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Original poster

How clean is your house?

73 replies

stellabella22 · 20/12/2022 21:57

I've been getting super stressed with the state of our house lately. I have two dc (one a baby) and never seem to get the time to do a deep clean. I tidy and hoover daily. Kitchen and bathroom are always wiped down after use with anti bac spray. Dishes are washed, clothes are washed and ironed but that's about as much as I can manage. I can't remember the last time I dusted or cleaned the windows inside (we have a window cleaner for outdoors). Skirting boards are grubby and don't get me started on the garden.

I get really overwhelmed with it. Dh and older dc don't help much. Ds will keep his room relatively tidy but it's me who does the majority.

House is very cluttered too. I often have 'clear outs' as in sorting things out and bagging them up but then the bags just sit there because I don't make time to take them to charity shops or the tip.

So tell me, how often do you properly clean? What is your house like in terms of cleanliness and do you have any tips for keeping on top of it? Yh

OP posts:
Vaccine001 · 20/12/2022 22:00

You seem to be doing your best and that's all you can do. Hire a one off deep clean cleaner?

Vaccine001 · 20/12/2022 22:01

Your house is good enough. Stop beating yourself up

Original poster
stellabella22 · 20/12/2022 22:06

It really gets to me. For example if we trail dirt or mud into the porch I can't relax until I've cleaned it up. Dh does help but he's happy enough to leave it til later whereas I can't. The skirtings and the dust bunnies in the corner are things that have been bugging me lately but I never get round to it.

A one off clean isn't a bad idea to be honest. I just wondered how often other people do these things.

OP posts:
serialplanner · 20/12/2022 22:07

I manage about what you do and I only have one child plus a very 50/50 husband. It is relentless!

This website is good for charity collections:

www.wecollectwedonate.co.uk/

If you have spare cash hire a cleaner once a month or whenever for a deep clean. You can also hire professional declutter people (like Dilly Carter from the show with Stacey Solomon) I did this when we moved with a newborn and it was the best money I ever spent (only had spare cash because of the move)

If you don't have spare cash take a day or so annual leave or make your husband take the kids out and get the house in order so you can feel better.

I feel it in December the worst because of all the extra Christmas crap!!!!!

happyfeet5 · 20/12/2022 22:08

If it helps, I am the exact same. We both work FT and are yet to TTC. Life is busy. I know clutter and mess is really stressful but try not to let it rule your life! I need to practice what I preach. It’s hard to overlook sometimes. Hugs!

NEmama · 20/12/2022 22:09

Tidy and hoover daily fucking hell op. Who has time for that ?

silentpool · 20/12/2022 22:11

Chip away at it, job by job. If I get one (non-routine) thing done a couple of times a week, that's a win. I've been tackling some of the bigger jobs (pantry clear out, oven clean etc) while on my Christmas break. Did not have the bandwidth for it earlier.

piedbeauty · 20/12/2022 22:12

Well, your dh needs to step up and do his share! You're not the only one responsible for the house!

Icantremembermyusername · 20/12/2022 22:13

I vaguely do Team TOMM. Worth a look. I also prioritise visible dirt, so hoovering and mopping over dusting. Also reducing clutter rather than cleaning. A tidy grubby house looks better than a cluttered clean house in my opinion.
Either way, cut yourself some slack, you have a baby. Plenty of time to get on top when they're big enough to follow you with a wet wipe :-)

holierthanthou73 · 20/12/2022 22:13

Mine is a shit pit but that’s due to my mental health, I’m working on it! 2023 with be better (prays)

Original poster
stellabella22 · 20/12/2022 22:13

@NEmama sounds pathetic but I can't relax if there are bits all over the floor. Hoovering is a 5 minute job and by tidying I just mean clearing round after the dc, putting toys, mugs, clothes away etc. Dusting and wiping down doors, skirtings, behind sofas never gets done because I suppose I don't notice it as much.

OP posts:
Stayingstrongish · 20/12/2022 22:15

I’ve been trying to declutter and put things on Freecycle so people collect them from me.

I also try to make taking bags of donations to charity shops part of my regular weekly routine. So I grab a bag as I’m on my way out. Used to put them under the buggy when out with baby. Now take them on my lunch break.

BCBird · 20/12/2022 22:18

Cut yourself some slack. I.i.live alone and have never done a deep clean. I.pay my sister to.clean my house
I.recently dropped a day at work- exhausted. Made it clear to.my sister I still wanted her to clean. Have not created extra me time to spend time cleanin. Life too short.

Figgypuddingpiggyfudding · 20/12/2022 22:19

@stellabella22 I have a toddler and my house is pretty spotless tbh. I do clean ALL the time though. I work it all into our daily routine but honestly, I probably do too much.

I have a policy of see it, do it which helps me keep on top and I have systems to help me prioritise. For example, washing is dry, gets taken off rack and onto the spare bed for the day and I then sort it out while my bath runs in the evening. Downstairs gets tidied and hoovered each evening while my husband baths the toddler. Just little ways of constantly doing bits that fit into our routine.

