Wibu to ask how you keep your homes clean and tidy?

[LoopyLou1981]

Mine just seems to be in a constant state of disarray. We’re not talking ‘Call the Cleaners’ level (piles of clothes/paperwork everywhere, bath is a bit soap scummy, layer of dust on most things) but it’s starting to get to me.
I’ve got 2 little children (2 years and 8 months) who either want to ‘help’ (the 2 year old) or climb up my legs/sit on my feet (the 8 month old) so doing much while they’re awake is out and, by the time they’re in bed, I’m pooped!
How do others do it? The whole lot once a week? Smaller jobs each day/evening?
My friends houses always look so clean and tidy so I know it must be possible!x

It is so so hard. I try and put on the dishwasher each evening and empty before work each morning. Batch cook so some nights I only have to put on baby potatoes and create little mess. That would be an evening I put out sofas, hoover, washs. I have got in the habit of once a week movie and bath dcs early (about half five) put into pjs and give them popcorn with a DVD. Then I tackle the toys and ironing. That takes about the hour and a half.

When my 11 and 12 year olds were babies / toddlers I’d get up half an hour before them to do jobs and also another 20 min ( quick vacuum, dust the dining and coffee tables and toys away , dishes washed and sink shined ) after they’d gone to sleep that’s almost an hours cleaning in two chunks . I’d then spend the rest of the evening with a cup of tea and a film or a book so I had time for myself too.

Have no clutter . It means you can’t be sentimental but if things are always tidy and accessible it’s a good trade off . Declutter weekly . Go round with a black bin bag and be ruthless. Honestly , the less stuff you have the easier it is to keep it all clean .
Buy furniture carefully . Avoid fabric anything . Leather sofas and wood floors make for super quick cleaning . And a pack of those doctor power sponges to wipe down grime off walls and doors .

Cleaning wipes . A pack in each bathroom and in the kitchen so you can wipe surfaces down as you go along . Spray and rinse basin and toilet gel in the loo whenever you remember . I clean as I go along that way you hardly feel it .

Sheets once a week. Buy a fabric conditioner you love so you look forward to the smells .

Don’t bother Ironing . It’s a waste of previous time .

Have simple but effective storage system solutions for everything - recycling , toys , books , laundry , documents etc

I just do it: scummy soap dish...pick it up and put it in the dishwasher. Paper on the counter...deal with it, file or shred. Laundry that needs folding crack on. Tidy as I go, I rarely move about empty handed.

Well, I only ever clean the night before we have guests! When guests come they say 'how do you keep your house so clean?' My reply - I don't! You should have seen it this time yesterday!!!

I force myself to stay up late the night before visitors to clean. At all other times it's a mess! Good thing we have friends etc round very now and then, otherwise it would be a complete state!!!!

Invite someone over.

We were expecting a couple friend of ours over for the afternoon with their toddler. So kids room needed to be neat and tidy in addition to the public rooms. Got everything spick and span then an hour before was told it was just one of them and no toddler as one parent and toddler poorly.

So the house stayed immaculate after they left too!

Constant low level stuff, organise each household members "stuff" mainly dry laundry but also any new clothes; things of theirs not put away onto a dining chair durinng the day. I get the older children to take their own stuff upstairs before dinner or I whizz it all up just before serving up.
I never leave a room without putting something away / straightening something up. So if I get up to empty the washing machine I might pick up toys to drop in the toy box on the way, move any glasses by the sink into the dishwasher. Then the wet clothes get hung up and anything dry gets folded up onto it's chair.
I often dust during advert breaks if watching tele in the evening.
It's tricky as a habit as it becomes hard to relax in your own house. So you need to allocate time as well.
I also do a non everyday "job" a day such as organising someone's wardrobe, sorting a box out in the loft to see if anything needs chucking out. Monthly I find a load of stuff for charity shops or the tip.

when my three were little i used to have a big box in the front room for their toys and five minutes before they had their bath for the night i used to get them to help me chuck all the toys that were out into the box instant tidy floors, used to clean the kitchen and do washing up after they had gone to bed, done every day didnt take more than half an hour, downstairs hoovering and kitchen floor mopped while they were having breakfast before school run, upstairs hoovering and bathroom cleaning done at weekends as their dad was there to keep an eye on them, housework is one of those things that once organised if you keep on top f it becomes not so hard as letting it pile up

And yes to above. Invite people round. It's do much easier to get motivated!

ive got very little ones

What’s made the biggest difference is shoes off as soon as we get in and eating only at the dining table

Very obvious but as downstairs is only hard floors I was lax as can easily be cleaned... and I was forever cleaning!

One thing I do is clean/tidy the bathroom while DC are in the bath. I also sort laundry. I’m still within arm’s reach but getting stuff done! I only use bicarbonate and vinegar to clean with though, if I used stronger stuff I wouldn’t clean with the kids there I guess.

Do you have a partner op? Do they pull their weight if the answer is yes? Either in terms of evening child care or tidying? Do you work?

For me the tricks are I’ve always had a cleaner. I also always tidy as I go, we tidy and clean up after dinner, and every night I put my daughters toys away, laundry gets put away when dry, none of it takes long, but it’s doing it as it needs doing and not leaving it to build up that’s the trick.

I was just wondering this too! I have a 4 year old, 3 year old, 1 year old and builder DH who creates so much dust!

I hoover twice a day and wash up straight after each meal sweep the floor and a yuck wipe with a cloth and floor cleaner. I scrub the floor with a hard brush once a week.

