Struggling with keeping house clean

[mommiebookworm]

I've been very busy this summer!
I can barely manage to keep the daycare area and items clean, and the rest of my house is a mess! (I won't even mention the mountain of laundry) I'm seriously considering hiring someone to help me clean. But, in my area a cleaning person is at least $25 per hour. That's not really in my budget right now.
What do you do to keep up with the rest of your house during busy times? I need help!

[bklsmum]

I put an ad on CL and said I needed someone for light housekeeping once a week for $10 per hour. I got TONS of replies and I auditioned a few and found one I really loved. She comes in on Saturday mornings and she does both bathrooms. a good kitchen floor cleaning and vacs and dusts the hallway, living room and stairs. Takes her 2-3 hours depending on how bad of a week it was and it is, without a doubt, the best $20-$30 I spend every week. It is just enough to take the edge off of my load to make it manageable for me.


PS Most cleaners in my area who advertise are about $25 an hour too.

[mamamanda]

It is daunting at times. This summer I hired an assistant to help me a couple mornings a week. She sits with the kids, reads, does a craft, introduces a new game, etc & I clean my house for 2 hours Its wonderful. Plus it breaks up my week. The daycare side stays pretty clean b/c I clean as I go & I've learned to let the kids be a lot more responsible for their own messes. They pick up their toys, clear their plates, wipe up messes, & help each other out. Its not perfect, but we're doing so much better than we used to. I wipe down the bathroom & take out the trash at the end of every day.

[Thriftylady]

I want to hire someone to help with the house. I am not making enough yet to be able to though.

[mommiebookworm]

I think I might try craigslist

[childcaremom]

Same problem here. We spend most of our time outside now that the weather is nice so the inside has been.... neglected

I pick the non-negotiables that get done every day (vacuuming, floors, bathroom, laundry) and do them quick each morning before kiddos arrive. I do a deep clean of these areas on the weekends.

I try to pick tiny areas of the house to work on each day during rest period (declutter, dust, tidy away, etc) and hope that I can make it to the fall ::

[Josiegirl]

I'm right there with you. Everything seems to be so disorganized, cluttered, messy. It's depressing and causing me stress. I have a friend who thinks of cleaning as therapeutic. I have begged her to let me pay her to clean for me but she won't take my money so I won't let her. She lives the minimalist way and I would LOVE to have her come in and help me! But oh well....
Myself? I get terribly lazy and find nothing motivating enough for me to really 'get to it' on the weekends, then whaddyaknow, it's Monday again and time has run out. I keep things vacuumed, swept, laundry and dishes kept up. Other than that and trying to maintain some kind of decluttered status, my house is what it is.

My plan is to downsize all my crap and get rid of it, or rotate it, less to clean around and search through. That's my plan anyways. Trouble is I have a small home and 2 dds that are storing all their 'I don't know what to do with all this stuff' stuff until they find a permanent place to live.

[childcaremom]

I'm right there with you. Everything seems to be so disorganized, cluttered, messy. It's depressing and causing me stress. I have a friend who thinks of cleaning as therapeutic. I have begged her to let me pay her to clean for me but she won't take my money so I won't let her. She lives the minimalist way and I would LOVE to have her come in and help me! But oh well....
Myself? I get terribly lazy and find nothing motivating enough for me to really 'get to it' on the weekends, then whaddyaknow, it's Monday again and time has run out. I keep things vacuumed, swept, laundry and dishes kept up. Other than that and trying to maintain some kind of decluttered status, my house is what it is.

My plan is to downsize all my crap and get rid of it, or rotate it, less to clean around and search through. That's my plan anyways. Trouble is I have a small home and 2 dds that are storing all their 'I don't know what to do with all this stuff' stuff until they find a permanent place to live.

That's my plan, too. My dh is after me to get rid of stuff b/c it is overflowing everywhere. I have a hard time parting with things that I know will get used again. I need to get rid of the stuff that hasn't been touched in a while, organize what's left and go from there.

Just can't muster up the will to do it.

[mamamanda]

I'm right there with you. Everything seems to be so disorganized, cluttered, messy. It's depressing and causing me stress. I have a friend who thinks of cleaning as therapeutic. I have begged her to let me pay her to clean for me but she won't take my money so I won't let her. She lives the minimalist way and I would LOVE to have her come in and help me! But oh well....
Myself? I get terribly lazy and find nothing motivating enough for me to really 'get to it' on the weekends, then whaddyaknow, it's Monday again and time has run out. I keep things vacuumed, swept, laundry and dishes kept up. Other than that and trying to maintain some kind of decluttered status, my house is what it is.

My plan is to downsize all my crap and get rid of it, or rotate it, less to clean around and search through. That's my plan anyways. Trouble is I have a small home and 2 dds that are storing all their 'I don't know what to do with all this stuff' stuff until they find a permanent place to live.

Would your friend work out a trade of sorts? She helps you clean, you cook dinner for the evening? No money exchanged but you wouldn't feel like you were taking something for free. I'm always looking for ways to work together like that. Just a thought. I hate cleaning veggies & my mom is tight on money. So she comes over once a week & cleans my veggies & I send some of them home with her. Win/win

[Unregistered]

I clean at nap and during meals.
Do you have your own children you could pay?

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

I am lucky in some ways-the kidlets are only in the back part of my house- playroom, breakfast nook, bathroom, and kitchen. So that is the area I try to keep "clean". I make sure the kids pick up toys before they leave for the day- I limit how much is out so it is not overwhelming. So priority is this area to clean. I vacuum, sweep and mop, dishes, clean bathroom daily. But like right now is naptime- I know I am going to be gone this evening so I made sure that all of lunch was cleaned up immediately after lunch and I am going to run out and sweep and mop in a few minutes when I move laundry over. I will not vacuum playroom until Sunday evening or Monday morning because I will switch out some toys this weekend. oh and I dust/wipe down over the weekend in the playroom.
The rest of my house- well I have 2 kidos moving out in August so it is a mess right now as I am getting them packed up. Dd is moving into first apartment in another state. Ds is off to college. But, I am praying that by September my house is clean since I am gaining Dd's room!! She just needs a bed in there for Christmas But normally I clean house downstairs early Saturday mornings. Dust/ vacuum/ clean carpets etc. (early like 5am) Then I grocery shop on Saturdays. The upstairs is done either Saturday afternoon or some time on Sunday. That is really just my bedroom and hallway because as I said kidlets are busy packing up. I try to mow one evening so I am not doing that over the weekend but this week it has been rainy so I may have to do that this weekend also.
Sunday evenings I work on being sure laundry is done and clothes for the week for dh and I are laid out. (hanging rack)
My big issue is keeping up with paperwork...

[mommiebookworm]

I've started downsizing. Funny how you don't even remember what you have until you really start going through stuff! I donated 3 garbage bags full of stuff. Now, i just need to keep at it!