If you have a tidy house how long do you spend cleaning / tidying to keep on top of it?

[Jessie1988]

If you live in a tidy house, the kind where if someone dropped by it’a tidy and clean, how long do you spend to maintain it and can you advise any hints and tips? I feel much better when the house is tidy but it’s impossible to keep on top off and I end up having big clear outs and cleans periodically 🫠

Max 30/40 minutes a day. We call it a run round. But if two are three of us are doing it this is reduced. Which includes hanging out a wash, folding a wash, empty dishwasher. Checking each room is tidy and putting things away. Cordless Dyson and spot mop floors.
Our house is always tidy as we put stuff away as we go. Everyone tidies their own rooms/makes their beds. We deep clean once a week and sometimes this might stretch to two weeks.
We don’t wear shoes in the house and have no pets.
In the summer teens will mainly do the big clean as they are off. We agreed tonight that this will be done on Friday as nothing is that dirty.
When we eat we all pitch in with the dishes and the place is back to clean.

Tidy as you go. Clean down kitchen worktops after every use. Have a place for everything and make sure it’s put away. Keep on top of the washing. Straighten beds and cushions and rugs. Straighten towels. No clutter. No shoes, bags or coats in the hallway.

I literally just clean as I go…o don’t leave things laying around, when I leave the sitting room I put cushions back etc. if I see a stain I clean it there and then. I clean the shower when I use it etc. and then I sweep, mop and wipe down after dinner. I spend about an hour running around on a Sunday. Where I hoover, dust and clean toilets, although I do clean the toilets during the week at times too.

Everyone over the age of 3 puts their own things back where they found them when they've finished with them.

When the house is constantly tidy/clutter-free, it takes minutes hoover/mop/polish etc.

Ages. Fucking ages. An hour a day at least on top of general washing up / bed making etc. cleaner comes one a fortnight for 2 hours. It's only a small ish 3 bed but I'm constantly cleaning.

I do, however, have OCD. Properly clinically diagnosed etc. When I'm doing well with my CBT I can probably get down to 30-40 mins per day but on a bad day or week it can be 2+ hours per day. I like things very clean.

I put everything back in its place after I’ve used it. “A place for everything and everything in its place.”

I re-set the lounge before bed.
I make my bed and tidy away clothes every single morning.

Wipe down counters after every meal.

Stack and wash up dishes, dry and put away before bed.

Vacuum regularly. Etc etc

I could go on but it’s just a matter of applying your mind and energy to it. A routine like our mothers had works a treat.

This. Nothing lying about- no piles of crap, no trailing paperwork, bags of stuff, washing up, things randomly dumped. It only works if your partner is as tidy as you. Kids you can train. Once you get into it, it’s easy because it becomes routine

Not long here but only me and adult son. Depends on number of people in the house, if you have pets, how minimalist you are.

Clean the kitchen and tidy the sitting room before I go to bed, which takes five minutes.
Clean the bathroom and make the bed every morning. Takes 15 mins.

DH and I share the rest of the work between us. I have specific days for things.

We are very tidy. Everything is put away after use. The dishes are done and put away after each meal.

I do the washing because I'm good at it. DH does the garden and cleans the car because he's good at that. He also does all the hoovering and mopping the floors each day.

Paying attention as I’m rubbish at this.

About 30 minutes a day max

I clean and tidy as I go. I always clean up the kitchen right after meals. I always put shoes, coats and school bags away as soon as we’re home. I straighten the sofa and cushions before bed and open the blinds and curtains downstairs before going up to bed. It does help though we have a lot of storage so there are places for most things to go away. I have a big declutter around twice a year as well. In the summer before birthdays and again before Xmas

Not much, around half an hour or so. But it was a different story when my kids were small and trashing the place!

I like a clean and tidy house, spend at least 2 hr a day (1 hr before work, one hour in evening) keeping on top of things, tidying etc and then around 10 hrs a week cleaning (3 bathrooms, 4 bed house). Listen to a podcast or audiobook and think of it as exercise!! Try to keep minimal stuff, constantly decluttering and sorting. Do deep clean of each room around twice a year to also declutter.

Surely it massive depends who is in the house. If you got young kids Vs teens/only adults it is a totally different ballgame. Also, having storage changes everything - as does having a dishwasher!

I'm not a fan of cleaning at all, but our house is always tidy. That's because everything has a place, so when we've finished with a thing, it goes back in it's place.
I make the bed every day.
We never drop clothes or towels on the floor.
Dirty clothes go in the laundry basket.
Dirty dishes go in the dishwasher (to be run after dinner).
I don't do "tidying", as such, because it doesn't really need it.

