as the baby is only 4 wks old we haven't gotten to it yet!
Oh, a 4 week old! I'm impressed you're even trying to keep the house clean! I've already warned my DH (surprisingly, he's the neat freak in the house) that he should have VERY low expectations of my housekeeping abilities after we have a new baby in July!
Vanessa
my husband does the same thing in the kitchen. Drives me batty. He makes a sandwich, washes off the knife, but leaves it in the sink and leaves his crumbs on the counter. WTH? But he washed the knife so the PB wouldn't stick to it while it sat in the sink. Way to go!
My dh leaves crumbs on the cutting board EVERY morning......every morning. I guess I have crumb cleaner tattoo'd to my head. 
Nancy
The empty sink is my clue as to how DH slept. Empty sink means one of two things: he slept well or was in too much pain to get out of bed. Most mornings however there is something in the sink because he ate during the night and didn't bother to put it in the dishwasher.
Mish,
I can't remember if you are still nursing or not. But I will tell you that having 2.5 year old twins and nursing a newborn was a FULL-TIME-JOB. I should have been napping, but instead I was trying to keep up with the house! I truly feel liker nursing a baby is a total committment, I just stop all house projects (or any projects) as for the first few weeks & months it was all about when HE wanted to eat!
I did have a housecleaner those first few months, and a yard guy. It really will get easier. I would say though that the first 3-5 months are going to be tough getting a whole lot accomplished (hate to say it). My list of to'do's was a mile long until Brennan was feeding less often, on solid foods and sleeping through the night solidly.
Hang in there, you are doing great!!!
Britt
I agree with Vanessa!
My twin babies were 10 weeks old and I was totally overwhelmed and frustrated at the mess!
I looked her up via Google and read her book!
I get daily web newsletters from her site.
15 Minutes really does wonders when you are focused at the task at hand.
The biggest lesson for me was to finally love myself and to see the house tasks to be done as house blessings and NOT to make myself a matryl (can't spell).
Slowly and with me able to sleep more ( boys are now almost three) my house has some order in it.
The house is cleaner than before I had kids!!!
Best of all, I don't let perfectionism "get to me" anymore and have turned from Type A Personality to a more mellow, self-assured, person.
Look up FLY Lady and begin with baby steps.
Then join the "NO EXCUSE WORKOUT" which shows you that our bodies are like our homes. This group teaches you strategies for working out and eating better using the 15 minute increments and baby steps...best of all it changes your perspective on things ...
Good luck soon to be neat and organized women!
Sylvia
You guys inspired me. I cleared off the kitchen counter (well, clear as it can be), filled out dd's paperwork for after school care for next year, filled out the Y application, unpacked a little more and picked up the living room after the kids went to bed.
Now, I still have loads of laundry to tackle and grocery shopping - gahhhhhh.
One thing I have done that is helping is having almost 6yo put up her own clothing after I wash it, cleaning her own room and she is totally able to give herself a shower.
Mish,
One thing that helped me when the twins got a little older was I got the Totclock and every night I set out all the kid's clothes (baby and twins). May sound silly, but in the am it's one less thing I have to "think" about. Also, now, with the totclock, it goes off at 7:20 every morning and the twins get themselves dressed and come downstairs so I can focus on getting their breakfast ready and the baby fed. I am alone most mornings, so this works very well for us.
Laundry is a really hard one, but if you can at least keep it moving through the washer/dryer, then any chance you get load up a basket of kids' clothing that you can fold/put away when you are in their rooms.
Brittany
Britt, thanks for the pep talk. 
Yes, nursing, which is what sets my personal clock around here. We have the tot clock, but DS knows how to work it, so of course he will turn it off when the blue comes on and claim it is still "good morning" (yellow) time. I am embarrassed to admit it to you, uber-scheduler, but my son goes to bed between 9-11 pm. 
So there's no way I can set an alarm to wake him up in the morning--we just let him wake up when he does, if our schedules permit it. (and it's also why I can't really stand up to clean after he's in bed--it's LATE and I'm exhausted!)
Sorry for everyone else dealing with messy DH's! I semi-seriously have thought of buying a duplex so that DH can live in his messy side and I will have my clean side. 
I'm actually the messier of the 2 of us 
I'm not really that messy, but DH is a super neat-freak. I sort of let the clutter take over while he's out of town during the week, then I frantically try & clean the day before he comes home
I don't really get too concerned about if the beds are made, etc., but it drives DH crazy. I'm much neater when he's in town 
Erica
Most of our (DH's is a bit of a hoarder) clutter tends to be hidden--closets, cabinets,drawers, den, basement, garage, spare bedroom, all packed with shitt and disorganized.
I love the FlyLady, along with Vanessa and Sylvia.
One thing about her system that really helped me was the way you divide your house into "zones" (eg kitchen, bedrooms, living room, etc). Each week you focus on one of the zones. And you do the decluttering in 15 minute increments so you don't get overwhelmed. When the week is over you are done with that zone and you move on to the next zone - but even if the zone is not totally spotless, it's still better than it was, and remember that you'll come back to it next month anyhow so it does not have to be perfect. That part really helped me a lot in not feeling overwhelmed.
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