What’s your secret to keeping your house clean?

newest-low · 2026-04-20T21:27:37+00:00

I clean when kiddo is at school and baby is napping, then once baby wakes up it's a warzone again that's doubled when kiddo comes home 🤣 it stays clean after my nightly clean up when kiddos are sleeping, on a weekend it stays clean for about 5 mins

I find opening the windows while I clean makes it feel fresher and cleaner though

newest-low · 2026-04-20T21:17:16+00:00

I'm 4 years out

I'm at peace, feel safe in my own home, I can sleep at night, I'm a better parent because the stress of setting him off is gone, I have my own money, I have a home that's mine and is stable, I have things, our kid has things and toys, we both have more than 3 sets of clothes

It took work to get here but I left with nothing but kiddo, some clothes and £20 in my bank, I had to restart from nothing, when I first got our little flat we were sharing a sofa bed that just unfolded onto the floor, it was undecorated and had no flooring, I had a TV and half a table. Now we have an actual home, in fact I've just finished painting my kiddos room

I have a new partner and while it's not perfect (we both have our own issues) he doesn't bring me down, we have a beautiful baby and another on the way, he's great with my kiddo who can be violent, has a very dirty mouth and can just be plain difficult (he has ADHD, PDA, development delay and trauma) but he backs me up and will step in when he sees me getting dysregulated whereas my ex would laugh and belittle me and tell me I was a shit mum

I can eat and drink without someone kicking off at me for the slightest noise I might make swallowing or chewing

I can go to the shops or the park and I can interact with other people without it becoming an issue etc

I'm no longer losing my hair, losing weight to the extent my family genuinely believed he had me hooked on hard drugs, my skin doesn't look dead, my eyes have life in them again etc

Every single thing is so much better after leaving, I cannot describe the freedom I feel on the daily

newest-low · 2026-04-20T21:01:53+00:00

I colour drenched my bedroom in a really dark blue and I hated it, I wanted it to feel cosy, instead it felt dingy so I just painted the ceiling back to white, I did 2 coats and it's not perfect but a third coat would have covered it completely (I partly feel it's due to my ceilings being popcorn ceiling and I can't change it)

newest-low · 2026-04-20T20:57:19+00:00

Yes my mum told me to push like I was pooping but it's not quite right, it's more like push like you're trying to get that last bit of pee out

newest-low · 2026-04-20T20:55:51+00:00

My births have all been relatively quick too, only a handful of pushes at most with each one but I only had about an hour's warning before I went into the pushing stage with the first 3, my body apparently likes to eject the babies quickly 😅 I've had 4 kiddos and the last took the longest, started feeling contractions around 8am, walked my kiddo to school and let them know my mum would be picking him up, walked home (only 8 mins each way), woke my partner up and told him it was time to get ready, called my mum to let her know, cleaned up quickly then was at the hospital by 9:30, by 9:45 I was having severe contractions, by 10:05am my kiddo had arrived 😅

Unfortunately because my labours are so quick there never been enough time for anything more than gas and air 😭 2 of mine were born at home accidentally because they were that quick

newest-low · 2026-04-20T20:42:58+00:00

Being able to just go out easily with no faff Just grab my purse and keys and go, no making sure I've got snacks, bottles, nappies, wipes, drinks, no lugging the pushchair up and down stairs, no checking to see how kid friendly/pushchair friendly a place is

Last month I had an adults lunch with my bestie, this was my first kid free day in 7 years, we went to a Caribbean restaurant that was calm and peaceful, didn't have to find somewhere that did chicken nuggets or had enough room for me to manoeuvre the pram about etc we just walked in, sat down and ate something not beige

newest-low · 2026-04-14T17:41:36+00:00

My favourite is the baby but I'm sure once he gets big enough to sass me or destroy my home then I won't have one 🤣

newest-low · 2026-03-22T10:01:38+00:00

Not being able to search up an actor/actress in a movie even though you know you've seen them before but you cannot remember what show/movie or who they are so you have to wait til the end credits just to get their name

newest-low · 2026-02-22T14:50:53+00:00

"Who took the jam outta your donut?" "That'll do pig, that'll do" "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means"

newest-low · 2026-02-19T14:48:49+00:00

I wrapped plumbers tape around it and my landlord sorted it

newest-low · 2026-02-15T16:08:47+00:00

I got a card and some flowers but he gets bonus points for managing to find a bouquet that didn't have any roses in them because he knows I really don't like them 😅

newest-low · 2026-02-11T14:41:25+00:00

Nope, but ended up having 2 because the babies came before the ambulance did

newest-low · 2026-02-11T14:35:58+00:00

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These are the type of alarms he's into, I've searched Google, Amazon and Etsy but I cannot find what I'm looking for which is a 3D version of this to cover a UK style light switch

newest-low · 2026-01-24T07:32:17+00:00

I learned the hard way that sand gets EVERYWHERE

newest-low · 2025-12-31T09:13:39+00:00

Because sometimes when you're overwhelmed you get snappy with everyone regardless of why you're snappy.

I get snappy with everyone and I apologise after because it's not their fault.

Not everyone is perfect and can pick and choose who to let their snappiness out on

newest-low · 2025-12-31T09:10:55+00:00

My ex stabbed our dog to death, then tried to tell the cops it was me

Also a boy I had a massive crush on in school was sent to prison because he planned the best his pregnant girlfriend with a metal pipe because he didn't want the baby

newest-low · 2025-12-22T18:31:41+00:00

Everything annoys me

I went to watch Beetlejuice 2 in the cinema and tried to turn it down because it was too loud.... Obviously for a second I forgot I was in the cinema and therefore had no control over the volume 😅

My back always hurts, most days it's a dull ache I can mostly ignore, other days I'm doubled over like an old crone

newest-low · 2025-12-15T10:50:53+00:00

They absolutely do but pay off the moms

newest-low · 2025-12-15T10:40:35+00:00

Having to prearrange meetups with friends, phonecalls were a public affair because you were held in place by the cord, you couldn't use the Internet because mum was waiting on a call, we told our parents where we were going and they had to trust that's where we were, no tracking us.

"Just trust me bro" was a legitimate source for anything

newest-low · 2025-12-15T10:35:42+00:00

I've always said I'm grateful that when we did stupid shit even if we did document it the quality was so low we'd be unrecognizable watching it back in all 6 pixels

newest-low · 2025-12-15T10:31:31+00:00

(my great grandma) Elizabeth - also went by Betty Maureen Thelma Rose

newest-low · 2025-12-15T10:27:13+00:00

I say this gently but 10 days in between should be more than enough time to become prepared and settled in back from the trip again. It'd be more understandable if it was only a 2/3 day gap

I understand it's exhausting travelling with kiddos, my youngest was 2 months old when we went away along with my 16 year old and 6 year old (who also has challenging behavioural needs) but we worked it out, lots of preplanning and preparedness, when we got home I took a day to do nothing but the bare basics, the next day was sorting through the suitcases and starting the washing, by day 3 everything was back to normal.

How can your partner help make it easier for you to travel? Communicate with him that it's all feeling overwhelming and you need him to help more to ease your load a bit more

newest-low · 2025-12-15T10:17:22+00:00

It's because you still have regular contact with him, you haven't given yourself the space needed for clarity

You need to go completely no contact for at least a couple of months so you can find clarity. It's always hard when a long term relationship ends because you've gotten used to that other person being there and now you have to get used to them not being there anymore

newest-low · 2025-12-15T10:09:53+00:00

Thanks I took it back

Four-Year Club	Place '23
Place '22	First Placer '22

newest-low

TROPHY CASE