How to keep up on housework with a toddler and newborn baby? I’ve already tried doing a daily routine, but my washing is never-ending & dishes…struggling as I don’t have much support as well at home, partner works every day and comes home all different times, maybe I don’t have the motivation or energy, haha
Single mom with a toddler, a six year old and an 11 year old. Its almost impossible with my toddler to keep up on housework. Just target the main two chores and you have accomplished so much right there. I used to make myself feel sibbad for not being able to keep up on housework, when I’m also working fulltime, and caring for three kids. Your doing great❤
I have/had to rely on my SO. It just can’t be done by one. It takes a team.
Your kids won’t remember that the house was messy. It’s more important to give them the care and attention they need at this age.
I hired a cleaning lady 2x a month
You don’t. Some days you have a list and it gets done but doesn’t look like it cause kids are rude and some days it’s all you do just to keep your cool and deal with your kids, roll with the punches and tell your partner to either help out or not comment on the state of your house. Houses are made to be lived in not show rooms💜 just do what you can each day and that’s enough☺️
I would tire my kids out, take them to the park, on a hike, just out and let them run they would take longer naps and I would clean
Single mom that did that with a 3 year old and a newborn… coffee lots and lots of coffee… get a schedule and keep to it no matter what! That’s the only thing that saved me… and coffee!
Housework seems to be endless for me. I have a 12, 10, 8, 1 and 3 month old, plus I work full-time (currently working from home due to COVID-19). I split up the housework and do them throughout the day. I tell myself it’s okay if the dishes pile up in the sink if I am busy and can’t get to them right away. My 3 older kids are great helpers and help me pick up around the house.
You don’t! you do what you can when you can thats it. You don’t kill yourself or stress yourself over dishes and laundry. You enjoy your children, it will all fall into place, the kids might be a little older but it will happen
If you can swing it, find a cleaning lady! Mine has helped literally save my sanity. She just does the bigger stuff that’s more time consuming for me like sweeping & mopping since most of our home has tile floors. Things like dishes, I try to stay on top of every day & clean the kitchen as I go so they don’t pile up & become overwhelming. I also get my toddlers to help by putting their toys & shoes away & clearing their own dishes from the table after they eat. I hope you find what works for you. Good luck mama you’re doing great❤
It’s impossible for the vast majority of moms, when you’ve got kids that small and it’s just you doing the majority of the work. You don’t keep up. You just do what you can.
THRIVE! I wish thrive was around 25 years ago with my older 3. Life would have been amazing. I had always felt like a pure failure when it came to house work & kids, as I had 3 in a row. They are now 25,24,23& I have a 13 & 7 now. Thrive has been kicking my ass into gear for the last 5 yrs, let me say how amazing it is. To be able to wake up take 3 simple steps of vitamins to put some pep in my step. My house is cleaned, laundry done & I have taken my life back health wise also. All before the kids can get up for school. have a blessed & never stressed day everyone
You don’t, just do what you can and get to the rest when you have time
Welcome to the world of motherhood. You never have enough time in the day, you never get everything done in the day and you will feel defeated. You however have 2 beautiful kids and a SO. Stop worrying about what others do and just do you. A clean home doesn’t mean a you’re a great parent, just like a unclean one mean you’re a bad parent.
Lower your expectations lol. Everyone fed or have food everyone have something clean to wear even if it’s unfolded in the clothes basket on the livingroom floor vacuum run sometime the previous few days you don’t completely stick to your kitchen floor or counter babies loved
If you have a toddler and a newborn, your #1 is to take care of them and make sure the toddler is getting attention. Anything else, just do your best. You’re healing up and taking care of tiny people. Don’t stress a little mess.
I used to clean when they would nap and i would finish it at night b4 i would go to bed
As long as area wear babies are playing don’t worry about the rest. It can be done when there sleeping. They won’t remember house being a mess but they will remember the attention u gave them
U dont keep up on it…u will get behind there will be piles of laundry and dishes sometimes it happens no biggie it not like some magic cleaning fairy is gonna come do it well u sleep although that would be awesome the mess will be there when u get to it right now take care of u first and those babies …people are more important!!! Those babies won’t be babies forever dont waste that time try to “keep up” on house work!
You don’t, you do the best you can
My Moms advice was “there will always be house work, rest when able”
Simply some days you just don’t.
