Please tell me the bare minimum

[thecakebadge]

...of how frequently I should do these things before I should get environmental health involved.

I don’t have particularly high cleaning standards as a general rule although I like to think I’m not totally gross. I’m currently 11 weeks pregnant with DC2 and suffering really badly with all day nausea, it just never goes away. DD (nearly 2) is still a terrible sleeper and generally quite hard work and I’m having to look after her most of the time at weekends as my DH is trying to do up our house which we just moved into, before the baby comes (this all sounds like awful timing now I type it out!). I’m getting next to nothing done around the house, most stuff is being done by DH in between everything else he’s doing (cooking, washing up etc). People keep telling me to ‘just lower my standards’ but I’m pretty sure they can’t go much lower. So how often can I get away with doing these things before it just becomes disgusting?!

1. Change bedding
2. Change/wash towels
3. Basic bathroom clean ie. wipe down sinks, clean toilets (just typing that makes me want to vom)
4. Proper bathroom clean including shower, tiles, bath
5. Vacuuming
6. Mopping (all of downstairs is hardwood flooring)

I hardy ever wash my floors in living areas, I just think from a germ point of view there are no more than a carpeted floor and I'd get someone in maybe twice a year to clean a carpet so why would hard floors need more attention than that. Take shoes off at the door and wash bathroom and kitchen floors.

I think you need to put yourself first here .You are pregnant with heavy Sickness /Nausea and a tot to boot. Honestly no ones going to die if the floors a bit grubby. I see you are renovating as well. Are you a glutton for punishment by any chance! As above PP says could you afford a Cleaner maybe once /twice a week. Do you have family nearby to help at all .O/W mop floors once or twice a week ,(just sweep inbetween) Towels once a week /bedding once every 10 days maybe .Vacuming upstairs only I presume once a week /.Stick some bleach down the loo every few days and rinse the bath /tiles with warm water /some A bac Spray .

If you don't wear shoes in the house you can leave much bigger gaps between cleaning in general.

The cleaner is a great idea if you can afford it.

Whenever you can, rather than depending on strict schedules - and it shouldn't all be on you either.

A bit of dirt, mess and dust won't hurt (in fact we possibly all clean a bit too much these days).

I would do -

1. Change bedding - fortnightly
2. Change/wash towels - weekly (but if you let them air and dry properly after each use I guess you could stretch that out)
3. Basic bathroom clean ie. wipe down sinks, clean toilets (just typing that makes me want to vom) - weekly, however doing it more frequently will make the main bathroom clean a lot easier so might be better overall.
4. Proper bathroom clean including shower, tiles, bath - depends on the frequency of wiping down, if you wipe down the bath and shower every couple of days, you won’t have to do a “proper” clean that will involve more effort because it will always be pretty clean
5. Vacuuming - meh, fortnightly, if that, especially if it’s just the bedrooms/stairs and there are no shoes upstairs.
6. Mopping (all of downstairs is hardwood flooring) - depends on your DD, we have to wipe the floor under DD’s high chair daily. Excluding that area, it really depends on how muddy it might get as the weather gets worse, you could sweep it more frequently, mop occasionally?

@thecakebadge, I have ME.
At some point, I could hardly do more than sitting on the sofa starring at the window. DH didn’t tink then that stepping up was a good idea.

1. Change bedding : about 1x a week
2. Change/wash towels: about 1x a week
3. Basic bathroom clean ie. wipe down sinks, clean toilets (just typing that makes me want to vom): once a month at best. Bleach in toilet when needed..
4. Proper bathroom clean including shower, tiles, bath : hmm.... tiles did you say...
5. Vacuuming : once every 6~8 weeks..
6. Mopping (all of downstairs is hardwood flooring): never until I could take over again.

Our saviour: a cleaner. Don’t hesitate like I did.