I wipe over the bathroom in the morning and clean toilet put washing in the basket.

Put a wash on first thing then unload to hang out to dry after school run.

Before baby goes for her nap I wizz round bedrooms.

I hate dusting so I due this whenever I can muster up the courage. This is why I hoover twice a day. Once in the morning while everyone waits for me at the front door! And once in the evening before bed and I get the brush adapter to do a sort of dust and hoover combo.

Washing gets folded into everyone's own pile in the utility room and taken up when I can be bothered.

That's all I can think of.

Get a routine and never fucking waver from it otherwise it all goes to shit!

P.s I have a cordless hoover. Bloody brilliant for just whipping out and cleaning up mess!

It's tedious and relentless. I try tidy as I go but I really struggle with the monotony of it. I hate routines, they make me feel stressed and claustrophobic so I dnt really stick to a schedule.

Bear in mind most people with very tidy homes fall into one or more of the following,
They have a cleaner/nanny or both,
They spend long hours out of the house,
They don't have children/pets,
They don't cook much,
They have playrooms and are v.strict about keeping toys in them,
They clean almost to the point of obsession

I could have written this post! Now that I have a crawler again (8mo) I’m noticing the grime that isn’t addressed by my current regime.

I make sure I do a load of laundry, washing up and dishwasher daily. I use a daily shower spray after each shower (Method) which seems to keep the shower cleaner for longer, and makes cleaning it easier.

Big boxes/ bins for toys make everything easier to tidy away.

Now wondering which child to sell in order to afford a Roomba...

I've found that the easiest way is just having less stuff. I've been decluttering since the start of this year and the difference in time spent clearing up his huge. Don't get me wrong the kitchen still seems to need cleaning 3 times a day and the washing machine is always on but it takes a lot less time now to have a quick wizz round whereas before I would feel it was pointless as there was so much stuff I didn't know where to start.

I read a lot of blogs about minimalism which I found quite motivating. I wouldn't say I've taken it to that level but I appreciate the principle and keep in mind when thinking about new purchases and keeping on top of charity shopping stuff we don't use anymore.

Less stuff = easier life (and more spare money!)

I have ordered this for my kindle

Clean House: 30 Minutes Guide - How to Use Speed Cleaning to Achieve an Org... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LK0N9ZC/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_KrFeAb8T123K6?tag=mumsnetforum-21 via @AmazonUK

One day I'll get round to reading it selling our house soon so need to do something.

I clean up every evening, it takes at least an hour if including washing. I tend to do half before children’s bedtime and half after.
I have a cleaner for 3 hours every Friday she’s possibly my favourite person in the world, worth every penny.

You have to pick your battles. I make sure the kitchen/eating area and bathroom are cleaned regularly, thank f for the dishwasher, and I like doing laundry so that's always kept on top of.

Everything else is just when I can be bothered/have time. Toys I usually blitz every now and then, otherwise no point being too precious as 5 yr old can create a new mess in no time. My bedroom I have a no toys rule so it stays fairly tidy .

Basically, I aim for "clean and hygienic", but caring about tidy went out of the window a long time ago! Modifying your expectations helps. A Lot!

I don't have stuff. Less is best if you want a tidy home. Also my rule is that everything must have a place and if you can't find a place for something then it has to go. And I don't keep anything that I don't like anymore or isn't used anymore. And I always put everthing away before I go to bed. Once you get on top of it it's easy.

I have a v mixed regime - DP and I do regular (as in every other day or three days) blitz to take care of the basics, then I do little jobs as I’m going along.
Obvs there’s the daily laundry, worktops, big and bath, but in between these I’ll do things like clean a cupboard door while waiting for kettle to boil, or wipe down a window sill while I’m on the phone to a friend. This is ideal as it doesn’t matter if you only get 30 seconds, one of the cupboard doors is clean. The next day, I do the adjacent one, and so on.

We have a cleaner. It's the best money I've ever spent. It's easy to keep up on small daily jobs, like counters, dishes, washing, etc. But it's the deep cleaning that's hard to do and it always looks gross unless I have someone doing that regularly. It's the absolute best money I've ever spent. I put it off for years not wanting to pay for help to do anything and it's completely changed my life. I work full-time, often long hours, so there's like no time expect weekends and we want family time on the weekends. That said, don't think other people's houses are just magically clean. You may know a few neat freaks, but honestly people just panic clean when they know someone is coming. I have a few friends who don't (they also don't have kids, I have no idea what they do with their free time, sleep probably and have fun?) and their houses are really gross. So dirty is much more the norm than clean. I think everyone struggles with it just the same. There is no magical secret other than cleaning all the time or getting help.

Get rid of as much as you can. Read Marie Kondo's book. Tidy and clean as you go - I clean the bath and shower when in it and don't leave a room with toys out, we put them away as we move on or before we go out. I wash up before I eat or as the small ones eat. I put my little ones in nursery for an extra half day a week and use this time to do a medium clean (full house vacuum, beds change, kitchen and bathroom). I do laundry every day and put it all away every evening.

There’s some great tips! Thank you 😊
Also some very welcome solidarity from others in the same boat!
x

It's so hard with little ones.
The only way I cab do it is to have a place for everything, and train everyone to put things in their place. The serving but little ones can do. But getting organised when they are small is tough.
Have recycle and charity shop bags always on the go, and get rid of stuff all the time.