If you have DCs and spend very little time keeping your house clean...

[overweightcat]

Can I please ask for your routine?

And I don't mean just the tidying part but actually clean, as in someone could turn up at any moment and the house would be perfectly nice.

We are in a small 2 up 2 down with 2 DCs and Ddog.

We don't have a dishwasher which means I'm stood at the sink 3+ times a day washing the dishes unless I want a mountain piling up on the already small amount of worktop space.
I also seem to forget some jobs and get blind to them. I decided to give my bathroom a really good clean today and I was horrified when I actually had a closer look at the tiles next to the shower.

Little and often is what I'd like to achieve so that I'm not then stuck for 20mins scrubbing something that's gotten so bad it's now very hard to get clean again.
But I'm also worried about getting stuck in a loop where I'm just walking around the house cleaning all the time rather than spending it with my toddler and DC.

Any tips/routines/advice?

I keep a spray and a bottle of bleach next to each toilet - takes seconds to give it a quick wipe over with a spray and a bit of loo roll, plus a squirt of bleach down once a day.

Shower gets cleaned whilst I’m in it, that two minutes waiting for conditioner to work it’s magic is enough time to give everything a quick wipe over, then a final hose down with the shower head before it gets switched off. Same with the bathroom sink - quick wipe over when I clean my teeth and it doesn’t build up.

A handheld vacuum and a spray mop are amazing for just getting bits up as you spot them. My elderly dog is a bit incontinent nowadays so I mop way more than I used to, but a spray mop with a washable pad is so much easier than a traditional mop and bucket.

As for dusting etc, that gets done when I notice it needs doing!

I do have a cleaner for an hour a week, but that’s because I’m disabled and she comes to change the beds and clean behind furniture which I can’t move on my own. For everything else, I have a bit of a tidy as you go attitude.

don't have a routine, sorry.
Yesterday morning DH was doing washing up & I got something out of fridge & noticed how dirty it was around the veggie door & that turned into 20 minutes of washing out 2 veg trays & wiping down a lot of fridges inside & out.
But no routine. Just whenever I notice things.

Dishwasher, tumble dryer, cleaner.

WITH those three things my house is chaotic.

Without? Well. Just hideous.

@Alloverthegrapevine would you be interested in sharing your teen guide?!

This keeps my house at a visitor ready level.

Assuming the visitors won’t want to inspect my teenage son’s Bedroom

MORNING 15-20 minutes
-hang laundry while tea brewing.
-Dishes go straight in dishwasher
-quick wipe of counter/table with damp cloth
-Rinse down the shower walls and screen when I’m finished and spray shower shine.
-put dirty clothes/towel straight into machine.

DURING THE DAY 5 minutes
-lunch dishes straight in dishwasher
-wipe counters/table

EVENING about 30-40 minutes
-dinner dishes straight into dishwasher
-spray counters/table & wipe with hot water and WUL
-switch dishwasher on
-fold laundry straight off line into basket in piles according to person

• put piles in relevant person’s room (I put my own away- DC do theirs)
• hoover downstairs (I have a hairy dog so necessary)
• mop downstairs

BEFORE BED less than 5 minutes

• spray & wipe basin and loo in bathroom

-check DC have brought all washing down

• switch on washing machine on timer for morning.

WEEKLY 2 hours
All rooms dusted, windows cleaned inside, beds changed, bathroom properly cleaned, floors hoovered and mopped.

I would strongly recommend you get a dishwasher OP.

I am a cleaning fanatic! I follow people like mrs hinch and Stacey Solomon on Instagram. It actually really helps me with my anxiety. Anyway. I make a list for the week. Start upstairs. Write everything you notice could do with a clean. And tick it off through out the week. Clean the bathroom/shower while you’re in it. When you get out just give the sink and toilet a wipe down and bleach. You’re already in there getting clean And it won’t add much more time on to your shower. I’d definitely suggest a dish washer. Always wipe down the work tops after you’ve finished cooking. Empty your fridge before you get your shopping in it and wipe down. Invest in fridge liners and oven liners to make it quick and easy! It takes me about 30/1 hour to get my house sparkling. And I have a scruffy DH DD(8) a dog and a cat!

