How neat and tidy do you keep your home?

[Anonymous]

I'm a neat freak so I probably wouldn't feel embarassed if someone just stopped by though I'm not a big fan of people just stopping by ;

I just tend to put stuff away immediately. So, if I get home from work, I spend 10 minutes hanging stuff up, putting things away, etc. If I make breakfast/dinner, I wipe the counters and put away the dishes right then. To me, it is easier to do this right away rather than to wait until everything piles up! My DD actually helps me clean up her toys and put them in her toy box - she learned some clean up song at daycare so we just sing it. Lots of times, I clean up her stuff after she goes to bed. Finally, we just recently broke down and started having someone come to clean the house every other week. I've been doing it myself for 20+ years and it was just too much since I work FT and DH doesn't clean at all. It is TOTALLY worth every penny.

[Anonymous]

In my house, typically things are neat and in their place. You can always find a handful of cars laying around and shoes by the door. But overall, it's never really a mess - except the playroom after a bunch of kids are over. Even though I don't get to clean as often as I would like, people always think my house is clean because it is picked up. I also throw everything away that we don't use, which helps a lot.

[Anonymous]

Oh thank goodness for the OP admitting this - my house is exactly as you described (no storage, papers/mail/kid stuff everywhere) and I'm always embarrassed to have people over, especially since most of my friends seem to trend more towards the neat-freak. My husband and I pray that someone will nominate us for one of those TLC cleaning shows

[Anonymous]

I've always got stuff everywhere and clutter--drives my husband nuts, but that's just teh way I am. Trying to be better lately and doing okay at it. The trick is just to do it NOW, put things away right away, not let stuff pile up. Do the dishes right after dinner, put laundry away as soon as it's out of the dryer, etc.

Totally echo PPs recommendation of flylady.net. Big empahsis on taking baby steps to get your house under control and establish routines, and not to be a perfectionist about it.

[Anonymous]

A mess.

I locate my children by hearing them, good thing they are loud.
DD has never seen a vaccum cleaner, we know we have one can't find it.
I sometimes leave the doors unlocked in the hopes that a burgler will come in and take all the crap.

[Anonymous]

14:14 - I'm with you! It's nice and neat when everyone is asleep.

I have 2 friends whose homes are always immaculate and neat. both have 2 kids and I have no clue how they do it, except that I'm guessing they must play exclusively in the basement or bedrooms. NO toys on the main floor.

Yeah - we have toys in the living room, and usually some dishes and a highchair tray in the sink. As soon as I clean it, it's dirty again.

If the doorbell rings, I try to straighten up quickly! But really - why should I be embarrassed by a pile of kids books on the living room table and 5 dolls and trucks on the floor (but I am...)

[Anonymous]

We have a housecleaner come in 2 days a week, even though we cannot really afford this(!) because the clutter and, yes, filth in our house was starting to make me insane and depressed. We have many (some might say, "too many") pets, a large, old old old house, and a DH who won't lift a finger.

Our housecleaner is now in her home country for a month, and I'm doing a decent job with clutter/paper/shoes.

But I've noticed a few fairly repulsive things in her absence that should make the rest of you feel much better about your situations. The few that I can print in a family forum include a piece of food rotting under the fridge and stinking up the kitchen until we located it; a dog poop hiding behind the little-used train table for God knows how many days; and the other thing that involves the toilet.

[Anonymous]

I like a really tidy house. I just do, it makes me feel better. I love a clean kitchen, fruit bowl and flowers on the table. I do not like a lot of stuff-- just get rid of it. Go through things when they come in and only handle a piece of paper once. File, throw, or deal with it right away. Create a file folder for bills. I like a lot of the simple living advice. Once you get used to living clutter free and in a neat house you really cannot imagine any other way. I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old and have cleaning 2x a month. I teach my kids to clean up, and again the real key is limiting the STUFF that comes into your house. You can do it and it makes life so much easier and your home more appealing.

