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).

Unfortunately I'm not very good at keeping on top of the housework but I do clean the kitchen and bathroom every other day. Luckily our kitchen is the size of a shoebox so it doesn't take long. I usually do it in the morning straight after breakfast. I also do a load of washing most days but unfortunately it's all piled up on a chair in the dinning room and haven't found the time or energy to sort it out.
I try to hoover twice a week (doesn't always happen) and dust once a, week (again doesn't always happen). Housework is low on my list of priorities.

It all really depends on your definition of 'clean', I keep the kitchen work surfaces clean and more or less clear, hoover, dust as needed. As I sit here writing this I can see the morning paper open at the crossword and other puzzles, a part done jigsaw on the big coffee table, a few pens etc for the puzzles and a coffee cup so I'm sure there are paragons on here who would call that untidy, personally I prefer to live in a house rather than be ruled by it. I'll probably clean the windows this afternoon if I finish the crosswords!

For hard floors (wood or tiles).....

You need a micro fibre mop vis a vis: www.dunelm.com/product/e-cloth-deep-clean-mop-1000011935?defaultSkuId=30072817&branchCode=0845&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsvn0g_ai7gIVW-3tCh26sAAPEAQYAyABEgI8OPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

You need a quality hairdressers fine spray bottle: www.personalisedgiftsshop.co.uk/best-hairdresser-personalised-spray-bottle.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1uTgtfai7gIVFIBQBh3fxgnfEAQYASABEgKcNfD_BwE

Good broom gripper on the wall: maxedbuy.co.uk/en/detail/1142345-command-17007-es-broom-gripper.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIy6n66_ai7gIVwrHtCh3LbQD-EAQYFSABEgLa-vD_BwE

Floors then easily wiped twice a day, or every time somebody walks in from outside. No way I’d be doing that if I was getting full mop & bucket out all the time!

Something I've started doing once a week, that I never bothered much with before, is to whizz round with one of those static dusters on sticks. Window sills and frames, skirting, shelves, door frames, chair backs, banisters, back of the tv, picture frames, radiator pipes, inside and outside lampshades, top of curtain rods, and fiddly nooks and crannies.it takes 20 mins to do the entire house and fuck me it makes such a difference. It all looks so much cleaner and generally cared for, and you get none of that sticky grime build up that's a major job to clean.

Washing on every morning , move to the dryer after finishing work. Previous days drying folded and taken up stairs .

Dishwasher loaded after evening meal, emptied before bed and any extras or supper plates put into the dishwasher .

Kitchen surfaces wiped at the end of the day and before cooking evening meal .

DH is a very tidy person (annoyingly tidy) so he keeps all our surfaces free by shoving stuff into random drawers (not always helpful but makes the house look tidy .....) and because the house is tidy , it doesn't take long to push the hoover round and dust surfaces .

Easier for me than a lot of other people because we only had one DC and I worked part time . The house wouldn't be so tidy if it wasn't for DH, but by myself I wouldn't be so bothered .

@Iknowwhatudidlastsummer.

My point is only that those with a clean tidy home spend time on it, one way or another. They often talk of it as if it's not much because it has become their normal routine.

You yourself talked of doing chores first thing, an hour every morning, plus 10 minute walk around in the evening.

I'm trying to do little and often. Just a damp cloth usually. Nothing to scare a visitor, lol.

And I mean wiping up after making the cup of tea not wiping skirting boards!

I have three young kids and a shedding dog. I work part time from home and my partner works away from home over night 5 days a week.
I would say my house is mostly clean and tidy but absolutely not showhome standards.
The most important things to help me achieve this are routine and help from the kids. I'll give some examples -

• Every morning after getting dressed my kids take any washing down to the basket, move any rubbish and make their beds (I help). I then clean the toilet and give the bathroom a quick wipe.
• while the kids eat their tea I tend to wash up, vac the sofas and when they are finished they clean and wipe the table and will sit on the sofas while I do the floors.
• I expect the kids to clean up their own toys. I don't help with that and we don't do the next activity (tea, go out, snack etc) until its done.
• With washing I tend to do two loads a day ish and I usually stick the kids on my bed with some TV on while I run their bath and put it away in the evening.

Not saying these things will work for you, I just think by making similar things routine it helps sooo much to keep on top of these things.

I've not read the full thread yet but for those that do the TOMM method does it really just take 15 minutes to do the level 1 daily clean?

I tried it today and it took more than 15 minutes and I didn't even get to the bathroom because dh is in there fitting a shower.

And what about the kitchen? Emptying the dishwasher? Doing the dishes. Are these not part of daily tasks?

I don't mind it taking a bit longer but surely it's not possible to do all that in 15 minutes?

By the time I made my bed , kids do their own (admittedly I changed the sheet) folded the dry washing, put it in respective rooms and put another load on. (I obviously still have to hang it out later) hoovered the main living area (it's not big) and did a quick swiffer to the hard floors. Emptied the dishwasher and did the dishes. That was all 28 minutes (I timed it on my fitbit stopwatch out of interest)

And looking at the week ahead. Do i do all the level 2 tasks in the half hour? Seems so much. I'd be rushing around like a mad woman.

So, all you experienced TOMMs , am I just destined to be a slow slattern my whole life? Or is there a trick?

I'm using this extra time I have this lockdown to get a hold on some areas in life I could do with some help or structure so I can see this app helping if i can use it effectively.

Place marking as I feel like we are always needing to do a mammoth clean. I think in reality we are all messy and you can't clean clutter

Got rid of the ex.

