Need some OCD housekeeping vibes, lol

[SammyeGail]

Hi! One of my twin boys has autism and they are finally able to start an in home therapy (ABA). We are going out of town next week but starting the 16th they will be coming to my home Mon-Fri. Well, the boys go to Mothers Day Out on Wednesdays, she will go there for therapy, so I get that day off (yeah!).

Problem is, we live in our house. I have always had clutter somewhere, its in my genes, every corner of my moms house is stacked with clutter. I'm 35 and have always been this way. For the boys safety its mostly confined to the garage and spare bedroom.

I keep the house clean, just clean enough to be ok. Toys scattered, dirty dishes in the sink/on the stove, etc, I can go to sleep no problem. (I have a friend who can't stand even a glass in her sink, she'll wash it and put it away asap, she says she can't sleep until everything is perfect).

For the last 2 weeks the therapist have come to my house 2-3 days a week, getting things started. I've been up until 2,3 AM cleaning the night before. What makes it worse is that the builder went all out on this house, nice crown molding, upgraded baseboards, awesome paint colors, maple cabinets (cheapo didn't do granite though, lol, I have fake formica granite). Its a really nice looking home, but the upgrades make it look even worse when dirty : (.

So I was wondering if anyone could share some tips on keeping the house neater. I got this in red for 150 to keep some of my paperwork/clutter in:

http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/Products.aspx?CatNum=RN744-7229B&JSEnabled=false&mscssid=&cmResetCat=true&hdnOnGo=true&find+a+catalog+item.x=7&find+a+catalog+item.y=7

DH has yet to put it together, when thats done I think it will help alot. Right now everything is on the kitchen bar. We just don't have enough cabinet space.

My big problem are the floors. Hardwood in Den, enteryway, hallway, stairs and dining room (which contains a treadmill and toys). The builder put very light colored tile in the kitchen, eat in area and 1/2 bath. I swear, you can see a grain of pepper from across the room. I just cleaned the floors and they look awesome, but I know they will look a mess by tomorrow night.

How do you moms do it? I have 2.5 year old twin boys!! How can I keep this place up daily without staying up all night after they've gone to bed?

Swiffers leave streaks and it takes 4 to do the den, it gets expensive, kwim? I sweep about 3 times a day, but it never looks like it.

I am so sorry this turned out so long, its really late and I blab. I am just having alot of anxiety about having someone at my house 4 days a week and not looking like a slob.

So again, any time saving household tips appreciated. I tried leaving shoes at the door the other day, but Noah kept coming up to me showing me his feet, where things had gotten stuck to it :sulkoff:. I thought I had swept well while they had napped. I guess I really suck at housekeeping.

Thank for any tips and for the vent,

Samantha
mom to Noah and Jonas
2.5 year old twin boys

[Wife_and_mommy]

I'm right there with you but have a couple tips.

You can buy microfiber cloths to use instead of swiffer sheets. They pick up dirt, you can mop with them, and they're reusable.

All the paperwork: do you need it? I'd start shredding and not look back. Do you have file folders for the truly important papers?

A labelmaker helped me tremendously. Having things labeled where they go helps me(usually;) )to put it in its place.

And lastly, the therapists are not there to grade your housekeeping skills!! I can guarantee you they've seen worse than what you could dole out so try not to stress about it. I also stress though.:)

[kijip]

The therapist is NOT going to judge you for pepper specks or toys ... as a speech pathologist working with kids I assume she will be pretty used to kids and the mess kids cause. You have twins, I'd worry more if the house was spotless than a little messy. Try not to stress yourself out over it. She is there to help you, not report you to Better Homes and Gardens.

However, I will say that confining paper work to one out the way place and using my shredder as I open the mail has made my life much tidier. It is a simple habit to get into- paper go in X (for us it is the office). Even if they are in a pile, they are contained in the office and not cluttering my table and other flat surfaces upstairs.

