There is a common misconception that if your house is messy it means it is unclean. I am here to tell you that could not be further from the truth. I can vacuum and dust my entire living room and my kids have it messed up again in 10 minutes. Just because toys are all over the floor does not negate the fact that the floor they are currently playing on is clean. The only time I pick up my house is right before I clean. My floor is only without clutter for the 10 minutes while I am vacuuming it. If you have a toddler you know that you are constantly mopping up spills, vacuuming up crumbs, and wiping up counter spills. I will venture to say that my house is actually more clean now then before I had children.
Before I had kids I had a laundry day. Laundry was done once a week. Usually about 3 loads on Sunday for me and my husband. Everything would be nicely put into the drawers or hung in the closet immediately after coming out of the dryer. Now that I have kids I must do laundry everyday there are way too many clothes not to. I can't even count the number of loads that I do but it is probably more like 3 loads a day. Nothing is folded, nothing is nicely put away, and there are always clean clothes on the floor. If I don't do laundry everyday I will be so behind that I will be drowning in clothes.
Before I had kids I mopped the floor once a week. Now I mop the floor everyday. My toddler spills something on my hardwood floor at least everyday, sometimes 7 times a day. The result of these massive kid messes makes me have to mop some area of my floors everyday, sometimes 7 times a day. Depending on the amount of spillage the kitchen rag usually takes care of the affected area. However, most days I have to bring out the big guns of the full mop system to get rid of the gross stickiness. Sometimes I do give the kids bubbles to add a little extra soap to spill ratio.
Before I had kids I usually cleaned the bathrooms every 2 weeks. My toddler currently loves to "clean" toilets. Which means in the 3 seconds that I am doing one of my many other chores she loves to take the toilet brush that sits behind the toilet and swish it around on the inside. Yuck! This new toddler's past time has required me to clean the toilets everyday just to make sure her unsanctioned play time is not grosser than it needs to be.
Before I had kids I vacuumed all the carpets once a week. Currently my vacuum is always out. My kids are constantly spilling things that require the assistance of the vacuum. Goldfish, animal crackers, chips, Cheetos, toast, pop-tarts, and saltines are just a few of the things that I vacuum up on a daily basis. I hate when my husband puts the vacuum away. I am literally constantly using that very helpful machine.
If you walk into my house currently you will have a hard time finding a place to step that doesn't have a toy on it. The shoes and coats are all over the front entryway which is also littered with hats, gloves, and scarves. Blankets and pillows fill my living room from fort buildings past. The coloring books, markers, and crayons are scattered all over the dining room table. The toilet paper roll will not be nicely rolled up from a toddler play time. Upstairs laundry baskets will be overflowing with clean and dirty clothes. However, do not be deceived by appearances. My house may look like a mess but I can assure you that it is clean. If you come into my house one day later none of the "mess" will be in the same place. My kids are constantly playing while making a mess and I am constantly cleaning up. A clean house can also be a mess and that is perfect.
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