Housework and Kids Don't Mix - Plus sorting out the girls wardrobe

I don't think I am alone when I say I hate doing housework. I love it when my house is clean and I especially like it when it's clean AND tidy (which is a rarity and if you blink you will miss it as there would be some kind of pile of toys tipped out in the loungeroom before I have put the duster away). 

But doing housework with preschooler and a toddler is like a nightmare sometimes. I will be busily cleaning our bathroom or ensuite and be thinking "yay, I'm almost done" to wandering back into an absolute mess! Toys on the floor, Lilly's wardrobe open with drawers open, clothes strewn across the floor. She is 4. She thinks she is 14. She gets changed every five minutes and just dumps her clothes on the floor of her room.

Our loungeroom. Yes there is a slippery slide in the middle of the room as it is new and the girls don't want it outside yet. Yes there is a playhouse in the corner - it is the best idea ever!

Arrhhh! Kids will be kids, and bored kids will get stuff out.
But you know what I hate most about housework? How much the girls hate me doing it. The actual act of housework and cleaning doesn't bother me all that much, it is how much they hate it when I have to get the vacuum out (it has got to a stage where my hubby does it for me on a Saturday afternoon when the girls and I are out). 

Friday's clean wasn't so bad, I got to mop the floors and clean the bathrooms before they had had enough. 

Go me!

Here in Australia Spring has certainly sprung and with Spring comes Spring cleaning! Yesterday, folks, I finally, yes FINALLY sorted out the girls wardrobe! It had gotten so bad that whenever I had to put their clean clothes away I would cry. Yes literally cry. The two girls share a wardrobe, and inside the robe is a chest of draws. Clothes had been pulled out and just shoved back in in a tangled mess. The space down the sides of the chest of drawers housed junk, bags, jackets - just shoved down there! On the overhead shelf loads of too-small disposable nappies mingled with cot blankets and breastfeeding pillows - just shoved up there!


So it was high time I fixed this issue. Two washing baskets of clothes (too small for either of the girls) have been removed, linen on the top shelve sorted, junk removed. Everything just so.
 

Here is our girls' wardrobe now it has been sorted out :-)

Here is the bag full of outgrown clothes - how did it all fit? This does not include the washing basket full of rubbish, nor the massive bag of unused nappies!

I am feeling so relieved I have finally completed this long awaited chore. sigh of relief. Today I put some more washing away and it I felt happy. I felt proud of my house, their room. I moved Lilly's bed around to give more room near the wardrobe and Miss Lilly is so stoked about it, showing my Mum and Sister "how much room" she has to get her clothes out!

While I was at it, I re-organised the girls' things. I couldn't actually bring myself to remove any toys (which would have ultimately gone in a bag and kept in the garage, you know in case you ever need them again).

Next job is sorting out our spare room wardrobe which consists of all of the girls "too small" clothes, plus all of our CD's, plus boxes of random things from when we moved in (4 years ago). Yep, I have been putting that little job off. I can't get rid of anything and I am waiting until hubby puts up some shelves in the garage so I can transfer all of the items from the spare wardrobe to the garage shelves.

Small problem. We currently have zero floor space in the garage due to all of our "belongings" down there (by "belongings" I mean stuff you can't throw away but don't want in the house).
Yes we have a lot to do around the Wilson home. But it is more fun hanging out with the girls or work on soapy projects.

What is/was it like for you when you needed to do housework with little ones? Oh I would love to know I am not the only one who struggles (or am I?). Oh gosh I hope I'm not the only one :-)

X Vicky