How often do you ‘DO’ housework?

[TeeandCroissants]

I’m struggling to keep on top of the housework and I’m not sure what I should be doing daily, weekly , monthly etc.

I don’t work (I’m disabled) and my disability means my ability to function normally is impaired. I feel like I’m not doing anything for me because by the time the housework is done, I’m so exhausted, there’s nothing left in me for “me”.

I also have three DC with SEN and we have two small breed, low energy dogs who are DH’s responsibility to walk (but are my companions during the day). DH works full time and whilst he does a lot of the physical chores, the day to day drudge is all on me.

I feel like my home is never tidy though and I’m constantly picking up and putting away the same stuff, every single day.

What are your daily chores and is your home a show home or lived in?

I grew up in a show home with two full time working parents and I honestly don’t know how my mother did it.

DH run our own business and work a ridiculous number of hours and only get 1 day off on a good week. Some weeks no days off and the days are 10 hours long. Our house is very much lived in and in need of a good spring clean!
I just about keep on top of the washing and dishes and cooking. The rest is very sporadic.

This is how I do mine, just one DC at home and 3 cats though, definitely lived in.

I guess it depends what you mean by housework?

I cook every day and do laundry. Probably spend an hour or two in total depending on whether it's an easy prep meal.
Cleaning is once a week - vacuum, dust and clean bathrooms. A thorough clean of the whole house (4 bed, 4 reception) takes 4 hours but I don't do a thorough clean every week.
I guess dogs make a bit more hoovering necessary.
So altogether maybe 15 hours a week max.

I have to say that I have a routine and I like to stick to it and so I don’t book anything else in during that time.

So on Monday morning I clean the sitting room, hall, kitchen and wc. This involves, damp dusting, vacuuming and mopping and obviously cleaning the loo with loo duck and wipes (not flushed 😃). Before I start I gather ‘stuff’ and put it away if it lives downstairs or on the stairs if it lives upstairs to take up later
Then on Thursday morning I strip our bed and clean our bedroom, en suite, stairs and landing and the family bathroom.

However, I cannot really compare to you as I do not have a disability and my kids have left home, so it is much easier, although i have 2 active dogs who like to shake rainwater/mud up the walls and leave muddy paw prints across the kitchen 🐕

But what I’m trying to get at is that maybe you can allocate say, Monday morning, to complete certain tasks / rooms.

I like the idea of a routine and different days for different jobs. I think this may help me manage a bit more.

On a daily basis I do;

Put on washing, hang out washing, put away ystds washing

Wash up and keep kitchen clean

Leave living room tidy before I go to bed.

A few times a week I'll run the hoover round.

Weekly I'll clean the bathroom/downstairs loo.

Dusting gets done when I can be bothered!

I work full time, one dd and one dog.

I don’t have time to do much housework in the week so I’ve come to accept that by Thursday it’s all looking a bit ropey. It definitely doesn’t look like a show home.

Every day we do the dishwasher, wipe surfaces and generally put things away. It doesn’t take much time at all.

I’ll do a very quick wipe around in the bathroom mid-week or when it looks like it needs it.

I then spend about 4-5 hours cleaning over the weekend (which does make me feel a bit sad). This includes hoovering, mopping, cleaning the kitchen and bathroom properly, tidying away clutter and getting through all the washing. I usually do one bigger job as well, such as cleaning the skirting boards, windows, etc.

Listen to music or a podcast/audio book that interests you whilst you are doing housework then it feels like you are doing something for you at the same time.

In the past I have found the TOMM method works well.

As soon as I'm done with breakfast (which takes place on a non-comfy chair or it's all over), I start cleaning and tidying. I probably spend at least an hour every morning before we go out.

Here is my weekly list (I don't write down everything I do - just things I easily forget about).

I have two separate lists for Misc (things that need done when they need it - I add to it as I find them) and Monthly items

Honestly, for me the important thing is to get some things done first thing, or the whole day is a write off.

Definitely not a show home here! It's very much lived in, but I hope it's clean!

Daily:

• Empty dishwasher from night before
• Restack dishwasher and put on
• Clean sink
• Wipe kitchen work tops
• Put washing machine on
• Put away clean clothes dried from day before
• Hang up clothes when machine finishes
• Hoover either upstairs or downstairs
• Empty dishwasher
• Cook dinner
• Restack dishwasher and put on again if needed
• Wipe down kitchen work tops

Weekly: change bed sheets for three beds, clean bathroom and toilet

I work ft and have two small kids, so am also cleaning up after them a lot 😭

I'm not in your situation at all, but i used to be fastidious, would clean every week top to bottom, and would throw in something extra like tidying the under sink or a wardrobe, etc., at least monthly. The pandemic killed this. I now clean about monthly, and once a year I do a deep clean. It's not great, I'm not proud, but it's been fine.

90% show home 10% lived in.

I prioritise the uncommon tasks like cleaning the oven and the details like polishing the toaster and taps (yes, really) and its easier to do the smaller stuff with rules like "dont put it down, put it away".

I love fidgeting while watching telly so turned that that into productive time. Its now a podcast and cleaning.

But the time has to come from somewhere, consequently I'm not prioriting other things as much so be realistic about your expectations.

DH does a lot of the boring stuff like laundry, dishwasher and dishes, I do more deep clean stuff and I do it a lot. It takes a lot of time. And half of the time the bathrooms arent as clean as I'd like. There is always something.

