cleaning/straightening?

[greengirl19]

I cannot keep my house cleaned/straightened. It's been a battle all fall (since my mother's helper left and my once a week straighten was lost). We've actually decluttered several times and probably have less 'stuff' (insert freaking out about MIL's box of Christmas stuff that is headed our way). The problem is I cannot get things put away. G is not helpful (probably my fault for all of a sudden going crazy with putting away toys when he's been allowed to leave them out before). Z is I don't know, a 14 month old walking tornado who freaks out if I try to put things away because it involves walking from room to room and doesn't like to be worn in a carrier unless we're outside. And naps in the room where most things need to be put. I get the necessary 'cleaning' done eventually so we're not swimming in our own filth. But the state of the house still overwhelms me. I've tried all the methods and nothing is long term doable.

DH tries to help some. He's changed alot and wants to declutter and simplify and downsize. Huge mental progress, still working on actually doing it.

I was thinking about hiring a housekeeper occasionally, since I don't have the mother's helper anymore and can squeeze it in the budget, but the more I look at the list of what she'll do, the less helpful it feels. I don't need someone to dust. I need someone to clear the stack of paper and toys and junk off the shelf before dusting is even an issue. I know people who have someone help with the cleaning still have to spend time straightening to get ready for the cleaners. Would this be helpful or more stressful?

[sweetpeas]

When the twins were little I kept all toys in one place and watched closely, weeding out anything that wasn't getting played with. Decreasing the toys saved my sanity.

As far as the toddler not wanting you to leave the room, can you utilize laundry baskets to consolidate things by room so you don't have to be moving from room to room so much? Clean up the rest of the house during his nap, and put everything in a laundry room outside the door of his room, and then put that stuff away while he's happily re-destroying that room later.

Oh, and store things with lots of pieces out of reach or in a tub they can't open, so they only play with those things when you have time to deal with it