When I had my youngest I had a him a 5 year old and a 6 year old some days went amazing my place was clean and tidy I was dressed ,hair done etc other days it looked like a bomb had gone off and well I was out of a zombie film
as bad as it sounds the iPad and snacks helped ,fave thing to watch and eat I got 20 minutes tops to dart around and get done what I could if I didn’t sod it Disney film and cuddles was our plans ,then I would do a quick once over of a nighttime once they had gone to bed
The housework will always be there , something will always need doing but your only one person
I honestly struggle more now with my toddler he is manic and into everything he is additional needs aswell that doesn’t help me as need eyes in the back of head he literally can’t be left unattended or he will be swinging from the lampshade
Just do the absolute necessity and eventually you’ll gain the energy snd well rounded routine. Throw a load of laundry in before it’s nap time then change it when they get up. Folding can wait
As a SAHM of 3 boys aged 3mos to 5yrs, I feel like I always have the motivation and rarely ever the energy. Some days I can kill it, others I just say eff it. I gave up trying to hold onto being the super organized, immaculately clean neat freak I was before joining lives with the hubs and having kids. I’m coming more and more to realize that it’ll just ease up as they get older. Depending on how old your toddler is, I’d start having them help out with little chores. It makes it a liiittle easier on you and it teaches him/her responsibility and independence. I can still remember helping my mom change my younger siblings’ diapers when I was around 4/5.
Oof, I wished I had the answer
Only do what you can and keep pushing. If anyone complaints tell them to shut up and help
I stopped trying so hard through the toddler stage. My girls were 15 months apart. I only really clean cleaned during nap and after bedtime. No point when they are going right behind me and trashing it again. Anything I did do I tried to do by teaching them. Yes it takes a little longer yes it may even cause a mess but by the time their walking they can start learning to throw trash in a bin, laundry in a basket, toys in a Box . Little ones love to help, teach them and get into a habit before they hit the age where they don’t like chores.
And get you a baby wrap or pack to carry the little one. You can get way more done That way.
Those ages are for teaching and keeping them alive, worry more about your house after their like 5 lol
Most importantly, do not beat yourself up for not getting stuff done. You are only one person. And if you’re doing all the work and taking care of the kids…it’s next to impossible. Do what you can. Don’t worry about what you can’t. You’re doing an awesome job, Momma!
Run the dishwasher everday (or two sinkfulls of dishes) load of laundry everyday keep the trash from overflowing
Try your best thats the main thing, maybe stay up a hr later or get up hr earlier to get few bits done before kids are up, depending how u sleep urself
During nap time. Every day I struggle with do I shower or do I clean? It’s not going to be perfect everyday. Maybe in a few years.
For a while the house was a mess. My husband stepped up and started to help with the dishes. Until both kids were on a schedule it’s super hard. Around 3 or 4 months we had a nice schedule. Both kids napped together. So tht helped me out with getting chores done. And I could even catch a nap. Just give it time. My house is far from spotless , my 2 year old points it out every day, but it’s clean enough for now. I don’t think I have dusted since I was pregnant with my last baby.( 2020) but the vacuum is ran, dishes are done and laundry is done. The bathroom is clean. The kids stuff is cleaned. That is all that matters.
It’s about choosing what to drop. Sometimes the clothes are folded, but the sink is full. Sometimes the toilet is clean but the living room isn’t. You can’t do it all and don’t stress yourself. A tired mama is a jurassic mama and it will affect how you care your babies. It’s hard. And care yourself too.
Paper plates and dont worry about it. Long as you’re all fed and washed dont sweat the small stuff.
I have five year old twin boys and a 4 year old girl. If anyone figures it out, let me know.
You do what you can do in a day. Staying off the phone and keeping the tv off will help, you wouldn’t believe how much time so many of us waste doing pointless scrolling. My biggest piece of advice is to not get so focused on keeping a house spotless that you miss moments with your kids
Scatter it across the week
With a newborn and 3 toddlers… eh we just handle shit at this point.
When ya figure it out lmk. I have a 5 and two year old, as well as a 3 month old. My house is chaos from daylight to dark.
I literally stay up almost all night Friday into Saturday and just do everything I can. If.it doesnt get done it doesnt. I have a 3 year old and one on the way and this is just how it works. S/O helps on occasion which is nice but I know that between bedtime friday night and wake up Saturday morning I get the house done and then have me time!
You don’t we have 3 under 4 years old. It’s been really hard for me to accept a messy house. My husband works long hours often but he has been trying to keep up with the laundry for me and in the evenings we do a 30 min clean and he will tackle the living room while I do the kitchen. Then I start with a semi clean house the next morning. Sometimes when kids are in bed I try and clean the bathroom or mop the floors. There are days everyone naps and I’m able to do something too. Just depends on the day. With a newborn don’t stretch yourself too thin. You and your family are more important than a clean house!
