[ShortBird]

Please, will someone let me in on the secret? How do people have lovely clean tidy houses, clean tidy children, full make up, groomed hair, polished shoes and cars that dont look like a skip on wheels?

I cant even remember to water my plants, so they die. I was looking at my thirsty parsley this morning in a resentful manner because it was being Too Demanding.

How do these people manage a job and a house efficiently? I cant even go out for the day without putting myself about a week behind in hosuework.

I know that equation shouldnt work but somehow it does.

And if the school run is on time and i do the shopping and house work, i usually end up looking like Stig of The Dump

[frannor]

i clean in the evening but by the time the morning rush is ova its back to a mess. everytime i hoover within ten minutes the carpets covered in crumbs. i tried creating a cleaning rota to get family involved and they just laughed. the only room that stays tidy is my 4year old little girls, she clean it and goes made if anything is out of place.

[eg1665]

The only parents I know who have all this - clean home, kids, shopping done, tidy/clean cars, everything organised and not a hair out of place - are either:

Totally knackered all the time, very boring to talk to, smug to the point of being obnoxious and thoroughly unhappy;

Rich and can afford a nanny, housekeeper, gardener, shopping delivery, ironing service etc;

Obsessive and weird, constantly cleaning and nagging their long-suffering family to pick up/tidy up/not make a mess/wash/change/brush etc, always running about, never stopping, in need of therapy;

Or they are lying.

I don't think it's possible to have/be all this without something having to give - either your sanity, your relationships (with your partner/kids/friends & family), your health or all of the above!

Most people have at least some nasty grotty corners in their home where they never/rarely clean. Some of us have more of these than others, but as long as the home is clean enough to be healthy, I think that's ok.
Everyone wishes they had more time for cleaning, shopping, tidying up, washing their hair etc.
Most of us would like more time to relax with our partner (if we're lucky enough to have a partner we'd like to relax with!), and/or kids.
Many of us find it almost impossible to find the work/life balance.

If you and your children have a fairly tidy home to live in, which isn't dirty (even if there's the odd mucky little area), clean clothes to wear, something to eat and drink when needed and a bit of time now and then to make sure you remember what your kids look like, then I reckon you're doing about as well as just about everyone else.

Remember the story about the swan, who looks calm and serene, gliding along on the surface of the water - but who is paddling like mad under the surface!

Just because someone appears to be a "Supermum", doesn't mean she really is... she may just be better at acting than most of us! We all have some little secrets that no-one else can tell by looking at us.

Enjoy being Ms Average Mum and try to enjoy your kids while they are young - they grow so fast and if you blink you'll miss it!

XX

[medousa]

[fiddlestix]

Hello fellow community ladies

Ever hear the one about a little dirt being beneficial for kids immune systems? It's my motto for life. My home is soooo healthy right now.

[medousa]

[window-licker]

Ye, i have tryed to figure this out as well... If i bing my kids to the shopping center i will pick out nice clothes wash them brush their hairs...all finished.. i leave the room for two seconds... My eldest will be in the nip after colourin in her sis with marker..WE JUST CANT WIN.. but all ye can do is laugh???

[mikeup]

Ha 0- I knew you were all out there - fellow " roundtoits" - well that is my motto everytime I look at my living room carpet and fantasise about hoovering it - SOOO many more important . / fun things to do than clean up / tidy.

dishes and clothes ( NO ironing!! lol ) otherwise - let the dust settle - as long as organic smellies are taken care of - sod the rest - I know a few families even bathe their little ones daily!! - Yes I mean I DON'T!! weekly if I have a quiet week !! lol but they are pretty clean - teeth feet and hands kept trim - but why wash body / hair so often!!?? I wash far more often than my kids - Adults ( especially men!!) STINK! kids don't - even the dirty ones...

[window-licker]

Washing kids daily??? thats just insane... I mean if like me you have a wanna be little mermaid a quick wash is outa the question...so once or twice a week is as much as any kinda sane mammy can take..As i write it is the crack of dawn and the are watchin cbebies munchin toast while i am hiding in the kitchen try to remember wot a lie on would be like...as for ironing i know a lady who irons everything including pants..yep pants..

[FYI]

Well I don't know what happened but it used to be the norm for the father to go to work and the mother to spend her day, sorting the kids off to school, clean the house and do the grocery shopping. When the kids return, set them their homework tasks, start the dinner so it is ready when hubbie returns from work. Oh and she has to cook his breakfast in the morning too.

Before the onslaught of comments about the woman has to do all the work starts may I add, the father working ensures the woman and the family are financially comfortable, i.e all their needs taken care of because he is a hard worker.

This is it, everyday. Oh they socialise (gossip) in the supermarket or they arrange to have dinner parties with the Johnson's once a week or so.

Honestly I know I could do all this and more. I'm simply lazy like the most of us.

I could easily wake up at 6am every morning, wash, dressed, make up, baby wakes up, get him/her washed (face, teeth etc), start breakfast, send them off to nursery or school or have them play in their pen whilst you begin the monotonous daily chores which include dusting, hoovering, moping, ironing, washing the clothes, cleaning the dishes, cleaning the kitchen and bathroom and tidy the bedrooms. Of course after all this, doing it everyday I would be going to bed early every night due to exhaustion but I am sure that after a month of this continuous routine it will get easier.

Just putting those words into action -- there's the tricky part.

It's when this vital balance of man working, woman home-maker is disrupted that things are difficult.

If a man is on social and sitting on his arse all day then the chores/looking after the kids should be split. Married or not.

I'm not even going to write anymore...I've written enough!

So;

Good luck!

[Miss Bitch]

When my daughter was very young, I ran a spotlessly clean home, had dinner on the table like clockwork etc etc, but I didn't work at the time and it was still knackering!

I agree with the poster who said that women who have the spotless home, kids, perfect hair etc are either boring, weird or cheating.
Someone once said "Boring people have immaculate homes" and it's true.

Now, my house is clean but untidy. We all eat well and have clean clothes every day but that really is about it. I don't mop the kitchen twice a day and hoover the stairs every other day (I used to!). Nor do I iron random crap that doesn't need it.

I wouldn't worry about what other people do. Day to day life is stressful enough without trying to keep up with the Jones's.
The sad fact is, those people who put most of their efforts into housework and looking good are missing out on the most important part of their kids lives. There's lots of fun to be had from ignoring the bloody housework and doing something nice together instead.
The housework will still be there tomorrow, you or your family might not be. Morbid but true.
When I die, I want my headstone to read that I was loved not that I kept a nice house and my hair was always tidy.

[trixeyboy]

The same way single dads do.

[arshadali797]

[tweetie_boid]

[Ethansmum]

I reckon 'Supermums' must be able to afford help.

[tweetie_boid]

[Miss Understood]