Do you keep a decently clean home, feed your kids decent food?

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Can I come visit? LOL.

 

I just picked up dd from her sleep over and I feel like Super Mom. I'm far from Super Mom and have many areas that could use a LOT of improvement. But for today; Super Mom!

 

Dd will no longer be sleeping out. In-home sleep overs ONLY!!!

 

:glare:

[zookeeper]

Funny how seeing other's houses puts your own in perspective! ;)

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Big time perspective!

[SKL]

I recall spending the night at a home which was really gross. I recall trying very hard to keep my head inside my sleeping bag, because the floor . . . let's just say their dog was named Puddles for a reason. My mother would rather die than let anyone in her house if it had even a fraction of that filth. She always used to say our house was messy, but we used to clean it pretty well every week - at least the parts we lived in.

[ErinD]

As a kid, I once went to a friend's for a sleepover. You literally could not see the floor or the stairs; you had to walk on piles of paper and garbage. I feigned sick (not difficult since it made me queasy) and went home immediately.

 

As an adult, I feel for the people struggling with this problem and my reaction would not be the same, but I grew up in the home of two extreme type-A parents and I had never seen anything like it before.

[swellmomma]

That happened once with my kids.A former coworker from down the street watched my kids in a pinch, she took them back to her home from work so I never saw the inside of her home until I picked them up. Yeah, they have not been back since, she watches them at my house, not that I need it that often.

 

At the same time I try to give parents some grace on it. Friday I had 4 extra kids here, we were finger painting, building forts, 2 kids got picked up early, 1 got picked up 1.5 hours late. I started work with the kids at 5am. by the time the last parent showed up at 7pm my house looked like I had never cleaned it in a week. I had spent any time inbetween directly working with the kids cleaning. HAving that many extra kids in a tiny space makes it messy fast.

 

I try to give some leeway when I see the warzone upon picking up my kids...of course the parents all saw it clean when they dropped off their kids so it was obviously a 1 day disaster not a dirty place that is never cleaned kwim.

 

Did you not notice the cleanliness of the home when you dropped your dd off for the sleepover?

 

I agree about sleepover anyway, I will only allow in home because the 1 and only time I allowed 1 out of the home the mother left to go get drunk at the bar and left all the kids there alone.

[rwjx2khsmj]

IMO there's a huge difference between dirty and messy. My house is often messy. It's not usually dirty.

[Xilka]

Super clean house - no, and that's with hired help.

Well-fed kid, definitely.

But we don't do sleep-overs either.

[happyhomemaker25]

There is a difference between nasty and messy. The home I grew up in was nasty. Mom worked looooong hours and had a disability. Dad was severely disabled and brother and I were lazy butts who really did not know what to do anyway. I feel so guilty now.

I work hard to keep my home just above messy and never nasty! :001_smile:

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Did you not notice the cleanliness of the home when you dropped your dd off for the sleepover?

 

She was picked up yesterday. This was a friend she had from her PS days, and had slept there once before. I guess I forgot why I was avoiding them.

[MariannNOVA]

I hear you -- I do have to say that the most fun my kids have, however, is when they are at the messy houses. They don't enjoy the nasty ones at all.

 

We are 'perform surgery sterile' here which makes us the house where everyone wants to gather when entertaining, but not the house where 'fun' happens. Unless you are a 'clean as you go' person.

 

DD12 has a good friend who LOVES to come here and sleep over and cook in our kitchen. She is so funny -- her mom and I think it is the funniest thing. She loves coming here b/c she says 'everything matches.':lol:

[Mrs_JWM]

Growing up, our house was clean enough, and I keep my house clean enough, too.* But my best friend's house was always a disaster; you could never see the kitchen table, every counter was covered in carp, etc. Not actual carp, or carp for that matter, either, IYKWIM! We loved cleaning it so we could make cookies and stuff.

 

*I have to add a story about what happened JUST THIS VERY MINUTE. I dropped a piece of Boy Scout caramel corn on the living room floor an hour ago, but I didn't notice. My daughter just ate it. See, it's clean enough here that you CAN eat off the floor! ;)

[Mergath]

I grew up in an obsessively clean house. My house now is messy, but not dirty or nasty. After a day of dd playing, there's stuff scattered around, but it's clean stuff on a clean floor. ;)

[Aspasia]

IMO there's a huge difference between dirty and messy. My house is often messy. It's not usually dirty.

