Some mommies have it all put together. A clean living space, kids who obey chore duties, an inspirational and tidy home office to work from, and they still have time for other leisure extracurricular activities such as going to mani appointments, lunch dates with galfriends, and date nights with hubs.
I’m NOT that kind of mommy (although on rare occasions, I am). Most days, I wear my hair up in a bun, have tons of ideas running through my head but don’t know how or when I can find the time to execute them, fight with Zoey to have her eat a morsel of anything, pick up dishes after Zoey has completely rummaged through the kitchen…again, etc.
It’s a constant battle b/w wanting to live life in a decluttered state and raising a toddler. They don’t go well together.
But I know it’s obtainable and these images are proofs of it.
Round up from my Pinterest board, Precious Cargo.
What a pretty and neat baby nursery!
I love that the cribs are on wheels! What an AH-MAZING twin nursery.
An inspirational play space.
Loving the organizational spaces beneath the beds.
On a side note, this birdie is just too darn cute. I think I may make one for Zoey when summer comes.
Another side note, this chair is FAB. My Zoey needs one ASAP!
How do you manage a tidy living space while raising kids? Please share!
** click on image for source
lezoemusings.com 
Thank you for featuring my tweetie cushion!
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Once all our children are in bed then we crack on with cleaning but, while they’re awake, we don’t worry too much – no one ever looked back on their child’s first day at school and wished they’d spent more time cleaning the fridge but a lot wished they’d spent more time playing!
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Hey, thanks for following my blog. I too have a hard time getting my kids to clean up after themselves. My almost-4 year old daughter hated cleaning her room. I gave her all day to do it and helped a bit, but reassured her that it was okay if she didn’t get it all done. I would be happy to clean it up for her. Of course, she knows that means I pack everything away for a while. 🙂 Then one day she got tired of cleaning and packed everything up into boxes herself! She’s had some books, her dolls, and farm toys since then and hasn’t even asked for her other stuff! She picks up her room everyday without a fuss now. Maybe she just had too many toys!
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Me again. 🙂 I wanted to say thank you for following my blog bubblemomentpages. I am enjoying your blog. I am in the same boat with you, when you say you have all these ideas in your mind but don’t get to them in the midst of life. Also, my daughter loves birds. I’m going to try my hand at that bird pillow as well.
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I have a clear, 5 drawer craft bin on wheels. I took photos of groupings of toys (puzzles, people and animals, instruments) and attached them to the inside of the drawers. The books and crayon box are on the bottom shelf of an open curio in the kitchen. Our main play area is the living room right now… Anyways, I give my daughter one or two specific tasks or toys to take care of putting away. She knows where they go and likes being a helper. It’s better to clean WITH them. We tidy up before meals and naps.
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Since my kids were small I’ve had this quote posted on my kitchen wall:
“Cleaning your house while your children are still growing is like shoveling your walk before it stops snowing” ~ Phyllis Dillard
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With a newborn it’s hard to find time. But when she starts entertaining herself hopefully I willbe able to.
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I cling to the hope that one day I will live in a beautifully clean home like the pictures, I have just had another baby boy and have now accepted that with three boys in the house (4 if you include hubby) I will never have a clean bathroom.
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Don’t worry, everyone’s house gets destroyed by their kids, all the time. These pics were taken after the parents put everything together, before the kids even touched anything. When your Lil girl goes to school you will have a little bit of time to reclaim your house, or just clear the clutter from your head.
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I would love my house to look like those pictures, but as a Mom I’ve learned to be balanced and accept chaos. Instead of picking up toys after my son, I just give everything a clean sweep and put toys in their place right after I put him to bed. Makes me feel less stressed and that way I only do it once a day! As for the zillions of other things like laundry, dishes, cleaning, cooking, I do them as I can and try to have my son help me with everything. He loves putting dishes away (even though I’ll find forks and spoons in the tray under the oven. Oh well! I take him in the basement with me to do laundry – he plays with his summer riding cars while I swap loads. And folding laundry always takes twice as long, but I can’t help but laugh when i turn my back and the next second all the folder clothes are on the floor and he’s shaking a shirt and handing it to me… because I shake them one before folding them, so him mocking me is too cute to be mad about. 🙂
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Lovely rooms. And I am glad to see that you are human — because everything about your life looks so sparkly and wonderful in your blog!
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In our house, it’s clean up after yourself or do a boat load of chores…. My husband is not only a perfectionist, but a clean freak!!!! I am a bit of a neat freak myself, just not to the extent he is… so….
When he says things aren’t cleaned like how he likes them, we all know we better make him happy… after all he does work and pay the bills.
For the most part, we have raised the kids since they could walk to clean up after themselves, take care of the things they have and to stay organized and clean…. and they do pretty well, but they do have their days…
Xbox games laying out everywhere, toys out of their bins thrown around the house, bath rooms covered in trash and tooth paste… eeek!
The kids know they MUST keep their bed rooms and their closets clean… but even they fall behind on those chores.
I guess the point I’m trying to make is, if kids are taught by example and repetition to clean up after themselves, it makes it less you have to do… especially if you are a working momma, or work from home like I do.
As I’m writing this I have a sink full of dishes from dinner that I just refused to clean… the rule of the house… if I cook, you clean…. well I cooked, so the dishes will remain in the sink till someone else who didn’t cook cleans them…. or I get tired of looking at them, lol.
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Reblogged this on Event Planning Mommy.
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Lovely dream! I have twin boys, and we have the same cribs/cots as the second pic. The reason they’re on wheels is so you can put the kids into them while you vaccum the carpet around them 😉
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I clean his space and then keep him out of it. Of course the rest of the house is a mess but, his room…marvelous. Really, I learned to let go of perfect.
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A kind friend told me that if my daughter ate something from each food group each week she’d be OK. It made me laugh so hard that I got over myself. She spent one year when she would only eat macaroni. I found a supplier of macaroni with whey in it for some protein. I am happy to say that she graduated 12th in her class of 900; was an Honors graduate of her BS program and she has a MS in Physician Assistant Studies. Remember: something from each food group every week.
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I can’t say my house is super tidy, and I also have to collect some things after my child. Thankfully those things are mostly toys. Also, my son, although not even a year and a half, seems to be a perfectionist. If I leave something in the wrong place, he tends to put it where it belongs. He amazes me! I try to teach him to tidy up after playing so that he learns this important duty. Sometimes it works, sometimes I’m left doing all the work for him. What I noticed is that he’s more willing to help tidy, when I ask him to bring me something, instead to just clean up. So he brings me the toys and I put them in the boxes. And he actually has fun!
I also organized my space in a way that there’s not much to make a mess from. And that seems most helpful!
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I always wish my home would look like a catalogue picture, but in the real world that we all live in, that just doesn’t happen. I try to keep my house clean and uncluttered, but I have two tornadoes who follow me around and leave destruction in their path. Oh, well…
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I don’t 😉 My kid’s walk behind me destroying what I pick up.
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Very Nice! Organizing is great, and maintaining it is the key. Be Blessed, http://projectsbyMtetar.wordpress.com
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These are so pretty! The one room I always manage to clean is my son’s. I just read a great book about raising your child from birth to 6 years. It’s called “Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood.” Easy read and fascinating.
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