To have no idea what normal people do to clean their houses?

[ItWasNeverASkirt]

I'm in my early thirties and realised recently that some of my friends do all sorts of civilised household chores that have never even occurred to me. Also, reading on here, you seem to clean your loos in much more sophisticated ways than I have ever done! I vacuum and dust, but that's pretty much it. I give the loo a quick brush and the sinks a desultory wipe when I remember. I have a guilty feeling that I should give the kitchen floor a wash every once in a while, but I usually don't.

I'm beginning to think I've missed some kind of important ' how to be a grown up' manual. Please help! We've recently moved to a new flat and it's immaculate and I'd like to keep it looking beautiful so am thinking of creating a 'to do' list to remind myself of what will need doing over the year.

What are the things you are meant to do around the house to keep it clean and in good repair? And how often? Any good tips and tricks?

If you're not naturally tidy, it's worth looking around every evening just to tidy up a bit - dirty cups in kitchen, pick up clothes of floor/put away jumpers left on sofas etc.

You will also require a Bowl Of Crap and a Pile Of Crap. Bowl of crap is to put stuff like keys, hairbands, spare batteries and other assorted crap that appears and you don't know where to put it. When Bowl of Crap is full, go through it and chuck stuff out. Pile of Crap is for opened letters, stuff from school, etc that you can't throw out just yet. When it gets big enough that it falls over, sit down and go through everything and chuck stuff out.

I had to stop doing "clean as you go" as I could never sit down and relax unless everything was spotless. Personally I prefer a timetable.

(For the record I have no DC yet...)
Twice weekly: Change sheets (yes i'm a slattern! Would change them weekly if I had a big stinky man in with me ).

Weekly:
Clean bathroom (wipe down, sink, bath, clean loo - incuding wiping it all down including the handle.)
Dust everywhere - surfaces, light fittings, skirting boards, top of pictures etc.

Hoover everywhere.

Mop the places that look like they need it (kitchen, and hall usually, will do other areas if haven't for a few weeks.)
Clean kitchen sink.

Daily:

Wash up (check flat for coffee cups etc), wipe down kitchen surfaces, wipe down cooker if used. Wipe messy fingerprints off cupboard doors (ony an issue if anyone else has been in there!).

Anything else - as I go. Windows about once a year .

I have very low standards and am entirely relaxed about it. It just isn't a priority for me to have an immaculate-looking house all the time.

We keep on top the laundry, dishwasher, keeping fridge nice (throw out old food), kitchen surfaces and loos.

Everything else gets cleaned once a week at the most, bedrooms and upstairs only hoovered fortnightly. At the moment we don't have a cleaner but between us (dh and I) certainly don't do more than 3 hours actual cleaning per week (which is what our cleaner used to do).

We have our oven professionally cleaned once per year and windows inside and out every three months.

I wash about 10 of dh's work shirts in one load and then send them all out for ironing.

We don't use any bleach or anti-bac products. All are healthy/happy.

Depends how dirty your house gets and how much spare time you have.

Two adults in my house and we both work full time so it doesn't get as grubby as when the children were small and mucky and we don't have a lot of time to spend cleaning.

I spot clean as I go mostly and do bathrooms, hoovering, floors and bed changing weekly.

Windows, paintwork, oven cleaning and kitchen cupboard door wiping gets done when obviously dirty.

Do you all iron??? I HATE HATE HATE it but I do it - and it seems to take up so much of my time.

It all depends on your circumstances and lifestyle. If you live in a smallish modern flat with no kids and are out at work /doing hobbies/eating out a lot then you probably need to do very little. I live in quite a big house (but not huge) with a 2 year old and a 9 month old and seem to spend half my life cooking and cleaning (exaggeration but I do clean a lot!).
Every day:
Make bed and air bedrooms
Wipe around bathroom, clean toilet
Wash up 3 times a day
Sweep kitchen 3 times a day
Hoover living room
Put at least 1 load of washing on
Prepare meals.

Then every couple of days I mop kitchen, bathroom and play room floors.