[JTsMom]

First, let me just say that I had twin brothers, and I remember well when they were 2.5. If your house is standing, I'd say you're doing well! LOL Also, my mom would tell you it gets a little easier next year, and a lot easier at 4 and 5.


Having said all of that...

Some people swear by Fly Lady, so that might be worth a look.

I think de-cluttering would be a great first step. Get rid of as much as possible, and it will be that much less to clean/straighten. Can someone take the boys for a few hours on a weekend so that you can work undisturbed? Watch something like Clean Sweep for inspiration.

Baskets are really helpful- if you're exhaustd, but just want to straighten things up, throw everything in baskets and sort it all later.

I'd also try to concentrate on 1 or 2 rooms that the therapist would be in or see- like the kitchen and living room for example. Make it your goal to keep those 2 rooms presentable, and let the rest go.

I only have one child, so I don't know if this is as do-able with twins, but I've started doing a really quick toy cleanup with DS right after dinner. He only helps a little, but I'm hoping to start planting the seed of "clean up my own toys" now, so that when he is older, he'll do more on his own.

We have a bin in the living room for toys, and a basket for books, so 90% of the stuff gets thrown in those. Anything that doesn't go in that room gets taken out. We're talking maybe 5 mins. It seems like if it's clean first thing in the am, it's more likely to stay that way.


The floors- if they bug you, maybe look into a roomba or similar. Swiffer- I ditto the microfiber cloths. You can buy a big bag in the auto section of Target for around $10. I don't even use the Swiffer spray stuff- I keep a spray bottle of 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 water, with a few drops of yummy smelling essential oil mixed in. Spray, mop, repeat. It costs pennies, and you can avoid all of the chemicals.

Good luck, and just remember, anyone who says their house is always neat is either lying, or one in a million!

[elephantmeg]

I used flylady to establish some routines-although I don't subscribe anymore and don't visit her website much I've gained some good habbits. If you follow her website she does a monthly habit (making beds, washing dishes after meals, hot spot clearing time etc). I've also memorized the weekly home blessing and keep it in the back of my mind. I do bits and peices through the week. I'd say if you're sweeping 3x/day that's more than plenty and I wouldn't sweat the small stuff.

[bnme]

The every day clutter is my main problem - and I am a little OCD about liking things neat. So with kids here are some things I have done to help control it.

-I have a few desk organizer type things on my kitchen counter to sort out mail, bills to be paid, to do item (RSVPs) etc. I keep my to-do lists and phone book there too. Home goods has a ton of nice wood and wicker ones.

-We have a pottery barn style bench with baskets underneath by the front door. This holds the kids shoes, school stuff, my purse. We also have a row of hooks for hanging jackets.

-I have light color floors and a lab so my floors are always a problem. I vacuum often for the dog but my WHITE kitchen floor shows everything (It was in the house when we bought and I can't wait to change it!). I think that using the Swiffer Wet some how makes my floors get dirty quicker. Like it leaves a film or something that things stick to. So as easy as it was to use that I find just mopping every week (more like every other) with water and vinegar or sometimes Mr. Clean keeps the floors a lot cleaner. I love the pp idea about spraying the floor with her own solution! I am going to try that. Lets just say I do a lot of spot cleaning (often with a baby wipe!) when some one is coming over.

-I don't leave dirty dishes in my sink overnight and I run the dishwasher every night. Empty it first thing even though it is one of my most dreaded tasks. If not it's too easy to get backed up with dirty dishes everywhere and the dishwasher still needing to be unloaded.

-I do a load of laundry almost everyday. And I make sure it's put away too. That's another thing that builds clutter easily if it gets backed up.

Seriously, though. You should not be stressing too much about this. It sounds like you are probably pretty neat but just always feel it could be better. I like things very neat but I can't and don't want keep up with it so I understand the anxiety thing. Having 2 boys, a dog, and white floors has helped me relax my standards a little!