Teen only has a few years at home left then my home will be immaculate.

I looked at TOMM and realised I can't work that fast any more.

Clean as we go. Noticed when I did a lockdown bake off last year that I washed and put away everything when it was baking and others just went for a sit down.

Multitask with music or film in background/ear buds. One deep clean one evening as needed.

Try to do a bit more than yesterday to eat into extra jobs

Well i used to put the baby down and do a room a day. Now we have lockdown and 3 kids at home..forget it...my house is a total mess...

Every morning I fold the blankets and puff up the sofa cushions, I pick up any rubbish I find laying around and put any cups and glasses, which always seems to left it off places by the teenage kids, in the dishwasher. Then I make breakfast for myself and then I go to have a shower. Whilst I wait for the shower water to warm up I quickly wipe the sink clean and clean the inside of the toilet.

In the evenings, after dinner, I always make sure one of the kids have done the washing up from dinner (only pots and pans as we have a dishwasher), the other one gets to wipe down the work surfaces and cooker. I always start the dishwasher in the evening and empty it before I go to bed.

Besides from that I just make sure I always put everything back where it belongs. Books go back in the bookshelf, games in the games cupboard, clean washing in the wardrobes and dirty washing in the hampers etc. This is the main thing for me. I never let it build up so it feels like a chore to start cleaning.

In addition I clean, together with DH and DC once a week.

1 room every day

I’ve followed the Clean Mama schedule before. She’s American, on Instagram, etc. Sounds regimented because you do a certain task on a certain day of the week, like dust one day and vac the next, but it does mean you’re spending only a bit of times doing cleaning a day.

Don’t always do it, mind. Sometimes just can’t be arsed!

Every Monday I wash all the bedding, do all the dusting, polishing, clean the bathroom and toilet, hoover the whole house and mop the downstairs floors and bathroom/toilet floor.
After every meal I clear away and wash the plates and give the kitchen and table a wipe down.
Every evening when the kids go to bed, I tidy everything away where it belongs.
Every morning I make all the beds.
Everything else, I just do as and when it’s needed, like cleaning the skirting boards, windows etc.

I have recently bought a hand held vacuum. It's great for getting bits up as you see them or after cooking on the kitchen floor. Once a day I walk round house with it and zap any bits. I have also got a mop you put the wipes on and that picks up bits and marks use that once a day. I am wfh at the mo and my teenager stays in room a lot so luckily does not make much mess around house like little ones except own room, bathroom and if he cooks. I wash up when the sink is full or after a main meal so its tidy. It is easier wfh. I wash when a full load and do use a dryer at the moment. Dh does help.

TOMM (the Organised Mum Method) is good for getting ideas for shortcuts and is pretty much keep it clean tidy as you go. It is based on an organised tidy home and doesn’t cover dining room so timings are wrong for me. It did user her Clutterbuster sheet ages ago and my house is better organised since. Keep clutter minimal, have good storage, cleaning little and often and put things away as you go.

I get up open my blinds and make bed and put anything away off floor. Put cups/glasses out in hall. Do the same in my sons room. Go downstairs run the sink and do any dishes. Then I run the hoover downstairs then polish the hall console, glass on micro, tv unit and dining table. Hang washing up in machine and put a new load in. Wash any dishes after breakfast.

Before I have a shower Il run a cloth round the sink and clean toilet if needed. I clean the bathrooms thoroughly Saturday morning.

Usually hang second load of washing up once it's done (have two clothes dryers up always) load goes in when we go to bed to hang up in the morning. I fold and put away any dry washing in the evening when I go to my room and only iron clothes as we need them.

Do lunch dishes and wipe sides after lunch.

Once we have had dinner the person that never cooked does the dishes whilst the other wipes and polishes the dining table, cleans the cooker, sprays and wipes glass on extractor fan and wipes down sides then I usually do another quick hoover and use the steam mop it only takes 15 seconds to heat up and minutes to run round the kitchen hall and livingroom.

The kids keep their rooms tidy and usually every second evening after hovering downstairs il do the stairs and hall and bedrooms upstairs. I clean the fridge before I go shopping on a Monday (my day off). On a Saturday morning I put my airpods in and spend a few hours doing a deep clean. Windows, sills, Hoover and polish mirrors and bedside tables. Hoover under the cushions on couch. Polish the metal legs of the dining table and chairs, clean front and back door, wipe down doors on kitchen units, (to be honest actual inside cupboard only really get cleaned about once or twice a year, once is always just before xmas, but everything is in plastic boxes so if something spills in one it can just be emptied and cleaned and put back). Oven has a liner which I clean when needed if theres been a spill.

First thing in the Morning the washing goes in the Machine as soon as I get up Put to dry soon as it's finished then it's got enough time to dry till the next lot next morning My other in law told me to do it years ago and Ive always done it out of habit. It does help stay ontop of the washing things that can go in the dryer are put away the same day too

I have a DD of 8 months. DP does bathroom every day after he’s home from night shift and showered. We wipe kitchen down daily and do the main cleaning twice a week. However we have a 2 bed apartment so it’s easier I think than a house baby can be left in bouncer in ear shot. But I’m with others I don’t stress if it isn’t done

I do wish these things were not all called mom or organised mum. It is team work here. But I suppose TOFM (the Organised Family Method) doesn't roll off the tongue as easily.

I can see 'clean as you go' is the message, but what about things that don't really come into that...skirting boards, the stair rails, windows ...I don't seem to think about those until suddenly they seem filthy.