You don’t! We’re on survival mode for at least the first 6 months. I’m in the exact same boat and I’ve determined all housework can wait and I’m enjoying my time with my girls
I have a toddler and a 6 month old. Plus 2 girls that are school age. I struggle with the same thing. I just try to do the best I can while my girls are in school. When they get home, nothing much gets done outside of me cooking dinner
Just working full time and a toddler is crazy. I just do the best I can and tell my husband to kick rocks when he starts.
I make a bin so when I do laundry everything goes into the fold bin and gets folded and into respected baskets. I also do the same for dishes everything goes on the sink and counters and gets put away with nap time and I just clean as I go
Nothing is ever gonna be perfect for a long time and messes happen
I only have one baby and she makes it difficult to do anything if I’m here alone. I just set a daily goal for myself. Today I’ll do the dishes and take the garbage out, tomorrow I’ll fold laundry. It’s tough with little ones especially when you and the father both have busy schedules I just try not to stress over the small stuff.
Just get what you can done and fr remember that someday the house will be spotless and they’ll be grown up and soak up every minute you get with them
My kids are 9,5,6 now… and I wasnt able to “keep up” until this past year.
Its hard… kids are messy little things. Lol. But you got this…My advice would be, stay up and extra 30mins to an hour at night…I also would just focus on dishes, trash, and making sure things are picked up. Also…my clean laundry lived in baskets for YEARS. But they had clean clothes. It may not be PERFECTLY clean, but your house doesn’t look like a tornado went thru.
Your partner needs to help I understand he works my partner work’s too but he comes home and cleans the whole house when I’m to tired to he works Mon to Sat you need a break too xx
I try if I have the energy but having a new baby and toddler is exhausting and it’s just not on my main priority lately. I’ve learned to except the mess even though it’s a bother lol
My boyfriend helps out with the work too tho, like helping with the baby and making food for everyone an cleaning. So it helps
I found it impossible, so I hired a cleaning service that comes every other week. My life improved so much after that, I’ll never get rid of that service. As for the rest, try to do 1 load of laundry a day and start letting yourself get used to dishes in the sink. We are in a time of our lives where we should really just worry about keeping the little people alive a d let the rest slide.
I pick one thing a day then try to do a but while baby sleeps and toddler is on quiet time. It only gets so much done… poem that fits — The cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow. For babies grown up and we learn to our sorrow. So quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.
I had a newborn 1 year old 2year old and a 92 year old. That’s right 4 in diapers and worked full time. So the answer to your question is you do what you have to do at night when they are all in bed. My kids bedtime was always 830. Bath time at 8 and then read them each a book and they were out in a few minutes. Pappy of course was an all nighter and smoked his pipe so non to say didnt get much sleep. God only gives you what he knows you can handle.
You dont. Well what’s more important to you? Your free time or a clean house you know won’t stay camera ready? You can’t have both. You will have to give something.
You can do the best you can. That’s all you need!
I personally keep you on dishes & laundry. I deep clean once per week when my husband is home. I pick up through out the day.
You do what you can. When you can. Your house won’t be totally clean until they’re in school.
I used to g e t depressed as I couldn’t keep up with it with two toddlers, not now, who cares, focus on your kids they don’t care.
Maybe do some when baby is sleeping and let the toddler help to pack stuff away that will keep him or busy
Try do its at night when the kids are sleeping in that way u won’t have so much to do the next day
When i had my twins i would so as much as i can at night so its want so much the next day
Or if u can maybe get a helper once a week to help with the washing and the things u cant get too
My skinny coffee!!!
I have a newborn, 3 yr old, my husband and 5 yr old who does home schooling full time. Every day is a struggle. Never ending laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc! My husband leaves for work at 4am and home by 7 on a 2 days off and 5 days on and 3 days off and 4 days on alternate schedule . He sometimes helps putting our sons to bed and cleans the kitchen. I do the laundry before his day off so we both fold them together while watching tv. I clean the house every 2 days but I make sure the dishes are done before we go to bed. It’s nice to wake up to a clean kitchen. hubby gives me some me time if I want to. He tells me how he appreciates me and good I am and that gives me more energy every day. We have no relatives living near us. It’s hard and exhausting but you got this momma! Just do whatever you can for the day because there’s always another day!
I’ve got a 2 year old and a 1 year old and the only time I get to squeeze shower/me time and housework in, is when they’re in bed , my house is constantly a state and it makes me depressed but the thing is theres really no point doing anything while they are awake because they watch me and destruct everything i do I’m by myself so it’s so exhausting but I try and work it around them sleeping x