1- change bedding. A month? Unless you've got the pregnancy sweats and it smells
2 - change towels - if you're showering 3x a week, maybe 2 weeks? Make sure they dry properly between each shower.
3 - basic bathroom clean - maybe once a month? Throw some bleach down the loo if you feel up to it
4 - proper bathroom clean - worry about that after the baby is born
5 - vacuuming - fortnightly? I assume you don't have pets
6 - mopping - fortnightly? Again, assuming no pets

Honestly, threads like these bring the clean freaks out. I clean less frequently than everyone's mentioned and I have a clean and tidy home. Do it only when you feel it's minging, not the internet.

Most of the tasks can be done daily. Wipe the shower after use. Ditto toilet.

Can you get a steam mop for the floors? Much less faff than a mop and bucket, IMO.

I reckon once a week for most of those jobs, the full-on bathroom probably fortnightly-ish. I’m a bit of a slattern by MN standards so probably don’t do any of those things as often as all that in all fairness - can’t remember when my floors were last mopped, but we haven’t died as yet, so 🤷‍♀️ I wipe the bathroom round quickly once or twice a week and the rest is when I start to feel guilt stricken about the general filth or when we have visitors coming

Wash things that look grubby or that don't smell too good. Everything else is just window dressing.

Really it doesn't matter what anyone else does/thinks, only you two, so don't worry about keeping it to others standards!!

1. Change bedding

I change mine several times a week in the summer, usually only once a week in the winter. BUT I used to work in a ski resort & the staff (despite having laundry facilities) would go weeks/months & some a whole season without changing them (and there was a LOT of bed sharing going on!!). As far as I know, in the many years I worked there, none of them were unwell from it in any way.

1. Change/wash towels

Ditto bed sheets.

1. Basic bathroom clean ie. wipe down sinks, clean toilets (just typing that makes me want to vom)

Me- Wipe around daily, proper clean once a week minimum

Ski staff, staff quarters. See bedsheets...

1. Proper bathroom clean including shower, tiles, bath

As above

1. Vacuuming

As above

1. Mopping (all of downstairs is hardwood flooring)

Hoovered/swept most days. Steam mop maybe once/twice a week. Depending on how it looks. Daily with crawling baby.

Ski staff...'you need to clean the floor?'

There's quite a lot that can be left fir 6 months if you're more interested in skiing/sex/drinking. There's a lot that can be done daily if you're a bit 'anal'. Anything in between is just what you can tolerate!

But with a toddler I'd do as much as I was able, to keep it clean for them. Laying/playing on

Does she not like to 'help'. It takes longer, but you do get there in the end!!

You could get away with

1. Change bedding. One a fortnight or even every three weeks if you're not getting sweaty.
2. Change/wash towels

Once a week, possibly 2.

1. Basic bathroom clean ie. wipe down sinks, clean toilets (just typing that makes me want to vom). Once a fortnight unless there's visible mess.
2. Proper bathroom clean including shower, tiles, bath

Once every 6 weeks

1. Vacuuming

Once every few days or once a week depending on how much you're in the house.

1. Mopping (all of downstairs is hardwood flooring). once every few months unless visibly dirty.

Everyone's list will be different though! Just go with whatever you think is ok.

Looks don't matter. Nobody ever died of spotty tiles, crumpled sheets or bitty carpets. All that matters is very basic family hygeine in the kitchen and around the lavatory.

Clean kitchen work surfaces, lavatory seat/bowl/handle/potty and handbasin/ taps, would be my only priority. Disinfectant spray and awipe, preferably daily or at least every other day. I currently change basin hand-towels on alternate days because we're washing hands so often during covid.

  Bath, shower screen and tiles can just   be rinsed off with water  (use the shower head)  when you get out. 

   Everything else  ( change bedding, bath towels, hoovering ) can just be left until  they actually  annoy you  or you feel well enough to bother.  They are not a big deal. 

Right now,  just focus on  resting and being kind to yourself.  Have a shower <strong>every day</strong>  because it will lift your mood.  Watch TV box sets. Read to DD.  If you're lying on the sofa she will probably play quite happily on the floor beside you.

