So, I have a question....

amother

Mauve

Tue, Dec 27 2016, 8:45 am

I currently live in a small apartment with multiple childrren. Cleaning is a burden but with constant effort the house stays pretty clean.

I am wondering if moving to a bigger place will make cleaning and organizing easier since everything will be spread over many rooms.

Your opinion?

rachel6543

Tue, Dec 27 2016, 8:58 am

A bigger house just means more room to "collect" stuff. My parents and several relatives of mine have large (often messy) houses & they seem to somehow always have more "stuff", even when they are constantly cleaning and giving things away to charity.

amother

Ecru

Tue, Dec 27 2016, 9:14 am

As a child, my family of 8 lived in a mid-sized 3 bedroom apartment. My mother is not a great housekeeper, and most of the time it was a dysfunctional mess. We moved then to a large 5 bedroom colonial. While the kitchen was pretty much the same and we probably ended up sorting more junk, the visible mess was mostly in the playroom, kitchen and bedrooms. So when you walked into the house, the foyer and dining room/living room were clean. So it felt like a functional home. It was much more pleasant. I feel that a larger home only minimally helps with reducing the effort to house clean, it does help with the overall atmosphere and gives the impression of a clean home. It did make a difference.

familyfirst

Tue, Dec 27 2016, 9:17 am

In my opinion, easier to keep a bigger house clean. Recently did construction so I speak from experience. More closets to put things away. Every thing has a home. Linen closet stays neat if have more room.
However, must be vigilant not to start collecting and to limit areas of play. Don't let the kids play all over the place.

mummiedearest

Tue, Dec 27 2016, 9:18 am

we just moved to a significantly larger house. it is definitely easier to keep clean, but I think that has to do with the storage space rather than overall house size/number of rooms. the new house has huge closets, so the toys, coats, etc are all in a built-in space. much easier than having to buy furniture pieces to house everything.

Reesa

Tue, Dec 27 2016, 9:40 am

a larger home is easier to keep NEAT but harder to keep CLEAN. there's a big difference between the two. while you may feel like it looks neater, if you're not into cleaning, just keep in mind the increase in bathrooms and floors and walls and windows and surfaces you will need to maintain.
I need much more cleaning help in my house than when I lived in an apartment. while it was frustrating to keep my apartment organized, it took a relatively short time to scrub it from top to bottom.

amother

Mauve

Tue, Dec 27 2016, 10:33 am

Reesa wrote:

Yeah, so true!

But you need to realize that we're still talking get about the same amount of ppl doing the same things they would've done in a smaller apartment. Just divided over more space

lizard8

Tue, Dec 27 2016, 10:40 am

I find it much easier to clean a bigger home. My small apt was a nuisance. I had nowhere to put things and was always reorganizing to make things fit better. Now I have a playroom, so the toys aren't spread out by my entry.
Even though I have more space to clean, they don't get as dirty. My old kitchen table was against the wall, so I was constantly cleaning the wall. My floors are newer and easier to clean, so even though its more square footage I can clean it better. I have more bathrooms, but they don't get as dirty as just one bathroom for the whole family.

Reesa

Tue, Dec 27 2016, 10:50 am

amother wrote:

Yeah, so true!

But you need to realize that we're still talking get about the same amount of ppl doing the same things they would've done in a smaller apartment. Just divided over more space

not true. it doesn't matter how many people there are, you have more floor surfaces to mop. more carpet to vacuum. more toilets to scrub. more counters and cabinets to clean. more windows to wash. more walls to clean. more surfaces to dust. more vents to vacuum. etc.
The daily organizing may go down, although you still have to be busy putting things away all day to maintain the neat look. Don't expect to magically have a clean and neat home because it's bigger. If you're not the type to make your beds in a smaller house, why would you make them in a bigger one? You still have to clean up the toys that were played with and wash dishes.
bottom line is your workload doesn't go down. it definitely goes up. the only thing that improves is that you have space to put things. (if you actually put those things away properly) But you have to work hard to keep those spaces neat. Go to people's large houses and check if their cabinets and closets are organized or a wreck. It may look "normal" when you walk in, but they may have more "stuff" than you have in your little house and can't find things they need it. They may have filth built up in places that were never cleaned.

Bottom line, it's a lot of work to maintain the cleanliness of a big home. The bigger, the harder.

amother

Emerald

Tue, Dec 27 2016, 11:45 am

Reesa wrote:

This. 100%. Everything having a proper place is crucial to being neat and organized. Cleaning is a whole other thing. My house is currently under renovation so we are only occupying about half of it. I'm amazed how quickly the house gets clean now. Storing things neatly, however, remains a temporary problem.

amother

Sienna

Tue, Dec 27 2016, 12:30 pm

Yes, a bigger house is better for appearing clean!
Me, dh, and our 3 kids all have ADD so you can imagine the messes each of us could make every time there is a project (5x a day). Recently we moved to a huge house and it looks sooo much cleaner. In small spaces you have to be smart and on top of things all the time because clutter piles up quickly and it's extremely overwhelming to sort through. In large spaces everyone has their workspace and the living room, dining room, kitchen and guest room all stay clean which is great for when we have guests.

amother

Sapphire

Tue, Dec 27 2016, 4:34 pm

We recently moved to a bigger apartment, for this reason.

Cleaning (scrubbing things) like takes more effort, because they are more floors/rooms/toilets etc.

Organizing/clutter is better, because we have more closets/storage space, etc.

It's worth it Smile