Having less stuff is a big help. If you have to move something to clean something else, it's already 3 jobs (move stuff, clean stuff, put stuff back).

It's always easier to clean clean stuff, like bathrooms, before they become really grimy so that motivates me in days when I cant be arsed.

But it literally takes hours so dont pressure yourself about living in an instagram inspo home unless you actually want to spend that much time cleaning. Not many people care that much but for me, it genuinely gives me joy and comfort and control in my life when things get stressful.

Hoover daily as the cats kick cat litter everywhere sometimes twice a day, I've been known to do it 3 times. Dust weekly, bathroom cleaned weekly (toilet daily), I try to put the washing away as soon as it's dry or at least in the evening, towels washed on a Saturday, sheets on a Sunday. Bathroom and kitchen floors get hoovered daily, washed every couple of weeks (it's the only thing I don't seem to do as often). Washing up put away when it's dry.

I've done this since I moved out as a 20 something as my mum just has no concept of dirt. I also have very little clutter as my parents just can't throw anything away and it attracts dust.

It's clean and tidy but never show home as the cats put paid to that.

I spend about 5 hours on a Thursday, as I'm off that day and everyone else is out the house. Other then that, we put away any toys the kids have had out before bed, and tidy up any mess in the kitchen as we go, but don't do any major housework in-between.

When we have visitors.

These are all very helpful. It’s the ‘big clean’ which takes hours I just simply can’t manage. I try hard to keep on top of things but when I’m regularly poorly it piles up and I feel terrible about it .

I think a list and daily chores for different days could help.

I do "housework" all day every day. But that means just doing things as we go along. We never let anything build up or get disorganised.

When our son used to spend a few hours playing with toys, lego, model trains, etc., we had a rule that it all got put away (where it belongs) every day, At first me and OH did it, but as he got a bit older, we made him do it.

Washing up gets done as soon as we finish our meal, all done, dried and put away.

If we get anything out of drawers, cupboards, etc., it always goes back again as soon as we're finished with it.

We have set days for the washing, bedding on a particular day, a clothes white wash on a particular day and a coloured wash on a particular day. All ironed and put away same day. So 3 days per week.

After a bath/shower, whoever is last for that day knows to wipe down afterwards.

Less frequent tasks like dusting or vacuuming just get done in between, usually a room at a time, so again, quite a quick job rather than having to allocate half a day to vacuum or dust the whole house.

Decluttering is also a massive time saver - the less you have, the less to get dusty/dirty, the easier to dust/vacuum, etc.

Little and often is my motto, along with "everything has a place and a place for everything", which means nothing ever gets accumulated, we don't accumulate piles of "stuff" that needs putting away or weeks worth of dust/dirt/grime that takes more time to clean.

Little and often.

Declutter, I have personally never bought much, be totally ruthless.

I also have a robot vacuum cleaner, it’s not as good as the big one but it keeps stuff under control.

You haven’t written the children’s ages nor what they can do, if they can do anything however small encourage it.

I work from home 4 days a week and in the office one day, but my job is very full on (8am - 6pm most days) with a DSS (4 nights a week), a dog and 2 cats.

Everyday I’m home I do some sort of washing (clothes, bedding or towels), wipe the kitchen over, hoover and tidy the living room, clean up after the animals and cook.

At the weekends I deep clean the kitchen and 3 bathrooms, dust everywhere and clean all the hard floors. I try and do it in just one day at the weekend so I still have one day to relax.

DP does all the ‘outdoorsy’ stuff like clean the car, mow the grass, sweep etc.

Its definitely not a show home and some weeks I don’t get everything I want done, especially if I have more than one office day as I’m out the house from 6:30am to nearly 7pm on those days.

The way I see it as long as we all have clean clothes and bedding, full bellies and happy animals then most days that’s a win!

I use a timer for 30 mins after following someone on Instagram who does the same
Makes me feel like I've achieved something!

I'm disabled.

I can't manage a big clean I get too tired.

I try to have stuff I keep on top of daily -laundry and dishes

Weekly - kitchen and bathroom

When it's dirty/I have time - living room and my bedroom.

Obviously some kitchen stuff comes under daily.

I could have written the exact same post. I have a cleaner once a fortnight which helps but I still do stuff in between. My house is always clean and tidy (but my kids are older so it’s a lot easier). That said, I still do quite a lot and it’s just as and when and then I often ‘boom and bust’. I also have OCD and although my obsessions/compulsions aren’t specifically cleaning related, I do think my inability to leave things is probably linked.

As a PP has said, The Organised Mum method is helpful. That said, I struggled to stick to the times and ended up wearing myself out. Hence the cleaner coming! Is a cleaner something you could afford? Mine do 2 hours worth (there’s usually 2 of them) for £37.50 a fortnight.

It’s so hard. I’m really struggling at the moment with having no life. Sending hugs OP.

Hoover downstairs everyday, upstairs 3/4 times a week
Bathroom everyday after we shower, downstairs loo everyday
Dusting 2/3 times a week
laundry every other day
kitchen gets cleaned every night after we cook and do dishes every day
Theres 2 adults in my house

Once a week. Tuesday afternoon for 2/3 hours.
I teach 4 days a week so other than laundry (a load a day), the rest just has to wait.

I have 2 teens who keep me vv busy, so I haven't headspace in the week, apart from my Tuesday slot. It is what it is! By Monday, it's a mess, but hey ho.