How often do you clean your house?

[Rachell1]

I would just like to know everyone’s cleaning routines so that I can try and establish one of my own!

I keep the house as clean as possible (although it’s often quickly undone with toddler running around undoing everything the second I tidy up!).

But how often do you deep clean the bathroom? Hoover & mop? Clean the windows?

Also… why is it that my shower screen gets covered in stubborn hard to scrub off water marks every bloody day!!! It’s actually hard work scrubbing the whole screen!!

I have a dog who sheds and I never hoover in terms of pushing it round myself.
Robot hoover goes on for an hour or so as and when needed while we’re out. Can be daily.
Throws on sofas get washed and changed weekly so no hair actually on the sofa.

Cleaner comes fortnightly to do thorough clean/hoover/surfaces/mirrors etc.

I wipe surfaces in the kitchen daily, bathroom as and when……. Change bedding weekly…….. washing on as and when……

No kids to make a mess though and I don’t think cleaning is that important, so it’s not on my priority list.

I tend to do a deep clean of a room every few days but generally tidy and clean every morning. I set an hour on my phone and get as much done as possible.
Recently treated myself to some more festive scented products to give me some motivation 🤣
Also have to mop downstairs daily as mostly laminate and my 4 little darlings love running through house with muddy shoes at moment. I tend to grab a towel that needs a freshen up and use my foot to dry afterwards so no repeating myself about not stepping on the wet floor, Yadda Yadda.
My mission at the moment is decluttering like crazy so the cleaning will be much easier!
It's just never ending isn't it.

I can't imagine spending an hour a day cleaning. In a decade that is 152 x 24hr days. What a bloody waste!

Surely not!! I have 2 children (under 3) and I don’t have to put the washing machine on daily!

I actually clean everyday.
My bathroom and kitchen get cleaned daily as I find it easier to keep on top of.

Clean the windows once a week.

Hoover everyday too.

Get a cheap floor fan to dry your floors in minutes. Life changer.

But….HOW?!

I have two you children (currently off on maternity leave), husband works 12 hours each day. I literally don’t know how I would manage to do that kind of stuff on top of the daily stuff that needs to be done (emptying dishwasher, tidying up after dinner, doing and putting away any washing, general tidy up of toys).

No routine here. I do what I can when I can snatch small bits of time. That might mean cleaning the toilet and sink while the children are in the bath, cleaning the windows when they are both happily playing (unexpectedly).

The organised mum method...the only way your house will be clean but it is hard work What I don't understand is what is the point? No one has ever explained to me how my life would be better if i spent all my time doing this pointless cleaning.

We are similar to you but actually a bit worse. I hate it. I always had a clean home prior to DC1. It was bit more difficult after we had DC1 but we managed ok still. Since having DC2 it's all gone to shit and the house is an embarrassment. I frequently don't invite people over because i feel too embarrassed.

I have a brush that you fill with detergent and vinegar and use when in the shower

Be reassured that I don't understand how people do all this cleaning either. I do bits and bobs throughout the day because I wfh most of the week, but generally if I'm at home I'm either working or parenting and my house is never really clean. I can't leave my child alone while I spend an hour cleaning the bathroom. I also can't hoover or do anything noisy when he's in bed, which rules out cleaning in the early morning and evening. So yup... I don't get it.

There a lot of daily cleaning, twice a day hoovering baggers on here!!

All depends on how big your house is, how many children you have, how useful your partner is, do you work?, do you have physical ability to spend hours cleaning?, do you have girls or boys in your house, how much does it bother you....the list goes on.

Its just me so only my mess which means I only have to properly clean my house once a week. Kitchen worktops and any tables im eating at get cleaned daily. toilets more often if required.

When I use the soft brush on my vaccum for the skirting I run it over my shelves and the windowsill and frames for any dust.

I only clean windows when I book in the window cleaner they don't get that dirty in 4 months.

*braggers!

Hoover when I can see visible crap on the carpets, ditto with mopping where needed.

I hate cleaning so I focus on the stuff that needs it. I keep kitchen surfaces and toilet clean. Bathroom gets a proper clean down every week. Don’t often dust.

