To have no clue how to clean a house?

[blueonblue]

Somehow I've reached my mid-30s with no idea how to clean a house. I'm okay (sort of) at keeping it tidy but I don't have any kind of system for cleaning it.

DH is about as good as me, a bit better but not much. Since I work part time and him full time, I think it falls to me to spend some of that time keeping things in order.

My mother was not much of a housekeeper so I was never taught, and I just don't naturally notice things looking awful until I make a conscious effort and then clean as I notice things or when we have a visitor.

Please help my by sharing yours or your family's general system for cleaning the house. Do you do a different room each day or a big clean each day? What's essential and what's once a month kind of stuff?

And there's always a job to do, e.g. when I'm running a bath, I clean the sink and toilet, when the kettle is boiling, I can get the cupboard fronts all cleaned or the work surfaces wiped down.

And when anyone goes upstairs, they have to take something off the stairs up with them.

I also worked to make sure everything had a place to go to so things have a home.

Monday weekly
Living room, dust, vac (carpet and settee) tidy cushions, clear coffee table.

Hallway Dust, vac (Inc stairs) tidy shoes,

Loo clean loo and sink, dust, sweep and mop floor

Kitchen, (daily) wipe surfaces, wipe tile parts, clean cupboard fronts, empty and fill dishwasher sweep floor (weekly) mop floor clean out fridge, dish drainer and sink hardware through the dishwasher

Upstairs beds made each day, clothes off floor and put away or put in washing, toys out away each night, vac twice a week, dust once a week, clothes washing done on Mondays and Tuesdays, bathroom cleaned twice a week.

Beds changed and washed weekly, towels washed weekly (all this with a Dettol rinse) and clothes washed twice a week.

I also do a wash once a week of all hand towels in the house, bath mat, cleaning cloths, oven gloves and voile curtain things in the bedroom and living room and cushion covers and blankets.

But then I also change cushions and blankets for each season. Amer ones get their wash this week and go into a box until next Summer and the Autumn ones come out (yep, I know!)

So much good stuff to read.. Bibidee feel free to add more tips!

I know how to clean... doing it though is a different matter.

Tips:
1.
Don't use bleach on your loo seat or around its chrome! It starts to rust and it looks like dried piss! Use something more gentle, I use Method spray but any lighter/kinder product will do.

1. Keep on top of stuff. Empty bins etc before they get to the stage where you cannot close the lid otherwise it will annoy/overwhelm you and put you off. Be AHEAD OF THE GAME!

1. I don't get dressed until I've cleaned my house because I get a right sweat on! I go for a shower once it's done and swan off knowing my house is in order and I can flounce back all cocky it's nice and clean (I'm a bit weird/saddo I know!)

More tips to follow...

There's organised, tidy and clean. If you're organised (is not too much clutter, a place for everything) it is easier to be tidy (to put everything away), and if you're tidy it's easier to clean (because you don't have to tidy before you start or pick up too much stuff to clean where you want to and then put it back.

Also, sexist as all hell title, but this book is quite good at dividing jobs into daily weekly, monthly etc and also by room:

Management for Men www.amazon.co.uk/dp/184403108X

Who else cleans the shower when they're in it? I spray and wipe, then squeegee it. I'm clean, the shower is clean. Winner.

Everyday jobs;

Dishes / kitchen surfaces
Washing (load on or fold or put away)
Toilets & sinks (quick spray and wipe down)
Hoover main living area
Tidy up main items that litter the place- tidy into piles somewhere such as the bottom of the stairs and get people to take them to where they belong as they pass through.

Weekly;

Dust from high to low (to make sure u get the cobwebs)
Hoover all rooms
Mop
Clean bathrooms

Monthly;

Windows
Outside areas with broom (cobwebs on front door etc)
Bag or 2 to charity (clothes / toys / books etc)

Try to get most things straight before you go to bed so that you can start the next day from a clean slate. Get everybody in the household involved; it's a shared responsibility.

I used to be rubbish and eventually in desperation and shame I organised myself with this. After using it for a couple of years I got into the habit of doing things regularly so I don't need it anymore but I still set reminders on my ipad calendar for a few occasional jobs (deep clean loos once a month for example).

I find these threads a bit depressing. I think I have fairly high standards: bedding washed once a week and keep on top of other washing day to day; kitchen kept relatively clean day to day so doesn't ever really need a big clean (washing up / dishwasher done throughout the day, surfaces wiped etc); hoover at least three times a week; hoover sofas once a fortnight, bathroom done once a week; house kept clear of clutter (as much as is possible with two small kids) and when people come they generally say it is clean and tidy. I don't iron - husband does his shirts for work and only things that REALLY need ironing get ironed so tend to get worn less!

BUT:

I can't abide dusting - I do it and it just seems to be back the next day! So only really dust once a fortnight. Very rarely pull furniture out to clean under / behind. Oven desperately needs doing but just never get round to it and am scared of the evil products used to do it (I am clumsy and know I will end up burned or blind). Dread to think what lurks behind the kitchen appliances

Just aren't enough hours in the day and my two sons and husband wouldn't notice or care if I did these extra things. We are all healthy and well and happy. We are not living in a slum. Maybe I just have lower standards than I thought - I don't clean walls / very rarely clean windows on the inside...

Maybe will look to employ a cleaner with the childcare money we are saving now we are finally getting our 30 hours.

Sigh.

I use microfiber cloths/dusters to dust but I always do that first and then hoover pretty much straight after with the windows open, so if dust falls onto the floor it will get hoovered up. I think damp cloths/wipes are better if there's really thick dust & grime but because I dust regularly I don't feel a need to use them, a quick wipe about with cloth is fine.

