If you have a clean home but don't spend your life cleaning - what's your daily routine?

[valleybutt]

And no cleaner.

What's your daily / weekly "tick list" so to speak to keep the house nice and tidy without spending your life cleaning and doing laundry? I love a clean home and whilst I've come a long way to how it was a few years ago when I was getting to grips with having babies and so on its still not great.

I tried the team TOMM method but I didn't really get on with it and I'm hoping I can get some tips here.

What do you do from am to pm to keep the house nice, clean and running smoothly?

(And before anyone mentions partners - mine does what he can but works very very long hours and I'm only on PT currently furloughed so hoping to get organised).

I clean as I go, but also have made associations. Like if I'm in the bathroom applying make up, I check the skirting boards, sink, bath, toilet and units for dust or marks. Give them a quick wipe down while I'm there and it's done. When I bring dh a brew in our bedroom while he works, I check for dust and marks again. It just means it never gets bad, but it doesn't take long either as I'm already there. Once you make the connections between things you do most days and cleaning stuff, it becomes routine and you stop thinking about it.

I didn't bring DH tea up for like a week, when we were self isolating because of homeschooling the kids. Our units were a right mess, so it clearly is working mostly.

The only solution would be for me to do everything or to move into a home without my dc and dh. I live with 4 messy people who don’t give a crap and it drives me nuts. My kitchen is messy because dh thinks stuff needs to soak over night - can’t be arsed to actually wash things so leaves them so I come down in the morning to yucky cold sink water with pans in and unwiped surfaces. I’m stubbornly piling it by the sink and leaving gross water for him to deal with but I fucking hate it. That and unsqueezed out cloths! He’s great in all other ways. I do all the cooking so the deal is he washes!!!

Don’t have loads of needless stuff.

For the stuff you do have, make sure there is a designated space for it to go in the house. Don’t let clutter happen.

Robot vacuum cleaner.

Fill a sink with boiling fucking hot water right after breakfast, and stuff dishes in through the day as you go, to soak. That way, they only take like two minutes to wash properly in the evening.

Have nothing less than the highest expectations of DH that he is equally responsible for the housework as you are, and there are no excuses for not contributing daily.

Pick one “big task” to do every few days to stay on top of things.

Fresh flowers, books and pretty things on display for your own viewing pleasure. Stops you noticing if the shelves have gotten a bit dusty, because who gives a fuck.

Helps to not have children. If you do, the weather will be getting warmer soon... could you put them out to pasture somewhere? 😉

Absolutely, yes I have small dc.

And am working from home.

And have never had a cleaner.

People that come to my house think that I spend my life cleaning, and I promise you I really don’t.

Everything in it’s place. Everything put away after use.

Some people seem to think that sounds like hard work, but I think leaving it to build up sounds like much harder work. If I left a pile of clothes build up on a bedroom chair, I’d never have a spare hour to sort through that lot.

My house isn’t that tidy but I do have control of the washing. Which is a lot with big family + very messy dog.

Washing: first make sure your appliances do the job. There are millions of appliances that are the cause of people’s washing chaos. A washing machine that takes 2 or 3 hours is no use when you have tonnes. The vast majority of the washing needs to be tumble dryable. And you need a tumble dryer that is basic - turn the knob to the time value you want and it does it. None of this sensor shit which often stops before the seams of clothing are dry. If you have no space in the kitchen, put it on a board in another room and feed the vent hose out the window.

So most washing needs to be easily washable in a mixed load and tumble dryer proof. Failing that a few items should be able to be washed quickly and hung on a small indoor airer.

Then you need to be washing as soon as you get dirty stuff. Eg my dog’s coat is filthy after a walk so I get it washed immediately. If someone spills something, wipe it off quickly and put the item straight in the machine with the detergent applied directly to the stain. If kids are staining everything a lot, buy darker clothes.

If you have decent machines and clothes that aren’t a nuisance to wash, that is the majority of the battle.

Defo agree with clean as you go. Leaving it until the weekend just means you (imo) spend more time doing a “deep” clean rather than a quick daily clean. My cleaning levels are shocking compared to some but a few weeks ago I made an effort to stop leaving the bathroom get in such a state. After a week it was so dusty and a pain in the arse to clean, making sure all the fluff and dust was off the toilet, surfaces etc. Now I wipe everything down once a day. It takes half the time as it’s now just a quick wipe rather than a omg this is minging it’s going to take ages to clean, type clean. I do it before a shower in the morning and the bathroom always looks clean now!

I hoover every day, wash up as we go, wipe sides down, never leave stuff on the floor.
Our flat is also tiny which helps.

Clean as you go.
No clutter or unnecessary stuff.
Everything put away when you have finished with it.

I take from these posts that however you slice and dice it you do end up putting in the time to have a clean, tidy home.

Clean as you go. There’s 5 of us including 2 toddlers. The house isn’t a show home but it’s always clean and it’s tidy once the DC go to bed 😂

Keep it tidy. Then it’s easier to clean. Before bed make sure all used cups etc are washed or put in dishwasher-switch it on.
I always fold throws, plump cushions on sofas (DH doesn’t ). In the morning before work we empty dishwasher and restock with breakfast things, wipe surfaces, make beds, open curtains. So those are daily things.
At the weekend we dust, hoover, clean bathrooms and kitchen.
During the week I keep the laundry going when the basket gets full-put a wash on before work(still going as in school) and hang up on return. I change hand towels and tea towels every other day too. Sweep the kitchen floor a few times a week. It just becomes routine.

I try to do a little bit everyday so nothing gets too manky that it needs a massive cleaning session.

