To ask how much cleaning/tidying is feasible when you work full time?

[moutonfou]

I come home exhausted. I try to at least do the basics, put mess away, keep on top of dishes and clothes, wipe kitchen surfaces and toilet. I'll dust and vacuum when needed. But I feel like I'm failing because I can never do it all. I'm surrounded by little jobs I know I'll never get round to: dusty nooks and crannies, the most random things that attract dust (spice rack? Inside the cutlery drawer?!), fabrics that could do with a wash such as curtains, grimy corners of tiles, bins, oven etc. The whole house feels so lived in and never special. But by the time I get home and cook/eat/wash up/do a couple of other things, I'm spent.

Where should the balance be? What's actually feasible?

Either a weekly cleaner or pay for a one off deep clean a couple of times a year, or a combination of the both. By far the best money I spend!

We have a cleaner and she would be the last thing to go if we had money worries. On a daily basis we just need to wash up / wipe down the kitchen and keep on top of the laundry. We might run the vacuum round if it's getting messy. That's it. Cleaner comes on a Monday and it's wonderful!

I paid for a 6 hour deep clean in April, she moved furniture, took all books off bookcases etc. That was a huge help.

Now the cleaner comes 2 hours a week. There's a mad tidy round the night before - all surfaces cleared, everything put away. So that helps a lot.

In between, I'll wipe down bathroom sink / shower every couple of days and vacuum the lounge at the weekend. Washing is done almost every day and ironed as soon as it's dry and put away.

Decluttering as and when. Pick the worst room and do one cupboard / drawer at a time. Be ruthless. Don't move stuff from the house to loft / garage, it needs to vacate your home! If you feel it has second hand value, take a pic and get it on a selling site straight away, don't wait until you've done a few rooms.

I do a daily clean before/after work so it stays quick and easy to do. Every holiday I do a deep clean and sort out to keep things minimal. The less clutter and a place for every thing makes it very easy to keep on top of.

You can't fail at cleaning, because it has no inherent value.

I do very little because I work full time and life's too short - I pay someone else to do it.