How often do you clean your home and what do you do?

[clinkclankclop]

Random question but I'm curious to know. I am quite lazy but my downstairs is usually ok upstairs however is a different story. My bathroom doesn't get cleaned as often as it should and most times I'd be embarrassed if someone asked to use my upstairs bathroom.

What is your cleaning routine and what bits do you never neglect ? How often do you do some sort of cleaning?

I'm retired so can't really say I haven't time, more not the inclination, usually try to do most stuff about once a week, bathroom, vacuuming, beds, etc. Sheets and towels done on Sunday when our electric is half price.

I work FT and have 2 dc - 17 & 13. No partner.

17yo is in charge of cleaning the bathroom.
13yo is in charge of living room & hoovering.

I keep on top of the kitchen & laundry.

We all do our own rooms.

The rest happens as and when. I do more than dc and they think I'm an ogre for expecting them to do housework 😂😂. But the only way I'd ever be the only person doing the housework in a house is if I lived alone.

We're out the house 11 hours a day, so not much really!
Dh cooks and washes up
I do the washing.
Bathroom gets a wipe round as I go, but probably properly cleaned once a week. I should do tiles a lot more.
Kids do own rooms.
Hoover/ wash floors once a week. Our bedroom probably less often. Kids hoover some.
Run a duster round when I can see cobwebs. Or if people are coming.
Occasionally lose my shit over what a mess the house is, then it's all hands on deck and proper scrub.

I'm single with no children and no pets. I'm probably the dirtiest person on MN, but in real life my places compares well to my friends'.

Dusting, hoovering and mopping - once every 3 or 4 weeks, if the floor is dirty in between I might pass the swiffer around and use the dustpan and brush around where I eat
Dishwasher goes on a couple of times a week
Laundrette trip around ever 3 weeks
Bathroom cleaned around once a week

Windows around once every 3-6 months
Wipe down of microwave and fridge etc. as and when
Wipe door handles when I can think of it

Bin emptied on bin day (not allowed to do anything else)

Some things I have never done such as clean the walls because it either washes the paint off, or they're wall papered

I couldn't do anything every single day. Some days I'm barely home!

Every day
wipe kitchen sides
general tidy
make bed
clean toilet
cook wash up
Empty kitchen bins

Couple of times a week
washing
hoover downstairs
wash kitchen floor
clean fridge check dates

Weekly
change bedding
wash towels
hoover bedrooms
hoover stairs
dust bedrooms
dust living/dining

monthly
windows
paintwork

then any projects as and when
sorting out cupboards wardrobes etc

I live alone. No pets.

@clinkclankclop

What's the magic formula for clean houses as a busy mum?

I think the secret is for DH to do some of the jobs & split the load....

Ah, you live alone like me, but your housework is more like all those families...

No DC here but we do have four animals and both of us work pretty physical jobs where we get pretty mucky.

Daily - make the bed, clean the toilet, rinse down the shower, wash dishes, clean the kitchen sides, vacuum downstairs, sweep floors.

Every couple of days - laundry.

Weekly - wash towels, wash bathmats, change the beds, vacuum upstairs, food shop and wipe out the fridge if needed.

Bins are collected every two weeks.

Monthly - windows (window cleaner).

I clean the kitchen sides before and after cooking dinner

Bathrooms get done once a week

A couple of loads of washing a day generally

Three storey house - DH hoovers once a week.

I quite like just walking round with a carrier bag collecting rubbish, always feels quite satisfying!

What's the magic formula for clean houses as a busy mum?

A
A husband who is tidy and doesn't create unnecessary mess

B
A husband who does his 50% of all household and childcare chores - EVERY SINGLE TIME

I clean up every day bathroom loo bleached everyday all dusting washing if i have any to do washing up wash dry pack away.
I do a deep clean once a fortnight that means in and out of everything behind the cooker fridge etc.
But i live alone so not much to do really.

I love a clean tidy house - dont we all but sometimes its just not possible to keep on top of things. I regular timetable is doable but also must be agreed between adults and some children in the house. Its not just up to one person imo. It brings to mind a famous poem:
Dust If You Must
by
Rose Milligan

Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better
To paint a picture, or write a letter,
Bake a cake, or plant a seed;
Ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time,
With rivers to swim, and mountains to climb;
Music to hear, and books to read;
Friends to cherish, and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world's out there
With the sun in your eyes, and the wind in your hair;
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,
This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
Old age will come and it's not kind.
And when you go (and go you must)
You, yourself, will make more dust.

