To ask what your cleaning routine is?

[Bellatrixurstrange]

Posting for traffic and fishing for luckies - housework thread was a washout.

If you flylady, or have a tidy house can I ask you to share you routine that stops you sliding into chaos. Mum to two DS and one DD live in a bungalow and overwhelmed by mess.

Please share fail-proof routine I'm in desperate need of a routine!

Awaiting the flaming.

My routine (aided by cleaner for 2hrs on a Thurs)

Mon - (day off work)

• washing up from night before finished and put away
• hoover up and downstairs
• put on load or two of washing.
• wipe down kitchen sides
• steam mop kitchen floor
• ironing whilst DD asleep if anything needs it.

Tues - Wed (at work)

• put load of washing on timer delay to hang out when home.

Thurs -
cleaner comes and does downstairs loo and bathroom, hoovers, mops and dusts whole house. Will also iron or clean windows etc depending on what I ask her to do.

Fri (at work)

• towels in washing machine on timer

Sat

• clothes washing as needed
• push hoover round downstairs (large, hairy, muddy dog in house)

Sun

• change all bedsheets & Make beds up.

Daily

• Make beds
• tidy childrens toys away at the end of the day
• put clutter away where it belongs
• sort recycling
• washing up & wipe kitchen surfaces

Am in the process of Kondo-ing the house and it's making it so much easier to keep on top of clutter, namely because there is so much less.

in short, never fucking ending

When the children were under 5 it was very difficult as we both worked full time. Don't beat yourself up over it.

Every day I put on the washing machine and dishwasher (so no build up).

Every night things ready for school next day.

I never go upstairs or downstairs without taking something which belongs upstairs or downstairs. Just a few minutes ago I came downstairs with an arm full of washing 4 plates and a glass, a bin to empty, surprised I didn't fall over.

Also I try if I buy something new to throw at least one or two things away.
Regular going to the council tip - very good for your arm muscles. Regular trips to the charity shop with things we don't need.

It helped last year as we had the house painted inside and out, every single room so I just had to ensure that each room was cleared. So that got us back up to a good standing start.

Although the irony will be when the last two of the 5 children go away to university next year everything will stay in its place and there will be no mess and perhaps I will miss it as my neighbour says I will. Perhaps we're lucky to have the mess and chaos.

I tidy up regularly and keep on top of it all.
On the days I'm at home I make sure the washing up is in the dishwasher before I leave and washing is hung up after putting it on overnight. Tidy up and return everything to its place at night, wipe surfaces and sweep floors. I hate mess though and encourage the kids to tidy up after themselves, not just leave stuff lying around etc so we share the load, they have lots of ikea storage to use.

I iron on a Sunday night so that the washing is always done really for that and we are organised for the week and return forms/ party invites the day I receive them so I'm on top of it. I work 4 long days plus commuting so have to be very organised.

OK, I need routine or nothing gets done so this is mine.
In morning, put away dry dishes in drainer, empty dishwasher. Put on a load of washing, set machine to go on later so ready when I get home.

Go to work

Get home, do child care stuff, 2yo 'helps' to tidy his toys at bed time. When baby in bath/bed do nappy bag for next day. Clear dry washing off airer hang washing on airer, put dry stuff away (I don't iron!). Sort out another load of washing (!) ready for the morning. Dh makes tea while I'm doing this. After tea I wash up, tidy kitchen, wipe sides. Before bed we straighten the lounge etc.

Hover (dh) and clean bathrooms (me) on a sat morning usually.

Wow that was detailed! But a routine works for me. Also we are all out of the house all day so not much time to make a mess!

Maybe start with some zones that you keep on top of completely; such as kitchen, lounge & bathroom. That means clearing surfaces at several intervals- after the morning rush, as much in between as you can and a clear down before going to bed. Give people tasks for these rooms and stick to it.

As you see that you can all keep on top of it, tackle one problem other zone at a time- maybe a hallway / a bedroom / porch / a dresser or bookshelf etc and even if that takes a year to get through, (whilst keeping on top of what have become your daily routines) then you are tackling it but steadily & hopefully without being completely overwhelmed.

I recently bought 30 days to a clean and organised home

It has a 30 day list of how to get your home clear, it includes a daily routine, and at the end of it you should have a manageable home and a good routine. It tells you what to do, when to do it and how to do it.

