To ask what your cleaning routine is?

[Bellatrixurstrange]

Posting for traffic and fishing for luckies - housework thread was a washout.

If you flylady, or have a tidy house can I ask you to share you routine that stops you sliding into chaos. Mum to two DS and one DD live in a bungalow and overwhelmed by mess.

Please share fail-proof routine I'm in desperate need of a routine!

Awaiting the flaming.

[Shop]

I'd be interested too. I've been using the choreganizer app to slowly build one which has helped.
I still feel like everyone knows a secret that I don't!

[Heirhelp]

I have a cleaner and no kids yet. Sorry. On a more serious side with two kids you may need to lower your standards. How old are the kids? Are you the only adult?

When I did my own cleaner and with the jobs that I do I have my own routine. Eg change bedding on Saturday, wash towels on Friday etc as well as tidying and wiping down the benches in the kitchen everyday.

[Bellatrixurstrange]

Yy Shop! Like a secret I've somehow failed to learn!

[Bellatrixurstrange]

Heirhelp DH, kids useless with helping. Older two are teenage!

[GinAndColonic]

Would love to know if there is an answer! I suspect 30 mins after my youngsters are in bed is probably how to do it but we are cyclical. Tidy>mess>half tidy>more mess>wait for big tidy>even more mess>big tidy.

Repeat for 4 years.

[Bellatrixurstrange]

GinandColonic

[Afreshstartplease]

I struggle

Watching with interest

[Princesspeach1980]

I wish I knew too. I moved into a shiny new built house last year and it looks like a tip already! I occasionally get motivated ( usually when visitors are coming) and I clean top to bottom, it looks lovely for about 20 minutes then descends into chaos again. I just don't have the staying power to keep it up. I try to reassure myself that I never see other people houses at their worst because they probably do the frantic tidy too

[Heirhelp]

You need to get them all trained. Think of them as puppies. Write a list of everything that needs to be done once a week and every day and get them to pick the jobs they want or you want then to do. The teenagers will be capable of changing their own beds and tidying and cleaning their own rooms as well as emptying the dishwasher or washing the dishes.

[Bellatrixurstrange]

Do people who have a daily routine find it prevents the chaos from happening? Just cause atm I just feel like I'm shovelling snow whilst it's still snowing. There's just mess in every room!

[Heirhelp]

Having a cleaner means we had to tidy the night before she comes and we have slowly started to become tidier durring the week. Can you be your own cleaner and make yourself tidy the day before?

[VinoTime]

De-clutter. Get rid of anything you don't use, need or like. Fill a bag and get it to the charity shops ASAP. Repeat as many times as is necessary.

Have decent storage in place to whip the children's toys away quickly.

Fold and put away washing the minute it is dry - don't leave it to pile up. Also put dirty washing in the machine as soon as you are close to a full load. Then all you have to do it fling the last few bits in and get it switched on. This will stop laundry piling up in the hamper and the fact you've got a load just about ready to go on will stick in your mind, so you'll be more aware of rounding up those last few stray socks

Empty the dishwasher as soon as the cycle has finished and start re-stacking it again to prevent dishes piling up on the counters.

Tidy and clean a little every day. This will stop the house from descending into chaos and you needing to do a massive clean that takes hours and hours. Examples of this that I do:

• I give the bath a clean after DD has finished her bath before bed. I'd be rinsing it out anyway so a few squirts with some cleaning fluid followed by a quick scrub down as she's brushing her teeth only add a couple of minutes to the job. It stops the bath from ever become grimy and needing longer to clean.
  

• I run the hoover round at night while DD is in the bath. It doesn't take long and I'm usually in the living room popping cushions back into place and picking random bits up anyway.
  

• Encourage the children to pick up after themselves and get them into good tidy up routines. Make sure toys are being put away, homework is in their school bags, dirty clothes are put in the hamper and so on before the bedtime routine begins. It's taken quite a lot of time and effort on my part to get 8yo DD into good habits, but in part her dyslexia plays havoc with her concentration and ability to organise and remember simple things. Toy boxes have had to be labelled with words and pictures so that she can see what goes where, etc. I've been patient and offered gentle reminders and things stick with her now. I rarely need to remind her to start tidying up anymore. I just give her a 10 minute warning before bath/bed and she starts clearing away now.
  

• Wipe down the kitchen counters whilst the children are doing their homework at the table. That way you're on hand to help them but you can also get the sides all sparkly after dinner without it eating into your evening.
  

• Make sure you have a space for shoes, coats and bags to be put away neatly and make sure everyone puts these things away correctly. There is nothing worse than tripping over shoes and nearly breaking your neck in the hallway!

[kistermin1]

Cleaning routine...

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

The best thing that could happen to my house is a flamethrower

So I'll be watching with interest in the hope that there may be something out there.

[whifflesqueak]

I was thinking about this this morning when surveying the midden of a house I had spent all day yesterday cleaning.

does anyone else feel like they're painting the San Fransisco bridge? by the time I've finished, it's time to start again. having 2 under 2 doesn't help.

sigh. watching with a sort of depressed interest.

[formerbabe]

The secret to a clean house when you have children is to clean constantly. Hth

[BareBearBum]

I have a daily routine, it's the only way. I tried to do it less often but we're a family of 5 with a big dog so it just didn't work!

Get up, make bed. Get in shower after the rest of the family are done in the bathroom. Wipe down bathroom and loo.
Quick Hoover of floors upstairs ( I have a gtech upstairs for this )
Take down a load of laundry.
Do dishwasher, wipe down kitchen.
Go about my day.
Do downstairs loo and sweep floors downstairs.

