My house is always messy

I'm going through and trying to get rid of stuff. I feel unsettled and discouraged when there's always little piles of stuff that don't have a designated place. Their new place is recycling. Haha

downsize and put the kids to work. Im crazy busy too and have three kids. they are required to at least pick up after themselves. If they dont - I simply can not get what needs to be done, done. After that, they are asked to help me with extras. Also, schedule your chores out. Not just for the kids but for you too. if you do a little every day then it isnt so much to handle. then the rest of the time you can just pick stuff up and move on. One more tip... also accept that you have 3 kids and a lot going on. Sometimes it just is going to look like crap. :laugh:

Two things:
1) Make a point to get rid of anything you don't use (I target 1-2 per week).
2) Hire someone to do the cleaning part.

get rid of the kids! Just kidding. You said they were young, depending on their ages start having them help at least to pick up. You have to do it now, teach them while they are young. I did not do that and now I feel like the maid. No one sees anything that needs done and if I tell them to do something, its an arguement. Good luck!!!

Yes Ma'am! I do! I have three children and a husband who do not know how to clean up after themselves. As a result, my house is always messy. I am going to school full time, and only have the weekends to clean. I have a large house that requires a lot of time to maintain. I finally decided that I was the one who needed "cleaning."

As long as there isn't an exorbitant about of dust, and the floors are fairly clean, I no longer worry about the little clutter areas or the kids' rooms. When I can get to it, I do. And approximately once a month, I deep clean... I mean everything gets cleaned. That's my workout for the day too! In between, it's one room at a time, one chore at a time. And I get the kids to help as much as possible. More importantly, I no longer clean their rooms... that's their jobs!

Good luck to you! And remember, no one cares what your house looks like. Only you do!!

I only have only toddler. I clean and organize the same crap everyday! For the bigger jobs I've divided it along the week. I vacuum everyday because we have animals and light dust. Sometimes I feel like F-it because it's gonna be there tomarrow and I feel like it sacrifices time with her. I've tried to declutter the house so I don't have something covering every single space that's free. I'm starting to like things bare! It helps a bunch! Remember there's always gonna be something to clean ! Especially with kids!

I have two boys with ADHD, two english mastiffs, and work from home in the basement (dog groomer) while my boys pretty much watch themselves after school until I'm done. They are 5 and 7 so you can imagine the mess! It doesn't matter how much you clean sometimes, the house is just never perfect. I've learned to just do the best I can at keeping it organized and not stress over it. It's your house and it is lived in! It doesn't have to look like something out of a magazine (although that would be sooo nice)!

i have the same problem! its doing my head in! also have 3 kids, and a husband, not sure which is worse. anyway, i feel like im constantly picking up after people, and then housework takes aaaaggggeeeeesssss....

My apartment is the same way!!! But i don't have any kids so there's no excuse for it! I only have a husband!!!

Our condo is the same way, and its just me and my husband. His mother did EVERYTHING for him (she regretts it now) and its all he knows. Its notan excuse but he just expects things to be done...and when I refuse to do it stuff piles up. He doesn't clean up after himself he just puts stuff on the table or the floor until I havve to hand him a bag and tell him to throw it out (like empty bottles). It gets annoying because I'm expected to be some domestic diva and that is so not me. I told him today tthat if he doesn't clean his stuff up then he is disrespecting our home and that's not cool. So I guess we"ll see

I deal with it by careful honing my already advanced ability to completely ignore mess. Then, I invite people to the house so I HAVE to clean up. Then I go back to ignoring it again.

I also have three kids and work full-time, so I feel for you. Yeah, kids leave stuff everywhere. I'm not sure how old your kids are, but starting around 6 they can help you tremendously. I have a chart for my children that rewards positive behavior. For example, they earn a star if they make it the entire evening without raising their voice, earning a good behavior report from school (which I'm proud to say they do everyday), helping their little sister, and doing 3 mom assigned chores. Every night, my 8 year old twins and I spend about a half an hour doing maintenance cleaning. This means putting away laundry, tidying up the living room, wiping down toilets and sinks, sweeping the hardwoods and mopping if necessary. My kids can now do any of these chores, and earn a star if they complete all 3 tasks.

It feels so good to sit down and do the bedtime reading in a tidy house, and get through the insane morning hustle without worrying about wading through clutter. It's worth that half hour every night.

Do it. Throw away what you don't need. If I don't clean on a constant basis my house would be that way too, but I pick up and clean all day everyday and it stays clean, I also don't have a bunch of clutter, anything I don't need I get rid of.