 

So very, very true. Our house gets messy every day and then we pick up in the afternoon, only to get messy again the next day. But it is never dirty. I vacuum, mop, and scrub toilets/sinks/showers weekly. Dirty=homes where the cleaning never happens, where the papers and trash on the floor have been there for literally weeks, where the dishes on the counter (because they don't fit in the sink anymore) have been there for several days, etc. I know because I grew up in one of those nasty houses, too. My mom was a single mom who worked multiple jobs and had lazy, entitled kids...but none of that was the reason for her nasty house. Her house is STILL that way with no kids in it, and all four of us kids have clean houses. It's just her personality. For some people, they battle some personality issues that make it virtually impossible to be even remotely consistent, organized, and clean. It's really sad.

[Peaceful Isle]

I used to try to keep my house perfect, but I found the children's education really lacked on the days I "freaked out" and cleaned. :D So now, I have learned to look over the clutter, toys scattered, and messy rooms. We do a thorough cleaning on Saturdays. Daily things are dishes and basic straightening. Life is a lot easier now. :)

I have been to others houses that are either neater than mine, or really messy. Neither really bothers me, but if it is Filthy..I usually suggest to have coffee at my place!;)

[MHowell]

IMO there's a huge difference between dirty and messy. My house is often messy. It's not usually dirty.

 

:iagree:

 

This is us. There may be dishes in the sink, but they are today's dishes (and sometimes a pan from the night before soaking), There may be a laundry basket on the love seat, but the laundry is clean and (usually) folded, and the desk/school area, well, I organize and clean things out about once a month. :D

 

The bathrooms however, are always clean. If not there are cleaning wipes under the sink and even the kids know how to use them. I have to have a clean bathroom.. I'm kind of OCD that way.

[mytwomonkeys]

my home is very tidy and homey, and yes my kids eat well (but when they have sleepovers, we do buy some junk! it's a sleepover!:D). i've been watching hoarders on netflix. now that show seriously makes my head spin.

[MHowell]

my home is very tidy and homey, and yes my kids eat well (but when they have sleepovers, we do buy some junk! it's a sleepover!:D). i've been watching hoarders on netflix. now that show seriously makes my head spin.

 

Agreed! Nothing makes you want to clean like watching Hoarders!

[ErinE]

There is a difference between nasty and messy.

 

Agreed! Nasty and messy are two different things. I can forgive messy, but nasty.... that's just gross.

[CatholicMom]

HAving that many extra kids in a tiny space makes it messy fast.

 

I try to give some leeway when I see the warzone upon picking up my kids...of course the parents all saw it clean when they dropped off their kids so it was obviously a 1 day disaster not a dirty place that is never cleaned kwim.

 

 

That's how I feel. I have 5 kids in a 1100 sq ft house and the smaller the space, the smaller the mess needs to actually be in order to make it feel like a bomb went off. My parents have a huge living room where a couple cups on stands and a pile of legos and 10 other toys on the floor would look lived-in and TOTALLY clean. But in my tiny living room it would look like a mess.

 

And sometimes I'M frightened by something I find smeared on the wall, but I have a 10 month old and a 3 yr old. So age of kids should be considered, as well. Not that I would LEAVE said smear on my wall once I notice it. LOL Just saying. If my kids were all above age 10 then you might be more like :001_huh:. I maintain that I clean WAY more than others who have very clean houses but my house almost never looks as clean because the same amount of cleaning doesn't get me as far.

 

Now you all think I live in a fly-swarming dump. :lol:

 

No, seriously, my house goes from freshly clean to dirt everywhere in 10 minutes if dh and kids come in with shoes on and track dirt everywhere. :mad::crying: I SO need a mud room. Oh wait, it's the living room. Thank goodness it's hard wood floor I can sweep and not carpet.