I tend to just hoover the skirting boards when I'm hoovering rather than dust them as I feel like this is quicker and this way I don't have to bend down as much (got a dodgey back).

I don't have a routine or system I just sorta do it when I'm got time and then extra blitzes when I know we're getting visitors. I admit that I have a level of tidyiness that I think is ok for me & and my partner but I put more effort to make everything really clean & tidy for when we have visitors, especially overnight guests. I think it's because I find it easier to cope with a bit of mess/muck that is my own but if I stayed somewhere else I would not be able to cope with other people's muck and I assume other people feel similarly so need it spotless for guests.

Btw I always thought especially from reading MN that we are quite lazy and chill about tidiness/cleaning but then out of all the friends houses we've visited/stayed at ours is by far the cleanest and tidiest. I don't know if it's just our age group though - we are all in our twenties and none of us have kids. Perhaps people get cleaner/tidier as they get older or when they have children that they are concerned about the places being clean for? I don't know.

My Windows don't get done very often inside either....& there's a pack of oven pride on the job now, waiting for tonight.

I have a little spreadsheet that divides tasks per day e.g. Monday is Hoover and mop downstairs, change towels, dust downstairs. Tuesday is bathroom deep cleans and do ironing pile , Wednesday vac and dust upstairs, etc etc.

I do sinks and loos daily, whilst filling bath or doing other jobs. And kitchen is wiped and clear every night (I like coming down in the morning to a clean kitchen!)

But the occasional jobs like washing inside of windows and cleaning the oven so sometimes end up on the back burner.....

Things like cleaning the inside of windows, oven, fridge-freezer etc we only do about quarterly. I think lots of other people do them even less tbh. Obviously if we made a big mess in the fridge by accident or something we would just clean that up there and then like.

Another thing, there is no getting away from the fact that cleaning is fucking boring.... so the best thing is to get some upbeat loud music on (i personally like clubland classics, my mum cleans to abba ) get your hair in a bun and just do it.

I sometimes, when i really can't be arsed, promise myself a reward in my head. Like 'right, do 1hr of jobs, then you can have a cuppa and a biscuit and watch tv for a bit.'

Then set a timer on my phone and see how much i can do.

It does help that i can't relax in a messy house.

@Liiinoo where did you get that card thing from? Could really do with that for meal shopping and planner in this house!

They are called T card planners. They are like mini versions of the big planners you see in car repair shops and on construction sites. I bought mine in the olden days so had to order it in from a local stationers but in the modern world I think Amazon would be your best bet.

I changed my living room from mahogany to pine and hardly need to dust because you can't see it.😀

knowing to clean or effectively tidy up was not really part of the education my family gave me. I'm still pretty awful compared to the clean freaks on here but a lot blooming better than I used to be. Here are some of my tips:

• make your husband do some of the work. Seriously it is not your sole responsibility because you work PT.

• when you start cooking, aim to start with an empty dishwasher or sink so everything can go straight in rather than getting backed up

• if having other people around makes you tidy up, make sure you regularly have people round. In fact when our flat is particularly terrible I have been known to invite our most judgemental friend with the express purpose of making us tidy up. Yes tidying up to save face is a stupid motivation but it IS a motivation so whatever works...

• I found that getting a long handled dustpan and brush made it far more likely that the kitchen floor got swept every night

FlandersRocks

You mentioned a electric sweeper being worth its weight in gold. Please can I ask what make of sweeper you have and what makes it so good?

Also does anyone have a robot vacuum? And is that any good?

@DodgyGround

Have you ever used Trello? It's free online software that you can use on a laptop and your phone. It's a bit like an electronic version of that T chart. Really good for organising things.

Thanks @NewIdeasToday, I'll take a look at that!

Check out Unfuck Your Habitat. Their 20 minute timer trick is inspired and really works for me when I'm finding it hard to get going.

Flandersrocks thank you very much indeed for the information about the electric sweeper - much appreciated - and particularly impressive if it gets the dc involved too!

NewIdeasToday see Flandersrocks post @ Sat 02-Sep-17 2:44:29 and thanks for Trello tip!

Maybe will look to employ a cleaner with the childcare money we are saving now we are finally getting our 30 hours

The best thing we pay for is a company to come and clean our oven twice a year. We pay £65 for two ovens, hob and cooker hood (they replace/clean filter) it looks brand new when they finish and it's easier to keep clean.

I used to get really stressed by this, trying to maintain and have a nice, clean home for us to live in. I don't have much time. I commute 3 hours a day and there's no way I'm doing housework on a weeknight after my commute. Mu DH is doing a part time degree so I can't ask him to prioritise cleaning over studying. Most weekends I only did a basic clean. It was my DH who forced me to lower my standards. This might be a generalisation but most men don't give a shit about cleaning regularly. This is what works for us.

Daily:
Wash up
Wipe kitchen surfaces and dining room table.
Try to put things back in their place so the house is not too untidy.

Basic Clean:
Clean kitchen.
Clean bathroom and wc.
Hoover.
General tidying.

Deep Clean:
Very broad category to include tasks such as thorough dusting of house, cleaning fridge out, cleaning oven, cleaning kitchen cupboards (taking everything out and giving it a good wash to remove dust and mould), reorganising a certain area or wardrobe, removing stains from chopping boards, cleaning windows, cleaning doors etc.

We do Basic Clean one weekend, Deep Clean the next and continue to alternate. I pencil deep clean tasks on a calendar so I remember it needs doing (I don't have a strict schedule). That way I know that some of the deep clean tasks are happening and over the course of the year, a fair amount gets done. We do laundry every weekend and in the summer months, we spend a lot of time in the garden trying to keep on top of that.

Life is too short to spend all weekend or your free time cleaning. This system works for us.