We also take it in turns to take the toddler out if bigger jobs need doing like lawn mowing/deep clean/tip trip so the other is free to do the particular job for a morning of the weekend.

Luredbyapomegranate · 20/12/2022 22:41

Could you get a cleaner to cover the deep cleans?

Also maybe stop doing so much of the small stuff, you don’t need to spray the kitchen and bathroom constantly - and part from being unnecessary it’s not great for your health or the planet.

Also sounds like you and your husband need to divvy up jobs, and compromise a bit on how often they get done.

Hbh17 · 20/12/2022 22:48

N
I've never understood the phrase "deep clean", it just sounds like a way to create unnecessary work.
And stop spraying anti-bac all the time - it's not necessary.
A house only needs to be just clean enough, and excessive cleaning is joyless and soul-destroying.

Letshopeitsagoodonewithoutanytears · 20/12/2022 22:48

What do you all class as a deep clean?

SuperGinger · 20/12/2022 22:50

My house is not very clean and I don't care, don't get too stressed it isn't worth it, spend time enjoying your children. My DC are messy but they have clean clothes, bedding, loos, surfaces, cutlery and crockery are clean and otherwise it doesn't matter we don't eat off the floor, I gave up insisting on bathing daily and no-one has eczema anymore, in fact I feel better for lowering my standards.

Longtimelurkerfinallyposts · 20/12/2022 22:56

Can't you get your children to help with cleaning? It's a useful life skill for them, a contribution towards keeping the place they live clean and tidy, and could be rewarded with pocket money. Make it into a bit of a game. Some kids really love dusting, especially if you have a feather duster.

Purplechicken207 · 20/12/2022 22:59

Not clean enough.
Similar situation to you, I have a baby and a toddler. At least 1 of us has been ill every week bar 3, since early September (toddler goes to nursery a couple of days a week...germ infested, enough said). Zero energy or motivation, and I also can't relax if it's a mess. Haven't dusted in weeks and the house needs a big tidy up and clean through. I dont do any ironing though, DH only needs the odd shirt when having an in office day, dont iron anything else. Thankfully I've been too ill to care for about 10 days. But need to get it sorted before Christmas...
And a few years ago we had a cleaner steal from us, and both we've tried didn't clean well enough. The non-thief mopped without hoovering at all?! So basically just spread wet crumbs around. And said my dyson wasn't good enough and she wanted to bring her Henry hoover 😂 Suffice to say we won't be attempting a cleaner for a long time (not that we can afford it now anyway)

Blossomtoes · 20/12/2022 23:03

My mum was beyond houseproud but she said to me more than once that if the kitchen, bathroom and beds were clean the rest doesn’t matter. You’re meeting her standards.

123woop · 20/12/2022 23:06

I feel you - I too hoover round everyday (only downstairs) as I can't stand bits on the floor, and I can't relax if there's mess like muddy footprints either.
We made a huge effort to declutter about a year ago and sort everything out, and now I keep on top of it so if I've got a spare 20 minutes I'll sort the bookcase, or a spare couple of hours I'll sort the kitchen out etc. I have a list on my phone of what needs doing and sorting and go through it.

In terms of cleaning, I wipe down the kitchen after cooking of course, but not bathrooms every day. I do a clean of the house once a week which is a surface clean, hoover and mop but then I'll do an extra each week, whether that's the skirting boards or moving furniture out or do the inside windows when I'm doing the rest of the room.

Tidying I do a "quick whip-round" every day after dropping the kids off at school. It takes 10 minutes, 15 minutes tops, and I just go round each room and quickly do a tidy.
Also timeblocking - I set a timer and so spend 15 minutes on a cleaning or tidying job but once it goes off I've got to move on to something else. Makes it mentally more manageable I find rather than not knowing where to start and doing nothing.

I know this makes me sound a bit bonkers to most people 😂 but I literally can't relax unless it's done

Minikievs · 20/12/2022 23:14

Bloody hell! I haven't washed the inside of my windows in 18 months and have no intention of.
I Hoover when it looks like it needs it (maybe a week after I notice if I'm honest)
Kitchen sides get wiped down daily.
Bathroom is not daily. Not even weekly.
I'm a slattern.

Vaccine001 · 20/12/2022 23:23

I bought an H20 steam cleaner thing from QVC years ago and I blast the skirting boards with that every now and then. Dry with.a cloth really easy

sobercuriouskind · 20/12/2022 23:24

Ours isn't good just now, I've not been well and it's just had to get bad as I've needed to rest. But as I start to feel better, my focus is always on the bathrooms and kitchen in terms of hygiene. Everything else just happens as and when. I certainly don't hoover daily. I really need to declutter and this will be my focus after Sunday. My kids are nearly 12 and 14 so obviously don't have the toy mess so much and they sort their own rooms out.