Housework - when the hell do you do it?!

[OdyMandrell]

Very simple really - I'm conducting my own little survey to find out just when the hell people manage to fit in a bit of good housekeeping!

[thisisyesterday]

my cleaner does it on a thursday morning

[2BoysTooLoud]

I live in a cluttered tip...
Won't bother offering advice!

[bibbitybobbityhat]

Well, I sahm and my children are at school, so its easy to find the time (NOT easy to find the motivation, mind).

When they were little I would do one job and one job only when they napped. Otherwise all of my free time could be sucked up by housework. So quick mop of the kitchen floor, or do the bath, or change the sheets. That sort of thing.

Call me a slattern but, aside from washing, cooking/clearing up after cooking and shopping (which make the biggest demands on time), I think the average household only needs about an hour or two of cleaning per week.

I always outsource oven cleaning, carpet cleaning and window cleaning. Quite often outsource ironing as well, or dh does it.

[OdyMandrell]

thisisyesterday - nice. 2BoysTooLoud - does living in a cluttered tip get you down?

[SilveryMoon]

I do half an hour first thing int he morning which involves cleaning the bathroom whilst I shower and getting ready, hoovering and then spending 5 minutes just doing a quick surface clean/dust in each room.

I also do some kind of detail cleaning later in the day, normally after dinner whilst the dc's watch some tv. I spend between 30/60 mins in that days room.
Mondays - dc's bedroom (they share)
Tuesdays - Kitchen
Wednesday - Living room
Thursday - Master bedroom
Friday - Bathroom/hallway

So today, I spent half an hour in the kitchen and I cleaned the microwave and the cutlery tray and drawer.
I do all the big jobs like mopping, changing beds, polishing, etc spread over the weekend or monday at the latest.

Once the kids have gone to bed I spend 15 mins wiping down kitchen counters and tables etc and anything else that may be out of place.

[OdyMandrell]

bibbity - you seem to have a very sensible view about the whole thing. I am sort of looking forward to when my youngest starts preschool and then a couple of hours a few times a week, compared to no time ever without children, will seem like a decent amount of time to get a few things done, over and above all the general, must-do stuff, as you described.

[unfitmother]

I don't!
Getting a cleaner was the best thing I ever did.

[bibbitybobbityhat]

I think you need to lower your standards when you have children and just accept that keeping on top of things and having a house where basic hygiene standards are met, people are fed decent meals and have clean(ish) clothes to wear, is pretty good going .

Those people who love an uncluttered atmosphere of calm and everything always being clean - I do pity them when the whirling dervishes that are babies and particularly toddlers come along.

[OdyMandrell]

I agree bibbity. And I do try to remind myself that I'm doing a decent job. Sometimes though, my natural Monica instincts take over and I feel quite ashamed of my home which needs some serious TLC! Then if I visit a friend's home, which seems immaculate, I wonder if maybe I'm just very lazy. I don't think I am though...

[bibbitybobbityhat]

When my dc were pre-schoolers I had a friend who had a pretty much immaculate house, no cleaner, and she did a lot of fancy cooking too. But I know for a fact that her dc watched loads of tv every day while she did her cleaning. Not just the sneaky half hour of tv here and there, but a couple of hours at a stretch. Really, the children would have been better off in a less clean and tidy home.

[ThatVikRinA22]

i have a blitz when i feel like it, i try and iron on my days off but i have now taken to doing only mine and DDs ironing, DH and DS are old enough and big enough to to their own, i work more hours than anyone else in our household, so i no longer do the lions share of housework. i have no set routine, on days off i try and tidy and hoover daily downstairs. upstairs gets done when i blitz or ill say to DH you do down here and ill do up there....house is not a tip but neither can you eat your dinner off the floors...

i sooooo want a steam mop!

[Gingefringe]

Oh dear silvery I feel quite tired and useless reading your routine -I assume you have a day job as well?

I work PT and just do the best I can - as the bulk of my time is taken over by washing, ironing, food shopping, cooking and washing up I try to dust and hoover on my day off or go to the gym. My DH does the garden but is useless in the house. We just seem to muddle along!!

[2BoysTooLoud]

I possibly am a bit lazy plus have dh who won't throw things away and is like a messy teenager - pisses me off!
It does get me down and I am rather ashamed and hate people popping in without 3 week warning!!!

[Deux]

I really struggle with keeping on top of the housework too. When I can be disciplined and have some kind of routine, it does work but I just can't stick to it.

I feel I'm running just to stand still. I find the ironing ovewhelming as DH wears double cotton double cuff shirts. If it gets bad then I send the ironing out but we're skint right now so it feels too indulgent.

