We have 6000 sq feet and have made all toys go in the basement after preschool age. It’s glorious not to have tj see that plastic crap anymore.

PURGE. Have baskets where stuff goes. But mostly, PURGE.

PP here who was asking about the kids ages. I have a 3 & 6 year old so similar ages, though I understand a 1 year old would really throw a wrench in things...

A year or so ago I was feeling the same way as you, and realized that the preschool that my kids went to doesn't look like a shit show, and there's good reason for that.

The reason, IMO, is consistency and routine.

I started 1 thing at a time and focused on it exclusively until it became a part of their lives, and then I moved on to the next thing.

So for example, I noticed when the kids all went into the preschool, they took their shoes off, put them in the cubby, hung up their coats on the hook over their cubby etc etc.

There was a spot for everything. It was clear where everything needed to go. And the teachers helped each student learn the process until it became second nature.

I basically implemented that at home. Now when they come in, their shoes come off and go into a bin, their coats go on these little hooks, and their hats/glasses/whatever go into this drawer.

At first, I had to physically block and redirect them every time they went into the house and guide them through the steps. But then it becomes a habit and they don't even think about it anymore. It's just how it's done.

So my suggestion is to divide into regions, and have a clear plan for each area.

Play room: Maybe things just go in bins and you give up on keeping everything in a "spot".

Living room / Dining room: Maybe you say this is a no toy zone, and any toys left out in these areas will be put away for a while

Bed rooms: Give each kid 3 bins plus a small shelving unit to display stuff. Before the kids get their video time, rooms must be tidied (or whatever the carrot is).

Haha, our house is 3500 and still looks like a bomb went off. The kids will bring their toys to the main areas no matter where we store them. Things will be cleaner once they are back at school.

Ours are ~6 and 2. We are always returning toys to the playroom and their rooms but it's not complete madness all the time. I'd call it slight messiness, most of the time. Our biggest issue is the kitchen and in particular the dishes, even though we run the dishwasher nightly...

Plenty large. Purge, get storage and have kids clean up. We have 1000 square feet.

3 year old and 18 month old in a 1250 sqft rambler without a separate family room, and we're doing fine. We have a basement and use it for storage but kids don't play down there. We have ikea besta storage units in the living room which house all the toys, and we clean up before nap and bed. Everything stays fairly clean. We also make a real effort to not accumulate stuff but we do rotate books and toys in and out on about a quarterly basis.

Anonymous wrote:We got a bigger house for other reasons (new baby) and the stuff just expands to fill it. Don’t think for a second more space will help.

This!

We moved from 900 to ~1300 sq ft AND our went from preschool to ES (neater, more able to clean, in school so less often home to do crafts or w/e-- until COVID). I'm even decent at KonMari. Our house is really no less messy.

We got a bigger house for other reasons (new baby) and the stuff just expands to fill it. Don’t think for a second more space will help.

Same girl. No real suggestions. My oldest is almost 5. I am strict in that toys don’t leave the playroom. And I clean that playroom once a week, but it’s always like a bomb went off. The rest of the house is messy even without toys!! There are books they want us to read, blankets, cups, jackets, dhs stuff...

And now recently their bedrooms have started to get dirty too!! Zillions of stuffed animals, clothes that they try on, pillows from the bed go everywhere. Sigh. I love walking into my nursery because it’s the cleanest room in the house. The closet is always perfect and the floor clean. Soon she’ll be a toddler too making messes everywhere.

I do a big pickup before bed and everyone gets a piece of chocolate. My house is very clean, organized (the drawers and closets are tidy, systems are in place) just a big layer of junk everywhere. I wish I could hire someone, but cleaning ladies don’t pickup and that’s what I need. I have no trouble mopping or cleaning bathrooms. My daycare says my kids are the cleanest and help clean the best. Blah. No solutions.

I agree that your house is a fine size for your family. You need to get rid of some stuff and create routines where the kids participate in the cleaning.

5 and 7. Same here. Our family room is a sea of toys. They clean it up on a routine basis, then it's messed up again within hours because they start playing again.

We've been less strict on this since they are stuck at home all the time.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I do sympathize, but I think that 2,600 is plenty large for a 5 person family, and I don't think a larger house would actually solve your problem. The mess would just be spread out among a larger area.

How old are your kids?

They should be cleaning up after themselves to some extent. Depending on their ages, I can offer some suggestions.

Also, if you are in NW DC with that size home, you could absolutely sell it and move somewhere with a huge house and a lot of land, if that's what you really wanted.

Op here - kids at 1, 4 and 6. We live in Alexandria not NW DC.

OP, I do sympathize, but I think that 2,600 is plenty large for a 5 person family, and I don't think a larger house would actually solve your problem. The mess would just be spread out among a larger area.

How old are your kids?

They should be cleaning up after themselves to some extent. Depending on their ages, I can offer some suggestions.

Also, if you are in NW DC with that size home, you could absolutely sell it and move somewhere with a huge house and a lot of land, if that's what you really wanted.

Mine looks like a damn kid bomb went off - I am super organized and hate clutter so all the kids stuff is really on my nerves. I have 3 young kids and try snd purge, organize and clean up all the time but just the nature of covid and being home all the time - ughhh I am going insane! I keep seeing pictures of new beautiful homes and it makes me soooo jealous. Doesn’t help that I grew up in a very large house with a lot of land. Not feasible in DC. We have a 2600 sq ft house built in the 1960s with 5 of us in plus an 1/2 finished basement that houses most of the kids toys. I would love to move into a big 4000 sq ft new house but there is no way we can afford a $1+ million home.

Any suggestions or just want to commiserate? My tidy organized soul is dying.