 

BTW, I've always felt uneasy about sleepovers even with kids/parents I otherwise trust and felt like I was being the Picky Parent again (which I am). But these stories make me feel like my uneasiness is warranted! Sheesh! Thanks for the tip! Ya never know...

Edited February 27, 2012 by TaraJo29

[momtoamiracle]

there are always toys around my house, and possibly a pile of laundry to be folded on the couch. My bed isn't always made, however my floors are vacuumed several times a week, my sheets are changed bi-weekly, kitchen is cleaned daily, bathrooms cleaned weekly, so my house isn't filthy by any means. I can't stand that. UGH!

 

 

 

 

speaking of which, I had taken a break from cleaning to come here! LOL! Need to get back to it!

[Dustybug]

That's how I feel. I have 5 kids in a 1100 sq ft house and the smaller the space, the smaller the mess needs to actually be in order to make it feel like a bomb went off. My parents have a huge living room where a couple cups on stands and a pile of legos and 10 other toys on the floor would look lived-in and TOTALLY clean. But in my tiny living room it would look like a mess.

 

And sometimes I'M frightened by something I find smeared on the wall, but I have a 10 month old and a 3 yr old. So age of kids should be considered, as well. Not that I would LEAVE said smear on my wall once I notice it. LOL Just saying. If my kids were all above age 10 then you might be more like :001_huh:. I maintain that I clean WAY more than others who have very clean houses but my house almost never looks as clean because the same amount of cleaning doesn't get me as far.

 

Now you all think I live in a fly-swarming dump. :lol:

 

No, seriously, my house goes from freshly clean to dirt everywhere in 10 minutes if dh and kids come in with shoes on and track dirt everywhere. :mad::crying: I SO need a mud room. Oh wait, it's the living room. Thank goodness it's hard wood floor I can sweep and not carpet.

 

BTW, I've always felt uneasy about sleepovers even with kids/parents I otherwise trust and felt like I was being the Picky Parent again (which I am). But these stories make me feel like my uneasiness is warranted! Sheesh! Thanks for the tip! Ya never know...

 

This is me. I only have 3 kids, but there are 5 of us in a 900 sq. ft. house and our "mudroom" is the living room too. It does not take much at all to make it look like a tornado swept through and it gives me serious anxiety. This is why I rarely invite others over. We are not at all dirty/nasty, but sometimes the clutter makes it look messier and I know some people would turn their nose up and I just can't take the stress of feeling judged in my own home. Most of the people I know have MUCH larger houses than I do and can't understand how we can live here. They also don't understand how less space=seems messier quicker.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Dustybug

[Baseball mom]

messy (cluttered) home --- yes --- but working on that

nasty home --- no

decent food --- most days

[OrganicAnn]

I had a friend in HS who no matter when you went over to her house, there was not a single clean dish (they were all in the sink) and every one of the kitchen cabinet doors were open. I remember when I got home how I noticed that while sometimes the dishes piled up after a big cooking session, we always had clean dishes that were put away and the kitchen cabinet doors were always closed. I didn't realize people did things that differently until then. We didn't have a magazine perfect house and I don't either. Comfy, lived in, reasonably clean. Could it use an extra hour of cleaning, sure.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

After I picked up dd, she had a little snack and took a nap. Napping is rare enough that I was concerned. When she woke up she said she wasn't feeling well and wanted to make sure we were having real food for dinner.

 

Then she gave me a run down of what they ate! :scared::svengo: I know sleep overs are time for special food, but the amount of *stuff* she had was just insane.

 

(We have our share of treats, but that's not what we eat daily, or for multiple meals)

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Agreed! Nothing makes you want to clean like watching Hoarders!

 

I LOVE watching hoarders! I can't sit and watch, though. I start scrubbing. LOL.

[Elizabeth in MN]

Yes, but not all in the same week.

[In the Rain]

Agreed! Nothing makes you want to clean like watching Hoarders!

 

:iagree: I feel so sorry for those people though.

[SailorMom]

Clean.... but cluttered in places. I invite guests over at least once a month - then I have to clean everything and de-clutter whether I want to or not :) It can be frustrating, though. We had 32 people here for the Superbowl. House was spotless, obviously didn't stay that way :) Looked like a train wreck afterwards.