What I do now is just set myself one domestic task per day (other than laundry, bed making, cooking and dishes) and try to achieve that.

The other thing to do is ask yourself if someone were to visit unexpectedly then what would you be most embarrassed about and tackle that job.

I'm a SAHM and don't know how anyone who works manages.

[TheGoddessBlossom]

I know just saying "get a cleaner" is not helfpul, but seriously it is the only way my house stays clean. And obviously on top of that you have still got the kitchen to clean up after every meal, the spills and crumbs to clean up after every meal, the dishwasher to empty, the laundry and all the ironing.

If I had to do away with all other luxuries (god forbid) the cleaner would be the last thing to go. Fact.

[MoreBeta]

I do it Saturday morning when DW takes the DSs to judo. Much easier when everyone is out. Washing just put one washer on per day first thing in the morning on a rota basis.

[TheMagnificentBathykolpian]

When the children are at school and as required over the weekend. It only takes a couple of hours a day. I do work from home though so have that flexibility. When I didn't, it was done in the evenings and weekends. You'd be amazed what you can do in a good solid hour.

Tidying as you go is a must if you don't want it to get topside of you. That means washing the pots straight up, wiping over surfaces after you've used them, filing stuff instead of piling it on top of the fridge etc. And set two or three 'major' jobs a week, like cleaning out the fridge or behind the cooker etc.

And regular de-cluttering. If you don't use it and it doesn't have genuine sentimental value - you don't need it.

[Deux]

I think that's part of the problem for me - getting one uninterrupted hour. Agree you can do a lot in a solid hour.

[TheMagnificentBathykolpian]

Ah, are your children pre-schoolers then? It gets easier when they are at school. We get them up and ready, take them, come home, work for a bit, do some cleaning, work for a bit then go fetch them, make dinner, tidy, work for a bit...

(and mn for me of course ) weekends my husband does far more cleaning than me! But I do the week's ironing while he cooks Sunday lunch.

I think it's also easier if it's 'all hands on deck', as it's a lot for one person.

[chibi]

I live in a smal 2.5 bed terrace house

House is cleaned 2x a week, dh does it on a weekend, i do it on a tues am when i am at home

We try to keep on top of things during the week so it is only cleaning and not tidying or sorting

It takes less than an hour, maybe 45 min

We have 2 kids, 4 and 2 years

[Ragwort]

I am amazed at the amount of housework that some mumsnetters do - who needs to hoover or mop floors every day?

I take bibbity's approach - I too am a SAHM with school age children but I rarely do more than 30 minutes a day (if that - I don't like housework interfering with mumsnetting important stuff.)

[LillianGish]

I try to clear up as I go along ie leave bathroom clean after a bath, clear up dishes after a meal, everything in dishwasher, sweep up crumbs etc. Kids make their beds first thing and put dirty clothes in wash basket (or no pocket money!) Try not to let clutter accumulate - put it away or chuck it out. Putting the hoover round and mopping the floor takes very little time imo (well downstairs anyway - probably only do bedrooms once a week). Try to keep the hallway clear - since that's what everyone sees regardless of whether they actually come inside, also keep living room in reasonable shape so can always show someone in and downstairs loo (in case they need to pay a call). Anything else gets done when the fancy takes me - usually if there is something good on the radio in the case of ironing.

[Deux]

I have a preschooler and one at school.

I often find myself wailing that all that stuff you get told about looking after babies - feeding, weaning, sleep routines etc - and no one tells you how enslaving the school run is and how it cuts into your day and all that running children around and taking them here there and everywhere.

And the bloody homework. And we are all expected to cook these healthy nutritious meals from scratch. 3pm - 8pm is almost entirely taken up with school run, cooking, homework, bath and bed time.

I seek emancipation.

[cheesesarnie]

when we have people coming

[SindyTellsMe]

I work "part-time" (i.e. nearly full-time at a snip, but that's another thread) and I have a toddler at home & a kid in school.

I did FlyLady last year and, while I found it a bit too regimented (and the volume of chirpy emails gave me abdabs), a few things have stayed with me - clearing the sink & draining board each night, giving the loo and bathroom a lick and promise every morning while I get ready, and getting clothes ready the night before. Then I do one extra thing each day - hoover, or polish, or declutter a shelf.

I only ever spend about 10 minutes at a time on housework. Little and often is the key. I don't use the timer a la FlyLady, but I do sometimes put some music on and give myself 2 tunes-worth of time to completely focus on the task at hand.

Works very well with getting my highly distracted eldest to tody her room, too. "Come on, nothing but tidying for the next 2 songs."