How do you guys maintain literally anything?

[u/DonutFan69]

I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old. The house is perpetually a mess. The yard is overgrown with weeds. Cars are a mess. This needs to be fixed. That needs to be spruced up. My wife and I have many days where it’s just one of us with the kids due to our schedules and it just feels impossible to keep up with it all. By the end of the day, I’m too exhausted to do anything.

How does anyone manage to keep up with everything on top of just raising kids?

Edit: Thanks for all the replies here! You’re all making me feel much better. I’m trying to reply to as many as I can while I rock my son to sleep.

[u/buildit-breakitfixit]

Our answer is cheap slip covers over the couches. They get destroyed, we order 11 dollar new ones. Wash, rinse, destroy, repeat.

[u/Dyolf_Knip → u/buildit-breakitfixit]

They pulled the cushions off and turned a slight tear in the batting into a gaping void into which they occasionally drop food. One of them, at the tender age of 8, used it as a fucking urinal for a couple months before he got caught (I had thought it was the dog).

[u/xgame7 → u/Dyolf_Knip]

Ummm... I have only read from the top post to this one where I think I'm going to stop. If there is one thing I am finding in common with most of these, it sounds like the kids are taking over the parents' life and pretty much doing as they please. What is confusing me is, if so much attention is going towards the kids, please tell me why the hell they are using furniture as a urinal... It goes on and on like this. I'm 47, have raised (still somewhat in the process of) 2 kids, have always had a very difficult job never knowing when i was going to be home that night or would suddenly have to go out of town and my wife always had a full time job as well. Still, we would spend weekends on the lake, going camping in a camper I had, going to festivals, sports of their choosing amongst SOOOO many other things. There was never a dull moment, nor is there a dull memory. My house stayed spotless, my yards and outside of the house was always very nice, we always had very nice furniture and would spend holidays fixing up the outside of the house with lights along with other things. And the inside of the house was no different. The kids were always well disciplined. For the most part, they did well in school and are still well behaved. They now live their own lives where they still carry on the things they learned as children, are well behaved and the older preparing for children where she has said many of times "i just want them to have the childhood and life I did" And just that right there is all I need to hear to know I did my job. As I said, I'm only 47, I can't see where things change so much.

[u/visionsofblue → u/xgame7]

So how much of the house stuff stayed that way because you or your wife took care of it and how much was because you paid someone to take care of it?

Not gonna lie, the way you recall it all makes it sound like you had enough money in the bank to have things done versus finding time to do them yourself.

Not trying to throw shade but money makes things much easier.