My kids have sleep overs, we're the "fun" house. However, once i get to know a family well enough - our kids go over there too.

I know a few people with disturbingly gross houses..... not cluttered or messy on and off - but "hasn't been cleaned in two years" gross.

[JVA]

I LIKE clean- but it isn't always that way. I also had boys who could have cared less- or so I thought! I'll never forget the time when I dropped son #3 off at a friends for the afternoon..... he said "ewww- dirty door". I was shocked he would have noticed. :lol:

[Excelsior! Academy]

Decently clean? Yes. Decently fed? Yes.

 

Our house is generally company ready due to multiple pick up times throughout the day. We work before we play. No breakfast until you are dressed, your room is picked up, and your zone is picked up. No lunch until school is picked up. No outside play time or fun activities until your zone is daily cleaned. Weekly cleaning only takes 45 minutes or so. Each person has an area of the house they keep up with. One daughter does the breakfast area, another the entry and stairs, one child does the living room, well, you get the idea. They are responsible for returning items to their owners and daily dusting, sweeping, and tidying. Then during weekly clean they might do windows, vacuum, and mop. Each area takes 10-15 minutes tops each afternoon and 20ish each week. Many hands make light work.

 

Our menu is the same thing each Monday, same each Tuesday, again you get the idea.

 

Is our house 100% sterile? No. Are our meals gourmet? No. Decent? Yes.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Excelsior! Academy

[GingerPoppy]

This is me. I only have 3 kids, but there are 5 of us in a 900 sq. ft. house and our "mudroom" is the living room too. It does not take much at all to make it look like a tornado swept through and it give me serious anxiety. This is why I rarely invite others over. We are not at all dirty/nasty, but sometimes the clutter makes it look messier and I know some people would turn their nose up and I just can't take the stress of feeling judged in my own home. Most of the people I know have MUCH larger house than I do and can't understand how we can live here. They also don't understand how less space=seems messier quicker.

 

I know exactly what you mean, and I feel the same way.

[UmmiSays]

Decently clean? Yes. Decently fed? Yes.

 

Our house is generally company ready, due to multiple pick up times throughout the day. We work before we play. No breakfast until you are dressed, your room is picked up, and your zone is picked up. No lunch until school is picked up. No outside play time or fun activities until your zone is daily cleaned. Weekly cleaning only takes 45 minutes or so. Each person has an area of the house they keep up with. One daughter does the breakfast area, another the entry and stairs, one child does the living room, well, you get the idea. They are responsible for returning items to their owners and daily dusting, sweeping, and tidying. Then during weekly clean they might do windows, vacuum, and mop. Each area takes 10-15 minutes tops each afternoon and 20ish each week. Many hands make light work.

 

Our menu is the same thing each Monday, same each Tuesday, again you get the idea.

 

Is our house 100% sterile? No. Are our meals gourmet? No. Decent? Yes.

 

Wow! Your house sounds like a well oiled machine. I can't wait for my children to be old enough to make a real dent in the mess they make.

 

If you don't mind, could you list what your weekly menu is? Does your family get tired of eating the same thing each week? I need to try doing this, I'm tired of coming up with something different each week.

[mommymilkies]

Sure you can come over! Just make sure you let me know first so I can clean.:lol:

 

My home is clean enough. I have 5 kids and 7 pets, so I have the obligatory dustbunny farm and strange random craziness. We're also kinda crammed in here, so it's cluttered. See my blog to prove that we at least meet fire codes. :tongue_smilie:

 

We do eat healthy, though. Tonight we had big salads with feta and pecans alongside homemade cheese and bean or chicken enchiladas. I cook gluten free, no artificial anything and lots of healthy food (and not healthy cookies!).

Edited February 27, 2012 by mommymilkies

[aggieamy]

I've only got one so that puts it a bit in perspective but about 85% of the time we are well fed and company ready. 10% of the time we're eating questionable leftovers and it'd take me half an hour to be company ready. The last 5%. Whew. That's ramen noodles twice a day and the living room looks like a LEGO bomb went off. :001_smile: Luckily that's rare but it does happen.