Weekly
Change all bedding and do a big towel wash
Clean all rooms properly
Hoover all of the house
Meal plan, clean out fridge, take stock of the freezer and big shop
Clean filters on dryer, run service wash thing on the washer
Clean buggy properly
Put fabric toys through the wash and plastic toys in some soapy water

Then every couple of months I'll clean out the kitchen cupboards and the kids wardrobes, get carpet cleaned...stuff like that.

It's far easier to keep a house clean if it's organised and tidy so focus on that every day.
Don't procrastinate!

With you there Barbara about dropped teabags or anything dropped. Instant swipe with a paper towel -all good. Otherwise it will end up on our socks and trampled all around...

Crabbit Yes I do iron, it takes perhaps 90 minutes-2 hours a week

I missed the grown up manual too. I haven't got a bloody clue
I rarely iron anything. My husband does his own

I think you need to give other people lessons Nicky :)

House gets hoovered a couple of times a week
Kitchen floor gets a quick sweep most days with a good old fashioned broom
Kitchen tops wiped every day,, outside of cabinets get spot cleaned as its a cream kitchen there is no hiding it
Bathroom sink wiped out every day, loo monitored but cleaned well every other day same for bathroom floors.

Try the lists here

Austerity Housekeeping

There is also an e-book with tips and tricks and more lists if you want a version to carry around on your phone or whatever.

Can I just ask because I am genuinely curious, how do you all do all these chores with DC? I have an 11 month old, my DH works FT, I work PT and I cant seem to get anything done except the daily chores eg general tidy up, dishwasher loaded unloaded, washing up (bottles and DS spoons, bowls etc) making dinner, making DS food...

Of course it doesn't help that he cries when I leave the room but still...

Daily- load dishwasher and wipe down surfaces, wash up any bits that need doing after each meal or food prep like baking. Make bed ( DS does own) and put on a wash load if there's enough of either light or darks to make a load up.

Have a look in each room to see whether anything obvious needs doing eg empty bin, file post, fold dry laundry ( takes 3o mins max)

Weekly- change beds ( DS does own), towel wash ( t towel in kitchen changed every day), dust and Hoover throughout , clean bathrooms ( kept tidy and hygienic by users in week as required) steam mop floors. Will Hoover midweek if needed.

Termly- spring clean each room, launder duvets etc clear out worn or too small clothes etc

Top tips are good storage in the right places, minimal surface clutter and a zero tolerance policy on people coming in and dumping stuff in the wrong place eg we have a formal dining room that does not get used on a daily basis as we eat in the kitchen in the week but we got to the point where we never used it at all because it kept being used as a base for people to put stuff like school sports bag, stuff brought home from uni, DH left suit jackets in back of chairs and papers he brought home on Table ,books to go to charity shop etc. So I gutted the room and brought in zero tolerance by just telling people to move it as soon as it was out there and now it's still immaculate and we use it every week.

The answer is little and often & planning. If you let things build up, then yes, it becomes a real time-consuming chore, but if you are constantly doing something and organise yourself, you can do it without really noticing. Have your cleaning products easily accessible - that way you don't have to waste time going to and fro trying to find what you need. I'm no paranoid cleaner but my house is clean, just by maybe 10/15 minutes a day - we can all find that time however busy we are!

Get the timing right, mop the kitchen floor on your way out so it's drying when you're out. Takes 5 minutes tops. You can dust and polish whilst you're watching TV - 5 minutes per room. General tidying up takes no time - just pick things up as you're walking round the house. If you leave a muddy foot print in your porch, just get a cloth and wipe it there and then. Do the washing every couple of days rather than leaving it to build up, you can iron whilst watching TV. Wipe the bath/shower every time you use it, bleach the loo every 2/3 days. None of these things take much time and won't ruin your life!