I've reached day 3 four times. If I ever get past defrosting the freezer I think it will be great.

I'm a bit weird and love a tidy house so am willing to accept that I tidy more than DH and the DCs do, because it matters to me. DH and the DCs are great, though, and make beds, sort laundry, wash up and generally pick up after themselves. I'm possibly a little mean because I've always expected the DCs to chip in; MIL is very against boys especially doing anything about the house (when DH and I met she still did everything for him) but I think everyone needs to know how to tidy, cook and care for themselves, not just females. Twenty minutes a day when there are four people chipping in means the house stays pretty reasonable.

Our routine has just changed as I have changed jobs. Basically I do a big tidy, Hoover, bathrooms, kitchen, washing etc on a Wednesday (my day off from work). Then dh does a spruce round on Saturday whizz round with the Hoover etc whilst I am at work. Each day we clean the kitchen and do dishwasher loading and unloading. Every night before bed dd (4) has to put all her toys back away in her playroom.

That's really helpful -VinoTime- thanks

Great suggestions thanks to everyone who has posted.

"There is no need to do any housework at all. After the first four years the dirt doesn't get any worse."

Quentin Crisp

Flylady changed my life I used it in my last house in this new semi building site it's harder

Be ruthless and chuck stuff away. The less stuff you have the easier this is.

But the best way is to tidy as you go.. Like when cooking. Fill the sink with hot soapy water and wash something as and when its finished with. The idea being that by the time you finish dinner, the only washing up left is the plates you have eaten on. I have a tiny kitchen so this is necessary!

When you have a bath, rinse it out after. It will accumulate less grime so when you do a proper scrub there's less do to.

If you get in the habit of regularly cleaning as you go the need to do 'a big clean' is less frequent, and easier when you do.

I do a thorough tidy/clean every Saturday morning, whilst the sheets are in the washing machine. We also only have one set of bed linen, which forces me to wash when they are stripped instead of building a big dirty pile. Similarly I don't have loads of clothes - forces you to be on top of laundry!

Hope this helps!

Less stuff (have you heard of konmarie?) And tidy as you go. Get the kids on board. A tidy home is much, much more easier to clean.

Get hold of "30 days to a clean and organised house" by Katie Berry. I found it really helpful for getting on top of things and it breaks into chunks you can manage as well as working F/T.

We do a 'big' clean on a Sat morning which is the kitchen and bathroom plus vacuuming / steam mopping the entire house. Today I also did all of the white doors, door frames and skirting boards as well as the window sills / frames around the house while I was doing the kitchen, but that's quite rare.

We wash the kids' bedding on a Sat and ours on Sunday. On Monday we wash the towels. The clothing loads are spread across the week and I try to dry most stuff outside, so pay close attention to the weather forecast.

The kitchen sides get wiped daily at the end of the day and the dishwasher goes on at least once a day.

We wash up non-dishwasher stuff every other day at least.

I'll tidy the toys away either straight after dinner or straight after the kids are in bed.

We run the cordless Dyson around most days to keep on top of the toddler detritus!

It does feel never ending a bit, but that's how it is with toddlers I think.

Laundry every two/three days, all has to be in the basket in the bathroom or I don't do it. Put away as soon as dry. I don't iron anything (that's where I'm slacking can't be arsed)
Once a week, clean all kitchen surfaces, sink, window sills and microwave (usually done while DD eating).
Clean bathroom (usually done while DD in bath).
Dust living room
Hoover and mop kitchen floor ( love my cordless dyson and steam cleaner)
Every two weeks wash towels and bedding.
Seems to keep us out of squalor even with small person and a long haired moggy

If it looks dirty I clean it
That's about it. But I do it there and then so I don't forget

I hate cleaning so I put a timer on my phone and do it in fifteen minute bursts oh and one of those IKEA storage things in toddlers bedroom so I can just grab one of the canvas boxes and walk around the flat chucking all his toys in then just put the box back

It's a personality thing too . For me having tidy surfaces is a priority so I will put it ahead of other things. That is not how some people are (my mother was not like that at all). Neither is right or wrong - people just differ.

I agree with picking certain rooms if it all seems to much. One of my sons is fairly messy although he will say he knows where everything is so I tend mostly just to leave his room.