[Ellie]

i've been watching hoarders on netflix. now that show seriously makes my head spin.

You can get "Hoarders" through Netflix??

[joannqn]

Our home is clean enough, though never spotless, and I cook from scratch almost every meal. You're welcome here.

 

 

We knew (not well) an unschooling family that invited DD over for a sleepover almost every time we saw them. We never went out of our way to see them; we just happened to be in the same group and saw each other at park days or other events. It was rather uncomfortable because there was no way we would be going over there for a visit, let alone sending DD there overnight. They had hosted an event once, and their house was nasty...hoarders nasty.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Wow! Your house sounds like a well oiled machine. I can't wait for my children to be old enough to make a real dent in the mess they make.

 

If you don't mind, could you list what your weekly menu is? Does your family get tired of eating the same thing each week? I need to try doing this, I'm tired of coming up with something different each week.

 

We recently started our spring menu. My goal is to have 1 plan per season. Surprisingly, it does not get boring. As with schedules the menu is more of a guideline. If we have a potluck meal at church, hit the drive through, or have people over the menu varies during those times. Having a basic meal plan restored my sanity.

 

Here is our current menu:

S- roast or brisket

S dinner Sundaes

 

M-tuna or egg salad sandwiches

D spaghetti, salad

 

T tacos or taco salad

D chicken enchiladas, beans, rice

 

W Salad with strips of chicken

D Sandwich night and cuties, it varies( reubens, French dips, lunch meat)

 

Th pbj, hard boiled eggs

D Gyros

 

F hummus with pita and vegetable sticks

Homemade pizza, vegetables, fruit salad

 

S chicken pot pie, quiche, or white chicken chili

D Hearty stew like vegetable beef

 

Our fall menu had more soups, chili, BBQ beef, etc.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Excelsior! Academy

[chepyl]

You can get "Hoarders" through Netflix??

 

Yes! At least two seasons. My house was so clean as I watched that show....even reprinted a room!

 

Our house is usually clean. I even managed unclean house during show weeks (we practically live at the theatre, we come home to eat sleep and sew and I leave a mess of scraps sewing 50 costumes in three days....yes, I am a procrastinator!)

 

But, my firsy trimester this time was awful!! 8 weeks of sick sick sick and no energy. We sid school in my reclined - just math and grammar, until the grammar book went missing :001_huh:

 

At 15 weeks I started getting energy back. I started in the kitchen, we were at the point of wash to use. I did a load in the dishwasher and a sink by hand a day. I slowly tackled the.laundry that had been washed and never folded....DS still only has two pair of socks that I can find. He has at least 15 pair! It took 2 hours to clean the playdough, art supplies, blankets, sewing mess, and other craziness around my kitchen table. It took 4 house to clean our 10 x 15 family room.....toys under everything, legos and game pieces all mixed up!! It was awful! The playroom had been well maintained by the kids, but they could only put away two tpys from the house and then bring five more out! The bathrooms were bad too. I was disgusted by my house, we looked like boarders, but I could do nothing about it. DH did most of the cooking, and when he was not exhausted from work, he cleaned some....but we got so behind. It has been two weeks and we are clean, sanitized, but cluttered. I don't cry when I come home any more.

 

I have never been so embarrassed at the shape of my house.

[Mommy22alyns]

This is me. I only have 3 kids, but there are 5 of us in a 900 sq. ft. house and our "mudroom" is the living room too. It does not take much at all to make it look like a tornado swept through and it gives me serious anxiety. This is why I rarely invite others over. We are not at all dirty/nasty, but sometimes the clutter makes it look messier and I know some people would turn their nose up and I just can't take the stress of feeling judged in my own home. Most of the people I know have MUCH larger houses than I do and can't understand how we can live here. They also don't understand how less space=seems messier quicker.

 

 

So true. This is us too, 4 people in under 1000 sq. ft.

[Joker]

So true. This is us too, 4 people in under 1000 sq. ft.

 

This is us too. Actually, just today, I told dh the living room looked completely trashed. He asked me to time him while he cleaned. It took all of 7 minutes to make it look clean again. :tongue_smilie: It usually looks much worse than it really is because it's such a small space, but I would be embarrassed for someone to see it when I think it's messy.

