I clean little bits throughout the day.

Plus when my dd naps I do all the quiet cleaning.

I really think its excuses to justify mess. My house is also always company ready and I always have plenty of time to play with my son. Doing a small amount of cleaning each day is enough to keep it nice. I don't ever feel like I have to choose between a clean home and a happy child. I can have both...just gotta work a little bit.

I think it's crap too. I keep my house straightened up so I can clean certain rooms on certain days and it only takes about a half hour to an hour to clean each day. I usually do that while my kids are napping. Also, my two year old loves to help me clean as much as he can if he's awake, or I set him up at his little table with a coloring book so he has an activity to do. I don't see how people can live in filth. And I don't mean messes left over from kids playing, I mean actual dirt and grime.