It's not just the cleanliness aspect, things last a lot longer if you look after them. Regular wiping/cleaning and tidying means that there's less wear and tear on your furniture, appliances, kitchen & bathroom fittings, etc. Wiping down a shower or bath after use means less risk of mould or tarnishing. Carpets last forever if you vacuum regularly and steam clean occasionally. That's surely better than having to regularly replace stuff with all the cost and uphieval caused.

My sister is the opposite - a complete slob who does nothing from week to week. It's not as if she's busy with anything else, she's loads of time but chooses to spend it slobbing out. She's the sort who buys new clothes for herself and children just because everything's dirty and she's nothing clean to wear! Sometimes she doesn't put her bin out because it's empty (even though her kitchen bin is over-flowing and there's junk all over the house!) Every 2/3 months, she'll make a massive deal about spending a whole weekend doing the cleaning and goes through the house, top to bottom, has her washer on constantly both days, fills a few bin bags and takes them to the tip. She claims it's more time-effective to do it all in one go rather than do a bit every day!!

Well, I'm happy not losing a full weekend when I can spend a bit of time every day that I barely notice!

I have a cleaner.

I really really struggle with housework because of my mental health, but I find really helpful the adage of 'first do the necessary, then do the possible, then before you know it you're doing the impossible' I think it was St Francis of Asissi who said it (in a far more eloquent way)

Wipe kitchen cabinets down every day

And you're slovenly????

I've never wiped them down. Not ever.

I buy myself gadgets and products to keep me interested

Steam cleaners and handheld vacs are my current loves.

DH would get a cleaner, but I had one for years and I can't be bothered to go through the process of finding the right person again.

I do stuff in tv advert breaks
And basically if I see it looks like it needs cleaning I do it there and then
Wish I was minimalistic but it's not happening so I just do my best! Everyone seems to accept food/drink and nobody recoils in horror
Oh and I don't iron. Stuff gets hung up straight out the washer with a good shake

Well, I'm happy not losing a full weekend when I can spend a bit of time every day that I barely notice!

Ah, now, I really resent having to do anything every day including the cooking but no bastard choice there. With three children aged 2-7 I'll have done a couple of hours of cooking/washing up/laundry etc every day without even looking at more general housework. There's only about seven hours a week where none of the children is in the house, so the potential to make mess and dirt is huge. I look back with fond remembrance at the time we only had one child and he was at nursery 8-6 four days a week.

There are quick wins in housekeeping such as rearranging a sofa the DC have used as a fortress, or dishwasher/washing up. The results are very visible, and neglecting to do it is very visible too. I find the invisible jobs hard to schedule, eg changing sheets, mopping a floor that's been hoovered, dusting on top of tall cupboards, because after the couple of hours of unavoidable catering and another hour or so of necessary tidying up I'm pretty fucking fed up of housework!!

My ironing pile is currently sitting looking at me. I hate it. I had to put on gym clothes to do the school run this morning because everything else I own is in that bloody pile. WIn win - i didn't need to do the ironing and all the mums at school are -wondering why I am still so fatimpressed that i've been exercising. But if I don't iron stuff today I will be doing school run tomorrow in a beautiful green floor length gown

strikethrough fail!!

I have a Desk of Crap.
And a Kitchen Table of Crap.

both get things dumped on them all day by other family members.
both get attacked daily too (desk and table, not family!)

madmomma I LOVE your St Francis of Assissi quote

I wouldn't say I'm impeccably clean but my home is certainly presentable.

Kitchen surfaces, dishes, hob all done daily. Everything in the flat gets put in its place once DD is in bed. I have digestive issues so the loo gets a brushing several times a day.

Every 1-2 days I do laundry (limited drying space). Bins are taken out every couple of days too.

I hoover once or twice a week. DD is scared of the hoover so I only do it when she's in nursery. I'd like to do it more.

The bath and basin are cleaned weekly.

Changing bedding and dusting is once every 1-2 weeks.

Areas I am a bit of a scruff...the bathroom and kitchen floors. I rarely do them. And I've never cleaned the windows or oven. I've been here about 2 years. Admittedly, I bought my oven brand new and am careful not to let things spill but it still needs doing.