[KidsHappen]

You can get "Hoarders" through Netflix??

 

Yes, they have three seasons on instant and another show called Hoarding: Buried Alive that is also available on instant.

[mamakimberly]

We had a messy house when our kids were babies. It drove me nuts. My ADD can not handle mess and I don't function well in it at all.

 

Now I keep our house in what I consider to be guests-in-10 condition- that is, if we had guests, it could be spotless in 10 minutes. Dishes are ALWAYS in the dishwasher or in the cabinets. Laundry is folded ASAP and put away. Floors are cleaned weekly (tile), rugs are vacuumed weekly.

 

I just can't handle clutter. My desk is the one area where I get things a little piled up and before I work each day, I have to organize it and get it neat. My kids have a bad habit of bringing things in and leaving them on my desk. It isn't awful but just clutter. And I like to see my coffee mug, my laptop, and my wacom tablet and nothing else in my peripheral vision as I work!

[cherylw]

I'm glad I read this...makes me really want to clean. I go through stages of cleanliness/clutter. The past few weeks I have gotten bogged down...pretty messy but not nasty. My biggest problem is staying on top of the laundry and maintaining consistency. I've fall down on making the boys pick up after themselves too.

But I've have noticed when I have the house really clean then I feel like I'm constantly yelling or griping at them...dh included to keep it picked up. He will be going out of town for 2 days this week so that will be my chance to get it back together. It's amazing what I can accomplish when he is gone:001_smile:

[amo_mea_filiis.]

I'm not sure how long I can nicely avoid the questions of which of my kids is going to sleep over there again. Last weekend we traded kids so she took my girl and I took her boy. Her boy has special needs and this was his first non-family sleep over (he's autistic, which doesn't phase me at all!). Since he did fine here, she thinks my ds will do fine there. I'm not going to try! He has asthma, avoids certain foods, sleeps in diapers, wakes very early and likes to look for trouble.

 

My house isn't big enough to have all her kids here (3), nor would I do that because she sleeps too late and the sleep overs don't end until 3-4 pm the next day. That's too long for me. I like to pick up or drop off a little after breakfast.

 

What do you all think? Avoid sleep overs all together(they would only be here from now on)? Or keep inviting her kid(s) over here? Or just invite them to play or meet at the park?

[jennsmile]

I'm not sure how long I can nicely avoid the questions of which of my kids is going to sleep over there again. Last weekend we traded kids so she took my girl and I took her boy. Her boy has special needs and this was his first non-family sleep over (he's autistic, which doesn't phase me at all!). Since he did fine here, she thinks my ds will do fine there. I'm not going to try! He has asthma, avoids certain foods, sleeps in diapers, wakes very early and likes to look for trouble.

 

My house isn't big enough to have all her kids here (3), nor would I do that because she sleeps too late and the sleep overs don't end until 3-4 pm the next day. That's too long for me. I like to pick up or drop off a little after breakfast.

 

What do you all think? Avoid sleep overs all together(they would only be here from now on)? Or keep inviting her kid(s) over here? Or just invite them to play or meet at the park?

 

We just don't do sleepovers period. I would just invite them over for playdates or outings.

[bbmom]

I would tell her you try to limit sleepovers (among all friends families) to just a couple a year but would love to get together at the park for an afternoon.

[A.J. at J.A.]

We just don't do sleepovers period. I would just invite them over for playdates or outings.

 

:iagree:

[A.J. at J.A.]

I would tell her you try to limit sleepovers (among all friends families) to just a couple a year but would love to get together at the park for an afternoon.

 

This is good too. :thumbup:

[goldberry]

My closest friend is a clutter-bug. When I go over for coffee I have to clear a space on the kitchen table to set my cup. Not "dirty" though. Bathrooms are clean, kitchen surfaces are clean, floor is fairly clean.

 

She got a rescue doggy about a year ago that can't seem to be potty trained. She actually changed out her floor to laminate (although they are fairly limited means) because she felt she couldn't keep the floor clean enough with carpeting. She was right! There are only so many accidents on carpeting before it is DONE.