Dear God, 24 hours a week cleaning and tidying? That's a whole one-seventh of your life. I do maximum 2 hours per week, tops, and that's plenty.
Please, please do less, get some hobbies, relax and just enjoy your life!

I have 2 under 2 so it’s tricky and takes a lot of work - but I largely do it whilst the kids are playing around me (with the helpful benefit that my toddler already naturally cleans up after himself 50 percent of the time) so it’s a continuous effort. Tend to spend 20-30 minutes after they are in bed finishing things off. Of course, before kids it took 20 minutes a week :)

This basically. If somethings out of place put it back immediately. Keep on top of washing, cleaning etc. Do stuff as you see it. I don’t feel like I’m always cleaning and rarely do a big clean but do a good 1.5 hours once a week on my morning off and otherwise maintain it. I encourage the kids to tidy up (make beds, pjs under pillow, dishes in dishwasher) not in an obsessive way but good habits. Let them do any messy place, painting etc they want but we all tidy up at the end. I find mess stressful (I would never judge others and others messy houses don’t bother me at all!) but I can’t relax in the evenings until it’s tidy.

2 adults and 2 DC 3 and 6 and probs spend an hour a day, sometimes more sometime less, weekends more as I do more actual cleaning but DD puts away any toys that have been got out in a morning before she goes to school and all toys are put away before bed, sometimes me sometimes team effort (if loads are out I like to do it as I can have a bit of a sort/rotate at the point) always make sure dishes are washed/in the dishwasher and the kitchen surfaces wiped before I go to bed

washing is done on set days and i fold it as I take it off the washing line then the basket goes straight into the house and washing away or out the tumble dryer same day, folded and away,
hoover every kitchen, dining room and lounge every couple of days unless really annoying me
bathrooms i do every other week as i have a cleaner every other week to properly clean the house

but I’m very pro chuck out, if it doesn’t have a purpose, no longer fits, no longer played with, just general junk it’s quickly got rid of

We have our granddaughter in our care. My DH leaves the house at 08.15 for the school run and I spring into action. Clean the kitchen, put a wash on, fly upstairs, make beds, clean bathroom, generally tidy up. Back downstairs, mop floors etc. Always finished by the time he gets back at 09.10.

When she's in the bath in the evening I use the time to change the beds, put clean washing away and Hoover upstairs and wash the floors, all painted floorboards but that's only once a week.

Couple of hours every Saturday morning and about 30 minutes every evening. Once it’s tidy it’s easy to keep on top of

I don't think my house is immaculate by any means (two small children, not especially tidy husband) but know many of my friends consider it tidy and I know for sure I spend longer cleaning and tidying than they do. You have to keep chipping away even if you don't especially fancy it. I probably do 30 minutes a day just cleaning the kitchen/putting away washing/tidying up toys plus another good hour or two on my day off and bits and pieces when it fits in at the weekend (I often clean when the children are eating their pudding or having their bath etc). The only way to get it done is to get on and do it. I feel like it took me quite a long time to figure that out.

We have a 1 year old & a Labrador, up until my daughter was 0-6 months ish cleaning would be maybe 30 mins a day, deep clean on a Sunday, and that was enough for the house to always be “show home” ready as my mum calls it!

Now that my daughter is 1, eating 3 meals a day plus snacks very enthusiastically (messily), and likes to get every single toy out and play with them across the entire living room, dining room & kitchen- cleaning is more like 45-60 mins a day and if you are particularly bothered by toys then you’d say my house is untidy during her waking hours😂! BUT it’s her childhood, I don’t mind it & it all gets tidied away in a few minutes once she is asleep or she helps me tidy if I ask her to.

I don't have any "tops" as in no sideboard, table or shelves so there's literally nowhere to leave / stack any crap, except for a really pretty desk that I use when I work from home but it's too nice to put crap on.
I have a fireplace with a candle, photo frame etc.
I put everything away when I've used it.
I plump cushions before bed, take cups to the kitchen.
Hoover a couple of times a week but I really keep on top of the kitchen, nothing is left on the worktops and I wash and dry up after every meal.
Probably spend 40 mins a day pottering about.
I have a basket for washing in the kitchen so all laundry is bought downstairs and into the basket, it's easier to keep on top of it.
There's only two of us though so that helps.
I do have my dgson one day a week, the mess he makes gives me serious anxiety 😄