My house is spotless from top to bottom

[upandmumming]

Now how the bloody hell do I keep it like this?

I do this every 5/6 weeks, blitz every room, I mean every little corner every appliance all bathrooms all floors hoovered and mopped so the house is like a show home and I tell myself right now you've done it, all you have to do is keep it like this, which will never take more than just putting away what you're doing and doing a little tidy in every room before you leave it

Yet within 5 days the house is a bomb site again and I just feel grim and it all gets on top of me until it becomes unbearable and I snap and spend another whole day cleaning and the cycle repeats

So anyone wiser than me - how do I maintain this?!

Sorry, to be clear: I used to clean WHILE watching Aggie and co cleaning (YouTube). I still watch YouTube or listen to podcasts, just to make cleaning more bearable!

My house has never been spotless, nor will it ever be. It's not something I'm interested in trying to achieve. My house is a HOME

Mils house is spotless. She declutters ruthlessly - dhs teddy was binned when he was 4! She also doesnt really sit down - she's always fussing.

My house is tidy but not super clean. Kitchen is clean, bathroom is clean. I send the robot hoover around for me and occasionally dust in corners etc. My friends know to never turn up unannounced and even if they did, they'd just have to take me as they find me. My home is my safe space and I couldn't give a shit about what people think of any dust in it...I certainly wouldn't feel 'mortified'. I have actual problems to deal with.

😂 Agree.

<looks around at my sole occupant flat>

my dm was like this had to be spotless it drove me mad-ok im not into it myself but i think it became an obession

Because ultimately this and other methods take time. That's the answer to how do you keep it like a show home - time. Even little and often people are spending time on it, which a lot of people who both work full time and have small children just don't have. I come home from work, play with my children, put them to bed and either do more work or clean the kitchen/put away washing/make tomorrow's packed lunch until about 9pm. Yes I could start cleaning the bathroom then but I think it's important to spend an hour with my husband before I go to sleep. At points in my life where i had say a toddler who slept for 2 hours whilst I was in the house every day, keeping it clean really wasn't an issue.

H would like a permanently spotless house like his parents’ (not that he does any of the cleaning!). It’s tough bloody luck though because I’m not going to spend my entire life cleaning and that’s what it takes. The second you’ve finished, it begins to get dirty again. You clean the kitchen, someone magically produces a cup or water late that has to go on top of the dishwasher because it’s already on or you have to cook tea. You mop the floor, the dog comes skidding in with giant muddy paw prints everywhere. I hate it so much, it’s the worst thing about being an adult.

Ive heard that doing 15 minutes a day in each room (1 room a day on rotation) can help.

I don't even have time to do that so never tried it but I'm sure there is threads on here about it.

What a boring, fucking waste of precious none-work time. I think I'd almost rather actually be in church!

Get a cleaner. It’s really changed our lives. We decluttered before they started and now they can do the whole house in two hours. We have robo vacuum/mop to keep it clean in between. Then it’s just ad-hoc deep cleans like the fridge/shutters etc. Am happy for anyone to come over unannounced now - not that anyone does though 😂

Less stuff.

The emptier, the neater. Ruthless binning is fast and helps a lot.

Do you think maybe the issue is perfectionism? If I thought to myself ‘ok I need to keep the home like a show house’ I’d always feel overwhelmed and never get things right. But instead I think ‘I need to clean after myself’ and so we keep the house nice and clean but not a show house. Sometimes there might be a few dishes in the sink or shoes by the door and that’s ok but by prioritising and doing a little bit here and there we keep it reasonable. Maybe you’re falling into the trap of thinking if it’s not a show home it’s not worth doing anything. Rather than blitzing it every month do more reasonable small daily tasks.

Put your feet up, get a book, cup of tea, review again in 5/6 weeks if ness.

spotless house, empty life

The Organised Mum Method

it really works for me and made such a difference to our home

I do TOMM and while it’s never totally spotless (some shoes by the door or dishes by the sink) every room is usually in a reasonable enough state that I wouldn’t be embarrassed if someone popped round, which is all I need really. Totally recommend it.