I alternate days for bedding/dusting/ironing/proper bathroom clean. For example a Saturday I do the above but then also dust downstairs.

Sunday's we do bugger all.

Works well for us! It's quicker than it looks on the list as because it's done so often, we're on top of it.
However, we do still manage to get a bit over run with laundry every now and then!

[SayAGreatBigThankyou]

We cleaned and tidied like crazy to put house on market. It looked brilliant. One week later, and I need that flamethrower mentioned upthread. This thread has at least inspired me to stick a wash on...

[Bellatrixurstrange]

Thanks BareBearBum that was a helpful post. It's exactly what I was after a breakdown of what is done when -Monday I xyz, Tuesday I abc... thanks for sharing that.

[YouTheCat]

My cleaning routine involves putting a large computer screen in front of my face so that I can't see any mess.

[louisabouisa]

I do dishes and laundry 2-3 times a day to stop it piling up. I hoover and mop when needed. (most days)
I rarely iron except school uniform.
Kids help change bedding.
Get rid of all clutter, overflowing shelves etc always look messy.
Teach your children to tidy up their own things (pick up clothes into laundry basket, put toys away, put their dishes in the sink)

It REALLY helps if everyone makes an effort then you won't feel exhausted and unappreciated doing it all yourself.

[Almostfifty]

I put a laundry basket in each DC's room. Once I cured them of dropping their clothes right next to the basket (yes, truthfully, right beside it!) it kept their rooms tidier. They have one towel each that they keep hung up in their rooms and I wash it weekly. It saves all the towels in the bathrooms being used and spread about.

I do not clean their rooms, they do it themselves. They used to do it for pocket money, now they're grown up, they do it when I order them to!

[Bellatrixurstrange]

That's what's preventing me! The overwhelming "Where the Fuck do I even begin?" That's why I thought if people posted their routines I could steal adapt a routine to kick-start me.

[VinoTime]

Just to add - I don't do any housework after DD is in bed. There's a lot of 'dead' time to be found between school pickup and bedtime and you can use that time to get things done - school clubs, dinner, bath time, play time, homework, etc.

I usually don't sit down before DD is in bed unless I'm eating dinner, because I use all that time to get the house squared up. It means as soon as she's in bed, I can sit down, shove on Netflix and help myself to a glass of vino

If I've run her to an after school club in town I'll grab the weekly shopping, get it home and put it away. It takes much less time when you don't have kids with you.

The minute she gets in from school she gives me any paperwork from her school bag - party invites, school reminders, upcoming events, etc. This means her school bag remains tidy and I can spend 5 minutes quickly getting things organised and put in the calendar. As soon as it's in the calendar the paperwork gets put in the recycle bin to stop it mounting up on top of the fridge! On Friday's she knows her gym kit gets put straight in the laundry hamper.

Sort through the post as soon as you hear the letterbox go. Recycle or file things straight away.

It is literally just about getting yourself into little habits and routines. I used to be really disorganised and lazy and the house was a constant tip. I eventually got sick of living like that, went room by room and gutted them all (so important!) and put small things in place to keep on top of it all. It does work. But I cannot stress how important it is to de-clutter. If you don't, all you're doing is moving the mess from room to room. I used to have 1000+ DVD's. Utterly pointless and a total waste of money and space. I have Netflix, Amazon Prime and various other catch up channels I can access through my Prime TV Stick. There was no point in keeping them - I never watched them. So I flogged most of them on Music Magpie, made a few hundred quid and gained a lot of space that no longer gets cluttered or untidy. Same goes for books. I have one bookcase for books now instead of three. I kept my classical literature and collectibles, and sent the rest to the charity shop. If I want to buy a book, I download it to my Kindle. Same for CD's. I have an iPod. Much tidier

[mrsmeerkat]

it's ongoing for me.

it has helped since I bought a dishwasher.

I do laundry daily and put the clothes away straight away and iron the few bits I iron every other day so it doesn't mount.

I stick on a DVD for my crazy toddlers and five them little bowls of fruit and snacks. then I go around the hoyse like a women possessed cleaning mirrors, toys, stripping beds.

I just do this everyday. workfull time but the trick is everyday. without question. I don't buy fancy products anynote except window cleaner.

My best tip is storage. Ikea trofast wicker chests with lids. I have a storage stool I got a couple of years ago in asda that is wicker and looks lovely. it stores toddlers Pjs and grobags. I have another larger one that stores clothes that are out of season or I have bought in larger sizes.

Everyone comments that the house is so clean but really I am lazy enough. I batch cook so that at least three times a week I don't have to cook so that frees up time. also I give a lot to the charity shop and that could be half a black sack every six weeks or so including magazines.

[Lucked]

I bought book recently and as well as a laundry everyday it suggested that there were 4 areas you need to do every single day. Bedrooms first thing as people are getting up, no clothes on floor, beds made etc. Then bathroom so I fly lady type clean whilst I am in in the morning. The living room and the kitchen I do in the evening - the living room gets done before and after the kids go to bed and the kitchen when we have finished up for the day. I am only just learning to make it a habit but it is working, I am adding in cleaning the bath after the kids get out and I already have a routine with laundry.

Next will be adding in specific jobs like cleaning fridge, windows and such throughout the month.

We have two kids not yet in school and we both work so we only have evenings when we are tired so I do find it tough.