[Anonymous]

I'm in the neat column, but family of 4 living in 1300 SF -- we have to be neat or there would be nowhere to sit, play, move. It's a safety issue too -- I'm carrying a baby around and have a 2-year old running around, we can't be tripping and falling over stuff. I can't be worried about what the baby might pick up off the floor and put in mouth.

I think the key is limiting stuff that comes in the house and having a place for everything so that it can be put away and then putting it away right away (or during naptime/after bedtime). When I am out of room to have a place for everything, that is my indicator that it's time to start getting rid of stuff. They watch you too -- my older son (2) already knows when he comes home the first thing to do is put his shoes and coat away in his closet. Then when it's time to leave the house I can say "go get your shoes and jacket" and he knows where they are. It's a timesaver in the end even though it may feel easier many days to just drop the shoes and coats anywhere when you walk in the door. I might be making him a bit too anal (he one day moved a pillow from one couch to one in the other room because it was on the wrong couch) but I'd rather that than to spend the next 16 years picking up after him.

So I would not be embarrassed most days if someone dropped by. A lot of weekend mornings my husband will keep the kids so I can sleep in and at 10 am I'll come out and it's like a tornado hit the house. I'll spend the first hour I'm up cleaning up, so it does seem that there is some effort involved in cleaning up as you go along, but I need to do it or I do not feel functional.

[Anonymous]

dragonfly wrote:Neat freak here. I destress myself by cleaning, scrubbing and putting things away. I feel like by organizing and decluttering I get a sense of accomplishment every day at least in this section.

Me Too! Beds must be made before I leave the house, dished always go into dishwasher right away, I let the toys lie around - but I clear up the clutter and have pretty baskets in different rooms to collect books and toys. Only think I wish for is a cleaning lady - we have cut back on that and when we did have one - it was so nice to have the bathrooms and floors cleaned on a regular basis!! If I was rich - I would have a maid - fulltime. I am a little OCD about dirt!!

[Anonymous]

My house is neat and clean. Not perfect but sufficiently so as to not be worried if anyone drops by. I have 2 boys. It took a while to get to this stage but I'm happy now. The keys to a neat house are:

-I don't buy a lot of junk for myself or my kids. How many toys do they need--seriously?
-I have put in storage where I can in my not-very large house.
-I got rid of clutter over the years
-I try to put away stuff every couple of weeks because piles do grow.
-I don't get sentimentally attached to all my kids school projects that are sent home. I throw away a lot of things but not everything.

As for clean, I could do better. I keep my kitchen clean since I am paranoid about cockroaches. I used to follow the advice of flylady.com. Who said you really don't need more than 15 minutes to clean a bathroom or really any room. She also made you throw away 17 items twice per week. I really liked following her advice though her EMs got a bit too much for me. I was also recently embarrassed into doing more cleaning when my hired painter came to my house and said, you have a beautiful house but you should take care of it. (He was referring to the spiderwebs around the outside door).

[Anonymous]

My house is very neat and clean (my obsessive compulsive personality). However, according to my child's nanny, I'm the exception. She tells me (often) that I'm not like other Americans whose houses are ...(she shudders), very dirty. I've heard horror stories of people who have too many things (a woman who waits for her to come rather than throw away empty recycleables, empty water bottles, etc). She says, so-and-so keeps buying though there is no space and she hasn't used what she already has.

Is this you?

[Anonymous]

I gave up on neat (although, my house doesn't sound quite as "bad" as yours - both spouses here make an effort).

I want my home to be welcoming, and for friends to be comfortable stopping by without much notice. That's more important to me than crumbs on the counter.

13:50 - maybe you can keep this up (in moderation) in the new home. Good luck with the sale. I HATE coming home to dishes - it is sooo much easier to cook dinner if breakfast is out of the way.

[Anonymous]

Very tidy, very clean. I get mentally crazy if my house isn't in order. I function much better as a person if I don't see a mess. We don't wear shoes in our house, really keeps the dirt OUT.