Keeping on top of deep cleaning the house

YABU

Gosh I didn't mean to depress you! I really enjoy the process of cleaning and providing a lovely clean and comfortable home for my family!

If you could afford it maybe look at getting a cleaner once a months to clean paintwork/doors/windows and other bits that aren’t daily.

AI will take over cleaning tasks soon enough. I am looking forward to THAT robot in my house.

I know it's each to their own, but this is possibly one of the most depressing posts I have ever read on this site.

I just HAD to move my bedside lockers last week for the spark to put in USB sockets. Couldn't tell you the last time I did that! Immediate need for dusting and wiping. Did the minimum, socket installed and spark left a bit of dust from the drilling. So I vacuumed behind the lockers.

That's done for another long while whew!

Otherwise it's spotless kitchen and bathrooms. That's my one rule, the rest of the house is hit and miss, but is clean and tidy but no deep cleans here unless someone else does it for me! I have far more interesting things to do in my retirement than cleaning. 😊

I have never understood this "deep cleaning" stuff. A house just needs to be clean enough, because there are so many more important things in life..... friends, family, work, art, sport, literature, hobbies, travel, fun..... take your pick!
I think you need to be cleaning less, OP, and enjoying your life more.

Our home is tidy and clean…on the surface. Had to move the settee when having new flooring fitted. OMG! The fluff! But who keeps pulling out beds and sofas to clean under them? I don’t. Only really at Christmas when moving the furniture to make room for the tree etc. Otherwise, bollocks to it

OP this is so normal. I’m similar to you but there’ll always be parts of the house which are a bit dusty etc. I think it’s fine, don’t sweat the small stuff

The delayed start function is on most washing machines and is a God send. I set it in the evening to finish when I get up so I have time to put it in the dryer or peg it out. I do the same again some days so it finishes when I get in from work.
I like TOMM but it takes some getting used to I just do same stuff everyday then on a Thurs or Friday evening do the bathrooms bedrooms hall stairs etc so it's good for the weekend. I leave the bedding and towels for the fri sat wash cos they're easy to fold and put away.

I do it myself 😩 it’s all a bit much and ny house is quite large .
Some rooms like the spare room I will just rush in with the hoover and only give it a proper clean if someone is coming to stay .
Also my husband’s study , he’s supposed to keep it clean but he doesn’t , so I go in there once every few weeks and have to spend too much time moving everything to clean it properly.
i try to keep the downstairs really neat , tidy and clean and manage the rest when I am able

I have a cleaner. I work full time and am a solo parent. I can’t do everything.

OP your post inspired me last night to tackle the sideboard as I was watching Netflix. Its Dust free inside now and well organised so thank you!

I don't manage - cleaner once a month is how the house gets more than a light clean!

No, I don't want a pat on the back, people ask how do you keep on top of the deep cleaning. I genuinely assumed that was something specific, not the usual day to day stuff. Which if you do it day to day,it doesn't mount up.

My cleaner keeps on top of it all. I don't have the energy for this and I want a social life. I keep it clean between weekly visits I.e washing up, not having a floordrobe
My job is so ghastly if I didn't have my weekends free I'd go insane.
I happily sacrifice other things to pay for it.

And I think this is the issue when people say things like "Why do you need to deep clean?? I never deep clean!" because they probably do stuff like throw away empty bottles immediately and do take products down and wipe a surface weekly or so and see that as regular cleaning.

IMO (partially reformed messy person) normal cleaning feels like deep cleaning if you wait for dirt to get really ingrained. Whereas if you can get into a routine (which I do not pretend, at all, that I am in BTW!!) of cleaning stuff before it gets noticeably dirty then you never get to that stage so it doesn't feel like "deep cleaning".

If you like podcasts, I am a big fan of Dana K White A Slob Comes Clean, she explains a lot of these things and helped me see how people have different starting assumptions about cleaning/tidying/belongings. We can use the same words but have a totally different meaning behind them and talk past each other.

Agree. I certainly don't.

I deep clean about twice a year - decluttering, cleaning out cupboards, pulling furniture out, bleaching the shower tile grout, hand scrubbing floors etc. I don't always get it all done both times. In the spring/summer I also tend to paint or touch up paint and skirting boards. Just the thought of spending more time on cleaning than I do weekly already bores me.

What's the point of this, what are you actually asking? Or are you just wanting a pat on the back?

I was actually wondering what the hell counts as "a deep clean" to most people. My ex h had his own cleaning company, I worked for a time for a big cleaning company as a second/third/ fourth job. He cleaned places where he had to wear specialist suits so as not to produce static electricity. I had 4 DKs,big garden,lots of animals. I never let things get messy,or out of hand. Growing up,my late father had ideas, nothing was allowed to be touched, house was a mess,no friends allowed in. 2 border collies, under bed and sofas done weekly. Got rid of most of the carpets. I get out of the shower, clean the bath,basin, shower, worktops, weekly remove plants from window sill,water feed them, woodwork weekly, I never let it pile up.

A pp already mentioned TOMM. When my standards were a bit higher, this was the only thing I ever stuck with. Premise is fitting in 30 mins a day, weekdays only and focusing on one room, or set of rooms per day (i.e there's a kitchen day, a bedroom day, a 'hall, stairs and landing' day etc). Then do one bathroom item per day on top. There is more to it but thats the basics. I don't know why it works better, but it does.

I would always recommend a cleaner if both working full time.

That’s what my cleaner does weekly!

deep clean is hoovering under bed, pull out drawers and clean behind, remove everything from shelves, wipe dust then put back. It takes her 25 hours for the whole house.