Is your house clean all week?

keym

Wed, May 12 2021, 9:47 am

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

My teens don't leave cards scattered all over the floor at least.
More like jackets and shoes and books.

But with teens, you can't clean the kitchen at 7, close the light, and expect it to stay clean until 8am.
They're making themselves snacks, meals, packing up food, grabbing drinks in the morning.
Even if they throw out their garbage, rinse or put their dishes in the sink, they usually leave crumbs, sticky residue.

tp3

Wed, May 12 2021, 10:05 am

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

My teens don't leave cards scattered all over the floor at least.
More like jackets and shoes and books.

And chargers and headphones. Devices and tissues and napkins and oops I spilled and forgot to clean it up, I was so tired at 1 AM. And who smashed my hat just because I left it on the couch doesn't mean someone has to sit on it.

tp3

Wed, May 12 2021, 10:07 am

keym wrote:

And midnight snack. A trail of ramen noodles. And chips and fruit.

Chayalle

Wed, May 12 2021, 10:08 am

My house gets cleaned up for Shabbos, and again on Sunday. In between, it's fairly clean, except I don't bother picking up whatever setup my nephew makes with whatever toy he's into in the family room (I watch him and his baby sister after work Mon-Thurs), so there's usually either train tracks or magna tiles or dollhouse (I know he's a boy but he loves it!) there.....DH's Seforim are piled on the dining room table....and my youngest's room usually has an art project of some sort going on that I don't stress over till closer to Shabbos.

Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, May 12 2021, 10:12 am

🤣🤣
I hear you!

That's more like my teen boys' room though. They know not to keep their hat anywhere unsafe. And they listen to music in their room and charge phones in their room and bring food into their room (not that it's allowed 🙄) so I can close the door and pretend it doesn't happen.

But jacket and tie on keyboard? Check.
Shoes in living room? Check.
Opened books on couches? Check.

I guess each family has its own dynamics. 😁

sky

Wed, May 12 2021, 10:40 am

At least others sound like me.
My teenage son backs lunch for yeshiva after I’m in bed.
I work whenever kids aren’t home. I work when kids (toddlers) are home and playing. I work when kids are sleeping.
I serve meals in multiple shifts throughout the evening and night.
I haven’t figured out yet when the cleaning happens.

Chayalle

Wed, May 12 2021, 10:44 am

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

Only shoes?

Sometimes there's a shoe store in my living room.

*shoes
*slippers
*natives
*shabbos shoes
*sneakers
*booties
etc.

Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, May 12 2021, 11:20 am

Chayalle wrote:

Only shoes?

Sometimes there's a shoe store in my living room.

*shoes
*slippers
*natives
*shabbos shoes
*sneakers
*booties
etc.

Same here. I was thinking of my boys in that post who aren't as bad (read: don't have as large a variety). But the girls (and me!) leave way too many options for others to choose to buy 😜

Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, May 12 2021, 11:21 am

sky wrote:

The multiple suppers really kills me.
I used to be able to clean my kitchen while the kids ate supper.
There never seems to be an end in sight anymore.

keym

Wed, May 12 2021, 11:24 am

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

Same here. I was thinking of my boys in that post who aren't as bad (read: don't have as large a variety). But the girls (and me!) leave way too many options for others to choose to buy 😜

I dunno. What my boys lack in quantity, they make up in creativity. They may only have Shabbos shoes, dress shoes, sneakers and Crocs. But they make sure to separate them so I'm tripping over individual shoes plus trying to help them find it 1 minute before the bus.

Teomima

Wed, May 12 2021, 11:24 am

mommy3b2c wrote:

Dirty can mean dysfunctional, but it depends how dirty. Toys on the living room floor, unfolded laundry on the couch and 3 dirty dishes in the sink is not dysfunctional. Overflowing garbage, dirty dishes al over the counters with flies buzzing all over them, and dirty laundry piled up for two weeks is dysfunctional. Most people don’t have immaculate houses unless they have huge houses with a ton of cleaning help.

I really appreciate this post. I often get the sense a lot of people on Imamother think that any constant mess or disorganization means dysfunction, and it's just not true. For those of us with busy lives, crowded homes, and no cleaning help, there are only so many hours in the day and only so much energy a person has. I'd much rather spend my time with my family than cleaning all the time. My house is a crazy mess, constantly. But I do not consider it dysfunctional in any way. The examples you give are perfect. In my home, the garbage is emptied regularly, the dirty dishes are limited to the sink and a small part of the counter (when you have only one sink and no dishwasher, dishes need to "take turns"), no flies or mice or roaches, dirty clothes contained in hampers and laundry done daily. I appreciate your validation that these are normal levels of mess and not an automatic indication of dysfunction.

mp5

Wed, May 12 2021, 7:37 pm

My house is usually very clean during week, though at times it can get spotless or messy, depends on how busy my work week is (no cleaning help). For me it is and has always been an emotional and fuctional necessity.
HOWEVER my kids are older and few remain at home, what I want or need wan't always possible when the house was full of kids or teens (again, no cleaning help).
Whether I think it's a necessity is one thing, what is practical or even possible is quite another.

tp3

Wed, May 12 2021, 9:45 pm

keym wrote:

Seems like all I say these days is "please put your shoes in the right place!"

Dinner is ready at 4 when the younger ones are used to eating. Reheated at 5:30, again at 6:15, and then again 7:00 pm. Between 8:30-10 the night seder crew starts to come home, hungry again. When do I clean the kitchen? Never.