Not realising how much cleaning a house takes?

[Hahaha88]

Growing up our house was always clean and tidy. Sunday was cleaning day and we'd all have a job, the whole house got hoovered, dusting was done, bathroom cleaned, beds changed and bins emptied.
It wasn't until I was an adult with my own house that I realised how much extra cleaning my mum (single parent, not sexisim) must have done when we were at school etc. There are so many cleaning things I didn't realise I would need to do! Like cleaning kitchen cupboard doors and drawers, inside the fridge, house doors, light switches, skirting boards and windowsills etc. Aibu in not knowing about all this? I don't even know how people keep on top of it! I feel like it takes so much effort to keep the place nice.

I must be a slob because I don't do any of that

Things like that really don't need done very often.

I voted YANBU.......and that is why I have lower standards......

Clothes washing, general tidying, dishwasher/washing dishes & kitchen surfaces usually get done daily so take up far more time.

I think it depends very much on your standards! My skirting boards get done maybe once a year, ditto things like light switches. I wipe down kitchen cupboards maybe once a month, takes 5 minutes. Our house was always clean/tidy when I was a kid but I know for a fact my mum didn't do things like skirting boards and light switches. It's just as a kid you wouldn't notice these things anyway. Nowadays a lot of people get a cleaner to do those things.

I personally find MN standards of cleaning to be very high! I know very few people in RL who have a clean home to the standard on here.

YABU for reminding me that I've been putting off cleaning the inside of my fridge for about a month....

Cleaning the oven was my biggest bugbear until I discovered oven liners 😊

I don't do those things often, but it feels like there's always some of them that need doing but I'm just about getting time for the things that do need doing regularly, squeezing in some of the extras feels like so much effort!!
I wish I could afford a cleaner!!
Sorry dolly!

I'm in awe of MNers who say it only takes 20 minutes a day. I think they must already have very clean and orderly homes. My house gets a lot of dust. I think it's because of the location, but if I wipe the stairs, then a few days later they look dusty again.

I agree that MN cleaning levels are ridiculously high.

I hoover, wipe, all the time. The rest only needs to be done occasionally.

Skirting boards get done once or twice a year. That's fine.

I go with the thinking that the cleaner your house is the more your guests will feel pressure to have theirs the same when you call. I love all my guests so much that I just don't bother more than the bare minimum. Purely so there's no pressure on them when I call .

I got a karcher for my cupboard doors and windows, makes life so much easier and faster. That’s the only “hack” I know. Lower your standards op.

I'm in awe of MNers who say it only takes 20 minutes a day.

That does depend on their standards though doesn't it? Plus are they working or sitting at home all day? Do they have kids?

A woman with no kids and no job probably does take only 20 mins a day. She can keep on top of it easier. Likewise a woman with kids, a job and lower standards can also take 20 mins a day.

All things I have to do working f/t single parent not a penny left at the end of the month for a take away never mind a cleaner. MN is hilarious

@NurseButtercup it's the oven door that's the biggest struggle for me. But probably because I leave a grill tray in the bottom of the oven.

@BlackCatSleeping ditto. I have cats, I clean and then it's furry again!

@FickleTickle it's an overnight guest we're having, they see so much more of the house!

@CakeandCustard28 what's that then? Believe me my standards aren't that high! Hence why so much needs doing at once lol. But I have in laws staying overnight :(

It takes me 20 mins just to hoover!! 😂

There are loads of variables including how filthy your family are in the first place, pets, location etc. I’ve always been the type to do things as I go along so laundry, for example, isn’t a job as such. I’d wipe out a kitchen cupboard when the dishwasher is full and cupboard emptyish, or wipe out a drawer while waiting to the potatoes to boil.

Skirtings, bannisters etc are also done when I notice and give a wipe.

Having said that I have a cleaner so doing the extras is not such a chore.

But, yes, it is a lot of work. Worth trying to teach DC to tidy and clean after themselves although I will admit I never succeeded at this. On MN you’d beliethat all teens do their own washing and ironing and are generally self sufficient. I knew none like this.

I'm a sahm of school age children...so I have lots of time for cleaning. I'm constantly doing it yet also constantly finding dust everywhere and things which need cleaning. It's non stop. My house seems to be a magnet for dust.

I used to have a beautiful house, it was always clean and smelled lovely, then i let my boyfriend and his dog move in - just why!

Having a pet in the house means so much more cleaning, i do skirting boards and lightswitches every week, I'm frigging drowning in housework at the moment. Maybe I need to lower my standards.

I remember a relative of mine saying running house takes work and I never knew what she meant until recent years, cleaning, maintenance and shopping all takes up time. People have different standards of cleanliness though so everyones answer will differ!

@userxx instead of lowering your standards, get your partner to do the extra jobs that have appeared since him and his pet moved in.

I used to live in a small Victorian terrace...two up, two down essentially. It was very quick to clean the whole place. Now we are living in a much bigger house and it takes forever...two bathrooms, huge kitchen with shiny floor tiles (the bane of my life), playroom, extra bedroom now too...it is never all done.

I do as little as possible. I prefer to wait until it gets bad and do a blitz for an hour.

I do my skirting boards well... never so far. Lived in this house 3 years, not done or noticed them yet.

I think stuff like skirting boards vary very much in everyone’s schedule. I think what you are saying is you had no idea they were ever done at all as a child.

I clean kitchen work surfaces every day and sweep the floor most days in there. Sinks get wiped a lot as well. The cat does make a large amount of work for such a small animal as I like to keep the pet hair levels down.

My house is very lived in. It's tidy (ish) clean(ish), everyone has clean clothes, dishes always done, always lots of food.
But there are the usual signs of a family such as dirty fingerprints, smears on windows, hidden crumbs, muddy footprints etc.
My husband would complain to me why isn't our home completely clean and tidy at all times. (I'm a sahm). He didn't understand that it takes me a long time to just clear away the kids things that are everywhere every day , put clothes away, tidy the kitchen, hoover etc. That's before even thinking about cleaning skirting boards etc.
Also when I was a child I never had to help in the house. My mum did everything. Right up until I left home at 21. I had a big shock getting my own home. I also absolutely hate cleaning. I don't know how anyone could take pleasure from it.

Try The Organised Mum Method (google it).