how do other single women balance work a clean house and happy children, i am struggling with the clean house?
Answers:
I am a single mother with 3 children and I know just what you are going through. Its not easy and alot of times you just have to do what you can. Its not that you are lazy by any means but you are only one person! Take it easy on yourself and don't expect to do it all in one day try and split it up. I know some things are impossible to do that with such as dishes and laundry but the other chores can be split. And one thing I have seen for myself are homes with both parents living in it that are the biggest messes! I know this one couple who go and leave the dishes to pile up for days and days and then decide to wash them when they have no more silverware or the same case with the laundry when they get to the last pair of undies. Gross, yes I know but very true I personally couldn't imagine living that way but when I get to feeling over whelmed such as you are right now I think of that house and then I am not so upset that yes I did do the wash but I was too tired to fold it so it sits in the basket until I get time to fold it. The bottom line is give yourself a break and don't get down on yourself. Being a mom is more important the dishes any day. I don't know how old your kids are but they could get involved too my 7 year old loves to run the cleaner and my 4 year old is an amazing duster. I reward them each week as well. Best of luck to you and I hope this helped some.
Other answers:
Dont beat yourself up girl! As long as your children are happy you are doing your job well! Raising kids can be tasking and leaves little time for anything else. Just straighten up occasionally and get a few chores done and try to relax. :)
Dont beat yourself up girl! As long as your children are happy you are doing your job well! Raising kids can be tasking and leaves little time for anything else. Just straighten up occasionally and get a few chores done and try to relax. :)
i single mum and i find getting up really early to get house sorted is easist for me.
Here is a cheery web site that helps you get organized to spend LESS time and have a neater house. You can sign up for reminders to stay on the schedule (it is a LOT of mail).
It is worth a try.
http://www.flylady.com/
The important thing is the welfare of your children and that depends on your good health too. I certainly would overlook a little dirt in your house.
It is a struggle for a single mom and I can understand your frustration.
Don't worry about the house. Leave a little dirt & take the kids for a walk or sit down & watch TV with them.
I set aside one day a week to do the cleaning. The house stays ok through the week with just a little clean up. Then on the one day that I do clean I let the kids help out. They enjoy helping and it make the cleaning go by faster. I give them jobs such as cleaning the floor, doing dishes, washing windows. They enjoy it and it helps so that I can get done what needs done without all the normal everyday things getting in the way.
You don't have to be superwoman! But, you can accomplish two things at once--keeping the house up and teaching your kids some important habits and skills. Make a game of it, like this:
Try the 10-minute pickup. Everyone works as fast as they can for JUST 10 minutes picking up, throwing in a load of laundry, putting away clean dishes, whatever. You'd be amazed and what one adult and one or two kids can get done in 10 minutes.
An alternate is the 20 Item game (or 10, depending on the ages of the kids). Everyone picks up 20 items and puts them away, even if that only takes 5 minutes.
10 minutes or 20 items are reasonable limits for even young kids to grasp without feeling overwhelmed. 10 minutes is enough to run the vacuum, or load the dishwasher while the kids pick up shoes or toys. No matter how you dice it, it's quick and pretty easy--easy enough to do every day or every other day.
I really don't feel comfortable in a really clean house. My wife and I are retired and we have learned to accept some dust and dirt here and there. A once a month cleaning seems to do us just fine.
Bottom line, As long as things are sanitary, don't worry about it. When the kids get a little older have them chip in. That is the way it was when I was growing up.
OK, you work a full time job, raise your kids, keep the house up, pay the bills, balance the checkbook, do the grocery shopping, run the kids around, occasionally sleep, etc, etc, etc.
And you are surprised that you can't do it all?! You can't do it all! There are only so many hours in a day and something has to give!
Ask your kids to help. Even if each one just cleans up their own mess would save you time.
See if a neighbor or friend can help run the kids to soccer or ballet or whatever they do. My daughter has helped me dust and other simple chores since she was 3... she might not do a perfect job but it's better that what I have time to do (which is nothing since I have no time to do it)
Switch to paper plates
Don't beat your self up! You have a lot to do! Try to have some fun because that's what your kids will remember (they won't remember if the living room was always dust free!!)
GOOD LUCK!!
As a single mom of three kids I have found that a little bit of dirt in the house has not killed any of us. Set aside 1 hour a day to clean the house and get the kids involved. They can learn, no matter how yound or old to pick up after themselves. Let the kids know that the more they help the more free time you will have to spend doing fun things with them.
p.s. scotchbite makes a cleaning cloth that gets dust off without using polish and it is washable and reusable. I also attach it to a swifter cleaning broom to dust the floors so that I do not have to mop as much.
mr.clean makes a magic cleaning sponge that cuts out a lot of the time and elbow grease on hard stains.