The single things that has made cleaning easier was when we went round the house (we didn't do this overnight, it took a long while) and were absolutely ruthless about what we actually needed and what was just taking up space. having reduced our possesions to the minimum we then made sure that everything had a logical place so tidying was easy.With a tidy, fairly clear house our cleaning routine is now:

every night - wipe dining table (1 DC), load dishwasher and clean kitchen (myeand DH), tidy lounge - hoovering if necesary (both DC), put on load of washing. (this lots takes 10-15 minutes and mens the house is resaonable every evening.

once a week, Dh does the bathroom and other miscellaneous jobs and I do the kitchen and hoovering. The DC do their own rooms. WE try not to spend more than an hour on it , unless we include an occasional one off "longer" job.

But the absolute key was the decluttering and a place for everything - it all took way more time before that.

The single thing that has made cleaning easier was when we went round the house (we didn't do this overnight, it took a long while) and were absolutely ruthless about what we actually needed and what was just taking up space. having reduced our possesions to the minimum we then made sure that everything had a logical place so tidying was easy.With a tidy, fairly clear house our cleaning routine is now:

every night - wipe dining table (1 DC), load dishwasher and clean kitchen (me and DH), tidy lounge - hoovering if necesary (both DC), put on load of washing. (this lots takes 10-15 minutes and means the house is reasonable every evening.

once a week, DH does the bathroom and other miscellaneous jobs and I do the kitchen and hoovering. The DC do their own rooms. WE try not to spend more than an hour on it , unless we include an occasional one off "longer" job.

But the absolute key was the decluttering and a place for everything - it all took way more time before that.

I definitely agree with selecting rooms of its daunting challenge. I'm a bit more scatter gun when it comes to housework so find it easier to do when dh is at work! I flit from room to room, do a few bits in that room and then find something that needs to be somewhere else, take it there and do some bits in there. Doing one room completely bores me a bit.

I do tend to focus mainly on the rooms people see. So living room, dining room, hall and kitchen are always first on the list. Then after that bathrooms (upstairs and downstairs. Ensuite is last because only dh and I see it!), our bedroom and dd bedrooms are next and then the spare room, play room and den, because they can be closed off so no one needs to see them!

If i'm flitting I will often "dump" things into the less important rooms with a view to returning to them later. If I'm in focused house clean mode I do them all as I go.

Apart from a quick tidy up we clean once a week. We take turns to do the kitchen and I do teh upstairs, DH does teh downstairs. If grown up sons are at home ( they come and go) they do their own rooms and their old playroom ( not grand, we eat in the kitchen and that was the dining room when the house was built).

Three years ago I lived in a tip. It 's still far from perfect but we had visitors today and it took under 2 hours to get the entire house cleaned from top to bottom, and I didn't shout or cry once. That is an amazing transformation; my DD2 said I was positively zen like. In the middle of the cleaning I emptied a set of children's drawers we'd had in the cloakroom for years. Most of the contents are already in a local charity shop, along with the (washed) drawers. I now have a nice small white unit in its place containing only matching pairs of gloves and scarves that we actually like and fit us.

This is nothing short of a miracle and I am ridiculously pleased. I haven't done anything very special to achieve it but here are a few things I do:

Get rid of stuff you don't use or need. Be ruthless. Give it to friends, charity, sell it, whatever, but let it go.
Have places for absolutely everything and a daily routine for putting stuff back/away.
Deal with things immediately that will only take 2 minutes, and in a place that means you don't just dump stuff - e.g. open post while standing next to the recycling bin/shredder
Weekly routine for dealing with paperwork.
Bins in practically every room of the house -I extended this to having labelled recycling bins (just a plain white plastic wastepaper bin with a recycling sticker on it) in the bathroom so that we don't get piles of loo roll tubes etc (DH used to say it wasn't worth walking downstairs to the recycling bin - now I just empty it a couple of times a week)
Food and drink in the kitchen only. Never upstairs.
I have a bottle of eco and child friendly bathroom cleaner next to every sink, with a roll of thick paper towel and have encouraged everyone to spray and wipe the sink (and, hurray, the loo seat) after every use (or at least last thing at night.)
Run the dishwasher twice a day if necessary - if it's nearly full and you have a meal coming up, stick a few plastic or bath toys in as well and get it done.

The main rule is to clean up as you go along. We used to be terrible for piling stuff up round the sink when cooking, usually because we hadn't emptied the dishwasher. Now we have a kitchen I can actually use.