To just do the house at weekends

[Poisongirl81]

I work full time so does OH. 2 kids.

All I seem to do at weekends is clean. I work and clean that is my life. OH helps but we seem to have so much to get through.

I just feel there must be more to life than this, at the same time I can't stand a dirty house.

Anyone else?

Sort washing the night before and put it in the washing machine ready to go. Wake up at 6am and turn washing machine on. Hang out / tumble dry washing at 7am. (That’s what I do anyway)!

Clean in bursts - bathroom should take more than 20mins for a good clean round. Dust when it needs it. Hoover before you leave in the morning.

I think it’s a case of lowering your expectations and squeezing stuff in!

No wonder you're busy Barbara

The only advice I would give to all you working full time is please get a cleaner if you can afford it. I have always worked full time. I just remember the years my children growing up as constantly cleaning up at the weekend. If I had my time again I would definitely have had a cleaner. My children have good professional jobs. I have told them no way should they work full time when they have a family unless they get some help. It's not that you won't do any cleaning it just helps with the load.

I think you just have to set a time limit, like do whatever you can do in 15 minutes. I think the main grot spots are like the bathroom and kitchen - well in 15 mins, I can do: quick wipe of surfaces, sweep floors and then steam mop. Put some motivational tunes on and sing your way through it!!!

I clean/do housework 1 day at the weekend and relax/go out/do other stuff on the other day. But that does mean not everything gets done every week. Are your children old enough to help?

Poison girl. I could have written your post too. We too both work all week, 2 children. Usually in the evening come in from work, quick dinner, then either I am out, oh is out or we are running the kids to various activities. Also there are home works x 2 to be done. So during the week I do the bare minimum than try to do everything at the weekend. Four loads of washing yesterday, hovering, changing beds, general tidying and putting away and I wonder why I go back to work and don't feel like I have had a break at the weekend!

It doesn't help that we are going on holidays soon and I just don't feel like I am organised or ready at all in the house to start getting suitcases out and organising clothes, toiletries and everything else that we need to bring. Its just so difficult isn't it? I feel like I do a lot but for some reason never seem to be able to get on top of things.

We (me and dp) do quite a lot mid week. It doesn't take long with both of us. The kitchen gets done every day after cooking. I tend to cook as I work from home so I can start it earlier and dp cleans up after. On weekends or his days off dp will cook and I'll clean up. Some bigger jobs like vacuuming are done at the weekend just because three floors to vac isn't a quick job.

Albaba we are going on holiday as well and I have very little organised. Where are you going ?

I feel your pain op, I always seem to be cleaning. Mind you i think my main problem is I have to do 6 loads of laundry every day so washing, hanging out, putting away etc takes forever. Oh and dc are bad sleepers so bedtime takes forever too.

I work pt, have a tiny house but if I worked full time I would get a cleaner without a doubt. I have the time but can’t be bothered. I also have low standards although I am tidy and organised which helps

I'm always amazed at how much house work everyone else does especially the loads of washing. 6 in one day? Or 4 in one day for a 4 person family. We just don't have that much to wash.

I follow the same plan as placemats

Follow TOMM on Facebook. It’s great for getting it done quickly.

Dishwasher and washing up (mainly me and dc), a few loads lf washing in the week (mainly dh). Wipe surfaces and sweep kitchen floor when needed (a lot). Do an online shop.

At the weekend I have learned to relax first and do what I feel like (lie in, potter in the garden, gym or swim, coffee shop) and then spend an hour to an hour and a half blitzing half the house (dh does the other half, we alternate). If we have a busy weekend we either skip it, do it midweek or just do the basics.

@Lethaldrizzle I have 5 dc, one of whom struggles with continance and 3 others who wet the bed once or twice a week on average. That accounts for a lot of the washing.

Mine costs£17 for two hours

@placemats

Do you mean me or the OP?

PoisonGirl - do you want to explain what you are doing for your cleaning to tak all weekend, and then maybe people can make suggestions about how to cut back or speed up (or both?) ?

I end up doing a few hours every weekend too and I have very low standards! Work full time, 2 DC, 3 nights a week we are out at activities and don’t get home till 9/9:30 pm. Most evenings I don’t stop till after 9:30 pm and that doesn’t include cleaning, other than a quick tidy of the kitchen and loading the dish washer. All laundry done at weekends too - 2 loads Saturday, 2 loads Sunday. My ambition is to get a cleaner.

Do you work for £8.50 an hour Metoodear

I would pay my cleaner what I earn hourly.

It doesn’t matter what meetoodear earns, that’s what her cleaner charges and presumably she’s happy with this.
What a ridiculous statement.

Oh come on placements, you pay the going rate in your area for a cleaner. If the going rate in Metoodear's area is £8.50 that's fine, it's above minimum wage for what is usually a cash in hand job.

placemats sorry your name autocorrected to placements!

Exactly wittow

I appreciate a tidy house but don’t spend anywhere near two days a week cleaning it. Washing every day there is a load there. I have one day off a week and split the day up (between the school runs), so I spend at least 2 hours on something for myself (normally meeting friends for lunch/coffee), do any admintasks that need doing and then the rest on the house, so changing the beds and towels, hoovering, bathrooms, dusting, general tidying, mopping the floor, kids rooms. It’s amazing how quick I can make myself go with the promise of lunch out once I’m done. No way would I want to spend the weekend doing housework. If a cleaner can get it all done in two hours, so can I!