I clean the shower when I'm in it, clean the toilet when I use it, wash up each time something is used. I get the kids involved with dusting and wiping counters/tables etc. Just clean things when you use them. We still do a "big clean" on the weekend but it takes 30 minutes with me and DH doing it because we generally keep on top of it all week.

Also my standards of "clean" are quite high. This way everything is done every day. I spend very little time actually taking time to clean because I'm in the habit of doing it as I go. Everything has a home as well so I'm not constantly having to tidy before I can clean

I get tips and my routine from the secret slob on YouTube she breaks down the fly lady method.
I'm still never 100% on top though I have improved lots.

4 kids, older now but this has mostly stayed the same;

Cleaner - 3 hours a week on Friday before the weekend so we all relax in a clean home. I insist on clear floors and surfaces and everyone mucks in on Thu PM/Fri AM. Kids do their own rooms. We didn't have this when I was a SAHM.

Dishwasher - emptied AM, stacked during the day and on PM meaning everything clean and dry in the morning.

Tumble drier - this is a luxury but essential IMO. I wash dry and fold into individual piles and the kids put away clean clothes.

Cleaning sets in each bathroom; Viakal, Bathroom cleaner, bleach/toilet cleaner, glass spray + 2 microfibre cloths in storage tray/box under the sinks.

2 vacuum cleaners - 1 upstairs, 1 downstairs as this makes it less of a chore and helps the cleaner as she doesn't have to lug a vacuum cleaner around.

Minimising clutter - this is hard to keep on top of but you can't clean a messy, cluttered home.

Organised toys - mine had loads of stuff that they would not part with but it was organised in cupboards and Ikea Trofast.

@Emeraldshamrock

I get tips and my routine from the secret slob on YouTube she breaks down the fly lady method. I'm still never 100% on top though I have improved lots.

I like the Flylady method - I love her saying "You are not behind, just jump right in where you are". It takes the pressure off when you're feeling the grind of small children plus neverending household stuff. I like her emphasis on being kind to ourselves.

Oh my goodness I would love a cleaner! I only work part time but our house is a tip. The lack of storage is the hardest thing to deal with. If I had more places to put stuff, things would be so much better. Definitely get a dishwasher OP!

Very big flat (well, in London anyway), 1 DH, 1 DS (teen). and beige carpets (FGS why???? beauties of rentals....)
i have a routine for decades now to do small things whilst waiting for things to be done. and do a bigger clean every week. and a proper deep clean 2x a year.
Henry - once a week, but when i see a dark something on the carpet i pick it up. This way sometimes I can even skip the weekly hoovering.
kitchen
cleaning handles, surfaces: daily while coffee is brewing, or waiting for oven to beep, meat to cook. I clean with a vinegar/water solution, so the mirrored walls (again, rental, but WHY??) can be done with is as well.
floor: this is a pain point as crumbles, things are always there and weekly once henry doesn't cut it. But I'm not willing to get him out more often.
Bathroom
spray inside of toilet with viakal (my husband's favourite cleaning chemical) twice/3 times a week, then brush my teeth and flush it.
surface cleaning - almost every day while brushing teeth. again viakal or vinegar water. Now i actually like the smell of it.
shower cubicle glass walls - tricky, but usually 2x a week with the vinegar spray whilst having a bath (eg waiting to wash down conditioner in hair).
rooms
i'm not much much for tidying, so usually end up with piles of things - I make a point of sorting them out weekly, otherwise they will never get done.
surface cleaning - mostly whilst watching tv in the evening/night, or waiting for food to be ready... or in the 5-10 mins between calls when you can't do anything useful.
weekly once: clean shades (weird indoor facing shutters - again why?), doors, anything where i have to relocate many things and then put them back again (eg husband's work desk), dust off shoes (hover over with Henry before you think I actually pick them up one by one), clean windowsills, properly deep clean toilets.
Because I'm doing it constantly the weekend cleaning is about max an hour. And it doesn't feel a burden as I'm using time that i otherwise would just waste.
(these 2-5 mins are also great for squats - used to do them a few years back and it did show. I should start over again.)
and just for the record: no ocd, no maniac cleanliness disorder....
On the other hand: any tips on how to not leave things just laying around would be appreciated. The 'put them back to where you took them out from' doesn't work

+1: hob cleaning - every night if I cooked. That way it's 2 mins, and no scrubbing (usually)
oven cleaning - hate that, so every x months only.