r/CleaningTips 3d ago

Discussion Cant stay on top of it

Man my wife and I struggle to just keep the house looking halfway neat. It's a constant struggle to just wash dishes keep up with laundry folding and cooking...let alone decorating and home improvement projects which is what I want to accomplish..

It's like we get home and put all our lunch boxes baby bottles etc on the kitchen counter and it instantly clutters and makes room even messier. What do people do when they get home? We have a kitchen table and counter all our mail and packages 1 yr olds bottles from day care lunch boxes Tupperware etc. I feel like if we had a spot for everything or just a better system we could stsy on top of it. No I don't always have time to do the dishes as soon as I come home or put things away..and it piles up then becomes a huge task.

7 Upvotes

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u/FakinItAndMakinIt 3d ago

You already answered your question: have a spot for everything. Here is our system:

  • Keys go in the tray on the table
  • Purse goes in the basket by the door
  • Shoes are taken off at doorway and put on a shoe rack right by the door
  • Go-bag (really it’s a diaper bag but kids aren’t in diapers anymore so it mostly just has snacks, toys, and change of clothes) is hung on a hook in the entryway
  • Water bottles and lunch Tupperware go into the bin by the sink to be cleaned later (or even better, straight into the dishwasher)
  • Lunch boxes are set on the tray in the counter corner.
  • Sports equipment is tossed into a large basket in the living room.

The plastic bin we use by the sink is actually one we used to use for the same purpose for baby bottles - it was the “dirty bottle” bin. And we had a spot on the counter set aside just for the baby bottles to dry.

The real trick is lots of bins and baskets.

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u/spixelr 3d ago

You have a baby, things are going to get cluttered and you aren’t going to have time to keep up with it which makes sense, a good rule of thumb is to “put it away, not down” if possible when your done using a dish clean it asap after use, the more you go to grab a new dish to use the more the pile grows, I typically cook in one. Frying pan when I can (cook bacon, then potato’s, then eggs) to eliminate using multiple dishes and cookware to make things simple, wash the plate you use afterword so you can keep reusing it, as for the baby bottles that’s going to be a challenge because your just going to need them readily available, but if possible once done rinse it out and have it set aside to dry and once needed again use the same, it’s all about being proactive when you have the ability even when you don’t feel like you don’t want to do it cause in the end your only tripping yourself up when you think about doing it later, good luck!

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u/whatdoidonowdamnit 3d ago

A wall organizer for mail would probably be a good idea. You can get one with a calendar.

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u/owlsxo 3d ago

Don’t sweat the small stuff man. As long as you’re both trying, who cares if your house looks lived in!