• one load of washing a day. When it’s dry I fold it into piles per drawer it’s goes into so I can put it away really quickly (or have the kids do it themselves.)
• put dishes in the dishwasher straight away (nag nag nag and then do it myself) put it on after dinner and empty first thing in the morning to use it for refilling again.
• I have three bathrooms and give them a quick wipe around everyday, I do one bathroom whenever I boil the kettle as I’ll definitely have three teas or coffees a day. It only takes two minutes because the dirt doesn’t get a chance to build up.
• I then divide vacuuming / dusting and mopping to twice a week on set days e.g. vacuum whole house on Wed/Sat, dust on Tues/Fri and mop on Thursday/Sun.

Writing it down sounds more than it is, by doing it little and often it doesn’t get the chance to build up and vacuuming twice a week means everyone needs to have their floors clear which helps the family remember to put their clothes in the wash basket, same with dusting encourage everyone to not lay things down rather than put them away.

@YardleyX Just don't be messy
😂 Brilliant!
Problem solved

I'm not perfect but I do this every day which helps....

Put washing on
Wash up, wipe surfaces, straighten kitchen
Wipe cat flap/cat food mat
Wipe lounge windowsill/coasters
Quick hoover downstairs
Put stuff away as I go along
Empty dehumidifier
Put clean clothes away
Make bed
Hang washing up

It’s clean as I go here too.

Clutter free home
Everything has a place

Dishes done and put away as soon as finished eating.
Pots pans washed straight away
Beds made as soon as get up
One laundry basket all dirty clothing in there never on floors etc
One wash done a day to keep laundry up to date
Surfaces wiped down and cleaned daily
I Hoover daily but this is 100% required as I have three DC who love to eat snacks and drop crumbs.

I don’t like looking at a mess so I can’t sit down with a cup of tea for example unless the lounge is clean and clear.

Everything in our house fits in a cupboard / drawer / unit , there are no random items or toys or plastic things sitting out

Kitchen worktops only have kettle and toaster sitting out .

Having less and good storage helps keep a clean and clear environment

My eufy robot vacuum has changed everything. The floor has to be free of clutter for it to work. I do downstairs most days. Take it upstairs when I change the bedding weekly. Stairs get done most weekends with my handheld.

I wipe down sinks and loo seats as often as I can (with anti bac spray and loo paper) and clean the bathroom and downstairs loo properly at the weekends, including steam mopping the floors,

I think the key is to never let it get really bad.

@FloraFocus

I take from these posts that however you slice and dice it you do end up putting in the time to have a clean, tidy home.

well, yes!
but if you do it regularly and properly, you reduce the overall time, live in a nice house and don't spend your life running around drowning in chores and forever trying to find missing and lost things.

Each to their own, some people find cleaning relaxing, but I personally would be highly depressed if I had to spend half or most of my weekends cleaning the house.

I like my own house clean and tidy enough for visitors, and my family is more important than the odd visitor

Don’t have toddlers/young children at home every day. I’m failing on this score.
Get a robot hoover.

Keeping tidy is the majority. Don't handle things more than once ie. don't put it down, put it away. If surfaces are clear it's just a case of a quick wipe down and hoover once a week.
Dirty pots go straight into the dishwasher, I don't abide dirty pots being left out. It goes on if full after breakfast or dinner. Laundry is kept on top of and goes into the dryer after the washer which cuts down on the ironing.

I don't have a daily routine but I have a weekly one and something gets done every day to include:
All bedding washed and changed
All used towels washed twice a week
Hoovering and mopping
Ironing, folding and putting away twice a week minimum to keep on top
I also pick a "big" cleaning or organising job every weekend like organising a cupboard or cleaning the oven

At the weekend I carry round a basket from room to room and put anything in that doesn't belong in that room then distribute it accordingly. I use baskets for organising and everything has its place. Most of my tasks are done at the weekend

Daily, I keep the kitchen and living room clean every day because I work in the kitchen on my laptop and I can't stand the sight of a used pot or cup! If any spills happen or there's a crumb on the counter, it gets cleaned up straight away.

I have to live like this as I'm naturally a messy person but I can't stand the sight of mess 😂 before I had my daughter I went through some horrifically bad times and after years of counselling and not feeling any better, I read online about rituals and I began ritualising my life, which I have done and never looked back.

I think it depends entirely on your household. I am naturally tidy. I grew up in a very untidy and not very clean house, and I hate mess and clutter - it makes me feel claustrophobic.

We have no pets, and one DC who is away at university. I clean as I go along and DH and I share the hoovering and dusting which gets done about every 7 - 10 days.

I don't let washing or ironing build up either.

Our house is noticeably tidier when DD is away

Clean everything as I go along.

This. Turn the shower off, clean the shower. Brush my teeth in the morning, clean the sink and then the toilet. Make my breakfast, clean the sides. When I finish work for the day, tidy the desk and wipe it down on a Friday afternoon.

I tend to have a spray bottle and cloth hidden away in most rooms, so it's easy to do.

The problem with this method is that deep cleaning doesn't happen as often and has to be a concerted effort.

Definitely clean as you go, waiting on kettle to boil, I wipe down worktops, also complete a task, my dp does not do this so I see first hand how much time this costs him. The task then seems like one job, not several, so empty washing machine, hang out washing ( I use lake land heated airer), put away the dry washing that's not getting ironed, so that's one task which doesnt take long. ( My dp would break it down to 4 tasks!!) and the place would be untidy waiting for the next stage of the task to commence

I hated tomm. Just couldn’t get on with it. I use Mrs Hinch’s little book of lists. So on a Sunday I sit down and write a list of all the jobs I want to do that week, organised by room. Then just tick them off as I do them. It’s nice being able to visually see what I’ve done, and what’s left.

Not so much a regular routine but I declutter thoroughly and regularly.