I no longer have young children which helps but To be honest i find it really easy, i make the bed when i get up or DH does if he's up after me. I clean the sink every few days, usually while brushing my teeth. We squeegy the shower after most uses. Dirty clothes go straight in the basket on the landing, if i am last up to bed i gather up remotes into the basket under the coffee table, straighten cushions and open curtains. I have a cordless hoover that i run round at least once a day downstairs, upstairs every couple of days. DH does a big clean and dust once a week including the loo andtesting the smoke / carbon monoxide alarms. Washing up is always done after every meal by either me , DH or DS or all of us together. I do most of the cooking and clean up as i go along, i do a wash every few days especially if no rain is forecast. If you looked at my house it always looks clean and tidy but it is superficial, theres lots of dust under beds and skirting boards woodwork etc are not always pristine but daily it passes quite well.

Snap. I have no DC and one cat and still...

I say fuck it - if you can get it thoroughly clean every 5 or 6 weeks, just don't worry about it in between.

Sounds like you don't have kids I highly doubt your house isn't visitor ready by day 3 after cleaning it top to bottom. You'll know untidy if you ever have kids. It's like trying to outswim a tsunami or trying to bail out with a shot glass on the titanic... I dream of the day my kids leave home and my house is spotless (I don't really that's a complete lie, I'd just like the mess to go!).

If on the off chance you do have kids, please do share how you have a spotless house for 3 whole days, I genuinely want to know?!

In my experience the people who have spotless houses have or do one or more of the following;
are all out of the house most of the day,
don't really cook much,
have a cleaner,
have a playroom,
have a utility room,
have a spare room or other good storage room,
frequently spend ages cleaning and tidying.

My house isn't spotless but it's almost always visitor ready.
I follow TOMM loosely,
have a place for everything,
got rid of loads of stuff when we moved,
got a robot vacuum.

Our house is far from show home standards but is pretty clean and tidyish. And honestly anyone coming over is a friend or family and if they are going to judge me on my home then they know where the door is!

Like many others have said, little and often. I have a handheld Dyson, best thing I bought. Literally takes me 10 mins to hoover my whole house (3 floors!). I have to do it daily as I'm a bit allergic to my cats and if I let the hair build up it makes me feel all bunged up and my eyes sting!

I try and do little jobs while I'm waiting for things. Eg while the kettle is boiling I empty the dishwasher or wipe round the kitchen. While dinner is cooking I will flick the hoover round or quickly wipe round the bathroom. While watching TV I will sort the washing or load up the airer. While I'm waiting for dd2 to get ready for bed I will wipe round the shower or dust a few surfaces. I make the next days lunch while dinner is cooking so then the chopping board/knife gets washed up with dinner stuff.

But my biggest bit of advice, have the cleaning stuff to hand where it's needed. I have glass cleaner, Anti bac and toilet bleach in each bathroom with a few cloths, a duster in each bedroom and one in the lounge behind TV. Dyson is wall mounted in hallway plugged in and always ready to go. Spray mop filled and hanging up behind kitchen door with the broom and dustpan. Kitchen cleaner under sink with cloths. This way whenever you have a spare 5 mins you can just do it straight away.

After dinner, wash up/load dishwasher straight away. I stick on the radio and just get it done. So much nicer to wake up to a clean kitchen.

Things like post sorted and binned or addressed straight away. (This is my downfall I need to work on!)

And decluttering is key, making sure you have the right storage for what you have and need to keep. I now know where pretty much most things are, so eg when dd has a surprise dress up day I can locate fabric pens, safety pens etc straight away without buying more!!

I like a list and feeling a sense of achievement so I bought a white board from Tesco, created a grid in sharpie, wrote all the jobs and whoever does the job initials it. It has all the daily jobs and a to do list of bigger or extra jobs eg mine had mow grass, wipe skirting boards, clean front door, put up command hooks. No more, "I would have done something but I didn't know what needed doing " from DH, the kids love to do a job to earn some pocket money and my house is cleaner!!

What is this you speak of and can we add dad's? Level playing field in our house both working ft!

She also doesnt really sit down - she's always fussing

Everyone I've met with a spotless house is like this. It's like they can't rest and are hyper aware of any little thing that needs doing, and can't ignore it.

My sister is very much like this and I find it quite stressful when I visit. Always wanting to "pop the hoover round" or stick something in the dishwasher or put away that thing. Just relax FGS! (is what I feel like saying!).

My house is generally just "reasonable". Not spotless, but not a complete mess. I'm happy with that.

Why does it need to be 'spotless'?No family home is spotless all the time.

Do you have OCD? Who are you trying to prove this to?

Also we've always sort of had our unspoken jobs... maybe it's time to speak about it.