How old are your children?

10&8 here and they do their own rooms including washing away, changing beds, polish and Hoover.

I clean the bathroom once a week. Mop once or twice a week. Polish once a week.

Hoover downstairs daily (upstairs once a week) and general tidying / cleaning sides etc daily so always clean and tidy.

do all washing over two days so it’s hidden in hampers the rest of the time or in wardrobes / drawers

Hoovering gets done once a day downstairs (sometimes twice - two hairy dogs and two messy kids). Twice a week upstairs.

Kitchen sides - daily.

Toilets - most days.

Bedding - every other week

Laundry - machine on most days, I tend to put everything away in a big lot a couple of times a week. It’s my least favourite job.

Everything else is left to the cleaner who comes weekly.

When I was on maternity leave I used to do a different room every day so the whole house was never all clean at once, but it also everything got cleaned once a week. And if I missed a day then the longest it would go without being cleaned would be two weeks.

I work 26 hrs per week over 5 days. I’ve followed The Organised Mum method for a few years now and it made a huge difference when I discovered it.
It does help that DH works from home some days and when he does he will put on laundry or hang it up etc.
There is an app which is a one off payment but you can download the printouts of the “routine” for free.

Apart from not being a clutterbug (wonderful word) this is roughly my schedule.

I work full time and we have no pets. My routine is:

Kitchen tops anti bac'd daily
Dishes/cutlery/pots etc washed up put away each evening
Living tidied each evening before bed (I find this one makes a big difference to the feel of the home)
Loo cleaned every other day
Bathroom basin cleaned every other day
Bathroom deep cleaned once a week
Beds stripped and changed once a week

Everything else such as hoovering, mopping etc are done as and when needed.

Really helpful tips here!

I work full-time so I've learned to make use of a small pocket of time. I have about 15 minutes every morning (DCs are both at secondary school and don't need me to take them there) and use that for a quick vacuum of the downstairs or upstairs of the house, or to wide down the bathroom sink or shower, or do some dusting, or whizz round the kitchen and hall with a mop.

Different parts of the house get a full tidy and clean every week or two. Bathroom and WC at least once per week.

Kitchen surfaces get wiped down every evening and - same as a pp - dishes washed and put away before I go to bed.

Bed linen washed and dried once a week, usually on WFH day or weekend when I'm around to unload and reload the washing machine. DCs have five school shirts each so there's always a white wash at the weekend. Other clothes are washed when the basket is full, so a load probably goes on almost every day if I factor in towels.

Little and often seems to work most of the time although I think that's a psychological thing rather than a desire to have a pristine home. Small tasks are more manageable and quick reward whereas a major job just makes me procrastinate!

I must dust!
But as I said, I only do it once a month at most.

I don't understand the need for polishing though. I don't think it makes anything actually cleaner. Especially the children polishing their bedrooms. Do they have a lot of dark wood?

I don't understand 'making the beds' either. Surely, it's not a thing with just a duvet and you're supposed to let the beds air anyway.

Every day:
Wipe kitchen surfaces, hob, clean sink, empty bin if necessary
Clean bathroom, toilet
Vacuum through downstairs
Dishwasher filled/emptied
Make the bed laundry if enough for a load

Every week:
Change the bed
Vacuum upstairs
Dust through every room
Change towels, shower curtain, bath mat and put in washing machine
Wash kitchen, utility room, hall, bathroom and toilet floors
Sort out the fridge
Clear the ironing pile and put away.

Two people here, retired, plus a dog but my routine was the same when working full time+

Kitchen cleaned daily, wiped down several times a day. Bathroom, toilet and sink gets cleaned daily, a deeper clean about twice a week. Living room daily and bedrooms probably once a week.

The whole 'dust if you must' thing really bugs me. Firstly, dusting takes no effort - it's the last thing you'll do once the house is otherwise clean and tidy and takes seconds. The big effort is doing everything that gets you to that point. And all that other stuff is important.

If you're out swimming in lakes and, what else is it, off climbing a mountain or some such? And you are carrying on about how fucking bohemian and life affirming your hobbies are but your 5 year old has no uniform the next day, you can't find your car keys because it's buried under clutter and you can't make a decent dinner because your kitchen is a warzone, then you are an utter arse.

FFS this thread is so depressing.

Can you imagine a man posting this stuff?!!!

Dh does most of the cleaning as he enjoys it. Bathroom and hoovering weekly. Dusting monthly.
Kitchen is always clean.
House is always clutter free and organised.