House is (mostly) tidy but not clean - how do you do it!

[shilohh]

My house is tidy, mostly. Some nights things might be left out in the kitchen or living room. The kids stuff might be lying around in their bedrooms but these things can be sorted quite quickly. Most things have a place to live and the house is fairly tidy.

However, the part I struggle with and I'm actually embarrassed of is the house isn't clean. There's dirty marks on the dishwasher, the sink is white and looks disgusting in just a couple of days, the oven needs a clean, the fridge is dirty, the bathroom floor has dust on the sides, the walls need a scrub all over the house, - I could go on.

I have tried keeping on top of it when I've done a deep clean of a room but can't. I basically can tidy but can't clean. I can't keep on top of it - when do you do these things! Do you have a routine doing set things on specific days. I find the kitchen the hardest place to keep clean.

Would really appreciate some advice.

Who lives in the house? Why is it all your responsibility?

Mine is similar. Always tidy, but I'd rather noone popped round to use the bathroom unexpectedly and I do not adhere to the 2 second rule.
I'm a teacher, my cleaning is a mix of feast and famine.

Not all my responsibility. DH and I both tidy and he cleans the bath, loo and sink most days. He does the laundry, ironing and cooks a couple of times a week and other bits.

You have to learn to multitask. Whilst you’re making a tea grab a cloth and clean the kitchen. Whilst you’re waiting for something to cook wipe a worktop / clean the dishwasher. I never really just stand around waiting for anything- not saying you do just saying how I manage things. I’m constantly looking for stuff to do. When my ds is in the bath I’ll clean the sink and toilet etc. That sort of thing.

The Organised Mum Method may work for you. So you have a set day with a timer.
So every week each room gets a bit more than a surface clean.

You could write the schedule yourself eg. If you know Saturday morning suits that could be the day for the deeper clean of a kitchen and maybe Sunday off.

My tip is to batch cook (that frees up a good half an hour every day) and use things like microwave rice etc to create less mess.

Dh & I share the cleaning here. I do most of the midweek cooking due to finishing work earlier.
But once I've cooked & we've eaten, he cleans up the kitchen. This always involves putting all the stuff away into fridge/ cupboard. Properly cleaning the counter & table.
Washing up & drying & putting away all the dishes . Cleaning out the sink afterwards & wiping the rim of it (large white double Belfast sink) & drying the draining board.
Give it a spray of cleaning product.
Put the cloths in the wash & put out new ones. Empty the bin if it needs it & put new bin bag in
Give the hob a clean if it needs it
Plump up the cushions on the sofa & generally leave the room tidy

We keep cleaning products in the bathroom & pretty much every day when I'm in there I use a wipe to clean the sink & it's surround. We clean the toilet each day.

The fridge became a bone of contention when dh moaned about some mouldy veg ages ago so I told him he was perfectly welcome to be the king of the fridge & it could now be his responsibility. So now he cleans it out (dumping old stuff & rearranging contents) when we bring him e shopping. He grumbles about it as he hates doing it but tough..if he was happy to criticise he can be happy to sort it out

I mostly do the laundry (since the great cashmere disaster & the expensive underwear in with black t-shirts incidents) & I do a wash every eevening. I don't always put it all away though & sometimes clean folded clothes do pile up on a chair in our room during the week but I tackle it at the weekend
About 1 a week we blitz the place - dh will Hoover the whole house & I'll dust & put away laundry

We both work full time & are usually out of the house 8am - 6pm Mon- Fri

Concentrate on doing one room "properly" in a day - leave the tidying of other rooms and just get that one room spotless. Repeat until all rooms that need cleaning are done.
Once everywhere is properly clean it'll be easier to keep on top of general dusting/sweeping & tidying etc.

Either that or pay for cleaners to come and do a proper spring clean!

Well you can just clean the dirty bits - use an old t shirt as a cleaning cloth (then you can turn it several times as it's big) - wipe handmarks off walls on the way up, wipte dust round edge of bathroom floor. Wipe out the bit under the milk in the fridge, different cloth, clean out old veg before next shop arrives. Pick up obvious bits on carpet. Done.

Generally have set days for things. Also agree with poster above that I’m never standing around. If I’m cooking in the kitchen I will clean/tidy while waiting for something to boil, etc. I also combine tasks a bit. So you say the dishwasher is dirty, I would see this and next time I put the dishwasher on would then grab a cloth and clean the outside so it becomes part of the process of putting on the dishwasher.

Yes! This is me! And what gives me the rage is people who say 'my house is untidy but it is clean'. So they manage to clean around all the clutter? How? And more importantly, why? Why not tidy as you clean? I know why, because they are bloody lying!

I clean 1 thing every day. Like, today I need to dust the reception rooms.

We have a few bathrooms and I rotate through them when I need to go to the loo. Then I give the sink and loo a clean on my way out. Top up loo roll and change hand towels en route. It adds about 90seconds to my toilet trip.

I have a Bosch washer dryer so I sort of have a little washing fairy to help me. Couldn't be without it.

I make the children wipe down the low kitchen cupboards / outside of dishwasher, in order to earn iPad time. Because I hate doing it.

Never leave a bed unmade. Made beds always make a house feel better.

I think there's an Organised Mum Method that people rave about. Have you checked that out?

don't wear glasses at home.
that makes some dust magically dissapear

I have just accepted that I'm not particularly house proud and live with it. Have raised 3 kids to adult hood and have a decent career, so if floor isn't spotless or something could do with a wipe, so what. I'll get round to it at some point.I dont live in a midden or a show home and its fine. Lower your expectations and relax

So after reading the tips this morning I took on the just bloody do it mantra! Ive managed to clean the dishwasher and washing machine and cleaned the fridge inside and out. It honestly didn't feel like such an extra chore whilst fitting it between things.

Just do it! So obvious and bloody simple!

I will see how I get on with this new thing before looking at a daily schedule. I can never stick to them.