There’s five of us here and DH is a SAHD so he picks up most of it, but honestly we’re not hugely diligent. I’ve got better things to do than cleaning to a show home level.

I clean the whole house once a week and maintain throughout week. I have found using a micro fibre cloth on the shower screen after each shower really keeps on top of the water marks. I bought a carpet sweeper for the rug and I sweep through the wood floors between hoovers. Cuts down on electricity that way. Kitchen is cleaned daily.

Whenever it’s starting to look bad and I can be arsed/someone is coming round. I am tidy mind you and live alone. I hate cleaning. Little interventions like hoovering up dead flies from the windowsills in the summer make the place look reasonable.

If your husband lives in your home with you then he needs to share the cleaning work. Who died and elected him the boss of you, the arbiter of clean windows? How did it happen that he got to avoid all cleaning, and how does he get away with the hurtful window washing?

Ask him does he want to move back in with his mother. Make sure he is in no doubt about how pissed off you are about his passive aggression wrt the windows, and demand he do his fair share of work around the house.

This sounds a good level to me.

Mine's out of control at the moment. I tend to let it overwhelm me then do a 2 hour blitz. I'm permanently shattered and just don't have the willpower to keep on top of it.

I don't think there are many shortcuts. The various systems are mainly ways to trick yourself into spending more time cleaning.

I'm sorry but hoovering twice a day??? Cleaning bathrooms daily? Fuck that. How in the world is that necessary?

Once a week for me. I do sweep kitchen floor and wipe kitchen surfaces daily/more often if needed.

It's not really true that you have to like something in order to want to take care if it

You have to feel that you have agency as an adult and that you are not being treated as an incompetent hired maid by an entitled twat who believes he's your lord and master.

You have to feel that your husband values and appreciates what you do, with the knowledge that he understands it's sheer neverending drudgery and that it's hard to juggle cleaning and care of a toddler.

Surely its 1 hour per day so 1 x 365 (366 if a leap year) multiplied by 10 for a decade😳

3652 hours of cleaning in a decade.

Yes, which is 152 full (as in 24hr) days, which is a lot of time.

I think the PP had gone a bit overboard with regards to the premise of the method!

The basic outline is 15 minutes daily of “regular” stuff. So, a quick hoover of high traffic areas, chuck washing in machine (only if you have enough to warrant a wash), wipe don countertops, make beds (fyi, this means plump pillows and fold duvet back so that beds can breathe - not “make” them so they look insta-ready!)

Then Monday-Thursday, you allocate an area each day - no more than 30 minutes

Monday - Living room. Hoover, dust surfaces, air or wash throws etc
Tuesday - bedrooms. Wash bedding, dust surfaces, etc
wednesday - hallways. Hoover, clear up crap
Thursday - kitchen. Can’t remember the list
Friday is Friday Focus day. Operates on an eight week schedule, which ensures that all rooms get a slightly deeper clean (windows, skirting’s etc etc).

It sounds a lot and it sounds complicated, but it isn’t. The idea is, little and often with a slightly deeper clean every eight weeks - rather than the “fuck, whole house needs an army to deep clean” once a year!

The more you do it, the easier it gets each time because nothing gets to build up. Plus, the idea is to try to keep to it as it keeps weekends clear, rather than spending time cleaning. Obviously you need to keep on top of washing up, quick clean of the loo, but it’s a good system to ensure that you’re vaguely on top of things without getting too obsessed and overworked with it.

Have a look at the website, it will explain it much better than me!

Daily - Dishes, Countertops, Tidy Up, Beds
Every 2 days - Get to the bottom of the laundry basket - both dirty washing and ironing/putting away
Monday & Thursday - Dust/Polish and hoover
Tuesday and Friday - Clean Bathrooms thoroughly
Saturday - Clean/Clear fridge ready for new shop.

As needed - hob/oven/microwave//kitchen and bathroom floors/glass on windows and mirrors (basically when I notice that they need done)

1st weekend of every quarter - Deep clean where needed so window frames, carpet clean, curtains/cushions/pillows/quilt/blankets etc/Seasonal stuff - only what needs done.

It sounds worse than it looks and my house looks pretty clean (most) of the time (well I think so anyway!)