[egoldber]

I am just.like.you. I am firmly convinced that there are people who are neat and tidy and people who are not. My house is not "dirty" but it is always cluttered. Even when I de-clutter it, its still cluttered by a tidy person's standards. :)

Sarah had in home speech therapy for about 18 months. I apologized casually once to the SLP about the house always being being cluttered. She looked at me like I was nuts and said "You have NO IDEA what some of the houses I go to look like."


The therapist is NOT going to judge you for pepper specks or toys ... as a speech pathologist working with kids I assume she will be pretty used to kids and the mess kids cause.

So a big :yeahthat: to this. :)

[SammyeGail]

I only have a minute but thanks so far for the replies. A ST comes on Tue and she makes me feel very comfortable, she's real laid back, these ladies make me feel weird in my own house, kiwm?

I have A M-W, then K training R Thur-Fri. On the first visit R mentioned being a germaphobic, I think thats what set it off for me.

JTsmon:

The floors- if they bug you, maybe look into a roomba or similar. Swiffer- I ditto the microfiber cloths. You can buy a big bag in the auto section of Target for around $10. I don't even use the Swiffer spray stuff- I keep a spray bottle of 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 water, with a few drops of yummy smelling essential oil mixed in. Spray, mop, repeat. It costs pennies, and you can avoid all of the chemicals.

Microfiber cloths sound great, where can I get some essential oils? Do you attach the microfiber clothes to a swiffer mop?

gotta go!

Samantha

[trales]

You are describing my house, only we have two dogs thown into the mix.

Tips for the floors:
Shoes off at the doors, slippers on. Nothing sticks to feet, dirt stays near the door. Have a few pairs, one by each door. Dogs get toweled off. Of course that leaves a towel by the door.

Baskets in a closet. Label them, toss stuff in, organize later (or when overfilling).

Be one with the shredder and paper recycle bin. Mail does not get set down until it is put in the bill pile, recycled or shredded.

Kids toys are a perfectly acceptable accessory. You have kids, they have toys.

I second everyone who says they are not going to judge you, though I understand how easy it is to judge yourself. I spent 3 days cleaning for a play group.

[brittone2]

The therapist is NOT going to judge you for pepper specks or toys ... as a speech pathologist working with kids I assume she will be pretty used to kids and the mess kids cause. You have twins, I'd worry more if the house was spotless than a little messy. Try not to stress yourself out over it. She is there to help you, not report you to Better Homes and Gardens.



Agreeing w/ the above. Please, please, please do NOT drive yourself nuts cleaning for the therapist(s) that come into your home. I worked in early intervention as a PT before becoming a SAHM. I would often ask parents if I could remove the couch cushions from their sofa to work on pulling to stand, etc. with their kid and they'd give me this sheepish look like...ummm...it is probably really dirty under there. And I'd point out that at that very moment if they flipped up *my* couch cushions at home they probably had some crumbs in them and I didn't even have kids yet LOL.

Therapists are in your home far too much for you to be going out of your way. Seriously. We are used to seeing piles of laundry in baskets, on kitchen tables waiting to be put away, toys strewn everywhere, etc. That's early intervention. That's what it is all about.

I've been in some doozies of homes/situations where the parents are heating the house with the oven door open and sleeping on a mattress near the kitchen to stay warm. I've been in homes where I have encountered drug paraphernalia laying about. I've been in homes with broken windows taped up with plastic sheeting and tape in the middle of winter. Those are the homes where I get a wee bit worried. Normal toys, kid dirt, clutter, etc. honestly is *no* big deal. Your therapists will not want you cleaning for them. I'm not kidding.

Stop the madness. Focus on your twins and don't stress about it. Honestly, therapists understand and won't judge your housekeeping. I promise.

[niccig]

I agree with not worrying too much. But if you want to get things more into shape and stay that way - I swear by putting things away as soon as you are finished with them, and cleaning up a mess/spill as soon as it happens. The kitchen is clean and the family room is picked up before bed. These go a long way to help keep the house under some sort of control.