Kids mess is driving me nuts!!

Lalaladybird

My house is constantly like a bombsite at the moment because of my toddler daughter. By the end of each day the dining table is covered in playdough, pens, paper etc as well as remnants of dinner on and under the table. The living room floor has jigsaw puzzle pieces strewn everywhere and little tiny bits of toys and games all over the couch, under the couch, down the sides of the couch and the coffee table is sticky from juice. Her bedroom has whatever toys she fancied pulled out and left on the floor and these extend into every room in the house.

I need to implement some sort of system to organise her stuff and structure her play so I am not running round cleaning up complete chaos every night once she's in bed. I have tried to teach her that we put one thing away before we can bring something else out but what seems to happen everyday is that if she is managing to entertain herself I leave her to it so I can get on with the dishes or the cooking etc. She has always wanted a lot of interaction and attention and rarely finds something to do without me suggesting it..."Do you want your playdough/colouring book/want to play outside..." and then she gets bored after 20 minutes so I quickly suggest the next activity so I can finish what I am doing, hence the mess piling up.

Any help would be great

Lala x

Curious_George_2

i hate the mess too... my whole house is a tip due to having no storage, im too bleeding lazy half the time, i have a messy OH, a nearly 10 year old who treats the floor like the top shelf and a toddler who doesnt know any better...

i ranted i raved and drove myself crazy cleaning until somebody made me realise that trying to keep a tidy house when you have a toddler is like trying to shovel your path clear of snow in a blizzard, its just not going to happen,

there are moments when my place is spotless and i think **ta-da! sparkly showhouse** "lets keep it like this...etc"
It lasts a day... if im lucky

but you know what, my kids are happy, my OH and me are doolally about each other, life isnt that bad (and im currently ignoring a kitchen full of washing up and a scruffy front room to sit here and tell you this)
IT WONT ALWAYS BE LIKE THIS!!! WE WILL HAVE TIDY HOUSES LIKE OTHER PEOPLES ONE DAY...






(i hope)

JodyBPM

Don't get me started on mess! It's one of my bugbears!

The only things I can suggest are
1.Lower your standards a little. I battled with this, but eventually have had to accept that there are different levels of tidyness, Mummy tidy (my favourite, proper tidy, like before I had children:)), Everyday tidy (not Mummy tidy, but acceptable) and Untidy. I have to settle for everyday tidy, not Mummy tidy! Untidy is totally unacceptable to me!
2. Put toys, activities etc into plastic boxes with lids. Preferably lids that LO can't get off by herself. Then put away (with help from your dd - you can make it into a game) one activity box before you open the next. This way the mess never builds up to unacceptable levels!
3. Invest in laminate floor, tiles or wood floors - carpets and children don't mix. Get a dustpan and brush (with a long handle to stop too much bending) and quickly sweep up after meals after you have wiped down the table. This stops the food debris being trodden and spread around the house.

Good luck!

pingua

Put it all out of reach if you can - perhaps bar one/two books.Nothing new till its away.
Thin it out - how many pens, jigsaws,whatever does she really need in one day?
Be brutal about it....
Put lots in the loft/garage. rotate them in batches.

I have 3 kids - eldest is now 11 youngest 4 -and to be honest I still struggle with mess. The key is to be organised !!!!!!
I do find the less they have the better. If there is too much around it is asking for trouble.
Think when you go to grandparents or whereever / holidays - they don't miss the stuff. I really do think we give them too much in terms of plastic junk and expect the junk to keep them happy ?????
Oh and don't look on 'grabbit' and buy more toys!!!!!!!

jackomdj

Sounds a bit like our house. But there are some things we do tidy away after (ie playdough, paint) & other things we tidy away for (leggo - which covers the floor). Also I always tidy before going out, before friends come over and at bed time.

We always tidy together, sometimes they help willingly, other times I have to shout & other times they get told if it is not done we will hoover it up.

I don't mind how messy it gets during the day but it must be tidy once they are in bed otherwise I can't relax.

Dustykitten

Firstly - 20 minutes in a long time for a small child to stay engaged in one activity so they are doing well there.

Secondly - remove at least half of the toys and store in large boxes out of sight somewhere - loft, garage etc as it sounds like you have too much stuff at he minute. Rotate every so often, say every 4 weeks/8 weeks

Thirdly before lunch put on some music and say tidy up time and with child's help put everything away. Use the same music everyday, this is what they do at nursery schools and often as soon as that music is heard the kids just start tidying away. Repeat before bathtime.

Finally, this stage is not for ever, good luck

Dustykitten

Hi Pingua - long time no see and great minds think alike. How are you?

xmaslolly76

The putting away one thing before you get another out never quite washed with my two either so they were allowed to play with their toys in the living room for which we had a big box, then about 1/2 hr before bed time we would have the big clean up where everything was picked up and put in the box for the next day. They seemed to respond better to the one big clean up as you can turn it into a game of some sort. The only thing i used to make them clean up straight away was the messy play stuff such as the paints, crayons and playdough as they very often would get trodden into the carpet if not cleared away. This way i only had to put up with the mess during the day and of an evening it was relatively tidy :-)

McKneff

Teach her now to clear up (help mummy) otherwise you'll still be doing it when she's 18 and she'll be saying, 'Well youve always done it for me' and she will be right. Start em young and it will be good for them and you down the line.

onlyroz

Buy a large plastic box to go in the living room. At the end of the day, fill the box with the rubble of toys. If there are more toys than can fit in the box, they go in the bedroom.

BitterAndTwisted

Those plastic stacking boxes with lids are good. Then you can put Lego in one, Barbies in the other etcetera. Other things I used were those plastic vegetable tray thingys which stack as well.

It's hard to keep on top of things but as long as your little toddler is getting enjoyment out of her activities, I think that's the most important thing really. Kids of that age don't play well for long on their own in any case, they can play for longer but usually only if you're with them. A big tidy-up at bedtimes and then the house is your own again for a few hours.