I change bath towels weekly, hand towels once or twice a week, or put a fresh one out if visitors are coming, tea towels get chucked in the machine after use and just go round with the next wash.
Bedding I aim for fortnightly but it’s sometimes less (I’m not a sweaty person and sleep alone so my sheets don’t tend to get icky)
Quick bathroom clean every few days (if you can’t face the loo just now, definitely delegate to your OH).
Proper bathroom clean about once a week (if I’m not feeling up to faffing with cloths I just use cleaning wipes).
Hoover approx weekly.
I feel for you OP, pregnancy sickness sucks xx

@TheSeedsOfADream

1. once a week

1. depends, I do mine after two uses or if they stay damp
2. Every day
3. once a week
4. more often than you think, especially if you have hard floors. (the whole allergy-hard floor thing only works if the hard floors are clean, otherwise the allergens go into the air rather than sitting on a carpet, however minging that seems)
5. depends how much use the room gets and by whom. I do my kitchen and bathroom daily because there's a lot of footfall. Bedrooms every couple of days, living room once a week,

Lol. Definitely not "bare minimum"

1. Change bedding - 3-4 weeks - no one died.

No one sleeps naked in this house- all onesied up not even heads touch the pillows.

1. Change/wash towels. If you're not showering every day- bath towels - fortnightly. Hand towels twice a week- they see more action.

1. Basic bathroom clean ie. wipe down sinks, clean toilets (just typing that makes me want to vom)

Weekly. Use white and shine if you can't face scrubbing the toilet.

1. Proper bathroom clean including shower, tiles, bath

Three weeks.

1. Vacuuming- weekly as you have a crawler.

1. Mopping (all of downstairs is hardwood flooring).

I can't remember the last time I mopped my kitchen floor. It's swept regularly and spot cleaned now and then. No one eats off the floor.

Ask on Student room, you will get way more realistic bare minimums.

This isn't what you asked but if you haven't already got to your GP and sought medication please do. Pregnancy sickness.co.uk is a really helpful source of the options.

1. Change bedding-fortnightly
2. Change/wash towels- weekly
3. Basic bathroom clean ie. wipe down sinks, clean toilets (just typing that makes me want to vom)- 2 x a week
4. Proper bathroom clean including shower, tiles, bath - every 10 days
5. Vacuuming - once a wk
6. Mopping (all of downstairs is hardwood flooring) once a wk

Bedding once a week
Towels once a week
Bathroom wipe down daily after shower
Full bathroom clean weekly
Hoover daily (with Dyson quick whip round) weekly with plug in hoover for a deeper clean.
Mop weekly

It's a pain in the arse to keep on top of but I find if I just keep the house ticking over the weekly deep cleans aren't too bad.

Who are all these people telling the OP about their super clean habits, she wanted to know the bare minimum that she can get away with, not helpful at all

@MissSmiley

Who are all these people telling the OP about their super clean habits, she wanted to know the bare minimum that she can get away with, not helpful at all

Bare minimum is subjective...When the op is able and can be arsed is bare minimum.

The thread will descend into competitive hygiene standards soon enough.

@thecakebadge One thing that I’ve found really helpful with hard floors downstairs in our house is a robot vacuum. I set it off in a room and leave it to it. I love him! I have dogs so loads of hair but it coped really well. Now and then I might use the proper vacuum but the robot does all the day to day stuff. You can even programme him to go when you’re not in. I know this is not helpful if you’re struggling for money though.

Otherwise I think fortnightly for bedding is fine and certainly what I did with small children.

Steam mop is the way forward. Quick drying and is a breeze to do.

1. Change bedding- fortnightly
2. Change/wash towels- couple of days
3. Basic bathroom clean ie. wipe down sinks, clean toilets (just typing that makes me want to vom)- 3 days
4. Proper bathroom clean including shower, tiles, bath fortnightly
5. Vacuuming weekly
6. Mopping (all of downstairs is hardwood flooring) weekly

Absolute minimum

1. Change bedding assuming no accidents, go to bed clean, not summer or hot climate: once every 3 weeks
2. Change/wash towels once every week
3. Basic bathroom clean ie. wipe down sinks, clean toilets (just typing that makes me want to vom) once every week
4. Proper bathroom clean including shower, tiles, bath once a month
5. Vacuuming once every week or two depending how messy
6. Mopping (all of downstairs is hardwood flooring) ditto